DECEMEBR, 1802.

Amendment to Rules.

H. OF R.

Mr. E said it appeared to him necessary that this evil should be remedied. But he should not think it necessary to confine the power of exclu. sion to matter derogatory to the dignity of the House. There were other good causes for exclusion; the length of a paper; the manner of it being offensive, or the matter. It appeared to him a first principle that every paper offered was in the possession of the House, and might be read, or not. He had, therefore, wished the resolution of the gentleman from Virginia had been predireading of any paper should be objected to, the sense of the House should be taken. Suppose, said Mr. E., I present a petition containing one hundred and fifty pages. According to the rule, the reading of it cannot be dispensed with but by general consent; not even for other business of the greatest importance. Mr. E. then moved the following amendment of Mr. RANDOLPH'S resolution:

wished to draw their attention. One in the fol- the House must be read. If that decision was lowing words: "When the reading of a paper is correct, the House had tied itself down by its own 'called for, and the same is objected to by any rules and subjected itself to the necessity of hearmember, it shall be determined by a vote of the ing every paper offered, however long, or however 'House." This rule had yesterday been decided improper. (and in his opinion correctly) to apply to papers already in the possession of the House, and not to those which had never before been heard. But, sir, said Mr. R., I find another rule directing that all petitions, memorials, and other papers addressed to the House, shall be presented by the Speaker, or by a member in his place, and a brief statement of the contents thereof shall be verbally made by the introducers, &c. And wherefore? That the House may not be betrayed into the reading of that which it might be indecorous in them to hear. Conceiving, then, that they should be guid-cated upon a broader principle, viz: that if the ed in the interpretation of their rules by the same principle which governed courts of justice in the construction of a law-" the adopting of such an interpretation as would give meaning and efficacy (if practicable) to every part of the instrument" he had yesterday been compelled, however reluctantly, to differ from an authority eminently entitled to his respect. Since, whilst he concurred in the construction given to the rule which he had first read, he could not perceive that the right of the House to be put into possession of improper matter, was, thereby, at all affected. Otherwise, the provision contained in the second rule was rendered altogether nugatory.

"But if any petition, memorial, or other paper so presented, shall, in the reading, be objected to by any member, the further reading of the same shall be determined by a vote of the House."

A member inquired, whether, as the resolution and amendment went to rescind a standing rule of the House, it was in order to decide upon them the day on which they were offered.

The SPEAKER declared it was in order, as they did not go to rescind, but only to amend the standing rules.

The resolution and amendment were then taken up for consideration, when, on motion of Mr. VARNUM, they were referred to a select committee, consisting of Messrs. RANDOLPH, EUSTIS, and L. R. MORRIS.

THURSDAY, December 30.

But since it had been adjudged that any communication, however voluminous; any petition, however frivolous; any memorial, however for eign to their jurisdiction; any paper, however it might insult the dignity, however it might derogate from the honor of the House, must, of necessity, be read; he conceived it his duty to endeavor to relieve the House from the embarrassment of being compelled to listen to a libel upon itself to refuse which was, as he conceived, a right inherent in every deliberative assembly. He had drawn his proposed amendment in such terms as to leave untouched the sacred right of petition. A right which no one prized more dearly, and no one was more dispossd to cherish and defend, than Mr. MITCHILL moved a resolution for the aphimself. This important privilege he believed pointment of a committee for inquiring into the would not be affected by the resolution which he expediency of amending and revising the several was about to offer. Since, where redress of griev-acts respecting patents and copyrights, to report ances was really sought, the petitioners had al- thereon by bill or otherwise. ways the choice of inoffensive terms in which to express themselves, and nothing was more easily discernable than a petition whose object was the benefit of those preferring it, aud one which was made a cover to insult those to whom it was preferred. He concluded with moving the following amendment to the rules of the House, to be inserted after that he had last read:

"That if any petition, memorial, or other paper, so presented, shall, in the opinion of any member, contain matter insulting to the dignity or derogatory from the honor of the House, the reading of such paper shall, if objected to, be determined by a vote of the House." Mr. EUSTIS observed that, by the decision yesterday, it appeared that every paper presented to

Before offering the resolution, Mr. MITCHILL observed that his object was to simplify the existing statutes respecting patents, by comprising them in one act.

