CO.N(i!lESS.
StVEXrrESTII C'NSRESS FIRST MISSION.
IHQX THE yxtlOVKX. IMELLIiiLMKIt.
.V SE.V.1TE v i r.sa t, ja.v. 2.7.
nn: surritEssio.x or Piiucr.
Mr. Johnson, of Louisiana, submitted
the following resolution for consideration :
Jlesohcl. That the Committer on Xaval Af
fairs he instructed to inquire ir.to i c.vpcdien
cv of providing by law for the building of" an ad
ditional number of sloops of war for the protec
tion of the commerce of the United States in
the Gulf of Mexico; and into the propriety of
employing one or more of the triples or ships
of war of the United States for the same pur
pose. Thursday, Jan. 24. Cxsar A. Rodney,
a Senator from the State of Delaware,
appeared this day, was qualified, and took
his seat.
Mr. Holmes, of Maine, from theCom
mittee of Finance, to whom was referred
a memorial from the President and Di
rectors of the Bank of the United States,
reported a bill tounend the charter of
t lie Hank ; authorizing the Hank to ap
point an Agent and a Register to sign and
countersign the notes of the Dank ; and
making it penal for any of the officers or
servants of the liank to defraud it or em
bezzle any of its funds or property The
bill was passed to a second reading.
The following resolution, submitted by
Mr. Iiugglcs, on Tuesday, was taken up
and agreed to :
Jies'jlvctl, That the Secretary of State be re
quested to transmit to the Senate, the returns
of manufacturing establishments and manufac
tures, taken by the Marshals of the several
States, under the act of the 14th of March, 1820,
' providing for taking the fourth census or enu
meration of the inhabitants of the U. States, and
for other purposes."
The resolution offered yesterday by
Mr. Johnson, of Lou. was taken up for
consideration :
Mr. Pleasants thought the designation
of sloops of war would confine the scope
of the inquiry within too narrow limits,
.particularly as he presumed a smaller
class of vessels would be more suitable
lor the object in view. He should prefer
In enquiry into the expediency of build
ing an additional number of small ves
sels of war, without designating the size.
Mr. P. had an objection, also, to the latter
part of the resolution, which directs that
a part of the naval force be employed in
a particular service ; because it would be j
interfering with the proper action of the J
nc: with the proper action ol t ie
Executive authority, whose province it is.
to direct in what manner the naval force
shall be employed. Mr. P. moved to a
mend the resolution conformably to the
ideas he had suggested.
Mr. Johnson, of Louisiana, had no ob
jection to the first modification, to substi
tute u small vessels" for " sloops of war
but, as to the second proposition, he was
not so certain of its propriety, inasmuch
as if it was deemed proper to employ a
part of the naval force on this special ser
vice, an appropriation would be necessary
to carry the object into effect.
Mr. Pleasants remarked that the Pres
ident of the U. States had the power of
employing the naval force in any manner
he might think proper ; and if an extra
ordinary service of any part cf the nivy
wasocemeu nccar ,u) any m.cu ui
the proncr time for the enquiry would be
ivhen he Snnu,l appropriation for the na-
val service comes under consideration.
t , -i .i r-i c
IVir. Johnson said, as the Chairman of
, ,, . ; , . , i
the Naval Committee seemea to think
the object could be attained without cm-,
bracimr it in the present mquirv, lie
woul'i assent to thc amendment proposed.
Mr. !VVolf observed, that five or six
additional r.mall vessels were certainly
very rivuch wanted to protect thc com
merce of thc nation on thc coast of Cu
ba, and elsewhere among the islands ; but,
as the expediency cf increasing thc na
vy by building additional vessels might
be douVcd : and as a sufficient number of
suitable vessels might, at present, very
prooublv be purchased ; he suggted the nnulwd9 Tilat the committee on Militarv Af
nnpnrtv of changing the inquiry into fo-irs j,e instructed to inquire into the exnedien-
ore tor providing oy fmrciase an accution-.
al'iumber of small vessels. 1
th better protection of the commerce of
th U. States. An expression of the
elect in terms so general as this, he
thnght would not trench on the province
oihe Kxecutivc.
