Mr. Lyon observed that he had voted for the equipment of the three frigates under an impression that they would be employed solely for the protection of the commerce of this country: but now he found himself called upon to give thanks or praise to the commander of one of those frigates, and for what? for going out of the station assigned to him, as the most proper for the protection of the trading vessels of this country, in chase of a ship-of-war of much superior force; and for reducing the ship under his command, as well as that of his opponent, to a mere wreck. Mr. L. said he had seen nothing in the orders which had been published directing him to do this, nor did he think policy or prudence dictated the measure. Let all our naval commanders be excited to follow this example; let them play or fight each of them their vessel against a French vessel-of-war of superior force in the same way, and our naval force is crippled, while the French will scarcely feel their loss; then our commerce would be wholly at their mercy. Besides these considerations, what is there to defend that commerce, on the station left destitute by the Constellation, while she is refitting. For his part he was as glad and proud as any gentleman that our officers, and our sailors, and our marines, had behaved gallantly and done themselves and their country honor, in the late action, but he did not feel himself bound, under existing circumstances, to give distinguished praise to the conduct which produced it; he should therefore vote against the resolution.
Mr. J. Brown would vote for this resolution for the very reason which some gentlemen urged for voting against it. He thought the very fact of chasing a ship of superior force, and forcing her to an action which had been attended with success, was a commendable act. This to him would be the only inducement for paying so high a mark of national respect. If it had been an attack upon a vessel of inferior force, he should not think it worth notice. The objection was partly on account of the French ship being of superior force; surely this would rather be a reason why we should have vessels of greater force than we have now; therefore he hoped the worthy member would suffer that brave officer to go to sea next time with a 74-gun ship under his command, when he would doubtless bring the enemy to a good account.
The yeas and nays were called on this resolution and carried—yeas 87, nays 4, as follows:
Yeas.—Willis Alston, George Baer, Bailey Bartlett, John Bird, Phanuel Bishop, Jonathan Brace, John Brown, Robert Brown, Samuel J. Cabell, Christopher G. Champlin, William C. C. Claiborne, John Condit, William Cooper, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, Thomas T. Davis, John Dawson, John Dennis, George Dent, Joseph Dickson, William Edmond, Joseph Eggleston, Lucas Elmendorph, Thomas Evans, Abiel Foster, Dwight Foster, John Fowler, Jonathan Freeman, Albert Gallatin, Henry Glenn, Samuel Goode, Chauncey Goodrich, Elizur Goodrich, William Gordon, Edwin Gray, Roger Griswold, John A. Hanna, Robert Goodloe Harper, Thomas Hartley, Archibald Henderson, William H. Hill, David Holmes, Benjamin Huger, James H. Imlay, James Jones, Aaron Kitchell, John Wilkes Kittera, Henry Lee, Silas Lee, Michael Leib, Samuel Lyman, James Linn, Nathaniel Macon, John Marshall, Peter Muhlenberg, Anthony New, John Nicholas, Joseph H. Nicholson, Abraham Nott, Harrison G. Otis, Josiah Parker, Thomas Pinckney, Jonas Platt, Leven Powell, John Read, John Rutledge, jr., Samuel Sewall, James Sheafe, William Shepard, John Smilie, John Smith, Samuel Smith, Richard Stanford, David Stone, Benjamin Taliaferro, George Thatcher, John Chew Thomas, John Thompson, Abram Trigg, John Trigg, Philip Van Cortlandt, Joseph B. Varnum, Peleg Wadsworth, Robert Waln, Robert Williams, Lemuel Williams, and Henry Woods.
Nays.—George Jackson, Matthew Lyon, John Randolph, and Thomas Sumter.
The other resolution was adopted unanimously.
Monday, March 31.
Lake Superior Copper Mines.
The House, according to the order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the whole House on the report of the committee appointed, on the 5th instant, to inquire into the expediency of authorizing the President of the United States to appoint an agent to purchase of the Indians a tract of land on the south side of Lake Superior, which shall include the great copper bed; and, after some time spent therein, the committee rose and reported a resolution thereupon; which was twice read, and agreed to by the House, as follows:
Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be authorized to employ an agent, who shall be instructed to collect all material information relative to the copper mines on the south side of Lake Superior, and to ascertain whether the Indian title to such lands as might be required for the use of the United States, in case they should deem it expedient to work the said mines, be yet subsisting; and, if so, the terms on which the same can be extinguished: And that the said agent be instructed to make report to the President, in such time as the information he may collect may be laid before Congress at their next session.