in the same State, were presented to the House and read, stating the insufficiency of the provision for the public creditors made by an act of the last session, entitled "An act making provision for the debt of the United States," and praying that a more adequate provision may now be made. Ordered, That the said memorial and remonstrance do lie on the table. Mr. Lee, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, a bill directing the mode in which the evidences of the debt of the United States which have been, or may be, lost or destroyed, shall be renewed; which was received, and read the first time. Ordered, That the committee to whom was referred the petition of William Robinson, be discharged therefrom; and that the petitioner have leave to withdraw his said petition. A petition of John Philip De Haas was presented to the House and read, praying the settlement of a claim against the United States. 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. Mr. Fitzsinons, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, a bill to provide for the delivery of goods, wares, and merchandise, in the State of Pennsylva nia, in cases of obstruction of the river Delaware by ice; which was received, and read the first time. On motion, The said bill was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House to-morrow. The House then, according to the standing order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Boudinot reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the state of the Union under consideration. and made a farther progress therein. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29. Another member, to wit : Daniel Carroll, from Maryland, appeared, and took his scat. A bill directing the mode in which the evidences of the debt of the United States which have been, or may be, lost or destroyed, shall be renewed, was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday next. A petition of Shubael Swain was presented to the House and read, praying the remission of a penalty which he has incurred for a breach of the revenue laws of the United States. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to Mr. Goodhue, Mr. Livermore, and Mr. Sinnickson, with instruction to prepare and bring in a bill or bills pursuant to the prayer thereof. A petition of Philip Buck was presented to the House and read, praying relief for an injury sustained in the service of the United States, during the late war; and, also, that compensation may be made him for a schooner impressed into the transport service and lost, during the same period. Also, A petition of Anna Wilhelmina Longcammer, praying relief as the widow of a soldier who was slain in the service 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 Winthrop Sargent, Secretary of the Western Territory, was presented to the House and read, stating the insufficiency of the provision made by law for the support of his office; and praying that the same may be made adequate to his services and expenses. 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. The House, according to the order of the day, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill to provide for the delivery of goods, wares, and merchan dise, in the State of Pennsylvania, in cases of obstruction of the river Delaware by ice: and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Boudinot reported that the committee had, according to order, had the said bill under considera tion, and made several amendments thereto; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same were severally twice read, and agreed to by the House. Ordered, That the said bill, with the amendments, be engrossed, and read the third time to-morrow. On a motion made and seconded, that it be an instruction to the committee to whom was re-committed the bill "more effectually to provide for the national defence, by establishing a uniform Militia throughout the United States," that they do insert the following clause, to wit: "Be it enacted, That the Militia of the several States of the Union, consisting of such persons as are or may be enrolled by them, respectively, shall be organized, armed, and disciplined, in manner following " The ayes and noes being demanded by one fifth of the members present: Those who voted in the affirmative, are, The House, according to the standing order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union; and after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Boudinot reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the state of the Union under consideration, and made a farther progress therein. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30. An engrossed bill to provide for the delivery of goods, wares, and merchandise, in the State of Pennsylvania, in cases of obstruction of the river Delaware by ice, was read the third time. . Resolved, That the said bill do pass, and that the title be, "An act to provide for the unlading of ships or vessels, in cases of obstruction by ice." Ordered, That the Clerk of this House do carry the said bill to the Senate, and desire their concurrence. A message in writing, was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Lear, his Secretary, as followeth: UNITED STATES, December 30th, 1790. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I lay before you a report of the Secretary of State on the subject of the citizens of the United States in captivity at Algiers, that you may provide, on their behalf, what to you shall seem most expedient. VOL. I.