FIRST CONGRESS.—SECOND SESSION.

BEGUN AT THE CITY OF NEW YORK, JANUARY 4, 1790.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE.

Monday, January 4, 1790.

The following members of the Senate assembled:

From New Hampshire, John Langdon and Paine Wingate.

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.

A quorum of members not being present, they adjourned 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 he may be pleased to make.

Thursday, January 7.

Oliver Ellsworth, of Connecticut, and William Paterson, from New Jersey, attended.

A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that they have resolved that two Chaplains, of different denominations, be appointed to Congress for the present session, one by each House, who shall interchange weekly.

Mr. Strong, on behalf of the joint committee, reported to the Senate, that they had waited on the President of the United States, agreeably to the order of both Houses, and that he informed the committee that he would meet the two Houses in the Senate Chamber to-morrow at 11 o'clock.

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 followeth:

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 Union; and the concord, peace, and plenty with which we are blessed, are circumstances auspicious in an eminent degree to our national prosperity.

In resuming your consultations for the general good, you cannot but derive encouragement from the reflection that the measures of the last session have been as satisfactory to your constituents, as the novelty and difficulty of the work allowed you to hope. Still further 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 the 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 and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness. In one in which the measures of Government receive their impression so immediately from the sense of the community as in ours, it is proportionably essential. To the security of a free constitution it contributes in various ways. By convincing those who are intrusted with the public administration, that every valuable end of Government is best 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 burthens 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 established, 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 support of the public credit is a matter of high importance to the national honor and prosperity. In this sentiment I entirely concur. And, to a perfect confidence in your best endeavors to devise such a provision as will be 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 permanent 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 insuring 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 retired, and the two Houses being separated:

Ordered, That Messrs. King, Izard, and Paterson, be a committee to prepare and report the draft of an address to the President of the United 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.

Monday, January 11.

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.

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 information which we have received, that the measures of the last session have been as satisfactory to our constituents as we had reason to expect, from the difficulty of the work in which we were engaged, will afford us much consolation and encouragement in resuming our deliberations, 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 our 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 our country, by means of the Post-Office and post-roads; a provision for the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and a uniform rule of naturalization, by which foreigners may be admitted to the rights of citizens, are 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 object of great importance, we shall cheerfully co-operate in all proper measures for its support. Proper attention shall be given to such papers and estimates as you 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.

Tuesday, January 12.

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.

Jonathan Elmer, from New Jersey, attended.

Benjamin Hawkins, from North Carolina, appeared, produced his credentials, and took his seat.

The Vice President administered the oath to 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.

G. WASHINGTON.

The Senate having returned to the Senate Chamber, adjourned.

Friday, January 15.

Ordered, That Messrs. Ellsworth, Hawkins, and Paterson, be a committee to bring in a bill, in addition to "An act to establish the Judicial Courts of the United States."

Wednesday, January 20.

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.

Thursday, January 21.

Robert Morris from Pennsylvania, attended.

A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate that they had agreed to the appointment of a committee on their part, consisting of Messrs. Sherman, Thatcher, Hartley, White, and Jackson, to confer with the committee appointed on the part of the Senate, 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, Elmer, Izard, Langdon, Maclay, Morris, Paterson, and Wingate—8.

And 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.

Tuesday, January 26.

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.

Thursday, January 28.

On motion it was

Ordered, That the letter from the Governor of Rhode Island of the 18th of January instant, to the President of the United States, requesting a further suspension of the acts of Congress subjecting the citizens of the State of Rhode Island to the payment of foreign tonnage and foreign duties, during the pleasure of Congress, and communicated with the President's message this day, be referred to the same committee.

Friday, January 29.

Samuel Johnston, from North Carolina, appeared, produced his credentials, and took his seat in the Senate.

The Vice President administered the oath to Mr. Johnston.

Tuesday, May 11.

The Senate proceeded to consider the report of the committee appointed the 28th of April, to consider what provisions will be proper for Congress to make, in the present session, respecting the State of Rhode Island; whereupon,

Resolved, That all commercial intercourse between the United States and the State of Rhode Island, from and after the first day of July next, be prohibited, under suitable penalties; and that the President of the United States be authorized to demand of the State of Rhode Island —— dollars, to be paid into the Treasury of the United States by the —— day of —— next; which shall be credited to the said State, in account with the United States; and that a bill or bills be brought in for those purposes.

