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.