it was found necessary to add new men to it. Those men are now being enlisted, and when enlisted, it is proposed to send that regiment of mounted rifles to Texas. And if you send them to Oregon, you will have to raise another troop for Texas.

In conclusion, I beg leave to return my thanks to the House for the kindness with which they have heard me, and to apologize for having trespassed so long upon their time. My sole object has been to vindicate the Secretary of War, who has acted, I believe, in this whole matter, honestly and fairly, without transcending his duty, and, moreover, with ability and singleness of purpose. Mr. STUART. I would like to inquire of the Delegate from Oregon, whether he intends to press this vote? Because if he does, I desire to say a few words as to the motives which will govern my action; otherwise I do not intend to say anything. Mr. LANE. I have just had an interview with the Secretary of War relative to this matter. I should like to have the attention of the House, while I give my views with reference to this rifle regiment and the movement of it, and then I am willing that the vote shall be reconsidered and the resolution laid on the table or withdrawn, for I have the assurance of the Secretary of War, that troops shall be posted upon the route this season in sufficient time to afford protection to the people bound to Oregon.

months, till about April of last year. It is of this withdrawal that I complain, and I think justly; for while they were there we had peace, uninterrupted peace, and as soon as they left us, the cruel butchery of our people commenced.

Now, I take it for granted, that the promise made by the Secretary of War to-day will be carried out in good faith, and that troops will be placed upon the route in time for the emigration to Oregon this season. But look at the economy; look at the principle; look at the system of political economy of the Administration so lauded by the gentleman from Maryland. I am a thousand times obliged to the gentleman for his kindness towards Oregon in the last Congress, and I have no doubt that I shall often have occasion to thank him for his kindness towards Oregon in this Congress. Oregon needs much. She has no vote here. She can only ask others to give her what she wants, and I pledge my word that I will ask for nothing in her behalf that is not absolutely essential to her welfare, and to which she is not justly entitled.

Now, this regiment of mounted rifles was ordered to Oregon; it was then ordered back again; and now it is necessary to send out another force there. That is a beautiful system of economy! The gentleman from Maryland seems to think that the Administration are entitled to great credit for this system of moving and counter-moving, and marching and counter-marching troops. But is it Mr. STUART. I merely wish to say that my good economy or good policy to march troops to object in rising was to state my views very briefly Oregon and march them back again, while they in regard to the power of this House over this were subserving the very purpose intended by matter, and the power of the Executive of the Congress in authorizing the raising of the regiUnited States. But learning from the Delegatement, and then march out more troops? Yet that from Oregon that he has received assurances from seems to be the policy of the Administration. the Secretary of War which induce him not to The former Delegate from Oregon [Mr. Thurspress the question, and being at all times unwilling ton] may have said that this rifle regiment was unnecessarily to consume the time of the House, not needed there. I have great respect for that I will yield the floor to him for the purpose of ex- gentleman's memory, and for his intelligence. He planation, and refrain from making any remarks has now passed away; but if he made such a statemyself. ment as that, he certainly was not consulting the interests of that Territory, and how he could have said such a thing, I cannot conceive. While it may be true that the troops were not needed in the settlements, they were certainly needed on the emigrant route, from Independence to the waters of the Columbia, and on the route from Oregon to California.

Mr. LANE. I have not intended at any time to thrust my opinion on military matters upon the House, or to claim anything for the little military service I have seen, and the little experience I have had in the service of my country. I never have said upon any occasion, nor do I mean to say in this House, that my opinions are entitled to respect because I have seen a little service in a war which I did regard, and do yet regard, as a just war and one which every American citizen should have supported with heart and hand. There should have been but one feeling in this country when we were engaged in that war. Unfortunately, how ever, there were two; but I do hope that if this country shall ever again be involved in war, there will be but one opinion, and that, that it is the duty of every American citizen to take the part of his country, and never to sympathize with her enemies. It would have been well for the opponents of the Mexican war if they had uttered fewer words in opposition to it than some of them did. Now, sir, out of that war has grown an extension of this country; it has given us an extended frontier which is entitled to protection. Oregon is a large piece of territory aside from the additional extension of our country. It embraces from the summit of the Rocky mountains to the Pacific ocean a thousand miles in extent in one direction, and from the forty-second to the forty-ninth parallel in the other. In that Territory there are no troops. There are the remnants of two companies of artillery, but an infantry soldier has never been ordered to that Territory.

The rifle regiment was clearly and distinctly

raised for that service. President Polk recommended the raising of the regiment to be stationed on the route to Oregon for the protection of emigrants bound for that Territory, and in pursuance of that recommendation, Congress authorized the raising of the regiment. It was raised, but this was unfortunately during the Mexican war, and under the emergency of the occasion had to be sent to Mexico, and there served till the conclusion of that war. When it returned, Mr. Polk very justly thought they were, in common with other new regiments, entitled to a discharge, and so many of them as desired it were discharged. The skeleton remaining was filled up by recruits, as 1 stated yesterday, on the express condition that they were to be employed in this Oregon service. It was sent to Oregon after being thus filled up, but only suffered to remain there some eighteen

The gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. MARSHALL] said to-day, in the course of his remarks, that he did not know why the troops should be posted at the points indicated in this resolution. I will now explain to the gentleman, why it is necessary that they should be so arranged. The gentleman will recollect that there are two great roads, one leading from St. Joseph, in Missouri, via Fort Hall, to the Dalles of the Columbia river; the other from Oregon City to Calfornia.

This latter road passes through the Rogue River Valley, which is near the dividing line between Oregon and California, and runs through a country where there are no white settlements at all, but which is inhabited by as warlike and ferocious Indians, as any of our North American tribes, and they have succeeded in ambuscading the road and cutting off numerous parties of our citizens passing to and from Oregon and California.

The interests of California and Oregon are identical; they never can be separated; lying upon the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, they form an important portion of this country, and everything should be done, that can be consistently done by Congress and the Administration, to afford to them everything that they need, or at least to protect those who are moving there. This rifle regiment, I repeat, ought never to have been ordered to Texas, for their service belongs to Oregon. We ought to have troops sufficient for the protection of the people who go to Oregon, and I have no doubt that it will be so, as I rely upon the assurances of the Secretary.

