Deeply impressed with this view of the subject, the government of the United States have considered it an act of real friendship and duty, to communicate their sentiments to his Catholic Majesty; and they cannot but hope that the communication will not be without effect. I have only to add, that the efficacy of the measure recommended, both in removing evil and in producing positive good, depends very much upon its being adopted immediately. Should the peace be delayed a single year, it will, in all probability, be too late to save the islands. Should the acknowledgment of the independence of the colonies be deferred until it becomes a mere matter of form, it can hardly be presumed that they will be willing to purchase it by any great sacrifices, and it will not, in that case, bring relief to the finances. Finally, if the trade of America is permitted to flow for too long a time in foreign channels, it is, at least, uncertain whether it will ever return to the mother country. What is to be done should, on every account, be done quickly. If it should be thought by his majesty's government that the good offices of that of the United States would be of use in bringing about an accommodation on the basis indicated in the present note, they will be employed with great readiness and pleasure; and I should be truly happy to con tribute, in any way, by my personal services, in effecting so great and benevolent an object. Of the glorious actions achieved under the patronage of the sove. reigns of Spain, predecessors of his majesty, the greatest, beyond a doubt, was the enterprise of Christopher Columbus. The discovery and settlement of an unknown world, the foundation of a brotherhood of new nations, the diffusion of the noble Castilian language and with it, of the lights of civiliza. tion and Christianity, over a whole quarter of the globe; these were the results of the enlightened policy of Ferdinand the Catholic, and his celebrated queen. It has been reserved for his present majesty to put the last finish to this great work, by a measure that shall at once confirm the prosperity of Spanish America, and restore the splendour and greatness of Spain. Seldom has it been in the power of any monarch or any government to effect, by a single act, so much good as would result from this. May God, in his providence, incline the king's heart to perform it. I pray your excellency to submit this communication to the consideration of his majesty, and avail myself of this occasion to offer your excellency the renewed assurance of my sincere respect and esteem, A. H. EVERETT. Madrid, January 20, 1826. ACTS PASSED AT THE FIRST SESSION OF THE TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. [N.B. The titles only of private acts and appropriation bills, are given; "and the dates of approval refer back to the last preceding dates.] John Quincy Adams, President; J. C. Calhoun, Vice President, and President of the Senate; Nathaniel Macon, President of the Senate pro tempore; Andrew Stevenson, Speaker of the House of Representatives. CHAP. 1. An Act making partial Appropriations for the support of Government during the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight. Approved 3d January, 1828. CHAP. 2. An Act to prevent defalcations on the part of disbursing Agents of the Government, and for other purposes. CHAP. 8. An Act for the relief of Humpton L, Approved 21st February, 1828. CHAP. 9. An Act authorizing a Register to be CHAP. 10. An Act for the relief of William Chase and others. CHAP. 12. An Act for the relief of Henry G. Rice. CHAP. 13. An Act for the relief of the legal representatives of the late General William Hull. CHAP. 14. An Act for the relief of William Cloyd. CHAP. 15. An Act to revive and continue in force "An Act declaring the assent of Congress to a certain Act of Maryland." Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of CHAP. 11. An Act for the relief of Joshua T. America, in Congress assembled, That no money hereafter appropriated shall be paid to any person for his compensation, who is in arrears to the United States, until such person shall have accounted for and paid into the treasury all sums for which he may be liable. Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to extend to balances arising solely from the depreciation of treasury notes, received by such person to be expended in the public service; but in all cases where the pay or salary of any person is withheld, in pursuance of this act, it shall be the duty of the accounting officers, if demanded by the party,his agent or attorney, to report forthwith to the agent of the treasury department the balance due; and it shall be the duty of the said agent, within sixty days thereafter, to order suit to be commenced against such delinquent and his sureties. CHAP. 3. An Act for the Relief of Simeon Broadmeadow. Approved 25th January, 1828. CHAP. 5. An Act for the relief of General Thomas CHAP. 6. An Act for making appropriations for the support of Government in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight. Approved 12th February, 1828. CHAP. 7. An Act authorizing the Secretary of State to issue a Patent to Elizabeth H.Bulkley, widow of Chauncey Bulkley, deceased. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the act passed the seventeenth day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred, entitled "An Act declaring the assent of Congress to certain acts of the states of Maryland and Georgia," and which, by subsequent acts, has been revived and continued in force until the the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, be, and the same, so far as relates to the act of Maryland, hereby is revived and continued in force until the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight. Provided, that nothing herein contained shall authorize the demand of a duty on tonnage of vessels propelled by steam, employed in the transportation of passengers. CHAP. 16. An Act to alter the time of holding the District Courts of the United States in the district of North Carolina. SECT. 1. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the district Courts of the United States for the district of North Carolina shall, after the passing of this act, commence and be holden on the following days: that is to say, at Edenton, in and for the district of Albemarle, on the third Monday of April and October; at Newbern, in and for the district of Pamlico,on the fourth Monday of April and October; and at Wilmington, in and for the district of Cape Fear, or Clarendon, on the first Monday after the fourth Monday of April and October, in each and every year. SECT. 2. And be it further enacted, That all suits, actions, writs, process, and other proceedings, commenced or to commence, or which shall now be pending, in any of the said district courts, shall be returnable to, heard, tried, and proceeded with, in the said district courts, in the same manner as if the time for the holding thereof had not been changed. Approved 10th March, 1828. CHAP. 17. An Act making appropriations for the support of the Navy of the United States, for the year eighteen hundred and twenty-eight. CHAP. 18. An Act making appropriations for cer tain Fortifications of the United States, for the year one thousand eight hundred and twentyeight. CHAP. 19. An Act granting the right of preference in the purchase of public Lands, to certain settlers in the St. Helena land district, in the state of Louisiana. CHAP. 20. An Act for the relief of the Columbian College, in the district of Columbia. Approved 19th March, 1828. CHAP. 21. An Act making appropriations for the Military Service of the United States, for the year one thousand eight hundred and twentyeight. CHAP. 22. An Act to revive and continue in force the several acts making provision for the extinguishment of the Debt due the United States, by the purchasers of the public lands. SECT. 1. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, The the act, entitled "An act to provide for the extinguishment of the debt due to the United States by the purchasers of public lands," approved May the eighteenth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, and the act entitled "An act explanatory of an act to provide for the extinguishment of the debt due the United States by the purchasers of public lands," approved May the twenty-sixth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four; and also the act, entitled "An act making further provision for the extinguishment of the debt due to the United States by the purchasers of public lands," approved May the fourth, one thousand eight hun dred and twenty-six; be, and the same are hereby, revived and continued in force until the fourth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine. SECT. 2. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of this act be, and the same are, hereby extended to all lands on which a further credit has not been taken, and which, having become forfeited to the United States since the first of July, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, remain unsold. Approved 21st March, 1828. CHAP. 23. An Act authorizing a subscription for the Statistical Tables prepared by George Watterston and Nicholas B. Van Zandt. CHAP. 24. An Act for the relief of William Augustus Archbald. CHAP. 25. An Act for the relief of George Johnston, Jonathan W. Ford, Josiah Mason, and John English. CHAP. 26. An Act for the relief of Catharine Stearns. CHAP 27. An Act for the relief of Mrs. Brown, widow of the late Major General Brown. Approved 3d April, 1828. CHAP. 28. An Act to confirm certain claims to Lands in the territory of Michigan. CHAP. 29. An Act providing for the appointment of an additional Judge of the Superior Court for the territory of Arkansas, and for other purposes. SECT. 1. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint and commission an additional Judge of the Superior Court for the territory of Arkansas, who shall reside in said territory, and hold his commission for the term of four years. SECT. 2. And be it further enacted, That when said judge shall have been commissioned, the legislature of the territory of Arkansas shall be authorized to organize the counties of said territory into four judicial districts, and to assign to each of the four judges of the superior court of the territory of Arkansas one of the said circuits or districts, and to require said judges to hold circuit or district courts in each county of their respective districts, at uch place and time as the legislature aforesaid may appoint and designate. SECT. 3. And be it further enacted, That in addition to holding district or circuit courts as aforesaid, the judges aforesaid shall hold two terms annually of the su perior court, at the seat of government in said territory; and the legislature aforesaid shall be authorized, in all cases except when, the United States is a party, to fix the respective jurisdictions of the district and superior court. The United States' cases shall be tried in the superior court, in the manner that said cases are now tried. SECT. 4. And be it further enacted, That the judges aforesaid shall be authorized to nominate and appoint, and the governor to commission, a clerk in each county of their respective districts, in such manner, with such powers, and for such term of time, as the legislature aforesaid may designate. But in no county shall the clerk of the superior court be appointed the clerk of the circuit court; and the compensation of said clerks, except in United States' cases, shall be fixed by the legislature aforesaid. SECT 5. And be it further enacted, That when any party to a suit is aggrieved by a decision of a judge holding a district court, except in criminal cases, the party aggrieved shall be at liberty, by appeal, writ of error, or certiorari, to remove said suit to the superior court of said territory, for further trial; and the case thus brought up shall be tried by the judges, or any two of them, other than the judge who made the decision in the district court. SECT. 6. And be it further enacted, That the additional judge hereby authorized to be appointed, shall receive the same salary now allowed by law to the judges of the superior court for the territory of Arkansas. SECT. 7. And be it further enacted, That writs of error and appeal from the final decision of the superior court for the territory of Arkansas, shall be made to the supreme court of the United States, in the manner, and under the same regula tions, as from the circuit courts of the United States, when the amount in controversy, to be ascertained by oath or affirmation of either party, shall exceed one thousand dollars. SECT. 9. And be it further enacted, That all acts coming within the purview of this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed. And that this act shall take effect, and be in force, from and after its passage. CHAP 30. An