Ifb^
Wayne's dell re, I have KfiftoV to ! lfrrrm
you tar my having received from tfie Gover-
Jior-Gfenrnl of this Province, information £
refpectin? the ratification bf the TtcSty of j £
Friendflup, Navigation aad Limits, between v
the King-my master, and the United Statet c
of America. You haVe seen in this letter c
whHi I have read to you, that I have or- c:
d.rirnqt to prevent in the Iraft the going "
U-jv/n the Mifiifippi of the Commiffitfners (i
appointed on the part bf the ,United States fj
to fix the limitafemd of the troops who are 0
to accompany them ; but that in the mean si
time lie orders me to tell them, that the eva- t<
cuati.on of the posts cantiot take place until
the time of high waters. I will beg leave £
to observe to you, that although this is the 0
affirmative answer that Gen. Wayne spoke t
cf, yet as he fays that the troops, who are «
to take ppffeffion of the posts, are now -o
Waiting at Fort Maflac, their coming down
the river immediately, that is, before the 11
"fcigh- waters, would be somewhat fopner
than the Governoi--Geheral of this Prbvin.ce n
fcems to expett, and fotuewhat contrary to p
JMajor-General Wayne's own intentions, — v
. since he" tells the Baron de. Carbndelet, to h
appoint the raoft convenient time for the *
evacuation of the posts. I hope yon will j.'
, be so good as to make that obserVation to ( j
such officers as are in possession bf General c
Y/ayne's ordep refpe&ingthe taking of pof-' }j
session of the posts, and at the fame time to t
make them sensible of the convenier.cy it
■will be to both the Americans and the Span- J;
iards to wait for a more proper season for the t
tranfpert of artillery, baggage, provisions,
&c. which could not be moved at this pre- v
scut time, without'much trouble and' risk on c
account of the river being so remaikably- t
low, as to render its navigation very dange- f
rot}?.
I hive tte honor to be, Sir, t
Your most obedient, t
and very humble servant, r
CharlEs De Hault De Lasses, f
- Lieutenant Colonel in his Catholic ■
Majesty's service, and commander
of the post of New Madrid.
To Lieut. Taylor.
c
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, f
roth junb, 1797. t
I hereby certify, That the foregoingdocu- <
tnents numbered from Ito 21, inclusive, — *
are true copies of the original communica- 1
tion from Andrew Ellicott, Esq. the Com- ,
miffioner of the United States, appointed j.
to run the Boundary Line between their I
Territory and hia Catholic Majesty's Colo- f
r.ies of East and Weft Florida, to the St;- c
cretary of State.
GEORGE TAYLOR, JUN.
Chief Clerk. (
> / *(No. 10.) J
Mr. Ellicott's compliments to his 1
friend Governor Gayofo, and wishes to be 1
mfortned, whether the following informa-
tion which he received this day " that all (
the works at the Chickefaw Bluffs have been ,
either demolished <r. carried to the opposite j
lide of the river, and that every exertion is ,
making at the Walnut Hills to put that post I
in a state of,defence," be correct. 1
March 33d, 1797. '
* The above n umber was omitted in its proper
place.
The following Bill is now pending in the Legisla
ture of the Uulted States.
A Bill to prevent the arming tf private flips,
except in certain, cases, asd under certain
regulations.
Sec. x. WHEREAS it is prohibited by law
that any veflel be fitted out t< armed within the
jurifdiaion of the United States, with intent'to
be employed in the service of any foreign prince
or state, to cruise or commit hoftflities uponthe
citizens or property of another foreign
prince or itate, with whom the United States
«re at peace ; and whereas for a due execution
of this prohibition the Prefidtnt of the United]
States has heretofore, deemed it neceflaiy to di
red) that no merchant velfcl, armed within tb« 1
United States, fhocld be permitted to be cleared
out, deltined to any foi egli country, except to
f, mt pert in the East Indies, until further regu
lations ihonid' be made'en this fubjea by Con
gress, which regalations it is now become ex
pedient to make, as well that the.said prohibi
tion may be duly enforced, as that tie-lawful
trade cf the citizens of the United States may
hot continue unprotefUd & cxpofed to unlawful
violences and feizutcs upon the high sea.
