port to Rock river; for a military road from Chicago to Green Bay; and for sundry other roads in said Territory, in said memorials particularly mentioned.

Ordered, That the said petitions, memorials, &c., be referred to the Committee on Roads and Canals.

Mr. De Graff presented a petition of Mary W. Thompson, widow and devisee of Colonel Alexander R. Thompson, of the United States army, who was killed at the battle of Okeechobee, in Florida, in 1837, praying compensation for horses lost in the Florida campaign.

Mr. Mercer presented a petition of citizens of the State of Virginia, praying for the erection of a bridge across the Shenandoah river at Harper's Ferry.

Mr. Cleveland presented a petition of the widow and children of Captain John Jackson, late of the revenue-cutter service of the United States, praying a pension in consideration of the services of their ancestor during and since the war of 1812 with Great Britain.

Mr. Harrison presented the petition of Joseph Barckley, presented heretofore December 16, 1835.

Mr. Bouldin presented the petition of the heirs of Brackett Baldwin, presented herofore March 26, 1838.

Mr. Goode presented the petition of inhabitants of Ohio for an armory at Maumee city, presented heretofore January 2, 1838.

Ordered, That the said petitions and memorials be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs.

Mr. Goode presented a statement of claims against the Ottawa band of Indians, of the Miami river of lake Erie, in favor of citizens of Ohio, the payment of which is directed to be made by the chiefs and head men of said nation of Indians, cut of their usual annuity, before a division is made among said Indians; which statement was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

Mr. Sergeant presented a petition of James P. Espy, of the city of Philadelphia, praying the appointment of a committee to witness his experiments in producing rain; which petition was referred to the Committee on Agriculture.

Mr. Deberry presented a memorial of Russell Comstock, of New York, praying Congress to purchase and publish certain discoveries alleged to have been made by him, to promote the preservation and increase of agricultural products; which memorial was referred to the Committee on Agriculture.

Mr. Vanderveer presented a petition of Mary Conklin, of the city of Brooklyn, in the State of New York, widow of Enoch Conklin, deceased, who was part owner and master of the private armed brig Arrow, which sailed from the city of New York in the year 1814, praying an appropri ation of money for her relief, in addition to the relief afforded her under the act of 19th June, 1834.

Mr. Moore presented a memorial of officers of the marine corps of the United States, setting forth the utility and importance of the said corps, and praying the passage of acts to increase and improve the same. Mr. De Graff presented the petition of Samuel Belding, presented heretofore January 6, 1834.

Ordered, That the said petitions and memorials be referred to the Committee on Naval Affairs.

Mr. Graves presented a communication from Robeson De Hart, of Louisville, Kentucky, upon the subject of Captain Shreve's claim to the invention of the plan of the "snag-boat."

Mr. Graves presented an essay on steam, by J. Walter, of Louisville, Kentucky.

Ordered, That the said communication and essay be referred to the Select Committee upon the report of the Secretary of the Treasury on steam-engines.

Mr. Marvin presented two petitions of inhabitants of Chautauque county, in the State of New York, praying an appropriation for a breakwater at Van Buren harbor, on lake Erie.

Mr. Marvin presented a petition of inhabitants of Little Valley, in the State of New York, praying for the improvement of the navigation of the Allegany river.

Mr. Grant presented a like petition of citizens of Oneida county, in the State of New York.

Mr. Peck presented two like petitions of citizens of Allegany county, in the State of New York.

Mr. Goode presented a memorial of J. W. Scott, praying that the law for taking the next census may be so framed as to embrace all the facts necessary to ascertain the condition and resources of the nation.

Ordered, That the said petitions and memorials be committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.

Mr. Duncan presented a memorial of owners and navigators of steamboats on the Western waters, praying that the law of the last session of Congress "to provide for the better security of the lives of passengers on board of vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam," may be amended in the manner therein set forth; which memorial was referred to the Select Committee appointed upon a report from the Secretary of the Treasury relating to steam-engines.

The Speaker laid before the House a communication from Joseph Nourse upon the subject of his claim now pending before the House of Representatives; which communication was committed to the Committee of the Whole House to which the bill (No. 70) for the relief of said Joseph Nourse is committed.

