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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, MARCH 31, 1785.
Congress assembled. Present, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina; and from the state of Massachusetts, Mr. [Rufus] King, and from Georgia, Mr. [William] Houstoun.
A letter, of 26 March, from William Patterson, esq. was read, informing, that he accepts the office of a Judge of the federal court, for hearing and determining the controversy between the States of Massachusetts and New York.1
[Note 1: 1 This letter is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 42, folio 277.]
The Ordinance on the Office of the Secretary of Congress being taken up for a second reading:
A motion was made by Mr. [Charles] Pinckney, seconded by Mr. [John] Bull,
That as the Ordinance now under debate is calculated to extend the powers and increase the duties of the Secretary of Congress, and may preclude Congress from determining without great inconvenience upon the propriety of creating a secretary, who shall be charged with the business of the home department; as there is no necessity for pressing this question to an immediate decision, and as there is reason to believe there will soon be a full representation of all the states in the Union, when it may be more amply considered and determined, it be Resolved, That the further consideration of the Ordinance be postponed until the second fourth Tuesday in April next.2
[Note 2: 2 This motion, in the writing of Charles Pinckney, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 36, II, folio 539. The word lined out is so in the motion and not in the Journal.]
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On the question to agree to this, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [Charles] Pinckney,
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So it passed in the negative.
Congress proceeded in the second reading of the Ordinance, and the same being gone through and amended,
Ordered, That it be read a third time.
The same being read a third time, was agreed to as follows:
An Ordinance for the regulation of the Office of the Secretary of Congress.
Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, that the Secretary of Congress shall in future be charged with the following duties, and shall keep his office in or near the State house or Building where the Sessions of Congress shall be holden.
He shall carefully preserve the journals of Congress, and all other papers committed to his charge and such as are secret in their nature, or by special Order, shall not be communicated by him to any person,
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except members of Congress, and such persons as may be entitled thereto by special resolutions.
He shall not deliver any original Journal out of his Office, nor shall he deliver any original letter or paper out of his Office, without an Order of Congress, and a receipt therefor.
He shall deliver attested copies of any resolutions of Congress, or public papers in his Office, not secret in their nature, or by special Order, to any member of Congress who may require the same.
He shall transmit to the Secretary for foreign Affairs, to the Secretary for the war department, to the Secretary of marine, to the Commissioners of the board of treasury, and to the postmaster general, all papers referred to them by Congress respectively, as well as an authenticated copy of all acts, Ordinances and resolutions of Congress, touching their respective departments.
He shall keep a daily account of all memorials, petitions and communications received by Congress, noting therein their object, and the steps taken respecting them and lay the said account or register every day on the table in Congress, for the inspection of the members.
He shall return such answers as Congress shall direct to be given to the memorials, petitions and communications, except where Congress shall judge it proper, that the same be given by their president, or where it shall be the duty of any of the executive departments to return such answer.
He shall transmit to the several states, all acts, Ordinances, resolutions and recommendations of Congress, correspond with the States, for the purpose of receiving communications from them, relative to the execution of the same, and make report thereof to Congress, keeping a book, in which shall be entered copies of all such letters and communications.
He shall attend Congress during their session, and in their recess, the committee of the states, either in person or by his deputy, read the public despatches, acts, ordinances and reports of Committees, and make the proper entries on the Journals.
He shall authenticate all acts and proceedings of Congress not specially directed to be authenticated by their president; and keep a register of all treaties, Conventions, Ordinances and permanent Acts of Congress.
He shall cause to be made and laid upon the table for every state represented in Congress, and for every member appearing for any state unrepresented, a copy of every Ordinance, or report upon a
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matter of importance and not of a secret nature, for the consideration of which a day is assigned.
He shall keep the great Seal of the federal Union, and cause the same to be affixed to every act, Ordinance or paper Congress shall direct. He shall superintend the printing of the Journals, and other publications ordered by Congress.
He shall keep a book, in which shall be noted in Columns, the names of the several Members of Congress, the State which they represent, the date of their appointment, and the term for which they are appointed.
That as well the Secretary of Congress, as the deputy secretary and clerks, shall take and subscribe the Oath or affirmation of fidelity and of Office, prescribed in an Ordinance passed on the 27th day of January, 1785;1 which oaths shall be taken by the said Secretary before the president of Congress, and that all former resolutions for regulating the duties of the Office of the Secretary of Congress be, and they are hereby repealed.2 Done, &c.
[Note 1: 1 This was the ordinance for ascertaining the powers and duties of the Secretary at War, q. v.]
[Note 2: 2 The printed broadside of this Ordinance, as adopted, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 55, folio 267.]
