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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, AUGUST 23, 1786.
Congress assembled. Present, as before.
Congress went into a committee of the whole, and after some time the president resumed the chair, and Mr. [John] Bull reported, that the committee of the whole have taken into consideration the subjects referred to them, and have come to a resolution thereon, which he was ordered to report.
The report of the committee of the whole being read:1
[Note 1: 1 The report of the Committee of the Whole is spread on the Journals of August 28.]
Ordered, That it be taken into consideration on Monday next.
On the report of a committee, consisting of Mr. [William] Henry, Mr. [Rufus] King and Mr. [Lambert] Cadwallader, to whom was referred a report of the board of treasury, relative to the issue of Indents to the State of Pennsylvania,
Resolved, That the acts of Congress of the 27 and 28 of April, 1784, do not authorise any State to pay certificates or discounts of interest, on the domestic debt, to an amount exceeding one quarter part of the sums or balances then due from the several States to complete a moiety of the requisition of the 30 of October, 1781, for eight Millions of dollars.
Resolved, That the board of treasury be, and hereby are authorised and directed to give orders for the continuation of the issue of indents of Interest in the State of Pennsylvania, agreeably to the requisition of the 27 September last; provided that such emission of Indents be not considered as warranting that construction of the requisition of the 27 and 28 of April, 1784, which the State has thought proper to make, and by which construction 86,658 dollars in specie, due to the United States upon that requisition, has not been provided for in the legislative Act of the said State of the 8 of March last.
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According to order, Congress took into consideration the report of the committee, on the letter of the 16, from his Excellency the governor of New York, and the first resolution, reported by the committee, being amended and passed, and the second amended so as to read, "the United States in Congress assembled, did on the 11th day of the present month, and still do deem, &c." a Motion was made by the delegates of New York, to postpone the second and third resolutions, in Order to take up the following:
Whereas the governor of the State of New York, in answer to the recommendation of Congress of the 11th instant, hath signified to Congress, that he cannot, in his opinion, consistent with the constitution of the said state, convene the legislature thereof for the purpose specified in the said resolve, as appears by his letter to his excellency the President, dated the 16th, in the words following: "New York, 16 August, 1786. Sir, I take the liberty of addressing this to your excellency, to acknowledge the receipt of the resolution of the United States in Congress assembled, of the 11th instant, transmitted to me yesterday by their Secretary, recommending to the executive of this State immediately to convene the legislature, to take into consideration the recommendation of the 18 of April, 1783. I beg leave to assure your Excellency, that I entertain the highest deference and respect for the Authority of Congress, and that it will always afford me great pleasure to have it in my power to comply with their recommendations: But in the present case, permit me to observe, that I have not power to convene the legislature before the time fixed by law for their stated Meeting, except on extraordinary occasions; and as the present business proposed for their consideration has already been repeatedly laid before them, and so recently as at their last session received their determination, it cannot come within that description. A copy of their act passed on the occasion, I have had the honour of laying before Congress through the delegates of this State, and your Excellency will readily perceive it is not my province to determine how far it conforms to the Recommendation in question. I cannot conclude without adding, that I feel myself unhappy to be formally called on by Congress, in an instance in which I cannot yield a compliance without breaking through one of those checks which the wisdom of our Constitution has provided against the abuse
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of Office, and which, I am persuaded, Congress will approve the sentiment, when I declare, I find myself bound, as well by inclination as by duty, to preserve. I have the honor to be, with the highest respect, your Excellency's most obedient Servant, Geo. Clinton:" Therefore Resolved, That to repeat the recommendation of Congress to the supreme executive of the State of New York, on this subject, would be inexpedient."1
[Note 1: 1 This resolve, in the writing of Melancton Smith, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 36, IV, folio 61. It quotes the resolve of the 11th instant and has the following words lined out in the resolve after Clinton's letter: "would be improper as it would involve an interference of Congress on a question respecting the construction of the Constitution of that State upon which Congress have by the Confederation no right to decide, will probably lead this house into a dispute with the supreme executive of the State of New York and disgust the Legislature thereof." Clinton's letter is in No. 67, II, folio 539.]
