was determined in the negative. So the bill was rejected, The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion of the 30th instant, to proceed on Thursday next to the appointment of an Assistant Doorkeeper; and agreed thereto. Mr. SANFORD Submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures be instructed to inquire into the expediency of establishing, by law, uniform rates of damages and interest, in cases of protests of foreign bills of exchange. Mr. NOBLE submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That the Committee on Public Lands be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing, by law, for the division of a certain proportion of the quarter sections of the public lands. MARITIME PRECINCTS. The Senate resumed the consideration of Mr. DANA's motion to instruct the Committee of Foreign Relations to consider the propriety of making provision, by law, for declaring the extent of the maritime precincts of the United States, and for the safeguard of friendly vessels, which may be within the same. JANUARY, 1817. they were more than a league from shore, yet would any one consider them beyond the pale of our protection? No, he said, they were still within the limits of our court-yard, though it might not be enclosed, and it was our business to prevent any disturbance there. The proper peaceofficers of that yard were the officers of our navy, who were able and willing to preserve peace there. The resolution was then agreed to nem. con. The Senate adjourned to Thursday. THURSDAY, January 2, 1817. ALEXANDER CONTEE HANSON, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the State of Maryland, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Robert G. Harper, produced his credentials, was qualified, and he took his seat in the Senate. The PRESIDENT communicated a report of the Secretary of the Treasury, made in obedience to the resolution of the Senate of the 27th ultimo, containing the information required, concerning the progress made in surveying military bounty lands, and the report was read. resolution offered by Mr. SANFORD, on Tuesday, to inquire into the expediency of establishing, by law, uniform rates of damages and interest in cases of protests of foreign bills of exchange. The Senate went into the consideration of the Mr. SANFORD submitted a few remarks to show the competency of the Government to regulate the amount of protests in the cases specified in the resolution, and the necessity of providing some uniform rule on a subject which varied now so much in the different courts of the Union; after which the resolution was agreed to without objection. diency of providing, by law, for the division of a certain proportion of the quarter sections of the public lands; and agreed thereto. Mr. ROBERTS, from the Committee of Claims, reported a bill for the relief of the legal representatives of Ignace Chalmet Delino, deceased; and the bill was read, and passed to the second Mr. DANA offered a few remarks on the necessity of instituting the inquiry he proposed. One of the first and most interesting processions which ever took place in this country, he said, occurred at New York, on the death of an American citizen, killed by a British vessel within the waters of the United States-he alluded to the case of Pierce, who was shot within a mile, even in sight, of the shore; yet, on that occasion, the question arose whether the act was committed within the jurisdiction of the United States, and was tried before a British naval court. From that time to The Senate resumed the consideration of the this no effectual attempt had been made to adopt motion of the 31st ultimo, instructing the Commeasures of protection, or to prevent the recur-mittee on Public Lands to inquire into the experence of such outrages-he meant no legislative attempt, where alone it was proper. He did not allude to negotiations, or any Executive measures; nor did he conceive it the business of the Executive, under our Constitution, to meddle with the subject; our Executive could not, like the King of England, make any regulations regarding our jurisdiction. Mr. D. said, in Eng-reading. land, they did not confine their jurisdiction to one league from shore; nor did they limit it by law; they measured their jurisdiction by their cannon-by cannon afloat; and more than a century ago the English had taken the proper steps to protect their honor from insult. Mr. D. called the recollection of the Senate to a correspondence on this subject, under the Administration of General WASHINGTON, which might readily be referred to, when it was decided that it was not prudent to claim jurisdiction beyond one league from land. It was, Mr. D. thought, consistent now with our character, and the situation of our country, that our jurisdiction should not be confined to a marine league. Very often, when our Vessels were coasting and passing the headlands, Mr. CHACE, from the Committee on the Judiciary, reported a bill to provide for the due execution of the laws of the United States, within the State of Indiana, and the bill was read, and passed to the second reading. Mr. LACOCK submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of authorizing, by law, the appointment of additional agents in such States or Territories, where it may be found necessary, for the more convenient payment of such persons as now are, or may hereafter be placed on the pension list of the United States. The Senate resumed the report of the select committee, on the petition of Robert Kidd, and on FRIDAY, January 3. Mr. VARNUM Communicated the resolutions of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for the appointment of agents