H. OF R.

Newton, Overstreet, Parker of Virginia, Pinckney, Randolph, Rankin, Reed, Rhea, Robertson, Settle, Shaw, Simkins, Smith of New Jersey, Smith of Maryland, B. Smith of Virginia, A. Smyth of Virginia, Smith of North Carolina, Swearingen, Terrell, Trimble, Tucker of Virginia, Tucker of South Carolina, Tyler, Walker, Warfield, Williams of Virginia, and Williams of North Carolina-79.

NAYS.-Messrs. Adams, Allen of Massachusetts, Allen of New York, Baker, Bateman, Beecher, Boden, Brush, Buffum, Butler of New Hampshire, Campbell, Case, Clagett, Clark, Cook, Crafts, Cushman, Dane, Darlington, Dennison, Dewitt, Dickinson, Eddy, Edwards of Conneticut, Edwards of Pennsylvania, Eustis, Fay, Folger, Foot, Ford, Forrest, Fuller, Gorham, Gross of New York, Gross of Pennsylvania, Guyon, Hackley, Hall of New York, Hall of Delaware, Hemphill, Hendricks, Hibshman, Hill, Hostetter, Kendall, Kinsey, Kinsley, Lathrop, Lincoln, Linn, Livermore, Maclay, McCullongh, Mallary, Marchand, Meech, Monell, R. Moore, S. Moore, Morton, Mosely, Murray, Nelson of Massachusetts, Parker of Mass., Patterson, Phelps, Philson, Plumer, Rich, Richards, Richmond, Rogers, Ross, Russ, Sergeant, Silsbee, Sloan, Southard, Stevens, Storrs, Street, Strong of Vermont, Strong of New York, Tarr, Tomlinson, Tompkins, Tracy, Upham, Van Rensselaer, Wallace, Wendover, Whitman, and Wood-93.

And the resolution for the admission of the State of Missouri into the Union was rejected.

Mr. LOWNDES then rose, and said that he did not wish to be disrespectful to a majority of the House, as declared on the vote just taken, but he now felt it to be his duty to call on them, having rejected the resolution proposed by the committee of their appointment, to devise and propose to the House the means nccessary to protect the territory, the property, and all the rights of the United States in the Missouri country.

A motion being made to adjourn, was decided affirmatively, and, at a little before sunset, the House adjourned.

THURSDAY, December 14.

Military Punishment.

[DECEMBER, 1820. which has reached this Department, was the case of a soldier at Fort Preble, near Portland, in Maine. Major Brooks, a correct and intelligent officer commanding that post, in September last, reported that the death of a soldier, an habitual drunkard, who had been on a fatigue party, under Lieutenant Hobart, and had been confined by him, had caused much excitement among the citizens, who attributed the death of the man to the conduct of Lieutenant Hobart; that the civil authority had taken up the affair for investigation, to which Lieutenant Hobart had readily submitted himself. The report was accompanied with the enclosed certificate of the jury of inquest as to the correct conduct of Major Brooks and the other officers of the post, in relation to the transaction. It thus appearing that the affair would undergo an investigation in the district court of the United States, the Department did not think it proper to order a military investigation.

I have the honor to be, yours, &c.,
J. C. CALHOUN,
To the SPEAKER of House of Reps.

FRIDAY, December 15.

The engrossed bills for the relief of Margaret Perry, and for the relief of William McIntosh, were severally read the third time, passed, and ordered to be sent to the Senate for concur

rence.

MONDAY, December 18.

A new member, to wit, from Massachusetts, AARON HOBART, elected to supply the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Zabdiel Sampson, appeared, was qualified, and took his seat.

Death of Mr. Hazard.

Mr. EDDY, of Rhode Island, rose, and briefly announced to the House the decease, on yesterday, of NATHANIEL HAZARD, Esq., a member of this House from the State of Rhode Island.

Whereupon, on motion of Mr. E., resolutions were unanimously adopted, expressive of the feelings of the House on this occasion; resolving to attend the funeral, this day, at two o'clock; appointing a committee to superintend

WAR DEPARTMENT, Dec. 14, 1820. SIR: In answer to that part of the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 9th instant, requiring this Department to show whether the order given by Colonel King of the 4th infantry, for shooting deserters taken in the fact, was approved by any general officer in the service of the United States, or was known to, and passed over in silence by him, as stated in the defence of said Colonel King, I have to enclose an extract of the letter of Major General Jackson on that subject, which was transmitted to the House of Representatives with the copy of the trial of Colonel King, and which is published in the appendix of that trial. This extract contains all the information within the knowledge of this Department on that subject. In relation to that part of the resolution which requires any information this Department may possess, showing that corporal punishment has been inflicted on any soldier, whereby he came to his death, I have the honor to state, that the only report of that kind,

of respect for the memory of the deceased, to go into mourning, and wear a black crape round the left arm for thirty days.