,Ir. Johnson, for the purpose of accom
mhting the views of the different gen
thien, while it would answer thc object
hdiad in view, modified his motion to
rel as follows :
fsfifved, That the committee on Naval Af
fA be itwt'nctcd to inquire into the expcilien
cyf provuf.nT by law for the building or ptir
4e "f an additional number of smnll vessels
of ar, for thc protection of the commerce of
thu. States.
1 this form thc resolution was agreed
to
communication was hdd before thc
tte by the President, from the Secre
ta'of State, transmitting the returns of
"Census in Kershaw District, in S.
Cilina.
lOUSi: OF HF.PUr.SLXTATlVr.S.
, Cannon rose to call thc attention
v. Otis suggested, thc propriety of!b(;rof mn-commiss-oned oiUccr and privates
.:.t;r..; t!, I they did previous to thc reduction andorganiza-
V - . 7 , , . tion made under the act of the last session of
10 providing by fmrchase or otherwise, an Congress;) and that said committee inquire in
atlitionnl number of small vessels, " for to the expediency of disbanding the supernumc-
of the house to a resolution submitted by
him some weeks ago, and now lying on
the tublc. It would be recollected, be
said, that, on the reduction cf the army
by Congress at the last session, a differ
cnt organization had been given to it by
the Senate than was proposed by a large
majority of the house which change, he
believed, would not have received the
sanction of a majority of the house, but
for the lateness of the peiiod at which
the bill, with the amendment, was return
ed fiom the Senate. The difference of
the expense of maintaining the military
establishment as at present organized,
Mr. C. said, was vastly greater than it
would hae been if otherwise organized.
He had, for the information of the House,
made an estimate, not only of the amount
of public money which would be saved
by re-organizing the army, but also of the
probable number of officers that would
be discharged if the army should be re
organized according to the resolution
which he had moved, and now meant to
call up. Mr. C. here proceeded to state
that, should Congress pursue the course
which he proposed, the total number of
officers of each grade disbanded, including
both Infantry and Artillery, and including
the General Staff, would be
5 Colonels, salary of S?A00 each.
5 Iicut. Colonels 2,148
5 Mojors 1,860
15 Field Officers in all.
5 Regimental Qr. Masters, Ss 9 per annum
5 Sergeant Majors
. Q. M. Sergeants,
5 Adjutants',
HW do
84J do.
120? additional tak-
on from line.
1908 per annum.
5 Paymasters,
25 of thc Ilcgimcntal Staff
53 Captains o5 of Infantry, $10 14 per annum,
and IS of Artillery, $1428 per annum.
Tl First Lieutenants 35 of Infantry, 849,
and 36 of Artillery, at $1176, per annum
72 Second Lieutenants 35 of Infantry, S13,
and 36 of Artillery, at $117G per annum.
li5 Commissioned Officers of Companies, and
5-19 Sergeants, CoporaN, Artificers, and Musi
cians, at an average of S3J0 each per annum.
Making an aggregate number ol 78 J
Officers to be disbanded, beincr surplus of
ficers over the number which would be
necess-iry when thc army was properly
organized. The whole amount per an
num saved by this reorganization, would
be 423,247 96, leaving out of view the
reduction of the General Stalf, which, if
included bv a proportionate reduction, or
. r i' i . it i .
... rT'.un ,nnn:il K,v:no. hv tlo
reorganization, to at least 4 50,000 dollars.
WW wall II u y I 4 J v a ' - . J
Mr. C said he had not risen for the
purpose of making a long argument on
the subject of this resolution. It could
not be denied, he said, that the period of
the session has now arrived when, if it
was proper to look nt the subject, it ought
to be referred to thc consideration of the
Committee on Military Affairs. On the
subject of retaining so large a mimbr.r of
officers in service, he was, he s:id, deci
dedly opposed to it. He believed it would
be impossible for those officers, however
disposed to do their duty, to render any
scrwee to the government inasmuch as
an army organized, or rather disorganiz
ed, as it now is, cculd not be of as much
service, either for peace or for war, as if
wm n;zcd as hc noW proposed
p . as niultipl cers, you
incumblhnce onHtlc army, intl
, i i i- i , i n nn
p'acc the hnrhminded individuals who iiil
. m . . i: ui :
its ouices in a mosi uisagi ecaoie Miuduuu
. . -n lhc cniploymcnt of the
rnm'cnt hhollt havi any dutv
whatever to perform. As this resolution
proposed merely an inquiry, he hoped
there would be no opposition to it. Per
h ips, he said, other changes in the organ
ization of the army might be thought ne
cessary, particularly thc consolidation of
thc ordnance with the artillery. If so, he
hoped the military committee would re
port accordingly.
The House having agreed to consider
t Vi rncnlii Inn . tn tV fr11ovirop wnrl t
cr ot re -organizing the regular army, (so ttiat
companies into thfierent corps contam the num-
Mr. Cocke said, hc had rather that the
resolution should not confine the commit
tee to any specific alteration in thc army.
Let the committee, said he, have thc sub
ject referred to them generally : they can
then examine every branch of thc ser
vice, and make such alterations as the
public interest may require. The com
mittee might feel disposed to disband a
part of the officers, and retain part. But,
h the resolution passed in its present
shape, the committee would be precluded
from taking such a course. He hoped
his ftiend would alter thc resolution so as
to bring the whole subject fully before
the military committee.
Mr. Cannon said, that his object was to
bung the whole subject fully before thc
committee. He had no wish to limit its
inquiries, having thc highest confidence
in them, that they would make such re
port as the good of the service and thc
situation cf thc country require. He
therefore modified his motion, so as to
make thc proposed inquiry general.
Thus modified, the resolution was a
treed to.
Mr. Buchanan submitted for considera
lion the following resolution :
Resolved, That a committee be appoin
ted, whose duty it shall be to inquire and
report to this house the causes why no
nart of the sum ot 243,6uy ciouars aim
w
the saiu sum nas ueen tunctiuu i.w.
Ina rnnthv the late Marshal and the
.1 11 r.nm f ho
m'I., f Ppnncvlvania nnd
their deputies, respectively, and what are
the names and places of residence of such
deputies: how much of the money col-
lectcd remains in the hands of the depu
ties, and how much has been paid over
by them to their respective principals ;
who are the sureties of the late Marshal,
John Smith, and of his deputies, respec-
tivelv ; what is the amount of each of
their bonds, and what is the prospect of
recovering the whole or any part of the
money remaining in their hands ; what
cases have heretofore prevented the in
stitution of suits against the said John
Smith, his deputies and their sureties, to
recover the militia fines retained by them
respectively, and under what authority,
by whom and to whom, the sum of 41,-
53 1 dollars and 77 cents has been paid out
of thc said fines to defray the expenses
of the Courts Martial by which they were
assessed.
In offering this resolution, Mr. Buchan
an said, that a sense of duty, and not a
desire to give trouble and cast reflections
upon any officer of this government, com
pelled him to bring before this house the
subject of the collection of militia fines
from delinquent militiamen in Pcnnsyl-
vania. lie would, he said, state the tacts I
connected with it, and which were so ma-
m w m . .
ny reasons why the resolution should pass, J
without doing more at the present time,
1 he State of Pennsylvania during the I
late war furnished her full proportion of
iiti.il i'iivi vst iiiuiivi tvs iiiu i:v,uciai Lovtur
, . ., . ,
ment to enable them to carrv on the con-
test. She furnished more than her quo-
ta of volunteers and militia. It however I
ts 1 1 e,a,m 7 , 3hr ho itv of who were his deputies or sureties. It
t he bmted States on . . , yct been instituted against the marshal
the Commonwealth orPennshama tor t a
delinquencies which occu .ed 'B ;nst on'e of thc deputie,. The object,
late w.r with Great Br am, has ,et been b f Mr. D. said, of his resolution,
received into the Treasury : how much ol ,',... ;.r ': ,,i,;ri, the.
