Friday, January 7.

Navigation of the Mississippi.

(Secret Session.)

On a motion made and seconded, the House was cleared of all persons present, except the members and the Clerk: Whereupon,

The House again resolved itself into a Committee of the whole House on the Messages from the President of the United States, of the twenty-second and thirtieth ultimo, and the documents transmitted therewith; and, after some time spent therein, Mr. Speaker resumed the Chair, and Mr. Varnum reported that the committee had again had the said Messages and documents under consideration, and come to a resolution thereupon; which he delivered in at the Clerk's table, where the same was read as follows:

"Resolved, That this House receive with great sensibility the information of a disposition in certain officers of the Spanish Government, at New Orleans, to obstruct the navigation of the river Mississippi, as secured to the United States by the most solemn stipulations.

"That, adhering to that humane and wise policy which ought ever to characterize a free people, and by which the United States have always professed to be governed; willing, at the same time, to ascribe this breach of compact to the unauthorized misconduct of certain individuals, rather than to a want of good faith on the part of His Catholic Majesty; and relying, with perfect confidence, on the vigilance and wisdom of the Executive, they will wait the issue of such measures as that department of the Government shall have pursued for asserting the rights and vindicating the injuries of the United States; holding it to be their duty, at the same time, to express their unalterable determination to maintain the boundaries and the rights of navigation and commerce through the river Mississippi, as established by existing treaties."

The House proceeded to consider the said resolution at the Clerk's table: Whereupon, so much as is contained in the first clause thereof, being again read, in the words following, to wit:

The question was taken that the House do concur with the Committee of the whole House in their agreement to the same; and resolved in the affirmative.

The last clause of the said resolution being again read, in the words following, to wit:

A motion was made, and the question being put to amend the said last clause of the resolution, by striking out therefrom the words following, to wit:

"And relying, with perfect confidence, on the vigilance and wisdom of the Executive, they will wait the issue of such measures as that department of the Government shall have pursued for asserting the rights, and vindicating the injuries of the United States:"

It passed in the negative—yeas 30, nays 53, as follows:

Yeas.—Thos. Boude, Manasseh Cutler, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, John Dennis, Calvin Goddard, Roger Griswold, William Barry Grove, Seth Hastings, Joseph Hemphill, Archibald Henderson, William H. Hill, Benjamin Huger, Samuel Hunt, Thomas Lowndes, Ebenezer Mattoon, Lewis R. Morris, Elias Perkins, Thomas Plater, Nathan Read, John Rutledge, John Cotton Smith, John Stanley, John Stratton, Samuel Tenney, Samuel Thatcher, George B. Upham, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Lemuel Williams, and Henry Woods.

Nays.—Willis Alston, John Archer, John Bacon, Theodorus Bailey, Richard Brent, Robert Brown, William Butler, Thomas Claiborne, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, John Condit, Richard Cutts, Thomas T. Davis, John Dawson, William Dickson, Lucas Elmendorph, Ebenezer Elmer, William Eustis, Edwin Gray, Andrew Gregg, John A. Hanna, Joseph Heister, William Helms, William Hoge, James Holland, David Holmes, George Jackson, Michael Leib, David Meriwether, Samuel L. Mitchill, Thomas Moore, James Mott, Anthony New, Thomas Newton, jr., Joseph H. Nicholson, John Randolph, jr., John Smilie, John Smith, (of New York,) Josiah Smith, Samuel Smith, Henry Southard, Richard Stanford, Joseph Stanton, jr., John Stewart, John Taliaferro, jr., David Thomas, Philip R. Thompson, Abram Trigg, John Trigg, Philip Van Cortlandt, Joseph B. Varnum, Isaac Van Horne, and Thomas Wynns.

Another motion was then made, and the question being put, to amend the said last clause of the resolution, by striking out therefrom the word "vindicating," next before the words "the injuries of the United States," and inserting the word "redressing," in lieu thereof, it passed in the negative.

The question was then taken that the House do concur with the Committee of the whole House in their agreement to the said last clause of the resolution, and resolved in the affirmative.

A motion was then made and seconded that the House reconsider their decision on the said last clause of the resolution; and the question being put thereupon, it was resolved in the affirmative.

