Confidential Supplemental Journal. A message from the Senate informed the House that the Senate, having completed the Legislative business before them, are now ready to adjourn. Ordered, That a message be sent to the Senate, to inform them that this House, having completed the business before them, are also ready to adjourn; and that the Clerk do go with the said message. The Clerk having went with the said message, and being returned, the SPEAKER adjourned the House sine die. CONFIDENTIAL SUPPLEMENTAL JOURNAL OF SUCH PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AT THE THIRD SESSION OF THE THIR- THURSDAY, February 23, 1815. The confidential Message of the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, communicated on this day, was then taken up, and read, as follows, viz: To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States: Congress will have seen, by the communication from the Consul General of the United States, at Algiers, laid before them on the 17th of November, 1812, the hostile proceedings of the Dey against that functionary. These have been followed by acts of more overt and direct warfare against the citizens of the United States trading in the Mediterranean; some of whom are still detained in captivity, notwithstanding the attempts which have been made to ransom them, and are treated with the rigor usual on the coast of Barbary. The considerations which rendered it unnecessary and unimportant to commence hostile operations on the part of the United States, being now terminated by the peace with Great Britain, which opens the prospect of an active and valuable trade of their citizens within the range of the Algerine cruisers, I recommend to Congress the expediency of an act declaring the existence of a state of war between the United States and the Dey of Algiers; and of such provisions as may be requisite for a vigorous prosecu tion of it to a successful issue. JAMES MADISON. protection of the commerce of the United States against the Algerine cruisers;" which was twice read. Mr. GASTON then moved to commit the bill to the Committee on Foreign Relations, with instructions "to inquire into and report, in detail, the facts upon which the measure contemplated by the bill is predicated." Mr. HALL then moved to amend the motion of Mr. GASTON, by striking out the words "the Committee on Foreign Relations," and inserting, in lieu thereof, the words a select committee;" and, the question being taken thereon, it passed in the affirmative. 66 The question was then taken on agreeing to Mr. GASTON's motion, as amended, and passed in the affirmative-yeas 79, nays 42. WARD of Massachusetts, GROSVENOR, SEYBERT, TUESDAY, February 28. Mr. GASTON, from the select committee, to whom was referred, on the 24th instant, the bill for "the protection of the commerce of the United States against the Algerine_cruisers," with instructions to inquire into, and report in detail, the facts upon which the measure contemplated by the bill is predicated," made a reOrdered, That the said communication be re-port thereupon; which was read. The report ferred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. is as follows: Mr. WRIGHT then submitted the following resolution: WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 1815. The committee to whom has been referred the bill "for the protection of the commerce of the United States against the Algerine cruisers," with instructions to inquire and report, in detail, the facts upon which the measure contemplated by the bill is predicated, report: That, in the month of July, 1812, the Dey of Algiers taking offence, or pretending to take offence, at the quantity and quality of a shipment of military stores, made by the United States in pursuance of the stipulation in the Treaty of 1795, and, refusing to receive the stores, extorted from the American Consul General at Algiers, by threats of personal imprisonment, and of reducing to slavery all tho Americans in his power, a sum of money claimed as arrearages of treaty stipulations, and denied by the ,,, Confidential Supplemental Journal. United States to be due; and then compelled the Consul, and all citizens of the United States at Algiers, abruptly to quit his dominions. It further appears to the committee, that, on the 25th of August following, the American brig Edwin, of Salem, owned by Nathaniel Silsbee of that place, while on a voyage from Malta to Gibraltar, was taken by an Algerine corsair, and carried into Algiers as prize. The commander of the brig, Captain George Campbell Smith, and the crew, ten in number, have ever since been detained in captivity, with the exception of two of them, whose release has been effected under circumstances not indicating any change of hostile temper on the part of the Dey. It also appears that a vessel, sailing under the Spanish flag, has been condemned in Algiers as laying a false claim to that flag, and concealing her true American character. In this vessel was taken a Mr. Pollard, who claims to be an American citizen, and is believed to be of Norfolk, Virginia, and who, as an American citizen, is kept in captivity. The Government, justly