Virginia Argus. [volume], March 22, 1815, Image 1

About Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816

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PUBLISHRD BY
PHILIP IHJ-WL & Co.
t;-!.- ■ i —
DERA T.E
OH THE
PEACE ESTABLISHMENT
CONTINUED.
Mr CALHOUN said, it appeared to him,
that nn the question ot fijdrg the Military
I’eacc Establishment, the house were ra
ther acting in the dark, having before them
neither the estimate* nor the facson wlrch
they were founded. In determining the a
mount of the Military Establishment, he
said, the house ought to take ii.to view three
objects, and gt adnate the force to he retain
ed accordingly : The proper maintenance
and garrison of our military posts and for
tresses ; the reten'ion of so large a fore** as
would keep alive military science and serve
as a seminary for that purpose ; and the
adaptation of our military force to the polt.
cy yf the enemy in regard to this country.
As regarded either of the*c objects, it ap.
peared to him the house was not in posses
sion of information to enable it to act undcr
stnrdingly- What force would be neces*a
ry to guard cur seaports, to protect our
Northwestern & Western frontier from In.
dirfn hostility? Of this there was nocsti.
mate,but every thing was left to corjecture.
As to the second point, practical mi i.ary
men ought to be consulted whether it
would be proper to keep up a military
force to maintain mui’ary science._—
The next question was the most import
tant: Have we a sufficient knowledge
of the force and policv > f the enemy to an
tlmrize a reduct nn of our military force?
He contended we hud not. What would be
the feelings of England on receiving intelli
g<*nce of the late events, be did know.—
Whether '.he soreness of her recent defeat
•wonhl produce a di position to remain at
peace or to retaliate, no gentleman could
say If there was any doubt on the subject,
■we ought to act with caution in reducing our
military cstabl;>hment. What course the
enemy will pursue we cannot determine ;
whether he will keep up a small peace es«
tab'ithmct.t or a large military force, we do
not know. It ought to l>2 recollected, that
he has abundance cf tr.i'itary means, and
that living is as cheap in Canada as in Eng
land. If tbe enemy should keep up a force
on our borders of 30 or 40 thousar.il men,
instead of reducing it to four or five thou
sand, would it he wise for us wholly to dis
arm? Jt would not air.t. said r.e depre
cated such a state of things ; but, if the
eremy should retain a large force in service
in our vicinity, it would be highly impolitic
for us to reduce ours as low ns is proposed.
The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Jnck..
son) had on a former day, remarked that
our situation was particularly felicitous in
having no enemy immediately in our neigh
bnrfcood. Rut. it ought to be borne ;n mind
that the most powerful nation in Europe
possessed provinces adjoining our • ermo.
ry, into which she cooid r.adily pour an
armed force. He hoped that tuv ion never
would, but it m'ght do so. Suppose, with
forty thousand men, .he chose, without
notire, to make a hostile movement again*'
our territory : every strong position on the
N.aeara frontier woufd fa'l at once mio his
hands, 6c the expence we wish to avoid
must be quadrupled to enable u*> to regain
them. Having neither estimates nor facts,
as he had before remarked, the house ought
to act cautiously. It is easier to keep sol
diers thun to get *lirm ; to have officers of
skill and renown iu yoor pov-ession, than to
make them. Let us wait a while before
we reduce our a» my to a mere l’eacs Esta
blishment.
Me. GOLDSBOROUGH said, that one
argument which had been urged in favor of
a large military establishment appealed to
him to cot both ways. It was con'endrd
that it was our duty to kee| up a large rni*
litary force until our late enemy reduces
hi". Suppose cur late enemy in the same
way sin uld keep up his force because we
keep up ours ? We shall maintain our pre*
sent military forever: and this atgument
therefore, goes too far. It appeared to
him Mr. G. said, that gentlemen holding
the affirmative of the question of leductinn
of the army'o 6000 men, need resort for its
su»( ort only fn the general policy of the
country, to the doty of every member of
tie house to telieve his constituents from
the heavy burthens which mu t be imposed
on them for its support. This argument is
sufficiently solid to repel all the arguments
he had braid in favor of a larger military
establishment than six thousand men. The
advi rates rt a larger force had dwelt up the
apprehension of a war with Spain, and of
a ren pal of '.he war with Britain. Were
gen'lemtn serous? Did they mean to a
larui the cror try by such language ? Did
they mean to express a wish for a Spanish
war ? He hoped not. Our complaint a*
gainst Spain, it any, is that she has been ac
cessary to the acts i f a principal aggressor
rn our light*. Having n leased the princi*
pal (France) be hoped we should not make
war upon a secondary power. As to We t
Florida, v e have possejai n ; afod it may be
a good rearon to raise an army to def« nd it
■whenever we shall have reason to believe
it will be attacked, hot not bf f< re. As to
the renewal of war with”flrtat IVpain, he
had no sort of ft nr ot it. ’I! e diRicvjties
which arn«e in carrying into effect tile trta
ty of 1783, afforded no argument in favor
of the expectation of a similar course now.
Brita n then complained that we had not
complied with some of the stir illations in
that treaty, ard particu arly that which
tecured to British ciizms the drills due
to them before the war, and we complained
that she did not deliver up some of the. west*
ern posts ; Mid both parlies were m ques
tionaldy to nlame. It had been sa'd, that
600u men would be a smaller peace esta*
blis me- t than we had before the war.—
Thi Mr. G. denied. Our peace establish
men* in 1805, about the time our collision
■with (>r^t Britain broke out, was short ol
three thousand men ; and it was not until
this unlucky war, fiom which wc are for*
tunatpiy freed, was expected to take place,
that our Military Establishment was nomi
naliy encreased to tea thousand men. At
this time, he could see n» necess.**' for
preparing for war / he could not think Con
gress would be justified in maintaining any
further burthen on the people, than was ne
cessary to garrison the various posts in the •
United States. 'They would not, he thought, ;
do their duty to their country, if they went
beyond six thousand men.
Mr. PICKERING said, he held in his
hand the Message of the President of the
United States, transmitting to Congress a
Treaty of Peace and dmity with Great
Britain. He had supposed this an authen
, tie document; that we really had been at
i /trace; that we had been rejoicing and il
luminating for Peace. But, were lie or any
other pei son to form his opinions on the
words used by the genijeman from South
Carolina (Mr. Calhoun) he should conclude
that we v’erc still at war That gentleman
had urged, as a conclusive reason, why we
should not revince the army below ten thou
sand men, that we did not vet know the
disposition of the cne/ny ! The PrtAidenCs
recommends ion for the maintenance of an
adequate regular force having been read
by one gentleman, Mr. P. begged the at
tention of the house to another passage,
which he read/' expressing the sanguine
hope and belief, that the Treaty of Peace
would be a lasting foundation of the most
friendiy in'ercouse The sentiments now
expressed on one side of the hou c. ap
peared to him to be of a character directly
opposed to this ; and would hsve a ten
dency to stir up all the sentiments which
had existed a nd sh uld only exist in a state
ot war. If we have peace in fict, if we are
desirous of renewing friendly in crcnurse
wi’-h Great Britain, we should lay aside ail
enmity. .and iorbear any expressions, calcu
lated to keep alive that irratibility which
has existed in time past, against the nation
with whom we are now at peace. If we
desire a renewal ot friendly inte; o .ursc, we
ought to lay aside unfounded suspicions,
and act upon the state ot things, declared
and established by the Treaty. There was
! oue argument that had been so often re
peateu, ne cr.ulcl not omit noiicmg itf tho
j lie had bten substantially anticipated by
ihe gentleman trom Maryland. In the
treaty ot 1783, there was a stipu'atioo that
neither nation should throw any impediment
in the way of recovery of deals due from
citizens ot one uaUon to citizens of the o*
t.*er. It was a notorious fact, that such
impediments were thrown in the way by
some of die sta.es, the consequence of which
was that Great Bri ain kept possession of
the posts she was to have given up to us —
i tie surrender of the posts, and the renio,
val of legai impediments to the c-Uection of
old Bru.sh debts, took place at one and the
vame time / and Unquestionably, as the
gentleman who last spoke had observed, on
noth sides there was blame. Mr. P. said
he was well aware, that he Could neither
'P2'tit or write, if he had any reference to
Great Britain in either way, but it was said
ne was a Jiritish advocate. Kts conduct
throughout the war of the Revolution, and
since, might to contradict the insinuation
1 am, said he. an American citizen, and
know no other predeliction. But, he might
add that after the trea»y ot 1794, the Board \
ot Commissioners under that Treaty were
broke up, and no measures were taken for
thi payment of those British debts; audit
was not unti the administration of Mr. Jef
ferson, that a Ttea y was entered into, and
ratified by him, whereby the United States
were pledged to pay those debts, computed
at a certain sum. Without waiting for that
payment, B i ain did surrender the posts.
