"In Senate, April 27. Resolved, That, after the oath shall have been administered to the President, he, attended by the Vice President, and the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, proceed to St. Paul's Chapel, to hear divine service, to be performed by the Chaplains of Congress already appointed:" Whereupon, Resolved, That this House doth concur with the Senate in the said resolution, amended to read as followeth, to wit: "That, after the oath shall have been administered to the President, the Vice President, and members of the Senate, the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives, will accompany him to St. Paul's Chapel, to hear divine service, performed by the Chaplain of Congress." Ordered, That the Clerk of this House do carry the said resolution to the Senate, and desire their concurrence. And then the House adjourned until to-morrow morning eleven o'clock. THURSDAY, APRIL 30. Another member, to wit: Jonathan Grout, from Massachusetts, appeared and took his seat. And then the House adjourned until to-morrow morning eleven o'clock. FRIDAY, MAY 1. The Speaker laid before the House a copy of the Speech of the President of the United States, to both Houses of Congress, delivered yesterday in the Senate chamber, immediately after his inauguration, as followeth: Fellow Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties, than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the fourteenth day of the present month.-On the one hand, I was summoned by my country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and in my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years; a retreat which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me, by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent im rruptions in my health, to the gradual waste committed on it by time.-On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens, a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despondence, one, who, inheriting inferior endowments from nature, and unpractised in the duties of civil administration, ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies. In this conflict of emotions, all I dare aver, is, that it has been my faithful study to collect my duty from a just appreciation of every circumstance by which it might be affected. All I dare hope, is, that, if in executing this task, I have been too much swayed by a grateful remembrance of former instances, or by an affectionate sensibility to this transcendent proof of the confidence of my fellow citizens, and have thence too little consulted my incapacity as well as disinclination, for the weighty and untried cares before me; my error will be palliated by the motives which misled me, and its consequences be judged by my country, with some share of the partiality in which they originated. Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station; it would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent suplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe-who presides in the councils of nations-and whose providential aids can sup ply every human defect-that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the People of the United States, a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration, to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own; nor those of my fellow citizens at large, less than either. No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men, more than the People of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency. And in the important revolution just accomplished, in the system of their united government, the tranquil deliberations, and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted, cannot be compared with the means by which most Governments have been established, without some return of pious gratitude, along with humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free Government can more auspiciously commence. By the article establishing the Executive Department, it is made the duty of the President, "to recommend to your consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." The circumstances under which I now meet you, will acquit me from ontering into that subject, further than to refer to the great constitutional charter under which you are assembled, and which, in defining your powers, designates the objects to which your attention is to be given. It will be more consistent with those circumstances, and far more congenial with the feelings which actuate me, to substitute, in place of a recommendation of particular measures, the tribute that is due to the talents, the rectitude, and the patriotism, which adorn the characters selected to devise and adopt them. In these honorable qualifications, I behold the surest pledges that, as on one side no local prejudices or attachments-no separate views, nor party animosities, will misdirect the comprehensive and equal eye which ought to watch over this great assemblage of communities and interests; so on another, that the foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality; and the pre-emi nence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens, and command the respect of the world. I dwell on this pros pect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my country can inspire: Since there is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness; between duty and advantage; between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity: Since we ought to be no less persuaded, that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained: And since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American People. Besides the ordinary objects submitted to your care, it will remain with your judg ment to decide, how far an exercise of the occasional power, delegated by the fifth article of the Constitution, is rendered expedient at the present juncture, by the nature of objections which have been urged against the system, or by the degree of inquietude which has given birth to them. Instead of undertaking particular recommenda tions on this subject, in which I could be guided by no lights derived from official op portunities, I shall again give way to my entire confidence in your discernment and pursuit of the public good. For I assure myself, that whilst you carefully avoid every alteration, which might endanger the benefits of an united and effective Government, or which ought to await the future lessons of experience; a reverence for the characteris tic rights of freemen, and a regard for the public harmony, will sufficiently influence your deliberations on the question, how far the former can be more impregnably fortified, or the latter be safely and advantageously promoted? To the preceding observations I have one to add, which will be most properly addressed to the House of Representatives. It concerns myself, and will therefore be as brief as possible. When I was first honored with a call into the service of my country, then on the eve of an arduous struggle for its liberties, the light in which I contemplated my duty, required