[Here a message was received from the President of the United States.]

Mr. EVANS. I want to ask the gentleman a question as to the character of the Indians in Oregon, as to whether they are warlike or not, and

whether they have lately been making war upon the citizens of that Territory? I want to know how many troops will be necessary for the protection of that Territory, and whether the inhabitants

are not able to take care of themselves, and what

the probable cost of those troops would be? If the gentleman desires to pursue another train of

argument, however, I will not insist on his answering them now. But I desire to have them answered.

Mr. LANE. I prefer to go on with the branch of the subject I was elucidating a little further, and then I will answer the gentleman's questions. I remarked that the interests of Oregon and California were identical. Oregon, to some extent, is a gold-producing country, but it is not so uniformly diffused over it as in California. But she has within her borders what is more valuable, a soil of inexhaustible fertility, finely adapted to the growth of everything that is needed for the subsistence of man; and is now in part supplying, and must eventually furnish, California with all agricultural productions needed. Hence the great road leading from one country to the other demands imperiously your protection. Now, we desire that there shall be a garrison stationed somewhere in the Rogue River Valley, through which this road passes; for we must pass through that valley on the route from Oregon to California. We also ask that a garrison shall be placed upon the other road, in the Snake river country, somewhere between Fort Hall and the Grand Ronde.

I will now answer the interrogatories of the gentleman from Maryland, [Mr. EVANS.] There are about sixty tribes of Indians in Oregon. There are about five times as many Indians as whites in the Territory. The tribes near the settlements are in general friendly disposed, and an easy people to govern. We have no reason to fear any diffi culty from them. But the Indians on the road from Oregon to California are, as I said before, as fierce and warlike as any on the face of the globe, and they are as capable of conducting war. Major Kearney-and every gentleman here knows that we have no officer in the Army who stands higher for courage; he is the officer who gallantly carried the gates of the city of Mexico, with a shattered and disabled arm dangling at his side-yet this officer, with the intrepid Walker, and a small force of as good troops as ever drew sabre, declined on one occasion to give them battle till he was reinforced. The Indians were well mounted, and well armed, and five hundred or six hundred strong.

Now when such Indians as those infest the great highway from Oregon to California, can it be expected that without a garrison and without troops our people are safe in passing from one country to another? Sir, within the last few years many parties passing this road have been attacked, and many of them murdered and their property destroyed.

They have thus been elated by success and have grown bold, and are growing bolder still, and nothing will keep them in subjection but troops garrisoned there. Now the same may be said as to the other, the emigrant road between Fort Hall and the Dalles of the Columbia river. Depredations have been committed on that road of such a savage and cruel and barbarous nature, that I will not ask this House to listen to their recital; they are too revolting to the feelings of our nature. Suffice it to say, young ladies have fallen into their hands, and whole families have been destroyed. Under the inducements which have been held out by Congress, many of our people have attempted to emigrate, and fallen upon the way. That frontier cannot be protected unless the Government takes the matter into its own hands. It is not in the power of the few thousands of people in that Territory to protect a frontier of some seven hundred miles. It is impossible for them to furnish sufficient force to subdue those Indians. I do not exaggerate when I say, that many thousands of dollars worth of property have there fallen into the hands of the Shoshone or Snake Indians. I do not exaggerate when I say, that many lives have been taken, that many men, women, and children have been murdered in the most shocking and horrible manner. Now, was it just to the emigrants to that country-was it right, under these circumstances, to have ordered that regiment from that country, and thus leave it open to these savage depredators? I must confess that I did not expect to see my friend from Texas [Mr. HOWARD] take the position which he assumed yesterday. I did not expect that a gentleman representing any por tion of a State so chivalrous as Texas-a State so prompt in doing her duty in defending herself and the country-should ask the services of this regi ment, and that Oregon should be deprived of all protection.

me,

Mr. HOWARD. If the gentleman will allow I have made no such request. I am perfectly willing that Oregon shall be defended, and that the Government shall send troops there for her defence. What I said was, that the Secretary of War had stated that these troops were not the best for Oregon. He says now that the reports will show that the mounted men in Oregon have not rendered service at all commensurate with the expense which the country has been put to in relation to this character of troops, and that foot forces are still the best for that Territory. But this regiment, as the gentleman from Maryland states, after being in a great degree disbanded in Oregon, the troops having deserted so that there was but a mere skeleton left, who, with the officers, brought home the horses that were not sold, at a large expense, and were posted in Texas. Now, I want to know where is the reason for sending them back? If mounted forces are necessary there, then give them an independent mounted force give them another regiment. But, sir, I will come to a compromise with the honorable gentleman from Oregon. If he will give us in Texas, for three years, those mounted rangers, he may then take back the troops; he may have them re-transported to Oregon.

But I think the Department have taken the ground which they have taken in relation to this matter wisely, and for this reason: The population of Oregon and of California is composed principally of young men without families, and, of course, a population of this description is much more competent to defend itself, than one composed of persons who have settled with their families-with women and children, as is the case in Texas. If the present army cannot defend the frontier of that country, by calling for volunteers, a population composed chiefly of young men is certainly much better adapted to defend themselves, than such a population as exists in Texas. We all know that the frontiers of Texas have ever since annexation, been depredated upon, more or less, by hostile Indians. We know that for the last three years the frontiers of Mexico have been depredated upon by the Indians, now resident in the United States; and that no efficient or fair means have been taken to carry out that treaty; and that this regiment has been brought there, not only to protect the people of Texas and New Mexico, but to protect and carry out the treaty stipulations which you have obligated yourselves to carry out with the Republic of Mexico. And more than that; it seems to me to be a most extraordinary position, that men going to a country must be protected, but that men who are settled in a country with their families, and liable to like depredations, shall not be protected.

Mr. LANE. The gentleman from Texas is as much at fault in his assertions, as was the gentleman from New York, [Mr. BROOKS.] This regiment was not ordered from California, but from Oregon.

Mr. HOWARD, I had my authority from the Secretary of War. They are part in Oregon, and part in California; indeed, the headquarters of General Smith was at San Francisco.

Mr. LANE. But none of the rifles were there. Mr. HOWARD. That is not the statement of the Secretary of War.