Mr. Hunter, of Ohio, presented a petition of Anna Bemis, of Erie county, Ohio, one of the heirs of Daniel Morley, deceased, who was a soldier of the Revolution, praying for the bounty land to which their ancestor was entitled for his revolutionary services; which petition was referred to the Committee on Private Land Claims.

Mr. Naylor presented a memorial of citizens of the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, praying that measures may be taken for establishing a congress of nations for the purpose of settling the principles of international law, and of organizing a high court of nations to prevent

wars.

Mr. Peck presented a like memorial of citizens of the county of Allegany, in the State of New York.

Mr. Childs presented a like memorial of citizens of Wayne county, in the State of New York.

Mr. Slade presented three like memorials of inhabitants of Burke and Middlebury, in the State of Vermont, members of the Vermont Peace Society.

Mr. Bicknell presented a memorial of the Peace Society and of other inhabitants of the State of New York, praying Congress to act as mediator between France and Mexico.

Mr. Allen, of Ohio, presented five memorials of citizens of the county of Medina, in the State of Ohio, praying that measures may be taken to demand immediate satisfaction and indemnity of Great Britain for the destruction of the steamboat Caroline.

Memorials praying an amendment or repeal of the law of the last session of Congress, commonly called the "neutrality law," entitled "An act supplementary to an act entitled An act in addition to the act for the punishment of certain crimes against t e United States, and to repeal the acts therein mentioned,' approved 20th April, 1818," were presented as follows, to wit:

By Mr. Fletcher, of Vermont: Of inhabitants of Washington, in the State of Vermont.

By Mr. Underwood: Of inhabitants of Portage county, in the State of Ohio.

By Mr. Allen, of Ohio: Five petitions of inhabitants of Medina county, in the State of Ohio.

By Mr. Mitchell: Two memorials of inhabitants of Niagara and Orleans counties, in the State of New York.

By Mr. Putnam: Of inhabitants of Genesee county, in the State of New York.

By Mr. Noble: Of inhabitants of Cayuga county, in the State of New York.

By Mr. Giddings: Eight memorials of inhabitants of Geauga county, in the State of Ohio.

By Mr. Sheplor: Of inhabitants of Stark county, in the State of Ohio. By Mr. Leadbetter: Of inhabitants of Tuscarawas county, in the State of Ohio.

By Mr. Taylor: Two of inhabitants of Onondaga county, in the State of New York.

Ordered, That said memorials be referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

be

Mr. Taliaferro presented a petition of Ann E. Bronaugh, of the county of Stafford and State of Virginia, widow of the late John W. Bronaugh, praying that a certain judgment in favor of the United States may released to her, and the right conferred upon her to use it for her benefit in resisting the claims of other creditors in certain suits against her.

Mr. Sergeant presented a petition of Margaret C. Meade, widow and sole executrix of Richard W. Meade, late of Pennsylvania, deceased, presented heretofore, January 4, 1832.

Mr. Russell presented a memorial of citizens of the counties of Washington, St. Lawrence, and Franklin, in the State of New York, praying protection against the threatened aggression from the British provinces of Upper and Lower Canada.

Mr. Spencer presented a like memorial of citizens of the counties of St. Lawrence and Franklin, in the State of New York.

Mr. Crary presented a memorial of E. A. Theller, who was captured by British forces in Canada in the year 1838, during the disturbances in that province of Great Britain, and condemned to death for high treason, setting forth that he is an Irishman by birth, aud a naturalized citizen of

the United States; and that upon his trial for treason, the chief justice of the province, who presided at the trial, instructed the jury that "birth and the residence of one hour in her Majesty's dominions created a perpetual allegiance, from which the party could never be exonerated under any plea or pretence;" and appealing to Congress to settle the question of citizenship of her adopted citizens by the passage of a law for their protection.

Mr. Beatty presented a memorial of E. A. Theller, a copy of that presented as above by Mr. Crary.

Memorials praying Congress to recognise the independence of the republic of Hayti were presented as follows, to wit:

By Mr. Birdsall: Of inhabitants of Waterloo, in the State of New York. By Mr. Evans: Of inhabitants of Bloomfield, Waterville, and Gardiner, in the State of Maine.

By Mr. Naylor: Of inhabitants of the county of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania.

