Friday, January 18.
Relief of Tax Collectors in New York.
A petition of John York, of Brookefield, in the county of Chenango, and State of New York, late collector of the taxes on lands, slaves, and dwelling-houses, for the eighty-third collection district within the said State, and now confined in the jail of said county, was presented to the House and read, praying relief in the case of a judgment awarded against the petitioner and execution issued thereon, for the sum of eight hundred dollars, including interest and cost of suit, for the payment of which the petitioner was compelled to apply a certain proportion of the proceeds of taxes collected by him in the capacity aforesaid.—Referred to Messrs. Root, Gregg, and Hastings; to examine and report their opinion thereupon to the House.
District of Columbia.
DIVORCES.
Mr. Dawson, from the committee appointed on the petition of Marcella Stanton, and others, reported a bill, entitled an act to authorize the Court of the District of Columbia to decree divorces in certain cases; which was read twice, and referred to a Committee of the Whole on Tuesday next.
Mr. Dawson prefaced his motion, on this subject, when he introduced it in the manner following:
He observed that, after the decision which had taken place a few days ago, he had resolved not to meddle any further with the affairs of the District of Columbia, but to leave the inhabitants in the enjoyment of the blessings of that government which they seem to have chosen, and the principles of which were sanctioned by this House.
There was, however, one class of persons who claimed, in all situations, our particular attention; who had not made a surrender of their political rights; and, if they had been defrauded out of their natural ones, were anxious to regain them.
It would be remembered that, at the last session, a gentleman from Maryland, who had been absent for some time, and whom he rejoiced now to see in his place, (Mr. Nicholson,) presented a petition from a person in this district, praying for a divorce, and he two others for the same relief. These were referred to a select committee, and a bill reported, which remained among the unfinished business; as he learned that the situations and wishes of these unfortunate persons were still the same, he thought the subject ought again to be renewed.
Emancipation in the District of Columbia.
Mr. Sloan moved the following resolution:
Resolved, That, from and after the fourth of July, 1805, all blacks and people of color that shall be born within the District of Columbia, or whose mother shall be the property of any person residing within the said district, shall be free, the males at the age of ——, and the females at the age of ——.
The House proceeded to consider the said motion, and on the question that the same be referred to a Committee of the whole House, it passed in the negative—yeas 47, nays 65.
And then the main question being taken that the House do agree to the said motion as originally proposed, it passed in the negative—yeas 31, nays 77, as follows:
Yeas.—Isaac Anderson, John Archer, David Bard, Phanuel Bishop, Robert Brown, Clifton Claggett, Joseph Clay, James Elliot, Ebenezer Elmer, William Findlay, Gaylord Griswold, John A. Hanna, Josiah Hasbrouck, David Hough, Nehemiah Knight, Michael Leib, Andrew McCord, Nahum Mitchell, Beriah Palmer, John Rea of Pennsylvania, Jacob Richards, Erastus Root, Thomas Sammons, Ebenezer Seaver, James Sloan, John Smilie, Joseph Stanton, Isaac Van Horne, Joseph B. Varnum, Peleg Wadsworth, and John Whitehill.
Nays.—Willis Alston, jr., Simeon Baldwin, George Michael Bedinger, William Blackledge, Adam Boyd, Joseph Bryan, William Butler, George W. Campbell, John Campbell, Levi Casey, Thomas Claiborne, Matthew Clay, John Clopton, Frederick Conrad, Jacob Crowninshield, Manasseh Cutler, John Davenport, John Dawson, John Dennis, William Dickson, John B. Earle, Peter Early, John W. Eppes, William Eustis, John Fowler, Calvin Goddard, Peterson Goodwyn, Thomas Griffin, Roger Griswold, Joseph Heister, William Helms, John Hoge, James Holland, Benjamin Huger, Samuel Hunt, Walter Jones, William Kennedy, Simon Larned, Joseph Lewis, jun., Henry W. Livingston, Thomas Lowndes, John B. C. Lucas, Matthew Lyon, William McCreery, David Meriwether, Nicholas R. Moore, Thomas Moore, James Mott, Roger Nelson, Anthony New, Thomas Newton, jun., Joseph H. Nicholson, Gideon Olin, John Randolph, John Rhea of Tennessee, Samuel Riker, Thomas Sanford, John Smith, Henry Southard, Richard Stanford, William Stedman, James Stephenson, John Stewart, Samuel Taggart, Samuel Tenney, Philip R. Thompson, George Tibbits, Abram Trigg, Philip Van Cortlandt, Killian K. Van Rensselaer, Daniel C. Verplanck, Matthew Walton, Marmaduke Williams, Alexander Wilson, Richard Wynn, Joseph Winston, and Thomas Wynns.
So the said motion was rejected.