FORTIFICATIONS.

The next bill on its third reading was the following: A BILL making appropriations for certain fortifications of the United States, for the year 1834.

Be it enacted, &c., That the following sums be, and the same are hereby, appropriated, to be paid out of any unappropriated money in the treasury, for certain fortifications, viz:

For the preservation of Castle island, and repair of Fort Independence, thirty-four thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight dollars and eighty cents.

For a fort on George's Island, one hundred thousand

For Fort Monroe, fifteen thousand dollars.

For Fort Calhoun, one hundred and twenty thousand dollars.

For fortifications in Charleston harbor, fifty thousand dollars.

For the fort at Cockspur Island, Georgia, eighty-two thousand dollars.

For completing a fort at Pensacola, forty thousand dollars. For a fort on Foster's Bank, Florida, fifty thousand dollars.

For a fort at Grand Terre, Louisiana, fifty thousand dollars.

For contingencies of fortifications, ten thousand dollars. For completing Fort Macon, repairing the wharf and dike, and for the protection of the site of that work, seven thousand dollars.

Mr. McDUFFIE regretted that he had been prevented, by indisposition, from opposing this bill in its progress through the House. It contained appropriations for four or five new fortifications. He had given notice two years since that he should oppose appropriating for any new works; and now, in the spirit of fairness, he would move that the bill be recommitted to the Committee of Ways and Means. No new forts should be built till we were at least able to arm and man those already erected.

FEB. 19, 1834.

Mr. McDUFFIE further urged his motion. He disclaimed any intention of abandoning the fortifications of the country; but the system, with a few exceptions, was now complete, and Congress had resolved, as he understood, to go no farther at present. The appropriation of last year had been $600,000; that proposed for this year was $900,000. It was not for him to exhort the Committee of Ways and Means to take care of the treas. ury. But when Congress were told, from high authority, that it was doubtful whether the Government would make both ends meet-when a recommendation the most extraordinary that had ever been addressed to such a body— he would not say in a republican Government, but even in a monarchy-had been addressed to that House by the President, not to waste the people's money, but to be economical in the use of it-to have such a commentary on the exhortation at the same moment presented, adding fifty per cent. to the public expenditure in this branch of it, was almost as extraordinary as the admonition itself. If economy and retrenchment were to be any thing more than mere names, he trusted that such a measure would not be sanctioned.

Mr. POLK replied, and further explained. If these sums were not granted, what had been expended must go to loss.

Mr. SELDEN advocated the item for the fortification on Throg's Neck; explained the exposed situation of the city of New York on the side of the Sound, and the sufficiency of that fortress to defend the pass. Frigates of a large size had passed Hurlgate; and it was the opinion of one of our most distinguished naval commanders that, at a favorable state of the tide, even a seventy-four might go through. Large sums had been spent to defend the other avenue to the city, but in vain, if this were left unprotected.

Mr. WAYNE, admitting the good intentions of Mr. MCDUFFIE, corrected him in some of his facts. The sum appropriated last year had been over $800,000; that in this bill was a little under $900,000. He adverted to the sum provided for the fort in Boston Bay, and hoped it would not be suspended when in progress. What end could be answered by recommitting the bill, unless a blow was intended at some one of the works provided for? Hands and materials were collected, and great loss must accrue unless the works went on.

Mr. GORHAM explained the localities of Boston Bay, its inner and outer harbor, and the need of the fortress proposed.