Resolution agreed to without a division.

FRIDAY, December 31.

Mr. BACON, from the Committee of Elections, to whom were referred the certificates or other credentials of several new members, and of the delegate from the Mississippi Territory, returned to serve in this House, made a report, in part, thereupon, which was read, and ordered to lié on the table.

A petition of sundry inhabitants of the City of

Ordered, That the said petition be referred to Mr. DENNIS, Mr. VAN NESS, and Mr. TALIAFERRO, that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House.

Mr. GRAY called up his resolution, laid some time since on the table, as follows:

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to inquire into the expediency of passing a law rendering all persons forever incapable of holding any office under the Government of the United States, who shall, at any time hereafter, be concerned in any duel, either in sending, carrying, or accepting any written or verbal challenge; and that they report by bill or otherwise.

Mr. DAVIS opposed the resolution. He said if the House could be made sensible that the resolution embraced a subject on which it could not constitutionally act, they would reject it. To him it was plain that if the House pursued the object of the resolution it led them on forbidden ground. In the first place it took from the citizens a right which, by their Constitution, they had secured to themselves, to wit: the right of free elections. Do what the resolution contemplates, and no man can hold a seat here who ever fought a duel, or

WASHINGTON,

DECEMBER, 1802.

December 30, 1802.

SIR Although an informal communication to the public, of the substance of the enclosed letter, may be proper for quieting the public mind, yet I refer to the consideration of the House of Representatives, whether a publication of it, in form, might not give dissatisfaction to the writer, and tend to discourage the freedom and confidence of communications between the agents of the two Governments. Accept assurances of my high consideration and respect. TH. JEFFERSON.

The SPEAKER of the House of Reps.

The said Message and letter, and the papers transmitted therewith, were read: Whereupon, a motion was made and seconded that the same, together with the Message of the President of the United States, of the twenty-second instant, relative to "a violation on the part of Spain, of the twenty-second article of the Treaty of Friendship, Limits, and Navigation, between the United States and the King of Spain," and the accompanying documents, be referred to a select committee, to consider and report thereon to the House:

And the question being taken thereupon, it passed in the negative-yeas 40, nays 42, as follows:

YEAS-Thomas Boude, Manasseh Cutler, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, Thomas T. Davis, John Dennis, William Dickson, William Eustis, Abiel Foster, Calvin Goddard, Roger Griswold, William Barry Grove, John A. Hanna, Seth Hastings, Joseph Hemphill, Archibald Henderson, William Hoge, Samuel Hunt, George Jackson, Thomas Lowndes, Ebenezer Mattoon, Lewis R. Morris, Thomas Morris, Elias Perkins, Thomas Plater, Nathan Read, John Rutledge, Stratton, Benjamin Tallmadge, Samuel Tenney, SamJohn Cotton Smith, Josiah Smith, John Stanley, John uel Thatcher, Thomas Tillinghast, Abram Trigg, George B. Upham, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Lemuel Wilams, and Henry Woods.

gave or carried a challenge, although he may be the choice of the people. No such thing is said in the Constitution. The people in that instrument have already defined the disqualification to office that charter of their rights declares that no NAYS-Willis Alston, John Archer, John Bacon, person who has been impeached and found guilty Theodorus Bailey, Richard Brent, Robert Brown, shall hold an office;" and I contend that Con- William Butler, Thos. Claiborne, Matthew Clay, John gress cannot impeach a person for any offence Clopton, John Condit, Richard Cutts, Lucas Elmendorf, done by him as an individual; two things are re- Ebenezer Elmer, Edwin Gray, Joseph Heister, William quisite to ground an impeachment. First, the Helms, James Holland, David Holmes, Michael Leib, person must be an officer of the United States. David Meriwether, Samuel L. Mitchill, Thomas Moore, Secondly, he must have been guilty of some mal-James Mott, Anthony New, Thomas Newton, jr., John feasance in the discharge of the duties imposed on him by that office. If an individual who does not hold an office under the United States commits murder, I deny the right of Congress to impeach him-he is made amenable to the State laws; while we were busy in impeaching the laws of the States. Let it not be understood that I advocate

this practice. My observations disclaim the right

we have to act on it.

