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was acceded to; and the previous question being ordered, to prevent farther debate, the decision of the house was taken upon the resolutions. On the first, which took the election from congress, the house divided, 123 in the affirmative, and 64 in the negative. The second resolution, in favor of the district system, was rejected, by a vote of 101 to 91. The representatives of the large states did not vote, on this occasion, with any reference to the power of the state. The representatives from New-York were almost unanimous in favor of districts; those from Pennsylvania, as unanimous against it; and the delegation from Virginia nearly equally divided. The subject was then referred to a select committee of 24; one from each state; which, at the close of the session, reported, that they had not been able to agree upon any plan, to prevent the election from devolving upon congress; and asked to be discharged from any farther consideration of the matter; which request was granted. The only effect of this attempt to amend the constitution, at a moment so unpropitious to deliberate and calm debate, was to excite the feelings of the members, and to array them into parties for, and against the administration, in a more decided manner. They did not, indeed, take their stand upon

the decision of those amendments; but the mode of discussing them, and the topics alluded to in debate, forced the question upon their attention; and compelled them, in some measure, to determine upon their ultimate course, before its measures had been fairly tried. About one third of the session was occupied in their discussion; and a very general regret prevailed throughout the country, that the public councils of the nation had been thus diverted from their legitimate object, to the consideration of such topics as had been introduced in that debate.

At the close of the session, a resolution was introduced into the senate, which had a tendency to bring on a similar discussion in that body. A resolution was offered by Mr. Macon, to inquire into the expediency of reducing the patronage of the executive. This resolution was referred to the same committee, which reported the amendments to the constitution, and on the 4th of May, Mr. Benton, the chairman, reported six bills: 1st. To regulate the publication of the laws, and public advertisements. 2d. To secure in of fice faithful collectors of the revenue, and to displace defaulters. 3d. To regulate the appointment of postmasters. 4th. Of cadets. 5th. Of midshipmen. 6th. To prevent military and naval officers

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from being dismissed at the pleasure of the president. These bills were accompanied by a long report, inculcating the necessity of diminishing the patronage of the executive, and stating these bills to be but the "foundation of a system, to be followed up hereafter." The bills proposed, in order to remedy the evils apprehended from executive patronage, to vest in the senators and representatives from each state, the right of appointing the journals to print the laws; that the president, upon removing an officer, shall state the reasons of such removal; and to repeal the act of 1820, which limited the term of service of collectors, navy agents, &c. to four years; to transfer the appointments of all postmasters, whose salary shall exceed $ from the postmaster general, to the president, with the consent of the senate; and to distribute the appointments of cadets and midshipmen, so that one cadet and one midshipman should be taken from each congressional district. The last bill provided that no offieer should be dismissed from the

'military or naval service, except by the sentence of a court martial, or by an address of both houses of congress. It was at once perceived, that the effect of these propositions would be, to vest in congress a great portion of executive power, and to divert the attention of the

legislature from its peculiar duties. The tendency of this branch of the government to draw to itself the powers of the other departments, had been long apparent; but it had not before ventured to encroach on their prerogatives by legislative enactment. It had been content to interfere in the shape of recommendations to office; and in some instances, of remonstrances against particular appointments. This indirect influence had been much increased by the custom adopted by the late president, of calling upon the representatives of a state to nominate individuals to fill vacancies occurring in that state, during the sitting of congress. This course had been followed, from a desire to conciliate the representatives, in selecting candidates for office; but its effect had been, to divert their attention to the obvious means of augmenting their influence at home, through the patronage of the government, and to create an expectation, that their wishes would be consulted in all appointments, within their respective states.

These bills indicated a disposition to convert that indirect influence into a legal right, and the obvious efforts of certain political leaders to invade the constitutional powers of the executive and the judicary, created serious apprehensions of their designs upon the wise

and well balanced distribution of powers by the constitution. The slight responsibility under which such leaders act, when their measures are adopted in a legislative body, was a conclusive reason with reflecting men, to oppose these efforts to augment the powers of congress, at the expense of the other departments of the government. The late attempt by a portion of that body, to dictate to the people in the choice of an executive through a caucus, was promptly and successfully resisted; but these insidious invasions under the guise of resisting the influence of executive patronage, were supported by specious arguments in the report of the committee, and as the laws were not called up for consideration during the session, no opportunity was afforded of refuting them. The unusual number of 6000 of the report and bills was ordered to be printed; and while this im

portance was given to the subject in public opinion, by an elaborate report, and a wide circulation afforded at the public expense to its arguments; the whole matter was suf fered to remain undisturbed for the rest of the session; and at its conclusion expired with the rest of the unfinished business.

Another example of the grasping ambition of a portion of the legislative branch; strongly illustrating the mischievous tendency of the policy of calling upon the representatives to nominate candidates to office was presented, in the effort made by some of the Tennessee delegation to designate the individual, who should be appointed postmaster at Nashville. Their nomination was not approved of by the postmaster general, and they wrote a letter of accusation to the president on the subject, asserting a right to be consulted in the selection, which he of course refused to receive.

CHAPTER IV.

Proceedings of Senate on the Panama Mission.- Mr. Branch's resolution -Mr. Randolph's conduct-Duel with Mr. Clay-Proceedings in the House of Representatives on the Panama Mission-Panama Congress.

The protracted contest between Spain and her former colonies now constituting seven independent states, all having the same relation to the mother country and contending for similar objects, had been continued on the part of the Spanish crown for many years without much activity; but still with a pertinacity which denied all expectation of peace, except in the entire predominancy of the new republics and the humiliation of Spain. This conviction induced many of the leading statesmen of the South American states, to propose a union of their arms to bring the war to a close, by the entire expulsion of the Spanish forces from the American continent. This suggestion, natural as it was, was not immediately reduced to practice. The rising states, were for years suffered to struggle alone with the armies of Spain, amidst all the horrors of a civil war.

Assistance was indeed occasionally rendered by one republic to another, and the western states of South America may be truly said to owe their independence, to the unpurchased aid of their contiguous

sister republics bordering on the Atlantic. Still there was no general plan of joint co-operation, for the common object of their wishes. The want of this unity of effort and council, was acknowledged; but no remedy was offered.

The first approximation to it, was in a treaty between Colombia and Peru in 1822, providing among other things for a general meeting of the American states, for the purpose of cementing their friendly relations, to serve as a common council in the existing conflict; and as an umpire in their differences.

Treaties for the same purpose were in that and the three succeeding years, concluded between Colombia, Chili, Guatemala, Mexico; and the Isthmus of Panama was designated, as the place of meeting of the great American congress.

The threatening aspect of the holy alliance towards the free governments of the new world, having induced the late president, Mr. Monroe, to declare that the United States would not view with indifference interference on their part, in the contest between Spain and her former

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