A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate have passed the bill, entitled “An act for imposing more specific duties on the importation of certain articles, with amendments, and also for levying and collecting light-money on foreign ships or vessels." A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate have passed a resolution, that the resolution of the two Houses authoriz- | ing the President of the Senate and Speaker of The House proceeded to consider the amendthe House of Representatives to adjourn their ments proposed by the Senate to the bill, enrespective Houses on this day, be rescinded; titled "An act for imposing more specific duties and that the said President and Speaker of the on the importation of certain articles, and also House of Representatives be authorized to close for levying and collecting light-money on forthe present session, by adjourning their respec-eign ships or vessels," whereupon, tive Houses on Tuesday, the 27th of this month; " to which they desire the concurrence of this House. The Senate adhere to their amendment, disagreed to by this House, to the bill, entitled "An act supplementary to the act, entitled 'An act providing for a Naval Peace Establishment, and for other purposes."" Resolved, That this House doth agree to the said amendments. Half-past four o'clock, p. m. Mr. JOHN RANDOLPH, from the committee appointed on the part of this House, jointly with the committee appointed on the part of the Senate, to wait on the President of the United States and notify him of the proposed recess of Congress, reported that the committee had performed that service; and that the President signified to them he had no farther communication to make during the present session. Ordered, That a message be sent to the Senate to inform them that this House, having completed the business before them, are now about to adjourn until the first Monday in November next; and that the Clerk of this House do go with the said message. A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate, having completed the Legislative business before them, are now ready to adjourn. Whereupon the SPEAKER adjourned the House until the first Monday in November next. NOVEMBER, 1804.] Proceedings. [SENATE. EIGHTH CONGRESS.-SECOND SESSION. BEGUN AT THE CITY OF WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 5, 1804. PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE. to notify the Executive of the State of Delaware of the resignation of Mr. Wells. No quorum being present, the Senate adjourned. WEDNESDAY, November 7. ROBERT WRIGHT, from the State of Maryland, attended. of Representatives that a quorum of the Senate Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House is assembled and ready to proceed to business. A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that a quorum of the House of Representatives is assembled and ready to proceed to business. The House of their part, jointly, with such committee as the Representatives have appointed a committee on Senate may appoint, to wait on the President of the United States, and notify him that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled and ready to receive any communications that he may be pleased to make to them. The House that two chaplains, of different denominations, of Representatives have also passed a resolution be appointed to Congress for the present session, one by each House, who shall interchange weekly; in which several resolutions they de sire the concurrence of the Senate. lution of the House of Representatives for the The Senate took into consideration the resothe President of the United States, and notify appointment of a joint committee to wait on him that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled; and concurred therein, and Messrs. SAMUEL SMITH and BALDWIN were appointed the committee on the part of the Senate. The Senate took into consideration the Resolution of the House of Representatives for the appointment of two chaplains to Congress during the present session, and, having agreed thereto, proceeded to the choice of a chaplain on their part; and the Rev. Mr. McCORMICK was duly elected. Mr. SAMUEL SMITH reported, from the joint committee, that they had waited on the President of the United States, agreeably to the resolution of this day, and that the President SENATE.] Proceedings. [NOVEMBER, 1804. of the United States had informed the com-rary government of Louisiana, the necessary officers mittee that he would make a communication to the two Houses to-morrow at 12 o'clock. THURSDAY, November 8. The following message was received from the Representatives of the United States : To a people, fellow-citizens, who sincerely desire the happiness and prosperity of other nations, to those who justly calculate that their own well-being is advanced by that of the nations with which they have intercourse, it will be a satisfaction to observe, that the war which was lighted up in Europe a little before our last meeting, has not yet extended its flames to other nations, nor been marked