Alexandria Gazette, Commercial And Political

CONGRESS.

IN SENATE.—April 22.

The Senate was closely engaged the whole day on the various subjects before it.

Among other proceedings, the bill for the organization of the Staff Department of the Army, was read a third time and passed—15 votes to 11.

HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES.
MONDAY, April 22.

Pensions and Revolutionary Claims.

Mr. Chappell, from the committee of pensions and revolutionary claims, made unfavorable reports on the petitions of Mary Sears and Daniel M'Crimmin.

Mr. Robertson reported a bill for reprinting the Edition of the Land Laws; which was twice read.

The House took up for consideration the amendments made by the Senate to the bill from this house to regulate the assessment of the direct tax, &c. one of which was the addition of a section directing a revision of the assessment and valuation of property in the state of Delaware. The amendment, it appeared, was predicated on a petition of the Legislature of that state, growing out of the alleged injustice of the board of principal assessors, who had altered the valuation of property made a report by the assistant assessors in different counties, so as to produce a very unequal and unjust appropriation of the direct tax among the counties of the state. The committee of Ways and Means, to whom the amendment had been referred, recommended a disagreement thereto; and the question was on concurring with the committee.

The amendment produced a good deal of debate, in which Messrs. Clayton, Sheffey, Wright, Ward of Mass. and Gaston supported, and Messrs. Lowndes and Ingham opposed the adoption of the amendment. By the advocates of the amendment, it was urged that the conduct of the board of assessors was partial, unauthorised, unjust and oppressive and required the revision provided by the new section. The amendment was opposed on the ground that the proper business of the board was to supervise and equalize the valuations of the assistant assessors that although they had not acted conformably to the letter of the law still the result of their decision was the same as if they had proceeded in strict accordance with the law, and that it was an error in form only and that if this amendment was agreed to, it would open a door to endless applications for the revision of assessments, etc. To establish the above points, a variety of arguments and illustrations were used, which protracted the debate to a considerable length. The report of the committee of Ways and Means was finally disagreed to by a decided majority, and the amendment of the Senate concurred in.

Mr. Pleasants, from the Naval committee, reported a bill to fix the peace establishment of the marine corps (reducing it to one thousand non-commissioned officers and privates;) which was twice read and committed.

The bills on Friday ordered to a third reading, were read a third time accordingly and passed; with a single exception, which was

The engrossed bill respecting vaccination. This bill was laid on the table: on motion of Mr. Southard, who stated, in making the motion, that a member of the committee which reported the bill, who was at present absent from indisposition, had received important information from the vaccine agent, and also from officers of the army and navy; and had in consequence prepared some amendments which he wished to make to the bill, to introduce vaccination into the army and navy—to give time for this, Mr. S. asked that the bill might lie on the table a day or two.

SPECIE PAYMENTS.

The House proceeded to take up the bill to provide for collecting the public revenues in the lawful money of the country—to enforce the payment of specie.

Mr. Calhoun moved to amend the bill by adding several additional sections, authorizing the issue of millions of Treasury Notes, not to bear interest or be fundable, to be received in all dues to the United States, providing the usual penalties of counterfeiting, etc.

The amendments were ordered to be printed, and the bill was recommitted to committee of the whole house for the purpose of considering the amendments: it being decided by the Speaker that it was necessary to take that course.

In answer to some enquiries put by Mr. Grosvenor, Mr. Calhoun stated as his intention to move to fill up the blank with fifteen millions, as the amount of Treasury Notes to be issued.

The House then took up the unfinished business of Friday: being the bill from the Senate to increase the salaries of our Ministers at the Courts of St. Petersburgh, Paris and London, (to 12,000 dollars per annum:) which bill had passed through a committee of the whole, and the question now was, whether it should be engrossed and read a third time. This question was decided in the negative as follows:

YEAS—Messrs. Archer, Atherton, Baer, Betts, Breckenridge, Calhoun, Chappell, Cuthbert, Forney, Gaston, Grosvenor, Ingham, Johnson, Va. King, N.C. Love, Lovett, Lowndes, Lyon, M. Bryant, Murfee, Nelson, Ms. Nelson Va. Newton, Pickering, Pleasants, Savage, Schenck, Sheffey, Smith, Smith, Md. Taggart, Ward. Mass. Wilkin, Thos. Wilson, Woodward, Wright, Yancey—36.

NAYS—Messrs. Adgate, Alexander, non, Brooks, Brown, Bryan, Cady, Barbour, Bennett, Boss, Bradbury, Can-, Champion, Chipman, Cilley, Crocheron, Clopton, Crawford, Culpepper, Darlinggow, Hale, Hanson, Hardin, Hawes, ton, Davenport, Desha, Edwards, Glasgow, Langdon, Law, Laws, Lumpkin, Lyle, Heister, Herbert, Hungerford, Irwin, Pa. Milnor, Noyes, Ormsby, Pitkin, Reed. Marsh, Mason, M'Coy, M'Lean, Ky. Reynolds. Roane, Robertson, Root, Rug gles, Southard, Strong, Stuart, Sturges, Tate, Taul, Telfair, Tucker, Vose, Wallace, Whiteside, Wilcox, Williams, Willoughby—67.

So the bill was rejected.

The House went into committee of the whole on the bill for the relief of David Gelston, collector, and P. A. Schenck, naval officer of the port of N. York to indemnify them 100,000 dollars damages recovered against them by Gould, Hoit and others, for the seizure of a vessel which seizure afterwards proved to be not authorized by law.

This bill also produced some debate. It was opposed by Mr. Sheffey on the ground that the seizure was made without probable cause, otherwise damages would not have been awarded by the court that where an officer thus acts he does so on his own responsibility and ought not to be indemnified therefor by the government.

The committee then took up the bill for the relief of Col. Geo. T. Ross and Com. Daniel T. Patterson and their officers and men, granting them 50,000 dollars, a moiety of the value of the vessels, etc. captured by them from the pirates of Barataria.

The bills were reported to the House without amendment—The former, on motion of Mr. Tucker, was laid on the table, and the latter ordered to a third reading.

The House then adjourned.