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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 --TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1786.
Congress assembled. Present, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia; and from Pennsylvania, Mr. [Charles] Pettit.
On the report of a committee, consisting of Mr. [Melancton] Smith, Mr. [Charles] Pinckney and Mr. [Jonathan] Sturges, to whom were referred a letter from the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, for the northern district, and a motion from the State of Georgia,
Resolved, That the Superintendant of Indian Affairs, for the Southern district, be, and he is hereby directed, to repair to the States of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia,
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agreeably to the resolution of Congress of the 6th of the present Month, and as there is reason to believe there are animosities existing between the Indian Nations and the Inhabitants of the frontiers of North Carolina and Georgia, the said Superintendant is hereby directed to investigate the causes of the uneasinesses, and report the same to Congress, with all convenient despatch, in Order that such measures may be adopted, as may be most consistent with the interests of the United States, and the safety of their citizens.
That the said Superintendant be, and he is hereby directed, in the course, of his examination and in the execution of the duties of his Office, to confer and consult with the executives of the States of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, and that it be, and it is hereby recommended to them to afford him all the aid and protection in their power, for the purposes above-mentioned.
Resolved, That if upon due examination, it shall be discovered that the Indians should refuse reasonable terms of pacification, and evince a disposition to commit or continue hostilities upon the citizens of the said States, that the executives of the States, whose inhabitants are subject to the effects of such hostility, be informed that Congress are determined always to afford the most ample protection in their power to the citizens of the United States.
Ordered, That the board of treasury take Order for giving the Superintendant for the southern district, an Order on the State of North Carolina, for a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, for which the said superintendant shall be accountable.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Charles Pinckney and Henry Remsen, jr., is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 30, folio 303. The amount was not mentioned in the report.]
An Ordinance for the establishment of the Mint of the United States of America, and for regulating the value and alloy of coins, being read a second time,
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Ordered, That thursday next be assigned for the third reading.1
[Note 1: 1 See post, October 16.]
The committee, consisting of Mr. [Charles] Pinckney, Mr. [Rufus] King and Mr. [Edward] Carrington, to whom was referred a report of the board of treasury, on a motion from South Carolina, having reported,
"That it appears from the said report, that there is a balance of 319 dollars, due to the Officers of the late Maryland line, for three months pay due to the subalterns, and two months due the Officers of other grades, in 1782, and four months due the Officers in 1783. That there are 13,004 10/90 dollars, due the Officers of the late Virginia line, and 10,276 12/90; dollars, due the Officers of the late South Carolina line and hospital department, for the same pay in 1782 and 1783,"
Resolved, by 9 States, That it be, and it is hereby recommended to the States of Maryland and Virginia, to pay to the Officers of their respective lines, the sums which shall appear due to them for the said three months pay in 1782, and four months in 1783, agreeably to the return of the late paymaster general, for which sums, when paid, the said States shall be entitled to a credit on their Specie proportions of the requisition of September, 1785.
That it be by do. and it is hereby recommended to the State of South Carolina, to pay to the Officers of their late line and hospital department, the said sum of ten thousand two hundred and seventy-six dollars and twelve-ninetieths mentioned to be due to them by the said report, the said sum to be paid to the said Officers, agreeably to a return of the late paymaster general, and for which the said state shall have credit, on the specie proportion of the last requisition.
On a report of the Commissioner of Accounts for the marine department, to whom was referred a petition of Abraham Whipple,
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That the claim of the Petitioner to be allowed the expences said to be incurred, in Attending to the settlement of his Accounts is inadmissable, and if Allowed, would introduce similar claims on the part of every person having Accounts to settle, with the Public.
With respect to the Moneys said to be expended in providing for Eleven passengers taken on board by Order of Doctor Franklin, no Authority is shewn, for expending any Monies for the purposes mentioned nor any Voucher for the Actual expenditure of the sum in Question. On the Contrary, a Resolve of Congress of the 25 July, 1777, Orders
"That when Agents, for the United States, or any person in Authority under them, put passengers on board any Continental Vessel of War, they shall lay in, the Necessary Stores, for their Accommodation, to prevent expence and inconvenience, to the Commanders."
The Claim for an Allowance of two doll(r.s.) pr. day as extra pay for Commanding more Ships than One, Your Commissioner did not think himself Authorized to Allow, no provision having been made for that purpose, by Congress, but as Allowances have been made to Officers under similar circumstances in the Army.1 Your Commissioner Submits whether like provision should not be made for the Marine.
[Note 1: 1 Resolves: 1777, April 15, Sept. 2; 1779, May 13; 1781, May 8.]
On the whole Your Commissioner submits the following:
Resolved, by 9 States, That as it appears from the deposition of captain Whipple, that the sum of money, stated in his petition, was public Money stolen from him, without any negligence on his part, and that the sum therein said to be remaining in his hands, is the actual Money he received from the public, and has never been applied to any use since it came into his possession, the Commissioner of Accounts pass the said sums to his credit, on his returning the said Money, on hand, to the Commissioner:
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That, as it appears also from the deposition of the said captain Whipple, that he expended a large sam of money in providing seastores for a number of passengers, ordered on board his ship in France, by Dr. Franklin, the commissioner of accounts be, and he is hereby directed to ascertain, as near as possible, the amount thereof, and allow it on the settlement of the said A. Whipple's accounts [upon his producing sufficient evidence, that the said passengers were received by Dr. Franklin's order] and that, an extra allowance of one Dollar and a half p. day be made to Capt. Whipple Postponed. during the time he had Other Vessels than his Own under his Command.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Commissioner Ben Walker, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 31, folio 159. The phrase in brackets was added by Congress. See post, October 12.]
