Слике страница
PDF
ePub
[blocks in formation]

lic prints, that this treaty had been made a means, an engine, an instrument in the hands of governmental agents, in combination with individuals and companies, for, in many instances, dishonest speculations and fraud? Yes, sir, these things are public; and, in my view, it is clear that this treaty, with its reservations, has been used for the mercenary interests of others than a portion of the people of Georgia and Alabama. Yea, North and South, East and West, and this centre, Washington city, the place which gave birth to the treaty, are said, and I have no reason to doubt it, to have recipients and partakers of these fraudulent speculations. The day, I trust, will come, when the curtain shall be removed, and the authors, active and dormant, in these dark deeds of infamy, shall be dragged forward on the scene; when the whole of the facts connected with this treaty and the frauds shall be developed with damning proof against the guilty, and ample justification and approval of the honest speculators or purchasers, when the world shall know where to attach the blame, to apply the finger of scorn, and the accents of indignant reprobation. Then we shall find who has pocketed the proceeds of frauds carried into successful operation by means of this measure of the Government, the treaty. And yet, sir, notwithstanding the many actors in these atrocities, exclusive censure has been directed to the contiguous States of these frauds, and they alone exposed and branded as the originators of the evils which have followed. Let every one bear his share of the blame, as well as his portion of public indignation, whether he be in office, high or low, or occupying a private station; they who are equally guilty of fraud should be equal in every thing else.

To change the conclusions which have been drawn by myself and others, in, relation to the causes of the war, it has been said, and I think by my colleague, [Mr. HOLSEY] that the white population on the frontiers and the Indians are generally in a state of hostility with each other; as a proposition, it may be true, but in relation to the late Creek war it was not so; for I have no recollection of any acts of oppression to the Indians, or of hostilities from them. The Indians were peaceable until the consequences of the treaty began to develop themselves. Frauds, it is said, were committed in relation to the reservations, which could be effected only by a combination of the certifying agents; and, unless the agents connived, a fraud could not be easily practised. The removal of suspected agents, by the President, took place, in order to protect the Indians; but, sir, notwithstanding, frauds were perpetrated, the Indians were swindled, and they, at least a part of them, became desperate, particularly when the man or men which their Great Father the President had sent for their protector had become a traitor to their interest, and was instrumental, as has been charged on this floor and elsewhere, in defrauding them.

Men from every section, almost, of this wide confed. eracy concentrated in the Creek country about this period-and for what purpose did they go? To take the advantages which the provisions of the treaty unfortunately presented for speculation in Indian reservations. They did make it a source of speculation, and plunged innocent and unoffending men, women, and children, of Georgia and Alabama, on each side of the river Chattahoochee, in all the horrors of a bloody and savage warfare, by their impious and eager thirst for gain and profit; and when they had consummated their speculations and frauds, in which some Georgians and Alabamians participated, they return to their homes, and add to their infamy by slandering and calumnia. ting the people on the frontiers, whom they had already too much injured by libelling them as being the instiga tors and cause of the dreadful consequences of their own acts of injustice.

[FEB. 1, 1837.

Sir, there has been an immense machine in motion in relation to these frauds, and similar speculations, in every section of the country where the public lands are for sale. Where can its location be, sir? I have heard it said, probably in the city of Washington. One thing seems to be most certain, that it is in operation; but who manages the handle, and regulates its mighty ac tion, is beyond discovery. Speculation is the order of the day, and those who have engaged in it, as individu< als or companies, are becoming rich-whether active or dormant partners; and those who have committed the frauds upon the Indians in the Creek country, whether they were agents or officers of the Government, individ uals or companies, or otherwise, are, in a great meas. ure, by the use of the treaty and its unfortunate and unwise provisions, the cause of the late Indian difficulties,

The gentleman from Vermont had very eloquently and feelingly depicted these frauds, and had also pre sented to this House a deplorable picture, as drawn, of the condition and situation of the emigrating Creeksi and also by the anonymous letter which he has caused to be read by the Clerk. Suppose all this to be true, no censure should be attributed to Georgia or Alabama, for they had no more connexion with these matters than any other States in the Union; it is a matter in the exclusive control of the General Government.

