Newspapers / Newbern Sentinel (New Bern, … / Feb. 17, 1827, edition 1 / Page 1
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U H V. it j . PUBU31IED WEEKLY, Bt. WATSON MfiCHEWr At 53 per aqrtium half payable in advance. SPEECH OF MR. , WEBSTER, . f ' - -. . 1 On the bill for the relief of the survi ving officers of the revolutionary army; the question being on the amendment proposed by Mr Tuck er, which under pretence of inclu ding tlie mi li tia who eryed during the war, .was, in fact, intended -to defeat the origiual bill. ' " I am reluctant tp trouble the House on this occasion, , Mr. Speaker, and would by no means do so, if I were not fearful that 1 shall have no fu ture opportunity of expressing my opinion on the subject and I assure the House, that never in iy life was I more than I now am, induced to speak from7 a pure and unmixed sense of public duty. If the present motion prevail, and the bill be re committed, the whole - measure is in-, evitably lost. Every member who hears me must be well aware of this, and itis highly expedient that the applicants themselves should under stand, and that the whole country should understand, that the success of ' this nationj if it do. succeed; will destroy the bill. "The question", and at this moment tlie only-question, is, whether there be any thing in the claim, of the offi cers of the Revolutionary Army, which entitles them to have that Jclain coUsidered4 distinctly,- and by itself, and to have that claim decided upon its own merits. ; Being'persuad ed mvself, that that claim rests ori so lid foundations, I hope, the House will meet it arid consider it -that we fihall not shun it, and unworthily give it the"go-bv ; letms not evade it as if we feared it ; let us not smotheVh as if its distinct shape and features were not agreeable to us ; if we fear to grant it, let ushot at least fear to rcfise it. Let us sustain the Ve"spon- sibility that belongs to our stations and meeting this claim as it is pre sented, let us judge of its. merits, and decide upon it as our own conscien ces may prescribe Within; the! last fifteen years, the subject has been repeatedly before- tne rtouse, ana amerent committees hiveaX different times reported upon it. In the mean while, those: who are to he benefitted,.. or to be disap pointed at the resul t of our votes, are fast fallowing each other tatbe grave. If we'mean to do any thing, we can not do it too soon J if we mean to do nothing, we cannot too soon say we, will do nothing. ' A.i yet, ihere, is a little remnaht surviving ; they still live, to witn.s,! would; fondly hope, the success, but I strongly fear tbe failure, of this application to the jus tice of the , country. ' I riow see, that this measure, on which all their hopes are embarked, is apparently hurry In 5 and rushing into' absolute down fal, and ir recoverable prostration, "by this attempt to overwhelm itj by con necting with it a .proposition, which,' as I should suppose, every gentleman? must -Know, is wnoiiy lmpractrcaDie. I wo old fain 7; stay this downward course, .if F may, ..and Bgain invoke the House to give a candid consider ation .to' the " merits of ahe , claim ; if I may not ,do. thaV, I would yet seiie the occksion,; Whileyet it remains a y topic of discission, Uo express', my f J 1 own opinions 1 ieeUthat th6 claim m is iust that the honor of the conn- try is connected with it ;' arid now; hile it seem?: mtlret most peril I ftanaat be silent tut must prdclaim to this Housefai? convictions which Jnhabif my breast." I will not Uddrss ju to" the pathy-of this Hbuse iseelr;td Create no etciteaierft tl-isfeior-no' Partial, br highly faVorahte consider- restrains them'fi'oin the vxercise i fberality, he it sbiftheyVtnmk ; iSough rtheuiniai statimis V7'thev riVt t iiiZttuZ should hope, In this mgitterj x on tbcr common i rules of equity . and Tr Jdeaj iner and njbthinff thore need be dsked. 5ir I agree entirely with what was stated, and so well prbVedby the gen-? tlerrian (Mi; Drayton) ; from South- j one for a more mtHtorious, r had al Cardliria yesterday V that If this were most said for ar more sacred, consider a iudicial enquiry oetweeumatf and man, c(the right anti equity of k be found with the officers. I say with out hesitation, as a lawyer, io a char racter;in which;' if I putany yslue oh my own opinions, " I have tlie mdsl rpfect fbr-theu these officers, under theVesolutions of 1780, and. 1783. is a claim not yet satisfied; and which would recom- Ifss poverty .and obscurity .1 will not mend itself for compensation and rehearse their sufTerjngs or services,' payment, to the conscience of any but I will say, that never