The CHAIR decided that the resolution was not susceptible of division.

Mr. ADAMS appealed from the decision of the Chair. After a few words by Messrs. ADAMS, PARKER, and HARRISON of Missouri,

Mr. GARLAND, of Louisiana, moved the previous question on the appeal.

Mr. ROBERTSON moved to lay the whole subject on the table.

Mr. HARLAN called for the yeas and nays, but the House refused to order them.

The motion to lay on the table was decided in the negative, without a division.

Mr. ADAMS then withdrew the appeal. Mr. RENCHER called for the yeas and nays on agreeing to the resolution; which were ordered.

Mr. EVANS renewed the appeal taken by Mr. ADAMS. Mr. ADAMS called for the yeas and nays on the appeal; which were not ordered, and the decision of the Chair was affirmed without a division.

The question was then taken on agreeing to the resolution, and decided in the affirmative: Yeas 111, nays

50.

TEXAS.

Mr. MASON, of Virginia, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, made a report in relation to the affairs of Texas, accompanied by the following resolutions:

1. Resolved, That the independence of Texas ought to be acknowledged by the United States, whenever satisfactory information has been received that it has in successful operation a civil Government, capable of performing the duties and fulfilling the obligations of an independent Power.

2. Resolved, That the House of Representatives perceive with satisfaction that the President of the United States has adopted measures to ascertain the political, military, and civil condition of Texas."

Mr. ADAMS moved to lay the report and resolutions on the table.

Mr. PINCKNEY called for the yeas and nays on this motion; which were ordered, and were: Yeas 40, 'nays 108. So the motion to lay on the table was decided in the negative.

Mr. PEYTON said this was a subject upon which he had a great desire to give his views, but they all knew that it would be impossible to discuss it at this late period of the session. For the first, and probably for the last time in his life, if it was not out of order for him to do such a thing, and if it would not be considered as interfering with the prerogative of any other gentleman, he demanded the previous question upon the adoption of the resolutions.

Mr. WILLIAMS, of North Carolina, thought it not necessary, and he therefore begged the gentleman from Tennessee to withdraw it.

Mr. PEYTON refused, on the ground that there was no time to discuss the subject.

The previous question was seconded: Ayes 80, noes not counted.

Mr. REED called for the yeas and nays on ordering the main question; which were not ordered, and the main question was ordered to be put.

Mr. HARDIN called for the yeas and nays on the main question; which were ordered.

Mr. ADAMS called for a division of the question. The question was taken on the first resolution, and was: Yeas 128, nays 20, as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Ash, Bell, Bockee, Bond, Bouldin, Boyd, Bunch, Bynum, J. Calhoon, W. B. Calhoun, Cambreleng, Carr, Carter, Casey, G. Chambers, Chaney, Chap. man, Chapin, N. H. Claiborne, Cleveland, Coffee, Coles, | Connor, Cushing, Cushman, Darlington, Denny, Dick

[H. of R.

erson, Doubleday, Dunlap, Forester, French, W. K. Fuller, Galbraith, J. Garland, R. Garland, Gillet, Granger, Griffin, Haley, J. Hall, Hamer, Hardin, Harlan, A. G. Harrison, Haynes, Henderson, Hiester, Hopkins, Howard, Hubley, Hunt, Huntington, Huntsman, Ingersoll, Ingham, J. Jackson, R. M. Johnson, C. Johnson, H. Johnson, J. W. Jones, Kinnard, Lane, Lawler, Lay, G. Lee, T. Lee, L. Lea, Lewis, Loyall, Lucas, Lyon, J. Mann, Martin, J. Y. Mason, W. Mason, Maury, May, McCarty, McKay, McKennan, McKim, McLene, Mercer, Miller, Milligan, Montgomery, Morgan, Morris, Muhlenberg, Owens, Page, Parker, Patterson, Patton, F. Pierce, Pettigrew, Peyton, Phelps, Pinckney, Rencher, John Reynolds, Ripley, Robertson, Rogers, Seymour, A. H. Shepperd, Shields, Shinn, Sickles, Sloane, Smith, Spangler, Standefer, Storer, Sutherland, Taliaferro, Thomas, J. Thomson, Toucey, Towns, Underwood, Ward, Washington, E. Whittlesey, T. T. Whittle. sey, L. Williams, S. Williams-128.

NAYS-Messrs. Adams, H. Allen, Bailey, Beale, Clark, Crane, Grennell, II. Hall, Hazeltine, Jarvis, Lawrence, Lincoln, Love, D. J. Pearce, Phillips, Potts, Reed, Russell, Slade, Vinton-20.

