The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-23
AS 1T ONCE WAS.
From the Hartford Courant.

France and this country were strained,
and there was prospect of trouble. The
relations between President Andrew jack
son and the senate of the United States
were strained, and trouble had occurred
February 26 of that year, the president
Informed the house of representatives in
a special message that he had instructed
Mr. Livingston (our minister at ParisD to
come home unless the French govern
ment made provision for the payment Of
| our claims. "The subject being now, in
all it's present aspect. before congress-
whose right it Is to decide what meas
ures are to be pursued in that event, !
deem it unnecessary wrote the presi-
dent, ito make further recommendation
confident that on their part everything
will be done, to maintain the rights and
| honor of the country which the occasion
| requires"
March .. by unanimous vote, the house
resolved that preparation ought to be
made to meet any emergency growing out
| of our relations with France" The fol-
| lowing day, by 1O7 to rs, it put an amend
ment upon the fertilization bill. appropri-
| ating So 900 O0O--"to be expended, in whole
or in part, under the direction of the
president of the United States for the
public defence, if such expenditure should
become necessary before the next meet
| ing of congress. When this amendment
| came up in the senate, the men in that
| body who did not love Andrew Jackson
met dt with a solid front of hostility. Mr..
Webster, of Massachusetts. expressed a
hope that it would be voted down at
| once. Mr.. Calhoun, of South Carolina,
| described 1t as an extraordinary" propo-
| stion. Mr.. Leigh, of Virginia, saw in 1t
| the setting up of military monarchy:
they might almost as well make Andrew
jackson consul for life. or emperor of
| the American people. Mr.. Southard, of
| New Jersey, thought so, too it would be
| an abdication by congress of its war
making power as well as of its guardian
ship of the public treasure; 1t would make
| the president the master. Mr. Clay, of
| Kentucky, also spoke against the amend
| ment, though with less excitement and
| fervor. 1t was voted down 29 to 10, and the
votes against it were cast by Senators
Bell, Bibb, Calhoun, Clay. Clayton, Ew-
| ing. Frelinghuysen, Goldsborough, Hem
| bricks, Kent Knight, Leigh. Mangum
| Moore, Naudain, PoindeXter, Porter
| Prentiss, Preston, Robbins SilsDoe
| Smith, Southard, Swift, Tomlinson, Tyler
| Waggaman, Webster and White. All OF
these men sat in ''the great senate" so
called. The house insisted on its amend
ment. The senate adhered to its disagree.
| ment. A conference committee tried tc
| harmonize matters by recommending ad
ditional specific appropriations for the
navy and forts. The house would have
none of them; it refused to recede, anG
bill and amendment perished together.
|
It is not for any of the living TO I'M
| pugn the motives of those dead-and-gonC
representatives of 1885 who voted against
the Andrew Jackson amendment, or Of
the senators who voted it down. They
acted according to their lights But con
trast that action of the Twenty-third con
gress with the behavior of the Fifty-fifth
Seen against that background, the unan
imous vote in house and senate which ha.
just confided $50, 900, 900 to the hands o.
President Mckinley for purposes of ma
tional defence becomes more impressive
| than ever.