National Intelligencer. (Washington [D.C.]), Vol. 47, No. 6720, Ed. 1 Saturday, January 17, 1846 Page: 1 of 4
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Vol. XLV1I.
WASHINGTON: SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1846.
PmBLISSED BP BBBBB B BBS TOW*
THRICE A WEEK.
SIX DOLLARS A TEAR--PAYABLE 1ST ADVANCE.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1846.
POLITICAL REFORMATION.
Certain civic reformers among us remind one of
the old Scotch proverb concerning tinkers. They
hammer away at the public kettle with a prodigious
din, until they knock out its bottom ; and, with no
proof of good done, (unless it be in the noise they
make and the money they take,) they urge the rent
and battered state of the caldron as a constant rea-
son for more hammering and more clangor.
It must be confessed that these apostles of refor-
mation, besides the many strange ameliorations
they have brought about, are altogether unfortunate
in their reforms ; all of which have to be presently
reformed again, as a great deal worse than the sup-
posed abuses which they pretended to cure.
The fact being, in truth, that the abuses or cor-
ruptions which one set in power have permitted are
just as convenient for the ends of the next, “ re-
forms” are usually but a bait with which to catch
popularity; or, at best, they are the promises of
men eager to get into authority, and only persuaded
that, having gotten it, they will be extremely virtu-
ous. The sincerest rarely can effect much in them ;
for, if abuses be serious, their existence bespeaks
not only (as we have said) something that suits
those governing, but an interest that has grown up
and even a public immorality not easily cured.
Accordingly, what were the “ reforms” for which the
Jacksonian “ Democracy” clamored before it arrived
at supremacy ? Rotation in office; non-appoint-
ment of members of Congress to places in the gift
of the Executive; non-reward of partisan edi-
tors ; non-interference of Federal officers in elec-
tions ; a great reduction of the public expenditures ;
and an extreme forbearance in the use of any dis-
puted power under the Constitution. Now, of all
these vehement promises, we might safely chal-
lenge our political adversaries to show a single one
that has been kept. One after another, they all
came to be violated.
Nor did the victorious “ Democracy” by any
means confine themselves to this sort of accomplish-
ment of promised reforms—-most like to that of the
unclean spirit mentioned in the good book, who,
being gone out of a man, walketh restless about in
dry places, and, presently taking with him seven
demons fouler than himself, entereth again into the
man, making his last state worst than his first. Not
only did they thus give the purifications bargained
for, but they bestowed upon us a variety of volun-
teer reforms, not in their promises, and not in any
body’s wishes.
They gave us (to mention only the chief) the Pre-
sident’s claim to be more the representative of the
people than Congress ; his assumption that cdl the
Executive officers were his officers; his pretension
to dispense with the laws or execute them as he
liked, under the plea that he was to judge for him-
self of their constitutionality ; his war upon the
Supreme Court; his other war upon the Senate as
an aristocratic body ; his third war upon the Bank
of the United States ; his fourth war upon the cur-
rency ; his fifth war upon all credit; his sixth war
for State and pet Banks ; his seventh war against
them; his eighth war upon nullification ; his own
party’s nullification of the laws of Congress by
a single branch of Congress ; the expunge ; the
protest; the pocketing of bills not otherwise to
be defeated; the Veto held up as a terror over
legislation; the New Jersey case; State rights
violently professed when convenient; State rights
declared in the Proclamation never to have existed.
They found the State faith good ; and they gave
us repudiation. They found the currency good ;
and they gave us suspension of specie payments.
They found the vested rights of Corporations the
policy of all our legislation as communities ; and
they left us charter-breaking. They found landed
property safe ; and they have given us anti-rent,
with agrarianism in prospect. They found Repub-
licanism ; they have left us Locofocoism. They
found us with two natural parties, both of a mode-
rate spirit towards each other and of a conservative
purpose towards institutions ; they have left us two
great and furious parties, embittered by mutual in-
juries, a hydra-brood of wild sects, ultraism of every
thing, radicalism the most perilous, and that portent
of headlong advance from bad to worse, “ Progres-
sive Democracy,” not to be resisted except by a
conservatism, forced, itself, to counter-demagogue
and to oblige the people with many pernicious
things, m order to win an influence that may draw
them from things utterly destructive.
All these are solemn truths, not to be gainsayed,
and of the sincerity of which the Public (if it asks
one) has a strong pledge in that last avowal, certain
to be any thing but agreeable to our own friends.
We need scarcely say that we have recognised the
fact with reluctance, and that it is wrung from us only
by the growth of the state of things which alarms
us no longer as mere politicians, but as citizens, and
not for parties, but the Government and our country.
Younger men, not witnesses of what existed
twenty years ago, (midway only in our own poli-
tical experience,) must be less sensible of the fright-
ful changes of which we speak : changes such, and
so visibly threatening still more rapid and terrible
ones, that, amidst a hundred sects and schisms be-
wildering the popular mind with new fanaticisms
every day ; amidst a practice as unscrupulous as
the doctrines are over-virtuous; amidst an uni-
versal disorder, demoralization, violence, venality,
infatuation, and selfishness ; with a patriotism of
office-seekers and President-makers ; with a liberty
such as the worst or most ignorant men are loudest
for; we turn our eyes only with dismay upon the
spectacle of public affairs, and endeavor in vain to
repel from our hearts impressions the most melan-
choly . It is in the midst of all these distractions
that madden and these corruptions that infest the
land, that insensate visions of boundless dominion
are played before us—visions of blessing the sub-
jugated earth with the sway of a people pulling
their own Government to pieces, and who will,
as things are going on, presently be without laws or
money, as they are already without arms !
