FEBRUARY, 1821.] Missouri State Constitution-Citizenship of Free Persons of Color. [SENATE. The question being then put on granting the | BOUR, to strike from the resolution all the proleave, it was carried without a division, and the viso, as follows: resolution received its first reading. Death of the Representative William A. Burwell, Esq. A message having been received from the House of Representatives, announcing the death of the Hon. WILLIAM A. BURWELL, & member of that House from the State of Virginia On motion of Mr. PLEASANTS, it was Resolved, unanimously, That the members of the Senate will attend the funeral of the Hon. William A. Burwell, late a member of the House of Representatives from the State of Virginia, to-morrow, at ten o'clock, A. M.; and, as a testimony of respect for the memory of the deceased, will go into mourning, and wear crape for thirty days. The Senate then adjourned. WEDNESDAY, February 21. The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration of the resolution offered by Mr. ROBERTS. "Provided, That the following be taken as fundamental conditions and terms upon which the said State is admitted into the Union, namely: that the fourth clause of the twenty-sixth section of the third article of the constitution, submitted by the people of Missouri to the consideration of Congress, shall, as be so modified, that it shall not impair the privileges soon as the provisions of said constitution will admit, or immunities of any description of persons who may now be, or hereafter shall become, citizens of any State in this Union; and that, until so modified, no law, passed in conformity thereto, shall be construed to exclude any citizen of either State in this Union, from the enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizen is entitled under the Constitution of the United States." The motion was decided, without debate, in the negative, by yeas and nays, as follows: YEAS.-Messrs. Brown, Gaillard, Holmes of Mississippi, King of Alabama, King of New York, Macon, Mills, Otis, Sanford, Smith, Tichenor, Van Dyke, Walker of Alabama, Williams of Mississippi, and Williams of Tennessee-15. NAYS.-Messrs. Barbour, Chandler, Dana, Dickerson, Eaton, Edwards, Elliott, Holmes of Maine, Horsey, Johnson of Kentucky, Johnson of Louisiana, Knight, Lanman, Lowrie, Morrill, Noble, Palmer, Parrott, Pleasants, Roberts, Southard, Stokes, Talbot, Taylor, Thomas, Trimble, and Walker of Geor Much debate took place on the merits of the resolution, as well as on the expediency of now acting on it, in the course of which Mr. BARBOUR moved to strike out the proviso, but sub-gia-27. sequently withdrew the motion. The resolution was advocated by Messrs. ROBERTS, LOWRIE, and BARBOUR, and was opposed by Messrs. SMITH and VAN DYKE. Mr. LowRIE, after observing that the resolution had been brought forward by those who had opposed the former resolution of the Senate, from a sincere desire to see the State admitted, and with the view of meeting gentlemen on the other side, as far as they could; but, as the proposition appeared not to be acceptable to them, he, for one, would not press it on them, and therefore moved its indefinite postponement. This motion was negatived-yeas 18, nays 24, as follows: YEAS.-Messrs. Brown, Chandler, Dickerson, Eaton, Horsey, King of New York, Lanman, Lowrie, Macon, Mills, Noble, Otis, Sanford, Smith, Southard, Tichenor, Van Dyke, and Williams of Mississippi. NAYS.-Messrs. Barbour, Dana, Edwards, Elliott, Gaillard, Holmes of Maine, Holmes of Mississippi, Johnson of Kentucky, Johnson of Louisiana, King of Alabama, Knight, Morrill, Palmer, Parrott, Pleasants, Roberts, Stokes, Talbot, Taylor, Thomas, Trimble, Walker of Alabama, Walker of Georgia, and Williams of Tennessee. Mr. WILLIAMS, of Tennessee, made an unsuccessful motion to lay the resolution on the table, with the view of taking up the Army Bill. Mr. KING, of New York, renewed the motion previously made and withdrawn by Mr. BAR Mr. BROWN moved to amend the proviso so as to deprive it of its injunction on the State of Missouri, to amend its constitution in the clause referred to, and leave it to read, that the clause "should not be so construed as to impair the privileges of citizens of other States," &c. Mr. ROBERTS objected to this amendment, as it would change the whole principle of the proviso, and give the resolution such a shape as would compel him to oppose it. Mr. BROWN maintained his motion at some length. Had the resolution come from the other House in the shape it now was, he should perhaps vote for it, for the sake of closing this long-standing and disagreeable question, to accomplish which, he was willing to make great sacrifices; but he was not ready to play so bold a game as to volunteer to the other House a surrender of the whole principle for which they contended; especially as the Senate had already tendered to it one proposition, which had been there rejected. A compromise to the extent the proviso went, would be time enough when it came from the other House. Mr. TALBOT conceived that the amendment proposed by Mr. BROWN would be mischievous, and produce no good. On so great a subject, and to settle a question so momentous, he was willing to give up something, and hold out to the other side the hand of compromise; but it was certainly a question