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SENATE.]

Thanks to the President pro tem.-Cherokee Memorial, &c.

finished the business before them, were ready to adjourn the present session of Congress. This resolution was agreed to, and sent to the House for concurrence.

THANKS TO THE PRESIDENT pro tem. Mr. KING, of Alabama, the President pro tem., having temporarily left the chair,

Mr. DAVIS submitted the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted:

[MARCH 4, 1837.

charge of the duties of the presiding officer of this body, the necessity of addressing its members has been very much lessened, if not superseded, by the opportunity afforded me of presenting some of my sentiments when I accepted the situation.

I cannot, however, permit the present occasion to pass without again tendering to you my grateful acknowledgments for the honor conferred upon me by your

choice.

There is not, in my opinion, upon this globe, a legis. lative body more respectable and more exalted in char

Resolved, That the thanks of the Senate be tendered to the honorable WILLIAM R. KING, President pro tempore, for his late impartial and dignified services as pre-acter than the Senate of the United States; and there is siding officer.

CHEROKEE MEMORIAL.

Mr. SOUTHARD moved to take up the memorial presented by him some days since, from the Cherokee Indians, for the purpose of its being printed.

Mr. KING, of Georgia, objected to the printing, on the ground of there being no object but to keep up an unnecessary excitement.

Mr. SOUTHARD warmly advocated the motion, and asked for the yeas and nays.

After some remarks from Messrs. KING of Georgia, BUCHANAN, WALKER, and WEBSTER, the question was taken, and the Senate refused to take up the memorial.

Leave was then granted to the memorialists to with

draw it.

not, perhaps, a deliberative assembly existing where the presiding officer has less difficulty in preserving order. This facility is attributable principally to two causes: the intelligence and patriotism of the members who com pose the body, and that personal respect and courtesy which have always been extended from one member to another, in its deliberations. These qualities have a tendency to produce a unity of design, and a mutual confidence, in the ultimate object of all, whatever difference of opinion may exist in relation to the means of gain. ing the common end; and inculcate that sentiment of equality among the members, which constitutes the essential principle of our free institutions, and which will never cease to animate a body so enlightened as this. These reflections have mitigated the intense anxiety of mind, and well-founded apprehensions, arising from a consciousness of my own deficiency of qualifications to preside over this elevated body.

Mr. HUBBARD, from the joint committee appointed to wait on the President, and inform him that the two In the exercise of the powers conferred upon me by Houses of Congress, having finished the business before the constitution, it shall be my effort to pursue that them, were now ready to adjourn, unless he had some fur-course of conduct which has recommended me to the ther communication to make, reported that they had per- consideration of my fellow-citizens-a faithful discharge formed the duty assigned them, and were answered by of my public duties, to the extent of my abilities, and in a the President that he had no other official communication manner that shall seem best calculated to give satisfaction to make, but that he had charged him to say that it to all. Contemplating the duties and ceremonies of this was the wish of his heart that each member of Congress day, it might be considered improper in me to consume might enjoy health and prosperity in this world, and any more of your time by adverting to other subjects, happiness in the next. however relevant to the new position which I now occupy. I shall, therefore, close my remarks by informing the Senate that I am now ready to proceed with the business for which we are assembled.

On motion of Mr. WEBSTER,
The Senate then adjourned sine die.

EXTRA SESSION OF THE SENATE. "The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, — Senator for the State of

« Το "By virtue of the power vested in me by the constitution, I hereby convene the Senate of the United States, to meet in the Senate chamber on the 4th day of March next, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, to receive any communication the President of the United States may think it his duty to make.

"DECEMBER 20, 1836."

"ANDREW JACKSON.

SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1837.

In conformity with the above-recited summons from the President of the United States, the Senate assembled in their chamber, in the city of Washington, at 10 o'clock A. M. this day.

The Senate was called to order by Mr. KING, of Alabama, the late President pro tem.

RICHARD M. JOHNSON, of Kentucky, Vice President of the United States, being present, was conducted to the Secretary's table by Mr. GRUNDY, and the oath to support the constitution of the United States having been administered to him, Mr. KING vacated the chair, and Mr. Jonsson took his seat as President of the Senate and Vice President of the United States.

The VICE PRESIDENT, on taking the chair; addressed the Senate as follows:

There were now ascertained to be present every Sen.
ator from every State in the Union, except one, (Mr. Mc-
KINLEY, of Alabama,) being fifty-one in number.
The new members present were—

From Indiana, OLIVER H. SMITH; from Illinois,
RICHARD M. YOUNG; from Ohio, WILLIAM ALLEN; from
Maine, REUEL WILLIAMS; from Connecticut, PERRY
SMITH.

