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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 20, 1788.
Congress assembled present New hampshire Massachusetts Connecticut, New York New Jersey Pensylvania Delaware Maryland Virginia North Carolina South Carolina and Georgia,
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On the report1 of a committee consisting of Mr [Hugh] Williamson Mr [Jeremiah] Wadsworth and Mr [Abraham] Baldwin to whom were referred sundry letters from Col Martin,
[Note 1: 1 Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 30, p. 345, in the writing of Mr. Hugh Williamson. Read August 20, 1788. See August 18, 1788.]
Resolved That Joseph Martin esqr be and he is hereby appointed agent for the Chickasaw nation of Indians together with the Cherokees with the powers that are described in the act of the 19th of June last.
The committee consisting of Mr [Abraham] Clarke Mr [Nathan] Dane Mr [Hugh] Williamson Mr [William] Bingham and Mr [Abraham] Baldwin to whom was referred the report2 of the board of treasury respecting a requisition for the year 1788 having reported3 "That in order to ascertain whether any or what sums in specie it may be necessary to require of the states the present year they have taken a general view of the expenditures of every kind of the United States for several years past and including an estimate for the present year and have compared those expenditures with the provisions that have been made by Congress for discharging specie demands upon the Union during the same period, that on ascertaining the amount of the said expenditures from January l, 1784 to Jany 1st . 1788, the amount of the interest which accrued on the foreign debt previous to the year 1784 and the amount of the sums paid for services performed in the years 1782 and 1783 out of the requisition of 1784 they find that those expenditures,4 and the said Interest and services
[Note 2: 2 See July 9, 1788.]
[Note 3: 3 See August 4, 1788. Printed copies, one signed by Charles Thomson, of the resolutions on the requisition for 1788 are in Papers of the Continental Congress, Broadsides.]
[Note 4: 4 Roger Alden takes up the entry.]
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of 1782 and 1783, and estimate amount to the sums following viz.
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The committee having ascertained the extent of the public expenditures, and the amount of the unsatisfied demands which have heretofore arisen, and which arise the present Year, against the Union as aforesaid, proceeded to examine the extent of the provisions already made by Congress, and the parts thereof which may be applied to discharge the unsatisfied demands aforesaid, and they find that the,
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Which sums may be applied to pay the unsatisfied demands before stated.
That though a considerable part of the loans before mentioned was applied to discharge debts of the late war, and 338,640 dollars thereof must be reserved for paying interest on the dutch loans, which will become due in the Years 1789, and 1790, yet 71,093 dollars, the proceeds of the said loans, may be applied to pay the unsatisfied demands above stated, hence the provisions already made and unapplied are,
By this statement it appears that there is a surplus provision already made beyond the demands in specie, of the Year 1788, and of the preceeding Years of 854,625.2 dollars, including the provision for the dutch interest in 1789, and 1790; so that it will not be necessary to require any specie of the States the present Year, beyond the arrearages of the past requisitions. As the past requisitions were calculated to the expenditures of the Years in which they were made, and the Invalid pensions, and some other expences were not included in the Estimates, and as no requisition for specie was made last Year, and none by the above statement appears to be necessary this, it may be proper to shew briefly how this happens.
As the dutch Interest which will become due in the Years 1789 and 1790, is already provided for by the late dutch
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loans, and as the whole foreign Interest, and parts of the principal of the foreign debt which become due the present year are already provided for, and as the respective States owe large arrearages of requisitions, and have large internal demands upon them as individual States to satisfy, and their means of paying them must soon be diminished considerably, the committee are of opinion, that it is not adviseable to require the respective States to make provision for paying the Interest, and such parts of the principal of the foreign debt, as will not become due till some time in the Year 1789. In this case, the specie demands upon the United States for the present and preceeding years amount to 2,868,474.60 dollars to be discharged by surplus provisions of Foreign loans, and preceeding requisitions which as before stated, amount to 3,363,687.7.