by the calamities which sometimes stain the footsteps of war. The irregularities, too, on the ocean, which generally harass the commerce of neutral nations, have, in distant parts, disturbed ours less than on former occasions. But, in the American seas, they have been greater from peculiar causes; and even within our harbors and jurisdiction, infringements on the authority of the laws have been committed, which have called for serious attention. While noticing the irregularities committed on the ocean by others, those on our own part should not be omitted, nor left unprovided for. Complaints have been received that persons residing within the United States have taken on themselves to arm merchant ves els, and to force a commerce into certain ports and countries in defiance of the laws of those countries. That individuals should undertake to wage private war, independently of the authority of their country, cannot be permitted in a well-ordered society. Its tendency to produce aggression on the laws and rights of other nations, and to endanger the peace of our own, is so obvious that I doubt not you will adopt measures for restraining it effectually in future. for the Territory of Orleans were appointed in due time, to commence the exercise of their functions on the first day of October. The distance, however, of some of them, and indispensable previous arrangeof its parts; the form of government thus provided ments, may have retarded its commencement in some having been considered but as temporary, and open to such future improvements as further information of the circumstances of our brethren there might suggest, it will of course be subject to your consideration. The act of Congress of February 28, 1803, for building and employing a number of gun-boats, is now in a course of execution to the extent there provided for. The obstacle to naval enterprise which vessels of this construction offer for our seaport towns; their utility towards supporting, within our waters, the authority of the laws; the promptness with which they will be manned by the seamen and militia of the place in the moment they are wanting; the facility of their assembling from different parts of the coast to any point where they are required in greater force than ordinary; the economy of their maintenance and preservation from decay when not in actual service; and the competence of our finances to this defensive provision, without any new burden, are considerations which will have due weight with Congress in deciding on the expediency of adding to their number from year to year, as experience shall test their utility, until all our important harbors, by these and auxiliary means, shall be secured against insult and opposition to the laws. The state of our finances continues to fulfil our expectations. Eleven millions and a half of dollars, received in the course of the year ending the 30th of September last, have enabled us, after meeting all the ordinary expenses of the year, to pay upwards of three million six hundred thousand dollars of the public debt, exclusive of interest. This payment, with those of the two preceding years, has extinguished upwards of twelve millions of the principal and a greater sum of interest within that period; and, by a proportionate diminution of interest, renders already sensible the effect of the growing sum With the nations of Europe, in general, our friend-yearly applicable to the discharge of the principal. ship and intercourse are undisturbed, and from the These, fellow-citizens, are the principal matters governments of the belligerent powers especially, we continue to receive those friendly manifestations which are justly due to an honest neutrality, and to such good offices consistent with that as we have opportunities of rendering. The activity and success of the small force employed in the Mediterranean in the early part of the present year, the reinforcements sent into that sea, and the energy of the officers having command in the several vessels, will, I trust, by the sufferings of war, reduce the barbarians of Tripoli to the desire of peace on proper terms. The Bey of Tunis having made requisitions unauthorized by our treaty, their rejection has produced from him some expressions of discontent. But to those who expect us to calculate whether a compliance with unjust demands will not cost us less than a war, we must leave as a question of calculation for them; also, whether to retire from unjust demands will not cost them less than a war. We can do to each other very sensible injuries by war; but the mutual advantages of peace make that the best interest of both. In pursuance of the act providing for the tempo which I have thought it necessary, at this time, to communicate for your consideration and attention. Some others will be laid before you in the course of the session; but, in the discharge of the great duties confided to you by our country, you will take a broader view of the field of legislation. Whether the great interests of agriculture, manufactures, commerce, or navigation, can, within