CONGRESS. PH ILA D E L P H I A. HOJJSE OF R E PRESENTATIVES, MONDAY, February 13. IN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. On the neiu Reprcfcntation Bill. SMITH (S. C.) in ihe Chair.—The bill -LVA was read through by the Clerk. The firft section being repeated by the Chair man—Mr. Seney mowed that the blank in the 16th line should be filled with the word thirty— which would determine that the ratio of repre sentation should be 30,000. This motion was opposed by Mr. Hillhoufe,on the old groupd of its unequal operation. ■ Mr. Gerry replied to Mr. Hillhoufe—He ob served that this apportionment 011 the aggregate federal number, would be more equal than by the ratio of 33,000 —but this had been rejected by the Senate j and as the ratio of 33,000 would not perfe<ftly cure the difficulty, and would operate to reduce the whole number of the representa tives, he conceived that no new light had been thrown on tfce fubjedt to induce the H'oufe to confeAt to such diminution. Mr. Mercer entered into a general view of the fubjeJt—He supported a large representation— and urged its importance, as it vefpetfts the de mocratical part of the community.—The theory of government is the fame, said he, whether ii refpeifis a free or a despotic government —it is not a small number that can govern in any coun try —Standing armies supply in despotic govern ments, the place of a large reprefentatioi. in a free government—Still the operations of govern ment in both cases, depend on a large numberof people. The question for inferring 30,000 was carried in the affirmative, 30 to 21. Mr. Mercer then moved t'oftrike out the third day of March, 1 793, and to insert the fii ft day of October, j 79-2 —refering to the period when the states (hall be rep' efepted by the number arifiug from the firlt enumeration. H£ informed the House that Virginia had al ready made provision to fend forward their sup plemenrary numbers.— He urged the right of the states 1 efpec'tively to fill up their reprelentation agreeable to the enumetation, See. Mr. Gerry supported the motion. Mr. Fillhoule suggested another mode—He proposed that thep'efent Congress fhonld expire after the present session, and a new House be eledl ed agreeable to the census, to meet at the time to which the present Congress may be adjourned —He urged many advantages which would result from this plan. Mr. Mercer said his idea was, that the chufing these additional members would be only filling up vacancies. Mr. Murray was for striking out the third day of March, 1793, for the purpose of inferring an earlier day—The great objection is an inconve nience—lt is said the members which now com pose this House will have to continue by law ano ther fellion, and 1 he fuppleniental members would have to continue but to fill the intermediate fpaee of time from the election to the third of March. He begged gentlemen to give him leave to fay, that the only possible obstacle to their thinking as he did, arose from themselves :—from a defiie he would not fay how disinterested, to continue in power longer than they were entitled to re main under the constitution. The ad: of Con gress declaratory of the time which members were to continue, was the sole obstacle 10 the gra tification of the people in one of their bell rights —This ast, funded in error ought pi evioufly to be repealed, and then no difficulty eiiher from the conftrucftion of the constitution or from in convenience, could be raised to the wifti that the additional representatives should take their sea s immediately after the next general election. This act produced a mischievous and unthought of solecism in the government—lt separated re presentation from confidence, and violated re fponfibiliry, which is the very foul of the govern ment..