Mr. BARRINGER concurred in the views of the gentleman from South Carolina; but, having examined the fortification bill of last year, he found that there had been Mr. HALL, of North Carolina, said he should vote for preparatory appropriations for the works proposed to be the recommitment; not, perhaps, precisely for the same appropriated for in this bill. He rose, however, to state reasons that some others did, but because he was really a fact which had been ascertained by Colonel Drayton, and thoroughly a retrenchment man; and, in saying this, when at the head of the Military Committee, viz: that, at he meant not the slightest reflection on any one. But the present rate of appropriating $100,000 a year for the gentlemen had spoken of retrenchment. He was willing arming of our fortifications, those already built would not to go with them, not only upon this bill-this particular be armed under forty years. Mr. Drayton, he said, had case-but all others where it was proper. He would go moved the House to double the annual sum; but the with the gentleman from New York [Mr. SELDEN] to the House had refused, though that very session they appro- Blue Book, as he had alluded to that as a proper object. priated $800,000 for new works. This did not look like Mr. H. said this was a very good ground to stand upon. that wise foresight which ought to guide the legislation of It might not be critically correct to say a good ground on a great nation. which to raise a superstructure of retrenchment, but it Mr. POLK replied and explained. The bill did not was a good ground to stand upon to carry into effect very contain appropriations for a single new work. He refer- large retrenchments. But he would tell the gentleman red to the particulars of the last year's bill to prove that that it was very inadequate. It was entirely useless to for some of those works $25,000, and for others $50,000 expect any great or beneficial results from attempting had been appropriated. The sums in the present bill to cut off a little here and a little there. He had learned, corresponded with the estimates from the War Depart- from long experience and observation, through a term of It was not for the Committee of Ways and Means between fifteen and twenty years that he had been a to presume, as of course, that the House was going to member of the House, the utter futility of attempting to change its settled policy in reference to the fortifying of lop off the branches piecemeal; the only remedy was to the country. Mr. P. called for the reading of commu- go at once to the main body of the evil. Reduce the nications from the Secretary of War and from the en- revenue; this was the only remedy. Sir, (said he,) I am gineers. willing to lop off the branches as I go along; but I am for

ment.

FEB. 20, 21, 1834.]

Death of Mr. Wirt-Correction of the Journal.

[H. OF R.

going to the source of the evil, to the body and soul of mains to the tomb. It is not my intention to pronounce the mischief. And I repeat, that I am convinced, from a eulogium-an unnecessary eulogium on the deceased; what I have seen and experienced, that so long as we have but I may be permitted to speak of his urbanity of mana surplus revenue, we shall continue to scramble for and ners, his fidelity to his friendship, his gentleness of disapply it to purposes many of them entirely valueless or position, his benevolence of heart, and of those eminent mischievous. As to the bill now under consideration, he literary attainments which have shed so bright a lustre on had said he should vote for the recommitment, because his country. be believed that many (he would by no means say all) of the objects were entirely unnecessary.

It is due to the exalted merits, to the virtues, and to the purity of mind and heart of the lamented and illustrious dead Mr. HARPER, of Pennsylvania, defended the appro- that some signal mark of public respect should be awarded priation for Fort Delaware. He adverted with much earn- to his name. To us, in Virginia, where the prime of his estness to the defenceless state of the whole Delaware river, life was passed, and where his example can have, as it has since the burning of the late fort and the decay of Fort had, the most beneficial effects, the honor rendered to Mifflin; and dwelt on the evil of leaving the city of Phila-him will be the more peculiarly gratifying. delphia liable to be laid in ashes by any enterprising foe.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.
And the House adjourned.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21.

When the SPEAKER had called the House to orderMr. ADAMS, of Massachusetts, addressed him, before the reading of the journal, as follows:

Mr. BROWN said he was willing to give his vote for the bill under consideration, if the state of the revenue would admit such an expenditure of the public money without any serious embarrassment to the treasury. He would vote for the bill, not because a portion of the money was to be expended in the State of New York, which he had the honor in part to represent on this floor; nor would he vote for it because it contained an appropriation for Mr. Speaker: A rule of this House directs that the the harbor of Boston, or the mouth of the Delaware; but Speaker shall examine and correct the journal before it he would do so because it was a part of our great system is read. I therefore now rise, not to make a motion, nor of public defence, provided and projected for the security to offer a resolution, but to ask the unanimous consent of and defence of the whole country. Before he did vote this House to address to you a few words, with a view to for the bill, however, he should be glad to have some in- an addition which I wish to be made to the journal, of the formation from honorable gentlemen upon the Committee adjournment of the House yesterday.

