The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1810-04-03

from tie Preside i of the United States Was
read:
70 The House IF Rearestntaiivss orthe U.
States.
In consequences Of your resolution Of the
Goth instant, enquiry has been made in.
20 the correspondence of our minister at
the ccur, OF l.o don with the department of
state, from which it appears, that, no oincial
communication Eas been received from him
since his receipt OF the letter of November
esd last. from the Secretary of State. A
letter or January 4,h, 1910. has been re.
ceived From that minister by Mr.. Smith,
but being stated 20 be private and unofficial,
and involving moreover personal consider
ations OF q delicate nature, n copy is con
sidered as not within the perview OF the
call of the House.
JAMES MADISON.
March 81, 1910
The message WAS ordered to be printed
Mr.. Hufty reported Il bill 20 alter the
time of holding the district court Of the u
States for the d.strc, of n. Jcrsey-Twice
read and committed
FIRST MERIDIAN FOR THE UNITED
STATES.
MIR. Pnkin, from the committee to whom
was committed the memorial OF William
Lambert. made a report concluding with
the following resolution:
Resoivca, That it is expetlient 10 make
provision, by law, authorising the President
ut the United States to cause the longitude
o! the City of Washington. from, the obscr-
vatory at Greenwich, in England, to be as
certained with the greatest degree of accu.
racy, and also authorising him. for that
purpose, 10 procure The necessary astrono-
miCal Instruments.
2. Mr.. p. said. it would be observed. that
tae object OF the committee was to have a
first meridian established fer the United
States, from which. computations of longi
iudc might he generally made. that maps,
charts and nautical tables might not, as here
toforc, be calculated from the observatory
at Greenwich. Or FROM the varying points
OF Philadelphia. n. York, Washington or
Charleston. Mr.. p. dilated upou the adj
ransascs of such measure. Congress would
INK upon the place most proper for a first
meridlan and. perhaps, as Washington
was tie seat OF government, it would be as
proper a'p'ace AS any. As the longitude
must be taken very exactly, various instru
ments would be necessary for. the purpose
OF making astronomical observations. AS
he was DESTROYS that bill should pass on
the subjectat this session, he did not move
a.referencc of the report to committee of
the whole, but moved that it lie on the ia
bic, to giee gentlemen time to consider it
before he asked a decision on it.
The report was accordingly ordered to lie
on the table.
GUN BOATS.
MIR. Yen Dyke said, it would be reeoi
iected, that at the first session OF the tenth
Congress a law had been passed, authorizing
the purchase or employment of number OF
gun boats, for which purpose a sum ofup
wards oil soc, 600 dollars had been appropriat-
ed. 1t appeared, from report of the Sec'ry.
,tt tlne
OF keeping them in ordinary was 81 600 dol
lars. In another report from he Secretary
OF the navy, made to a committee Of the Sc
nate, 1t appeared that a number of those
gun boats had been built OF green materials,
ard II suffered to remain in service for year.
would scarcely be worth the e5.pence of
repairing them. Those facts having been
ascertained. an attempt was made (unsuc
cessfuily) at the last session, to enquire whe
ther 1T would not be prudent to authorize
the President to sell the gun boats or a part
OF them. Mr. Van Dyke said, it was now
about the close OF the session, and for any
thing he had yet ascerisined, he was not in
duced to suppose, that the whols mum.
Der OF the gun boats would be necessary in
any event If peace was to result, they
woud be uRquestionably unnecessary ; il war
and the opinion OF the Secretary Of the navy
was to be confded in, in all probability a
number OF them would be found unfit to be
employed in the public service. In every
view OF the subject, Mr.. Van Dyke said, it
appeared proper to him, that an enquiry
should be made. lie moved the following
resolution, which he said, he presumed
would not be objected to by any gentleman
in the House.
A." ResotUed, That the committee on our
naval establishment be instructed to enquire
into the expedieucy of authorising the Pre-.
sident OF the UAted States To sell such OF the
gun boats belonging to the United States as
he may judge unfit or unnecessary to be en-
pIoyed in the public service"
Mr.. Macon thought this very good mo
ton as far as it went; but, in order to bring
the whole subject of the naval force before
the House, moved to amend the motion so as
also TO include" frigates and other vessels
OF war;" He thought that the more of them
were sold the better
Mr.. Bossct expressed his satisfaction
that at length proposition had been pre- :
sented to the House on the subject of the ma
Wy OF such nature as to induce them to con-
slider 1t for he had been unable to prevail
upon tbern TO take up the report of that com
mlttee. 1t was a duty he owed to the COM
mittee TO state what attention they had paid
to the subject. proposition for selling such
OF the gun boats as were Unnecessary had at an
early day been before the committee. Ithad
been postponed, however, because it had been
deemed proper to see what would be the
probable state of things at the adjournment of
LIZ. -. 4