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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 --WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 1786.
Congress assembled. Present, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina; and from Maryland, Mr. [William] Hindman.
Mr. James Wilson, a delegate for Pennsylvania, attended, and took his Seat.
The delegates for the State of New York produced a commission, which was read:
Ordered, That it be referred to the Standing Committee on qualifications to report.1
[Note 1: 1 The Standing Committee on Qualifications had been appointed November 23, 1785, and was renewed March 22, 1786, as Mr. [William Samuel] Johnson, Mr. [Rufus] King, Mr. [John] Kean, Mr. [John] Lawrance and Mr. [James] Wilson.]
The Committee "appointed to proceed to Trenton, in the state of New Jersey, or any other place where the legislature of that State may be sitting, and represent to them in the strongest terms, the fatal consequences that must inevitably result to the said state, as well as the rest of the Union, from their refusal to comply with the requisition of September, 1785," report, that they have executed the business with which they were charged, and received a resolution of the Assembly, rescinding their Resolve of the 20th of February last.2
[Note 2: 2 An attested copy of the New Jersey resolve, which was passed March 17, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 24, folio 419; the committee report in the writing of Charles Pinckney, is on folio 417. See ante, March 7.]
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In The Name and by the Authority Of The Freemen of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Supreme Executive Council, of the said Commonwealth, [SEAL] to the Honorable James Wilson, Esquire:
Whereas, The General Assembly of this Commonwealth [Cut of Arms of State] have, by their Act of the Eleventh Day of November in the Year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and B.Franklin Presdt. Eighty five elected you a Delegate to represent this State in the Congress of the United States, You are therefore hereby commissionated as such.
Given in Council, under the Hand of His Excellency Benjamin Franklin esquire, President, and the Seal of the State, at Philadelphia, this fourteenth Day of November in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty five.
Attest:
John Armstrong, Jr., Secy.1
[Note 1: 1 This commission is in the Papers of the Continental Congress Pennsylvania Credentials. It is also entered in the Record of Credentials, No. 179, but not in the Journal.]
The People of the State of New York, By the Grace of God, Free and Independent: To all to whom these presents shall come send Greeting:
Whereas our Senate and Assembly have on the twenty-fourth day of this instant February Nominated and Appointed the Honorable John Haring, Melancton Smith, Zephaniah Platt, John Lawrance and Peter W. Yates Esquires Delegates to represent our said State in the United States in Congress assembled from the said Day of their appointment to the first Monday in November next, and from thence forward until ten days after the first subsequent meeting of the Legislature: Provided nevertheless, That the Delegates so nominated and appointed shall not on any account hold their Seats longer than one year from the day of their Appointment as aforesaid: Now Therefore Know Ye, That in pursuance of the said Nomination and Appointment We have by these presents Commissioned the said John Haring, Melancton Smith, Zephaniah Platt, John Lawrence and Peter W. Yates to represent our said State in the said Congress accordingly.
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In Testimony Whereof We have caused these our Letters to be made patent and the Great Seal of our said State to be hereunto affixed.
Witness our Trusty and Well-beloved George Clinton Esquire, Governor of our said State, General and Commander in Chief of all the Militia and Admiral of the Navy of the same, At our City of New York the Twenty-Seventh day of February in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-six and of our Independence the Tenth.
Geo: Clinton.1
[Note 1: 1 The original of this commission is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, New York Credentials. It is entered in the Record of Credentials, No. 179 but not in the Journal. According to indorsement it was read this day.]
[Seal pendant.]
Board of Treasury, 20th. March 1785[6]
The Board of Treasury to whom was Referred the Memorial of Increase and John Carpenter of the 13th. October, last, Praying payment of certain Certificates received by them for the Supply of Cattle for the use of the Army in the Years 1779 and 1780, beg leave to Report,
That the United States in Congress have by their Requisitions of the 27th. April, 1784, and 27th. September, 1785, called for sufficient Sums to pay the whole Interest due on the National Debt to the 31st. December, 1784.
That whilst the several States do not pay into the Common Treasury sufficient Sums in Specie to defray the Charges of the Federal Government, it would be improper in their judgement to make payment of the Principal of any Old Accounts except in cases of so particular a nature as to render a deviation from this principle justifiable.
That the case of the Memorialist is not of so peculiar a nature as to justify in their Opinion such a deviation; many Citizens of the several States in the Union being exposed to an equal Distress on account of Debts Contracted by them for the Service of the United States.
Under these Circumstances the Board Submit to the Consideration of Congress the following Resolve:
That the Memorial of Increase and John Carpenter, praying the Payment of the Principal of sundry Certificates Issued to them for
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Cattle furnished the Army in the Years 1779 and 1780, cannot in the present state of the Finances of the United States, be complied with1
[Note 1: 1 This report, signed by Samuel Osgood, Walter Livingston and Arthur Lee is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 138, I, folio 203. According to indorsement it was read March 22. Committee Book No. 189 states that it was transferred. See ante, October 13, 1785.]
[Motion of Mr. Henry Lee]
That a committee of five be appointed to examine what progress has been made in the execution of the ordinance of congress of May 20th., '85, ascertaining the mode of disposing of lands in the western territory, and to consider and report such alterations and amendments as may be necessary to give immediate efficacy to the accomplishment of the object of the said ordinance.2
[Note 2: 2 This motion, in the writing of Henry Lee is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 36, III, folio 235. According to indorsement it was "postponed 22 March 1786" and "April 3 Postponed."]
The Board of Treasury to whom was Referred the Memorial of Samuel Fraunces of the 13th. March, 1786, Beg leave to Report:
That Congress on the 4th. April, 1784, Resolved, "That in consideration of the singular Services of the said Samuel Fraunces, and of his Advances to the American Prisoners, the Sum of Two thousand Dollars be paid to the said Samuel Fraunces on account of the Loan Office Certificates in his hands; and that they be delivered up and Cancelled."
That in consequence of this order the Certificates of the said Samuel Fraunces, amounting to Two thousand Dollars, were presented to the proper Officers of the Treasury, in order to be Cancelled; and that on the Liquidation of the same it appeared, that their Specie value including Interest to the 29th. August was only 1,293 Dollars 63/90ths, for which Sum a Warrant Issued on the 30th. August last, in favor of the said Samuel Fraunces, agreeably to a Certificate of the Comptroller of the Treasury.
That on a farther Application of the said Samuel Fraunces to Congress claiming the difference betwixt the Sum ordered by the Resolve of Congress of the 4th. April, 1785, and the Sum received by him in pursuance of the above mentioned Warrant, Congress were pleased to order on the 15th. September, 1785, that the full sum of Two thousand Dollars should be Paid to the said Samuel Fraunces; and that in consequence of this order the said Samuel Fraunces received
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on the 16th. September last, the further Sum of 706 Dollars 27/90ths which Sum added to the Sum first mentioned, completes the Payment of the Sum granted to the said Samuel Fraunces, as above mentioned
From this State of Facts the Board Submit to the Consideration of Congress the following Resolve:
That the Memorial of Samuel Fraunces Praying for a further Allowance on certain Loan Office Certificates, cancelled in pursuance of the Resolve of Congress of the 4th. April, 1785, cannot be granted; the Memorialist having received the full Benefit of the Resolve above mentioned1
[Note 1: 1 This report, signed by Samuel Osgood, Walter Livingston and Arthur Lee, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 138, I, folio 521. According to indorsement it was read March 22, 1786 and acted on August 21, 1788.]
The Board of Treasury to whom was Referred the Memorial of Mr. Giles Wolcott of the 28th February last, praying Payment of a certain Sum said to be received by him for the Recruiting Service on the 3rd. January 1777, and lost in the Evacuation of Ticonderoga, Report:
That having Referred the said Memorial to the Commissioner of Army Accounts; the said Commissioner states, that it appears from the Recruiting Accounts of the said Giles Wolcott, lodged in his Office and Sworn to by the said Wolcott before the 6th July, 1777 (the time of the Retreat from Ticonderoga), that the whole Amount of the Money which had been charged to and paid by the said Giles Wolcott for Recruiting Service, had been by him Expended and that consequently the Money lost could not have been the property of the United States.
The Board therefore submit to the Consideration of Congress the following Resolve:2
[Note 2: 2 This report, signed by Samuel Osgood, Waiter Livingston and Arthur Lee, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 138, II, folio 569. According to indorsement it was read March 22 and passed March 29, where the resolve recommended is spread verbatim on the Journal.]
March 20th, 1786.
Office For Foreign Affairs,
22d March, 1786.
The Secretary of the United States for the Department of foreign Affairs to whom was referred his Report of 31st. January last on certain
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Letters from Mr. Adams, in order that he might prepare Drafts of the Instructions therein proposed, Reports:
That in his Opinion the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States at the Court of Versailles should be instructed in Manner following, vizt.--
Sir, It is the Pleasure of Congress that you represent to his most Christian Majesty--
That by the 11th. Article of the Treaty of Alliance between his said Majesty and the United States, they guaranty to each other as follows:
"The two Parties guaranty mutually from the present Time and forever, against all other Powers, to wit, the United States to his most Christian Majesty, the present Possessions of the Crown of France in America; as well as those which it may acquire by the future Treaty of Peace; and his most Christian Majesty guarantys on his part to the United States, their Liberty, Sovereignty, and Independence, absolute and unlimited, as well in Matters of Government as Commerce, and also their Possessions, and the Additions or Conquests that their Confederation may obtain during the War, from any of the Dominions now or heretofore possessed by Great Britain in North-America, conformable to the 5th. and 6th. Articles above written; the whole as their Possession shall be fixed and assured to the said States, at the Moment of the Cessation of their present War with England."
That the United States consider all the Countries, Dominions, and territorial Rights ascertained and assured to them at the Conclusion of the late War, by the Treaty of Peace between them and Great Britain, to be comprehended within the Terms and true Intent and Meaning of the said Guarantee.