solicitous to relieve these unfortunate captives, caused an agent (whose connection with the Government was not disclosed) to be sent to Algiers with the means, and with instructions to effect their ransom, if it could be done at a price not exceeding three thousand The effort did not succeed, because of the Dey's avowed policy to increase the number of his American slaves, in order to be able to compel a renewal of his Treaty with the United States on terms suited to his rapacity. Captain Smith, Mr. Pollard, and the master of the Edwin, are not confined, nor kept at hard labor; but the rest of the captives are subjected to the well known horrors of Algerine slavery. The committee have not been apprised of any other specific outrages upon the persons or property of American citizens, besides those stated; and they apprehend that the fewness of these is attributable to the want of opportunity, and not of inclination in the Dey, to prey upon our commerce, and to enslave our citizens. The war with Britain dollars per man. has hitherto shut the Mediterranean against American vessels, which it may be presumed will now shortly venture upon it. The committee are all of opinion, upon the evidence which has been laid before them, that the Dey of Algiers considers his Treaty with the United States as at an end, and is waging war against them. The evidence upon which this opinion is founded, and from which are extracted the facts above stated, accompanies this report, and with it is respectfully submitted. The question was taken on engrossing the bill, and reading it a third time, and passed in the affirmative-yeas 94, nays 32, as follows: YEAS.-Messrs. Alexander, Anderson, Barbour, Baylies of Massachusetts, Bines, Bowen, Bradbury, Burwell, Calhoun, Cannon, Champion, Clopton, Condict, Cox, Creighton, Cuthbert, Desha, Duvall, Eppes, Farrow, Findlay, Fisk of Vermont, Fisk of New York, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Gholson, Goodwyn, Gourdin, Grosvenor, Hale, Hall, Harris, Hasbrouck, Hawes, Hawkins, Hopkins of Kentucky, Hubbard, Humphreys, Hungerford, Hulbert, Irwin, Jackson of Virginia, Johnson of Kentucky, Kennedy, Kent of New York, Kent of Maryland, Kerr, Kershaw, Kilbourn, King of North Carolina, Lefferts, Lowndes, Macon, McCoy, Montgomery, Moore, Nelson, Newton, Oakley, Ormsby, Pickens, Pleasants, Potter, John Reed, Wm. Reed, Rea of Pennsylvania, Rhea of Tennessee, Rich, Ringgold, Roane, Robertson, Ruggles, Sage, Schureman, Sevier, Seybert, Sharpe, Sheffey, Sherwood, Smith of New York, Smith of Virginia, Stockton, Stuart, Tannehill, Taylor, Telfair, Troup, Udree, Ward of Massachusetts, Wilson of Pennsylvania, Winter, and Yancey. NAYS.-Messrs. Bard, Bigelow, Brigham, Brown, Caperton, Cilley, Comstock, Crouch, Davenport, Davis of Pennsylvania, Ely, Goldsborough, Henderson, King of Massachusetts, Law, Lovett, Pearson, Pickering, Piper, Pitkin, Slaymaker, Smith of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Strong, Sturges, Taggart, Thompson, Vose, Wheaton, White, Wilcox, and Wilson of Massachusetts. And the bill having been engrossed, was read hands of Mr. GASTON and Mr. FORSYTH. a third time, and sent to the Senate by the DECEMBER, 1815.] Proceedings. [SENATE. FOURTEENTH CONGRESS.-FIRST SESSION. BEGUN AT THE CITY OF WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 4, 1815. PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE.* MONDAY, December 4, 1815. State of New Jersey, for the term of six years, The first session of the Fourteenth Congress, commencing on the 4th day of March last; conformably to the Constitution of the United JAMES BARBOUR, appointed a Senator by the States, commenced this day at the city of Wash-Legislature of the State of Virginia, for the term ington; and the Senate assembled. PRESENT: of six years, commencing on the 4th day of March last; George W. CampBELL, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the State of Ten JOSEPH B. VARNUM, from the State of Massa-nessee, for the term of six years, commencing chusetts. WILLIAM HUNTER and JEREMIAH B. HOWELL, from Rhode Island. DUDLEY CHACE and ISAAC TICHENOR, from Vermont. DAVID DAGGETT, from Connecticut. OUTERBRIDGE HORSEY, from Delaware. JOHN GAILLARD, from South Carolina. GEORGE W. CAMPBELL and JOHN WILLIAMS, from Tennessee. BENJAMIN RUGGLES, from Ohio. JAMES BROWN and ELEGIUS FROMENTIN, from Louisiana. JOHN GAILLARD, President pro tempore, resumed the Chair. ISAAC TICHENOR, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the State of Vermont, for the term of six years, commencing on the 4th day of March last; NATHAN SANFORD, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the State of New York for the term of six years, commencing on the 4th day of March last; JAMES J. WILSON, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the * LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE SENATE. New Hampshire.-Thos. W. Thompson, Jeremiah Mason. Massachusetts.-Joseph B. Varnum, Christopher Gore. Rhode Island.-William Hunter, Jeremiah B. Howell. Connecticut.-David Daggett, Samuel W. Dana. Vermont.