—The people could not but be aftonifiied. that after the last generalelec r tion, the members of Congress whom they had not chosen, still conti nued there to hold their feats, and to act as upon their confidence and trust. Surely one of the most obvious truths in a government by repre sentation is, that election (hall be the criterion of confidence—and that a continuance to dis trust after it is withdrawn, overturns every idea of representation He wished the committee to reflect that the principal objection to the motion was eaftly removed, if members would a<s a disinterested part :—and that if it be admitted that the duration of the present Con gress is the obje&ion to the admission of the fup pJemental members, gentlemen cannot helitate between the gratification of what evidently ap pears to be the rights of the people under a fair conftrusftion of the constitution, and a declarato ry law which is repealable, and which is so con trary to realou—'The objection is removable— the right is permanent. It is certainly of more confeqoence to adhere to the principle of a just aivd numerous representation, and to adopt an early day to give it operation, than to give the principle the go-by, merely to support a stretch ed duration of our term, under a law »hat over sets the mod obvious truths and reafoningon re presentation. As to the members from Georgia, if the law giving an extra term to the feats of members were not repealed, he would still vote for Georgia's having three members till the term expired—but at all events he hoped the motion [ would be agreed to. The motion was finally disagreed to TUESDAY, February 14 In committee of the -whole on the bill relative to thf < "I r r» r * ' -- " " ilcßion of a President and Vics-Preftdent, ire. A motion made yafterday, to insert a clause reftridling the number of electors to the number of the present Senate and House of Reprefenta tives being put and negatived. Mr. Gerry moved to insert a clause, which fpecifies that " the electors (hall be equal to the number of Senatorsand Representatives, to which the several States may by law be entitled at the time when the Prefidentand Vice-President thus to be chosen should come into office , provided always that where no apportionment of Repre sentatives shall have been made after any enu meration, at the time of chufing electors, then the number of electors shall be according to the existing apportionment of Senators and Repre sentatives." This motion with very little objedtion was adopted ; its propriety will appear from the following remarks made by Mr. Murray who ("aid, lie was in favor of the wliole, both the pro pofiiion and the proviso ; the fir ft meditates a Wiore equal representation of the wishes of the people of America in the election of the two great officers of the State ; the proviso guards against a confufion which might take place with out the provision. The present representation in Congress is by no means equal—the States in their conventional deliberation produced the present proportion of representatives, more from compromise than authenticated data ; no census had then measured to the publip the proportions of population, which one State bore to another, and Reprefent&tives including Senators and elec tors of President and Vice-President, being the fame in number, and the scale of Representa tives being unfounded in fatfts and evidence, rhe inequality which is eviden t, is not to be won dered at. This proposition remedies the ine quality ; the proviso was not perfectly agreeable to his wiflies ; but as it refers the number of elec tors to a scale of representation ascertained b) an actual enumeration, and at the fame time will remove the probability of c«nfuflon by making each Sta-.e uniform with others as to the rule of fixing the number of electors, he should vote foi it. This was a great object attained. It is not a difficult thing to forefee, without jealousy 01 suspicion, that unless the States are uniform as i o the rule of apportioning electors, the repose of the Union might be violated. Should this law refer to an apportionment to be hereafter made by Congress this event might take place. A disagreement might happen between this House and the Senate, and in the tumults and contu macy by which they might be agitated towards each other, no apportionment might be made ; in this situation the executive would be left at the mercy of the two Houses and the order of things violently deranged.