[Mr. EVERETT rose, and asked Mr. D. to permit him to explain.

The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. E. said) had mis apprehended the scope of his remarks. He certainly did not intend to make any imputation against the char acter of any State; and thought his expressions had been sufficiently guarded to exclude such a construction; he had, in general terms, charged the Creek frauds on the whites; he had not designated to what section of country they belonged. He was as well aware as the gentleman from Georgia, that they did not belong exclusively to the adjoining States; that persons of high standing else. where were concerned in the frauds and the removal; and that it would be in the highest degree illiberal and unjust to characterize any State by the improper con duct of a few individuals; and he could have no doubt that the conduct of these speculators was held in as deep reprobation in Georgia and Alabama, as in any part of the Union.]

Yes, sir, (said Mr. DAWSON,) there is no doubt of that fact, and I am gratified at the explanation. The letter, sir, which has been read before this House, detailing the condition of the emigrating Creeks, whether true or false, had no relation to the States from whence they had removed; nor could it originate censure against those States which had suffered by their murders, ar sons, and robberies. If censure were due, it properly at tached to the Government, or its agents, as this article of the treaty will clearly demonstrate: "Art. 12. The United States are desirous that the Creeks should remove to the country west of the Mississippi, and join their countrymen there; and for this purpose it is agreed that, as fast as the Creeks are prepared to emigrate, they shall be removed at the expense of the United States, and shall receive subsistence whilst on their journey, and for one year after their arrival at their new home," &c.

The Government is thereby bound to remove the Creeks, and subsist and protect them, and to pay all the expenses of removal; and to support them and supply them for one year after their arrival at their "new home." These are obligations and duties belonging to the Government, and for their fulfilment and discharge ample appropriations have been made by Congress. I these duties and obligations have been neglected, and il it be true that these people are in the miserable condition represented, that their sufferings are such as have beer portrayed, the fault must be on the agents of the Gov

[blocks in formation]

ernment. The contractors for removal, I understand, have fulfilled their contracts; no cause of censure justly applies to any State; the Government is responsible.

Sir, a needless sympathy seems to have been excited, in consequence of the few hostile Creeks having been emigrated in chains. This is true, and was an act just and proper, and the officers of the Government deserve no censure for this; justice and humanity prompted it; it was due to the safety of the defenceless women and children of the frontiers, and for the protection of the property of our citizens in that section, which was then a scene of desolation, conflagration, and murder; and, sir, it was an act of kindness to the Indians themselves, thus to force them to their new home, and prevent them from remaining and avenging their mistaken and savage propensities by acts of cruelty and murder against the whites; and it gave them an escape from the vengeance of a justly incensed and excited community, who had been roused to desperation by the murderous acts of these very emigrating Indians. It was an act of pure grace and favor, for, by the laws of the land, these murderers of women and children, and desolators of prop erty, and destroyers of the public mails, had forfeited their lives, and deserved death. But, sir, the generous, and noble and forgiving feelings of our nature permitted them to escape the vengeance of the violated law. Let no man speak of the indignation of the injured Georgians and Alabamians leading to cruelty; the emigration of these Indians, after the murders they had committed, the robberies and conflagrations they had perpetrated, being permitted by an injured people to escape, and to have taken up their line of march for the West, almost in view of the smoking ruins of Roanoke, amidst the re. mains of which now lie the bones and ashes of fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters, innocent and unoffending women and children, who were murdered by the dead ly rifles of these emigrants, or perished in the flames of the conflagration. Mr. Speaker, their permission to escape is wondrous, and speaks volumes in favor of that portion of this Union, and will command applause. Such an indulgence to the ignorance and savage ferocity of the men of the forest can be found in the history only of Georgia and of Alabama.

There is still a part of these people remaining, and the appropriation contained in the bill before the House is to effect their removal; let me, in the name of an exposed and injured people, urge that it should be made, and these Indians removed. Then may the men, women, and children, of that suffering portion of the Union deep secure, and be relieved from all the fears and apprehensions of savage cruelties.

[H. OF R.

to the Indians, there are some pages in the history of New England which I wish had never been there, some that I wish could be obliterated; I wish the modern process of expunging could be applied to them by this body or by any body elsewhere.

