January 17, 1839
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States:
I transmit herewith a communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, which presents for the consideration of Congress the propriety of so changing the second section of the act of March 2, 1837, as that the existing humane provisions of the laws for the relief of certain insolvent debtors of the United States may be extended to such cases of insolvency as shall have occurred on or before the 1st day of January, 1839
M. VAN BUREN.
Martin van Buren, Special Message Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/201772