before them. He had wished to present to the House his views, extensively, on this important subject; but he found himself unable to sustain the fatigue of going through one-twentieth part of the remarks he wished to make; the few he had made in protesting against the shocking, destructive doctrine, just alluded to, bad almost entirely exhausted him, and nearly deprived him of the power of respiration.

Messrs. STANFORD, HANSON, and PICKERING, also spoke against the bill, and Mr. CALHOUN concluded the debate by a few remarks in favor of it.

The question was loudly called for during the latter part of the sitting; and, being taken at a late hour, the vote on the passage of the bill wasyeas 80, nays 71, as follows:

MARCH, 1816.

was read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole.

An engrossed bill, entitled "An act to alter the times of holding the circuit courts of the United States for the district of Vermont," was read the third time, and passed.

The House took up the resolution submitted on the 28th ultimo, by Mr. CONDICT. and the amendment proposed thereto by Mr. NELSON, of Virginia; whereupon, Mr. NELSON withdrew his said amendment.

Mr. CONDICT then modified his said resolution so as to read

"Resolved, That for the residue of the session the stated hour of meeting of this House shall be ten o'clock in the morning."

On the question to agree to the resolution, it was determined in the negative.

The bill for the relief of John Delafield occupied much time in Committee of the Whole, and the Committee having risen, was refused leave to sit again. The bill lies on the table.

The bill making further provision for settling the claims to lands in the Territory of Illinois, was considered, and ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

The bill for the relief of certain claimants to lands in the district of Vincennes, was also considered, and engrossed for a third reading.

YEAS-Messrs. Adgate, Alexander, Atherton, Baer, Betts, Boss, Bradbury, Brown, Calhoun, Cannon, Champion, Chappell, Clarke of N. C., Clark of Ky., Clendennin, Comstock, Condict, Conner, Creighton, Crocheron, Cuthbert, Edwards, Forney, Forsyth, Gholson, Griffin, Grosvenor, Hawes, Henderson, Huger, Hulbert, Hungerford, Ingham, Irving of New York, Jackson, Jewett, Kerr of Va., King of N. C., Love, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Maclay, Mason, McCoy, McKee, Middleton, Moore, Moseley, Murfree, Nelson of Massachusetts, Parris, Pickens, Pinkney, Piper, Robertson, Sharpe, Smith of Maryland, Smith of Virginia, Southard, Taul, Taylor of New York, Taylor of South The House resolved itself into a Committee of Carolina, Telfair, Thomas, Throop, Townsend, Tucker, the Whole on the bill for the relief of John T. Ward of New Jersey, Wendover, Wheaton, Wilde, David. The bill was reported without amendWilkin, Williams, Willoughby, Thomas Wilson, Wil-ment, and ordered to lie on the table. liam Wilson, Woodward, Wright, Yancey, and Yates. NAYS-Messrs. Baker, Barbour, Bassett; Bennett, Birdsall, Blount, Breckenridge, Burnside, Burwell, Cady, Caldwell, Cilley, Clayton, Clopton, Cooper, Crawford, Culpeper, Darlington, Davenport, Desha, Gaston, Gold, Goldsborough, Goodwyn, Hahn, Hale, Hall, Hanson, Hardin, Herbert, Hopkinson, Johnson of Virginia, Kent, Langdon, Law, Lewis, Lovett, Lyle, Lyon, Marsh, Mayrant, McLean of Kentucky, McLean of Ohio, Milnor, Newton, Noyes, Ormsby, Pickering, Pitkin, Randolph, Reed, Root, Ross, Ruggles, Sergeant, Savage, Sheffey, Smith of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Stearns, Strong, Sturges, Taggart, Tallmadge, Vose, Wallace, Ward of Massachusetts, Ward of New York, Webster, Whiteside,

and Wilcox.

The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill for the relief of Erastus Loomis. The bill was reported without amendment, and ordered to be engrossed, and read a third time to-morrow.

SATURDAY, March 16.

On motion of Mr. FORNEY, a select committee of five members was appointed to inquire into the expediency of increasing the salary of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Messrs. FORNEY, PITKIN, CLARK of Kentucky, GASTON, and JACKSON, were appointed the said committee.