[Mr. HOLSEY asked Mr. E. to repeat the words, not having heard distinctly.]

I said that there are some pages in the history of New England that I wish could be obliterated; and I now say I should be glad to see the modern process of expunging applied to them-that black lines should be drawn around the page, and across it written "expunged by order of the Senate." This, sir, would be applying the process to some good purpose. I have, then, only to say that it will be time enough to quote the wrongs of New England as a justification when these wrongs are justi fied.

I have been charged by the gentleman from Georgia on my right [Mr. HOLSEY] with an exclusive sympathy for Indian sufferings, and none for those of the whitesnone for the men, women, and children, murdered by the savage. That I have felt strongly the injustice perpetrated against that race, in all time, but more flagrantly of late, I will not deny. But, sir, what occasion have I given for the residue of the charge? It is this: that I have not rested content with exciting attention to the im mediate cause-to the excited savage alarm-but to those who have excited him to those inhuman acts. He who unchains the tiger takes the responsibility. The sav age is the instrument of cruelty in the hands of him who excites him to war. I will notice one other remark of the same gentleman. He has stated that the natural relation of the Indian to the whites is that of war. That such is the inherent disposition of the Indian, on any proper occasion I would make the issue; that we have been always the aggressor, I do not say; but that we have been so more often than they, I think our own history will fully sustain. In judging them, we weighed them in even scales with ourselves, We have made no allowances for the difference of temperament and feelings of their race; what should not provoke, we deem it highly unreasonable that it should rouse the savage to revenge. The occasion, however, is not appropriate for the further discussion of this question.

Mr. CAMBRELENG hoped the House would not recommit this bill. With reference to the alleged frauds, he called attention to the fact that this very bill contained an appropriation for their investigation; and he further stated that, in the course of a very few days, a re port would be made by the commissioners charged with that duty. That would present a more proper occasion to discuss the subject of the causes of the Creek war, and the part these alleged frauds, if any such be found to have existed, may have had in producing the war.

With regard to the motion to recommit, he would explain, in a few words, the object of it. Mr. C. then cited one of the general items, and then read in extenso the es

Mr. EVERETT said he was gratified that he had made the occasion for the eloquent speech of the gentleman from Georgia on his left, [Mr. DAWSON.] If any thing could have reconciled him to some acts of that State now past and gone by, it would be the tone, the temper, and the manly bearing, of that gentleman. He had listened with admiration to the instant, the impas-timates upon which it was founded, some twenty or thir sioned, and able defence of the character of his State Called out on the mere (mis) apprehension that it had been assailed. The honor of that State was in safe keeping so long as that gentleman retained a seat on ibat fluor.

The gentleman had not, however, contented himself with repelling the supposed attack, but he had crossed the line, and carried the war into the North. He had sig. Difiantly asked if the Indians had no charges to bring against New England? Sir, I would that I could say no. Some things were there transacted of which New England has no reason to be proud; but some allowance is to be Made for the peculiar opinions of that day, and some for the advance of the age. The acts done then would be now ins against greater light and knowledge. In relation

ty in number, some of them embracing trifling amounts, and which showed that, if the specifications were carried out through the bill, it would swell to a volume in size.

Mr. GLASCOCK said he regretted very much that any discussion had been thought necessary on the present bill, feeling assured that there were but few who would be found to sanction the proposed amendment of the honorable gentleman from New Jersey, [Mr. PARKER.] Situated as he was, however, he felt it his duy to reply to some of the remarks which had been made by the several gentlemen who preceded him, and especially as they were connected and related to his own While (said Mr. G.) he differed with his honor. able colleague [Mr. DAWSON] as to the causes of the Creek war, and wholly denied that the Government had

State.

H. OF R.]

Indian Appropriation Bill.

