The Congressional Globe, Volume 28, Part 3: Thirty-Third Congress, First Session Page: 1,631
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1854.
THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE.
1631
money for the purpose of equipping hie regiment
and paying th^ men, and probably for other nur-
poses. As early as 1779 he was? charged on the
books of the Treasurer with $98,038 67; and at
the close of the war this charge remained open
ag.unst him, the sums paid by him never having
been entered to his credit by the accounting offi-
cers of tiie Government.
The death of General Moylan, and the subse-
quent destruction of many of his vouchers, ren-
der ii impossible to understand the true state of
the accounts between him and the Government;
but there are several facts and circumstances which
make it probable that the Government was in his
debt. Shortly after the war, several letters were
addressed to him, urging him to make prompt ,
exhibition of his vouchers, with a view to the ;
settlement of his accounts, In pursuance of these i
letters, as it is presumed, during the year 1790, he
filed his account, in which he claimed a credit of !
c£35,899 10s. 9d., filing therewith as vouchers the
accounts of several captains of his regiment, to
whom he had paid considerable sums of money.
Subsequently he tiled a second account, in which
he churned'<-£8,478 12s. Id., the items of which !
were generally supported by vouchers. These
sums united, amount to nearly $1*20,000, which
would leave a considerable balance due to him.
Previously to the filing of these two accounts,
the officers had been urgent in demanding a set-
tlement. After they were filed, instead of such
urgency on their part, they made excuses to Gen-
eral Moylan for their delay in the adjustment
of his accounts, which he had been, from time
to time, demanding at their hands. From this
fact it may be inferred that both General Moylan
and the accounting officers, believed there was a
balance due him by the Government. And when
it is remembered that he always bore the charac-
ter of an upright and honorable man, and that he
went into the service rich and left it poor, the pre-
sumption in favor of this view of the case is
greatly strengthened.
The heirs of General Moylan do not ask pay-
ment of the balance which they believe was due
to him by the Government, but only that the un-
settled state of hi>* accounts shall not be permitted
to brand one of the mnit distinguished paTrtots of
the Revolution as a defaulter, nor to stand in the '
way of the allowance, bv Congress, of half pay
to themselves. Whatever may be the case now,
the man who, during the Revolution, appropriated
public money to private use, stood dishonored in
the face of the community. Seeing no reason to
believe that General Moylan ever did convert to
his own use any of the public money intrusted to
Ins care, the committee feel called on to respond
favorably to the prayer of the petitioners.
Mr. PRATT. I move to amend the bill h.y
striking out the first clause of it, so that the bill
shall read:
"That the fact that the accounts of General Stephen
Moylan, on the books ot the Tieasury, have remained un-
settled until tin; pn^ujje of i!h> del, *hal] be no b<tr to iht:
recovery uflialf pay, or bounty land, by his heirs "
The amendment was agreed to. The bill was
reported to the Senate as amended, the amend-
mentwas concurred in, the bill was ordered to be
engrossed for a third reading, was read a third
time, and passed.
FRANCES SMITH.
Mr. ADAMS. I move that the Senateadjourn.
Mr. HAMLIN. I make an appeal to theSen-
ator from Mississippi. I ask that we may take
up the remaining biUs on the Calendar which have
come fiom the House, and pass them. Let us
dispose of them, and they will be out of our way.
Mr. ADAMS withdrew his motion.
Mr. ATCHISON, (Mr. Badger in the chair.)
I suggest the propriety of taking up and passing
all the private bills at once, by unanimous con-
Kent, for lt^omes to that in the end. [Laughter.]
Mr. HAMLIN. We have several House bi'ls
here; and, if we act upon them, they will be dis-
posed of. There is very little use in sendingSen-
ate bills to the House at this session. There is a
great use in passing House bills.
