Also, a petition of Winthrop Saltonstall, of New London, in the State of Connecticut, praying relief, in the case of a certain sum in the bills of credit emitted by the late Congress, which was consumed, together with other property of the petitioner, by a fire in the said town of New London, some time in the month of September, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-one.

Also, a petition of Philip Bush, of the borough of Winchester, in the State of Virginia, praying relief, in the case of a certain certificate of public debt, the property of the petitioner, which has been casually lost.

Ordered, That the said petitions and memorial be referred to the Committee of Claims. Mr. Dwight Foster, from the Committee of Claims, to whom were referred the memorials and petitions of Walter Cruise, of Elisha Frizell, of Edward Goddard, of Ebenezer Kent, of John Lohman, of Henry Meyer, of John Nixon, and of Caleb Worley, made a report; which was read and considered: Whereupon,

Resolved, That the prayer of the petitions of the said Walter Cruise, Elisha Frizell, Edward Goddard, Ebenezer Kent, John Lohman, Henry Meyer, John Nixon, and Caleb Worley, cannot be granted; and that the petitioners, respectively, have leave to withdraw the same.

Ordered, That the report of the Secretary of War, on the petition of Michael Jackson, by Simon Jackson, his Attorney, made the fifth of April last, be referred to the Committee of Claims, with instruction to report by bill or otherwise.

Mr. Swanwick, from the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures, to whom was re-committed their report of the fifth of May last, relative to the kidnapping of negroes and mulattoes, and to whom were also referred the petitions of William Pinchin, and of Andrew McFarlan, made a report, which was read: Whereupon,

Ordered, That so much thereof as relates to the kidnapping of negroes and mulattoes be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Wednesday next.

The other parts of the said report, which relate to the petitions of William Pinchin and of Andrew McFarlan, being again read,

Resolved, That William Pinchin have leave to withdraw his petition.

Resolved, That the prayer of the petition of Andrew McFarlan cannot be granted. The House, according to the order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the report of the Committee of Ways and Means, of the third instant, to whom it was referred to take into consideration the subject of further revenues; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Dent reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the said report 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 report.

The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow.

And then the House adjourned until to-morrow morning eleven o'clock,

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1797.

A petition of Jeremiah Nichols, Collector of the port of Chestertown, in the State of Maryland, 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 petition be referred to the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures.

The Speaker laid before the House a letter and report from the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanied with two estimates of the Secretary of War, of the sums required to be appropriated for the use of the Naval Department, and the fortifications erecting for the defence of the ports and harbers of the United States; which were read: Whereupon,

Ordered, That so much of the said report and estimates as relates to the Naval Department, be referred to the committee appointed to inquire into the state of the naval equipment.

Ordered, That such other parts of the said report and estimate as relate to the fortifications of the ports and harbors of the United States be referred to the committee appointed to inquire into the actual state of the said fortifications.

Mr. Dwight Foster, from the Committee of Claims, to whom were referred the petitions of William Clark, of Peter Lee, of Cutlip Nestler, and of John Stephenson, made a report; which was read: Whereupon,

Ordered, That the consideration of the said report be postponed until Monday next.

VOL. II.-82

The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Attorney General, accompanying his report respecting the title to the land situate in the Southwestern parts of the United States, claimed by certain companies under a law of the State of Georgia, passed the seventh of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, made in pursuance of a resolution of both Houses of Congress, of the third of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five; which was read, and ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. Venable, from the Standing Committee of Elections, made a farther report; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same was read, as followeth : "That it appears, by a certificate of the Governor of Connecticut, under the seal of the said State, and bearing date the eighth day of December, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, that Samuel Whittlesey Dana has been elected to serve in the House of Representatives of the United States, in the place of Uriah Tracey, who hath been appointed a Senator of the United States. Your committee are therefore of opinion that Samuel Whittlesey Dana is entitled to take a seat in this House.

"The committee have proceeded to examine the petitions and memorials of sundry inhabitants and electors of the second middle district, in the State of Massachusetts, (which was the unfinished business of the last session) complaining of an undue election and return of Joseph Bradley Varnum to serve as a member of this House, for the said State, together with the documents accompanying the memorials, and the evidence adduced by the sitting member: Whereupon, they report,

"That none of the petitioners, or their agents, have appeared at the present session, to prosecute; nor have they transmitted any evidence to support their allegations. "That the sitting member has produced evidence to show that the election in the town of Dracut, where the irregularities were suggested to have been committed, was conducted with the utmost fairness and propriety, especially as it relates to his conduct. That, although some little irregularity was practised, it was in other towns, in favor of another candidate, and chiefly by those persons who have since been the active agents of the petitioners.