But, to return to “ reforms.” A new reign begun,
there must be new ones, to keep up the old delu-
sions of promises, heretofore so fruitful of public
good. Free-trade and the Subtreasury are the
chief, and already notorious enough. Others, less
expected, are in preparation ; and among them is'
one, thus heralded in one of the leading party
organs—the Philadelphia “ Pennsylvanian ” of the
3d instant:
“A Reform.—Among the bills now before the House of
Representatives is one providing for the more equal distribu-
tion of the offices (including auditors, clerk, messengers, &c.
of the several departments of Government) among the citizens
of the several States, Territories, and the District of Columbia.
“The importance, the necessity, and the justice of the
change contemplated by the bill, are so manifest, that it is a
matter of astonishment to every one who has reflected upon
the subject, that a law of the kind lias not been heretofore
proposed. Its benefits will be lasting and general in their ef-
fect—it will give to the people of every portion of our vast Re-
public the advantages of having intelligent and trustworthy
citizens, taken from among themselves, and acquainted with
them and their peculiar interests, stationed at the capital, and
at all times ready to communicate with them upon matters
connected with their local interests or the general prosperity.
It will give to the departments of Government the means to
derive correct information from all parts of the Union, and in
thousands of instances save the expenditure of the public
money. It is a well founded rumor that a clerk in one of the
Departments, who has for some years resided in the western
part of Pennsylvania, and who a few months since obtained a
situation, after being subjected to much mortification and
trouble, has, since the first of November last, saved the Gov-
ernment by his suggestions, founded upon his local know-
ledge, upwards of six thousand dollars.
“ Aside from the manifest advantages we have mention-
ed, who can doubt but that the system of appointments, con-
templated by the proposed law, will afford an incalculable re-
lief to the President and heads of departments. Under the
existing state of things, it is absolutely impossible for the Ex-
ecutive and the members of his Cabinet to remove an incom-
petent incumbent, or one personally and politically hostile to
them, and whose every wish and prejudice would lead him to
thwart the policy of the Administration, without subjecting
themselves to a positive persecution, in which mothers, chil-
dren, and preachers all act as the persecutors. Indeed, the
Departments have with some reason been defionrinated the
‘ national asylum for the helpless. ’ In lieu of able and wor-
thy citizens, capable of answering to the numerous inq iries
which the Secretaries are necessarily obliged to make, we have
hundreds billeted upon the nation, at salaries of a thousand
dollars and upwards per annum, who can do nothing but copy
what is placed before them. It is true there are competent
and industrious men in the Departments, who do not pass their
numerous leisure hours in trifling gossip, in playing the syco-
phant, in ministering to the wants of the enemies of the Ad-
ministration, or in devoting their time to the interests of the
£ ten miles square but their number is small.
“ The people ought to be made aware through the press
of the importance of having in the Departments of our Go-
vernment, in the most subordinate stations, those friendly to
the measures and policy which the suffrages of the nation in-
dicate as their will.
“ The provisions of the bill will soon be before the public,
when it will be seen that, with some amendment, it is as
nearly one of justice and right as it is possible to make it,.”
At a general glance it may be seen that the bill
referred to in this article is one for giving, by law,
all public employments, down to the lowest, to par-
tisans alone, and for stripping one-half the country
of all participation in public trusts. This is what
the original Jackson doctrine of no-partyism has
come to ! For, of course, it is not intended that an ad-
verse State majority (as, say, in Ohio or Massachu-
setts) should have this right of nominating. In such
States, and every where else, the party caucus must
have the gift, and in this District it must vest, we
suppose, in the Hickory Club, or whatever club
succeeds it.
Necessarily, the President must conform to the
authority thus bestowed upon illegal caucuses, con-
sisting of Heaven knows what or whom. These
appointments are to be made by a sort of election,
without a constituency, without qualifications, with-
out returning-officers to hold it, without polls, pre-
cincts, or days for voting. And, by such an ap-
pointment, the Executive function of nominating,
the Senatorial check of confirming, are of course
totally abrogated. Administrative and legislative
responsibility for appointments is superseded in fa-
vor of bush-ballotting. What a system ! What a
system !
The President, however, consents—the plan be-
ing one meant for his ease, and to shield him from
local discontents, already troubling him. Happy
Sovereign, over whose peace his subjects watch !
Happy Senate, that will get, without asking it, the
benefit of this zeal of the lieges to lighten the lord-
paramount’s labors !
For some nine months the Executive and his
Cabinet have bent their incessant toil to the purifi-
cation of public office ; and lo ! it is still only “ an
asylum for the helpless,” a hospital of Incurables!
Still—by special luck, of course—one new clerk
is said to have saved the Government six thousand
dollars ; the new theory being that men who have
not been occupied with the public accounts are in
the best condition to guard against public losses !
