MONDAY, December 6, 1802.
This being the day appointed by the constitution for the annual meeting
of Congress, the following members of the House of Representatives
appeared and took their seats, to wit:
_From New Hampshire._--Abiel Foster and Samuel Tenney.
_From Massachusetts._--John Bacon, Seth Hastings, Nathan Read, Josiah
Smith, Joseph B. Varnum, Peleg Wadsworth, and Lemuel Williams.
_From Rhode Island._--Joseph Stanton, jr., and Thomas Tillinghast.
_From Connecticut._--John Davenport, Calvin Goddard, Elias Perkins, John
Cotton Smith, and Benjamin Tallmadge.
_From New York._--Samuel L. Mitchill, John Smith, David Thomas, John P.
Van Ness, and Killian K. Van Rensselaer.
_From New Jersey._--John Condit, Ebenezer Elmer, James Mott, and Henry
Southard.
_From Pennsylvania._--Robert Brown, Andrew Gregg, Joseph Heister, Joseph
Hemphill, William Hoge, Michael Leib, John Smilie, John Stewart, Isaac
Van Horn, and Henry Woods.
_From Maryland._--John Dennis, Joseph H. Nicholson, Thomas Plater, and
Samuel Smith.
_From Virginia._--Thomas Claiborne, John Clopton, John Dawson, David
Holmes, George Jackson, Anthony New, John Smith, and Philip R. Thompson.
_From North Carolina._--Nathaniel Macon, Speaker, Richard Stanford, and
John Stanley.
_From Tennessee._--William Dickson.
_From the North-western Territory._--Paul Fearing.
Several new members, to wit: SAMUEL HUNT, from New Hampshire, returned
to serve as a member of this House, in the room of Joseph Peirce, who
has resigned his seat; SAMUEL THATCHER, from Massachusetts, returned to
serve as a member of this House, in the room of Silas Lee, who has
resigned; and DAVID MERIWETHER, from Georgia, returned to serve as a
member of this House, in the room of Benjamin Taliaferro, who has also
resigned; appeared, produced their credentials, and took their seats in
the House.
A new delegate, from the Mississippi Territory, to wit, THOMAS M. GREEN,
returned to serve in this House, in the room of Narsworthy Hunter,
deceased, appeared, produced his credentials, and took his seat in the
House.
But a quorum of the whole number of qualified members not being present,
the House adjourned until to-morrow morning, eleven o'clock.
TUESDAY, December 7.
Another new member, to wit, THOMAS WYNN, from North Carolina, returned
to serve as a member of this House, for the said State, in the room of
Charles Johnson, deceased, appeared, produced his credentials, and took
his seat in the House.
Several other members, viz: from New Hampshire, GEORGE B. UPHAM; from
Massachusetts, PHANUEL BISHOP, MANASSEH CUTLER, and WILLIAM SHEPARD;
from Connecticut, SAMUEL W. DANA and ROGER GRISWOLD; from Pennsylvania,
THOMAS BOUDE; from Virginia, THOMAS NEWTON, jr., and JOHN TRIGG; from
North Carolina, JAMES HOLLAND; and from South Carolina, THOMAS MOORE;
appeared, and took their seats in the House.
And a quorum, consisting of a majority of the whole number of qualified
members, being present, the oath to support the Constitution of the
United States, as prescribed by the act, entitled "An act to regulate
the time and manner of administering certain oaths," was administered by
Mr. SPEAKER to the new members.
_Ordered_, That a message be sent to the Senate, to inform them that a
quorum of this House is assembled, and are ready to proceed to business,
and that the Clerk of this House do go with the said message.
WEDNESDAY, December 8.
Two other members, to wit: from New Jersey, WILLIAM HELMS, and from
North Carolina, WILLIS ALSTON, appeared, and took their seats in the
House.
THURSDAY, December 9.
Two other members, to wit: WALTER BOWIE, from Maryland, and THOMAS T.
DAVIS, from Kentucky, appeared, and took their seats in the House.
FRIDAY, December 10.
Two other members, to wit: WILLIAM EUSTIS, from Massachusetts, and JOHN
A. HANNA, from Pennsylvania, appeared, and took their seats in the
House.
SATURDAY, December 11.
Another member, to wit, ARCHIBALD HENDERSON, from North Carolina,
appeared, and took his seat in the House.
MONDAY, December 13.
Several other members, to wit: from Massachusetts, RICHARD CUTTS; from
New York, THOMAS MORRIS; from Virginia, ABRAM TRIGG; and from South
Carolina, THOMAS LOWNDES; appeared, and took their seats in the House.
TUESDAY, December 14.
Several other members, to wit: from Massachusetts, EBENEZER MATTOON;
from New York, THEODORUS BAILEY; from Virginia, JOHN RANDOLPH, jr., and
JOHN TALIAFERRO, jr.; and from South Carolina, WILLIAM BUTLER; appeared,
and took their seats in the House.
WEDNESDAY, December 15.
Another member, to wit, EDWIN GRAY, from Virginia, appeared, and took
his seat in the House.
A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate have agreed
to the resolution of this House for the appointment of Chaplains to
Congress for the present session; and have appointed the Rev. Dr. GANTT,
on their part.
The House proceeded, by ballot, to the appointment of a Chaplain to
Congress, on the part of this House; and, upon examining the ballots, a
majority of the votes of the whole House was found in favor of the
Reverend WILLIAM PARKINSON.
A Message was received from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, by Mr.
LEWIS, his Secretary, as follows:
Mr. SPEAKER: I am directed by the President of the United
States to hand you a communication, in writing, from the
President to the two Houses of Congress.
And he delivered in the same, together with the accompanying documents.
The said communication was read. [For which, see proceedings in the
Senate of this date.]
_Ordered_, That the said communication, with the accompanying documents,
be referred to the Committee of the whole House on the state of the
Union.
THURSDAY, December 16.
Two other members, to wit: LUCAS ELMENDORPH, from New York, and DANIEL
HEISTER, from Maryland, appeared, and took their seats in the House.
FRIDAY, December 17.
Two other members, to wit: from South Carolina, BENJAMIN HUGER, and JOHN
RUTLEDGE, appeared, and took their seats in the House.
_Violation of the Right of Deposit at New Orleans._
Mr. RANDOLPH observed that there had been a recent occurrence, in which
every member of the House was interested, though every member might not,
perhaps, possess competent information respecting it. He said it would
be useless in him to impress the magnitude of a subject that related to
the free navigation of the Mississippi, which materially affected a
district of country growing every day in wealth and importance, and
which it behooved the whole United States to cherish and protect. He
moved, therefore, the following resolution:
"_Resolved_, That the President of the United States be
requested to cause to be laid before this House such papers
as are in the possession of the Department of State, as
relate to the violation on the part of Spain, of the Treaty
of Friendship, Limits, and Navigation, between the United
States of America and the King of Spain."
MONDAY, December 20.
Several other members, to wit: from Vermont, ISRAEL SMITH; and from
Virginia, RICHARD BRENT, and MATTHEW CLAY; appeared, and took their
seats in the House.
TUESDAY, December 21.
Another member, to wit, JOHN CAMPBELL, from Maryland, appeared, and took
his seat in the House.
WEDNESDAY, December 22.
Another member, to wit, JOHN ARCHER, from Maryland, appeared, and took
his seat.
_Violation of the Right of Deposit at New Orleans._
A Message was received from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, as
follows:
_Gentlemen of the House of Representatives_:
I now transmit a report from the Secretary of State, with
the information requested in your resolutions of the
seventeenth instant.
In making this communication, I deem it proper to observe,
that I was led by the regard due to the rights and
interests of the United States, and to the just sensibility
of the portion of our fellow-citizens more immediately
affected by the irregular proceeding at New Orleans, to
lose not a moment in causing every step to be taken which
the occasion claimed from me; being equally aware of the
obligation to maintain, in all cases, the rights of the
nation, and to employ, for that purpose, those just and
honorable means which belong to the character of the United
States.