Yeas.—Lemuel J. Alston, Willis Alston, jr., William Anderson, Ezekiel Bacon, David Bard, Burwell Bassett, William W. Bibb, Adam Boyd, John Brown, Robert Brown, William A. Burwell, William Butler, Joseph Calhoun, Matthew Clay, Howell Cobb, James Cochran, James Cox, William Crawford, Richard Cutts, John Dawson, Joseph Desha, John W. Eppes, William Findlay, Jonathan Fisk, Meshack Franklin, Barzillai Gannett, Gideon Gardner, Thomas Gholson, jr., Peterson Goodwyn, William Helms, James Holland, Benjamin Howard, Jacob Hufty, Robert Jenkins, Richard M. Johnson, Thomas Kenan, William Kennedy, John Love, Aaron Lyle, Robert Marion, Samuel McKee, Alexander McKim, William Milnor, John Montgomery, Nicholas R. Moore, Jeremiah Morrow, Thomas Newbold, Thomas Newton, John Nicholson, Peter B. Porter, John Rea of Pennsylvania, John Rhea of Tennessee, Matthias Richards, John Roane, Erastus Root, John Ross, Ebenezer Sage, Thomas Sammons, Ebenezer Seaver, Adam Seybert, Dennis Smelt, John Smilie, George Smith, Henry Southard, John Taylor, John Thompson, Uri Tracy, Charles Turner, jr., Robert Weakley, Robert Whitehill, and Robert Witherspoon.
Nays.—Daniel Blaisdell, James Breckenridge, John C. Chamberlain, William Chamberlin, Epaphroditus Champion, Martin Chittenden, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, jr., William Ely, James Emott, Barent Gardenier, Thomas R. Gold, William Hale, Nathaniel A. Haven, Jonathan H. Hubbard, Richard Jackson, jr., Herman Knickerbacker, Joseph Lewis, jr., Edward St. Loe Livermore, Robert Le Roy Livingston, Nathaniel Macon, Archibald McBryde, Jonathan O. Mosely, Jos. Pearson, Benjamin Pickman, jr., Timothy Pitkin, jr., Elisha R. Potter, Josiah Quincy, Richard Stanford, John Stanley, William Stedman, James Stephenson, Lewis B. Sturges, Jacob Swoope, Samuel Taggart, Benjamin Tallmadge, Jabez Upham, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Laban Wheaton, Ezekiel Whitman, and James Wilson.
[On this vote were absent 27 members, viz: Messrs, Campbell, Clopton, Cook,* Crist, Denning,* Goldsborough, Gray, Heister, J. G. Jackson, Jones, Key, Lyon,* Matthews, Miller, T. Moore, Mumford,* Nelson, Randolph,* Sawyer, Shaw, Sheffey, J. Smith, S. Smith, Troup, Van Dyke,* Van Horne, and Wynn*; of whom those marked (*) have not appeared in their seats during the present session, and those in italic are known to be absent from the city.]
The House then adjourned, at a quarter before six, after a session of nineteen hours, during the whole of which time the Speaker presided in the Chair with dignity and moderation, to Friday next.
Another member to wit, from Delaware, Nicholas Van Dyke, appeared, and took his seat in the House.
Claim of Elizabeth Hamilton.
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee of Claims, made a report on the petition of Elizabeth Hamilton, referred on the 5th ultimo; which was read, and referred to a Committee of the Whole on Wednesday next. The report is as follows:
That it is stated by the petitioner, that her late husband, Alexander Hamilton, served as Lieutenant Colonel in the Army of the United States during the Revolutionary war; that, in common with other officers he was entitled to five years' full pay as commutation for half-pay during life; that her husband, being in Congress at the time the resolution passed making this provision in favor of the officers of the Revolution, in a letter to the Secretary of War he relinquished his claim to commutation; and the petitioner prays for the amount of said commutation. It does not appear, from any evidence from the Secretary of War or of the Treasury, that the late Colonel Hamilton ever did relinquish his right to half-pay or commutation, nor can the committee believe that it would be proper or generous that such relinquishment should be relied on as a bar to a just claim upon the United States for meritorious services against the representatives of such claimant. It appears, from a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, that the late Colonel Hamilton received pay as an officer up to the end of February, 1782, and no later. And there is no evidence upon the Treasury books, or books of the War Office, whether at this or what period Colonel Hamilton resigned. The committee, however, have been furnished with a document, which induces the belief that Colonel Hamilton did not resign his commission until after the 28th day of October, 1783, which document is in these words: "In pursuance of an act of Congress of the 30th day of September, 1783, Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton is to take rank as Colonel by Brevet, in the Armies of the United States of America. Signed at Princeton, October 28, 1783, by Elias Boudinot, President," &c.
