WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1847.

The SPEAKER announced the following as the committee to bring in a bill required by the resolution submitted by Mr. HUNTER on yesterday, viz: Messrs. Hunter, Carson, Harrison of Loudoun, Street, Calwell, Bambrick and Boak.

On motion of Mr. COCKE, Resolved, That the committee of roads and internal navigation enquire into the expediency of authorizing the James river and Kanawha company to construct a dam and slackwater communication between the James river canal and the county of Powhatan at or near the town of Jefferson, to be paid for by the tolls added to the canal by such communication.

Mr. BANKS, from the committee of propositions and grievances, presented reports upon the petitions of citizens of Wetzel county, for the incorporation of a town in said county; and of Samuel C. Williams, for ascertaining the dividing line between the counties of Shenandoah and Frederick; and the following bills:

No. 267. A bill annexing to the county of Franklin a part of the county of Patrick; and

No. 268. A bill allowing further time to owners of lots in the town of Lewisburg in Greenbrier county to build on and improve the same.

Mr. BROWN of Albemarle, from the committee of finance, presented a report upon the petition of William Browning; and the following bills:

No. 269. A bill concerning A. W. Mills; and

No. 270. A bill increasing the salary of the clerk of the council.

Mr. LEE, from the committee of roads and internal navigation, presented a report upon the petition of citizens of the county of Monongalia, for the revival of an act to establish a ferry on the Monongahela river; and the following bills:

No. 271. A bill to incorporate the Western branch railroad company.

No. 272. A bill supplementary to the act incorporating the Monongahela navigation company; and

No. 273. A bill authorizing David Corprew of Princess Anne county to erect bridges across Long creek and Lynhaven inlet in said county, and for other purposes.

Mr. SHEFFEY, according to order, presented the following bill:

No. 274. A bill to incorporate the Virginia hotel company in the town of Staunton.

Mr. HOLLADAY, from the committee of claims, presented a report asking to be discharged from the petition of Christopher Moon, which on his motion was ordered to be laid upon the table.

Mr. STEPHENSON presented a petition of Joseph Segar, asking to be relieved from the disabilities imposed by the anti-duelling law, which was ordered to be referred to the committee for courts of justice.

Mr. WALL presented a petition of the board of trustees of Watsontown (Capon springs) in the county of Hampshire, praying the passage of an act to acquire additional land at said town, and to borrow money to improve said springs, which was ordered to be referred to the committee of propositions and grievances.

Also a petition of citizens of the counties of Frederick and Clarke, asking aid from the state to enable the Chesapeake and Ohio canal company to complete their canal to Cumberland.

Mr. HILL of Shenandoah presented a similar petition of citizens of the county of Shenandoah.

Mr. CASTLEMAN a similar petition of citizens of the county of Clarke.

Also certain affidavits of S. W. Lackland, William S. Deaver, John Keyes, Dennis M'Sherry, J. G. Cockrell, Rankin Johnson, N. W. Manning and William Little, shewing the imperfect condition of the Shenandoah river, to be used as evidence to support the application for the Little's falls railroad.

And a petition of citizens of the county of Clarke, for the construction of a railroad from the Little's falls to intersect the Baltimore and Ohio railroad at or near the Old Furnace, or to intersect the Winchester and Potomac railroad at or near Keyes' switch in the county of Jefferson.

Mr. M'ELHENNEY presented a petition of citizens of the county of Russell, for the passage of an act to abolish as nuisances certain fish dams on Clinch river within the limits of said county.

Ordered, That said petitions and affidavits be referred to the committee of roads and internal navigation. On motion of Mr. WATTS, Ordered, That the committee of propositions and grievances be discharged from the consideration of the petition of citizens of the town of Portsmouth for the passage of an act incorporating said town, and from the remonstrance of other citizens of said town against the same, and that leave be granted to the petitioners and the memorialists to withdraw the said petition and memorial.

No. 59. An engrossed bill incorporating the Richmond and Danville railroad company, which was under consideration when the house adjourned on yesterday, was taken up, and the question being put upon its passage was determined in the negative. Ayes 50, noes 68.

