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A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journals of the Continental Congress --SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1777
A letter, of the 21, from Colonel G. Morgan, was read: Whereupon,1
[Note 1: 1 This letter is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 163, folio 297.]
Resolved, That the resolution of Congress of the 15 day of October last, directing that no assistant purchasing commissaries be appointed for the western districts, be not extended to the temporary appointments of such officers, and that the commissary general of purchases be directed to authorize the deputy commissary general of purchases for the said district to make such appointments when he, the said commissary general, shall judge it necessary.
A letter, of the 21, from W. Buchanan, commissary general of purchases, was read:2
[Note 2: 2 This letter is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 78, II, folio 301.]
Ordered, That it be referred to a committee of three: The members chosen, Mr. R. H. Lee, Mr. [William] Duer, Mr. [Elbridge] Gerry, and Mr. [Daniel] Roberdeau.
Ordered, That the committee attend immediately to this business, and that they confer with General Mifflin.
A letter, from Monsr. Crenis, was read:
Ordered, That the consideration thereof be postponed.
A letter from Charlotte, the wife of Colonel Antil, was read:3
[Note 3: 3 This letter is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 78, I, folio 131.]
Ordered, That the same be referred to the Board of War.
The committee to whom were referred the return of ordnance and stores taken from the enemy since the 19th day of September, and the letter from the council of safety of New York, and to whom their former report
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was re-committed, they having taken the same into consideration, beg leave to observe,
That there is no mention in the said return of standards, military chest, medicines or tents; that the quantity of powder is very small, being only 15 barrels grained and 2 barrels mealed, and the quantity of fixed ammunition very inconsiderable; that the muskets amount only to 4,647, a number not equal to the prisoners who surrendered agreeable to the convention of Saratoga, and all these muskets, are returned unfit for service; that there are only 638 cartouch boxes; that the number of bayonets is greatly inferior to the muskets, and these, as well as the cutlasses, are returned "without scabbards" or belts; in short, the whole return seems very inadequate to a well appointed army and to what might be expected from the answers returned by Lieutenant General Burgoyne to the first propositions made by Major General Gates: your committee, therefore, are of opinion, that an enquiry ought to be made into the causes of this deficiency: Whereupon,
Resolved, That the president immediately send an express to General Gates, and desire answers to the following questions, viz.
What is become of the standards belonging to the respective regiments in General Burgoyne's army?
Where is the military chest, and medicines?
What is become of the cartouch boxes?
How comes the quantity of powder and cartridges to be so small?
How comes it that the number of muskets is less than that of the prisoners, and that all the muskets are unfit for service?
How comes the number of bayonets to be so greatly inferior to that of the muskets?
Where are the scabbards and belts of the bayonets and cutlasses?
Was there any destruction, waste, removal or concealment of the arms, tents, colours, treasure, or other military stores, belonging to General Burgoyne's army, from the time the first proposal was made, on the 13 October, to the time of surrender?
What was the state and condition of the arms and military stores when received by General Gates?
Were the arms piled agreeable to the articles of convention? If they were not, did any damage necessarily accrue in consequence of the failure?
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And that General Gates be directed to make the necessary enquiries and return his answers to Congress as soon as possible.
Resolved, That it is not to be understood that the embarkation of the troops under Lieutenant General Burgoyne is in any wise to be delayed on account of the foregoing queries if transports arrive before the answers are returned and the enquiry directed is finished.
In debating the foregoing report, it was moved,
That a committee of beappointed to repair immediately to Albany to confer with General Gates on every particular respecting the execution of the convention of Saratoga on the part of General Burgoyne, and that as the basis of their joint enquiries the following points be particularly recommended; and then the questions to follow; and the yeas and nays being required:
{table}
So it passed in the negative.
It was then proposed to add, ∥after the words "and return his answers to Congress as soon as possible,"∥
"And whereas it is probable that sufficient evidence cannot be obtained in Albany touching the premises; Resolved, that Major General Heath be directed to collect all the evidence he can possibly procure concerning the
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state of the arms, tents, standards, treasure, medicines, and other military stores belonging to General Burgoyne's army, before proposals were made for entering into a convention, and whether there was any destruction, waste, concealment or removal of any of the above articles from the time when General Burgoyne's first proposal was made on the 13 October to the time of surrender; and that he transmit to Congress, with all possible despatch and properly authenticated, the evidence which he may so collect:"
On this the previous question was moved, whether that question be now put? and the yeas and nays being required:
{table}
So it passed in the negative.
Congress having received information, that the insidious enemies of the United States of America have endeavoured to propagate in Europe false and groundless reports, that a treaty had been held between Congress and the commissioners of the king of Great Britain, by which it was probable that a reconciliation would take place:
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Be it declared and resolved, That the commissioners of the said United States at the several courts in Europe be authorized to represent to the courts at which they respectively reside, that no treaty whatever has been held between the king of Great Britain or any of his commissioners and the said United States since their declaration of independence:
And whereas, the cause of these United States may be greatly endangered, unless such of the European powers as regard the rights of mankind should interpose to prevent the ungenerous combination of other powers against the liberties of the said states:
Resolved, That the commissioners of the United States at the several courts in Europe be directed to apply to the respective courts, and request their immediate assistance for preventing a farther embarkation of foreign troops to America, and also to urge the necessity of their acknowledging the independence of these states.