Messrs. EDDY, MORTON, RUSS, SHAW, MALLARY, ARCHER of Maryland, and COCKE, were appointed a committee accordingly; and the House adjourned.

TUESDAY, December 19.

Occupation of the Columbia.

On motion of Mr. FLOYD, a committee was appointed to inquire into the situation of the settlements upon the Pacific Ocean, and the expediency of occupying the Columbia River. Mr. FLOYD, Mr. METCALFE, and Mr. SWEARINGEN, were appointed the said committee.

Mr. FLOYD submitted the following resolution, which, under the rule, will lie on the table for consideration until to-morrow.

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Department of War be required to lay before this House a statement of the number and situation of the military posts in the United States at this time; together with the distribution of the army; designating the number of men, also the number and rank of the officers at each place.

Hall of the House.

Mr. MERCER submitted for consideration the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Committee on the Public Buildings be instructed to inquire into the practicability of making such alterations in the present structure of the Hall of the House of Representatives, as shall better adapt it to the purposes of a deliberative assembly; and, if no such alteration can be effected, to ascertain whether it be practicable to provide a suitable Hall in the centre building of the Capitol.

Mr. M. briefly explained his object in offering this resolve, which, it would be observed, proposed an inquiry merely. It was, he said, utterly impossible, as every gentleman's experience must have taught him, to hear more

than one-half of the members who addressed the House, without changing one's seat for the purpose. For one, he declared, that, owing to this circumstance, he felt himself utterly incapable of discharging the duty imposed on him by his constituents. He had, he said, in anticipation of such a duty as he now proposed to devolve on the Committee on the Public Buildings, made it his business to examine the centre building. He had satisfied himself that the room intended for the Library, simpler in its structure than the present Hall, which was of a figure unfavorable to deliberation, would answer all the purposes of a Representative Chamber. It would be a room larger than that which often accommodates five hundred members in the British House of Commons; as large as that which has accommodated a more numerous body in Massachusetts; and larger than that which is occupied by a more numerous body than this in the State of Virginia.

The resolve for inquiry was adopted, as above stated, but not without opposing voices.

THURSDAY, December 21.

Death of Mr. Slocumb.

Little business was transacted in either House of Congress to-day, both bodies having adjourned at an early hour, to make arrangements to attend the funeral of a deceased member of the House of Representatives, and, as a mark of respect, usual on such occasions.

As soon as the Journal was read in the House of Representatives, Mr. SMITH, of North Carolina, rose, and announced to the House the decease of JESSE SLOCUMB, Esq., a member from the State of North Carolina; and, on the motion of Mr. SMITH, resolutions were then unanimously adopted expressive of the feelings of the House on this occasion; resolving to attend the funeral, this day, at three o'clock-appointing a committee to superintend the same-and

[H. OF R

resolving, also, as a testimony of respect for the memory of the deceased, to go into mourning, and wear a black crape round the left arm for thirty days.

Messrs. SMITH, of North Carolina, BURTON, FISHER, HOOKS, SETTLE, WILLIAMS, of North Carolina, and DAVIDSON, were appointed the committee of arrangements.

On motion of Mr. SMITH, also, it was resolved that the Speaker of the House acquaint the Executive of the State of North Carolina, with the vacancy occasioned in the representation from that State by the death of Mr. SLOCUMB.

TUESDAY, December 26.

Death of Mr. Burrill.

The Secretary of the Senate then came in with a message, announcing the death of the Honorable JAMES BURRILL, Jr., a member of that body, and that his funeral would take place from the Senate Chamber, at half past ten o'clock to-morrow.

Whereupon, on motion of Mr. EDDY, it was— Resolved, unanimously, That this House will attend the funeral of the Honorable JAMES BURRILL, Jr., late a member of the Senate from the State of Rhode Island, to-morrow, at half past ten o'clock, A. M.; and, as a testimony of respect for the memory of the deceased, will go into mourning, and wear crape for thirty days. The House then adjourned to Thursday next.

THURSDAY, December 28.

Bank Notes in Payment of Duties. Mr. LOWNDES Submitted the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Committee of Ways and Means be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing that the notes of no banks by which notes below the amount of five dollars are, or may be, issued, shall be taken in payment of duties or debts to the Government of the United States.

