The question on rejecting the bill, was taken by yeas and nays—yeas 36, nays 47, as follows:
Yeas.—David Bard, Lemuel Benton, Thomas Blount, Dempsey Burges, Thomas Claiborne, William Charles Cole Claiborne, John Clopton, John Dawson, John Fowler, Albert Gallatin, James Gillespie, Andrew Gregg, John A. Hanna, Carter B. Harrison, Jonathan N. Havens, Joseph Heister, David Holmes, Walter Jones, Edward Livingston, Matthew Locke, Matthew Lyon, Nathaniel Macon, Blair McClenachan, Joseph McDowell, Anthony New, John Nicholas, Samuel Smith, William Smith, Richard Sprigg, jun., Richard Stanford, Thomas Sumter, John Trigg, Philip Van Cortlandt, Joseph B. Varnum, Abraham Venable, and Robert Williams.
Nays.—John Allen, George Baer, jr., Bailey Bartlett, Jas. A. Bayard, David Brooks, Stephen Bullock, Christopher G. Champlin, John Chapman, James Cochran, Joshua Coit, William Craik, Samuel W. Dana, George Dent, William Edmond, Thomas Evans, Abiel Foster, Dwight Foster, Jonathan Freeman, Henry Glenn, Chauncey Goodrich, William Gordon, Roger Griswold, William Barry Grove, Robert Goodloe Harper, William Hindman, Hezekiah L. Hosmer, James H. Imlay, John Wilkes Kittera, Samuel Lyman, William Matthews, Harrison G. Otis, Isaac Parker, John Read, John Rutledge, jr., James Schureman, Samuel Sewall, William Shepard, Thos. Sinnickson, Samuel Sitgreaves, Nathaniel Smith, Peleg Sprague, George Thatcher, Richard Thomas, Mark Thompson, Thomas Tillinghast, John E. Van Allen, and Peleg Wadsworth.
Friday, July 6.
Abrogation of Treaty with France.
Mr. Sewall called up the bill from the Senate, declaring the treaty between France and the United States void, and of no effect.
Mr. Allen wished the resolution that he laid upon the table yesterday, respecting the condition and relation of this country with respect to France, first to be taken up.
Mr. Sitgreaves thought it would be proper first to go into a consideration of this resolution. We are, said he, now in a state of war. The House know that, by the distribution of powers under this Government, it is only competent for Congress to declare the country in war; therefore, until that declaration is made by this department, the Executive and Judiciary cannot act in the same way as if the country was at war. In other countries, the Executive Department can create war; but here it cannot. If it shall be considered expedient to declare war in consequence of the repeated aggressions and injuries we have received from the French Republic, and the hostility urged against us, and the necessity there exists of making defence against them, there can be no occasion for declaring the treaties void; because, if war is declared, it is the major proposition, and, of course, includes all the minor propositions. If discussed at all, therefore, it would be proper to discuss the major proposition first. He supposed it was a subject on which the minds of members were made up. Whether, therefore, the vote is affirmative or negative, it would be best to declare, in the first instance, the state of the country.
Mr. Nicholas hoped, if we are to come to this question of war at all, it might be so taken up as to occupy the least time of the Legislature. The question of setting aside the treaties is evidently included in the other; he hoped, therefore, the proposition of the gentleman from Connecticut, if to be taken up at all, would have a preference.
Mr. Sewall said, if the question of annulling the treaties with France was included in the resolution of the gentleman from Connecticut, he should think it ought first to be taken up; but he did not think this was the case. The gentleman from Connecticut wishes a committee to state what is our relation with respect to the French Republic. How could we say what our relation is, except we determine what is our relation with respect to the treaties subsisting between the two countries? He took the two things to be perfectly distinct. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sitgreaves) seems to conceive that the question whether it will be proper to make a declaration of war against France, is included in this resolution, as he could not be so anxious for the declaration of an historical fact, which, in his opinion, the report on this resolution could only be; for gentlemen could not consider that the constitutional power, placed in Congress to declare war, meant no more than a mere report, whether or not the country is in war. A number of acts have been done, which are indicative of war, and if a report was made as to our situation with the French Republic, it must be reckoned at least a state of hostility. But this would be doing nothing. If it was the intention of any gentleman to propose a declaration of war, such a motion would supersede the necessity of taking up the bill from the Senate; but, as the resolution of the gentleman from Connecticut did by no means go to this, he hoped the bill he had mentioned would be first considered. If he were to give an opinion on the subject, it would be clearly against declaring war at present. As to the Judicial Courts, they would find no difficulty in acting according to the situation of things, without troubling themselves with the nice distinctions which gentlemen seemed inclined to make between a state of war, and a state of hostility.