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| Not Yours To Give (This is great) | | |
|  humbleInfidel | Mar 31, 10:34pm | Not Yours to Give
Col. Davy Crockett
1884
From The Life of Colonel David Crockett
Member of the U.S. Congress 1827-31 & 1832-35
Compiled from The Life of Colonel David Crockett
by Edward S. Ellis (Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1884)
One day in the House of Representatives, a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support. The Speaker was just about to put the question when Crockett arose:
"Mr. Speaker --- I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the suffering of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this house, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that the government was in arrears to him."
APPROPRIATE: To set apart for, or assign for a particular use, in exclusion of all other uses; as, a spot of ground is appropriated for a garden. [Webster?s 1828]
MONEY: 1) Coin; stamped metal; any piece of metal, usually gold, silver or copper, stamped by public authority, and used as the medium of commerce. 2) Bank notes or bills of credit issued by authority, and exchangeable for coin or redeemable, are also called money; as such notes in modern times represent coin, and are used as a substitute for it.If a man pays in hand for goods in bank notes which are current, he is said to pay in ready money. [Webster?s 1828]
CHARITY: Liberality to the poor, consisting in almsgiving or benefactions (Alms - Any thing given gratuitously to relive the poor, as money, food, or clothing, otherwise called charity), or gratuitous services to relieve them in distress. [Webster?s 1828]
"Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as a charity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much money of our own as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week's pay to the object, and, if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks."
AUTHORITY: Legal power or a right to command or act; as the authority of a prince over subjects, and of parents over children.? Power; rule; sway. [Webster?s 1828]
He took his seat. Nobody replied. The bill was put upon its passage, and, instead of passing unanimously, as was generally supposed, and as, no doubt it would but for that speech, it received but few votes and of course, was lost.
Later when asked by a friend why he had opposed the appropriation, Crockett gave this explanation:
"Several years ago I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol with some other members of Congress when our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack and drove over as fast we could. In spite of all that could be done, many houses were burned and many families made houseless, and besides, some of them had lost all but the clothes they had on. The weather was very cold, and when I saw so many women and children suffering, I felt that something ought to be done for them. The next morning a bill was introduced appropriating $20,000 for their relief. We put aside all other business and rushed it through as soon as it could be done.
The next summer, when it began to be time to think about the election, I concluded I would take a scout around among the boys of my district. I had no opposition there, but, as the election was some time off, I did not know what might turn up. When riding one day in part of my district in which I was more of a stranger than any other, I saw a man in a field plowing and coming toward the road. I gauged my gait so that I should meet as he came to the fence. As he came up, I spoke to the man. He replied politely, but as I thought, rather coldly.
I began, 'Well, friend, I am one of those unfortunate beings called candidates, and-'
'Yes, I know you; you are Colonel Crockett, I have seen you once before and voted for you the last time you were elected. I suppose you are out electioneering right now, but you had better not waste your time or mine. I shall not vote for you again.'
This was a sockdolager, I begged him to tell me what was the matter.
'Well, Colonel, it is hardly worth while to waste time or words upon it. I do not see how it can be mended, but you gave a vote last winter which shows that either you have not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that you are wanting in the honesty and firmness to be guided by it. In either case you are not the man to represent me. But I beg your pardon for expressing it in that way. I did not intend to avail myself of the privilege of the constituent to speak plainly to a candidate for the purpose of insulting or wounding you.
I intend by it only to say that your understanding of the Constitution is very different from mine; and I will say to you what, but for my rudeness, I should not have said that I believe you to be honest. But an understanding of the Constitution different from mine I cannot overlook because the Constitution, to be worth anything, must be held sacred and rigidly observed in all its provisions. The man who wields power and misinterprets it, is the more dangerous the more honest he is.'
Read the rest of this at tinyurl.com/ys8bye [tinyurl.com/ys8bye] |
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Sponsor |  fire75034 | Apr 2, 10:18pm | | Straight to the point which rips the well-fare state to shreds. |
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| | humbleInfidel | Apr 5, 9:38am | | We need true statesmen like this in our government seats again. |
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Sponsor | | fire75034 | Apr 6, 7:58pm | You know we may think those days are long gone, but I say if we need change it would be on this scale. Going back to the basics of the Constitution not to be interpreted however lawmakers see fit. If another party wishes to impress me with their candidate this is a real good way to do it.
This Government needs a massive overhaul starting with term limits for every elected person serving "the people".
Can the Government ever gain the trust of "the people" sure give it back to the people. With politicians assuming people are too stupid to think for themselves step back and give it back to the people.
Watch the people hang traitors again.
Watch the so called free speech slander of our country go quiet because the people have spoken.
I have not forgotten the Hollywood traitors siding with the enemy.
I have not forgotten all the treasonous back bitters in the entertainment industry as a whole.
They wonder why sales are down.... hum so do I.
I do select very carefully what I buy and don't buy.
We need strong leadership with a spine to stand up to our enemies and the internal treason. We need control over leaks within the government intended to embarrass for political purpose.
Take the gloves off and make America strong politically and economically. |
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|  brenflag | Apr 6, 9:53pm | | twana, what an excellent find....thanks...I enjoyed this read alot. |
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| | humbleInfidel | May 4, 7:44am | fire I also am very selective what I buy and/or watch. I watch nothing with any American haters (Anti-American) in it, or involved in the making of it. Of course I'm talking about movies, tv programs, etc. It limits me quite a bit, but I'm fine with that.
And I'll do all I can to be involved in the removal of any traitor in any of our government seats. |
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| Not Yours To Give (This is great) | | |
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