In introducing the resolution, Mr. L. adverted to the viciousness of the currency where notes for dollars and parts of dollars supply the place of specie, as, where such notes are issued, they always will. He spoke also of the efforts made in some of the States, and now making in Virginia, to banish those notes from circulationefforts which were always vain, so long as such notes were issued by neighboring States, &c. No authority but Congress, he contended, was competent to correct the evil in any manner; and, the object of his resolution being for inquiry only, he did not anticipate any sound objection to its adoption.

Mr. STORRS Said he had no decided objection to inquiry into this subject, but he hoped the House would reflect on the effect which the adoption of the measure suggested would have, in giving a preference to the notes of the Bank of the United States over those of all other banks. He hoped that the Committee of Ways and Means, whose information on such subjects was so extensive,

H. OF R.

[DECEMBER, 1820.

Mr. LOWNDES said it was hardly possible to suppose that the committee would not know, as every member of the House would see, that the effect of the adoption of such a measure must be favorable to some banks and unfavorable to others. But, Mr. L. said, there are many banks, and those among the best in the States, which do not issue notes of a less denomination than five dollars. It was for the Committee of Ways and Means to inquire whether the Government should not lend its aid to produce uniformity in this respect.

Mr. MEIGS agreed in opinion with his colleague, and was opposed even to authorizing an inquiry into this matter. When this great Bank of the United States had furnished the Union with a circulating medium of equal value in all parts of the Union, he might perhaps be inclined to give it further facilities; but, for the present, he would not, for one, consent to go further in this respect than Congress had already gone. The Secretary of the Treasury had already the power to forbid the reception of notes not in good credit, by the collectors, &c., which he had duly exercised. If a measure of the sort now proposed were to succeed, the notes of a great majority of the banks in the United States would cease to be receivable in payment of taxes, and would be driven from circulation. He could see no other effect which could flow from the adoption of the regulation suggested in the resolve, but to give an almost exclusive circulation to the notes of the Bank of the United States, and he was therefore opposed to the resolve.

Mr. SOUTHARD spoke in favor of the resolve. He thought it was bad policy ever to have permitted the banks to issue notes of a less denomination than five dollars, and believed that such issues had a great agency in driving specie from circulation a few years ago. He was of opinion that excluding the small notes from circulation would restore specie to its former general cur

rency.

Mr. LOWNDES spoke in reply to Mr. MEIGS, denying that the particular object of his motion was to benefit the United States Bank. Suppose no such bank were in existence, he said, and the interests of the country required that its currency should consist in part of gold and silver, and not of paper merely, would it hot be well, under such circumstances, at least to inquire into the policy of prohibiting the circulation of notes of a denomination under five dollars-the effect of which measure would be to substitute specie, in part, for notes, in the circulating medium of the country? The object of the resolution was not to institute an inquiry in order to benefit the Bank of the United States; but, if it were the policy of the country to encourage the circulation of specie, which he presumed no man would doubt, he asked whether that policy ought to he disregarded, Decause a resort to it might incidentally benefit

that the Bank of the United States had not afforded a circulating medium of equal value, &c., that itself would be an argument not against, but in favor of this inquiry.

Mr. MEIGS resumed the floor. The great Bank of the United States, he contended, had not fulfilled the duties which it was expected to have performed. There were a hundred banks in the States, he said, about the legality of whose institution there were no doubts, whose paper was as current and in as high credit as that of the Bank of the United States, and who issued notes of a less amount than five dollars. And why should they not? Was the circulating medium of the country intended only for men who deal in tens and hundreds of dollars? The object of this resolution, he said, was plainly neither more nor less than to restrain the circulation of the notes of banks issuing notes of less than five dollars, and of course to benefit the Bank of the United States by making its notes the only current paper. He was, therefore, yet decidedly opposed to this proposition.

Mr. TRIMBLE said he should vote for the proposed inquiry, and regretted the opposition to it. The people of the United States, he said, expected that the National Government would make the inquiry, and do what appeared, on inquiry, to be within the scope of its power, to restore to this country a sound circulating medium. At a former session, a report had been made to this House, in which it had been suggested that a circulating medium might be established, to consist of small coins of convenient denominations. He presumed it was intended to take up the subject at the present session, and, if possible, to adopt some measure to carry that idea into effect. He observed, by the way, that with regard to the Bank of the United States, he was not much disposed to offer to it any advantages in addition to those which it already enjoyed. Adverting to what had fallen from other gentlemen respecting small banks and small bank notes, Mr. T. said that Congress had set the example to the States in establishing them; in this District, with a population of some thirty thousand, Congress had established twelve banks, and it had a branch of the Bank of the United States besides. Mr. T. here alluded to the miserable small notes in circulation in the District, respecting which he made a ludicrous comparison, which the reporter did not hear with sufficient distinctness to commit to paper. He hoped some measure would be adopted by Congress to effect a circulation of coins for all transactions under five dollars. It was expected from Congress. It was in the power of Congress alone to effect this object, and Congress had already too long delayed the exercise of the power.

