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cQKGR £ $ $. r ._ nc HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES n< Or.DATJt OK .Tl*E RfPOfcT OF TH| COMMITTEE Of PRIVILECIi. cc F R IDA Y FEBRUARY 9. ( Continued Jrtm ytJienUy t GaxttU.) b] The queftioo on the refolutien as amend- w ed was abo«t to be put ; when w Mr. Gallatin said, he knew how late e< in the day it was, and therefore his remarks w (hould not be lohg; bat, as he cpnfidered v there was a point of view in which the sub- 01 jest had not bren placed, he wished to far a few words before thequeftion was taken. 'f Ob the faft itfelf, he had no remark to make; the evidence was direst, and all could draw their inferences from it. Nor did he £ e6nfider it very material, whether the iufult arose from provocation, or not, because he did not think that any provocation could juftify an indecency of that nature. But 0 it appeared to him that gentlemen who ex- P pressed so much sensibility on the occasion, j"* had confined themselves wholly to the inde cency committed within the walls of the bouse, without taking any notice of the na- 0 ture of the punishment proposed to be in- f Aided. It was on that part of the fubjeft, 11 and on that alone, he meant to make some f sbfervatioos. J® Our government, he said, was a govern ment by representation. The people of (he n United States had not vested power with a ll fparinghand ; they had given all out e of their handfc, but they had guarded against d nbufe of it. T ev had said, this pow er (hall not be exerciftd but by persons ap- F painted by ourselves. This being the cafe, '' said Mr. G. we, the representatives of the J pct.ple, have only a limited power over in dividual representatives in our tody. It is true, the Constitution has given us thepow- 1 er of expulsion, but under as much caut'wn 1 as power could be given. It is guarded by making it «eceffary to have a vote of two thirds of the members present—the frme caution which was laid upon the Senate with 1 refpeft to treaties. He conceived that the power of expulsion had not been given for tile piirpofe of indalging our sensibility ; for the purpose of impairing the principle of representation, but for the purpose of enforc ing that principle ; and two cases might ex ist in which the power of expulsion lodged j in that house might be considered as a fafe guard to the principle of representation. — These two cases were, when the house dif (rovered a person to be difqualified by Come infamous conduct from voting, and when a member pertinaciously interrupted and pre vented public business from being carried on. As to t>_" firft cafe, he could not suppose that any man would ever be sent to that hotife, who had heen guilty of any crime J that would difqualify him from holding Iws feat, if the people who sent him knew it at the time; but if any such crime (hould be afterwards committed, or be discovered to have been heretofore committed, then the house has a right to expel and fesd such a member back to his conftituepts. The pre sent cafe, every oae will allow,does not come within this rule. The charge against the member from Vermont, is a grots indecen cy, which (hews the want of good manners —;> want of good breeding. There could be no doubt the aft washighly indecent; but it did not (hew a corruption of heart. It may diftjuaUfy him from associating with fotn gentlemen on this floor; btft fait' Mr. G- we do not come here to associate as indi viduals, but to deliberate upon legislative ful jests in our representative capacity. We may, if we plcafe, associate together, ov wo may let it alone. He did net think himielf compelled to associate with any member of this house whose. society he did not iike This wasnot then one of thofecafes which dTfcoveted a cor. option of heart, that would #ifqualify a n*n from giving a vote on a le giluive fubiert, though it might (hew the per n'tc bf (qualified for polite society. He would goo* to the other cafe, which was ;ki to be a good reason for expulsion. He allowed that cases might exist, in which a man might so far pertift in interrupting the public business of that house, by his disor derly behavior, as to render it necessary, in I order that the business might proceed, that he ftiould be expelled. This led him to en quire whether this was the cafe under con federation, and whtther the house had been interrupted by the aft in question. When Be put qiieftions to the witnesses in relation to the order of the house, at the time the aft complained of took place, he did it not with a view of lessening the of fenceitfclf. He did not mean to enquire •whether the member from Vermont had com mitted a left degree of indecency, bccaufe the house was in one situation than it would have been if it had been in another ; but his objeft was to (hew, that the public bu siness bad not been interrupted, and that the house was in a situation in which it could not have been interrupted. It was true the speaker had, in the morning, taken the chair, and the house had not adjourned ; but it must also be allowed, that