But, if there is any feature in the plan which
charms the Pennsylvanian and us more than all the
rest, it is that of making every public officer (mes-
sengers and all) an organ for secret communication
with the local managers and caucus at home. Of
course, too, he is to be the regular and authentic
correspondent of the party press there ; which will
thus, perhaps, get its letters cheap, the officer be-
ing paid out of the money of the People for writ-
ing them.
What a blessed “ Reform” will this not be !
We have spoken of the proposition discussed by
the Pennsylvanian as though it were one that
might receive the sanction of Congress, and be-
come a part of our system of government. But we
have no serious apprehension of the adoption of a
proposition so impracticable, so repugnant to all
idea of consistency in the administration of the Go-
vernment, so subversive of that method, necessary
in the conduct of private business, which all expe-
rience shows to be yet more necessary in trans-
acting the business of the Public.
NEW YORK CORRESPONDENCE.
New York, January 14, 1846.
In five or six days the arrival of a steamer from
Liverpool may be anticipated. That event is look-
ed for most anxiously, not only by politicians, but
by commercial men, manufacturers, and stock-job-
bers. That anxiety is produced by an opinion
•prevailing generally in the community that we shall
hear something from the British Ministry or the
British people that will cast light upon the aspect
of our foreign affairs ; perhaps enable us to judge
whether the prospect is peaceful or warlike.
Now, I hope this may be true; but I do not be-
lieve it. In the first place, it must be remembered
that the British Government never publish to the
world their contemplated policy, especially in re-
ference to war measures, until they are prepared to
strike the blow ; and the journals avowedly in
their interest or under their control are so well
schooled as not to mar the projects of the Admin-
istration by a hasty or indiscreet exposure of the
designs which may have been imparted to them.
As every body is freely giving his opinion as to
what we shall hear when the steamer arrives, why
may I not give mine ? I think the British Minis-
try, for the present, intend to say nothing, but to
proceed silently with making their preparations to
meet any contingency that may arise. If no com-
munication is made to them by Mr. McLane, I
think they will make none to him. They will wait,
patiently, the action of our Congress. I think, as
I said some time since, if a^<| pass a resolution di-
recting the President to give the twelve months’ no-
tice, and accompany it with a legislative act or acts
for the protection of our own citizens, but not in-
terfering with theirs—that is to say, doing all for
our people that the British have already done for
theirs—they will make no complaint against such
an act on our part. But who is so blind as not to
see that, under such circumstances, a collision will
soon take place between some of the men attached
to the “ Hudson's Bay Company,” or other Bri-
tish subjects, and the American emigrants ? Such
a collision, in the present temper of the contending
parties, would lead, most probably, to immediate
war ; for this Company will be protected by their
Government.
But if, accompanying the resolution to give no-
tice, we pass also a resolution to take possession of
“ all Oregon,” and pass the necessary laws to en-
force our exclusive jurisdiction over that territory,
then, in my opinion, the British will promptly re-
sist the carrying into effect the project of taking
“ all Oregon.” I consider such a decision in Con-
gress as certain to produce war.
• Mr. Clay last evening delivered another lecture
at the Tabernacle for the benefit of the colored
orphan asylum. It was very thinly attended. He
appeared to feel that he was in an awkward posi-
tion. “ Mr. Clay7 said it was with extreme reluc-
‘ tance that he had accepted the invitation to ad-
‘ dress the society. He was sure it would operate
‘ to his injury at home.”
The House of Representatives of this State have
agreed upon a day when the Legislature shall ad-
journ ; whether the Senate will concur is uncer-
tain. The House have fixed the 27th February.
The Montreal Morning Courier is rather ram-
pant on the subject of Oregon. It says :
“ If England knows her true interests, she will never cede
the right to navigate the river Columbia, nor the sole sovereign-
ty over the Straits of Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Inlet, and Pu-
get’s Sound.”
“ If the American Government does not give the notice, we
trust to see it done by Great Britain, and an immediate settle-
ment of the question insisted on.”
‘ ‘ The impression which ought to be made on the minds of
every man in the British empire is, that this right conceded
will be of no ultimate avail to preserve peace. The next con-
cession demanded will be the right to navigate the St. Law-
rence, or the surrender of some other portion of our territory
which Republican eyes may long for—perhaps Canada itself.
We shall have to make a stand some day, and it may just as
well be done on this question as on any other, while we are
ready, and not engaged in settling any little disputes in any
other quarter.”
Stocks, generally, are better than they were yes-
terday by one or two per cent. The money mar-
ket is rather more stringent.
A CALM OBSERVER.
The census of Illinois for 1845 makes the po-
pulation of that State 643,482—four counties to be
heard from. The incfease in the last five years is
about 200,000, or nearly fifty per cent.
The Legislature of New Jersey commenced its
session at Trenton on Tuesday. John C. Small-
wood, was unanimously re-elected President of
the Senate, and Lewis Howell, Speaker of the
House.
The Navy and the Army.—The number and
class of vessels in the Naval service of the United
States on the 1st day of October is stated by the
Secretary of the Navy as follows :
MARYLAND.
The following extract from the Message of Gov.
