rial from the Commissioners, and one of them intends to give further information, if required. In a case, new and arduous, like the present, difficulties might naturally be expected some have occurred; but they are, in a great degree, surmounted; and, I have no doubt, if the remaining resources are properly cherished, so as to prevent the loss of property, by hasty and numerous sales, that all the buildings required for the accommodation of the Government of the United States, may be completed in season, without aid from the Federal Treasury. The subject is, therefore, recommended to the consideration of Congress, and the result will determine the measures which I shall cause to be pursued, with respect to the property remaining unsold. G. WASHINGTON. The said message and memorial were read, and ordered to be referred to Mr. Jeremiah Smith, Mr. Thatcher, Mr. Findley, Mr. Brent, and Mr. Tatom; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Treasurer of the United States, accompanying his account of the receipts and expenditures of public moneys, from the first of July to the thirtieth of September, one thousand seven hundred and ninetyfive, inclusive; which was read, and ordered to lie on the table. A petition of Charles Whitney was presented to the House and read, praying that certain testimony, in his behalf, applying to the late charges against him, may be entered on the Journal of the House. Ordered, That the said petition do lie on the table. The several orders of the day were further postponed until Monday next. MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 1796. An engrossed bill for establishing trading houses with the Indian tribes, was read the third time. Ordered, That the said bill be recommitted to a Committee of the Whole House to morrow. A petition of Catharine Loury, formerly the wife of William Stevenson, deceased, was presented to the House and read, praying compensation for the services of the deceased, as a Lieutenant in Colonel Charles Harrison's Regiment of Artillery, during the late war. Also, a petition of Else Darra, widow of James Darra, deceased, late a subaltern officer in the flying camp, praying the liquidation and settlement of a claim for military services rendered, and injuries received by the deceased, in the Army of the United States, during the late war. Ordered, That the said petitions, together with the petition of Joseph How, presented on the tenth of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, and the petition of Joseph Brevard, presented the sixteenth of January last, be referred to the Committee of Claims. A petition of Luke Bemis, and others, manufacturers of snuff in the State of Massachusetts, was presented to the House and read, praying a revision and amendment of "An act to alter and amend the act laying certain duties upon snuff and refined sugar," so far as respects the manufacturing of snuff within the United States. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. The House proceeded to consider the report of the Committee of Claims on the petition of Caleb Newbold, and others, which was made on the second of March last: Whereupon, Ordered, That the said petition, together with all other petitions reported on by the Committee of Claims, at the last session, and not decided on by the House, be again referred to the same committee. The House proceeded to consider the petition of William Tompkins, which was presented on the fourteenth of January last. Whereupon, Resolved, That the prayer of the said petition cannot be granted. On a motion, made and seconded, that the House do come to the following resolution : Resolved, That the proper officer be directed to lay before this House a list of all the officers and soldiers of the late Army and Navy of the United States, who appear VOL. II.-52 entitled to arrears of pay, or other emoluments, for their services during the late war, upon the books of the United States, together with a statement of the sums or emoluments which appear to be due to them, respectively: Ordered, That the said motion be referred to the Committee of Claims. Mr. Tracey, from the Committee of Claims, to whom were referred the petitions of Jabez Barney, of Silvanus Cook, and of William Finley, made a report; which was read, and ordered to lie on the table. The House, according to the order of the day, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the report of the committee to whom was re-committed a report on the petition of Parker, Hopkins, and Meers; and, after some spent therein, Mr Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Muhlenberg reported that the committee had, according to order, had the said report under consideration, and come to a resolution thereupon, which he delivered in at the Clerk's table; where the same was twice read, and agreed to by the House, as followeth: Resolved, That the petition of Parker, Hopkins, and Meers, together with the several reports thereon, be re-committed to the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures, with instruction to report their opinion thereupon to the House. Mr. Goodhue, from the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures, to whom were referred the petitions of John Devereux, of William and Archibald M'Neal, of Moses Myers, of William Smith and Joshua Carter, and of Wright White, made a report; which was read, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Wednesday next. The House proceeded to consider the report of the Committee of Claims on the several petitions of Thomas Alexander, of James Armor, of Anthony and Robert Bartow, of Amos Camp and Amos Miner, of Patrick Collins, of Peter Defreest, of Charles de Frey, of Lambert Dorland, of Martha Dow, of Robert Elliot, of Roger Enos, of Chand. ler Dinwiddie Fowke, of John Gates, of John Goodman, of Samuel Henley, of William How, of Andrew Jackson, of Jabez Johnson, of Reuben King, of William Laken, of Elizabeth Lovel, of Francis Mentges, of Jacob Milligan, of Abraham Mosser and others, of Benjamin Mumford, of David Organ, of Matthew Orssen, of John Ostrander, of Peter Rutan, of Thomas Rutledge, administrator of William Rutledge, deceased, of Emanuel Sewars, of George Sharp, of John Sumpter, and of Henry Wayman; which lay on the table: Whereupon, Ordered, That so much of the said report as relates to the petitions of Jabez Jolinson and Thomas Rutledge, be re-committed to the same committee. Ordered, That such other parts of the said report as relate to the petition of William Laken, be committed to a Committee of the Whole House to-morrow.. Ordered, That such other parts of the said report as relate to the petition of William How, and of Francis Mentges, be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next. Ordered, That the consideration of such other parts of the said report as relate to the petition of James Armor, be postponed until Monday next. Ordered, That Thomas Alexander, Anthony and Robert Bartow, Amos Camp and Amos Miner, Patrick Collins, Peter Defreest, Charles de Frey, Lambert Dorland, Martha Dow, Robert Elliot, Roger Enos, Chandler Dinwiddie Fowke, John Gates, John Goodman, Samuel Henley, Andrew Jackson, Reuben King, Elizabeth Lovel, Jacob Milligan, Abraham Mosser and others, Benjamin Mumford, David Organ, Matthew Orssen, John Ostrander, Peter Rutan, Emanuel Sewars, George Sharp, John Sumpter, and Henry Wayman, severally have leave to withdraw their petitions. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1796. A memorial of Samuel Hughes, in behalf of himself and others, inhabitants of the town of Havre de Grace, in the State of Maryland, was presented to the House and read, praying that the said town may be made a port of entry. Also, a memorial of George M'Elcheran, of Bennington, in the State of Vermont, praying a revision and amendment of an act passed at the last session of Congress, "to alter and amend the act laying certain duties upon snuff and refined sugar," so far as respects the manufacturing of snuff within the United States. Ordered, That the said memorials be referred to the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. A petition of Hugh Wallace was presented to the House and read, praying relief, in consideration of services rendered and injuries received, whilst a sergeant in the sixth Virginia regiment of the Continental Army, during the late war. Ordered, That the said petition, together with the petition of Thomas Mathews, returned by the Secretary of the Treasury, on the fifth of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, be referred to the Committee of Claims. A petition of George Lucas, a non-commissioned officer in the Pennsylvania line, during the late war, was presented to the House and read, praying that he may receive a gratuity of one hundred dollars, allowed by a resolution of the late Congress to noncommissioned officers and privates of the Continental Army; from which he has been hitherto debarred by the operation of the acts of limitation. Also, a petition of Robert Randall, praying to be released from the imprisonment to which he is subjected by the order of this House, of the sixth instant. Ordered, That the said petitions do lie on the table. Ordered, That the Committee of Claims, to whom was referred the petition of John Rowland, be discharged from the consideration of the same, and that the petitioner have leave to withdraw his said petition. Mr. William Smith, from the Committee of Ways and Means, reported an appropriation of the sums requisite to defray the expenses of the Civil List, for the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six; which was read, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Thursday next. The House, according to the order of the day, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill for establishing trading houses with the Indian tribes; 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 several amendments thereto; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same were severally twice read, and agreed to by the House. Ordered, That the said bill be engrossed, and read the third time to-morrow. The House proceeded to consider the reports of the Committee of Claims, on the titions of Jabez Barney, Jacob Beck and others, Silvanus Cook, William Finley, John Sears, and Sarah Smart; which lay on the table: Whereupon, pe Resolved, That the Accounting Officers of the Treasury be, and they are hereby, directed to settle the accounts of John Fitzgerald, a soldier in the Maryland line, in the late Army of the United States: provided satisfactory proof be made to them, that the return of Fitzgerald being a deserter, was a mistake; and provided John Scars proves, that he did deliver Fitzgerald certificates, in lieu of his expected pay, as Sears has stated in his memorial. Ordered, That a bill or bills be brought in pursuant to the said resolution, and that the Committee of Claims do prepare and bring in the same. Ordered, That the farther consideration of so much of the said report as relates to the petition of Sarah Smart, be postponed until to-morrow. Ordered, That Jacob Beck and others, Silvanus Cook, and William Finley, severally have leave to withdraw their petitions. Ordered, That the farther consideration of such other parts of the said report, as relate to Jabez Barney, be postponed until Monday next. The House, according to the order of the day, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the report of the Committee of Claims on the petition of John Baptist Dumon; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Sedgwick reported that the committee had, according to order, had the said report under consideration, and come to a resolution thereupon; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same was twice read, and agreed to by the House, as followeth : Resolved, That the prayer of the petition of the said John Baptist Dumon cannot be granted, and that the petitioner have leave to withdraw the same. A message from the Senate, by Mr. Otis, their Secretary: Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed a bill, entitled "An act to regulate proceedings in cases of outlawry," to which they desire the concurrence of this House. And then he withdrew. The said bill was read the first time. The said bill was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. On motion, WEDNSDAY, JANUARY, 13, 1796. Resolved, That the farther consideration of the engrossed bill for establishing trading Houses with the Indian tribes, be postponed until the first Monday of February next. A memorial of Jonathan Hastings, Postmaster at Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, was presented to the House and read, stating the insufficiency of the compensation allowed him by law, and praying that the same may be increased and rendered more adequate to his services. Ordered, That the said memorial be referred to the committee appointed to examine and report whether any, and what, alterations are necessary in the act, entitled "An act to establish the Post Office and Post Roads within the United States.' A message, in writing, was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Dandridge, his Secretary, as followeth: UNITED STATES, January 13th, 1796. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives : I lay before you an official statement of the expenditure to the end of the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, from the sums heretofore granted to defray the contingent charges of the Government. G. WASHINGTON. Ordered, That the said message and statement do lie on the table. Mr. Venable, from the Committee of Elections, to whom was re-committed their report on the memorial of John Richards, of the State of Pennsylvania, stating his claim to a seat in this House, as one of the Representatives of the said State, for the District composed of the Counties of Bucks, Northampton, and Montgomery, made a report; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same was read, and is as followeth: It appears to your committee, that an election was held on the second Tuesday in October, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, in the counties of Bucks, Northampton, and Montgomery, in the State of Pennsylvania, for the purpose of electing a member to this House. That on the same day, an election was held by the militia that had marched from the before mentioned counties, on the Western expedition, for the same purpose. That the law of Pennsylvania, made for that special case, directs that the county judges of elections, instead of meeting on the third Tuesday of October, as formerly, should meet on the tenth day of November: that the Army election returns should be sent by the said tenth of November, to the prothonotaries of the respective counties, and that the prothonotaries should, on that day, deliver them over to the county judges, to enable them to make their returns:-That the district judges should meet on the fifteenth day of November, to examine the county returns; to make an estimate of all the votes, and to return the person having the highest number, the Representative for the District. That the county judges, as the law directs, met on the tenth day of November, at which time no Ariny returns had been received, except from the militia of the county of Northampton. That after the tenth, and before the fifteenth, the returns of the county of Montgomery were received by the prothonotary of that county, and delivered over to some of the County Judges; two of whom made up a return, and certified it, on the fourteenth, to be a true return of the votes that had come to their hands. That, on the fifteenth, the Judges of the District met, according to law, at which time were laid before them the last mentioned return, together with the returns of the elections held in the Counties, respectively, and the return of the election held by the Militia of Northampton. Upon which the Judges reported-That, by the general return of the County elections, together with the return of the Northampton Militia, James Morris had the highest number of votes, to wit: sixteen hundred and forty-eight. That, by the Montgomery Army return which had been put into their hands in the manner before stated, it appeared that John Richards had one hundred and fifty-six votes, and James Morris fifty-eight; which number,¡together with all the votes in favor of John Richards, on the other returns, amounted to seventeen hundred and ninety-one, and in favor of James Morris, seventeen hundred and six. And that no returns had, at that time, come to hand from the Bucks County Militia. That, after the before mentioned report was made to the Governor of Pennsylvania, to wit: on the eighteenth day of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, certain papers were lodged with the Secretary of the State, purporting to be a regimental return made by Lieutenant Colonel James Hanna, of the Bucks county militia. and sundry tally-papers, unaccompanied by any list of the persons names, who had voted at the said election, or any certificate of its having been examined by the county judges; on which return, it is stated that James Morris had ninety-one votes. Whereupon, The petitioner states, First, That he is entitled to a seat in this House, because, upon an estimate of all the votes that appeared by the returns which were produced, before the district judges, on the fifteenth day of November, including the return of the Montgomery militia, which was defective in form only, and not in substance, he will be found to have the highest number of votes, to wit: seventeen hundred and ninety-one, and James Morris seventeen hundred and six. Secondly, That if both the Army returns for the counties of Montgomery and Bucks are rejected, by deducting from the Army returns of the county of Northampton, sixteen votes, which were given by persons unqualified to vote, and two votes for so many given by proxy, he would still have the highest number, to wit: sixteen hundred and thirtyfive, and James Morris sixteen hundred and thirty. And, thirdly, That, by admitting both the returns of Bucks and Montgomery, and rejecting the number of votes given for James Morris, by persons unqualified to vote, and the two given by proxy, on the Northampton return, he would then also have the highest number, to wit: seventeen hundred and ninety-one, and James Morris, seventeen hundred and seventy-nine. Upon which statement, and the evidence adduced by the petitioner, in support thereof, your committee are of opinion, First, That the Montgomery return ought to have been received by the district judges, and estimated with the other returns, it having come to the hands of the county judges, and having been acted on by them before the fifteenth day of November, the time prescribed for the district judges to meet. Secondly, That the Bucks county return ought to be rejected, as being substantially defective; having never been examined by the county judges, and being unaccompa nied by a list of the names of the persons who voted; and Thirdly, That sixteen votes were given at the election held by the Northampton militia, for James Morris, by persons who do not appear to stand on the tax lists of that county, and who are not within the description of such electors' sons as are permitted to vote, by law, without being on the tax lists; also, that two votes were given by proxy. Your committee therefore recommend the following resolution: Resolved, That John Richards is duly elected as one of the Representatives for the District composed of the counties of Bucks, Northampton, and Montgomery, in the State of Pennsylvania, and that the said John Richards be permitted to take his seat in this House. EXEMPLIFICATION. James Morris, general returns, and Northampton militia, John Richards, general returns, Montgomery return, James Morris, general returns, Deduct defective votes, John Richards, James Morris, general and Northampton returns, Montgomery return, 1648 58 1706 1635 156 1791 1648 18 1630 1635 1648 58 |