Yeas.—John Allen, George Baer, jr., Bailey Bartlett, James A. Bayard, David Brooks, Christopher G. Champlin, John Chapman, James Cochran, Joshua Coit, Samuel W. Dana, William Edmond, Thomas Evans, Abiel Foster, Dwight Foster, Jonathan Freeman, Henry Glenn, Chauncey Goodrich, William Gordon, Roger Griswold, William Barry Grove, Robert Goodloe Harper, Thomas Hartley, William Hindman, Hezekiah L. Hosmer, James H. Imlay, John Wilkes Kittera, Samuel Lyman, Harrison G. Otis, Isaac Parker, John Read, John Rutledge, jun., James Schureman, Samuel Sewall, William Shepard, Thomas Sinnickson, Samuel Sitgreaves, Nathaniel Smith, Peleg Sprague, George Thatcher, Richard Thomas, Mark Thompson, Thomas Tillinghast, John E. Van Allen, and Peleg Wadsworth.
Nays.—Abraham Baldwin, David Bard, Lemuel Benton, Thomas Blount, Richard Brent, Stephen Bullock, Dempsey Burges, Thomas Claiborne, William Charles Cole Claiborne, John Clopton, John Dawson, George Dent, John Fowler, Albert Gallatin, James Gillespie, Andrew Gregg, John A. Hanna, Carter B. Harrison, Jonathan N. Havens, Joseph Heister, David Holmes, Walter Jones, Edward Livingston, Matthew Locke, Matthew Lyon, Nathaniel Macon, William Matthews, Blair McClenachan, Joseph McDowell, Anthony New, John Nicholas, Samuel Smith, William Smith, Richard Sprigg, jun., Richard Stanford, Thomas Sumter, John Trigg, Philip Van Cortlandt, Joseph B. Varnum, Abraham Venable, and Robert Williams.
Friday, July 13.
Capture of French armed vessels.
The House went into a Committee of the Whole on the bill for encouraging the capture of French armed vessels by armed vessels belonging to citizens of the United States; which was agreed to without debate or amendment, and ordered to be read a third time to-day. It was accordingly immediately read a third time; when
Mr. McDowell said, he hoped this bill would not pass. Congress had already passed laws authorizing public and private armed vessels to attack and take French vessels; but they are now called upon to give a bounty upon the guns that are brought in, according to their size. He was not willing to allow this. It would open a door to innumerable frauds. Plans would be laid between the owners of privateers here and their friends in the West Indies, and vessels and arms would be thrown in their way for the purpose of capture, and in this manner our Treasury would be drained to an extent which no man could at present foresee. He could see no use in the provision, as it would not induce merchant vessels to go in search of French vessels; and, without some unfair play, it would never be worth the while of persons fitting out privateers for the purpose. He called the yeas and nays upon it. They were taken accordingly, and were, yeas 34, nays 36, as follows:
Yeas.—John Allen, Bailey Bartlett, James A. Bayard, David Brooks, Christopher G. Champlin, Joshua Coit, William Craik, Samuel W. Dana, William Edmond, Abiel Foster, Dwight Foster, Henry Glenn, Chauncey Goodrich, William Gordon, Roger Griswold, Robert Goodloe Harper, Thomas Hartley, William Hindman, Hezekiah L. Hosmer, James H. Imlay, John Wilkes Kittera, Samuel Lyman, Harrison G. Otis, Isaac Parker, John Read, John Rutledge, jun., James Schureman, Samuel Sewall, Thomas Sinnickson, Samuel Sitgreaves, Nathaniel Smith, George Thatcher, Mark Thompson, and John E. Van Allen.
Nays.—David Bard, Thomas Blount, Richard Brent, Dempsey Burges, Thomas Claiborne, William Charles Cole Claiborne, John Clopton, John Dawson, George Dent, Albert Gallatin, James Gillespie, William Barry Grove, Carter B. Harrison, Jonathan N. Havens, Joseph Heister, David Holmes, Walter Jones, Edward Livingston, Matthew Locke, Matthew Lyon, Nathaniel Macon, Blair McClenachan, Joseph McDowell, Anthony New, John Nicholas, Samuel Smith, William Smith, Richard Sprigg, jr., Richard Stanford, Thomas Sumter, Thomas Tillinghast, John Trigg, Philip Van Cortlandt, Joseph B. Varnum, Abraham Venable, and Robert Williams.
And so the said bill was rejected.