PROCEEDINGS OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, AT THE SECOND SESSION OF THE FIRST CONGRESS, BEGUN AT THE CITY OF NEW YORK, JANUARY 4, 1790. [That no debate appears in the proceedings of the Senate, is already accounted for in a note at the commencement of the Journal of the First Session. It is for this good reason, that, until its Session in 1794, the Senate sat with closed doors.] From Massachusetts, CALEB STRONG and TRISTRAM DALTON. From Connecticut, WILLIAM S. JOHNSON. From New York, RUFUS KING and PHILIP SCHUYLER. From South Carolina, RALPH IZARD and PIERCE BUTLER. From Georgia, WILLIAM FEW. The Senate proceeded to consider the resolve lative to the appointment of Chaplains; and, A quorum of members not being present, they of the House of Representatives, of this day, readjourned till to-morrow. TUESDAY, January 5. JOHN HENRY, from Maryland, in addition to the members assembled yesterday, attended; but not being a quorum, they adjourned. WEDNESDAY, January 6. WILLIAM MACLAY, from Pennsylvania, attended; a quorum of the members of the Senate were present, and the Secretary was directed to inform the House of Representatives that a quorum of the Senate have assembled, and are ready to proceed to business. Ordered, That Messrs. STRONG and IZARD be a committee on the part of the Senate, with such committee as the House of Representatives may appoint on their part, to inform the President of the United States that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled, and will be ready in the Senate Chamber, at such time as the President may appoint, to receive any communications they may be pleased to make. THURSDAY, January 7. OLIVER ELLSWORTH, of Connecticut, and WILLIAM PATERSON, from New Jersey, attended. Resolved, That the Senate concur therein; and that the Right Reverend Doctor SAMUEL PROVOST be appointed for the present session, on the part of the Senate. FRIDAY, January 8. Ordered, That the House of Representatives be informed that the Senate are ready to meet them in the Senate Chamber, to receive any communication the President of the United States may be pleased to make to the two Houses of Congress; and that the usual seats will be assigned them. The House of Representatives having accordingly taken their seats, the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES came into the Senate Chamber, and addressed both Houses of Congress, as follows: Fellow-Citizens of the Senate, and House of Representatives: I embrace with great satisfaction the opportunity which now presents itself of congratulating you on the present favorable prospects of our public affairs. The recent accession of the important State of North Carolina to the Constitution of the United States, (of which official information has been received ;) the rising credit and respectability of our country; the general and increasing good-will towards the Government of the SENATE.] Proceedings. [JANUARY, 1790. Union; and the concord, peace, and plenty, with which and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest we are blessed, are circumstances auspicious in an emi-basis of public happiness. In one in which the meanent degree to our national prosperity. sures of Government receive their impression so imme In resuming your consultations for the general good, diately from the sense of the community as in ours, it you cannot but derive encouragement from the reflec-is proportionably essential. To the security of a free tion that the measures of the last session have been as Constitution it contributes in various ways. By consatisfactory to your constituents, as the novelty and vincing those who are entrusted with the public admindifficulty of the work allowed you to hope. Still fur-istration, that every valuable end of Government is best ther to realize their expectations, and to secure the blessings which a gracious Providence has placed within our reach, will, in the course of the present important session, call for the cool and deliberate exertion of your patriotism, firmness, and wisdom. Among the many interesting objects which will engage your attention, that of providing for the common defence will merit particular regard. To be prepared for war, is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace. A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end, a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite: and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactures as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies. The proper establishment of the troops which may be deemed indispensable, will be entitled to mature consideration. In the arrangements which may be made respecting it, it will be of importance to conciliate the comfortable support of the officers and soldiers, with a due regard to economy. There was reason to hope that the pacific measures adopted with regard to certain hostile tribes of Indians, would have relieved the inhabitants of our Southern and Western frontiers from their depredations; but you will perceive, from the information contained in the papers which I shall direct to be laid before you, (comprehending a communication from the Commonwealth of Virginia,) that we ought to be prepared to afford protection to those parts of the Union, and, if necessary, to punish aggressors. The interests of the United States require that our intercourse with other nations should be facilitated by such provisions as will enable me to fulfil my duty, in that respect, in the manner which circumstances may render most conducive to the public good; and to this end, that the compensations to be made to the persons who may be employed should, according to the nature of their appointments, be defined by law; and a competent fund designated for defraying the expenses incident to the