c o ;; g r l s s.
MOUSE or REPRESENTATIVES.
Thursday, December 4, 1794.
Motion fir a vai; of tit it Gtnef-aJ
li ajnt and tlx army Under hit tarn-1
mand.
Mr. VV. SMITH wiftied to make
bis prom:fed motion, which he prefaced
by observing that he had varied it at the
requell of fevcral gentlemen. In the
original motion he had particularly no
ticed the diligence of the General in
difciplioing his army to the nature of
the Service in which they were engaged,
and his < fortitude and perfe**rancc in
encountering the difficulties which op
fof i his march thro' a wildernefb.
Tho* he and many cithers wire ready
to acknowledge intht fullclt manner the
merits of the General in tfiofe impor
tant •pp.Ttictllir.;, yet as they were not
matters of"general notoriety, and as ur.a
jiim.ty on an occalion like the present
was extremely desirable, lie had now
confined the motion U> the brilliant ac
tion of the JOth Augulh
Mr. U.iiith was ready to admit that
there was no precedent 011 their journals
for a vote of thinks to ih'e aimy 5- hut
it was no. to be thence ihfetred that the
mcafure was improper : unfortunaMy
no success had occurred firrce the eftal
ll fitment of the present government
which called for this tellimonv of pub
lic gratitude.
There weie indeed on the journals
votes of thanks to the Speakers of the
House, and there was a vote, on the
death of I)r. Franklin, ekpreflive 6fhis
services, !>oth of which cases might be
considered as beaiing foitie analogy to
the present, tfcn' not precisely fimilat.
Under the former government inntu
merable circumilances might be quoted.
With refpedl to the practice in itfelf,
he had no d'ubt of its propriety. He
considered this kind of remuneration as
a just and merited reward for past fervi
ics and an honorable excitement to fu
ture exertions. Thofc who performed
them were, in his opinion, entitled to
the gratitude of their frilow-cititeus,
which could be no othenvife publicly
exprefled than thro' theii cnnftitutional
organ, the rcprefentatives of the people.
When they had this claim, to wirh-hold
that pubi.e expneflion was to be uiijuft.
S?tisficd then as he was, that General
w nyne and th army under his com
mand had deserved well of their country,
Ind petfotmed signal and splendid ser
vices, fiom which he anticipated xrrv
»:'fl;K)rtj.nt advantages, he could not
ti, j.'l .1. -a f ctppia life.
He was aware' it might be said the
House had already in their answer to the
Prefider.t's lpeech bore ample icftimo
ny to the good conduiS of the army and
that it was unneceflary to go farther ;
but that wai only a communication be
tween the House and the President, and
was not addrefL-d to th- army : a rote
of thanks would be formally tranfmittcd
to the army, would be confiJered ;:s an
exprrffioo of the fenlibilityof the House,
and would, he was persuaded, be highly
gratifying to the gallant General and
his brave army, Mr. Smith said he
felt a peculiar pleasure in making this
motion, as he had on a fimtter occasion
found it his duty to make the motion
which declared the vacancy of General
Wayne's feat in that House, a circum
stance which had given him confidcra-
Me pain at the time, but which had
proved a fortunate event, as an oppor
tunity was thereby afforded the Gene
ral of serving his country in the field.
Mr. Smith concluded with faying,
that M he had no doubt the services of
the army had made the fame impression
oil the House as they had on hin, he
tiufled the motion he was about to
tnake would be honored with an unani
mous vote. He then moved the three
resolutions— (fee Saturday's Gaiette.)
Mr. Giles forefaw ma:iy bad confe
rences might ensue fromlbe prac
tice of giving opinions of men. One
part of the House might be for a vote
of thanks, and the other against it.
He should vote for the proposition, but
wished thai some mode might be adopt
ed fur exprefling the general opinion of
the house against the practice.
Mr. KitteTa was for restoring the
clause refpe&ing the vigilance of Gen.
