“The visionary theory of energy,” said he, “was the fatal error of the Federal party, and that error deprived it of the power of the nation. The government being thus placed in the hands of the Republicans, while heated by the zeal of opposition to the Federal doctrines and flushed with their recent triumph, it was natural for them, with the best intentions, to run into the opposite extreme; to go too far in the relaxations of the powers of the government, and to indulge themselves in the delightful visions of extending the range of individual liberty.... It was natural that in the vibration of the political pendulum, it should go from one extreme to another; and that this has been too much the case with the Republican administration, he regretted to say, he feared would be demonstrated by a very superficial review of the events of the last two or three years.” Energy was a fatal mistake in the Federalists; relaxation was an equally fatal mistake in the Republicans,--and the remedy was a show of energy where energy did not exist. Giles won no confidence by thus trimming between party principles; but when Samuel Smith argued for Giles’s bill on grounds of economy, friends of the Administration felt little doubt of the motives that guided both senators. Had they declared for war, or for peace; had they proposed to build more frigates or ships-of-the-line, or to lay up those in active service,--had they committed themselves to a decided policy of any kind, their motives would have offered some explanation consistent with a public interest; but they proposed merely to fit out the frigates while giving them nothing to do, and the Republican party, as a whole, drew the inference that they wished to waste the public money, either for the personal motive of driving Madison and Gallatin from office, or for the public advantage of aiding the Federalists to weaken the Treasury and paralyze the nation. Crawford replied to Giles with some asperity; but although Crawford was known to represent the Treasury, so completely had the Senate fallen under the control of the various cabals represented by Vice-President Clinton, Giles, Smith, and Michael Leib of Pennsylvania, with their Federalist associates, that Crawford found himself almost alone. Twenty-five senators supported the bill; only six voted against it.