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nue laws of the United States within his district, which he states to be much exposed to the inroads of pirates and smugglers, and praying that the proper relief may be extended.

Mr. Owen presented a petition of Neal Munn and John McKellar, of the state of Alabama, praying to be permitted to apply a balance of money, which they state to be due them from the United States, in the settlement of their accounts as purchasers of public lands, under the acts for the relief of purchasers of public lands, in the payment for a tract of public land described in their petition.

Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee of Ways and Means.

Mr. Wright presented a petition of Ephraim Cellars, of the state of Ohio, praying for the passage of a law to grant him a lease of a section of land therein described, upon which there is a salt spring; which petition was referred to the Committee on the Public Lands.

Ordered, That the letter from Samuel R. Overton and Joseph M. White, Commissioners for ascertaining land titles in Florida, laid before the House on the 3d instant, be referred to the Committee on the Public Lands.

On motion of Mr. Cook,

Resolved, That the petition of James Mitchell to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and the accompanying documents, be referred to the Committee on the Public Lands.

On motion of Mr. Cambreleng,

Resolved, That the Committee on Naval Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of continuing pensions to the widows, or to the orphans of all officers, seamen, and marines, who may have been slain in the public or private armed vessels of the United States, or who may have died of wounds received while in the service of their country; and to all other widows or orphans, who have been placed upon the navy pension roll by special acts of Congress, and of authorizing the payment of such sums as may be due those widows and orphans whose pensions may have been suspended.

Resolved, That the said Committee be further instructed to inquire into the expediency of granting pensions to Lydia Allen and Penelope Denny.

On motion of Mr. Strong,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the propriety of giving concurrent jurisdiction to the supreme or superior court of law of the respective states, in cases arising under the act, entitled "An act to extend the privilege of obtaining patents for useful inventions and discoveries, and to enlarge and define the penalties for violating the rights of patentees.”

On motion of Mr. Hemphill,

Resolved, That the subject of Roads and Canals be referred to a select committee.

Mr. Hemphill, Mr. Cuthbert, Mr. Sharpe, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Henry, Mr. Herkimer, and Mr. Rives, were appointed the said committee.

On motion of Mr. Cook,

Resolved, That so much of the several acts of Congress passed for

the admission of Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, into the Union, as sets apart a portion of the money arising from the sale of public lands in those states, for the purpose of constructing roads and canals leading to those states, respectively, be referred to a select committee.

Mr. Cook, Mr. Scott, Mr. Jennings, Mr. Martindale, Mr. Brent, Mr. Cushman, and Mr. Collins, were appointed the said committee. On motion of Mr. Call,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Public Lands be instructed to inquire into the expediency of granting to the territory of Florida, a tract of twelve hundred and eighty acres of land, at the point designated for the permanent seat of government in said territory: And further, to inquire into the expediency of granting to the cities of Pensacola and St. Augustine, certain public lots within the limits of said cities, respectively.

On motion of Mr. Fuller,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency of repealing or modifying an act, entitled "An act to lessen the compensatiou of Marshals, Clerks, and Attorneys, in the cases therein mentioned."

On motion of Mr. Brent,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Public Lands be instructed to inquire into the expediency of reviving the seventh section of an act, entitled "An act supplementary to the several acts for the adjustment of land claims in the state of Louisiana," approved 11th May, 1820, in relation to back concessions, and to extend its provisions so as to embrace every claim confirmed by the United States, whether it be situated upon a water course or not.

Resolved, That the Committee on the Public Lands be directed to inquire into the expediency of causing patents to issue, in the mode pointed out by law, to persons whose claims to lands, town, or village lots, in the state of Louisiana, have been confirmed by the several Boards of Commissioners, or by acts of Congress, agreeably to the surveys already made, in all cases where said surveys have been made; and in all cases where said surveys have not been made, as soon thereafter as the same shall be surveyed and returned to the proper authorities.

Resolved, That the Committee on the Public Lands be directed to inquire into the expediency of offering the public lands for sale, as speedily as possible, in the district south and north of Red river, in Louisiana.

Resolved, That the Committee on the Public Lands be directed to inquire into the expediency of establishing a separate Surveyor General's district in the state of Louisiana.

Resolved, That the Committee on the Public Lands be directed to inquire into the expediency of reducing the price of all public lands, situated in the prairies of Louisiana, at a certain distance, to be fixed, from wood and timber, so as to enable the United States to dispose of the same.

On motion of Mr. Jennings,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Public Lands be instructed

to inquire into the expediency of reserving from sale a portion of the public lands, through which a canal may be constructed to unite the navigable waters of the rivers Wabash and the Miami of Lake Erie, and to grant a portion of such lands for the purpose of constructing such canal.

Mr. Brent submitted the following resolutions:

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to transmit to this House, all the papers, books, and reports which have been forwarded by the several Boards of Commissioners and Registers of land titles in relation to the adjustment of land claims derived from the French and Spanish authorities, situated in that part of the state of Louisiana which constituted the late territory of Orleans.

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to inform this House, whether the report of the late Register of the Land Office at Opelousas, in Louisiana, upon the land claims submitted to his consideration by the act of Congress, approved 11th May, 1820, has been received, and, if not, of the cause and reasons of the delay of the said Register in making said report.

Odered, That the aforegoing resolutions lie on the table one day. On motion of Mr. Plumer, of New Hampshire,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency of allowing costs in cases where damages may be recovered for the violation of the rights of patentees under the several acts concerning the issuing of patents for useful discoveries and inventions.