The resolution was negatived.

TREATY WITH SPAIN.

A confidential Message, as also a letter addressed to the SPEAKER, were received from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, as follows: Gentlemen of the House of Representatives:

In addition to the information accompanying my message of the twenty-second instant, I now transmit the copy of the letter on the same subject, recently received. DEC. 30, 1802. TH. JEFFERSON.

Randolph, jr., John Smilie, Israel Smith, John Smith,
of New York, John Smith of Virginia, Henry Southard,
Richard Stanford, Joseph Stanton, John Stewart, John
Taliaferro, jr., David Thomas, John Trigg, John P. Van
Ness, Joseph B. Varnum, Isaac Van Horne, and Thomas
Wynns.

Another motion was then made and seconded

that the Message and letter this day received from the President of the United States, with the papers accompanying the same, be printed for the use of the members. And on the question thereupon, it passed in the negative-yeas 33, nays 49, as follows:

YEAS-Thomas Boude, Manasseh Cutler, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, John Dennis, Abiel Foster, Calvin Goddard, Roger Griswold, William Barry Grove, Seth Hastings, Joseph Hemphill, Archibald Henderson, Samuel Hunt, Thomas Lowndes, Ebenezer Mattoon, Lewis R. Morris, Thomas Morris, Elias Perkins, Thomas Plater, Nathan Read, John Rutledge, John

.

Cotton Smith, John Stanley, John Stratton, Benjamin
Tallmadge, Samuel Tenney, Samuel Thatcher, Thomas
Tillinghast, George B. Upham, Killian K. Van Rens-
selaer, Peleg Wadsworth, Lemuel Williams, and
Henry Woods.

NAYS-Willis Alston, John Archer, John Bacon,
Theodorous Bailey, Richard Brent, Robert Brown,
William Butler, Thomas Claiborne, Matthew Clay,
John Clopton, John Condit, Richard Cutts, Thomas T.
Davis, William Dickson, Lucas Elmendorf, Ebenezer
Elmer, William Eustis, Edwin Gray, John A. Hanna,
Joseph Heister, William Helms, William Hoge, James
Holland, David Holmes, George Jackson, Michael Leib,

David Meriwether, Samuel L. Mitchill, Thomas Moore,

James Mott, Anthony New, Thomas Newton, jr., John
Randolph, jr., John Smilie, Israel Smith, John Smith,
of New York, John Smith, of Virginia, Josiah Smith,
Henry Southard, Richard Stanford, Joseph Stanton,
John Stewart, David Thomas, Abram Trigg, John
Trigg, John P. Van Ness, Joseph B. Varnum, Isaac
Van Horne, and Thomas Wynns.

H. OF R.

A petition of the Washington Building Company, signed by Daniel Brent, the chairman, was presented to the House and read, praying that Congress will pass a law to incorporate the said company under certain rules and regulations, intended by the petitioners for the improvement and ornament of the metropolis of the Union; and, also, that they may be enabled to extend the application of the funds of the said company to the insurance of buildings from fire.

Ordered, That the said petition be referred to Mr. VAN NESS, Mr. GROVE, and Mr. CLAIBORNE; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereon, to the

House.

Mr. RANDOLPH, from the Committee of Ways and Means, presented a bill making a partial appropriation for the naval service during the year one thousand eight hundred and three; which was read twice, and committed to a Committee of the whole House to-morrow.

