Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Pensions, to con

sider and report thereon.

Mr. Walker gave notice that to-morrow he should ask leave to bring in a bill for the relief of John Coffee.

Mr. Walker presented the petition of John Holmes, praying to be remunerated for the loss of a horse while in the service of the United States during the Seminole war; which was read; and

On his motion,

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee of Claims, to consider and report thereon.

Mr. Noble submitted the following motion for consideration:

Resolved, That the Committee on Public Lands be instructed to inquire into the expediency of amending the act, entitled "An act for the relief of the purchasers of public lands prior to the first day of July eighteen hundred and twenty," so as to enable such of the purchasers who have not taken the benefit of said act, to avail themselves of the provisions of the said act until the thirtieth day of September, eighteen hundred and twenty-two.

Mr. Barton gave notice that to-morrow he should ask leave to introduce a bill for the relief of Richard Matson, of Missouri.

Mr. King, of N. Y. submitted the following motion for consideration:

Ordered, That until, otherwise directed, all committees be hereafter appointed by the President of the Senate; which was read; and

Ordered, That it pass to the second reading.

The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion of the 18th instant, for information in relation to subsisting the army of the United States, and the same having been amended, was agreed to, as follows:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause to be laid before the Senate a report of the practical operation of the system of subsisting the army, under the provisions of the act, passed the 14th of April, 1818, together with a comparative view of the present and former mode of supplying the army; stating the rank of the officers, their number, and the number of the soldiers in actual service for each year, together with the amount of their pay and subsistence, from the commencement of the military establishment.

The resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution of the United States, as it respects the choice of President and Vice President of the United States, and the election of Representatives in the Congress of the United States, was read the second time.

The bill concerning the lands and salt springs to be granted to the state of Missouri for the purpose of education, and for other public uses, was read the second time.

On motion, by Mr. Barton,

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Public Lands, to consider and report thereon."

Mr. Holmes, of Mississippi, called up the petition presented at the last session of Congress, of Clarissa Scott, widow of the late Colonel William Scott, of the state of Mississippi, praying the confirmation of her title to a certain tract of land, as stated in the petition; which was read; and,

On motion, by Mr. Holmes,

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Public Lands, to consider and report thereon.

Mr. Holmes, of Maine, called up the petition presented at the last session of Congress of Josiah Hook, jr. collector of the port of Penobscot, praying to be indemnified for his losses, and for the money he has paid, with the interest thereon, in satisfaction of a judgment obtained against him for an act done by him in his official capacity; and the petition was read; and,

On motion, by Mr. Holmes,

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, to consider and report thereon.

On motion,

The Senate adjourned.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1821.

Mr. Holmes, of Mississippi, called up the petition of John M. Whitney, and John Snodgrass, in behalf of the legal representatives of Alexander Montgomery, deceased, praying that a law may be passed directing a warrant to be issued to them for a quantity of land in the state of Mississippi, as an indemnity for a like quantity of their land improperly disposed of by the register and receiver of the land office west of Pearl river; and the petition was read.

On motion, by Mr. Holmes,

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on the Public Lands to consider and report thereon.

Agreeably to notice given, Mr. Johnson, of Louisiana, asked and obtained leave to introduce a bill, supplementary to the several acts for adjusting the claims to land, and establishing land offices, in the districts east of the island of New Orleans; and the bill was read.

Ordered, That it pass to the second reading.

Agreeably to notice given, Mr. Walker asked and obtained leave to introduce a bill for the relief of John Coffee; and the bill was read.

Ordered, That it pass to the second reading.

Agreeably to notice given, Mr. Barton asked and obtained leave to introduce a bill for the relief of Richard Matson, of Missouri; and the bill was read.

Ordered, That it pass to the second reading.

A message from the President of the United States, by Mr. Gouverneur, his Secretary:

Mr. President: The President of the United States, on the 19th instant, approved and signed “An act authorizing the transmission of certain documents free of postage."

Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives accordingly.

The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion of the 20th instant for information relative to the deputies and clerks employed by officers of the customs, since the year 1816, and agreed thereto.