Wayne in attending to the difc/pline of
his troops.
Mr. Killhoufe hoped that the refo»
hitioni would not be adopted. He
ftiould go farther tfoan the gentleman
from \ irginia (Mr. Giles) and vote a
gainst them. Th* house, in their answer
to the Prcfident, had exprefFed their
approbation, and that was enough.. It
not the bufincfj of that House, but
of the txecutive, to exprefsfuch thing*.
Mr- Hiilhoufc had voted most cordikily
for that part of the a.ldrefs refpeATng
the Wellern army. The answer to the
Specch of the President would always
alSrd a good opportunity of conveying
theft kind of matter*. It would imme
diately become neceflary to give thanks
in every cafe ; and not to give them will
be regarded as an implied censure. He
trusted that the gentleman would with
draw liis motion, and that the house
in this way would get rid of it-
He had, and he repeated it again, a
, sense of the merit of the officers
and soldiers of the army under General
Wayne, but he had said so already in
the addiefs to the President. It had
been urged, as a ptecedent for this mea
sure, that it was usual to thank the
Speaker. This was a mere cere.nony.
Hewilhed that it had never come into
piadice, but since it had been so, he
should always agree" to the vote of
thanks.
Mr. Murray thought that we might
trull that the Huufe would always have
too much prudcnceto abuse their thar.Jis,
by giving them improperly. By way
of precedent, Mr. Murray read a vete
of the ftat* «f Virginia, thanking Gov.
Lee for his conduct in the weltein in
fivTefiion.
Mr. Nicholas approved highly of the
conduit of the troops, b.it it wai o Ay
an afl of duty. If xve fend loldiers
agiinft the Indians it is supposed that
they will Hand to their pods, otherwise
the government cannot be fupportcd
even for a month,
Mr. Hillhoufe saw no business which
the house had with the proceedings in
the flare bf Virginia. It had been
hinted, that the aimy under
Wayne might feci difagrecably if the re
solution Ihould be rejected. With that
Mr. Hillhoufe had no business, he ac
ted on principles, without regarding
the feelings of individuals.
Mr. W. Smith agreed with gentle
men that the principal object or the
house was to legislate; but it did not
follow that they were to be confined
merely to legitlation, Every lcgiflative
body exerctfod the right of opinion, in
cases white no *ft was to follow. This
house has frequently eXercised it ; the
anfwevs to the Prelident's fpee«h—the
answer to the King of the French on
his acceptance of the constitution of
91, the opinion of th« house on the
merits of that constitution, the vote ref
pedting Benjamin Franklin—the vote
of last Sefilon, in reply to a letter from
the Committee of Public Satety of
France, the votes of thanks to the
Speakeis—were precedents on the Jour
nals which refuted a Contrary do&rinc.
i:dn mum iciuicu <i cumrctr i uuuuik.
||f I,. J 1.. ■ ■ f• i .1 ■ .1...- -t-.uiei call;
was a mere matter of form; Mr. S.
thought differently, and if ever he was
in that house when a vote of thanks
should, be propofcd to a Speaker who
had no claim to it, he should feci it his
duty to oppose it.—Gentlemen appre
hended that this practice might lead to
innumerable difficulties hereafter. But
every house would exercise it's judg
ment and discretion; members would
not be so rafsi as to propose the thanks
of the houfc where serious opposition
was expected, nor would the thanks be
voted unlets well merited. He was un
willing £s any member to make the
thanks of the houfc two cheap, but all
must confefs that if ever there was an
occasion where they were properly cal
led for, this was one. To deny the
right or expediency of the practice was
in fact to ttrip the houfc of one of its
most agreeable functions, that of ex
pre fling its gratitude.
It had been advanced as an obje&ion
that the two houses .might differ j one
might vote thanks and the other cen
sure in the fame cafe ; but that might
happen in other caf«s where the prnpii
ety of expreflfrig an opinion was admit
ted ; in angering the Prefklent's speech,
in the Rate Lcgiflatures where thanks
were frequently voted, the two brandies
might differ: that was never deemed
an objection to the practice; each house
exprcflcd it's individual opinion.
