Part 147

The motion, for laying the proposition on the table, was carried, 51 to 47.

American Seamen.

Mr. MILNOR rose, and observed there was no topic more important than the protection of American seamen, and yet he believed it would be acknowledged by all who have given consideration to the subject, that our laws on this subject are materially defective. The object of these laws ought to be twofold; in the first place, for the protection of bona fide American citizens, and secondly, for the prevention of the abuse of those protections by citizens of other countries not entitled to them. It will be recollected, that the act for relief of American seamen makes it the duty of the collectors to furnish certificates of citizenship in the manner therein directed; but, owing to an error of Congress, no manner is prescribed; and, of course, the collectors have been left to accept of such proof as they deemed sufficient, or to act under the directions of the Secretary of the Treasury, which, in most instances, is an unsafe way of proceeding. The penal laws of the United States provide no punishment for the crime of perjury in these cases. A recent instance, Mr. M. said, had occurred in the district which he represented. An Italian, not twenty days in the country, appeared before a notary public, claiming the rights of an American seaman. He made the necessary oaths, and produced a sponsor who swore that he was born in Baltimore. The tongue of the man detected the falsehood. The collector, with that attention to his duty for which he is so remarkable, had both seaman and sponsor apprehended. The attorney for the district looked into the case, and found the crime of perjury to be, the falsely taking an oath according to the laws of the United States; but, as the law was defective, as above stated, the offence was not perjury. The Attorney-General confirmed this opinion. The offenders, therefore, escaped punishment. He believed other amendments might be usefully made to the law on this subject. He concluded by offering the following resolution for adoption, which was agreed to:

"Resolved, That a committee be appointed to inquire and report whether any, and what amendments are necessary to the laws of the United States relating to the protection of American seamen; and that the committee have leave to report by bill or otherwise."

Mr. MILNOR, Mr. LITTLE, Mr. REED, Mr. BASSETT, and Mr. PITKIN, were appointed the committee.

MONDAY, November 18

Expenditure of Public Money.

Mr. RANDOLPH asked for the consideration of the resolution which he laid on the table some days ago, directing the appointment of a committee to inquire into the expenditure of public money; which, being agreed to, Mr. R. trusted there would be no difference of opinion as to the propriety of agreeing to this resolution. But, before the vote was taken, he would state to the House, by way of explanation, the result of a former inquiry. At the first session of the 11th Congress, a report of a committee was made, in part, on this subject. [This report Mr. R. read. It states that, owing to the shortness of the session, complete information on the subject could not be obtained.] As the session lasted but six weeks, the committee had no reason to complain that the information required was not obtained. An expectation was entertained that it would be given at the next session. But the committee have reason to complain that the information which was given was altogether different from that which was asked. This was represented to the departments, and a more satisfactory report was promised at the ensuing session. Mr. R. said, the course pursued at the first session, under the present President, had been the same which was adopted at the close of Mr. Adams's Administration. At the following session of Congress, the person who was appointed chairman of the committee of the first session, was unable to attend; but it was a gratification to him to find, that the subject was taken up by an honorable colleague of his, to whom the State of Virginia had been more than once indebted for the luminous reports on her fiscal concerns; but nothing was effected. To show how different the information received was, from that asked for, Mr. R. proposed to read a short letter. The object of the committee was, to know in what way the Pursers of the Navy received their money, and what was the amount of their emoluments. The answer they received, stated "that the advances made to Pursers are by warrants drawn on the Treasury, sometimes by Navy agents," &c. We inquired, said he, what were their emoluments, other than those allowed by law? Answer: "they arise from a certain percentage upon slops detailed to the seamen." It may not be amiss, said Mr. R., to inform country gentlemen that, by slops, are meant ready-made clothing, &c. It was scarcely possible to have given a more evasive answer. We asked, What were the emoluments? They answer, "a certain percentage fixed by the department;" but what that per cent. was, the committee was left to find out by instinct. It had been understood that large sums of money were advanced to these Pursers, who laid it out in slops, which they retailed to the seamen at an advance, in some instances, of twenty per cent.! This was a fact, Mr. R. said, which ought to be looked into. It was essential to the reputation of the Government, essential to its honor, indispensable to the fair fame of those who administer the finances of the United States, that abuses, such as these, should be probed to the quick, to show to the world that, if we cannot govern the great beasts, the mammoths of the forest, we can, at least, poison the rats. And whose money, asked Mr. R., is this? It is the people's money; it comes from the pockets of the people of the United States. When he spoke of this abuse of public money, he wished no gentleman to understand him as speaking of the abuse under this, that, or the other President of the United States. He considered them all as of one description of people; and it was not less necessary to guard against abuses in a country where the President is elected by the people, than in a country where he is put over them. He would dare to question the infallibility of all, and look upon all with jealousy and distrust. He wished not, however, to be charged with that mistaken opposition to the Government, which determines to exhibit abuses for the sake of doing so; or with shutting his eyes to the abuses of Thomas, while they are open to the abuses of John. Mr. R. said he had no interest distinct from the interest of his country. With respect to princes and potentates, the only favor he had to ask of them was, that they would keep their hands out of his pocket and off his person, and, to use a homely phrase, "if they would let him alone, he would let them alone."