conduct of our foreign affairs. Various considerations also render it expedient that the terms on which foreigners may be admitted to the rights of citizens, should be speedily ascertained by a uniform rule of naturalization. Uniformity in the currency, weights, and measures, of the United States, is an object of great importance, and will, I am persuaded, be duly attended to. The advancement of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, by all proper means, will not, I trust, need recommendation; but I cannot forbear intimating to you the expediency of giving effectual encouragement, as well to the introduction of new and useful inventions from abroad, as to the exertions of skill and genius in producing them at home; and of facilitating the intercourse between the distant parts of our country by a due attention to the Post Office and post-roads. Nor am I less persuaded that you will agree with me in opinion, that there is nothing which can better deserve your patronage than the promotion of science answered by the enlightened confidence of the people, and by teaching the people themselves to know and to value their own rights, to discern and provide against invasions of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority; between burdens proceeding from a disregard to their convenience, and those resulting from the inevitable exigencies of society; to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness, cherishing the first, avoiding the last, and uniting a speedy but temperate vigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable respect to the laws. Whether this desirable object will be best promoted by affording aids to seminaries of learning already estab lished, by the institution of a national university, or by any other expedients, will be well worthy of a place in the deliberations of the Legislature. Gentlemen of the House of Representatives : I saw with peculiar pleasure, at the close of the last session, the resolution entered into by you, expressive of your opinion that an adequate provision for the sup port of the public credit is a matter of high importance to the national honor and prosperity. In this sentiment best endeavors to devise such a provision as will be I entirely concur. And, to a perfect confidence in your truly consistent with the end, I add an equal reliance on the cheerful co-operation of the other branch of the Legislature. It would be superfluous to specify inducements to a measure in which the character and perma nent interests of the United States are so obviously and so deeply concerned, and which has received so explicit a sanction from your declaration. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have directed the proper officers to lay before you, respectively, such papers and estimates as regard the affairs particularly recommended to your consideration, and necessary to convey to you that information of the state of the Union, which it is my duty to afford. The welfare of our country is the great object to which our cares and efforts ought to be directed. And I shall derive great satisfaction from a co-operation with you in the pleasing though arduous task of ensuring to our fellow-citizens the blessings which they have a right to expect from a free, efficient, and equal Government. GEO. WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 8, 1790. The President of the United States having re tired, and the two Houses being separated: the Ordered, That Messrs. KING, IZARD, and Parand report draft of an Address to the President of the United ERSON, be a committee to prepare States, in answer to his Speech delivered this day to both Houses of Congress, in the Senate Chamber. Ordered, That the Speech of the President of the United States, delivered this day, be printed for the use of the Senate. The Senate adjourned to Monday next. JANUARY, 1790.] MONDAY, January 11. Proceedings. A Message from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, by Mr. Lear, his Secretary, was read as followeth : Gentlemen of the Senate: I have directed Mr. Lear, my private Secretary, to lay before you a copy of the adoption and ratification of the Constitution of the United States by the State of North Carolina, together with a copy of a letter from his Excellency SAMUEL JOHNSTON, President of the Convention of said State, to the President of the United States. GEO. WASHINGTON. [SENATE. our country, by means of the post office and post roads; a provision for the support of the Department of Foreign foreigners may be admitted to the rights of citizens, are Affairs, and a uniform rule of naturalization, by which objects which shall receive such early attention as their respective importance requires. Literature and Science are essential to the preservation of a free Constitution: the measures of Government should, therefore, be calculated to strengthen the confidence that is due to that important truth. Agriculture, Commerce, and Manufactures, forming the basis of the wealth and strength of our confederated Republic, must be the frequent subject of our deliberation, and shall be advanced by all proper means in our power. Public Credit being an The originals of the papers which are herewith trans-object of great importance, we shall cheerfully co-opemitted to you will be lodged in the office of the Secretary of State. UNITED STATES, January 11, 1790. Ordered, That the Message from the President of the United States, with the papers accompanying the same, lie on the files of the Senate. Mr. KING, on behalf of the committee, reported an Address to the President of the United States, in answer to his Speech to both Houses of Congress, which being amended, was adopted as folLoweth : To the President of the United States: tention shall be given to such papers and estimates