ficers of the new establishment should have been taken from such as did belong to some corps of the former Army. Such could never have been the intention of Congress.

The offices of colonel of artillery, to which Colonels Towson and Fenwick were appointed, and of Adjutant General, to which General Atkinson was provisionally appointed, were new offices, created by the act of March last. Previous to that time the artillery was not organized into regiments, and had no grade of office therein higher than a lieutenant colonelcy. In the staff of the Army there was an adjutant and inspector general residing at the Seat of Government, and an adjutant general to each division. The adjutant general of the Army authorized by the act of 1821, was intended to perform part of the duties which had been executed by the three others, but more particularly those which had been previously executed by the Adjutant and Inspector General. It has been objected that the Paymaster General was not a member of the general staff of the Army; that he was merely a civil officer, and as such was not embraced within the provisions of the law of the last session.

The office of Paymaster was created under the act of the 8th of May, 1792, under which he received sixty dollars per month, and the rations and forage of a major. By the act of 1802, fixing the Military Peace Establishment, the Paymaster of the Army was to be taken from the line of commissioned officers, and subjected to the rules and articles of war. In 1814 a salary was substituted for the monthly pay, &c. By the act of the 24th of April, 1816, for organizing the general staff, the Paymaster General is recognised as part of the general staff of the Army, and subjected to martial law; and, by the law of the last session, a Paymaster General is also provided for, as one of the officers of the Military Peace Establishment. Your committee can, therefore, see no reasonable grounds for the opinion, that the Paymaster General did not belong to the Army of the United States.

H. OF R.

The only inquiry to which the attention of the committee has been directed, is, whether there has been a violation of law? Your committee are of the opinion, that the President had the Constitutional right to leave out of service any officer of the Army, and appoint another in his place. This construction of the Constitution was distinctly adopted by the House of Representatives at the first session in 1789, by a very decisive vote, being in the proportion of five to three, and after a long and able discussion, in which Mr. Madison took a distinguished part. The late President Washington carried this construction into practical effect in the last year of his Administration, by removing a distinguished individual from the office of Minister to France, and the appointment of a successor during the recess of the Senate. Although this removal produced considerable excitement in the public mind, your committee have not been able to learn that its legality was ever doubted, or that the Constitutional right of the President to remove from office has been questioned since the discussion and decision above mentioned. This forms a conclusive answer to the objections to the appointments called razees, and the dismissal of officers of the grade to which others were reduced. By the construction of the act given to it by the President, and which your committee believe to be correct, the intention of Congress is carried into effect, and the Constitutional rights of the Executive and of the individuals concerned are left unimpaired. Your committee are therefore of opinion, that the Army has been reduced according to the provisions of the act, entitled "An act to reduce and fix the Military Peace Establishment of the United States," passed the second of March, 1821.

Mr. COCKE said, that he took leave to inform the House, that the report now offered was the report of a majority of only one of the committee; that this majority was obtained by a change of the members of the committee. When the resolution directing the inquiry, whether the act of the 2d of March, 1821, to reduce and fix the Military Peace Establishment of the United States, had been respected and carried into effect, was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, a majority was then decidedly of opinion that the act had been disregarded.

DISTRICT COURT AT LOUISVILLE. Mr. BRECKENRIDGE moved to discharge the Committee of the Whole from the further consideration of the bill to authorize the holding of a district court at Louisville, in the State of Kentucky; his object being to bring it directly before the House, that it might be acted upon without delay.

The office of colonel of artillery and adjutant general being original vacancies, it could not have been the intention of Congress to deprive the President of his Constitutional right to fill those offices in such manner as he should think fit, subject to ratification or rejection by the Senate. Colonel Gadsden was appointed to the office of Adjutant General long after the time prescribed for the reduction of the Army, and when the office was vacant, in consequence of the non-acceptance of the same by General Atkinson. The committee, therefore, cannot believe there was any violation of law, either in that appointment or in filling the office of Inspector General, made vacant thereby. The dismissal of the supernumerary officers was a matter of necessity, and expressly directed by the act. Whether the President has discreetly exercised the power vested in him by the Constitution, in making the selections for these or other offices in the Army, is a subject belonging exclusively to the Senate. It is but justice to the individuals selected to say, your committee have heard no objection to the character or competency of either of the gentlemen whose right to the appointment has been questioned. They were all highly esteemed and meritorious officers. Colonels Fenwick and Towson had been breveted for most dis-of the exercise of maritime jurisdiction only that tinguished services during the late war. While the committee pay this just respect to officers retained in service, they wish not to detract from the merits of the many valuable officers who have been left out of the Army, or reduced in rank.

Mr. HARDIN objected to the course proposed. Adverting to the bill which had been received from the Senate, the object of which was altogether to abolish the admiralty jurisdiction of the district court for the Kentucky district, he said, that, were that bill to pass, there would be no occasion to pass this bill, because it was on account

a court was proposed to be held at Louisville. He wished the bill from the Senate to be first acted upon, and was therefore opposed to the present motion.

Mr. BRECKENRIDGE said, he hoped the Louis

ville bill would not be delayed until the bill from the Senate was acted upon. He knew that there were objections in this House to the bill from the Senate, and he did not know whether it would be acted upon at the present session. If acted upon, he did not know whether it would pass. It was of much importance that a district court should be held at Louisville, as nearly all the admiralty cases arose in that vicinity; and he hoped that this bill, to which there could be no objection, would not be made to await the fate of the bill from the Senate, in regard to which there was known to be a diversity of opinion.

Mr. J. T. JOHNSON took occasion to express the opinion, which he entertained, that the exercise of admiralty jurisdiction over the interior waters of the country, was an usurpation of power, under color of which individuals were unjustly deprived of their right to trial by jury. He found himself bound on this occasion to ask the House to let the fate of the two measures be the same. He believed that the jurisdiction of the district courts ought, upon fair construction of the law on the subject, to be restricted to trade connected with the great ocean. He could not consent to any construction of that law which goes to give to the district court authority to interfere in the municipal concerns of the State of Kentucky.

Mr. HARDIN insisted upon the propriety of first acting on the bill from the Senate, because, if it passed, there would remain no business whatever for a district court at Louisville. If that bill should not pass, he would cheerfully vote with his friend from Louisville, in favor of his bill. Mr. H. took occasion to express his opinion on the merit of the Senate's bill. He was against extending the jurisdiction of the Federal Judiciary one jot or one tittle further in the municipal concerns of the State than it was necessary to go, but he was against destroying the specific lien of hands, and persons supplying vessels, on those streams which are navigated by vessels as large as those which plough the ocean, and the owners of which are sometimes at a thousand or fifteen hundred miles from where the vessel obtains supplies, or employs hands. Mr. H. made some further remarks to show that to abolish the specific lien in such case, would be to destroy at once the steamboat navigation of the Western waters, &c.

The question being taken on the motion now to take up the Louisville bill, it was decided in the negative.

BOUNTY LANDS, &c.

APRIL, 1822.

the result, and he almost anticipated some objec-
tions to its adoption; not on the ground of prin-
ciple, for it was evidently a subject worthy of
inquiry, and demanded attention; but his fears
arose from past experience, this being the third
Congress in which he had made the same effort
to effect a measure so equitable in its operations.
And since his commencement as a member of this
House, he had always viewed it as a radical defect
in our military regulations, and ever entertained a
wish for a more liberal policy; yet the attempts
he had made, though unsuccessful, had by no
means altered his opinion or abated his zeal in the
pursuit of that which he felt to be his duty, in
soliciting a claim of moral right and equal justice
to every soldier; and the present Congress being
composed of some new materials, many new mem-
bers, perhaps with new opinions, had induced him
on this proposition to hope for better success. The
object of this resolution was to present to this
House and to the nation the great inequality that
has, and does now exist, in rewarding the services
of the different classes of military men; soldiers
who enlisted during the late war, in full confi-
dence of obtaining a bounty of land from Govern-
ment, which was promised, and now denied to a
part of them. By the existing laws, or rather by
the construction of those laws by the officers of
Government, great injustice arose as it regards the
And we
rights of a certain class of military men.
who are here, said Mr. W., in our legislative ca-
pacity, for the purpose of administering equal and
indiscriminate justice to all our citizens, are mor-
ally bound to keep open doors; not give to some
and withhold from others who have an equitable
claim on Government for military services, and
A number of
who are truly sufferers by the war.
our citizens, advanced in life, who had families,
enlisted for five years or during the war, and con-
tinued in service some one, two, three years, when,
impelled from the impulse of filial affection and
care of their families, they procured substitutes, for
which they gave more than their bounty wages,
and returned home. Now, the question is, or
ought to be, Who is responsible for the perform-
ance of the substitute, the Government or the
original soldier? Mr. W. had always understood
that, according to strict military rules, when a
man was received in place of another, by the com-
manding officer, the original soldier, having no
control over his future conduct, was exempt from
any further accountability for his service. It was
so in the Revolutionary war, and, he believed, the
true discipline in all nations, although it had been

Mr. WALKER moved that the House do come otherwise considered in the late war. Another class to the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of granting a bounty of land to the non-commissioned officers and privates who enlisted and served twelve months during the late war against Great Britain, and who by existing laws are not entitled to receive a bounty in land.