[FEB. 1, 1837.

any agency in the same, he had listened with great at- many purchases made were perfectly fair, and in good tention to him, and was pleased and delighted at the faith, and for all such he was assured the most satisfactory manner in which he had acquitted himself. It has been measures would be adopted at an early period. The stated (said Mr. G.) that to the clause in the treaty which whole matter was now under full investigation before a gives reservations is to be traced the origin of our Creek competent tribunal, and a report soon expected: what difficulties; and it seems to be the wish of some gentle- that report would be he was not prepared to say; but men to fix this exclusively upon the Government. In he invoked gentlemen to abstain at psesent, and on all making such a charge, (said Mr. G.,) it should be recol- future occasions, from casting further reflections upon lected that all treaties, before they are consummated, must the State, and the whole people of his State, for the er be ratified by the Senate; and whatever may have been rors and crimes of a few. To continue it was illiberal and our error in embracing such a clause, and whatever dif- unjust, and could not be expected would be quietly subficulties may have arisen from the same, that honorable mitted to. Whenever (said he) the guilty shall be ferand dignified body must come in for a share of the re- reted out, and their guilt made manifest, he greatly mis sponsibility and censure attempted to be thrown on the took the character of the people of his State if they Government. But Mr. G. said he was gratified to say were not the first to point at them the finger of scorn, that no man is more opposed to the principle of reser- and treat them as their conduct merited. vations than General Jackson; he has witnessed with regret and mortification the difficulties arising under them, and the numerous frauds and perjuries to which they have led; and such is now his abhorrence to them, that he will not himself sanction them, or even consent to submit to the Senate for their sanction any treaty em. bracing such a clause. And in the late treaty with the Cherokees he refused to do so until it was stricken out, expressing with great feelings of disapprobation that such a clause should have been included, when his views and opinions on the subject were so well known. Mr. G. said he was not prepared to say what were the original opinions of the President in relation to this matter; but if ever favorable, they have long since undergone a change, and were almost universally known at this time. Sad experience has caused changes in the opinions of many on this question, (said Mr. G.,) who now assume entirely new positions. But under no circumstances was he prepared to sanction the principle, that because reservations were embraced in the treaty, it constituted any justification for the fraudulent speculators; and that errors committed by the Government (if gentlemen please) are to extenuate and palliate their crimes for a violation of all laws. He (Mr. G.) recognised no such rule of morals for himself.

Mr. G. then observed that, as to what had been said as to the causes of the war, it was painful to him even to allude; but a duty to his State and country forbids his silence, and was paramount with him to all other considerations. It has been said, then, that the frauds practised on the Indians were not connected with the war. He, from his very soul, wished it might prove so; his rule was to consider "all men innocent until their guilt be made manifest;" but he was bound to say that he greatly feared, whenever a full investigation was had, it would be found, that if not the immediate, they were the remote cause. Let it not be disguised (said Mr. G.) that a more perfect system of fraud and fraudulent specula tions was never organized and consummated than that which was organized and consummated by a few citizens of his own State, and claiming to be citizens, for the purpose of defrauding and cheating the Indians of their lands. He forbore a recital of their systematic arrangements; their plans as to the modus operandi: to do so would but cause all to blush for the depravity of human nature. Let it be known, however, (said Mr. G.,) that several are supposed to be connected in these transactions who have held high situations in our State, and, as not known to his colleagues, are composed of men of wealth and influence of both political parties; and here he would remark, without the fear of contradiction, that in consequence of the firm and usually bold and independent stand that the President took in withholding the patents until an investigation of the whole matter could be had, it called down upon him the bitterest opposition of the parties interested, and of many who had been formerly his friends. Mr. G. said it was probable

Mr. G. concluded by saying that, whatever may have been the causes of the Creek war, they certainly could not operate against the appropriations and the passage of the bill. It was a melancholy truth that the war had been produced, and the fatal consequences growing out of it but too deeply felt, if not by the whole country, by the citizens of Georgia and Alabama. Sir, (said he,) the tragical scenes have been enacted; the horrible deeds of murder and massacre have been committed, and but too deeply impressed upon our minds; our battle grounds have been stained with the blood of some of our valued citizens; many have found honorable graves; valuable possessions have been laid waste and wrapt in flames; wives, mothers, and children-nay, all ages and sexeshave fallen a sacrifice to savage cruelties and violence. The scalping-knife and tomahawk have streamed with the blood of innocence; hundreds were now clad in mourning, and the heart of many a fond parent made to bleed for the loss of some near and dearest relative; and yet an attempt is made to elicit our feelings and sympa. thies in behalf of the actors of these scenes, and the pol icy pursued towards them by the State and National Governments openly condemned. This (said Mr. G.) was but a faint and imperfect sketch of the effects of the war; and, though we may not have it in our power to trace the cause to its true origin, though it may remain shrouded in darkness and obscurity, still (said Mr. G.) the bloody and awful consequences resulting from it will no doubt furnish a fruitful theme for some future historian, but in whom, he prayed, there would not be found (as here) any sympathy for the perpetrators of such deeds of barbarity and cruelty. He hoped the motion to recommit would be rejected, and the bill speedily passed.

Mr. LEWIS said he rose in a state of severe indispo. sition and suffering, under which he had labored for the last two days, to protest against the common cry of frauds, frauds, which resounds from so many quarters of this House whenever an appropriation is asked to sup press the hostilities or to effect the removal of the Creek Indians. He said it was most strange that this cry should again be heard, on this occasion, when a considerable portion of the appropriation asked was, in fact, for the purpose of the investigation of the very frauds against which gentlemen so bitterly complained. One would suppose that, if such a holy horror of fraud actuated this House, there would be no difficulty in passing this appro priation; that every means would be adopted to facilitate the investigation which is now going on; and that the clam orous indignation of gentlemen would be withheld until they received the report of the commissioners charged with the investigation.

Sir, (said Mr. L.,) if these accusations of fraud were, or could be, confined to the miserable perpetrators who had engaged in them, he certainly would not say a word in their vindication, or attempt, in any manner, to avert from them the withering blast of public reprehension.

[blocks in formation]

He had no sympathies in common with them, whether they were or were not his constituents; but he asked whether the acts of a band of lawless swindlers, he would not call them speculators, should draw down the indiscriminate denunciations of the House upon the great mass of respectable settlers who reside in that portion of Alabama? Are these frauds to be a standing reproach to the entire community? Are these settlers, who, if gentlemen are right in supposing the late Creek war to have been produced by the frauds practised on the Indians, are they to be deprived of all sympathy for their losses and sufferings, and even their just claims on this Government to be prejudiced and drowned in such vociferations of fraud? He trusted not.

Sir, (said Mr. L.,) it will be recollected that the first complaint that was heard on this floor against the very frauds of which gentlemen speak was from the people of that portion of Alabama and the adjoining portions of Georgia. Yes, sir, from a very large and respectable portion of the settlers, who were in the immediate vicinity of these outrages upon law and honesty. Sir, it was these people who first demanded the investigation which is now going on. The House could not fail to remember the urgent petition which he (Mr. L.) presented at a late period of the last session, coming from so large a number of these people, charging the existence of these frauds, and demanding the most prompt and thorough investigation. What stronger proof do gentlemen want to convince them that, if such frauds have been practised in that section of country, they are nowhere visited with more unqualified condemnation and indignation, than by the very people among whom, and in outrage of the feelings of whom, they were perpetrated.

Nor must gentlemen think that, because these frauds were committed in Alabama, they were therefore committed wholly by Alabamians. Sir, it is like all other cases of frauds in the purchase of Indian reservations; and wherever Indian reservations have been purchased, the fraudulent, not only from the adjoining but from more distant States, have flocked together, and formed companies to engage in the common work of cheating the Indian. If I were asked, in the absence of a report on this subject from the commissioners, if frauds existed, I would answer affirmatively; if inquired of as to the theatre of these frauds, I would say in the Creek country of Alabama; if questioned as to the individuals by whom these frauds were committed, to what State they belong, I would say, not to any one State, but possibly to all of them to the United States. Many of the individuals belonging to these companies, and among them probably the most unscrupulous, because the least known, doubt. less did not then, nor do they now, live in the State of Alabama. Gentlemen, therefore, in denouncing the authors of this general system and harvest of fraud, may, in some instances, denounce their own constituents as well as mine; but, in so doing, they give a location to their censure which, I have no doubt, will be found to be most unjust to the people of that portion of Alabama. Yes, sir, if the facts are ever fully reported to the Country, I have no doubt it will be found that Alabama has borne more than her due portion of censure on this subject.

