Wednesday, January 9.
The Senate resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the bill to enable the President of the United States to take possession of the territory lying east of the Perdido, and south of the State of Georgia and the Mississippi Territory, and for other purposes.
On motion, by Mr. Clay, it was agreed further to amend the bill, by adding to the first section the remainder of the original second section; and by adopting the original third and fourth sections, as the second and third sections of the bill; and having gone through the amendments, the President reported the bill to the House accordingly.
On the question, "Shall this bill be engrossed and read a third time, as amended?" it was determined in the affirmative.
Mr. Anderson submitted the following motion:
Resolved, That the subject-matter of the bill, entitled "An act to enable the President of the United States to take possession of the country lying east of the Perdido, and south of the State of Georgia and the Mississippi Territory, and for other purposes," be kept inviolably secret by the members of the Senate, until the Senate shall, by their resolution, take off the injunction of secrecy.
Which was read; and on the question to agree thereto, it was determined in the affirmative—yeas 20, nays 6, as follows:
Yeas.—Messrs. Anderson, Bradley, Brent, Clay, Crawford, Cutts, Franklin, Gaillard, Gilman, Gregg, Lambert, Leib, Pope, Reed, Robinson, Smith of Maryland, Tait, Taylor, Whiteside, and Worthington.
Nays.—Messrs. Bayard, Champlin, Dana, Goodrich, Lloyd, and Pickering.
Mr. Cutts, from the committee, reported the bill last mentioned, correctly engrossed.
A confidential message was received from the House of Representatives, by Mr. Montgomery and Mr. Cutts, two members of that body, with the following resolution, in which they ask the concurrence of the Senate:
Congress of the United States,
In House of Representatives, Jan. 8, 1811.
Taking into view the present state of the world, the peculiar situation of Spain and of the American provinces, and the intimate relation of the territory eastward of the river Perdido, adjoining the United States, to their security and tranquillity: Therefore,
Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the United States cannot see, with indifference, any part of the Spanish provinces, adjoining the said States, eastward of the river Perdido, pass from the hands of Spain into those of any other foreign power.
The resolution was read, and passed to a second reading.