Ordered, That the committee who brought in the above report prepare and report a bill accordingly.

Thursday, May 13.

Mr. Ellsworth, reported, from the committee appointed May 3d, to consider and report their opinion on the question, when according to the constitution, the terms for which the President, Vice President, Senators, and Representatives, have been respectively chosen, shall be deemed to have commenced; and, also, to consider of, and report their opinion on such other matters as they shall conceive have relation to this question.

Ordered, That this report lie for consideration.

Friday, May 14.

The Senate proceeded to consider the report of the joint committee, appointed the 28th of April, which is as follows:

The committee of the Senate, to join with a committee appointed by the House of Representatives, to consider and report their opinion on the question, when, according to the Constitution, the terms for which the President, Vice President, Senators, and Representatives, have been respectively chosen, shall be deemed to have commenced; and, also, to consider of, and report their opinion on, such other matters as they should conceive to have relation to this question, report, as the opinion of the said joint committee:

That the terms for which the President, Vice President, Senators, and Representatives, of the United States, were respectively chosen, did, according to the constitution, commence on the 4th day of March, 1789; and so the Senators of the first class, and the Representatives, will not, according to the constitution, be entitled, by virtue of the same election by which they hold seats in the present Congress, to seats in the next Congress, which will be assembled after the 3d day of March, 1791; and further, that, whenever a vacancy shall happen in the Senate or House of Representatives, and an election to fill such vacancy, the person elected will not, according to the constitution, be entitled, by virtue of such election, to hold a seat beyond the time for which the Senator or Representative in whose stead such person shall have been so elected, would, if the vacancy had not happened, have been entitled to hold a seat.

That it will be advisable for the Congress to pass a law or laws for determining, agreeable to the provision in the first section of the second article of the constitution, the time when the electors shall, in the year which will terminate on the 3d day of March, 1793, and so in every fourth year thereafter, be chosen, and the day on which they shall give their votes; for declaring what officer shall, in case of vacancy, both in the office of President and Vice President, act as President; for assigning a public office where the lists, mentioned in the second paragraph of the first section in the second article of the constitution, shall in case of vacancy in the office of President of the Senate, or his absence from the seat of Government, be, in the mean time, deposited; and for directing the mode in which such lists shall be transmitted: whereupon,

Resolved, That the Senate do agree to this report.

Monday, May 17.

The Senate proceeded to the third reading of the bill to prevent bringing goods, wares, and merchandises from the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations into the United States, and to authorize a demand of money from the said State, and,

On motion,

Ordered, That this bill be recommitted.

Tuesday, May 18.

Mr. Carroll, from the committee appointed April the 28th, to consider what provisions will be proper for Congress to make, in the present session, respecting the State of Rhode Island, and to whom it was referred, to bring in a bill on that subject, reported several additional clauses to the bill to prevent bringing goods, wares, and merchandises, from the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations into the United States, and to authorize a demand of money from the said State; which report was agreed to as amendments to the bill.

The Senate proceeded to the third reading of the bill to prevent bringing goods, wares, and merchandises, from the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations into the United States, and to authorize a demand of money from the said State;

And, on the question, "Shall this bill pass?" the yeas and nays being required by one-fifth of the Senators present, were:

Yeas.—Messrs. Bassett, Carroll, Dalton, Ellsworth, Johnson, Johnston, Izard, King, Langdon, Morris, Reed, Schuyler, and Strong—13.

Nays.—Messrs. Butler, Elmer, Hawkins, Henry, Lee, Maclay, Walker, and Wingate—8.

So it was Resolved, That this bill do pass, and that it be carried to the House of Representatives for concurrence therein.

Tuesday, June 1.

The following message was received from the President of the United States, and was read:

Gentlemen of the Senate, and House of Representatives:

Having received official information of the accession of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations to the constitution of the United States, I take the earliest opportunity of communicating the same to you, with my congratulations on this happy event, which unites, under the General Government, all the States which were originally confederated; and have directed my Secretary to lay before you a copy of the letter from the President of the Convention of the State of Rhode Island to the President of the United States.

G. WASHINGTON.

United States, June 1, 1790.

The Senate then entered on Executive business.

The following message from the President of the United States, by his Secretary, was read:

United States, May 31, 1790.

