Mr. CHANDLER. Mr. President, by alaw Of1798 all vessels that have been absolutely sold and sold under a foreign flag are now prohibited from obtaining an American register. The sole object of this addendum to the old law is to place all on the same footing; that is, to prevent those who have made a pretended and raudulent sale from standing better before the law than those who have made a bonajide sale. Under that old law of 1793, no ship that had been transferred to a foreign ilag can return under the protection of the American flag without a specific act of Congress. I do not think myself that this bill is necessary. I think that that law of 1793 covers the entire ground. I do not believe that the person who made a pretended sale can todny get his ship back without unact of Congress. But this bill places the honest and the dishonest man upon an exact cqnnlity before the law; they must each of them have an act of Congress to bring their vessel back under the American flag, and it is for Congress to decide in each case whether it is for the interest of the Government to permit them to resume their nationality. I am in formed by shipping merchants largely engaged in commerce, that the great majority, 4/5ths of all our shipping merchants have paid the extra 10%. insurance imposed upon them during the war, and that a large proportion of those who have pretended to transfer their ships without an absolute sale were disloyal men who desired to obtain an advantage over the loyal man who would not change his flag. The object is to protect those who have stood by their flag. to give those who havemade a false sale no benefit over those who have made a bonafide sale, so as to place them all upon an equality before the law. I think the old law covers the ground completely, and yet in the estimation of the House there was a doubt, and they have passed this bill to prevent pretended transfers from having a preference over real bonafide transfers which were pprohibitedunder the old law.