The Senate resumed the consideration of the motion of the 20th instant, for instructing the Committee on Public Lands to inquire into the expediency of amending the act for the relief of the purchasers of public lands, so as to extend its provisions, and agreed thereto.

The Senate resumed, as in committee of the whole, the consideration of the resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution of the United States, as it respects the choice of President and Vice President of the United States, and the election of Representatives in the Congress of the United States; and,

On motion, by Mr. Pleasants,

Ordered, That the further consideration thereof be postponed until the second Tuesday in January next.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Dougherty, their Clerk:

Mr. President: The House of Representatives have passed a bill, entitled "An act reviving and extending the time allowed for the redemption of lands sold for direct taxes, in certain cases;" a bill, entitled "An act to revive and continue in force, an act, entitled 'An act to provide for persons who were disabled by known wounds received in the Revolutionary war;" and, a bill, entitled "An act to provide for paying to the state of Missouri three per cent. of the nett

proceeds arising from the sale of the public lands within the same;" and, also, a resolution providing for the distribution of the secret journal and foreign correspondence of the old Congress; and of the journal of the Convention which formed the constitution of the United States; in which bills and resolution they request the concurrence of the Senate. And he withdrew.

The said bills and resolution were read.

Ordered, That they severally pass to the second reading.

The motion for a new rule as it, respects the appointment of the committees of the Senate was read the second time.

On motion, by Mr. Johnson, of Kentucky,

It was agreed that when the Senate adjourn it be to Monday next; and,

On motion,

The Senate adjourned.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1821.

Mr. Ruggles, from the Committee of Claims, to whom the subject was referred, reported a bill explanatory of the act for the relief of James Leander Cathcart, passed May 15th, in the year of our Lord 1820; and the bill was read.

Ordered, That it pass to the second reading.

On motion, by Mr. Pleasants,

Ordered, That the report of the Secretary of the Navy, made in obedience to a resolution of the Senate of the 1st of May, 1820, requesting the Secretary of the Navy to cause to be revised the rules, regulations, and instructions, for the naval service, be referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs, to consider and report thereon.

Mr. Findlay presented the memorial of Robert Ralston and others, citizens of Philadelphia, interested in commerce, the manufacture of hemp, and the exportation of cordage and twine, praying a drawback en cordage and twine exported; and the memorial was read.

On motion, by Mr. Findlay,

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures, to consider and report thereon.

Mr. Johnson, of Louisiana, called up the memorial of Thomas Shields, purser in the navy, praying compensation for certain naval stores and other property, destroyed in December, 1814, by the explosion of a battery at the bay of St. Louis, which was ordered to

be blown up by Lieutenant T. A. C. Jones, of the navy; and the memorial was read; and,

On motion, by Mr. Johnson,

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs, to consider and report thereon.

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Dougherty, their Clerk:

Mr. President: The House of Representatives have passed a bill, entitled "An act for the relief of Samuel Clarkson and Alexander Elmslie; and, also, a resolution providing for the distribution of the marshals' returns of the Fourth Census, in which bill and resolution they request the concurrence of the Senate. And he withdrew..

The said bill and resolution were read.

Ordered, That they severally pass to the second reading.

Mr. Knight presented the resolutions of the legislature of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, approving of the resolutions of the state of Maryland, upon the subject of an appropriation of the lands of the United States to the purposes of education; and requesting their Senators and Representatives in Congress to use their best exertions to obtain the passage of a law for these beneficial purposes; and the resolutions were read.

Ordered, That they lie on the table.

The bill supplementary to the several acts for adjusting the claims to land and establishing land offices in the districts east of the island of New Orleans was read the second time.

On motion, by Mr. Eaton,

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Public Lands, to consider and report thereon.

The bill for the relief of John Coffee was read the second time.

On motion, by Mr. Walker,

Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Public Lands, to consider and report thereon.

The bill for the relief of Richard Matson was read the second time. On motion, by Mr. Barton,

Ordered, That it be referred to the same committee, to consider and report thereon.

The bill, entitled "An act reviving and extending the time allowed for the redemption of land sold for direct taxes in certain cases," was read the second time.