of Ways and Means as to the probable state of the reve- The Speaker, I presume, would not feel himself aunue. We had been admonished by the President in his thorized to make the addition in the journal which I pro. annual message to be cautious of making unnecessary ap- pose, without the unanimous consent of the House; and I propriations of the public money. Our revenue laws had therefore now propose it before the reading of the journal. undergone a very recent and very important change; and| I ask that, after the statement of the adjournment of the effect of such a change upon the treasury was a sub- the House, there be added to the journal words importject of uncertainty, if not anxiety. He therefore thought ing that it was to give the Speaker and members of the that the suggestion which had fallen from the honorable House an opportunity of attending the funeral obsequies gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. McDUFFIE] entitled of William Wirt. to the serious consideration of the House. If there was At the adjournment of the House on Wednesday, I did to be any considerable falling off in the receipts of the rev-not know what the arrangements were, or would be, for enue for the coming year, he thought this very bill, above that mournful ceremony. Had I known them, I should all others, making appropriations, should be drawn with have moved a postponed adjournment, which would have reference to that deficiency; and before he was called enabled us to join in the duty of paying the last tribute upon to vote for its final passage, he hoped that the of respect to the remains of a man who was an ornament House would be put in possession of the views of the of his country and of human nature. Committee of Ways and Means upon the subject of the revenue for the coming year.

The customs of this and of the other House of Congress warrant the suspension of their daily labors in the Mr. E. EVERETT further advocated the defence of public service, for attendance upon funeral rites, only in Boston Harbor. The inner basin was already defended, but cases of the decease of their own members. To extend not at the cost of the General Government. The United the usage farther might be attended with inconvenience States had expended nothing in the defence of so im- as a precedent; nor should I have felt myself warranted portant a point as Boston. As to the objection of Mr. in asking it upon any common occasion. MCDUFFIE, Mr. E. was in favor of arming all the fortresses, and had endeavored to increase the annual provision for that purpose, but without success. But their unarmed state was no good argument against erecting

new works which were needed.

On motion of Mr. BRIGGS,

The House adjourned, before any question was taken on

the bill.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20.

DEATH OF MR. WIRT.

Mr. Wirt had never been a member of either House of Congress. But if his form in marble, or his portrait upon canvass, were placed within these walls, a suitable inscription for it would be that of the statue of Moliere in the hall of the French Academy-"Nothing was wanting to his glory; he was wanting to ours."

Mr. Wirt had never been a member of Congress; but for a period of twelve years, during two successive administrations of the National Government, he had been the official and confidential adviser, upon all questions of law, of the Presidents of the United States; and he had discharged the duties of that station entirely to the After the reading of the journal, satisfaction of those officers and of the country. No Mr. MASON, of Virginia, rose and said: Mr. Speaker, member of this House needs to be reminded how importit has become my melancholy duty to advert to a recent ant are the duties of the Attorney General of the United dispensation which has deprived the bar and the country of States, nor risk I contradiction in affirming that they were one of the greatest ornaments of both: I allude to the never more ably or more faithfully discharged than by death of William Wirt! The funeral ceremony takes Mr. Wirt.

place this day, and it is the wish of many members of this If a mind stored with all the learning appropriate to House to pay that tribute of respect to his memory which the profession of the law, and decorated with all the eleall feel to be due-the accompanying of his mortal re-gance of classical literature-if a spirit imbued with the

H. OF R.]

Case of Susan Decatur.

[FEB. 21, 1834.

sensibilities of a lofty patriotism, and chastened by the me- stances of the exploit, to reward which the bill was reditations of a profound philosophy-if a brilliant imagina- ported. Mr. P. then went into the consideration of a tion, a discerning intellect, a sound judgment, an inde- constitutional objection which had formerly been urged fatigable capacity, and vigorous energy of application, in opposition to the bill. He next explained and defendvivified with an ease and rapidity of elocution, copious ed the disposition of the reward among the claimants; without redundance, and select without affectation-if all and closed with a warm and merited commendation of the these, united with a sportive vein of humor, an inoffen- valor and enterprise of Commodore Decatur. sive temper, and an angelic purity of heart-if all these, in their combination, are the qualities suitable for an Attorney General of the United States, in him they were all eminently combined.