Be it enacted by the Senate, and House of Rep
resentatives of the United states of Amet icay in
Congress ahmbled. That it (hall not be lawful
•for any vtlfel fitted out and armed in the Unit
ed States, with intent to be employed in the
service of any foreign prince or state, to cruize
or commit hostilities upon the fubjeas, citizens
or property of another foreign prince or flats
with whom the United States are are at peace j
to be cleared outor be permitted to depart from
t#e United States.
SeA. a- And be it further enabled, That it
ftal! not be lawful for any vessel, fitted out and
armed in the United States, with intent to de
fend itfelf, if violently and unlawfully set upon
and interrupted on the high sea, in its lawful
trade, to be cleared out or depart out of the U
jiited States, unless the cargo and every part of
it, be bona fide the property of a citizen or citi
zens of the United Slates, and be not contra
trabond, by the general laws of nations, or by
feme yf the treaties of the United States, and
unfefs the fame be destined to a place nei
tiitr invefled nor blockaded-
Se<n. 3. And be "it further enaHed, That no
poods, wares or merchandize, contraband by
any treaty, to which the Usited States are a
party, or by the general law of nations, or be
longing to the fubjeas or citizens of any na
tion, at uar with another, or "difiined for any
place bcfieged or blockaded,lhall be exported out
of the United States, in any armed vessel be
longing to a citizen cr eitiiens of the United
States or under th'e prote*£Hon of a convoy of the
Unite.l States, to any foreign port or place lie
longingto any foreign nation at War with ano-
Se&. 4. And be it further enafted, That the.
master or perfop having the charge or command
of an armed merchant veffel,bound te a foreign
port or place, lhall deliver to die colder cf
the diltria from which such veiltl iha'.l be about
to depart, a maniteft of the cargo on board the
ft»ne,fpecifying theparticulars thereof,to w horn
belonging and where the owner or owners re
side, verified by t' e oath 01 affirmation ci the
ihipper or snippers thereof, a ß dl moreover, the
said mailer or cotnniiJider cr fuchfrjip 01 >
'.i,\ tlie li'npef or ihippers ot tire said catgo, , j
and (he owner 0T owner! of"Rich fcip at' velfel, ! t j
<hail give bond with tWo or more furetles, to th,e ;
fatist'aaion of the uid colleaor, iuafum, at j ,
least to the reafoiuble value of the said •
vessel and cargo, to be afeertained by the said ! "
colieeto-, with condition, that the cargo and j
every part of it is bona fide the, property of a tl
citizen or citizens of the United States, and that t]
no trade shall be carried 011 contrary to the i
laws of nations or Shy of the treaties so which '
the United Statei are a party, and that no fore? P
fhail b; used against a cor» :iffioned (hist of war 1
of any foreign nation, but in fclf. defence,con
formably to the laws of nations and treaties y
to which Uie United States arc a party, and to
such an extent only as defence fhaii reuder ne- , v
cefiiiry, against t!ie unlawful attempts to feareh | I
or seize such armed vefT;l, contrary to the laws C
of aatious or the particular treaty exilii.-ig tie- | (
tween the United States and the nation to n
whom-the ship of war belongs:—whereup-
•on the said colleapr shall grant a clearance for J
the laid vessel and her cargo, fpecit'ying the par
ticulars tliereof and the owner or owners ot ev
ery part thereof, and certifying him or ihem to
be citizens of the United States : and if any ar-
med merchant velfel, bound to a foreign port or r
place; shall depart out of the United States
without such clearance, the said master or person
having the said charge or command, shall forfeit .
and pay the sum of one-thouCmd dollars, for
such offence, and alfo'the owner ot t
said veflel shall forfeit and pay the sum of two 1
thoulaud do'lars f(»r the fame offence, to be re- I
covered by aaion of debt or information, one J
iiaif to the use of the informer, the other half c:
to thsufe of the United Slates. x
Sea. 5. And be it further enaSed, That no
veflel, armed or unarmed, bound to a port of a
belligerent nation, shall be received or taken un
der sonvoy of any ship or veflel of war belong-
ing to, or in thefervice of the United States,
without a certificate to the commander of the
convoy, from the colleaor of the diftria where a
the cargo was laden, afctrtaining that the car- 1
go, and every part of it is not contraband, ei- r
ther by t}ie general laws ot nations or by any of &
the treaties to which the United Statts are a par- e
ty ; and that the said cargo is wholly owned by r
cit.zer.s of the United States, wliofe names and
rtfiderice lhall be inserted therein, and that the e
said veiTcl is irot bound to a place, aaually c
sieged or blockaded.
