DEC. 9, 10, 1835.] Death of Mr. Smith-Rules and Orders of the House. Several other communications from the Secretary of the Treasury were laid before the House, and ordered to lie on the table. Mr. WISE moved to reconsider the vote directing the printing of 15,000 copies of the President's message. That, he believed, was the usual number. His object was to increase the quantity. Mr. HARPER, of Pennsylvania, thought an increased number unnecessary. The message would be published in almost every newspaper in the country. Mr. WISE remarked that the message was one of unusual interest, and, if the motion to reconsider prevailed, he should move to print 20,000. RULES AND ORDERS OF THE HOUSE. The resolution offered by Mr. MANN, of New York, on Monday, for the adoption of the rules and orders of the last House, for the government of the present House, having been taken up for consideration, Mr. GILLET moved to amend the same by embracing in the list of standing committees, "a Committee on the Militia," which was agreed to: Yeas 98. [H. OF R. objects of legislation, on which account, however, he did not intend to impute any blame to any person or committee. In those bills had been introduced expenditures of money, and drafts on the people, which had been a subject of contention and dissension in the House. That of itself was an evil of magnitude. Another consequence of it was, that the appropriation bills dragged their slow length along through half of a year before they finally passed. He held in his hand proof of this At the first session of the last Congress, he had the honor to offer this rule, which he now again proposed, and he intended it as the first of a series of resolutions on the subject. He offered it, he said, on the 10th of February, and two months elapsed before he could prevail upon the House to consider it. When it was taken up, other business occupied the attention of assertion. the House. Last session, its consideration was prevented by want of time, and the great pressure of other business. At the first session of the twenty-third Congress, on the 11th of February, the day after he offered his resolution, an act of appropriation, in part, was passed. It was an act making appropriations, to the amount of five or six hundred thousand dollars, for the pay and mileage of members of this House, of the Clerk and officers of the House, for the pay and mileage of the Senators, the contingent expenses of both Houses, &c. Not a cent was appropriated for any other service, except that of members of Congress. On the 27th of June, three days before the close of the session, the general appropriation bill was passed. What, in the mean time, asked Mr. A., was the condition of the President of the nation, before other nations of the earth? what was the condition of the heads of Department, his assistants? what was the situation of the judges of the land; of the army and navy; of every officer of every department of the public service? What, indeed, was the condition of every individual citizen, whether rich or poor, well-fed or starving, who had demands on the public? All were obliged to live on credit, or starve. We were, he thought, obliged to provide for others as well as for ourselves. What reason was there for the extraordinary delay and procrastination in this act. It was because new clauses were introduced into the bill, occasioning long debates in the Senate, as well as in the House. He would now pass to the last session. The general appropriation bill was then passed with great difficulty. In consequence of its long procrastination, it became questionable, in the last hour of the session, whether we had made any appropriations or not. But he would say no more on that subject. If the House would adopt the resolution which he proposed, and which was merely in the nature of an experiment, to which no one could have any objection, the bills would be stripped of every thing but the appropriations; and if any new objects presented themselves, they would be put in separate mediate necessity for compliance with existing laws. Mr. J. Q. ADAMS offered the following, as an amend-bills, not hazarding what was indispensable and of imment to the rules: that it shall be the duty of the Committee of Ways and Means, within thirty days after the commencement of each session of Congress, to report the general appropriation bill, or give their reasons to the House for failing so to do. Mr. A. said that the propriety of this rule would strike so forcibly the mind of every one who, like himself, had the honor heretofore of a seat here, that it was not necessary for him to spend much time in supporting it. Its object was to hasten the progress of the annual appropriation bills. No member had been here for any length of time, who was not aware that some measure was necessary to answer this object. Sir, said Mr. A., it has been the practice heretofore to postpone the report to a late day of the session. It had been the practice to introduce into the appropriation bills new Mr. A. had, he said, fixed the limit