Vermont Telegraph

CONGRESS.

Tuesday, Dec. 12.

Senate.—Private petitions presented by Messrs. Davis, Grundy, Lyon, McKean, Allen, Strange, Rives, Smith of Ind., Tipton, Hubbard and others.

Mr. McKean presented a memorial from a large number of citizens of the State of Pennsylvania, remonstrating against the annexation of Texas—laid on the table.

Mr. Allen presented a memorial from forty-six citizens of Ross county, Ohio, remonstrating against the annexation of Texas—laid on the table.

Mr. Grundy, from the Committee on the Judiciary, reported a bill to establish the boundary line between Michigan and the Territory of Wisconsin, with an amendment.

Mr. King, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, reported a bill to authorize the President to cause the public vessels to cruise on the coast during the winter season, without amendment.

House.—[Mr. Adams presented several memorials against the annexation of Texas, and moved their reference to a select committee, with instructions to consider and report thereon.]

Mr. Howard moved their reference to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The above motions lie over till to-morrow.

Mr. Adams presented a petition, praying for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and moved that it and the petitions presented by himself and colleagues at the late special session on the same subject, embracing upwards of 50,000 signers, be referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia, with instructions to consider and report thereon.

Mr. Wise moved to lay that motion on the table.

Mr. Potts asked for the yeas and nays on that motion; which were ordered, and were—yeas 135, nays 70.

So the motion to lay on the table was decided in the affirmative.

Mr. Adams presented several other petitions from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, &c. on the same subject, and made the same motions of reference, which were severally laid on the table, on motion of Mr. Wise.

Mr. Adams then presented another of the same tenor.

Mr. Lawler raised the preliminary question, on which Mr. Adams asked for the yeas and nays, which were ordered, and were—yeas 144, nays 60.

So the petition was received.

When the name of Mr. Rives was called that gentleman rose in his place, and inquired of the Chair the effect of this motion prevailing.

The Chair replied that it left the petition still at the disposition of the House.

Mr. Rives said then he should vote for the reception, in order to give this petition the same disposition as had been given to the others, viz: laying them on the table.

Mr. Wise explained, that the reason he had not originally raised the question moved by the gentleman from Alabama, was, that the question just decided had already been decided so often by the House, by Southern as well as by Northern members voting to receive abolition petitions. It was for that reason he had moved to lay the motion of reference on the table, for he was determined to meet the question at every step where it could be met. Mr. W. asked the gentleman from Massachusetts to include all his petitions in one motion.

Mr. Adams said he could not assent to it.

Mr. A. then presented a petition for the abolition of Slavery in the Territories of the United States, and moved in reference to the Committee on the Territories;—

whereupon, Mr. Wise moved to lay that motion on the table

Mr. Adams asked for the yeas and nays, which were ordered, and were yeas 127, nays 73.

[Names of yeas: Adams, Allen, Ashmun, Barnwell, Baylies, Beardsley, Biddle, Boon, Bourke, Boyd, Bronson, Buchanan, Caleb B. Smith, Cambreleng, Campbell, Carter, Chapman, Childs, Cineinnatus, Clark, Conner, Cooper, Corwin, Cowen, Crockett, Cross, Cushing, Darlington, Davis of Miss., Dawson, Day, Denny, Dix, Doane, Doe, Duncan, Dunlop, Dunn, Elias Howell, Elisha Whittlesey, Evans, Fillmore, Fletcher, Fred. Smith, Gillet, Glascott, Grennell, Griffin, Hall, Ham, Harlan, Harris, Harrison, Hiester, Hoffman, Holt, Howard, Hubbard, Hughes, Hunt, Ingersoll, Isaac E. Holmes, Jackson, Jared W. Williams, Jenifer, Johnson, Jones, Judson, Kaufman, Kennedy, Kinnard, Kirkpatrick, Lancaster, Laporte, Lawler, Leake, Leonard, Lewis, Lincoln, Linn, Loop, McKay, McKennan, Maclay, Mason, Matthias, Mercer, Miller, Mitchell, Morgan, Muhlenberg, Murphy, Owsley, Palmer, Parker, Parmenter, Payne, Pearce, Pettigrew, Philson, Pinckney, Plumer, Polk, Potts, Prentiss, Ramsey, Reed, Rencher, Rhett, Richards, Ritter, Roane, Salter, Schley, Segar, Semmes, Sergeant, Shields, Sinkins, Slade, Spencer, Sprague, St. George Tucker, Taylor, Thomas, Thompson, Tichenor, Toucey, Trezvant, Underwood, Van Buren, Vandeveer, Vanduyne, Vroom, Walker, Ward, Warren, Wason, Wayne, Webster, Whitcomb, White, Williams of N. C., Wise, Wood, Yell—127.