The committee are of opinion, that the resolution of Congress, upon a liberal construction, did not require actual service, and that the officer should be in the receipt of his pay to entitle him to commutation; but that he should have a commission, and be at all times liable to be called on to perform the duties of his station. The committee are confirmed in this opinion, when they recollect the situation of the United States and the Army in the year 1783, and in fact, from the capture of Cornwallis and his Army at Little York, in the State of Virginia, in the year 1781. But this claim is, like all other claims of this description, barred by the statute of limitation. The following resolution is offered:
Resolved, That the prayer of the petition ought not to be granted.
Two members, to wit: from New York, Gurdon S. Mumford, and from Kentucky, Matthew Lyon, appeared, and took their seats in the House.
Another member, to wit, from South Carolina, Richard Wynn, appeared, and took his seat in the House.
A new member, to wit, David S. Garland, returned to serve as a member of this House for the State of Virginia, in the place of Wilson Carey Nicholas, resigned, appeared, produced his credentials, was qualified, and took his seat.
Officers of the Revolution.
Mr. Nelson, from the committee appointed on the twenty-fourth instant, made a report on the several petitions of the surviving officers of the late Revolutionary Army; which was read, and referred to a Committee of the Whole on Monday next. The report is as follows:
That, by a resolution of Congress of the 15th of May, 1778, all military officers who then were, or should thereafter be, in the service of the United States, and who should continue in service during the war, and not hold any office of profit under the United States, or any of them, should, after the conclusion of the war, be entitled to receive, annually, for the term of seven years, if they should live so long, one-half of the then pay of such officers: provided that no general officer of the cavalry, artillery or infantry, should be entitled to receive more than the one-half part of the pay of a colonel of such corps, respectively; and, provided that the said resolution should not extend to any officer in the service of the United States, unless he should have taken an oath of Allegiance, and should actually reside within some one of the United States.
That, by a resolution of Congress of the 11th of August, 1779, it was resolved that the half-pay provided by the aforesaid resolution of the 15th of May, 1778, should be extended to continue for life.
That, by a resolution of Congress of the 21st of October, 1780, it was provided that the officers who should continue in the service to the end of the war should be entitled to half-pay during life, to commence from the time of their reduction.
That, by a resolution of Congress of the 17th day of January, 1781, all officers in the hospital department, and medical staff, thereinafter mentioned, who should continue in service until the end of the war, or be reduced before that time as supernumeraries, should be entitled to receive during life, in lieu of half-pay, the following allowances, viz: The director of the hospital, equal to the half-pay of a lieutenant-colonel; chief physician and surgeons of the army and hospital, and hospital physicians and surgeons, purveyor, apothecary, and regimental surgeons, each equal to the half-pay of a captain.
That, by a resolution of Congress of the 22d day of March, 1783, it was provided that such officers as were then in service, and should continue therein until the end of the war, should be entitled to receive the amount of five years' full pay in money, or securities on interest at six per centum per annum, as Congress should find most convenient, instead of the half-pay promised for life by the resolution of the 21st day of October, 1780; the said securities being such as should be given to the other creditors of the United States: provided it should be at the option of the lines of the respective States and not of officers individually in those lines, to accept or refuse the same; and provided, also, that their election should be signified to Congress, through the Commander-in-Chief, from the lines under his immediate command, within two months, and through the commanding officer of the Southern Army, from those under his command, within six months from the date of the resolution.
That the same commutation should extend to the corps not belonging to the lines of any particular State, and who were entitled to half-pay as aforesaid: the acceptance or refusal to be determined by the corps, and to be signified in the same manner, and within the same time, as above mentioned; that all officers belonging to the hospital department, who are entitled to half-pay by the resolution of the 17th of January, 1781, might collectively agree to accept or refuse the aforesaid commutation, signifying the same through the Commander-in-Chief, within six months; that such officers as had retired at different periods entitled to half-pay for life, might, collectively, in each State of which they are inhabitants, accept or refuse the same; their acceptance or refusal to be signified by agents authorized for that purpose, within six months; that with respect to such retiring officers, the commutation, if accepted by them, should be in lieu of whatever might be then due to them since the time of their retiring from service, as well as what might thereafter become due; and that as soon as their acceptance should be signified, the Superintendent of Finance should be, and he was thereby, authorized to take measures for the settlement of their accounts accordingly, and to issue to them certificates bearing interest at six per cent.; that all officers entitled to half-pay for life, not included in the preceding resolution, might, also, collectively, agree to accept or refuse the aforesaid commutation, signifying the same within six months from the passage of said resolution. The petitioners state, and the fact is of too general notoriety to be disputed, that although they confidently expected, at the time they were compelled from imperious necessity to accept the sum in gross in lieu of half-pay for life, that it would be paid to them in reality, and not by a fresh promise without any sufficient guarantee for its due performance, yet they were compelled to receive certificates, which, for want of any specific provision for the payment of them, or the interest accruing on them, were immediately depreciated to five for one, and, by degrees, to ten for one, in exchange for money. They therefore pray that half-pay for life, to commence from the time of the reduction of the Army, may be granted to them, according to the solemn stipulations entered into with them by Congress, by the resolutions before referred to; deducting therefrom the five years' full pay received by them in depreciated paper, by way of commutation.
