FEBRUARY, 1794.] Proceedings. [H. OF R. sary and Constitutional; and, after some time spent therein, the Chairman reported that the Committee had again had the said report under consideration, and made several amendments thereto; which were read, and ordered to lie on the table. On a motion made and seconded that the House Mr. PICKENS, from the committee to whom was referred the Message from the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, of the 13th ult. transmitting the copy of a Letter from Constant Freeman, Agent for the War Department in Georgia, to the Secretary of War, dated the first of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, with sundry en-do come to the following resolution: closures relative to the Creek Indians, made a re- Resolved, That so much of the act "to establish the port; which was read, and ordered to be commit- Judicial Courts of the United States, as is, or may be, ted to a Committee of the Whole House on Mon-construed to require the attendance of the Marshal of day next. each State, at each of the sessions of the Supreme Court, The following Message was received from the shall be repealed; and that, in future, the said Court PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Gentlemen of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives: I lay before you the copy of a Letter which I have received from the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and, at their desire, the representation mentioned in the said Letter, pointing out certain defects in the Judiciary system. G. WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES, February 19, 1793. ordered to lie. shall be attended during session by the Marshal of the district in which they sit, unless by special order the Court shall require the same." Ordered, That the said motion be committed to Mr. WILLIAM SMITH, Mr. JEREMIAH SMITH, Mr. MOORE, Mr. MURRAY, Mr. THATCHER, Mr. SCOTT, and Mr. CHRISTIE. The House resumed the consideration of the report of the committee to whom was referred the memorial of Andrew G. Fraunces: Whereupon, whole course of this transaction, the Secretary and other officers of the Treasury have acted a meritorious part towards the public. Resolved, That the reasons assigned by the SeThe said Message and papers were read and cretary of the Treasury for refusing payment of the warrants referred to in the memorial, are fully The House again resolved itself into a Com-sufficient to justify his conduct; and that, in the mittee of the Whole House on the report of the committee appointed to report whether any, and what, alterations and amendments are, in their opinion, necessary to the act "to establish the Post Resolved, That the charge exhibited in the meOffice and Post Roads of the United States ;" and, morial against the Secretary of the Treasury, reafter some time spent therein, the Chairman relative to the purchase of the pension of Baron de ported that the Committee had again had the Glaubeck, is wholly illiberal and groundless. said report under consideration, and made several amendments thereto; which were severally twice read, and agreed to by the House. Ordered, That a bill or bills be brought in pursuant to the said report, and that Mr. SEDGWICK, Mr. TRACY, Mr. GLENN, Mr. CLARK, Mr. FITZSIMONS, Mr. DENT, Mr. WALKER, Mr. MCDOWELL, Mr. HUNTER, and Mr. DEARBORN, do prepare and bring in the same. THURSDAY, February 20. the Clerk's table. The House, according to the standing order of the day, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union; and, after some time spent therein, the Chairman reported that the Committee had had the state of the Mr. WILLIAM SMITH, from the committee to Union under consideration, and come to several whom was referred the Message from the PRESI-resolutions thereupon; which he delivered in at DENT OF THE UNITED STATES of the 30th ultimo, enclosing the copy of a Letter from the Governor of North Carolina, covering a resolution of the Legislature of that State; as also, the petitions of Thomas Person and others, proprietors of lands in the Territory of the United States South of the river Ohio, and of the Trustees of the University of North Carolina, made a report; which was read, and ordered to be committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Wednesday next. The House again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the report of the committee appointed to take into consideration the act "to establish the Judicial Courts of the United States," and report some provision in the case where any Judge of the Courts of the United States is, or may, by sickness, or other disqualifying cause, be rendered incapable of discharging the duties of his office; also, some further provision concerning bail, process, and costs, in the Courts of the United States; and, generally, to report such amendments to said act as they may judge neces3d CoN.