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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 --THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1786.
Congress assembled. Present as before.
On the report of a committee, consisting of Mr. [Melancton] Smith, Mr. [William Samuel] Johnson and Mr. [John Bubenheim] Bayard, to whom was referred a report of the board of treasury, on a petition of three of the late clerks of the Commissioners, for settling the Accounts of the five great departments,
Resolved, by ten states, That the board of treasury take Order for paying to James Burnside, Doyle Sweeny, Robert Underwood, William Simmons, Charles Burral, Charles Garvis and Thomas Benedict, who were employed as clerks in the Offices of the Commissioners of the five great departments, their salaries, from the 15 of April last, to the time when the books and papers of the respective departments were delivered over to the present Commissioners.1
[Note 1: 1 This report, in the writing of [Melancton Smith] is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 28, folio 323.]
Congress proceeded in the second reading of the Ordinance for establishing a board to liquidate and settle all accounts between the United States and individual States; when a motion was made by Mr. [Nathan] Dane, seconded by Mr. [William Samuel] Johnson, to strike out the following clause, viz.
That where any State has assumed to pay its citizens for supplies furnished for the use of the United States, the said board are hereby authorised and instructed, provided the assumptions have been made before the 10 October, 1786, to liquidate and settle such claims, agreeably to such rules as have been heretofore established for settling the same, had they remained with the individuals, and accordingly to reject or admit them as a charge against the United States.
And on the question, shall that paragraph stand? the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [John] Bull,
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So the question was lost, and the paragraph was struck out.
A motion was then made by Mr. [Nathan] Dane, seconded by Mr. [Nathan] Miller, to postpone the further consideration of the Ordinance, in order to take up the following propositions:
That in settling Accounts between the United States and individual states, each state shall have credit on the continental specie establishment offor the pay of all the troops such state in the late war actually furnished, over and above her proportion of the troops actually furnished by all the states on the requisitions of Congress, and such state shall be charged with all the advances, reduced to specie value by the scale of depreciation, made by the United States, on Account of pay to such troops, furnished by such states over and above her quota as aforesaid, and the balance found due to such states which have furnished more than their quota as aforesaid, shall be charged to the states deficient, by the rule aforesaid, in proportion to their deficiencies. And until a federal rule can be established, on the principles of the Confederation, each state's quota shall be ascertained by the rules by which the states, from time
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to time, have been quotaed, and that the Secretary at War be directed to lay before Congress an account of the number of troops furnished on the requisitions of Congress by each state, from the 19 day of April, 1775, to the end of the late war, with the times they respectively continued in service. And the paymaster general be directed to lay before Congress an Account of all advances, reduced to specie value by the scale of depreciation, made by the United States, on account of pay to the troops furnished by each state as aforesaid. That each state shall have credit for the specie value of all bounties paid, or contracted to be paid by such state, her towns or citizens, from the 19 of April, 1775, to the end of the late war, to all the troops by such state actually raised and borne on the continental musterrolls, on each requisition of Congress, over and above such state's quota of the troops so raised and borne on said rolls from all the states; provided the said credit in no case exceed the average values of bounties given by the States, and the amount in specie of said surplus bounties being ascertained as aforesaid, each deficient state shall be charged its proportion thereof, according to its deficiencies. And until a federal rule can be established on the principles of the Confederation, each state's quota of the troops so furnished shall be ascertained by the same rules by which troops, from time to time, have been quotaed on the states; and that the secretary at war be directed to lay before Congress, an account of the number of troops so furnished by each state on each requisition of Congress, specifying the times of service for which they were respectively enlisted. That from and after the first day of March next, no further payments be admitted on the requisition of Congress of March 18, 1780, for the redemption of one hundred and ninety five millions of dollars of the old emission money quotaed on the twelve eastern states, and that each state found deficient on that requisition after that period, shall be charged for its deficiencies at the rate of one specie dollar for every forty dollars of said emission it shall be found so deficient, with an interest thereon of six per cent. per annum, from the times the payments of the said requisitions became due."1
[Note 1: 1 This motion, in the writing of Nathan Dane, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 136, III, folio 303. A draft of a motion, in Dane's writing, which closely approximates part of the above, is on folio 307.]