Mr. GRAYSON said he hoped the bill would pass. Its object was to reward an action of the highest merit, to pay a debt unquestionably just. It was, indeed, not a little surprising that the settlement of a claim so strong as that But it is not my purpose to pronounce his eulogy. for which the bill provides should have been solicited so That pleasing task has been assigned to abler hands, and long and so earnestly in vain. He was reminded that this to a more suitable occasion. He will there be presented had been the case by recollecting that the claim received in other, though not less interesting lights. As the pe- many years ago the support of a gentleman, who then netrating delineator of manners and character in the occupied the seat which he has the honor to hold, and British Spy-as the biographer of Patrick Henry, dedi- who has been at all times distinguished for the generous cated to the young men of your native commonwealth-ardor with which he embraced any cause which met his as the friend and delight of the social circle-as the hus- support, and for the talent and zeal with which he susband and father in the bosom of a happy, but now most tained it. Since that time, the case of the petitioners had afflicted family-in all these characters I have known, ad- been pressed upon Congress by gentlemen of the highest mired, and loved him; and now, witnessing, from the ability. It was sustained by the clearest testimony. It very windows of this hall, the last act of piety and affec- rested upon facts which make a part of our history. And tion over his remains, I have felt as if this House could yet, from some unfortunate difference of opinion on the scarcely fulfil its high and honorable duties to the country details of the bill, the widows and children of the claimwhich he had served, without some slight, be it but a ants have been again and again disappointed in their hopes. transient, notice of his decease. The addition which I He had said that the claim rested on facts which make propose to the journal, of yesterday's adjournment, would a part of our history. He would not relate them. The be such a notice. It would give his name an honorable gentleman who introduced the bill had done them ample place on the recorded annals of his country, in a manner justice. We must all agree with him that the action was equally simple and expressive. I will only add that, while one of the most heroic character-that the capture of the I feel it peculiarly incumbent upon me to make this pro- Philadelphia frigate, secured as she was supposed to be posal, I am sensible that it is not a fit subject for debate; under the guns of the Tripolitan forts, in the midst of the and, if objected to, I desire you to consider it as withdrawn. Tripolitan fleet, by a handful of men, in a vessel no The CHAIR stated that the rule, in reference to the larger than a fishing boat, was an exploit not surpassed in journal which had been read, referred to the duties of the the history of this or of any other country. It was one of Speaker when out of the chair, not in it. The Speaker those happy combinations of sagacity to plan, and courage had not felt himself warranted to insert any further record to execute, and success in the execution, which can very in the journal of yesterday than the simple fact of the adjournment: but if it was the pleasure of the House that the clause proposed should be added, the Chair would most cheerfully assent.

Mr. J. K. MANN, of Pennsylvania, objectingMr. BLAIR, of South Carolina, inquired whether the pleasure of the House could be obstructed by the objection of a single member?

The CHAIR said that, if a motion should be made, a majority of the House could, of course, have their journal modified to suit their own pleasure.

Mr. ADAMS then observed, that he had hoped no objection would have been made; but as it seemed not to be sustained by the general sense of the House, he would renew his motion that the clause he had read be added to the journal ofyesterday's proceedings.

The question being put, it was agreed to without a division, (by nearly a unanimous vote.)

PUBLIC DEPOSITES.

rarely occur, because they require the coincidence of great good fortune with all that can be done by talent and resolution.

And was the glory of this achievement its only advantage? It was productive of the most substantial benefits; it hastened the termination of a troublesome and expensive war, carried on many thousand miles distant from home; it released from a dungeon the officers and crew of the Philadelphia; it relieved this nation from a disgraceful tribute to pirates. It did much more; it gave a permanent rank and influence to our navy and country among those barbarous and piratical hordes of the Mediterranean. Until that time, our flag was unknown among them; the star of our national banner had not yet risen in that region; the commerce of our country was indebted for protection to the courtesy of other nations. But, from that time forward, no ship was safer in those seas than the ships of the American merchant. They were guarded by the glory of this exploit. The very name of Decatur, like that of a more ancient warrior in those eastern countries, acquired the power to awe those rapacious and ferocious hordes into permanent peace.

The House then resumed the consideration of the resolution moved by Mr. MARDIS, directing the attention of the Committee of Ways and Means to certain propo We cannot easily estimate the good effects of this wholesitions concerning the deposite and custody of the public some terror--the thousands which it saved to the commermoney; and Mr. M. continued his argument in sup-cial industry of this country--the hundreds of brave seaport of his motion until the arrival of the hour of one men whom it preserved from the chains and lash of baro'clock; when the House passed to the orders of the day, barian taskmasters. Neither was its influence of transiert and took up the bill for the relief of

SUSAN DECATUR.