I trust, however, sir, that in future discussions on our ledian affairs, there will be less of this random assertion of general fraud; that gentlemen will withhold their further denunciation until they shall see the report of the commissioners on this subject; and I hope that this report will be received before the close of this session. I also hope that, when that report is received, it will be found that public rumor has magnified the extent, if it has not the heinous character, of these frauds; and that the Indian war grew out of causes of a more general character; out of the Seminole war, which was then raging, and VOL. XIII.-98

[H. OF R.

the reports of which were daily reaching the Creeks; for it is a fact well known, that the Creek war commenced at that very point in the nation from which the Seminoles mostly sprung; at a point the most contiguous to the Seminoles, and among that portion of the Creeks most nearly allied to, and having the most sympathy with, the

Seminoles.

Be these suggestions, however, as they may, Mr. Speaker, as no member has taken a more decided course than myself in urging the investigations which are going on into these frauds, so no member will be more gratified at the disclosures they may produce. If of innocence, they will remove unjust suspicion and censuse; if of guilt, they will give a just direction to public detestation and scorn. In these sentiments I know that I am sustained by more than nineteen twentieths of the people most contiguous to the scene of these alleged frauds; and if there is a stronger or deeper detestation of these frauds and their authors in one part of the country than in another, it is in the immediate vicinity where they have been perpetrated.

Under these convictions, Mr. L. concluded by saying that he had felt himself authorized to reprobate the loose and indiscriminate manner in which frauds had been imputed to the people in that section of Alabama. As the representative of that people, he had gone as far as any gentleman on this floor in the investigation of these frauds. He was but carrying out the will of those he represented; and had he pursued a different course, upon a point so immediately involving the honor of his constituents, their indignant reprobation would, as it ought, instantly put him down.

Mr. HAYNES thought this discussion premature. If the conduct of Georgia was before the House, he would willingly contribute his mite in her defence; but, if not, he hoped the discussion would be confined to the only subject properly under consideration.

Mr. PARKER said a few words in support of his motion, and asked for the yeas and nays thereon, but the House refused to order them, and the motion was disagreed to without a division, and the amendments of the Committee of the Whole were all severally concurred in. Mr. WILLIAMS, of North Carolina, submitted an additional section, providing that no Indian should hereafter be removed, by contract, from the east to the west side of the Mississippi.

After a few words from Messrs. WILLIAMS and HAYNES,

Mr. McKIM demanded the previous question; which was seconded; and the main question, being ordered, on the engrossment of the bill, was put, and carried without a division.

So the bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading to-morrow.

ARMY BILL.

On motion of Mr. CAMBRELENG, the House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, (Mr. CASEY in the chair,) on the bill making appropriations for the support of the army for the year 1837.

Mr. CAMBRELENG, under the direction of the Committee of Ways and Means, reported a series of amendments making appropriations for certain items in the ordnance department, &c.; which were agreed to. And, no other amendment having been offered, the bill was laid aside.

Mr. CAMBRELENG asked the committee, at this time, to take up and consider the bill making appropriations for certain fortifications for the year 1837; which was refused.

[ocr errors]

On motion of Mr. CAMBRELENG, the committee then rose, and reported the army bill to the House.

H. OF R.]

Andrew Knox-Indian Appropriation Bill.

[blocks in formation]

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2.
ANDREW KNOX.

Among the morning business,

Mr. HARRISON, of Missouri, from the Committee on the Public Lands, reported Senate bill, without amend ment, for the relief of Andrew Knox, of Mississippi; which he moved to be ordered to a third reading.

Mr. CHAMBERS, of Pennsylvania, was opposed to the motion, since it presented no claim for taking precedence over other land claims of a similar character. He moved to refer it to a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union.

Mr. HARRISON stated that the case of the applicant was a very hard one, and without precedent with any other then before the House. Mr. H. made a brief statement of the claim, and the circumstances giving rise to it, and hoped the bill would not be committed.

After a few words further from Messrs. CHAMBERS, HUNTSMAN, BOON, E. WHITTLESEY, GHOLSON, and CLAIBORNE of Mississippi, the motion of Mr. CHAMBERS was disagreed to.

Mr. HUNTSMAN moved to commit it to the Committee on Private Land Claims. Lost.

