two Brigs: an act of 26 Mch. 1804 “further to protect the commerce and seamen of the United States against the Barbary powers” had authorized the purchase or construction of “two vessels of war, to carry not more than sixteen guns each.” The administration sought an appropriation of funds for the use of those vessels against privateers along the coast. At the beginning of the next session of Congress, John Randolph’s Committee of Ways and Means reported a bill that appropriated an extra $250,000 for the navy’s expenses in 1805. The bill became law on 11 Dec. (U.S. Statutes at Large description begins Richard Peters, ed., The Public Statutes at Large of the United States … 1789 to March 3, 1845, Boston, 1855-56, 8 vols. description ends , 2:291-2, 348; JHR description begins Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1826, 9 vols. description ends , 5:187; Vol. 43:63-4; Notes on a Cabinet Meeting, 8 July 1805).