Sea. 6. And be it further enacted. That the t
cargo to be exported out of the United States, J
in any armed Veflel, or other veflel, intended to j
fail under American convoy, banging to any
citizen Or citizensof the Unitcu otates, to an)
foreign port 0/ place, belonging to a foreign na c
tion at war with another, ihall be laden and put '
c« board iikch veflel, in the day time, jn the pre
fence of an of customs, who shall en- t
ter in a book, to be by him kept f the name or t
names of the owner or pwners thereof, togetl er t
with a description of the feveril particulars com-
posing the cargo, and the marks, numbers,
kinds and descriptions of the refpeaive packa
ges which shall be laden in such veflel, and a true 1
copy thereof, shall be by him, certified to the <
colleaor of the diftria in which such veflel is la- 1
den ; and the daily compensation of such io- ,
i'pe&or, for performing the services hereby re- ,
quired, shall be the fame which is by law allow- j
ed, for every day employed in aid of the cuf- ,
-tpms, which shall be defrayed by the master or
person having eharge of the veflel in which the '
'service, is. rendered.
Sea. 7. And be it firjbrr enaSed, That it 1
shall r.ot be lawful, for any convoy to'ufe force
or fyfler force to be used, a commiflior.-
ed fhfp of war of any foreign nation, but in de
fence of. itfeif, or of the merchant veflels under
convoy, attempted to be unlawfully searched or
seized, contrary to the particular treaty, if any
exists, between the United States and the na
tion to whom the ship of war beloßgs ; or, if
no treaty exists between tlmm, contrary to the'
general laws of nations. ;
Sea. 8. And be it further enpHed, That the
master or commander of every such armed ves
sel, and ajfo every convoy, which shall have
used force in felr defence, during any voyage,
shall within three days, after returning to any
port within the United States, inake'a true re
port of all the material circumstances of the
cafe, in which such force feall have been em
ployed, .fubferibed by the master, mate, and one
fixih part of the seamen, and verified by their
Oaths; and fha.l deliver to the collec
tor cf the diftria where such veflel shall firft ar
rive,to be by him,tranfmitted to the fecretaryof
the treasury, and finally deposited in the office
of the department of state : And if any such
master or commander, shall refufe, or fail to
I make the report herein required, within the
time, and in the manner herein set forth, he
1 shall forfeit and pay, for every such offence, the
I penalty of five hundred dollars, to be recovered
! in the name and for the use of the United States.
! Sea. 9. And be it further enafled, That no
| thing in this aa shall be conitrued to repeal the
j aa pafled on the fifth day of June, one thouf-
J and seven hundred and ninety four, entitled,
" An aa in addition to an aa for the punish
ment of certain crimes against the United
' States," or any clause or part thereof.
CONGRESS.
• HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
: FRIDAY- JUNE 16, '
A meffagc from the Senate informed the
i House that the Brefident had signed the
A&s which originated in their House, for
1 prohibiting the exportation of arms and
ammunition, afld for preventing privateer
: ing
-1 The bill to provide for the fafety of the
' ports and harbours of the United States,
J was read the third time, and about to be
. pal Ted, when
f Mr. Williams observed that he should
- vote against the bill for the following rea
■ sons, viz. because it contained a clause a
' dopting a principle which he conceived to
be both unnecessary and unjust, with ref
pe&s the State Debts ; because he did not
, believe the State of Hew York to be a
f debtor State : and because the adjustment
1 of the expences ot the war, had been made.
" upon the most erroneous principles. Each
" State he said ought to have- been charged
j with'the requisitions of Congress, made du •
ring the' war, and the interest on ar,y defal
-1 i cation of payment in each requisition, and
e t credited with the sums paid, and with such
- other supplies and payments as were pur
" chafed or paid in conformity to aits of
Congress ; but every claim, such as the ex
l pence of the expedition" to Penobfcot, the
! frigate South Caro;*ia, and' such as was
f admitted ought to stand as a charge against
t the United States, and to be paid out of
= common flock. (The Speaker reminded
1 Mr. W. of the qiieftion.) Mr. W. said if
' this objectionable clause could be modified
I | so as to call on the debtor States for the
• j furcs a(!b:r,ed, and accredit States who had
expended money 011 the fortifications, he e
then ftioutd have hopes of an accomodation f'
cfpecially with the State of New York, he
therefore moved fov recommitting the bill,
so as to have these objqdts embraced. t
Mr. Brookes objected to the passing of (1
the bill on the fame ground, and supported t:
the ipotion of his colleague. v
The Yeas ami' Nays were taken on the 1
passing of the bill as follow :
YEAS.