to present the claims of that Commonwealth against the United States for allowance, with instructions to their Senators to afford the said agents all the aid in their power for the accomplishment of the object of their appointment, and endeavor to procure all necessary provision for that purpose to be made by law; and the resolutions were read. Mr. VARNUM submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That the Committee of Finance be in structed to inquire into the expediency of repealing an act entitled "An act increasing the compensation allowed the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate and House of Representatives, and of the Doorkeeper and Assistant Doorkeeper of the Senate and House of Representatives," approved March 3, 1815, with leave to report by bill or otherwise. The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion of the 2d instant, for instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into the expediency of authorizing the appointment of additional agents, for the payment of persons placed on the pension list of the United States, and agreed thereto. The Senate resumed the consideration of the report of the select committee, on the petition of Robert Kidd; and on motion by Mr. MASON, of New Hampshire, the further consideration thereof was postponed until Monday next, and the petition, and accompanying documents, were ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate. The bill to provide for the due execution of the laws of the United States within the State of Indiana, was read the second time; and, on motion by Mr. CHACE, the further consideration thereof was postponed until next Monday week. The bill for the relief of the legal representatives of Ignace Chalmet Delino, deceased, was read the second time, and considered as in Committee of the Whole; and ordered to be engrossed and read a third time. Mr. LACOCK submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That the Committee on Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the expediency of increasing the pay of regimental and battalion paymasters, and giving them rank in the Army of the United States. MONDAY, January 6. SENATE. The PRESIDENT communicated a letter from the acting Secretary for the Department of War, transmitting forty copies of the Army Register, prepared for each member of the Senate, conformably to a resolution of the 13th of December, 1815. Mr. MORROW, from the Committee on Public Lands, to whom the subject was referred, reported a bill to increase the salaries of the regis ter and receiver of public moneys of the land office at Marietta; and the bill was read, and passed to the second reading. Mr. MASON, of Virginia, presented the petition of James Garey, who was a lieutenant in the 27th regiment of infantry during the late war with Great Britain, praying a donation of land or some other provision, for reasons stated in the petition.-Referred to the Committee on Pensions, to consider and report thereon by bill or otherwise. Mr. CAMPBELL gave notice that to-morrow he should ask leave to bring in a bill to authorize the State of Tennessee to issue grants and perfect titles on certain entries and locations of lands therein described. The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion of the third instant, for instructing the Committee of Finance to inquire into the expediency of repealing an act increasing the compensation allowed to the Sergeant at-Arms and Doorkeepers of Congress, and agreed thereto. The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion of the 3d instant, for instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into the expediency of increasing the pay of regimental and battalion paymasters, and agreed thereto. Mr. GOLDSBOROUGH presented the memorial of William Patterson and others, of Baltimore, owners of vessels, which were taken by order of the commanding officer of the United States, in that district, and sunk at the mouth of the harbor, opposite to Fort McHenry, which effectively ob structed the passage of the British fleet, in their meditated attack upon the port of Baltimore, and praying remuneration for losses and damages sustained by them in consequence thereof, as stated in the memorial.-Referred to the Committee of Claims. The Senate resumed the consideration of the report of the Committee of Claims, on the peti tion of Thomas Riddle. Whereupon Resolved, That the petitioner have leave to withdraw his petition. The Senate resumed the consideration of the report of the select committee, on the petition of Robert Kidd; and, on motion by Mr. ROBERTS, the further consideration thereof was postponed until Thursday next. The bill to authorize a new edition of the col Mr. MORROW, from the Committee on the Pub- lection of laws respecting the public lands was lic Lands, to whom the subject was referred, re-read the second time and considered as in Comported a bill to authorize a new edition of the mittee of the Whole; and ordered to be engrossed collection of laws respecting the public lands, and read a third time. and the bill was read, and passed to the second reading. A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that the House have passed SENATE. Home Department-Attorney General-Accounts. a bill entitled "an act for the relief of William Haslet;" in which bill they request the concurrence of the Senate. The bill last mentioned was read, and passed to the second reading. On motion by Mr. HARDIN, the appointment of an Assistant Doorkeeper was further postponed until the first Monday in February next. The bill for the relief of the legal representatives of Ignace Chalmet Delino, deceased, was read a