judge of East and West Tennessee to hold a court at Jackson, in said State," approved June 8, 1838. A mesage from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Burch: Mr. President: The Speaker of the House of Representatives having signed an enrolled resolution and an enrolled bill, I am directed to bring them to the Senate for the signature of their President. The Vice President signed the enrolled bill and the enrolled resolution last reported to have been examined, and they were delivered to the committee to be laid before the President of the United States. The bill (S. 1) providing for the reduction and graduation of the price of the public lands, having been reported by the committee correctly engrossed, was read a third time. On the question, "Shall this bill pass ?" Yeas It was determined in the affirmative, {Nays On motion by Mr. Clay, of Alabama, 27, 22. The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present, Those who voted in the affirmative are, Messrs. Allen, Benton, Buchanan, Clay, of Alabama, Cuthbert, Foster, Fulton, Hubbard, King, Linn, Lumpkin, Lyon, Mouton, Nicholas, Niles, Norvell, Pierce, Robinson, Sevier Smith, of Connecticut, Smith, of Indiana, Tipton, Walker, White, Williams, of Mississippi, Wright, Young. Those who voted in the negative are, Messrs. Bayard, Brown, Calhoun, Clay, of Kentucky, Crittenden, Davis, Knight, McKean, Merrick, Prentiss, Preston, Rives, Roane, Robbins, Ruggles, Southard, Spence, Strange, Swift, Tallmadge, Wall, Williams, of Maine. So it was Resolved, That this bill pass, and that the title thereof be as aforesaid. Ordered, That the Secretary request the concurrence of the House of Representatives therein. On motion, The Senate adjourned. FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 1839. Mr. Strange presented resolutions passed by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina, in relation to the right of the several States to a portion of the public domain, and requesting the Senators and Representatives of the said State in Congress, "to urge the claims of the State of North Carolina to her portion of the public land, and to vote against the bill to graduate the price of the same." The resolutions were read, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Strange presented resolutions passed by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina, requesting the Senators and Representatives of the said State in Congress to use their exertions in procuring from the General Government an appropriation for opening an inlet at or near Nag's head, on the coast of that State; which were read, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Prentiss presented the proceedings of a meeting of the citizens of Montpelier, in the State of Vermont, in relation to the disturbances in Canada, the burning of the steamboat Caroline, and in favor of a repeal of the neutrality law. Ordered, That they lie on the table. Mr. Wall presented the petition of Abigail Stafford, widow of James B. Stafford, deceased, an officer in the navy of the United States during the revolutionary war, praying to be allowed the pension to which her late husband was entitled at the time of his death; which was referred to the Committee on Pensions. Mr. Wall presented the petition of a number of citizens of the State of New Jersey, praying the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia. A motion being made that the petition be received, and the same being objected to, On motion by Mr. Clay, of Alabama, Ordered, That the motion to receive the petition lie on the table. Mr. Tipton presented the petition of Abner E. Van Ness, praying remu. neration for services and losses under a contract for surveying the public lands; which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands, and ordered to be printed. On motion by Mr. Sevier, Ordered, That the petition of Matthew Arbuckle, on the files of the last session, be referred to the Committee on Private Land Claims. Mr. Sevier presented the petition of a number of citizens of the State of Arkansas, praying an extension of the jurisdiction of the United States district court for the district of Arkansas; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Davis presented the petition of a number of the citizens of Leominster, Massachusetts, praying Congress to adopt the principle of arbitration in all cases of dispute with foreign powers; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. On motion by Mr. Mouton, Ordered, That the petition of the legal representatives of Santiago Gyon Duplessis; the petition of Marcelin Tassin; the petition of John J. Bowie ; the petition of Pierre Babin; and the petition of the heirs of William Conway, on the files of the last session, be severally referred to the Committee on Private Land Claims. Mr. Walker submitted the following motion; which was considered, by unanimous consent, and agreed to: Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency of requiring circuit judges of the United States to reside within their respective circuits. Mr. Clay, of Alabama, submitted the following motion; which was considered, by unanimous consent, and agreed to: Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency of changing the times of holding the circuit court of the United States in the southern district of Alabama. Mr. Lumpkin submitted the following motion; which was considered, by unanimous consent, and agreed to: Resolved, That the claim of Robert Kirkham against the United States, together with the vouchers in support of the same, being for indemnity for depredations committed on the property of said Kirkham, by the United States army, between the months of June, 1836, and September, 1838, be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. Mr. Lumpkin submitted documents in relation to the claim of Robert Kirkham; which were referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. Mr. Merrick presented the memorial of J. Carter and others, in behalf of the citizens of Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, praying a retrocession of said town, and that part of Washington county which lies west of Rock creek, to the State of Maryland. Ordered, That the said memorial, together with similar memorials on the files of the last session, be referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia. Mr. King presented the petition of the president and directors of the Selma and Tennessee Railroad Company, and others, of the State of Alabama, praying a grant of public land, on certain conditions, to aid in the construction of their railroad. Ordered, That it lie on the table, and be printed. Mr. King presented a memorial from a number of citizens of the State of Alabama, in favor of the passage of the bill "for the benefit of the Selma and Tennessee Railroad Company." Ordered, That it lie on the table. Mr. Preston presented a memorial of H. L. Thistle, in relation to the removal of the Indians from the Territory of Florida, and to certain communications on that subject made to the Secretary of War, and the chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs. Ordered, That it be printed. The following messages were received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Van Buren, his secretary: To the