This bill was, as heretofore whenever before the House, the subject of a protracted discussion.

| duration. When, during the late war, the attention of this nation was occupied by a powerful enemy, the States of Barbary committed some depredations on our commerce. It became necessary, in 1816, to demand reparation, and to chastise the delinquents. It was enough that CommoMr. PATTON, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, dore Decatur commanded the fleet to produce a speedy opened the case on behalf of Mrs. Decatur, and the other settlement of all difficulties. The salutary awe produced persons concerned, and went into a detail of the circum- by the exploits for which we are now asking a tardy re

FEB. 24, 1834.]

Bangor Memorial.

[H. of R.

ward remained yet undiminished in the minds of the mated the hearts of men in battle. They have bequeathed Tripolitans. their rights to their widows and orphans. These are now Such, sir, was the glory, the immediate advantage, the waiting at your doors. They ask for your sympathy, your permanent benefit resulting from the capture of the Phila- liberality, your justice. It is hoped they will not ask them delphia. And what is the objection to rewarding this ac- in vain. tion as others of a similar nature have been rewarded? By He would add nothing to the remarks made as to the a somewhat singular fatality, the objection arises from cir- distribution of the sum to be appropriated. It had been cumstances which add to the merit of the exploit. In the made by the committee, in conformity with the judgment midst of the most brilliant success, the brave men who ob- of distinguished naval officers, and with what was believed tained it did not forget their duty. The frigate might have to be the equity of the rule. been preserved: she might have been carried out of the Mr. CRANE, though not opposed to the appropriation harbor of Tripoli. But they had been ordered to destroy of the sum proposed, objected strongly to the proportions her, and she was burnt. If the Philadelphia had been pre- in which the money was to be shared. The bill assigned served, according to the prize laws then existing, the cap- to the commander the lion's share. In such an expedi tors would have been entitled to her value. She was not tion, the services of the men were of great value, and preserved, in consequence of the orders of the command- they ought to receive in analogy to the provisions of the ing officer of the squadron. The capture was completed; prize law. the ship was in the possession of Captain Decatur and his Mr. PARKER replied, and defended the bill. He increw; the enemy were killed or driven into the sea, when sisted that the great glory of this exploit lay in_the_chivshe was virtually taken out of the possession of the captors alry and enthusiasm of the officer who planned and conby the command of the officer who represented this Gov-ducted the expedition. The men, by this bill, would get ernment and nation. The ship's not being preserved pro- twice what they would have been entitled to under the ceeded not from the conquerors, but from the authority of prize law, had the vessel been brought out. this Government. It was in obedience to the command of Mr. CRANE replied; and this nation, delivered through the proper officer, that De- Mr. PARKER rejoined. catur and his crew destroyed the trophy of their victory, and the certain guaranty of their reward. And shall we punish them for having done their duty? Shall we refuse to pay them for having obeyed their orders? Shall we place them in a worse condition for having set an example even more important to the character of our rising navy than the brilliant exploit which they had just achieved--an example of strict subordination and complete obedience to their commanding officer? Are we prepared to say that, having obeyed their orders and destroyed the Philadelphia, they shall lose the reward which they would have obtained had they disregarded their orders and preserved the ship?

Mr. CHILTON then made a very animated speech, in opposition to the bill, and alluded to the grounds of debate on former occasions. He argued that Decatur had received the highest reward, in promotion, fame, and fortune; and that he never in his lifetime had thought of urging any such claim.

On motion of Mr. HAWES, the committee then rose, reported progress, and had leave to sit again.

Mr. WHITTLESEY, of Ohio, asked leave to make a motion for granting the use of the hall, on Tuesday evening next, to the Congressional Temperance Society. Mr. HAWES objecting

Mr. WHITTLESEY moved to suspend the rule; which was carried, ayes 98, noes 19; and the motion was then made, and agreed to.

Mr. THOMAS, of Louisiana, observed, that to-morrow was the 22d, a day when it was not usual for public bodies to sit. He therefore wished to move that the House, when it did adjourn, would adjourn to Monday next.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24.