Meflrs. Allen, Baer, Baldwin. Bayard,— j:
BradbUiy, Burgess, ChampKn, Craik, Da- n
venport, Davis, Dennis, Dent, Ege, Evans, j~
Findley, A. Foster, D. Foster, Fowler, v
Gallatin, Gillefpie, Goodrich, Gordon, — j
Grifwold,«Hanna, Harrifon, Hartley, Hind- r
man, Holmes, Tmlay, JoneS, Kittera, Ly- r
man, Machir, Mathews, Milledge, Mor'gan, 1
Nicholas, Otis, Parker, Potter, Reed, — t
Schureman, vie wall, Shepard, Sinnickfon,
Sitgreaves, J. Smith, N. Smith, S. Smith, £
W. Smith, (C.) Thatcher, Thomas, Tho-
mas, Wadfworth. 54. c
nays. ■;
MefTrs. Baird, Blount, Brookes, Bryan,
Cabell, Clairborn, Clap, Clopton, Cochran, A
Coit, Dawfon, ElmendorS, J, Freeman, N. .
Freeman, Glenn, Gregg, Havens, Locke, j
Lyon, Macon, M'Clenachan, M'Dowell, f
New, Skinner, W. Smith, (P.) Sprigg,
Sandford, Sumpter, A. Trigg, Van Allen, 1
Van Cortlandt, Varnum, Venable. J. Wil- j
liams, R. Williams. 35. t
A yil from tl* Senate, for the protec- \
tion of the trade of the United States, was
twice read, and ordered to be committed to 1
a Committee of the whole on Monday.— a
This bill goes into the detail as to the man- 3
ning of the frigates, fixing the pay, rations, ;
See. and also empowers the President to 1
equip nine additional vessels, if he shall fee <
necessary, not to carry more than 20 guns 1
each, to be employed in the proteftion of t
our trade. > 1
.Mr, Varnum moved to have theconfid- t
eration of this bilT postponed till the firft (
Monday in November ; but was informed 1
his motion was not in order. t
.Mr, W. Smith moved the order of the ;
day on the bill ft>r raising an additional corps <
of artillery. 1
Mr. Gallatin moved that the Commit- 1
tee of th e whole be discharged fur- j 1
ther consideration of this bill. He made : 1
this motion, he fnid, for the purpose of 1
shortening the difcufiion ; because, if it '
should be the opinion of a majority, that it j
was not proper- to go into the consideration j
of this fubjeft at present, there would be ; '
no use 'in going into a Committee of the
whole. He did not think, it connected with
the business upon which they were especial
ly called. To carry it into effeft would at j
least cost 300,000 dollars, and no adequate !
benefit would be derivec from it.
Mr. Williams said, before he voted on '
this queftipn, he should be ghd to hear ;
from the Secretary of War what was the
present number of our troops, and where !
the.y were stationed. At present he was of
opinion that the men we had were fufficient; ;
though he allowed it was necessary that time j
fhoukl be -given for artillerists to learn their
duty. He should vote for going into a !
Committee of the whole. '
Mr. W. Smith objected to the motion, !
as, if carried, it would amount to a reje&iou |
of the bill. He was against it, because he
conceived the bill to be necessary ; and he
thought it would appear to be so, from the
! argument of the gentleman himfelf who
i brought forward this motion, as he had told
them, when the fubjeft of fortification was
under -consideration, that if 115,000 dollars
were appropriated, it would be necessary to
have additional artillery to take care of the
new forts. He should, therefore, to be
confident, withdraw his motion. The fame
gentleman had yesterday said this corps
would cost 400,000 dollars a year to-day
he liid three ; but Mr. S. said, he had a
. calculation, by which it appeared it would
only cost 200,000.