Mr. PRATT. The House of Representatives,
as far as J am aware, have not passsd a single pri-
vate hill sent to them from the Senate. [ am,
therefore, opposed to the enactment of all theiis,
as far as we have gone on the Calendar; and I am
doubly opposed to the selection of those which
remain, in order to pass them before Senate bills.
1 Mr. CLAY. The Senator from Maryland has
i anticipated m part what i was going to say. I
j also desired to state that I have objected to the
; calling up of bills out of their order on the motion
; of the Senator from Ohio; but it has been sug-
I gested to me that there is one here which I think
! the Senate is bound to consider on many grounds
i which do not obtain perhaps in other cases. It is
the case of Frances Smith, a female soldier of the
. Revolution. We propose to provide for her, and
, t am afraid the case will not be reached to-day m
, its order upon the Calendar. She cannot live to
, enjoy the bounty of the Government, if we do not
, soon act upon it, as she is now far advanced in
j years. If any gentleman wishes to learn any-
i thing about Mrs. Smith, 1 refer him to my friend
! from South Carolina, [Mr. Butler.]
I Mr. SEIDELL. 1 trust the Senate will pro-
! ceed in the order of the Calendar.
' Mr. CLAY. This is for the benefit of a lady,
! a female soldier of the Revolution.
| Mr. SLiDELL. Then I do not object.
1 The bill was read a second time, and considered
as in Committee of the Whole.
j It proposes to direct the Secretary of the Inte-
; rior to pay to Mrs. Smith ninety-six dollars per
j annum, commencing January 1, J848, and con-
i tinuing during her natural life; but any amount
j wluc.h she may have received as pension since that
i date is to be deducted from the amount granted.
Mrs. Smith is the widow of William Smith, a
soldier of the Revolution, who did good and faith-
ful service during the war, and was clearly enti-
tled, under laws of Congress, to a pension; but,
owing to his ignorance of the fact, never applied
for or received it, but did receive a pension of
sixty dollars per annum from the State of South
Carolina, for a few years previous to his death,
which occurred in 1848.
After his death, his widow made application to
the General Governmentforapension; but owing
to the great length of time which had elapsed
since the war, she was unable to meet the re-
quirements of the bureau respecting proofs of her
husband's service, &c. Upon transmitting to the
bureau the proceedings of the Legislature of South
Carolina respecting her deceased husband's case,
a certificate of pension for twenty dollars per an-
num was issued to her, to commence March 4,
1831.
She is now aged and indigent; and she appeals
to Congress for an increase of the pension granted
her, to the same rate per annum paid to other
widows of revolutionary soldiers.
The act of July 29, 1848, grants pensions for
life to all widows of revolutionary soldiers, mar-
ried prior to 1800, at the same rate their husbands
would have been entitled to under existing laws.
The act of February 3, 1853, extends this provis-
ion to all married since 1800. From the papers
presented to the South Carolina Legislature, it ap-
pears highly probable that the petitioner's hus-
band seived from 1779 to the close of the war,
and was entitled, under the act of June 7, 1832, to
a full pay pension, or ninety-six dollars per an-
num; and, therefore, his widow is entitled to that
amount, admitting the case to be proved as re-
quired by law; and the committee find the papers
to afford the strongest probability that the repre-
sentations of the petition, and the original decla-
ration of the husband, are true. Regarding her
claim, in her right as widow of William Smith,
as a just and meritorious one, the committee also
find much in the further statements of the petitioner
:! to commend her case to the gratitude and liberal-
;! ity of tiie Government. Mrs. Smith herself per-
il formed services of the most important and hazard-
j ous character, entitling her to be ranked among
the heroines of that eventful period. In company
j with Mrs. Butler, (maternal ancestor of the pres-
^ ent Senator from South Carolina,) she conveyed
i information to the American camp of the approach
'! of the Toriesunder Cunningham, encountering the
: greatest peril to themselves in the act, paddling a
canoe for four miles up a dangerous part of the
' Saluda river, exposed to detection and death at the
; hands of the partisan enemy. At various times
:i she conveyed information to the American Army
!; of the movement of the British and Tories; also
j protected and nurse! wounded and sick soldiers.