Pratt to the Legislature of Maryland conveys ac-
curate information as to the finances of the State :
“The financial condition of the State well merited the
prominent position assigned to its consideration by my imme-
diate predecessor, in each of his annual messages to the Le-
gislature. With an anxious desire on his part to arrest the
c downward tendency ’ of the public credit, it was his painful
duty year after year to announce to the Legislature the entire
inadequacy of the existing laws, if fully executed, to meet
the current demands upon the Treasury, and to point out the
fatal error in the past legislation of the State, by which the
Executive branch of the Government had been deprived of
the power originally vested in it to execute the laws which
had been passed. In his last message he made known to the
Legislature, as the effect of the combined causes above assign-
ed, (the inadequacy of the tax laws and the want of power in
the Executive to enforce them,) that the arrears of interest
had progressively increased from §859,656, on the 1st De-
cember, 1842, to §1,171,872 27 on the 1st December, 1843 ;
and to §1,450,961 51 on the 1st December, 1844 and that
in seven counties of the State the tax laws were not enforced.
“I have, gentlemen, to discharge the more pleasing duty
of informing you that collectors of the State tax have been
appointed, and that the direct tax is now being collected in
every portion of the State, except in Calvert county, where
the collector has been unable to obtain the assessment books
from the tax commissioners.
“ I now submit for your consideration a tabular estimate of
the revenue which will have accrued from the direct tax, and
which is or may be made collectable during the current fiscal
year :
The direct tax of one-quarter of one per cent,
upon §177,139,645 23, the present assessed
value of the real and personal property......§442,849 11
Due for arrears of tax, for 1841, 1842, 1843,
and 1844, about........................ 554,829 60
For items of direct tax not included in the general
assessment, and from which but little revenue
has been hitherto derived, to wit :
Tax upon the capital stock of the banks of the
city of Baltimore........................ 19,752 50
Fax upon the capital stock of other incorporated
institutions............................. 15,000 00
Tax on Baltimore city stock for 1844......... 9,497 34
Tax on Baltimore city stock for 1845......... 9,497 34
Tax on the funded debt of the State.......... 27,602 60
Tax on ships and other vessels............... 5,430 55
Estimated arrears of tax on ships, &c... ,..... 5,000 00
Tax for 1844 and 1845, due from the Farmers
and Planters’and Western Banks of Baltimore 4,542 25
Ships-of-the-line...
... 4
2
5
11
Frigates.........
... 7
4
3
14
Sloops of war.....
.. .15
6
2
22
Brigs.......
l
0
6
Schooners........
... 5
1
0
6
Steamers.........
... 6
3
2
11
Store ships.......
1
0
5
46
18
12
76
Georof. Pepper, Esq., the wealthiest citizen of Philadelphia,
after the demise of the late Jacob Ridgway, whose death has
been lately mentioned, has left a fortune of upwards of two
millions of dollars, invested almost wholly in real estate and
bonds and mortgages. This large estate will be divided
among some eight or ten children.
A Monster Sleigh.—The editor of the Haverhill Banner
says that the largest sleigh he ever saw was brought into town
recently, drawn without freight by eight spanking horses.
When filled, it requires to be drawn by twenty four or twen-
ty-six horses. It is 45 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 15 feet
high ; it has 20 seats, and 160 persons can be seated comfort-
ably in it, It was built in Bolton two years since.
The entire force enrolled in the Army of the Uni-
ted States on the 28th of N ovember was as follows:
Officers, 733 ; non-commissioned officers, privates,
musicians, and artificers, 7,883 ; in all 8,616 men.
Anti-Rentism is under full headway in the Legislature of
New York, and the dominant party is invoked in every possi-
ble way to interfere in the matter of contracts between land-
lord and tenant.
To show the influence and nature of the appeals made in
behalf of the anti-rent rebels, we quote this extract from a
speech of Mr. Watson, one of the members of the Assembly
who was elected by these anti-renters :
“ He would say to the Democratic party that if such a dis-
position was made now at the opening of the session, the
hearts of these men would be steeled against them, believing
that they could not obtain a fair hearing. It would be found
that twenty thousand Democratic votes would be brought lo
bear against the party in the approaching contest
Mark the concluding lines and nature of the argument!
The justice of the case is left out of the question ; but the de-
mands of the anti-renters, be they what they may, are to be
complied with, or the twenty-thousand anti-rent votes will go
in a body against the democracy. Think of it, fellow-citi-
zens of all parties.—N. Y. Gazette.
