Thomas's Massachusetts Spy, Or, Worcester Gazette

U. S. CONGRESS.

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS—FIRST SESSION.

SENATE.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 21.—The Senate, after rejecting Mr. Roberts's resolution, as mentioned in the last Spy, were engaged in the discussion of the bill for reducing the Army.

THURSDAY, FEB. 22.—The Army bill was again under discussion.

FRIDAY, FEB. 23.—The Army bill, with amendments, was finally ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

SATURDAY, FEB. 24.—The Army bill, as amended, was passed, and returned to the other House for concurrence in the amendments. After some debate, the Senate concurred with the House, in appointing a committee on the Missouri subject; and Messrs. Holmes, of Maine, Roberts, of Penn. Morrill, of N. H. Barbour, of Vir. Southard, of N. J. Johnson, of Ky. and King of N. Y. were appointed.

Mr. Barbour, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, reported a bill providing for the adjudication and payment of claims arising under the Treaty just ratified between the United States and Spain.

MONDAY, FEB. 26.

Mr. Holmes, of Maine, from the joint committee of the two Houses of Congress, appointed on the subject, reported a resolution for the admission of Missouri into the Union: which was read and, on motion of Mr. H. ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. Barbour, from the committee on foreign relations, reported a bill authorizing the President of the United States to take possession of East and West Florida, and establish a temporary government therein; and the bill was twice read, by general consent.

The Senate then went into committee of the whole, Mr. Horsey in the chair, on the bill providing for the adjudication and payment of claims arising under the treaty with Spain; and proceeded to fill the blanks therein.

In moving to fill the blank left for the compensation of the commissioners to be appointed under the act, Mr. Barbour said it appeared to be the common impression that men of the first standing for character and abilities ought to be selected, and to induce such men to accept the office, a liberal salary ought to be allowed. He therefore moved that the sum be fixed at $5,000 each; which motion was agreed to without objection. The salary for the Secretary of the Commissioners was fixed at $2,000; and, on the motion of Mr. King, of New-York, an amendment was inserted requiring that the person filling the office of Secretary shall be skilled in the French and Spanish languages.

Mr. King, of New-York, deeming $2,000 dollars not a sufficient salary to induce suitable persons to undertake the highly important duties devolving on the Commissioners, moved to reconsider the vote on filling the blank with $2,000 dollars, with the view of filling it with $2,500 dollars; but the motion was negatived—ayes 12, noes 16.

The bill was then reported to the Senate, and was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading.

TUESDAY, FEB. 27.—The bill providing for the settlement and payment of certain claims arising under the treaty with Spain, was passed.

The resolution from the other House, to suspend the recruiting service, was considered, and ordered to be read a third time.

Missouri.—The resolution which passed the other House last evening, to admit the State of Missouri into the Union, was received, and read twice by general consent.

The Senate then proceeded to consider the said resolution. After an unsuccessful attempt by Mr. Macon to strike out the condition: and proviso, which was negatived by a large majority, and a few remarks by Mr. Barbour, in support of the expediency of harmony and concession on this momentous subject,

The question was taken on ordering the resolution to be read a third time, and was decided in the affirmative, by the following vote:

YEAS—Messrs. Barbour, Chandler, Eaton, Elliott, Gaillard, Holmes of Maine, Holmes of Miss. Horsey, Hunter, Johnson of Ken. Johnson of Lou. King of Ala. Lowrie, Morrill, Parrott, Pleasants, Roberts, Southard, Stokes, Talbot, Taylor, Thomas, Van Dyke, Walker of Ala. Williams of Miss. Williams of Tenn.—26.

NAYS—Messrs. Dana, Dickinson, King of N. Y. Knight, Lanman, Macon, Mills, Noble, Otis, Palmer, Ruggles, Sanford, Smith, Tichenor, Trimble—15.

A motion was made to read the resolution a third time forthwith, but it was objected to, and, under the rule of the Senate, of course it could not be done. The Senate then adjourned.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 21.—Mr. Brown, of Ky. offered a resolution for repealing so much of the Missouri bill of the last session, as prohibited slavery north of 36 deg. 30 min.

[The reason assigned by the mover was that the compromise of the last session had been violated by the refusal to admit Missouri, at the present.]

The House, by a majority of 36, refused to consider the resolution.

The bill for the reduction of salaries was laid on the table, upon motion of Mr. Clay, for the avowed purpose of getting rid of it, and thus of preventing "a useless consumption of time."

THURSDAY, FEB. 22.—Mr. Clay offered a resolution for the appointment of a committee of twenty-three members, to be joined by a committee from the Senate, to consider "whether it be expedient or not to make provision for the admission of Missouri into the Union."

After an hour's debate the resolution passed, 101 to 55. On motion of Mr. Clay, and with the expressed wish of the Speaker, it was ordered that the committee be appointed by ballot, to-morrow.

THURSDAY, FEB. 23.—Mr. Archer, of Va. reported that the tellers appointed to examine the ballots given for a committee of twenty-three members on the Missouri subject, according to the resolution of yesterday, had performed that duty—the result of which ballot he delivered in.

It appeared that 157 members had been voted for, but that the following seventeen gentlemen only had a majority of the ballots given, and were elected, viz.:—

Messrs. Clay, of Ky. Eddy, of R. I. Cobb, of Geo. Hill, of Me. Barbour, of Va. Storrs, of N. Y. Cocke, of Tenn. Rankin, of Miss. Archer, of Va. Brown, of Ky. Ford, of N. Y. Culbreth, of Md. Hackley, of N. Y. S. Moore, of Penn. Stevens, of Conn. Rogers, of Penn. Southard, of N. J.

Seventeen only being elected, there remained six members yet to be appointed.

Mr. Clay moved, as the operation of balloting again to-morrow would be tedious and create delay, that the House agree, by general consent, to elect the remaining six members from those having received the next highest number of votes.—

It was also suggested that the Speaker appoint the remaining six; and the Speaker having intimated to the House that, if the duty devolved on him, he should, from a sense of propriety, make the appointment from the names standing next highest to those elected, on the list—the latter course was concurred in by the House, Mr. Clay having withdrawn his motion in favour of that course.

It appeared then that the five following gentlemen were also elected on the committee, being the next highest on the list:—

Messrs. Darlington, of Penn. Gros, of N. Y. Pitcher, of N. Y. Livermore, of N. H. Sloan, of Ohio.

After these, Messrs. Randolph and Baldwin were next highest on the list, and having an equal number of votes, it remains for the Speaker to designate the gentleman who shall make the 23d member of the committee.

SATURDAY, FEB. 24.—Mr. Randolph was designated by the Speaker to fill the committee balloted for yesterday; and Messrs. Baldwin, of Penn. and Smith, of N. C. were appointed in the room of Mr. Livermore, of N. H. and Mr. Gros, of N. Y. who were excused from serving on the committee.

The House, in committee of the whole, took up the bill laying a duty on sales at auction.

Mr. Nelson, of Vir. moved to strike out the first section; but, without taking the question, the committee rose, and the House adjourned.

MONDAY, FEB. 26.—Mr. Smith, of Md. from the committee of Ways and Means, reported a bill to authorize the President of the United States to borrow a sum not exceeding $4,500,000 dollars; which was twice read and committed.

Mr. Clay, from the joint committee appointed on the Missouri subject, reported the following resolution:—

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That Missouri shall be admitted into this Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever, upon the fundamental condition, that the fourth clause of the twenty-sixth section of the third article of the Constitution submitted on the part of said State to Congress, Shall never be construed to authorize the passage of any law, and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which any citizen of either of the States in this Union shall be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizen is entitled under the Constitution of the United States: Provided, That the Legislature of the said State, by a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of the said State to the said fundamental condition, and shall transmit to the President of the United States, On or before the fourth Monday in November next, an authentic copy of the said act; upon the receipt whereof the President, by proclamation, shall announce the fact: Whereupon, and without any further proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of the said State into this Union, shall be considered as complete.

The said resolution was twice read, and ordered to lie on the table, on motion of Mr. Clay, with the avowed intention of calling for its consideration in the course of this day.

The House then proceeded to the consideration of the bill for the relief of certain purchasers of public lands, and made some progress therein.

The House then took up the resolution, as above reported by the joint committee on the Missouri subject.

Mr. Clay briefly explained the views of the committee, and the considerations which induced them to report the resolution. He considered this resolution as being the same in effect as that which had been previously reported by the former committee of thirteen members; and stated that the committee on the part of the Senate was unanimous, and that on the part of this House nearly so, in favour of this resolution.

Mr. Adams, of Massachusetts, delivered his objections to the resolution, on the ground of defect of power in the Congress of the United States to authorize or require the Legislature of a State, once admitted into the Union, to do the act proposed by this resolution to be demanded of the Legislature of Missouri.

Mr. Brown, of Kentucky, replied to the arguments of Mr. Adams, and defended the resolution from the objections set up against it. He earnestly invited the House to support the resolution, and thus to end the distracting and painful controversy respecting Missouri.

Mr. Adams spoke in explanation.

Mr. Allen, of Mass. next obtained the floor, and delivered his sentiments with much earnestness, and pretty much at large, in opposition to the resolution, on the ground as well of its terms, as of hostility to the toleration of slavery in any shape, or under any pretence, by the legislation of Congress.