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The ordinance being amended to read as follows:
An Ordinance for Establishing a Board to Liquidate and Settle all Accounts between the United States and Individual States:
It is hereby Ordained, by the United States in Congress assembled, that the authority of the commissioners, appointed in pursuance of the resolution of Congress of the 20 February, 1782, shall, from and after the first day of April next, terminate and cease, except the Commissioners for the States of North Carolina and Georgia, who shall continue in Office, for the purpose of settling the claims of Individuals, for such longer time, not exceeding six months, as the board of treasury shall direct: Provided always, that the board of treasury may sooner dismiss any of the said commissioners. That a board to consist of three members, any two of whom shall be a quorum, be appointed, who shall be, and hereby are, invested with all the powers and authorities of the aforesaid commissioners, so far as they relate to the settlement of the Accounts between the United States and individual states, and shall sit where Congress may, from tune to time, direct.
That in cases where no written vouchers can be produced, for claims founded upon existing resolutions of Congress, and the said board shall receive satisfactory evidence that such vouchers have been destroyed or unavoidably lost, or that, from the circumstances of the case, they have never been obtained, the said board may receive such other evidence, as shall be satisfactory to them, provided the same be the best that the nature and circumstances of the case will admit of, and at their discretion may examine, on oath, any person or persons they may think fit, respecting the claims exhibited, whether accompanied with written vouchers or not.
That in cases where the testimony of a witness, not residing within twenty miles of the place where the said board shall sit, shall appear to be essential, the said board are hereby authorized to issue a commission to some proper person or persons, to take his deposition in writing, with the interrogatories and answers, in presence of the agent or agents of the party claimant, his or their attorney, and the person appointed by the said board, agent on the part of the United States: And the said board are hereby authorised to appoint some suitable person to be present as agent of the United States, at the taking such deposition, to interrogate the witness, and observe that his evidence contain the whole truth, and nothing more: And the said
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board shall, in each commission, notify to the person or persons to whom the said commission may be issued, the name and place of residence of such agent, and the said person or persons shall give due notice, in writing, to the party claimant, and to the said agent, to be present at the taking such deposition, allowing at the rate of one day for every 10 miles the most remote of them shall be from the place where the deposition is to be taken.
That it be, and it is hereby recommended to the legislatures of the several states, to pass laws to enable the said board, and the person or persons so commissioned by them, to call before them, respectively, witnesses, and examine them on oath or affirmation in all matters touching the claims exhibited to the said board.
That where any state has claims against the United States, not authorised or sanctioned by existing resolutions of Congress, and the same shall be laid before the said board, within one year after the organization thereof, the board shall examine the same, and report the state of such claims, with their opinion thereon, to Congress.
That the members of the said board, respectively, shall be allowed a salary at the rate of two thousand dollars per annum, to be computed on the time they shall be actually employed in the said service.
That the commission of the board shall continue in force for three years, unless sooner revoked by Congress.1
[Note 1: 1 This text is from the printed ordinance as amended October 6. Thomson has made the necessary changes thereon with a pen and pasted the copy in the Journal at this point. See post, October 13.]
On the question to postpone for the purpose above mentioned, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [Nathan] Miller,
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So the question was lost.
Office for Foreign Affairs,
October 12, 1786.
The Secretary of the United States for the department of foreign affairs, to whom was referred a letter to him of the 6th. instant, from the Chargé des affaires of France, requesting that the resolution of Congress concerning the Consular Convention, may be communicated to him--Reports,
That in his opinion it would not be expedient to establish a precedent of communicating to a foreign Minister here, any Acts of Congress, committing business or giving instructions to their Minister at his Court; for as such practice would doubtless be inconvenient in some instances, it had better be avoided in all; lest if Congress should sometimes do it, and sometimes not, they would become exposed to the Necessity either of explaining the reasons of such diversity, or to the Risque of giving Offence by apparent partiality.
Your Secretary therefore thinks it advisable that he be ordered to inform the Chargé des affaires of France, that as their communications to his Most Christian Majesty will be officially made by their Minister resident at his Court, they do not think it Necessary to accept
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his polite offer of conveying any they may direct respecting the Consular Convention.
All which is submitted to the wisdom of Congress.
John Jay.
Ordered, That the above report be referred to the Secretary for foreign Affairs to take order.1
[Note 1: 1 This proceeding is entered only in Secret Journal, Foreign, No. 5, by Henry Remsen, jr.; a copy signed by Thomson is in Secret Journal, No. 6. The original report is in No. 81, II, folio 179.
October 12: According to indorsement the postponed portion of the report on Captain Whipple's petition was, this day, considered and the "Question taken and lost on the last paragraph." See ante, October 10.]
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