FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 1818. Mr. Crafts presented a petition of Chancey Curtis, a petition of James Luther, soldiers in the revolutionary army, and a petition of Abner Curtis, respectively praying for pensions. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the committee on that part of the President's message which relates to the Surviving Officers and Soldiers of the Revolutionary Army. Mr. Wendover presented a petition of the manufacturers of corks, in the city of Mew York, praying that specific duties may be imposed on imported corks. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the committee of Commerce and Manufactures. Mr. Ringgold presented a petition of sundry inhabitants of the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania, praying for the establishment of a post route. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the committee on the Post Office and Post Roads. Mr. Earle presented a petition of George M Beth, and a petition of John Evans, respectively praying for pensions. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the committee on Pensions and Revolutionary Claims. Mr. Jones presented a petition of Quin Morton, praying compensation for services performed by him as an assistant assessor, in the third collection district, in the state of Tennessee. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the committee of Ways and Means. Mr. Hendricks presented a petition of Charles Sinks, praying for the pre-emption right in the purchase of a tract of public land lying in the state of Indiana, on which he has erected a grist mill. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the committee on the Public Lands. The Speaker laid before the House a letter from Richard Bland Lee, commissioner of Claims, communicating "reports of the facts" in the cases of John Anderson, Jean Baptiste Jerome, Gabriel Godfroy, and Jean Baptiste Beaugroud, Jean Baptiste Conture, George McDougal, and Hubert La Croix, all of the territory of Michigan, with the evidence accompanying each, which was referred to the committee of Claims. On the motion of Mr. Palmer, Ordered, That the report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the petition of Samuel Buell, together with the said petition be referred to the committee of Ways and Means. Mr. Ogle, from the committee appointed on the petition of general Arthur St. Clair, by leave of the House, reported a bill for the relief of major general Arthur St. Clair, which was read the first and second time, and committed to a committee of the whole, today. The Speaker laid before the House a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, transmitting copies of the proceedings of the court martial for the trial of captain Oliver Hazard Perry, and also, of the proceedings of the court martial for the trial of captain John Heath, which was read and ordered to lie on the table. The message received yesterday from the President of the United States was read, and is as follows: To the House of Representatives of the United States, In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 23d of December last, requesting information relative to the imprisonment, and detention in confinement, of Richard W. Meade, a citizen of the United States, I now transmit to the House a report from the Secretary of state, containing the information required. Washington, January 29, 1818. JAMES MONROE. Ordered, That the said message lie on the table. On motion of Mr. Smith, of Maryland, Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause to be laid before this House, such information as he may possess (and which may be communicated without injury to the public interest) relative to the claims of the merchants of the United States, for their property seized and confiscated under the authority of the King of Naples. Mr. Smith, of Maryland, and Mr. Westerlo, were appointed a committee to present the foregoing resolution to the President. The House took up the report of the committee of Ways and Means, on the petition of sundry inhabitants of Richmond, pewholders in the Monumental Church, and the resolution therein contained was read as follows: Resolved, That the prayer of the petitioners ought not to be granted. A motion was made by Mr. Tyler to amend the said resolution by striking out the word not. And the question being taken thereon; It was determined in the negative. The said resolution was then concurred in by the House. A message from the Senate, by Mr. Cutts, their Secretary: Mr. Speaker-The Senate have passed the bill, entitled "An act making appropriations for the payment of the arrearages which have been incurred for the support of the military establishment, previous to the first of January, 1817," with an amendment in which they ask the concurrence of this House. And then he withdrew. An engrossed bill to amend the act, entitled "An act respecting fugitives from justice, and persons escaping from the service of their masters," was read the third time; And on the question, shall the said bill pass? Yeas.......................84, It passed in the affirmative, Nays......................69. The yeas and nays being required by one-fifth of the members Ordered, That the title be, " An act to provide for delivering up persons held to labor or service in any of the states or territories, who shall escape into any other state or territory," and that the Clerk carry the said bill to the Senate, and ask their concurrence therein. On motion of Smith, of Maryland, Ordered, That when the House adjourns it will adjourn to meet again on Monday next. And then the House adjourned. MONDAY, February 2, 1818. Mr. Merrill presented a petition of Charles Morgan, praying for a grant of land, as also for a pension, in consideration of the loss of one of his legs, whilst an artificer in the army, during the late war. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the committee on Military Affairs. Mr. Storrs presented a petition of Jacob Brown, a major general in the army of the United States, stating that during the late war, he arrested a certain Henry Utley, on a charge of being a spy in the service of the enemy, who made his escape from confinement before he could be brought to trial; that since the war, the said Utley has recovered damages against him in consequence of said arrest, and praying to be indemnified against the said damages. Mr. W. Maclay presented a petition of John Favorite, praying compensation for property taken from him by the enemy while an officer of militia in the service of the United States. Mr. Lewis presented a petition of Joseph Hicks, praying to be reimbursed the amount of money expended by him while sick, on his return home from a tour of militia duty in the service of the United States. Mr. Herrick presented a petition of Catharine M'Culloch, widow of George McCulloch, deceased, who died in the military service of the United States, praying compensation for the service of her said husband, and for the pension allowed to the widows and orphans of volunteers who died in the service of the United States. Ordered, that the said petitions be referred to the committtee of Claims. On motion of Mr. Scott, Ordered, that the petition of Joseph Hertick, presented on the 17th of February, 1815, be also referred to the committee of Claims |