H. OF R.]

Proceedings.

[MARCH, 1805.

David Bard, Walter Bowie, Robert Brown, Joseph | Hoge, David Hough, Benjamin Huger, Samuel Hunt, Bryan, William Butler, Levi Casey, Thomas Clai- John G. Jackson, Thomas Lowndes, John B. C. Lucas, borne, Joseph Clay, George Clinton, jun., John Clop- Nahum Mitchell, Beriah Palmer, Thomas Plater, ton, Frederick Conrad, John Dawson, John B. Earle, John Rea of Pennsylvania, John Rhea of Tennessee, Peter Early, J. W. Eppes, Peterson Goodwyn, An- Thomas Sammons, Thomas Sanford, Henry Southdrew Gregg, John A. Hanna, Josiah Hasbrouck, Jo- ard, Richard Stanford, William Stedman, John Stewseph Heister, James Holland, David Holmes, Nehe-art, Samuel Taggart, Benj. Tallmadge, Samuel Tenmiah Knight, Michael Leib, Andrew McCord, Wil- ney, Samuel Thatcher, and George Tibbits. liam McCreery, Nicholas R. Moore, Thomas Moore, NAYS.-Willis Alston, jun., Nathaniel Alexander, Jeremiah Morrow, Roger Nelson, Anthony New, Isaac Anderson, William Blackledge, Walter Bowie, Thomas Newton, jun., Joseph H. Nicholson, Gideon Robert Brown, Joseph Clay, Matthew Clay, John Olin, Beriah Palmer, John Randolph, John Rea of Clopton, Jacob Crowninshield, John Dawson, John Pennsylvania, John Rhea of Tennessee, Jacob Rich- Fowler, Josiah Hasbrouck, James Holland, David ards, Thomas Sammons, Ebenezer Seaver, James Holmes, William Kennedy, Nehemiah Knight, Simon Sloan, Richard Stanford, Joseph Stanton, John Stew- Larned, Michael Leib, Matthew Lyon, Andrew Mcart, Philip R. Thompson, Abram Trigg, John White- Cord, William McCreery, Nicholas R. Moore, Thomas hill, Alexander Wilson, Richard Wynn, and Thomas Moore, Jeremiah Morrow, Roger Nelson, Anthony Wynns. New, Thomas Newton, jr., Joseph H. Nicholson, Gideon Olin, John Randolph, Thomas Mann Randolph, Jacob Richards, James Sloan, John Smilie, Joseph Stanton, Philip R. Thompson, Abram Trigg, Joseph B. Varnum, John Whitehill, Lemuel Williams, Alexander Wilson, Richard Wynn, Joseph Winston, and Thomas Wynns.

NAYS.-Nathaniel Alexander, Simeon Baldwin, Silas Betton, William Blackledge, Adam Boyd, William Chamberlin, Martin Chittenden, Clifton Claggett, Jacob Crowninshield, Manasseh Cutler, Richard Cutts, John Davenport, Thomas Dwight, James Elliot, Ebenezer Elmer, William Findlay, John Fowler, Gaylord Griswold, Roger Griswold, Seth Hastings, William Helms, David Hough, Benjamin Huger, John G. Jackson, William Kennedy, Simon Larned, Thomas Lowndes, John B. C. Lucas, Nahum Mitchell, Oliver Phelps, Erastus Root, John Smilie, Henry Southard, William Stedman, Samuel Taggart, Benjamin Tallmadge, Samuel Tenney, Samuel Thatcher, David Thomas, George Tibbits, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Joseph B. Varnum, Peleg Wadsworth, Lemuel Williams, and Marmaduke Williams.

Another motion was then made, and the question being put, that the said resolution be the order of the day for the first Monday in December next, it was resolved in the affirmativeyeas 70, nays 28.

SATURDAY, March 2.

The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill, sent from the Senate, entitled "An act to amend an act, entitled 'An act for imposing more specific duties on the importation of certain articles; and, also, for levying and collecting light money on foreign ships or vessels,"" to which the Committee of Ways and Means, to whom it had been referred, reported no amendment, on the eighteenth of January last; and, after some time spent therein, the Committee reported the same to the House without amendment.

