ter deducting the compensation of Postmasters and incidental expenses, for one year next preceding the first day of April last.

Mr. Breck laid the following resolution on the table, for consideration on to-morrow, viz.

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to furnish this House with the amount of exports from the United States to Greece, Asia Minor, and Egypt, during the years 1820, 1821, and 1822; also, the amount of imports therefrom, for the same period, distinguishing, in separate columns, the countries under the control of the Turkish government, from those possessed by the Greeks in arms; also, the amount of duties paid on said imports, into the Treasury of the United States.

On motion of Mr. Lathrop,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads be directed to consider the expediency of discontinuing the post route from Springfield, in Massachusetts, to Stafford, in Connecticut.

On motion of Mr. McCoy,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, be instructed to inquire into the expediency of discontinuing that part of the post route from Morgantown, in Virginia, to Lewisburg, which lies between Booth's ferry and Pocahontas court house.

Ordered, That the petition of Daniel W. Coxe, on behalf of the claim of the Marquis de Maison Rouge, be referred to the Committee on Private Land Claims.

The House proceeded to consider the report of the Committee of Claims, on the petition of Garret Fountain, and, being read, it was Ordered, That the said report be committed to a committee of the whole House to-morrow.

The bill from the Senate, entitled "An act supplementary to the act, entitled "An act for the relief of persons imprisoned for debt," was read the second time, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

The House resolved itself into a committee of the whole, on the bill for the relief of Jeremiah Manning; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Lathrop reported the same without amendment.

Ordered, That the said bill be engrossed, and read a third time to

morrow.

The order of the day for the House to resolve itself into a committee of the whole, on the bill for the relief of Jacob Babbit, being called, it was

Ordered, That the order of the day on the said bill be postponed until Wednesday next.

The House resolved itself into a committee of the whole, on the bill for the relief of Thomas W. Bacot; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Condict reported the same without amendment.

Ordered, That the said bill be engrossed, and read a third time to

morrow.

The order of the day for the House to resolve itself into a com

mittee of the whole House on the bill for the relief of Sarah Perry, being called; it was

Ordered, That the order of the day on the said bill be postponed until the 2d day of January next.

The House resolved itself into a committee of the whole on the bill for the relief of Jacob Shafer; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Sharpe reported the same without amendment.

Ordered, That the said bill be engrossed, and read a third time to

morrow.

. Mr. Foot, of Connecticut, from the joint Committee for Enrolled Bills, reported that the committee did, this day, present to the President of the United States, for his approbation, an enrolled bill, entitled "An act appropriating a certain sum of money for the relief of Daniel D. Tompkins."

And then the House adjourned.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1823.

Another member, to wit: from Virginia, John Floyd, appeared, was qualified, and took his seat.

Mr. O'Brien presented a petition of sundry inhabitants of the islands which constitute the town of Vinalhaven, in the state of Maine, praying that the said islands may be attached to, and made a part of, the collection district of Belfast; which petition was referred to the Committee on Commerce.

Mr. Cambreleng presented a petition of Gilbert Weeks, of the state of New York, praying compensation for his personal services, as also for the services of his vessel, in transporting various articles for the use of the Revolutionary army.

Mr. Livingston presented a petition of Hannah Hagan, of New Orleans, praying for a pension, in consideration of debility contracted while a nurse and matron in the army of the United States.

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

Mr. Sharpe presented a petition of William Bryan, of the city of New York, dyer and colorer, praying that the revenue laws may be so amended that silks may be imported and exported, with the privilege of debenture, after they are stamped or printed and converted into handkerchiefs or other articles of use or ornament; which petition was referred to the Committee of Ways and Means.

Mr. Hall presented a petition of Hadrianus Van Noorden, of the state of North Carolina, praying the government of the United States to procure him compensation for spoliations committed on his lawful commerce by French cruisers, previous to the year 1800; which petition was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Cobb presented a petition of Auge de Lapperriere, of the state of Georgia, praying compensation for three horses lost while in service in the war with the Seminole Indians; which petition was referred to the Committee of Claims.

Mr. Cobb also presented a petition of Peter L. Jackson, of the state of Georgia, setting forth that he is a native of England, and arrived in the United States in the year 1802, a minor; that he has not been naturalized according to the laws on that subject; but that, having arrived a minor; having grown into manhood; having married a native American woman, and raised a family of children; and having, in the late war with Great Britain, repeatedly performed military duty; and, subsequently, been repeatedly appointed to office by the Executive and by the People of Georgia, he ever considered himself a citizen of the United States: but that, owing to information lodged by some evil disposed persons, he has been, recently, ejected from a civil office, to which he was elected by the People of Putnam county, in Georgia, in consequence of its being decided by a judicial tribunal that he is not a citizen of the United States; and praying that a special act may be passed, admitting him, forthwith, to the rights of a citizen of the United States; which petition was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. Owen presented a petition of Thomas F. Townley, on behalf of himself and the other heirs at law of the late Don Miguel Eslava, praying that all right of the United States to certain tracts of land granted by the late Spanish government of Louisiana to their ancestor, may be relinquished to the petitioners; which petition was referred to the Committee on Private Land Claims.

