SIMEON OLCOTT, from New Hampshire.
URIAH TRACY, from Connecticut.
CHRISTOPHER ELLERY, from Rhode Island.
STEPHEN R. BRADLEY, from Vermont.
SAMUEL WHITE, from Delaware.
ROBERT WRIGHT, from Maryland.
ABRAHAM BALDWIN, from Georgia.
WILLIAM PLUMER, appointed a Senator by the State of New Hampshire, to
supply the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of JAMES SHEAFE,
produced his credentials, and took his seat in the Senate.
The number of members assembled not being sufficient to form a quorum,
the Senate adjourned.
TUESDAY, December 7.
Mr. BRECKENRIDGE, from Kentucky; Mr. FOSTER, from Rhode Island; Mr.
HOWARD, from Maryland; and Mr. LOGAN, from Pennsylvania, severally
attended.
There being no quorum, the Senate adjourned.
WEDNESDAY, December 8.
The number of members assembled not being sufficient to constitute a
quorum, the Senate adjourned.
THURSDAY, December 9.
The number of members assembled not being sufficient to constitute a
quorum, the Senate adjourned.
FRIDAY, December 10.
Mr. S. T. MASON, from Virginia, attended.
The number of members assembled not being sufficient to constitute a
quorum, the Senate adjourned.
SATURDAY, December 11.
Mr. FRANKLIN, from North Carolina, attended.
The number of members assembled not being sufficient to constitute a
quorum, the Senate adjourned.
MONDAY, December 13.
Mr. J. MASON, from Massachusetts; Mr. DAYTON, and Mr. OGDEN, from New
Jersey; and Mr. SUMTER, from South Carolina, severally attended.
The VICE PRESIDENT being absent, the Senate proceeded to the choice of a
President, _pro tempore_, as the constitution provides, and the ballots
being collected and counted, the whole number was found to be 17, of
which 9 make a majority.
Mr. Bradley had 7, Mr. Tracy had 7, Mr. Baldwin 1, Mr. Dayton 1, Mr.
Logan 1.
There was consequently no choice. Whereupon, the Senate proceeded to the
election of a President, _pro tempore_, as the constitution provides,
and the ballots being collected and counted, the whole number was found
to be 17, of which 9 make a majority.
Mr. Bradley had 8, Mr. Tracy 7, Mr. Dayton 1, Mr. Logan 1.
There was consequently no choice. Whereupon the Senate proceeded to the
election of a President _pro tempore_, as the Constitution provides, and
the ballots being counted, the whole number was found to be 17, of which
9 make a majority.
Mr. Bradley had 8, Mr. Tracy 7, Mr. Dayton 1, Mr. Logan 1.
There was consequently no choice. Whereupon, the Senate proceeded to the
election of a President, _pro tempore_, as the constitution provides,
and the ballots being counted, the whole number of votes was 14, of
which 8 make a majority.
Mr. Tracy had 7, Mr. Bradley 5, Mr. Dayton 1, Mr. Logan 1.
There was consequently no choice; and the Senate adjourned.
TUESDAY, December 14.
The VICE PRESIDENT being absent, the Senate proceeded to the choice of a
President, _pro tempore_, as the constitution provides, and the ballots
being collected and counted, the whole number was found to be 17, of
which 9 make a majority.
Mr. Bradley had 9, Mr. Tracy 7, Mr. Dayton 1.
Consequently, STEPHEN R. BRADLEY was elected President of the Senate,
_pro tempore_.
The credentials of Mr. PLUMER, appointed a Senator by the State of New
Hampshire, to supply a vacancy occasioned by the resignation of JAMES
SHEAFE, Esq., were read; and the oath prescribed by law was administered
to him by the President.
_Ordered_, That the Secretary wait on the President of the United
States, and acquaint him that a quorum of the Senate is assembled, and
that, in the absence of the VICE PRESIDENT, they have elected STEPHEN R.
BRADLEY, President of the Senate, _pro tempore_.
A similar notice was directed to be given to the House of
Representatives, and also that the Senate are ready to proceed to
business.
On motion, it was agreed to proceed to the choice of a Chaplain on the
part of the Senate, and the ballots having been collected and counted,
the whole number was 17, of which 9 is the majority.
Doctor Gantt had 10, Mr. M'Cormick 4, Mr. Priestley 2, Mr. Balch 1.