Resolved, That all proposals for a treaty between the king of Great Britain, or any of his commissioners, and the United States of America, inconsistent with the independence of the said states, or with such treaties or alliances as may be formed under their authority, will be rejected by Congress.
Resolved, That the commissioners of the United States be severally directed to communicate to the respective courts the purport of the first and second resolutions when they shall think it expedient, and to suspend the last until upon a general consultation of the commissioners a majority shall judge it necessary.
Congress resumed the consideration of the report from the Board of Treasury of the 19th; Whereupon,
Resolved, That the pay of Jonathan Trumbull, Jun. Esqr. deputy pay master general of the northern department,
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be augmented to one hundred and twenty-five dollars per month:
Resolved, That the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars be allowed to Jonathan Trumbull, Jun. Esqr. deputy pay master general of the northern department, for his past extraordinary services.1
[Note 1: 1 This paragraph, in the writing of Elbridge Gerry, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 136, I, folio 487.]
Resolved, That the resolution passed yesterday, relative to the execution of the war department, be annulled, and that the former Board of War be authorized to proceed on the business of that department till such time as a quorum of the commissioners of the war office shall attend.
Congress took into consideration the report of the committee to whom were referred the letter from the Hon. Stephen Hopkins, Esqr., and the proceedings of the committees from New Hampshire, Massachusetts bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut and New York, and for other purposes mentioned in a resolution of Congress of the 10th of September last, and the same being read and debated by paragraphs, was agreed to, as follows:
Pursued by the injustice and the vengeance of the King and Parliament Great Britain, these United States have been compelled to engage in a bloody and expensive war. Amidst much great every distress that they have yet experienced may befal them, it will be their consolation to appeal to Heaven for the rectitude of their measures; since they have her influence they have had recourse to arms, not from ambition or the lust of power, but to resist actual invasion and boundless rapine, and to secure to themselves and to their Posterity the common rights and privileges of human nature: the blessings of freedom and safety that they have had recourse to arms.
Aided by venal foreigners and domestic traitors, the war has been prosecuted by our implacable foes with their utmost force and vigour, and aggravated by more than savage barbarity.
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Congress, nevertheless, supported by the virtue, patriotism and good faith of their constituents have hitherto raised all the necessary supplies on the publick credit confidence of their fellow citizens, without burthening them with taxes or pecuniary contributions, have hitherto raised all the necessary supplies on the public faith For these purposes.
To maintain our fleets and armies, large sums have been emitted in continental bills of credit, and the same expedient method has been adopted embraced by the respective states to answer the demands of their internal governments their internal wants. By these exertions expedients, our paper currency, notwithstanding the settled solid basis on which it is founded, is multiplied beyond the rules of good policy. No truth being more evident, than that where the quantity of money of any quality or denomination exceeds what is useful as a medium of commerce, its comparative value must be proportionably reduced. To this cause, conspiring with the arts and practices of our open and secret enemies, the shameful avidity of too many of our professed friends, and the scarcity of foreign commodities are we to ascribe the depreciation of our currency: the consequences to be apprehended are equally obvious and alarming.1 They tend to the depravity of morals,--decay of public virtue,--a precarious supply for the war,--debasement of the public faith,--injustice to individuals, and the destruction of the honour, safety, and independence of the United States. Loudly, therefore, are we called upon to provide a seasonable and effectual remedy against those dangerous evils.
[Note 1: 1 The original report read as follows:
"If the Depravity of Morals, if the Extinction of publick Virtue, if the Supplies for carrying on the War, if the Interests of Individuals, if the preservation of the publick Faith and the Honour, Safety and Independance of the United States, are Objects, which are worthy of our Concern, we are loudly, &c."]
Blessed be God, they are not unavoidable irremediable.2 The means of repressing them are still in our own power. Let the virtuous patriots of America reflect on the inestimable value of the prize for which we are contending. Hitherto spared from taxes, let them now with a cheerful heart contribute according to their circumstances. Let the sordid wretches, who shrink from danger and personal service, and meanly prefer their own inglorious2 ease and emolument to the good of their country, be despised, and their ill-gotten wealth be abhorred as a curse disgrace. Let the extortioner and oppressor be
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punished; the secret traitor dragged to light; the necessities of the army attended to and relieved; and the quantity of money in circulation be reduced; and we shall soon see the public credit fully established, and with the continuance of the divine favour, a glorious termination of the present arduous conflict.
To promote these great and salutary purposes, Congress, upon mature deliberation and with the most earnest solicitude, recommend the following propositions to the legislatures of the respective states, to be immediately adopted and carried into effect:
1. Resolved, That it be most earnestly recommended to1 the respective states to raise in the course of the year 1778, commencing on the first day of January next, by quarterly payments, the sum of five millions of dollars, by taxes, to be levied on the inhabitants of the respective states, in the proportions following, viz.
[Note 1: 1 These words were inserted by Laurens.]