Mr. Webster, from the Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the bill from the Senate, entitled "An act supplementary to an act, entitled An act for the relief of persons imprisoned for debt," reported the same, with an amendment; which was read, and concurred in by the House.

Ordered, That the said amendment be engrossed, and the bill read a third time to-morrow.

Mr. Webster, from the same committee, to whom the subject was referred, reported a bill to repeal in part an act, entitled "An act to lessen the compensation for marshals, clerks, and attorneys, in the cases therein mentioned;" which was read the first and second time, and committed to a committee of the whole House to morrow.

Mr. Webster, from the same committee, who were also instructed to inquire into the expediency of allowing costs in certain suits concerning the rights of patentees, reported a bill concerning costs in certain cases; which was read the first and second time, and committed to the committee of the whole House to which is committed the bill last mentioned.

Ordered, That the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of the inhabitants of Pembina, a colony founded by the late Earl of Selkirk, on the Red River of Hudson's Bay; and that it be laid on the table.

Mr. Newton, from the Committee on Commerce, reported a bill for the relief of William Bartlett and John Stearns, owners of the schooner Angler; and Nathaniel Carver, owner of the schooner Harmony, and others; which bill was read the first and second time, and committed to a committee of the whole House to-morrow.

Mr. Campbell, of Ohio, from the Committee on Private Land Claims, made a report on the petition of John Jenkins, accompanied by a bill for his relief; which bill was read the first and second time, and committed to a committee of the whole House to-morrow.

Mr. Campbell, from the same committee, made a report on the petition of William Kendall, accompanied by a bill for his relief; which bill was read the first and second time, and committed to the committee of the whole House to which is committed the bill last mentioned.

Mr. Little, from the Committee on Pensions and Revolutionary Claims, made unfavorable reports on the petitions of Andrew Garner, Charles Miles, Nathaniel White, and William Broadus, which were, severally, ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. Little, from the same committee, reported a bill for the relief of Sarah Chitwood; which was read the first and second time, and committed to a committee of the whole House to-morrow.

A message, in writing, was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Mosher, his Secretary, which is as follows:

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

I herewith transmit to Congress a statement, by William Lambert, explanatory of his Astronomical Calculations, which were made with a view to establish the longitude of the Capitol.

Washington, Dec. 23, 1823.

JAMES MONROE.

The said message was read, and, with the accompanying documents, referred to the Joint Library Committee.

The resolutions submitted yesterday by Mr. Livingston, were taken up, read, and agreed to by the House.

The resolution submitted yesterday by Mr. Herrick, was taken up, read, and agreed to by the House.

The resolution submitted yesterday by Mr. Breck, was taken up, read, considered, and ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. Mallary laid the following resolution on the table, for consideration to-morrow, viz:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to lay before this House such information as he may possess, (which may be disclosed without injury to the public good,) relative to the determination of any sovereign, or combination of sovereigns, to assist Spain in the subjugation of her late colonies on the American continent; and whether any government of Europe is disposed or determined to oppose any aid or assistance which such sovereign, or combination of sovereigns, may afford to Spain for the subjugation of her late colonies above mentioned.

On motion of Mr. Plumer, of New Hampshire,

Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing, by law, for compelling the attendance of witnesses before commissioners named in commissions issued by the courts of the United States for taking evidence in other districts of the United States than those where the courts are held :

And, also, into the expediency of establishing, by law, a mode of taking evidence in equity cases depending in the courts of the United States.

On motion of Mr. Ball,

Ordered, That leave be given to withdraw the petitions of Ephraim Gilman and James Douglass.

Mr. Cook moved that the House do come to the following resolution:

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to inquire into the expediency of reporting a bill to provide for the appointment of a Board of Commissioners, to examine and adjust all claims to land by individuals against the United States, where such claims depend on titles derived either from any law of the United States, or the act of any foreign government, and which have been guarantied by the United States by virtue of any treaty or compact with such foreign govern

ment.

The said resolution being read,

66

Mr. Williams, of North Carolina, moved to amend the same by striking out these words, a committee be appointed," and inserting, "the Committee on the Public Lands be instructed."

Pending the question on this amendment, the time allotted by the rules and orders of the House for the transaction of such business, expired, and the House passed to the orders of the day; and Engrossed bills, of the following titles, viz:

An act for the relief of Jeremiah Manning, of New Jersey; and An act for the relief of Thomas W. Bacot; were, respectively, read the third time, and passed.

Ordered, That the titles of said bills be as aforesaid, and that the Clerk do carry the said bills to the Senate, and ask their concurrence therein.

Ordered, That the third reading of the bill for the relief of Jacob Shaffer, be postponed until Friday next.

And then the House adjourned.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1823.

Mr. Harvey presented a petition of William Johnson, of NewHampshire, a Revolutionary soldier, praying for a pension.

Mr. James Stevenson presented a petition of Joseph Boswell, of the state of Virginia, praying to be restored to the Revolutionary pension roll, from which he has been stricken in consequence of the estimated value of his property.

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

Mr. Webster presented a petition of Harriet Carter, widow of Lieutenant Nathaniel Carter, of the Navy of the United States, who died in service, at Thompson's Island, in September last, praying to be placed on the list of navy pensioners; which petition was referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.