third time, and passed. HOME DEPARTMENT, &c. Mr. SANFORD, from the committee to whom was referred so much of the Message of the President of the United States as relates to an addition Executive Department, and to the office of Attorney General, reported a bill to establish a new Executive Department, and for other purposes; and the bill was read, and passed to the second reading. The bill is as follows: A Bill to establish a new Executive Department, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That there shall be an Executive Department, to be denominated the Home Department, and there shall be a principal officer therein, to be called the Secretary of the Home Department, who shall execute and perform such orders and duties as shall be given or intrusted to him by the President of the United States, in conformity to the Constitution and laws, relative to correspondence and communication with the Governors of the several States, relative to correspondence and communication with the Territories of the United States, and the territorial offices and governments, relative to the Indian nations, and to trade, intercourse, and treaties with them, relative to the General Post Office, relative to the District of Columbia, and the public concerns thereof, and relative to the Patent Office. JANUARY, 1817. ATTORNEY GENERAL. Mr. SANFORD, from the same committee, reported a bill concerning the Attorney General of the United States, and the bill was read, and passed to the second reading. The bill is as follows: A Bill concerning the Attorney General of the United Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre sentatives of the United States of America, in Ĉongress assembled, That a suitable apartment, in some of the public edifices at Washington, shall be assigned to the Attorney General of the United States; that until such an apartment can be provided, the rent of the place, occupied by the Attorney General for his office, shall be paid by the United States; and that the necessary expense of fuel and stationery, used in the office of the Attorney General, shall be paid by the United States. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Attorney General shall be authorized to employ one clerk in his office, whose annual compensation shall not exceed dollars. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Supreme Court shall be authorized to allow, as a part of the contingent expenses of holding that court, the necessary expense of printed statements, on the part of the United States, in causes before that court in which the United States are parties; which sums, when allowed by the Supreme Court, shall be paid by the United States. A Bill to provide for the prompt settlement of Public Accounts. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be, in the said Department, an inferior officer, who shall be called the chief clerk; he shall be appointed Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repreby the Secretary of the Department, shall be em- sentatives of the United States of America, in Conployed therein, as the Secretary may direct; and when-gress assembled, That the offices of Accountant and ever the office of Secretary may be vacant, the chief clerk shall, during the vacancy, have the charge and custody of all records, books, and papers, appertaining to the Department. Additional Accountant of the Department of War, the office of Accountant of the Navy, and the office of Superintendent General of Military Supplies, be, and they are hereby, abolished. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That hereafter all claims and demands whatever, by the United States or against them, and all accounts whatever, in which the United States are concerned, either as debtors or as creditors, shall be settled and adjusted in the Treas SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That instead of a chief clerk in the Department of State there shall be an under Secretary of that Department, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of State, shall be employed as the Secretary of State may direct, and whenever the office of Secretary of State may be va-ury Department. cant, the under Secretary shall have the charge and custody of all records, books, and papers, appertaining to that Department; and the under Secretary shall receive the same compensation as is now allowed to the chief clerk. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Mint of the United States shall be under the superintendence and direction of the Secretary of the Treasury. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the survey of the coasts of the United States, shall be made under the superintendence and direction of the Secretary of the Navy. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That in addition to the officers in the Treasury Department, already established by law, there shall be the following officers, namely, four auditors, one comptroller, and a solicitor of the Treasury. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the first auditor to examine and settle all accounts accruing in the Treasury Department; it shall be the duty of the second auditor to examine and settle all accounts relative to the pay and clothing of the Army, the subsistence of the officers, bounties, and premiums, and the contingent expenses of the War Department; it shall be the duty of the third auditor to examine and settle all accounts relative to the subsistence of the Army, the Quartermaster's department, the Hospital department, and the Ordnance department; it shall be the duty of the fourth auditor to examine and settle all accounts accruing in the Navy Department, or relative thereto; and it shall be the duty of the fifth auditor to examine and settle all accounts accruing in, or relative to, the Department of State, and the Home Department. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the first comptroller to examine and revise all accounts settled by the first and fifth auditors; and it shall be the duty of the second comptroller to examine and revise all accounts settled by the second, third, and fourth auditors. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Solicitor of the Treasury to superintend the recovery of all debts to the United States, to direct suits and legal proceedings, and to take all such measures as may be authorized by the laws, to enforce prompt payment of all debts to the United States. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Mr. FROMENTIN, from the Joint Library Committee, made a report, which was read, as follows: That, in pursuance of the duty devolving upon them to purchase books for the Library of Congress, they have bought, during the recess, the books, a catalogue of which, with the prices and the names of the persons from whom they were bought, is annexed. SENATE. The Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, the Transactions of the Royal Society of London, the Transactions of the Irish Academy, Bath Society's papers, Transactions of the Society of Arts, Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences, Mémoires de l'Institut de France, Delaplaine's Repository, Cobbett's State Trials, and Public Characters. General catalogues, published every year in Great Britain, in Leipsic, and in Paris; to which may be added works of merit, to be subscribed for occasionally, and which will require a disposable fund to be used on the emergencies created by the publication of such works, either in this country or in Europe. In order the better to promote the views of Congress in establishing a Congressional Library, and the more securely to provide for, as far as attainable, a proportionately equal application of the Library fund to the several branches of human knowledge, and thereby stamp the Congressional Library with that degree of usefulness contemplated in its establishment, the committee invite the chairmen of the several committees of both Houses to furnish the Library Committee with a list of such books or indexes as may be deemed by them more particularly to refer to the business devolving upon each respective committee. The committee have, moreover, directed to be placed in the Library a box, where may be deposited, by the members of both Houses, the titles of such books as they may be desirous to procure. The collection of law books now in the Library is as valuable and as complete as it is possible to have expected it to be, considering the time at which the books were purchased; but the many late publications which have appeared since, both in this country and in Europe, and the indispensable necessity of laying open all possible sources of the most extensive information on that head, have induced your committee to propose to Congress to appropriate a sum ef $3,000 for the completion of that particular department of the Library of Congress. By a reference to the accounts rendered by Joseph Nourse, Register of the Treasury, and acting as agent of the Joint Library Committee, which are annexed to, and the committee pray may be considered as part of, their report, it appears that since the last account rendered there was paid at different times by order of the Joint Library Committee a sum of $3,074 09; leaving in the hands of the agent of the Library Committee, subject to their order, an unexpended balance of $1,526 61. The committee have now under conThe law appropriating $1,000 per annum for the sideration several proposals, which, when finally acted purchase of books for the Library of Congress has exupon, shall have employed the whole of the appropria-pired. The committee beg leave to report a bill making a further appropriation of $1,500 per annum for five years. tion made in 1812. The committee further report that they have given directions for the following periodical (both literary and political) publications to be regularly sent to the Library, as soon as published, to wit: The Edinburg and Quarterly Reviews, republished in New York; In revising the laws passed by Congress concerning the Library, the committee observed that no provision had ever been made to extend to the Heads of Departments the privilege of using the books in the Congress Library, on the same terms on which members of The British Review, the Annual Register, the Ana- Congress are permitted to use them. In the bill maklytical Review, and Cobbett's Political Register, pub-ing a further appropriation for the purchase of books, the committee have inserted a section to remedy that omission. lished in Great Britain; The North American Review, published in Boston; The Portfolio, the Analectic Magazine, and Walsh's American Register, published in Philadelphia; The Portico and the Weekly Register, published in Baltimore; The National Register, the Daily National Intelligencer, and the Historical Register, published in Washington. All the above periodical works now are or will soon be completed, from the beginning of publication to the present day. Of not exactly the same character, but yet liable to the same annual expense, are the following works, (if it be deemed advisable to complete the publications of this description, which are now deposited in the Library,) to wit: Mr. FROMENTIN then reported a bill, making a further appropriation for the purchase of books for the Library of Congress, and for other