Daily National Intelligencer

Mr. Wilkin in the chair, on the bill to alter and establish certain post roads, and spent much time in disposing of the numerous amendments offered, as is usually the case, to this bill.

Before the bill was gone through, Mr. Hugh Nelson took occasion to express his disapprobation of the unlimited and unrestricted admission of propositions for post routes, to an extent which the whole treasury of the nation would be unable to pay the expense of, etc.

The committee having risen and reported the bill, all the amendments were agreed to, with the exception of that which authorized a post route from Fort Wayne to Chicago, which was disagreed to; and the bill was then ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

On motion of Mr. Spencer the committee of the whole on the state of the Union was discharged from the further consideration of the resolutions submitted by him on the subject of the Bank of the United States, and the resolutions were ordered to lie on the table.

The House then resolved itself into a committee of the whole, Mr. Pitkin in the chair, on the amendments of the Senate to the general appropriation bill for 1819.

These amendments, with one exception, were concurred in, after a long discussion, and reported to the House.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27.

Mr. Smith, of Md. from the committee of ways and means, reported a bill providing compensation to assessors in certain cases, which was twice read and committed.

On motion of Mr. Holmes.

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be requested to inform this house what sums of money have been paid to the Attorney General of the United States for extra services, designating the services, and the fund from which the money has been paid.

The bill confirming certain claims to land in the Illinois territory, was taken up, and ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

OCCUPATION OF FLORIDA.

The following message, under the date of yesterday, was received from the President of the United States, by the hands of Mr. J. J. Monroe.

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States:

The treaty of amity, settlement, and limits, between the United States and his Catholic Majesty, having been, on the part of the United States, ratified, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, copies of it are now transmitted to Congress. As the ratification on the part of Spain may be expected to take place during the recess of Congress, I recommend to their consideration the adoption of such legislative measures, contingent upon the exchange of the ratifications, as may be necessary or expedient for carrying the treaty into effect, in the interval between the sessions, and until Congress, at their next session, may see fit to make further provision on the subject.

JAMES MONROE.

The message was read, and referred to the committee on foreign relations, and permission given to the committee to sit during the sittings of the house.

Mr. Holmes, from that committee, subsequently reported a bill, authorizing the President of the United States to take possession of East and West Florida, for the transportation thence of the Spanish authorities, and providing for the temporary government of the territory, etc. which was twice read; and

The house resumed the consideration of the amendments of the Senate to the general appropriation bill, and concurred in all except that which was disagreed to by the committee of the whole yesterday, and so reported to the house.

This amendment was an appropriation of 4300 dollars to be repaid to the owners of the British vessel Lord Nelson, which was captured on Lake Ontario twelve days before the declaration of the late war, brought in & sold by agreement, & the monies placed in the hands of the court; the capture was afterwards adjudged to be illegal, & the proceeds of the sale ordered to be refunded. In the mean time, the clerk of the court had absconded, with the moneys in his hands, and it was the purpose of this amendment to pay the amount out of the public treasury.

Some debate took place on the amendment, in which it was opposed on the ground that the circumstances of the case had not been investigated by a committee of the house; that there were numerous claims of our own citizens which would be unsuccessful at this session, from the want of time to act on them; that this case ought not to have preference, etc. The amendment was supported on the merits and extreme hardness of the case, and the injustice of withholding payment, etc.

The disagreement to this amendment was concurred in by the house, and the bill again sent to the Senate.

The engrossed bill to alter and establish certain post roads, was read the third time, passed, and sent to the Senate.

The House took up the bill from the Senate, further to suspend, for a limited time, the sale or forfeiture of lands for failure to complete the payments thereon.

Mr. Hendricks moved to amend the bill by inserting a clause to exempt from back interest all sums paid previous to the 31st of March, 1820; which motion was negatived, and the bill was ordered to a third reading; and, after an ineffectual attempt by Mr. Mercer to lay it on the table, until the House should have acted on the bill requiring cash payments for public lands,

The bill was read the third time, passed, and returned.

Several bills from the Senate were twice read and referred,

The bill for erecting a light house on Galloo Island, etc. passed through a committee of the whole, Mr. Pitkin in the chair, received some amendments on the motion of Mr. Newton, and was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

The House took up the bill from the Senate in addition to the act concerning tonnage and discriminating duties; extending the provisions of that act to the vessels of Prussia, Hamburg and Bremen.

This bill was explained and supported in a short speech by Mr. Pitkin.

Mr. Smith, of Md. was opposed to the bill in its present shape, and entered into some commercial statements to shew that it was inexpedient, particularly as it was in the nature of a convention, and could not be altered for five years.

Amongst his objections, Mr. S. said that a very heavy transit duty was laid by Prussia on our tobacco, passing through the Netherlands, up the Rhine, into her dominions, which had greatly affected the price of that staple in Holland; and he proposed an amendment, substantially, to require of Prussia to lay no higher duty on our tobacco passing thither through the Netherlands, than was imposed on it if entered in a Prussian port, as Dantzic, Stetten, Stralsund, etc.

Mr. Trimble made a few remarks, observing, that if this extraordinary duty was laid by Prussia on our tobacco, we ought to impose a corresponding duty on her Silesia linens, etc. and thus beat her with her own weapons.

Mr. Smith's proposition to amend was negatived by a large majority, and

The bill was then read a third time, passed, and returned to the Senate.

The bills for the relief of James Orr and of Robert Kidd, and John M'Causland, passed through a committee of the whole, Mr. Alexander Smyth in the chair: and

The bill extending the term of half pay pensions to the widows and children of certain officers and seamen, and marines, who died in the public service; and the bill for the relief of B and P. Jourdan, passed through committees of the whole, Mr. Tallmadge in the chair; all of which bills were ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, and the last named was read the third time, passed, and returned to the Senate.

Adjourned.