The Congressional Globe, Volume 14: Twenty-Eighth Congress, Second Session Page: 77

                                
congressional flJuoBti,
:a
borough of South Easton, in the county of North-
ampton, and one in the State of Georgia, in Cass
county,at or near where the Great western and
Atlantic railroad crosses the Etowah river; it was
referred to the Committee of the Whole on the state
of the Union, and ordered to be printed..
Mr. PARMENTER, from the Committee on
Naval Affairs, reported a bill to consolidate and
amend the acts in relation to the pensions of widows
and orphans of naval officers, seamen, and marines;
and it was read twice, and committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole on the State of the Union.
Also, a bill reserving certain naval pensions for
the term of five years; which was read twice, and
committed to the Committee, of the Whole on the
state of the TJnion.
Mr. C. J. INGERSOLL, from the Committee on
Foreign Affiairs, reported favorably on the memorial
of Henry Ledyard, late charge d'affaires to France,
and asked leave to introduce a bill, which was read
twice, and committed to the Committee of the
Whole on the state of the Union.
Mr. CULLOM, from the Committee on Invalid
Pensions, reported adversely on the petition of
Charles Larrabee and William Norman; and they
■were ordered to he on the table.
And, on his motion, that Committee was dis-
charged from the consideration of the petition of
Chester Parrish; and it was laid on the table.
Mr. BRINKERHOFF, from the Committee on
Invalid Pensions, reported a bill providing for inva-
lids in the ordnance department; which was twice
read, referred to the Committee of the Whole 011
the state of the Union, and ordered to be printed.
Mr. RUSSELL, from the same committeee, re-
ported a bill for the relief of Wm. Gasup.
Also, a bill for the relief of John Ficklin.
Both of which bills were referred to the Commit-
tee of the Whole House, and ordered to be printed.
Also, an adverse report in the case of John Stone;
which was laid on the table, and ordered to be
printed.
Mr. T1BBATTS, from the same committee, re-
ported a bill for the relief of Arthur R. Frogge, of
Fentress county, Tennessee; which was referred to
the Committee of the Whole House, and ordered to
be printed.
Mr. JOHN P. KENNEDY, from the Commit-
tee on Commerce, reported a bill to alter the mode of
admeasurement of tonnage of ships and vessels em-
ployed in the merchant service of the United States;
which was twice read, and referred to the Commit-
tee of the Whole on the state of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed.
PRE-EMPTION RIGHTS.
Mr. JAMESON, from the Committee on Public
Lands, reported, as a substitute for bill No. 45, a bill
to establish a permanent prospective pre-emption
system in favor of actual settlers on the public lands.
LOUISVILLE AND PORTLAND CANAL.
Mr. HOLMES, from the Committee on Com-
merce, reported back the bill "to authorize the pur-
chase of the residue of the stock held by individual
stockholders in the Louisville and Portland canal
company, and to make the navigation of said canal
free from toll;" with the recommendation of the com
mittee that the bill do not pass.
Mr. PRATT, from the Committee on the Public
Buildings and Grounds, reported a bill to provide
for an addition to the patent office.
Also, a joint resolution providing for the selection
of a site for thenational Washington monument.
Also, a report upon the subject of an additional
building for the accommodation of the War and
Navy Departments, accompanied by an amendment
to the bill (No. 199) relating thereto.
A}l which were referred to the Committee of the
Whole on the state of the Union, and ordered to be
printed.
Also, a report upon the propriety of purchasing
the several lots belonging to individuals in the
square upon which the General Post Office building
stands;_ which was laid on the table, and ordered to
be printed.
REDUCTION OF THE ARMY.
Mr. J. A. BLACK, from the select committee, to
whom was referred the bill to regulate the pay of
the army, and'for other purposes, reported back the
same, with amendments; which was referred to the
Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union,
and ordered to be printed'.
Mr. D. L. SEYMOUR, from the Committee on
Revolutionary Pensions, reported a bill tor the re-
lief of Asenath Irvis; which was read twice, and re-
ferred to the Committee of the Whole House, and
ordered to be printed.
MEETING OF NATIONAL INSTITUTE.
Mr. J. R. INGERSOLL asked and obtained
leave of the House to offer a resolution, granting
the use of the hall of the House of Representatives
for the delivery of a discourse by the Hon Levi
Woodbury, before the National Institute, on Mon-
day evening next. -
Which resolution was unanimously adopted.
THE SICK AND POOR OP THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA.
Mr. BOWER, from the Committee for the District
-- of Columbia, asked leave to report a resolution di-
recting the Door-keeper of the House, to deliver to
the order of the Female Union Benevolent Society
of this city, the old refuse and surplus wood, now
in the vault of the Capitol, for the use of the suffer-
ing sick, and destitute poor, provided the same can
be spared from the supply necessary for the use of
the House, and that it does not exceed 50 cords,
Mr. G. W. JONES, a member of the same com-
mittee, suggested a doubt as to whether this was in
reality a report authorized from that committee,
a>id he opposed the resolution on constitutional
grounds.
After some conversation between Mr. BOWER
and Mr. JON ES as to what had taken glace in com-
mittee on this subject,
Mr. BOWER withdrew the report.
Mr. SIMONS asked and obtained leave to offer a
resolution to rescind the former resolution of the
House, calling on the Secretary of the £Javy for the
report proposed to be made to the House early at
the last session, of the experiments testing the
utility of the inventions to prevent the explosion of
steam-boilers.
Mr. WINTHROP remarked that, Within twenty-
four or forty-eight hours, this very report had been
laid on their tables. As the original resolution, then,
had expended itself, he deemed the present one alto-
gether unnecessary and superfluous.
Mr. SIMONS stated the reasons which had in-
duced him to offer the resolution.
The question was taken, and the resolution was
rejected.
MEXICAN INDEMNITIES.
Mr. DARRAGH asked and obtained leave to of-
fer the following resolution:
Resolved, That the President be requested to communicate
to this House, if, in his opinion, not inconsistent with the
public interest, a copy of the despatch from Mr. Shannon to
the Department of State, covering the communication from
Mr. Rejon toJiVIr. Shannon of Sept. 2d, 1844, informing him of
the payment of the instalments therein mentioned under the
convention of ISM, and such other communications as have
been received from Mr. Shannon on the same subject; and
to inform the House who is the agent of the United States
to receive said payments, under what authority he exor-
cises the power of agent, and "whether any and what infor-
mation has been received by said agent on the subject;
whether any rcceipt was given to the government of Mex-
ico for said sums of money, and copies of any order on the
Treasury of Mexico for said payments; what was done with
them, and where the same now are, and whether any; and
what remonstrances or complaints have been made to flte
g-overnment'of Mexico on the subject of tile non-payments
of said orders oil the treasury.
Mr. D. remarked that, according to the terms of
the convention of 1839 with Mexico, the money due
from the republic of Mexico to citizens of this coun-
try was made payable in instalments. These in-
stalments had been paid up to April last, and since
that time no money has been received. He repre-
sented one gentleman who had one of these claims
of the amount of twenty-five or thirty thousand dol-
tars; and he wished to call the attention of the
House to the facts connected with this matter.
The SPEAKER here remarked that the gentle-
man was not in order, and could only be permit-
ted to proceed by the unanimous consent of the
House.
No objections being made,
Mr. DARRAGH proceeded. What he intended
to say was, that under the treaty with Mexico of
1839, the indemnity was to be paitj every three
months; and it appeared that it v;as paid up to
the third of July last, according to a notice to the
claimants which appeared in the official paper here.
In looking at the correspondence communicated by
the President to this House on the subject of our
relations with Mexico, the strange fact was present-
ed, that the letter from Mr. Rejon, transmitted by
Mr. Shannon, in which he stated that the instal-
ments had been paid to the agent of the United
States, was not sent to the House, while a letter froiji
Mr. Benjamin Green, dated in this city, in which he
says the instalments were not paid, was transmit-
ted. The House would perceive that, in August
last, we were informed that the instalments .were
regularly paid to the agent of the United States.
Now, he was at a loss to know where the agent of
the United States received his authority to collect
this money. Who had a right to appoint this agent,
when there was a consul of the United-States regu-
larly appointed to transact business of this nature?
He understood that this agent was a German hank-
er named Yoss, and that he received the money,
though it has never got into the treasury of the
United States. . Now, he wanted to know how this
man got his aut* ority to receive this moi.ey, and
whether he or the minister of the United States re-
ceipted for it. '
Mr. D. then went on to show that, in the des-
patches of Mr. Shannon, there was not the slightest
intimation that this money bad not been paid, nor
did he make any such charge during the angry cor-
respondence which took place between him and
Mr. Rejon. It wasa matter of official notice that
this money had been paid; and there was no contra-
diction to it but the letter of Mr. .Benjamin- Green
to JVir. Calhoun, written'since he came to. this city-.
Now, he would remark that the letter of Mr. Green
was not official, for he had nothing to do with the
matter, and had no authority to interfere with it.
Mr. CAVE JOHNSON suggested to the gentle-
man from Pennsylvania to insert the usual condition
in the resolution—that the information is asked for
if, in the opinion of the executive, it will not be in-
compatible with the public interest to give it.
Mr. DARRAGH acceded to the suggestion; and
having amended his resolution—
After some further conversation,
Mr. BARNARD offered the following amend-
ment:
Resolved, That the President of the United States be re-
quested to put this House in possession of the precise .in-
formation said to have been recerved at £he Department of
State through Major Butler, agent of the Cherokee Indians,
in September last, that emissaries or agents of the Mexican
government were employed in instigating the Indian tribes
on our southwestern frontier to acts of hosiility against
our citizens and those of Texas residing in their respective
neighborhoods.
Resolved, That the President be requested to inform this
House what representations he has caused to be made to
the government of Mexico in reference to this proceeding;
and to furnish the House with copies of any diplomatic in-
structions or correspondence on the subject, il not, in his
judgment, incompatible with the puolic interests.
Resolred., That the President be requested to inform this
House by what subsisting treaty the United States are
bound to the government of Texas to maintain peace and
harmony among the several Indian nations who inhabit the
lands adjacent to the bays'and rivers which form the bound-
aries between the two countries, &.c., as seems to be as-
sumed in a letter from Mr. Calhoun to Mr. Donelson, dated
Department of State, Washington, September 17,1844.
Resolved, That the President be requested to inform this
House in what treaty of the United States with any foreign
power are found the stipulations referred to in that letter
which require or authorize the troops of the United States,
in any contingency, condition, or terms whatever, to be
marched into Texas or any where out of the territory of the
United States.
Resolved, That the President be requested to inform this
House under what constitutional or legal provisions, or un-
der what u age of the government, a charge d'affaires of the
United States, near a foreign government, consulting with
the authorities of such foreign government, is instructed (as
in the letter of Mr Calhoun to Mr Donelson, just referred
to) to assume the control and direction of the movement of
the troops ofthe United States, which may be placed in the
field for actual scrvice, in facc of a public enemy, so far as
to designate the points to which they shall march, and at
which they shall be stationed—to that extent placing the
the troops, and the officer in command of them, under the
superior authority, orders, and command of such charge.
The SPEAKER having decided this amendment
to be out of order,
The question was put on the adoption ofthe res-
olution; and it was agreed to.
Mr. BARNARD then asked leave to offer the
above as a separate resolution; and, objections being
made, moved to suspend the rules; which motion
was negatived—yeas 80, nays 85.
MAP OF THE UNITED STATES.
Mr. H. HAMLIN moved a reconsideration of
the vote by which the House yesterday directed the
Clerk to procure for each of the members a map of
the United States, from the latest surveys. He ex-
plained his reason to be that the map ordered would
be on too small a scale to be of any value.
Mr. CAVE JOHNSON supported the motion
for the reconsideration. He said he understood that
it was intended to procure the maps with a view of
aiding members in the Texas discussion; but, as