It is well known to your committee, and to the whole nation, that the far greater part of the officers were compelled by hard necessity to dispose of their commutation certificates at prices infinitely below their nominal amount; that this did not proceed from want of patriotism, of which they had beforehand given proofs most unequivocal, or of want of confidence in their Government; but that, after having spent the vigor of their manhood in the service of their country, they returned to the walks of civil life, (many of them maimed, and scarcely able to halt along,) ignorant of what was passing or likely to pass in the councils of their country; the griping hand of poverty bore hard upon them; and, unacquainted as they necessarily were with civil affairs, they fell an easy prey to the wiles of the artful and insidious speculator, who was lying in wait to fatten upon their hard earnings. Under circumstances like these, it would have been strange indeed, if they had kept their certificates in their pockets. No, the thing was impracticable; go they must, for whatever they would bring, and be the consequences whatever they might.
Upon the whole, the committee are of opinion that the contract entered into by Congress with the officers of the late Revolutionary Army, for giving them half-pay for life, has not been substantially complied with by the Government. They, therefore, recommend the following resolution:
Resolved, That the prayer of the petitioners is reasonable, and ought to be granted.
Robert Fulton and Torpedoes.
The following letter was laid before the House:
"Kalorama, February 9, 1810.
"Sir: Having published a pamphlet explaining my experience on the practice and effects of torpedoes, I beg leave to present you, and each member of the House of Representatives, one copy. Should the House consider this subject of sufficient interest to merit further explanation, I shall be happy to give a lecture at such time and place as may be most convenient, in which I will exhibit the various modes of attack with torpedoes and harpoon guns, as prepared for action, with such models and demonstrations as will lead to a clear understanding of the subject.
"I have the honor to be, &c.,
"ROBERT FULTON.
"Hon. Speaker House of Reps."
Leave was given to present the pamphlets mentioned in the above letter, as requested.
Navigation of the Mobile.
The following Message was received from the President of the United States:
To the House of Representatives of the United States:
I transmit to the House a report of the Secretary of State, complying with their resolution of the 22d of January.
JAMES MADISON.
February 9, 1810.
Department State, Feb. 8, 1810.
The Secretary of State, to whom the President has been pleased to refer the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 22d of last month, has the honor to state that it appears from the records in this department, that in the years 1801 and 1802, the Executive had endeavored to obtain, for the citizens of the United States residing on the waters of Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the free navigation of the Mobile river to its confluence with the ocean—first, by claiming this navigation as a natural right, sanctioned by the general principles of the law of nations applicable to rivers similarly situated; and, secondly, by endeavoring to purchase the country held by Spain on the Mobile.
These efforts were made before it was known that Spain had ceded Louisiana to France, and consequently before the purchase of that province by the United States. Since that purchase, the country held by Spain on the Mobile has been claimed as being included therein.
The Spanish Government, having objected to this claim in a manner which justified a belief that the question would not be soon decided, our Minister at Madrid was instructed again to claim the free navigation of the Mobile under the general principles of the law of nations, and to represent to His Catholic Majesty the propriety and necessity of giving orders to his officers not to interrupt the free communication with our Territories through the waters of the Mobile.
In addition to what has been done through this department, it appears that the Governor of the Orleans Territory, and other officers of the United States, have endeavored to induce the Spanish authorities on the Mobile to abstain from exacting duties on the passage of our merchandise or produce up or down that river. Notwithstanding, however, every thing which has been done, it is understood that these authorities have continued to exact (with some occasional relaxations) a duty of twelve per cent. "on all articles of the growth or manufacture of the United States, which are conveyed through said river to and from the city of New Orleans."
All which is respectfully submitted.
R. SMITH.
Torpedoes.
Mr. Dawson.—On hearing the Journal read, I find that on last Friday a letter was received by the Speaker from Mr. Fulton. What merit is due to his invention I will not pretend to say; but I know Mr. Fulton to be a man of science and successful experiment; of which he has given proofs, both in Europe and this country. It seems to me that some attention ought to be paid to his communication. I therefore move you that his letter be referred to a select committee.
Mr. Dawson's motion was agreed to, and a committee appointed, consisting of Messrs. Dawson, Taylor and Bacon.
Torpedoes.
Mr. Dawson made the following report:
The committee to whom was referred a letter from Robert Fulton to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, dated on the 9th instant, beg leave to report, in part, that at their request Mr. Fulton attended the committee on this morning, and explained to them his views of the uses and effects of torpedoes, on which the committee forbear to give an opinion, and offer the following resolution:
Resolved, That, when the House shall adjourn on Friday next, it will adjourn to meet on Monday; and that Mr. Fulton have the use of this Hall on Saturday, for the purpose of exhibiting the torpedoes and delivering a lecture on their practice and utility.
Mr. Rhea moved to recommit the report to the committee who reported it, with a view to obtaining a report on the merits of it.—Motion negatived.
Mr. Livermore called for a division of the resolution reported by the committee, so as to take a question separately on the words, "Resolved, That, when the House shall adjourn, it adjourn to meet on Monday."
