The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-01-19 00:00:00

THE CONGRASX OP THR UNITED STATES.

'r'am the Atone Airverrisee, Dec. 11.1
Ent Mond.'} last, the tiny designated .by the Cestatitet iota foe the*
soutsal meeting of Congress, the two Houses assemblisl at the Ca.
pitol. In thc :senate. the Viee.President of the United States took.
the Ch sir At twelve o'clock, nod called the House to onler. Thirty.'
nine mentliers were present, live of whom were new members.
In the House of Reuesentatives, a hundred anti ninety-three
members answered when celled. They proceed's( to Mahn for
Speaker, and on the second ballot made choice of Mr. Taylor. Mr.
Taylor is known by experience to be a good preywmg otheee,
thoroughly conversant with Parliamentary usages and precedents,
prompt in his decibiozir, and expert in the despatch of baldness.
Ilia e...ttion being a:too:tined. he was conducted to the chair by
311 r. Nuatoo, and he hustle the following address :
o. Gentlemen—When I see around me so many Representatives
ribose .virtuee and !Jetta toltwo our enemy? ; whose services, et
home and abroad, in the cabinet and in the hell, in halls of legis.
Imior. am! judicial tribunal., have largely contributed to our national
prosperity. I am prnetratol with gratitude for the favourable opl.
mon which has recalled me to this distinguished station. Illy brief
experience has served rather to assure me that its duties are ardu.
our, than to create umlidenee in my ability to discharge them to
your satisfaction. Every saint. isowever, K which I ant capable,
shall he faithfully directed to merit your support.
" In the complex questions frequently presented to the Chair
for prompt decision, warring accuracy la scarcely attainable.
When mirtakes occur. toy test endeavours shall not be wanting
to correct them, and to repair whatever injury they may have occa.
shined.. . .

" With an anxious desire that your countenance and advice will
noe be withheld, and that the just expectations of your constituents
may be fuldlled, in our Legislative 'shouts, I enter upon the duties
of this important trust."
The klembers baring taken the oath of office,
On the motion of Mr. Lathrop, Matthew St. Clair Clarke, Esq.
former Clerk of the House, was appoinied Clerk for the present
Congress; John Oswald Dunn, Sergeant at Arms; Benjamin
Burch. door-keeper, and Overton Can, aistitsuat door-keeper.
Orders were passed continuing she rules of order adopted by the
last Congress, appointing twelve recinek as the stated hour of meet-
ing; directing the Clerk to furnish the Members with newspapers,
not to exceed in price that of three daily papers to each: appoint-
ing a Committee to join one appointed by the Senate, to spit on
the President end inform him that they were ready to receive any
communication be might have to make ; and then the House ad.
joerned.
On Tuesday. at a few minutes past twelve o'clock, the Alessage
from the President of the United States, printed in another part of
our paper, wee received in each House, by Mr. John Adams, jun.
the President's Private Secretary. It was accompanied by Reports
to the President by the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the
Navy, and the Postmaster-General, with other documenti. The
Message was read, and in each House ordered to be printed, with
the accompanying documents. The printing of so large a number
of copies of the !Besiege, as is usual, we should think quite a
superfluous labour, as some millions are printed in the news.
papers, and generally distributed in anticipation of those printed
for the use of the Members. In the ['flume the Message and docu-
ments were referred to a Committee of the whole House on the
state of the Union. In the Senate a resolution was offered for the
appnintmeat bf a standing Committee of Commerce, and one of
Manufactores„ instead of a Committee of Commerce and 31antsfac.
lures. Mr. Van Boren pee notice that he should un Tuesday
submit a resolution to amend the Constitution on the subject of
roads and canals.

PIGICTICE. OF THR INSULIT2I7 DEBTORS'
COURT:

Our intelligent correspondent, who signs himself " A
Practitioner," has addressed another letter to Its, suggest-
ing several improvements in the practice of attorneys in the
Insolvent Debtors' Court. lie begins by remarking, that
" unfortunately such is the general ',Nulty on this subject,
notwithstanding the number of applications for relief from
persons in the London prisons alone since 1820, al-
ready exceeding IS,OOO, exclusive of those from the country
gaols ; and such is the character of the practice of the
Court, with its attendant prejudices, that few Attorneys
can be found trilling either to point out its abuses or assist
the Commissioners in correcting them. That these
Learned Gentlemen wish to see their Court attended by
Attorneys of respectability, cannot be doubted. This is
the very spirit of their rules, and the subject of their
daily remarks. It only remains for them to enforce those
rules, and make such additional regulations as the astonish-
ing extent of this practice so plainly requires.
If this business were tltrowu open to the profession,
and the remarks I have already made attended, to, with
respect to the Commissioners requiring an entry in their
own office of the dates of admissions, certificates, and re-
admissions, with the place of transacting business, and an
entry of the clerk's name, &c. much pub'•ic good would be
the result, anti respectable Attorneys would not, as at pre-
sent is literally the fact, be ashamed to attend to this 'tart
of the profession, and agents would no longer be principals.
" If the Commissioners were also to require that the
Attorney himself receive his own retainer ; that no retainer
be signed till one clear day after the prisoner's commit-
ment; that an office copy of the detaining creditor's affi-
davit of debt, with an extract of the Sheriff's warrant
(besides the copy of prtecipe as in present use) be filed with
every schedule ; that in cases of arrests, removals, and
surrenders, transacted in person, the Commissioners re-
quire the attendance and explanation of those persons by
whom the business had been so far done ;—tlicy would do
more to stop the barefaced practices which are common at
Sergeant's Inn Coffee-house and the neighbourhood of the
London prisons, than any thing yet attempted by the Law
Society.

" It ere I to give my reasons for these alterations (the
very mention of which will excite no small alarm to those
concetned), I should be trespassing too much upon your
valuable columns. I shall therefore content myself for the
present with hinting at the propriety of Attorneys being
competent witnesses to attest a 1 consent papers, &c. and of
having the most extensive lieu for their taxed costs, and
particularly that an alphabetical list of their names and
address be affixed at the office of the Court, and in the
London prisons; observing that business would be greatly
expedited if an additional commission or two were granted
to some of the clerks in the public office for swearing affi-
davits—if the present office hours were better attended to
by the superior clerks—if the office were to open in the
evening at the same hours as the common-law offices—it'
orders were delivered out at any time within office
hours, instead of " not till after two o'clock," as at
present, and if all rules on motions were ready for de-
livery the day after that on which they were made, the
practice of the office in these respects, as it now is, being
attended with great inconvenience."

1110REArS STATE OF THE
BRITISH TRADE WIT!, INDIA AND CHINA,
rao)t IWO To 1025.

A View of the lowest and highest Prices of India and Bank Stock,,
the Three per Cents., and the Average Number of Bankrupts,
extracted from the curious and valuable Work of Mr. C. Moreau
on the East India Company 's Records, founded on Official
Documents, &e. &c.