Senate of the United States: I transmit to the Senate a report of the Director of the Mint, exhibiting the operations of that institution during the year 1838. WASHINGTON, January 18, 1839. M. VAN BUREN. To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I herewith communicate to Congress a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, in respect to the Florida claims, under the treaty of 1819, and the subsequent acts of Congress to enforce it. The propriety of some additional legislation on this subject seems obvious. The period when the evidence on the claims shall be closed, ought, in my opinion, to be limited, as they are already of long standing, and, as a general consequence, the proof of their justice every day becoming more and more unsatisfactory. It seems, also, that the task of making the final examination into the justice of the awards might advantageously be devolved upon some other officer or tribunal than the Secretary of the Treasury, considering the other responsible, laborious, and numerous duties imposed on him at the present juncture, WASHINGTON, January 17, 1839. To the Senate of the United States: M. VAN BUREN. I transmit, herewith, a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, which presents, for the consideration of Congress, the propriety of so changing the second section of the act of March 2, 1837, as that the existing hu mane provisions of the laws for the relief of certain insolvent debtors of the United States may be extended to such cases of insolvency as shall have occurred on or before the first day of January, 1839. WASHINGTON, January 17, 1839. The messages were severally read. Ordered, That they be printed. M. VAN BUREN. Mr. Foster reported from the committee that they had examined and found duly enrolled the bill (H. R. 961) entitled "An act for the relief of Bradbury T. Jipson ;" and That the committee laid before the President of the United States the 17th instant, a "Resolution (H.R. 29) authorizing an examination and payment of the claims of the workmen upon the public buildings ;" and " An act (S. 26) to amend an act entitled 'An act to require the judge of East and West Tennessee to hold a court at Jackson, in said State,' approved June 18, A message from the President of the United States, by Mr. Van Buren, his secretary: Mr. President: The President of the United States approved, this day, "An act (S. 26) to amend an act entitled 'An act to require the judge of the district court of East and West Tennessee to hold a court at Jackson, in said State,' approved June 18th, 1838." Mr. Tipton, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom the subject was referred, reported a bill (S. 207) supplementary to the acts entitled "An act to provide for the organization of the Department of Indian Affairs;" and "An act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontier," approved June 30th, 1834; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Ordered, That the accompanying papers be printed. Mr. Tipton, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom the subject was referred, reported a bill (S. 208) to authorize the appointment of three additional clerks in the office of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Ordered, That the accompanying papers be printed. Mr. Tipton, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom the subject was referred, reported an amendment to the bill (S. 114) relinquishing the reversionary interest of the United States to certain Indian reservations; which was read. Mr. Brown, from the Committee on Revolutionary Claims, to whom was referred a memorial of the administrator of William Sanford, reported a bill (S. 209) for the relief of the legal representatives of William Sanford, deceased; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Mr. Brown, from the Committee on Revolutionary Claims to whom was referred the petition of the heir of William Williams, reported a bill (S. 210) for the relief of the representatives of Captain William Williams, late of the State of North Carolina, deceased; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Ordered, That the report made the 6th of March, 1838, on the subject, be printed. Mr. Brown, from the Committee on Revolutionary Claims, to whom was referred the petition of the representatives of Joseph Morris, reported a bill (S. 211) for the relief of the heirs or legal representatives of Joseph Morris, deceased; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Ordered, That the report on the subject, made the 22d March, 1838, be printed. Mr. Brown, from the Committee on Revolutionary Claims, to whom was referred the petition of the heirs of Dr. William Ramsay, deceased, reported a bill (S. 212) for their relief; which was read, and passed to the second reading. On motion by Mr. Brown, Ordered, That the Committee on Revolutionary Claims be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of the heirs of William Bayly. Mr. Clay, of Alabama, from the Committee on the Militia, reported a bill (S. 213) to provide for the organization of a volunteer militia force for the defence of the maritime and inland frontier; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Ordered, That the accompanying document be printed. Mr. Sevier, from the Committee on Private Land Claims, to whom was referred the petition of Matthew Arbuckle, reported a bill (S. 214) for his relief; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Ordered, That the report made on the subject, the 30th January, 1838, be printed. Mr. Williams, of Mississippi, from the Committee on Revolutionary Claims, to whom was referred the petition of the heirs of Doctor Corbin Griffin, deceased, reported a bill (S. 215) for their relief; which was read, and passed to the second reading. On motion by Mr. Norvell, Ordered, That the Committee on Revolutionary Claims be discharged from the further consideration of the memorial of Enoch R. Withers; from the further consideration of the petition of Hance Hamilton; and from the further consideration of the petition of the heirs and legal representatives of Captain John Hawkins. Mr. Knight, from the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, to whom was referred a petition of John P. Converse and Henry S. Rees, submitted a report, accompanied by a bill (S. 216) for their relief. The bill was read, and passed to the second reading. Agreeably to notice, Mr. Norvell asked and obtained leave to bring in a resolution (S. 9) for the purchase of the island at the confluence of the St. Peters and Mississippi rivers; which was read, and passed to the second reading. The bill (S. 78) to amend an act entitled "An act to establish a criminal court in the District of Columbia," approved July 7, 1838, having been reported by the committee correctly engrossed, was read a third time. Resolved, That this bill pass. Ordered, That the Secretary request the concurrence of the House of Representatives therein. The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the bill (S. 53) for the continuation of the Cumberland.road in the States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. On motion by Mr. Hubbard, To amend the bill, by striking out the words "and fifty," where they occur in the 7th, 9th, and 11th lines: |