An engrossed bill, entitled "An act for the relief of Erastus Loomis," was read the third time, and passed.

An engrossed bill, entitled "An act making further provision for settling claims to land in the Territory of Illinois," was read a third time, and ordered to lie on the table.

An engrossed bill, entitled "An act for the relief of certain claimants to lands in the district of Vincennes," was read the third time, and passed.

The House took up the bill from the Senate "relative to evidence in cases of naturalization:" Whereupon the said bill was again read as amended, and passed by the House.

MISSISSIPPI LAND CLAIMS.

The House then went into Committee of the Whole on the bill providing for quieting and

adjusting certain claims in the Mississippi Territory.

H. OF R.

United States, and to provide for assessing and collecting the same; which was read twice, and committed to the Committee of the Whole upon the subject of revenue.

Mr. LOWNDES, from the same committee, also reported a bill for the distribution of $100,000 among the captors of the Algerine vessels captured and restored to the Dey of Algiers; which was read twice, and committed to the Committee of the Whole on the bill for the relief of Edward Hallowell.

Mr. NEWTON, from the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures, reported a bill authorizing the Comptroller of the Treasury to cancel certain export bonds executed by Casper C. Schutt; which was read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole.

Mr. NELSON, of Virginia, from the Committee on the Judiciary, reported the bill from the Senate "providing for the publication of the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States," without amendment, and the bill was committed to a Committee of the Whole.

A motion made by Mr. STRONG, to strike out the first section, produced a good deal of debate on the merits of the bill; from which we extract the following substantial view of the question. After the Treaty of 1783, that is, in 1795, when the United States took possession of the Mississippi country, they found certain settlers on lands who had settled under Spanish grants, issued when Spain was possessed of the country-the United States, without demanding any equivalent therefor, relinquished to those settlers all the right acquired by the Treaty of 1783, but without warranting them in the title; subsequently, however, certain persons holding patents under the British Government set up a claim to these lands, as having the elder title; and the actual settlers, those holding under the Spanish grants, petitioned the United States to examine and decide the claims of the British grantees, and if it be adjudged that they have the stronger title, that their claims may be satisfied by an equivalent grant of public land elsewhere. The The SPEAKER laid before the House a letter bill reported by the Committee on the Public from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitLands, to whom the petition was referred, and ting statements of the valuation of lands, dwelnow under consideration, provides that the Sec-ling houses, and slaves, in the State of Maryretary of State, the Attorney General, and the land, in obedience to the resolution of the House Commissioner of the General Land Office be of the fifth instant; which were ordered to lie authorized to examine the disputed claims, and on the table. decide thereon according to law, as soon as the A message from the Senate informed the claims to 140,000 acres have been filed for decis- House that the Senate have passed a bill" reion; that if the claim of the British_granteespecting the late officers and crew of the sloopshould in any case be confirmed, the Commis-of-war Wasp," and a bill" to limit the right of sioner of the Land Office shall issue his certifi- appeal from the circuit court of the United States cate for the amount thereof, which certificate for the District of Columbia," in which they ask shall be a final satisfaction of his claim, and shall the concurrence of this House. be received in payment for any of the public lands of the United States, at the rate of two dollars per acre for every acre of the certificate; that no claim shall be filed under this act which has been barred by any former law; and that the decision of the Commissioners shall be final and conclusive.

The motion to strike out the first section being a vital one, gave rise to the debate above mentioned, in which Messrs. STRONG, WRIGHT, FORSYTH, JACKSON, and Ross, supported the motion, and of course opposed the bill; and Messrs. ROBERTSON, MCKEE, JOHNSON, CLARK of Kentucky, PICKERING, LATTIMORE, and HOPKINSON, spoke agaiust striking out the section; Mr. CLAY, also, on a subsequent question, advocated the bill.

The question was finally determined against striking out the section; and, after some further unsuccessful attempts to amend the bill, the Committee rose, reported progress, and the House adjourned.

MONDAY, March 18.

Mr. LOWNDES, from the Committee of Ways and Means, reported a bill supplementary to the act to provide additional revenues for defraying the expenses of Government and maintaining the public credit, by laying a direct tax upon the

MISSISSIPPI LAND CLAIMS.