The oath prescribed by the constitution was then administered by the VICE PRESIDENT to the new Senators, and those Senators re-elected, except Mr. SEVIER, of Arkansas, the consideration of whose credentials of appointment by the Governor (as to filling the vacancy occasioned by the expiration of his own term) was postponed to Monday.

The Senate continued its sittings on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday following, and were engaged, principally upon executive business--acting upon the nominations of the President.

On Tuesday, Mr. GRUNDY, from the Judiciary Committee, reported "that the Hon. AMBROSE H. SEVIER is entitled to his seat as a Senator from Arkansas, under the executive appointment of the 17th of January, 1837, and that he now have the oath of office accordingly administered to him." On Wednesday the report was debated, and on the question of agreeing to it the yeas and nays were as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Allen, Benton, Brown, Bachanan, Clayton, Cuthbert, Fulton, Grundy, Hubbard, Linn, Gentlemen of the Senate: In entering upon the dis-Lyon, Nicholas, Niles, Norvell, Pierce, Preston, Kives,

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Robinson, Ruggles, Smith of Connecticut, Tipton, Walker, Wall, White, Wright, Young--26.

NAYS--Messrs. Bayard, Black, Clay, Crittenden, Davis, Kent, King of Alabama, King of Georgia, Knight, McKean, Morris, Mouton, Prentiss, Robbins, Smith of Indiana, Southard, Swift, Webster, Williams-19.

Mr. SEVIER then appeared and took the oath of office. The VICE PRESIDENT having retired from the chair on Tuesday, according to usage, to allow of the choice of a President pro tem. before the adjournment, the Senate proceeded to ballot for a President pro tem., when WILLIAM R. KING, of Alabama, was elected.

[SENATE.

At the close of Thursday's sitting, a committee was appointed, on motion of Mr. WRIGHT, to announce to the President of the United States that the Senate had got through its business, and was ready to adjourn, if he had no further communication to make to them. Mr. WRIGHT and Mr. LYON were appointed a committee accordingly.

On Friday morning, at 10 o'clock, the committee reported that they had discharged the duty thus confided to them, and had received for answer that the President had no further communication to make them. And then The Senate adjourned sine die.

DEBATES

IN

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

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MAINE-Jeremiah Bailey, George Evans, John Fairfield, Joseph Hall, Leonard Jarvis, Moses Mason, jr., Gorham Parks, Francis O. J. Smith--8.

NEW HAMPSHIRE-Benning M. Bean, Robert Burns, Samuel Cushman, Franklin Pierce, Joseph Weeks-5.

MASSACHUSETTS--Abbot Lawrence, Stephen C. Phillips, Caleb Cushing, Samuel Hoar, Levi Lincoln, George Grennell, jr., George N. Briggs, William B. Calhoun, William Jackson, Nathaniel B. Borden, John Reed, John Quincy Adams--12.

RHODE ISLAND--Dutee Sprague, jr.-2.

George C. Washington, Francis Thomas, Daniel Jenifer--8.

VIRGINIA--James M. H. Beale, James W. Bouldin, Nathaniel H. Claiborne, Walter Coles, Robert Craig, George C. Dromgoole, James Garland, George W. Hopkins, John W. Jones, Joseph Johnson, George Loyall, Edward Lucas, jr., John Y. Mason, William McComas, Charles Fenton Mercer, William S. Morgan, John M. Patton, John Roane, John Robertson, John Taliaferro, Henry A. Wise--21.

NORTH CAROLINA--William Biddle Shepard, Jesse A. Bynum, Ebenezer Pettigrew, Jesse Speight, James J. McKay, Micajah T. Hawkins, Edmund Deberry, William Montgomery, Augustine H. Shepperd, Abraham Rencher, Henry W. Connor, James Graham, Lewis

J. Pearce, William Williams--13.

CONNECTICUT--Elisha Haley, Samuel Ingham, Orrin Holt, Lancelot Phelps, Isaac Toucey, Thomas T. Whittlesey-6.

VERMONT--Hiland Hall, William Slade, Horace Everett, Heman Allen, Henry F. Janes--5.

