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By Authority. Lams of the United States, Passed at the first Session of the ticcnty sixth Congress. [Public?No. 9 ] AN ACT to revive an act authorizing certain soldiers in the late war to sur rentier the bounty lands drawn by them . and to locateothers in lieu thereof, and for other purposes. . . = Bt it enacted, by the Senate and House , of Representatives of, the United States of America in Congress assembled* That the act of the twenty-second of May, one thousand eight hundred and twe&ty'Six, entitled "An act authorising certain soU -4 5 diers in the late, war to surrender thebouniv ty lands 'drawn by them, and to locate others in lieu thereof," be, and the same , .... t is hereby, revived and continued in foroe for the ternvof five years; and the provisions of the above recited act shall be, arid are hereby, extended to those having like claims iu the States o( Illinois and Missouri. , R.M. T. 1I0NTER* Speaker of the House ,of Representatives. RH. M. JOHNSON, Vice President of the United States, and President of the Senate. Approved, May 27th, 1840. M. VAN BUREN. f Pi; b lic?No. 10.] AN ACT to extend for a longer period the several arts now in force for the relief of insolvent debtors, of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, Xhat the act entitled "An act for the Telief of certain insolvent debtors of the Uncled t States," passed on the second day of March, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, aud an act in addition, thereto, passed on the four?eenth day of July, pne thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, and an act to revise and amend the said, -acts, passed on the seventh day of June,' -one thousand eight hundred and thirtyfour, be, and the same are hereby, revised, extended and continued in force for three years from and after the passage of this net, and until the cases then pending shall' be determined for the. purpose of finally . disposing of such cases, but for no other ' purpose. ' Slc. 2. And'be it further enacted, Thai the provisions of the said several' acts shall apply to cases .of insolvency, which^ shall have occurred, on or before the .pas-. sage ot tnis act, or snaii occur uuruig rne said three years. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury shalj be -authorized to cause satisfaction to be en* tered of rccorifupon all/judgments against any debtor or debtors who may have heretofore been released under the provisions of any of the acts which areextended, continued and revised by Ibis act,"or who may hereafter be released by the said acts: provided, The district judge in the district ia which such judgments are on record, shall certify that it has not been made to appear to the satisfaction of the suid district judge, by evidence submitted to him by the District Attorney of the United Stales, that the debtor is j)ossrs's?d, of or entitled to any property which was not disclosed and set forth to the commissioners of insolvency at the time of the examination of such debt ?r, under his, her# or their petition, to be released from liis, her, or their indebtedness to the Untied States* Every application for such cer tificate shall be made to a judge at Chambers, and ten days', previous notice slialj be given to the. district attorney for ihe district wherein the said application made, togA'ther wiili copies of; aUlne p^ pera on which such application 6a, made. And so much of the said recited, acts, or either of jhem, as is inconsistent : ,* herewith, or is hereby altered or suppl^edjj be and the same hereby is Repealed. 1 cel. Approvkd, May 27th, 1840. j ' ? d .{ \ ?? r. ''' ' [FuBLIC?Noll];. % AN ACT authorizing ;Sippican and Mat;. ' " t.ipoisett, within the township of'Rochester, in the State of Massachusetts,' to be known hereafter as ports unddr . those names.. . , .. . " Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States:6f America in Congress assembled, That Sippicun and Mattapoisett, harbors within the township of Rochester, in the Stafeof Massachusetts,' be hereafter, respectively known as ports under those names within' the collection district of New Bedford: and that the respective inhabitants thereof he authorized to describe, as the law requires, their vessels as belonging tp the re1 Iiefoo/I n f !? n/thn^t AM b JI*iU II V u jliUV.C9 uiofcuiiu 1/1 m/vutovtl I Approved, May 27th, 1840. [Public?No. 12.] AN ACT supplemental to the act entitled "An act to grant pre-emption rights to settlers on the pul.lic