By Mr. H. Allen: Of inhabitants of St. Alban's, in the State of Vermont. By Mr. Marvine: Of inhabitants of Otto, in the State of New York. By Mr. Spencer: Of inhabitants of Bombay, in the State of New York. By Mr. Peck: Of inhabitants of Allegany county, in the State of New York.

Ordered, That the said memorials, petitious, &c., be referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Lyon presented the claim of Thomas Simpson, late receiver of public moneys at Demopolis, in Alabama, for a further allowance for risk in depositing public funds; which claim was referred to the Committee of Claims.

Under the order of the 14th of December last, petitions and memorials were presented and referred, as follows:

By Mr. Harper: Of Arthur Taggart; which was referred to the Committee of Claims.

By Mr. Harper: Of John S. Parkerson; which was referred to the Committee of Claims.

By Mr. Edwards: Of Elisha Bentley; which was referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions.

By Mr. Noyes: Of Henry Beamish; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce.

By Mr. Potter: Of Samuel Jordan; which was referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions.

By Mr. Anderson: Of John Patterson; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce.

Mr. Hoffman presented the petition of Solomon J. Lee, heretofore presented on the 12th of December, 1837, praying to be compensated for services by him performed in the public service during the revolutionary

war.

Mr. Naylor presented a petition of Job Whipple, praying to be compensated for losses sustained and services rendered by his father, John Whipple, during the revolutionary war.

Mr. Bouldin presented the petition of Willis Wilson, of the State of Virginia, heretofore presented on the 13th of February, 1818, praying for commutation pay as a lieutenant in the revolutionary war.

Mr. Taliaferro presented a petition of the heirs of Thomas Helm, pray

ing to be allowed and paid the commutation pay to which their ancestor was entitled as a captain in the Virginia line during the revolutionary

war.

Mr. Christopher H. Williams presented a petition of Hugh Cannon, of the State of Tennessee, praying to be remunerated for injuries sustained while a soldier in the revolutionary war.

Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee on Revolutionary Claims.

Mr. Moore presented a petition of citizens of the District of Columbia, praying that Congress will give neither support nor countenance to “a band of fanatics, embracing men, women, and children, who cease not, day or night, to crowd the tables of Congress with their seditious memorials upon the subject of slavery, having a tendency to disturb the integrity of the Union."

A brief statement of the contents of this petition was made by Mr. Moore, when it was laid on the table.

Mr. Beers presented a petition of inhabitants of the county of Tompkins, in the State of New York, praying for the establishment of a mail route from Groton to McLean, in said county.

Mr. McClellan, of New York, presented a petition of citizens of the city of Troy, in the State of New York, praying for an alteration in the rates of postage.

Mr. Taylor presented a petition of inhabitants of the counties of Onondaga and Madison, in the State of New York, praying for the establishment of a post route from Kirkville, by Adamton, to Bridgeport.

Mr. Edwards presented a petition of inhabitants of the towns of Johnstown and Bleecker, in the county of Fulton, State of New York, praying for the establishment of a mail route from Johnstown to Linley's corners.

Mr. McKennan, Mr. Buchanan, and Mr. Morgan, severally, presented petitions of inhabitants of Pennsylvania and Virginia, praying for the establishment of a post route from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to Morgantown, Virginia.

Mr. Coles presented three petitions of inhabitants of the county of Halifax, in the State of Virginia, praying for the establishment of a mail route from Mount Laurel to Republican Grove.

Mr. Lewis Williams presented a petition of inhabitants of Surrey county, North Carolina, praying for the establishment of a post road from Chappell's cross-roads to Jonesville.

Mr. Richardson presented a petition of Benjamin F. Hard, of the city of Charleston, in the State of South Carolina, praying for additional compensation for carrying the mail from said city to the city of Savannah, in Georgia.

Mr. Richardson also presented a petition of Benjamin F. Hard and Gilbert Longstreet, praying for additional compensation for carrying the mail from Charleston, South Carolina, to Augusta, in the State of Georgia.

Mr. Menefee presented a petition of inhabitants of the county of Lawrence, in the State of Kentucky, praying for the establishment of a mail route from Greenupsburg to Louisa.

Mr. Menefee also presented a petition of inhabitants of Maysville, in the State of Kentucky, praying for the establishment of a mail route from Maysville to Mount Sterling.

Mr. Samson Mason presented a petition of citizens of Mechanicsburg,