The House then proceeded to consider the said bill: Whereupon a motion was made and seconded that the further consideration thereof be postponed until the first Monday in December next, and the question being put thereon, it passed in the negative-yeas 43, nays 46, as follows:

YEAS.-David Bard, Silas Betton, Adam Boyd, William Butler, John Campbell, William Chamberlin, Martin Chittenden, Clifton Claggett, Frederick Conrad, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, Thomas Dwight, James Elliot, Ebenezer Elmer, John W. Eppes, Calvin Goddard, Peterson Goodwyn, Andrew Gregg, Gaylord Griswold, Roger Griswold, John

And then the main question being taken, that the said bill do pass, it was resolved in the affirmative.

accommodation of the President of the United An engrossed bill further to provide for the States, was read the third time, and passed.

A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate have passed a bill, entitled "An act supplementary to an act, entitled into effect the Convention between the United 'An act making an appropriation for carrying States of America and His Britannic Majesty ;'" to which they desire the concurrence of this

House.

Eodem Die, 5 o'clock, P. M.

A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate have passed the bill, entitled "An act supplementary to the act, entitled 'An act making provision for the disposal of the public lands in the Indiana Territory, and for other purposes,' " with an amendment; to which they desire the concurrence of this House; also, the bill, entitled "An act further to alter and establish certain post roads, and for other purposes," with several amendments; to which they desire the concurrence of this

House.

The House proceeded to consider the amendment proposed by the Senate to the bill, entitled "An act supplementary to the act, entitled 'An act making provision for the disposal of the public lands in the Indiana Territory and for other purposes:" Whereupon,

Resolved, That this House doth agree to the said amendment.

SUNDAY, March 3.

Importation of Slaves.

Mr. VARNUM, one of the members for the State of Massachusetts, presented to the House a letter from the Governor of the said State, enclosing an attested copy of two concurrent

MARCH, 1805.]

Adjournment.

[H. OF R

resolutions of the Senate and House of Repre- | being called for, a motion was made, and the sentatives of the State of Massachusetts, passed question being put, that the said order of the the fifteenth of February in the present year, day be postponed until the first Monday in De"instructing the Senators and requesting the cember next, it was resolved in the affirmative. Representatives in Congress, from the said A motion was then made and seconded, that State, to take all legal and necessary steps, to the House do come to the following resolutions: use their utmost exertions, as soon as the same Resolved, That the Clerk of this House be, and he is practicable, to obtain an amendment to the is hereby, directed to pay out of the contingent fund Federal Constitution, so as to authorize and of this House, to every witness summoned on behalf empower the Congress of the United States to of the House of Representatives, to attend the Senate pass a law, whenever they may deem it expe- in support of the impeachment of Samuel Chase, for dient, to prevent the further importation of slaves every day's attendance, the sum of three dollars, and from any of the West India islands, from the the further sum of twenty cents for each mile in comcoast of Africa, or elsewhere, into the United ing from and returning to his place of abode. States, or any part thereof:" Whereupon, a motion was made and seconded, that the House do come to the following resolution:

Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, two-thirds of both Houses concurring, That the following article be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which, when ratified by threefourths of the said Legislatures, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as a part of the said constitution, to wit:

"That the Congress of the United States shall have power to prevent the further importation of slaves into the United States and the Territories

thereof."

The said proposed resolution was read, and

ordered to lie on the table.

Commodore Preble.

Resolved, That the Clerk be likewise directed to pay, out of the said fund, any other expense incurred by order of the managers of the said impeachment, and certified by their chairman.

On which motion, various efforts were made to obtain a decision of the House on the previous question, "that the House do now proceed to consider the said motion;" but no result could, in any instance, be obtained for the want of a quorum.

Adjournment.

After which, a quorum being present,

A message from the Senate informed the House, that the Senate have appointed a committee, on their part, jointly with such committee as may be appointed on the part of this House, to wait on the President of the United States, and notify him of the proposed recess of Congress.

The resolutions sent from the Senate, "ex- The House proceeded to consider the foregopressive of the sense of Congress of the gallanting message of the Senate, and conduct of Commodore Edward Preble, the Resolved, That this House do agree to the officers, seamen, and marines, of his squadron,' same, and that Mr. JOHN RANDOLPH, Mr. HUGER, together with the amendments agreed to this and Mr. NELSON, be appointed of the said comday, were read the third time; and on the ques-mittee, on the part of this House. tion that the same do pass, it was unanimously resolved in the affirmative.