The question on this part of the resolution was decided by yeas and nays—yeas 90, nays 29.
Mr. Livermore moved to postpone the further consideration of the subject indefinitely.
A desultory debate took place on these various questions. It was said that the Hall of the House of Representatives was exclusively appropriated to Legislative purposes, and that, at this time, to appropriate it to the purpose of experimental lectures, would afford a precedent which would be injurious; that such a measure, if admissible at all, should not be taken unless the House were convinced of the practicability of the system proposed to be illustrated, because it would hold out the idea that the House of Representatives had sanctioned it. It was also said that this system could quite as conveniently be illustrated in one of the other apartments of the Capitol, without spreading on the Journals a formal record allowing Mr. Fulton the use of this House. In reply, it was said, that this was an invention which promised to be of great public utility, and it was but reasonable, as the inventor was known to be a scientific man, that he should have an opportunity of demonstrating its efficacy, when he has offered his services for that purpose. If it succeeded, it might be a saving of many millions to the United States; and if it failed, the House would, by paying attention to it, have shown their disposition to encourage science. The argument against the report of the committee, that this Hall was exclusively devoted to legislation, it was said, would operate with equal force against permitting Divine service to be performed there on Sundays.
Before any question was taken on the latter clause of the report of the committee, the House adjourned.
Torpedoes.
A motion was made by Mr. Burwell, that the unfinished business of yesterday do lie on the table; and the question being taken thereon, it was determined in the negative.
The House then resumed the consideration of the said unfinished business, and the question recurring on the motion to postpone indefinitely the further consideration of the second member of the resolution, Mr. Speaker decided that the said motion to postpone indefinitely was, at the time the same was under consideration, out of order.
A motion was then made by Mr. Ross, to amend the said resolution by striking out the words, delivering a lecture on, for the purpose of inserting the word explaining. And the question being taken thereon, it was resolved in the affirmative.
The question was then taken upon concurring in the second and last member of the said resolution, and determined in the negative—yeas 55, nays 61.
On motion of Mr. Troup, the question was then stated on concurring in the first and second members of the said resolution; when Mr. Speaker decided that, a question being divided, one part affirmed and the other rejected, a question cannot be put upon the whole of the resolution as originally proposed. From which decision of the chair, an appeal was made to the House by Mr. Troup, and being seconded, the question was taken, "Is the decision of the Chair correct?" and resolved in the affirmative—yeas 78, nays 21.
Mrs. Hamilton's Claim.
The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the report of the Committee of Claims on the petition of Elizabeth Hamilton, widow of Alexander Hamilton, praying for the compensation due to her deceased husband.
[This report is one of the class of those favorable to the prayers of the petitioners on grounds of equity, but declaring, because they are barred by the statute of limitations, that they, therefore, ought not to be granted.]
The resolution reported by the Committee of Claims is as follows:
"Resolved, That the prayer of the petitioner ought not to be granted."
The report was supported by Messrs. Montgomery, Varnum, Helms, and Bacon, on the ground that the late General Hamilton had no claim on the Government under the resolutions of the old Congress; because he was, on the 25th of November, 1782, a delegate in Congress, and, by the 6th article of the Confederation, incapable of holding, at the same time, a military commission. He was in that Congress, a member (if not the chairman) of the committee which reported the resolutions under which his heirs are now said to be entitled to compensation. Had no statute of limitations ever been passed, therefore, it was said that General Hamilton or his heirs had no claim on the Government; because in accepting a seat in Congress, he had virtually resigned his commission before the close of the war. The case might be a hard one; but there were hundreds of cases at least equally so, and cases too in which the sufferers had not, as General Hamilton had, subsequently enjoyed lucrative employments by the favor of his country. It was said that Congress ought to be just before they were generous. Before they granted a claim of this doubtful character, influenced by the character or standing of the individual, they should relieve the impoverished old soldiers who daily begged of them for a pittance of bread, whose claims were equally just and whose necessities were much more pressing.
Mr. Boyd spoke in favor of the report of the committee. Either the statute of limitations was just or it was unjust. If unjust, it ought to be repealed; if just, Congress ought to be careful how they made exceptions in favor of particular claims.
Messrs. Johnson, Gholson, Dawson, Sheffey Gold, Key, Pitkin and Gardenier, oppose the report of the committee. It was said that General Hamilton's having received a brevet commission at the close of the war was evidence of his having been considered in service until the end of the war; for unless he had, such a commission could not have been issued to him. But a short time before the peace, he was seen at the head of his regiment gallantly storming a redoubt at the siege of York, and contributed not a little to the capture of Cornwallis and his army. By accepting a seat in Congress he did not resign his commission, but held himself liable to be called into service at any time, if necessary. But if he had, from the best of motives, accepted a seat in Congress, and thereby resigned his commission, it was said that his heirs ought not, therefore, to be deprived of the compensation equitably due to him. Congress had extended the hand of relief to the daughters of Count de Grasse, who had no shadow of a legal claim; but their father had assisted by sea, as General Hamilton did on the land, at the capture of Cornwallis; they were in this country in distress, and Congress had relieved them. Should the same relief be denied to the representatives of a citizen who had served during the war, and whose legal claim, if barred at all, (except by the statute of limitations,) was only barred by his zeal in the service of his country, which prompted him to accept a seat in Congress? The statute of limitations, it was said, was never intended to bar Congress from discharging a just claim, but merely to prevent the accounting officers of the Treasury from allowing all the old, and perhaps fraudulent claims which might have been pressed upon them. Every gentleman who spoke, dwelt upon the obduracy of heart and injustice, as it was termed, which could refuse to the claim of the war-worn soldier, the compensation due to him for his assistance in achieving the liberties of his country.