-16 Ordered, That the said resolutions do lie on the table. FRIDAY, February 21. A petition of Josiah G. Pierson, of the City of New York, was presented to the House and read, praying that such further and additional restrictions may be laid on the importation of nails from foreign countries as may be deemed expedient to encourage the manufacture of the said article within the United States. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to Mr. WATTS, Mr. CoIT, Mr. HINDMAN, Mr. DEXTER, Mr. GILES, Mr. DAYTON, and Mr. PAGE; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. The SPEAKER laid before the House a Report from the Secretary of War, communicating an adjudication of the Supreme Court of the United H. OF. R.J Naval Armament. [FEBRUARY, 1794. States, declaring the claims of certain invalid pen-cent. were for the most part purchased and used sioners under the act, entitled "An act to provide by the poorer class of the people, who were less for the settlement of the claims of widows and able to bear additional burdens than any other. orphans barred by the limitations, heretofore esta- That indeed very many of those articles, and some blished, and to regulate the claims to Invalid Pen- of the most important of them, were real necessasions," not to be valid ; which was read, and order-ries, and could not be furnished in this country, ed to lie on the table. NAVAL ARMAMENT. The House proceeded to consider the resolutions reported yesterday by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union: Whereupon, The question being taken on the first resolution, in the words following to wit: "Resolved, That a Naval force, to consist of four ships of forty-four, and two ships of twenty guns each, be provided for the protection of the commerce of the United States against the Algerine cruisers;" It was resolved in the affirmative-yeas 43, nays 41, as follows: YEAS.-Fisher Ames, James Armstrong, John Beatty, Elias Boudinot, Shearjashub Bourne, Benjamin Bourne, Lambert Cadwalader, David Cobb, Peleg Coffin, Joshua Coit, Jonathan Dayton, George Dent, Samuel Dexter, Thomas Fitzsimons, Dwight Foster, Ezekiel Gilbert, Henry Glenn, Benjamin Goodhue, James Gordon, Samuel Griffin, Thomas Hartley, James Hillhouse, William Hindman, Samuel Holten, John Wilkes Kittera, Henry Latimer, Richard Bland Lee, Francis Malbone, William Vans Murray, Thomas Scott, Theodore Sedgwick, Samuel Smith, William Smith, Thomas Sprigg, Zephaniah Swift, Silas Talbot, George Thatcher, Uriah Tracy, Jonathan Trumbull, John E. Van Allen, Artemas Ward, John Watts, and Richard Winn. NAYS.-Theodorus Bailey, Abraham Baldwin, Thomas Blount, Thomas P. Carnes, Gabriel Christie, Thomas Claiborne, Isaac Coles, William J. Dawson, Henry Dearborn, William Findley, William B. Giles, James Gillespie, Nicholas Gilman, Christopher Greenup, Andrew Gregg, Willliam Barry Grove, Carter B. Harrison, John Heath, John Hunter, Matthew Locke, William Lyman, Nathaniel Macon, James Madison, Joseph McDowell, Alexander Mebane, William Montgomery, Andrew Moore, Joseph Neville, Anthony New, Nathaniel Niles, John Page, Andrew Pickens, Francis Preston, Robert Rutherford, John S. Sherburne, John Smilie, Thomas Tredwell, Abraham Venable, Francis Walker, Paine Wingate, and Joseph Winston. The second resolution being taken up, in the words following: "Resolved, That, for the purpose of defraying the cost of a Naval armament, and the annual expense thereof, after the day of , there shall be levied, collected, and paid, upon all goods, wares, and merchandise, imported into the United States, and on which a duty of seven and a half per cent. is now payable, an additional duty of one per cent:" Mr. DAYTON said, that, as on a former day, he had pledged himself to the House, to offer an amendment to the above resolution, he was now prepared to do it, and should take up very little of the time of the Committee in general prefatory remarks. No member present, he said, could be ignorant that the articles falling under the description of those subjected to a duty of seven and an half per but must be brought from abroad, for a long time at least to come; among which he particularly mentioned coarse woollens, &c. That, under this impression, he took the liberty to move, that instead of laying one per cent. additional duty, as the Select Committee had reported, on those articles, it might be reduced to one half per cent. only. Mr. D. said, he was aware that the reduction of one half, as proposed by him, would occasion a diminution in the sum to be raised of about 75,000 dollars, under that head of revenue, but that the Committee of the Whole might see and understand his whole plan and object, before they decided upon a part, he would in his place, read to them what he intended to offer as a substitute to remedy that deficiency. Here Mr. D. read a variety of specific