as rate in all proper measures for its support. Proper atyou may be pleased to lay before us. Our cares and efforts shall be directed to the welfare of our country; and we have the most perfect dependence upon your co-operating with us, on all occasions, in such measures as will insure to our fellow-citizens the blessings which they have a right to expect from a free, efficient, and equal Government. The Senate then entered on Executive business, and the following Message from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES was read: Gentlemen of the Senate: Having advised with you upon the terms of a treaty to be offered to the Creek nation of Indians, I think it proper you should be informed of the result of that business, previous to its coming before you in your Legislative capacity. I have therefore directed the Secretary for the Department of War to lay before you my instructions to the Commissioners, and their report in consequence thereof. GEO. WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 11, 1790. SIR: We, the Senate of the United States, return you our thanks for your Speech delivered to both Houses of Congress. The accession of the State of North Carolina to the Constitution of the United States gives us much pleasure and we offer you our congratulations on that event, which at the same time adds strength to our Union, and affords a proof that the more the Constitution has been considered, the more the goodness of it has appeared. The informaThe apparently critical state of the Southern frontier tion which we have received, that the measures of the will render it expedient for me to communicate to both last session have been as satisfactory to our constituents Houses of Congress, with other papers, the whole of as we had reason to expect, from the difficulty of the the transactions relative to the Creeks, in order that work in which we were engaged, will afford us much they may be enabled to form a judgment of the meaconsolation and encouragement in resuming our deli-sures which the case may require. berations, in the present session, for the public good; and every exertion on our part shall be made to realize and secure to our country those blessings which a gracious Providence has placed within her reach. We are persuaded that one of the most effectual means of preserving peace is to be prepared for war; and our attention shall be directed to the objects of common defence, and to the adoption of such plans as shall appear the most likely to prevent our dependence on other countries for essential supplies. In the arrangements to be made respecting the establishment of such troops as may be deemed indispensable, we shall, with pleasure, provide for the comfortable support of the officers and soldiers, with a due regard to economy. We regret that the pacific measures adopted by Government, with regard to certain hostile tribes of Indians, have not been attended with the beneficial effects towards the inhabitants of our Southern and Western frontiers which we had reason to hope, and we shall cheerfully co-operate in providing the most effectual means for their protection, and, if necessary, for the punishment of aggressors. The uniformity of the currency, and of weights and measures; the introduction of new and useful inventions from abroad, and the exertions of skill and genius in producing them at home; the facilitating the communication between the distant parts of Ordered, That the Communication from the President of the United States be deferred for consideration. TUESDAY, January 12. A Message from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES was received by the Secretary of War: Gentlemen of the Senate, and House of Representatives : I lay before you a statement of the Southwestern frontiers, and of the Indian Department, which have been submitted to me by the Secretary for the Department of War. I conceive, that an unreserved but confidential communication of all the papers relative to the recent negotiations with some of the Southern tribes of Indians is indispensably requisite for the information of Congress. I am persuaded, that they will effectually prevent either transcripts or publications of all such circumstances as might be injurious to the public interG. WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, January 12, 1790. ests. Ordered, That the Message from the President of the United States, together with the papers accompanying the same, lie for consideration. Ordered, That the Address to the President of the United States, in answer to his Speech, be presented by the Vice President, attended by the Senate, and that the committee which reported the Address wait on the President, and desire to be informed at what time and place he will receive the same. Mr. KING, in behalf of the committee, reported that it would be agreeable to the President to receive the Address of the Senate, in answer to his Speech, on Thursday next, at 11 o'clock, at his own house. WEDNESDAY, January 13. JANUARY, 1790. TUESDAY, January 19. On motion that a committee be appointed to report a bill defining the crimes and offences that shall be cognizable under the authority of the United States, and their punishment. A motion was made for postponement, and it passed in the affirmative. Ordered, That Messrs. STRONG, KING, JOENSON, ELLSWORTH, and HENRY, be a committee to report a bill to regulate processes in the Courts of the United States. WEDNESDAY, January 20. On motion to resume the consideration of the motion made yesterday, to wit: "That a committee be appointed to report a bill, defining the crimes and offences that shall be cognizable under the authority of the United States, and their pun JONATHAN ELMER, from New Jersey, attended. BENJAMIN HAWKINS, from North Carolina, ap-ishment.” peared, produced