Gentlemen of the Senate:

Mr. De Poiery served in the American army for several of the last years of the late war, as Secretary to Major General the Marquis de Lafayette, and might probably at the same time have obtained the commission of Captain from Congress, upon application to that body. At present, he is an officer in the French National Guards, and solicits a Brevet Commission from the United States of America. I am authorized to add, that while the compliance will involve no expense on our part, it will be particularly grateful to that friend of America, the Marquis de Lafayette.

I therefore nominate M. De Poiery to be a Captain by Brevet.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Ordered, That the message lie for consideration.

Wednesday, June 2.

Resolved, That the Senate will attend the funeral of Colonel Bland, late a member of the House of Representatives of the United States, at five o'clock this afternoon.[30]

The Senate then entered on Executive business, and consented to the nomination of M. De Poiery to be a Captain by Brevet, in the service of the United States.

Wednesday, August 4.

The Senate then entered on Executive business, and the following message from the President of the United States was read:[31]

United States, August 4th, 1790.

Gentlemen of the Senate:

In consequence of the general principles agreed to by the Senate in August, 1789, the adjustment of the terms of a treaty is far advanced between the United States and the Chiefs of the Creek Indians now in this city, in behalf of themselves and the whole Creek Nation.

In preparing the articles of this treaty, the present arrangements of the trade with the Creeks have caused much embarrassment. It seems to be well ascertained, that the trade is almost exclusively in the hands of a company of British merchants, who by agreement, make their importations of goods from England into the Spanish ports.

As the trade of the Indians is a main means of their political management, it is therefore obvious, that the United States cannot possess any security for the performance of treaties with the Creeks, while their trade is liable to be interrupted, or withheld, at the caprice of two foreign powers.

Hence it becomes an object of real importance to form new channels for the commerce of the Creeks through the United States. But this operation will require time, as the present arrangements cannot be suddenly broken without the greatest violation of faith and morals.

It therefore appears to be important to form a secret article of a treaty, similar to the one which accompanies this message.

If the Senate should require any further explanation, the Secretary of War will attend them for that purpose.

GEO. WASHINGTON.

The President of the United States puts the following question for the consideration and advice of the Senate: If it should be found essential to a treaty for the firm establishment of peace with the Creek nation of Indians, that an article to the following effect should be inserted therein, will such an article be proper? viz:

SECRET ARTICLE.

The commerce necessary for the Creek nation shall be carried on through the ports, and by the citizens of the United States, if substantial and effectual arrangements shall be made for that purpose by the United States, on or before the 1st day of August, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two. In the mean time, the said commerce may be carried on through its present channels, and according to its present regulations.

And whereas, the trade of the said Creek nation is now carried wholly, or principally, through the territories of Spain, and obstructions thereto, may happen by war or prohibitions of the Spanish Government: it is therefore agreed between the said parties, that in the event of such obstructions happening, it shall be lawful for such persons as —— —— shall designate, to introduce into, and transport through the territories of the United States to the country of the said Creek nation, any quantity of goods, wares, and merchandise, not exceeding in value, in any one year, sixty thousand dollars, and that free from any duties or impositions whatsoever, but subject to such regulations for guarding against abuse, as the United States shall judge necessary; which privilege shall continue as long as such obstruction shall continue.

GEO. WASHINGTON.

United States, August 4th, 1790.

The Senate proceeded to consider the message from the President of the United States of this day; whereupon,

Resolved, That the Senate do advise and consent to the execution of the secret article referred to in the message, and that the blank in said article be filled with the words "President of the United States."

Wednesday, August 11.

The Senate then entered on Executive business; and the following message was received and read, from the President of the United States:

United States, August 11, 1790.

Gentlemen of the Senate:

Although the treaty with the Creeks may be regarded as the main foundation of the future peace and prosperity of the south-western frontier of the United States, yet, in order fully to effect so desirable an object, the treaties which have been entered into with the other tribes in that quarter must be faithfully performed on our part.

During the last year, I laid before the Senate a particular statement of the case of the Cherokees. By a reference to that paper it will appear, that the United States formed a treaty with the Cherokees in November, 1785; that the said Cherokees thereby placed themselves under the protection of the United States, and had a boundary assigned them; that the white people settled on the frontiers had openly violated the said boundary, by intruding on the Indian lands; that the United States, in Congress assembled, did on the first day of September, 1788, issue their proclamation, forbidding all such unwarrantable intrusions, and enjoined all those who had settled upon the hunting grounds of the Cherokees to depart with their families and effects, without loss of time, as they would answer their disobedience to the injunctions and prohibitions expressed, at their peril.

