| PREVIOUS | NEXT | NEW SEARCH |
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journals of the Continental Congress --WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 1786.
Congress assembled. Present as before.
A letter, of this day, from Mr. W. Livingston, one of the Commissioners of the board of treasury, was read, requesting leave of absence for one month from the 21st of this month.2
[Note 2: 2 Livingston's letter is in No. 78, XIV, folio 727.]
Ordered, That leave be granted.
[Office of Secretary of Congress],
Aug 16, 1786.
On a petition of Doct. Pelon a Canadian stating his attachmt. to the Cause of America and his losses and sufferings on that Accot. and praying for some compensation the Secy. of Congress reports:
That the petition of Doct. Pelong be referred to Agreed to. the board of treasy.3
[Note 3: 3 This report is entered by Thomson in Reports of the Secretary of Congress, No. 180.]
The Committee consisting of Mr. [William Samuel] Johnson, Mr. [Charles] Pinckney and Mr. [Charles] Pettit to whom was referred a motion of Mr. Pinckney, Report:
That in examining the several provisions which have been intended by Congress for the security and payment of the domestic debt, they find that such has been the inattention of the several states to the annual requisition of Congress and so few of them have passed acts in conformity with that part of the Revenue system of the 18 April, 1783, which proposes the establishment of funds supplementary to and in aid of the general impost, that no reasonable hope can be indulged of effectual provision being made by either of the means above mentioned.
That it appears to your committee expedient some mode should be established for the speedy extinguishment of the said domestic
Page 522 | Page image
debt and which would tend to equalize its burden by drawing from the several members of the confederacy their full and just proportions of the same.
After the fullest investigation there appears no mode so reasonable or so probable of success as that of apportioning upon the several states their quota's of the domestic debt as far as the same is at present liquidated and requiring them to pay the same into the federal treasury at a stated period.
Whereupon the Committee submit to Congress the following resolutions:
Resolved, That the Board of Treasury be and they are hereby directed to report a requisition on the several states for their respective quotas of the domestic debt as far as the same is at present liquidated and ascertained.
That the said states be required to pay their respective quotas of the said debt into the federal treasury on or before theday of incontinental loan office certificates and other certificates of debts due from the United States liquidated and ascertained according to the direction of the United States in Congress assembled, the Loan office certificates bearing date after the last day of february, 1778, to be liquidated by the scale of June, 1780.
That if any state shall offer in payment Certificates, whereon interest has not been paid up to the 31st. December, 1785, such state shall be credited on account of the facility part of the requisitions of 1785 and 1786 for the amount of such interest as may remain due on such certificates to the said 31 december 1785.
That any state which shall have paid its quota of such certificates shall at any time after the Expiration of the saidDay ofbe permitted to pay in any farther sum in certificates of the like kind to be passed to the credit of such state and be allowed in the settlement of the general account of such state with the United States.
That the vacant territory of the U.S. to be sold in the respective states Pursuant to the Ordinance of the 20th. May, 1785, may be paid for in the mode therein mentioned or in such certificates of debts due from the state in which the lands are as aforesaid to be sold as such state shah direct,--provided such state shall be paid into the treasury of the U.S. the quota of certificates demanded by the said requisition.
That the states shall respectively have Credit on account of the supplementary funds recommended by the system of 18 April, 1783,
Page 523 | Page image
or on account of such requisition as may hereafter be made for the purpose of paying the interests of the domestic debt, for the amount of the interests which shall from time to time become due from and after the 31st. December, 1785, on such certificates of liquidated debts as any state shall have paid in, pursuant to the said requisition.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Charles Pinckney, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 26, folio 603; a printed copy is on folio 607. According to indorsement it was read August 16 "2d. Report, 1786. Order for Monday Augt. 21, 1786." Committee Book No. 189 states that it was transferred.]
The Committee consisting of Mr. [William Samuel] Johnson, Mr. [Charles] Pinckney and Mr. Pettit to whom was referred a motion of Mr. [Charles] Pinckney, Report in part:
That in pursuance of the above reference they have carefully examined the acts passed by the several states relative to the general system of revenue recommended by Congress on the 18 April, 1783, and find that only the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and North Carolina have passed acts in pursuance of that part of the recommendation which proposes the establishment of funds supplementary to, and in aid of the general impost.
That it appears to your committee indispensably necessary to the restoration of public credits--the honourable and punctual discharge of the debts of the United States and the equalising the said system of revenue, that this part of the recommendation should be speedily and fully complied with by all the members of the Confederacy.
Whereupon the committee recommend submit to Congress the following resolution:
Resolved, That it be again earnestly recommended to the legislatures of the states of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia which have not yet complied with that part of the system of general revenue recommended by Congress on the 18 April, 1783, which proposes the establishment of funds supplementary to and in aid of the general impost to pass laws without further delay in full conformity with the same at their session next succeeding the date of these resolutions and not farther delay the completion of a system so essential to the assertion of the public credit and the honourable and punctual discharge of the debts of the U.S.2
[Note 2: 2 This report, in the writing of Charles Pinckney, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 26, folio 609. According to indorsement it was the: "1st. report" and was read August 16, 1786.]
Page 524 | Page image
The commee [consisting of Mr. William Henry, Mr. Rufus King and Mr. Lambert Cadwallader] to whom was the report of the board of Treasury relative to the Issue of Indents to the State of Pennsylvania, Submit the following Resolves:1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Rufus King, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 20, II, folio 181. According to indorsement it was read August 16. The submitted resolves were passed August 23, where they are spread verbatim on the Journal.
August 16: The following committee was appointed: Mr. [William Samuel] Johnson, Mr. [Rufus] King, Mr. [Charles] Pinckney, Mr. [James] Monroe and Mr. [William] Grayson, on "Letter 16 Aug. 1786 Govr. of New York." A report was rendered August 18 and considered by Congress August 22. Governor Clinton's letter is in No. 67, II, folio 539 and is in answer to Congress' recommendation regarding the resolutions of April 18, 1783.
"A report for transportation of the Mail and establishment of cross posts" was referred to the Postmaster General "To report an estimate of the annual expence of the several cross posts proposed to be established and also the probable productiveness of the said posts respectively." Report was rendered August 21. See ante, August 15. A resolution in the writing of Charles Thomson and Roger Alden, with a few changes by Rufus King, is in No. 61, folio 537. It is dated August 16 and is practically identical with the report of the committee of August 24 which was adopted and spread on the Journal September 4.
Committee Book No. 190.
Also, according to indorsement, a petition of August 15 from Edward Fox, Commissioner for settling Hospital Accounts, was read, praying relief from financial loss caused by his moving from Philadelphia to New York on Congress business. It is in No. 41, III, folio 334, and the indorsement states that it was referred August 17 to a committee. See post, August 18.
Also was read a letter of August 15, from Arthur Lee asking to have delivered to him, free of postage charges, a box addressed to his brother Richard Henry Lee which was put into the post office by mistake. It is in No. 78, XIV, folio 627 and is indorsed "Referred to the postmaster general to take Order. Chas. Thomson Secy."
Also on this day Mr. Charles Pinckney delivered a speech in Congress in answer to Mr. Jay's speech of August 3 on the Spanish negotiation. It is in broadside form among the Continental Congress broadsides and will be found under the Notes of Debates.]
PREVIOUS SECTION .. NEXT SECTION .. NAVIGATOR
| PREVIOUS | NEXT | NEW SEARCH |