Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Muhlenberg reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the said bill under consideration, and made a farther progress therein. Resolved, That this House will, on Monday next, again resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the said bill. The several orders of the day were further postponed until Monday next. MONDAY, JANUARY 30. The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Secretary of War, transmitting, pursuant to the directions of the President of the United States, copies of the official communications which have passed between the Executive of the United States and the Governor of Pennsylvania, upon the subject of the temporary defensive protection of the frontiers of the said State; which were read, and ordered to lie on the table. A message from the Senate, by Mr. Otis, their Secretary: Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed the bill, entitled "An act to establish the Post Office and Post Roads within the United States," with several amendments; to which they desire the concurrence of this House. And then he withdrew. The House, according to the order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill for making farther and more effectual provision for the protection of the frontiers 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 bill under consideration, and made several amendments thereto; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same being read, some were agreed to, and others disagreed to. And then the said bill being under consideration at the Clerk's table, a motion was made, and the question being put to amend the same, by striking out the second sec tion thereof, in the words following: "And be it further enacted, That there shall be raised three additional Regiments of Infantry, each of which, exclusively of the commissioned officers, shall consist of nine hun. dred and twelve non-commissioned officers, privates, and musicians:" The yeas and nays being demanded by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative, are, Ordered, That the farther consideration of the said bill be postponed until to morrow. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. TUESDAY, JANUARY 31. The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Secretary of War, covering his report on the petitions of James Swaine, Abraham Springer, Timothy Mountford, sundry seamen, Samuel Wail, for himself and servant, John Carnaghan, James Shields, Henry Skinner, and William Loring; which were read, and ordered to lie on the table. The several petitions of James Carson, Noah Cooke, Thomas Dupee, Moses Fitch, Job Lane, Alexander Stewart, and John Stoner, by Gideon Merkel, his attorney, in fact, were presented to the House and read, respectively praying compensation or relief for services rendered, wounds received, or injuries sustained, in the Army or Navy of the United States, during the late war.. Also, A petition of Temperance Holmes, relict of David Holmes, late a Physician and Surgeon in the Connecticut line, praying that the allowance granted to the widows of those who died in the service, may be extended to her. Also, A petition of Margaret Ricker, widow of the late Captain Abraham Ricker, to the same effect. Also, A petition of Zebulon Jones, agent for Bennet Garrison and Elizabeth, his wife, late the widow of Daniel Miller, a soldier who died in the service of the United States, to the same effect. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Secretary of War, with instruc tion to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. The petitions of William Graham, Junior, and John Polhemis were presented to the House and read, respectively praying the renewal of certain Continental Loan-Office or final settlement certificates, the property of the petitioners, which have been destroyed by accident. Also, A petition of William Gardner, praying to be allowed a farther compensation for his services as Commissioner of Loans in the State of New Hampshire. 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. The House resumed the consideration of the bill for making farther and more effec tual provision for the protection of the frontiers of the United States; and the same being further amended at the Clerk's table, was, together with the amendments, ordered to be engrossed, and read the third time to-morrow. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1. Mr. Page, from the committee to whom was referred the petition of John Churchman, made a report; which was read, and ordered to lie on the table. An engrossed bill for making farther and more effectual provision for the protection of the frontiers of the United States, was read the third time, and the blanks there's filled up; and, on the question that the said bill do pass, It was resolved in the affirmative, S Yeas . 29, 19. The yeas and nays being demanded by one-fifth of the members presen', Those who voted in the affirmative, are, Resolved, That the title of the said bill be, "An act for making farther and more effectual provision for the protection of the frontiers of the United States." Ordered, That the Clerk of this House do carry the said bill to the Senate, and desire their concurrence. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2. A petition of Udney Hay was presented to the House and read, praying to receive payment of a claim against the United States, for an advance of money to two American officers, prisoners in Canada, 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. The House proceeded to consider the amendments proposed by the Senate to the bill, entitled "An act to establish the Post Office and Post Roads within the United States;" and the same being read, some were agreed to, one amended and agreed to, and others disagreed to. Ordered, That the Clerk of this House do acquaint the Senate therewith. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3. Mr. Muhlenberg, from the committee to whom was referred the petition of Ebenezer Cowell, made a report; which was read, and ordered to lie on the table. A petition of Joseph Bruton was presented to the House and read, praying to receive certain arrears of pay due him for his services as a Captain in the late Pennsylvania line; and, also, that he may be placed on the pension list, in consideration of three wounds received at Fort Washington, which have rendered him unable to obtain a livelihood by labor. Also, A petition of Thomas M‘Ham and Ester his wife, representatives of Philip Treglohan, deceased, praying compensation for the services of the said Philip, as a pilot in the Navy 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 Thomas Donnellan, of the town of Baltimore, was presented to the House and read, praying the renewal of a certificate, issued in his favor by the late Quartermaster General, and which has been since destroyed by fire. Also, A petition of William Delany, of the City of Philadelphia, praying to be allowed certain arrears of pay and depreciation thereon for his services as an assistant apothecary in the Military Hospital, during the late war. Also, A petition of Hugh Ferguson, praying that certain sums of money, which he advanced for the purchase of provisions for the Army, during the late war, may be liquidated, and certificates granted for the amount thereof, in like manner as for money loaned. 