The Madisonian

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Friday, January 31.

"Mr. DAVIS, of Pennsylvania, wished to present a resolution for the House to go into the election of a Chaplain.

The CHAIR stated that the House were now in the execution of a resolution adopted yesterday: a part of it had been executed by the election of a Printer: it remained to elect a committee of inquiry concerning the mode of executing the printing, &c.

Mr. GRAVES rose and stated that he had had a conversation last evening with several of the prominent gentlemen of the Administration, and it had been suggested that, as a matter of fairness, they would be willing to place two members of the Opposition, two of the Administration, and the gentleman from Georgia as Chairman, on the committee. Mr. G merely mentioned this, as it might expedite the business, and save some time in making the election.

After some explanation from Mr. HOWARD, of Indiana, as one of the members with whom Mr. Graves had conversed—

Mr. POPE suggested that it would be best to reconsider that portion of the resolution of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Black) which required the appointment of a committee of inquiry to be made by the House; but made no motion to that effect.

The CHAIR suggested that, as five members were to be elected viva voce to compose the committee, the readiest course would be to nominate one at a time. It would be found, in the end, a saving of time.

Mr. GRAVES objected.

The CHAIR thereupon directed the Clerk to call the roll, and each gentleman, as his name was called, to nominate, viva voce, five candidates.

Mr. GRAVES moved a call of the House.

Mr. HOFFMAN demanded the yeas and nays on this motion: which were ordered, and resulted as follows: Yeas 140, nays 44.

So the call was ordered.

The Clerk thereupon proceeded to call the House, when 195 members responded to their names. The absentees were called, and excuses received and accepted, and then all further proceeding in the call was suspended.

Mr. TURNEY moved that the House elect one member at a time to compose the committee, instead of each nominating five at once.

The yeas and nays were ordered on this motion, and, being taken, resulted as follows: Yeas 54, nays 132.

So the motion was rejected.

Mr. DAWSON said that he understood that gentlemen on each side had agreed upon a ticket, and, if so

[Loud cries of "No! no!" "Go on!"]

Messrs. Garland, of Virginia, Burke, Briggs, and Boyd, were appointed tellers.

Mr. HOPKINS rose to ask, if this was the proper time to do so, to be excused from voting in the election of the committee about to be raised. I will state very briefly (said Mr. H) the reasons which induce me to ask to be excused. It is a well-settled principle of that Parliamentary law which we have adopted as the law of this House, that all committees of this kind shall be so constituted as to consist of a majority of members friendly to the objects for which they are raised. I am one of those radical, and if you please impracticable, men, who choose to judge men by their practice rather than by their professions, and thus judging, I am justified by the vote of last night in the election of a printer, considered, as that vote may and ought to be, in connexion with the votes taken upon the various propositions which have been presented this session touching the subject of public printing, that there are but four members of this House whose votes indicate that they are friendly to the proposed investigation, with a view to the immediate separation of the public patronage from the political newspapers of the country. These are: yourself, my colleague from Accomack, my colleague from the Albemarle district, and myself. I cannot vote for you, sir, because you cannot serve upon the committee if elected. I cannot vote for myself, because that would be manifestly wrong. If I vote for my two colleagues, they would, if elected, constitute a minority instead of a majority of the committee. I ask, therefore to be excused from voting at all.

The question being put, the House refused to excuse Mr. Hopkins from voting.

Mr. HOPKINS said he should excuse himself by avoiding the vote.

Mr. MONROE desired to be excused from voting, because he said he believed the whole thing to be a mere sham, from beginning to end.

[Loud cries of "Order! order!"]

The election, viva voce, now proceeded.

The call of the roll of the members (on the first ballot) was concluded about twenty minutes past 4 o'clock; but the result was not announced—

When Mr. POPE, of Kentucky, moved that when this House adjourn it adjourn to meet on Monday next.

For the space of half an hour following this motion, the House was in a state of great uproar. The motion to adjourn was withdrawn and renewed several times; the yeas and nays were called for and withdrawn, and called for again and again, but in no instance taken.—An appeal was taken from the decision of the Chair (occupied pro tem. by Mr. Lincoln, of Massachusetts) that the above motion to adjourn was in order, pending the annunciation of the result of the ballot; but the decision of the Chair was sustained by the House.

The question was finally taken on the motion that when the House adjourn it adjourn to Monday next, and was agreed to.

And then the House adjourned, to meet at 12 o'clock on Monday next.