On the question to postpone for the purpose abovementioned, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [Melancton] Smith,
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So it passed in the negative.
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On the question to agree to the second resolution as amended, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [John] Haring,
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So it was resolved in the affirmative.
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On the question to agree to the third resolution, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [Melancton] Smith,
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So it was resolved in the affirmative, and the whole was agreed to as follows:
The committee, consisting of Mr. [William Samuel] Johnson, Mr. [Rufus] King, Mr. [Charles] Pinckney, Mr. [James] Monroe and Mr. [William] Grayson, to whom was referred a letter from his excellency the governor of New York, of the 16, having reported,
That they have examined an Act passed by the state of New York, on the 4 day of May last, entitled "An Act for giving and granting to the United States in Congress assembled, certain imposts and duties on foreign goods imported into that state, for the special purpose of paying the principal and interest of the debt contracted in the prosecution of the late war with great Britain:" That by the act of Congress of the 18th of April, 1783,1 it is recommended to the several States as indispensably necessary to the restoration of public credit,
[Note 1: 1 At this point Charles Thomson resumes the entry.]
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and to the punctual and honourable discharge of the public debts, to invest the United States in Congress assembled, with a power to levy certain duties upon goods imported into the United States; provided that the collectors of the said duties should be appointed by the states within which their offices are to be respectively exercised, but when so appointed, to be amenable to and removable by the United States in Congress assembled alone. The committee conceive that the investing the United States in Congress assembled with this power, which includes that of forming the necessary regulations,1 or revenue laws, with suitable penalties, of declaring the money in which the said duties shall be received, of establishing the number of revenue Officers, and ascertaining their duties, has been, and must be considered as an essential part of the plan submitted to the several states for their adoption: The exercise of this power by thirteen separate Authorities would introduce different laws upon the same subject, ordain various penalties for the same offence, destroy the equality of the tax, and might, in a great measure, defeat the revenue. All the states, except New York, having in pursuance of the Recommendation of the 18 of April, 1783, granted the impost by acts vesting this power, with certain qualifications, exclusively in the United States in Congress assembled; the long continued embarassments of the public finances, and the indispensable demands of the federal government, dictate the necessity of an immediate and unanimous adoption on this measure. Impressed with these opinions, the Committee have carefully examined the act of the state of New York, and submit the following remarks: 1st. That several of the states which have passed acts investing the United States in Congress assembled, under certain restrictions, with power to levy the duties on goods imported into the United States, agreeably to the recommendation of the 18 of April, 1783, have inserted in their acts express conditions that the same shall not be in force, or begin to operate until all the states in the Confederacy have passed acts vesting the United States in Congress assembled, with power to levy in the several states, like duties. 2d. That the act of the state of New York, does not invest the United States in Congress assembled, with power to levy in that state the duties therein mentioned; but reserves to the state of New York, the sole power of levying and collecting the same in the manner directed in and by an act of that state, entitled "An act imposing duties on
[Note 1: 1 At this point Charles Thomson resumes the entry.]