But, it had been said, we ought to keep up
a large force if Britaindid. Great Britain,
remote as she is from her provinces, has
much stronger rea-on for keeping up a large
torce there, than the United States could
have for maintaining a corresponding force.
I'h continuing to lisrbor such suspicions,
Mr. I*, said, would, more than ail other
tnings, tend to produce anoiher war. but,
ci uid any gentlemen seriously apprehend
another war after what had taken place ac
the close of this i It had been said the
pride ot Great Britain would be wi unded
by the events at New Orleans. To this
Mr. F. answered, she had made peace with
out knowing the result of that expedition.
Why did she make peace ? Some suppo
sed, on account of the aspect of affairs in
Europe. Mr. 1*. rather attributed it to the
state of things in Great Britain. J’he sen
timents of the opposition in both houses, we I
know to have been favorable to Peace.—
I he sense of the People of England on that
head, m iy be gathered also from the vast
number oi petitions for Peace with the U. S.
It may also be attributed to the conviction
experience had taught of its being cluarly
the interest of (». B. jo be at peace with us.
She wants a vent for her manufacture*, —
INr merchants had supposed, when the
whole continent was open to her, there
woiimi be an insatiable market for her com.
modifies. There was an err r in that spe
culation, and many ol her merchants were
i' jured, if not rumed, by engaging in it.—
l ae ton -merit was inuudate I by finish
mariu aciures: the people of the continent
were unable or n t me i ied to purense, and
tlie goods remained in consequence in the
hanus ot the exporters. The British nation,
thcrefoie, 30 large a portion of whose peo
pit are manufacturers, were anxious for
place with the Un ted States, that this bet
ter market than any oilier should be open to
them. This is t ie great reason why they
desired petce wi h os. Mr- P. adverted to
»h*» recent disaster of the Brhish arms be
fore New-Orleans. If it had only happened
to those who mere on our coasts before, dur
ing the last summer ; to Admiral Cochrane
and his command (whose Inst for plunder
was well known) the effect would havo been
very different on the British natbn, though,
hail the attempt succeeded, it wmld have
made for.ones for hi:n and all his officers._
But the expedition was fitted out with the
approbation and under the eyes of the Uri
tish Ministry, by whom it wan provided
with an immense number of troops and vast
equipments, destined expressly for the cub
ju gat ion of New»Orleans. Before the issue
of that expedition was known, from which
complete success must have been anticipa
ted, the same ministrry concluded a peace.
YY hen the result of that expedition is known
in l£n;laod, the ministry, he said, must be
disgraced, and probably driven from their
seafs. Who will succeed them ? The Can •
nings, as the gen'leman from Georgia sup
poses? No; Mr. Canning himself is now a
minister appointed by the present ministry
to represent that gn-rerntnent in Portugal.
I heir ^ successors will be those very Mem
ners of Opposition in bo'h houses of Parlia
ment who have clamored for a peace with
America. Bat, the gentleman from South
Carolina says, Great Britain has a great
army in Canada, and may attack us if .ve
I disarm ourselves. What motive can she
have to do so? If they make peace when
they were in po-seasion of very important
P'i'- s on our frontier, and expected New.
Oilcans to fall, how can we exuect thev
u* f**r the purpose ol conquests ?