—But even if the peo ple having a census before them, though not aJted on by Congress, were to make their elec tions agreeably to what might be their refpec tive ideas of the apportionment to which the census apparently entitled them, yet we are not certain that they would all acft by a uniform rule —and if they acted without such rule, there might appear before the tribunal of the public two Pre sidents, or two men of great power claiming the Presidency of America—This would be an evil of great; and alarming size—and one which he fomnch deprecated, that he willingly yielded to the proviso, which he thought would tend to leflen the opportunity by which designing men could effect it. & SATURDAY, March 17. The Speaker laid before the House a Report from the Secretary of the freafury, 011 the peti tion of the trustees of Wilmin«gron College, and a report from the Attorney General, 011 the peti tion of A. Jackson — which were read and order ed to lie on the table—as also another from the Secretary of the Treafmy, in obedience to a le lolutian, parted on the Bth inilanr, directing him 374 to report to the House the Ways and Means, by which, in his opinion, the additional funis, ne ceflary for the public service, ought to beraifed. In,this last report the Secretary proposes an alteration in the impost duties on certain foreign articles, and to have them rated as follows : Cuits. C London pr. gall. 56 Madeira Wine London Market, £ Every other quality, 40 33 cents. Oporto 25 30 TeneriiFe & Fayal 29 2 5 _ Sherry St. Luca Lisbon Spirits distilled from Grain, or in which grain is the principal ingredient, Cents. First class of proof, - 28 pr. gtif. 2 - - 29 3 - - - 31 4 - '34 y 40 6 - - - -SO Other distilled Spirits, Second class and under 24 3 - - 27 4 5 - ' - 37 6 4> Beer, Ale and Porter, 8 Steel per cwt. 100 Cocoa and Chocolate, 2 Playing Cards, 2J Shoes and Slippers, of silk and ftuff, per pair, 20 Do. of leather, 10 Glass* (except bottles) guns, pistols, starch, &c. ad. val. 15 percent. ' Veflels of tin, copper, &c. 10 do. Oils, Cosmetics, Dentrifice Pow ders, printed Books, &c. xo do', and all goods now rated at per cent, toberaif ed to 7J per cent. Salt to be raised 1-6 of the present duty—from all which it is proposed to draw an additional revenue, viz. from Madeira Wine, of which the average imported is 300,00® gallons. 36,000 Dots. Other Wines, 700,000 gallons, 31,000 Distilled Spi its, 73, 000 Salt, 40,000 Malt Liquors, Cocoa, Playing Cards, other articles, ad. val. 93,500 2 per cent, addition on those at 5i Total, 523)500 Which, with the surplus in theTieafuryofthe preceding vear, will make up the mm wanted. Ordered, that this report be taken up ill com mittee of the whole on tiiday next. A motion laid on the table by Mr.Williamfon, on the 6th inft. being called up and agreed to, a c iinmittee was pursuant thereto appointed, to bring in a bill to amend the import law, so far as to permit the landing of fait at certain ware hous es belonging to the fiflieries, and to provide for an allowance of a drawback of the duties on tlie fait used on provisions exported. The House then, took up for consideration tlie amendments proposed by the Senate to the repre sentation bill. The firft amendment, by which the Senate pro pose, without any fixed ratio applicable t" the refpedive number of inhabitants in each ot the several dates, to increase the representation from 112 members (the number fettled by the Hou e, at the ratio of one for every thirty thoulandj to 120, by the addition of one member to each 01 ihe following (tales, viz. N. Hampfhite, Maßa chufetts, Vermont, Connecticut, N. Jeriey, iaware, N. Carolina, and S. Carolina, -was pro ductive of a warm debate, in which a dilWut of the government was talked of as an even no verv diltant perfpetftive, in cafe the <> (hould, in compliance with the views ot tne: nate, adopt a mode of apportionment, o irarv, and so directly tending to deltroy dividuality of the dates, and to swallow them up in a genetal eonfolidation. „ t ,- r i n r The q tieltion being finally taken on con with the Senate, it palled in the negative 5 0 —nays 31. YEA S, n„„rnf. Me (Irs. Ames, Benfon, Boudinot, • . B. Bourne, Clarke, Fitzfimons, Ger '7» hfl | Goodhue, Gordon, Hartley, J ;icobs ' Nj)es Kittera, Lawrance, Learned, Livermo , * . Schoonmaker, Sedgwick,J.Smith, i, Sylveder, Thatcher, Treadwell, Vin"' 0 . worth, Ward.— 30. NAYS. ... MefT-s. A (lie, Baldwin, Barn'well, Hi l|. ley, Giles, Gregg, Griffin,. Groves H«fte , . house, Huger, Key, Lee".Macon. cer, Moore, Muhlenbutg, . > Tucks, W. Smith, Sterrett, St urges, il,nl P te J_ Venable, White, Williamson, W'lH • ■ , t0 The other amendments being 2 ; ntnl ent ci _Mr. W. Smith moved for - a committee, to cpnfer witli ja„,e,id the Senate might appoint, tpconli. ■ dl""*- nients. The motion being <•?['£' .j. all d W- Madison, Findley, Baldwin, , rnQ fe. Smith, were appointed for that P l - 1 TOO 2 SO, 000
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