The House again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the report of the Committee of Ways and Means on the petitions of Joshua Barney and Stephen Kingston.
The resolution, reported by the Committee of Ways and Means, "that it is inexpedient to legislate upon the subject of the petitions," was disagreed to; and the following was reported to the House as a substitute thereto:
"Resolved, That any right or claim of the United States to British property which may have been captured by American privateers, arising from forfeiture under any provision of the non-importation acts, ought to be relinquished for the benefit of the captors."
The question on the original resolution was also disagreed to by a vote of the House. For disagreeing 61, against it 47.
And the resolution proposed in Committee of the Whole as a substitute, was, as stated above, agreed to; and was referred to the Committee of Ways and Means to bring in a bill in pursuance thereof.
Impressed Seamen.
The following Message was received from the President of the United States:
To the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States:
I transmit, for the information of Congress, copies of a correspondence between John Mitchell, Agent for American Prisoners of War at Halifax, and the British Admiral commanding at that station.
I transmit for the like purposes copies of a letter from Commodore Rodgers to the Secretary of the Navy.