understand that they were entertained, and, being entertained, that they were to be obeyed, without even the condescension of being made known? It is a pity that such views were kept locked up in the executive bosom, which were to have come in aid of so important an object. It is to be lamented that they did not burst the bars that confined them, that they might have shed their light here. Such intelligence was wanted; it was asked for. He distinctly remembered that the venerable Senator from Tennessee, [Mr. WHITE,] and the Senator from Massachusetts, [Mr. WEBSTER,] and probably others, but those two he well remembered, said, each in his place, that if the President would inform the Senate that three millions were wanting for the public service, and would cause to be specified the sums for the respective objects, they were ready to give it; and they went further, and said, if the heads of Departments would say that amount was wanted, and state the sum that was to be applied to each, they were ready to vote it-but the intelligence came not at all; it was too closely penned up in the executive bosom to escape, and the unsanctioned call was rejected.

He would now take a brief review of the history of this transaction, not wishing to consume unnecessarily the time of the Senate, that the world, to whom it is to be made known, may more accurately understand it. The fortification bill, as it is called, came first from the House to the Senate at an advanced period of the session, after being duly deliberated on in the House of Repre sentatives, as we are bound to presume. Much addition was made to the bill by the Committee on Finance here, for defence, which passed the Senate on the 24th February, and was returned to the House. Nothing more was heard of it here until the night of the last day of the session, on the 3d of March, when the bill came back to us, containing an additional appropriation of three millions of dollars, as a contingent fund, without any specification. This was so large and so extraordinary a demand upon the public treasury, so suddenly and so unexpectedly made, at the very heel of the session, that it met with a powerful and effective opposition; and, after rejection in the Senate, and being insisted on in the House, a conference was had, the bill being then in the House, and on conference it was determined that an additional half million should be granted for increasing the navy, and three hundred thousand dollars more for equipping fortifications, amounting in all to eight hundred thousand dollars. The Senate's committee returned from the conference, and reported the result to the Senate, who waited to the end of the session in vain to hear from the House of Representatives; but the committee of the House, which had the bill in possession, did not report the result of the conference to the House,

and there the bill died.

It is for this, sir, that the Senator from Missouri has taken occasion to frame his unfounded accusation against the Senate for a dereliction of duty little short of treason. It is somewhat inexplicable, after all the estimates for expenditure for the year had been sent in, and more than gratified, that, at almost the last hour of the session, a call should be made upon them for three millions of dollars, without a particle of information to show why or wherefore, without the slightest intimation from the head of the Government, or from any of the executive officers, that the money was wanting or would be useful. And why, he asked again, if the money was really wanting for the public service, was the necessary information not given? Was the source of authority so difficult of access that it could not be got at? Nothing was more easy. The President himself, accompanied by the heads of Departments, was under the same roof with ourselves; he was in an adjoining room in this Capitol all the time; a message might have

[JAN. 12, 1836.

been procured from him, if it had been his pleasure to have sent it, in five or ten minutes; nay, if you had but opened the door, he might, if he had thought proper, have diffused among us all the light that was necessary for the "important object so much in accordance with executive will;" yet that light was withheld, though so much and so often requested; the information, so easy to be given, was not imparted, that might have ensured the appropriation. And it is for this that we are to be branded by the Senator from Missouri as faithless to our duty, and regardless of the nation's security? Yes, sir, if we could have been beguiled and drawn off under such circumstances, and made unfaithful to our duty, we might have merited the reproach of traitors. [A call to order by the Chair.] Mr. G, proceeded. With our convictions, of constitutional duty, I mean, sir; pardon me, I design no imputation on others. Yes, sir, we should have been justly subject to imputation, if, with our convictions, and under the circumstances we were placed, we had taken a different course. A sense of duty was imperious; with it there was no compromise. When time was sufficient throughout the whole session to make known every want of the Government, either immediate or contingent, and no call was made but those which were fully supplied; when both Houses of Congress had unanimously concurred in opinion that no further legislative act was necessary in consequence of the state of our relations with France, the only Power with which we had any involvement at the time, it did seem strange that, at the last moments of the session, a requisition should have been made for so unusual an amount of money, without any explanation or message, or information that could lead to an understanding of the sudden cause of the requisition, or any specification of the objects to which it was to be applied. The information was requested, yet it was not given; it was at hand, but we could not reach it; it was under such circumstances we felt that we could not grant away the public money, and we refused to do so.