the house was not at that time organired. What was the kufinefs before the house ? A commit tee of two members were counting the votes for managers of an impeachment. Were they interrupted ; or could they be inter rupted by an incident of this kind ? He was sure they were sot interrupted. If then the public business was not interrupted, and if the faft was rtot of that nature which (hewed a corruption of heart, he did not think it would be proper to expel the mem ber from Vermont. He saw, indeed, that it was unpleafaat for some gentlemen to fit in the house with the member from Vermont. He allowed it was an evil; but what is the evil, he as ked, on the other fide ? It is this—They all knew that a new eleftion could not take place in the state of Vermont for several w««ks. H« remembered, fi«ra the con- tested eleftion which wts formerly before th the house from that state, that twelve days f;c notice is requisite before writs can be issued; pi a certain time would be required to bring be the votes to the governor ; the necessary m< notice, a new eleftion, afcertiining thjtre- th turn, the notification to the member cleft- of ed, ind the time necessary for his journey an hither, would take up many weeks ; and th by the laws of that state, if there be not a fr. majority in the firft vote, a new eleftion ar will be necessary ; so that it may be pretty to certainly said, that if the present member hi was expelled, one half of the state of Ver- A mont would be deprived of a representation to on that floor for the remainder of the feflion. th And (hall we, said Mr. G. in order to grat- re ify our fenfibijities, deptive one half of that a[ state, for a number of weeks, and perhaps w for the whole feflion, of its representation ? b< He was not willing to do so, and therefore b< (hould vote against the resolution. ft He knew that other gentlemen on that floor had as great regard for the principle m of representation as he ; therefore, he sup- j 1" posed, they had considered this fubjeft al- ei ready, and made up their minds upon it. ' w When he darted these re'afons he did not 'cl doubt they had had weight upon the minds I t; of other gentlemen. For his part, how- jI s ever, he was more apprehensive of depriv- tl ing Vet mont of its representation, than of c any ether consideration arising from the sub- t< jest. J He thought genetlemen had laid too w much ftreft 011 this indecency, as it affefted tl the legislature of the United States. How- « ever difa'greeable the aft was in itfelf, he si did not think becaufa a member sent th«re ft by the people of Vermont does an impro- h per aft, that it could attach difgraee and b indelible infamy to the house itfelf, nor did si he fee how it could affeft any other person besides the member from Vermont himfelf. c Two members ,rising, though the quest tion was loudly called for, the committee li rose, by a small majority, and had leave to v fit again, j' < Y MONDAY —FEBRUARY J2. c The House having resolved itfelf info a Ceieimittee * > of the Whole, on the Report of the Committee a of Privileges, IVr. D»nt in the Chair, 1 Mr. Rut-ledge denied that any similar" c outrage had ever been committed in that r house like the present, though the gentle- t man from Virginia had spoken of something a analagous. It was true a challenge had t been sent by a raember of the Senate to a e member of that house ; but this was not at c all comparable to the present offence. Mr. I R. thought the punishment by expulsion, t was the only punishment which could be a- ! dopted, bs nothing ftiort of it would be ef- I fectUal. 1 Mr. Findley said, the question before t the committee was a qweftion of indecency, j and not of crime ; and he wifned, for the 1 fake of decency, so much had not been said 1 upon it. In forming the Constitution there ' had been a diftinftion made betwixt punish ment and expulsion. Expulsion was evi- j dently the highest punifiiment which the ' house could infiift, but 110 one could fay in- 1 decency was the highest crime. He never ] understood, either at the time the Conftitu- j tion was formed, or since, that expulsion 1 u<3 intended to be applied to any thing but 1 crimes—for what would be a fubjeft of im- 1 peachment ih other bodies, where impeach ments '"could be brought. This was not, therefore, an opinion formed upon the spur 1 of the occasion. Mr. F. said, he knew, of 1 an inllance of this kind which happened in another legislative body, upon which a com mittee was appointed to consider it, but they never made report, but h«ld their de cision in terrirem over the offending member. He thoTTght, if a similar course had been ta ken in this matter, it would have been pre ferable t« spending so much time in debate upon it. Mr. Sewall rose to reply to what fell from Mr. Gallatin en Friday, with refpeft to the two cases which he pointed out, as coming under the rule sot expulsion, and referred to the law of Parliament in Eng land, to (hew that his doftrine was ill found ed. He said uo diftrift »f country ought to have it in its power to fend a man amongst them as a legislator for the United States, who (hould be hateful to two thirds of the house. The Constitution had defined no particular cases in which the power of ex pulsion (hould be exercised ; the house was therefore left at liberty to use it according to its (Jifcretioß: Atd if it were to be a bused, instead of punishment it might be come the higheji honour to the perfo* expel led, as if the house were become so corrupt tis to expel a person without just cause, it knight people to a sense of the necessity of changing ihei£ reprefentat'mei.