Resolved, That Thursday next be assigned for the election of a deputy Secretary.
The Grand Committee consisting of Mr. [David] Howell, Mr. [Abiel] Foster, Mr. [Rufus] King, Mr. [Joseph Platt] Cook, Mr. [Zephaniah] Platt, Mr. [Lambert] Cadwallader, Mr. [John] Henry, Mr. [Gunning] Bedford, Mr. [James] McHenry, Mr. [Samuel] Hardy, Mr. [Hugh] Williamson, Mr. [Charles] Pinckney and Mr. [William] Houstoun, appointed to report a requisition on the States for supplies of the present Year beg leave to lay before Congress, the following report.
That for the services of the present year 1785 and for the payment of one years Interest on the foreign and domestic debts of the United States, it will be necessary that the sum of three millions of Dollars be paid into the common Treasury, on or before the 31st day of December next, to be appropriated and applied to the following purposes, viz.
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The Committee find that the requisition of April 27th. 1784 provides for the services of the year 1784--for the payment of the interest on the foreign debt to the last day of that year, and on the domestic debt to the last day of the year 1783, and that for these purposes, in addition to the sum of 2,670,987.89 dollars, then specially required, Congress relied also on the payment of the requisition of September 4th, 1782, for 1,200,000 dollars, both of which requisitions they called on the States, in the most pressing terms, to send forward to the Treasury comply with in the course of the last year. The present requisition will, therefore, provide payment for the services of the year 1785, for the interest on the foreign debt, to the last day of the same, and on the domestic debt to the last day of the year 1784.
The Committee find that for reasons stated in the last requisitions, there yet remains a moiety of the requisition of October 30th, 1781, for eight millions of Dollars--and the whole of the requisition of October 16th, 1782, for two millions of Dollars, to be applied to the common uses of the United States, before any new requisition ought to be made. They are therefore of opinion, that the three quarters of the remaining moiety aforesaid, be required of the several States, and called into actual payment, in the course of the present year.
The Committee have not been able to obtain information how many States have complied with the resolution of February 17th, or that of April 18th, 1783, relative to a rule, or measure for quotaing federal requisitions. They are therefore of opinion, that the several States which have not decided on that subject, be again solicited to come to
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a decision thereon, and to send forward the same, as a measure indispensably necessary to enable Congress to effect a settlement of Accounts with the several States, and to apportion to each a just quota of the public expences: But in the meantime, as the exigencies of the public render it the duty of Congress to continue their annual requisitions, the Committee are of opinion, that in such requisitions the several States ought to be quotaed agreeably to equity, on the best information Congress may have at the time of the demand, and therefore beg leave to recommend to Congress, that the sum of three millions of Dollars to be required of the States, as three quarters of the remaining moiety of the requisition of October 30th, 1781, be apportioned to the several states, as follows, viz.
Which sums, when paid, shall be passed to the Credit of the States, respectively, on interest, to be hereafter adjusted agreeably to the resolution of October 6th 1779, and applied in conformity with the several appropriations in the preceding part of this report giving preference according to the order in which they are stated.
As more than a moiety of the sum required is to be applied to the payment of interest on the domestic debt, the Committee are of opinion that the several Legislatures be admitted so to model the collection of the sums called for that one half of any sum being paid in actual money, the other half may be discharged by the interest arising on Loan Office Certificates--the Army debt, and other liquidated debts of the United States. That to ascertain the evidences of the interest arising on Certificates of the aforesaid descriptions receivable in taxes in lieu of money, the holders be at liberty to carry
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the same to the keeper of the Loan Office in the State of which he is a Citizen, or if a Foreigner to the Keeper of the Loan Office in any of the United States and to have the interest due thereon settled and Certified to the last day of the year 1783, that the Commissioners of the Treasury cause to be made a Bank-paper and thereon to be struck a form of a Certificate which shall specify the interest due as aforesaid, and transmit to the Keepers of the several Loan Offices a sufficient number of said Certificates with proper blanks. That the Commissioners of the Treasury transmit to the Keepers of the several Loan Offices such checks and instructions from time to time as they may judge necessary to prevent counterfeited evidences of debts from obtaining a settlement of interest, and to the receivers of federal taxes in each State such checks and instructions as may enable them to detect counterfeit evidences of interest and avoid receiving them in payment of taxes as aforesaid. That the Certificates of interest be receivable from the Bearer in lieu of money, as aforesaid in any other State in the Union as well as in the State in which they were issued. That the State receiving such Certificates in the aforesaid proportion and paying the same into the common Treasury have credit therefor in the aforesaid proportion, which payment by the State shall be considered as a discharge of the interest due on the domestic debt in the proportion that each State avails itself of the aforesaid evidences and should any State pay into the common Treasury a greater proportion, in actual money, than one-half of its quota, that the Same be applied according to the estimate giving preference to the discharge of the expences of internal government and the interest due upon the foreign debt.