purposes; and the bill was read, and passed to the second reading. TUESDAY, January 7. ward Gilpin, and others, on the subject of reguMr. HORSEY presented the memorial of Edlating the weights and measures of the United States, representing the importance thereof; and the memorial was read, and referred to the committee to whom was referred so much of the Message of the President of the United States, as re lates to weights and measures, to consider and report thereon. The PRESIDENT communicated a report of the Secretary of the Treasury, exhibiting the sums respectively paid to each clerk in the several offices of that Department, for services rendered during the year 1816, made in obedience to the provisions of the act of April 21, 1806, to regulate and fix the compensation of clerks; and the report was read. The following Message was received from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To the Senate and House of Representatives : I communicate, for the information of Congress, the report of the Director of the Mint, of the operation of that establishment during the last year. JANUARY 6, 1817. JAMES MADISON. The Message and report were read. Mr. VARNUM presented a petition of Peter Mills. praying an increase of pension.-Referred to the Committee on Pensions. Mr. RUGGLES presented the petition of David Chambers, praying to have refunded to him the first payment on a section of land, forfeited in consequence of the non payment of the subsequent instalments.-Referred to the Committee on Public Lands. Mr. SANFORD presented the memorial and representation of the commissioners of the State of New York on the subject of canals; and praying the aid of Congress in the construction of canals and locks, between the navigable waters of Hudson river and Lake Erie, and the said navigable waters and Lake Champlain, as stated in the memorial; which was read, and referred to the committee to whom was referred so much of the Message of the President of the United States as relates to roads and canals, to consider and report thereon, by bill or otherwise. Mr. HARDIN Submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That the Committee on Finance be instructed to inquire into the expediency of requiring the attorneys employed in the collection of moneys due to the United States, to give bond and security for the faithful accounting for all demands placed in their hands for collection; with leave to report by bill or otherwise. Mr. TAIT submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy lay before the Senate any information in the possession of the Department, respecting any surveys and examinations which may have been had in the Chesapeake bay, in reference to the situation of a site for a naval depot. Mr. GOLDSBOROUGH submitted the following motion for consideration: Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause to be laid before the Senate, the amount of money paid by the Government of the United States for the services of militia during the late war, stating the amount to each respective State, and distinguishing, as far as possible, what has been paid JANUARY, 1817. The PRESIDENT communicated a report of the Secretary for the Department of the Navy, on the expenditure and application of moneys drawn from the Treasury, from the first of October, 1815, to the 30th of September, 1816, inclusive, and of the unexpended balances of former appropriations remaining in the Treasury on the 1st of October, 1815; and the report was read. The bill to establish a new Executive Department, and for other purposes, was read the second time; and, on motion of Mr. SANFORD, the further consideration thereof was postponed to, and made the order of the day for, Friday next. The bill concerning the Attorney General of the United States was read a second time; and, on motion of Mr. SANFORD, the further consideration thereof was postponed to, and made the order of the day for, Friday next. The bill to provide for the prompt settlement of public accounts was read the second time; and, on motion of Mr. SANFORD, the further consideration thereof was postponed to, and made the order of the day for, Friday next. The bill entitled "An act for the relief of William Haslet," was read the second time, and referred to the Committee of Claims. The bill to increase the salaries of the register and receiver of public moneys of the land office at Marietta, was read the second time; and the further consideration thereof postponed until tomorrow. The bill making a further appropriation for the purchase of books for the Library of Congress, and for other purposes, was read the second time; and the further consideration thereof postponed until to-morrow. On motion by Mr. TAIT, Resolved, That the memorial of the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the Mississippi Territory, praying the admission of the said Territory, as a State, into the Union, be referred to a select committee, to consist of five members, to consider and report thereon, by bill or otherwise. Messrs. TAIT, BROWN, CHACE, MASON, of New Hampshire, and STOKES, were appointed the committee. The bill to authorize a new edition of the collection of laws respecting the public lands, was read a third time, and the blank filled with "$1,500." Resolved, That this bill pass, and that the title thereof be, "An act to authorize a new edition of the collection of laws respecting the public lands." Mr. TAIT, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom the subject was referred, reported a bill respecting the heirs and legatees of Thomas Turner; and the bill was read, and passed to the second reading. On motion of Mr. CAMPBELL, the Committee |