The House then again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill for quieting and adjusting certain claims to lands in the Mississippi Territory.

After some time spent in discussing various amendments to the details, and, incidentally, the principle of the bill, the Committee rose, and reported it to the House.

The debate was resumed in the House, as well on the object of the bill as its details, in which Messrs. CALHOUN, JACKSON, Ross, and STEARNS, spoke in opposition, and Messrs. ROBERTSON, JOHNSON of Kentucky, LATTIMORE, MCKEE, and EASTON, in favor of it.

In the course of the debate, on motion of Mr. JACKSON, an amendment was adopted to confine the certificates, in case the titles of the claimants be established, to the purchase of lands in the Mississippi Territory; in other words, to exclude the claimants from purchasing, with their certificates, public lands in any other than the Mississippi Territory.

The question was then taken on engrossing the bill for a third reading, and decided in the negative-yeas 43, nays 84, as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Bassett, Bateman, Breckenridge, Brooks, Clark of Kentucky, Conner, Creighton, Cul

Mr. ROBERTSON, from the Committee on the NAYS-Messrs. Adgate, Alexander, Atherton, Baer, Barbour, Betts, Blount, Boss, Brown, Bryan, Burwell, Public Lands, to whom the subject was referred, Cady, Caldwell, Calhoun, Cannon, Champion, Chap-reported that it is inexpedient so to alter the exist pell, Clarke of North Carolina, Clayton, Clendennin, ing laws, as to authorize the acceptance of solClopton, Condict, Cooper, Crawford, Crocheron, De-diers' warrants in payment for lands purchased sha, Edwards, Forsyth, Goldsborough, Goodwyn, Hale, at the respectivel and offices of the United States; Hall, Hammond, Hawes, Hulbert, Hungerford, Ing- which was read and agreed to by the House. ham, Jackson, Jewett, Johnson of Virginia, Kerr of Virginia, King of North Carolina, Langdon, Law, Lewis, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Lyle, Mason, Mayrant, McCoy, McLean of Ohio, Murfree, Nelson of Massachusetts, Newton, Noyes, Parris, Pickens, Piper, Reed, Ross, Savage, Smith of Virginia, Southard, Stanford, Stearns, Strong, Sturges, Taylor of New York, Taylor of South Carolina, Telfair, Thomas, Townsend, Tucker, Wallace, Ward of Massachusetts, Ward of New York, Ward of New Jersey, Webster, Wendover, Whiteside, Wilde, Wilkins, and Thomas Wilson.

MARCH, 1816.

Tax on Stills.

H. OF R.

The bill contained a provision that all persons taking out a license on which the duty should amount to $20, should be required to pay the same down, and should be allowed a discount thereon, at the rate of eight per cent. per annum. This discount Mr. SMITH, of Maryland, moved to increase to ten per cent.; which motion, after some discussion, was negatived.

tion he supported by a few remarks.

Mr. CLAY said, he was in favor of the motion. He avowed himself decidedly friendly to a duty on distillation, so long as any part of the existing public debt remained unpaid; but, in imposing this duty, he wished to see every proper indulgence extended to those on whom the tax was laid. To show the necessity of the proposed amendment, he adduced an instance in one of his own constituents, who had paid in duties to the After some other unsuccessful motionsGovernment the sum of $3,000, before he had re- Mr. TAUL moved to strike out, entirely, the ceived a single cent in return from the sale of his provision which required all duties for license manufacture. The situation of the Western dis-under $20 to be paid down in money; which motillers, he said, demanded an extension of the proposed credit; they were obliged to seek a market at Natchez or New Orleans, and thence, perhaps, to ascend the Red and other rivers to Natchitoches or elsewhere. Sound policy and justice to those concerned required, therefore, the alteration proposed by his colleague; from whom he differed only in the extension of the credit moved for. Mr. C. said he would prefer twelve months, believing that term to be necessary to meet the cases already stated. A credit of two years was allowed in the duties on the India trade, and the voyages performed by the Western people in seeking a market, almost equalled those to the Indies. Mr. C. then (Mr. HARDIN having previously withdrawn his motion) moved to insert twelve instead of six months.