By a Letter from the late Superintendent of Finance dated Philadelphia February 23d. 1785, the Committee have been informed that from December 31st., 1783, to October 30th., 1784, he had received in payment of Taxes from the several States 559,032 75/90 dollars, and that he had drawn orders on the receivers of Taxes for 143,892 75/90 dollars more; that he had not been in capacity to make any payments due in France the last year; that after deducting the sums necessary to make all the payments falling due in Holland in the course of the last year, there remained in the hands of the Commissioners of the late Loan on the 30th. of September last the sum of 502,928 Florins; that on the 30th. day of October last a balance remained in the common Treasury of 21,986 75/90 Dollars, and that the public accounts from February, 1781, when he was appointed, to October the 30th., 1784,
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when he resigned his Commission, have been prepared and delivered to the printer for publication.
When the Commissioners of the Treasury shall have entered on the duties of their appointment, an account of the expenditures of the whole of the last year, of the payments made by the several States during the same and of the actual state of the Treasury may be expected; and in the opinion of your Committee ought to be transmitted to the Supreme Executives of the several States.
When the Committee reflect on the great exertions of these States during the late War, and their consequent exhausted condition at the return of peace, the variety of demands with which they were embarrassed, their want of experience in affairs of revenue, the actual contributions made by those States whose governments have acquired energy and whose resources have become productive, the zeal of all to apply with effect to their respective resources to relieve the distresses of their Citizens and to contribute their just proportion of federal supplies, when they consider that justice and good faith are the solid pillars on which these rising States are to be supported, they are induced to ascribe the failure of some of the States and the tardiness and deficiencies of others in complying with federal requisitions to the operation of temporary causes rather than and not to any defect in our new Constitutions, or to any want of virtue in our Citizens, and confidently to hope that, in due time, all necessary arrangements will be made for supporting the National faith and maintaining the dignity of the Federal Union.
The Committee find that the revenue system of April 18th., 1783, has not yet been adopted, even in part, by all the States, nor fully by more than one or two States, and being of opinion that it is inexpedient for Congress to urge at this time to relinquish that plan, which has been so long under reference to the States and so generally approved of, recommend to Congress to urge those States which have complied only in part to reconsider their Acts and those which have not complied to pass Acts in conformity which after the most mature consideration they conceive essentially necessary to the establishment of public credit submit it to Congress to recommend earnestly to those States which have complied only in part to adopt the same completely and to those which have not yet complied to pass laws as early as possible in conformity thereto.
When the domestic Creditors attend to the circumstances under which the foreign debts were contracted and are to be paid and to the
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necessity of prompt payment for the services of the current year it is presumed they will easily see the propriety of the preference given to those demands in the appropriations--they will however find a balance in the discounts to be admitted in their favour.
In order to admit foreigners and citizens holding Loan Office Certificates which issued from Offices, other than those in their respective States to an equal participation in the benefit of those discounts, the Committee have found it necessary that the Certificates of interest should be made receivable in any of the States and have printed directed the necessary checks to prevent frauds.
In fixing the amount of the present demand the Committee had regard to the abilities of the debtors as well as the Claims of the Creditors--the sum demanded is indeed greater than that of last year; but the greater proportion of discount admitted will render it less impoverishing to the Individual States.
As a motive for the cheerful payment of this requisition as well as the arrearages on that of April 27tb. 1784, the Committee are of opinion that the States be informed that Congress are about soon to open a Land Office to dispose of their Western Territory, and that the proceeds thereof will be applied as a sinking fund to extinguish the principal of the domestic debts; succeeding requisitions for interest on the domestic debt will therefore be reduced, in future in proportion as this fund may be rendered productive. And while on this subject the Committee beg leave to mention, and they are not able to mention it without much regret that they have received information that the State of North Carolina has repealed the Cession of her claim to the Lands over the Alleghany mountains, once made to Congress and that they cannot learn that any of the other States have made the expected Cessions that they cannot learn that any of the States claiming Western Territory have made the expected Cessions during the last year, they are therefore obliged [to recommend] that this subject be again presented to the attention of said States, and that they be again solicited, in the strongest terms to consider with candour and magninimity the expectations of their Sister States, and the earnest and repeated applications made to them by Congress on that subject.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Benjamin Bankson, with corrections and changes by David Howell, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, Miscellaneous, in the Library of Congress. It is indorsed by Thomson: "Entd. read 31. March, 1785 Tuesday 5 April assigned." A rough, preliminary draft of the estimates,in the writing of Jacob Read and David Howell, is in the same Miscellany. After the estimates Howell has written: "That this requisition be made as part of the requisition for 8,000,000 of 1782. That this requisition be subjected to a new apportionment on the States according to their present faculties of contribution agreeably to justice upon the best information Congress may have. That facilities be admitted in the payment of the requisition. That those facilities be extended to two thirds of the requisition. That the States be again pressed to comply with the resolve of Feb. 17 or April 18, 1783, relative to a rule of quotaeing the States. That the revenue systems adopted April 18, 1783, be again urged on the States and a compliance with all its parts insisted upon. That cessions of western claims be again urged on the States." See post, April 5 and April 6.]