Not to particularize several Instances in which the estimates have in no great degree exceeded the actual expenditures, the surplus provisions will be principally found under the few following heads; In the requisition for the Year 1784, 1,000,000 of dollars were provided for the services of 1782 and 1783, 769,320 dollars of which were not applied to those objects, in the same requisition 161,461.57 dollars were required and not appropriated, and in the requisition of 1786, there was a surplus called for by mistake of 333,111, and a large surplus has arisen in the past requisitions by applying a considerable part of the late dutch loans to paying foreign Interests etc.; to pay which, appropriations in those requisitions had been made; past appropriations have also been eased considerably by other means. It is to be observed that the loans made by the United States in Holland in the Years 1787 and 1788, amount when filled to 800,000 dollars; that provision is made in the past requisitions of Congress for sinking the principal of the foreign debt, 925,925.74 dollars; so that when the States shall seasonably pay up the arrears of
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past requisitions, Congress will be enabled to lessen the foreign debt, notwithstanding the said loans of 1787 and 1788, to pay the Interest due on the foreign debt to the Year 1788 inclusive, to pay the current expences of the federal Government of the present and preceeding years, and to be provided in some measure for the demands of the Year 1789.
Under these circumstances the Committee are of opinion, that the monies lately borrowed in Holland be applied solely to discharging the dutch Interest, and certain demands arising against the United States in Europe; that an adequate sum of the arrears due of the past requisitions be appropriated for the services of the present Year, and that one Years Interest on the domestic debt be called for and made payable in Indents;" whereupon,
Resolved That of the arrearages due on the requisitions of 1784, 1785, and 1786, be and there is hereby appropriated for the services of the present year, the sum of three hundred and twenty six thousand, four hundred and twenty seven dollars, and for the following purposes, to wit,
Resolved, That the States be and they are hereby required to pay into the treasury of the United States on or before the first of July next, the sum of one million six hundred and eighty six thousand, five hundred and forty one dollars, and twelve ninetieths of a dollar, being the amount of one Years Interest on the domestic debt of the United States;
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and that the quotas of the several States of the aforesaid sum be as follows, to wit:
Delaware ... 25,238.72[Note #: # on the question for apportioning the quota of the State of Delaware, the yeas and Nays being required by Mr [Dyre] Kearny,]
{table}
(See bottom page 440 for remainder of vote.)
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Resolved, That the several States be allowed to discharge their respective quotas of the said sum by Indents for Interest on loan office certificates, and upon other certificates of the liquidated debts of the United States, in such manner as they may Judge most expedient, and to ascertain the evidence of Interest due on 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 Officer of that state wherein they are Inhabitants, or if foreigners, to any loan Office within the
{table}
so it passed in the affirmative.
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United States, and to have the Interest thereon settled and certified to the last day of the Year 1787.*
[Note *: * on the question to agree to this resolution, the Yeas and Nays being required by Mr . [Dyre] Kearny,]
Resolved, That the foregoing requisition for 1,686,541.12 dollars, when paid, shall be passed to the credit of the States respectively, on the terms prescribed by the Resolve1 of Congress of the 6th . day of October 1779.
[Note 1: 1 Journals, vol. XV, p. 1147.]
{table}
So it was resolved in the affirmative.
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Resolved, That the board of treasury furnish the several loan Officers with Indents to be issued for Interest as aforesaid, and also with such checks and Instructions, as they from time to tune shall judge necessary, to prevent counterfeit certificates of debts from obtaining a settlement of Interest, and to detect counterfeit evidence of Interest, and thereby to avoid receiving them in discharge of taxes: which Indents of Interest being parted with by the holder of the principal shall be deemed evidence that he has received satisfaction for the same, and shall be receiveable from any State in the Union, whether issued in such State or any other State.
Resolved, That the State paying such Indents of Interest into the treasury of the United States shall have credit for the same, and such payment shall be considered as a discharge of Interest on the domestic debt, in the proportion that each state avails itself of the said Indents of Interest, but no state shall have a right to pay more than its quota as specified in the existing requisitions of Congress in the said Indents of Interest.
Resolved That the board of treasury be, and they are hereby directed to transmit to each State an account of their respective arrears on requisitions in specie and Indents and to state to them the necessity there is of their making payments of their arrears in specie to enable Congress to discharge the current expences of the federal Government and the Interest and parts of the principal of the foreign debt which are become due and remain unpaid.
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1On a report2 of the board of treasury to whom was referred an extract3 of a letter of the 6 of Aug 1787 from Mr Jefferson
[Note 1: 1 Charles Thomson resumes the entry.]
[Note 2: 2 See August 11, 1788.]
[Note 3: 3 See September 25 and October 2, 1787 (Journals, vol. XXXIII, pp. 536 and 598n.]
Resolved That so much of the loans in Holland as shall be necessary to discharge the interest due on certificates issued to foreign officers to the 31 of Decr . 1788 be specially appropriated for that purpose under the direction of the minister of the United States at the court of France.
On a report4 of the board of treasury to whom was referred a memorial5 of Francis Mentges late a lieut col in the service of the United States, claiming a compensation for extra services whilst superintending the hospitals in the state of Virginia.
[Note 4: 4 See April 18, 1787 (Journals, vol. XXXII, p. 211.)]
[Note 5: 5 See March 1, 1787. (Journals, vol. XXXII, p. 83n.)]
Resolved That the memorial of Francis Mentges late a lieutenant col. in the Pensylvania line be dismissed, the prayer thereof being inadmissable.
[Motion of Delegates of Virginia respecting settlement of accounts6]
[Note 6: 6 Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 26, pp. 693 and 691, in the writing of Mr. Edward Carrington. According to indorsement and the Committee Book, Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 190, p. 203, the motion was referred to the Board of Treasury to report. Report rendered September 10 and acted on September 11, 1788.]
Whereas the General Assembly of Virginia did on the 29th . of October 1787 instruct the Delegation of that State to move Congress
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urge Congress to authorise the Commissioner appointed to receive the Accounts of the said State against the U.S, to admit as authentic documents, the Books of the Treasurer and Auditor in support of claims for advances of money for the on account of the said U. S. from the 1t . of Sept . 1775 to the 4th . of Jany . 1781, the Vouchers for the said advances during that Period having been distroyed or burnt by the Enemy in Arnolds Invasion.
Therefore Resolved that the Commissioner appointed to receive the accounts and vouchers of the state of Virginia against the U. S., be and hereby is directed and authorised to admit the Books of the Auditor and Treasurer of the said State as authentic documents to validate the claims thereof for monies advanced on account of the U. S. from the 1st . of September 1775 to the 4th . of Jany . 1781 in all cases where it shall appear to the satisfaction of the said Commissioner that the vouchers have been destroyed as set forth by the said General Assembly.1
[Note 1: 1 August 20, 1788. According to the Committee Book, Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 190, p. 203, the following committees were appointed:
Mr. Abraham Clark, Mr. Hugh Williamson, Mr. Abraham Baldwin, Mr. Jeremiah Wadsworth and Mr. Alexander Hamilton on their report on the contract with Jarvis for copper coins. See August 4, 1788. The committee reported September 16, 1788. See also July 16 and August 27, 1788.
Mr. Alexander Hamilton, Mr. Theodore Sedgwick and Mr. James Madison on the report of the Secretary for Foreign Affairs on the resolution of Georgia respecting fugitive negroes. See August 15, 1788. The committee reported August 26, 1788.
Mr. Nathan Dane, Mr. Hugh Williamson, Mr. Abraham Clark, Mr. James Madison and Mr. Joshua Seney on the letter of the Governor of Virginia of August 4, 1788, respecting the Act of July 17, 1788. See August 14, 1788. The committee reported August 28, 1788. See also September 1, 1788.
Mr. Jeremiah Wadsworth, Mr. Alexander Hamilton and Mr. Abraham Clark on the report of the Board of Treasury on the claim of Joseph Spencer. See August 5 and 14, 1788. The committee reported September 30, 1788.
Also according to the Committee Book, was referred go the Board of Treasury to take order:
The committee report on the letter of the Board of Treasury, respecting the reservation of Presque Isle. See July 22 and 30, 1788. This report and the order thereon were entered by John Fisher in Western Territory, Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 176, pp. 60--61.]
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