The Message, and documents accompanying it, were severally read.
_Ordered_, That the letters referred to in said Message be returned to
the President of the United States, agreeably to his request.
On motion of Mr. RANDOLPH, that the House do come to the following
resolution:
_Resolved_, That an embargo be laid on all shipping, the
property of citizens of the United States, now in port, or
which shall hereafter arrive:
And the question being put, that the House do agree to the said
resolution, and, upon the question thereupon, the yeas and nays being
demanded by one-fifth of the members present, and debate arising, a
motion was made by Mr. MACON, that the resolution do lie on the table;
and it was resolved in the affirmative.
A message from the Senate, by Mr. OTIS, their Secretary:
_Mr. Speaker_: The Senate have, in confidence, directed me to inform this
honorable House that they have passed a bill, entitled “An act laying an
embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United
States,” in which bill they desire the concurrence of this House.
The said bill was received, read the third time, and committed to a
Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union on this day.
On motion of Mr. CROWNINSHIELD,
_Resolved_, That this House will immediately resolve itself into a
Committee of the Whole on the said bill.
The House accordingly resolved itself into the said committee; and, after
some time spent therein, the SPEAKER resumed the chair, and Mr. MASTERS
reported that the committee had had the said bill under consideration,
but not having time to go through the same, had directed him to ask for
leave to sit again.
_Resolved_, That this House will, to-morrow, again resolve itself into a
Committee of the Whole on the bill, entitled “An act laying an embargo
on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States.”
And then the House adjourned.
MONDAY, December 21.
The House met but transacted no legislative business.
_The Embargo Act._
In secret session, the House again resolved itself into a Committee of
the Whole on the bill from the Senate, entitled “An act laying an embargo
on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States;”
and, after some time spent therein, rose, and reported the bill, with
several amendments; which were twice read, and, on the question severally
put thereupon, agreed to by the House.
A motion being made, by Mr. CROWNINSHIELD, to amend the amendment
reported by the Committee of the Whole, by striking out the words
“letters of marque excepted,” and the word “retained,” in the tenth
line of the amendment, and insert the word “relanded;” and the word
“retained,” in the twelfth line, and insert the word “relanded:”
Whereupon, it was resolved in the affirmative.
_Ordered_, That the said bill, with the amendments, be read a third time
this day: Whereupon, the question was stated, that the bill sent from the
Senate, “An act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports
and harbors of the United States,” together with the amendments agreed
to, do pass.
Whereupon, the question was stated that the said bill, with the
amendments, do pass: it was resolved in the affirmative--yeas 82, nays
44, as follows:
YEAS.--Lemuel J. Alston, Willis Alston, jr., Ezekiel Bacon,
David Bard, Joseph Barker, Burwell Bassett, John Blake, jr.,
Thomas Blount, John Boyle, Robert Brown, William A. Burwell,
William Butler, Joseph Calhoun, George W. Campbell, Peter
Carlton, John Chandler, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, Orchard
Cook, Jacob Crowninshield, Richard Cutts, John Dawson, Josiah
Deane, Joseph Desha, Daniel M. Durell, William Findlay, James
Fisk, Meshack Franklin, Francis Gardner, Peterson Goodwyn,
Isaiah L. Green, John Heister, William Helms, David Holmes,
Benjamin Howard, Daniel Ilsley, Richard M. Johnson, Walter
Jones, Thomas Kenan, Nehemiah Knight, John Lambert, John Love,
Robert Marion, William McCreery, John Montgomery, Nicholas R.
Moore. Thomas Moore, Jeremiah Morrow, John Morrow, Gurdon S.
Mumford, Roger Nelson, Thomas Newbold, Thomas Newton, Wilson
C. Nicholas, John Porter, John Pugh, John Rea of Pennsylvania,
John Rhea of Tennessee, Jacob Richards, Matthias Richards,
Samuel Riker, Lemuel Sawyer, Ebenezer Seaver, James Sloan, John
Smilie, Jedediah K. Smith, Henry Southard, Clement Storer,
Peter Swart, John Taylor, David Thomas, Abram Trigg, George M.
Troup, James I. Van Allen, Philip Van Cortlandt, Jesse Wharton,
Robert Whitehill, Isaac Wilbour, Marmaduke Williams, Alexander
Wilson, Richard Wynn, and James Witherell.
NAYS.--Evan Alexander, William W. Bibb, William Blackledge,
John Campbell, Epaphroditus Champion, Martin Chittenden,
Howell Cobb, John Culpepper, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport,
jr., James Elliot, William Ely, Barent Gardenier, James M.
Garnett, Charles Goldsborough, Edwin Gray, John Harris, William
Hoge, James Holland, Robert Jenkins, James Kelly, Philip B.
Key, William Kirkpatrick, Joseph Lewis, jr., Edward St. Loe
Livermore, Matthew Lyon, Josiah Masters, William Milnor,
Jonathan O. Mosely, Timothy Pitkin, jr., Josiah Quincy, John
Randolph, John Rowan, John Russell, Dennis Smelt, Samuel Smith,
Richard Stanford, William Stedman, Lewis B. Sturges, Samuel
Taggart, Benjamin Tallmadge, Jabez Upham, Archibald Van Horn,
and Killian K. Van Rensselaer.
_Ordered_, That the Clerk of this House do carry the said bill, as
amended, to the Senate, and desire their concurrence.
The bill is as follows:
An Act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports
and harbors of the United States.
_Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America, in Congress assembled_, That
an embargo be and hereby is laid on all ships and vessels in
the ports and places within the limits or jurisdiction of the
United States, cleared or not cleared, bound to any foreign
port or place; and that no clearance be furnished to any ship
or vessel bound to such foreign port or place, except vessels
under the immediate direction of the President of the United
States; and that the President be authorized to give such
instructions to the officers of the revenue, and of the navy
and revenue cutters of the United States, as shall appear best
adapted for carrying the same into full effect: _Provided_,
That nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the
departure of any foreign ship or vessel, either in ballast,
or with the goods, wares, and merchandise, on board of such
foreign ship or vessel, when notified of this act.
SEC. 2. _And be it further enacted_, That during the
continuance of this act, no registered or sea-letter vessel,
having on board goods, wares, and merchandise, shall be allowed
to depart from one port of the United States to another within
the same, unless the master, owner, consignee, or factor of
such vessel, shall first give bond with one or more sureties
to the collector of the district from which she is bound
to depart, in a sum of double the value of the vessel and
cargo; that the said goods, wares, and merchandise shall be
relanded in some port of the United States, dangers of the seas
excepted; which bond, and also a certificate from the collector
where the same may be relanded, shall, by the collectors
respectively, be transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury.
All armed vessels possessing public commissions from any
foreign power are not to be considered as liable to the embargo
laid by this act.
TUESDAY, December 22.
_Importation of Slaves._
Mr. MARION presented the petition of sundry merchants and others, in
Charleston, South Carolina, stating that many vessels had cleared out
from thence for the purpose of importing slaves, before the law was
passed by Congress prohibiting the importation of slaves, and some had
cleared out immediately after the passing of the law, and had been
detained by accidents beyond the time limited by law; and praying that a
law may be passed affording them relief.
The question being put on a motion made by Mr. MARION for a reference of
this petition to the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures--
Mr. MASTERS said if there was any subject in favor of which a petition
should not be referred, it was the slave trade. These petitioners knew
when the prohibitory law would go into operation, and they were not
entitled to relief by the laws of God or man.
The motion for reference was negatived--yeas 37, nays 39.
THURSDAY, December 31.
_General Wilkinson._
Mr. RANDOLPH then rose for the purpose of making a motion, and giving
information to the House which he had just received. This was a
duty which he owed, not only to himself, but to the enlightened and
independent freeholders who gave him a seat on this floor, and to the
country at large. Within a few days, information had been put into his
possession, of a nature and on a subject which he deemed it proper for
the constituted authority to inquire into. Had this information come
earlier into his possession, he should not till now have delayed giving
it publicity. He would first state certain facts, and those facts would
be the ground of his motion, on which he should offer no argument. Mr. R.
then read the following documents:
[TRANSLATION.]
NEW ORLEANS, January 20, 1796.
In the galley the Victoria, Bernardo Molina, Patron, there have
been sent to Don Vincent Folch nine thousand six hundred and
forty dollars; which sum, without making the least use of it,
you will hold at my disposal, to deliver it at the moment that
an order may be presented to you by the American General, Don
James Wilkinson. God preserve you many years.
The BARON DE CARONDELET.
To Señor Don TOMAS PORTELL.
* * * * *
I certify that the foregoing is a copy of its original to which
I refer.