Mr. Gallatin said, if the fact was exactly as it had been stated by his colleague, his amendment might be unnecessary, but the Treasury Department had not acted upon the principle which he had stated. They had, notwithstanding the distribution of the appropriation, thought themselves at liberty to take the money from an item where there was a surplus, and apply it to another, where it was wanted. And when this was objected to, as taking from the Legislature their appropriating power, they answered that the Legislature had entered so much into detail that they could not attend to their directions. They had, last session, made the appropriations more specific than at present, yet the Secretary of the Treasury, in a letter written to the House during this session, said, "that it was well known to have been a rule since the establishment of the Government, that the appropriations for the Military Establishment were considered as general grants of money, liable to be issued to any of the objects included under that department." Therefore, unless this amendment was introduced, it would leave the power as before. In order to make the business more easy, all the contingent expenses were appropriated in one sum.
The object of this amendment, said Mr. G., was that no part of the pay of the Army should go to the Quartermaster's Department, &c., and that none of them should go to the building or equipping the frigates; but if this were not the case, money might be found to get the frigates to sea from the appropriations for the Military Department, if the President should think it necessary so to apply it. As to the amendment, it would do away the intention of it altogether.
Mr. Harper was against the amendment. He thought the Department ought to be at liberty, in case of an appropriation proving deficient, to have recourse to other funds where there might be a surplus, and as none would be taken, except where there was a surplus, he could see no objection to this being allowed. Indeed, for want of such a privilege very serious inconveniences might arise to the service, in case of accident or unforeseen events.
Mr. Gallatin said, the law did not operate in the manner which the gentleman last up supposed. They had lately voted a sum of forty thousand dollars to make good a deficiency of last year, which had been used for some other purpose; in consequence the deficiency fell upon the pay of the Army, although that could not increase, because the number of men was never increased; it might be less, as the nominal, not the actual number of men was appropriated for.
Mr. Kittera thought the amendment a bad one. Suppose, said he, a boat should be overset with tents in the lake, or a magazine blown up, the losses could not be repaired, because, though there might be surplus sums in the Treasury from other items in the establishment, yet, if this amendment prevailed, they could not be touched. He thought this would be the effect; he was against innovations.
The amendment was put and carried, there being fifty-four votes in favor of it.
The committee then rose, and the House took up the amendments.
And then the main question, "to finish the frigates —— dollars," was taken by yeas and nays, as follows:
Yeas.—Fisher Ames, Abraham Baldwin, Theophilus Bradbury, Richard Brent, Daniel Buck, Dempsey Burges, Joshua Coit, William Cooper, William Craik, Samuel W. Dana, James Davenport, Henry Dearborn, George Dent, George Ege, William Findlay, Abiel Foster, Dwight Foster, Nathaniel Freeman, jr., Ezekiel Gilbert, Nicholas Gilman, Henry Glenn, Chauncey Goodrich, Roger Griswold, William B. Grove, Robert Goodloe Harper, Carter B. Harrison, Thomas Hartley, John Heath, William Hindman, John Wilkes Kittera, Edward Livingston, Samuel Lyman, Francis Malbone, John Milledge, Frederick A. Muhlenberg, William Vans Murray, John Nicholas, Alexander D. Orr, Josiah Parker, Elisha R. Potter, John Read, Samuel Sewall, Samuel Sitgreaves, Jeremiah Smith, Nathaniel Smith, Isaac Smith, William Smith, Thomas Sprigg, John Swanwick, Zephaniah Swift, George Thatcher, Richard Thomas, Mark Thompson, John A. Van Allen, Philip Van Cortlandt, Joseph B. Varnum, Peleg Wadsworth, and John Williams.
Nays.—Theodorus Bailey, David Bard, Thomas Blount, Nathan Bryan, Samuel J. Cabell, Gabriel Christie, Thomas Claiborne, John Clopton, Isaac Coles, Jesse Franklin, Albert Gallatin, James Gillespie, Christopher Greenup, Andrew Gregg, Wade Hampton, John Hathorn, Jonathan N. Havens, James Holland, Andrew Jackson, George Jackson, Matthew Locke, William Lyman, Samuel Maclay, Nathaniel Macon, Andrew Moore, Anthony New, John Patton, John Richards, Israel Smith, Richard Sprigg, jr., William Strudwick, and Abraham Venable.