articles, which, he said, were either luxuries of life, and consequently consumed or used by those who were most able to pay the duties, or articles which sufficient quantity, especially if this small addiour own artists or manufacturers could supply in tional protection could be held out to them. The principal of them were as follows, viz: On boots, an additional duty of twenty-five cents per pair. On shoes and slippers for men and women, and on clogs and golo-shoes, five cents per pair. On shoes and slippers for children, three cents per pair. On millinery ready made, and artificial flowers, feathers, and other ornaments, for women's head dresses, dolls, dressed and undressed, toys, five per cent. ad valorem. On cast, slit, and rolled iron, and generally all manufactures of iron, steel, tin, pewter, copper, brass, or of which either of these metals is the article of chief value, not being otherwise particularly enumerated (brass and iron wire, locks, hinges, hoes, anvils, and vices, excepted,) cabinet wares, carpets, and carpeting; two per cent. ad valorem. On leather tanned and tawed, and generally all manufactures of leather, or of which leather is the article of chief value, not otherwise particularly enumerated; two per cent. ad valorem. On medicinal drugs, except those commonly used in dying, mats and floor cloths, hats, caps, and bonnets of every sort for women, gloves, mittens, stockings, fans, buttons of every kind, buckles, shoe and knee, sheathing and cartridge paper, all powders, pastes, balls, balsams, ointments, oils, waters, washes, tinctures, essences, or other preparations or compositions, commonly called sweet scents, odours, perfumes, or cosmetics, and all dentifrice, powders or preparations for the teeth or gums; 2 per cent. ad valorem. On gold, silver, and plated wares, gold and silver lace, jewelry, and paste work, clocks and watches, and the following groceries, viz: cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmegs, ginger, anniseed, currants, dates, figs, plums, prunes, raisins, sugar candy, oranges, lemons, limes, and generally all fruits, and comfits, olives, capers, pickles of every sort, oil, and mustard in flour; two per cent. ad valorem. On all manufactures of cotton, of which cotton is the chief material, printed, stained, or colored; one and an half per cent. ad valorem. On all marble, slate, and other stone, on bricks, tiles tables, mortars, and other utensils of marble, or stone, and generally upon all stone and earthenware, an additional duty of five per cent. On ships or vessels of the United States employed in foreign trade, six cents per ton; on all other ships and vessels, twenty-five cents per ton. The additional duties which he had proposed on the articles he had thus particularly enumerated, would amount to about 75,000 dollars, which would be the diminution occasioned by the reduction of a half per cent. agreeably to his motion. Mr. D. said, that he hoped every member, whether he favored or opposed a Naval armament to protect our commerce and our coast and harbors, would aid him and his endeavors to render the ways and means for raising the moneys as little burdensome and as unexceptionable as possible. If the resolution for building and equipping the five frigates should ultimately be negatived, it by no means followed that the time spent in the discussion and amendment of the resolution immediately under consideration, would be uselessly spent. In any future call for money, the ways and means which should be on this occasion preferred, would probably be resorted to, and it was therefore of importance, that all should unite their exertions to make the measure a sunobjectionable as pos sible. So far as the encouragement of our own manufactures could be made to consist with the increase of revenue, it was certainly desirable to effect it; and it was with a view to both those important objects, that he had selected the articles which he enumerated. It was to be remembered, Mr. D. added, that it was not now a question whether they should raise more money, (this had already been determined,) but whether the increase of duties should fall upon articles of luxury, and such other articles as the United States were capable of supplying within themselves, independently of foreign countries. After considerable discussion, which turned principally upon the propriety of affording the protection and encouragement which was contemplated in the amendment in favor of the iron and of the iron manufactures of the United States, it was moved and carried, that locks, hinges, and two or three other articles (which it was said, could not be manufactured in this country,) should be excepted. The propositions of Mr. DAYTON were then agreed to, and were adopted as part of the report of the Committee. The remaining resolutions were then adopted, as follows: "Resolved, That the like drawbacks and allowances be made of the said additional duties as are now made of other duties upon goods exported from the United States. [H. of R. "Resolved, That a separate account of the said duties be kept. "Resolved, That the President of the United States be authorized to receive on loan, a sum not exceeding dollars, to be applied towards the building and equipment of the said Naval armament, at an interest not exceeding - per cent. per annum ; and that the said loan be open to any individual or body politic or corporate within the United States. 66 Resolved, That the revenues herein before recited be pledged for the payment of the interest on the loan aforesaid, for the annual expense of the said armament; and that the surplus of such revenue be applied to the repayment of the principal, and to no other purpose whatever." Ordered, That a bill or bills be brought in pursuant to the said resolutions, and that Mr. FitzSIMONS, Mr. GOODHUE, Mr. JEREMIAH WADSWORTH, Mr. FORREST, Mr. MALBONE, Mr. BOUDINOT, Mr. PARKER, Mr. MACON, Mr. WINN, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. WATTS, Mr. ORR, Mr. BALDWIN, Mr. ISRAEL SMITH, Mr. LATIMER, and Mr. DAYTON, do prepare and bring in the same. Resolved, That a committee be appointed to report whether any, and what, sum may be necessary to be loaned for the purpose of carrying on the public service for the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four. And a committee was appointed, of Mr. SEDGwICK, Mr. GILES, and Mr. DEARBORN. The House again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill making appropriations for support of Government, for the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four; and, after some time spent therein, the Chairman reported that the Committee had again had the said bill under consideration, and made several amendments thereto; which were severally twice read and agreed to by the House. Ordered, That the said bill, with the amendments, be engrossed, and read the third time on Monday next. H. OF R.J Treasury Department. The said Message and papers were read, and ordered to lie on the table. TREASURY DEPARTMENT. [FEBRUARY, 1794. containing some suggestions against the official conduct of the gentleman at the head of the Department; and to have pressed the inquiry into the general state of the Treasury, during the pendency of those suggestions, might have been Mr. GILES called up his resolution, laid on the table in the early part of the session, which reso-deemed a violation of delicacy and propriety. lution is in the following words: "Resolved, That a committee be appointed to examine the state of the Treasury Department, and that they be instructed to report to the House, generally, thereon; and, among other things, more particularly: "1st. Whether the form of keeping the accounts be calculated to effectuate the disposition of the public moneys, as prescribed by law. "2d. Whether the cash receipts, from the domestic resources, have exceeded, equalled, or fallen short of the domestic cash expenditures, from the establishment of the Government to the first day of January, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four; remarking the dates and amount of any excess, or deficiency, quarterly. "3d. Whether the Sinking Fund, at the time of its esta blishment, consisted of cash or bonds; specifying, in the latter case, as nearly as may be, the several dates at which any sum or sums of such bonds became payable. "4th. What proceedings have been had under the laws of the fourth and twelfth of August, one thousand seven hundred and ninety, authorizing loans of money, and what authorities were given for those proceedings. That they also state, in dollars and cents, the gross principal of debt in Holland, produced to the United States by the said loans, and the precise amount of the principal of the foreign debt, which has been discharged thereby what portion of such loans has been drawn to the United States, at what dates, and by what authority; in what manner such drafts have been applied; under what forms and checks those drafts were made; and whether the moneys raised thereby were immediately deposited in the Treasury; if not, in what places, and to what amount, were such moneys deposited; how much time elapsed after such loans, before the said moneys came into the Treasury; whether a complete fulfilment of our engagements to France was, in any degree, obviated by such drafts; whether any portion of the French debt remained unpaid, at the end of one thousand seven hundred and ninety-two; and whether any balance of the said debt is yet unpaid. And that the Committee do also report the date of the first information to this House, communicating the said drafts; and whether any call of the House was made upon the Treasury Department, which embraced the idea of a previous disclosure thereof. Very soon after the imputations from that source were done away by report of a committee, he had called up the resolution, but the House, acting under the impressions produced by the delicate crisis of our external affairs, refused to enter into the consideration of the subject at that time. Mr. G. remarked, that while on the one hand he deemed important to the public welfare, as he was desirous of looking into a subject which well as to gratify an officer in a request which he conceived had been impelled by the delicacy of his situation, he was not unwilling, on the other hand, to yield to the opinion of the House, which induced an immediate attention to our affairs with foreign nations. The subjects of commercial regulations, and the naval armament, being now out of the view of the House, at least for some days, he hoped the chasm would be filled by the consideration of the resolution he had proposed. He could not help remarking, that at an early period of the session this resolution had been termed the torch of discord. He thought if it could be viewed with impartiality, and according to its own design, it would not be found to possess that character. The primary object of the resolution is, to ascertain the boundaries of discretion and authority between the Legislature and the Treasury Department. To effect this object, it becomes necessary to have a knowledge of the state of the Treasury Department. This appeared to him an obvious duty of the House of Representatives, operating equally upon every individual of whom it is composed; it therefore seemed strange to him, that an attempt to discharge an essential duty should be construed into a design to interrupt the harmony of deliberation. If to require a full and comprehensive view of the public finances, and the modes in which they are contributed and distributed, be construed into an effort at discord, it must arise either from the opinion that Congress already possess this view, or from the principle that they ought not to pos"5th. That the committee be also instructed to report ject should be left to the Treasury officers. If this sess it, but that the whole knowledge of this subthe whole amount of the existing debt of the United doctrine be contended for, he thought it ought to States, discriminating the domestic from the foreign debt, stimulate the exertions of those who believed it and specifying the amount of domestic debt bearing a present interest of six per centum; the amount bearing Constitution. He requested the House to accomto be subversive of the primary principle of the a present interest of three per centum, and the amount deferred. That they also report the increase or decrease pany him in making a few reflections upon this of the whole debt of the United States, and the subject. operation of the Sinking Fund, to the end of the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three." Mr. GILES observed, that very shortly after the meeting of Congress, he had laid this resolution on the table, under a conviction of the propriety of the measure, and the hope of a speedy decision upon it. An occurrence took place a few days afterwards, which produced a temporary delay. An individual presented a memorial to Congress, The Debt of the United States forms an important item of legislation. Its system is intricate, its extent unknown; it embraces the interests of a very sagacious and powerful class of citizens. It is made, by the Constitution, the peculiar province of the Representatives, immediately chosen by the people, to superintend the contributions and the distributions of all public moneys. This may be deemed the highest duty of the Representatives. It may be asked-How FEBRUARY, 1794.] Treasury Department. [H. OF R. Mr. PAGE said, that he looked upon those resolutions as the only proper objects of the proposed committee; as being those on which the chief view of the author of them was fixed; and which, too, came up exactly to the ideas of the Secretary himself, as expressed in his Letter, calling on the House for an inquiry into his conduct. He was surprised to hear gentlemen talk of exciting suspicions, by setting on foot such an inquiry: for his part, were he the Secretary, he should never rest till his requisition of an inquiry had been fully complied with. That an inquiry into the conduct of the Treasurer ought to be made, (as it was annually in the State from which he came, where a committee of both Houses not only examined the Treasurer's accounts, but corrected and weighed his money,) notwithstanding his honesty and virtue; and that this examination had been found useful and necessary, for deficiencies had been discovered; and in one instance by the Treasurer himself, (although it had escaped the Committee,) who honestly informed the Assembly of it, and only asked time to replace the deficient money, which he did. As to the impropriety of revising the proceedings of the House of Representatives in their last session, he thought nothing of it-not as much as he should of repealing one of its laws; and surely, as it could not be denied that this House had a right to examine any proceedings of the last, which had received the sanction of the Senate and PRESIDENT too, it must be very extraordinary to doubt its right to revise the proceedings of the House of Representatives alone, and more so when that revision has been requested, even by the Secretary of the Treasury, the person who was the particular object of those proceedings. this most important of duties can be understandingly performed, but by a knowledge of the whole machinery of the Treasury Department? There can be no prospect of acting wisely, where there are no means of judging rightly. The omission to discharge this important Legislative function, by the Representatives, will necessarily cause it to be performed by the Head of the Department. A species of laws will grow out of an inattention to, and a consequent ignorance of, this subject, which may be called the rules of office, the forms of the Treasury, the practical constructions of laws contravening the legal constructions. In all conflicts between this species of laws and the laws pronounced by the Constitutional tribunal, the advantage would be in favor of the Treasury system: because this would be the practical, that the theoretic system of legislation. An inattention to this subject, which is an intricate and complicated one, and a consequent ignorance of it might, in a course of time, leave to the Legislature the mere right of registering Treasury edicts. It may be said, that this is not the case at present. It is not proposed to give any opinion on this point. The remarks have been intended to show the probable tendency of intrusting this important branch of legislation to the Treasury Department; which would be the infallible consequence of the ignorance of the Legislature of the Treasury proceedings. The propriety of placing confidence in the Executive officers, is an argument very familiar to this House. To a certain extent, it is in every respect proper. It is proper, so long as the officer confines himself to his legal designated functions. If in any case he should exceed these, it becomes the duty of the Legislature to notice the proceeding. It is also the duty of the Legislature to ascertain his functions by law, and to limit his discretion. This argument of confidence in the Executive officers may easily be carried to a dangerThe people have confidence in their Representatives; they bestow on them certain trusts, and impose on them certain duties. The Representatives have confidence in the Executive officers: they transfer to them these trusts and these duties. What would be the result? A complete and radical change in the most essential character of the Government. Instead of the Le- Mr. GILES, from the committee to whom was gislature prescribing rules of conduct to the peo-recommitted the bill providing for destroyed cerple, the Executive officers would prescribe them; tificates of certain descriptions, reported an amendand the Legislature would be of no other use than atory bill; which was read twice and committo legalize Executive proceedings. This would ted. be a desertion of the trust reposed in the Representative. The consideration of individual ease, would always operate in favor of this idea. The argument of individual interest might possibly aid it in some instances, and the argument of policy in others; for there may be some individuals who might possibly prefer that to the Constitutional state of things. These remarks had been made to show, in very general terms, the impressions which the subject had made on his mind; to exhibit its general object; to prove that it was not unimportant: and that, if such should be the opinion of the House, the stage of the session required that it should receive immediate attention. ous excess. Ordered, That Mr. BALDWIN, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. MCDOWELL, Mr. GILES, Mr. GREENUP, Mr. DENT, Mr. LATIMER, Mr. IRVINE, Mr. BEATTY, Mr. VAN CORTLAND, Mr. NILES, Mr. SWIFT, Mr. MALBONE, Mr. COFFIN, and Mr. WINGATE, be a committee pursuant to the said resolution. TUESDAY, February 25. The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act in alteration of the act for establishing a Mint, and regulating the coins of the United States ;" and, after some time spent therein, the Chairman reported that the Committee had had the said bill under consideration, and made no amendment thereto. The said bill was then read the third time and passed. The House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the report of the committee to whom was referred the memorial of Arthur St. Clair; and, after some time spent therein, the Committee rose and reported progress. |