Mr. Smith said if the house had been
fitting in September lad when the ac
count arrived of this victory, would the
members have then felt as coldly as they
now do ? No—he was convinced that
in the moment of joy and gratitude
they would have unanimously voted
thanks to the army without the lead
helitation j but they have since had
time to cool and the imprefiion it worn
awav.
Gentlemen fhoold consider the hard
ferviccs of that army, how badly paid
tney were, the nature of the country
they were in, and iLcn determine whe
ther the brilliant adiion of the 20th
August is to go a twarded? To ap
preciate truly the merit* of that army in
obtaining so fig, !a l a viftoiy, let the
Hoi.iO reflect on 1 lie consequences of a
defeat: the array «frft>aoded and broken
up, the frontier* xtufed to the feroci
oiw lavages, the comoioauju 01 .nc
tfibe» more cemented a*i formidable,
an expenGve, long -and »loody war:
what is now our proljpetl : ihe frontiers
the combination of the tribei
dissolved, and peace with them allapro
( bable event. _
i Before, therefore, the motion which
j he had made could be got rid of, it was
■ incumbent on the gentlemen on the o
i ther fide to (hew either that it wai im
: pioper in any cafe whatever to pass a
\ vote of thanks, or that this was not a
• cafe entitled to them ; to do the lirlt
' they mull eftablifli, in the face of prece
j dents innumerable, a dodtriue deftruc^
tive of one of the mod atriiable pnvi
' lege* of the house ; to do the last they
must express a sentiment which would,
he wa* perfnaded, be repugnant to the
fentimentg of all their ci-nftituents, tor
i throughout the United Suites there was
' but oni opinion on this fuWctf, and
' that was in unison whh the motion.•
Having made the motion after due de
' liberation, he certainly should not w.th
i draw it, btlt would fubnrut it to the
! good sense of the botife.
i Mr. Coit moved the previoUsqueftiotJ.
j He thought the Jraftice of dangerons
• ronft-quer.ee. It might pniduce milch
uncomfortable proceeding in that
house. He was (ecolided by a number
of members.
Mr. Parker felt the highell esteem
for the feivices of the wtftrrn army.
He was intimate both with Gen. Wayne
and Gen Scott t but he disapproved of
the practice upon principle. It was
wrong in Mr. Murray to quote tlie pro
ceedings in the Legiilature of Virginia,
i where the Governor was in authority,
a mere cypher, because the two cafei
did not apply. The federal government
wason a quite different footing, a mix
ture of monarchy, of ariltocracy, and
of democracy. The Prelidrnt repre
sented the fflon&tchical part. It was
hisbilfinefs to give thanks, if requisite.
If he himfvlf was an officer in that ar
my, Mr. Parker said that he should be
fatisfied by the lirft thanks, those in }
the amwer to the President. He would i
be hurt by the seCond as unconjiilutional
What if, in the mean time, Geneial !
Wayne and his knar have com
mitted some error, that requires an en- !
quiry, and the House are to go into it,
with this Vote of thanki Jlaring them in
tieit/ace! It hadbeen said by ,M '.?rrith, .
that if we had been fitting in Septem
ber, when this news arrived, a vote of
thanks would have been patt immediate
ly and uuarimoufly. " 1 believe no
such thing," said Ml". Parker. "We
should have recommended such a ftcjiinJ
THeTrchaeni:" i
ThgPrengcnt.** __ 1
Mr. GiJeslau', tTiat, If tliere ever
could have been any do.uht as to the im
propriety v of the resolution, that was
now removed. (Alludingto the speech
1 of Mr. Parker,) he thought that the
gentleman (Mn Coil) who rr.owd the
previous quell ion, had acted from the
heft motives. Two gentlemen (We
believe Mr. Giles referied to Mr Sedg
wick and Mr. Ames) had recommend
ed an appeal to feeling system. We are
sent here to reason. A gentleman (Mr.