But it may be said that the frigate could not have been preserved. If this was the case, it must have been owing to the intrinsic difficulties of the enterprise, to her situation under the guns of the castle of Tripoli, and within reach of the Tripolitan gunboats. And if we reject the claim now made, we shall establish the singular rule, that, exactly as the difficulty and danger of the enterprise increased, the chances of reward for success were diminished. Objection being made, he moved for the suspension of It was not in this spirit that Congress legislated during the rule. It was suspended accordingly--ayes 114, noes the late war. They passed laws not extending to cases si- 7; and thereupon the House adjourned over to Monday. milar to that of the Philadelphia, but beyond them. They paid for captured vessels destroyed, not at the command of a superior officer, but at the discretion of the conqueror. Every ship taken from the enemy has been paid for, whether destroyed or preserved. These were destroyed, as the captor judged it expedient; the Philadelphia, at the command of a superior officer. In all the conflicts of the late war, there was nearly an equality of force between our own vessels and those of the enemy. In the capture of the Philadelphia, there was an immense disparity of force. The nation has paid for the Java and Guerriere, taken and sunk by vessels of equal or superior force, with crews of four hundred men; and will they refuse to pay for the Philadelphia, captured and burnt by seventy men, in a vessel of sixty tons?

MEMORIAL FROM BANGOR, MAINE.

Mr. PARKS presented the proceedings and a memorial adopted at a meeting of citizens of Bangor, in the State of Maine, praying that the charter of the Bank of the United States may be renewed, with modifications; or that another bank may be incorporated, which shall be the depository of the public money.

On presenting this memorial, Mr. P. addressed the Chair as follows:

Mr. Speaker: I am requested to present a memorial, report, and resolutions, adopted at a meeting convened, it is said, without distinction of party, in the town of BanIf we were called upon to select from our naval history gor, in Maine, and which memorial is signed by two hun(rich as that history is in gallant achievements) any one ac-dred and eighty-eight inhabitants of said town, praying tion which more than any other would deserve the rewards for a recharter of the present Bank of the United States; and honors due to brave men for services rendered to their or that another, on similar principles, may be chartered. country, there is not one which would deserve to be named Before, sir, passing this memorial to the Chair, there in preference to the destruction of the Philadelphia frigate; and yet it is the only one which has not been rewarded. Let this odious distinction be abolished; let this stain on the justice of the nation be wiped away. Many of the brave officers and crew are dead--among them, their gal The town, sir, from which this memorial comes, has, lant commander. A nobler spirit never cheered or ani-for a number of years past, been progressing in a state

are a few observations which I feel myself called upon to make, not only on the subject-matter of the papers themselves, but as regards the relation in which I stand to the petitioners.

H. OF R.]

Bangor Memorial.

[FEB. 24, 1834.

of flourishing prosperity, such as has seldom been equal- were, for the first time, made known. Wealth, populaed, never surpassed, in New England. It now contains, tion, enterprise of every character, flowed in upon us; sir, six thousand people, all actively engaged in commer- every thing seemed, as if touched by Midas, to be turned cial pursuits, and in the various avocations incident to gold. This state of things has continued to the presthereto. It is from a town so circumstanced that this ent hour; so that, instead of suffering, a state of actual memorial, signed by two hundred and eighty-eight only prosperity has existed, such as I never saw before, and of its citizens, comes. had never supposed to be capable of existing. In such a It is professed, Mr. Speaker, that the meeting where state of affairs, a population, composed principally of acthis memorial was got up was called without distinction tive, enterprising young men, would naturally, with new of party. It is no doubt true, sir, that it was so called; inducements daily opening before them, extend their opebut it is not true that it was so attended. It was a politi-rations to the full extent of their means and credit. No cal meeting, got up for political purposes, and attended evil has yet resulted from this state of things; it has been by one political party only. I will not undertake to say, supported by the ample resources which have been hoursir, that no man was there who ever gave a vote in favor ly developed; and, sir, the probability is, that those will of the administration. There are, sir, in every community still support it. But there is always danger lest some, where political parties run high, some few persons with-in such a state of affairs, should overtrade; therefore, it out any fixed opinions, who are always vacillating from is not impossible, although improbable, that some of the one party to another, as the one or other may, to them, fears entertained by these memorialists may be wellseem to preponderate in power and strength. That some grounded. such persons, who may have occasionally given a vote In the next place, sir, these memorialists go on to say, to the administration, were present and acting on that that even if there had been any pressure among them, occasion, I do not deny. But, sir, I do deny that any they should not have known what cause to have assigned for one firm friend of the administration was present acting it; whether it was the conduct of the bank, or the course there. Sir, the attempt was made to give this meeting of the President. The committee even say that that was a the appearance of being what it purports to be, "without question upon which they differed so much, that they distinction of party," by putting on to a committee three concluded to leave it as they found it. So, sir, with regentlemen, friends of the administration, whom I am glad gard to the question whether the bank has forfeited its to call such, and with whom I am always proud to act. charter, whether it has fulfilled its duty to the country or I have before me one of the daily papers of that town, not: all these questions, and others of a similar character, in which those gentlemen state that their names were they conclude to leave undecided; and yet, Mr. Speaker, made use of without their knowledge or consent; and they ask this Congress to recharter a bank whose conduct, they add, that "they regret that any of their fellow-citi- according to their own account of it, may well be considzens are disposed to countenance or approve of the course ered a matter of doubt and suspicion. pursued by the United States Bank, in its unhallowed attempts to perpetuate its power by its oppression; and that they can never lend their aid, however feeble, to aggravate the public distress which that institution is attempting every where to produce.'