So the first resolution was adopted.

The question was then taken on the second resolution, and was: Yeas 113, nays 22, as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Ash, Beale, Bockee, Bond, Boyd, Bunch, Bynum, J. Calhoon, W. B. Calhoun, Cambreleng, Carr, Carter, Casey, G. Chambers, Chaney, Chapman, Chapin, N. H. Claiborne, J. F. H. Claiborne, Coffee, Connor, Cushing, Cushman, Denny, Dickerson, Dunlap, Farlan, Forester, French, W. K. Fuller, Galbraith, J. Garland, R. Garland, Gillet, Grayson, Haley, Hamer, Hardin, Harlan, A. G. Harrison, Haynes, Henderson, Hopkins, Howard, Hubley, Huntington, Huntsman, Ingersoll, J. Jackson, Jarvis, R. M. Johnson, C. Johnson, H. Johnson, J. W. Jones, Kinnard, Lane, Lawler, Lay, G. Lee, T. Lee, L. Lea, Lewis, Lucas, Lyon, J. Mann, Martin, W. Mason, Maury, May, McCarty, McKay, McKennan, McKim, McLene, Mercer, Miller, Montgomery, Morgan, Morris, Muhlenberg, Owens, Page, Patterson, F. Pierce, Pettigrew, Peyton, Phelps, John Reynolds, Ripley, Robertson, Rogers, Seymour, A. H. Shep. perd, Shields, Shinn, Sickles, Sloane, Smith, Spangler, Standefer, Storer, Taliaferro, Thomas, J. Thomson, Toucey, Towns, Underwood, Ward, Washington, E. Whittlesey, T. T. Whittlesey, L. Williams, S. Williams-113.

NAYS-Messrs. Adams, H. Allen, Bailey, Beaumont, Bouldin, Clark, Coles, Darlington, Grennell, H. Hall, Hazeltine, Hiester, Lawrence, Lincoln, Love, Milligan, D. J. Pearce, Phillips, Potts, Reed, Russell, Slade-22. So the second resolution was adopted.

The joint resolution adopted this morning having been returned from the Senate with the following amend ment: "Strike out all after the word 'suspended,' and insert so far as relates to such acts as have already passed both Houses, and have been signed by the presiding officers thereof.'"

Mr. THOMAS moved that the House concur.

Mr. JARVIS moved to except from the operation of this resolution the bill passed on Saturday night last, confirming the titles to certain land claims in the State of Missouri.

Mr. GARLAND, of Louisiana, demanded the previous question; which was seconded by the House: Yeas 87, nays 39.

Mr. JARVIS called for the yeas upon ordering the main question, but they were refused; and the main question was ordered.

Mr. BOND asked for the yeas and nays on the main question; but they were refused, and the amendment of the Senate was concurred in without a count.

Compensation to Messengers-Pay for Books, &c.

JAN. 12, 1836.]

Surplus Revenue.

SUPPLEMENTAL SPEECHES.

IN SENATE, THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 1836.
SURPLUS REVENUE.

The resolution offered yesterday by Mr. BENTON, being taken up for consideration, as follows:

Resolved, That the surplus revenue of the United States, and the dividends of stock receivable from the Bank of the United States, ought to be set apart and ap plied to the general defence and permanent security of the country. That the President be requested to cause the Senate to be informed of

1st. The probable amount that would be necessary for fortifying the lake, maritime, and gulf frontiers of the United States, and such points of the land frontier as may require permanent fortifications.

2d. The probable amount that would be necessary to construct an adequate number of armories and arsenals in the United States, and to supply the States with field artillery (especially brass field pieces) for their militia, and with side arms and pistols for their cavalry.

3d. The probable amount that would be necessary to supply the United States with the ordnance, arms, and munitions of war, which a proper regard to self-defence would require to be always on hand.

4th. The probable amount that would be necessary to place the naval defences of the United States (including the increase of the navy, navy yards, dock yards, and steam floating batteries) upon the footing of strength and respectability which is due to the security and to the welfare of the Union.

After Mr. BENTON had addressed the Senate,

Mr. WEBSTER said, I do not propose, sir, to discuss the subject of our affairs with France, which have been alluded to by the Senator from Missouri.

It is my

duty, however, to take care that neither in this House, nor out of this House, should an impression exist derogatory to the character, unfavorable to the diligence, or reproachful to the patriotism of this body. I remember the progress of the bill to which the Senator has referred, and I shall at a future day detail the incidents of its history, and the true reason of its loss; and will satisfy every one that the loss of it was not attributable to this body. The means of so doing are not, at present, all in my possession; nor can they be, according to the established rules of the Senate, until after we shall have been again engaged in executive business. I shall then dis charge this duty. I shall then show that neither the Senate, nor any one of its committees or officers, can be charged with the slightest dereliction of duty in regard to that bill.