A Just Decision.—The New York Commercial gives an
account of a law decision, in that city, in the case of Joseph
Blunt vs. Allen Hay—an action to recover damages for in-
jury done to plaintiff’s house by the proximity of a soap and
candle factory. Chief Justice Jones, in his charge to the
jury, in allusion to the idea that the defendant had located his
establishment there while most of the vicinity was unimprov-
ed, and that those who afterward came into the neighborhood
had no right to complain, said that he did not consider the
point well taken : and that in large cities where the suburbs
are in a constant state of progress, from day to day, the pro-
prietors of such establishments are bound to yield so far as
not to permit those establishments to be a nuisance to the
general welfare,
Total.......................§1,094,001 29
“ The tax imposed upon the stock of the banks and other
incorporated institutions of the State has been the occasion of
a continued litigation. The banks of the city of Baltimore,
under the impression that their several charters exempted them
from taxation, refused to pay the tax ; and a suit was institut-
ed, during the term of my predecessor, to test the constitu-
tionality of the tax imposed on them by this act, which result-
ed in the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States
‘ that the banks of the city of Baltimore, chartered in 1821,
were exempt from taxation during the continuance of the char-
ters then granted, and that the other banks of the city were le-
gitimately taxed.’ Under the impression that this decision had
settled the question of liability to taxation, I requested the
Attorney General to call upon the several banks and request
their compliance with the law. The banks chartered in 1821,
contending that their charters of 1821 did not expire until
1846, and the other banks contending that, under the act of
1835, chapter 142, no other tax could be imposed on them
than was or could be imposed on the banks chartered in 1821,
still refused to pay the tax ; and I immediately directed pro-
ceedings to be instituted to test the validity of their claims to
exemption. This proceeding resulted in a decision by the
Court of Appeals ‘that the banks chartered in 1821 were lia-
ble to taxation from the 1st of January, 1846, and that the
other banks were liable for the tax from the date of its impo-
sition in 1841.’ All the banks of the city of Baltimore have
acquiesced in this decision, except the Farmers and Planters’
and the Western Banks, which now refuse to pay upon the
ground that the act of 1841, which makes it the duty of the
Presidents of the banks and other incorporated institutions of
the State to retain and pay the tax directly into the treasury,
are unconstitutional. A proceeding has been instituted, and
is now pending in the Court of Appeals, to test the validity of
this objection, the decision of which may render further legis-
lation necessary.
“The revenue which will be derived from the direct tax
during the coming year will be increased by the sum of
§24,297 72, the tax upon the capital of the Banks which have
not hitherto paid, including the unpaid tax of the two Banks
before mentioned, which are still contesting their obligation
to pay.
‘ ‘ Upon investigation, I found that but one Bank in the
city of Baltimore, (the Merchants’ Bank,) and but few of the
other incorporated companies, had paid the direct tax since the
passage of the act of 1844, chapter 289, which transferred the
collection of this tax from the local collectors to the Presidents
of the several corporate institutions. The treasurer at my in-
stance addressed a circular to the Presidents of each of the in-
corporated companies, of whose locality he could obtain
information, requiring them to pay into the treasury the tax
due from the companies over which they presided ; which has
resulted in the payment by many of them of the entire tax due
from their respective institutions, amounting to the sum of
§14,388 87, and which will justify me in applying for a
mandamus against those who may continue delinquents, to
enforce the observance of the law.
“ During the past fiscal year the State received from the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, for the State’s one-
fifth of the gross receipts for the transportation of passengers
on the Washington branch, the sum of §38,699 43, and for
the same period for dividends §48,000, making an aggregate
of receipts from this company of §86,699 43. By law, the
sum of §34,069 36 is appropriated from the State’s revenue
from the road to the free school fund; and the balance,
§52,630 07, is applicable to the demands upon the treasury.”
The Committee of the New York Board of Brokers, to
whom was referred the dispute respecting the contract for the
delivery of Erie railroad stock, have reported unanimously in
favor of the reception of the converted stock. The decision
makes a difference, in favor of the “ Napoleon,” as he is
termed, of §56,000.
Sandwich Islands.—The Philadelphia United States Ga-
zette gives a summary from the Folynesian, printed at Hono-
lulu, as the organ of the Hawaiian Government. The first
article in the paper is a correspondence between the represen-
tatives of the British Government and the Minister of For-
eign Affairs of his Hawaiian Majesty, relative to a “ code of
etiquette ” established at the Court of the latter. The code is
that of the Court of Vienna, though even that would not have
been objected to, had not the same order of Council made it a
fixed rule that, in all ceremonies, the Consuls of the United
States should take precedence of those of Great Britain, on
account of the previous recognition of Hawaiian independence
by the former 4 but, after much diplomacy, the clause of pre-
cedence was withdrawn. The editor of the Folynesian
thinks that a war between Great Britain and the United States
would be attended with some serious proceedings in that neigh-
borhood, as British and American national vessels are con-
stantly thereabout.
The Collingwood left Tahiti on the 25th ultimo. All was
quiet on shore, the French being busily at work on their forti-
fications and improvements.
The business men of the place advertise their goods mostly
from the United States.
TWENTY NINTH CONGRESS.
FIRST SESSION.
Thursday, January 15, 1846.
IN SENATE.
i he VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate a commu-
nication from the Navy Department, being a statement of the
contingent expenditures in that Department during the y ar
Mr, BlRRIEN presented a series of resolutions from the
Legislature of the State of Georgia, requesting their Senators
and Representatives in Congress to urge the propriety of esta-
blishing a national foundry and armory in said State. Also,
resolutions in favor of the settlement of the claims of that State
against the United States for the services of her militia.
Also, resolutions for the repayment of the State of Georgia of
the duties paid by her on iron used in the construction of the
Western and Atlantic railroads. Also, resolutions in favor
of a division of that State into two judicial districts. Also,
resolutions in favor of the publication and the distribution
among the several States of the Decisions of the Supreme
Court of the United States. Also, resolutions in favor of the
establishment of the following post routes : From La Grange,
Georgia, to Chambers Court House, Alabama, to Wedowa*
Alabama; also, to Franklin, Georgia 5 also, to Ta'bottom ;
also, to Columbus, Georgia, and in favor of additional mail
facilities or other mail routes. Also, resolutions in favor of
moving the court-house in Bullock county, in that State,
and for the establishment of a mail route from Dahlonega,
Georgia, to Benton, Tennessee. Also, resolutions in favor of
a mail route from Marietta to Dahlonega, and from Cassville
to Holly creek ; all of which were appropriately referred, and
ordered to be printed.