Mr. LANE. Now in reply to the gentleman's argument as to their being relatively more young and unmarried men in Oregon than in Texas, let me assure him that he is egregiously at fault. Congress, you know, sir, has enacted a law donating to all emigrants who would take a claim in that country, and cultivate it for four years, as follows: to a married man 320 acres, one-half in his own right, and one half in her own right; to an unmarried man 160 acres, and to his wife 160 more in her own name, if he marries in twelve months after locating his claim; the consequence is, sir, we have few unmarried men or women in Our country; the ladies, always quick to disCover their interests, and prompt to avail themselves of any opportunity to promote it, have not Only all wedded who were there, but many more have gone there and married, and have husbands and lands both, so that the gentleman must discover that if fighting men cannot be obtained except they are unmarried, no country is more destitute of them than Oregon.

There are some troops in California, but not more than are needed there, and indeed not as

many. California is as much exposed as any country possibly can be, from the locality of the country, from its formation, and from its many scattered valleys. Its immense amount of gold induces the people to wander all over the country, and for that reason they are exposed more than they otherwise would be.

garrison in the country would have a moral influence upon the Indians, that would do much towards keeping peace with them.

I have many apologies to make to this House for trespassing so long upon their time. It is the first occasion that I have found it necessary to say a word or occupy the time of this House, but it was an occasion upon which I thought I ought to avail myself of the privilege which you have extended to me. I must look to this House for the adoption of such measures as are necessary for the protection of Oregon.

I should like to have the vote upon the passage of the resolution reconsidered, and that the resolution lie upon the table.

Mr. SEYMOUR, of New York. I demand the previous question.

Now, I am going to state simply, that the troops in Oregon consist of not more than forty to ninety men. They are artillery troops occupying garrisons, or something like garrisons, upon the seacoast. A few of them are at Fort Stilacoon, on Puget Sound, and a few of them at Columbia barracks. None of them can be used in the defence of the frontiers of that country. Now, I repeat, the Secretary of War has told me to-day, that for the protection of the emigrants bound to Oregon, he will cause troops to march out, to be there in time for this year's emigration. That will satisfy me so far as that is concerned, snd it will satisfy the emigrants, and insure their protection, if theering the vote by which the resolution was adopttroops are kept upon the road. There is one other route which the Secretary should place troops upon, and that is the great road leading from Oregon to California, and then we should have the protection which the people absolutely require.

I have said nothing about the right of this House to request the President, for this resolution was nothing more than a request, or if you please, a petition. Whenever the day arrives when this House cannot, or dare not, or will not, for some imaginary reason, say that they have no right to respectfully ask and request the President of the United States to afford protection to our frontiers, then I will be prepared to say we do not enjoy the liberties which I heretofore have supposed, and still believe we enjoy. When has the time arrived in which it is improper to do so?

The previous question received a second; and the main question was ordered to be put.

The main question, which was upon reconsid

ed, was then put, and it was agreed to.

Mr. LANE. I now move that the resolution lie upon the table.

The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to.

So the resolution was laid upon the table.

On motion by Mr. CABELL, of Florida, it

was

Ordered, That leave be granted to withdraw the petition and papers of Richard Fitz Patrick, for the purpose of reference in the Senate.

On motion by Mr. ABERCROMBIE, it was

Ordered, That the papers and petition of Wade Allen be withdrawn from the files of the House, and referred to the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads.

On motion by Mr. HENN, it was

Ordered, That the papers and petition of Solomon Rushton be withdrawn from the files of the House, and referred to the Committee of Claims.

On motion by Mr. HASCALL, the House then adjourned.

PETITIONS, &c.

The following petitions, memorials, &c., were presented under the rule, and referred to the appropriate committees: By Mr. WEIGHTMAN: The memorial of a citizen of New Mexico, praying the enactment of a bill, therewith transmitted, having for its object the arming of the militia and volunteers, &c., of the Territory of New Mexico.

Also, a memorial of a citizen of New Mexico, praying the enactment of a bill, therewith transmitted, having for its object to place officers and enlisted men serving in New Mexico, on the same footing as regards pay, with officers and enlisted men serving in Oregon, California, and for other purposes.

By Mr.

: Memorials of certain merchants engaged

I hope I need not add, that I am as fully aware as any gentleman on this floor, that this House has no power to command the President to do anything in the premises; my object was not to command him; and it is passing strange to me that gentlemen will insist that it is designed to be so. My object was to obtain an expression of the sense of this body upon the propriety of extending the protection to the people I represent, which I think is their due, not doubting that the President would give such respectful consideration to such expression as is due to such a high source. I also desired to bring this subject to the attention of the country at large, and my constituents in particular. Why, sir, this is certainly a novel idea, that this House has no right, by abstract resolution, if you please, to indicate its sense of any Executive proceeding, or what ought to be Executive action. Sir, your Journals, through the whole history of the Government, are full of such precedents, and especially has this been the habit of the party now in power. While upon this subject, permit me to remark, that, although no lawyer, yet I think I rightly, understand the constitutional obligations 31 others, praying an inquiry into the subject of the tariff resting upon the President and upon the Congress. It is for Congress to make the laws, and for the President to execute them. While it is true that he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, it is also true that it is his duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed; hence I infer that if Congress, in raising troops for a particular service, should direct their field of operations, it would be the duty of the Chief Magistrate to execute the will and directions of the law-making power.

It is now about time to withdraw this resolution, or rather to let it take its regular course.

Mr. EVANS. I would ask the gentleman, what would be the probable cost of supporting the troops he proposes to have sent to Oregon?

Mr. LANE. I am by nature and practice, and in every other way, an economist, and in asking protection for Oregon, I studied economy. I was unwilling to ask for what she really needs, because it will cost much, and more than Congress might think proper. For that reason I put it low. I stated, in a letter to the President, that two or three companies of cavalry would be sufficient to afford the needed protection on the emigrant road between Fort Hall and the Dalles, and two or three companies of the same description of troops in the Rogue River Valley between Oregon and California.