Mr. LEIGH said he was not now going to enter upon the more interesting topics presented by the remarks of the gentleman from Missouri-those that related to pros pective measures for national defence; but there were some facts belonging to the history of the propositions of measures of that kind made at the last session which were matters of publicity, and which he thought it proper to take the first opportunity of stating.

In the first place, he said, he had a distinct recollection of the report made by the Committee on Military Affairs, mentioned by the gentleman from Missouri, which, it appeared by the journal, was made on the 18th of February, 1835; but he had no recollection that that report, VOL. XII.-290

and the resolution therein recommended, were ever called up for consideration, and he was at a loss to understand how or when that proposition was rejected by the Senate, as he understood the gentleman to say it was, un less it was incorporated in the general bill for appropritions for fortifications, which was lost in consequence of the difference between the two Houses, in respect to that bill, on the last night of the last session.

[Mr. BENTON was understood to say he believed he had himself withdrawn the proposition.]

Mr. LEIGH said that his attention was early attracted to the whole subject, and most anxiously directed to it, because the aspect of our affairs with France had struck him, from the first, as very serious, and because he had expected some recommendation, not from any individual or from any committee of the Senate or of the other House, but from the President himself, to strengthen the arm of national defence, as a precautionary measure against possible, and, as he supposed, probable contingencies. Such were his sentiments on the subject, that when the appropriation bills for the army, for the navy, and for fortifications, were first sent to the Senate from the other House, he went to the Secretary's table to examine the bills, in order to see whether any provisions were made or proposed, founded on or plainly referrible to an ap. prehension of serious collision with France suited to such a contingency, and calculated to put the nation in He found nothing of a state of security and defence. the kind in any of those bills; and he took upon himself to say that there was nothing that had respect to any possible interruption of our pacific relations with France or any other nation. He said that he himself had thought, and had said, as those with whom he was in the habit of familiar intercourse might perhaps remember, that some extraordinary appropriations were proper; and he was ready to vote for such appropriations, though in respect to the amount he had formed no opinion, having, in truth, no data on which he could form an opinion.

The general appropriation bills sent from the House of Representatives to the Senate, were, of course, immediately referred to our Committee on Finance. Such appropriation bills, he had remarked, generally came from the House in an imperfect form; that is, it generally occurred that some alterations, most usually additions, were required and proposed, in consequence of sugges tions made by the several Departments to the committee of the Senate, or by the members of the Senate themselves. The particular bill of appropriations for fortifications being referred to the Committee on Finance of the Senate, they reported it, with several amendments; they did not, according to his memory, propose to abate a single dollar from any appropriation provided in the bill from the House for any one object; they did not propose to dispense with appropriations for any one object. The amendments they proposed consisted (chiefly, if not entirely,) in proposing increased appropriations for objects provided for in the bill of the House, and in appropriations for new objects. He supposed, at the time, and he still believed, that these increased and additional appropriations were, for the most part, settled by the committee, upon consultation and conference with the executive department; but on that head he knew nothing. He referred to the chairman of the committee,

SENATE.]

Surplus Revenue.

[JAN. 12, 1836.

$500,000 for the naval service, and $300,000 for fortifica. tions. The Senate was informed of this agreement be tween the committees: but as the bill was in possession of the other House, we could not act on the report of our committee; and, though the House had asked this confer. ence, we heard nothing further from them on the sub. ject. We waited for a long time, some hours, with patience; and then sent a message to the House, remind

[Mr. WEBSTER,] who was able to correct him if he had fallen into any misapprehension in this respect. At present, he had only to state, positively, upon the authority of the journal of the Senate, that this bill of appropria. tions for fortifications was reported to the Senate by the Committee on Finance, and passed, with the amendments proposed and agreed to, as early as the 24th February. From that day, the bill remained in the House of Representatives until the 3d of March, without anying them of the conference; no answer came. It became action on it there; without any notice of it, at least in any way communicated or known to the Senate; and without the least apprehension (he believed) on the part of any member of the Senate, that any thing at all new or important was intended to be proposed.

The Senate commenced its evening session on the 3d of March (as it appeared by the journal) at five o'clock. The other House had had this important bill in its possession from the 24th of February; and it was not until after five o'clock of the last day of the session that it was returned to the Senate, with the following memorable amendment, (among others,) proposed as an amendment to one of our amendments:

"And be it further enacted, That the sum of $3,000,000 be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be expended, in whole or in part, under the direction of the President of the United States, for the military and naval service, including fortifications and ordnance, and increase of the navy; provided such expenditures shall be rendered necessary for the defence of the country prior to the next meeting of the Senate."