Tie gentleman last tip had wished for in
• formation as to the stationing of the present
: corps. He had in his hand a letter from
the Secretary of war to the chair
| man of the Select Committee of the Senate,
i who reported this bill. ( He read it ; from
whicl it appeared that there were 350 pri
vates at the differeat forts oa the Atlantic,
aad the remainder on the Western Frontier)
Theft 350 men were said to be necessary to
keep the garrisons in repair, and that no
part !>f the men on the Western Frontier
z could be detached from thence, as it was
e probaUe their presence prevented a
r War or the frontier from Tennessee to Geor
i gia. To (hew the neceffit'y of- force on the
- frontiar, Mr. S. read a letter and affidavits
from louisville, giving an account of a mur
e der ani other disorders committed by the
:, Indiari. ,
» Btf»re the late reduflion Mr. S. said, the
numba: of the privates in our eftablifnment
i was 4980, and when the 832 additional
1- men proposed to be raised were added to the
[- prefeni establishment, it would be less by
o 1132 men than it then was. He hoped
therefcre they -should go into a Committee
it of the whole, and finally agree to the bill,
a as he vifhed not only to have men now to
t keep the works in repair, but to use the
e guns, if there should be occasion. .
h Mr. Nicholas observed, that two rea
d sons wtre given by the Secretary of war for
i- this actional corps ; one was, that there
I- were ipt men enough to keep the works in
d repair ; the other was, that it was necessary
h to havfe ifcen to use the guns, if necessary.
-- With lefpeft to the moaey voted yesterday
if for fortifications he understood it was in
:- tended to be expended on the forts already
e built, aid not that new ones should be built,
s When these forts were firft erected, nothing
!t more was. contemplated, than putting so
if many inert into them as Wonld be able to
d keep them in repair. They were built in
if populous parts of the country, and if they
d were attacked the inhabitants would be rea
e dy to froteft' them. The militia of New
d J York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, he doubt-
Ed not, tii cafe of danger, would ijocktocje ■ w '
fend their fortifications. I ta
Mr. N. read a letter of the Secretary of tl
War.in January last, ia Which he raeiltioncd tl
that the fortifications were generally in good g'
(late, except a few on which the ravages of tl
.limp had made some inroads, and which o
would require 4,000 dollars to repair. He In
thought this account and thi present were* U
at variance. He wi<h;d the Secretary x>f ■-
War had said (and if he meant to have gi- al
gen information to the House, he ought to si
have said it) how many men were hi this re- 01
gimeut; because, if it were full, 55° al td- fc
lerifts would be oa the Western frontiers, f{
which he could not believe were neeeffiiry.- b
He believed the truth was, the regiment was "
not more thaa two-thirds full. Mr. N. de- t;
nied that our eftablifhihent' would be less by ii
1132 men, if this corps wafc kidded ; for tho'
the establishment had appeared larger pn r
paper, it had never, in faft", exceeded 3,000, u
or 3500 men. He believed there had not h
been any a£tual reduction of men. Nor c
did he believe the gentleman from- Penlifyl- p
vania was far wrong when he estimated the u
proposed new regiment at an expence of tl
400,000 dollars per year, as the constant £1
annual expence of the establishment was
from 12 to 1500,000 dollars. When mean
fures of this kind were proposed, they were d
persuaded they would colt nothing, but o
when they were gone into, the expence was r
found continually to i'nereafe. He hoped b
they should not go into a Committee of the t
whole. , h
Mr. Brookes thought it was firft neceffa- n
ry to enquire whether these additional men n
were necessary. He thought the vote of t
yesterday conveyed some "idea of danger, f
and if defence was neceffary,lt mull be al- c
lowed that forts without artillcrifts would n
do no good; but gentlemen seemed to go • t
upon an idea'that there was no danger. lls v
thought differently, and he believed a majo- t
rity of the House thought so. He denied v
that militia-men would be proper to be pla
ced in these fortifications, and allied gentle- a
men how they v could answer to their con Iti- t
tuents, if they went away without doing 1
any thing, and an attack should be made up- r
on our coast ? He thought nothing had tar
ken place in Europe which placed us in a
better fitu3tion ; but that we, on the con- a
trary, should be doubly vigilant. He truft-. t
!ed they should not be lulled 40 sleep by fair c
; representations. He was for going into a t
! Committee of the whole. . i
| Mr. Varnum supposed the gentleman last t
jup had received some new information, since 1
!he put his negative to the i>ill providing for 1
the fortifying of ourports. What that in- i
I formation might be, he' could not tell—He 1
had received none. The gentleman from 1
! S. Carolina had indeed rftid some papers t
! giving an account of a murder on the- si on- 1
j tier by the Indians, and of.a woman firing 1
' at them. But was this a fuificient reason for t
; raising a frefh regiment of artillerists ? He 1
believed not ; they sometimes heard of mur- <
! ders among civilized people ; and therewere <
modes of punishment, without the aid of mi- i
, litary force. He believed when the present
j regiment of artillerists was fall, there, would
be men fufficient for every pvrpofe. The 1
! measures of gentlemen Mr. V. said, went
) to a deftru&ion of national credit, by pufh
j tug every expensive objtjft they could lay.