The Committee consisting of Mr. [Edward] Carrington, Mr [Lambert] Cadwallader, and Mr. [Henry] Lee to whom was referred a Letter of the 19th. of September from Jonathan Burrall respecting a claim of Donald Campbell, report as follows:
Your Committee find that on the 16th. of June, 1775, it was resolved by the United States in Congress that there be one quarter master General for the grand army, and one deputy under him for the Separate Army; that the pay of the quarter master General be 80 dollars per month, and that of the deputy 40 dollars per month.
That on the 17th. of July in the same year it was resolved that a deputy Quartermaster General be appointed for the New York department--that Donald Campbell was elected to that Office, and that it was resolved that he have the rank of Colonel in the army. That on the 13th. of February, 1777, it was resolved that the sd. Donald Campbell be continued in his former pay and Rank, and that he be directed to repair immediately to the Commissioners for auditing the Accounts of the Northern Army, and settle with them the Accounts of his late department; the former part of which last resolution appears to your Committee to have been occasioned by a report of General Gates, to whom had been referred the sentence of a Court Martial Cashiering the said Campbell, "that in his opinion the said" Donald Campbell Deputy Quartermaster General in the Northern
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Army, did not deserve to be Cashiered for the crime alledged against him.
From the foregoing facts your Committee are of Opinion that the appointment of the said Donald Campbell, ought to be considered as applying to the Office of deputy Quartermaster General, described in the resolution of the 16th. of June, 1775, and entitling him to the pay of forty dollars per month; That the resolution of the 13th. of February, 1777, for continuing him in his former pay and rank, cannot be considered as operating to confer pay as to any existing Office, as the same resolution directs an immediate settlement of the Accounts of his late department, which shews that his Official standing in the Quartermasters department, upon his first appointment was at an end, and it does not appear, he ever had another; nor could it operate to annex the pay to his rank, as his former pay was annexed to his office as deputy quarter master General, and not to his rank in the Army. Your Committee are therefore of Opinion, that taking the whole of the said resolution of the 13th. of February, 1777, together, the continuance of the former pay of the said Donald Campbell, must have been intended for no other purpose, than to enable him to settle his Accounts.
Whereupon the following Resolution is submitted: That the Commissioner for settling the accounts of the quartermaster's department be directed to settle with Donald Campbell as deputy quarter master General from the 17th. of July, 1775, to the twentieth of June, 1781, when it appears that Congress ordered the Board of Treasury to make a final settlement of his Accounts, allowing him 40 dollars per month and the rations of provisions and forage legally annexed to his appointment, deducting from the amount whatever may have been heretofore allowed for the same.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of Henry Remsen, jr., is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 19, V, folio 505. According to indorsement it was read October 10.]
Office for Foreign Affairs,
October 9, 1786.
Sir: I take the earliest opportunity of informing your Excellency that Mr. Remsen, on reading the printed Scheme of a consular Convention, observed that it did not exactly correspond with the copy in this Office. This circumstance led him to compare it with the Original
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scheme in the secretary's Office; and on making that comparison he discovered important omissions in the 12 Article of' the copy belonging to this Office. As the discovery of this Omission rescues the 10th. Article of the convention from the charge of essential deviations from the 12 in the scheme, and as it shews the latter to be equally liable with the former to the Objections made against it in my report, I think it my duty to enclose a note of this variation between the original scheme and the copy in this Office, that Congress may have an opportunity of making any further Order that they may think proper on the subject. I confess that the Scheme now appears to me more ineligible than I before thought it, though I am still of opinion that the only prudent way of getting over this unpleasant business is to conclude a convention similar even to the scheme as it now appears to be, and render its inconveniences temporary by an Article limiting its duration.
With great respect and esteem, I have the honour to be, &c.
J. Jay.
His Excellency the President of Congress.
Note of the difference between the 12 Article of the scheme of the convention entered in the year 1782, on the Journal belonging to the Office for foreign Affairs,1 and the said article in the Original Scheme recorded in the secret Journal in the secretary's Office.
[Note 1: 1 This Journal is No. 127 of the Papers of the Continental Congress and is at present retained in the custody of the Department of State.]
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"They (consuls and vice Consuls) may cause to be arrested and sequestered, every vessel carrying the flag of their respective Nations, and even send them back to France or the United States, as the case may be; as well as arrest any captain, master, seaman or passenger of their respective Nations. They may cause to be arrested and detained in the Country, sailors and deserters of their respective Nations, or cause them to be transported therefrom."
"They (Consuls and vice Consuls) may cause to be arrested and sequestered, every vessel carrying the flag of their respective Nations. They may cause to be arrested and detained in the country, sailors and deserters of their respective Nations, or cause them to be transported therefrom."
The scored lines show where the copy WhiCh Mr. Jay used, when he made his report on the Consular convention, deviates from the Original.
N.B. There were in that copy several other variations from the original, to the number of twenty in the whole, an of which are corrected; but as none of them, except the abovementioned, materially affects Mr. Jay's report, it is not thought necessary to enumerate them in this note.
The above letter and note were read in Congress, October 10, 1786, and thereupon,
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Ordered, That the said letter be referred back to the secretary for foreign affairs, to take Order.1
[Note 1: 1 The original of this letter is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 80, III, folio 105. The proceedings are entered by Thomson in Secret Journal, Foreign, No. 5, and a signed copy is in Secret Journal, No. 6.
October 10: According to indorsement a report of Comptroller James Milligan to the Board of Treasury, on the memorial of Udney Hay, was read. It is dated August 22, 1786. It is in No. 35, folio 45. The letter of the board forwarding a copy of Milligan's report is dated October 9 and is in No. 140, I, folio 271.
Also was read a letter from James White, accepting the appointment of Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southern Department. It is in No. 78, XXIV, folio 591.]
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