-44 G. WASHINGTON. The report referred to in the said message was read, and ordered to lie on the table. Mr. Sedgwick, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, a bill repealing, after the last day of next, the duties heretofore laid upon distilled spirits imported from abroad, and laying others in their stead; and also upon spirits distilled within the United States, as well to discourage the excessive use of those spirits, and promote agriculture, as to provide for the support of the public credit, and for the common defence and general welfare; which was received and read the first time. On motion, The said bill was read the second time, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Tuesday next. Ordered, That the Secretary of the Treasury do report to this House the amount of the exports from the several Districts within the United States, respectively; also of duties arising on imports and tonnage from the first of August, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, to the thirtieth of September, one thousand seven hundred and ninety; and, as soon as may be, from thence to the end of the present year. A memorial of the College of Physicians of the city of Philadelphia was presented to the House and read, praying that Congress will impose such heavy duties upon all distilled spirits imported into the United States, as will effectually prevent the intemperate use thereof. Ordered, That the said memorial do lie on the table. A petition of Simeon Thayre was presented to the House and read, praying to be placed on the list of pensioners in consideration of a wound received 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. The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Secretary of State, accompanying his report upon so much of the speech of the President of the United States as relates to the trade of the United States in the Mediterranean, which were read, and ordered to lie on the table. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31. Another member, to wit, John Steele, from North Carolina, appeared, and took his seat in the House. The several petitions of Nathaniel Porter, Lewis Prahl, John Hodge, William Paine, and Henry Laurens, of South Carolina, were presented to the House and read, respectively praying compensation for services rendered, supplies furnished, or injuries sustained in the service 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 John S. Hunn, attorney to the executrix of John H. W. D. Smith, late of Charleston, South Carolina, deceased, was presented to the House and read, praying the settlement of a claim against the United States. Also, a petition of William Paine, praying the renewal of a certificate heretofore granted him for sundry articles furnished a Deputy Quartermaster, for the use of the United States, during the late war, which certificate has been defaced and destroyed. 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 Seth Harding was presented to the House and read, praying compensation for services rendered in the Navy of the United States, during the late war. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to Mr. Lawrance, Mr. Huntington, and Mr. Schureman; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. A petition of Henry Laurens of the State of South Carolina, as guardian to, and in hehalf of, his grand-daughter Frances Eleanor Laurens, the orphan daughter of the late Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens, was presented to the House and read, praying that interest may be granted on an allowance made by a resolution of the late Congress, for the services and expenses of the said John Laurens, on an embassy to France. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to Mr. Smith, of South Carolina, Mr. Gerry, and Mr. Carroll; 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 Attorney General, accompany. his report on such matters relative to the administration of justice under the au thority of the United States, as may require to be remedied; and also such provisions in the respective cases as he deems advisable, made pursuant to an order of this House of the fifth of August last; which were read, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Wednesday se'nnight. Mr. Goodhue, from the committee appointed, presented, according to order, a bill for the relief of Shubael Swain; which was received, and read the first time. The House, according to the standing order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union; and after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Boudinot reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the state of the Union under consideration, and agreed to several resolutions thereupon; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same were severally read, and ordered to lie on the table. The several orders of the day were further postponed until Monday next. MONDAY, JANUARY 3, 1791. A bill for the relief of Shubael Swain was read the second time, and ordered to be engrossed, and read the third time to-morrow. The petitions of Joseph Hugg and William Reynolds were presented to the House and read, respectively praying relief in consideration of wounds and injuries received in the service 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 message, in writing, was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Lear, his Secretary, as follows: UNITED STATES, January 3d, 1791. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I lay before you a copy of an exemplified copy of an act passed by the Legislature of the State of New Jersey, for vesting in the United States of America the jurisdiction of a lot of land at Sandy Hook, in the county of Monmouth; and a copy of the letter which accompanied said act, from the Governor of the State of New Jersey, to the President of the United States. G. WASHINGTON. The papers referred to in the said message were read, and ordered to lie on the table. The House proceeded to consider the resolutions agreed to on Friday last, by the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and made some progress therein. The several orders of the day were further postponed until to-morrow. TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, An engrossed bill for the relief of Shubael Swain was read the third time. Resolved, That the said bill do pass, and that the title be, "An act for the relief of Shubael Swain." Ordered, That the Clerk of this House do carry the said bill to the Senate, and desire their concurrence. A petition of sundry freeholders of the counties of Albany and Washington, in the State of New York, was presented to the House and read, representing that the pension granted by an act of the last session to John Younglove, as a disabled major in Colonel Van Voert's regiment of New York Militia, during the late war, was obtained by misrepresentation, and praying that the said act, so far as respects the said John Younglove, may be repealed. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to Mr. Sturges, Mr. Van Rensselaer, and Mr. Thatcher; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. The House then, according to the order of the day, resumed the consideration of the resolutions agreed to on Friday last by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union; and the said resolutions, being severally read at the Clerk's table, were amended and agreed to by the House, as followeth: "Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee that it is expedient that a General Land Office be established and opened at the seat of the Government of the United States. That two subordinate Land offices be established and opened; one in the Government Northwest of the Ohio, and the other in the Government South of the Ohio. That all contracts for the sale of land above the quantity of clusively made at the General Land Office. acres, shall be ex That no land shall be sold, except such in respect to which the titles of the Indian tribes shall have been previously extinguished. That the seven ranges already surveyed, be sold in lots as laid out. That any quantities may be sold by special contract comprehended either within natural boundaries or lines, or both; but no survey shall in any case be made on a river, but in the proportion of chains back from such river for every chain along the bank thereof. That the price shall be thirty cents per acre. That warrants for military services be put on the same footing with warrants issuing from the Land Office; and that the exclusive right of locating the same in Districts set apart for the army, cease after the day of That no credit shall be given for any quantity less than a township of six miles square, nor more than two years credit for any quantity. That in every instance of credit, at least one quarter part of the consideration shall be paid down, and security, other than the land itself, shall be required for the residue. And that no title shall be given for any tract or part of a purchase, beyond the quantity for which the consideration shall be actually paid. That the of each subordinate office shall have the management of all sales, and the issuing of warrants for all locations in the tracts to be set apart for the accommodation of individual settlers, subject to the superintendency of the of the General Land Office, who may also commit to them the management of any other sales or locations, which it may be found expedient to place under their direction. That preference be given, for a limited time, to those actual settlers, whose titles are not secured by the former Governments of that country, and the existing ordinances and acts of Congress. That there shall be a Surveyor General, who shall have power to appoint a Deputy Surveyor General in each of the Western Governments, and a competent number of Deputy Surveyors, to execute in person all warrants to them directed by the Surveyor General, or the Deputy Surveyor Generals, within certain Districts to be assigned to them respectively. That the Surveyor General shall also have in charge all the duties committed to the Geographer General by the several resolutions of Congress. That all warrants issued at the General Land Office shall be signed by shall be directed to the Surveyor General. That all warrants issued at a subordinate office, shall be signed by and shall be directed to the Deputy Surveyor General within the Government. That the priority of locations upon warrants shall be determined by the times of the applications to the Deputy Surveyors: and in case of two applications for the same land at one time, the priority may be determined by lot. and. That the Treasurer of the United States shall be the Receiver of all payments for sales made at the General Land Office, and may also receive deposites of money for purchases intended to be made at the subordinate offices; his receipt or certificate for which shall be received in payments at those offices. That the Secretary of each of the Western Governments shall be the Receiver of all payments arising from sales at the office of such Government. That controversies concerning rights to patents or grants of land, shall be determined by the of that office under whose immediate direction or jurisdiction the locations, in respect to which they may arise, shall have been made. That the of the General Land Office, Surveyor General, Deputy Surveyor General, and the of the Land Office in each of the Western Governments, shall not purchase, nor shall others purchase for them in trust, any public lands. That the Secretaries of the Western Governments shall give security for the faithful execution of their duty as Receivers of the Land Office. That all patents shall be signed by the President of the United States, and shall be recorded in the office of the Secretary of State. That all officers, acting under the laws establishing the Land Office, shall make oath or affirmation faithfully to discharge their respective duties, previously to their entering upon the execution thereof. That all surveys of land shall be at the expense of the purchasers or grantees. That the fees shall not exceed certain rates, to be specified in the law, affording equitable compensations for the services of Surveyors, and establishing reasonable and customary charges for patents and other office papers, for the benefit o the United States. |