— Mr. S. said, it was a new doftrine that the business of the house (hould aftually be in terrupted, before a person (hould be deemed an offender against its rules. It was neces sary to look at the consequence of aftions, j and referred to what might have been the cafe if Mr. Grifwold had resented the af \ front upon the spot. Mr. S. spoke of the importance of this decision as a precedent; [ and of the danger to be apprehended from theconduftof Mr. Lyon in future, if the present outrage was fuffered to pass with s out exemplary punishment, and that it would be necessary to come armed to the 'house in order to guard themselves against t him. Mr. fpake again upon this sub- I jest. If the Imember from Vermont, was not expelled, he fuppefed it would break t up the present feflion, without d«ing any butiaefs ; that it would divide the ftatcs a gaiaft each other, aod finally end ia a civil |t war. Mr. Pinckniy said, in order to insure j perfeft freedom of debate, it was necessary j- to repress every perfenal violence in the firft instance. In conlidering this question hp confidered it as fixing a rule for their go aj vernment in future, and he thought if it were so considered, (ar.d no reference had to the dil'pute which had produced the discus- ft ; (ion) there would be a pretty unanimous ob ; pinion that an offence of this kind ought to , ; be punilhed by expulsion. He thought a a ■ member thus violently offending the rules of t! the house, should. be immediately deprived h ■ of the p»werof.the people in that house, r and it was on this ground that he moved for v I the immediate commitment of the member t i from Vermont to the care of the sergeant at h i arms, when the offence was firlt made known t r to the honfe, not anly for the feeurity of g r his perfen, bui for immediate punilhment. t - As the con£h't»tion gave the house a power i i to expel a member for disorderly coiiduft he 1 . thought this cafe came clearly within the t - rule. In some cases of offence, there might f t appear mitigating circumstances, but there c s was none in this. The conduct of the mem- t ?! ber fincc the tranfaftion was committed had o e been such as to convince the house that he 1 felt no compunftion for what he had done. I 'J t Mr. Livingston rose to intreat gentle- • c e men, its they valued the refpeftability of the 1 i- ! House, the good opinion of their conftitu- : ' I- ■ ents, and the public Treasury, that they f | would fuffer this bufmefs to come to a eon- i r i clnfion. Their cosftituents, he was cer-• c s ! tain, had long been tired of the difcuflion. ' •- i Nearly 20 days, which had cost as many i | thousand dollars to the country, had been I if | consumed in this bufmefs. Gentlemen rose ' i. to express their abhorrence of abuse, in abu- ' Jive terms, and their hatred of isdecent adts 1 0 with indecency. The simple question before ■ ! d the house was, what degree of punifhmeni ' r. was proper to be inflifted upon the member ' e from Vermont. [The Chairman informed e Mr. L. he was mistaken in faying 20 day* >- had been confnmed in this bufmefs; it had 1 d been before t!»e house only fourteen.] Mr. L. ' d {aid it was in a fair way for being twenty. 1 n Mr. Co it was sorry to hurt the feelings of the gentleman latt up, by faying any ' f. thing on this fiibjeft, but having been con- 1 re fidered as as advocate of Mr. Lyon, he 1 .0 would makea few observations upon the sub- 1 jest. He did not himfelf think that this 1 vote ought to have been taken without dif- 1 cuflion. If, indeed, it had been necessary to have enquired how does this man gener 8e ally vote, then no difcuflion wa* necessary; but he could not corifider that this was the ir' only enquiry necessary to be made. With it refpeft to the faft, nothing need be said, e- every one allowed it to be brutal, indecent g and unmannerly. The constitution gave id the house the power of expulsion for diford a erly coudu&. It had been said, this difor at der must be committed within the house; but r. he found nothing of this iort in the confti -11, tution. He had 110 doubt himfelf that the a- House was in ftflion at the time. It had f- been attempted to {hew that there was a pro vocation for the offence; but an enquiry in re to this matter turned wholly agaiuft the y, gentleman from Vermont, as his previous a le bufe of the whole representation of Connec id ticut was a fuffieient ground for the retort re which was drawn fiom his colleague. It h- appeared, therefore, to him, that te retain n- amongst them a man of this description, be was to retain a man who would produce no n- thing but disorder and confufion in their er proceedings. Hisletter of apology did not u- fay that this was a tranfaftion of heat, and jn that he was sorry for it, but that he was for- Jt ry the hsufe had thought it necessary to n- take cognizance of it; and his defence be ll- fore the committee of the whole, was far 't, from being contrite; it was, indeed, an at ur tack upon the wrtneffes, in order to invali. of date their testimony. He hoped the refol in ution would be agreed to. n- Mr. R. Williams rose and took notice ut of the different arguments urged in favour of e- the amendment. He denied that the corn er. mittee ought to consider the confequencea to a- which an aft might possibly lead; if so, an *e- assault would, of course, be punilhed equally .te with murder, as it might poflibly lead to it. He did not think the house ought to inter ell fere any further, than to prefcrve order and ft decorum in its proceedings If a member as of the house committed a crime, he was an nd fwerable to the law* equally with any other g- mas. Upon the whple, he conidered the 'd- proposed punilhment as disproportionate to ht the offence, and should, therefore move an sft amendment. [He then moved the amend es, ment stated in yesterday's minute, confining he the punishment to a reprimand by the Spea n° ker in the face of the house.] ■x- Mr. Dayton (the Speaker) said the ■as length of the present debate had been com ng plained of; but who, he asked, had firft *" broke silence after the gentleman from Maf 3C" fachufetts (Mr. Thatcher) had expressed el- his wi(h that the vote might be taken with ■P 1 but debate? It was the gentleman just fat down; and now he had given the committee he another .speech, and introduced a proposi tion.calculated to produce further difcuflion. : ' le He wishes the gentleman from Vermont to in- he reprimanded by the Speaker. What led could the Speaker fay to him? He could ef- only fay, " Tou have done an aS -which would ns » difgracc a blackguard, time and take your feat the m the house ; you have in fulled us with words *f" which Jbcw your defiance of us, but come and ft with ut, and be our brother Legislator." >t; Were these proper words to be addressed om to the member ?The Speaker would sooner the addrefi him in words of Thunder which th- {hould drive him from his presence. Mr. D. ; then took notice of what fell from the gen tle tleman from New-York with refpeft to the inft lengthsf the present debate, which bethought fully juflified by the importance of the fnb "h- jest, and concluded by faying, that if there (hould be found a majority in this house «k i n favour of the amendment, he should be any ashamed of having « feat in it. I '■ Mr. Nicholas hoped the committee ;ivil would not be prevented from doing what it thought propor, because there > might be a u re difference betwixt the private •pinion «fthe fiiry Speaker, and what he might be called upon firft to do in his capacity as Speaker, hf Mr. R. Williams denied that he was go- the-firft wh« began the debate, if it Mr. Dayton repeated that he was the >d to firft whe brtke fileuce after the gtotlcman fr«m Massachusetts had wiflicd the vote to r - be taken without debate. , ; Mr. R. Willimas said, that it would f; 1 appiar from the manner in which the gen- ii f tleman had said he broke the silence, that he d 1 had begun the debate, which he did not. c , Mr. W. said he was now more Ilrongly con- \ r vinced than ever of the impropriety of ex ii r tending the power of expulsion, since hehad L t heard the paflionate expreflions of the gen- ii 1 tleman from Ncw-Jerfy. Was this the lan, 'y f f£ ua K e a J ut^£e •* wou onl y P a f 3 t . the law upon the offender, but he would da t r it with thunder and v .-f:gean«e. In his opin- \ e ion, Mr. W. said, eothing would tend more 1 e to difgracc the councils of America than t such heated language as this. It was fuffi e cient to induce the People to fay," we have 1- too much liberty—too much freedom of fpeech— d our government is bad," and to be ready to \ c lay hold of any other that is offered to them j { !-A sentiment of this kind tended .more to . c . destroy the government than any thing he f ,e had heard. Gentlemen talk of heat in de- j < i- bate ; but where did it come from ? Not 1 y ' from the gentlemen in opinion with him, 1 1- ; must be evident to every one. Whatever j r. i opinion might beheld of his amendment, < 1. he thought it proper, and therefore made j y it ; nor did he think it l-.beral in any man ; 1 n to treat it as it had been treated. Was it I fe right to be told by a member, because he | 1 t . moved an amendment like the prefeut, that; 1 ts he {hould be ashamed to fit with him ? Was j e ■ this what the public expedled to hear in its I il legislative councils ? He believed not. He :r thought it would d» no credit to him who d uttered the sentiment. r, Mr. Dayton said that the gentleman d 1 from N. Carolina had mis-stated what he j. had said in several instances ; but he did not think it worth