which every one was to settle with his own conscience. SENATE.] Admission of Missouri-Message from the House of Representatives. [FEbruary, 1821. The question being taken on Mr. BROWN's | he saw no good reason for such a proceeding on motion, it was negatived without a division. the part of the Senate. There was no doubt or Mr. TRIMBLE moved to amend the proviso, difficulty here on the subject of Missouri. If by adding thereto the following clause: there was any in the other House, he had no objection to give them the advice of the Senate, necessary, but it could be no reason for the appointment of a committee on the part of this body to consult with them. Not being able to see the expediency of the course proposed, Mr. S. moved that the message lie on the table. And provided, also, That the 8th article of the said constitution [the article authorizing the estab-if lishment of banks] shall be annulled as soon as said constitution, in conformity with the provisions thereof, is subject to amendment. This amendment was rejected without de bate, and without division. The question was then put on ordering the resolution to be engrossed and read the third time; and was decided by yeas and nays as follows: Mr. BARBOUR, of Virginia, remarked that the time left to act on this matter was so short that a little delay might defeat the object. The subject was one of great importance, Mr. B. said, and he hoped the Senate would act on it immediately. The course proposed by the YEAS.-Messrs. Barbour, Edwards, Elliott, Holmes Other House, was not a novelty in the proceedof Maine, Horsey, Johnson of Kentucky, Johnson ings of Congress, or of the English Parliament, of Louisiana, Lowrie, Morrill, Parrott, Pleasants, whence most of our rules were drawn. ComRoberts, Southard, Stokes, Talbot, Taylor, Thomas, mittees of conference were frequently appointed Walker of Georgia, and Williams of Tennessee-19. on subjects of much less importance than the NAYS.-Messrs. Brown, Chandler, Dana, Dicker-present; and it was proper that, when the two son, Eaton, Gaillard, Holmes of Mississippi, King of Houses do not agree on the principles of a pubAlabama, King of New York, Knight, Lanman, Ma- lic act, there should be a joint committee to see con, Mills, Noble, Otis, Palmer, Ruggles, Sanford, if they can devise any course in which the two Smith, Tichenor, Trimble, Van Dyke, Walker of branches would probably meet. This was a Alabama, and Williams of Mississippi-24. mere proposition for such an inquiry, and he hoped the Senate would accede to it. So the resolution was rejected. FRIDAY, February 23. Mr. SMITH said he had no opportunity to see what the proposition from the other House actually was, as it had just been received, and Florida Treaty Ratified, and Legislative Meas-once read. If the Senate were straitened for PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Representatives of the United States: The Treaty of Amity, Settlement, and Limits, between the United States and Spain, signed on the 22d of February, 1819, having been ratified by the contracting parties, and the ratifications having been exchanged, it is herewith communicated to Congress, that such legislative measures may be taken as they shal' judge proper for carrying the same into execution. WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 1821. JAMES MONROE. The message and treaty were read, and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. time, it was a reason for not acting precipitately, and the importance of the subject, which had been urged in favor of an immediate decision, was a reason for acting with caution. As to the mode of proceeding in Parliament, it did not apply to this case. If the other House had sent back the resolution of the Senate for the admission of Missouri, with an amendment, on which the two Houses could not agree, a committee of conference would be proper on the disagreeing votes; but a committee of conferHe hoped, at any rate, that the Senate would ence to settle original principles was a novelty. allow a little time-even half an hour-to think of this proposition. Mr. HOLMES, of Maine, hoped that the message would not be laid on the table. The suband difficult already, and he should be sorry to ject involved in it was sufficiently embarrassed see any additional impediments thrown in the way. It was simply a proposition from the other House for a committee of inquiry into an Admission of Missouri - Message from the all-important matter; and would it, he asked, SATURDAY, February 24. House of Representatives. On motion of Mr. HOLMES, of Maine, the Senate proceeded to consider the message from the House, announcing their appointment of a committee to meet such committee as may be appointed by the Senate, on the subject of the admission of Missouri into the Union; and the question was on concurring with the other House in the course proposed. Mr. SMITH, of South Carolina, observed, that, from the hasty glance he could give the subject, be proper for the Senate to refuse it? The motion to lay the message on the table was negatived. The Senate then concurred in the proposition—yeas 29, nays 7, as follows: YEAS.