,J At one time she was pursued and captured while
]! returning from giving information to the Ameri-
jj cans, and only released after being ordered to the
|| British camp.
The bill was reported to the Senate without
amendment, ordered to be engrossed for a third
reading, read a third time, and passed.
ADJOURNMENT SINE DIE.
Mr. STUART. I move to reconsider the vote
by which the Senate concurred in the report of
the committee of conference, rfh the disagreeing
votes of the two Houses on the resolution in rela-
tion to the adjournment of Congress.
Mr. GW1N. I hope the question will betaken
on it now.
Mr. SUMNER. I would inquire of the Chair
i whether that motion is in order?
| The PRESIDING OFFICER. When was the
l vote taken ?
Mr. GWIN. Last Saturday.
| Mr. WELLER. Then how can the motion
! to reconsider be submitted to-day?
I Mr. SUMNER. 1 submit to the Chair whether
it is in order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair is
of the opinion that it is not in order. The vote
was taken on Saturday last. According: to the
rules of the Senate, a motion to reconsider can
only be made on the day on which -the vote is '
j taken, or on the next two successive legislative
days. Saturday was one day; on Wednesday the
Senate met and adjourned; on Thursday the Sen-
ate met and adjourned, so that the three days are
up—Saturday, and the two succeeding days—and
the motion cannot now be received,
i Mr. STUART. 1 shall take an appeal from
| the decision of the Chair. My recollection of the
; rule is, that the motion can be submitted within
i three days after the vote is taken.
j The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator
i is entirely mistaken. The rule is, that the motion
; must be made on the day on which the vote is
i taken, or on either of the two succeeding legisla-
I tive days.
j Mr. ADAMS. Let the question be taken on
i the appeal; we will sustain the decision of the
| Chair.
j The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the
j Senator from Michigan take an appeal?
j Mr. STUART. I desire to let it lie over un-
| til Monday; then we can have a quorum, and
i peihaps I may not want to press it
| u'he PRESIDING OFFICER. The rule will
1 dispose of the question to the Senator's own sat-
j isfaction.
I The Secretary read the rule, as follows:
i "Nor shall any motion for reconsideration be in order,
| unless made on the same day on winch the vote was taken,
j or within the two next days of actual session of ihe Senate
i thereafter."
j Mr. STUART. It is too late, then.
G. W. TORRENCE.
A message was received from the House of
Representatives, by Mr. McKkakt, Chief Clerk,
announcing that they had passed a bill to provide
a pension for SergeantG. W. Torrence, in which
they asked the concurrence of the Senate.
Mr. WELLER. I ask the unanimous consent
of the Senate to take up that bill for consideration
now, and have it put upon its passage. It has
been under discussion in the military committee
here.
The bill was read a first and second time by
unanimous consent, and considered as in Com-
mittee of the Whole. It proposes to direct that
Sergeant G. W. Torrence, of Captain Fairchild's
company of Louisiana mounted volunteers, be
placed upon the pension roll at twenty dollars per
month, to commence April 4, 1854.
Mr. WELLER. I have already stated that
this subject has been before the Committee on
Military Affairs. This man performed extraor-
dinary services at the National Bridge during the
Mexican war. If any Senator will take the
trouble to look into the statement of the factsmade
in the House, in the shape of a report, he will see
that his services were of a very gallant and dis-
tinguished character. The committee, however,,
in the House of Representatives, simply placed
him on the pension roll at the highest rate of pen-
sions. The Committee on Military Allans o-f
this body felt disposed to recommend that a stili
larger compensation be allowed; but we are now
disposed to take the bill as it comes to us from the
House.
Mr. PEARCE. I.would like toknow whether
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United States. Congress. The Congressional Globe, Volume 28, Part 3: Thirty-Third Congress, First Session, book, 1854; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc30787/m1/65/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.