There is one other matter here, Mr. Speaker, to which I wish to allude. In the papers, sir, which I am about to present, immediate action is asked for. The memorialists, sir, and the persons who attended that meeting, are most faithful and thorough-going party men; they live, sir,

So much, sir, with regard to its being without distinc-in a remote quarter of the Union, and we are now receivtion of party.

ing from them the echo of the petition of the advocates of the bank on the floor of this House, at the commencement of the session, asking for action, action-no matter what it might be. Sir, had the persons who got up that meeting and this memorial known that the friends of the bank on this floor had changed their course of policy, and that they had from the beginning of the session voted against action, and for some time past ceased to ask for it, these same persons, sir, who have here asked for action would have begged for delay, investigation, debate, till doomsday; and in so doing would have acted with no more inconsistency than their friends upon this floor.

One subject more, Mr. Speaker, and I have done; and that, sir, is of so extraordinary a character, coming from the source it does, that I must ask leave of the House to read the resolution to which I refer. It is as follows:

Allow me now, sir, to call the attention of the House to some of the statements and admissions in the report and resolutions. In the first place, these petitioners say, and very truly so, that there has been no unusual pressure in Bangor; that there have been no failures, but such as might have happened in ordinary times. Sir, from the very nature of the business of Bangor, it is impossible there could have been any pressure of a very serious nature there. The principal of the business of that place is the lumber trade; the lumber is cut in the winter, brought down the river in the spring, manufactured, and sent to market during the summer. During the winter season, nature lays a very effectual embargo on the foreign commerce of that port, by closing the river for miles below with ice. The goods, therefore, which are wanted for the winter consumption are brought there in the fall; and Resolved, That the custody and control of the public no payments, to any amount, are either expected or prom- money was never intended by the constitution to be inised to be made until the produce of their winter's work trusted exclusively to the President of the United States; is ready to be shipped for market in the spring and sum-and when they considered this power in connexion with mer. But these memorialists state further, that, although the extraordinary military power granted to that officer by there has been no pressure as yet, they fear there may be. Congress last session, slight memorials indeed seemed to I am not, sir, entirely without apprehension of that event remain, either in the people or in the States, of freedom, myself; but, sir, there are other causes to which, if such sovereignty, and independence." an event happens, I can ascribe it, as well as to the removal of the deposites, or to the deranged state of the currency. Until within a very few years, Mr. Speaker, the immense resources for trade and enterprise, of every description, which are to be found in the Penobscot section of Maine, appear to have been passed by unheeded and unknown. It appeared that, as if by magic, the veil which had hitherto concealed them from the eyes of men had suddenly been lifted, and as if all the advantages and opportunities for enterprise, which were so abundant,

And this resolution, Mr. Speaker, has been adopted by men who are consolidationists, who last year claimed the President as their President; the very men, sir, who defended and insisted upon exclusively justifying and supporting that very grant of power, as an act based upon the principles of the party to which they belong. Sir, my feeble voice was drowned among the shouts of triumph which they uttered. “Redeunt saturnia regna” was their cry then. But there has been, sir, a wonderful change of opinion in these people on this subject within a very