against the Seminole Indians, be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. Mr. Benton presented the petition of Richard Graham and John O'Fallon, praying the passage of an act to authorize the proper officers of the Treasury to settle with them as sureties for Elias T. Langham, a public defaulter, upon principles of equity and justice; which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands. Mr. Morris submitted a paper signed by William Beck, proposing a plan by which a general settlement may be made of debts and credits in the United States, and the use of money, whether paper or coin, may be dis pensed with. On motion by Mr. Clay, of Alabama, Ordered, That it lie on the table. Mr. McKean presented two memorials from a number of citizens of the city and county of Philadelphia, against the admission into the Union of any State whose constitution may tolerate domestic slavery; and praying that Texas may not be annexed to the United States. A motion being made that the memorials be received, and the same being objected to, On motion by Mr. Williams, of Mississippi, Ordered, That the motion to receive the memorials lie on the table. Mr. Roane submitted documents in relation to the bill (S. 178) "to authorize, on certain conditions, the transfer to the State of Maryland of the stock held by the Government of the United States in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal;" which were referred to the Committee on Roads and Canals. Mr. Wall presented the memorial of a number of citizens of Gloucester county, New Jersey, praying Congress to refuse the admission of any State into the Union whose constitution may tolerate domestic slavery; and to reject all propositions for the annexation of Texas to the United States. A motion being made that the memorial be received, and the same being objected to, On motion by Mr. Roane, Ordered, That the motion to receive the memorial lie on the table. On motion by Mr. Preston, Ordered, That the petition of the executors of James Roddy, on the files of the last session, be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. On motion by Mr. Strange, Ordered, That the report of the Commissioner of Patents, made the 14th instant, be printed. Mr. Nicholas, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, who were instructed, by a resolution of the 7th instant, to inquire into the fulfilment of the conditions upon which the charters of the banks of the District were continued in force, submitted a report; which was read. Ordered, That it be printed. Mr. Roane, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred a petition of a number of the citizens of Washington, reported a resolution (S. S) authorizing the opening of an alley, and the execution of certain deeds, in the City of Washington; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Mr. Tipton, from the Committee of Claims, to whom was referred the petition of Malachi Hagan, submitted a report, accompanied by a bill (S. 200) for the relief of Malachi Hagan, of the Territory of Florida. The bill was read, and passed to the second reading. Mr. Walker, from the Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the petition of the Mississippi City Company, reported a bill (S. 201) in relation to certain railways in the State of Mississippi; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Mr. Walker, from the Committee on Public Lands, who were instructed to inquire into the subject, reported a bill (S. 202) granting to the State of Michigan a quantity of land, to aid said State in the construction of a canal around the falls of St. Marie; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Mr. Walker, from the Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (S. 162) for the relief of Henry H. Marsh, reported it without amend ment. On motion by Mr. Walker, Ordered, That the Committee on Public Lands be discharged from the further consideration of a resolution of the Legislature of the State of Vermont, in relation to a grant of land to each of the colleges of that State. Mr. Wright, from the Committee on Finance, to whom was referred a bill (S. 10) to allow a drawback of duties on imported hemp, when manufactured into cordage and exported, reported it without amendment. On motion by Mr. Wright, Ordered, That the Committee on Finance be discharged from the further consideration of a petition of a number of the citizens of Ohio, praying the incorporation of a national bank. On motion by Mr. Wall, Ordered, That the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of John Roberts; and from the further consideration of the memorial of Charles H. Hemstead. Mr. Wall, from the Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the petition of John Campbell White, reported a bill (S. 203) for the relief of Dr. John Campbell White, of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland ; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Mr. Nicholas, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred a resolution (S. 3) directing the manner in which certain laws of the District of Columbia shall be executed, reported it without amendment. On motion by Mr. Benton, Ordered, That the Committee on Military Affairs be discharged from the further consideration of documents relating to the claim of Seth B. Thornton. Mr. Williams, of Maine, from the Committee on Pensions, to whom was referred the petition of the heirs of Abraham White, submitted an adverse report; which was read. The Senate proceeded to consider the resolution of the House of Representatives concerning the Smithsonian bequest; and, On motion by Mr. Robbins, Ordered, That it lie on the table. The Senate proceeded to consider the amendments of the House of Representatives to the bill (S. 26) to amend an act entited "An act to require the judge of the district of East and West Tennessee to hold a court at Jackson, in said State," approved June 18th, 1838; and Resolved, That they concur therein. Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives accordingly. The bill (H. R. 961) for the relief of Bradbury T. Jipson was read a third time. Resolved, That this bill pass. Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives accordingly. The Senate proceeded to consider the resolution (H. R. 29) authorizing an examination and payment of the claims of the workmen upon the public buildings; and no amendment being made thereto, it was reported to the Senate. Ordered, That it be read a third time. The said resolution was read a third time, by unanimous consent. Ordered, That the Secretary notify the House of Representatives accordingly. The following message was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Van Buren, his secretary: To the Senate of the United States: In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 9th of July last, I transmit reports from the several departments of the Government, to which that resolution was referred. WASHINGTON, January 15, 1839. The message was read. M. VAN BUREN. Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Finance, and printed. The following message was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Van Buren, his secretary: To the Senate of the United States: I lay before you a communication from the Secretary of War, which is accompanied by one from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, suggesting the propriety of setting apart a tract of country west of the Mississippi, for the Seminole Indians, so that they may be separate from the Creeks; and representing the necessity of a small appropriation for supplying the immediate wants of those who have been removed; and I respectfully recommend these subjects for the early consideration and favorable action of Congress. WASHINGTON, January 16, 1839. The message was read. M. VAN BUREN. Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs, and printed. The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the bill (S. 1) providing for the reduction and graduation of the price of the public lands. On the question, "Shall this bill be engrossed, and read a third time ?" Yeas It was determined in the affirmative, Nas 27, 22. On motion by Mr. Walker, The yeas and nays being desired by one fifth of the Senators present, Messrs. Allen, Benton, Buchanan, Clay, of Alabama, Cuthbert, Foster, Messrs. Bayard, Brown, Calhoun, Clay, of Kentucky, Crittenden, Davis, Knight, McKean, Merrick, Prentiss, Preston, Rives, Roane, Robbins, Ruggles, Southard, Spence, Strange, Swift, Tallmadge, Wall, Williams, of Maine. So it was Ordered, That this bill be engrossed, and read a third time. The Senate adjourned. THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1839. The Vice President laid before the Senate the following reports: 1. A report of the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanied by a communication from the Commissioner of the General Land Office, with estimates of the surveyor general of Illinois and Missouri which were not received in time to be communicated with the annual report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office. 2. A report of the Secretary of the Treasury, made in compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 10th instant, exhibiting the proportion of the net proceeds of the sales of the public lands to which each State would have been entitled, had the bill passed by both houses of Congress, entitled "An act to appropriate, for a limited time, the proceeds of the sales of the public lands of the United States, and for granting land to certain States become a law. 3. A report of the Secretary of War, transmitting, agreeably to law, statements of all contracts made by the Department of War, during the year 1838. 4. A report of the Secretary of War, made agreeably to law, exhibiting the number of persons employed in the Indian Department during the year 1838. 5. A report of the Secretary of War, transmitting, agreeably to law, a statement by the Second Comptroller of the Treasury, exhibiting the appropriations and expenditures for the War Department for the year 1838, and the balances remaining in the Treasury at the close of the year. The reports were severally read. Ordered, That they be printed, and that five hundred additional copies of the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, supplemental to the annual report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, be printed for the use of the Commissioner. Mr. Benton submitted a document in relation to the bill (S. 160) "to provide for the armed occupation and settlement of that part of Florida which is now overrun and infested by marauding bands of hostile Indians ;" which was ordered to be printed. Mr. Sevier submitted documents in relation to the claim of Samuel Mackey to be relieved from the stipulations of a contract to subsist the emigrating Creek Indians; which were referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. Mr. Spence presented memorials from the inhabitants of the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia, and Prince George's county, Maryland, severally praying that a bridge across the eastern branch of the river Potomac may be made free from toll; which were referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia. Mr. Lyon presented the petition of Joseph Campau, praying the confirmation of his title to a tract of land; which was referred to the Committee on Private Land Claims. Mr. Prentiss presented the petition of Mehitable Rogers, widow of Samuel Rogers, deceased, late a soldier in the revolutionary army, praying a pension; which was referred to the Committee on Pensions. Mr. Bayard presented the memorial of a number of the citizens of New Castle, Delaware, praying the construction of a harbor at Delaware City; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce. Mr. Swift, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom the subject was referred, reported a bill (S. 204) to authorize the Secretary of War to adjust and pay to Benjamin Murphy, of Arkansas, the value of his corn, cattle, and hogs, taken by the Cherokee Indians in the month of December, 1828; which was read, and passed to the second reading. Mr. Wright, from the Committee on Finance, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 883) for the relief Messrs. Smith and Towu, reported it without amendment. Mr. Wright, from the Committee on Finance, to whom was referred the petition of Henry J. Pickering, reported a bill (S. 205) for his relief; which was read, and passed to the second reading. The Senate proceeded to consider the report of the Committee on Pensions on the petition of the heirs of Abraham White; and, in concurrence therewith, Resolved, That the prayer of the petitioners ought not to be granted. Mr. Walker, from the Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the petition of Richard Graham, reported a bill (S. 206) for the relief of the securities of Elias T. Langham, late surveyor of public lands for the States of Missouri and Illinois; which was read, and passed to the second reading. On motion by Mr. Sevier, Ordered, That the Committee on Indian Affairs be discharged from the further consideration of the petition of Martin Denny. Mr. Lumpkin, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred a memorial of Joshua Kennedy, submitted an adverse report; which was read. Ordered, That it be printed. The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the bill (S. 78) to atend an act entitled "An act to establish a criminal court in the District of Columbia," approved July 7, 1838; and having been amended, it was reported to the Senate, and the amendments were concurred in. Ordered, That it be engrossed, and read a third time. Mr. Foster reported from the committee that they had examined and found duly enrolled a resolution (H. R. 29) authorizing an examination and payment of the claims of the workmen upon the public buildings; and the enrolled bill (S. 26) to amend an act entitled "An act to require the |