"Your committee are, therefore, of opinion, that Joseph Bradley Varnum was duly elected; and that the attempt to deprive him of his scat was rather the effect of malevolence than a desire to promote the public good.”

Ordered, That the said report do lie on the table.

A message, in writing, was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Craik, his Secretary, as followeth :

Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:

At the opening of the present session of Congress I mentioned that some circumstances of an unwelcome nature had lately occurred in relation to France; that our trade had suffered, and was suffering extensive injuries in the West Indies, from the cruisers and agents of the French Republic; and that communications had been received from its Minister here, which indicated danger of a further disturbance of our commerce by its authority, and that were in other respects far from agrecable; but that I reserved for a special message a more particular communication on this interesting subject. This communication I now make.

The complaints of the French Minister embraced most of the transactions of our Government, in relation to France, from an early period of the present war; which, therefore, it was necessary carefully to review. A collection has been formed of letters and papers relating to those transactions, which I now lay before you, with a letter to Mr. Pinckney, our Minister at Paris, containing an examination of the notes of the French Minister, and such information as I thought might be useful to Mr. Pinckney in any farther representations he might find necessary to be made to the French Government. The immediate object of his mission was, to make to that Government such explanations of the principles and conduct of our own, as, by manifesting our good faith, might re move all jealousy and discontent, and maintain that harmony and good understanding with the French Republic which it has been my constant solicitude to preserve. A Government which required only a knowledge of the truth to justify its measures, could not but be anxions to have this fully and frankly displayed.

United States, January 19, 1797.

G. WASHINGTON.

The said message was read, and, together with the papers referred to therein, ordered

to lie on the table.

The House, according to the order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the report of the Committee of Ways and Means, of the third instant, to whom it was referred to take into consideration the subject of further reve

nues ; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Dent reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the said report under consideration, and come to a resolution thereupon; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table.

Ordered, That the said resolution do lie on the table.

Resolved, That this House will, to-morrow, again resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the said report.

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, JANUARY 20, 1797.

A petition of James Warington, attorney of the executrix and executors of the late Major General Nathaniel Greene, deceased, and of sundry other persons, was presented to the House and read, praying relief against a decision of the accounting officers of the Treasury Department, on several points in the settlement of the claims of the respective decedent's estates against the United States.

Also, a petition of John Nickless, of the county of Middlesex, in the State of Massachusetts, praying an augmentation of the pension allowed him, in consideration of wounds received whilst a soldier in Colonel Simeon Spaulding's regiment of militia, in the actual service of the United States, during the late war.

Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee of Claims.

The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Secretary of War, accompanying a list of certain claimants to be placed on the pension list; as, also, returns made to the Department of War, in the cases of the said claimants, in pursuance of a resolution of both Houses of Congress, of the eighteenth of April, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six; which were read, and ordered to be referred to the Committee of Claims. Mr. Dwight Foster, from the Committee of Claims, to whom were referred the petitions of Samuel Chester and William M‘Cay, made reports; which were read and considered: Whereupon,

Resolved, That the prayer of the petitions of the said Samuel Chester and William M'Cay cannot be granted.

The House proceeded to consider the resolution reported yesterday, from the Com mittee of the Whole House to whom was referred the report of the Committee of Ways and Means, of the third instant, on the subject of further revenues: Whereupon,

The said resolution being read at the Clerk's table, in the words following, to wit: "Resolved, That there ought to be apportioned, according to the last census, on the several States, the sum of- -, to be raised by the following direct tax, viz:

"A tax ad valorem, under proper regulations and exceptions, on all lands, with their improvements, including the town lots, with buildings thereon.

"A tax on slaves, with certain exceptions."

A division of the question on the said resolution was called for: Whereupon,

The question being put, that the House do agree to the first part of the said resolution, in the words following, to wit:

"Resolved, That there ought to be apportioned, according to the last census, on the several States, the sum of, to be raised by the following direct tax, viz:

66

"A tax ad valorem, under proper regulations and exceptions, on all lands, with their improvements, including town lots, with the buildings thereon:"

..... 48,

.. 39.

The yeas and nays being demanded by one-fifth of the members present,

On the question, that the House do agree to the last part of the said resolution, in the words following, to wit:

"A tax on slaves, with certain exceptions,"

The yeas and nays being demanded by one-fifth of the members present,

And then the main question being taken, that the House do agree to the said resólution, as reported by the Committee of the Whole House,

yeas and nays being demanded by one-fifth of the members present,

Those who voted in the affirmative, are,