thirteen east, Seneca county, Ohio, to relinquish certain lands selected for schools, and to obtain others in lieu of them. H. R. 350. An act for the relief of Griffin Kelly. H. R. 207. H. R. 298. An act for the relief of Leah Gray. H. R. 299. An act for the relief of Mary Campbell, widow of John Campbell. H. R. 371. An act for the relief of John Milsted, of Escambia county, Florida. H. R. 210. An act for the relief of Patrick Kelly, senior, of the county of Indiana, State of Pennsylvania. H. R. 301. An act for the relief of William Gump. H. R. 300. An act for the relief of Lewis Laing. H. R. 334. An act for the relief of Patrick Masterson. H. R. 348. An act granting a pension to Joseph Dusseau. H. R. 292. An act for the relief of Margaret Gwinnup, of Hamilton county, Ohio. H. R. 336. An act for the relief of Mary Phelps. H. R. 302. An act for the relief of John Carr, John Batty, and Samuel Stevenson, seamen on board the whale ship Margaret. H. R. 344. An act for the relief of Surranus Cobb. H. R. 345. An act for the relief of Justin Jacobs. H. R. 349. An act granting a pension to Abraham Ansman. H. R. 352. An act for the relief of Aquilla Goodwin. H. R. 347. An act for the relief of John Campbell, of Garland, in the State of Maine. H. R. 244. An act for the relief of Lois Mattison, of the county of Jefferson, State of New York. H. R. 335. An act for the relief of Elizabeth Betts, of the city of New York. H. R. 390. An act for the relief of the owners of the ship Herald, of Baltimore. H. R. 245. An act for the relief of Captain John Patton. H. R. 337. An act for the relief of Mary Segar, of Jefferson county, State of New York. H. R. 166. An act for the relief of Gregory Thomas and others. H. R. 526. An act supplementary to the act passed on the 20th day of February, 1846, entitled "An act to enlarge the powers of the several orphans' courts held in and for the District of Columbia." H. R. 113. An act for the relief of the owner and crew of the schooner Tancred. H. R. 130. An act for the relief of Nathan Smith and Charles R Smith, et al. H. R. 268. An act for the relief of William Pool. H. R. 346. An act granting a pension to Daniel Pratt. H. R. 392. An act for the relief of William B. Lang. H. R. 52. An act for the relief of Samuel D. Walker, of Baltimore. H. R. 278. An act for the relief of William Moss. H. R. 377. An act for the relief of the legal representatives of John Ruddle. H. R. 23. Resolution for the benefit of John B. Denton and Curtis Humphreys. And no amendment being made, they were severally reported to the Senate. Ordered, That they pass to a third reading. The said bills and resolution were severally read a third time. Resolved, That they pass. Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives accordingly. The Senate proceeded to consider, as in Committee of the Whole, the bill (H. R. 136) entitled "An act for the relief of the heirs of doctor John Gray, deceased:" and no amendment being made, it was reported to the Senate. On the question, "Shall this bill be read a third time?" It was determined in the affirmative, On motion by Mr. Calhoun, SYeas, The yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present, Those who voted in the affirmative are, 20 16 Messrs. Archer, Berrien, John M. Clayton, Corwin, Davis, Greene, Huntigton, Jarnagin, Johnson, of Maryland, Johnson, of Louisiana, Mangum, Miller, Morehead, Pearce, Phelps, Rusk, Simmons, Upham, Westcott, Woodbridge. Those who voted in the negative are, Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Bagby, Calhoun, Chalmers, Dickinson, Dix, Fairfield, Lewis, McDuffie, Niles, Semple, Speight, Sturgeon, Turney. So it was Ordered, That this bill be read a third time. The said bill was read a third time. Resolved, That it pass. Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives accordingly. Mr. Atherton, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 297) more effectually to provide for the enforcement of certain provisions in the treaties of the United States, reported it without amendment. The Senate proceeded to consider the said bill as in Committee of the Whole: and no amendment being made, it was reported to the Senate. Ordered, That it pass to a third reading. The said bill was read a third time. Resolved, That it pass. Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives accordingly. On motion, The Senate adjourned. SATURDAY, AUGUST 8, 1846. The Vice President being absent, the Senate proceeded to the choice of a President pro tempore, as the Constitution provides: and, on counting the ballots, it appeared that the Hon. David R. Atchison was duly elected. On motion by Mr. Webster, Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives thereof. On motion by Mr. Webster, Ordered, That the Secretary wait on the President of the United States, and notify him of the election of the Hon. David R. Atchison as President of the Senate pro tempore. On motion by Mr. Upham, Ordered, That Beebee Wadham have leave to withdraw his petition and papers. The following written message was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Walker, his secretary: To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: I invite your attention to the propriety of making an appropriation to provide for any expenditure which it may be necessary to make in advance for the purpose of settling all our difficulties with the Mexican republic. It is my sincere desire to terminate, as it was originally to avoid, the existing war with Mexico, by a peace just and honorable to both parties. It is probable that the chief obstacle to be surmounted in accomplishing this desirable object will be the adjustment of a boundary between the two republics, which shall prove satisfactory and convenient to both, and such as neither will hereafter be inclined to disturb. In the adjustment of this boundary, we ought to pay a fair equivalent for any concessions which may be made by Mexico. Under these circumstances, and considering the other complicated questions to be settled by negotiation with the Mexican republic, I deem it important that a sum of money should be placed under the control of the Executive, to be advanced, if need be, to the government of that republic, immediately after their ratification of a treaty. It might be inconvenient for the Mexican government to wait for the whole sum, the payment of which may be stipulated by this treaty until it could be ratified by our Senate, and an appropriation to carry it into effect made by Congress. Indeed, the necessity for this delay might defeat the object altogether. The disbursement of this money would of course be accounted for not as secret service money, but like other expenditures. Two precedents for such a proceeding exist in our past history during the administration of Mr. Jefferson, to which I would call your attention. On the 26th February, 1803, an act was passed appropriating two millions of dollars "for the purpose of defraying any extraordinary expenses which may be incurred in the intercourse between the United States and foreign nations," "to be applied under the direction of the President of the United States, who shall cause an account of the expenditure thereof to be laid before Congress as soon as may be;" and on the 13th of February, 1806, an appropriation was made of the same amount, and in the same terms. In neither case was the money actually drawn from the treasury; and I should hope that the result in this respect might be similar on the present occasion, although the appropriation may prove to be indispensable in accomplishing the object. I would, therefore, recommend the passage of a law appropriating $2,000,000, to be placed at the disposal of the Executive, for the purpose which I have indicated. In order to prevent all misapprehension, it is my duty to state that, anxious as I am to terminate the existing war with the least possible delay, it will continue to be prosecuted with the utmost vigor until a treaty of peace shall be signed by the parties, and ratified by the Mexican republic. JAMES K. POLK. WASHINGTON, August 8, 1846. The message was read. Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Finance. On motion by Mr. Fairfield, Ordered, That the Committee on Naval Affairs be discharged from the further consideration of the report of the Secretary of the Navy, of the 4th March last, in relation to naval defences; and that the report lie on the table. Mr. Breese, from the Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 370) for the relief of the heirs and legal representatives of Richard C. Allen, deceased, reported it with an amendment. Mr. Westcott, from the Committee on Territories, to whom was referred. the bill (H. R. 533) to establish the territorial government of Oregon, reported it without amendment, and submitted a report thereon; which was read. Mr. Dix, from the Committee on Commerce, reported a bill (S. 258) to establish the collection district of Oregon; which was read, and passed to the second reading: and, On motion by Mr. Dix, Ordered, That it lie on the table. Mr. Morehead, from