lands," approved June twenty-second,, eighteen hundred < and thirty-eight. ' *" " ' lie it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United St-ate&'oj America in Congress assembled, That % all cases where a filler on the public 11 lands may reside, or have his dwelling l house upon one quarter section, and cul? > tivate land on another and different quar- 1 ter section, such settler may make his 1 selection under the act to which this is all supplement, to outer either of said quarter i section, or legal sub-divisions of eachr so I as not to exceed one quarter section in < all. i Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That in all cases where an individual may have made an improvement on the public land, i and had afterward leased or rented such, i improvement to another person, who was I in possession of the same on the twenty- < second of June, eighteen hundred and i l\?*?t?r_aink t anil iko norin/l a fnnp I t months next preceding, or when the lessor s tffld lessee,-together, occupied such im- i provement during said four months, the < person who made sucn improvement, and < ] #(> rented or leased the same, shall be j "entitled to the right of pre-emption, not- < 'Withstanding he may have been out of ? pMssession of his improvement during said 1 four months, or any part thereof , ?> Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That | ? every settler tin the public lands, which 5 : were not' surveyed at the passage of the ( /act to whith tnis is a supplement, and ( 'who, since the survey of such public lands j ' lias been ascertained to have resided .at the \ . date of said act, and lbr four months pre- ( ceding, on a sixteenth section, set apart | for the support'of schools in any town-. ' ship, shall be entitled to enter at the mi- ( nSmunr-priee any other quarter section of , the public lands lying in the same land f district, to which no other person hag the \ right of pre-emption, on making satisfac- , tory proof of his or her residence as afore- . said on such sixteenth section, before the < register and receiver of the land office of t said district. { Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That 1 every person who may have been a settler, | within the meaning of the act to which g this is a supplement, on any public land , before its selection by any State for the t purposes of a seminary of loarning, under s any act of Congress authorizing such selec- [ tion, on satisfactory proof of the facts "be- t fore ihe register and receiver of the dis- ( trict in which his improvements were s situated, shall be permitted to enter at the N minimum price, any other quarter section ( lying in the same land district, to which c 'ho other person has the right of pre-cmp- r tion, .. , Sec. 5. And be it f urther c-nacted, That 0 the ""Act to grant pre-emption rights to settlers on the public lands," approved ( June, twenty-second, eighteen hundred a and thirty jeig'bt,J>Q, ahd the same is hereJtiy, continued iq -fulJ force till the twenty- |, zerond day of June, eighteen hundred and forty-two; and the. right of pre-emption, c Under-its provisions, shall be, and hereby | .is, extended to. all settlers.011 the public n lands at the date of this act, with the same ( exceptions, whether-general, or special, D and subject to all the, limitations and con- n ditions coniainod in the above recited act, and with the explanatory provisions of the rj preceding, sections of this act, and noih- u ing in the last proviso of .the act of the. .jj twenly-gecond of June, eighteen hundred ,6 and thirty-eight, shall be so construed as j to defeat any right of pre-emption accru- p ing under said act, or wider this act, or 8 under any prceeding act of Congress, nor shall 6aid pre-emption claims :be defeated 0 by any contingent Choctaw location. f( .....Approved, June 1st, 1840. p "7 * ~~~" i V [Resolution? Public?No. 3 ] h A RESOLUTION concerning the statue f, of Washington, by Greenough. p Resolved by the Senate and House of h Representatives of ihe Vnited States of j America in - Congress assembled, Thai the Secretary of the Navy be authorized j, -" -1 - " "'I a *olrn moaciiKM fnp |Kp .1 qliU nipuutvcu kv/ lURli li:v.aam?.*? twv y importation and erection of the statue of c Washington,*by Greenough> ^ .Approved, May 27th, 1840. n . if i? ' From the New Orlcanu Snn of June 7. n INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF DAVID e L-" ,v.