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certain goods, wares and merchandize imported into the said state, passed the 18 day of November, 1784, and consequently prevents the operation of the impost in those states which have made the exercise of this power by the United States in Congress assembled, an indispensable and express condition of their grants. 3d. That the said act does not make the collectors of the said duties amenable to, and removable by the United States in Congress assembled; but ordains, that upon conviction before the supreme court of Judicature, or in the court of exchequer of the state of New York, for any default or neglect in the execution of the duties required of them by the said act, or by an Act of that state, entitled "An act imposing duties on certain goods, wares and merchandize imported into the said state," they shall be removed from office, and others appointed instead of the persons so convicted; which is a material departure from the plan recommended by Congress. 4th. That by an Act of the state of New York,1 entitled "An act for emitting the sum of two hundred thousand pounds, in bills of credit, for the purposes therein mentioned," passed the 18th April, 1786, it is among other things enacted, "That gold and silver, and the bills of credit emitted by virtue of the said act, shall be received by the collector for duties arising on goods, wares and merchandise imported into the said State, after the passing of the said act," in consequence whereof, admitting that the System of a general Impost, could be put in operation, it would remain optional with the importer to pay the duties on goods imported into the State of New York, in specie, or bills of credit, emitted by virtue of the aforesaid act. 5th. If bills of credit of the State of New York should be received from the importer in that State, upon the principles of equal Justice, bills of credit emitted by any other State, must be received from the importer of goods in such State, and thereby instead of the system yielding a sum in actual money, nothing but paper would be brought into the federal treasury, which would be wholly inapplicable to the payment of any part of the Interest or principal of the foreign debt of the United States; thereupon,
[Note 1: 1 Roger Alden here resumes the entry.]
Resolved, That the Act of the state of New York, entitled "An Act for giving and granting to the United States in Congress assembled, certain2 imposts and duties on foreign goods imported into that state, for the special purpose of
[Note 2: 2 Charles Thomson here resumes the entry.]
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paying the principal and interest of the debts contracted in the prosecution of the late war with Great Britain," so essentially varies from the system of impost recommended by the United States in Congress assembled, on the 18th day of April, 1783, that the said act is not, and cannot be considered as a compliance with the same, so as to enable Congress, consistently with the acts of the other states, to bring the system into operation.
Resolved, That the present critical and embarrassed situation of the finances of the United States is such, as to require, that the system of impost should be carried into immediate effect. That New York being the only State which has not yet adopted the same, the United States in Congress assembled, did on the 11 day of the present month, and still do, deem this an occasion sufficiently important and extraordinary, to request that the legislature of the said state should be convened, for the purpose of taking the said system into their immediate and serious consideration, and granting the same, in the manner recommended by the resolution of the 18 April, 1783.
Resolved, That it be again earnestly recommended to the executive of the State of New York, immediately to convene the legislature of the said state, to take into their consideration, the recommendation of the 18 April, 1783, for the purpose of granting the system of impost in such conformity with the acts and grants of the other states, as on their part to enable the United States in Congress assembled, to carry the same into effect.1
[Note 1: 1 See post, August 29.
August 23: The report, in part, of the committee of July 13 on "their report on temporary government for Western territory and Petition of Inhabitants of Kaskasies" was submitted. It was read this day and agreed to August 24 where it is spread verbatim on the Journal. See post, September 18. The petition from Kaskasies, dated November 10, 1784, and attested by a notary May 29, 1786, is in No. 41, V, folio 113. It was forwarded to Congress by letter from the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, August 23, 1786, which is in No. 80, III, folio 53, and was read August 23.
The petition of John Lesure for pay and rations due him, was referred to the Commissioner of Army Accounts to report and a report rendered August 28. The petition is in No. 42, IV, folio 400.
The "letter of 22 with the petitions enclosed from R. Lawrence, Thos. Mullenox, W. Hunt, John Hulett and Chas. Hulett" were referred to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs to report. He reported on Lawrence March 15, 1787. Jay's letter is in No. 81, II, folio 149; the petitions follow it. According to indorsement the letter was read and referred August 22. The petitioners complain of actions at law contrary to the treaty of peace with Great Britain. Lawrence's petition is in No. 42, IV, folio 442.
Committee Book No. 190.
Also, according to indorsement, was read a report from the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, dated August 23, on the note from the Minister of the United Netherlands respecting the Dutch creditors of De la Lande & Fynje and advising that the Minister be informed that the federal government cannot interfere in matters of a purely State character. According to Committee Book No. 189, this report was this day transferred. Jay's letter is in No. 81, II, folio 169, and is indorsed as "transmitted to the Office S: f: Affrs. Novr. 6, 1787."]
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