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 Andrew Graydon, Chief Clerk in the Office of the Treasury of the United States, was presented to the House and read, praying an augmentation of the salary allowed him by law. Ordered, That the said petition do lie on the table. A message from the Senate, by Mr. Otis, their Secretary: Mr. Speaker: The Senate recede from their amendments, disagreed to by this House, to the bill to establish the post office and post roads within the United States, and do agree to the amendments proposed by this House to their amendment to the said bill. And then he withdrew. The House, according to the order of the day, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act for the encouragement of the Bank and other cod-fisheries, and for the regulation and government of the fishermen employed therein;" and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Smith, of South Carolina, reported that the committee had, according to order, had the said bill under consideration, and made some progress therein. Resolved, That this House will, on Monday next, again resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the said bill. The several orders of the day were further postponed until Monday next. MONDAY, FERBUARY 6. A member from Maryland, to wit: John Francis Mercer, returned to serve in the room of William Pinckney, resigned, appeared, and took his seat in the House; the oath to support the Constitution of the United States being administered to him by Mr. Speaker, according to law. A petition of James Jackson was presented to the House and read, praying that the trial of the contested election of Anthony Wayne, one of the members returned to serve in this House for the State of Georgia, which was assigned for this day, may be postponed for twenty days, in conformity to the tenor of an agreement entered into between the attorneys of the said Anthony Wayne and the petitioner: Whereupon, On motion, Resolved, That the prayer of the said petition be granted, and that Monday, the twenty-seventh instant, be assigned for the trial of the said contested election, in the manner prescribed by the resolutions of this House of the twenty-fifth of November last. The House proceeded to consider the report of the committee to whom was referred the petition of Gifford Dalley: Whereupon, Resolved, That the said Gifford Dalley be allowed one dollar and a half per day, for his services as Doorkeeper during the recess of Congress, from the fourth of March to the twenty-fourth of October last, to be paid by the Clerk out of the money appropriated for the contingent expenses of this House. A petition of John Loehman was presented to the House and read, praying relief in consideration of injuries sustained in his health while a surgeon in the general hospital 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. A petition of the tanners of the town of Newark, in the State of New Jersey, was presented to the House and read, stating the inconveniences they suffer from the erection of mills for the purpose of grinding tanners' bark for exportation, and praying that Congress will adopt such measures for their relief as may appear just and right, Ordered, That the said petition do 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 bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act for the encouragement of the Bank and other cod-fisheries, and for the regulation and government of the fishermen employed therein;" and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Smith, of South Carolina, reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the said bill 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 on the said bill. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7. A petition of John Sincler was presented to the House and read, praying compensation for his services as a wagoner in the service 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. A petition of Roger M'Lean was presented to the House and read, praying compensation for his services and expenses in removing artillery, during the late war. Also, A petition of Jonathan Sturgis, John Sturgis, Joseph Sturgis, and Elizabeth Sturgis, children of Jonathan Sturgis, late of the county of Montgomery, and State of Pennsylvania, deceased, praying compensation for sundry supplies furnished by their deceased father to the American Army during the late war. Ordered, That the said petition 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 petitions of the tanners of the town of Newark, in the State of New Jersey, which was presented yesterday, be referred to Mr. Boudinot, Mr. White, Mr. Thatcher, Mr. Bourne, of Rhode Island, and Mr. Niles; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. Mr. Benson, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, a bill for an apportionment of Representatives among the several States, according to the first enumeration, and making provision for another enumeration, and apportionment of Representatives thereon, to compose the House of Representatives after the third day of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven; which was received, and read the first time. The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanying his report stating the amount of the subscriptions to the loans proposed by the act making provision for the public debt, as well in the debts of the respective States, as in the domestic debt of the United States, and of the parts which remain unsubscribed, together with such measures as are, in his opinion, expedient to be taken on the subject, pursuant to an order of this House of the first of November last; which were read, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next. The House, according to the order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act for the encouragement of the Bank and other cod-fisheries, and for the regulation and government of the fishermen employed therein;" and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Smith, of South Carolina, reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the said bill 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 on the said bill. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8. The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Secretary of War, accompanying certain communications with the Executive of Virginia relative to the existing temporary defensive protection of the exposed frontiers of that State, pursuant to the orders of the President of the United States; which were read, and ordered to lie on the table. A message, in writing, was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Lear, his Secretary, as followeth: UNITED STATES, February the 8th, 1792. Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: An article of expense having occurred in the Department of Foreign Affairs, for which no provision has been made by law, I lay before you a letter from the Secretary of State explaining the same, in order that you may do thereon what you shall find to be right. G. WASHINGTON. The said message and letter were read, and ordered to be referred to Mr. Fitzsimons, Mr. Laurance, and Mr. Goodhue. A bill for an apportionment of Representatives among the several States, according to the first enumeration, and making provision for another enumeration, and apportionment of Representatives thereon, to compose the House of Representatives after the third day of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next. Mr. White, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, a bill, providing for the settlement of the claims of persons under particular circumstances |