On motion of Mr. WILLIAMS the vote thereupon was recorded as follows:

AYES-Messrs. Brown of Albemarle, Layne, Harvie, Sheffey, Johnson, Byrd, Boak, Small, Thompson of Botetourt, Morris, Cardwell, Hill of Fayette and Nicholas, Evans, Street, Carper, Wall, White, Carroll, Calwell, Hiett, Lancaster, Dillard, Thompson of Jefferson, Patrick, Ballard, Haymond, Oldham, Waggoner, Brown of

Monongalia, Beirne, Edmundson of Montgomery and Pulaski, Oliver, M'Pherson, Tatum, Lanier, Tunstall, Cackley, Fairfax, Anderson, Sturm, Mayo, Harper, Dorman, Tate, Gillespie, Horner, Castleman, Goodson, Stephenson and Floyd-50.

NOES-Messrs. Jones, (speaker,) Custis, Finney, Hart, Scruggs, Bennett, Bambrick, Maclin, Harrison of Brunswick, Bocock, Fox, Dickinson, Lacy, Slaughter, Thompson of Dinwiddie, Roane, Love, Smith, Stillman, Carson, Jones of Gloucester, Leake, Walker, Major, Stovall, Darracott, Lee, Godwin, Howard, Hunter, Wallace, Gaines, Robinson, Richmond, Harrison of Loudoun, Schooley, M'Intyre, Edmondson of Lunenburg, Banks, Browne of Matthews and Middlesex, Williams, Kelly, Perrow, Watts, Happer, Yerby, Nelms, Davis, Newman, Syme, Cocke, Daniel, Tyler, Strother, Cook, Bare, Brown of Rockingham, M'Elhenney, Morison, Hill of Shenandoah, Stickley, Goodwin, Holladay, Fitzhugh, Hargrave, Freeman, Burdett and Chandler-68.

Resolved, That said bill be rejected.

A message was received from the senate by Mr. GARRETT who informed the house that the senate had adopted the resolution requiring the county court of Accomack to lay off the island of Tangier as a separate school district, and to assign to the people thereof their share of the school quota of said county, with amendments, in which they request the concurrence of the house of delegates.

Mr. HARVIE Submitted the following preamble and resolutions which were read :

Whereas, a bill appropriating money to prosecute war or negotiate peace with the republic of Mexico has passed the house of representatives of the congress of the United States, with the following proviso attached thereto: "Provided, That as an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of any territory from the republic of Mexico by the United States, by virtue of any treaty which may be negotiated between them, and to the use by the executive of the moneys herein appropriated, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of said territory except for crime, whereof the party shall be first duly convicted." And this general assembly deeming this proviso to be destructive of the compromises of the constitution of the United States and an attack on the dearest rights of the south as well as a dangerous and alarming usurpation by the federal government: Therefore,

Be it resolved unanimously by the general assembly of Virginia, That the government of the United States has no control directly or indirectly, mediately or immediately, over the institution of slavery; and that in taking any such control it transcends the limits of its legitimate functions by destroying the internal organization of the sovereignties who created it.

2dly. Resolved unanimously, That under no circumstances will this body recognize as binding any enactment of the federal government, which has for its object the prohibition of slavery in any territory to be acquired either by conquest or treaty; holding it to be the natural and indefeasible right of each and every citizen of each and every state of this confederacy to reside with his property of whatever description in any territory which may be acquired by the arms of the United States or yielded by treaty with any foreign power.

3dly. Resolved unanimously, That the general assembly holds it to be the duty of every man in every section of this confederacy, if the Union is dear to him, to oppose the passage of any law for whatever purpose, by which territory to be acquired may be subject to such a restriction.

4thly. Resolved unanimously, That the passage of the above mentioned proviso makes it the duty of every slaveholding state and of all the citizens thereof as they value their dearest privileges, their sovereignty, their independence, their rights of property, to take firm, united and concerted action in this emergency.

5thly. Resolved unanimously, That the governor of this commonwealth be and he is hereby requested to transmit copies of the foregoing preamble and resolutions to the executive departments of the states of this Union.

The said resolutions and the preamble were on questions severally put thereupon, agreed to unanimously by the house.

Ordered, That the clerk communicate the same to the senate and request their concurrence.

No. 217. A bill, entitled "an act concerning the pay of members of the general assembly," with the amendments thereto proposed by the senate, was taken up on motion of Mr. ANDERSON, and the said amendments being read were severally disagreed to by the house.

Ordered, That the clerk inform the senate thereof.

On motion of Mr. BROWN of Albemarle the house adjourned until to-morrow morning 11 o'clock.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1847.

The resolution requiring the county court of Accomack to lay off the island of Tangier as a separate school district, and to assign to the people thereof their share of the school quota of said county, with the amendments thereto proposed by the senate, was taken up, and the said amendments being twice read were severally agreed to. Ordered, That the clerk inform the senate thereof.

