Mr. Boutwell, from the Committee on the Judiciary, (the rules having been suspended for that purpose,) reported a bill (H. R. 1667) to secure equal privileges and immunities to citizens of the United States, and enforce the provisions of article fourteen of the amendments to the Constitution; which was read a first and second time, ordered to be printed, and recommitted to the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. Boutwell moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill was recommitted; which motion was passed over for the present. Mr. Boutwell, also from the Committee on the Judiciary, (the rules having been suspended for that purpose,) reported a joint resolution (H. Res. 402) proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States; which was read a first and second time, ordered to be printed, and recommitted to the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. Boutwell moved that the vote recommitting the said joint resolution be reconsidered; which motion was passed over for the present. On motion of Mr. Julian, (the rules having been suspended for that purpose,) the following preamble and resolution was introduced, considered, and agreed to: Whereas Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Cottin, of the United States army, a sub-assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau for the State of Kentucky, in his report for November last, makes the following statement: "It may seem strange to many that in parts of Kentucky slavery exists as unquestionably as before the proclamation of the amendment to the Constitution abolishing it. In the counties of Owen, Trimble, and Carroll, and several other counties of my district, negroes are kept in a state of vassalage tantamount to the old system of slavery. In these counties negroes are not permitted to live in homes or houses of their own; are not permitted to live apart from the white owners of the soil, but are compelled to leave the country or occupy the out-houses or sheds, as in days of slavery;" And whereas many of these persons are children ignorant of their rights and unable to defend them, and many others are too poor to employ counsel and meet the expenses of litigating their rights in the federal courts, and hundreds of miles distant: Therefore, Resolved, That the Judiciary Committee be instructed to inquire into the expediency of providing by law for the appointment, by competent authority, of United States commissioners, in convenient and suitable localities, with power to issue writs of habeas corpus, to hear and determine applications and causes involving such illegal slaveholding, and that said committee report by bill or otherwise. Mr. Julian moved that the vote by which the preamble and resolution was agreed to be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. Mr. E. B. Washburne moved that the vote on Friday, 8th instant, by which the bill of the House (H. R. 1599) making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending June 30, 1870, was made a special order, be reconsidered; which motion was disagreed to. On motion of Mr. E. B. Washburne, Ordered, That when the Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union shall have under consideration the bill of the House H. R. 1599, all general debate thereon be closed in thirty minutes. The House then, on motion of Mr. E. B. Washburne, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union; and after some time spent therein the Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Blaine reported that the committee having had under consideration the special order, viz: the bill of the House (H. R. 1599) making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending June 30, 1870, had made sundry amendments thereto. Pending the question on agreeing to the amendments, Mr. E. B. Washburne moved to suspend the rules to permit him to submit certain other amendments. Pending which, On motion of Mr. Banks, at 4 o'clock and 20 minutes p. m., the House adjourned. TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1869. Another member appeared at the session of to-day, viz: The following memorials, petitions, and other papers, were laid upon the Clerk's table, under the rules: By Mr. Paine: The petition of Peter Stineback, praying for relief; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. By Mr. Fields: The petition of Maria Robbins, praying for a pension; Also, the petition of Laura Clark, praying for a pension; Also, the petition of Harriet M. Mills, praying for a pension. By Mr. Perham: The petition of Lemira N. Bellington, praying for a pension; Also, the petition of Nancy Tree, praying for a pension. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. By Mr. Kerr: The letters of Jeremiah Sullivan and T. A. Howard, relative to Senate bill No. 428; which were referred to the Committee of Claims. By Mr. Gravely: The petition of L. A. Sale, of Virginia, praying for the removal of disabilities. By the Speaker: The memorial of the Grant and Colfax Association of Richmond, Virginia, remonstrating against general amnesty. Ordered, That the said petition and memorial be referred to the Committee on Reconstruction. By Mr. Banks: The memorial of the Sun Mutual Insurance Company, of New York, praying that their claim upon the Chinese indemnity fund may be referred to the Attorney General for adjudication; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. By Mr. Churchill: The petition of William L. Trice, praying for the naturalization of the Canadian-built bark Mary Merritt. By Mr. Moore: Five petitions from masters and owners of vessels in the State of Massachusetts, with accompanying bills. Ordered, That the said pétitions be referred to the Committee on Com merce. By Mr. Shellabarger: The petition of Baker, Brown & Co., citizens of the State of Ohio, praying for the amendment of the 20th section of the revenue law of July, 1868. By Mr. Schenck: The petition of merchants and importers of the city of New York, praying relief from certain constructions of the Internal Revenue Bureau. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee of Ways and Means. By Mr. Moore: The petitions of ship-owners of Boston, Massachusetts, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, praying for protection; which were referred to the Committee on Commerce. By Mr. Kerr: The petition of Jonathan Elliott, praying compensation for services rendered; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. By Mr. Myers: The petition of Mary M. Cromwell, praying for a pension; which was referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions. By Mr. Koontz: The petition of John Tozeciak, praying compensation for horses lost; which was referred to the Committee of Claims. By Mr. Kerr: The memorial of S. S. Potter, praying for relief; Also, the petition of Scott and Braidley, praying compensation for rent of buildings at New Albany, Indiana. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. By Mr. The petition of citizens of Steuben county, New York, relative to bounty to drafted men; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs. By Mr. Reader W. Clark: The petition of Seth Linton and others, citizens of the State of Ohio, praying for a reform in the abuses practiced by those having in charge nunneries, convents, cloisters, jails, and asylums; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. By Mr. Morrell: The petition of James Ferguson and others, freedmen, praying compensation for services rendered in hospitals; which was referred to the Committee on Freedmen's Affairs. By Mr. Peters: The petition of Joseph Blake, praying for a pension; Also, the petition of Abigail Dix, praying for a pension. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to the Committee on Invalid Pensions; Also, the petition of E. B. Patten and others, citizens of the State of Maine, relative to the tax on tobacco; which was referred to the Committee of Ways and Means. Mr. B. F. Butler, by unanimous consent, introduced a bill (H. R. 1669) to authorize the issue of a national currency, to assure its stability and elasticity, lessen the interest on the public debt, and reduce the rate of interest; which was read a first and second time and referred to the Committee of Ways and Means. Mr. B. F. Butler moved that the vote by which the said bill was referred be reconsidered. After debate, Mr. E. B. Washburne moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which motion was agreed to. Mr. Holman, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported that they had this day presented to the President of the United States an enrolled bill and an enrolled resolution of the House, as follows: H. R. 1537. A bill to repeal certain provisions of section six of an act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the army for the year ending June 30, 1868, and for other purposes," approved March 2, 1867. H. Res. 388. A joint resolution explanatory of the act to create an additional land office in the State of Minnesota, approved July 25, 1868. A message in writing from the President of the United States, by the hands of Mr. Moore, his private secretary, was received and handed in at the Speaker's table. Also, a message notifying the House that he did, on the 8th instant, approve and sign the bill of the House (H. R. 1428) authorizing the admission in evidence of copies of certain papers, documents, and entries. Mr. Spalding, by unanimous consent, from the Committee on Appropriations, reported a joint resolution (H. Res. 404) providing for the disposition of certain papers relating to military claims accruing in the department of the west; which was read a first and second time. Ordered, That it be engrossed and read a third time. Being engrossed, it was accordingly read the third time and passed. Ordered, That the Clerk request the concurrence of the Senate in the said joint resolution. Mr. Dawes, by unanimous consent, submitted the following resolution; which was read, considered, and agreed to, viz: Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to communicate to this house a copy of the report made under the direction of the First Comptroller, First Auditor, and Register of the Treasury, in reference to the past and present condition of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the Treasury Department, with the accompanying doc uments. Mr. Dawes presented the credentials of J. S. Casement, claiming to have been elected a delegate from the Territory of Wyoming. After debate, On motion of Mr. E. B. Washburne, and under the operation of the previous question, Ordered, That such credentials be referred to the Committee of Elections. Mr. E. B. Washburne moved that the vote by which the credentials were referred be reconsidered, and also moved that the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; which latter motion was agreed to. A message from the Senate, by Mr. Hamlin, one of their clerks: Mr. Speaker: The Senate have passed a bill (S. 584) relating to the time for finding indictments in the courts of the United States in the late rebel States; in which I am directed to ask the concurrence of the House of Representatives. The President of the United States has notified the Senate that he did, on the 6th instant, approve and sign a bill of the Senate (S. 700) for the relief of Joseph Moorehead; and, on the 8th instant, a bill of the Senate (S. 738) to relieve from disabilities John G. Stokes, a citizen of Alabama. The Speaker, by unanimous consent, laid before the House the following two messages this day received from the President of the United States: To the House of Representatives: I transmit herewith, in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 16th of December last, a report from the Secretary of State of the 6th instant. WASHINGTON, January 7, 1869. The same having been read, ANDREW JOHNSON. Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Appropriations and be printed. To the Senate and House of Representatives: In conformity with the requirements of the sixth section of the act of the 22d of June, 1860, to carry into effect provisions of the treaty with China and certain other oriental nations, I transmit to Congress a copy of eight rules agreed upon between the Chinese imperial government and the minister of the United States and those of other foreign powers accredited to that government, for conducting the proceedings of the joint tribunal in cases of confiscation and fines for breaches of the revenue laws of that empire. These rules, which are accompanied by correspondence between our minister and Secretary of State on the subject, are commended to the consideration of Congress with a view to their approval. WASHINGTON, D. C., January 8, 1869. The same having been read, ANDREW JOHNSON. Ordered, That it be referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and be printed. The Speaker, by unanimous consent, laid before the House executive communications as follows, viz: I. From the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting a communication from the director of the mint, asking an additional appropriation for procuring and erecting machinery required at the branch mint at Carson City, Nevada, and also for salaries for clerks, &c.; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered to be printed. II. From the Secretary of War, transmitting an extract from the report of the Paymaster General of the army, relative to transferring certain funds appropriated for reconstruction purposes, from military districts having large balances to those having none; which was referred to the Committee on Reconstruction. III. From the Secretary of War, transmitting the petition of Wm. H. Richardson, adjutant general of Virginia, for removal of his political disabilities; which was referred to the Committee on Reconstruction. IV. From the Secretary of War, transmitting a communication from |