To the House of Representatives: WASHINGTON, December 12, 1834. In compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 10th instant, calling for any information which the President may possess respecting the burning of the building occupied by the Treasury Department in the year 1833, I transmit, herewith, the papers containing the inquiry into the cause of that disaster, which was directed and made soon after its occurrence. Accompanying this inquiry I also transmit a particular report from Mr. McLane, who was then Secretary of the Treasury, stating all the facts relating to the subject which were within the knowledge of the officers of the department, and such losses of records and papers as were ascertained to have been sustained. ANDREW JACKSON. Ordered, That the said message be referred to the Committee on Public Buildings and Public Grounds. The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting the correspondence between the Secretary of the Treasury and the Bank of the United States, called for by the House yesterday; which letter and correspondence were referred to the Committee of Ways and Means. The resolution submitted by Mr. Williams yesterday, and laid on the table, was read, considered, and agreed to. The resolution submitted by Mr. Burges yesterday, and laid on the table, was read, and the consideration thereof was postponed until Monday next. The resolution submitted by Mr. McKennan yesterday, and laid on the table, was read, considered, modified, and agreed to as follows: Resolved, That the Secretary of War be directed to transmit to this House any communication he may have received from the commissioners appointed by the States of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, to receive portions of the Cumberland road within the limits of those States, respectively, and to erect tollgates thereon, and to furnish an estimate of the amount of money which may be necessary to complete the repairs of the said road agreeably to the requisitions of the laws of said States, which have received the assent of Congress; also, that he inform the House what is the condition of the masonry on the road, how many inches of metal have been put on that part of it which has been located anew under the act of Congress, and upon that part of it which lies between the Monongahela and Ohio rivers; and, also, what depth of metal is, in his opinion, necessary to make a permanent and substantial road upon the plan which has been adopted in its repair by the department; and, also, that he furnish this House with a copy of the instructions which were given by the department to the superintendent as to the manner in which the repairs upon that road should be made. Mr. Pearce submitted the following resolution; which was read, and ordered to lie on the table, viz. Resolved, That the Secretary of War be directed to communicate to this House the report of Callender Irvine, Commissary General of Pur chases, made in October or November, 1820, upon the claim of David Cooke, of Philadelphia, for money furnished by said Cooke for powder purchased by the authority of the United States. On motion of Mr. Wardwell, Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for the erection of a light-house at Big Sandy creek, on Lake Ontario, county of Jefferson, and State of New York. On motion of Mr. Adams, of New York, Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be directed to inquire into the expediency of extending in all cases, to parties in suits commenced in the circuit courts of the United States, or in any district court having jurisdiction of a circuit court, where rights claimed under patents issued under laws of the United States shall come in question, the right to a writ of error or appeal. On motion of Mr. Hazeltine, Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce be instructed to inquire into the expediency of making an appropriation for a beacon light at Silver Creek harbor, on Lake Erie, in the State of New York; and that the petition and papers relative to the same, presented at the last session of Congress, be again referred to said committee. On motion of Mr. Galbraith, Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce be instructed to inquire into the expediency of establishing a port of entry at Olean point, on the Alleghany river, in the State of New York. On motion of Mr. Mercer, Resolved, That so much of the President's message, at the opening of the present session of Congress, as relates to the subject of internal improvement, be referred to the Committee on Roads and Canals. On motion of Mr. Speight, Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce be instructed to inquire into the expediency of making an appropriation for the erection of a custom-house in the town of Newbern, North Carolina. On motion of Mr. Pinckney, Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency of purchasing the building in the city of Charleston, recently occupied as a banking house by the Bank of South Carolina, to be used as a federal court-house; and that they also inquire into the expediency of increasing the compensation of the United States attorney for the district of South Carolina. On motion of Mr. Beaty, Resolved, That the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads be instructed to inquire into the expediency of changing the present mail route leading from Williamsburg, Whitly county, to London, in Laurel county, Kentucky, so as to pass through Portageville, at the mouth of Laurel, in the said county of Whitly. On motion of Mr. Hawes, Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce be instructed to inquire into the expediency of making Morgantown, on Green river, in the county of Butler, and State of Kentucky, a port of entry. On motion of Mr. Lyon, of Kentucky, Resolved, That the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions be instructed to inquire into the expediency of establishing an agency for paying pensions south of Green river, in the State of Kentucky. On motion of Mr. Peyton, Resolved, That the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads be instructed to inquire into the expediency of establishing a post route from the town of Munroe, via Locust Shade, in Overton county, Tennessee, Celina, in Jackson county, Tennessee, and by Garrett Moore's, Tennessee, to Tompkinsville, Kentucky. On motion of Mr. Patterson, Resolved, That the petitions referred at the last session of Congress to the Committee on Roads and Canals, praying for the construction of a road from Lower Sandusky to the boundary line established at the treaty of Greenville, be again referred to the said committee, and that they be instructed to inquire into the expediency of making the same. On motion of Mr. Murphy, Resolved, That the Committee of Ways and Means be instructed to inquire what further appropriation may be necessary to complete the improvement of the Choctaw pass, in the harbor of Mobile. Mr. Lewis submitted the following resolutions, viz. 1. Resolved, That the Committee on the Public Lands inquire into the expediency