-Dudley Chace, Isaac Tichenor. New York-Nathan Sanford, Rufus King. New Jersey-James J. Wilson, John Condit. Pennsylvania.-Abner Lacock, Jonathan Roberts. Delaware.-Outerbridge Horsey, William H. Wells. on the 4th day of March last; JOHN WILLIAMS, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the State of Tennessee, for the term of two years, in place of George W. Campbell, resigned; BENJAMIN RUGGLES, appointed a Senator by the Legislature of the State of Ohio, for the term of six years, commencing on the 4th day of March last; respectively produced their credentials, which were read, and the oath prescribed by law was administered to them, and they took their seats in the Senate. The oath was also administered to Messrs. HUNTER, ROBERTS, and HORSEY; their credentials having been read and filed during the last session. Ordered, That the Secretary acquaint the House of Representatives that a quorum of the Senate is assembled, and ready to proceed to business. Messrs. VARNUM and HUNTER were appointed a committee on the part of the Senate, together with such committee as may be appointed by the House of Representatives, on their part, to wait on the President of the United States, and notify him that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled and ready to receive any communications that he may be pleased to make to them; and the Secretary was directed to notify the House of Representatives accordingly. The PRESIDENT communicated a letter from Maryland.-Robert II. Goldsborough, Robert Goodloe Harper. Virginia.-James Barbour, Armistead T. Mason. North Carolina.-James Turner, Nathaniel Macon. South Carolina.-John Gaillard, John Taylor. Georgia.-Charles Tait, William W. Bibb. Kentucky.-William T. Barry, Isham Talbot. Tennessee.-George W. Campbell, John Williams. Ohio.-Benjamin Ruggles, Jeremiah Morrow. Louisiana.-James Brown, Elegius Fromentin. SENATE.] President's Message. [DECEMBER, 1815. the committee in behalf of the gentlemen con- | the enemy then cruising in that sea, and succeeded in cerned in erecting the new building on the Capitol Hill for the accommodation of Congress, offering the same to Congress until the Capitol may be ready for their reception; which was read. Whereupon, on motion, by Mr. HORSEY, Resolved, That a committee be appointed on the part of the Senate, to join such committee as may be appointed on the part of the Houseway by this demonstration of American skill and prowof Representatives, to inquire and report upon the state of the new building on Capitol Hill offered to Congress by letter addressed to the President of the Senate of this day, by a committee on their part, of the gentlemen concerned in erecting the same; and that the said joint committee be instructed to inquire and ascertain upon what terms and conditions the use of the said building for the accommodation of Congress may be obtained, until the Capitol may be ready for their reception. Resolved, That Messrs. HORSEY, LACOCK, and FROMENTIN, be the committee on the part of the Senate. Mr. LACOCK submitted the following motion for consideration, which was read: Resolved, That Mountjoy Bayly, Doorkeeper and Sergeant-at-Arms to the Senate, be, and he hereby is authorized to employ one assistant and two horses, for the purpose of performing such services as are usually required by the Doorkeeper of the Senate; which pense shall be paid out of the contingent fund. Ordered, That it pass to the second reading. TUESDAY, December 5. capturing two of his ships, one of them the principal ship, commanded by the Algerine Admiral. The high character of the American commander was brilliantly sustained on the occasion, which brought his own ship into close action with that of his adversary, as was the accustomed gallantry of all the officers and men actually engaged. Having prepared the ess, he hastened to the port of Algiers, where peace was promptly yielded to his victorious force. In the terms stipulated, the rights and honor of the United States were particularly consulted, by a perpetual relinquishment, on the part of the Dey, of all pretensions to tribute from them. The impressions which have thus been made, strengthened as they will have been, by subsequent transactions with the Regencies of Tunis and of Tripoli, by the appearance of the larger force which followed under Commodore Bainbridge, the chief in command of the expedition, and by the judicious precautionary arrangements left by him in that quarter, afford a reasonable prospect of future security for the valuable portion of our commerce which passes within reach of the Barbary cruisers. It is another source of satisfaction that the Treaty of Peace with Great Britain has been succeeded by a Convention on the subject of commerce, concluded by the Plenipotentiaries of the two countries. In this result a disposition is manifested on the part of that nation, corresponding with the disposition of the United States, which, it may be hoped, will be imex-proved into liberal arrangements on other subjects, on which the parties have mutual interests, or which might endanger their future harmony. Congress will decide on the expediency of promoting such a sequel, by giving effect to the measure