Sedgwick) fays that he ha* feelings
Vrhich he cannot express. Let him itrive
to express them. It is not expected
that a member is to express all that he
may feel on every fubjtft.
(To be continued.J
Foreign Intelligence.
NATIONAL CONVENTION.
October 6.
MEWS FROM THE ARMIFS.
Carnot in the name of the Committee cf
Public Safety made the following report:
Citizens,
A splendid victory has just now covered
the army of the Sambre and the Meui'e
with glory. The enemy, entrenched on
the banks of the Roer, and 'protedltd bv
the fortrefs of Juhers, was totally defeat
ed ; and the fortrefs of Julieis is taken.
This event ij the most important of* all
thqfe which have happened during the
course of this campaign, without even ex
cepting the battle of Fleurus.
Maeftricht has now loft all hopes of
being relieved: a star.d for cur armie:
near the banks of the Rhine is allured ;
the enemy is exiled to the other fide if
that river ; the read to Holland is opened;
our winter quarter? are protected ; and we
are mailers of all the resources, which the
provinces of Limburg, Cologne, Treves,
Luxemburgh and Juliers offer.
The enterprize was alio the most diffi
cult ever undertaken ; the enemy had ral
lied all their forces ; their army amounted
to Bc,ooo men ; all the advantages of art
and nature, were on their fide; but we
had the advantage of courage, confidence
and remembrance of our glorious exploits:
And what are the obfiacles of nature and
art, ia comparison to the genius of Li
berty and the love of our country!
Citizeus, all our exterior enemies are
humbled, and flying ; the armies were
consequently the firft, in accompliftung
their talk ; it belongs u< w to us, to ac~-
complilh our* ; for <?ur tave ii#i
pofed on us the duty, to cnifli the inter
nal enemies of the H£pubi>c.
Citizens, triunlpbant arm ; es obey your
voice; and (hould a i.itrigiius be fuf
fcted to didUte law* in the nail of the
Convention ? No it is time that the na
tional representation Ihould feizt v ith its
g'lglntic 'arms all tic- f«2ions; that it
should reduce the factions to their nullity,
•by dashing them ajrainft each other ; it is
time at last to announce, that the Convcn
tioa will be the depositary of the rights of
the people, and annihilate thoie whoihall
dare to put their hypoc»::cal or furious
hands on the Ark of the Revolution-
The official L.tters ■
Head-Quarters, Juliers r Oil. ,;i.
Gillet Reprefei'tativ- of the People with
the army of the Sau.bre and the Meufe
to the Committee of Public Safety.
Dear Colleaz'-ts*,
I delayed, to this moment, fending you
an account of the latter fuccefles of the
arnijr of the Sambre ?iid Meule, bCcaufe
1 wished ti announce td you at the iaine
time a victory, ;iie cap urtof a fortified
town, of a citadel, of 60 pieces of artil
lery, of a gi'eat quantity of powder and
ammunition*
You saw, by my last dispatches that
the Austrian army defeated on the 18th
and aoth Sept. in detail, at Sprimont and
Clcnnont, had rallied ia mass on the river
Roer, and confided of between 60 and 8b
tboufand meii. On the lad September
v. e took Aix-ia-Chapelk-, and cur army
encamped in the plain of A'.denhoven ; its
left wing fnpported on tke* Worm, and the
right wing extended to Schwiller, on the
Deute.
The dclign of the enemy was to de
fend thepafiage over the Ro. •, and to
effefta communication with Maeftricht
a strong detachment of the Austrian ar
my was, to that effedi, potlcd on the
left bank of the Roer, and occupied
the famous poliliqn behind Aldenho
ven and before Juliers, which, already
strong by nature, was besides fortified
wilhachainof redoubts, and alisoft
impregnable in all its points.