That the sum so assessed and to be raised shall not be considered as the proportion of any State, but being paid into the treasury shall be placed to each of their respective credit, and bearing an interest allowed thereon of six per cent. per annum, from the time of payment until the quotas shall be finally ascertained and adjusted by the Congress of the United States, agreeable to the confederation hereafter to be adopted and ratified by the several states. And if it shall then appear that any State is assessed more than its just quota of the said tax, it shall continue to receive interest on the surplus, and if less it shall be charged with interest on the deficiency, until by a future tax such surplus or deficiency shall be properly adjusted by the Congress of the United States.
2. Resolved, That it be earnestly recommended to the legislatures of the several states to refrain from further emissions of paper bills of
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credit, and where there is a sufficient quantity of continental bills of credit for the purposes of a circulating medium, forthwith to call in by loans or taxes and to cancel the paper money, small bills for change under a dollar excepted, which such State has already emitted; and, for the future, to provide for the exigencies of war, and the support of government by taxes to be levied within the year, or such other expedients as may produce a competent supply.
3. And whereas the obstruction of the course of justice in any State may not only prove injurious to its inhabitants citizens, but also to the circulation and credit of the currency of such State and of the United States:
Resolved, therefore, That it be recommended to the several states, forthwith to take effectual care that justice be duly administered within their respective jurisdictions, as well for the recovery of debts as for the punishment of crimes and misdemeanors; provided, that no suit or action shall be maintainable for the benefit of the enemies of these United States.
4. And whereas signal advantages have arisen from the establishment of continental loan offices, on which Congress continue to place great dependence; in order, therefore, as far as it is practicable, to ascertain the supplies for the war for the next four months which may be raised in the several states upon loan office certificates;
Resolved, That it be recommended to the legislatures, or, in the recess of any of them, to the executive authority of the respective states, to cause subscriptions to be opened under the inspection of one or more respectable inhabitants citizens within each town or district, specifying the names of the lenders, and the sums they are willing to lend, in monthly payments, and that a copy copies of such subscription papers shall, as soon as possible from time to time, be transmitted delivered to the respective commissioners of the continental said loan offices, and by them forwarded transmitted to Congress; provided, that no certificate shall issue for less than two hundred dollars.1
[Note 1: 1 This last phrase was inserted by Laurens.]
5. Resolved, That it be recommended to the legislatures, or, in their recess, to the executive power of the respective states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pensylvania, and Delaware, respectively, to appoint commissioners to convene at New Haven, in
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Connecticut, on the 15 day of January1 next; and to the states of Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, respectively, to appoint commissioners to convene at Fredericksburg, in Virginia, on the said 15 day of January; and to the states of South Carolina and Georgia, respectively, to appoint commissioners to convene at Charleston, on the 15 day of February next; in order to regulate and ascertain the price of labour, Provisions and other Necessaries for the supply of the fleets and armies of the United States manufactures, internal produce, and commodities imported from foreign parts, military stores excepted; and also to regulate the charges of inn-holders; and that, on the report of such the commissioners, each of the respective legislatures enact such suitable laws, as well for enforcing the observance of such of the regulations as they shall ratify, and enabling such inn-holders to obtain the necessary supplies, as to authorize the purchasing commissaries for the army, or any other person whom the legislature may think proper, to take from any engrossers, forestallers, or other person possessed of a larger quantity of any such commodities or provisions than shall be competent for the private annual consumption of their families, and who shall refuse to sell the surplus at the prices to be ascertained as aforesaid, paying only such price for the same.
[Note 1: 1 The dates were inserted by Laurens.]
6. And in order to introduce immediate oeconomy in the public expence, which is become indispensable the spirit of sharping and extortion, and the rapid and excessive rise of every commodity being confined within no bounds; and considering how much time must unavoidably elapse before the plan proposed directed by the preceding resolution can be carried into effect,
Resolved, That it be earnestly recommended to the respective legislatures of the United States, without delay, by their separate authority, to adopt and effectually enforce a temporary regulation of the prices of provisions and other commodities for the supply of the army, in such manner as they shall judge reasonable; and to continue in force until the general regulation before proposed shall be adopted.
VII. Resolved, that it be earnestly recommended to the Legislatures of the respective. States to [exert themselves to the utmost of their Power] furnish and supply the soldiers already enlisted, or who shall hereafter enlist, as the Quota of their respective States in the Continental Army, with Blankets shoes, stockings and other warm cloathing sufficient to defend them from the Inclemency of the Winter; And
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to be delivered out to those who are in the greatest need at such reasonable Prices as shall bear a just Proportion to their wages, the surplus of the cost to be [born] defrayed by the state which shall provide the same.1
[Note 1: 1 Against this paragraph was written by Laurens, "Postd. 22. See detached 2 papers. Recommitted 24th."
The two papers are embodied in the resolution 7, printed under November 26, 1777, post. The original of this report, in the writing of James Duane, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 19, III, folios 155--163.]
Resolved, That the further consideration of the report be postponed.
∥The several matters to this day referred, being postponed,∥
Adjourned to 10 o'Clock on Monday.
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