of confining the American navigation to American seamen; a measure which, at the same time that it might have that conciliatory tendency, would have the further advantage of increasing the independence of our navigation, and the resources for our maritime defence. The execution of the act for fixing the Military Peace Establishment, has been attended with difficulties which even now can only be overcome by Leand discharge of the troops enlisted for the war; the gislative aid. The selection of officers; the payment payment of the retained troops, and their re-union from detached and distant stations; the collection and security of the public property in the Quartermaster, Commissary, and Ordnance Departments; and the constant medical assistance required in hospitals and garrisons, rendered a complete execution of the act impracticable on the first of May, the period more immediately contemplated. As soon, however, as circumstances would permit, and as far as it has been practicable, consistently with the public interests, the reduction of the army has been accomplished; but the appropriations for its pay and for other branches of the military service, having proved inadequate, the earliest attention to that sub WILLIAM W. BIBB, from the State of Georgia, took his seat in the Senate. A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate, that a quorum of the House of Representatives is assembled, and have elected HENRY CLAY, one of the Representatives for the State of Kentucky, their Speaker, and THOMAS DOUGHERTY, their Clerk, and are ready to proceed to business. They have appointed a committee on their part, to join the committee appointed on the part of the Senate, to wait on the President of the United States, and inform him that a quorum of the two Houses is assembled, and ready to receive any communications he may be pleased to make to them. Mr. Varnum reported from the joint committee, that they had waited on the President of the United States, and that the President informed the committee that he would make a communication to the two Houses this day at 12 o'clock. President's Message. The following Message was received from the ject will be necessary; and the expediency of conPRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: I have the satisfaction, on our present meeting, of being able to communicate to you the successful termination of the war which had been commenced against the United States by the Regency of Algiers, The squadron in advance on that service, under Commodore Decatur, lost not a moment after its arrival in the Mediterranean, in seeking the naval force of tinuing, upon the Peace Establishment, the staff officers who have hitherto been provisionally retained, is also recommended to the consideration of Congress. In the performance of the Executive duty upon this occasion, there has not been wanting a just sensibility to the merits of the American Army during the late war; but the obvious policy and design in fixing an efficient Military Peace Establishment did not afford an opportunity to distinguish the aged and infirm, on account of their past services; nor the DECEMBER, 1815.] President's Message. [SENATE. wounded and disabled, on account of their present authority of the Government of the United States; sufferings. The extent of the reduction, indeed, un- but when it is considered that the new, as well as avoidably involved the exclusion of many meritorious the old portion of the debt has been contracted in officers of every rank from the service of their coun- the assertion of the national rights and independtry; and so equal, as well as so numerous, were the ence; and when it is recollected that the public exclaims to attention, that a decision by the standard penditures, not being exclusively bestowed upon subof comparative merit could seldom be attained. jects of a transient nature, will long be visible in the Judged, however, in candor, by a general standard of number and equipments of the American navy, in positive merit, the Army register will, it is believed, the military works for the defence of our harbors and do honor to the establishment; while the case of our frontiers, and in the supplies of our arsenals and those officers whose names are not included in it, de- magazines, the amount will bear a gratifying comvolves, with the strongest interest, upon the Legisla-parison with the objects which have been attained, as tive authority, for such provision as shall be deemed the best calculated to give support and solace to the veteran and the invalid; to display the beneficence, as well as the justice, of the Government; and to inspire a martial zeal for the public service upon every future emergency. Although the embarrassments arising from the want of a uniform national currency have not been diminished since the adjournment of Congress, great satisfaction has been derived in contemplating the revival of the public credit, and the efficiency of the public resources. The receipts into the Treasury, from the various branches of revenue, during the nine months ending on the 30th of September last, have been estimated at twelve