We were determined to pu'rfue our
fuccelfcs, and Jourdan resolved to force
the last entrenchments of the enemy.
To er.fure success, it was necessary to
have recoup to one of thofclkilful and
bold mancsvres, which, if executed by
experienced officers and intrepid soldiers •
render always the greatell enterprizes
poilible ; for, the Roer, though forda
ble in many place"', was fwoln by the
rain, wiiiuh fell fincetei days. Beiides
ail the fords wrre rtr.dered impradtica
ble and thick set with chevatix de frize ; ;
the bridges were broken down and the \
heights er.tcnd'ng on '.lie right barjt of
the Roer, from ifs fpringtp Roermonde,
were covered with fortified linpt ariA
TeSoulits, aetended by a formidable
artillery.
Jourdan divided the anny in four
co r p3 | lie gave the command of the
i right wing to ger.eial Scherer ; thedi-
J rcttion of the left wing to general Kli
j £r » general Le Fevre was ordered to
I put himfclf at the head of the advanced
J gtiard, and JrmrJan rcfSriTcd foryhitn-
I Wi the centre tllr-'niaw;
force of'the army'geiWsrils, Haf
try, . Morion, and ; Dubois
were under his <rdeni>.. pcnoral - Seilc
rer vtki ordered tq lrtrct rfw ptflag-e iof
Duenfn ; Kfieber to Hireft thc-.iaiifch
of kis coluo* tnwuVis. Emlbcrg,
theadTaQced guard toafHtck Luioich,
srirltt tf»cmain foi ce (Viimld t»e'wcjjpi*d
iiL fweejiiug away Ibe - E«hip before
Julfers.
\ ellerday at 5 o'ckx k:.!! the columns
began their march : the different coi-ps
attacked with equal.coyrcge ; the camp
of Ju'iers was forced all the re
doubts were taken * irh p.n inlrrpidi' y
without example and in ltls than two
hours. j
The cavalry of the enemy appeared,
to cover their retreat ; hut they were
charged, routed, andt p.'.rfued to the
glaei* of Jidiers, andoved, as weD as
i'he rift <4 the Aultr.«r. aimy, their
j fafety to the artillery of the fortrefs,
which prevented us from exterminating
them at oncc. The Slh sod 741 h regi
ments »f dragoons, dittinguifhed them
selves particularly in this engagement.
The other cciumr.3 were equally
fucctfcful i but they met. with ditricul
ties of another kind. When the ad
vanced guard appeared before Linnich,
the enemy had (kftroysd tiie bridge and
let lire to the to *n ; ali the paflages
being rendered in practicable, our re
publicans were obliged to b r ave a ter
rible £re ef frr.u'l arms and artillery,
while they were occupied *n re-eftablift
ingthe bridges. Our artillery began
now to thunder and in this, as well
as in every former occasion prnred its
superiority over that of the enemy, who
were forced to aixtndoo their redoubts,
and to retreat.
The pafTape over the river could
however not be entireJv effected, l>e
caufe it was fu«nd .rapofiibje to build
the bridges before night. All was pre
pared to ciols tlie Rocr this motttfng,
when after the fill of a thick fog we
discovered on the other an |. of - .
ver the enemy in full fight. ' n "
Several redoubts were raised d *
the night before Julie™, we cfab |? r ';>
immediately a battery 0 f howit' 7xri
which begun to bombard tbc f or;r
with considerable effect, when the white
flag was hung out in the citaccL A
deputation of the roagillrates ofi cr ed
the key of the town, which had t>J
evacuated during the night, ar.d ,i. e
fortrefs furiendered at difcutior,.
The id of October-will be a mcso.
rable day. for the armies of the K< r •
lie ; an array of belween 60 ar.J - -
thoufond men defeated ncitv.-ithflandi I
the most formidable position ; a p! a .
flronger than Landrecies, ewcuatc.tj
' tho' it wat besides defended by a g c J
• citadel, and fofies, filled with water; j
j fortrefs conquered, without Riikir. *- a
j blow, .with all its artillery, a well pr o .
