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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 2, 1786.
Congress assembled. Present as before.
Congress resumed the Consideration of the Requisition for 1786, and a motion was made by the delegates for South Carolina, to amend the requisition by adding thereto,
And whereas the State of South Carolina, in consequence of supplies furnished the federal army in 1782 and 1783, is entitled to a credit of her full quota of the requisition of the 30 October, 1781, for eight Millions of dollars, the payment of seven Millions of which have only been called for by the requisitions of the 27 April, 1784, and 27 September, 1785; Resolved, That the said state shall be entitled, on account of the said supplies, to a credit in the present requisition, for the sum her quota of the balance of the said requisition of the 30 October, 1781, amounts to, had the same been included in the present demand.
On the question to agree to this Amendment, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [Charles] Pinckney,
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So the question was lost.
A motion was then made by the delegates for South Carolina, to amend the Requisition by adding the following proviso:
Provided, that so far as relates to the state of South Carolina, this requisition be considered as including one Million of dollars, being that part of the requisition of 30 October, 1781, which hath heretofore remained uncalled for, so far as to entitle the said state to the benefit of paying the same in such manner as she was entitled to pay her quota of the said requisition.
And on the question to agree to this Amendment, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [Charles] Pinckney,
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So it was resolved in the affirmative.
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A motion was then made by Mr. [Charles] Pettit, seconded by Mr. [John Bubenheim] Bayard, to strike out the following clause of the estimate, viz.
For the payment of principal and interest, due (on foreign debt) in the year 1787, which ought to be provided for this year, 1,392,05917/30 dollars.
On the question, shall that clause stand? the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [Charles Pettit,
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So it was resolved in the affirmative.
On the question, Resolved, That for the services of the present year, 1786, for the payment of the interest, and two installments of principal on the French and Dutch loans, that are payable according to the contracts, in the beginning of the year 1787, and for1 the payment of one year's interest
[Note 1: 1 At this point Benjamin Bankson beg the entry.]
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on the domestic debt, it will be necessary that three Millions, seven hundred and seventy-seven thousand and sixty-two dollars 43/90 be paid into the common Treasury, on or before the first day of January next, to be appropriated to the following purposes:
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for That the Quotas of the several States be as follows:That the foregoing requisition is made in virtue of the powers of the Confederation, and is obligatory on the States as such, and, when paid, shall be passed to the Credit of the
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States respectively, on the terms prescribed by the resolve of Congress of the 6th day of October, 1779, and shall be applied in conformity to the statement in the preceding part of this requisition, giving preference according to the order in which they are placed in the estimate.
As one Million, six hundred and six thousand, five hundred and sixty dollars called for is to be applied to the payment of the interest on the domestic debt, that the several States be allowed to discharge the same by Indents for interest on Loan Office Certificates, and upon other Certificates of the liquidated debts of the United States: And to ascertain the evidences of interest due upon Loan Office Certificates, the holders thereof respectively, shall be at liberty to carry them to the Office from which they issued, and the holders of other Certificates of liquidated debts of the United States, to carry the same to the Loan Office of that State wherein they are Inhabitants, or, if foreigners, to any Loan Office within the United States, and to have the interest thereon settled and certified to the last day of the year 1785.
Provided that the Commissioner of the Continental Loan Office in any State, shall not, on any pretence whatever, settle or issue any Certificate or Certificates, for the interest due on any Continental Loan Office Certificate, or other Certificate of liquidated debts, until the State for which he is Continental Loan Officer, shall have passed a legislative Act thereby providing adequate funds for complying with this requisition; nor shall the Commissioner aforesaid, in any State that shall have complied with this requisition, issue any Certificate, or take any other measure whereby a discrimination may be made by such State, between the holders of Loan Office Certificates issued from his Office, who are Citizens of that State, and Foreigners, or the Citizens of any other State that shall have complied with this requisition: Provided always, that any Continental Loan Officer shall issue Certificates for interest as aforesaid, due on Continental Loan
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Office Certificates issued from his Office, and belonging to foreigners, and also to the Citizens of such States as shall have passed a legislative Act complying with this requisition.
That every Commissioner of the Continental Loan Office, previously to settling and issuing Certificates as aforesaid, for the interest due on Certificates of liquidated debts, other than loan office Certificates, shall administer an oath or affirmation, or require a Certificate signed by one of the persons whom the State in which the Commissioner resides, shall, in the legislative Act complying with this requisition, appoint, that he has administered to the Owner or possessor of every such Certificate, an oath or affirmation, that the same is bona fide, the property of the particular State in which the said Commissioner resides, or of a Citizen or Citizens of the said State, or of some corporate body or Charitable institution within the same, or of some person who is not a Citizen of any of the United States, describing the Certificate or certificates alluded to in every such oath or affirmation, in such manner as shall be necessary to identify the same, or as may be prescribed by the Legislature of the said State.