the Committee of Claims, to whom was referred the memorial of Abraham P. Housman, administrator of the estate of Jacob Housman, deceased, submitted a report, accompanied by a bill (S. 259) for the relief of the legal representatives of Jacob Housman, deceased. The bill was read, and passed to the second reading. Ordered, That the report be printed. Mr. Bagby submitted the following resolution for consideration: Resolved, That C. S. Jones and J. G. Schott, messengers employed in carrying the mail of the Senate, be continued; and that they be allowed and paid the same amount of compensation, respectively, as has heretofore been allowed to the acting postmaster of the Senate; and that the lamplighter of the capitol be allowed the same amount of compensation allowed by the resolution of the 28th February, 1839. A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. French, their Clerk: Mr. President: The House of Representatives agree to some and disagree to other amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 50) making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of government for the year ending June 30, 1847. The Speaker of the House of Representatives having signed sixty-eight enrolled bills and one enrolled resolution, I am directed to bring them to the Senate for the signature of their President. Mr. Bright reported from the committee that they had examined and found duly enrolled the following bills: S. 49. An act granting a pension to Richard Elliott. H. R. 109. An act to carry into effect the convention between the United States and the republic of Peru, concluded at Lima the 17th day of March, in the year 1841. H. R. 173. An act to confirm an entry of land made by the administrator of James Anderson, deceased, of Iowa Territory. H. R. 408. An act to authorize the constituted authorities of the county of Polk, in the Territory of Iowa, to enter a quarter section of land for the seat of justice. H. R. 373. An act to equalize the compensation of the surveyors general of public lands of the United States, and for other purposes. H. R. 158. An act granting a pension to Elijah C. Babbit. H. R. 181. An act for the relief of Langtry and Jenkins. H. R. 162. An act for the relief of Isaiah Parker. H. R. 172. An act for the relief of John G. McCloud, of Linn county, Iowa Territory. H. R. 182. An act for the relief of John R. Williams. H. R. 215. An act to amend the act, approved 2d April, 1844, entitled "An act directing the disposition of certain unclaimed goods, wares, or merchandise, seized for being illegally imported into the United States." H. R. 93. An act to enable the Secretary of the Navy to purchase the right of using Mix's patent manger stopper. H. R. 68. An act to regulate writs of error and appeals from the district courts of the United States for the middle district of Alabama. H. R. 450. An act for the allowance of drawback on foreign merchandise imported into certain districts of the United States from the British North American provinces, and exported to foreign countries. H. R. 157. An act granting a pension to Orris Crosby. H. R. 49. An act making appropriations for the support of the army for the year ending the 30th June, 1847. H. R. 374. An act to grant a certain quantity of land to aid in the improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, and to connect the same by a canal, in the Terrritory of Wisconsin. H. R. 335. An act for the relief of Elizabeth Betts, of the city of New York. H. R. 334. H. R. 318. H. R. 317. An act for the relief of Patrick Masterson. An act for the relief of José Carxillo. An act for the relief of James Journey. H. R. 299. An act for the relief of Mary Campbell, widow of John Campbell. H. R. 210. An act for the relief of Patrick Kelly, senior, of the county of Indiana, State of Pennsylvania. H. R. 166. An act for the relief of Gregory Thomas. H. R. 130. et al. An act for the relief of Nathan Smith and Charles R. Smith, H. R. 123. An act for the relief of Samuel Jorden. H. R. 113. An act for the relief of the owner and crew of the schooner Tancred. H. R. 59. An act authorizing the inhabitants of township one, of range thirteen east, Seneca county, Ohio, to relinquish certain lands selected for schools, and to obtain others in lieu of them. H. R. 52. An act for the relief of Samuel D. Walker, of Baltimore. H. R. 22. An act authorizing the trustees of Tymochtee township, Wyandot crunty, Ohio, to select land for schools within the Wyandot ces sion. H. R. 312. An act for the relief of John McAllister. |