Virginia Argus

CONGRESS.

IN SENATE. March 2.

The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion made by Mr. Reed on the 21st Jan. as amended.

Mr. Anderson moved to refer it to a select committee. Motion lost, Yeas 12, Nays 14.

The motion was further amended, to read as follows:

"Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to lay before this House a statement, so far as the same may be practicable, exhibiting the number of ships and vessels, and the amount of tonnage, and the several kinds and amount of merchandise, being of the growth, produce or manufacture of the United States, or territories thereof, and of colonial produce, exported from thence to any port or place in France, subsequent to the period at which the repeal of the Berlin and Milan decrees was to have taken place; stating distinctly the duties payable in the ports of France on each article before and since that period."

And the question on its final passage was decided as follows:

YEAS—Messrs. Bayard, Bradley, Brent, Campbell of Ohio, Crawford, Cutts, German, Giles, Goodrich, Gregg, Hunter, Lambert, Leib, Lloyd, Pope, Reed, Smith of Md.—17.

NAYS—Messrs. Anderson, Campbell of Ten. Condit, Franklin, Gaillard, Howell, Robinson, Smith of N. Y. Tait, Turner, Varnum, and Worthington—12.

Mr. Lloyd reported, on the petition of Mary Nicholson, "that in the opinion of the committee it is inexpedient to make provision for individual cases of the description of that of the petitioner;" and the report was concurred in.

Mr. Brent presented the petition of Robert Young and others, inhabitants of the town of Alexandria, praying a charter for a bank, under the title of "The Mechanics' Bank of Alexandria." Referred to Messrs. Brent, Campbell of Ten. and Taylor.

Mr. Lloyd presented the petition of John Parker of Boston, praying indemnification for a vessel bound to St. Petersburg, and captured 3d May, 1811, by a French privateer, and carried into Dantzic. The petition was ordered to be printed.

March 3.

Mr. Lloyd laid before the Senate a resolution of the Legislature of Massachusetts, stating the perfect ability and disposition of the government of the Commonwealth to make the most prompt provisions for the immediate supply of such blankets and clothing as the general government may wish to contract with the citizens of the commonwealth for, sufficient to meet any contingency which may occur, and to request information of any other articles which are or may be wanted for supplying the Indians, as there can be no doubt of the ability of the Commonwealth to supply by contract any such articles, mostly, if not altogether, from their own manufactures.

The bill authorising a subscription to the laws of the U. S. was, on motion of Mr. Leib, postponed to the first Monday of April next; the bill to incorporate certain persons into a Lead company in Louisiana, was re-committed to Messrs. Bradley, Lloyd, Gregg, Cutts, and Leib.

Mr. Smith (of Md.) submitted the following motion for consideration:

Resolved, That the President be requested to cause to be laid before the House such information as he may possess relative to captures made by the belligerents since the 23d day of June 1811, of vessels of the U. States bound to or from the Baltic or within that sea; particularising the nation of the captors, the cause assigned for detention, the names of the vessels, masters and owners, and the ports to which the vessels so detained belonged.

On motion of Mr. Bayard, the further consideration of the bill supplementary to the act entitled "An act to regulate the collection of duties on imports and tonnage," was postponed to the 1st Monday in December next.

[The bill went to allow an additional per centage to certain collectors.]

The bill addition to the act entitled "An act supplementary to the act entitled an act concerning the commercial intercourse between the U. S and G. B. and France," was committed. Messrs. Taylor, Crawford, Lloyd, Reed and Smith (of Md.) composed the committee.

The bill making further appropriations for the accommodation of the Patent Office, &c. was read a third time and passed.

Mr. Pope Communicated a resolution of the Legislature of Kentucky, recommending an improvement of the U. States militia system; a resolution requesting their Senators and Representatives in Congress, to endeavor to procure the establishment of certain roads or high-ways therein mentioned, under the authority of the general government,

March 4.

The bill to alter the time of holding the circuit courts of the U. S. at Knoxville, East Tennessee, with the amendments, was ordered to a third reading

The bill giving further time for registering claims to lands in the western district of the territory of Orleans, was also ordered to a third reading.

The senate resumed the consideration of the motion made yesterday by Mr. Smith of Md. and the motion was amended and agreed to as follows:

"Resolved, That the President be requested to cause to be laid before this House such information as he may possess relative to captures made by the belligerents since the first day of May 1811, of vessels of the U. States bound to or from the Baltic, or within that sea; particularising the nation of the captors, the cause assigned for detention, the names of the vessels, masters, and owners, and the port to which the vessels (so detained) belonged."