* NEW YORK--Abel Huntington, Samuel Barton, Churchill C. Cambreleng, Gideon Lee, John McKeon, Ely Moore, Aaron Ward, Abraham Bockee, John W. Brown, Nicholas Sickles, Valentine Efner, Aaron Vanderpoel, Hiram, P. Hunt, Gerrit Y. Lansing, John Cramer, David Russell, Dudley Farlin, Ransom H. Gillet, Matthias J. Bovee, Abijah Mann, jr., Rutger B. Miller, Joel Turrill, Daniel Wardwell, Sherman Page, William Seymour, William Mason, Stephen B. Leonard, Joseph Reynolds, William K. Fuller, William Taylor, Ulysses F. Doubleday, Graham H. Chapin, Francis Granger, Joshua Lee, Timothy Childs, George, W. Lay, John Young, Abner Hazeltine, Thomas C. Love, Gideon Hard--40.

NEW JERSEY--William Chetwood, Samuel Fowler, Thomas Lee, James Parker, Ferdinand F. Schenck, William N. Shinn--6.

PENNSYLVANIA--Joel B. Sutherland, Joseph R. Ingersoll, James Harper, Michael W. Ash, Edward Darlington, William Hiester, David Potts, jr., Jacob Fry, jr., Matthias Morris, David D. Wagener, Edward B. Hubley, Henry A. Muhlenberg, William Clark, Henry Logan, George Chambers, James Black, Joseph Henderson, Andrew Beaumont, Joseph B. Anthony, John Laporte, Job Mann, John Klingensmith, jr., Andrew Buchanan, Thomas M. T. McKennan, Harmar Denny, Samuel S. Harrison, John J. Pearson, John Galbraith--28.

DELAWARE--John J. Milligan--1. MARYLAND--John N. Steele, James A. Pearce, James Turner, Benjamin C. Howard, Isaac McKim, VOL. XIII.-66

SOUTH CAROLINA--Robert B. Campbell, William I. Grayson, John K. Griffin, Franklin H. Elmore, John P. Richardson, Henry L. Pinckney, Francis W. Pickens, James Rogers, Waddy Thompson, jr.-9.

GEORGIA-Jesse F. Cleveland, William C. Dawson, Thomas Glascock, Seaton Grantland, Charles E. Haynes, Hopkins Holsey, Jabez Jackson, George W. Owens, Julius C. Alford--9.

KENTUCKY-Lynn Boyd, Albert G. Hawes, Joseph R. Underwood, Sherrod Williams, James Harlan, John Calhoon, Benjamin Hardin, William J. Graves, John White, Chilton Allan, Richard French, John Chambers, Richard M. Johnson-13.

TENNESSEE-William B. Carter, Samuel Bunch, Luke Lea, James Standefer, John B. Forester, Balie Peyton, John Bell, Abram P. Maury, James K. Polk, (Speaker,) Ebenezer J. Shields, Cave Johnson, Adam Huntsman, William C. Dunlap-13.

OHIO-Bellamy Storer, Taylor Webster, Joseph H. Crane, Thomas Corwin, Thomas L. Hamer, Samuel F. Vinton, William K. Bond, Jeremiah McLene, John Chaney, Samson Mason, William Kennon, Elias Howell, David Spangler, William Patterson, Jonathan Sloane, Elisha Whittlesey, John Thomson, Benjamin Jones, Daniel Kilgore--19.

LOUISIANA-Henry Johnson, Eleazer W. Ripley, Rice Garland-3.

INDIANA-Ratliff Boon, John W. Davis, John Carr, Amos Lane, Jonathan McCarty, William Herod, Edward A. Hannegan-7.

MISSISSIPPI-John F. H. Claiborne, Samuel J. Ghol

son-2.

ILLINOIS-John Reynolds, Zadok, Casey, William L. May--3.

ALABAMA-Reuben Chapman, Joshua L. Martin, Joab Lawler, Dixon H. Lewis, Francis S. Lyon--5. MISSOURI-Wm. H. Ashley, Albert G. Harrison-2.

H. OF R.]

Appointment of Committees-Alteration of Rules.

ARKANSAS-Archibald Yell--1.
MICHIGAN-Isaac E. Crary--1.

DELEGATES.

FLORIDA TERRITORY-Joseph M. White--1.
WISCONSIN TERRITORY--George W. Jones-1.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5.

At twelve o'clock the SPEAKER (Hon. JAMES K. POLK, of Tennessee) took the chair, and called the House to order.

The roll of members having been called over by the Clerk, (WALTER S. FRANKLIN, Esq.,) and a quorum being found in attendance, the House proceeded to business, and appointed a committee, jointly with a committee of the Senate, to wait upon the President of the United States, and inform him of the organization of the two Houses, and their readiness to receive any commu nication from him.

APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEES.