Before the question was taken on the report, the committee rose, reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again.
And the House adjourned to Monday.
Bank of the United States.
Mr. Montgomery, from the committee appointed, on the twenty-ninth ultimo, on the memorial of the Stockholders of the Bank of the United States, made a report thereon; which was read, and referred to a Committee of the Whole to-morrow. The report is as follows:
That in proceeding to the consideration of the said petition, your committee instructed their chairman to address a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, requesting him to furnish such information or observations as he might think proper, in relation to the subject-matter thereof, as connected with the financial and commercial interests of the United States. In reply to which, the Secretary, by his letter to the chairman, referred your committee to his former report on the said subject, made to the Senate of the United States, in obedience to the order of that House.
Your committee have been attended by agents of the petitioners, who, in addition to the matters contained in the petition, have suggested to your committee that the object of the petitioners was to obtain the renewal of the charter in its present form; that, for this renewal, the bank is willing to make compensation, either by loans at a rate of interest, or by a sum of money to be agreed upon, or by an increase of the capital stock, by a number of shares to be taken and subscribed for by the United States, to an amount adequate to the compensation to be agreed upon for such renewal.
These agents also suggested that they were fully authorized and empowered to offer and conclude the terms specifically connected with these propositions.
Your committee, not feeling themselves authorized to enter into such terms, and judging that the extent of those propositions would better apply to the details of a bill, than to the adoption of a principle to be first settled by the House, have, therefore forborne to inquire into the extent of the propositions, and, without expressing an approbation or rejection of these offers, or giving an opinion as to the plan and reasoning of the Secretary of the Treasury, your committee in order that the opinion of the House on this great national question may be declared previous to entering into the details connected with the subject, recommend the following resolution:
Resolved, That it is proper to make provision for continuing the establishment of the Bank of the United States, with offices of discount and deposit, under the regulations necessary for the beneficial administration of the national finances, during such time, and on such conditions, as may be defined by law.
Amey Dardin.
Mr. Gholson, from the committee appointed on the seventh of December last, on the petition of Amey Dardin, made a report thereon; which was read, and referred to a Committee of the whole House on Friday next.
The report is as follows:
That the petitioner claims compensation for a stud-horse, known by the name of Romulus, taken from her husband, David Dardin, in the year 1781, for the use of the army of the United States. It appears that the said horse was impressed from David Dardin for the public service by Lieutenant Rudder, a Continental officer, on the 26th of February, in the year aforesaid, and was then valued at the sum of £750 specie. The horse was taken to the army in North Carolina, then commanded by General Greene, who, upon hearing of the valuation, ordered the said horse to be valued again, which valuation was still higher than the first; whereupon General Greene ordered the horse to be returned to his former owner, who called upon three persons to ascertain the damages sustained by the use of his horse, and they estimated the damages at £100. The said Dardin then received the horse as his property, and continued to use him as such until the 18th July, 1781, when another Continental officer again took the horse and gave a receipt for him, wherein the sum of £750 is mentioned as having been before stated as the appraised value. This procedure attracted the attention of the Executive of Virginia, and in December, 1782, Benjamin Harrison, then Governor, made a representation to General Greene respecting this subject; but the horse being by this time in the State of Georgia, and applied to the public service, was continued therein, finally disposed of, and never thereafter returned to the said owner. It also appears that this claim of Dardin was referred to the Virginia Assembly in 1782 by the court of Mecklenburg county; and, in a former report it is stated, and believed to be true, that Dardin accordingly petitioned the Legislature of that State; but his claim being considered as coming more properly against the Union than against any particular State, he did not succeed. He, or the present petitioner, was then advised that redress might be obtained against the officers who took the horse, and a suit was instituted in the High Court of Chancery of Virginia for that purpose, which suit was depending therein until the month of June 1793, when it appears to have been abandoned and was dismissed. With the exception of the fact which the committee have extracted from a former report in this case, that this claim was once presented to and rejected by the Virginia Legislature, (which is deemed a circumstance of no particular importance,) all the foregoing statement is supported by written documents, which appear to be genuine and authentic.