Army in the chancellor ! in the civiliied world. , I ' civilized. State, seryid belter or suf say, that if ahe ' United States could ; fered more. ;j v - be made subject Co suit, and the'offi- But what happened at the ap cers of the Revolutionary Army; proach of peace ? Why, sir, when the could byihg therif befdre a competent danger from a foreigh foe seemed tribunal, they would find no , advo- over, in a country naturally jealous bate of standing and character, wlio of military power, andat a moment would advise them, that " they had a when there were no established Goy defence ; but there is no such trimi- ernments to check or control that nal ; they have no such remedy ; and power, if it should take: xiirection their appeal, thereifbre is to the jpaf- iy- IlSeil agUlIJSl JVIICJIII UJC CtaiUI ISC, iStated in the shortest "manner, the case is this' : . I;'' BV the resolve of Congress, Octo ber 1780, every officer of the Uontr - riental Army who should continue in service to the end of the war, was to receive half pay for life. v By the re - solution of 1783 they we're request- ed to give up.this claim for half pay for life," and ih lieu thereof, theV were; promised five years full pay, to them; the question' was, whether with interest at six peV cehh tilt paid, j ttojy: should take them or get no These express 'and salemh promises' thing ? , r :.;.. thus fnade to tlie defenders of Ihe VrLet it be remembered at this time, country, in thef hour of their suffering, f that the officers then had been along and of our ern performed.- Disguise it, cover it, that this plighted faitK h'as never been redeemed. ; Have they received the half pay for life ? j They have not. Have"" they received . the five y ears full pay ? They have riot. No, Sir, they are pur creditors: - Ido not Con tent myself by V saying they are, oar benefactors. And if the little' remnant of them draw out their lives in penu ry, and lay their aged heads in the grave at last,-with y neither cheenng nor cdnsolatioh frbmus p they-.fyel live as our creditors, and they die as pur creditors ; T "and they leave a charge ripon the cbuntry, wliic Ji; I fear, that future generations, ; how ever j ust, or however generous, can hardly be relievedfrom;- Let us be-1-ware, then, that we are "npt trifling with ; btir owri T Vebutation, and ; with thalWhich" islof infinitely," more im portance, tliereputatioiv and - honor of the country. j: , rl- l-yi- . In 1 780, as I have sai d, .Congress promised : them, if they would conti nite m the Army to the end of the war, that they should have half-pay for life. They did continue in he ser ViceV C;They .fought the struggle, (hrough. ' They sheathed- the sword only Rafter peace had gleamed upon if And what followed ? Was the half pay for . life. giveiV them,- principal or interest f Wherfhas it beeti "paid ? How has It been paid f . ' -;;v , But, look a moment at the circum stances .of the Country, when this pro mi se was made. .The cause of Liber ty was threatened with immediate ru inV General Lincoln had been cap tured at Charlestoxi ; ; Gates defeated at Camden randthe Southe rnStates overrun by the . enemy. : The British had been strongly reinforced inNew- centiy takenf rdacej and Gepi; Wash ington had sdarcely. five thousahid ill- arnredj unpaid j unfed and ill-cldihedj troops uh dec h is commaad .v Conti- jiiiialmmieat cumpleteljr rurid jMeh t wasestit Vet Jbnertbe ifainiiniatelore th(auahMt&ere mmimMM PfPFS tiie. xxever was public taitn pie more solemnly nor fot better cause. We conld not now, for any purpose Obligate ourselves in a raore bin contract andvnever can we make ration The dmcers ; risked all upon halfrpay '- whichf theirouotryi- pro mised them, they were to; earn by their swords; If the Colonial subfu .tion Jwere re-established, 'it was noji'cofDeasation qrfeward that they ooike$ for, but flight or' exUJ tjrat i the besjt,. ah undisturbed and ' hope unfavorable to libekyv6me: degree s w - uwaauaiatiiyu afutur ju v uic idea of a half-pay :to the officers of i their Clear right, halt-pay, toi and talie in exchange full pay for five ; years. I say that they were asked to do tins ;,in truth, ?their consent was but' nominally, asked ; really, nhey ; had no option.