The bill, with the amendments proposed by the other House, was promptly, Mr. L. believed instantaneously, taken up. Upon this particular amendment a short but very animated debate ensued. The opposition to it was founded, principally, on constitutional grounds. It was objected that it was, in fact, a general vote of money to the Executive for the defence of the nation, to be used at his absolute, unlimited discretion; that the proposed appropriation was not sufficiently specific; that the amendment would place this large sum of money in the President's hands, with power to apply every dollar of it to whatever arm of the national defence he thought proper, and to judge when defence would be proper; in other words, to determine the question of war or peace. The objection was not so much to the amount, though no estimates had been laid before us, and we had no data on which we could judge of the reasonableness of the sppropriation. Nor was the objection rested on any distrust of the Executive in the exercise of such a discretion: the objections chiefly relied on would equally have applied to such a vote of money to any Chief Magistrate whatever.

On the strength of these objections, the Senate disagreed to the amendment. The bill was returned to the other House, which insisted on the amendment, and very quickly sent the bill back to us. We then adhered to our disagreement. And upon this the House asked a conference, which was agreed to.

By this time (Mr. LEIGH said) it had been intimated to him that an idea was entertained that the session would necessarily terminate at twelve o'clock; and thus his attention was called to the time at which the committee of conference on the part of the Senate left the chamber; it was, by his watch, not the clock, about fifteen minutes before eleven; and the committee returned to the Senate between fifteen and twenty minutes after eleven. There was, therefore, ample time (if his watch had not deceiv ed him) to have acted on the report of the committe of conference, even supposing the session necessarily terminated at midnight.

The committees agreed in the conference that there should be additional appropriations, in specific terms, of

at last apparent that the House intended to do no other business; at least, none in co-operation with us; and, therefore, the Senate adjourned.

Mr. LEIGH said he had thought it proper to give this history of the facts, according to his recollection of them; he believed it was correct and accurate. It was not his purpose, at present, to make any commentary on them, or to deduce any inferences from them. Why or how it happened that the result of the conference was not reported to the House of Representatives-why or how that House was induced to suffer a bill of that importance to be lost by its own inaction, Mr. LEIGH said he did not pretend to know; he had heard something, and he had his suspicions or conjectures: but it was not proper of decent, it would be disorderly, to say what he suspected.

Mr. PRESTON. The gentleman from Virginia, who has just addressed the Senate, has given us a clear, and, I believe, a correct statement of the proceedings of the last session in reference to the appropriation bills; but, sir, I do not feel myself called upon to explain the vote which I then gave. It wants no apology—it was given because the appropriation of three millions, proposed to be placed within the control of the Executive, was unauthorized, unconstitutional, and dangerous. Sir, if, instead of the vague and indefinite rumors of war which have been alluded to, the war had actually come, and our seaboard had been ravaged, I should not repent of my vote. The responsibility would have been, where it now is, upon the Executive, who shrunk from his duty in calling upon Congress for appropriations which were necessary, and specifying their application. What was that most extraordinary transaction? At the end of the last session, when the table was loaded with unfinished business; when every thing was crowded upon us; at midnight of the last night, that appropriation sprung upon us, no one knew whence or by whom. Sir, at no time, much less at such a time, are we called upon for legislation of this kind, without receiving from the heads of Departments all the information which it may be in their power to afford. They are bound to assume the responsibility of such measures-a responsibility which I was not then, and am not now, disposed to release them from.

The Senator from Missouri, sir, has submitted a resolution authorizing the application of the public money to purposes of general security and defence. He asks for the appropriation of the twenty-five or thirty millions of money, to be applied to objects which are not specifi cally indicated; and he requires it, too, at the very time when two important measures, that of the Senator from Kentucky, and that of my colleague, are already be

fore us.

Without, as the gentleman says, any immediate or pressing occasion, he has brought forward a resolu tion making the largest appropriation ever asked for at any one time, either in peace or war, and then, by a strangely inverted order, a resolution asking how much is required. He demands that the thirty millions be given, and then institutes an inquiry whether it be wanted. If the Executive says five millions are sufficient, what becomes of the residue? In order of time, the resolu tion of inquiry should be acted on first. If we make the appropriation, the inquiry is useless; if we make the inquiry, the appropriation is out of time.

The gentleman proposes a heavy appropriation for the