On motion of Mr. ASHLEY, it was
■Resolved, That so much ot the President’s Message as re-
lates to the Judiciary be referred to the Commitee on the
Judiciary.
On motion of Mr. ASHLEY, it was
Resolved, That the Committee 011 the Public Lands be in-
structed to inquire into the expediency of removing the restric-
tion on the sale of certain lands in the State of Arkansas.
The resolution submitted by Mr. Speight on the 13th
instant, in relation to an examination of the public lands sub-
ject to the overflow of the Mississippi river, between Memphis
and Vicksburg, was taken up • when—
Mr. JOHNSON, of Louisiana, suggested an amendment
of the resolution so as to include the western side of the river,
to which Mr. Speight assented, and the resolution was ac-
cordingly so modified, and reads as follows :
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury, be directed to
cause an examination to be made of the public lands subject to
the overflow of the Mississippi river, between Memphis and
Vicksburg, in the State of Mississippi, and those lands subject
to inundation on the west side of tlife Mississippi river, in the
State of Louisiana, from the upper limits of the State to the
mouth of Red river, with an estimate of the probable amount
required to protect them from such overflow, and the quantity
of lands which will thereby become saleable, and report a plan
for such protection, if practicable, at the present session of Con-
gress, or at mi early day of the next session.
REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES.
Mr. BENTON, from the Committee on Military Affairs,
reported a bill for the relief the widow of the late Zebulon M.
Pike.
Mr. ASHLEY, from the Committee on Pensions, made an
adverse report on the petition of James Morgan.
Mr. NILES, from the Committee on the Post Office and
Post Roads, reported, with amendments, the joint resolution
for the relief of David Shaw and Solomon T. Corner.
Mr. JARNAGIN, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
reported the following resolution :
Resolved, That the Secretary of War prepare, or cause to
be prepared under his direction, a statement exhibiting a true
history of the relations between the United States and the sev-
eral Indian tribes or nations from the Revolutionary war down
to the extinction of the Indian title eastward of the Mississippi.
Also, a statement, in tabular form, of all the sums paid to dif-
ferent Indian tribes for the purchases of their land, designating
each tribe, the date of purchase, amount of land ceded or pur-
chased, the annuities given to each tribe, the duration of such
annuities, the amount held in trust by the United States Go-
vernment for any of such tribes, how much thereof has been
vested in stocks and the authority for investing the same, and
the number of persons in each tribe among whom such sums
or annuities have been or are divided.
BILLS.
Mr. BREESE, on leave, introduced a bill to grant to the
State of Illinois alternate sections of the public lands, to aid in
the construction of the Northern Cross of the Central Railroad,
in said State.
Mr. JOHNSON, of Louisiana, on leave, introduced a bill
to provide for the payment of the public debt in certain cases.
On motion of Mr. ALLEN, the Senate then, at half past
12 o’clock, went into Executive session, and, after a long
time passed therein, adjourned until Monday.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
THE PUBLIC LANDS.
Mr. McCLERNAND, from the Committee on Public
Lands, to which was referred the bill introduced on leave by
him on the 19th of December last to graduate and reduce the
price of public lands to actual settlers and cultivators, report-
ed the following amendatory bill:
A bill to reduce and graduate the price of public lands to actual
settlers and cultivators.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all
of the lands ot the United States which shall have been in mar-
ket for ten years or more, prior to the time of application tc
enter the same under the provisions of this act, and still re-
maining unsold, shall be subject to sale at the price of one dol-
lar per acre. And all of the lands of the United States which
shall have been in market for fifteen or more than fifteen years,
as aforesaid, and still remaining unsold, shall be subject to sale
at seventy-five cents per acre. And all of the lands'of the Uni-
ted Slates which shall have been in market for twenty or more
than twenty years, as aforesaid, and still remaining unsold,
shall lie subject to sale at the price of fifty cents per acre. And
all of the lands of the United States that shall have been in
market for twenty-five or more than twenty-five years, as afore-
said, and still remaining unsold, shall be subject to sale at the
price of twenty-five cents per acre. And all of the lands of the
United States that shall have been in market at the passage of
this act or any time thereafter for any period of thirty years, and
still remaining unsold, shall be and the same are hereby ceded
and forever absolutely vested in the States, respectively, in
which they lie.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That every perso#apply-
ing to enter any of the aforesaid lands of the United States un-
der the provisions of this act, shall be required first to make
affidavit, before the register and receiver of the proper land
office, that he or she enters the same for his or her own use,
for the purposes of actual settlement and cultivation by and for
him or herself, or for the use of an adjacent farm or plantation
owned and occupied by him or herself, and that, together with
said entry, he or she has not. acquired from the United States
under the provisions of this act more than three hundred and
twenty acres of land, according to the public surveys thereof;
and if any person taking such oath, by affidavit, shall swear
falsely in the premises, he or she shall be subject to all pains
and penalties of perjury : Provided, That nothing herein con-
tained shall be construed to prevent any person from entering
or purchasing the lands of the United States at the price of one
dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, as now authorized and
provided by law : And provided, also, That the quantity of
land which the President of the United States shall hereafter
proclaim and offer for sale, in any one year, shall not exceed
five millions of acres. This act shall take effect six months
lations of the convention, with power to appoint a clerk the
Attorney General to receive a compensation of §2,000, and
his clerk §1,000, payable at the close of their duties. The
awards to be paid at the Treasury, from funds received unde
the convention. The bill was twice read and committed.