Mr. ELISHA WHITTLESEY moved the adoption of the following order:

Ordered, That the several standing committees be now appointed according to the standing rules and orders of the House. [That is, that the Speaker be authorized now to appoint them; in the event of which order, they would be agreed upon by the Speaker, and announced to the House by the reading of the journal on the opening of to-morrow's sitting.]

Mr. BOON said that it had been usual not to make the apppointment until the first Thursday in the first week of the session, and that it was then customary for the House to adjourn until the following Monday.

[DEC. 5, 6, 1836.

the appointments; and for this, as well as for other reasons which were perfectly satisfactory to his own mind, he would move that the further consideration of the subject be postponed until Thursday next.

Mr. MERCER said that he concurred with the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. E. WHITTLESEY] in the views he had expressed, and that he (Mr. M.) would not repeat the arguments he had used in support of them. But he would suggest that the absence of a member should not be considered as a reason why that member should not be placed on a committee. The members not present were most probably on their journey to the city, and he saw no inconvenience resulting from an appointment made in their absence.

The SPEAKER said that, unless the House altered the rule, he could not appoint an absent member to a committee.

Mr. MERCER moved that the further consideration of the subject be postponed until to-morrow; and suggested that the House should provide that the appointment on a committee of an absent member should not operate as a disqualification to serve.

Mr. E. WHITTLESEY called for the yeas and nays on the motion of Mr. Boox to postpone the consideration of the subject until Thursday next.

The yeas and nays were ordered, and, being taken, were: Yeas 33, nays 148.

So the motion to postpone was lost.

Mr. MERCER then withdrew his motion to postpone until to-morrow, and moved to amend the motion of Mr. WHITTLESEY by adding the following words: "And that the absence of a member shall not be regarded as a disqualification for an appointment upon a committee." Mr. A. MANN moved that the House do now adjourn. The SPEAKER suggested that no day had been fixed for the consideration of the order.

Mr. WARDWELL then moved that the further conwhich motion was agreed to.

On motion of Mr. A. MANN, it was ordered that the daily hour to which the House should stand adjourned should be 12 o'clock, until otherwise ordered.

After passing the usual order for supplying the mem bers with newspapers,

The House adjourned.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6.

Mr. WHITTLESEY said he hoped no gentleman would oppose the adoption of the order. He hoped, at least, that no motion would be made for a further post-sideration of the order be postponed until to-morrow; ponement than to-morrow. It certainly had been the usage, of late years, not to appoint the committees until the close of the first week. Formerly, however, the committees had been appointed on the first day of the session, and he could see no reason why the appointment should be postponed. Why should a week be idly spent, before the House proceeded to business? It seemed to him that the business should be commenced immediately. He called the attention of the members to the posi tion in which the House found itself at the close of the last session; and he warned them that such would again be their position, unless the business was vigorously commenced in the early part of the session. At the com. mencement of a new Congress (Mr. W. said) there was undoubtedly some reason why the appointment of the committees should not take place immediately; the members had to become personally acquainted with the Speaker. But no such reason existed now. He implored the members, he called upon every gentleman to aid him in transacting the business of the House; and, with that view, to second him in his endeavors for its immediate commencement. There were only a few members absent, and he hoped that, at the furthest, the House would not consent to a further adjournment than

to-morrow.

Mr. BOON assured the gentleman from Ohio that he had no desire to embarrass the proceedings of the House. He was fully as anxious as any other member that the business should be commenced forthwith. But only one hundred and seventy-six members had answered to their names; and it was probable that a number of the members who had been appointed on certain committees at the last session of Congress would be deprived of having their names again placed on the same committee, or any other. The Speaker, moreover, required time to make

The Hon. JOHN YOUNG, elected a member from the State of New York, to supply the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Philo C. Fuller, appeared this day, was qualified, and took his seat.

Mr. D. J. PEARCE rose and informed the House that the joint committee appointed on yesterday to wait on the President of the United States, and inform bim that the two Houses had convened, and were ready to re. ceive such communication as he might think proper to make, had performed their duty; and that they had been directed by the President to say that, at 12 o'clock this day, he would make a communication, in writing, to both Houses.

ALTERATION OF RULES.

Mr. E. WHITTLESEY gave notice that he would, on to-morrow, submit a motion to alter the 15th rule of the House, which is now in the following terms:

"15. After six days from the commencement of a second or subsequent session of any Congress, all bills, resolutions, and reports, which originated in the House, and at the close of the next preceding session remained undetermined, shall be resumed and acted on in the same manner as if an adjournment had not taken place." Mr. W's motion provides that the rule be so changed

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