at thirty days; but, for his own part, he saw no reason why the committee could not report within ten days after the commencement of the session. The committee had nothing to do but to examine and see what was authorized by law; and having done that, there was no reason why they could not report within ten days. The bill could be passed in fifteen days afterwards. It would then go to the Senate, and there it would receive the same attention and despatch. In fact, he saw no reason why all the appropriation bills could not be presented to the President before the first day of January. They ought to be passed before the first of the year. The demands then become due, and there was no possible reason or excuse for not then paying off at least one half of the debts of the Government. Every new-year's day would thus find the Treasury ready to pay off the demands upon it. He would not further trespass upon the time of the House in pressing this motion. Mr. CAMBRELENG would like, he said, to hear the amendment read. It having been read, Mr. C. said he concurred entirely in the views of the gentleman from Massachusetts, as to the evils he complained of; and, probably, they were more manifest last session than at any former period; but Mr. C. dissented entirely to the position taken by the gentleman, that it ever had been, at least in his experience, short as it had been in the Committee of Ways and Means, and long as it had been in the House, that it was justly ascribable to that committee. Mr. C. would appeal to every old member of that House, whether it had not been uniformly the practice for the chairman of that committee to appeal and urge upon the House the necessity of taking up the appropriation bills; and whether the uniform habits of the House had not been to postpone and postpone them again, from day to day, in defiance of all entreaties. If the gentleman wishes to reach the evil he complained of, he should make his appeal to the House. He should prescribe the law by which that House should be bound to take the bills up and proceed with them. The honorable gentleman prescribed duties to the Committee of Ways and Means; but the gentle. man must be aware, his knowledge and experience must satisfy him, that every item in the appropriation bills, relating to the army and navy, was a matter of constant communication between the committee and the Department. How could he expect the committee to adopt a mere estimate, without reason? Every item must undergo full investigation before any one member of the committee would consent to its insertion. A most laborious duty had to be performed before the bill came into the House. Mr. C. said he did not rise for the purpose of objecting to the amendment of the gentleman from Massachusetts, because it had a modification that the committee could give their reasons for not having reported the bills, and therefore the proposition was not very operative upon the committee, because, if they were ready to report they would report, and if not, they could obtain further time. Still, Mr. C. would say he thought the time too short. With regard to the measure before the House at the last session, he regretted as much as any gentleman that the Senate were in the habit of putting upon the appropriation bills others that had nothing to do with them. He alluded to the United States Military Academy bill. Was it because the committee had not reported the bill early enough to be acted on? Was it the fault of the gentleman who had charge of the bill that it was not called up? Did not every gentleman, then a member of the House, know that more than a dozen attempts were made to get the bill up, and every attempt failed, till, in the last emergency, the Senate were under the necessity of attaching it to the appropriation bill for the general expenses of the Government? Mr. C. rose not for the purpose, he said, of opposing the principle of the gentleman from Massachusetts, but merely to show that the House itself was the origin of all the evils of which the gentleman complained; but he did not think the proposition one calculated to promote or facilitate business. He knew of no committee last session that did not report in time, except one; and he did not think the gentleman from Massachusetts, having secured, as they did, by their united counsel, a unanimous vote upon the French question, would find fault with the Committee on Foreign Relations in not having been premature. He did not think the fault was with a committee, for every committee would do its duty; and if they did not act, the House had power to compel them. 1 [DEC. 10, 1835. Mr. C. concurred with the gentleman in another point, and that was, that it had been the practice of the House, in some cases, to insert provisions of the kind he complained of. He believed, however, the gentleman would do him the justice to say that he (Mr. C.) had uniformly acted with him in opposing such clauses-in other words, new appropriations. He had done it heretofore, and should do it again; and would at all times unite with that