while to fct him right—it s would be a wafte'of time and words. There y was one thing he would notice, he called him a Judge. *Was he n®t in committee of ie the whole on this fußjtift ? Was he more 3. a judge than that gentleman ? [Mr. W is offered to explain]. Mr. D. said the gen s- tleman had already four times explained him •y felf. If he had any thing more to fay to that r- gentleman, it would be a little more poin r; ted. He should fay what he pleased, and if ,e he chose he might call upon him in the house :h or out of the house. a fide) \_A J, loud cry far order welt heard. ] Mr. D. said at he knew when he was in order, ire The Chairman declared such language | d- improper. r- Mr. D. concluded by juftifying what he ut had said as to the impropriety of theSpeak :i- er'sreprimanding the piember from Vermont, ie as the language of a majority he wa* afiured ad would dirett him thus to speak, and he could o- not be expected to use the fentim«nts of a n- minority in his reprimand. He had stated he the matter in a strong light, to {hew the ira a- propriety of the measure ; and he meant to c- appeal to the breast of every honorable gen rt tleman whether the members of that house It wouldconfent to fit in amity withfuch a man. in Mr. Goodrich thought to have given n, afilent vote on this fdbjeft ;but when a pro -- position likethe present was brought forward tir he could not refrain from delivering his fen ot timents upon it. Mr. G. complained of id the slanderous manner in which he and his >r- colleagues had been treated by the gentle to man from Vermont. Every one allowed >e- some punishment was proper for the offene- Far es of this member; they differed only as to it- the proportion. For his part, he thought ili. nothing short of expulsion would be fufßci -0- ent; for it was evident from his conduft, that a reprimand would not be confider«d by Ice him a3 any punishment at all. He knew of not how to account for the strange manner m- in whieh he had conduced himfelf since he to committed theinfult upon his colleague; ex an cept, indeed he was persuaded, that d* what lly he will, it was not in the power of the house it. to expel him; that his friends would sup er- port him. If this were his opinion, he hop nd ed he would find himfelf miftake®. jer Mr. Harper was strongly opposed to in- the amendment. He was sorry to fee gen »er tlemen.determined to support the msmber :he from Vermont, at all events, rather than to lose a vote «n favorite political queftiens.— an The reprimand proposed, he was confident id- would have no effe& upon him; betides it ng was a puniftiment of the lightest kind which ea- the house could inflift, and by no means pro portioned to the highest poflible outrage. — :he He corresponded in sentiment with the gen m- tleman from New-Jersey with refpeft to irft this amendment, and if it were approved ; a f- by a majority, he (hould feel ajhamed and fed degraded at belonging to that house. If this th- were the safe, every man who had any re fat gard for his charafter, would make his e tee scape from the polluted habitation, as such a afi- vote would jittach dfgrace and infamy to the an. house, because it was an old and true adage, to "He who does not repel vile aßs, participates hat it the infamy. uld- Mr. Sitgriavss said, if this amend uld ment prevailed(and he trusted it would not) feat it could only be upon one of two confidera rds tions ; both of which had been ftiggefted 2nd in the course of the debate, viz. the sup ' posed want of power in the house to expel Ted a member for an offence of this kind, or that ner the punishment is not proper for the offence, ich Mr. S. went into a variety of arguments D. to prove that both these objeftions were ill en- founded, examined the different theories the which had been laid down ai applicable to g ht the power of expulsion given by the confti nb- tution, endeavoured toprove that the offence lere under consideration was of the highest mag. mfe nitude, and that, therefore, it ought to be be punished with the highest punishment which the house has the power of inflifting, which :tee is expulsion. A mere reprimand, he said, it it was by no means, a proper punishment, it be a was applied to offences of the lowed kind the merely. Theft being his views of the fub po» jest, he should vote agaiuft the amendment and if it were to prevail, he {hould vote a was g3inft the resolution itfelf ; for, so far from such a measure securing them from future the injuries, it would only encourage them; nan He would, therefore, have nothing to do with it, Gut leave every gentleman to pro test his own honor. It will tVju br neces sary for them, not only to bring learning and information to Congress, but also a fufiicient degree of flrength and courage, or if defici cient in strength, arms for their defence: With refpeft to ihe length of this difciiflion it was wholly owing to that part of the hoiife who declined to aft upon the business immediately, but who chose to hav« the fub jeft referred to a committee, and afterwards to have the evidence before a