DEFEAT OF THE DEFENCE APPROPRIATION, AND LOSS OF THE FORTIFICATION
BILL.
The President in his annual message at the commencement had
communicated to Congress the state of our relations with France, and
especially the continued failure to pay the indemnities stipulated
by the treaty of 1831; and had recommended to Congress measures of
reprisal against the commerce of France. The recommendation, in the
House of Representatives, was referred to the committee of foreign
relations, which through their chairman, Mr. Cambreling, made a
report adverse to immediate resort to reprisals, and recommending
contingent preparation to meet any emergency which should grow
out of a continued refusal on the part of France to comply with
her treaty, and make the stipulated payment. In conformity with
this last recommendation, and at the suggestion of Mr. John Quincy
Adams, it was resolved unanimously upon yeas and nays, or rather
upon yeas, their being no nays, and 212 members voting--"That in
the opinion of this House, the treaty of the 4th of July 1831 with
France be maintained, and its execution insisted upon:" and, with
the like unanimity it was resolved--"That preparations ought to
be made to meet any emergency growing out of our relations with
France." These two resolutions showed the temper of the House,
and that it intended to vindicate the rights of our citizens, if
necessary at the expense of war. Accordingly an appropriation of
three millions of dollars was inserted by the House in the general
fortification bill to enable the President to make such military
and naval preparations during the recess of Congress as the state
of our relations with France might require. This appropriation was
zealously voted by the House: in the Senate it met with no favor;
and was rejected. The House insisted on its appropriation: the
Senate "adhered" to its vote: and that brought the disagreement to
a committee of conference, proposed by the House. In the mean time
Congress was in the expiring moments of its session; and eventually
the whole appropriation for contingent preparation, and the whole
fortification bill, was lost by the termination of the Congress.
It was a most serious loss; and it became a question which House
was responsible for such a misfortune--regrettable at all times,
but particularly so in the face of our relations with France. The
starting point in the road which led to this loss was the motion
made by Mr. Webster to "adhere"--a harsh motion, and more calculated
to estrange than to unite the two Houses. Mr. King, of Alabama,
immediately took up the motion in that sense; and said:
"He very much regretted that the senator from Massachusetts
should have made such a motion; it had seldom or never been
resorted to until other and more gentle means had failed to
produce a unity of action between the two Houses. At this
stage of the proceeding it would be considered (and justly)
harsh in its character; and, he had no doubt, if sanctioned
by the Senate, would greatly exasperate the other House, and
probably endanger the passage of the bill altogether. Are
gentlemen, said Mr. K., prepared for this? Will they, at this
particular juncture, in the present condition of things, take
upon themselves such a fearful responsibility as the rejection
of this bill might involve? For himself, if your forts are to
be left unarmed, your ships unrepaired and out of commission,
and your whole sea-coast exposed without defences of any kind,
the responsibility should not rest upon his shoulders. It is
as well, said Mr. K., to speak plainly on this subject. Our
position with regard to France was known to all who heard him
to be of such a character as would not, in his opinion, justify
prudent men, men who look to the preservation of the rights and
the honor of the nation, in withholding the means, the most
ample means, to maintain those rights and preserve unimpaired
that honor.
"Mr. K. said, while he was free to confess that the proposed
appropriation was not in its terms altogether as specific as
he could have wished it, he could not view it in the light
which had, or seemed to have, so much alarmed the senator from
Massachusetts, and others who had spoken on the subject. We are
told, said Mr. K., that the adoption of the amendment made by
the House will prostrate the fortress of the constitution and
bury under its ruins the liberties of the people. He had too
long been accustomed to the course of debate here, particularly
in times of high party excitement, to pay much attention to
bold assertion or violent denunciation. In what, he asked, does
it violate the constitution? Does it give to the President the
power of declaring war? You have been told, and told truly, by
my friend from Pennsylvania [Mr. Buchanan], that this power
alone belongs to Congress; nor does this bill in the slightest
degree impair it. Does it authorize the raising of armies? No,
not one man can be enlisted beyond the number required to fill
up the ranks of your little army; and whether you pass this
amendment or not, that power is already possessed under existing
laws. Is it, said Mr. K., even unprecedented and unusual? A
little attention to the history of our government must satisfy
all who heard him, that it is neither the one nor the other.
"During the whole period of the administrations of General
Washington and the elder Adams, all appropriations were
general, applying a gross sum for the expenditure of the
different departments of the government, under the direction
of the President; and it was not till Mr. Jefferson came into
office, that, at his recommendation, specific appropriations
were adopted. Was the constitution violated, broken down,
and destroyed, under the administration of the father of
his country? Or did the fortress to which the senator from
Massachusetts, on this occasion, clings so fondly, tumble into
ruin, when millions were placed in the hands of Mr. Jefferson
himself, to be disposed of for a designated object, but, in
every thing else, subject to his unlimited discretion? No, said
Mr. K., our liberties remained unimpaired; and, he trusted in
God, would so remain for centuries yet to come. He would not
urge his confidence in the distinguished individual at the head
of the government as a reason why this amendment should pass;
he was in favor of limiting executive discretion as far as
practicable; but circumstances may present themselves, causes
may exist, which would place it out of the power of Congress
promptly to meet the emergency. To whom, then, should they look?