On motion of Mr. GOODSON, Resolved, That the committee of propositions and grievances enquire into the expediency of changing the place of holding a separate election in Washington county from the house of John Shaffer, to that of Jacob Merchant on the opposite side of the street in the place called the Three springs, in sa d county.

Mr. Bocock, from the committee for courts of justice, presented the following bills:
No. 275. A bill authorizing the taking of the depositions of distant witnesses; and

No. 276. A bill authorizing the general court to rearrange the judicial circuits in this commonwealth.

Mr. HOLLADAY, from the committee of claims, presented the following bills:

No. 277. A bill authorizing the payment of a certain sum of money to William T. Simmons; and

No. 278. A bill authorizing the payment of a certain sum of money to Capt. Kenton Harper.

Mr. DAVIS, from the committee on agriculture and manufactures, presented the following bills:

No. 279. A bill to incorporate the Lynchburg and Botetourt iron company; and

No. 280. A bill authorizing an addition to the boring mill at the armory:

Mr. GOODSON, from the joint committee on the public armory, presented a report upon the condition of that institution.

Mr. GRESHAM presented a petition of citizens of the counties of Richmond and Northumberland praying that Bartholomew Dodson may be authorized to celebrate the rites of matrimony in those counties.

Also a letter of William W. Forester upon the same subject.

Ordered, That said petition and letter be referred to the committee of propositions and grievances.

Mr. Bocock presented a petition of the securities of Jerman Baker asking for further relief from the operation of a certain judgment in favour of the commonwealth against them, which was ordered to be referred to the committee for courts of justice.

Mr. CARSON presented a petition of Jacob Baker and others, asking for a repeal or suspension of the act to establish district free schools, so far as it applies to the county of Frederick, which was ordered to be referred to the committee of schools and colleges.

Mr. BOAK presented a petition of citizens of the county of Berkeley, asking the guarantee of the state to a portion of the bonds of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal company for the purpose of completing their canal to Cumberland.

Mr. HIETT a similar petition of citizens of the county of Hampshire.

Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the committee of roads and internal navigation.

Mr. BREATHED presented a petition of Samuel Johnson, sheriff of the county of Morgan, asking that certain damages recovered against him may be refunded.

Mr. SYME presented a claim of Capt. William M. Robinson, for money advanced by him in raising the second company of volunteers from the town of Petersburg.

Ordered, That said petition and claim be referred to the committee of claims.

On motion of Mr. WATTS the order adopted on yesterday discharging the committee of propositions and grievances from the consideration of the petition of citizens of Portsmouth, and the memorial of other citizens against the same, and authorizing the said petition and memorial to be withdrawn, was rescinded.

Mr. DORMAN presented amendments, intended to be offered by him to the bill to provide for the completion of the James river and Kanawha canal from tidewater at Richmond to the town of Buchanan and for other purposes, which were ordered to be printed. [Doc. bill No. 28.]

On motion of Mr. GRESHAM a report of the committee of propositions and grievances upon the resolution for authorizing Bartholomew Dodson of Richmond county to celebrate the rites of matrimony in the counties of Richmond and Northumberland, was taken up and ordered to be recommitted to the committee of propositions and grievances.

No. 57. An engrossed bill establishing district courts was taken up, and on motion of Mr. HUNTER the rule of the house was suspended, and the vote ordering said bill to be engrossed was reconsidered, and then the said bill was ordered to be laid upon the table.

A message was received from the senate by Mr. WALLACE who informed the house that the senate had adopted a resolution in which they requested the concurrence of the house of delegates.

The said resolution was read as follows:

Resolved, That the senate ask a full and free conference upon the disagreement between the two houses upon the bill, entitled "an act increasing the pay of the members of the general assembly." And the question being put thereupon was determined in the affirmative. Ordered, That the clerk inform the senate thereof.

The SPEAKER announced the following as the committee of conference on the part of this house, viz: Messrs. Anderson, Watts, Dorman, Stephenson, Stovall, Perrow and Darracott.

No. 79. A bill to extend the jurisdiction of the commonwealth of Virginia over the county of Alexandria, with the amendments thereto proposed by the committee to which the same had been committed, was taken up; the first amendment proposed to strike out the third section and insert another in lieu thereof.