! vided arfen'al and more than 500 cuin
| tab of powder s these dear colleagues,
are the fruits of that fpiendid vittnr-.
The loss of the enemy is immetife.
The fields on the left bank at the Rjtr
to the fortified lines are coveted with
dead badks: this and every lirium
ftance, we observed this morning p vf
flrikTr.g proofs of the precipitate retreat
of the Awftrians.
Every object on the road to Cologne,
teats the mark of the moll complete
defeat. Several columns of cavalrr,
flying artillery, and grenadiers are in
pursuit of tlje enemy ; and in this very
moment I receive intelligence, that ge
neral Dubois at the head of 6 regiments
of cavalry, has reached the baggage of
the enemy on the road to Cologne, and
made about 200 prisoners.
1 cannot mention all the traits of
heroism and courage difplaved during
the battle; else 1 would b'e obliged to
write down the names of ail (he corps,
of all the generals, of every officer and
soldier ; for all hate foeght like heroes.
1 shall only cite two particularly re- '
markable adtions. The firft h?ppened
in the corps commanded by general
Klieber. Those brave warriors, impati
ent to delay the attack, for the want of
a hridge, plunged into the water, cros
sed the liver, attacked the retrench
minis of the enemy, and took them
with the bayonet arid sword in hand.
The second action covers two fqtiadroris
of chaffeiirii commanded by general
Hautpor.t with glory; they met vith
four lquadrcns of Auflrian huflail,
! charged them, without conlideiing their
number, and drove them into the rivet.
Almott all the hussars were taken, cut
to pieces, or d'owned.
T 1 ■r*'! I »■ I ■■
Xi.r-tti an t Fraternity;
Health Gillet.
Jourdan commander in chief of the
tizens reprcfentativcj compcfing the
committee of public fafety.
Head-quarters, Juliers Ofiober J.
ar.ks of the Rocr, ia ord.r to attack
he enemy. The right vvi. - r.as t}>-
refteciagainU Dneren, the centre aga;nit
Juliets, one division against Linhich, a: J
ihe left wing againil Huifbetg and
Roridernit.
the left l.ank of the river were fo r r, routed
The right and left wiag a:tucked in
fe<ft a palTage over the river, and norwith
trenchments all the posts were :creed; the
cf the enemy, built up new bring s"
the river.
ry, till w : thin mufqnet snot of the tort o.
juliers, the fire of which alor.e e-ct '. li»e
the 11 from being cut 10 piec.s. Nieht
terminated the battle and we wereprtpa -
t»i this morning to make use ot our ne *V
ronftru£)ed bridges by recommencing '^• 4
contii<3 : but the enemy did not thirk it
advifeable, to w ait for u£ ; they let or a.
midnight ; a thick tog concealed tfceir re
treat iiU 8 o'clock.
We took advantage ef tie Uarkneu
iers before Juliers ; as foen at tfe fog F"'
raittedusto difcoverthe plaft, L
feme shells in the fortrefs.l he mapilntes
came immediately to deliver toe _ "<?j
aad announced us the evacuation ct : a.
place ; which we found in the '
tion : we found 6o pieces of cannon, a »>i
provided arsenal, and different
cles. the ipeciticsuon of which J b jv e 1
received yet. , j
The lofs.of the enemy in tolled-:na
fajid men ; beiween ; and Bhundred li
ters. Our cavalry piirf'ies the ererr I *-
In the evening I (ball receive news "ft W
tive of tie people, Gil' t, wffi g;** : c "
detailed account concerning the bena-i"
This verv moment I am uxtorrr.ea, j
SQO quintals oi powder were lot'"
Juliers.
Health and fraterrirr. v
S'gned JOOROA>-