of authorizing any settler on lands reserved by the Government, in obedience to Indian treaties, or otherwise, who settled such lands before such reservation was selected, and who, by reason of said reservation, was deprived of the benefits of the pre-emption law of 1834, to enter, with the proper officer in said land district, two quarter sections of any public lands in such district, at the price of twenty-five cents per acre. 2. Resolved, That said committee further inquire into the expediency of authorizing any person who has cultivated or improved public lands, in the year 1834, to enter not exceeding two quarter sections of any public lands in his respective land district, by paying to the proper officer fifty cents per acre for such lands, within twelve months from the 4th of March next: Provided, Such individual shall designate said lands before the register of the proper land office by the 1st day of June next. 3. Resolved, That said committee further inquire into the expediency of authorizing any citizen of the United States making oath that it is his intention to settle any portion of the public lands, and who shall actually settle and cultivate the same for one year, at the end of such period to enter not exceeding two quarter sections, by paying into the land office fifty cents per acre if such lands have been offered for public sale within five years, and still remain unsold, and twenty-five cents per acre in case said lands have been offered for public sale, and have remained unsold for a longer period than five years. The said resolutions were read and debated; when A motion was made by Mr. Williams that the said resolutions be committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. And, after further debate, The House, on motion of Mr. Whittlesey, of Ohio, proceeded to the orders of the day. On motion, Ordered, That when this House shall adjourn to-day, it will adjourn to meet again on Monday next. The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on bills of the following titles, viz. No. 183. A bill for the relief of the legal representatives of Richard W. Meade; No. 204. A bill for the relief of Samuel Bragdon, David Chase, and others; No. 205. A bill for the relief of Charles Gordon and others; No. 211. A bill for the relief of Silas D. Fisher; No. 214. A bill for the relief of the representatives of Colonel George Gibson, deceased; No. 218. A bill for the relief of Mervin P. Mix ; No. 222. A bill for the relief of Tufts and Clarke; No. 224. A bill for the relief of Commodore Isaac Hull; No. 226. A bill for the relief of Humphrey B. Gwathmey; No. 227. A bill to amend an act for the relief of Robert C. Jennings, and of the executors of James Roddy, deceased; No. 228. A bill for the relief of Robert Haile; No. 229. A bill for the relief of the heirs of Evan Edwards; No. 230. A bill for the relief of the heirs and representatives of William Graham; No. 231. A bill for the relief of Samuel S. Lord; No. 233. A bill for the relief of Samuel Huntt; No. 235. A bill for the relief of Marcus Quincy and William Gorham; No. 236. A bill for the relief of Francis Lasselle and others, Michigan volunteers; and, after some time spent in Committee of the Whole House, the Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Ward reported as follows: That the committee had made progress in bills numbered 183, 214, 218, 227, and directed him to ask leave to sit again. And that he was directed to report the residue of the bills to the House, with an amendment to No. 224, for the relief of Commodore Isaac Hull. And then the House adjourned until Monday, the 15th instant, 12 o'clock meridian. MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1834. Mr. Evans presented a petition of Reuben Colbourn, of Pittston, in the State of Maine, praying that a penalty incurred by him upon erroneous information received from an officer of the custom-house, relative to the mode of clearing out a vessel commanded by him, may be remitted and refunded; which petition was referred to the Committee on Com merce. Mr. Wardwell presented a petition of inhabitants of the town of Ellisburg, in the State of New York, praying that provision may be made to improve the navigation at the mouth of Big Sandy creek, on Lake Ontario; which petition was referred to the Committee on Commerce. On motion of Mr. Joseph M. White, Ordered, That the petitions of inhabitants of the Territory of Florida, for the establishment of a port of entry at Indian Key, presented January 6, 1834, and March 17, 1834, be referred to the Committee on Com merce. Mr. Parks presented a petition of citizens of the State of Maine, praying that the sessions of the circuit and district courts of the United States for the State of Maine may be holden at Bangor, instead of Wis casset. Mr. Bates presented a memorial of inhabitants of the State of Massachusetts, praying that a law may be passed extending to parties to actions arising under the patent laws the right to a writ of error or appeal to the Supreme Court in all cases where the matter in dispute exceeds five hundred dollars. Ordered, That the said petition and memorial be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. Osgood presented a memorial of Nathaniel Niles, late chargé d'affaires of the United States in France, praying to be allowed the usual outfit; as, also, salary as chargé d'affaires for the period therein mentioned, and for sundry disbursements made by him for the public service; which memorial was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Mr. Allen, of Vermont, presented a petition of Moses Bliss, of Burlington, in the State of Vermont, praying to be paid for services rendered by him as deputy marshal of the State of Vermont. Mr. Hard presented a petition of Aaron Childs, of the county of Niagara, in the State of New York, praying payment for property destroyed by the British forces in the late war between the United States and Great Britain. Mr. Ward presented a petition of William Bailey, and Elizabeth Sweetland, late the widow of Henry De Lord, deceased, of Plattsburg, in the State of New York, praying to be paid for merchandise and other articles and supplies furnished troops of the United States by order of their officers in the years 1814 and 1815. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee of Claims. On motion of Mr. Bockee, Ordered, That the petition of Michael S. Martin, presented February 24, 1834, be referred to the Committee of Claims. On motion of Mr. Burns, Ordered, That the petition of inhabitants of Alexandria, in the State of New Hampshire, presented May 26, 1834, be referred to the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads. Mr. McComas presented a memorial of J. F. Caldwell, of Lewisburg, in the State of Virginia, praying to be indemnified for losses and damage sustained by him in consequence of alterations and changes made by the Postmaster General in contracts entered into by him to transport certain mails of the United States. Mr. Joseph M. White presented a petition of inhabitants of the county |