So it was _Resolved_, That the Rev. Dr. GANTT be the Chaplain to
Congress, on the part of the Senate, during the present session.
WEDNESDAY, December 15.
The following Message was received from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES:
_To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States_:
When we assemble together, fellow-citizens, to consider the
state of our beloved country, our just attentions are first
drawn to those pleasing circumstances which mark the
goodness of that Being from whose favor they flow, and the
large measure of thankfulness we owe for his bounty.
Another year has come around, and finds us still blessed
with peace and friendship abroad; law, order, and religion,
at home; good affection and harmony with our Indian
neighbors; our burdens lightened, yet our income sufficient
for the public wants, and the produce of the year great
beyond example. These, fellow-citizens, are the
circumstances under which we meet: and we remark, with
special satisfaction, those which, under the smiles of
Providence, result from the skill, industry, and order of
our citizens, managing their own affairs in their own way,
and for their own use, unembarrassed by too much
regulation, unoppressed by fiscal exactions.
On the restoration of peace in Europe, that portion of the
general carrying trade which had fallen to our share during
the war, was abridged by the returning competition of the
belligerent powers. This was to be expected, and was just.
But, in addition, we find in some parts of Europe
monopolizing discriminations, which, in the form of
duties, tend effectually to prohibit the carrying thither
our own produce in our own vessels. From existing amities,
and a spirit of justice, it is hoped that friendly
discussion will produce a fair and adequate reciprocity.
But should false calculations of interest defeat our hope,
it rests with the Legislature to decide whether they will
meet inequalities abroad with countervailing inequalities
at home, or provide for the evil in any other way.
It is with satisfaction I lay before you an act of the
British Parliament anticipating this subject so far as to
authorize a mutual abolition of the duties and
countervailing duties, permitted under the treaty of 1794.
It shows, on their part, a spirit of justice and friendly
accommodation, which it is our duty and our interest to
cultivate with all nations. Whether this would produce a
due equality in the navigation between the two countries is
a subject for your consideration.
Another circumstance which claims attention, as directly
affecting the very source of our navigation, is the defect
or the evasion of the law providing for the return of
seamen, and particularly of those belonging to vessels sold
abroad. Numbers of them, discharged in foreign ports, have
been thrown on the hands of our Consuls, who, to rescue
them from the dangers into which their distresses might
plunge them, and save them to their country, have found it
necessary, in some cases, to return them at the public
charge.
The cession of the Spanish province of Louisiana to France,
which took place in the course of the late war, will, if
carried into effect, make a change in the aspect of our
foreign relations, which will doubtless have just weight in
any deliberations of the Legislature connected with that
subject.
There was reason, not long since, to apprehend that the
warfare in which we were engaged with Tripoli might be
taken up by some other of the Barbary Powers. A
reinforcement, therefore, was immediately ordered to the
vessels already there. Subsequent information, however, has
removed these apprehensions for the present. To secure our
commerce in that sea with the smallest force competent, we
have supposed it best to watch strictly the harbor of
Tripoli. Still, however, the shallowness of their coast,
and the want of smaller vessels on our part, has permitted
some cruisers to escape unobserved; and to one of these an
American vessel unfortunately fell a prey. The captain, one
American seaman, and two others of color, remain prisoners
with them; unless exchanged under an agreement formerly
made with the Bashaw, to whom, on the faith of that, some
of his captive subjects had been restored.
The convention with the State of Georgia has been ratified
by their Legislature, and a repurchase from the Creeks has
been consequently made of a part of the Tallassee country.
In this purchase has been also comprehended a part of the
lands within the fork of Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers. The
particulars of the contract will be laid before Congress so
soon as they shall be in a state for communication.
In order to remove every ground of difference possible with
our Indian neighbors, I have proceeded in the work of
settling with them and marking the boundaries between us.
That with the Choctaw nation is fixed in one part, and will
be through the whole within a short time. The country to
which their title had been extinguished before the
Revolution is sufficient to receive a very respectable
population, which Congress will probably see the
expediency of encouraging so soon as the limits shall be
declared. We are to view this position as an outpost of the
United States, surrounded by strong neighbors, and distant
from its support. And how far that monopoly which prevents
population should here be guarded against, and actual
habitation made a condition of the continuance of title,
will be for your consideration. A prompt settlement, too,
of all existing rights and claims within this Territory
presents itself as a preliminary operation.