The motion was opposed by Mr. LOWNDES, who said it was very questionable whether the sum required by the bill to be paid down, was not too small. The motion was negatived.

Mr. CONDICT then offered the following proviso to the 4th section:

"That stills employed solely in distilling fruit, shall not be subjected to the payment of more than threefourths of the duties required in other cases; and in those cases where the pomace is fermented and distilled, without having been first separated from the liquor by the press, not more than two-thirds shall be exacted."

and was finally negatived.
This motion produced some desultory debate,

pro

Mr. PICKENS, after a few remarks in support of the motion, moved a new section to the bill, Mr. SMITH, of Maryland, concurred in the viding that the owner or user of any still emviews of the gentleman who supported the pro- ployed wholly in distilling from fruit, have the posed alteration, but he would prefer nine months, option of taking out license, either on the capaconceiving that term sufficient for every fair pur-city agreeably to this act, or on the product at pose. He thought every facility and encourage cents per gallon. ment ought to be given to distillation, which he believed would, in time, become a very great source of revenue, as the farmers would find it more and more their interest to carry their surplus grain to the great distilleries, and barter it for whiskey, &c. He wished also to encourage the manufacturer of that article, because he believed it the least pernicious of the ardent spirits generally used.

Mr. LOWNDES rose to state the motives which influenced the Committee of Ways and Means in fixing the period of credit at six months. It was deemed by the committee a sufficient time to allow the manufacturer to receive his returns, yet not enough to endanger the public revenue by too long a credit. But whilst he stated these views of the committee, he was obliged to concur in the arguments which had been advanced in favor of an extension of the term. He thought, however, that twelve months was rather a longer credit than necessary, and that nine months would be enough to enable the most remote manufacturers to make payment from the proceeds of their manufacture, and still not endanger the revenue by too long a credit.

Mr. P. offered this amendment principally on account of the short time which those who distilled only from fruit were able to use their stills, which he thought entitled them to the privilege he proposed.

His motion was, however, negatived without a division.

The Committee then rose and reported the bill and amendments, and the House proceeded to consider the report.

The House agreed successively, without objection, to the several amendments reported by the Committee, until it came to that adopted yesterday, on motion of Mr. LOWNDES, to increase the duty on licenses for one year one hundred per cent., and to graduate the price of licenses for shorter periods in proportion to these for one

year.

On concurring in this amendment the yeas and nays were demanded, and the question decidedyeas 66, nays 62, as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Adgate, Atherton, Barbour, Bassett, Brown, Calhoun, Champion, Chappell, Cilley, Clayton, Condict, Cooper, Crocheron, Cuthbert, DarlingAfter a few words from Mr. HARDIN in sup-bert, Hopkinson, Huger, Hulbert, Ingham, Irving of ton, Forney, Gaston, Gold, Hale, Hall, Hawes, Herport of the motion, the question was taken there- New York, Jewett, Kent, Langdon, Law, Lewis, on, and carried-yeas 76. Lovett, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Lyon, Marsh, Mason, Mayrant, Middleton, Milnor, Moseley, Nelson of Massachusetts, Nelson of Virginia, Pickering, Pinkney, Pitkin, Reed, Smith of Maryland, Stearns, Sturges, Taggart, Tallmadge, Taylor of New York, Telfair,

Mr. H. moved to strike out the clause which prohibits the collector from entering a distillery except in the day time; which motion was also agreed to.

H. OF R.

Proceedings.

MARCH, 1816.

of the people in the mode of levying burdens when there could be no public loss.

The motion was then negatived.

