Ordered, That the said petition do lie on the table. The House proceeded to consider a report of the Secretary of War on the petition of Rufus Hamilton, which was made to the House of Representatives the twenty-second of June, one thousand seven hundred and ninety, stating sundry reasons in opposition to the claim of the said Rufus Hamilton: Whereupon, Resolved, That the prayer of the said petition cannot be granted. The House, according to the order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the schedule of the enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Muhlenburg reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the said schedule under consideration, and made a farther progress therein. Resolved, That this House will, to-morrow, again resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House thereupon. The other orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15. A petition of John Davis was presented to the House and read, praying compensation for services rendered as a surgeon in the Army of the United States, during the late war. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the Secretary of War, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. Mr. Sedgwick, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, a bill respecting fugitives from justice, and from the service of masters; which was received, and read the first time. On motion, The said bill was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Friday next. The House, according to the order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the schedule of the enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Muhlenberg reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the said schedule under consideration, and come to a resolution thereupon; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same was read, and is as followeth : Resolved, That the number of Representatives shall, until the next enumeration, be one for thirty thousand. The said resolution was again read, and on the question put thereupon, agreed to by the House.-Yeas 35, Nays 23. The yeas and nays being demanded by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative, are, Ordered, That a bill or bills be brought in pursuant to the said resolution; and that Mr. Page, Mr. Murray, and Mr. Macon, do prepare and bring in the same. The other orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. And then the House adjourned until to-morrow morning eleven o'clock. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16. The several petitions of Zerah Beach, in behalf of his wife Deborah, late widow of Lieutenant James Coon, deceased, of Eleanor Healy, and of Thomas Pope, were presented to the House and read, respectively praying compensation for services rendered in the Army of the United States, during the late war. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Secretary of War, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. A petition of the distillers of spirits in the town of Salem, in the State of Massachusetts, was presented to the House and read, praying a reduction of duties, and farther revision and amendment of the act, passed at the last session, for laying duties on spirits distilled within the United States. Also, A petition of sundry inhabitants of the District of Kentucky, praying a suspension of the said act within the said District, until a free navigation of the river Mississippi shall be obtained. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Secretary of the Treasury, for his information. Ordered, That the petitions of sundry persons, citizens of the State of New York, holders of certain bills of credit, emitted under the authority of the late Congress, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty, which lay on the table, be referred to the Secretary of the Treasury, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. Ordered, That the petition of James Jackson, of the State of Georgia, complaining of the undue election and return of Anthony Wayne, one of the members returned to serve in this House, for the said State, be referred to the committee appointed to prepare and report a regular and uniform mode of proceeding in cases of contested elections, with instruction to report a proper mode of investigating and deciding thereupon. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17. Two other members, to wit: from New York, Cornelius C. Schoonmaker, and from Pennsylvania, Thomas Hartley, appeared, produced their credentials, and took their seats in the House; the oath to support the Constitution of the United States, being administered to them by Mr. Speaker, according to law. The several petitions of Lewis Anderson, Thomas Carhart, Philip Greenwalt, William Loring, and David Welch, were presented to the House and read, respectively praying compensation for supplies furnished, services rendered, or injuries sustained, in the service of the United States, during the late war. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Secretary of War, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. Mr. Livermore, from the Standing Committee of Elections, reported that the committee had examined two certificates and other credentials of members returned to serve in this House; and that, in the opinion of the committee, Elbridge Gerry, from Massachusetts, and William Findley, from Pennsylvania, are duly elected members of this House. Ordered, That the said report do lie on the table. The House, according to the order of the day, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill "directing the mode in which certain evidences of the debt of the United States, which have been lost or destroyed, may be renewed;" and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. M.hlenberg re ported that the committee had, according to order, had the said bill under consider ation, and made several amendments thereto. The House proceeded to consider the said amendments; and, having made some pro gress therein, an adjournment was called for: Whereupon, The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. And then the House adjourned until to-morrow morning eleven o'clock. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18. The petitions of Barney Cox and Oliver Towles were presented to the House and read, respectively praying compensation for services rendered in the Army of the United States, during the late war. Also, A memorial of Oliver Towles, praying to be reimbursed certain expenses, incurred on account of the United States, whilst in captivity, and afterwards, during the late war. Also, A petition of James Groves, cordwainer, of the City of Philadelphia, praying compensation for two years eight months and seven day's service of an apprentice, who is enlisted into a company of Artillery, in the service of the United States. Also, A petition of John Haskill, praying to be reimbursed a sum of public money, which he received for the recruiting service, and casually lost. Ordered, That the said petitions and memorial be referred to the Secretary of War, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. A petition of Philip Bush was presented to the House and read, praying the renewal of a certain continental certificate, the property of the petitioner, which has been accidentally lost or destroyed. Also, A petition of John Franklin, of the City of New York, praying compensation for a quantity of mahogany, and the sails of a vessel, which were converted to the use of the United States, during the late war. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Secretary of the Treasury, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. A petition of the Branch Pilots of Pennsylvania, Jersey, and Delaware, plying in the bay and river Delaware, was presented to the House and read, praying an augmentation of the rates of pilotage. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the committee appointed to prepare and bring in a bill or bills to regulate pilots, and provide for the superintendence of the light-houses, and the beacons, buoys, and public piers, in the bay and river Delaware, and the bay of Chesapeake, with the rivers emptying into the same. A petition of James Weeks was presented to the House and read, praying to be reimbursed the amount of a vessel and cargo, the property of the petitioner, which was scuttled by order of the Committee of Safety, of Pennsylvania, during the late war. A motion was made, and the question being put, that the said petition be referred to the consideration of the Secretary of the Treasury, It passed in the negative. Ordered, That the said petition do lie on the table. Mr. Page, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, "a bill apportioning the representation of the People of the United States according to the first enumeration;" which was received, and read the first time. On motion, The said bill was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next. A message from the Senate, by Mr. Otis, their Secretary: Mr. Speaker: I am directed by the Senate to bring to this House a letter received and read in Senate, from the President of the Assembly of the French Colony of Saint Domingo, to the Congress of the United States. And he delivered in the same, and then withdrew. Ordered, That the said letter do lie on the table. The House resumed the consideration of the amendments reported from the Committee of the Whole House to the bill directing the mode in which the evidences of the debt of the United States, which have been lost or destroyed, shall be renewed, and the same were severally twice read, and agreed to by the House. And then the question being put, that the said bill, with the amendments, be engrossed, and read the third time, It passed in the negative. And so the said bill was rejected. The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Treasurer of the United States, covering his account of indents of interest received and issued from the first of July to the thirtieth of September, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, inclusive; which was read, and ordered to lie on the table. Mr. Livermore, from the standing Committee of Elections, to whom was referred the letter from the Executive of the State of Maryland, containing the resignation of William Pinkney, a member returned to serve in this House, for the said State; and, also, a certificate of the election of John Francis Mercer, in the room of the said William Pinkney, made a report; which was read, and ordered to lie on the table. A memorial of the commissioned officers serving in the Army of the United States, was presented to the House and read, stating the inadequacy of their pay, subsistence, and forage, under the present establishment, and praying that the same may be aug mented. Ordered, That the said memorial be referred to Mr. Laurance, Mr. Williamson, and Mr. Kitchell, with instruction to examine the same, and report their opinion thereupon to the House. Mr. Ames, from the committee to whom was referred the petition of James Jackson, complaining of an undue election and return of Anthony Wayne, a member returned to serve in this House, for the State of Georgia, made a report; which was read, and ordered to lie on the table. On motion, Ordered, That the committee to whom was referred the petition of Josiah Clapham, be discharged from farther proceeding thereon; and that the said petition, together with the petitions of Daniel Robbins and Phineas Ware, which lay on the table, be referred to the Secretary of the Treasury, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. Mr. Fitzsimons, from the committee to whom was referred the petition of Stephen Zacchari, made a report; which was read, and ordered to lie on the table. The several orders of the day were further postponed until Monday next. And then the House adjourned until Monday morning eleven o'clock. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21. A petition of Jason Wate was presented to the House and read, praying the commutation of half pay as a Major in the Army of the United States, during the late war. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the Secretary of War, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. Mr. Wadsworth, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, a bill more effectually to provide for the national defence, by establishing an uniform Militia throughout the United States; which was received, and read the first time. On motion. The said bill was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next. The House proceeded to consider the report of the committee to whom was refer red the petition of James Jackson, complaining of an undue election and return of Anthony Wayne, one of the members returned to serve in this House, for the State of Georgia: Whereupon, Ordered, That the said report be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Thursday next. The House proceeded to consider the report of the Standing Committee of Elections, to whom was referred the letter from the Executive of the State of Maryland, containing the resignation of William Pinkney, a member returned to serve in this House, for the said State; and, also, a certificate of the election of John Francis Mercer, in the room of the said William Pinkney: Whereupon, Ordered, That the said report be committed to a Committee of the Whole House to morrow. On a motion made and seconded, that the petition of James Weeks, which was presented to the House on Friday last, be referred for consideration, It passed in the negative. Resolved, That the said petition be rejected. VOL. 1--58 The petitions of John Higby and John Elias Moore were presented to the House and read, respectively praying the renewal of certain Loan Office certificates, the property of the petitioners, which have been lost or destroyed. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Secretary of the Treasury, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. Ordered, That a committee be appointed to prepare and bring in a bill or bills for extending the time limited for the settlement of the accounts of the United States with the individual States; and that Mr. Dayton, Mr. Griffin, and Mr. Hartley, be the said committee. The House, according to the order of the day, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill apportioning the representation of the People of the United States, according to the first enumeration; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Muhlenberg reported that the committee had, according to order, had the said bill under consideration, and made some progress therein. Resolved, That this House will, to-morrow, again resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the said bill. The other orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22. The petitions of David Morris and Jacob Levan were presented to the House and read, respectively praying compensation for supplies furnished, or services rendered in the Army of the United States, during the late war. Also, A petition of Alpheus Moore, in behalf of himself and William Moore, orphans of the late Major Willard Moore, deceased, and Mark Lincoln and Elizabeth his wife, late widow of the said Willard Moore, praying that the half-pay of the commission possessed by the said deceased, who was slain in the service of the United States, may be ex tended to them. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Secretary of War, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. The petitions of John M'Gowan and Reuben Murray were presented to the House and read, respectively praying to be reimbursed for sundry expenditures in the service of the United States, during the late war. Also, The petitions of Daniel Schermerhorn and John Craine, respectively praying the renewal of certain loan-office or final settlement certificates, the property of the petitioners, which were destroyed by accident. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Secretary of the Treasury, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. A petition of Henry Wagner was presented to the House and read, praying relief in consideration of a wound received in the service of the United States, during the late war. Ordered, That the said petition do lie on the table. A memorial of the committee of the counties of Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette, and Alleghany, in the State of Pennsylvania, was presented to the House and read, stating their objections to an act, passed at the last session, imposing a duty on spirits distilled within the United States, and praying that the same may be repealed. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the Secretary of the Treasury for his information. Mr. Laurance, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, a bill making appropriations for the support of Government, for the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two; which was received, and read the first time. On motion, The said bill was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Wednesday se'nnight. A remonstrance of the People called Quakers, in the State of North Carolina, was presented to the House and read, stating their objections to certain provisions of a bill now depending, entitled "A bill more effectually to provide for the national defence by establishing an uniform Militia throughout the United States.' Ordered, That the said remonstrance be referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the bill more effectually to provide for the national defence, by establishing an uniform Militia throughout the United States. A petition of William W. Smith, for himself, and as administrator to Gilbert Tennent, deceased, and Joseph Eaker, by his attorney, George Hunter, was presented to the |