And for preventing the depreciation of Certificates to be issued as aforesaid, the Legislature of each State is required to provide, in the act complying with this requisition, that if, on the first day of July, 1787, the said State's quota of the said Certificates so to be issued, shall not be in the hands of the State Treasurer, or other proper Officer, the deficiency shall be collected and paid into the Continental Treasury in Specie, which, when so paid, is hereby appropriated to the redemption of such surplus Certificates.
That the Board of Treasury furnish the several Loan Officers, with Certificates to be issued for interest as aforesaid; and also with such Checks and instructions, as they, from time to time, shall judge necessary, to prevent Counterfeited Certificates of debts from obtaining a settlement of interest, and to detect counterfeit evidences of interest, and thereby
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to avoid receiving them in discharge of taxes: which Certificates of interest being parted with by the holders of the principal, shall be deemed evidence that he has received satisfaction for the same; and therefore shall be receivable from the Bearer in lieu of money, in the proportion of one dollar and one third in Specie for one dollar in Indents, in any other State in the Union, as well as in the State in which they were issued. That the State receiving such Certificates, and paying the same into the public Treasury, with a portion of Specie as aforesaid, shall have credit therefor, which payment shall be considered as a discharge of the interest on the domestic debt, in the proportion that each State avails itself of the said Certificates of interest. That all Loan Office Certificates issued after the first day of March, 1778, shall be reduced to their Specie value, conformably to the resolution of Congress of the 28 June, 1780, and the interest shall be ascertained and settled, agreeably to the Specie value of the Certificate.
Provided, that so far as relates to the State of South Carolina, this requisition be considered as including one million of Dollars, being that part of the requisition of 30 October, 1781, which hath heretofore remained uncalled for, so far as to entitle the said State to the benefit of paying the same in such manner, as she was entitled to pay her quota of the said requisition.1
[Note 1: 1 This is the report, verbatim, of the Board of Treasury, dated June 22, 1786, and read June 27. It is in No. 139, folio 233, in the handwriting of a clerk, with various changes in the writing of Samuel Osgood and Charles Thomson.]
The Committee consisting of Mr. [Charles] Pinekney, Mr. [Rufus] King, and Mr. [Edward] Cartington to whom was referred a report of the board of treasury on a motion from South Carolina, Report * * *
That there are 13,104 10/90 dollars due the officers of the late Virginia line and 10,276 19/90 due the officers of the late South Carolina line and hospital department for the same pay in 1782 and 1783.
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The said board farther report there can be no doubt these officers are entitled to the same payments as were made the officers of the main army, and the presumption is that nothing but the state of the finances prevented the late superintendant of finances from putting the southern officers upon an equal footing with the other part of that line.
Whereupon the Committee submit the following resolutions.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Charles Pinckney, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 20, II, folio 233. According to indorsement it was read August 2. The omitted paragraph and the submitted resolutions were adopted verbatim October 10, 1786, and are there spread on the Journal.]
[Office or Secretary Of Congress]
August 2, 1786.
On the two memorials of Peter Landais, the one claiming interest on the gratuity of 12,000 livres from 4 Decr., 1777 (the time he thinks it ought to have been paid to him), to the 6 March, 1779 (the time when Congress was pleased to make the grant), and interest upon that Interest from the 6 May, 1785, to the time it will be paid. The other claiming to be paid in ready money the sum of 1,8144/10 dollars for which Congress by their Act of the 2 June, 1785, ordered the Comr. for settling the Accounts of the marine department to give him a certificate bearing an Int: of 6 per cent pr an. from 6 May, 1785.
The Secretary of Congress reports That the Agreed to Aug. 2. memorials of Peter Landais be referred to the board of treasury.
On the petition of Thomas Scott, late waggonmaster claiming pay for his services from 1 May, 1777, to 1 Aug., 1780, and for ten horses which he says were taken from him by enemy refugees in Decr., 1779.
The Secretary of Congress reports That the petition Agreed to Aug. 2. petition of Thomas Scott be referred to the board of treasury.2
[Note 2: 2 These proceedings were entered in the Reports of the Secretary of Congress, No. 180.
August 2: "Board of treasury. Their letter on report accompanying the requisition for 1786 to prepare and report an Address to the States to accompany the requisition." The Board reported August 31.
Committee Book, No. 190.
Also, according to indorsement, was read a letter from the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, forwarding letters of May 12, 23, 27 and 31 from Thomas Jefferson and June 6 from John Adams. Jay's letter is in No. 80, II, folio 45. Jefferson's are in No. 87, I, folios 255, 367, 381, 478 and 498; Adams' is in No. 84, VI, folio 211.]
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