[During the progress of this speech, Mr. Allen was called to order by Mr. Trimble, because discussing not the question before the House, but a question decided at the last session. The Speaker, however, over-ruled this objection.]

Mr. Allen concluded by moving to amend the resolution, by striking out the word citizen, wherever it occurs in the resolution, as above printed, and to insert in lieu thereof, "free negro or mulatto."

Mr. R. Moore, of Penn. then required the Previous Question, believing that this subject had been so long debated, as to require that it be decided, in one way or another, without further consumption of the time of the House.

Ninety-five members having risen to second this motion, and the Yeas and Nays having been required thereon by Mr. Randolph—

The question was stated in the following form, "Shall the main question be now put?" and was decided as follows:

For the previous question, 109.

Against it, 50.

The main question was then accordingly put, viz. "Shall the resolution be engrossed and read a third time?" and decided as follows:—

For the third reading, 86.

Against it, 81.

The resolution was then ordered to be read a third time this day, but not without considerable opposition.

The resolution was accordingly read a third time, and put on its passage.

Mr. Randolph, in a speech of some 20 minutes, delivered the reasons why he should not vote for the resolution.

The final question was then taken on the resolution, and decided in the affirmative, as follows:—

YEAS—Messrs. Abbot, Alexander, Allen, Ten. Anderson, Archer, Md. Archer, Va. Baldwin, Ball, Barbour, Bateman, Bayly, Blackledge, Bloomfield, Brevard, Brown, Bryan, Butler, Lou. Cannon, Clark, Clay, Cobb, Cocke, Crawford, Crowell, Culbreth, Culpepper, Cuthbert, Davidson, Eddy, Edwards, N. C. Fisher, Floyd, Ford, Gray, Guyon, Hackley, Hall, N. C. Hardin, Hill, Hooks, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Va. Jones, Ten. Little, M'Coy, M'Creary, M'Lean, Ken. Meigs, Mercer, Metcalf, Montgomery, S. Moore, T. L. Moore, Neale, Nelson, Va. Newton, Overstreet, Pinckney, Rankin, Reid, Rhea, Ringgold, Robertson, Rogers, Sawyer, Settle, Shaw, Simkins, Smith, N. J. Smith, Md. A. Smyth, Va. Smith, N. C. Southard, Stevens, Storrs, Swearingen, Terrell, Trimble, Tucker, S. C. Tucker, Va. Tyler, Udree, Walker, Warfield, Williams, Va. Williams, N. C.—87.

NAYS—Messrs. Adams, Allen, Ma. Allen, N. Y. Baker, Beecher, Borden, Brush, Buford, Butler, N. H. Campbell, Case, Clagett, Cook, Cushman, Danae, Darlington, Dennison, Dewitt, Dickinson, Edwards, Conn. Edwards, Penn. Entis, Fay, Folger, Foot, Forrest, Fuller, Gorham, Gros, N. Y. Gros, Penn. Hall, N. Y. Hemphill, Hendricks, Herrick, Hibshman, Hobart, Hotter, Kendall, Kinsey, Kinley, Lathrop, Lincoln, Livermore, Maclay, M'Culloch, Mallory, Marchand, Meech, Monell, R. Moore, Morton, Moseley, Murray, Nelson, Mass. Parker, Mass. Patterson, Phelps, Philson, Pitcher, Plumer, Randolph, Rich, Richards, Richmond, Ross, Rus, Sergeant, Silsbee, Sloan, Street, Strong, Vt. Strong, N. Y. Tarr, Tomlinson, Tracy, Upham, Van Rensselaer, Wallace, Weadover, Whitman, Wood—81.

So the resolution was passed, and ordered to be sent to the Senate for concurrence.

TUESDAY, FEB. 27.—Mr. A. Smyth, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to which had been referred the amendments of the Senate to the bill to reduce the military peace establishment, reported the same with sundry amendments thereto.

The amendments reported by the military committee were severally agreed to.

Mr. Smith, of Md. moved to strike out the provision "for one Judge-Advocate, with a salary of $2,000 dollars;" and the motion was agreed to, without a division.

The amendment of the Senate, as amended by this House, were then agreed to; and ordered to be returned to the Senate for concurrence in the amendments of this House thereto.

Mr. Nelson, of Virginia, from the committee on foreign relations, reported a bill for carrying into execution the recent treaty between the United States and Spain; which was twice read and committed.

Mr. Baldwin, then moved that the House do resolve itself into a committee of the whole, to take into consideration the bill laying a duty on sales at auction. This motion was negatived, 59 to 43.