On the merits of this claim, your committee consider it almost superfluous to comment. The facts are conclusive in its favor, and no obstacle to its discharge can be conceived, except the lapse of time on this subject. The committee beg leave to state, that on the 23d July, 1787, Congress passed a resolution providing that all persons having unliquidated claims against the United States shall exhibit a particular abstract thereof to the Comptroller of the Treasury of the United States within one year. This was the first limitation that was adopted in respect to any class of claims, except those for personal services, which had been barred by the resolution of 2d November, 1785. The committee are of opinion that this claim was not included in the resolution of 23d July, 1787, because that resolution mentions only unliquidated claims; and the present claim was always liquidated and certain. The certificate granted by the Continental officer states the appraisement of the horse, made pursuant to the usage of the army, at the specific sum of £750 specie.
The next limitation to claims against the United States, and which it is believed by the committee embraces the claim of the petitioner, is contained in the act of the 12th February, 1793, which took effect on the 1st of May, 1794. On the 28th of February, 1794, the petitioner, instead of presenting her claim to the Treasury, according to the requisition of the statute of the 12th of February, 1793, presented it to Congress, who took cognizance of it, and ordered it to lie on their table. Her petition, and the only documents on which she could have succeeded at the Treasury, were retained in the possession of the House of Representatives until, and for some time after, the statute of limitations began to operate. Your committee have no hesitation in hazarding the opinion that in a case like this, between A and B, before an intelligent and upright, and equitable judge, the claim would be most undoubtedly sanctioned, as not coming within the spirit, although it may fall within the strict letter of the act of limitation.
Placing, however, this question out of view, the committee are still of opinion that the claim of the petitioner ought to be allowed. They believe that when a claim, founded in a fair consideration, and supported by indisputable evidence, is presented for payment, a proper self-respect on the part of the Government, as well as justice to the claimant, requires its discharge. They therefore submit the following resolution:
Resolved, That the prayer of the petitioner ought to be granted.
Mrs. Hamilton's Claim.
The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the following resolution reported by the Committee of Claims on the petition of Elizabeth Hamilton:
Resolved, That the prayer of the petitioner ought not to be granted.
Messrs. Nelson and Taylor opposed, and Messrs. Root, Boyd, and Montgomery, supported the report—each at considerable extent.
At length the question was taken in committee, and the report disagreed to, 60 to 52. The committee rose, and reported their disagreement.
The House concurred with the Committee of the Whole in their disagreement—yeas 62, nays 52.
After some conversation as to the proper course now to be pursued,
Mr. Gholson moved that the Committee of Claims be instructed to report a bill, pursuant to the prayer of Elizabeth Hamilton.
The motion was agreed to by yeas and nays—61 to 46.
The bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act for the relief of Charles Minifie," was read twice, and committed to the Committee of Claims.
Torpedoes.
The bill from the Senate, entitled "An act making appropriation for the purpose of trying the practical use of the torpedo, or submarine explosion," was read the first time.
A motion was made by Mr. Livermore, that the bill be rejected; and the question being taken thereon, it was determined in the negative—yeas 27, nays 76.
The bill was then read the second time, and committed to a Committee of the Whole on Monday next.
Another member, to wit, from Virginia, John Randolph, appeared, and took his seat in the House.
Claim for Indian Depredations.
Mr. Witherspoon, from the committee appointed on the fourteenth ultimo, on the petition of Alexander Scott, made a report thereon, which was read, and referred to a Committee of the Whole on Friday next. The report is as follows:
That in the month of February, 1794, William Scott, James Pettigrew, and John Pettigrew, of South Carolina, left that State, with a view of establishing themselves in the present Mississippi Territory, and took with them twenty-one negro slaves, with goods and chattels to the value of more than one thousand dollars; that they proceeded in safety on their journey as far as the Muscle Shoals, on the river Tennessee, where they were attacked, about the 9th of June, 1794, by a party of Cherokee Indians, who put to death all the white people of the family, and took possession of and carried away the negroes and other property. It appears, also, to your committee, that repeated endeavors have been made, at very great expense, to recover the aforesaid property, without any other success than the recovery of a negro child; and that the persons legally entitled to the said property are forever foreclosed from any remedy by which to recover the same, in consequence of the stipulations of the ninth article of a treaty made with the Cherokee Indians on the 2d day of October, 1798, which article is in the following words: "It is mutually agreed between the parties that the horses stolen, and not returned within ninety days, shall be paid for at the rate of sixty dollars each. If stolen by a white man, citizen of the United States, the Indian proprietor shall be paid in cash; and if stolen by an Indian from a citizen, to be deducted, as expressed in the fourth article of the Treaty of Philadelphia. This article shall have retrospect to the commencement of the first conferences at this place in the present year, and no further. And all animosities, aggressions, thefts, and plunderings, prior to that day, shall cease, and be no longer remembered or demanded on either side." By the above-recited article, the petitioners are wholly deprived of redress in the premises. If there existed any tribunal of justice before whom the case could be brought, the right of the petitioners to the said negro slaves and their increase would doubtless be established. But there is no court within the United States having cognizance of an action for the recovery of property held within the Indian boundary. Neither is it in the power of the petitioners to avail themselves of force or stratagem, whereby to regain possession of the aforesaid slaves and their increase, because they would be liable to punishment for a violation of the statute of the United States regulating intercourse with the Indian tribes. From these premises, it appeared to your committee that the petitioners have an undoubted right to the above-mentioned slaves and their increase, and that they have been deprived of all remedy for their recovery by the acts of the Government of the United States; that the voluntary renunciation of their rights by the Government gives to the petitioners a fair claim on the Government for indemnification. Your committee, therefore, under an impression that the aforesaid slaves would be delivered to the agent of the United States for Indian Affairs among the Cherokee Indians upon conditions more favorable to the United States than a full remuneration of their value to the petitioners, respectfully submit the following resolution:
Resolved, That the prayer of the petitioner is reasonable, and that the President of the United States be authorized and requested to treat, by such commissioner as he shall appoint, for the delivery to the rightful owners of the slaves and their increase taken from William Scott, James Pettigrew, and John Pettigrew, on or about the 9th of June, 1794, by a party of the Cherokee nation of Indians, at or near the Muscle Shoals, on the river Tennessee, upon such equitable conditions as to him shall appear just and reasonable.