millions and a half of dollars; the issues of Treasury notes of every denomination, during the same period, amounted to the sum of fourteen millions of dollars; and there was also obtained upon loan, during the same period, a sum of nine millions of dollars; of which the sum of six millions of dollars was subscribed in cash, and the sum of three millions of dollars in Treasury notes. With these means, added to the sum of one million and a half of dollars, being the balance of money in the Treasury on the first of January, there has been paid, between the first of January and the first of October, on account of the appropriations of the preceding and of the present year, (exclusively of the amount of the Treasury notes subscribed to the loan, and of the amount redeemed in the payment of duties and taxes,) the aggregate sum of thirty-three millions and a half of dollars, leaving a balance then in the Treasury estimated at the sum of three millions of dollars. Independent, however, of the arrearages due for military services and supplies, it is presumed that a further sum of five millions of dollars, including the interest on the public debt payable on the first of January next, will be demanded at the Treasury to complete the expenditures of the present year, and for which the existing ways and means will sufficiently provide. The National debt, as it was ascertained on the first of October last, amounted in the whole to the sum of one hundred and twenty millions of dollars, consisting of the unredeemed balance of the debt contracted before the late war, (thirty-nine millions of dollars,) the amount of the funded debt contracted in consequence of the war, (sixty-four millions of dollars,) and the amount of the unfunded and floating debt, (including the various issues of Treasury notes,) seventeen millions of dollars, which is in a gradual course of payment. There will, probably, be some addition to the public debt, upon the liquidation of various claims, which are depending; and a conciliatory disposition on the part of Congress may lead honorably and advantageously to an equitable arrangement of the militia expenses incurred by the several States, without the previous sanction or well as with the resources of the country. The arrangements of the finances, with a view to the receipts and expenditures of a permanent Peace Establishment, will necessarily enter into the deliberations of Congress during the present session. It is true that the improved condition of the public revenue will not afford the means of maintaining the faith of the Government with its creditors inviolate, and of prosecuting, successfully, the measures of the most liberal policy, but will also justify an immediate alleviation of the burdens imposed by the necessities of the war. It is, however, essential to every modification of the finances, that the benefits of a uniform National currency should be restored to the community. The absence of the precious metals will, it is believed, be a temporary evil; but, until they can again be rendered the general medium of exchange, it devolves on the wisdom of Congress to provide a substitute, which shall equally engage the confidence, and accommodate the wants of the citizens throughout the Union. If the operation of the State banks cannot produce this result, the probable operation of a National Bank will merit consideration; and if neither of these expedients be deemed effectual, it may become necessary to ascertain the terms upon which the notes of the Government (no longer required as an instrument of credit) shall be issued, upon motives of general policy, as a common medium of circulation. Notwithstanding the security for future repose, which the United States ought to find in their love of peace, and their constant respect for the rights of other nations, the character of the times particularly inculcates the lesson, that, whether to prevent or repel danger, we ought not to be unprepared for it. This consideration will sufficiently recommend to Congress a liberal provision for the immediate extension and gradual completion of the works of defence, both fixed and floating, on our maritime frontier, and an adequate provision for guarding our inland frontier against dangers to which certain portions of it may continue to be exposed. As an improvement in our Military Establishment, it will deserve the consideration of Congress, whether a corps of invalids might not be so organized and employed, as at once to aid in the support of meritorious individuals, excluded by age or infirmities from the existing establishment, and to procure to the public the benefit of their stationary services, and of their exemplary discipline. I recommend, also, an enlarge. ment of the Military Academy, already established, and the establishment of others in other sections of the Union. And I cannot press too much on the attention of Congress, such a classification and organization of the militia as will most effectually render it the safeguard of a free State. If experience has shown, in the recent splendid achievements of militia, the value of this resource for the public defence, it |