But information has been received that, notwithstanding the said treaty and proclamation, upwards of five hundred families have settled on the Cherokee lands, exclusively of those settled between the fork of French Broad and Holstein Rivers, mentioned in the said treaty.

As the obstructions to a proper conduct on this matter have been removed since it was mentioned to the Senate, on the 22d of August, 1789, by the accession of North Carolina to the present Union, and the cessions of the land in question, I shall conceive myself bound to exert the powers intrusted to me by the constitution, in order to carry into faithful execution the treaty of Hopewell, unless it shall be thought proper to attempt to arrange a new boundary with the Cherokees, embracing the settlements, and compensating the Cherokees for the cessions they shall make on the occasion. On this point, therefore, I state the following questions, and request the advice of the Senate thereon:

1st. Is it the judgment of the Senate that overtures shall be made to the Cherokees to arrange a new boundary, so as to embrace the settlements made by the white people since the treaty of Hopewell, in November, 1785?

2d. If so, shall compensation, to the amount of —— dollars annually, or of —— dollars in gross, be made to the Cherokees for the land they shall relinquish, holding the occupiers of the land accountable to the United States for its value?

3d. Shall the United States stipulate solemnly to guarantee the new boundary which may be arranged?

GEO. WASHINGTON.

Agreed, by unanimous consent, to proceed to the consideration of this message. Whereupon,

Resolved, That the Senate do advise and consent that the President of the United States do, at his discretion, cause the treaty concluded at Hopewell with the Cherokee Indians, to be carried into execution, according to the terms thereof, or to enter into arrangements for such further cessions of territory, from the said Cherokee Indians, as the tranquillity and interest of the United States may require; provided the sum which may be stipulated to be paid to the Cherokee Indians do not exceed one thousand dollars annually; and provided, further, that no person who shall have taken possession of any lands within territory assigned to the said Cherokee Indians, by the said treaty of Hopewell, shall be confirmed in any such possessions, but by a compliance with such terms as Congress may hereafter prescribe.

Resolved, In case a new, or other boundary than that stipulated by the treaty of Hopewell, shall be concluded with the Cherokee Indians, that the Senate do advise and consent solemnly to guarantee the same.

Thursday, August 12.

A message from the House of Representatives informed the Senate, that the House of Representatives having finished the business before them are about to adjourn, agreeably to the vote of the two Houses of Congress on Tuesday night.

On motion,

Resolved, unanimously, That the thanks of the Senate be given to the corporation of the city of New York for the elegant and convenient accommodations provided for Congress, and that a copy of this resolve be enclosed in the following letter from the Vice President:

New York, August 12, 1790.

Sir: It is with great pleasure, that, in obedience to an order of the Senate of the United States, I have the honor to enclose their resolution of this date, which was unanimously agreed to; and, in behalf of the Senate, I request that you will be pleased to communicate the same to the corporation of the city, and, at the same time, signify to them, that it is the wish of the Senate that the corporation will permit such articles of furniture, &c. now in the City Hall, as have been provided by Congress, to remain for the use of that building.

I am, sir, your most obedient humble servant, JOHN ADAMS, Vice President of the United States, and President of the Senate.

To the Mayor of the city of New York.

The Senate then entered on Executive business, and proceeded to consider the message from the President of the United States, of the 7th of August, 1790, communicating a treaty entered into with the Chiefs of the Creek nation of Indians.

And, on the question to advise and consent to the ratification of the said treaty, made with the Creek nation, and referred to in the message of the President of the United States, of the 7th of August, 1790; the yeas and nays were required by one-fifth of the Senators present, and were:

Yeas.—Messrs. Carroll, Dalton, Ellsworth, Foster, Hawkins, Henry, Johnson, Johnston, Izard, King, Lee, Paterson, Read, Schuyler, and Stanton—15.

Nays.—Messrs. Butler, Few, Gunn, and Walker—4.

The Senate resuming their Legislative character,

Ordered, That the Secretary acquaint the House of Representatives that the Senate having finished the Legislative business before them, are about to adjourn, agreeably to the vote of both Houses of Congress of the 10th instant.

And the Vice President adjourned the Senate accordingly, to meet on the first Monday in December next.