The said third section is the following:

"That the territory so retroceded and accepted comprising the county of Alexandria, shall retain the name of the county of Alexandria; and the said county and the county of Fairfax shall together send one delegate to the house of delegates of this commonwealth, until a reapportionment of representation shall take place or until otherwise declared by the general assembly of this commonwealth."

The amendment proposed to be inserted in lieu thereof is the following:

"That the territory so retroceded and accepted, comprising the county of Alexandria, shall retain the name of the county of Alexandria; and the said county of Alexandria shall elect and send one delegate to the house of delegates of this commonwealth until a reapportionment of representation shall take place, or until otherwise declared by the general assembly."

And the question upon the said amendment having been for some time under discussion, Mr. WALLACE demanded that the main question be now put, and it was sustained by the house; Mr. HAYMOND then asked for a division of the question, and it was accordingly put first upon striking out the third section as aforesaid, and was determined in the negative. Ayes 30, noes 81.

On motion of Mr. WHITE the vote was recorded as follows:

AYES-Messrs. Brown of Albemarle, Hart, Thompson of Botetourt, Slaughter, Love, Wall, Leake, Stovall, Lee, Godwin, Hunter, Thompson of Jefferson, Wallace, Gresham, Harrison of Loudoun, Schooley, M'Intyre, Oldham, Browne of Matthews and Middlesex, Kelly, Nelms, Edgington, Lanier, Cocke, Tyler, Dorman, Holladay, Fitzhugh, Chandler and Stephenson-30.

NOES-Messrs. Jones, (speaker,) Custis, Finney, Layne, Powell, M'Dearmon, Sheffey, Johnson, Byrd, Scruggs, Burwell, Boak, Small, Bennett, Bambrick, Maclin, Bocock, Morris, Fox, Dickinson, Lacy, Cardwell, Thompson of Dinwiddie, Roane, Hill of Fayette and Nicholas, Stillman, Street, Carper, Carson, White, Jones of Gloucester, Carroll, Cal well, Walker, Major, Hiett, Thompson of Hampshire, Darracott, Duncan, Lancaster, Dillard, Patrick, Gaines, Robinson, Richmond, Ballard, Poindexter, Edmondson of Lunenburg, Banks, Haymond, Waggoner, Brown of Monongalia Beirne, Edmundson of Montgomery and Pulaski, Breathed, Perrow, Yerby, Oliver, Tatum, Newman, Tunstall, Cackley, Anderson, Daniel, Sturm, Mayo, Cook, Harper, Bare, Brown of Rockingham, M'Elhenney, Morison, Hill of Shenandoah, Stickley, Tate, Burdett, Gillespie, Horner, Castleman, Goodson and Floyd-81.

By refusing to strike out, the second part of the question, or the proposition to insert, was also negatived. On motion of Mr. Cook the house adjourned until to-morrow 11 o'clock.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1847.

A communication from the senate by their clerk, was read as follows:

The senate have passed the bill, entitled

IN SENATE, FEBRUARY 16, 1847.

"An act to provide additional capital for the Brandonville, Kingwood and Evansville road." (No. 75.) On motion of Mr. FLOYD, Resolved by the general assembly of Virginia, That the governor of this commonwealth be and he is hereby requested to present to each of the company officers of the Virginia regiment of volunteers a suitable sword from the armory of the state.

Ordered, That the clerk communicate the same to the senate and request their concurrence.

A motion was made by Mr. M'INTYRE that the house adopt the following resolution:

Resolved by the members of the Virginia house of delegates, That their pay for this day be appropriated for the relief of the poor of Ireland, and that the speaker thereof be hereby authorized to draw the amount and give it the proper direction.

And the question being put thereupon was determined in the negative.

On motion of Mr. BENNETT, Resolved, That this house will proceed jointly with the senate on Friday the 26th instant, to the election of an auditor of public accounts, second auditor, treasurer, register of the land office, secretary of the commonwealth and librarian, general agent and storekeeper of the penitentiary, and superintendent of the penitentiary, each for one year from the expiration of the term for which the present incumbents of those offices were elected.

Ordered, That the clerk communicate the same to the senate and request their concurrence.

Mr. BANKS, from the committee of propositions and grievances, presented the following bills:

No. 281. A bill incorporating Loudoun lodge No. 26, of the Independent order of Odd Fellows in the town of Leesburg; and

No. 282. A bill extending the limits of the town of Lexington in the county of Rockbridge.

Mr. GOODSON, from the committee of roads and internal navigation, presented the following bills:

No. 283. A bill to incorporate the Berryville and Charlestown turnpike company.

No. 284. A bill supplementary to the act passed February 18th, 1813, to establish a turnpike road from a point on the Leesburg turnpike road to the District of Columbia; and

No. 285. A bill to revive and amend the act, entitled "an act incorporating a company to erect a tollbridge over the Ohio river at Wheeling," passed February 17th, 1816, and the act amendatory of said act, passed March the 10th, 1836.

No. 30. A bill to provide for cases in which the courts have failed to comply with the act of the 5th of March 1846, amending the present primary school system, and for other purposes, was taken up on motion of Mr. PATRICK, and ordered to be committed to the committee which brought it in.

The SPEAKER laid before the house a petition of Alexander M'Dougald, asking to be allowed the amount of certain bills of credit issued by the state of Virginia in 1778, which was ordered to be referred to the committee of claims.

Mr. THOMPSON of Jefferson presented a petition of citizens of the county of Jefferson, asking the state to give its guarantee upon $ 300,000 of the bonds of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal company to enable said company to complete their canal to the town of Cumberland.

Mr. EDGINGTON presented two petitions of citizens of the counties of Brooke and Ohio, praying the passage of an act to incorporate a company to construct a turnpike road from the City of Wheeling to the Pennsylvania line by the way of West Liberty and Bethany.

Ordered, That said petitions be referred to the committee of roads and internal navigation.

Mr. CHANDLER presented a communication from the county court of Westmoreland, presenting to the legislature a portrait of lord Chatham to be placed in the public library, which on his motion was ordered to be laid upon the table.

On motion of Mr. CHANDLER, Resolved by the general assembly, That the librarian of the commonwealth be and he is hereby authorized and required to cause to be transported to Richmond the portrait of lord Chatham, presented for safe keeping to the state by the county court of Westmoreland county, to be deposited for safe keeping in the public library, and subject to the future order of said court.

Ordered, That the clerk communicate the same to the senate and request their concurrence.

Mr. TUNSTALL presented a petition of Mrs. Ann Claggett and others, praying for acts of incorporation for the Orphan asylum and female free school of Alexandria, which was ordered to be referred to the committee of schools and colleges.

Mr. CARSON presented a document to be used as evidence to support the claim of Capt. J. W. Rowan, which was ordered to be referred to the committee of claims.

No. 79. A bill to extend the jurisdiction of the commonwealth of Virginia over the county of Alexandria, with the amendments thereto proposed by the committee to which the same had been committed, was taken up, and the said amendments not acted on, on yesterday, being amended on motions severally made, were, as amended, agreed to by the house; the said bill was still further amended on motions severally made, and as amended ordered to be engrossed and read a third time.

The SPEAKER laid before the house a communication from the governor, enclosing one from the governor of Ohio, enclosing resolutions of the general assembly of that state relative to the boundaries of the states of Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio, which being read, was on motion of Mr. CARSON, ordered to be referred to the committee for courts of justice and to be printed. [Doc. No. 47.]

No. 222. A bill authorizing the state's guarantee to certain bonds of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal company, was taken up on motion of Mr. HUNTER, read the first and ordered to be read a second time.

Mr. STOVALL, from the committee of conference, on the bill concerning the pay of members of the general assembly, presented a report, which, on his motion, was ordered to be laid upon the table. The same is the following:

The committee of conference on the part of the house of delegates, to whom was referred the disagreement between the two houses relating to an act concerning the pay of members of the general assembly, having met in free conference, the committee on the part of the senate who agreed on their part to recommend to the senate to recede from their amendment to the said bill, and in lieu thereof to ask that the following proviso be adopted to the first section of the bill:

Provided, That so much of the 4th section of the act, entitled "an act to provide for the revisal of the Civil Code of this commonwealth," passed February 20, 1846, as increased the pay of the members of the general assembly, shall not be repealed until the end of the next session of the general assembly, and that this act, in other respects, shall be in force from the passing thereof.

Strike out the commencing clause of the bill.

Which amendments we recommend the house of delegates to concur in.

No. 163. A bill to authorize the Board of public works to purchase two fifths of the stock of the Alexandria canal company, was taken up on motion of Mr. FLOYD, read the first and ordered to be read a second time.

A motion was made by Mr. Cook that the rule of the house be suspended for the purpose of reconsidering the vote rejecting an engrossed bill incorporating the Richmond and Danville railroad company, (No. 59,) and the