A division of the question was then called for: whereupon the first member of the said last clause of the resolution being again read, in the words following, to wit:

"That adhering to that humane and wise policy which ought ever to characterize a free people, and by which the United States have always professed to be governed; willing, at the same time, to ascribe this breach of compact to the unauthorized misconduct of certain individuals, rather than to a want of good faith on the part of His Catholic Majesty:"

The said division of the question was objected to, as not being in order, and the Speaker having decided the same was in order, an appeal was made to the House from the decision of the Chair; and on the question, "Is the decision of the Chair in order?" it was resolved in the affirmative.

On the question that the House do agree to the said first member of the last clause of the resolution, it was unanimously resolved in the affirmative, by yeas and nays, every member present voting in the affirmative, to wit:

Yeas.—Willis Alston, John Archer, John Bacon, Theodorus Bailey, Thomas Boude, Richard Brent, Robert Brown, William Butler, Thomas Claiborne, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, John Condit, Richard Cutts, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, John Dawson, John Dennis, William Dickson, Lucas Elmendorph, Ebenezer Elmer, William Eustis, Calvin Goddard, Edwin Gray, Andrew Gregg, Roger Griswold, William Barry Grove, John A. Hanna, Seth Hastings, Joseph Heister, William Helms, Joseph Hemphill, Archibald Henderson, William H. Hill, William Hoge, James Holland, David Holmes, Benjamin Huger, Samuel Hunt, George Jackson, Michael Leib, Thomas Lowndes, Ebenezer Mattoon, David Meriwether, Samuel L. Mitchill, Thomas Moore, Lewis R. Morris, Anthony New, Thomas Newton, jr., Joseph H. Nicholson, Elias Perkins, Thomas Plater, John Randolph, jr., Nathan Read, John Rutledge, John Smilie, John Cotton Smith, John Smith, (of New York,) Josiah Smith, Samuel Smith, Henry Southard, Richard Stanford, John Stanley, Joseph Stanton, jr., John Stratton, John Taliaferro, jr., Samuel Tenney, Samuel Thatcher, David Thomas, Philip R. Thompson, Abram Trigg, Philip Van Cortlandt, Joseph B. Varnum, Isaac Van Horne, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, and Thomas Wynns.

The third member of the said last clause of the resolution being again read, in the words following, to wit:

"Holding it to be their duty, at the same time, to express their unalterable determination to maintain the boundaries, and the rights of navigation and commerce through the river Mississippi, as established by existing treaties:"

A motion was made, and the question being put, to amend the same by striking therefrom the words "existing treaties," and inserting the word "treaty" in lieu thereof, it passed in the negative.

On the question that the House do agree to the said third member of the last clause of the resolution, it was unanimously resolved in the affirmative, by yeas and nays, every member present voting in the affirmative.

And then the main question being taken, that the House do agree to the said resolution, as reported from the Committee of the whole House, it was resolved in the affirmative—yeas 50, nays 25, as follows:

Yeas.—Willis Alston, John Archer, John Bacon, Theodorus Bailey, Richard Brent, Robert Brown, William Butler, Thomas Claiborne, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, John Condit, Richard Cutts, John Dawson, William Dickson, Lucas Elmendorph, Ebenezer Elmer, William Eustis, Edwin Gray, Andrew Gregg, John A. Hanna, Joseph Heister, William Helms, William Hoge, James Holland, David Holmes, George Jackson, Michael Leib, David Meriwether, Samuel L. Mitchill, Thomas Moore, Anthony New, Thomas Newton, jr., Joseph H. Nicholson, John Randolph, jr., John Smilie, John Smith, (of New York,) Josiah Smith, Henry Southard, Richard Stanford, Joseph Stanton, jr., John Taliaferro, jr., David Thomas, Philip R. Thompson, Abram Trigg, John Trigg, Philip Van Cortlandt, Joseph B. Varnum, Isaac Van Horne, and Thomas Wynns.

Nays.—Thomas Boude, Samuel W. Dana, John Davenport, John Dennis, Calvin Goddard, Roger Griswold, Seth Hastings, Joseph Hemphill, Archibald Henderson, Benjamin Huger, Samuel Hunt, Thos. Lowndes, Ebenezer Mattoon, Lewis R. Morris, Elias Perkins, Thomas Plater, Nathan Read, John Rutledge, John Cotton Smith, John Stanley, John Stratton, Samuel Tenney, Samuel Thatcher, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, and Lemuel Williams.

Resolved, That the injunction of secrecy upon the members of this House, so far as relates to the resolution last recited, and the proceedings of the House on the Messages from the President of the United States, of the twenty-second and thirtieth ultimo, be taken off.