happened, that, owing to the pious and ent reduced condition, of injuring anv bo
peaceful habits of the People of that d It is now a mere skcieton : but it Mf
State, conscientiously scrupulous of bear- ... , . T
itur ;;rms, there occurred, in obtaining the I
number of men required by draft, a great
number of delinquencies; which were
more than made up by volunteers. It
lUIIWlltU) UlV-ltiUll,) IIIIU 111131 X I.III13V I I
vania, as a state, can with pride and with
pleasure declare that she fulfilled, in the
most ample manner, all her federal obli-
gations, yet there was a very large pro-
ui .iciciicii ....a. a. ueiinquem
c i :.: r. l
militiamen. From the letter of the Se
cretary of War, of Feb. 14, 1821, it ap
peared, that out of nine states, on the cit
izens of which militia fines were assessed,
and from eight of which returns have
been received, the fines assessed on citi
zens of Pennsylvania amount to a larger
sum than all thc fines assessed on the
citizens of seven of the states :
The assessment on Pennsylvania
amounted to S243,609 21
On New Hampshire, New-York,
Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, Ken
tucky, Kast Tennessee, West
Tennessee, 240,070
These fines were assessed, chiefly, if
not altogether, within the years 1813,
18; 4, and 1815 ; and, strange and wonder-1
lul as it may appear, not one cent of that
iiuu amount asscsscci on citizens 01
Pennsylvania has yet reached the Treas
ury of the U. States. It is within my
own knowledge, said Mr. B. that very
large sums ot this money have been col
lected by the deputy marshals, and much
distress has been spread over the country
in levying inese lines irom tne poorer
classes of the citizens within our state.
It is very natural that every state in the
Unionprjrticularly Pennsylvania, should
be anxious to have the darkness which
.1 , ti 1 ,ii
hangs over this subiect dispelled, and the
guilty agents exposed to the light of day.
It is possible that bv an investigation
something may be obtained: if not, the
authors of the shameful frauds which
have been perpetrated will be dragged
from the concealment in which they now
lurk. On the 4th Dec. 1820, at thc in-
stance of a gentleman from Pennsylva-
nia, a resolution was passed by this house
calling on the Secretary of the Treasury
for information on thc subject, which for
some cause or other remained unanswer
ed, but on the 2d Jan. 1821, was renewed.
And, said Mr. B. what answer has been
given to it ? It consists of six clauses,
answers to which would embrace all thc
information we desire. - The answer to
the 1st is a letter from thc present Mar
shal, which Mr. B. read, from which, he
said, it appeared that almost three years
had been suffered to expire since this
communication, and it does not appear
that any measures have been taken to se
cure the books and papers.
The department could therefore com
municate no information on the subject.
The second query, how much money had
been received into the Treasury, on ac
count of these fines, was easily answer
ed : not a cent has been received. Thc
3d query the department is unable to an-
swer, except that S3671 30 in the hands
of the present marshal, and S3, 546 60 in
the hands of Lewis Deffebach, one of his
deputies in Bucks county. The 4th que
ry, as to the names of the deputies and
the sureties of thc marshal, was not an
swered. Indeed, it appeared that the de
partment never either inquired or knew
who were the sureties of the marshal, or
. .
I TUO IU WUtaill lllC llllUlHJUiuii
, r ., ,
Krmer vote of the house had failed to
I pi'OCUTe, oCC 6CC
The motion of Mr. B. was read, and,
according to the rule of the House, lies
on the table tor one day.
TUESDAY, FEB. 12, 1822.