that I should renounce every pecuniary compensation. From this resolution I have in no instance departed. And being still under the impres sions which produced it, I must decline, as inapplicable to myself, any share in the personal emoluments which may be indispensably included in a permanent provision for the Executive Department; and must accordingly pray, that the pecuniary estimates for the station in which I am placed, may, during my continuance in it, be limited to such actual expenditures as the public good may be thought to require. Having thus imparted to you my sentiments, as they have been awakened by the occasion which brings us together, I shall take my present leave; but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the human race, in humble supplication, that since he has been pleased to favor the American People with opportunities for VOL. I-4. deliberating in perfect tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government, for the security of their union, and the advancement of their happiness; so his divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures, on which the success of this Government must depend. On motion, GEORGE WASHINGTON. Resolved, That the said speech be committed to the consideration of a committee of the whole House, immediately. The House accordingly resolved itself into the said committee. Mr. Page took the chair of the committee. Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Page reported that the committee had, according to order, haid the said speech under consideration, and had come to a resolution thereupon; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same was twice read, and, on a question put thereupon, agreed to by the House, as followeth : "Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that an address to the President ought to be prepared, expressing the congratulations of the House of Representatives, on the distinguished proof given him of the affection and confidence of his fellow. citizens, by the unanimous suffrage which has appointed him to the high station which he fills; the approbation felt by the House of the patriotic sentiments and enlightened policy recommended by his speech; and assuring him of their disposition to concur in giving effect to every measure which may tend to secure the liberties, promote the harmony, and advance the happiness and prosperity of their country.' Ordered, That a committee, to consist of five members, be appointed, to prepare an address pursuant to the said resolution; The members elected, Mr. Madison, Mr. Clymer, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Gale, and Mr. Benson. Another member, to wit, Samuel Livermore, from New Hampshire, appeared and took his seat. A motion was made that the House do come to the following resolution : Resolved, That per annum be the compensation to be allowed to the President of the United States, during the time for which he is elected. And the said motion being read at the Clerk's table, was ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. The House then, according to the order of the day, proceeded by ballot to the appointment of a Chaplain to Congress on the part of this House; and upon examining the ballots, a majority of the votes of the whole House was found in favor of the Rev. William Linn. Ordered, That the Clerk of this House do acquaint the Senate therewith. MONDAY, MAY 4. A petition of the shipwrights of the town of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, was presented to the House, and read, praying the attention of Congress to the increase of American shipping and tonnage, and the establishing a proper navigation act or acts, for that purpose. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the Committee of the whole House on the state of the Union. A petition of Alexander Lewis, of the State of Pennsylvania, was presented to the House, and read, setting forth that he had discovered and constructed an easy and expeditious method of impelling boats of twenty-five tons burthen and under, through the water, against any current or stream, however rapid; as also an easy method of raising a sufficient quantity of water twenty feet in heigth, to turn any mill; and praying that an act may pass to secure to him, his heirs, &c. for the term of twenty-one years, an exclusive right of constructing boats upon his model, in the United States. Also a petition of Andrew Newel, and Seth Clark, of the State of Massachusetts, praying that the proper officer may be authorized to receive and examine their accounts as assistant commissaries of issues, the lapse of time limited for that purpose by the late Congress notwithstanding. Also a petition of Sarah Parker, of the State of Massachusetts, praying that some relief may be granted for the support of herself and a large family of children, being the widow and orphans of Lieutenent Colonel Moses Parker, who was wounded and made prisoner by the British troops in the battle of Charlestown, on the 17th of June, 1775, and was afterwards confined in the gaol in Boston, and there died of his wounds, in the month of July following. Also a petition of Martha Walker, of Boston, in the State of Mussachusetts, praying that some relief may be granted her, as the distressed widow of Thomas Walker, Esq. late of Boston, who, at the commencement of the late Revolution, abandoned a very considerable property in the province of Quebec, and attached himself to the interests and fortunes of the United States. Ordered, That the said petitions do severally lie on the table. The House resumed the consideration of the resolutions reported from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, the twenty-first ultimo, and made some progress therein. And then the House adjourned until to-morrow morning eleven o'clock. TUESDAY, MAY 5. Mr. Benson, from the committee appointed to consider of and report what style or titles it will be proper to annex to the office of President and Vice President of the United States, if any other then those given in the Constitution, and to confer with a committee of the Senate appointed for the same purpose, reported as followeth: "That it is not proper to annex any style or title to the respective styles or titles of office expressed in the Constitution."" And the said report being twice read at the Clerk's table, was, on the question put thereupon, agreed to by the House. Ordered, That the Clerk of this House do acquaint the Senate therewith. Mr. Madison, from the committee appointed to prepare an address on the part of this House to the President of the United States, in answer to his speech to both Houses of Congress, reported as followeth : The address of the House of Representatives to George Washington, President of the United States. SI: The Representatives of the People of the United States present their congratulations on the event by which your fellow citizens have attested the pre-eminence of your merit. You have long held the first place in their esteem. You have often received tokens of their affection. You now possess