gentleman in opposing every thing of the kind, from that or any other committee. Still, the committee was not so much to blame as the House itself; and the House, he was sure, would pardon him, for he spoke of what it was perfectly sensible. There were some gentlemen who had uniformly resisted every thing in an appropriation bill not already authorized by law; and he would again pledge himself to unite with them on all occasions. Mr. C. concluded by requesting Mr. ADAMS to amend his resolution so as to extend the time to six weeks instead of thirty days. Mr. VANDERPOEL was, he said, totally opposed to the amendment of the gentleman from Massachusetts, because it involved a principle which he well knew was not intended by the honorable mover-that of discour tesy to the Committee of Ways and Means, whoever they might be. Mr. V. would ask the House whether it was right and courteous to apply the spur exclusively to that committee? And was not the amendment of the gentleman founded upon the apprehension that, peradventure, that committee would not do its duty? Now, in all charity to every committee of that House, he was willing to presume-nay, he was bound to presumethat every committee appointed by the Chair would feel the high responsibilities and obligations imposed upon them, and feel resolved to do their duty, and do it promptly. Why was it necessary to call upon this committee alone? Ah! says the gentleman, we have suffered a great deal of inconvenience heretofore. My answer to that is, said Mr. V., that this committee will profit from the lessons of past experience. If we suffered inconvenience from procrastination last year, and the year before, I have no doubt the Committee of Ways and Means will feel stimulated from that circumstance; and it is surely unnecessary, at this stage, to issue our mandate that they shall report within thirty days. Mr. V. agreed with the honorable gentleman from Massachusetts, that they did suffer some inconvenience last year from procrastination, but he did not attach all the blame to the Committee of Ways and Means. If fault was any where, it was as much in the House, and perhaps more, than in the committee. He well recollected that the chairman of that committee would come in there, day after day, and entreat and implore the House to take up the appropriation bills; and he well recollected, also, that those appeals were made in vain. Mr. V. should vote against the amendment. Mr. ADAMS had, he said, been very unfortunate in explaining his views, if he had given the gentlemen from New York any reason to suppose that he wished or intended to censure the Committee of Ways and Means, or any member of that committee. Sir, said he, I disclaim any imputation upon that committee. I spoke of evils which existed, evils which were felt and acknowl edged, and from which it was my object to obtain a remedy. The gentleman particularly who last spoke seemed to suppose that I intended to cast censure onthe Committee of Ways and Means; I meant no sort of censure on that or any other committee of the House. I stated the fact that the general appropriation bill did not pass at the last session until within three hours of the expiration of the Congress. I throw no blame, on this account, on any committee of this House. from it. But whether that bill had passed was a subject Far of dispute, and it was in imminent danger of being lost. It was finally saved by the House agreeing to the proposition of the Senate. Of this he had spoken only as an illustration of the necessity of passing the bill at an earlier day. It was not his object to trammel the committee, and, on the contrary, he wished to give it full latitude and liberty. If they were not ready at the end of the thirty days, they would say so to the House, and have the time extended. He called on the Committee of Ways and Means to put the House in possession of the bills. We must have them before we can act upon them at all. He supposed that thirty days would be a sufficient time for the committee to retain them under consideration. His proposition left the committee just as independent as any other committee. It imposed upon them no extraordinary duty, and he would venture to say that they would always be ready to report within the time proposed, should the resolution be passed. Should this motion be agreed to, he would propose another rule, assigning certain days for the House to take up and consider the appropriation bills. His object, in expediting the action of the committee, was to hasten the action of the House. He hoped it would not be believed by the gentleman from New York that it was his object or desire to impute any censure to the Committee of Ways and Means or any other committee that ever existed. Abuses often crept in, one lapping over another, without the possibility of correction. When they were felt, and severely felt, then it was time to apply a remedy. He knew no other committee whose action it was necessary to accelerate at all, and his only object, in relation to this, was to hasten the action of the