[Mr. Calhoun explained, that he had not
asserted that st/ch womd he the ca-e, but
only put a case to shew the policy of keep
ing up a resnectnble military force- The
»<<.-, to! Detroit at the commencement of the
w.ii just closed, for the want of adequate
olheers and force, had occasioned more than
halt die whole expanse of the war."] Mr.
ickering resumed. Instead of maintaining
a vast military force, at an expence which
wi.i lequire a continuance of the present
oppressive taxndnn on the people, he said,
we ought to i\ doce the army and relieve the.
peop.e iron a load of t.xes by wt*»ch they
wcie almost cm shed Wc ought to hus_
aand our means, instead of exhausting them
njcause it is possible a war may take place,
v*ad knows when. Great Brit tin may main
'am a considerable force in Canada, but, if
Mie daes.it ought to give no umbrage to the
doited States. VVhv will she probably keep
up a large force in Canada ? From the ap
prehension of such a sudden incursion from
'he United States as took place three years
ago. So far from expecting invasion, Mr.
P. sr.id he would be willing ‘o raze to the
foundation all cur posts on the frontier. —
Britain was smarting, he remarked, under
the effects of more* than twenty years’ w ir :
the na'ion signed tnr repose, and assuredly
Won 1*1 not suffer the Ministry to engage in h
new war with the United States. One gen
tleman, Mr. P. said, had referred to the
Spaniards, and intimated that, as we had
some differences with them, we therefore
ought not to disband our army. Wo very
'.veil know, and certainly u > not tear, the
military strength of Spain. The feebleness
of that government, especially with its pre
sent head, leaves us nothing to fear in that
quarter. After the signal cirl'est of a Very
large British force at New.Orieans, what
motive can Spain have to enter into a war
with us? I Ue effect of that defeat will he
frit not only in Great Britain but in Spain.—
5>ne u> wesk—.in her provinces bordering on
the United Spates peculiarly weak. Her in
ternal distraction tor bad die possibility al
most, certainly the probability of her think
ing of war with the United States. These
were briefly the reasons, Mr. P. said, which
satisfied him that the force of our Military
Establishment ought to be reduced at least
as low as had been voted in committee of
the whole. lie should for hU own part be
satisfied with that number- Running along
the whole froniier, he. believed six thousand
men would be abundantly sufficient for all
the purposes of defence and security. Very
small garrisons would be sufficient in most
of our seaonrts to keep the fortifications in
repair. Except New. York, he did not
know one that would recpiire more than
two hundred men, many not more than fifty,
and some not more than twenty-five.
Mr. TROUP ro^e for tlir purpose of cor
recting some erroneous statements which
had been made, greatly exaggerating the
amount of expenditure necessary for a Mil
itary Peace Establishment. If the army
was to be destroyed, he added, let it be by
fair argument, and not by erroneous calcu
lations of the cost.
Mr. GKOSVEMOR rose to assign the
reasons, w hy he should, in his vote on the
present occasion, d fF<.?r from most of his
tnend3. He considered this a lotallv dis«
tinct question troin fixing and voting a
Peace Establishment He did not belie e
this was the time, or that the House had
the necessary information on which to fix
the Mi itary Peace Establishment : and this
was the real question presented to the
House. It had been said, and truly, that
the British nation have on our soil posts of
the utmost importance yet unrelinquished.
It is a fact that many tribes of the Indian
nations are yet in a state of disturbance, w th
whom we have no treaty, no peace or se_
curity for a peace. 'I his house did not yet
know the manner and spirit in which the
treaty ot peace had been concluded lie
regrc.tecl that ihe President had not laid
before Congress the correspondence iuie.
gard to this very treaty. To have done so
would have been no violation of principle,
became ihe President had on a former oc
casion adopted that course. 'I o this treaty,
f-» said, was opposed in England, per
haps the strongest party in that country ;
and, whatever gentlemen might think, this
treaty was not very cordially received in
this country, notwithstanding ail our illomi
j nations and rejoicings He thought he had
already seen symptoms of dissatisfaction at
it in debate. Mr. U. said he had been ear.