the only proof that remained of their gratitude for your services, of their reverence for your wisdom, and of their confidence in your virtues. You enjoy the highest, because the the truest honor, of being the First Magistrate, by the unanimous choice of the freest People on the face of the earth. We well know the anxieties with which you must have obeyed a summons from the repose reserved for your declining years, into public scenes, of which you had taken your leave for ever. But the obedience was due to the occasion. It is already ap plauded by the universal joy which welcomes you to your station. And we cannot doubt that it will be rewarded with all the satisfaction with which an ardent love for your fellow citizens must review successful efforts to promote their happiness. This anticipation is not justified merely by the past experience of your signal services. It is particularly suggested by the pious impressions under which you com mence your administration, and the enlightened maxims by which you mean to conduct it. We feel with you the strongest obligations to adore the invisible hand which has led the American People through so many difficulties, to cherish a conscious respon sibility for the destiny of republican liberty; and to seek the only sure means of preserving and recommending the precious deposite in a system of legislation founded on the principles of an honest policy, and directed by the spirit of a diffusive patriotism. The question arising out of the fifth article of the Constitution will receive all the attention demanded by its importance; and will, we trust, be decided, under the influence of all the considerations to which you allude. In forming the pecuniary provisions for the Executive Department, we shall not lose sight of a wish resulting from motives which give it a peculiar claim to our regard. Your resolution, in a moment critical to the liberties of your country, to renounce all personal emolument, was among the many presages of your patriotic services, which have been amply fulfilled; and your scrupulous adherence now to the law then imposed on yourself, cannot fail to demonstrate the purity, whilst it increases the lustre of a character which has so many titles to admiration. Such are the sentiments which we have thought fit to address to you. They flow from our own hearts, and we verily believe that, among the millions we represent, there is not a virtuous citizen whose heart will disown them. All that remains is, that we join in our fervent supplications for the blessings of Heaven on our country; and that we add our own for the choicest of these blessings on the most beloved of her citizens. And the said address being twice read, at the Clerk's table, was ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House immediately. The House accordingly resolved itself into the said committee. Mr. Speaker left the chair. Mr. Page took the chair of the committee. Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Page reported, that the committee had, according to order, had the said address under consideration, and made no amendment thereto. Resolved, unanimously, That this House doth agree to the said address, and that the Speaker, attended by the members of this House, do present the said address to the President. Ordered, That Mr. Sinnickson, Mr. Coles, and Mr. Smith, of South Carolinia, be a committee to wait on the President, to know when it will be convenient for him to receive the same. Mr. Clymer, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, a bill for laying a duty on goods, wares, and merchandises, imported into the United States, and the same was received, and read the first time. Mr. Bland, one of the Representatives from Virginia, presented to the House an application in the name and behalf of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia, addressed to the Congress of the United States, which was read: Whereupon, Ordered, That the said application be entered on the Journal, and carefully preserved by the Clerk of this House, among the files in his office. The said application is as followeth : "VIRGINIA, TO WIT: In General Assembly, November 14, 1788. Resolved, That an application be made in the name and on behalf of the Legislature of this Commonwealth to the Congress of the United States, in the words following, to wit: "The good People of this Commonwealth, in Convention assembled, having ratified "the Constitution submitted to their consideration, this Legislature has, in conformity to "that act, and the resolutions of the United States in Congress assembled, to them trans"mitted, thought proper to make the arrangements that were necessary for carrying it "into effect. Having thus shown themselves obedient to the voice of their constituents, "all America will find that, so far as it depended on them, that plan of Government will "be carried into immediate operation. "But the sense of the People of Virginia would be but in part complied with, and "but little regarded, if we went no farther. In the very moment of adoption, and "coeval with the ratification of the new plan of Government, the general voice of the "Convention of this State pointed to objects no less interesting to the People we "represent, and equally entitled to our attention. At the same time that, from motives "of affection to our sister States, the Convention yielded their assent to the ratification, "they gave the most unequivocal proofs, that they dreaded its operation under the "present form. "In acceding to the Government under this impression, painful must have been the "prospect, had they not derived consolation from a full expectation of its imperfections "being speedily amended. In this resource, therefore, they placed their confidence, "a confidence that will continue to support them, whilst they have reason to believe that "they have not calculated upon it in vain. "In making known to you the objections of the People of this Commonwealth to "the new plan of Government, we deem it unnecessary to enter into a particular detail "of its defects, which they consider as involving all the great and unalienable rights of "freemen. For their sense on this subject, we beg leave to refer you to the proceedings of "their late Convention, and the sense of the House of Delegates, as expressed in their "resolutions of the thirtieth day of October, one thousand seven hundred and eighty"eight. "We think proper, however, to declare, that, in our opinion, as those objections "were not founded in speculative theory, but deduced from principles which have "been established by the melancholy example of other nations in different ages, so "they will never be removed, until the cause itself shall cease to exist. The sooner "therefore the public apprehensions are quieted, and the Government is possessed of "the confidence of the People, the more salutary will be its operations, and the longer ❝ts duration. "The cause of amendments we consider as a common cause; and, since concessions "have been made from political motives, which, we conceive, may endanger the Re |