Virginia Argus

Congress.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, February 9.

Proceedings of this day continued from our last.

YEAS—Messrs. L. Alston, W. Alston, Bad. Bob’s, Blackleger, Burnet, Boyd, Boyle, Borwell, Butler, Calhoun, Clay, Cooper, Cutler, Dawson, Drane, Desha, Durell, Eppes, Findley, Fisk, Vanhorn, Gholson, Goodwin, Green, Heister, Hill, Holmes, Howard, Humphreys, J. A., Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Kenan, Kirkpatrick, Lambert, Love, Marion, McCreery, D. Montgomery, N. R. Moore, T. Moore, Jer. Morrow, John Morrow, Newbold, Newton, Nicholas, Porter, Pugh, Rea (Pen.) Rhea, (Ten.) J. Richards, M. Richards, Say, Seaver, Shaw, Smelt, Smilie, J. Smith, Verplanck, Wharton, Whitehill, Wilbour, Wilson—65.

NAYS.—Messrs. Bacon, Bassett, Blake, Champion, Chittenden, Cook, Culpepper, Dana, Davenport, Elliot, Ely, Gardenier, Gardner, Garnett, Gray, Harris, Hoge, Hosley, R. S. Jackson, Jenkins, Kelly, Lewis, Livermore, Lloyd, Lyon, Macon, Masters, Milnor, Mosely, Mumford, Pitkin, Quincy, Randolph, Ritter, Rowan, Russell, Sloan, J. K. Smith, Stanford, Stedman, Storer, Sturges, Swart, Taggart, Tallmadge, Taylor, Thompson, Trigg, Upham, Van Allen, Van Cortlandt, Van Horne, Van Rensselaer, D. R. Williams—55.

Mr. W. Alston then moved to commit the resolutions to the committee to whom the bill on the subject of non-intercourse was referred.

This motion was opposed by Messrs. Randolph, Lyon, Van Horne, Bacon, Gardenier, Quincy and Milnor; and supported by Messrs. Taylor, W. Alston and Holland.

The motion was carried by yeas and nays, 55 to 36.

Mr. Van Allen moved to refer to the same committee a resolution offered by Mr. Mumford at the commencement of the session for a partial repeal of the embargo; but the House adjourned before a question could be taken.

The effect of the votes of this day, is to refer to the committee on our foreign relations, composed by Messrs. G. W. Campbell, Nicholas, Bacon, Taylor, Fisk, J. Montgomery, Mumford, Champion and Porter, the several propositions for the repeal of the embargo, for arming the merchant vessels, for non-intercourse, for excluding armed vessels from our waters, and for declaring the first capture made in violation of the neutral rights of the U. States to be a declaration of war, &c., with leave to report by bill.

The chief argument in favor of this general reference was, that these propositions might be merged in one bill which should present a general system, and thus render less complicated the proceedings of the House on these resolutions. The main arguments against it were, that it would destroy all that had already been done in committee of the whole, and probably present a system at length to the House which would not be approved, and this produce no other effect at this late period of the session than to protract discussion; and also, that it would encourage that speculation now going on in the mercantile towns, and be ruinous to many men of moderate capitals who had embarked their all in the purchase of produce, in the certainty that the embargo would be raised on the 4th of March.