Townsend, Tucker, Vose, Ward of Massachusetts, he had before observed, nearly ten times as much Ward of New Jersey, Webster, Wendover, Wilcox, was collected in that State under this alternaWilde, Willoughby, and Yates. tive, as that on the capacity-tax. He had heard NAYS-Messrs. Alexander, Baer, Baker, Bennett, of no evasions of the law in that case, and thought Betts, Blount, Breckenridge, Bryan, Burwell, Cald-it wise to consult the convenience and the habits well, Cannon, Clarke of North Carolina, Clark of Kentucky, Clendennin, Comstock, Crawford, Creighton, Culpeper, Desha, Edwards, Goldsborough, Hahn, Hardin, Henderson, Hungerford, Jackson, Johnson of Virginia, Johnson of Kentucky, Kerr of Virginia, King of North Carolina, Love, Lyle, Maclay, McCoy, McKee, McLean of Kentucky, Moore, Murfree, Newton, Ormsby, Parris, Pickens, Piper, Powell, Reynolds, Roane, Root, Ross, Savage, Sharpe, Sheffey, Smith of Virginia, Southard, Stanford, Taul, Taylor of North Carolina, Thomas, Throop, Wallace, Ward of New York, Whiteside, and William Wilson.

Mr. PARRIS then moved to restore the proviso in the fourth section, which had yesterday been stricken out in Committee of the Whole, and which was in the following words, viz: "Provided, That there shall be paid upon each still employed wholly in the distillation of roots, but one-half the rates of duties abovementioned, according to the capacity of such still."

Mr. P. stated that, upon retaining this provision, would entirely depend whether the distillers in the District of Maine could work their stills. He assured the House that his constituents were materially interested in having it retained, for without it distillation from roots, particularly in that section of the country, must be entirely suspended; that it was the only liquor distilled in his district, and he believed nearly the only liquor consumed; with the farmers he was sure it was.

the House after the unwelcome reception of his Mr. P. felt a reluctance in further troubling former motions for amendment; he, however, thought it his duty to make another essay to attain in some proportion the objects of his former amendment.

He then moved the same amendment as the last, limiting it to the distillation of fruits. This motion was also negatived.

No other amendment being offered, the bill was ordered to be engrossed, as amended, and read & third time.

WEDNESDAY, March 20.

Mr. TUCKER, from the Committee for the District of Columbia, reported a bill to prevent the circulation of unchartered bank notes, in the District of Columbia; which was read twice and committed to a Committee of the Whole.

[This bill does not operate on the notes of any unchartered bank already established, and the penalties for circulating the notes prohibited are not to attach to the passer of the notes, but to the institution which shall issue them.]

Mr. TUCKER also reported a bill making an appropriation for completing the centre building of the Capitol; which was read twice, and committed to the Committee of the Whole on the bill making an appropriation for enclosing and

The question was then taken on concurring with the Committee in striking out the proviso, and decided against concurrence, by the casting vote of the Speaker. So the proviso was re-improving the Capitol square.

tained.

Mr. CONDICT renewed the motion he made this day in Committee, with some modifications, and supported it with zeal; but his exertions were ineffectual.

Mr. PICKENS then moved to add a new section to the bill; the object of which was to retain the option allowed in the last act in case of small distillers, whereby a duty might be paid of cents on the spirits distilled, or the proposed tax on the capacity, at the option of the owner.

This varied from the motion he had made in Committee of the Whole, as that extended the alternative to all stills used in distillation from fruit only. Embracing in some measure the same principle as his former motion, he would not, he said, consume time in repeating his former arguments. The option proposed would afford great convenience to the farmers of the interior country, many of whom owned small distilleries, which it was only an object for them to use occasionally, and which would in many cases not be used at all, if compelled to be entered for a given period. The returns of the duties since the last act went into operation, prove how much preference had been given, in the State he represented, to paying the duty on the spirit; as

Mr. TUCKER also reported a bill to appropriate the marriage license tax within Washington county in the District of Columbia; which was read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole.

Mr. WARD, of New Jersey, from a select committee, made a report on the petition of Andrew Law; which was read: when, Mr. W. reported a bill to extend the patent granted to Andrew Law for an improvement in the mode of printing music; which was read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole.

Mr. MIDDLETON, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, made a report on the petition of Samuel Travis, and others, which was read; when, Mr. R. reported a bill allowing pay to certain persons made prisoners with the revenue cutter Surveyor; which was read twice, and committed to a Committee of the Whole.

The amendments proposed by the Senate to the bill "to authorize the payment for property lost, captured, or destroyed, by the enemy, while in the service of the United States," were read, and referred to the Committee of Claims.

Mr. CLARK, of Kentucky, from the Committee on the Classification and Organization of the Militia, reported a bill for organizing, classing,