Ebenezer Seaver, Samuel Shaw, Dennis Smelt, Henry Southard, John Taylor, George M. Troup, Robert Whitehill, Robert Witherspoon: NAYS. Ezekiel Bacon, Daniel Blaisdell, Adam Boyd, James Breckenridge, John Davenport, junior, Charles Goldsborough, Daniel Heister, Richard Jackson, junior, Vincent Matthews, Gurdon S. Mumford, Benjamin Pickman, junior, Elisha R. Potter, John Rea, (Pennsylvania) Thomas Sammons, Lemuel Sawyer, Adam Seybert, Nicholas Van Dyke, Archibald Van Horn, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Laban Wheaton, Ezekiel Whitman, James Wilson. Ordered, That the said bill as amended be re-committed to the consideration of a committee of the whole House. A motion was made by Mr. Macon, that it be the order of the day for the first Monday in November next. And the question being taken thereon, It was determined in the negative. A motion was then made and seconded, that it be the order of the day for Monday next. And the question being taken thereon, It was then ordered, That it be the order for this day. The House accordingly resolved itself into the committee of the whole House on the said bill; and after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Bassett reported, that the committee had, according to order, had the said bill under consideration and made amendments thereto, which he delivered in at the Clerk's table. A motion was then made by Mr. Pitkin, and seconded, to amend the said bill by striking out the first, second and third sections thereof, being that part of the same which was proposed by Mr. Gholson, for the purpose of inserting the first, second, fourth and fifth sections of an amendment proposed by Mr. Sheffey to the said bill on the twenty-third instant, which said first, second, fourth and fifth sections are as follow: That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby authorized to appoint three persons learned in the law, not resident in the territory of Orleans, (and to fill up all vacancies that may occur by death, resignation or otherwise,) as commissioners, who, or any two of them, shall have full power to inquire into, and decide on the right and title of the United States to a parcel of land, krown by the name of the batture, in front of the suburb St. Mary, in the city of New Orleans, and that they, or any two of them, shall make and deliver to the President of the United States, and such persons as may have any claim to the said bat ture, and exhibit the same before them, a sentence or award signed with their names, and transmit a copy thereof to the Congress of the United States, on or before the first day of January next, which shall be binding and conclusive as to the right of the United States and the persons who shall so exhibit their claims as aforesaid, unless the same shall be disap. proved by Congress, before the and the President of the United States is hereby required, in case the said award shall be against the United States, and shall not be disapproved as aforesaid, to cause the persons who were removed from the said batture, on the twenty-fifth January, eighteen hundred and eight, by order of the President of the United States, to be restored to the possession thereof. "Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the first named of the said commissioners, who shall accept the said appointment, shall have power to make rules for the taking and authenticating testimony, and for fixing the time and place, and regulating the mode of conducting the hearing and inquiry aforesaid; and that the said commissioners or any two of them, shall have full power to compel the attendance of witnesses, and the production of papers: Provided, That no witness residing in the territory of Orleans, shall be compelled to travel out of the said territory, to give his or her testimony, but the deposition of such witness shall be taken according to the rules prescribed by the person first named as aforesaid. "Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That until the final decision of the said claim, the President shall take care that no injury be done to said property, by digging or carrying away the soil, but that in all other respects the same may be used as it now is. "Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States shall make to the commissioners aforesaid, such allowance for their services, as he may think an adequate compensation for their services." A division of the question so to amend the bill was called for by Mr. Gholson: When, A question of order was raised by Mr. Randolph, whether the said question was divisible. Mr. Speaker decided that the question was divi. sible. The question then recurred on the motion of Mr. Pitkin, to strike out the three sections as proposed by Mr. Gholson. And debate arising thereon, An adjournment was called for: On which, The several orders of the day were farther postponed until to-morrow. And the House adjourned until to-morrow morn ing, eleven o'clock. SATURDAY, March 31, 1810. On motion of Mr. Macon, and seconded, Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be directed to lay before this House, a statement of the gross annual amount of expenditure in relation to the milita ry and naval establishments, from the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, to the end of the year one thousand eight hundred and nine. Mr. Bassett, from the committee on the naval establishment, who was instructed to inquire into the expediency of authorizing the President of the United States to sell such of the armed vessels and gun boats as he may judge unfit or unnecessary for public service, made a report thereon, which was read, and ordered to be referred to the committee of the whole House, to whom is committed a report made by the said committee on the sixth of January last, on the same subject. The House proceeded to consider the amendments of the Senate to the bill, entitled "An act making appropriations for carrying into effect certain Indian treaties," and the same being read, were ordered to be committed to a committee of the whole House, on Monday next. The bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act authorizing a subscription on the part of the Unit ed States to the stuck of the Ohio canal company," was read the first time. On motion, The said bill was read the second time, and committed to a committee of the whole House on Tuesday next. The bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act authorizing the sale and grant of a certain quantity of public land to the Chesapeake and Delaware canal company," was read the first time. On motion, The said bill was read the second time, and committed to the committee of the whole House last men. tioned. The bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act to extend the time for making payment for the public lands of the United States in certain cases," was read the first time. On motion, The said bill was read the second time, and committed to a committee of the whole House, on Monday next. On motion of Mr. Johnson, Ordered, That the Committee of Claims be discharged from the consideration of the petition of Samuel Kehendall, and that the petitioner have leave to withdraw his petition; and that the Committee of Claims be also discharged from the consideration of the petition of Sampson Bell, and that the said petition, together with the papers accompanying the same, be referred to the Secretary of War, and that be report the facts and his opinion upon the same, to the present or next session of Congress. Mr. Johnson, from the Committee of Claims, made a report on the petition of Edward Holland, referred |