He

Mr. BENTON observed that the Senator from Maryland, [Mr. GOLDSBOROUGH,] who had just resumed his seat, and himself, had some words at the last session, which had placed him in a situation, with respect to that gentleman, of the most scrupulous reserve. believed it to be the instinct of gentlemen, whenever any thing had happened between them of an unpleasant nature, to behave afterwards to each other with the most punctilious and scrupulous politeness. He believed it to be the instinct of gentlemen to feel that, from such a time, they must stand upon a footing towards each other, in which they could no longer give and take. Now, sir, (said Mr. B.,) the Senator from Maryland has repeated what he did at the last session; he has made a premeditated attack on me. He felt (Mr. B. said) no malice, nor any degree of irritation, for what was passed; for if he was quick, he was at least free from malice. The gentleman at that time (Mr. B. said) drew a picture which a thousand persons present believed to be drawn for him; which he (Mr. B.) felt to be drawn for him; and had been informed that the gentleman had then rehearsed the part he was about to perform, the first part, but not the concluding part; for the gentleman denied that his picture was intended for him. From that time to the present, (said Mr. B.,) the gentleman has no right to make a personal allusion to me. If the gentleman chooses to wait a year, and then come forward to settle an account in which he may

When Mr. BENTON said, in his remarks, "he had been informed that the gentleman had then rehearsed the part he was about to perform," Mr. G. responded audibly from his seat, “you have then been misinformed," (or words to that effect.)—Nat. Intell.

have a balance against him, it is for him (said Mr. B.) and not for me to do so. I do not treasure up old things, to be brought out afterwards. The gentleman had now made an affirmation contradicting what I have said; but I tell the gentleman (said Mr. B.) that I know his affirmation to contain precisely as much truth now, as I believed that his denial did then.

The CHAIR (occupied pro tem. by Mr. KING) said he was not aware that any personal allusion to the Senator from Missouri had been made by the Senator from Maryland, or he should have called him to order. The remarks of the Senator from Missouri were out of order.

Mr. GOLDSBOROUGH rose to speak.

The CHAIR. Order! The Senator from Maryland will not be permitted to proceed.

Mr. GOLDSBOROUGH. Am I not permitted to reply, in order, to that which has been asserted out of order? The CHAIR. No; the Chair cannot permit another word on the subject from either of the gentlemen.

Mr. PORTER, of Louisiana, said that he could not but feel, in common with every Senator, pain at the excitement which the debate had given rise to. It was, how ever, in some respects, unavoidable. If grave charges, affecting the patriotism and the obligations of duty which we all owed to the country, fell from such a bigh place as this, it was not surprising that it excited sensibility and produced warmth. Those who could sit by and listen calmly to such an accusation were not worthy of sitting here at all. If the majority felt jealous of discharging their duty honestly, faithfully, and patriotically, to the republic, they could not but be deeply sensible to imputations which, if true, showed that they had not been patriotic, faithful, or honest. I (said Mr. P.) believe that, on the occasion alluded to, as in all others, the Senate will be found not to have been wanting to the constitution; and as one generally acting with that majority here, I rejoice that an opportunity is at last afforded us to vindicate our claims to public confidence, and place the true state of this matter fairly before the American people. I feel, sir, quite confident that, although party feeling may for a moment induce them to give an unwilling ear to truth, and party management may for a short period prevent that truth from reaching them, sooner or later it will vindicate its claims to obedience, and undeceive them. A most extraordinary delusion (said Mr. P.) has indeed possessed a portion of the public on this matter, and it was high time it should be removed. The Senator from Missouri, if his remarks were suffered to pass unanswered, would contribute to spread wider and fix deeper that delusion. Claiming as I do (said Mr. P.) full credit for truth and perfect sincerity of purpose, I ascribe no other motive to the honorable Senator. He has, no doubt, presented truly to the Senate those impressions which the transaction he has introduced into his remarks have made on his mind, and I can make full allowance for the influence of feelings which no one, in these heated times, is entirely free from. But while (said Mr. P.) I cheerfully make this admission, I am constrained to tell him that I listened to his observations with the most unfeigned regret. I consider his views radically wrong, and the facts belonging to the transaction erroneously understood, and most incorrectly presented by him to the Senate.

To one part of the honorable Senator's remarks I am glad to give my entire approbation. He told us, nearly toward the close of them, that, in relation to our present dispute with France, he trusted and believed all present appearance of war would fail, and that he meant to alarm no one. Sir, (said Mr. P.,) this is most consolatory, considering the relation in which the honorable Senator is known to stand to the present administration. But, sir, I should have heard these remarks with more un

[SENATE.