1 also stated, that if mounted troops could not be had, that infantry forces ought to be sent out; not that I believed for a moment that we could wage war successfully with infantry, but that a

in commerce, and ship masters, and of certain captains of steam and sailing vessels, navigating Long Island Sound, asking for a suitable light-house on the end of Long Wharf, in New Haven harbor.

By Mr. DUNCAN: The petition of Mary Pearson, for a pension on account of the revolutionary services of Silas Pearson, her late husband.

By Mr. HAVEN: The petition of S. Vandenburgh and

upon cigars costing less than ten dollars per thousand, and such a modification in reference thereto as will afford protection to the makers thereof in this country.

By Mr. McLANAHAN: The remonstrance of citizens of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, against the renewal of the patent right of Zebulon Parker, for his reaction water wheel.

Also, à petition of citizens of Perry county, Pennsylvania, praying for the establishment of a mail route from Newport to Elliottsburg, in said county, by way of Millford, Bosserman's mill, and Roseburg.

By Mr. FLORENCE: The petition of John S. Moore, John N. Henderson, Lacey & Phillips, and other citizens of Philadelphia, praying for an appropriation to the Executive Committee of the London Industrial Exhibition, to relieve those who have borne the expenses of the transportation and display of goods at the "World's Fair."

By Mr. AIKEN: The memorial of the New York Chamber of Commerce, praying for a light-boat, with a fogbell, on Cape Roman Shoals, coast of South Carolina.

By Mr. ASHE: The memorials of Neill Kelly and J. C. Blocker, deputy marshals, praying additional compensation for taking the census.

By Mr. BISSELL: The memorial of the President and Directors of the Mississippi and Atlantic Railroad Company, praying for the right of way and a grant of land, to aid in the construction of a railroad from the State line of Illinois, at a point opposite Terra Haute, to Illinoistown, opposite St. Louis.

By Mr. BARRERE: The petition of William Perry and 15 others, surviving soldiers of the war of 1812, and citizens of Brown county, Ohio, praying for the passage of a law granting pensions for life to the surviving officers and soldiers of the war of 1812.

By Mr. ALLEN, of Illinois: The petition of citizens of Hamilton, Franklin, and Saline counties, Illinois, praying Congress to establish a nail route from the town of McLanesboro', in the county of Hamilton, to the town of Marion, in the county of Williamson, and State of Illinois. By Mr. GOODENOW: The memorial of Benjamin Sampson and 7 others, assistant marshals of the county of

Franklin, in Maine, for additional compensation for taking the Seventh Census.

By Mr. JOHN W. HOWE: The petition of William Gallaher and 180 others, citizens of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, praying Congress to prohibit the transportation of the United States mails upon the Sabbath.

IN SENATE.

WEDNESDAY, February 11, 1852. Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. C. M. BUTLER. MEXICAN CLAIMS.

The PRESIDENT pro tem. laid before the Senate a communication from the Secretary of State, transmitting, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 7th instant, a report of the Board of Commissioners on Claims against Mexico; which states, that the whole amount awarded on all the claims allowed by the Board was $3,208,314 96, and that the sum stipulated by the United States by the 15th article of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, to make satisfaction for the claims of their citizens against the Mexican Republic was three millions and a quarter, which exceeds, by $41,685 04, the total amount of the awards of the Board of Commissioners.

Mr. MASON. That information was called for by the Senator from Pennsylvania, [Mr. BRODHEAD.] He is not in his seat.

Mr. WADE. If the gentleman from Virginia will allow me, I will state, that the resolution was introduced at the instance of the Committee of Claims, for information which they wanted in regard to a certaim claim. If, therefore, the Senator from Virginia will permit me, I will move that the communication be referred to the Committee of Claims.

Mr. MASON. I should be quite willing that this communication should be referred to the Committee of Claims, so that we might have the action of that committee on the subject, but there is a large number of these claimants whose memorials have been referred by the Senate to the Committee on Foreign Relations, and we have had them under consideration. I will not interfere with the motion of the Senator from Ohio, but merely state the fact I have already mentioned.

Mr. WADE. I will not persist in the motion. I supposed that the resolution emanated from that committee, and for the purpose which I have mentioned.

Mr. MASON. Then I will move that this communication be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, and that it be printed.

Mr. WADE. I am quite agreeable to that reference.

The communication was so referred.

CREDITORS OF CHEROKEES.

The PRESIDENT pro tem. laid before the Senate a report of the Secretary of the Interior, communicating, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate, copies of all correspondence between that Department, including the office of Indian Affairs, and persons claiming to be creditors of the Western Cherokees since the last session of Congress.

Mr. SEBASTIAN. That information was

right to use his patent force-pump and fire-engine; which was referred to the Committee on Naval

Affairs.

Mr. MILLER presented the memorial of Sarepta Cleveland, praying remuneration for a house belonging to her father, Jonathan Skinner, destroyed by the enemy during the revolutionary war; which was referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Claims.

Mr. CHASE presented two petitions of merchants and others of Philadelphia, praying the construction of an additional canal around the Falls of the Ohio river; which were referred to the Committee on Roads and Canals.

Also, the memorial of inhabitants of Warren, Illinois, praying that the transportation of the mail on Sunday may be prohibited by law; which was referred to the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads.

Also, two petitions from the assistant marshals for taking the Seventh Census in Clark county and Hancock county, in the State of Ohio, pray. ing additional compensation; which were referred to the Committee of Claims.

Mr. DAWSON presented the petition of Avery Downer, praying a pension for services during the revolutionary war; which was referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Claims.

Mr. SEWARD presented the petition of William Woodbridge, praying a section of land in consideration of the services of his father, a soldier in the revolutionary war; which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

Mr. FELCH presented the petition of William H. Platt, President of the Alton and Sangamon Railroad Company, in the State of Illinois, praying a grant of land to aid in the construction of that railroad; which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

Mr. DODGE, of Iowa, presented the memorial of Benjamin S. Roberts, of the Army, praying to be allowed the pay and emoluments of a lieutenant of dragoons from the time he was discharged from the Army to the time of his appointment as a lieutenant of mounted riflemen; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Also, the petition of Benjamin Arnold, praying indemnity for property destroyed by the enemy during the last war with Great Britain; which was referred to the Committee of Claims.

Also, the petition of citizens of Guthrie county, Iowa, praying a donation of land for the use of the county seat of that county; which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

Also, the petition of James C. Mitchell, and the petition of William Simpson, praying a donation of land for the benefit of the town of Kanesville, Iowa; which were referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

VICTIMS AND EXILES.

Mr. BADGER. I have a petition from one more of the victims of the square root. It is from S. N. Smithhurst, one of the assistant marshals in North Carolina, employed in taking the Seventh Census in Martin county, praying for additional leave also to present a paper containing a statement compensation. While I offer this petition, I beg with respect to the petition of H. B. Lewis, a dep

The motion was agreed to.

PETITIONS.

Mr. ATCHISON presented the petition of the guardian of the heirs of the late Major Thomas Noel, of the United States Army, praying the settlement of his accounts; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. BUTLER presented the memorial of the Chamber of Commerce of New York, praying that a light-ship, with a fog-bell on board, may be moored in the slue between the shoals off Cape Roman, on the coast of South Carolina; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce.

difficulties he labored under in taking the census. I move to refer both of these papers to the Committee of Claims.

They were so referred.

Mr. COOPER presented the petition of Simon P. Kase, praying the Government to purchase the

having, as they say, understood that the Congress of these glorious United States intend to manifest generous, active, and operative sympathy in be

half of suffering convict s banished by other countries, they pray that the same sort of sympathy may be extended to the brother of one of these petitioners and the other four hundred in Siberia. They say further, that they believe the Russian Government will lend a very favorable consideration to any application from this Government, upon the assurance being given that they will all be brought to the United States.

I had some difficulty in my mind, Mr. President, with regard to presenting this memorial, not knowing but it might be intended to humbug me or Congress, from the fact which must be known to the Senate, that in the early movements upon this subject of intervention, I was among the first to denounce the whole proceeding. I did not, therefore, know but the petition might have been sent to me for such a purpose as I have suggested; but recollecting that an illustrious associate in the other branch of Congress was very eloquent on the subject of the right of petition and upon intervention, I concluded to present the petition to the Senate, and to make the declaration, that I have determined, if any more petitions of a like character come to my hands, I will hand them over to some more active sympathizer in the objects prayed for, and especially those who act for “ victims," as they are called.

Mr. BADGER. I rise for the purpose of making a motion as to the disposition of this memorial, and I would suggest

Mr. UNDERWOOD. I beg pardon; I would suggest that it go to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Mr. BADGER. The petition states that the judgments under which these exiles are suffering a hard captivity in that frozen and inhospitable region were erroneous. I would therefore move a reference of this petition to the Committee on the Judiciary, with instructions to report a bill so to amend our laws as to provide that a writ of error may be taken to our Supreme Court from the Supreme Court of the Russian Empire. [Laughter.]

Mr. UNDERWOOD. Perhaps that is rather premature. According to the suggestion of the memorialists, they recommend the sending out of

a commissioner to ascertain the facts before a writ of error is provided for.

Mr. BADGER. But the difficulty is, that be fore that can be done the five years' limitation of these writs of error may expire. I think this thing ought to be done immediately, if it is done at all. [Laughter.]

The PRESIDENT. Does the Senator from Kentucky withdraw the motion to refer the memorial to the Committee on Foreign Relations?

Mr. UNDERWOOD. I will withdraw that motion; and, if the reference will better suit the views of my friend from North Carolina, I will move that it be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. BUTLER. No! no! [Laughter.] You are not in earnest, are you?

Mr. UNDERWOOD. Certainly I am. [Laughter.]

Mr. MASON. I did not hear distinctly what the Senator from Kentucky proposed, nor inI would like to know whether he is acquainted deed what he said in regard to this memorial; and with these memorialists, and if he knows who they are, so that, if possible, the Senate may judge whether or not this petition is or is not what the Senator from Kentucky expresses his doubts that it may be, namely, a humbug?

Mr. UNDERWOOD. I have stated all that I know upon the subject. There is the New York post-mark upon it; and that is all that I know.

Mr. MASON. Then I think the best disposithe tion that can be made of it is, to lay it upon table. I make that motion. The memorial was accordingly laid upon the

table.

PAPER WITHDRAWN AND REFERRED. On motion by Mr. NORRIS, it was Ordered, That the petition of John McAvoy, on the files of the Senate, be referred to the Committee of Claims. REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES. Mr. NORRIS, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, to which was referred the me morial of the citizens of Washington, praying for the incorporation of the Eagle Steamboat Company at Washington, District of Columbia, reported a

bill for that purpose; which was read, and passed to the second reading.

Mr. SEWARD, from the Committee on Commerce, to which was referred the petition of Thomas A. Napier, reported a bill to authorize a new register for the American built ship Obed Mitchell; which was read a first and second time by unanimous consent, and, no amendment being made, it was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time.

Mr. JONES, of Iowa, from the Committee on Pensions, to which was referred the petition of David P. Weekes, submitted a report, accompanied by a bill for his relief; which was read and passed to the second reading. The report was ordered to be printed.

Mr. RUSK, from the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, to which was referred the memorial of Guion and McLaughlin, submitted a report, accompanied by a bill for their relief; which was read and passed to the second reading. The report was ordered to be printed.

Mr. DOUGLAS, from the Committee on Territories, to which the subject was referred, reported

a bill to reduce and define the boundaries of the military reserve at the St. Peter's river, in the Territory of Minnesota, and to secure the rights of the actual settlers thereon; which was read and passed to the second reading.

Mr. BORLAND, from the Committee on Pensions, to which the petition of Elizabeth V. Lomax was referred, submitted a report, accompanied by a bill for her relief; which was read and passed to the second reading. The report was ordered to be printed.

Mr. SEBASTIAN, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the documents relating to the claim of Theodore E. Elliott, reported a bill for his relief; which was read and passed to the second reading.

Mr. GEYER, from the Committee on Pensions, to which was referred the petition of Barbara Riley, submitted a report, accompanied by a bill for her relief; which was read and passed to the second reading. The report was ordered to be printed. On motion by Mr. GEYER, it was

Ordered, That the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from the further consideration of the message of the President of the United States, of the 26th January, respeeting claims of citizens of California; and that it be laid upon the table.

DISTRICT COURTS IN ALABAMA.

Mr. CLEMENS asked and obtained leave to introduce a bill to be entitled "An act to change the times of holding the United States district courts in Alabama, and for other purposes;" which was read and ordered to a second reading. Mr. CLEMENS. I hope it may be read a second time now.

The motion was agreed to.

The bill provides that the district courts of the United States for the State of Alabama shall be held at Mobile, on the fourth Monday in April, and on the second Monday after the fourth Monday in November; at Huntsville, on the second Monday in May, and the second Monday in November; at Montgomery on the fourth Monday in May, and the fourth Monday in November; and also, that the county of Butler shall be a part of, and embraced in the middle district of said State.

The bill was then considered as in Committee of the Whole; and no amendment being offered, it was reported to the Senate, and ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

ADDITIONAL POST ROUTE.

Mr. HAMLIN submitted the following resolution for consideration; which was agreed to:

Resolved, That the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads be directed to inquire into the expediency of establishing a post route from Rockland, in the county of Sinclair, to the Isle au Haut, in the county of Lincoln, in the State of Maine.

UNITED STATES JUDGE for the district OF MICHIGAN.

Mr. CASS submitted the following resolution for consideration:

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency of increasing the salary of the district judge of the United States for the district of Michigan.

Mr. SEWARD. I hope that resolution will lie over until to-morrow, as I desire to submit an amendment to it in relation to another case of a like character.

The resolution was accordingly passed over.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS.

A message was received from the President of the United States by Mr. M. P. FILLMORE, his Private Secretary, transmitting the annual report of the Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, showing the operations of the Mint and its branches for the year 1851;

Also, a report from the Secretary of the Interior, containing a report from Thomas U. Walter, Architect for the extension of the Capitol; and

A copy of the instructions dispatched from the Department of State to the Minister of the United States at London, respecting the attack on the United States steamer "Prometheus," in the harbor of San Juan de Nicaragua, by the British brig of war" Express ;" and also, a copy of the dispatches of Mr. Lawrence to that Department and of his correspondence with Her Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on the same subject.

These several messages were referred,

second to the Committee on Public Buildings; and The first to the Committee on Finance; the the third to the Committee on Foreign Relations; and they were ordered to be printed.

NOTARIES PUBLIC.

Mr. BUTLER. At the last session of Congress there was a bill passed authorizing notaries public of different States and Territories to take and certify oaths, affirmations, and acknowledgments in certain cases; but under some misapprehension, it did not include the District of Columbia. I move to take up that bill now, for the purpose of amending it in that particular.

worth hearing, our speeches will keep. There is no danger whatever of their spoiling.

league will withdraw his motion, and allow the Mr. DODGE, of Iowa. I trust that my colspecial order to be proceeded with.

Mr. JONES. I'will withdraw the motion with a great deal of pleasure, if my friend from Tennessee desires it to be withdrawn.

Mr. BELL. I will assent with great pleasure to any arrangement which may be agreed upon by gentlemen.

Mr. JONES. I would withdraw the motion immediately, but I do not wish to be discourteous to the Senator from Tennessee.

Mr. BELL. I shall not regard it as any discourtesy at all.

The motion was then withdrawn.

EXILED IRISH PATRIOTS.

The Senate resumed the consideration of the sippi, on the 2d of December, expressive of the resolution submitted by Mr. Foote, of Missis

sympathy of Congress for the exiled Irish patriots, Smith O'Brien and Thomas F. Meagher, and their associates.

The pending question was Mr. SEWARD'S amendment to the amendment of Mr. SHIELDS.

Mr. SEWARD. Mr. President, this resolution seems to me neither inconsiderate nor unimportant. It is a resolution which must have the assent of both Houses of Congress, and the approbation of the President of the United States, and so will become a national act. It recommends, I might perhaps say solicits, clemency towards the patriots of Ireland who are suffering imprisonment in a penal colony; and it is designed for the information of the British Government, and therefore may and ought to be rede-garded as an appeal by the United States to Great Britain.

Mr. SEWARD. I desire to ask the Senator from South Carolina, whether it will involve bate?

Mr. BUTLER. Not at all; it is only to supply a single word.

The motion to take up the bill was agreed to. The amendment which extended to notaries public in the District of Columbia the same power to take and certify to oaths, affirmations, &c., which is conferred on the same class of officers, in the States and Territories, was adopted; and the bill as amended was then ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

CENSUS COMPENDIUM.

Mr. SEWARD gave notice of his intention to ask leave to introduce a joint resolution concerning the publication of a compendium of the several censuses of the United States. It proposes that a joint committee of the two Houses be appointed, whose duty it shall be to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and report for immediate use, a compendium of such prominent statistics of the late and prior censuses, as to them may seem important, for the present information of the people and Congress, accompanied by a report containing such other information relative to the progress of agriculture, arts, manufacture, commerce, and the general wealth of the United States, as they may deem useful.

RAILROADS IN IOWA.

Mr. JONES, of Iowa. I move to dispense with the special order to-day, for the purpose of taking up Senate bill No. 1, which is a bill making a grant of land to the State of Iowa, in aid of the construction of a railroad in that State. My friend from Tennessee [Mr. BELL] has had the floor on this subject, at least four or five days, and has been unable to proceed with his speech. He commenced his remarks on the day when the bill was last under consideration and spoke some five minutes, when the Senate adjourned. He is now prepared to go on with his remarks, and I hope that the bill will be taken up, so that he may proceed with them.

Mr. BADGER. I would suggest to my friend from Iowa the propriety of withdrawing that motion for the present. The Senator from New York [Mr. SEWARD] had the resolution in relation to the Irish exiles postponed until one o'clock today; and as that subject is the special order, and as the time is now past, I think he ought to be heard. I can readily realize the hardship imposed upon my friend from Tennessee, as it has been suggested by my friend from Iowa; but as both he and myself intend to speak to the Senate, and as we have something to say, which I trust will be

Sir, I think the proceeding is defensible upon the grounds of abstract justice and propriety, as well as upon a due consideration of the relations of all the parties concerned.

I beg leave to say, in the first place, that it is not altogether novel in character and principle. The patriots of Ireland, who are the subjects of this debate, are suffering imprisonment in consequence of an effort, honestly made, to restore their native land to liberty and independence. The sympathy expressed by this resolution for them, springs from the same source from which the sympathy of the people of the United States has sprung, which has been habitually exhibited towards nations striving to assert the same rights -the sympathy which was expressed by the people of the United States towards France in 1793, in 1830, and in 1848; towards Greece, towards the rising South American republics, towards Poland, towards Germany, and towards Hungary. Even in form, sir, the measure assimilates to the action of Congress in regard to Louis Kossuth, who has been, through our interposition, released from imprisonment in Asia Minor, and brought to our shores, received and welcomed as a guest of the

United States.

The interest which is expressed in this resolution for William Smith O'Brien, like that which is expressed toward Louis Kossuth, is not merely personal, but it is the reverential compassion indulged by the people of the United States for a fallen nation "in a man compris'd." It is not, then, the cause of William Smith O'Brien aloneit is the cause of Ireland.

The merits of a nation's cause, and of its defenders, require a review, not merely of the particular accidents or incidents which bring it before us, but of the whole life of the nation. So it was that our forefathers, in adopting the declaration of American independence, reviewed the entire colonial experience in vindication of the act of abjuration of their allegiance to the British Throne.

Ten centuries ago, sir, Ireland was an independent nation, possessing the elements and the forces of national stability. Ireland was guilty of one enduring crime-it was the crime of proximity to England. Ireland labored under one enduring misfortune-it was the misfortune that, for many centuries, she had remained unconquered and unconquerable. The crime provoked the cupidity of England, the misfortune begat divisions into septs and clans, and these civil distractions favored an invader. At the very moment, sir, when Henry, a Norman King of England-the second

of that name, I think-was, as the chronicle relates, "casting in his mind to conquer the adjacent island, because it seemed to him to be commodious, and because its inhabitants were savage and rude," he was applied to by a deposed Irish prince to reinstate him on the throne. The invader enjoyed one vast advantage: England had been successively subjugated by the Romans, the Danes, the Saxons, and the Normans, and in that rough experience she had acquired the consolidation and discipline which, combined with the energy arising from a mingling of races, and an ambition springing from an insular position, have enabled her almost to have the world in empire."

The invasion, of course, did not result in restoring the Irish King, nor did it result in the conquest of Ireland. It ended in only the establishment of a small colony upon the coast, enclosed with palisades, and therefore called "The Pale." Within the Pale" were Englishmen, English Lords, English manners, English customs, and English rule; and without the "Pale" were the entire nation of Irishmen, with their hereditary princes, their native language, and customs, and

manners.

Acting upon the law of nations, as it was then understood, these races regarded each other as natural enemies, and hence ensued wars unsparing and unrelenting. The Reformation hurled a new element into this internecine strife. The Catholic Church in England had given place to one which suited its Kings and people better. Considerations of prudence coöperating with a spirit of proselytism, determined the Government of England to subvert the Catholic Church in Ireland. The sword was the missal sent, and a ferocious soldiery were the apostles of the new faith. The Irish preferred their paternal religion to that which was so rudely recommended to them by their enemies. The " 'Pale," although backed by England, was too feeble to subjugate Ireland, and Ireland, distracted by the jealousies of her clans, was too weak to crush the "Pale;" and so for four hundred years continued wars, at the end of which both parties retained their relative positions and power. And thus all that important portion of the nation's life was worse than lost, in consequence of an imperfect conquest. At last five hundred and twenty years after the first invasion by Henry, and at the close of the great battle fought on the banks of the Boyne, Ireland capitulated, and at that time the entire twelve millions of acres of tillable land were divided and parceled out among the invaders and the few apostatizing natives. Ireland capitulated, and by the treaty of Limerick, subjected herself to the gov ernment of the "Pale.' But she reserved, in the most solemn manner, the liberty of conscience. This right-the liberty of conscience-was not only stipulated by the treaty of Limerick, but was solemnly guarantied by William and Mary, the common sovereigns of the two countries.

England, nevertheless, persevered in her policy of subverting the Catholic Church, changing only the means employed for that purpose. She perfidiously broke the covenants of peace, though they had been written in blood, and established a Penal Code, disfranchising the Catholic Irish people of all civil and political, social and domestic liberty, as well as of their ecclesiastical rights, and thus substituted for invading armies the sterner despotism of the law, and withdrew the sword to replace it with the scaffold.

Sir, I shall not detail that atrocious code, but will content myself by giving a description of it, drawn by Edmund Burke, seventy years ago—a description which time has now proved prophetic:

"It is," says he, "a system full of coherence and consistency, well digested and well disposed in all its parts fitted for the impoverishment,"-(yes, sir, these are the words,)"fitted for the impoverishment and the degradation of a people, and for debasing in them of human nature itself."

The after history of Ireland, Mr. President, is a record of frequent and generous, but unavailing struggles, by or in behalf of the People, to cast off that code, and, more recently, to redeem the country from its desolating effects. In the year 1778, Grattan, Burke, and Flood, profiting by the enthusiasm awakened thoughout the world by the American Revolution, and by the embarrassment of the British Government in consequence of it, succeeded in obtaining from the British Parliament a relaxation of the rigors of this code in regard to education and the rights of property; and, in the

year 1782, when the exigencies of the British Government had become more alarming, they succeeded in wresting from the British King and Parliament a renunciation of legislative and sovereign power over the Kingdom of Ireland; and it was expressed in these solemn and memorable words:

"The rights claimed by the people of Ireland, to be bound only by laws enacted by His Majesty and the Parliament of that Kingdom, shall be and are established, and, at no time hereafter, shall be questioned or questionable.""

Sir, Ireland exulted for a delirious moment in national independence regained; but it was only for a moment, and that moment was delirious. Ireland required the repeal of the penal code, and demanded a constitution. The Parliament and the "Pale," constituted of a Protestant representation alone, and being in the interest of England, refused both. Discontent, wide and deep, pervaded the Irish people. Emmett, Fitzgerald, and their associates, in 1798, conspired to raise the standard of insurrection; but they were betrayed, and the rebellion was crushed in the germ.

The Government of Great Britain now assumed that the people of Ireland had tried, fully and fairly tried, the experiment, and had proved themselves incapable of exercising the franchise of self-government. The British Parliament therefore sent down to the Parliament of the Pale what was called an act of Union, and in the year 1800 that mockery of a legislature adopted it, and surrendered its own perfidious and pernicious existence. By that act of Union, Ireland, in May, 1800, was in name united, but was in fact absorbed, and became virtually a province of the British Empire, with only the shadow of a representation of the Protestant minority of the Kingdom in the British Parliament. Daniel O'Connell, a jurist and advocate of surpassing genius, eloquence, and learning, inferring, from the failure of the men of 1798, that the time for a martial revolution had passed away, at least for the present, conceived the bold purpose of obtaining a repeal of the penal code and the restoration of his country to a place among the nations, by a process of civil agitation, always within the restraints of the law, and looking for the effect through the action of the King and Parliament of England. In the year 1829 he obtained a signal triumph in the passage of the act of Catholic emancipation. There remained but one step between this memorable act and the freedom and independence of Ireland. That step was the repeal of the Act of Union. But the ruin and desolation resulting from the penal code, which Burke had predicted, pressed too hard upon the march of the Reformer. Ireland could not wait the slow progress and doubtful success of civic agitation. The nation divided between the parties of "Old Ireland," following the lead of Daniel O'Connell and his peaceful standard, and of "Young Ireland," under the revolutionary banner set up by William Smith O'Brien. Now, in point of fact, it is possible that even if the Irish people had remained united, neither of those policies would have been successful; but it is also certain, that when the nation divided and broke, both efforts signally failed. Daniel O'Connell died of a broken heart at Genoa, on a pilgrimage to Rome, and William Smith O'Brien, the leader of the Irish rebellion, being found without attendants, arms, or troops, was arrested, convicted of high treason, and sentenced to an ignominious death. His sentence being commuted by the Crown, he is now an exile in Van Dieman's Land.

Simultaneously with the failure of these, the last efforts hitherto made for the redemption of Ireland, poverty and pestilence stalked abroad through that ill-fated country, exciting the sympathy of nations, and moving even the distant people and Congress of the United States to send relief. Depopulation of the Island assumed a frightful momentum, and, from that time to this, has continued to give the last confirmation, which the most sceptical could have required, of the conclusion, that never on earth was a revolution more just or more necessary, than that attempted by William Smith O'Brien and his companions in exile.

Sir, it is not my object in this review, to excite prejudices, here or elsewhere, against England, or against the Protestant Church within that Kingdom. I have no such prejudices myself. I disclaim and disdain partisanship in regard to historic events. O'Connell was a Catholic; Smith O'Brien is a Protestant. The rage of the sects

has died away in the agony of the catastrophe which has involved the people of both in a common desolation; and wise and sagacious men in England look on the decay of Ireland as an alarming presage of the decline of the empire. But, sir, on an occasion like this, Ireland is entitled to, and from me she has received, her vindication. The policy of England was the policy of the age, and of the times, and of systems; and this is her sufficient apology.

The sympathy of the American people, then, in behalf of Ireland, is just.

I proceed to remark, that this sympathy derives intenseness from the conceded genius and proverbial virtues of the Irish people. The plains of Waterloo, and the heights of Abraham, attest that they are brave as well as sagacious in war. Like the Greeks, in their decline, they have enchanted the world with their wit and song and eloquence. They are confessedly confiding and generous to a fault, while their whole history, and tradition reaching now a period of a thousand years, exhibit not one instance of unlawful aggression. Is not, then, the tribute proposed by this resolution, due to such a people? And if so, why shall it not be offered?

I am answered, that this is a question for the British Government, and that it is they, and not we, who are to extend clemency or pardon to the Irish exiles. I grant it, fully grant it. But men and nations are moved by persuasion. What is asked here, is not an exercise of clemency, but only a word of persuasion whispered to the Power that can grant it.

I am told that we may lawfully sympathize, as individuals, in the misfortunes of these unhappy men, and of their more unhappy country; but that to us as a political body-a State or nation-or as the representatives-the Government of a nation-such sympathy is forbidden. This seems to me equivalent to saying that we may indulge sentiments of generous compassion, but we shall never carry them into beneficent action. The sympathy of the several members of this Senate, or of this Congress, or of the individual citizens of the United States, will be unavailing. If that sympathy is truly felt by the nation, it can only be effectually expressed in the manner in which national sympathies, and determinations of the national will, are always made effective-by the action of the Government. And, sir, let me say, that there is only one code of morals for mankind, and its obligations bind them equally, whether they be individuals, subjects, citizens, states, or nations.

I shall be told, that we may not intervene in this, which is a domestic affair of a foreign Government. It is true that we may not intervene in the affairs of any Government for unjust purposes, nor can we intervene by force for even just or benevolent purposes. But this is the only restraint imposed on us by the law of nations. That law, while it declares that every Government has the absolute right to deal with its own citizens, according to its own laws, independently of any other, affords a large verge and scope for the exercise of offices of courtesy, kindness, benevolence, and charity. It is Montesquieu who says that "the law of nations is founded upon the principle, that every 'nation is bound in time of peace to do to every other nation all the good it possibly can, and in 'time of war, the least evil it possibly can consist 'ently with its own real interests." It is upon this humane principle that diplomatic intercourse is maintained among the civilized nations of the earth, all of whom are by the law of nations regarded as constituting one great commonwealth.

But, Mr. President, it will be said, that if we adopt this resolution, it will, however harmless it be in itself, furnish a precedent for mischievous intervention, either by ourselves in the affairs of other States, or by other States in our affairs hereafter. To admit this argument is to admit distrust of ourselves. We certainly do not distrust our own sense of justice. We do not distrust our own wisdom. So long as we remain here, then, we shall be able to guard against any such abuse of this precedent. Let us also be generous instead of egoistical, and let us believe that neither wisdom nor justice will die with those who occupy these places now, but that our successors will be as just and as wise as we are. So far as the objection anticipates an abuse of this precedent by foreign States, I have only to say, that if a foreign State shall ask of us just what we