In that part of the Indiana Territory which includes
Vincennes, the lines settled with the neighboring tribes
fix the extinction of their title at a breadth of
twenty-four leagues from east to west, and about the same
length, parallel with and including the Wabash. They have
also ceded a tract of four miles square, including the salt
springs, near the mouth of that river.
In the department of finance it is with pleasure I inform
you that the receipts of external duties for the last
twelve months have exceeded those of any former year, and
that the ratio of increase has been also greater than
usual. This has enabled us to answer all the regular
exigencies of Government, to pay from the Treasury within
one year upwards of eight millions of dollars, principal
and interest, of the public debt, exclusive of upwards of
one million paid by the sale of bank stock, and making in
the whole a reduction of nearly five millions and a half of
principal, and to have now in the Treasury four millions
and a half of dollars, which are in a course of application
to the further discharge of debt and current demands.
Experience, too, so far, authorizes us to believe, if no
extraordinary event supervenes, and the expenses which will
be actually incurred shall not be greater than were
contemplated by Congress at their last session, that we
shall not be disappointed in the expectations then formed.
But, nevertheless, as the effect of peace on the amount of
duties is not yet fully ascertained, it is the more
necessary to practise every useful economy, and to incur no
expense which may be avoided without prejudice.
No change being deemed necessary in our Military
Establishment, an estimate of its expenses for the ensuing
year, on its present footing, as also of the sums to be
employed in fortifications, and other objects within that
department, has been prepared by the Secretary of War, and
will make a part of the general estimates which will be
presented to you.
Considering that our regular troops are employed for local
purposes, and that the militia is our general reliance for
great and sudden emergencies, you will doubtless think this
institution worthy of a review, and give it those
improvements of which you find it susceptible.
Estimates for the Naval Department, prepared by the
Secretary of the Navy, for another year, will, in like
manner, be communicated with the general estimates. A small
force in the Mediterranean will still be necessary to
restrain the Tripoline cruisers; and the uncertain tenure
of peace with some other of the Barbary Powers may
eventually require that force to be augmented. The
necessity of procuring some smaller vessels for that
service will raise the estimate; but the difference in
their maintenance will soon make it a measure of economy.
Presuming it will be deemed expedient to expend annually a
convenient sum towards providing the Naval defence which
our situation may require, I cannot but recommend that the
first appropriations for that purpose may go to the saving
what we already possess. No cares, no attentions, can
preserve vessels from rapid decay, which lie in water and
exposed to the sun. These decays require great and constant
repairs, and will consume, if continued, a great portion of
the moneys destined to Naval purposes. To avoid this waste
of our resources, it is proposed to add to our navy yard
here a dock, within which our present vessels may be laid
up dry, and under cover from the sun. Under these
circumstances, experience proves that works of wood will
remain scarcely at all affected by time. The great
abundance of running water which this situation possesses,
at heights far above the level of the tide, if employed as
is practised for lock navigation, furnishes the means for
raising and laying up our vessels on a dry and sheltered
bed. And should the measure be found useful here, similar
depositories for laying up, as well as for building and
repairing vessels, may hereafter be undertaken at other
navy yards offering the same means. The plans and estimates
of the work, prepared by a person of skill and experience,
will be presented to you without delay; and from this it
will be seen that scarcely more than has been the cost of
one vessel is necessary to save the whole, and that the
annual sum to be employed towards its completion may be
adapted to the views of the Legislature as to Naval
expenditure.
To cultivate peace, and maintain commerce and navigation in
all their lawful enterprises; to foster our fisheries as
nurseries of navigation and for the nurture of man, and
protect the manufactures adapted to our circumstances; to
preserve the faith of the nation by an exact discharge of
its debts and contracts, expend the public money with the
same care and economy we would practise with our own, and
impose on our citizens no unnecessary burdens; to keep, in
all things, within the pale of our constitutional powers,
and cherish the Federal Union as the only rock of safety;
these, fellow-citizens, are the landmarks by which we are
to guide ourselves in all our proceedings. By continuing to
make these the rule of our action, we shall endear to our
countrymen the true principles of their constitution, and
promote a union of sentiment and of action, equally
auspicious to their happiness and safety. On my part you
may count on a cordial concurrence in every measure for the
public good; and on all the information I possess which may
enable you to discharge to advantage the high functions
with which you are invested by your country.