Mr. JOSEPH JOHNSON, from the Committee on Revo-
lutionary Claims, reported a bill for the relief of the represen-
tatives of Lieutenant Jonathan Dye. Twice read and com-
mitted.
Mr. DANIEL, from the Committee of Claims, made an
adverse report in the case of Derrin Farrer. Laid on the table.
PRIVATE.
Mr. DANIEL also made an adverse report in the case of
Peter Schaeffer, for further compensation for work done on
the Cumberland road, and moved that the report lie on the
table and be printed.
Mr. ROBERT SMITH moved that the report be recom-
mitted to the Committee of Claims, believing that he could
convince the committee that the claim was a fair and just one,
and ought to be allowed.
The SPEAKER said the motion was not in order pending
a motion to lie on the table.
Mr. DANIEL withdrew the motion to lie 4 when
Mr. SMITH moved that the report be committed to the
Committee of the Whole House, where he could have an op-
portunity to demonstrate its justice.
This motion prevailed, and the report was committed ac-
cordingly.
Mr. DANIEL, from the Committee of Claims, made an
adverse report in the case of Robert Brady, Laid on the
table.
Mr. DANIEL also reported on the case of W. Frost;
which was agreed to.
Mr. BENTON, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
made an adverse report on the cases of Charles Roby and
Willis Stephens. Laid on the table.
Mr. MOULTON, from the Committee on Invalid Pensions,
made adverse reports on the cases of Benjamin Hunt and-John
Farnham.
Mr. D. P. KING, from the Committee on Revolutionary
Claims, reported a bill for the relief of Nathaniel Bird 5 which
was twice read and committed.
Mr. HOGE, from the Committee of Claims, was discharg-
ed from the case of William J. Bradford, and it was laid on
the table.
Mr. GORDON, from the Committee of Claims, was dis-
charged from the case of A. Hathaway, and it was commit-
ted to the Committee of the Whole House.
The bill from the Senate for the relief of David F. Wil-
liamson, of Pope county, Arkansas, was read the first and
second time, and committed to the Committee on Public
Lands.
Mr. LAWRENCE, from the Committee of Commerce,
reported sundry bills, viz.
A bill for the relief of the owners and crew of the schooner
Tancreda; t>,
A bill for the relief of the owner and crew of the schooner
Florilla 4
A bill for the relief of the owner and ciew of the schooner
Success 4
A bill for the relief of the owner and crew of the schooner
Henrietta ;
Which hills were severally, twice read and committed.
Mr. HOGE, from the Committee of Claims, made an ad-
verse report on the case of Robert Sewall, which was laid on
the table.
Mr. THOMASSON moved the following resolution, which
was agreed to :
Resolved, That the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions
inquire into the propriety and expediency of placing Benjamin
Kerlin, of Kentucky, on the pension roll.
OREGON.
The House, on motion, resolved itself into Committee
of the Whole on the state of the Union, (Mr. Tibbatts in
the chair,) on the joint resolution reported by Mr. C. J, In-
gersoll, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for giving
to Great Britain the twelve months’ notice of the termination
of the convention of the 6th August, 1827, respecting the
joint occupation of the country of Oregon.
On this subject the Committee was addressed successively by
Mr. COCKE, of Tennessee, Mr. BEDINGER, of Virginia,
Mr. MORSE, of Louisiana, and Mr. DOBBIN, ofNorth Caro-
lina 4 after which Mr. ROCKWELL, of Connecticut, ob-
tained the floor, and the Committee rose.
[We have upon our hands a mass of debate, fully reported
and ready for insertion ; but our columns have been so crowd-
ed with debate on this question, and our readers have had it
so fully presented to them, and under such various aspects,
that we feel compelled for the present to pause and to relieve
ourselves from the surplus of report so rapidly accumulating-
We therefore occupy our columns to-day with other matter.]
FEES OF DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
After the rising of the Committee, Mr. THURMAN
moved the following resolution •
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby re-
quested to inform this House, at the earliest practicable
moment, the aggregate compensation (salary, fees, and allow-
ances of all kinds included) received by each District Attorney
of the United States during the last year, of which returns
have been made to the Treasury Department.
The resolution was read and adopted.
And the House adjourned until to morrow 12 o’clock.
UxrTED States Whale Fisheht.—From the full and
correct annual statement of the condition of the whale
fishery in the United States, published in the last number of
the “Whalemen’s Shipping List,” we learn that the whole
number of vessels now employed in the whale fishery, from
all the ports in the United States, includes 680 ships and
barques, 34 brigs, 22 schooners, and 1 sloop ; making an aggre-
gate of 233,262 tons ; showing an increase of 15,607 tons
during the past year, and an increase of 33,115 tons since
January 1, 1844. The imports from this branch of commerce
during the past year have been 157,917 bbls. of sperm oil 4
272,730 bbls. of whale oil ; and 3,167,142 lbs. of whalebone.