House. it. [H. OF R. tion. It was his intention to accelerate the action of the House, and therefore he was perfectly willing to accept While up, he would reply to some of the remarks of the gentleman from Virginia. The gentleman thought that the House would be compelled to pass the bills as soon as they were reported; but the gentleman knew, surely, that the House was their own master, and that it was not in the power of any one to restrain them. No one was more willing than he was to have every appro. priation bill discussed, even till the end of the session, before it should end in an unnecessary charge on the people. But, sir, the gentleman has a different idea of an appropriation bill from mine. In my view (said Mr. A.) an appropriation bill ought to be nothing more than a draft on the Treasury for a debt due by law; and then the only question in regard to it is, whether it is authorized by law, and whether we shall pay our just debts. Mr. LEWIS WILLIAMS said it was the object of the gentleman from Massachusetts to prevent the introduction into the appropriation bills of any matter not authorized by law; but his proposition was, in his opinion, inadequate to this end. If it simply provided that the committee should report no other appropriations than those authorized by law, that would be a remedy for the evil complained of by the gentleman. But, if it was merely required of the committee to report the bill within thirty days, they might, though it was to be presumed they would not, introduce into the bill a hundred new appropriations. The remedy, he thought, was inadequate for the evil. He had seen that the more rules were multiplied, the more complex they became, and the more difficult it was to get along with the business of the House. It might happen very often that, though the appropriation bills were important, other bills were also equally or more important; and he had noticed, that the more we limited our discretion the more difficulty we had to encounter. He had no doubt that the amendment would retard instead of accelerate the business of the House. Mr. MERCER said he concurred less in the argument than in the proposition of the gentleman from Massachusetts. His argument went to a restriction of the time within which money bills should be debated in this House; and against this doctrine he must, with all possible respect, protest. The appropriation bills were the only subjects on which the general interests of the country could be debated; and it had been the practice of the Mr. SUTHERLAND said the only material point was Government, from its foundation, to consider them in whether the House should be made to act after the bill was this light, especially since the time when it was customa- reported. He did not consider the motion, in any other ry to discuss such subjects in an answer to the President's view, as at all material. He wished the appropriation message. The only occasion now afforded for such gen- bills to have a preference here. They ought to have, and eral discussion was the appropriation bills, and he was the last provision of the amendment therefore met his unwilling to have it go abroad that it was the wish of this entire concurrence. But he did not consider it imporHouse to restrict that discussion. It was well known tant whether the bills came in thirty days or not from that the appropriation bills were sent to this House by the committee; all knew where the reports of bills came the Committee of Ways and Means, and to them by the from. The committee take the reports of the heads of Departments, and they were generally hurried through Departments, and we take theirs. Every body knew the House, or passed without due consideration. Ta- | that, in a great measure, we must rely upon the capacity, king them up was generally the signal for the disper-integrity, and honor, of those who are at the head of the sion of the members, and any man was scouted at who Departments and prepared the estimates. He knew presumed to raise his voice against any one item in the how troublesome was the duty of a chairman of a combills. For himself, he was unwilling to bear any blame mittee, who was obliged to make himself master of all for the delay of the appropriations in former years. the details of these bills, and be prepared to reply to Between 11 and 12 o'clock on the last night of last ses- any objections which might be made to them. A former sion, we were in danger of losing the whole appropri- colleague of his had aptly compared himself, when in ation bill, and the bill making appropriations for forti- that situation, to "the man in the Almanac, stuck all fications was passed only ten minutes before the hand over with sticks." Every individual who spoke pointed was on the figure denoting the hour at which the session always towards the chairman. It would be time, he expired. thought, to pass on this motion after the new man who was to preside over this committee had been appointed. The Ajax, who was to sustain the administration, must be allowed some time to consult the