[The following is the substance of this claim: The surveyor employed to survey this township contrived to throw the sixteenth section upon the settlement of the claimant, who was entitled to pre-emption, instead of throwing it in the centre by commencing at the northeast corner, because the settler refused to give him $500. That was the allegation; but the fact was in evidence that, either through contrivance or ignorance, the surveyor did not commence at the proper point, and the school section was thrown into one corner.]

The question recurring on ordering the bill to a third reading,

Mr. ADAMS contended that, inasmuch as the bill involved the subject of pre-emption, and referred also to the school section, or public land and public property, it ought to be committed. He therefore moved its reference to a Committee of the Whole House.

Mr. MERCER replied by remarking that the public features of the bill grew out of the nature of the private claim, and were not per se of a public nature.

Mr. HARRISON, of Missouri, also remarked that the bill provided for nothing more than a change of the claimant's claim.

Mr. CHAMBERS, of Kentucky, was perfectly satisfied of the justice of the claim, from the explanation he had heard, and thought the bill should pass instanter. The claimant had been deprived of his right because he refused to give a bribe to the surveyor.

Mr. ADAMS contended that they ought not to give away their public property because a man had been deprived of his rights through the roguery of a public offi. cer, at least not without a fuller examination if the allegation were true. The title to the bill was not the proper one. It purported to be a private bill, whereas, he maintained, it was clearly a public one.

[ocr errors]

[FEB. 2, 1837.

Mr. BOON remarked that this bill was not presented in the character of a claim, for the individual benefited by it only asked for that justice to which he was entitled without coming there, and of which he had been deprived by the contrivance before referred to.

Mr. KENNON said the Senate had three times passed this bill, and the Committee on the Public Lands had unanimously recommended its passage. Moreover, every one interested in it, all the inhabitants of the township, and those charged with the trust of the school section, were all in favor of it.

Mr. CARR bore testimony to the fact of the township having been improperly numbered, the school section having been thrown in the northeastern corner; for, not satisfied with the petitioner's statement alone, Mr. C. went himself to the land office, and examined the plat. The case he also described to be a very hard one.

The motion to commit to a Committee of the Whole House was then put, and disagreed to; and the bill was ordered to be read a third time now, and it was then read a third time and passed.

INDIAN APPROPRIATION BILL.

Mr. CAMBRELENG asked the consent of the House at this time to take up, on their final passage, the two engrossed bills making appropriations for the current expenses, &c. of the Indian department, and for the support of the army, for the year 1837.

Mr. BOYD inquired, if the House passed to the order of the day, what would be the business first in order.

The SPEAKER said the message heretofore transmitted by the President of the United States in relation to Texas.

Mr. BOYD said he should then object to the motion of Mr. CAMBRELENG.

Mr. CAMBRELENG then moved to suspend the rule for the purpose of taking up the two engrossed bills making appropriations for the Indian and military service, and also for the purpose of proceeding to the consideraation of the other appropriation bills, namely, the fortification bill, the navy bill, the civil list bill, the road bill, the West Point Academy bill, and the harbor bill, and of making the same the order of the day for this day, and each succeeding day, except Fridays and Saturdays, at half past 12 o'clock, until disposed of.

Mr. BOYD rose to a point of order. He wished to inquire whether the gentleman from New York had the right to cut off a subject which was first in the order of business at this time.

The SPEAKER said it was in order for a member to move to suspend the rule. If the House refused to suspend, the Chair would announce the regular order of business; and, when the annunciation was made, the gentleman from Kentucky would be entitled to the floor.

Mr. BOYD called for the yeas and nays on the motion to suspend the rule.

A great variety of motions were made to amend the motion of Mr. CAMBRELENG, by the addition of other bills. Several of the said motions were rejected, and others were pending, when

Mr. OWENS moved the previous question.

And the House seconded the call: Yeas 75, nays 71. So there was a second.

And the main question was ordered to be now put: Yeas 77, nays 60.

The House ordered the yeas and nays on the main question.

And the main question, being on the motion of Mr. CAMBRELENG to suspend the rule to proceed to the consideration of the bills enumerated in his motion, was taken, and decided in the negative: Yeas 113, nays 74. So the House refused to suspend the rule.

« ПретходнаНастави »