Nays: Anderson, Archer, Bayard, Bell, Black, Bond, Bouldin, Brown, Burch, Burleigh, Burton, Calhoon, Chilton, Clark of Ky., Conner of N. C., Coston, Crary, Dromgoole, Elmore, Foster, French, Gentry, Habersham, Haley, Hard, Hardin, Hascall, Henry, Herrick, Hill, Hoge, Holmes of S. C., Houston, Hubbard of N. H., Jackson of R. I., Jameson, Johnson of Va., Jones of Tenn., Keim, Letcher, Lincoln of Vt., Lyon, Mallory, Marvin, Maury, Maxwell, May, McVickar, Miller of Ohio, Morris, Patton, Peck, Peterson, Philips, Powell, Rayner, Reed of N. C., Russell, Schenck, Sutherland, Swift, Taliaferro, Thompson of S. C., Tillinghast, Tompkins, Trippe, Tweedy, Vance, Van Rensselaer, W. C. Johnson, W. B. Seabrook, Wise of Va., W. Thompson—73.]
Wednesday, Dec. 13.

Senate.—Mr. Ruggles presented a petition of Mr. Parkins, an American citizen, now a resident of G. Britain, praying an extension of a patent right to him for the discovery of an improved method of warming public buildings, in the same manner as though personal application were made by him.

Referred to the Committee on Patents.

Mr. Clay, of Ky. a bill to extend the privilege of copy right to foreign authorities in certain cases.

On motion of Mr. Prentiss. Ordered, That the Committee on the Judiciary inquire into the expediency of establishing a Pension Office at Montpelier.

Also a bill to create the office of Surveyor of Public Lands in Wisconsin Ter. ritory. Referred.

The bill remitting the duty on goods destroyed by the great fire at New-York, was ordered to a third reading.

House—The House resumed the consideration of the motion made by Mr. Adams yesterday, to refer a number of memorials, presented by himself and colleagues, at the present and the late special session, against the annexation of Texas to the Union, to a select committee.

The pending question was the amendment of Mr. Howard to refer them to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Adams addressed the House at length in support of his motion, going at large into the whole subject of Texas, and its various relations from 1836 up to the present time.

Mr. A. was several times called to order, but was at length permitted by the House to proceed, and concluded his remarks.

Mr. Wise then moved to lay the two motions to refer, and the memorials also, on the table.

Mr. Grennell asked for the yeas and nays, which were ordered, and the motion prevailed. Yeas 127. Nays 58.

Thursday, Dec. 14.

Senate.—Bills introduced on leave.—

By Mr. Lyon, to establish two additional land offices in the Territory of Wisconsin.

Resolutions offered on leave.—By Mr. Allen: For the amendment of the Constitution of the United States, as relates to the election of President and Vice President. read twice, ordered to be printed, and referred to Select Committee.

Bill remitting duties on goods destroyed by the great fire in New York, read a third time, and on motion of Mr. Roane, laid on the table.

Bills for the relief of Elisha Town, and for the relief of Erastus and Thaddeus Fairbanks, read a third time and passed.

Mr. Bayard rose after a few remarks explanatory, and offered in pursuance with instructions from the Legislature of Delaware, the following resolutions.

Whereas the Senate of the United States, in the exercise of its functions as a deliberate assembly, did, on the 28th day of March, 1834, adopt the following resolution:

"Resolved, That the President, in the late Executive proceedings in relation to the revenue, has assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the Constitution and laws, but in derogation of both."

And whereas, afterwards, to wit, on the 16th day of January, 1837, the Senate, in reference to the above resolution, adopted another, as follows:

"Resolved, That the said resolve be expunged from the Journal; and, for that purpose, that the Secretary of the Senate, at such time as the Senate may appoint, shall bring the manuscript Journal of the session of 1833-'4 into the Senate, and, in the presence of the Senate, draw black lines round the said resolve, and write across the face thereof, in strong letters, the words following: Expunged by order of the Senate, this 16th day of January, in the year of our Lord 1837."