Under these circumstances, Mr. R. asked the House if it were not necessary for a committee to be appointed to probe into this business? He wished to state, before he sat down, that he had learnt, soon after the present Secretary of the Navy came into office, the percentage of the Pursers was reduced from twenty to four or five per cent.

The resolution was unanimously agreed to, and a committee of seven appointed, as follows: Messrs. RANDOLPH, GOLD, MCKIM, ROBERTS, JOHNSON, LAW, and WIDGERY.

TUESDAY, November 19.

Territory of Louisiana.

On motion of Mr. RHEA, the House went into a Committee of the Whole, on the bill for the government of the Territory of Louisiana. The bill being read by paragraphs, Mr. FISK moved to strike out the words in the fifth section of the bill, which makes it necessary for persons to be in possession of a freehold to have a right to vote. This motion was opposed by Mr. RANDOLPH, on principle, in a speech of considerable length, in which he advocated the freehold qualification for voters. The motion was opposed also by Mr. RHEA, as unnecessary for the attainment of the mover's object; as he stated the qualification for voters was twofold--one was the possession of a freehold, the other a residence of a year previous to the time of election.

Mr. POINDEXTER made a motion, which superseded that of the gentleman from Vermont, to strike out all that part of the section which defined the qualification of voters, and insert, "every free white male citizen residing in the said Territory, who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, and paid a tax."

This amendment was debated till the usual hour of adjournment, when the committee rose without taking the question, and obtained leave to sit again.

This debate, though protracted to considerable length, embraced a very narrow question, viz: whether it is better to require voters to hold freehold property, or to suffer every man to possess the privilege of voting who has arrived to the age of twenty-one years. As already stated, Mr. RANDOLPH took the first ground, and introduced the practice of Virginia to show that it was attended with the best effects. Mr. FISK, Mr. WRIGHT, Mr. SMILIE, and Mr. POINDEXTER, took the opposite side of the question. They argued that life and liberty are superior to property--that these are dearer to the poor man than all the property of the rich. Mr. WRIGHT said, that the State of Maryland had tried the property qualification for voting, had found it attended with bad effects, and had now abandoned it. It was formerly required that a voter should be possessed of property to the value of thirty pounds; so that if a man possessed a horse of that value, he was entitled to a vote; but if the horse happened to die before the election, he lost his privilege, which was placing the right in the horse instead of the man. As to freehold qualifications, they were evaded too by deeds made for the occasion, which were afterwards cancelled.

Mr. RANDOLPH, in combating the principle of universal suffrage, said that it was impossible for the gentleman himself, (alluding to Mr. SMILIE,) or any piping-hot member from a Jacobin club--for any disciple of Tom Paine or of the Devil--to carry this principle of equality to its full extent; for even they must exclude from its operation minors and females. He also took occasion to pronounce a strong philippic against foreigners having any part in the Government. Mr. SMILIE, in his reply, paid a tribute of respect to the memory of Paine, on account of his valuable political writings, which had been considered as highly serviceable in the Revolution, and which would always be esteemed wherever the rights of man are understood, and reminded him of the foreigners who had assisted in fighting our Revolutionary battles. Mr. RANDOLPH justified his allusion to Paine; said he was sorry the gentleman had not recollected his "Age of Reason," as well as his "Rights of Man;" and as to any services which he rendered by his writings, he thought little of them. The heroes engaged in that great cause did not need the assistance of an English staymaker. In reply, Mr. SMILIE said, he never interfered with a man's religious opinion; that was a private concern, which lay between God and a man's own conscience; and as to the profession of Paine, that, he apprehended, would never lessen the value of his writings.

WEDNESDAY, November 20.

Another member, to wit, ARCHIBALD MCBRYDE, from North Carolina, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat.

THURSDAY, November 21.

Another member, to wit, ELISHA R. POTTER, from Rhode Island, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat.

Additional Duties.

On motion of Mr. RHEA, the House took up for consideration the resolution which he had submitted some days ago, proposing to instruct the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures to inquire into the expediency of laying an additional duty on coarse manufactures of hemp, flax, and cotton.

This resolution produced a long desultory debate, which occupied the House the whole of the day, without coming to any decision upon it.

Mr. STANFORD, on the ground that the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures had already this subject under consideration, moved an indefinite postponement of the resolution.

This motion was negatived, 58 to 48.

Mr. KING proposed an amendment. He expressed himself friendly to the resolution of the gentleman from Tennessee, and to the encouragement of domestic manufactures generally. His amendment was in the following words:

"And also into the expediency of laying a duty on the importation of salt, with authority to report by bill or otherwise."