his credentials, and took his seat. A motion was made further to postpone the consideration thereof, and it passed in the affirm The VICE PRESIDENT administered the oath to ative. Mr. HAWKINS. THURSDAY, January 14. Agreeably to the order of the 12th instant, the Senate waited on the President of the United States, at his own house, where the Vice President, in their name, delivered to the President of the United States the Address agreed to on the 11th instant: To which the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES was pleased to make the following reply: Gentlemen: I thank you for your Address, and for the assurances which it contains of attention to the several matters suggested by me to your consideration. Relying on the continuance of your exertions for the public good, I anticipate for our country the salutary effects of upright and prudent counsels. GEO. WASHINGTON. The Senate having returned to the Senate Chamber, adjourned. On motion, Resolved, That Messrs. ELLSWORTH, MACLAY, and HENRY, be a committee to confer with such committee as may be appointed on the part of the House of Representatives, to consider and report whether or not the business began previous to the late adjournment of Congress, shall now be proceeded in as if no adjournment had taken place. Ordered, That a message be sent to the House of Representatives, acquainting them herewith, and requesting the appointment of a similar committee on their part. JANUARY, 1790.] Proceedings. to consider and report whether or not the business begun previous to the late adjournment of Congress, shall now be proceeded in as if no adjournment had taken place. FRIDAY, January 22. Mr. ELLSWORTH, on behalf of the "joint committee of the two Houses, appointed to consider and report whether or not the business begun previous to the late adjournment of Congress, shall now be proceeded in as if no adjournment had taken place," reported. Ordered, That the consideration of the report be deferred until Monday next. MONDAY, January 25. The Senate proceeded to consider the report of the joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives, appointed the 20th instant, to wit: "that the business unfinished between the two Houses at the late adjournment ought to be regarded as if it had not been passed upon by either;" And, on motion that the report of the committee be postponed, it passed in the negative. And, upon the question to agree to the report of the committee, the yeas and nays being required by one-fifth of the Senators present: YEAS-Messrs. Butler, Dalton, Ellsworth, Few; Hawkins, Henry, Johnson, King, Schuyler, and Strong-10. NAYS-Messrs. Bassett, Ellmer, Izard, Langdon, Maclay, Morris, Paterson, and Wingate-8. So it passed in the affirmative. And it was Resolved, That the business unfinished between the two Houses at the late adjournment ought to be regarded as if it had not been passed upon by either. Ordered, That a message be sent to the House of Representatives, requesting their concurrence in this resolve. The following Message from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, by his Secretary, was read: Gentlemen of the Senate, and House of Representatives : TUESDAY, January 26. [SENATE. Ordered, That Messrs. ELLSWORTH, JOHNSON, STRONG, PATERSON, and HAWKINS, be a committee to report "a bill defining the crimes and offences that shall be cognizable under the authority of the United States, and their punishment." A message from the House of Representatives announced their agreement with the Senate in their resolution, that the business unfinished between the two Houses, at the late adjournment, ought to be regarded as if it had not been passed upon by either. Mr. ELLSWORTH, on behalf of the committee, reported a bill defining the crimes and offences that shall be cognizable under the authority of the United States, and their punishment. Ordered, That this bill have the first reading at this time. ing to-morrow. The letter from Gaetan Dago di Domco was 'read. Ordered, That the above letter, and the paper accompanying it, be sent to the House of Repre sentatives. Ordered, That the rules be so far dispensed with, as that this bill have the third reading at this time. The Senate proceeded to consider the bill defining the crimes and offences that shall be cogI have received from his Excellency, John E. How-nizable under the authority of the United States, ard, Governor of the State of Maryland, an act of the and their punishment; and it was read a second Legislature of Maryland, to ratify certain articles in time. addition to, and amendment of, the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress to the Legislatures of the several States; and have directed my Secretary to lay a copy of the same before you, together with the copy of a letter accompanying the above act, from his Excellency, the Governor of Maryland, to the President of the United States. The original will be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State. GEO. WASHINGTON. On motion, that the fourth section be amended to read as follows: "That the court before whom any person shall be convicted of the crime of murder, for which he or she shall be sentenced to suffer death, may, at their discretion, add to the judgment, that the body of such offenUNITED STATES, January 25, 1790. der shall be delivered to a surgeon for dissection; and the marshal who is to cause such sentence to be execuOrdered, That the Message from the Presi-ted, shall, accordingly, deliver the body of such offender, dent of the United States, together with the papers accompanying the same, lie for consideration. after execution done, to such surgeon as the court shall direct, for the purpose aforesaid: Provided, that such surgeon, or some other person by him appointed for |