Surely to the head of the government--to the man selected by the
people to guard their rights and protect their interests. He
put it to senators to say whether, in a possible contingency,
which all would understand, our forts should not be armed, or
ships put in commission? None will venture to gainsay it. Yet
the extent to which such armament should be carried must, from
the very necessity of the case, be left to the sound discretion
of the President. From the position he occupies, no one can be
so competent to form a correct judgment, and he could not, if
he would, apply the money to other objects than the defences
of the country. Mr. K. said he would not, at this last moment
of the session, when time was so very precious, further detain
the Senate than to express his deep apprehension, his alarm,
lest this most important bill should be lost by this conflict
between the two Houses. He would beg of senators to reflect on
the disastrous consequences which might ensue. He would again
entreat the senator from Massachusetts to withdraw his motion,
and ask a conference, and thus leave some reasonable ground for
hope of ultimate agreement on this most important subject."
The motion was persisted in, and the "adherence" carried by a vote
of twenty-nine to seventeen. The yeas and nays were:
YEAS.--Messrs. Bell, Bibb, Calhoun, Clay, Clayton, Ewing,
Frelinghuysen, Goldsborough, Hendricks, Kent, Knight, Leigh,
Mangum, Moore, Naudain, Poindexter, Porter, Prentiss, Preston,
Robbins, Silsbee, Smith, Southard, Swift, Tomlinson, Tyler,
Waggaman, Webster, White.--29.
NAYS.--Messrs. Benton, Brown, Buchanan, Cuthbert, Grundy, Hill,
Kane, King of Alabama, King of Georgia, Linn, McKean, Ruggles,
Robinson, Shepley, Tallmadge, Tipton, Wright.--17.
Upon being notified of this vote, the House took the conciliatory
step of "insisting;" and asked a "conference." The Senate agreed
to the request--appointed a committee on its part, which was met
by another on the part of the House, which could not agree about
the three millions; and while engaged in these attempts at concord,
the existence of the Congress terminated. It was after midnight;
the morning of the fourth of March had commenced; many members said
their power was at an end--others that it would continue till twelve
o'clock, noon; for it was that hour, on the 3d of March, 1789, that
the first Congress commenced its existence, and that day should
only be counted half, and the half of the next day taken to make
out two complete years for each Congress. To this it was answered
that, in law, there are no fractions of a day; that the whole day
counted in a legal transaction: in the birth of a measure or of a
man. The first day that the first Congress sat was the day of its
birth, without looking to the hour at which it formed a quorum; the
day a man was born was the day of his birth, and he counted from
the beginning of the day, and the whole day, and not from the hour
and minute at which he entered the world--a rule which would rob all
the afternoon-born children of more or less of the day on which they
were born, and postpone their majority until the day after their
birthday. While these disquisitions were going on, many members were
going off; and the Senate hearing nothing from the House, dispatched
a message to it, on the motion of Mr. Webster, "respectfully to
remind it" of the disagreement on the fortification bill; on
receiving which message, Mr. Cambreleng, chairman of conference, on
the part of the House, stood up and said:
"That the committee of conference of the two Houses had met,
and had concurred in an amendment which was very unsatisfactory
to him. It proposed an unconditional appropriation of three
hundred thousand dollars for arming the fortifications, and
five hundred thousand dollars for repairs of and equipping our
vessels of war--an amount totally inadequate, if it should be
required, and more than was necessary, if it should not be. When
he came into the House from the conference, they were calling
the ayes and noes on the resolution to pay the compensation due
the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Letcher). He voted on that
resolution, but there was no quorum voting. On a subsequent
proposition to adjourn, the ayes and noes were called, and again
there was no quorum voting. Under such circumstances, and at two
o'clock in the morning, he did not feel authorized to present to
the House an appropriation of eight hundred thousand dollars.
He regretted the loss, not only of the appropriation for the
defence of the country, but of the whole fortification bill;
but let the responsibility fall where it ought--on the Senate
of the United States. The House had discharged its duty to the
country. It had sent the fortification bill to the Senate, with
an additional appropriation, entirely for the defence of the
country. The Senate had rejected that appropriation, without
even deigning to propose any amendment whatever, either in form
or amount. The House sent it a second time; and a second time
no amendment was proposed, but the reverse; the Senate adhered,
without condescending to ask even a conference. Had that body
asked a conference, in the first instance, some provision
would have been made for defence, and the fortification bill
would have been saved before the hour arrived which terminated
the existence of the present House of Representatives. As it
was, the committees did not concur till this House had ceased
to exist--the ayes and noes had been twice taken without a
quorum--the bill was evidently lost, and the Senate must take
the responsibility of leaving the country defenceless. He could
not feel authorized to report the bill to the House, situated
as it was, and at this hour in the morning; but if any other
member of the committee of conference proposed to do it, he
should make no objection, though he believed such a proposition
utterly ineffectual at this hour; for no member could, at this
hour in the morning, be compelled to vote."
Many members said the time was out, and that there had been no
quorum for two hours. A count was had, and a quorum not found.
The members were requested to pass through tellers, and did so:
only eight-two present. Mr. John Y. Mason informed the House that
the Senate had adjourned; then the House did the same--making the
adjournment in due form, after a vote of thanks to the speaker, and
hearing his parting address in return.