Thursday, March 13.
Importations from Great Britain.
The House again resolved itself into Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union—Mr. Gregg’s resolution still under consideration.
Mr. Leib.—From the course which has been pursued for several days, I am induced to move that the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union be discharged from the further consideration of this resolution, and that of the gentleman from New Jersey. Without entering into the merits of the resolution, I will confine myself to stating the reasons on which I make this motion. I did expect, when this subject first came under discussion, to have heard something respecting its merits; that a comparison would have been drawn between the advantages and disadvantages likely to ensue to the United States from its adoption, instead of which I found my colleague sailing round the coast without examining its tendency or bearing. He told us it was pacific, and, in the same breath, said it struck a dagger into the vitals of Great Britain. If, Mr. Speaker, I were to strike a dagger at you, would you not consider it a hostile act? And yet this measure is said to be pacific, and it is represented as having no tendency to war. When this measure was first proposed, I was in favor of it; I was impelled by my feelings against Great Britain, whose injuries I sensibly felt. But I have since listened to the arguments adduced in its favor by my colleagues. What are they? Did they speak of its profits and loss; did they show that it would be advantageous to this country? Instead of this they talked of national honor. But, on this subject, I agree with the poet:
“Act well your part, there all the honor lies.”
I am not disposed to be a duellist for national honor. I am disposed to view this as a question of profit and loss; and if the loss will be greater than the gain, to reject it; and it is because I think that the United States will incur more loss than profit by it, that I wish to get rid of it. I believe it will have a warlike aspect, and therefore I am against it. I have no idea of fighting all the world. I hope, from the course which this discussion has taken, and from the conviction which it has produced of the inability of the United States to carry this measure into effect, that we will enter on the discussion of some other measure more likely to be effectual. I am willing to get rid of this resolution in the easiest way, and I therefore move you to discharge the committee from its further consideration.
The yeas and nays were then taken on discharging the Committee of the Whole from the further consideration of Mr. Gregg’s resolution, and were—yeas 24, nays 101.
The question was then taken on discharging the committee from Mr. Sloan’s resolution, by yeas and nays—yeas 26, nays 98.
The House then resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union.
The Chairman put the question on considering Mr. Gregg’s resolution, on which the committee divided—yeas 47, nays 70.
Mr. J. Clay moved to consider the resolution offered by himself, and that of his friend from Maryland, (Mr. Nicholson.)