JAMES MADISON,
Secretary of State.
The Message was read, and, together with the Proclamation, ordered to lie on the table.
Saturday, November 21.
Sir James Jay.
Mr. Jones moved that the House should, according to the order of the day, go into Committee of the Whole on the report in favor of the petition of Sir James Jay. Agreed to, 18 to 29. The report being read with the letter from the Secretary of State accompanying it,
Mr. Taylor opposed and Mr. Jones supported it.
The question being taken on concurrence with the report, the votes were, in favor of it 45, against it 46; there appearing some doubt whether this decision was correct, a second count was about to be had, when a debate took place, in which Messrs. Upham, Cook, Dana, Quincy, loan, and Blackledge, supported, and Messrs. J. Clay, Gardenier, D. R. Williams, Holland, Taylor, and Burwell opposed the report.
In support of the report it was urged that the secret mode of correspondence, for which the petitioner prays a compensation, was very useful in the Revolutionary War, and no doubt might be again; that the testimony in favor of the invention was very satisfactory; that there was on file in the office of the Secretary of State, a letter written by General Washington in this invisible ink; that Mr. Jay had never received compensation; that although it had been used by various persons, none had ever yet known the composition of it but himself; that the report was only to authorize the President to purchase this secret if he thought fit, leaving him the judge of its utility.
Those who opposed the report, argued that it was absurd to vote away money for a thing they did not and could not understand; that there never yet was a secret ink made but a composition could be invented that would bring it out, and that possibly Sir James himself might know such a composition; that the House had no security before them that it was not or would not be disclosed to other Governments as well as this; that if secret correspondence was wanted, it had from late occurrences appeared that Entick’s Dictionary and a key word would afford, by writing in cipher, sufficient secrecy.
In the course of this debate much wit was displayed in speaking on different modes of keeping secrets, and the futility of all; with allusions to the secret proceedings of Congress, particularly those which took place on the 19th instant, which were said to have been known before the House took them up. Some amusement also arose amongst the members from the difficulty of hearing each other, and the consequent mistakes that took place.