committee of the whole, and not to those who have al ways been ready to adopt the mod prompt measures. (Debate to be continued.) TUESDAY FEBRUARY 13. Mr. Otis from the committte to whom was referred that part of the Present's speech which has relation to foreign Consul* | direfted him to aflc leave »to be discharged ! from the consideration of that business, in order that it might be referred to the com : raittee of the whole to whom has beeri refer | red the bill providing for the expences o( ! government for the year 1798,, as an item ! cauld be introduced into that bill without ■ going through the formalities of a bill for ; the purpose. This motion was opposed by McfT. Gal -1 latin and Nicholas, as they were not certain ' that the expences alluded to were auttiori fed by law ; and if they were not, it would be proper to authorise the expences, be fore they appropriated money to pay them. The motion was put and negatived, 37 to 33- The meflage yesterday received from the Prefideiit of the United States was read as follows : " Gentlemen of the Senate unci Gentlemen of the house of representatives, " In obedience to the /aw, I now present It both houfts of congress, my "annuOi account of expenditure frem the contingent fund, during the year 1797, by which it appears, that on th e firfl of January lajl, there remained in the TreaJ'ury a balance of 15,494 dollars and 24 cents, fubjefi to fuiure dfpofilions of govern ment. JOHN ADAMS." " United States, Feb. 12, 1798." It was ordered to be printed. A meflage received from the senate, informing the house, tint they had pafleda bill for the sale of lands in the North-wes tern territory ; and that they had also pas sed the bill for the relief of the refugees from Canada and Nova-Scotia, with amend ments. Mr. Harper, from the committee of ways and means, made a report in favor of ereft ing a light-house in the harbor of George town (S. C.) the Nieeeffary cefFion of the foil having been made to the United States. Referred to the committee of the whole to \yhom has been referred the bill making ap propriations for the support of government for the year 1798 ; which bill afterwards coming under consideration, an item was introduced into it, providing for this ex pence. *' Mr. Coit reported a bill in addition to an aft for promoting the progress of the ufeful arts, which was committed for mon day next. The speaker laid before the house a letter which had been received by the Clerk f.-om thje legislature of Virgieia, inclofingan au thorised copy of their agreement to the a mendment proposed to the conftitutiop ref pefting the suability of states. Ordered to lie on the table. Mr. Livingllon, from the committee of ■ commerce and manufaftures, reported a bill for erefting a light-house on Eaton's Neek, and for placing buoy 6 in the several places ; therein mentioned. Committed for Monday. The fame gentleman also made a report . on the petition of Sylyanus Crowell, mana ging owner of three schooners employed in the cod fifhery in the year 1796, but a fire 1 having destroyed the agreements between ■ the owner, matters and crews, he was pre • vented from receiving the bounty allowed 1 by law. The committee finding there was at lead prima facia evidenee of the faft, re port favorably and recommend a bill for his : relief, which report was concurred in by the 1 house. Mr. Otis presented a petitiodMrom Moses Gill, praying paylnent of the principal aad interest of 840* dollars laid out in fix per 1 cent. Loan-Office Certificates iffhed by the I state of Georgia during the war. Also the 1 petition of Elias Strong, praying to have s remitted certain duties on fait destroyed by fire at Boston. The former was referred to the committee ef the whole to whom has t bee* referred the report on the expediency : of excepting certain claims from the op«raf , tion of the limitation afts ; the latter to r the committee of commerce and manufac tures. Mr. D. Foster, from the committee tf ) claims, made an unfavorable report on .the - petition of John Jarvis, a soldier in the late 1 war, who prayed for compensation for da - mages done to his property, which was coiir 1 curred inby the house. t The Speaker said the business firft in or . der was the unfinished business of (he bill s providing for our istercourfe with foreign !1 nations. s Mr. Gallatin moved to postpone the u»- 3 finifhed business, for the purpose of taking - vp the bill making appropriations for the e support of government for the year 1798, •- as government was at present drawiag me e ney by way of anticipation. There h also a report of the committee of claims, h or the fubjeft of excepting certain claims I, fiom the operation of the limitation afts, t which he thought it would be well soon to d aft upon, as tie delay of it, might induce i- fpeculationj, whkh it would be better to t prevent. l- After some few objeftions to a poftpone n ment of the unfinilhed bufinefi, it was, at e length, agreed to postpone it for the pur - pole of taking op the appropriation bill. o The house aceordingly resolved itfelf iito