Departments and prepare himself for his task. Last year there was a long debate here, on a blacksmith's pay, between the gentle. man from North Carolina and the chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means; and on every item the chairman must be prepared to give full and satisfactory information. But (said Mr. S.) if the further time should not be given for this purpose, I go for the last provi Mr. H. EVERETT rose to move an amendment to the amendment. Before offering it, he would remark that the blame of delay did not rest on the committee only, but also on the House. He desired that the House should do their part of the duty as well as the committee; and he therefore moved, as an addition to the amendment, the following: "And the general appropriation bills shall be in order in preference to any bills of a public nature." Mr. ADAMS accepted the amendment, as a modifica- H. OF R.] Rules and Orders of the House. [DEC. 10, 1835. sion. Bring up the bills, and then let us hear the argu- I do not (said Mr. W.) excuse myself for the delay of ment on them. Let them have the preference for the the appropriation bills. I will hold the King here by the purpose of argument. Last year many important bills purse strings of the nation. I will hold him by his salary. failed for want of time. He wished the appropriation I will hold all the Departments by the purse strings. The bills to be first discussed, first acted on, first passed or lost. House should never forget its relation to the people, in Mr. WILLIAMS rose to move the reference of the subserviency to the King. What was said by my colleague whole subject to a select committee, believing that to from Virginia was true. The members are neglectful of be the usual course. He submitted the following mo- the duty which they owe the people in relation to the aption: That the rules and orders of the House be refer-propriation bills. They read the current news, pay a visit, red to a select committee, to see if any alteration in them or look into the Senate chamber, the moment that those be necessary. bills are taken up for consideration, instead of exercising a rigid and watchful scrutiny over them. At the last session we voted away thirty-three thousand dollars for making a pavement around the President's house for English coaches to grind, and in planting trees, shrubbery, &c. He held the documents in his hand. This appropriation for the President's house ought to have been scrutinized by those who held the money of the people. Mr. MERCER suggested an alteration so as to secure the benefit of the rules of the last House until the committee were ready to report. The rules were once referred and no report was made on them at all. While up, he would express his surprise that no one had made any objection to the amendment offered by the gentleman from Vermont. Mr. M. made some further remarks, which did not reach the ear of the reporter. Mr. PARKER said the proper way was to appoint a committee to adopt rules, and, in the mean time, to act on the rules of last year. There must be some rules to go by, or the Speaker could not be directed to appoint the standing committees. Mr. WILLIAMS modified his proposition, so as to provide that, "until the committee made their report, and it was definitively acted on by the House, the rules and orders of the last House should be the rules and orders of this House." In conclusion, (Mr. W. said,) if God spared his life, and the people kept him in his place here, he would hold on to the appropriation bills to the last minute. He would put himself on the watch over the public money. The relation of this House, as the Commons, as the representatives of the people, was of a character paramount to the relation of mere partisans. Mr. MANN, of New York, felt constrained, he said, to renew the motion for the reference of this subject to a select committee, which motion had been made and withdrawn by the gentleman from North Carolina; not that he wished to deprive the gentleman from Massachu setts of the opportunity to get a decision on his proposition, but that he wished to bring the discussion to a close. It was true that there was some inconvenience arising from the delay of committees, but he knew something of the inconvenience to which committees were subjected. It was not practicable for them to sit on the subjects before them within the time prescribed in the motion. The labor of preparing the report of the Com Mr. ADAMS said that the effect of this motion was, by a side wind, to destroy his object entirely. He thought himself entitled to a decision of the House on his proposition. Sending his proposition to the committee was to involve it in a boundless ocean of discussion, from which it would never emerge. Many projects of alteration would be offered, and the whole session would pass before any thing was done. He wanted the decision on his motion to amend, and he would move it as an amendment to the motion of the gentleman from North Carolina. The CHAIR suggested that the gentleman from Mas-mittee of Ways and