- And: when these i commutation certificates were offered clothed themsslves, and armed them- selves, and mounted themselves, ati their own. expense. That they not fcnJy yierded their own services, . and hazarded their own Ijves in the public cause, "but expended their own pro perty, and bore heavily on the re sources1 of ' their friends. Yet five years full pay was no adequate cbm-' pensanon lor giving up me nan-pay for life. The annuity was" clearly worth more, much more. No gentle man! has ventured to- deny this -and emen will refrain fro ra cftjnyi n g if tnv tt i pnnnh p nt i par nnri tin- answerable trut gain on the part of the officers ; uheyl gave up . more than hey received. The,v parties did , not deal ' on equal terms- The ofucers bad no power to resist, any terms which were proy ppsetf, exceptth at power of the swo rd which no sense of justice could in duce them tp use, "but against - the enemies of the, country. Here, I say, then, is ra hare! bargain ' unequal in its terms its acceptance forced upon one party by the necessity of his con dition, arid it is a bargain therefore; which any vCourt of Equitj, ifit had j UrisdIctton,.would reform arid rectify In this respect then, f sayT', the officers have a clear claim in equity and , in justice v, J 'r But ' aain 'j's .vhen the txommuta tion certificates were, given to the officers, what did they pnrpof t ? They prpmised the absolute payment of the whole sume due with ; iuteVest at -sir'per cerit. Were these 3 certifi cates paid .? WereV funds provided for ;theirjpayiriebt tWas the inters est paid br provided for ? - We : kopy that neither the one nor ; the other Was done'. Did . theyj mamtain their par value as securiues ? VV know theyfeU soiiatjon now to mention the. point odpres; sion td Jvf hiclr the public cit tiere acaiu,-r waicumc. laiwi dibxpirethip pay andiWithocrt fvment mutatibu certificates? He' wai aein reV luVncatftnUwaidded the -demanos oi mere j asuw iwuv u v - & . duV ar thM all Jnticest w'Ideferre for ten years. In-each oqe of ihese transactions Uiere was a gain on the, part b-f tbe overnnient ud rv an. equivalefttjoss on tlie : part.of the .of, .ficers it settlement of thei accounts. 6ii vthestflctest ;princieswould give t6 these survivors more than is provided for them in . the1 prresent bilf. - Let us not. therefore, tfatier ourselves-that the question is,- wheth 'er we shall do Yourselves lmnor. by granting: ; a s gratu ity-rit- - is - rather whether w shall hbtI hqpe we may gladly and cheerfully perform anfined ; itself and had arms . in; iU act of justice. i- - But here I am' asked and it is p'roper inquiry: whether I aqa willurg, now, to re-state and to settle anew 'all the accounts of the J revolution ? Whether 1 am willing to make good the losses sustained by all other des- j if not, how I distinguish the czlse of the officers from that of others ? I frankly admit the pertinency of this inquiry $ and I say there are grounds, in my: judgment,' on which the claims of the officers, being just in , them selves, are entitled to attention, alth'6' it be impossible to be settle all j ac counts or do justice to all creditors. crsf,- given incousideration- of- the Vindis-" pensable necessity of retaining the services of the officers and as . pecu liar and extraordinary pledges of the faith of Government. . In the ; next place, there was no speculation in this matter i 'the. certificates were net purchased, otherwise than by .labo rious and perilous service But mainly, and to pass oyer, many other considerations . among - claims1 v all tmyastfthoseYorjew de yotion, the haziard of life, arid the price 6f blood, have a preference over those founded on mere property Especially is it so in revolutionary arid civil -var. The officers f our army bore, in N their property and fbrtunesy what others boreA; Nontax, bo buTariVscaped their slldulders to light ori those of others. -. They.' were citizens of the country,, and as such har tlipjr full share in wliat citizens suffered. - But they were soldiers "also '. and inr that character;' rmt f oi l . "TiardshipSj but dangers, fell to their lot, in which others did not to breast the storms where vaSed with the greatest. fury. ' They braved alio the higher dangers arising ; from defeat, in civil war ; the dangers of wronged reputation, of ca(umnated memory,' and of ignominious death. Men of e fixed . principle, of 1 high honor, ' and of a, steady - rierve are. olpn? equalto such a crisis. Such; ' Were the officers; of the revolutionary army, v aud they had, been ; sol i ci it& into the service by every : corisidera tion which Congress could address to them. Look to thejournals. -Every page, almost; teernsAwith' proof of .the ' earnest' :apd . anxiouV i desire - of Congress to4drawjjnfpHfie service; young gentlemen' of education and qf intellect. ; IThWwaJs indispsably necessary. An army Was td be for-, med irf a country where there were few officers who had seen- service It was "o be kept together, not so much by mercenary means as by patriotism and tachmerit tpj the cause ;ariti that cause the ofiiers i rieyer deserted till they saw it triumphanr . r V : thing more in thW history of Uhis ar riyi 01 1 is sbmething sprgrpmirierit attfitPUgh WweVe to ut oureyesj against itheW!e yet see it ;; a iiMament of tlieir Worth, sarspiidthat every comipg gerieratiori rnay mplatej rrieaiitneir conduct at theend pf ItWarI of houorit joed sihe of; in ; questnd-lpt er prqup m ityTictory,yet ? npiee- jpreedeiit other historsliowi" it : and the Honor which it confer on our ovn: annals is worth more, far more, than wr slmll, v,or indeed, thawi We could;- rtbw wtoKf :hat, sj was thevcdnditiph6f the ;v" cblimr at;, atniicmient r A ; victorious: afnjiy, Jiatl rescued her liberties from a' or eign foeJ ButSivhere were. they held t: V hThere was no settled .Government' to checkw eontroul thatarmy; v;.Vict torious as it was, it was uppatd, unfed tniclothed, unarmedf. No !r-4t had ar- k was, at that , moment, the arbiter of ydiir fate. Arid wljat did it do ? Did it demand redress f for its own 'grievances f .Did v it bold with: a significant grasr that 'sword that had given, it victory -oyer , the eriemy ? - Did it demand terras ; Did it stipulate for pjiy, - before It lost its power ' by disunion ? Si r, it dis banded itself? it stripped off its ar mor ; it laid down its' sword. Un paid," as itwas unclothed, -as it was ; unprovided, as it. was, 4 for a dny's : maintainanee, it dissolved, at the bidding of that voice of public li ber which had originally formed it ; and it left the grat arid sacred cause of the' reyUtutrott unstained By a sin- -gle instance of military excess. ; Sir, we are not of the 'generation of those who achieved the Revolu tion. , We enjoy the country; now that it has the strength: of a giant aud these survivors of the Reyolutiea who are around us, were the protectors of its infancy, j We are not asked to create fortune nor t ; gram splen; 4jd eiVdowmentswfWe know that, in general, these survivors are in narrow- circumstances. We, know they have not such. linearis of living, ai belonged to their education, '..their pursuits, arid their habiu. The prp- yisions bf this bill vill scatter nb riches, but they will disseminate com fort. They will' relieve necessity where it. presses hardest ori men who have seen better . days. ' For 1 one, I feel that 1 have no option ; and, for my constituents, l am sure that if it Vere,Jeft to their choice, they would eCngerly seiek the" pecasiori 2to bear any1 part of the burden which this bill shall impose : they would run to pay any tax which" the measure might renqer necessary. v .Ana i may mis understand the general sense of the community : but. if "I do riot, the not, rejection -of this claim will not give pleasure to the people of the united States. v ' .'-. -rv' ; ';v-". :; - The (Question was then 'taken on the resolution ; of Mr. Tucker, and decided in the negative by yeas and nays, as heretofore f fjulished. ; . ,Pr0DlMe Tialtillorc Aaericaty The "Report of the Commitlee of Con rii'erce In the House of Representatives, . (copies': of which we have received fromt our friends at i Wasnintoii) 'contain sir ' ; milar .'Vfews on therquedoirb the Weu ., India trade, to those of the Report bf die like Gpnrnittee.tri the Senate.' j We shall not, therfpreV ffUfert any", farther to thisf subject, than by vn(ticing ihoie partf r of the Report which -.coriUtr the pro6a6le effect ofthe measures 'rew the Crinwriit'tee, on, the trade and inter- ; ests of the two nations respectively. The ,, : satmeritsut: firth' 6y' theiCoinniltters ' fourided as Uieyafe on the pest in forma ;. ti6rij.7tnay juelify us in adopting tbe con- ; , ; elusions -which they - draw frpni them .; . ;'' and in putting ourselves at ease . en thtr . subject of the viluaMe iniereits'mvolved , In the trade id the,; Hired chahiieU of r V : - 4 which tireatBritian has; thought r?proper 'l ' I t throw stacle O jf rproxitytbe;'Bepoft 1 Can it ft prewnae ; nWe and navigation arid ber (tosses&ronsa ' ; ; , - July,' Tl 825i have not : been placed ; pa , ; ; 'Jl f'-tWJo.twgn ' : in the ports p footing of exactTedpipchy'?: In the ports . C. ,pfUfe0p1te3t tiie'jr rgpii ;w Britil;Vv- ;T ; . colonies, have been subjected to diiciuii faaditi?dut' ik;tbW bufirt4h;riiislfT colonies andposse-;, --;: been levwd ep the vessels of the U? Statel United Stales.- wr to fee- DTaced'riKlhe'V-rr .' !r;?ai-,r:' .. v - . . . -1 i- W V 1 i it 1.. ; j' ' w lit' V - A r I 1- '4 J.i. reniferided;M'C;on2rc$ 7V?.'.?i i;.rir
Newbern Sentinel (New Bern, N.C.)
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Feb. 17, 1827, edition 1
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