That among other obstacles to their full and perfect Enjoyment of the said Countries and territorial Rights, Great Britain continues to withhold from them the Possession of their frontier Posts and Places occupied by them during the late War within the Boundaries of the United States, as ascertained and fixed by the said Treaty of Peace--Altho' by the 7th. Article of the said Treaty it was stipulated and agreed, that his brittannic Majesty should with all convenient Speed, withdraw all his Armies and Garrisons from the said United States and from every Post and Place within the same &ca.
That as near three Years have since elapsed, the United States consider the Detention of those Posts and Places as being contrary
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to the Terms of the Treaty, and inconsistent with the good Faith with which it ought to have been observed.
That they have by their Minister at the Court of London remonstrated to his brittanic Majesty on this Subject, but that no satisfactory answer has as yet been given to them.
That from the defensive State in which those Posts and Places are kept, as well as from the Number of Forces stationed in the Province of Quebec, the intention of his britannic Majesty to evacuate them has become problematical.
That being thus circumstanced, the United States think it their Duty to lay these Facts before their good Friend and ally, and to request that in the first instance, he will be pleased to join with them in making such further Remonstrances to his britannic Majesty, as it is to be hoped may render any less pacific Proceedings necessary.
That the Confidence which the United States repose in the Justice and Good Faith of his Majesty, leaves them no Room to Doubt of his Readiness to join with them in the measure proposed; and therefore that they have instructed their Minister at the Court of London, as soon as he shall be informed thereof, to confer freely and fully with his Majesty's Minister at the same Court; and in Concert with him, to make such Remonstrances on the Subject to his britannic Majesty, as they may jointly think most Expedient and conformable to their respective Instructions.
It is also the Pleasure of Congress that you represent to his most Christian Majesty.
That by the 8th. Article of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce subsisting between trim and the United States it is stipulated that, "The most Christian King will employ his good offices and Interpositions with the King or Emperor of Morocco, or Fez;--the Regencies of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoly, or with any of them; and also with every other Prince, State or Power, of the Coast of Barbary in Africa, and the Subjects of the said King, Emperor, States and Powers, and each of them, in order to provide as fully and efficaciously as possible for the Benefit, Conveniency and Safety of the said United States, and each of them, their Subjects, People and Inhabitants, and their Vessels and Effects, against all Violence, Insults, Attacks or Depredations, on the part of the said Princes and States of Barbary or their Subjects.
That the United States have found it necessary to commence Negociations with the above named Powers for the Purpose of
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forming such Treaties and Arrangements with them, as may prevent their committing any future Depredations on the American Vessels and Trade. You are to communicate to his Majesty an exact State of the Measures taken for that Purpose, and to request that he will, agreeable to the said Article, interpose his friendly Aid and good Offices to promote the Success of those Negociations, which negociations Mr. Adams and You will conduct in such a manner as you and he may think best calculated to give them all the Advantage that can result from his Majesty's Interposition.
Your Secretary further Reports that the Chargé des Affaires at the Court of Spain should be instructed as follows, viz:
It is the Pleasure of Congress that you present their Thanks to his Catholic Majesty for the very friendly Manner in which he interposed his good OfFices with the Emperor of Morocco in behalf of the american Vessel and Crew captured by one of his Corsairs; as well as for the kind Disposition he has expressed of his Readiness to promote a good Understanding between the United States and that Prince.
You will communicate to his Majesty that Congress have taken Measures for negociating a permanent Peace with the Emperor, and that they would esteem themselves greatly obliged by his Majesty's Endeavours to promote the Success of those Negociations, by exerting his Influence at that Court in their Favour.
You will assure his Majesty that Iris friendly Attention to the United States will always make a correspondent Impression on them, and that they will always be happy to embrace every Occasion of testifying the Sense they entertain of it, as well as of manifesting their sincere Disposition to unite the two Nations by the strongest Ties of mutual Affection and reciprocal Advantage.
Your Secretary takes the Liberty of observing, that as their High Mightinesses have agreed by the 23d. Article of the Treaty between them and the United States, to second and aid the Negociations of the latter with the African piratical States, it would in his Opinion
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be proper for Congress to avail themselves of this Article, and apply to their High Mightinesses accordingly.
All which is submitted to the Wisdom of Congress.
John Jay.1
[Note 1: 1 This report is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 81, II, folio 65. According to indorsement it was read 22 March, 1786, and "Thursday 30 March assigned for Consideration."
March 22: On this day, according to indorsement and Committee Book No. 190, a letter from James Livingston was read requesting Congress to settle his account of losses incurred in Canada in 1775 and 1776, in specie. It is in No. 138, II, folios 63--7 and was referred to the Board of Treasury to report which it did April 19.
Also was read a letter of March 21 from the Secretary for Foreign Affairs regarding a letter from John Temple and papers connected thereto. It is in No. 80, II, folio 175 and is indorsed as referred back to the Secretary and "Returned from the Office for foreign Affairs by Mr. Remsen. April 27th., 1790, the papers mentioned retained in the office for foreign Affairs."]
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