- IUNES.' ^ r LifjPujcauant to promteo, we this morning 5 publish some incidents fn the Tile of (Dr.) ^ JDf^vid Hines. a villain who has long gone a l*?iiMwhipt of jjnstice," bat who is now on i: i charge of nelgro stealing, confined in the t perish Priso?of Orleans. ' To brfllg indi- s ijiklual. character before' the public eye, [ ^hraagk/Uio press, win ordinary circura- 1 jtpnces, and eyerithoBgli necessity arges c il; always a source of pain, but the char- t acter which we arc now about to trace in ( Ijjies too faipl, is so blackened by the very r vfdkt dye of villainy, that it is no less a , pleasure than it is certainly an imperative \ doiy imposed upon every conservator of t tftepubjic morals, to lay bare to the exe- \ cralion of the wohl. t ' 'David Ilines was born of respectable pa- J retrtSi itf St. Stephen's Parish, Charleston e District, S. C. He was respectably edu- j ctfted, and in the course of his approach to < manhood, was remarkable for his quick* ? ness of perception, great plausibility ond ] firmness of purpose. In 1827, he was tri- t f ed in Charleston for forging a draft, and t obtaining the money thereon from a mer* j cantile house in that city, but for want of | scfficient proof was acquitted. He left the , city immediately after his acquittal, and j went into Georgia, and passed himself as ( Dr. Hamilton, and borrowed from and ] swindled every person at whom he could | get a^cliance. 'He was arrested and lodged 1 I in jail at Augusta, on a charge of horse ( | stealing, but was acquitted on the plea of ? having hired the horde. In 1833 he was ( . again.tried in Charleston for negro steal- ] ing, and was acquitted?the evidence only | showing that he had the negro itr his pos- ] a | t . * session, and that Hie had called on sevaal persons offering to sell them a negro answering the description of the one he fiad stolen. In 1834, he visited New Organs, and during the same year returned to Charleston, where be was tried for assault and battery on a female, with intent to kill. Upon this charge he was senten led to and served two years imprisonment! in jait. Having done this service, he, in the year 1637, returned to New Orleans, and after staying a short time, took passage in a steam packet for TeJtas. During his trip lie insinuated himself into the confidence if a Mr. White, a fellow passenger, and ilthough Mr. White had been cautioned in regard to him by some of the other passengers who knew Dr. Wines, yet he would lot believe their assertions. The consequence was, that they travelled together >ver Texas, and before they parted at Galveston, he swindled White out of nearly jvery farthing he had. It was for this that White published him in one of the New Orleans papers as a swindler and a villain. rThie man's infirmities have been so numerous that he might well be dubbed the nodern Robert M'Caire. In the spring if 1838. we recognize him in Mobile with i number of drafts to large amounts on Seneral Hamilton in his pockets. From h*n<;e came to New Orleans, and swindled i gentleman from Texas, named Cozzens, o the tune of 6ve or six thousand dollars. Phis business being*neatly performed, he ietermined upon going north, and, accorHngly, took passage on a steamboat bound or Louisville. On his way up he was deleted in robbing a fellow passenger, and iut onshore. During this trip he induced t negro boy on board the boat to steal a ;arpet bag and secrete it. The bag was nissed and search made, and Dr. Hines iccused of having stolen it. He promised o deliver up the bag, provided they would lot prosecute him, which they agreed to, tnd he gave up the bag. Arriving at Nash-1 rille he nnid Gen. Jackson a visit?told I heGeneral he was a staunch friend of his, nd lhat his character had been traduced >y a 8et of scoundrels who were opposed o him in politics, and that he intended to :ommence an action against them for dam* iges for injuring his character?that he vas short of funds?asked the favor of the General to endorse his note for three hun. Ired dollars. The Gen. told him he could lot endorse his note?that he was old, and rished to bring his business to a close, and lot to make any more transactions. Nol being able to operate on the eld ileneral, he look passage for Louisville, nd upon his arrival there, put up at the Gait House." For some degradation ie had to leave that house in a huiry, and te concluded to take the mail boat fur Cininnati, where he selected the Broad way louse as the most fashionable, and the nost favorable for his operations. In Mncinnati he passed as Dr. Hayne, the lephew of General Hayne, of S. Caroli