Mrs. Hamilton's Claim.
The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, on the bill for the relief of Elizabeth Hamilton.
Messrs. Smilie, Root, W. Alston, Bacon, Macon, Clay, and Boyd, opposed the bill, and Messrs. Johnson, Sheffey, and Nelson, supported it.
The committee rose about four o'clock, and reported the bill.
Mr. Macon moved to amend the said bill by striking out the following words: "five years' full pay for the services of her said deceased husband as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Revolutionary war, which five years' full pay is the commutation of his half-pay for life;" for the purpose of inserting, "whatever may be due to her for his services as an officer during the Revolutionary war."
Mr. Gholson called for a division of the question.
And the motion to strike out was negatived, yeas 57, nays 54.
Mr. W. Alston moved to amend the bill by adding the following proviso:
"Provided, That it shall be made to appear, to the satisfaction of the accounting officers of the Treasury Department, that the said Alexander Hamilton ever was entitled to half pay or commutation."
The question on Mr. Alston's amendment was decided in the negative—yeas 55, nays 56.
And on motion, the House then adjourned, about five o'clock.
Amey Dardin's Claim.
The bill for the relief of Amey Dardin was read a third time.
Mr. Stanford moved to recommit the bill to obtain a more particular report on the claim than had been made. Motion negatived.
The passage of the bill was opposed by Messrs. Macon, Bacon, Pickman, and Stanford, and advocated by Messrs. Gholson, Smilie, W. Alston, and Sheffey.
[It was opposed on three grounds—the main objection being that it opened the statute of limitations; 2, that the claim ought not to be allowed, because the horse, for which compensation was asked, might have been reclaimed if the deceased Mr. Dardin had chosen to have received it; 3, that interest ought not to be allowed on the sum at which the horse was valued.]
The bill was passed—yeas 82, nays 24.
Mrs. Hamilton's Claim.
The consideration of the bill for the relief of Mrs. Hamilton was called for.
Mr. Wynn moved to adjourn. For it, 23.
Mr. Root moved to postpone the further consideration of it till Friday next. Negatived, 57 to 43.
Mr. Root opposed the bill at length, and Mr. Fisk replied.
The question "Shall the bill be engrossed for a third reading?" was then taken and carried, by yeas and nays.
On the question, when the bill should be read a third time, Mr. Root named Friday, and Mr. Nelson to-day.
For Friday 44—For Monday 50.
To-day was fixed as the day; and a motion was made by Mr. T. Moore to adjourn. Lost, 63 to 50.
The bill was read a third time and passed, 63 to 53, the votes being precisely the same as those last taken, except that Mr. R. Brown was absent on this vote.
Torpedo Experiment.
The bill making an appropriation for the purpose of making an experiment on the practical use of the torpedo, or submarine explosion, was taken up.
Mr. Dana, said that the question now before the House did not relate to any degree of reputation which any individual might claim for any invention, nor to any interest he might have in any discovery he had made. The question was, whether this proposition now appeared before the House under such circumstances that they should step out of the ordinary course of encouragement, given by law to inventors, to provide the means of making an experiment at the public expense. This, Mr. D. said, was the simple inquiry to be made; and, however eminent or distinguished in the walks of science, or however irradiated by the splendor of genius, it belonged to no individual to demand of the Legislature that they should adopt any system previous to its utility being ascertained. No individual could arrogate it to himself; and, when any individual pressed himself upon the Legislature, it was a question whether this experiment was worthy to be made; whether the invention promised any possible good worthy of this experiment.
Mr. D. said he had no wish to detain the House, but he had really doubted, for himself, whether, with the views he entertained on this subject, it was compatible with the respect due to the House to withhold some of the sentiments which occurred to him in opposition to this bill. In every instance in which a sum of money had heretofore been appropriated to encourage inventions, it had been for some object admitted to be of value, for something intended to be of use, and which, prior to making the appropriation in relation to it, had been, in a degree, examined. This, however, was a thing which, on the face of it, appropriated a sum of money for the purpose of making experiments to ascertain the use of the invention. It was therefore, perhaps, the first appropriation of the kind ever proposed.
