From April 1, 1782, to November 1, 1788, inclusive. ALSO, THE JOURNAL OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE STATES, FROM THE WITH AN APPENDIX. WASHINGTON PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY WAY AND GIDEON, 1823. JOURNALS OF CONGRESS, 1782. MONDAY, April 1, 1782. On a report of the superintendent of finance, to whom was referred a motion of Mr. Bee, seconded by Mr. Motte, Resolved, That the register be, and hereby is, authorized and directed to charge the sum of 50,000 continental dollars, paid to the hon. Thomas Bee, in virtue of a warrant dated the 13th of September, 1780, to the state of South-Carolina, and credit the account of major-general Lincoln for the same. A letter, of the 31st of March, from Jonas Fay, Moses Robinson, Paul Spooner and Isaac Tichenor, was read, informing that in consequence of the resolution of Congress, of the 20th of August last, the state of Vermont have invariably pursued every measure in order to comply with the said resolution, in a manner that was consistent with the obligations she was under to the people inhabiting the east and west unions, and maintaining the peace and harmony of her citizens with those inhabitants; and enclosing several resolutions of the legislature of Vermont, announcing their compliance with the preliminary required in the said resolution of Congress, of the 20th of August last; together with a duplicate of a commission to them, under the great seal of the state, empowering them, in behalf of the state of Vermont, to subscribe the articles of confederation. A motion was made by Mr. Clark, seconded by Mr. Scott, That the letter of Jonas Fay, &c. with the papers accompanying the same, together with the several papers on the files of Congress, relating to the same subject, and received since the 20th of August last, be referred to a committee. And on the question for commitment, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. Scott, So it was resolved in the affirmative. Congress took into consideration the report of the committee, consisting of Mr. Madison, Mr. Clark, and Mr. Cornell, to whom was referred a letter of the 23d of February last, from the president of New-Hampshire, which is as follows: That so much of the said letter as relates to five millions of dollars of the old emission, remaining in the treasury of New-Hampshire, as a surplus of the quota allotted to that state for redemption, be referred to the superintendent of finance to report: VOL. IV. 1 That in answer to the remaining part of the letter, which represents that the state of New Hampshire was over-rated in the requisition made by Congress on the 2d of November last, and contains a return of its inhabitants, amounting to 82,200 only, the president of the said state be inforined: That as a valuation of land throughout the United States, which the in strument of confederation prescribes as the rule for apportioning the public burthens on the several states, was under present ciscumstances manifestly unattainable, Congress were obliged to resort to some other rule in fixing the quotas in the requisition of November last : That the number of inhabitants in each state, having been a rule observed in previous requisitions of money, naturally presented itself as the most eligi ble one: That as no actual numeration of the inhabitants of each state hath yet been obtained by Congress, the computed number which formed the basis of the first requisition made on the states the 29th of July, 1775, was adhered to: That although the particular numeration of the inhabitants of New-Hampshire, as stated in the letter, should have been made with due accuracy, still a reduction of its quota in conformity thereto, might produce injustice to the other states; since the computation of July, 1775, may as far exceed their real number as it has been found to exceed that of New-Hampshire : That if the justice of the application from New-Hampshire were less uncertain, it would at this season be impossible to superadd to the quotas of the other states, any deduction from that of New-Hampshire, and to make such deduction without superadding it to the quotas of the other states, would leave a deficiency in the revenue which has been found on calculation, to be essential for the exigencies of the current year: That the other facts stated by him in his letter, however well founded they may be, are not peculiar to New-Hampshire, and if admitted for the purpose to which they are applied, would authorize and produce similar demands from other states: That for these considerations, and more especially as the apportionment in question, if hereafter found to be erroneous, will be subject to correction, Congress cannot comply with the request made in behalf of New-Hampshire, and confide in the justice and public spirit of the said state for those exertions which may be necessary to prevent a deficiency in the public revenue. A motion was made by Mr. Livermore, seconded by Mr. Osgood, that the consideration of the report be postponed, in order to make way for the following resolution: That 66,512 dollars be deducted from the sum set to the state of New-Hampshire by the resolution of the 2d of November last, as her quota of eight million of dollars for the service of the year 1782, it appearing that New-Hampshire is over-rated that sum. On the question for postponing, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. Livermore, Mr. Elmer, a delegate for New-Jersey, attended, and took his seat. Mr. Lovell, a delegate for Massachusetts, attended, and took his seat. Resolved, That the said resolution be referred to the commander in chief, to take order in the way he shall think most proper to carry the same into effect. Ordered, That Mr. Motte have leave of absence. A motion was made by Mr. Madison, seconded by Mr. Scott, in the following words: Congress having by a resolution of the first instant, referred to a committee sundry papers received from Jonas Fay, &c. together with the other papers on the files of Congress, relating to the same subject, received since the 20th of August last: the yeas and nays having been required on the question, and of the papers so committed, such part only having been entered on the journal of the said day, as purports on the part of the New Hampshire Grants, a compliance with a preliminary requisition contained in the resolution of Congress of the 20th of August last, the proceedings of Vermont from the 16th to the 19th of October last, rejecting the same, and sundry resolutions of the state of New-York, of the 15th and 19th of November last, both included among the papers referred, being omitted; and an entry on the journals thus partially stating the case, having a tendency to misinform and mislead the public judgment, as well as to defeat the purpose of calling for the yeas and nays, as authorized by the 9th article of the confederation, and Congress having adjourn ed on the 2d instant, whilst the journal of the preceding day was under consideration, whereby the opportunity of then supplying the omission was lost: Resolved, That the secretary be authorized and directed to enter on the journal of the first instant, as of the proceedings of that day, the said proceedings and the said resolutions of the state of New-York, which are in the words following, to wit:" On the question to agree to this, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. Scott, So it passed in the negative. After the yeas and nays were taken, a dispute arose, whether the two papers referred to should be entered after the words "to wit ;" and it being contended, on the one hand, that the papers were handed in with the motion, and ought to be considered as part of the motion, and on the other hand, this being objected to, the secretary desired direction on the matter, but after debate, the house adjourned without giving any direction respecting the entry. THURSDAY, April 4, 1782. On motion of Mr. Livermore, seconded by Mr. Clark, Ordered, That the two papers referred to by the words "to wit," in the motion of yesterday, be fully entered in the journal as a part of that motion. The papers are as follows: |