Act authorizing the President of the United States to appoint certain agents therein mentioned Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint such agent or agents as may be usefully employed in prosecuting the designation and settlement of the line forming the north eastern boundary of the United States, and bringing the existing controversy with Great Britain relating thereto, to a speedy termination. CHAP. 31. An Act explanatory of "An Act to Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled. That in lieu of the lands appropriated by the act approved on the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, there shall be granted to the state of Ohio, for the purposes designated in the said act, forty-nine sections of land, to be located in the Delaware land district, in the following manner, to wit: every alternate section through which the road may run, and the section next adjoining thereto on the west, so far as the said sections remain unsold; and if any part of the said sections shall have been dis posed of, then a quantity equal thereto shall be selected, under the direction of the commissioner of the general land office, from the vacant lands in the sections adjoining on the west of those appropriated. CHAP. 32. An Act for the relief of Thomas Flow- CHAP. 33 An Act for the benefit of Mary Ann Approved 17th April, 1828. SECT. 8. And be it further enacted. That the act of the legislature of the territory of Arkansas, passed at the last session of CHAP. 34. An Act for the relief of John Shirkey. the legislature of said territory, in relation to the courts of said territory, so far as the provisions of said act are not inconsistent with and repugnant to this act, be, and the same is hereby affirmed, until said legislature may alter or modify the CHAP. 35. An Act for the relief of Anthony Hermange. CHAP. 36. An Act for the relief of Wm. Benning. CHAP. 37. An Act for the relief of Richard Taylor. same. CHAP. 38. An Act for the relief of Asa Herring. CHAP. 39. An act to extend the time allowed for the redemption of land sold for direct taxes, in certain cases. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the time allowed for the redemption of lands which have been, or may be, sold for the non payment of taxes under the several acts passed on the second of August, one thousand eight hundred and thirteen; the ninth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen; and the fifth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, for laying and collecting a direct tax within the United States, so far as the same have been purchased for, or on behalf of, the United States, be revived, and be extended for the further term of three years, from and after the expiration of the present session of Congress. Provided, also, that on such redemption, interest shall be paid at the rate of twenty per centum on the taxes aforesaid, and on the additions of twenty per centum chargeable thereon; and the right of redemption shall enure, as well to the heirs and assignees of the land so purchased, on behalf of the United States, as to the originals thereof. CHAP. 40. An Act extending the limfts of certain Land Offices in Indiana, and for other purposes. SECT. 1. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That all the lands in the State of Indiana, to which the Indian title is extinguished, which lies east of the line dividing the first and second ranges east of the second principal meridian, and north of the southern boundary of the Fort Wayne District, shall be attached to the land district, the land office of which is established at Fort Wayne; and that all the lands to which the Indian title is extinguished in said state, and which may lie west of the line dividing the first and second ranges east of the second principal meridian, shall be attached to the land district, the land office of which is established at Crawfordsville. SECT. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Surveyor General shall cause the second principal meridian to be extended to the northern boundary of the state of Indiana. Provided, the assent of the In. dians be obtained to the running and marking that portion of the meridian line which may lie within the lands not ceded to the United States. CHAP. 41. An Act, in addition to the act, entitled "An act to provide for the sale of lands conveyed to the United States, in certain cases, and for other purposes," passed the twentysixth day of May, eighteen hundred and twentyfour. SECT. 1. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That in all cases where lands have been, or shall hereafter be, conveyed to, or for, the United States, for forts, arsenals, dock-yards, light-houses, or any like purpose, or in payment of debts due the United States, which shall not be used, they were purchased, or other authorized or necessary, for the purposes for which purpose, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to cause the same to be sold, for the best price to be obtained, and to convey the same to the purchaser, by grant or otherwise. SECT. 2. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be authorized to procure the assent of the legislature of any state, within which any purchase of land has been made, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings, without such consent having been obtained; and also to obtain exclusive legislation over any such tract, as is provided for in the sixteenth clause of the eighth section of the first article of the constitution; and that he be authorized to procure the like consent and exclusivc legislation, as to all future purchases of land for either of those purposes. SECT. 3. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States, in all cases where lands have been conveyed for the United States to individuals or officers, be authorized to obtain from the person or persons to whom the conveyance has been made, a release of their interest to the United States. CHAP. 42. An Act authorizing the Legislative Council of Florida to meet in October, instead of December; and repealing the proviso in the sixth section of the act, entitied "An act to amend an act, for the establishment of a Territorial Government in Florida, and for other purposes," approved March the third, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three. SECT. 1. Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the Legislative Council of the territory of Florida shall begin its next ses |