The mail from Fayetteville failed again last
week. We are really at a loss to account for
these repeated failures, though doubtless the
contractor has good and sufficient reasons for
thus suspending- our intercourse with Fayette
ville, Cheraw, Charleston, See. But good as they
may be, it would certainly afford no little satis
faction to know when they will cease to operate,
and the embargo be removed. At this season
of the year, when planters are taking their cot
ton to market, and are anxious to learn their pri
ces, a failure of the mail is doublv vexatious. If
1.1 rl 1 11 1 A rt
V m
xnesc lauures snouiu ue owing- w un ncitu,
we hope it may be discovered and reported to
the General l'ost-Oilice, so that the penalty irsay
be inllicted. Is it not the duty of Post-Masters
to look into such things ?
r n i 111.
Ir. Cannon has again opened his bat-
1
tcr' uPon our "armless little army, which,
heaven knows, is incapable, in its pres
seems
he is determined to cannonade it
till nothing but the head and tail are left.
But he will spend his ammunition to no
purpose. Weak as it is, it will be able,
11 i .U i 1 U U
11
Wc doubted very much the policy ot re
during it at thc last session; but we ac-
ouicsced in thc wisdom of the maioritv.
J J
At t hnwf,vpr. Wft h-i;ftV nrithrr
the people, nor the state of the Treasury,
nor the rfs-organization of the army, (as
Mr. Cannon terms it,) calls for such a
measure. Any lurtner reduction win noi
be popular : and if Mr. Cannon expects,
by this renewed attack, to obtain the thanks
or applause of the people, he will find, we
believe, that he has shot wide of his mark
The armv is now organized with a view
to future emergencies ; so that should wc
unexpectedly be involved in a war, we
might not be exposed to the danger of de
pending on an entirely undisciplined force,
both as to officers and men. Every body
knows thc loss of lives, lime, and money,
during thc beginning of the last war,
which resulted, in most instances, from
thc want of skill and experience ; and is
it not wise, is it not a duty, to guard against
a recurrence of these evils? The pres
ent organization of the army is calcula
tec in some measure, to do this. Under
thc present arrangement, it could be very
considerably enlarged, without materially
4. , r m
iiicicuiuu me iiuiiiuci 01 umcers : anti in
" . 1
case 01 luture events rendering such an
enlargement necessary, these officers,
whom Mr. Cannon is so anxious to shnv
Lllt u 1 r :e -..i..
r. . . , ,
morC UCnefit to the countrT th a11 lhe
mnc which could possibly be saved by
disbanding them : they might, moreover,
save lives as valuable to thn nation ,v,n
M rannnn Mmir. TT cii,i .i,:u
UiiUUlU LllllltV
of this.
THE n.lXICRUPT BILL
Has been brought forward in the House of
Bepresentatives and the discussion has been
opened by Mr. Sergeant, in a lengthy speech.
The Intelligencer apprehends it will be debated
at great length ; and we are not disposed in the
least to doubt it. Its fate is uncertain. " The
talent and the members of the House of Repre
sentatives," says thc Intelligencer, "appear to
be more divided on the subject than on any other
question of equal importance we can recollect
with the exception, perhaps, of Mr. Calhoun'
Internal Improvement Bill, which passed the
House of Kepresentatives by a majority of two
votes. Such may be the fate of the Bankrupt
Bill." Such may it not be, is our wish : it is of
too partial character. ssa no reason or !
'justice in extending its provisions to one class cf
citizens only, to the exclusion of all others ; and
that class not always the most meritorious. If a
Bankrupt Law be necessary for the relief of one
honest debtor, it is equally so for another. If
relief be extended to the broken merchant, why
not to the ruined manufacturer and agriculturist '
Surelv the one is neither more meritorious, nor
more deserving our sympathy, than the other.
The people, we believe, will never sanction any
law, so partial in its operations, so limited in its
benefits.