Mr. JOHN RANDOLPH, from the committee appointed on the part of this House, jointly with Eodem Die, 5 o'clock, P. M. ` the committee appointed on the part of the A message from the Senate informed the Senate, to wait on the President of the United House that the Senate insist on their amend-States, and notify him of the proposed recess ments disagreed to by this House to the bill, entitled "An act making an appropriation for the payment of witnesses summoned on the part of the United States, in support of the impeachment of Samuel Chase," and desire a conference with this House on the subject-matter of the said amendments; to which conference the Senate have appointed managers, on their part.

The Senate have agreed to the amendments proposed by this House to the resolutions "expressive of the sense of Congress of the gallant conduct of Commodore Edward Preble, the officers, seamen, and marines, of his squadron," with amendments; to which they desire the concurrence of this House.

Divorces.

The order of the day for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill to authorize the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia to decree divorces in certain cases,

of Congress, reported that the committee had performed that service; and that the President signified to them that he had no further communication to make during the present session. House that the Senate, having finished the legisA message from the Senate informed the lative business before them, are now ready to adjourn.

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, without day; and that the Clerk of this House do go with the said message.

The Clerk, accordingly, went with the said message; and, being returned,

The SPEAKER adjourned the House, sine die.*

* With this session ended the first term of Mr. Jefferson's

administration, and the end of that term presents a natural occasion for reviewing the working of the Government in its point of chief contact with the people-receipts and expenditures. These were kept at the lowest point. The

H. OF R.]

Adjournment.

[MARCH, 1805.

$7,640,000 worth, and the 12 per cent. rate fell upon 81 millions of dollars worth. The average of all the ad valorems was about 13 per centum; and such was the cheapness of this simplicity of impost, that the cost of collection was only about 4 per centum, and the revenue cutter service almost null. The net revenue yielded was twelve millions and a quarter, of which there went to the principal and interest of the public debt, about eight millions; to the army and navy, about two millions; miscellanies, about half a million; tribute to Algiers, near $200,000; diplomatic intercourse, $60,000; and about $600,000 to the civil list-comprehending the entire support of the Government in all its branches-executive, judicial, and legislative. And thus the moderate duties of that time, upon the moderate importation of that time, with the economy of that time, produced nearly twenty times the amount of revenue which the support of the Federal Government required.

internal taxes had been repealed: the custom house duties | $425,000 of that quantity, while the 15 per cent. fell upon had not been increased. For, though the change of many articles from the ad valorem to the specific list, had the effect of increasing the revenue, yet it did not increase the duty, the object being to prevent frauds and to simplify and cheapen the collection. The duties themselves, both the specific and the ad valorem, remained at the low and moderate rates which characterized the early periods of our Government. The average of the specifics, on the leading articles, were: on spirits, 29 cents per gallon; on wines, 32 cents per gallon; on teas, 16 cents per pound; on coffee, 5 cents per pound; on sugars, 24 cents per pound; on molasses, 5 cents per gallon. The ad valorems were simplified to three rates, which in fact were but two, the third and highest rate only applying to luxuries, which were but little imported; and the lowest rate applying to the bulk of the importations. Thus the highest rate (20 per centum) in an importation of near forty million dollars worth of merchandise paying ad valorem duties, only fell upon

Proceedings.

NINTH CONGRESS.-FIRST SESSION.

BEGUN AT THE CITY OF WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 2, 1805.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE.*

THOMAS SUMTER and JOHN GAILLARD, from KITCHEL, Mr. PICKERING, and Mr. SMITH of South Carolina.

SENATE.]

Proceedings.

[DECEMBER, 1805.

such committee as the House of Representatives | tice, they have plundered and sunk them by the way, may appoint on their part, to wait on the Presi- or in obscure places, where no evidence could arise dent of the United States and notify him that a against them; maltreated the crews, and abandoned quorum of the two Houses is assembled, and them in boats in the open sea, or on desert shores, ready to receive any communication that he without food or covering. These enormities appearmay be pleased to make to them. ing to be unreached by any control of their sovereigns, I found it necessary to equip a force to cruise within our own seas, to arrest all vessels of these descriptions found hovering on our coasts, within the limits of the Gulf Stream, and to bring the offenders in for trial as pirates.