j hold of. The United States had pledged
themselves to make good engagements at
certain periods ; he thought these should be
firft fatisSed, aad then, if there were any
surplus, gentleman might, perhaps, be in
dulged in a favorite measure. If indeed,
there was any foundation for what had jfal
len from the gentleman from Connecticut,"
that we were on the eve of a war. then, in
stead of 900, it would be necessary to raise
150,000 men ; or if we were to declare war
upon France, in cafe she did certain things".
1 He did not, however, believe that gentle
man's do&rine.
It was time, Mr. V. said, that the fenfr
. of the people should be exprefTed to the
President of the United States, in favor of
■ peace, that no irritable measures might be
: taken. He did not believe there was any
1 danger of war,except from provocative mea
sures on our part. (The Speaker spoke to
, order.) Mr. V. concluded with fayftig he
1 hoped the bill would not be committed.
Mr. M'Do vel l^vas against going into
, a committee of the whole, because additions!
I men were unnecessary for the peace eftablifh
> ment, and if war was contemplated, they
> would be wholly inadequate. Militia, he
r said, were the proper defence of this coun
-3 try, and deprecated the idea of a Handing
1 army which was the sonftant attendant upon
- despotic governments.
: Mr. Harper said, if the bill were to be
s reje&ed, he thought it ought firft to under
- go a difcufiion in a committee of the whole.
: Did the gentleman from Pennsylvania shrink
from an examination of the principles of this
e bill ? Or was it because he was unwilling
t his negative should stand against it! If he
1 were not, he thought he ought not to en
e deavour by a fide-wind to throw it out.—*
y Why, said Mr- H. was the bill pasTed for
i fortifying the ports of the United States,
e if men were not to be put into them ? They
, would be useless, and their conduft would
> appear ludicrous and absurd. He could ac
; count for this mode of aftiirg in gentlemen
who had determined to do nothing for the
1- defence of the country ; but for gentlemen
r who voted for fortifying, he could not dif
e cover their consistency in being opposed to
n this measure.
y Gentlemej cou'd not be serious hi sup
- posing that the liberty of this country Would
y be endangered by 900 additional men". In
1- expreffmg an opinion of this kind, they
y shewed a low opinion of their constituents.
:. Gentlemen had frequently argued as if we
g were to hold our liberties at the will of the
o French nation, but he could not have fup
o posed they would have exprefTed a fear of
n this kind*
y But if there-were danger, gentlemen said
1- the measure would not be effectual. It could
.v not be supposed tliat these men "were to pro
test the country against invasion ; no, they
w«r« to prote& our tea-ports again it the at
tacks ot" privateers and: pirater. Some gen
tlemen fay appearances are tlattetiilg, and
there is no appreheniTon ot danger. The
gentleman from Maffachufctts said we were
threatened witn war, and fubiniffidii could
only fecnrfr.us in peace ; so that we were to
hy ourfelvps at the mercy of an offended fo
teigrter t ,and fay, " Wehave been very wr-ong,'
and beg you will spare us." He attributed
all this to a wiifh to prevent measures of de
fence from being taken ; for in one way or
other, every defen'fi've operation was opptv
fed. On the. contrary, he wished t6 shew a
spirit to repel the injuries we had received,
by putting inns into our hands, and frying,
" We mean to do juffice, but to repel at
tack," nor could he fee any ciufe of offence
in a condu£t of this kind.