But to place the subject in a stronger point of
viw, let us referto facts : By the late census we
learn, that the number of persons engaged in
agriculture, is 2,065,499 ; in manufactures, 349
247 ; while in commerce, it is only "2,397. Is it
possible that this small number, that 72,397 per
sons, can have greater claims on our humanity or
our sympathy, than two millions of our yeoman
ry, the real stamina of the nation ? But this, it
may be said, is not a correct view of the sub
ject ; as most cf these agriculturists are persons
of very small capital, and one third of them, per
haps, of none at all: and in respect to manufac
turers, the estimate embraces every description
of manufactures, from the most simple to the
most intricate ; from the petty manufacture ot"
corsctts and lotions, to the construction of
steam engines and the various and intricate ma
chinerv of a cotton factory: It would be useless,
therefore, that the provisions of a Bankrupt Law'
should extend to all these, two-thirds or one halt"
of whom very probably never could be benefited
"by them. That it is unnecessary that they should
embrace all these classes, we admit ; but then it
does not follow that the -whole of one class should
be selected, to the exclusion of all of every oth
er. But how many of the 72,000 engaged in
commerce, arc men of extensive capital f how
many of them are importers P "Were the real
number known, it would, we think, place the,
injustice of the Bill in a still stronger light. If the
Bill were framed so as to include all, or even to
restrict its benefits to persons of a certain capita!,
and over, whether engaged in agriculture, com
merce, or manufactures, it would obviate manj of
the objections which lie so heavily against it in its
present shape. It would be more consonant to the
genius of our institutions, and less aristocratic in
its principles; and would meet the approbation
of a far greater number than it can ever hope to
should it pass in its present form.
iVUCtC
COM MO IC ATIO X.
ssits. Editors :
I am one of your subscribers for the
ll'estcm Carolinian, which I receive every
Wednesday, though so late that I seldom
read it before evening ; when, scarcely
having commenced, imagining to myself
a pleasant entertainment, my good neigh
bor Stingy comes, and says he wishes to
get my paper. I tell him I have not yet
read it ; (hoping thereby he would apolo
gize for the unseasonableness of his re
quest ; ) but, notwithstanding, he may read
it, and so lend it. I am sometimes (tho
seldom) so fortunate as to get it the next
day ; if so, after supper I sit down, and
having perused a part of some interesting
extract, I hear a knock at the door ; ex
pecting to see some of my good custom
ers, I open it, and, sure enough, Mr. Bu
sybody wants to see some act of the Le
gislature ; though half distracted that I
must leave my interesting history, I give
it to him, at the same time I go to a friend
of mine to read the remainder. On my
return, I find Mr. Bareface at my house,
saying (mirabile dictu !) that he wanted to
get the paper to see whether his adver
tisement was inserted ; I render my ex
cuse, and hc leaves me with a forced ut
terance of " good evening.' Having a
gain, by some good fortune, got the paper
into my hands, in comes some rustic
clown with, u do you take the Western
Carolinian ?" I answer in the affirmative.
" Well," says he, " they say there is such
a great piece in it, and I want to see it."
I accommodate the gentleman thus far,
and having read it, he gives me the
thanks, " I declare I must take it home
to show my people."
Thus, Messrs. Editors, I scarce ever
satisfactorily read one of the papers ; and
it not unfrequcntly happens that I never
get them again ; or if I do, they are so
dirty, greasy, and torn, that they are not
fit to be filed. I wish this as a hint to all
my tormentors, that they may cither sub
scribe? or quit their unwelcome effron
tery, a citizen.
Uncolnto?!, Jan.. 5, 1S22.
FOR THE WESTEttX CABOLI.VIJ.".
The following extract of a speech was related
to me by a Choctaw Interpreter, in 1821. Jt
was delivered b' a Choctaw Chief, who, as Mr.
Jefferson once observed, as a soldier and a
prince, might do honor to any nation in Europe.
The speech was in reply to the threats of aa
American Commissioner, then holding a treaty
with the Choctaws ; and, as a specimen of elo
quence, we tliink it may rebuke the genius of
our own times :
44 Tell me not of blood I was born
44 a warrior. I was not born as other
u men are, of a woman I was never
" nourished by the breast, or cherished
" by the affection of a mother a dark
" cloud arose in the vest, and from that
41 cloud there came a stream of light
44 ning, which struck and shatterel to
its root a huge pine and thence