TUESDAY, December 3.

JOSEPH ANDERSON, from the State of Tennessee; BUCKNER THRUSTON, from the State of Kentucky; and ROBERT WRIGHT, from the State of Maryland, attended.

A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that a quorum of the House of Representatives is assembled, and have appointed NATHANIEL MACON, Esq., one of the Representatives for North Carolina, their Speaker, and are ready to proceed to business. The House of Representatives have appointed a committee on their part, jointly with the committee appointed on the part of the Senate, 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 of Representatives agree to the resolution of the Senate for the appointment of two Chaplains.

Mr. SUMTER reported, from the committee appointed yesterday to wait on the President of the United States, that they had performed the service, and that the President of the United States informed the committee that he would make his communications to the two Houses at twelve o'clock this day.

The oath prescribed by law was administered to Mr. THRUSTON.

The following message was received from the
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:
To the Senate and House of Representatives

harbors, under color of seeking enemies, has been
The same system of hovering on our coasts and
annoyance and oppression of our commerce.
also carried on by public armed ships, to the great
New
principles, too, have been interpolated into the
law of nations, founded neither in justice nor the
usage or acknowledgment of nations. According to
these, a belligerent takes to itself a commerce with
its own enemy which it denies to a neutral, on the
ground of its aiding that enemy in the war. But
reason revolts at such an inconsistency, and the neu-
tral, having equal right with the belligerent to decide
the question, the interests of our constituents, and
the duty of maintaining the authority of reason, the
only umpire between just nations, impose on us the
opposition to a doctrine so injurious to the rights of
obligation of providing an effectual and determined
peaceable nations. Indeed, the confidence we ought
to have in the justice of others still countenances the
hope that a sounder view of those rights will, of it-
self, induce from every belligerent a more correct ob-
servance of them.

With Spain, our negotiations for a settlement of differences have not had a satisfactory issue. Spoliations during a former war, for which she had formally acknowledged herself responsible, have been refused to be compensated but on conditions affecting other claims in nowise connected with them. Yet the same practices are renewed in the present war, On the Mobile, and are already of great amount. our commerce passing through that river continues to be obstructed by arbitrary duties and vexatious searches. Propositions for adjusting amicably the of the United States of America: boundaries of Louisiana have not been acceded to. At a moment when the nations of Europe are in While, however, the right is unsettled, we have commotion, and arming against each other, and when avoided changing the state of things by taking new those with whom we have principal intercourse are posts or strengthening ourselves in the disputed terengaged in the general contest, and when the coun-ritories, in the hope that the other power would not, tenance of some of them towards our peaceable by a contrary conduct, oblige us to meet their excountry threatens that even that may not be unaf- ample, and endanger conflicts of authority the issue fected by what is passing on the general theatre, a of which may not be easily controlled. But in this meeting of the Representatives of the nation in both hope we have now reason to lessen our confidence. Houses of Congress has become more than usually Inroads have been recently made into the territories desirable. Coming from every section of our country of Orleans and Mississippi, our citizens have been they bring with them the sentiments and the informa-seized and their property plundered in the very parts tion of the whole, and will be enabled to give a direction to the public affairs, which the will and the wisdom of the whole will approve and support.

Since our last meeting the aspect of our foreign relations has considerably changed. Our coasts have been infested, and our harbors watched, by private armed vessels, some of them without commissions, some with illegal commissions, others with those of legal form, but committing piratical acts beyond the authority of their commissions. They have captured in the very entrance of our harbors, as well as on the high seas, not only the vessels of our friends coming to trade with us, but our own also. They have carried them off under pretence of legal adjudication; but, not daring to approach a court of jus

of the former which had been actually delivered up by Spain, and this by the regular officers and soldiers of that Government. I have, therefore, found it necessary, at length, to give orders to our troops on that frontier to be in readiness to protect our citizens, and to repel by arms any similar aggressions in future. Other details, necessary for your full information of the state of things between this country and that, shall be the subject of another communication. In reviewing these injuries from some of the belligerent powers, the moderation, the firmness, and the wisdom, of the Legislature will all be called into action. We ought still to hope that time and a more correct estimate of interest, as well as of character, will produce the justice we are bound to expect.