-Messrs. Barbour, Chandler, Eaton, Elliott, Gaillard, Holmes of Maine, Holmes of Mississippi, Horsey, Hunter, Johnson of Kentucky, Johnson of Louisiana, King of Alabama, Knight, Lanman, Lowrie, Morrill, Palmer, Parrott, Pleasants, Roberts, Southard, Stokes, Talbot, Taylor, Trimble, Van Dyke, Walker of Alabama, Walker of Georgia, and Messrs. HOLMES, of Maine, BARBOUR, ROBERTS, MORRILL, SOUTHARD, JOHNSON, of Kentucky, and KING, of New York, were appointed the committee on the part of the Senate. MONDAY, February 26. Admission of Missouri-Report of Joint Committee. Mr. HOLMES, of Maine, from the Joint Committee of the two Houses of Congress, appointed on the subject, reported a resolution providing for the admission of Missouri into the Union on a certain condition; which was read, and laid on the table. TUESDAY, February 27. Admission of Missouri-Message from the House of Representatives. A Message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that the House have passed a resolution providing for the admission of the State of Missouri into the Union on a certain condition, in which they request the concurrence of the Senate.* The Senate then proceeded to consider the said resolution. After an unsuccessful attempt by Mr. MACON to strike out the condition and proviso, which was negatived by a large majority, and a few remarks by Mr. BARBOUR in support of the expediency of harmony and concession on this momentous subject, The question was taken on ordering the resolution to be read a third time, and was decided in the affirmative, by the following vote: [SENATE. tives for the admission of the State of Missouri into the Union, on a certain condition, was read the third time. On the question, "Shall this resolution pass?" it was determined in the affirmative-yeas 28, nays 14, as follows: YEAS.-Messrs. Barbour, Chandler, Eaton, Edwards, Gaillard, Holmes of Maine, Holmes of Mississippi, Horsey, Hunter, Johnson of Kentucky, Johnson of Louisiana, King of Alabama, Lowrie, Morrill, Parrott, Pinkney, Pleasants, Roberts, Southard, Stokes, Talbot, Taylor, Thomas, Van Dyke, Walker of Alabama, Walker of Georgia, Williams of Mississippi, and Williams of Tennessee. York, Knight, Lanman, Macon, Mills, Noble, Otis, NAYS.-Messrs. Dana, Dickerson, King of New Ruggles, Sanford, Smith, Tichenor, and Trimble. THURSDAY, March 1. The credentials of JOHN HOLMES, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the State of Maine for six years, commencing on the fourth instant, were read, and laid on file. East and West Florida-Bill to take Possession of the Territory, and for its Temporary Government. The Senate proceeded to consider, as in Committee of the Whole, the bill to authorize the President of the United States to take possession of East and West Florida, and to establish a temporary government therein; and, no amendment having been proposed, it was reported to the House, and ordered to be engrossed and read a third time.* SATURDAY, March 3. The credentials of BENJAMIN RUGGLES, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the State of Ohio, for the term of six years, com YEAS.-Messrs. Barbour, Chandler, Eaton, Elliott, Gaillard, Holmes of Maine, Holmes of Mississippi, Horsey, Hunter, Johnson of Kentucky, Johnson of Louisiana, King of Alabama, Lowrie, Morrill, Par-vision or amendment, was the same which had been passed rott, Pleasants, Roberts, Southard, Stokes, Talbot, Taylor, Thomas, Van Dyke, Walker of Alabama, Williams of Mississippi, and Williams of Tennessee 26. NAYS.-Messrs. Dana, Dickerson, King of New York, Knight, Lanman, Macon, Mills, Noble, Otis, Palmer, Ruggles, Sanford, Smith, Tichenor, and Trimble-15. A motion was made to read the resolution a third time forthwith, but it was objected to, and, under the rule of the Senate, of course it could not be done. [The next day the resolution was read the third time, and passed, with a diminution of one vote, and a gain of two-as follows:] The resolution from the House of Representa This was the resolution reported in the House by the grand committee raised upon the proposition of Mr. Clay, and of which he was Chairman. *The bill, thus so expeditiously passed, and without diseventeen years before, at the time of the acquisition of Louisiana, and was a continuation of the despotic government of Spain. The whole governing part was in the second section, and in these words: "That, until the end of the first session of the next Congress, unless provision for the temporary government of said territories be sooner made by Congress, all the military, civil, and judicial powers exercised by the officers of the existing Government of the same territories, shall be vested in such person or persons, and shall be exercised in such man ner, as the President of the United States shall direct, for the maintaining the inhabitants of said territories in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and religion; and the laws of the United States relating to the revenue and its collection, subject to the modification stipulated by the 15th article of the said treaty, in favor of Spanish vessels and their cargoes, and the laws relating to the importation of persons of color, shall be extended to the said territories. And the President of the United States shall be, and he hereby is, authorized within the term aforesaid, to establish such districts for the collection of the revenue, and during the recoss On motion, by Mr. BARBOUR, Mr. GAILLARD made his acknowledgments, of