ia?spoke largely of his cotton plantations n Mississippi, his cotton bags and negroes, le're he was for a time all the go. He was raited upon by the aristocracy, ogled by he ladies, and adored by the blocds, who onsidered it "glory enough for one day," rive him to Brighton, or the Apollonian prings. He got the fac similie of the ignatures of some of the largest houses ' a the city, and came it pretty extensively vcrsome of his masonic friends, he "put" or Pittsburg?took the canal from that il'nce to Philadelphia, upon his arrival at . rhich place, be put up at-Sanderson's, had is trunk placed In the bar, and borrowed orty dollars from the landtard to settle his assage. Here, for some misdemeanor, e was arrested; and a number of forged rafts were found on his person, purportdg to havebeen drawn by different houses d Cincinnati upon the banks in Phila- j elphia. For some legal flaw, or deficicny in testimony he was acquitted. The Doctor is next discovered in Baltilore; here he passed himself off as Col. lenton, of Hinds county, Mississippi, and icphew of Thomas H. Benton, rcpresentd himself as n planter, and wishing to lurehase slaves; he engaged 15 of Colonel Hatter, and of Major Bailey 5, and promsed to pay for them as soon as he negocir 4ed some bills he had on the U. States ianlt. In the mean time he succeeded in >orrowing a little iponey, and getting a nit of clothes from a tailor, without payng for them, was arrested at the suit of he tailor, and lodged in jail. While in ionfiiiement, he writes to a reverend genlenian, who pays him a visit. He told he preacher that he had been wna, ana nucli of a spendthrift, thai his parents verc very old and and very religious, and hat he was imprisoned for the sum of 60 lollare, and that without some person vould have him released, he would put an rnd to his existence. The preacher told lim he was sorry for him, and would try ind raise money enough to have him re? eased: On leaving the prison lie enquired of the keeper the character of Hines, ind was informed of his real character.? Pailing in this scheme, he was not long in rying another; a German was put in jail jnder some criminal charge; he had $60 n money and a silver watchi Ilines told he lierman it he would i>ive him the mo* lev and watch, he would get him out of irison, to which he agreed; he sends for he tailor, pays him, gets discharged, and eaves the other prisoner to get out the >est way he could. He then goes 10 N. fork, passes himself as Mr. Alston of S. Carolina, marries a respectable girl, was irrested for swindling some merchant out >f several hundred dollars worth of goods. He is again set at liberty, and is next leard of in Cincinnati, Ohio. In October 1839, he visited New Orlcaus, in compa ny with a female as Dr. Haynes and lady, of Souih Carolina, and puts up at the St. Louis Hotel, leaves without paying his bill, and in November is arrested at Orangeburg Court House, S. C. having a servant, carriage and pair of horses. He was released as there was no charge against him. A few hours after he was dischar ~ ^ ?? ? I?I1 il*A Aiimnp nf geu lrum v/i ctngeuui g J<"i? n'c " the carriage and horses comes in pursuit of him. At Montgomery, Ala., the Dr. arrived, and here be shone forth like a constellation. A public dinner was tendered him by the young men, which he accepted, but on the morning of the appointed day, he was detected in stealing a watch. He again escaped and arrived at Mobile, where he dropped into a clothing store, tried on a suit of clothes, found them a complete fit; told the clerk to call at his hotel at 11 o'clock, for the money. But when Ire called, he found the Dr. had just left for New Orleans. When he came to N. Orleans, he found it necessary to steal a negro, which in cpmpany with two persons named Johnson and Jones, he took to Natchez, and sold at auctiou, at the store of Jacob Soria & Co. Coming back, he thought it as well to steal a negress, belonging to Noah Barlow, of the Natchez City Hotel, which, having brought here, he sold to a poor Dutchman, named Orgcl II. Marils, lor 83S0; about all the Dutchman was worth. He gave a bill of sale in the name of James Ilagan, of Batoh Rouge. The gil l disappeared the same day she was paid for, and was found in possession of Ilines, when he was arrested, on a warrant from Natchez. He displayed great science in trying to evade the officers and even after he was taken, wounded one of them. Before the Court, he pretended to be a very ill used young man indeed?asseverated that thry had robbed him of his money, his watch, ?kc.; but it all would not do, and he now lies in the Parish Prison, under the {internal care of the Criminal Court, where every honest man hopes he will receive the sweet reward of his toils. This is a mere skeleton of the character of Dr. Hin?s, but it is full enough to show what a pure disciple of honesty he is. In conclusion, Ilincs is a fine looking fellorv, well set, middle height, of good address, and between 30 and 35 years of age; rather a young man, to require so long, so sad, so sickening, and revolting a history. From the Southerner. MlI VAN BUKEN ON ABOLITION AND THE ABOLITIONISTS. The letter from Mr. Van Huron, which we publish below, cannot fail to attract attention, and to satisfy every southern man, of the indexible opposition of the President to any plan calculated to disturb the peace of the country, and of the south in particular, or to violate in any shape, and by any device, the spirit and letter of tlie federal constitution. Mr. Van Bureri's opinions, as expressed in former letters, in his inaugural address, and in the letter now published, go further to satisfy his friends, of the purity| of his intentions, of his patriotism, and of his determination to be governed, as he has hitherto been, by a literal con-, struction of the constitution. This open and fearless disclosure of his opinions, ex- j hibits a striking contrast with the conduct of his competitor for the presidency. As we cannot publish all the particulars connected with this letter of Mr. Van Buren, we must briefly state what produced die writing of it by that gentleman. During the session of the Kentucky legislature a few months since, a general i meeting of the democratic party was held, J at which a central committee was appointed, composed of Messrs.' Levi Tyler,1 T. J. Read, D. Meriwether,' F. Geiger,1 and S. Penn, Jr. At that session of the j legislature, in which the whigs wore in a D . . . 0, . | large majority, a preamble an1 resolutions were adopted in regard to abolition and the abolitionists, in which it was declared, "that we view with indignation, the attempts of a sect calling themselves abolitionists, to disturb the amicable relations subsisting between the slave holding and non-slave holding states of this union, and would not by our votes aid in elevating to ojjice any citizen allied to that ruthless faction of misguided fanatics, or coinciding in their opinions ami plans* During the debate on those resolutions, the democratic members made the observation, that General Harrison had not, and would not, come forward, in a manner most unequivocal and explicit, declare his opinions in i regard to such an important and vital question to 'he slave holding states. The whig members friendly to the election of General Harrison, replied "that if the General was interrogated on the subject, by any gentleman or set ot gentlemen, he would promptly and unequivocally respond to any inquiry that might be put to him, and if no friend of the administration would do it, they would do it themselves, or cause it to be done by some whig." Authorized by the resolutions adopted by the Kentucky legislature, and urged on by tlie whig members, in their speeches and declarations, the Democratic Central Committee of the Republican Party of that State, addressed a letter, similar in words, to the two candidates for the presidency, in which it is requested of them to reply whether they concur in the view taken of the abolitionists, and the tenden cy jof their action, in the resolution adop^' ted by the majority of the House of Re- m presentatives of Kentucky, and, whether ^ if elected President, either would go into ; office determined to veto any biu that might be passed by Congress for the-abo- fi lition of slavery ki the District of Colunv A bia, or in any orie'or more of the States* | On the 10th of .April last,the letter ad- | dressed to General Harrison by the Gen- j tral Committee, was- delivered into his a own hands by Messrs. Chambers and Talk H Buskirk; and the reply of the General J was, that M nothing could induce him to 9 answer such interrogatories, coming from - M either friends or foes." % mk Mr. Van Buren immediately on the rc- ' ception of the letter of Central Commit tee, which was dated ".Louisville, Apni ; 2, 1840," replied as follows: Washington, April 21st, 1840. Gentlemen:?I have received your letter of the 2d inst, and cheerfully comply with your request. Yoq have inadvertently fallen into an error, in supposing * that