And whereas the Constitution of the United States expressly requires that each House of Congress shall keep a journal of its proceedings, meaning thereby to preserve a faithful and permanent record of those proceedings:

And whereas the Senate of the United States, independently of its legislative, executive, and judicial functions, has the inherent right, as a deliberate assembly to express its opinions, which can be done only by resolutions:

And whereas its opinions, when thus expressed, become part of its proceedings, of which the Constitution provides that a permanent record shall be kept:

And whereas the resolution of the 16th of January, 1837, and the act of the Secretary of the Senate in compliance with it, was a violation of the Constitution, inasmuch as, in legal contemplation, it destroyed; and in fact defaced, the record of the proceeding to which it refers: wherefore,

Resolved, That the resolution of the 16th of January, 1837, commonly called the expunging resolution, be, and the same is hereby, rescinded, and shall forever hereafter be held as naught: and that, in all future publications of that part of the Journal which contains the resolution of 1833-'4, and in all copies which may hereafter be made of the same, for any official or legal purpose, the said resolution of 1833-'4 shall be published and copied as it stands in the Journal, without any notice whatever of the superscription, which was erroneously, irregularly, and unconstitutionally made, in pursuance of the resolution of the 16th of January, 1837.

Which was laid on the table and ordered to be printed.

The Senate then adjourned till Monday next.

House of Representatives.—Petitions presented and severally referred except such as relate to the annexation of Texas, and the abolition of slavery; which were laid on the table. Of the latter class there were, however, a very large number.

Friday, December 15.

[The Senate was not in session to-day.]

Mr. Evans gave notice that, on Monday next, he should ask leave to bring in a bill to fix the boundary line of the State of Maine.

Monday, Dec. 18.

Senate—Mr. Buchanan presented a petition from sundry citizens of Philadelphia, in connection with resolutions and the memorial of the working men's convention, lately held in that city, praying Congress to suppress banking, and establish the Sub-treasury system upon a pure specie basis.

Referred to the committee on Finance. and ordered to be printed.

Mr. Wall presented the petition of 12 men and 13 women of Burlington county, N. J. against the annexation of Texas—when on motion to lay the same on the table. Mr. Preston hoped the motion would be withdrawn, and begged leave to give notice, that in consequence of the numerous petitions presented on this subject—all of a negative nature, and when no disposition had been manifested on the part of Congress, to introduce the annexation, he should at an early day institute an inquiry into the expediency of annexing Texas to the Union. This he should not have done but he thought the Senate had been driven to the course by the constant pouring in of these petitions, he wished the operation definitely determined.

A long and animated discussion on the subject of abolition on a petition being presented by Mr. Hall. A motion to lay the same on the table, which was supported by Messrs. Calhoun, Preston, Roane Rives, and others, and opposed by Messrs. Clay, Cuthbert Davis, and others, but which (in consequence of the lateness of the hour of adjournment, we are obliged to omit) was finally decided. Yeas 25— nays 20. Adjourned.

House.—Mr. Boon offered a resolution directing the Committee on the Public Lands to inquire into the expediency of reducing and graduating the price of the same, and affording pre-emptive rights to actual settlers: agreed to.

Mr. Fillmore presented a memorial from many members of the bar and others, citizens of Buffalo, praying the abolition of imprisonment for debt

Several memorials were presented by members from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New-York, praying the abolition of slavery in the District, and remonstrating against the annexation of Texas: laid on the table.

On motion of Mr. Bronson, the following resolution was adopted.

Resolved, That the Committee on Roads and Canals be directed to inquire into the expediency of constructing a ship and steamboat canal around the Falls of Niagara—and that the Report of the Secretary of War to the House of Representatives of the 14th April, 1830, together, with the maps and accompanying documents (numbered 214 of 1st session of 24th Congress) together with all other papers on file with the Clerk of this House relating to that subject, be transferred to said Committee.

Mr. Adams presented the memorial of the Massachusetts Peace Society, praying Congress to accede to the proposition made by the legislative authority of Mexico, for the adjustment of the difference between that country and this.

Mr. Adams moved that the petition be referred to a select committee, with instructions to read, deliberate, and report upon the same.

Mr. Howard submitted whether the subject had not been fully referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, by the reference of the President's message to that committee so far as it relates to foreign affairs.

Mr. Adams said the subject of the proposition, of Mexico was not even alluded to in the message of the President, and for that reason he had made the motion. He also said that the gentlemen composing the Standing Committee, had made up their minds on this subject

The Chair called the gentleman to order.

Mr. Adams made, he said, two motions: first, the motion above given, and second, a motion that the memorial be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, with instruction to read, consider, and report thereon.

The subject was laid over till to-morrow.

Mr. Adams presented several petitions for the abolition of Slavery in the District of Columbia: and several remonstrances against the annexation of Texas; the reference of all which he moved, and the motions of reference were laid on the table.

Mr. Adams also presented a petition from certain citizens of Duxbury, Mass. against the abolition of slavery, the reference to which he moved to the Committee on the District, and the motion was laid on the table.

Mr. Slade, of Vermont, in presenting several abolition petitions, gave notice that he would to-morrow address the House on the subject.

After the presentation of many memorials relative to slavery and Texas, which together with the motion for the reference of which were laid on the table, the House adjourned.