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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 --THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1782
On a report of a committee, consisting of Mr. [Ezekiel] Cornell, Mr. [Richard] Law, and Mr. [James] Madison, to whom were referred two letters from the Secretary at War, one containing a report of the officers necessary for assisting him in the various branches of his department; and the other stating the necessity of his going to Massachusetts, and requesting permission to go there for a short time, for the purposes mentioned:
Resolved, That the Secretary at War be, and he is hereby, authorised to appoint the following officers, for whose conduct he shall be accountable, and who shall also be removable by him, to wit:
One assistant, whose salary shall be fourteen twelve hundred and fifty dollars per annum:
One secretary, whose salary shall be one thousand dollars per annum:
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Two clerks, whose salary shall be the same as that of those in other public offices.
That all in the absence of the Secretary at War the business in the war office shall devolve on his Assistant subject to the orders of the Secretary at War who shall be responsible for the transaction of the business in his absence in the manner as when present.
[That at all times in the absence of the Secretary at War, the Assistant be authorised to transact all such business within the Department as shall be assigned to him by the said Secretary, who shall be responsible for the conduct of the Assistant.]
Resolved, That in consideration of the reasons stated by the Secretary at War, he be informed that Congress have no objection to his being absent agreeably to his request.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Ezekiel Cornell, except the paragraph in brackets, which is in the writing of James Madison, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 27, folio 153. The Secretary at War's letter of January 11 is in No. 149, I, folio 97; his letter of January 14 is on folio 101.]
Two letters, one directed "to Barnabas Deane, esq. Mercht. Wethersfield, Connecticut," the other "to Thomas Mumford, esq. Mercht. in Groton, Connecticut," being brought to Congress with the seals unbroken and it appearing from the seal and the handwriting of the superscription as well as from the declaration of the person who brought them from France that they came from Silas Deane; and from sundry concurrent circumstances there being just grounds to suspect that they contained matters injurious to the public, it was ordered that the President open the said letters, and if upon examination he finds they are merely of a private nature that he seal and forward them; but if on the contrary he finds the contents are of such a nature as ought to be made known to Congress, that he lay them before Congress. The President reported that he has opened and examined the letters and finds that they are of such a nature as ought to be known. Whereupon, the letters were read, that directed to Barnabas Deane being dated at Paris, Sept. 26, 1781, and that to Thomas Mumford dated
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at Paris, Sept. 24, 1781, both signed Silas Deane and appearing to be all in his handwriting.
On motion of Mr. [Daniel] Carroll, seconded by Mr. [Thomas] Bee,
Ordered, That the said letters be referred to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and that he be instructed to take measures by the oath of the person who brought them from France, and such other means as he may judge proper, to authenticate their coming from Silas Deane and being written by him: and that he communicate the contents, or such parts thereof as he thinks proper, to the Ministers of these United States at the Courts of Versailles and Madrid, also to the Honble the Minister Plenipotentiary of France and the Superintendent of Finance.
On motion of Mr. [Oliver] Wolcott, seconded by Mr. [Daniel] Carroll,
Ordered, That the Secretary for Foreign Affairs transmit a certified copy of the letters aforesaid, with the proofs respecting them, to his Excellency the governor of Connecticut.1
[Note 1: 1 The proceedings in reference to Silas Deane's letters were also entered in the manuscript Secret Journal, Foreign Affairs.
On this day, according to the indorsement, was read a letter of December 23 from the Marquis de la Fayette. It is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 156, folio 256.
Also, a letter of January 16, from the Secretary at War. It is in No. 149, I, folio 121.]
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