Means was very great; and he presachusetts might better attain his object by moving his amendment in the shape of instructions to the committee. Mr. ADAMS said, as his only object was to get the decision of the House, he would move the proposition as instructions to the committee. Mr. WILLIAMS remarked that he was sorry the gentleman from Massachusetts should suppose that he wished to evade any decision. He had never attempted to elude any decision which was urged by any gentleman, much less by the gentleman from Massachusetts. He wished to get rid of this discussion, which promised to be long and unprofitable. But he would withdraw the proposition in order to enable the House to decide on the question, giving notice that afterwards he should renew it. sumed that even the gentleman from Massachusetts would be unwilling to undertake to perform it in thirty days. The delay of the bills was not owing to the committee so much as to the House. They were delayed in their progress here till we were admonished that the public service was in danger from the want of that action. Under these impressions, though he believed that if the proposition of the gentleman from Massachusetts could be carried into effect, it would be productive of much benefit, he should be obliged to vote against it. He understood there would be various propositions to amend the rules, which would probably give rise to discussions lasting several days, while, in the mean time, we should be exposed to inconvenience for the want of rules. He moved the reference of the subject to a select committee. Mr. ADAMS moved his proposition as instructions to the committee. Mr. MERCER moved to amend the instructions by putting them in the form of an inquiry into the expediency of the proposed rule; which was lost, 69 rising in the affirmative, noes not counted. Mr. WISE said he should vote for the proposition of the gentleman from Massachusetts. It was not the business of the committee to make reports of their own acts and doings; it was not their business to take up any ori ginal matter. It was their duty, as the agents of us, the Commons-the Commons, coming fresh from the people to ask of those who have the disbursement of the public money, (he would say nothing about its custody at pres- The question recurring on Mr. ADAMS's motion, ent,) what they proposed to do with it. This he wished Mr. VINTON called for a division of the question. to know immediately, in presenti. If the gentleman The rule proposed required, he said, first, that the combrings in a proposition to limit the discussion to any par-mittee should report within thirty days, and then it made ticular length of time, he should most distinctly oppose it. The high obligations of this House to the people were paramount to any other; but they were often forgotten, left behind, trampled on, while the House acted only in a secondary relation to the President. In relation to the President we too often acted, not feeling, as Commons, a just sense of our obligations to the people. I the appropriation bill the standing order for the day, in preference to all other business. It would come up as a matter of course, the Speaker having no discretion in relation to it. Those who have objections to any items of the bill would be allowed no time to make inquiries respecting them. It would not be in order to call up any other DEC. 14, 1835.] Death of Mr. Wildman and Mr. Kane. question, of whatever magnitude it might be. This, he said, would embarrass and trammel the House to no purpose; for, after all, every gentleman was satisfied of one thing, that when the majority was disposed to get at a question, they would, in some way, get at it. We cannot take the Government out of the hands of the majority and put it into that of the minority. Mr. H. EVERETT moved, as an amendment to the instructions, that no appropriation should be reported or be in order as an amendment to a bill for any expenditure not before authorized by law. Mr. ADAMS said, in reply to the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. VINTON,] that the rule would show the sense of the House that those bills, de jure, had the preference over others; but it would not prevent the House from taking up any other bill. Tke proposition of the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. EVERETT] would, he said, complicate his object extremely; his object being simply to hasten the report from the committee. Mr. EVERETT withdrew his motion. The question was then taken on the first branch of Mr. ADAMS's motion to instruct, and it was determined in the affirmative, 91 to 76. Mr. ADAMS then modified the second branch, so as to provide that "the appropriation bills shall be in order in preference to any other bills of a public nature, unless otherwise ordered by a majority of the House." The question being taken, this motion was also agreed to. Mr. THOMAS, of Maryland, moved to include in the instructions an alteration of the rule for the admission of persons to the privileged seats, so as to include in the list of persons to