the questions propounded to me by the Hon. Sherrod Williams, in 1836, embraced" the subject of Abolition. My views and opinions in regard to it were, however, communicated to the people of the United States, in reply to a letter received in the same year, from Junius Amis, Esq., and other citizens of North Carolina, and also through other channels. Perceiving that I cannot do justice to your inquires in the form which vou have given to tbem, by a general reference to the ans\fyprs I have heretofore given, I will repeat the substance of them. First: iThat the relation of Master and . r Slave, is a matter which belongs exclusively to each State within its own-boundary,?that Congress has no authority to interfere, in any respect whatever, with I the emancipation of the slaves, or in the treatment of them in any of the1 States; * and that any attempt to ao so by the govemment or people of any other State, .-* or by the General Government; would not only be unauthorized, but violate the spirit of the compromise, which lies at the , basis of the Federal Compact; and which ' is binding in honor and good faith on all who live under the protection of the Fede- ' ral Constitution, and participate in its benefits. This doctrine is in strict conformity to the principle embodied in a Resolution passed by the House of Represent^ lives of the United States, 1790, upon j the report of a Committee, consisting al) most entirely of northern men. ! Secondly; That conceding to Congress, ; the abstract power of interfering with, or abolishing slavery in the uistnct 01 Columbia, under the broad grant of exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over *' that District, there are, nevertheless," objections to the exercise of this po^er "against*the wishes ofv the slave holding States, as imperative in their nature and obligation, in regu'ating the conduct of public men, as the most palpable want of constitutional power would be." Thirdly: That I desired the people of the United Slates then to understand, that, if elected, I would go into the Presidential chair the inflexible and uncomprimlslng opponent of any attempt on the i pail of Congress to abolish slaver}' in the * 1 District of Columbia, against the wishes of the slavcholding States; and also with >i a determintion equally inflexible, to retUrt r.lfr?U*Ar4 in4ormt?an/to nri k tko ciih. i S131 U1C ail^tlUOl AV^I VilVV >T 1VII UIV ?JUU" i ject in the States where it exists. | The Twenty-Fourth' Congress, whose constitutional term expired at the moment rwhen mine, as" President, commenced, had avowed its belief that it was "extremely important and desirable that the ' , agitation of the subject of slavery should be finally arrested, for the purpose of restoring tranquility to the public mind,** \\ and made it the batis of exclusive and de berate action in both Houses. In the House of Representatives, a Committee 1 (a majority of whom were from non-slave1 holding States) reported, puisuant to in' structions, two resolutions; the first was J ?" that Congress possess no constitutional ' power to interfere in any way with the i institution cf slavery in any of the States \ of the confederacy;'' the second, " That I iMicrlit n/\? tn4A?*r/M?A trt nrtvr ttrntr I vuugicoa uupii nut iu imc: iuc in aujr >?aj with slavery in the District of Columbia;" v m and a third, which was, in substance, that all papers and motions bearing upon the subject of slavery, should be laid upon the table without further action thereon.? They were accompanied by an elaborate and very able report, setting forth at large the reasons in favor of the opinions reported, and the course recommenced by \ i' the Committee. The whole subject waft finally discussed, considered and decided 1 upon. The first resolution passed by a f vote of 182 to 9?the second, of 132 to 45?and the third, of 117 to 63. In the Senate, the matter was considered upon I n mo mAno 1 (Vwm im arbr OOtlTI AT a "ItHU'llai IIVIII IIIC V(U(1IICJIJ> luvuwg of the Religious Society of Friends, praying for the Abolition of domestic slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia. The subject was by that memorial presented in terms which offered no. M violence to the feelings of any class of 41 citizens, and were best calculated to se- j] cure to the questions involved, a fair hear- Jj ing and impartial decision. After several .If days' discussion, the prayer of the m.e- morialists was rejected, by a vote of thir- * ty-four to six. An expression of similar opinions on a