The House resolved itself into a Committee of

Another motion was then made and seconded that the said Message and letter from the President of the United States, this day received, and the Whole on the report of the Committee of the papers referred to therein, together with the Claims of the twenty-ninth ultimo, on the petiPresident's Message of the twenty-second instant, tion of Charles Hyde, presented the second of Febrelative to a violation on the part of Spain, of the ruary, one thousand eight hundred and one; and, twenty-second article of the treaty of friendship, after some time spent therein, the Committee rose, limits, and navigation, between the United States and reported their agreement to the resolution conand the King of Spain," be committed to a Com-tained thererein with amendments; which were mittee of the whole House on the state of the severally read and agreed to. Union:

And the question being taken thereupon, it was resolved in the affirmative-yeas 65, nays 16, as follows:

YEAS-Willis Alston, John Archer, Theodorus Bailey, Thomas Boude, Robert Brown, William Butler, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, Manasseh Cutler, Richard Cutts, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, John Elmer, William Eustis, Abiel Foster, Calvin Goddard, Roger Griswold, William Barry Grove, John A. Hanna, Seth Hastings, Joseph Heister, Joseph Hemphill, Archibald Henderson, William Hoge, James Holland, David Holmes, Samuel Hunt, Michael Leib, Thomas Lowndes, Ebenezer Mattoon, David Meriwether, Samuel L. Mitchill, Thomas Moore, Lewis R. Morris, Thomas Newton, jr., Elias Perkins, Thomas Plater, John Randolph, jr., Nathan Read, John Rutledge, John Cotton Smith, Josiah Smith, Henry Southard, Richard Stan ford, John Stanley, John Stratton, John Taliaferro, jr., Benjamin Tallmadge, Samuel Tenney, Samuel Thatcher, David Thomas, Thomas Tillinghast, Abram Trigg, John Trigg, George B. Upham, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Peleg Wadsworth, Lemuel Williams, Henry Woods, and Thomas Wynns.

Dennis, William Dickson, Lucas Elmendorf, Ebenezer

The said resolution as amended, being then twice read, was, on the question put thereupon, agreed to by the House as follows:

Resolved, That the proper accounting officers for his services as judge advocate to the army, from liquidate and settle the account of Charles Hyde, the second day of December, Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two, to the fifteenth day of July, Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, both inclusive; and that he be allowed such pay and emoluments for said services, as were at that time allowed by law, to the officers acting in that capacity.

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. Mr. RANDOLPH, from the Committee of Ways and Means, presented a bill making appopriations for the Military Establishment of the United States, in the year one thousand eight hundred and three, which was read twice and committed to a Committee of the whole House to-morrow.

A petition of Samuel Blodget was presented to the House, and read, praying relief, in the case of a NAYS-John Bacon, Richard Brent, John Condit, Court of Pennsylvania, for property in the City judgment recovered against him in the Supreme Thomas T. Davis, Edwin Gray, William Helms, George Jackson, James Mott, Anthony New, John of Washington, at the suit of the possessors of a Smilie, John Smith, of New York, John Smith, of Vir-prize ticket in a lottery authorized to be drawn for ginia, Joseph Stanton, John Stewart, Joseph B. Var

num, and Isaac Van Horne.

MONDAY, January 3, 1803.
Another member, to wit; PHILIP VAN CORT-
LANDT, from New York, appeared, and took his
seat in the House.

the improvement of the said city, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, and of which the petitioner was appointed an acting manager and superintendent.

Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the committee appointed on the thirty-first ultimo, on the petition of sundry inhabitants of the City of Washington and of Georgetown, relative to

the incorporation of an insurance company in the said City of Washington; 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 Secretary of State, transmitting sundry documents respecting the claim of Peter Charles L'Enfant, for planning and laying out the City of Washington, in pursuance of a resolution of this House of the twenty fourth ultimo; which were read and ordered to be referred to the Committee of the whole House to whom is committed a report of the Committee of Claims on the petition of the said Peter Charles L'Enfant.

Mr. JOHN COTTON SMITH, from the Committee of Claims, presented a bill for the relief of Charles Hyde, which was read twice and committed to a Committee of the whole House immediately.

The House, accordingly, resolved itself into the said committee; and, after some time spent therein, the bill was reported without amendment, and ordered to be engrossed and read the third time to

morrow.