the pale of your constitutional powers, be aided in any of their relations; whether laws are provided in all cases, where they are wanting; whether those provided are exactly what they should be; whether any abuses take place in their administration, or in that of the public revenues; whether the organization of the public agents, or of the public force, is perfect in all its parts: in fine, whether any thing can be done to advance the general good, or questions within the limits of your functions, which will necessarily occupy your attention. In these and all other matters which you in your wisdom may propose for the good of our country, you may count with assurance on my hearty co-operation and faithful execution. NOVEMBER 8, 1804. TH. JEFFERSON. FRIDAY, November 9. THOMAS SUMTER, from the State of South Carolina, attended. A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that the House have appointed the Rev. WILLIAM BENTLEY a chaplain to Congress on their part during the present session. MONDAY, November 12. WILLIAM COOKE, from the State of Tennessee, and DAVID STONE, from the State of North Carolina, severally attended. THURSDAY, November 15. SAMUEL MACLAY, from the State of Pennsylvania, and JOHN SMITH, from the State of New York, severally attended. FRIDAY, November 23. The PRESIDENT laid before the Senate the credentials of JAMES A. BAYARD, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the State of Delaware, in place of William Hill Wells, resigned, and the credentials were read. SAMUEL L. MITCHILL, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of New York, in place of John Armstrong, whose seat has become vacant by his mission to France, took his seat in the Senate, and produced his credentials, which were read, and the oath was administered to him by the PRESIDENT, as the law prescribes. FRIDAY, Novemher 30. MONDAY, December 3. [SENATE. BENJAMIN HOWLAND, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the State of Rhode Island, in the place of Samuel J. Potter, deceased, took his seat and produced his credentials; which were read, and the oath was administered to him by the PRESIDENT, as the law prescribes. TUESDAY, December 4. JAMES JACKSON, from the State of Georgia, attended. THURSDAY, December 6. JOSEPH ANDERSON, from the State of Tennessee, attended. MONDAY, December 17. The credentials of WILLIAM B. GILES, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the room of Wilson C. Nicholas, resigned, and the credentials of ANDREW MOORE, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the room of Abraham B. Venable, resigned, were severally read, and the oath was administered to them, respectively, as the law prescribes. WEDNESDAY, December 26. JOHN BROWN, from the State of Kentucky, attended. MONDAY, January 7, 1805. The letter of PIERCE BUTLER, Esq., announcing the resignation of his seat in the Senate, was read. MONDAY, January 14. Mourning for the Honorable Mr. Potter. On motion, it was Resolved, That the members of the Senate, from a sincere desire of showing every mark of respect to the Honorable SAMUEL J. POTTER, deceased, late a member thereof, will go into mourning for him one month, by the usual mode of wearing a crape round the left arm.* TUESDAY, January 15. The VICE PRESIDENT being absent, the Senate proceeded to the choice of a President pro tempore, as the constitution provides, and the Honorable JOSEPH ANDERSON was elected. Ordered, That the Secretary wait on the President of the United States and acquaint him that, the VICE-PRESIDENT being absent, the Senate have elected the Honorable JOSEPH ANDERSON President of the Senate pro tempore. Ordered, That the Secretary make a like communication to the House of Representatives. JOHN SMITH, from the State of Ohio, and *This was the whole ceremony. No eulogium was proJOHN BRECKENRIDGE, from the State of Ken-nounced, nor any adjournment moved, and in the House of tucky, severally attended. Representatives the event was not noticed. And this was the custom at that early time. SENATE.] Government of the Territory of Orleans. [JANUARY, 1805. JAMES A. BAYARD, from the State of Dela-|vided) to that now exercised in the Mississippi Terriware, attended. His credentials having been presented and read on the 23d of November last, the oath was administered to him by the President, as the law prescribes, and he took his seat in the Senate. THURSDAY, January 17. General Moses Hazen. The bill entitled "An act for the relief of Charlotte Hazen, widow and relict of the late Brigadier General Moses Hazen," was read the third time, further amended, and the blank filled with the words "two hundred;" and on the question, Shall this bill pass as amended? it was determined in the affirmative-yeas 20, nays 8, as follows: YEAS.-Messrs. Anderson, Bradley, Breckenridge, Brown, Cocke, Condit, Ellery, Franklin, Howland, Logan, Maclay, Mitchill, Moore, Smith of Maryland, Smith of New York, Smith of Vermont, Stone, Sumter, Worthington, and Wright. NAYS.-Messrs. Adams, Baldwin, Dayton, Hillhouse, Olcott, Plumer, and Tracy. So it was Resolved, That this bill do pass as amended. MONDAY, January 21. African Slavery. Mr. LOGAN presented a petition signed Thomas Morris, clerk, on behalf of the meeting of the representatives of the people called Quakers, in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, &c., stating that the petitioners, from a sense of religious duty, had again come forward, to plead the cause of their oppressed and degraded fellow-men of the African race; and on the question, Shall this petition be received? it passed in the affirmativeyeas 19, nays 9, as follows: YEAS. Messrs. Adams, Bayard, Brown, Condit, Franklin, Hillhouse, Howland, Logan, Maclay, Mitchill, Olcott, Pickering, Plumer, Smith of Ohio, Smith of Vermont, Stone, Sumter, White, and Worthington. NAYS.-Messrs. Anderson, Baldwin, Bradley, Cocke, Jackson, Moore, Smith of Maryland, Smith of New York, and Wright. So the petition was read. TUESDAY, January 29. Government of the Territory of Orleans. Mr. GILES, from the committee to whom was referred, on the 4th instant, the petition of the merchants, planters, and other inhabitants of Louisiana, reported a bill further providing for the government of the Territory of Orleans; and the bill was read, and ordered to the second reading. The bill is as follows: A Bill further providing for the government of the Territory of Orleans. Be it enacted, &c., That the President of the United States be and he is hereby authorized to establish within the Territory of Orleans, a government in all respects similar (except as is herein otherwise pro tory, and shall, in the recess of the Senate, but to be nominated at their next meeting, for their advice and consent, appoint all the officers necessary therein, in conformity with the ordinance of Congress, made on the 20th day of July, 1787, and that from and after the establishment of the said government, the inhabitants of the Territory of Orleans shall be entitled to and enjoy all the rights, privileges, and advantages, secured by the said ordinance, and now enjoyed by the people of the Mississippi Territory. next, SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That so much of the said ordinance of Congress as relates to the organization of a General Assembly, and prescribes the day of power thereof, shall, from and after the next, be in force in the said Territory of Orleans; and in order to carry the same into operation, the Governor of the said Territory shall cause to be elected twenty-five representatives, for which purpose he shall lay off the said Territory into convenient election districts, on or before the day of and give due notice thereof throughout the same and first appoint the most convenient place, within each of the said districts, for holding the elections; and shall nominate a proper officer or officers to preside at and conduct the same, and to return to him the names of the persons who may have been duly elected. All subsequent elections shall be regulated by the Legislature; and the number of representatives shall be determined, and the apportionment made in the manner prescribed by the said ordinance. next. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the representatives to be chosen as aforesaid, shall be convened by the Governor, in the city of Orleans, on the - day of The General Assembly shall meet at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the - Monday in -annually, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. Neither House, during the session, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two branches are sitting. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the laws in force in the said Territory, at the commencement of this act, and not inconsistent with the provisions thereof, shall continue in force, until altered, modified, or repealed by the Legislature. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the second paragraph of the said ordinance, which regulates the descent and distribution of estates; and also the sixth article of compact which is annexed to and makes part of said ordinance, are hereby declared not to extend to, but are excluded from all operation within the said Territory of Orleans. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the Governor, Secretary, and Judges, to be appointed by virtue of this act, shall be severally allowed the same compensation which is now allowed to the Governor, Secretary, and Judges, of the Territory of Orleans. And all the additional officers authorized by this act shall respectively receive the same compensations for their services, as are by law established for similar offices in the Mississippi Territory, to be paid quarterly out of the revenues of import and tonnage, accruing within the said Territory of Orleans. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That whenever it shall be ascertained by an actual census or enumeration of the inhabitants of the Territory of Orleans, taken by proper authority, that the number of inhabitants included therein shall amount to at least thousand souls, which shall be determined by adding |