Col. Wm. Boardman, of Portsmouth, (N. H.) shipped
for Yera Cruz, a few days since, 726 packages of machinery
for the Guadalajara Spinning and Weaving Company ; also,
machinery for a cotton and a paper mill for the same com-
pany. The aggregate weight of the whole is about 140 tons,
from and after its passage.
The bill was read the first and second time, and committed.
Mr. McHENRY, from the Committee for the District of
Columbia, reported a hill for the payment to James Dixon of
§487 23 for extra work done by him on the United States
court-house in Alexandria. Twice read and committed.
Mr. BARRINGER, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
to which was referred the memorial of L. T. Pease and James
M. Smith, late commissioners to inquire into the nature and
extent of depredations committed by the Seminole Indians on
property of citizens of Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, claim-
ing (in addition to their pay of eight dollars a day) mileage at
the rate of eight dollars for every twenty miles travelled by
them, made an adverse report on said memorial. Laid on the
table.
MENOMONIE LANDS.
Mr. BENTON, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to
which was referred certain resolutions of the Legislative Coun-
cil of Wisconsin, asking for the extinguishment of the Indian
title to certain lands in that Territory, reported a bill appro-
priating §2,500 to defray the expense of treating with the
Menomonie Indians for the extinguishment of their title to
lands within the Territory of Wisconsin northwest of Fox
river and between Wolf and Wisconsin rivers, and between
Wisconsin and Marcy rivers, up to the southern boundary-
line of the Chippewas. Twice read and committed.
CONVENTION WITH PERU.
Mr. CHARLES J. INGERSOLL, from the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, reported a bill to carry into effect the con-
vention with Peru, concluded at Lima, March 17, 1841.
This bill authorizes and empowers the Attorney General of the
United States to adjudicate the claims arising under the con-
vention, according to the merits of the several cases, and the
principles of justice, equity, the law of nations, and the stipu-
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES,
Wednesday, January 14, 1846.
No. 20. Charles Gratiot, plaintiff in error, vs. the United
States. In error to the Circuit Court of the United States
for-Missouri. Mr. Justice Wayne delivered the opinion of
this Court, affirming the judgment of the said Circuit Court
in this cause.
No. 65. The Agricultural Bank of Mississippi, plaintiff in
error, vs. Charles Rice et al. This cause was further sub-
mitted on a printed argument by Mr. Johnston for the de-
fendants in error.
No. 69. The West River Bridge Company, plaintiff in
error, vs. Joseph Dix et al. The argument of this cause was
continued by Mr. Collamer for the plaintiff in error, and by
Mr. Phelps for the defendants in error.
Adjourned till to-morrow, at 11 o’clock.
Thursday, January 15, 1846.
No. 69. West River Bridge Company, plaintiff’ in error,
vs. Joseph Dix et al. The argument of this cause was con-
cluded by Mr. Webster for the plantiffin error.
No. 74. The United States, appellant, vs. John C, McLe-
more et al. This cause was argued by the Attorney General
for the appellant, and by Messrs. Brinley and Eaton for the
appellees.
No. 77. A. Michond et al, appellants, vs. P. B. Girod et
al. The argument of this cause was commenced by Mr,
Eustis for the appellants.
Adjourned till to-morrow, 11 o’clock.
MARRIAGE.
On the 14th instant, by the Rev. Smith Ptne, JAMES
BLAIR, of the U. S. Navy, to Miss MARY" L. E., daugh-
ter of Gen. Thomas S. Jesup.
VALUABLE STATISTICS FOR BANKERS,
STATESMEN, AND OTHERS.
BANKERS’ WEEKLY CIRCULAR AND STATISTI-
CAL RECORD.
Edited by J. Smith Homans and Edwin Williams, New
York, January 13, 1845.
Contents of No. 13.
1. Bank Statistics—Alabama, Georgia, and South Caro-
lina.
2. The proposed Subtreasury, (from a Washington cor-
respondent. )
3. Finances of the State of Pennsylvania—its funded debt,
domestic creditors, and public property.
4. Aggregate Revenuue and Expenditure of the United
States undereach of the nine Administrations.
5. Debts of the several States, trom official reports,
6. Population of the several countries of Europe, and their
capitals.
7. Important Law Case, in relation to hills of exchange and
collateral bills of lading.
8. Finances of the State ot Maryland.
9. Rates of Exchange on L@ndon for each packet day since
January, 1822.
10. New York Money Market, January 3.
11. New York Wholesale Price Current.
12. New England Cotton Eactories, their par value and their
present market value.
13. The States of Europe, their capitals and population at
recent dates.
§5” Published weekly at three dollars per annum.__
J. SMITH HOMANS,
jan 16 295 Broadway, hew York.
irATTHEW ST. CLAIR CLARKE has opened his
If j office in the rooms lately occupied by Corcoran & Riggs,
opposite the Treasury Department, and will attend to all busi-
ness entrusted to him, requiring an Agent or Attorney, before
Congress or any of the Departments, dec 10—dtf
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National Intelligencer. (Washington [D.C.]), Vol. 47, No. 6720, Ed. 1 Saturday, January 17, 1846, newspaper, January 17, 1846; Washington, District of Columbia. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1024949/m1/1/: accessed July 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .