Mr. T. Morris said that the opposition he had made was more to the manner than to the matter of the motion. He thought it improper to decide upon it at so late an hour, and when there was scarcely a quorum of members within the walls. I have, said Mr. M., no objection to the grant. On the contrary I think it ought to be made in consideration of the circumstances of General Lafayette. I should indeed have wished that it had been the subject of a distinct bill. The value of gifts of this nature depends as much on the manner in which they are made, as on the gifts themselves; and I think the donation would, in this case, have been deemed more honorable, if a special bill had been passed, instead of inserting a clause in another bill. If there were time to bring in a distinct bill I should now vote against the amendment; but as I am unwilling to hazard the object altogether, I shall vote for it: expressing my regret, at the same time, that the gentleman who has viewed the distressed situation of General Lafayette had not sooner brought the business forward.
A debate of short duration ensued, between Messrs. S. Smith, Shepard, Dawson, and Bacon, in favor of the amendment, and Mr. Davis against it, when it was carried without a division.
On engrossing the bill for a third reading, Messrs. Southard, and Shepard spoke in favor of, and Mr. Varnum against it—carried, and ordered to a third reading to-morrow.
Saturday, February 26.
French Spoliations.
Mr. Bayard moved that the House do now resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House on a motion of the thirty-first ultimo, "for indemnifying the citizens of the United States, who, in carrying on a lawful trade to foreign parts, have suffered losses by the seizure of their property, made by unauthorized French cruisers, or by any French cruiser, without sufficient cause," to which Committee of the whole House was also referred, on the second instant, the report of a select committee, made the twenty-second of April last, on "the memorials and petitions of sundry citizens of the United States, and resident merchants therein, praying relief, in the case of depredations committed on their vessels and cargoes, while in pursuit of lawful commerce, by the cruisers of the French Republic, during the late European war:"
It passed in the negative—yeas 21, nays 48, as follows:
Yeas.—John Bacon, James A. Bayard, John Campbell, Samuel W. Dana, William Eustis, Calvin Goddard, Roger Griswold, Seth Hastings, William H. Hill, Benjamin Huger, Samuel Hunt, Samuel L. Mitchill, Thomas Morris, Thomas Plater, Nathan Read, John Cotton Smith, Samuel Tenney, Samuel Thatcher, George B. Upham, Peleg Wadsworth, and Lemuel Williams.
Nays.—Willis Alston, John Archer, Theodorus Bailey, Phanuel Bishop, Richard Brent, Robert Brown, William Butler, Samuel J. Cabell, Thomas Claiborne, John Clopton, John Condit, William Dickson, Peter Early, Lucas Elmendorph, Ebenezer Elmer, Andrew Gregg, Daniel Heister, Joseph Heister, William Helms, William Hoge, James Holland, George Jackson, Michael Leib, David Meriwether, Thomas Moore, James Mott, Anthony New, Thomas Newton, jr., John Randolph, jr., John Smilie, Israel Smith, John Smith, (of New York,) John Smith, (of Virginia,) Henry Southard, Richard Stanford, Joseph Stanton, John Stewart, John Taliaferro, jr., David Thomas, Philip R. Thompson, Abram Trigg, John Trigg, Philip Van Cortlandt, Joseph B. Varnum, Isaac Van Horne, Robert Williams, Robert Williams, Richard Winn, and Thomas Wynns.