On the other hand, its adoption was advocated by Messrs. Gallatin and T. Claiborne. This was stated as a hard case; that this determination would not open the acts of limitation to any but such as Congress might deem extremely hard cases; that it would give the Treasury no power whatever to settle any claim: the power, therefore, could not be abused, except they themselves abused it; that whatever policy there might be in acts of limitation, they were certainly liable to strong objections; they knew they were honorably indebted a sum of money, but they determine not to pay it, merely because the paying it might render the accounts at the Treasury less simple, or because they would be liable to pay more than is convenient. This policy might be justifiable, but it bore very hard upon individual sufferers. It was argued, therefore, that without opening the acts generally, when a strong, unequivocal claim was presented, which was in the hands of the original holder, and where, of course, there could be no possibility of fraud, relief might and ought to be granted.
Mr. J. Williams was an enemy to acts of limitation, as he thought a debt once due must always be due until paid; but he would either have them opened generally, or not at all.
The yeas and nays upon agreeing to this proposition for setting aside the act of limitation in this case were taken, and decided, yeas 35, nays 55, as follows:
Yeas.—David Bard, Lemuel Benton, Samuel J. Cabell, Thomas Claiborne, William Charles Cole Claiborne, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, Thomas T. Davis, John Dawson, George Dent, Lucas Elmendorph, John Fowler, Albert Gallatin, James Gillespie, William Barry Grove, Carter B. Harrison, David Holmes, Walter Jones, Edward Livingston, Matthew Locke, Matthew Lyon, James Machir, Blair McClenachan, Joseph McDowell, John Milledge, Anthony New, John Rutledge, jr., William Smith, Richard Sprigg, jr., Thomas Sumter, Abraham Trigg, John Trigg, Joseph B. Varnum, Abraham Venable, and Robert Williams.
Nays.—John Allen, George Baer, jr., Bailey Bartlett, James A. Bayard, Thomas Blount, David Brooks, Nathan Bryan, Stephen Bullock, Dempsey Burges, Christopher G. Champlin, John Chapman, James Cochran, Joshua Coit, William Craik, Samuel W. Dana, Thomas Evans, William Findlay, Abiel Foster, Dwight Foster, Henry Glenn, Chauncey Goodrich, William Gordon, Andrew Gregg, Roger Griswold, John A. Hanna, Robert Goodloe Harper, Thomas Hartley, Jonathan N. Havens, Wm. Hindman, Hezekiah L. Hosmer, James H. Imlay, John Wilkes Kittera, Samuel Lyman, Nathaniel Macon, Wm. Matthews, Daniel Morgan, Lewis R. Morris, John Nicholas, Harrison G. Otis, Isaac Parker, John Read, James Schureman, Samuel Sewall, William Shepard, Samuel Sitgreaves, Nathaniel Smith, Samuel Smith, Peleg Sprague, Richard Stanford, George Thatcher, Mark Thompson, Thomas Tillinghast, John E. Van Allen, Peleg Wadsworth, and John Williams.
Mr. Harper then proposed the following resolution, which was agreed to:
Resolved, That the prayer of the petition of Amy Dardin ought not to be granted.
Tuesday, February 20.
Case of Griswold and Lyon.
Mr. Venable, from the Committee of Privileges, laid the following report upon the table, together with the evidence relative thereto: