The Message and accompanying documents were referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Extra Session.
The House went into Committee of the Whole on the bill to alter the time of the next meeting of Congress—a motion being under consideration to fix on the fourth Monday in October.
Mr. Grundy spoke in reply to some observations of Mr. Johnson (on yesterday) in favor of that day. Mr. G. was decidedly in favor of meeting in May; he believed it necessary to the support of public credit that the House should meet in May. Had not the Committee of Ways and Means first taught him that an early session was necessary with that view, if revenue should not, as it would not, be provided at this session, he should not have been found advocating an extra session. The House had been told by their financial committee, that it was indispensably necessary forthwith to provide a revenue; and that a paper system, without a foundation of permanent revenue, would involve the nation in disgrace or irretrievable ruin. Mr. G. quoted various reports of the Committee of Ways and Means to show that they had made such statements. With these facts staring him in the face, how could he do otherwise than urge an early session? If it was indispensably necessary a day or two ago to provide a revenue, what had since occurred obviating that necessity? Nothing. War had been declared, and it was the duty of those who declared it to provide the ways and means of carrying it on. Mr. G. protested against the idea which had been advanced of giving enormous interest for loans, and against accumulating a large debt, almost without the knowledge of the people on whom it would be saddled, and expressed his determination, as far as lay in his power, to go on and provide the ways and means.
Saturday, February 27.
Power of Retaliation.
The bill giving to the President of the United States the power of retaliation in certain cases therein mentioned, was read a third time.
A motion was made by Mr. Quincy to adjourn—lost, 56 to 16.
The bill was then passed by the following vote:
Yeas.—Willis Alston, jr., William Anderson, Stevenson Archer, David Bard, William Barnett, Burwell Bassett, William W. Bibb, William Blackledge, William Butler, John C. Calhoun, Francis Carr, Langdon Cheves, James Cochran, John Clopton, Richard Cutts, John Dawson, Joseph Desha, Samuel Dinsmoor, Elias Earle, Meshack Franklin, Thomas Gholson, Peterson Goodwyn, Isaiah L. Green, Felix Grundy, Bolling Hall, Obed Hall, John A. Harper, John M. Hyneman, Richard M. Johnson, William Kennedy, William R. King, Peter Little, William Lowndes, Thomas Moor, William McCoy, Samuel L. Mitchill, James Morgan, Jeremiah Morrow, Hugh Nelson, Thomas Newton, Stephen Ormsby, Israel Pickens, William Piper, James Pleasants, jr., John Rhea, John Roane, Jonathan Roberts, Thomas B. Robertson, Adam Seybert, Samuel Shaw, George Smith, John Taliaferro, Charles Turner, jr., Robert Whitehill, David R. Williams, and Robert Wright.