"An Act to prohibit the importation of Slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States, from and after the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight." Bills to amend Sec. 8, so as to make less ambiguous the permit given to the internal traffic, were introduced Feb. 27 and Nov. 27. _Statutes at Large_, II. 426. For proceedings in Senate, see _Senate Journal_ (repr. 1821), 9 Cong. 1-2 sess. IV. 11, 112, 123, 124, 132, 133, 150, 158, 164, 165, 167, 168; _Annals of Cong._, 9 Cong. 2 sess. pp. 16, 19, 23, 33, 36, 45, 47, 68, 69, 70, 71, 79, 87, 93. For proceedings in House, see _House Journal_ (repr. 1826), 9 Cong. 2 sess. V. 470, 482, 488, 490, 491, 496, 500, 504, 510, 513-6, 517, 540, 557, 575, 579, 581, 583-4, 585, 592, 594, 610, 613-4, 616, 623, 638, 640; 10 Cong. 1 sess. VI. 27, 50; _Annals of Cong._, 9 Cong. 2 sess. pp. 167, 180, 200, 220, 231, 254, 264, 270. ~1808, Feb. 23. Congress (Senate): Proposition to Amend Constitution.~ "Agreeably to instructions from the legislature of the state of Pennsylvania to their Senators in Congress, Mr. Maclay submitted the following resolution, which was read for consideration:-- "_Resolved_ ..., That the Constitution of the United States be so altered and amended, as to prevent the Congress of the United States, and the legislatures of any state in the Union, from authorizing the importation of slaves." No further mention. _Senate Journal_ (repr. 1821), 10 Cong. 1 sess. IV. 235; _Annals of Cong._, 10 Cong. 1 sess. p. 134. For the full text of the instructions, see _Amer. State Papers, Miscellaneous_, I. 716. ~1810, Dec. 5. President Madison's Message.~ "Among the commercial abuses still committed under the American flag, ... it appears that American citizens are instrumental in carrying on a traffic in enslaved Africans, equally in violation of the laws of humanity, and in defiance of those of their own country. The same just and benevolent motives which produced the interdiction in force against this criminal conduct, will doubtless be felt by Congress, in devising further means of suppressing the evil." _House Journal_ (repr. 1826), 11 Cong. 3 sess. VII. 435. ~1811, Jan. 15. United States Statute: Secret Act and Joint Resolution against Amelia Island Smugglers.~ _Statutes at Large_, III. 471 ff. ~1815, March 29. [France: Abolition of Slave-Trade.~ Napoleon on his return from Elba decrees the abolition of the slave-trade. Decree re-enacted in 1818 by the Bourbon dynasty. _British and Foreign State Papers_, 1815-16, p. 196, note; 1817-18, p. 1025.] ~1815, Feb. 18. Great Britain: Treaty of Ghent.~ "Treaty of peace and amity. Concluded December 24, 1814; Ratifications exchanged at Washington February 17, 1815; Proclaimed February 18, 1815."