On motion of Mr. William Smith,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads be instructed to inquire into the expediency of discontinuing the post route from Giles Court House, Virginia, by Charles Dingess's, Samuel Pack's and Shoemate's, the falls of Guyandotte, to Barboursville, in Cabell county, and in lieu thereof, to establish a route from Monroe Court House, crossing New River at Henry Ballinger's Ferry, thence by Samuel Pack's, the marshes of Coal River, to the head of Guyandotte, thence to its falls, and thence to Barboursville.

On motion of Mr. Whipple,

Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for an additional number of quartermasters and assistants, to be employed in the Quartermaster General's department of the army of the United States, who shall be taken from the line of the army.

On motion of Mr. Lee,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads be instructed to inquire into the expediency of establishing a post route from Newtown Trap, in the county of Frederick, by Burkettsville, to Crampton's, in the state of Maryland.

The resolution offered yesterday, by Mr. Owen, was taken up, and modified by him, to read as follows:

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency of extending a circuit court of the United States to those states in which no circuit court has been established.

And, on the question, Will the House agree to the resolution as modified?

It passed in the affirmative.

And then the House adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER, 10, 1823.

Mr. Kidder presented a petition of sundry inhabitants of the towns of Solon, Bingham, and Moscow, in the state of Maine;

Mr. Vance, of North Carolina, presented a petition of sundry inhabitants of that state; respectively praying for the establishment of post routes.

Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads.

On motion of Mr. Williams, of Virginia,

Ordered, That the petition of John Heiskell, heretofore presented, on the 19th of February, 1823, be referred to the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads.

Mr. Kidder presented the petition of Matthew N. Sanborne, of the state of Maine, praying that he may be restored to the roll of Revolutionary Pensioners, from which he has been stricken, in consequence of the estimated value of his property.

Mr. Stewart presented a petition of William Blair, of Pennsylvania; Mr. Vance, of North Carolina, presented a petition of Adam Cooper, of that state, Revolutionary soldiers; respectively praying for pensions.

Mr. Reynolds presented a petition of Joseph Ligon, of the state of Tennessee, praying to be allowed and paid arrearages of pension, to which he conceives himself entitled.

Mr. Henry presented a petition of Charity Williams, of Kentucky, widow of Theophilus Williams, a captain in the army of the Revolution, stating, that, owing to the death of her husband, the depreciation of the currency of the country, commonly called continental currency, and the mental derangement of an only son, she is reduced to subsist on the charity of friends, and praying relief.

Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee on Pensions and Revolutionary Claims.

Mr. Reed presented a memorial of the inhabitants of the town of Nantucket, in the state of Massachusetts, a copy of that presented yesterday, by Mr. Baylies, from the inhabitants of New Bedford, in the same state.

Ordered, That the said memorial be referred to the Committee on Agriculture.

Mr. Farrelly presented a memorial of Jared Shattuck, of the state of Pennsylvania, praying to be allowed and paid the interest on the whole of a sum of money, awarded him by a decree of the Supreme Court of the United States; interest having been allowed on a part only of said sum, by the Treasury Department.

Mr. Hemphill presented a petition of Joseph S. M'Pherson, a master commandant in the navy of the United States, stating, that he is unable to settle his accounts at the Navy Department, for public moneys placed in his hands for disbursement, in consequence of the loss, by theft, of the case in which his vouchers were deposited, and praying that the accounting officers may be instructed to settle his accounts upon equitable principles.

Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee of Claims.

Mr. M'Kim presented a memorial and petition of Joseph Wheaton, of the City of Washington, complaining of the injustice done him in the settlement of his accounts, under the act passed for his relief, on the 3d of March, 1819, and praying that other and further allowances may be made him, as a compensation for great, distinguished, and meritorious services, rendered in the late war with Great Britain; which petition was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. Alexander Smyth presented a petition of Henry Sprinkle, of the state of Virginia, a purchaser of seven tracts of public lands, stating, that he intended to have availed himself of the benefit of the act for the relief of purchasers of public lands, by relinquishing a part, and applying the proceeds to the payment of the part reserved, but that his agent did not understand his directions, and obtained a further credit on said lands; and praying to be permitted now to relinquish such part as he intended to have relinquished, and that the money already paid may be applied to complete the payments on the part to be retained.

Mr. Richard presented a petition of sundry inhabitants of the territory of Michigan, praying for assistance in land, to enable them to continue the public road from Fort Meigs to Detroit.

Mr. Richard also presented a petition of sundry inhabitants of the county of Monroe, in the territory of Michigan, praying that the acts of 1802 and 1823, granting concessions of back lands, may be revived, and that claimants may be permitted to make new entries in the rear of their lands, so that the tracts shall be of an equal depth. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee on the Public Lands.

Mr. Alexander Smyth presented a petition of Thomas M'Gee, of the state of Virginia, stating, that he was placed on the roll of the Revolutionary pensioners, on the 14th of December, 1819, and his name placed on the list of the Ohio agency; that it was transferred to the Virginia agency on the 16th April, 1823; and that he has never received his pension from the agent in Ohio, between those periods, and praying that the same may be paid to him; which petition was referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions.

Mr. Alexander Smyth also presented a petition of Alexander Dromgoole, praying compensation for services rendered in the intercourse between the United States and the Cherokee Indians, in 1787, as also for a reimbursement of the expenses incurred in said intercourse; which petition was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

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