Mr. SMITH, of Maryland, made a few remarks on the proposition before the House, the object of which he understood to be to exclude from circulation all bank notes under five dollars, with a view to introduce, in place of them, a

specie currency. Such a measure, Mr. S. believed, would have the effect to prevent the general exportation of specie whenever there was a demand for it abroad, by dispersing it over the country, in such a manner that it could not readily be gathered together in large sums. Mr. S. showed, by reference to what had taken place in different parts of the country, and more recently by voluntary arrangement of the banks in Baltimore, that such would be the effect of the exclusion of small notes from circulation. Whether it was politic to do, in this respect, what would have the appearance of striking at the State banks, was another question; there could be no doubt, however, of the authority of Congress in this regard within the District of Columbia, nor of the expediency of exercising it, &c.

Mr. SILSBEE made a few observations to the same effect as those of Mr. SMITH. He was in favor of the resolution, and believed that the sooner the circulation of these small notes was stopped the better it would be for the country. Mr. MERCER, in expressing his approbation of the resolution, said he was surprised that the gentleman from Kentucky should have reflected so pointedly on the District of Columbia; for, as the old saying is, those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Of the banks of this District, he would only say that he believed they were in a better state than any beyond the Alleghany mountains; and, with respect to the circulation of small notes within the District, the people of the District had been the first to direct the attention of Congress to the subject; and he intimated the hope that the session would not pass without making some provision to restrain these issues of notes, particularly by the corporations of the city and towns of the District. With respect to the Bank of the United States, Mr. M. said it had nothing to do with this question. Whenever that subject should properly present itself to the House, he should take the opportunity to offer some few remarks on the impolicy of affording further advantages to that already powerful institution.

ure.

Mr. BALDWIN said he was unwilling at any time to oppose a proposition having for its object an inquiry into the expediency of any measBut this was an exception. It was the beginning of a system of legislation which looked towards an interference with the State banks. The next step might be, to propose that no notes of State banks should be received in payments to the United States. The same principle as is found in the proposition suggested in this resolution, would equally justify that legislation which he had just mentioned. It is best to stop, said Mr. B., before we begin this course. What we have already done has led to a question of the rights of States to lay taxes; in regard to which some think the judicial decision has been too much against the States. The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. B. said, had already a discretionary power on this subject.

[H. OF R.

Why then should this House take the matter up, when the proposition submitted was at least of questionable character? He knew of no motive which could induce him ultimately to sanction the proposition; but, before he would even vote for an inquiry into it, he must have much stronger reasons in its favor than had yet been assigned. Mr. TRIMBLE said he well recollected the proverb which the gentleman had quoted to him. The example of multiplying banks, however, was set by the Congress, and the people of Kentucky but followed it; and that example had a powerful effect. Whatever might be thought of Congress immediately around the Seat of Government, at a greater distance a very high opinion was entertained of them; and when they established the twelfth bank within this District, the people at a distance thought it a wonderfully wise measure, and the good people of Kentucky followed the example which Congress had set them. Congress, Mr. T. said, had set a pernicious example in this respect, and ought to be prompt in acknowledging their error, and retracting it as far as practicable. The adoption of this resolution would be one step towards doing so.

Mr. MERCER said, if the subject had been the policy of multiplying banks, he should have thought himself unhappy in the proverb he had brought to his aid. But the question was of the absence of specie, occasioned by the circulation of small notes; and Mr. M. said, that he believed in the State in which the gentleman from Kentucky resided, there is not a speciepaying bank, whilst there is not one in operation in this District which does not pay specie. Mr. M. made some further remarks in defence and support of State banks against the Bank of the United States. He was opposed to one bank in a country, as he was to one head in a monarchy, &c., and was as much opposed as any one to subjecting the State banks to the sway of the great banking institution of the country.

Mr. BURTON said it appeared to him that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. BALDWIN) had placed this subject on its proper basis. If Congress had the power to interfere with the circulation of one dollar notes of the State banks, it certainly had the same power in regard to all the notes of State banks. Mr. B. was opposed to the resolution. The substitution of specie for small notes was a matter to be regulated by public opinion. When specie vanished some years ago, the issue of small notes was indispensable; on the other hand, when specie became plentiful in the cities, public opinion there corrected the evil. If we adopt the resolution, said Mr. B., we at once commence an attack on the State banks, and there is no knowing where it will end.

Mr. LIVERMORE said, for his part, that he considered it improper to attempt indirectly a measure which could not be directly approached. Such, he said, would be the effect of the adoption of the resolve now proposed. Every