! }y tau&fit to respect the wisdom of the max- j
im, thit to be sure cf peace you must be ^
prepared for war. If ever this maxim had
application or point, it applied to the very
circumstances in which we are placed ; to
this state of things, wherein the enemy has
possess’on of so much of our soil, and several
ol our strongest posts, of the redemption of
which we have no certainty hut the reliance
on her faith. In this unsettled state of
things, the maxim to which he had referred
had made a deep impression on him, He
did not know but in the opinion of many
gentlemen the faith of the F.ng'ish na'iou
m-ght be relied on. Mr. G. inclined to
think it might ; but upon this c ccasion he
would be guarded at a:l point*: he would
rely on es’ablished in "xim* of policy, instead
°f relying on the faith of any nation. We
h ive tried a great number of experiments ;
but there is yet another, it appears. Was
it ever before heard of. that on the bare sig
nature of a peace, its late antagonist re.
tnainiug or« its soil ami borders, tnat a na«
| tion disarmed itself altogctiie" ? To be sure,
it will occasion some additional expense, to
retain our force in existence: buttodis.
band our forces at once and entirely, would
have a bid influence, and the world would
have a. right to say, we had escaped f"om
ih i contest so completely v/orn down by its
pressure, that we cou’d not even act up to
'h“ ordinary rules of'prudence. If this force
should be disbanded, ami an unfortunate
collision should again arise, what expenses
•inti los-es muy we have to encounter here,
after, in order to save a Comparatively tri
fling expense now? « What wou!d be the ex
pense of supporting four or five thousand
meu for a few uv mbs, when put into the
oalance ag linst those evils which may grow
out of a different course ? In all these mat.
ter-, Mr. G. said, it appeared to him that
a nation acts wisely when it acts according
to maxims established by prudence and
sanctioned by experiuce. The history of the
world, he boldly pronounced, did not afford
an balance in which any nation had co n
pletely disarmed itself in the circumstances
m which this nation was placed.
Mr.GHOLSON said, that, for i is part,
fie should not act on the presumption of tne
inexecution «.f the Treaty of Fea^e. If in:
did. lie should feel himself bound to retain
the Mdi.arv Establishment, on its present
footing. On the contrary, however, he
should act on the principles of the Pre-i»
dent’s message; on the hope that G"eat
lint iin would carry the Treaty into effect ;
because, from the event i of the war just
terminated, he believed it to be as litt:e her
interest as ours to renew the war But,
whi’e freely and frankly avowing thitsenti
meat, he could not, under other views of
die subject, agri e *o the rapid reduction of
the army, whic • was pr ''posed. Was there
any 'hitig in the p*e ?nt situation of the
country, which required a smaller fore
than we had had for several years before
the declaration o, war? We have an ex*
tent of three or four thousand miles of fron
tier. on which are a number <>f points re
quiring garrisons ; we are in hostility with
a g'-e it many Indian tribes, and oar affairs
wi b Spa n are yet on-ettled. Every thing
considered, he thought the army ought n .t
to be reduced below ten thousand men —
No man in the house was more solicitous
than hi.nse I to red ice the public expendi
tures ; and he e uertained a strong hope,
that they would bfe so reduced by the reduc
tion of the army, &c. that the next Con
gress might repeal nearly all the taxes that
have been laid.
Mr. 13 ESI IA said that he did not regret
that he had bro leiit this subject forward,
for it was necessary for tli« nation to know,
whether they were to be saddled with a
large standing army in time of peace, or a
moderate Peace Establishment. But he re
gretted that the question should take ap so
much time in debite at this late period ot
the session, notwithstanding there has been
so much eloquence displayed. The question
on this amendment was, on Saturday, car*
rieil in the committee of the whole house,
by a majority of nineteen votes, where I did
hope it wa3 sufficiently discussed, and where
I did believe it w is sufficiently understood ;
but gentlemen have come forward with a
new string of arguments against the propo
sition. J) > they suppose that the house did
not understand this subject, or doth v sup*
pr.se that by this great Row of eloquence
they can make the substantial part of the
house change their opinions in so short a
time ? When I spe.ik of the substantial
part of the house. I mean those who think
much and speak but little—who make com
mon sense their guide, 'and not theoretical
or visionary proj?c*s. Mr D. said he should
not have arisen to trouble the house with a
sine'.e remark, but tor that positive state**
•neiit made bv/tiie gentleman from Georgia
(Mr, Forsyth) who stated in a very positive
manner, that six thousand men were not
sufficient to garrison the out»post«. IIo v
does the gentleman know this? What data
does he Judge from. If he has any correct
da*a, on which he bottoms his calculations
he ought to give them to the house Rot I
shall take for granted that he has none
that it is a mete guess, notwithstanding the
positive manner in which it has been assert
ed. I have made some calculations, and,
as ! observed on yesterday, th**re is not more
than twenty five or thirty forts in all, which
it is presumed, arc nut a'l necessary to be
kept up in a time of peace. I much ques
tion if it is necessary to keep up raora than
twenty. Will n it one hundred men on an
average be sufficient to man each foit f It
is true, some may, perhaps, r* quire two hun
dred, but others wdl not require more thau
twenty.five or thirty men. Then, sir, you
will have upwards of one half of the 6009, as
contemplated by the amendment, lor other
purposes. Rut s >me gentlemen advocate
10 00f 0, and others 20,099 of a stv'ding ar
my. The policy is easy to be seen through
—the advocates of a perpetual system of
taxation discover that if they cannot letam
a consideration standing army,, they will
have no good plea for riveting the pres°nt
taxes on the people. I was an advocate tor
taxes when taxes were necessary in sup
port of the war, but as soon as it can be done
consistent with propriety, I shall he in fa
vor of removing the heaviest of them. Com.
nfierce brought us into the Wf, and 1 am
for making crnimefte p..y the principal part
of the debt incurred by the wri , and not suf
fer the people to lie ground do».-n to dust
[ by heavy taxation. Mr. 1). said if the ar
gument of his codv.ague (.Mr. Hopkins)
proved any thing, it proved too much—it
proved what wtme Uteie was the lean speck
'n ,!l P ditic t! horizon abroad, that was not
tavorah * to us. we must keep u > large
standing ar-iies to guaid ngiinst possible
dtmcu.ties I bis is a kind of doctrine in'*
Consistent wi.h he peaceful habits of re
puoltcs but calculated to oppress the peo->
Pie by heavy burthens, instead of ameiiora
ting their condition—The gentleman tells
you that we have been menaced by the
Spaniards, and therefore ought to keep a
force in pay sufficient to repel any attempt
00 their part. Kut he has defeated his pur
pose by Ins own remarks, by saying the
Spaniards are in an unsettled state, that
t icy are in a s ate of internal di traction, and
t leretore it is uncertain what moment they
may pounce upon us. Sir, a momma's re.
cutrence to common sense would be suffi
cient to discover the fallacy of these re
mains. Is it to be presumed, while they
are in a state of interna! distraction, that w»
have any thing to a prebend f rm them ?
to ittlL7 ,nm-‘ Fhty wi!| ,lave ■'-««»» to d..
own JL ,r °<7nr afFlJrs—b> keep their
i go.ernment from being overturned,
without turning their eve to foreign wars
even i. th-y had any just c.useb of com
plaint against us. which I deny. And would
n r° kee|> "P Iar«e Standing armies
m times of peace to Hie oppress, m of our
own people, because there is a distant pos
v, ( uf "e'n-; attacked by the Spaniards ?
Mr. 1) .aid we are ether at war or we h ive
peace ,f we are at war, not a single man
ougnt to be discharged ; if we are at peace,
.t would be mexperli nt o keep more regu
, than was sufficient to garrson cur T.ut
posts and secure our fro it ers H- thoueht
thatsix th visa id were sufficient for these
purposes, and therefore hoped the amend
mui. would he adopted One word in re a*
t.on to other remarks marie by i e gentle,
man .ro w Georgia H: laments ha^ more
respect is not paid to recommendati ms from
1 ie bxecu.itre. Mr 13. said there was no
nan in the nation had a higher opinion of
toe goodness and purity of the intentions of
the hxt-cutive than lie had, and such recotn
uisndati ns always had due weight with him,
and would contiuu v create a prepond r*
ance in all ca^es of a doubtful character *
but as man is fallible, and liable to err -A
a representative of a free people he should
<nke the liberty on this, as weli as on all
oases, w.ier-t no doubt existed, jf exercis*
ing Ins rnv:, judgemen-, holding himself re.
sponsible tor his conduct to those whom ho
had tlu- honor to represent.
Mr. RIGA, of l'er». said he heartily cr»%
incided in sentiment with that part of the
President's message which had been qu
ted by the gentleman fro n Matsachuse t
!Ie meant, he said, to endeavor, as mm-h
ns lay in his power, to cultivate peace "nd
friendship wi n Great Britain. If that na
tion would let us alone, he was wiliin,- to
forget what had passed. He had ao insli
nation to renew hostilities with her, and lie
hoped that all the members of this botly
correspouded with him in the feeling. Hur
to disarm ourselves altogether wcold ^
just as wise as, wlien a warm day co nes to
throw oflf all our clothes, expecting win*er
was over. Although the President h ,d ex
pressed m his message pacific purposes l)e
also expressed an opinion, in which Mr R
fully concurred, adverse to a suilden* or
total reduction of our military force. T-Ic
ing into view the present state of the wor'd*
and the probability that the calm ir. Europe
is nothing but the precursor of a violent
storm, though he sincerely desired it might
be otherwise, Mr Rhea conceived it would
be highly impiudent to part with so great a
proportion of our army as tv as proposed.—
The President had expressed sentiment*
in direct opposition to those of the gentle
man from Massachusetts, who had quoted
another part of the Message. (Mr. Khea
here quoted the part of the Mess? e re
commending the retention of a respectab'e
military force.) This, he said, was a ve*
ry plain talk, and far from coinciding with
the inferences drawn from that part of the
Message recommending tne Cultivation of
friendly sentiments towards Great p,ri»
f in. The best wr tiog, even the Holy
Book itself, might be distorted from ts
meaning and general intent, by quoting de
tached sentences of it. The reci mmec.da*
tion of the Executive ts, in effect, that the
Military Establishment be n*>t so reduced
a- that other nations m iy take advantage
of its diminution, Mr. R. said he respect
ed the gcntkman of New-York for the o*
pinions he had just delivered ; they were
manly and noble / he highly approved
them. Su(,po-e the military e-uabiivtimen?
to be reduced *n >»ix, four or three thousand
men ; we know, said Mr. R, who have
been obliged *o bear the responsibility of the
war, and who have disavowed any respon*.
sibility. If there should be any encroach
ments on us on account of our weckn*»i,
the very majority of hish m e would be accu.
set! of warn of f iresigbt and wisdom in dis
banding the armv. Mr. R said h - had no
inclination to subj ct himself to this c n li
non. Unless th-re •hnuld be o co:respon
ds -t reduction of force by ottr late r nv,
he would not consent to redact! ihe army
so g eat'.y ns was pro| o ed Itlr.dbeen ai l,
we ought to r. ly wholly nn militia t’< r
defente Militia generally, he *aid, w. n!d
do their duty, and that manfully, * h- n cals
led on ; but we know ihat our la'e eru.•> y
have been permitted to hold on a large
portion of uiir territory, without molestation
from the mi itia. H'* would not eminent to
sui j^ct the United S'.atei to a continuation
or repetition of that disgrace by a tctal dis
bandment o! the army.
Mr. STOCK. TON said that the subject
uf reducing the array w..s very import an
— he pressue of the T ite war bad already
born*, lieu*. Uy upon die peup!*-, and <v ulj
soon be rm?re distinctly felt in the frrm of
taxes by every man and in every family —
fie had, upon due cor salt r *li.« i. dtt rtn n«
►d to vote in favor «-f die amendment m.tdo
:n committee, reducing the peace establish*
ment to six tltonsind men. Nothing, h wa
ever, would have induced him to cake any
|,a t to the debate, but the alarming cotr sc
ot argument pursued on the ott er side of ^
1