JANUARY, 1803.

VARNUM; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House.

Resolved, That the committee to whom was this day referred a petition of sundry inhabitants of the towns of Norfolk and Portsmouth, in the State of Virginia, be instructed to consider the expediency of repealing an act, entitled "An act to establish an uniform system of Bankruptcy throughout the United States," and report their opinion thereon to the House.

Mr. LEIB observed that, during the last session, a proposition had been made, and had passed this House, to amend the Constitution respecting the election of President and Vice President, but which had been rejected in the Senate. Mr. L. said that the citizens he represented were extremely anxious on this subject. He therefore considered it his duty to submit a similar proposition, in order to determine whether it would not share a better fate. He then proposed an amendment, substantially, that in all future elections of President and Vice President, the persons voted for shall be particularly designated by declaring which are voted for as President, and which as Vice President.

Referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union.

A memorial of Daniel Lewis, of the county of West Chester, in the State of New York, was presented to the House and read, stating that the memorialist is, and for a long time has been, possessed of a medicine, which, in no case in which it has been administered, has failed of curing the bite of a mad dog, and totally removing the melancholy effects thereof; and praying that Congress will, in their wisdom, direct such inquiry into the repeated and successful trials made of the said medicine, as may fully convince them of the efficacy thereof; and, also, that on a discovery of the same, for the benefit of the people of the Únited States, the memorialist may be allowed such pecuniary compensation therefor, as may be deem-act. ed equitable and proper.

Ordered, That the said memorial be referred to Mr. VAN CORTLANDT, Mr. ELMER, Mr. TENNEY, Mr. DICKSON, and Mr. ARCHER; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House.

On motion, it was

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy be directed to report to this House the situation of the timber deposited in the navy yards of the United States, for the purpose of building ships-ofwar; and whether, in order to preserve the same, it should be covered with sheds.

A petition of Josiah Fox, and others, inhabitants of the towns of Norfolk and Portsmouth, in the State of Virginia, was presented to the House and read, stating that the petitioners consider the act of Congress, (commonly called the Bankrupt law,) passed on the fourth day of April, one thousand eight hundred, as requiring Legislative correction; the same being, as they conceive, partial and injurious in its operation; and praying that Congress will take the premises into consideration, and provide such remedies for the evils complained of, as to their wisdom may seem most proper.

Ordered, That the said petition be referred to Mr. NEWTON, Mr. TALLMADGE, Mr. NICHOLSON, Mr. HUNT, Mr. MITCHILL, Mr. LOWNDES, and Mr.'

INSOLVENT DEBTORS.

On motion of Mr. NICHOLSON, the House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, on the bill "for the relief of insolvent debtors in the District of Columbia."

The blank in the fourth line of the first section fixes the period of residence in the District required to entitle a debtor to the benefit of the This, on motion of Mr. NICHOLSON, was filled with "one year."

Several other amendments were made in the

different sections, on the motion of Mr. NICHOLSON. The most material of which provided for the liberation of a confined debtor, during the vacation of the court, by two or more justices.

The Committee proceeded to the third section, which is as follows:

"SEC. 3. And be it enacted, That, upon the petitioning debtor's executing a deed to the said trustee, conveying all his property, real, personal, and mixed, and all his claims, rights, and credits, agreeably to the oath or affirmation of the said debtor, and on the delivery of all his said property which he shall have in his possession, and his books, papers, and evidence of debts of every kind to the said trustee; and, upon the said trustee's certifying the same to the court, in writing, it shall be lawful for the court to order that the said petitioning debtor shall be discharged from all debts, covenants, promises, and agreements, due from said deed, and by virtue of such order the said debtor or owing or contracted by him prior to the date of the shall be discharged as aforesaid: Provided, That no person who has been guilty of a breach of the laws, and who has been fined or imprisoned for such breach shall be discharged from the payment of such fine, or from his imprisonment: And provided, likewise, That any property which the debtor may afterwards acquire by gift, descent, or in his own right, by bequest, devise,