In offering his resolution, Mr. WALKER observed that he was not free from apprehensions that it might be unavailing, and had to regret that he could not make more favorable calculations on

who were enlisted were minors, who continued in service some of them near the expiration of their time, and were discharged at the request of their parents or guardians, as being under age. Sir, by the present system both these classes, the old and the young, are excluded from a bounty of land with their fellow-soldiers, although they rendered the same service, performed the same duties, encountered the same dangers, faced the enemy in the frozen regions of the North, marched to the sultry and sickly climate of the South, fought our

battles, gained our victories, suffered all the privations of a military life, and, after having sustained innumerable hardships, done ninety and nine good turns in the service of their country, should, through misfortune, fail by the misconduct of their substitutes to fulfil the last day's duty, must be refused of their rights, go unrewarded, and turned off as castaways! This hard measure operates severely on the feelings as well as the interest of that class of our fellow-citizens. They may well exclaim, in the language of the poet,

"Oh cease! forbear to give the fatal stroke,

H. OF R.

nary appropriations according to existing laws, were agreed to.

The section to grant "compensation to the messengers in the Treasury Department, seven hundred dollars," being under consideration— Mr. TRACY stated that he did not consider this allowance to be too great. He doubted whether it was even large enough; but he was well informed that it was customary in this, and he believed in the other departments, to grant the messengers certain privileges and allowances from the fund for contingent expenses. Mr. T. was desirous that these compensations should be explicit and defined. He, therefore, proposed to modify the section so as to allow eleven hundred dollars to the principal and assistant messengers, in lieu of all other allowances whatever. After a few remarks by Mr. SMITH, of Maryland, the question was taken thereon, and negatived; and the section was adopted as reported.

Mr. COCKE moved to add to the same section the words "which shall be in lieu of all allowances." The question was taken thereon, and carried-ayes 55, noes 49.

Mr. COCKE also moved to add similar amendments to the sections for the compensation to the messengers of the Comptroller's and Auditor's offices, which was agreed to.

the duties of the Commissioner of the revenue, transferred to the office of the Fifth Auditor, and one clerk on the business of the agent of the Treasury, transferred to the same office. The motion was supported by the mover, and opposed by Mr. SMITH, of Maryland, and Mr. BALDWIN, when the question was taken and the motion negatived.

And wound the heart that is already broke." Sir, I am gratified in being able to assert that I believe the district I represent has furnished more soldiers, during the late war, than any other section of the Union, in proportion to its population; among whom are some of that unfortunate description I have here noticed, who returned from the Army, their health impaired, their constitutions broken, their families made poor by their absence, and now without redress, unless Government should reward them with a bounty of land in proportion to their services. The recollections of past events often arrest our sensibility, and teach us to feel for others what we have felt ourselves in the old war. Let us, then, turn aside from the smooth and flowery paths of peace, in which we are permitted Mr. COCKE further moved to strike out the apto tread, and view the toilsome march of our fellow-propriation for payment of two clerks to complete citizens through the dreary deserts and the storms of war, and, of all on earth, let the soldier be the last man who would have cause to complain of the injustice of his country. The object of this resolution is not to unbosom the Treasury and remunerate them out of the funds of the nation-but to give them a bounty in land, plant them in soil, allow them a lot of inheritance among their brethren, a home-a place for the old to lay his head, and the young to raise his family for posterity. In making these remarks, I trust I shall not fall under the suspicion of one who would lightly or wantonly be disposed to waste or misapply the public money. No, sir; the state of our finances requires the utmost economy; but I would not, nor could I, withhold either the one or the other from any of our citizens who have justly earned it by the sweat of their brow, or, what is much more precious, the spilling of their blood. Sir, we have already provided a pension for the old way-worn debilitated soldier of the Revolution, as a crutch to support him to the brink of the grave, and something to the disconsolate widow of the militia of the late war, and what remains but to do justice to these unfortunate soldiers-the only chasm in the military system? Grant them land, fill up the breach, and then, and not till then, will the rewards of your system be complete.

The question was then taken on agreeing to the said resolution, and decided in the negative.

GENERAL APPROPRIATION BILL.

The House then went into a Committee of the Whole on the bill making appropriations for the support of Government for the year 1822.

Various sections of the bill, containing the ordi

Mr. BUTLER moved to appropriate for one clerk only instead of two, to complete the duties of the Commissioner of the Revenue, and the question being taken thereon, was lost, ayes 8.

Mr. COCKE then moved to strike out the section for the compensation of the clerk on the business of the agent of the Treasury; which was negatived without a division.

Mr. COCKE further moved to strike out the section to provide for the "compensation to an additional clerk as allowed by acts of appropriations since the 1st of January, 1819; and also for an assistant to the chief clerk." After a brief discussion thereof, by Messrs. COCKE and SMITH of Maryland, the question was taken and the motion prevailed-ayes 54, noes 43.

Mr. COCKE moved to strike out the clause for

providing compensation for three additional clerks in the office of the Commissioner of the Land Office; which was supported by the mover, and opposed by Mr. Cook, and carried-53 to 42.

The clause for allowance for contingencies, &c., in the Treasury Department, being under consideration

Mr. COCKE thought the sum proposed by the Committee of Ways and Means ($40,200) was too high.

Mr. TRACY expressed his opinion to the same

H. OF R.

General Appropriation Bill.

APRIL, 1822.

effect. He had attended particularly to the sub-compensation to receivers of public money for ject, in pursuance of his duties as a member of the their services in transmitting public money to safe retrenchment committee (so called,) and he thought places of deposite; which was read twice, and many disbursements might with propriety be cur- committed to a Committee of the Whole. tailed, and he expressed the opinion that, if the decision of the House in relation to the messengers was retained, an appropriation of $35,000 would be adequate to the purpose.

After a few remarks by Mr. SMITH, of Maryland, the question was taken on filling the blank with the sum of $40,200 and negatived; after which,

Mr. TRACY moved to fill the blank with the sum of $36,000; which was put and carried.

Mr. JONES, of Tennessee, from the committee appointed for the purpose, reported a bill for the relief of the officers and volunteers engaged in the late campaign against the Seminole Indians; which was read twice, and committed to the Committee of the Whole.

Ordered, That the Committee of the Whole to which is committed the bill from the Senate, entitled "An act to define admiralty and maritime jurisdiction," be discharged from the consideraThe subject of "compensation to the clerks in tion thereof, and that it be committed to the Comthe office of the Ordnance," being under consider-mittee of the whole House, to which is commitationted the bill to authorize the holding a district court at Louisville, in Kentucky.

Mr. COCKE moved to strike out the same, and, after a brief discussion of the subject, in which Messrs. COCKE, SMITH, of Maryland, TUCKER of Virginia, WALWORTH, and FARRELLY, participated, the question was taken, and lost, without a division.

A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate have passed bills of the following titles, to wit: "An act authorizing the adoption of measures to try the title of the Marquis de Maison Rouge to certain lands;" and "An act for the relief of the legal representatives of Joseph Hodgson, deceased;" in which bills they ask the concurrence of this House.

Mr. COCKE moved to strike out the clause "for compensation to the clerks in the Engineer Office," and to insert in lieu thereof, the words "for extra compensation for officers detailed to perform the Mr. Wood submitted the following resolution: duties of the Engineer Office." A desultory deResolved, That the standing Committee on Indian bate ensued hereon, in which Messrs. COCKE, Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of WILLIAMS, of North Carolina, TUCKER, of Vir-establishing a new department, to be denominated the ginia, SMITH, of Maryland, and NELSON, of Vir- Department of Indian Affairs; to embrace a superinginia, took part, when Mr. CoсKE withdrew the tendent of the department resident at the Seat of Govmotion. ernment, the establishment of Indian agencies, and the regulation of Indian trade.

Mr. COCKE moved to strike out the section for compensation to the clerks in the office of the Surgeon General," and, the question being taken thereon, it was carried."

Mr. WILLIAMs, of North Carolina, moved to amend the section "for the contingent expenses of the said department, including fuel, stationery, and other contingent expenses," by striking out the word said (department) and inserting, in lieu thereof, the word war, which was put and carried, and then, on motion of Mr. WARFIELD, the Committee rose reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again.

WEDNESDAY, April 3.

Mr. SMITH, of Maryland, from the Committee of Ways and Means, to which was referred the bill from the Senate, entitled "An act for the relief of Andrew Mitchell," reported the same without amendment, and it was committed to a Committee of the whole House.

Mr. RANKIN, from the Committee on the Public Lands, reported a bill concerning pre-emption rights in the Territory of Arkansas; which was read, and committed to the Committee of the Whole.

Mr. RANKIN, from the same committee, also reported a bill for the relief of the registers and of the receivers of public money, of the several land offices; which was read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole.

Mr. RANKIN also reported a bill providing a

Mr. WOOD supported the resolution by presenting a variety of considerations to show its expediency; but, the question being taken thereon, it was negatived.

On motion of Mr. CONDICT, the Committee on the Judiciary were instructed to inquire whether any, and what, further measures are necessary for the more speedy recovery of such sums of money as are due from public defaulters to the United States.

The bill from the Senate to establish the district of Blakeley, was read a third time, and passed.

The following engrossed bills, viz: An act to revive and continue in force an act declaring the assent of Congress to certain acts of the States of Maryland and Georgia; and an act restoring to the ship Diana the privilege of a sea-letter vessel, were read a third time, and passed.

APPROPRIATION BILL.

The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the unfinished business of yesterday the General Appropriation bill.

The question for consideration was upon filling the blank for the contingent expenses of the War Department.

Mr. SMITH moved to fill the blank with the sum of $6,000.

Mr. COCKE opposed the motion on the ground that the surplus over the amount ($5,000) originally proposed was contemplated for other purposes than for defraying proper expenses of the