Not

mixed satisfaction (said Mr. P.) if a great many observations which preceded this declaration had not tended, unintentionally no doubt, to produce feelings quite adverse, as I consider, to the conclusion he came to. withstanding, however, the impression which these observations are calculated to make, I take this opportunity (said Mr. P.) to say that I, too, consider there is no just cause to apprehend a war; that I have undiminished and full confidence that the good sense and enlightened views of two of the freest people on earth will yet avert an unprofitable, unnecessary, and most afflicting

contest.

The honorable Senator, sir, has read from a French journal, I believe, remarks there stated to have fallen from a member of the Chamber of Deputies, speaking in his place, in that body, in which this country, and its conduct in relation to the present difficulty with France, are spoken of in unkind terms. Sir, I consider this reference wholly unwise, and am unable to see any possible good which can result from bringing it before the American people. It may excite irritation here; it can do nothing more. It neither enlightens our judgment in regard to the true state of feeling in France towards the United States, nor furnishes any fact which should in the slightest degree influence us in any conclusions to which we, as statesmen, might come, or ought to come, on the matter. No doubt (said Mr. P.) there are in France, as there are here, and in every country on earth, men of uneasy temper and irritable feelings-men who delight in strife and confusion, and sicken when they see good-will and peace prevail, either among individuals or nations. Interested motives there, as well as here, may prompt persons to fan the flame of discord, and the fierceness of political opposition may occasion men to urge in debate what in their calm moments they would regret and disavow.

With this knowledge, sir, (said Mr. P.,) how can we draw the conclusion that the sentiments of the individual in question are those of the French people? On what a slender thread would hang the peace and happiness of nations, if every rash and intemperate man in those nations could, by violent denunciation and unjust invective, break the ties of peace which unite them. The individual referred to was but one in a body composed of, I believe, (said Mr. P.,) more than four hundred. There is no pretence for believing that he spoke the sentiments of either the French Government or the French people. I should, sir, if I wished to instruct the American people, if I desired them to know what were the sentiments of France towards this country, I would refer, not to the angry declamation of a member of the Chamber of Deputies, but to the declarations of the King, who represents the people, and who, until the contrary is proved, I am bound to believe, and I do believe, speaks the true sentiments of that people. I have been unable to discover, in any thing which has fallen from him, the slightest ground for believing that he entertains any unkind feeling towards us. Quite the reverse, I trust. He still remembers the generous hospitality with which he, in common with every unfortunate man, is received on the shores of this asylum of mankind, and would regret that the evening of his life was destined to see him placed in a situation where other sentiments and other feelings, under national hostility, might take the place of those he now entertains. It is true, sir, that I have heard his sincerity doubted in regard to the gentle language which he has uniformly practised towards us; but it is obvious that this accusation just applies with the same force to any other person connected with the Government, who uses language of a different kind. Sir, (said Mr. P.,) I desire not to be misunderstood. I do not now enter into the question, whether the conduct of France has been just or wise in relation to this unfortunate matter. Many con

equipping in our ports-an aim purely defensive. There exists, at this moment, no legitimate cause of war between France and the United States, and in no case shall the aggression come in the first instance from France."

Sir, I rejoice to see this. It is conformable to what we have a right to expect, and to the position of that country in this unfortunate dispute. If she entertained for one moment the idea of war, because we were complaining of the injuries we sustained by the long-delayed payment of a just debt, I should say that she had effaced all claim to our respect and our regard. And yet, sir, (said Mr. P.,) even in the bitterness which such a conduct would not fail to engender, there would be times, and those not unfrequent, when each party would feel that their position was not a natural one. Old friendship and old sympathies would, in spite of all the passions war excites, rise in their breasts. Neither could he forget those days, nor those associations, when the gallant nobles of France and the intrepid freemen of the new world battled side by side, on the same field, for the same cause.

They could not, if they would, obliterate the remembrance of the time when their risk was common, their exertions common, and their glory common; each, I should think, (said Mr. P.,) would look with anxiety to the day when they could lay down those weapons which each can well wield, and embrace once more as friends.

I enter not (said Mr. P.) into the question whether, dear as these recollections must be, they may not be sacrificed to the sterner claims which each may suppose they owe to their country. And I express no opinion how near or how distant we are now to that sacrifice. All I wish to enforce is, that questions of this kind cannot be examined too calmly, and that every thing which is irritating, and extraneous, and collateral to the main question, should be studiously put aside from our consideration. War! (said Mr. P.,) with the fearful passions it excites, the crimes it produces, the enduring .miseries it inflicts, is a sad affair, and those on whom the responsibility of making it rests cannot be too cautious. Any one who compares Europe for the last twenty years with the twenty years which preceded them, and sees how vastly the balance in the sum of human happiness preponderates in favor of the period first mentioned, may take lessons on this head in the best of all schools--that of experience.

But, sir, (said Mr. P.,) though I have thought it necessary to say something in reply to the observations of the honorable Senator on the points which I have just noticed, still had this been all which fell from the honorable Senator, I should not have mingled in this debate. But, sir, the honorable Senator thought proper to say that the failure to put the country in a state of defence against foreign aggression was owing to the conduct of the Senate last winter in refusing to concur in the proposition of the House of Representatives, to put the sum of three millions into the hands of the Executive. Never in my life, sir, did I hear any thing which gave me more surprise. I shall examine, before I sit down, on what foundation that assertion rests. But before I do, I must refer to another assertion of the honorable Senator, which startled me still more. He said that this was not all; that there was a much larger account for which we were responsible: that all the specific appropriations contained in the fortification bill were lost by the conduct of the Senate; and he proceeded to enumerate them, including, among others, a proposition of the Military Committee to apply the sum of $500,000 to the defence of the country. The honorable Senator from Delaware [Mr. CLAYTON] having satisfactorily shown that the measure originated with VOL. XII-10

[SENATE.

him, and was abandoned under circumstances which take away all ground for imputing its failure to become a law to any action of the Senate, the Senator from Missouri has, as I understand him, given up that part of the accusation. If he will bestow some of his attention on me, (said Mr. P.,) I think I will satisfy him that he will be compelled to surrender all the rest.

And first, sir, before we proceed to the point, (said Mr. P.,) I wish the issue which I now make with the honorable Senator to be clearly understood. I undertake, then, to say that it was not the fault of the Senate that the fortifications of the country were not last year put in defence. I assert distinctly that every thing which patriotism could suggest, under their views of duty, was done by them to get the fortification_bill passed. I say that it was not lost in the Senate. I assert that it was passed there, and returned to the House for its action; and I say it was lost in the House of Rep. resentatives; lost by the conduct of that body, without precedent in the history of this Government.

The doings and misdoings (said Mr. P.) of the 23d Congress are now as much matter of history as the affairs of Greece and Rome are. Still it is my desire to speak of a Legislature of which I formed a part with all the respect and gentleness which is consistent with a frank exposition of truth. With this feeling, sir, I proceed to disclose to the American people the extraordinary cir. cumstances which prevented the passage of the fortification bill.

So far, sir, (said Mr. P.,) from the Senate having refused or neglected to pass all the specific appropriations which were presented to it by the House of Representatives, for the use of the fortifications, they not only passed them, but they passed them with amendments, by which large additions were made to these appropriations. Sir, (said Mr. P.,) I do not wish to fatigue the Senate with going through all the items which compose the amendments made by the Senate; it would be too tedious to do so. I now speak for the bill itself, as it passed this body. It is at this moment under my eye. And I learn from it that the bill which reached the Senate on the 7th day of February, from the House of Representatives, appropriated only the sum of $439,000 to this portion of the national defence. What, sir, was the conduct of this body, which is now charged with neglecting the defence of the country? Why, sir, to approve of the appropriation made in it; and, after consultation with the heads of Departments, send it to the House of Representatives seven days before the adjournment. What, sir, was the conduct of that body, which it appears was, according to the honorable Senator, so much alive to the true interests and honor of the country? Why, sir, this: to keep it nearly the whole of these seven days without action, and to return it to us seven hours before the termination of Congress, with an amendment placing three millions of dollars at the disposal of the Executive!

Sir, (said Mr. P.,) the Senate found itself placed, by this extraordinary step on the part of the House, in a position at once singular and difficult. The unusual course adopted would, if any other sentiment but that of respect for a co-ordinate branch of the Government could have found place in our minds, have suggested the suspicion that the late period at which such a measure was introduced, and the annexing to it the fortification bill, which the wants of the country required action on, was intended to coerce them into a vote in favor of it, or to enable those opposed to the majority here to charge them with neglecting the true interests of the country. Little time was left us, sir, for consultation; there was none to obtain information to guide our conduct. We asked each other, why was this sent at so late a period? What change has occurred in our foreign relations