Mr. Shepard said, if thete man\tere not
railed, many of the fortifications would be
, useless, and denied that putting our fortVarid
harbors in a ft ate of defence, coa'.d give juit
cause of offeiice to the French. He said the
plan of fortifications was originally laid out
upon too large a scale, and would not allow
that militia could be used to advantage in
fortifications,
Mr. G.'les did not believe that these
men were raised with a view to any present
danger, but that advantage had been taken
of this season of alarm to increase our milita
ry establishment; he was therefore against it,
because he believed the present eftablifliment
too large by one half. "Gentlemen, he said,
had been charged with taking humiliating
measures ; but he thought it was more hu
miliating to tike a measure of this kind, on
the ground of danger, than to oppose it,
from a conviAiOn that it was meant to in
create the peace establishment. The gentle
man last up spoke like a hero ; he truftad
• they should all aft like heroes when danger
was at hand ; but at the distance he now
thought it, he saw no use iu the gentleman's
vaunting.
If this bill parted, he said, there wo\il<fbc
a necessity for going into a fyftenj of taxa
tion, The 115,000 dollars voted yesterday,
he believed, might be got ont of the present
revenue ; but if they went any further, taxes
must be laid to meet the expense.
Mr. Dana said, the question was whether
any part of the bill before them was proper
to be adopted. He thought as it was a bill
of an important nature, and being sent to
them, by the Senate, they should at lea ft go
into a discussion of it. It had been said
this measure was intended for a peace estab
lishment ; if it were pfoper for a peace estab
lishment, it could not be less proper for us
in our present fituatidn. But it was said to
be inadequate to resist the attacks of a fo
reign nation ; so that gentlemen would have
no force, except an" efficient one; He be
lieved we had not more aftillfery'in our re
volutionary war 1 ,. than we should have, if
this regiment is raised; and as, the gentleman
had given no reafoa why he thought half
our present eftahlHfiment" would be fuffici
ent, he.'would excuse him if he thought dif
ferently.
Ms. D. did not think the gentleman from
Pennsylvania was warranted in his expecta
tions from the present situation of . Europe.
He thought the refufal to honor American
paflports was alarming.
Mr. Ki'ttera said when they' firft met,
it was pretty generally believed that it was
necessary to put the country in a state of de
fence. This bill went He had
two reaforis' for wishing the measure to be ,
difcuffcd ; one was, because the President
1 had recommended it ; the other, because
the Senate had thought the business fuffici
ently important to pass a bill upon it.
Mr. S' Sjfli.TH had not determined how
he should vote upon this question. The
. present corps of artillery, he said, was raised
when the country was threatened by Great--
. Britain, when the Indians were at war with
us, and when the governor of Canada had
given us reaibn to expeft a war. It was
then thought necessary to erett fortifications,
, and an add tional regiment of artillery was
raised to what wa3 already in being, which
made a corps of 990 men. These weretho't
( fufficient. Since that time peace had been
a made with the Indians, and we had got
possession of the posts from the British. These
) required a few artillerists. He wished the
j secretary at war to fiiew how many men
were stationed at each of the posts. He
believed the number of men which was said
[ to be cn'thc Atlantic frontier was fufficient
to guard the forts, were always
excused from labor. It had been said mi-
J .litia coutd nyt be employed, because unfkil
le9 in the business, but he said the laborious
„ part of artillery could be taught in a few
days. For want of the information lie had
alluded to, he was a little at a loss in the bu-
finefs ; but when the late President (a milita
s ry man) had thought the present artillery
fufficient for that season, he could not help
believing they were so for the pijfent time.
With respect to American pflßorts being
annulled by France. There were vessels
r passing from different parts with couifterfeit
. paftports, which,-by mistake, some cf our
' own- coiifuls might have countersigned. It
,] did not relate to sea letters fr6m this coun
> - tr y- .
n An argument of the gentleman from S.
e Carolina (Mr. Harper) was conclusive with
n him for not wishing to go into this fubjeft.
(- He stated there was only a surplus of 30
o „ or 40,000 dollars of revenue (though he
was of a different opinion) and this obje£t
would require at least 500,000 dollars.
d Mr. Gallatin said, when he brought
n this motion before .the Koufe, it was not, as
y had been stated, to get rid <>f the fubjeft by
s. a fide wind. They hod been three day 6 up
'e on a bill, oi small importance when compared
ie with this, in proposing and reje&ing amend
)- and he thought it would save time to
jf -determine at once upon the principle of this
bill. He juftified the measure as parliaiften
d tnry. If he could have conceived, it would
Id have occafioried so long a debate, he believed
3- however he should not have made it; and if
j there was any one fr.an ju the Hoyfe who