Congress, to appoint such officers, whose commissions shall expire at the end of the next session of Congress, to enforce the said laws, as to him shall seem expedient." This act, now held by many to be unconstitutional and void, was reported by a committee, passed by a Congress, and approved by an Administration, which were all believed in their day to know something about the constitution, and also to care for it. The committee were: Messrs. James Barbour of Virginia, Nathaniel Macon of North Carolina, James Brown of Louisiana, William Hunter of Rhode Island, and Rufus King of New York-all of them familiar with the formation and adoption of the constitution, and one of them (Mr. Rufus King) a member of the Federal Convention which framed it. The Congress was that of 1820-21, the first under the second administration of Mr. Monroe, himself the last of the revolutionary Presidents, and in the last term of his public life--both the Senate and the House impressive and venerable from the presence of many survivors of the first generation, and brilliant with the apparition of the young luminaries of the second generation, then just appearing above the political horizon, soon to light up the whole political firmament with the splendors of their genius, and to continue shining in it, like fixed stars, until gathered, in the fulness of time, to rest with their fathers. To name some, would be to wrong others, equally worthy, less brilliant. To name all who shone in this firmament would be to repeat, almost, the whole list of the members of the two Houses; for, either brilliant or useful, talent pervaded the whole list-even the plainest members respectable for the honesty of their votes, and close attention to the business of the House. I entered the Senate at that time, and felt myself to be among masters whose scholar I must long remain before I could become a teacher-whose example I must emulate, without the hope of successful imitation. There they were, day in and day out, at their places, punctual to every duty, ripe in wisdom, rich in knowledge, modest, virtuous, decorous, deferential, and wholly intent upon the public good. There I made my first acquaintance with the federal gentlemen of the old school, and while differing from them on systems of policy, soon came to appreciate their high personal character, to admire their finished manners, to recognize their solid patriotism, (according to their views of government,) and to feel grateful to them as the principal founders of our Government; and in all this I only divided sentiments with the old republicans, all living on terms of personal kindness with their political adversaries, and with perfect respect for each other's motives and opinions. They are all gone-their bodies buried in the earth, their works buried under rubbish, and their names beginning to fade from the memory of man-and I, (who stood so far behind them in their great day that praise from me would have seemed impertinence,) I have become, in some sort, their historiographer and introducer to the world. I abridge the debates of Congress! those debates in which their wisdom, virtue, modesty, patriotism lie buried. I resurrect the whole! put them in scene again on the living stage, every one with the best of his works in his hand: a labor of love and pride to me, of justice to them, and, I hope, of utility to many generations. Such were the two Houses of Congress which re-enacted the Florida Territorial Bill in 1821, which had been first enacted (by predecessors not less illustrious) in the Orleans Territorial Bill of 1804, and approved by Mr. Monroe's cabinet-a cabinet unsurpassed by any one before or since: John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State; William H. Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury; John C. Calhoun, Secretary at War; Smith Thompson, Secretary of the Navy; Return Jonathan Meigs, Postmaster-General; William Wirt, Attorney-General; and which acts, so made, and so approved, are now to be called unconstitutional and void. But they had a further approval to undergo-one of practice! and received it! received it from both Houses of Congress, and from the Monroe Administration: and that after it was put into operation by the first Governor of East and West Florida, commissioned with the powers of CaptainGeneral and Intendant of Cuba, uniting in his own hands the supreme military, civil, and judicial functions, and exercising them when he believed the public good required it. But of this hereafter. INDEX TO VOL. VI. A ABBOTT, JOEL, Representative from Georgia, 59, 209, 464. ADAMS, J. Q., letter as Secretary of State relative to com- Alabama.-Bill to authorize the people to form a State gov Allegiance, Foreign.-See Index, vol. 1; also Expatriation, ALLEN, HEMAN, Representative from. Vermont, 58, 200. In the House.-Resolution for a call for information Amendment to the Constitution.-See Index, vols. 1, 2, 3, 5. the bar of the House, 90; letters, 99; examination at ANDERSON, RICHARD C., Jr., Representative from Kentucky, ANDERSON, WILLIAM, Representative from Pennsylvania, ASHMUN, ELI P., Senator from Massachusetts, 7. See Index, AUSTIN, ARCHIBALD, Representative from Virginia, 63, 200. B BAKER, CALEB, Representative from New York, 464. Resolution contemplates a wider scope of inquiry than |