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The Committee of the Week [Mr. Archibald Stewart, Mr. John Vining and Mr. Hugh Williamson] having considered the memorial of Wm. McCormick of Glasheen near the City of Cork in the Kingdom of Ireland who is a manufacturer of Cotton velvets and such other goods of cotton as are usually manufactured at Manchester in England and proposes to remove himself to some of the States in this Union and to Pennsylvania in preference, where he will establish a cotton Manufactory in case he shall be duly authorized by Congress, report that the same shall lye on the table.
The Committee of the week have also considered the memorial of John Denny formerly a Lieutenant in Col. Van Schaick's Regiment, and who States that he resigned on the 7th. oct. 1778. that he has served for a considerable time since that period in the Quarter Master General's Department. That not having received the depreciation of pay nor lands he is much reduced in his circumstances and requests that Congress would afford him relief: Your Committee do not find that any thing is due to Mr John Denny according to the subsisting acts of Congress and they believe it would not consist with the present state of the public Treasury to attempt the relief of families merely because they are indigent, wherefore they submit that said Memorial lye on the Table.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Hugh Williamson, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 32, folio 605. It is undated but belongs to this period. The indorsement states that it was filed April 4, 1785. See ante, March 28.]
The Committee consisting of [Mr. Hugh Williamson, Mr. William Ellery and Mr. James McHenry] to whom was referred a memorial of Samuel Parsons of 22d March, 1785, requesting that he may be allowed the sum of 29,700 Livres for his services 4½ years as Agent for the United States at Martinique also an allowance of 3,000 Livres for coming over to obtain a settlement of his Accounts, and that a special
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order be issued for paying him out of the Treasury the balance that has been found due him in pursuance of former Acts of Congress, beg leave to Report--
That Congress on the 2d July, 1782, having resolved on the application of Mr Saml Parsons, that the business to be done in Martinique did not require the services of any person holding a public character & Mr Parsons never having received any appointment from Congress his claims for salary or other pay as their Agent cannot be admitted. Your Committee do not find that the attendance of Mr Parsons to obtain the settlement of his Accounts was necessary nor that Congress has at any time required such attendance & they are of opinion that no allowance can be made for his expences on that business. With respect to the balance that is due to Mr Saml Parsons, your Committee are of the opinion that the Board of Treasury should be instructed to take orders for payment of the same as soon as the situation of the Finances will permit.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Hugh Williamson, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 19, V, folio 23. According to the indorsement it was read this day and passed April 12.
On this day, according to the indorsement, the report of the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, on his letter of March 25, which had been referred back to him on March 28, was read. It is in No. 80, I, folio 121, and is indorsed to refer to said Secretary's report of March 31 on his letter of March 30. The papers mentioned in the letter of March 25 were transmitted to the Board of Treasury November 12, 1787.
On this day, also, was read the letter of March 30, from the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, on the subject of monies advanced by France to the United States. It is indorsed as acted on July 7, 1785, "the papers being then referred to a comee. No reportthe papers sent to the board of treasy 7 Novr. 1787."
March 31: The following committees were appointed:
Mr. [Hugh] Williamson, Mr. [Rufus] King, Mr. [David] Howell, Mr. [William Samuel] Johnson and Mr. [Samuel] Holten, on the memorial of Moses Hazen, dated March 30, 1785, which was read this day. It is in No. 42, III, folio 512. The committee reported April 20.
Mr. R. R. Livingston, Mr. [John] Vining and Mr. [Hugh] Williamson, on letter of March 31 from the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, on the salary of William Stephens Smith and his starting on his mission, which was read this day. It is in No. 80, I, folio 125. The committee reported April 4.
Also on this day the letter of January 10, 1785, from John Adams was referred to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs to report, which he did on April 5.
Committee Book No. 190.]
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