Mr. D. said he did not perceive that any experiment could be made, in time of peace, to ascertain this thing, so as to decide the question of the practical use of the torpedo; for, with respect to every question stated in the publication laid on the table, with respect to any principle which the inventor proposed to establish by any specific experiment, with respect to any question which related to natural agents or their physical effect, he thought it proper to admit the whole.
In the first place, Mr. D. said that he admitted that the explosive force of gunpowder, placed at the keel, might destroy any ship. Another thing he would admit, that a person might deposit powder in a metallic case, which should remain under water; that the case might be made water-tight, and that the clock-work contained in it might be put in motion. He would admit, also, that this machine might be balanced so that its gravity should be nearly equal to that of the water; that the action of the current or tide might bear such a magazine, so specifically apportioned, beneath the bottom of the vessel.
But, when all these things were admitted, Mr. Dana said that he did not perceive that any one point was gained as respected the object of the experiment, for it must be considered that all this experiment could only go to decide the action of natural physical powers, where the efforts of genius were not combined.
As respects the whole of the thing itself, as far as I understand it, I perceive nothing new in it. I do not conceive that, on this subject, there is any thing very novel in point of principle. There may be something in the modification of it; but, as respects the main principle, there is nothing new. The idea was started during the war of the American Revolution, and various experiments were made on it. The Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the United States, at that time, was not, as I have understood, impressed himself with much confidence in the experiment. But a gentleman of his family, and an officer of his army, who had more confidence in it, made the experiment; and, ultimately, the experiment was pretty much given up.
As he did not speak at random, Mr. D. asked leave to call the attention of the House to the principles of the invention of David Bushnell, of Connecticut. [Mr. D. here read, from the Philosophical Transactions, an account of a machine invented by Mr. Bushnell, in many respects similar to that invented by Mr. Fulton.]
The principal difference between these two inventions, Mr. D. said, appeared to be in the mode of conveying the machine to the keel of the ship. The plan of Mr. Fulton was, instead of conveying it by means of a diving-boat, to convey it by the action of the current to the place where it was to operate. To do this he proposed two modes. As respected the first, the action of the current on the torpedo placed obliquely, Mr. D. said he had no doubt. It was the principle on which the helmsman steers his ship, and the seaman manages his sails; the principle on which boats are made to pass ferries by the oblique action of the current. As respected the second mode, the use of the harpoon-gun, there was no novelty in that certainly. It had been used in Europe in the whale fishery, where they were not trained in this species of fishing so as to produce dexterity in throwing the harpoon. Premiums had been given, and attempts made to discharge a harpoon from a ring and rope attached to it, at the distance of ten fathoms, which was a greater distance than the most experienced and skilful could strike with effect.
The question which Mr. D. said he proposed, was, whether obstacles could not be interposed by naval men. As respected firing the harpoon-gun, he should suppose it a want of skill or attention in the experiment if it failed to take effect. That a harpoon might be fired into a vessel, that the torpedo would go under her, and that a vessel which could be bought for $5,000, might be blown up in this way, he had no doubt; but when all this is done, what does it ascertain? As respects making a torpedo, any person who is in the neighborhood of a good gun and locksmith, and has good powder, can construct one. Mr. D. said he did not see the necessity of spending this sum of money rather for amusement than for any thing else. He did not see the necessity of it, because he did not perceive any one thing to be learnt from an experiment. He was, therefore, against the bill.
Mr. Lyon said that the gentleman from Connecticut had shown his own conviction of the utility of torpedoes, and it would be worth while to give five thousand dollars to establish the same conviction in others. If I had the twentieth part of the certainty on the subject which that gentleman has, said Mr. L., I should not vote for the experiment. I have no desire, in voting for any thing of this kind, to give up any other kind of defence. I know it is all-important in us to defend our ports and harbors. If it was not for our extensive seacoast, I should not be so extremely averse to going to war. I would leave no means untried to protect this seacoast. However little the hope might be, if there was the least thing to hang hope on, I would give $5,000 for the experiment. I have voted for the highest sum ever called for, for the defence of New York; but still, when I look to the steeples of the fine churches, and to the banks, &c., of that city, exposed as it is and must be, I am struck with horror. Notwithstanding all the exertions which have ever been made for them, they must still be insecure. If $5,000 would carry conviction as far on the rest of the House as with the gentleman from Connecticut, the money would be well laid out to enable us to go on with a further experiment of this plan.
The gentleman from Connecticut read a long history of the torpedo experiment made many years ago. I believe, sir, Mr. Fulton has but little merit in originating the thing. Let gentlemen recollect what an alarm this thing made, and how uneasy the British were during the Revolutionary war, till they thought they had got rid of these machines. I cannot forget the alarm which they excited, and will take the liberty to quote Hopkinson on the subject, who was a witness to the transaction: