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motion, that it be an inftruaion to, the com- ,
m it:et appointed to bring in a biil for encou
raging mauufaautes, to add a claufc refpeft*
jug the iecuring to inventors, the right to
their difeoveries:
This wat agieed to.
Mr. Smith’s motion, which was under
consideration was resumed.
Some observations were made relative to
its being a joint business of both t Hoofes. Mr.
Smith, agreeable to this fujggeftion, proposed
that the resolution thou Id be amended, so as
to comprize this idea.
Mr. Livermore objected to the resolution
in its present form ; he conceived that a ftritf
adherence to any such rule could not be main
tained, as a great variety of matters mud ne
cefiarily be continued from one Teflion to ano
ther i he instanced petitions, sfnd bufiiiefs
referred to special committees, which might
require a whole recess for its confederation.
He adverted to the practice of Congress, and
of-other legifiative bodies, which he thought
was defensible. On the aift of September
lafr; the present Congress palled a resolution,
by virtue of tfhich the Secretary of thcTrea
fury bad laid before the House, a plan purfuaat
to that vote —if such a rule as that now propos
ed had existed, the House could not take that
report into consideration; but we have taken
it up agreeable to cufloniary usage.—He con
cluded by observing, that if a rule must be
adopted, the one proposed is not competent to
the design, but must be enlarged, and proper
exceptions made. *
Mr. White proposed that proper exceptions
might be made—-but contended there is a ne
ceffiiy for adopting some rule.
Mr. Hartley said, that as the House could
not be flippofed to be prepared to make the
recefl’ary exceptions, he moved that the reso
lution lhould lie on the table.
Mr. Sedgwick seconded the motion, which
being put, it was carried in the affirmative.
Mr. White moved, that a committee be
appointed to enquire into the ineafures taken
by Congress in the date of Virginia, rerpeft
ing the lands rrferved for the use of the offi
cers and soldiers of the said (late, on conti
nental and state eftabliftiments, in the ceflion
made by the said state to the United States,
the territory north-weft of the river Ohio,
and to repott tue fame to this House.
Mr. White, Mr. Muhlenberg and Mr.
6eney, were appointed.
The report of the Secretary at War on the
petition of Capt. Chatlcs Marklcy, was taken
into consideration.
' This report states that he was entitled to
ti iif pay for life, agreeable to the time of his
leaving the public service, but that there are
two resolves of Congress which appear to
contravene bis claim;
It was moved that the House ftiould accept
this report.
, This motion was opposed, as it would be
informal to accept fpecifically, the report of
an executive oificer. Such reports are con
sidered as matter of information to the House,
on which they are to ground a fubiequeht aft
or resolution.
Mr. Gerry observed, that it appeared to
him from the Secretary’s report, that this of.
Aces is entitled to *his half pay. He therefore
moved that the report should be accepted;
and ihat the House- lhould come to a resolu
tion, that the two resolves of Congress re
ferred to in the report, do not apply to the
case of the Petitioner.
The resolves were then read.
Mr. Sedgwick fuggefled the propriety of
appointing i committee to report a system for
.ascertaining the claims of individuals against
Che United States, and of the United States
against individuals. He proposed that this
committee should consist of teu Members.
The adoption of such a fyftejynight five a
great deal of time and publitTOtpence.
'Some observations were made on this pro.
position. It was then ordered that the report
of the Becretify at War lhould lie on the
table.
Adjourned.
(T* hi eontiuutd')
Writing Paper
For 6Ale At the Printing Office#
: -£|
NEW-YORK, Jan. *6.
\ Summary Ftew of the Report of. the Sea etary
of she Trtajury , JubmtUed to tbe Honorable
House of Representatives of the United States, .
on I'httrjday laji.
TH E Report of the Secretary of the
Trcafury, after premising, in a forci
ble manner, the importance of PUBLIC
CREDIT to the character and prosperity of a
Nation;. the impolicy, as well as the im
practicability, of mining t a diftin£ti»n be
tween the Various clalfes of public creditors;
the obligation which the public are under,
either ot difehargiug the imerefl duo on the
debt, or of funding it on the fame terms with
the principal; and the propriety of 4lTuming
.. the Bate debts, not only on the principles cf
juß:ce, but in order to facilitate a fairand equi
table settlement of accounts between the States
and the Union, and of preventing that com
petition in the railing of revenue, which woufd
.prove either; injurious to both, or oppressive
to the people; proposes,
That a Loan ihould btf opened for the full
amount of the debts, as well of the particu
lar Bates as of the Union, upon the following
terms, viz. '
18. That", for every hundred dollars sub
scribed, payable in the debt, (as well intereß
as principal)' the subset iber Ihould be eutitled
to have two-thirds funded on an yearly in
tereß of fix per cent, (the capital redeemable
at the pleasure of the government, by pay
ment of the principal) and to receive the
other third in lands of the wefiem territory,
at the rate of twenty cents per acre. Or,
2d. To have the whole sum funded at a
yearly intereß of four pet cent, irredeemable
by any payment exceeding five dollars per
annum, on account both of principal and in
tereß, and to receive as a compensation for
.the reduthon of iqtcreß, fifteen dollars and
eighty cents, payable m lands, as in the pre
ceding cafe* Or,
3dly. To have sixty-six and two-thirds
dollars funded at a yearly intereß of fix, per
cent, irredeemable also by ahy payment ex
ceeding four and two thirds dollars per an
num, on account both of principal and inte
reß, and to have, at the end of ten years,
twenty-fix dollaTS and eighty-eight cents,
funded at the like intereß and rate of rcdcihp
tioh, Os,
4?hly. To have an anouity for the re
mainder of life, upon .the contingency of
living to a given age, not less difiant than ten
years, computing intereß at fbur percent*
° r » V,
sthly. To have an annuirity for the re
mainder of life, on the contingency of the
furvivorlhip of the youngeß of two persons,
computing intereß in this case also at four
per cent.
Othiy. In addition to the f iregoing loans, tbe
SecietaTy prompofes a Loan ot Ten Millions
Dollars, payable one half in specie, and the
other half iu the debt, {a6 well principal as
intereß) bearing an intereß of five per cent,
irredeemable by any payment exceeding lix
dollars per annum, both ot principal and in
tereß.
And also, (byway 6f experiment) a TON
TINE, upon the following,principles, viz.
That the Claifes ihould be Six, coiftpofejd
refpeflively of persons of the following ages :
isl Clafß. Os thofc of 20 years and^nder.
2d do. Os those above 20, and not ex
ceeding 30.
3d do. Os those above 30, and not ex
ceeding 40.
4th do. Os thole above 40, and not ex
ceeding 50*
sth do. Os those above jo, and not ex
ceeding 60.
6th do. Os those above 60.
j Each Biare to be two hundred dollars. The
; number of (hares in each class to be indefi
nite. Perlons to be at liberty to fubferibe on
their own lives, or those of others nominat
ed by them. [Dollars, Cents,
The annuity upon a share in
the firß class to be 8 40
Upon a Orate m the second, 8 C:
Upon a Biare iu (be third, 9 0
Upon a Ilia re in the fourth, 9C$
Upon a (here in the fifth, j 0 70
Upon a (lure in the sixth, 11 80
The annuities of those who die to be equal
ly divided among the survivors, until four
lifihs Bull be dead, when the principle of fui •
• vivo; Blip Ball ccife, <tui fich Auuuiuat
thenceforth enjoy h;s dividend as a feveralan „
nu-ty, during the life upon which it Ihall de
pend
On the loans where interest is .payable, it is
proposed that the payment of the fame ihouli •
be cuarterly, not only for the benefit of the
creditors, but in order to promote a more ra
pid circulation of money.
In proposing the foregoing terms, the Se
cretary appearfKo be governed by the follow
ing principles:
That no change ought to be attempted in
the rights of the creditors, but what is sanc
tioned by their voluntary consent, arid found
ed on the basis of a fair equivalent :
That the nature of the public debt, (being
. a capital tedeemable at the pleasure of thp
government, which may avail itfelf of any fail
• of interest) is favorable to thepublic, unfa
vourable to the creditors, and may- therefore
facilitate an arrangement for the redudion of
the prefenr rate of interest on the basis of a
" fair equivalent:
That, from the increase of money arising
from the low'rare of interest in Europe, that
of the monied capital of the nation, by fund
ing feveuty millions of dollars, the. further
cftabiiiliiHent of public credit, and other causes,
it is prefurciable, that the government rate of
interest in the United States will, at the ex
piation of five years, fall to five per Cent,
and in a period hot exceeding -t'Weroty years,
• to four pei cent.
; t How far the calculations -on these various
ihodes of Loan conform to the above princi
ples, it isat present impoflibie to determine;
but, from the general accuracy of the report,
and the well known difpofi.tioa of the sleire
tary to.fupport the rights of the creditors,
and the character of the nation, there can be
no doubt but proper attention has l»een paid
to this point. .
The period of the payment of interest on
, what is at prefeht rtyled the National Debt,
is proposed to be from the firft of January,
1791, and on the State Debts, from the firft
of January, 179a. t The funds for the form
cr, (which gre the only ones fpecified in the
• report ) are proposed to accrue ffoin chepre
feut duties on imp’oft and tonnagi, increafei
with refpeft to . ~ (
linpoited wines, tea, spirits and coffee;
And a duty on home made spirits.
These articles as the Secretary juftljr ob
serves) are all of them in reality, luxuries,
the greater pkrt of t-hirm foreign luxuries,
and some of them, in the excess inf which
they ate used, pernicious luxuries* Although,
(as before dblerved ) the funds for paying the
interest on the aggregate of the State Debt*
are not pointed out, from the feW articles
which -re proposed to constitute those for the
prelent debt of the United States, we have
good ground to hope and believe, that.the re
mainder of the neceflary funds will be ealily*
found without the neceflity of having recourfp
either to a Land or Poll Tax.
In order that the different Loans may he
voluntary i \\juß, as well as name, proviiioa
is made in the report for paying to non-fub
feribiug editors a .dividend of whatever
surplus may remain after paying the ihtereft
. of the proposed Loans, with a limitation,
■« " ow e v er, to four per cent, as the funds im
mediately to be provided are .calculated to
produce in that .proportion to the entire debt.
The foreign and domestic debt of the Unit
ed States, with the arrears of interest, to
gether with the debts of the refpeftive dates,
which arc estimated at 25,000,000 dollars
principal and interest, form a total of about;
80,000,000 dollars, the whole amount of the
debt of the United States, after the dejrts of
the iudividd-i governments Ihall beaffumed.
A foreign loan of 12,000,000 of dollars
is among the articles proposed, the objeft of
which is, to difeharge the arrears of interest
due oh the foreign debt; to reduce the inte
rest on that part of the foreign debt which
bears an interest of more than four per cent,
to form a capital for a National Bank, in or
der to facilitate the colletfion of the revenue,
and such arrangements as ihall be found ex
pedient for reducing the capital of the doroc
itic debt. In aid of this operation, the re*
venue of the Port-office is proposed as a Sink
ing Fund.
If ii p.opofed that this loan be under ibf
diitliion of Comntirtinneii to be eppuinced
b)' Congut.,