be admitted the district attorneys, including the district attorney of the District of Columbia. This motion was supported by Messrs. THOMAS and BEARDSLEY; and, the question being taken upon it, it was lost. Mr. CHAMBERS, of Pennsylvania, moved the following: "That the committee be instructed to consider the expediency of amending the 25th rule, by making all amendments in order pending the main question." The object of the amendment was to bear on the previous question. After a few remarks by the mover, the motion was agreed to. Mr. PARKER moved a further instruction to the select committee, that, during the session of the House, the members shall remain uncovered, unless specially permitted by the Speaker. Messrs. PARKER and BRIGGS briefly advocated this motion, and it was opposed by Mr. SUTHERLAND. Mr. PARKS moved to amend the amendment by instructing the committee to consider all propositions relative to the rules which might be handed them by any member. Mr. P. was induced to make the motion, to avoid any unnecessary consumption of time in discussing the various instructions which gentlemen were desirous of offering. After a few additional remarks by Mr. PARKER, in favor of his motion, the amendment to the amendment was agreed to. The resolution, as amended, was then agreed to, and the select committee was ordered to consist of nine. On motion of Mr. WHITTLESEY, Ordered, That the standing committees of the House be now appointed. Mr. WILLIAMS, of North Carolina, submitted a resolution granting the use of the hall of Representatives; on Tuesday evening next, to the American Colonization Society; which was agreed to: Yeas 104, nays not count. ed. [H. or R. ments and officers of the Government therein named; the consideration of which, at the instance of Mr. MANN, of New York, was waived for the present. Several messages from the President of the United States were received by the hands of Mr. DONELSON, his private secretary; which were laid before the House by the Speaker, and consisted of— 1st. A communication, enclosing a report from the Secretary of the Treasury relative to certain transfers of appropriation; which, on motion of Mr. CAMRELENG, was ordered to be printed. 2d. A message, enclosing a report of the Secretary of War of certain astronomical observations made with a view to the ascertainment of the northern boundary line of the State of Ohio; which, on motion of Mr. JOHN Q. ADAMS, was referred to a select committee of nine, and ordered to be printed. 3d. A message, transmitting a copy of the constitution (and various documents in reference thereto) adopted by a convention recently assembled in the Territory of Michigan, with a view to the formation of a new State out of said Territory. Mr. J. Y. MASON, of Virginia, moved to refer the latter communication to a select committee, and that it be printed. Mr. HAMER moved to refer the message to the same select committee to which the communication in reference to the northern boundary of the State of Ohio had been committed. Mr. MASON remarked that, personally, he was indifferent as to the committee to which this subject was referred. There was some delicacy involved in the two communications, which perhaps might be obviated by sending them to different committees. He should cheerfully acquiesce in the decision of the House upon the subject of reference. Mr. HOWARD moved to amend the propositions, by referring the latter message and the accompanying documents to the standing Committee on Territories. He should follow up this motion, if it succeeded, by moving to reconsider the vote whereby the communication in reference to the northern boundary of Ohio had just been referred to a select committee, with a view to its reference to the Committee on Territories. He conceived there was no propriety in sending to select com. mittees matters which appropriately belonged to the standing committees of the House. Before any question was taken, the House, on motion, adjourned to Monday next. MONDAY, DECEMBER 14. isiana, appeared, were qualified, and took their seats. Messrs. GRAVES, of Kentucky, and GARLAND, of LouAfter the reading of the journal of the proceedings of Thursday, Mr. HOWARD moved the reconsideration of the vote by which the message from the President relative to the Ohio and Michigan boundary line was ordered to be referred to a select committee; and, on his motion, the further consideration was postponed until to-morrow. DEATH OF MR. WILDMAN. Mr. HALEY, of Connecticut, announced the death of his colleague, the Hon. ZALMON WILDMAN, a Representative in Congress from the State of Connecticut; and, after a few remarks in eulogy of the deceased, submitted a motion for the usual demonstrations of respect for his memory; which was unanimously adopted. DEATH OF MR. KANE. A message was received from the Senate, announcing Mr. JOHNSON, of Kentucky, submitted a resolution the death of the Hon. ELIAS K. KANE, Senator from the for furnishing documents, bills, &c., to certain depart-State of Illinois, and informing the House that the fune |