MONDAY FEBRUARY 8. A memorial of Robert Morris, late Superintendent of the Finances of the United States, was presented to the House and read, praying that commissioners may be appointed to make inquiry into his official conduct whilst Superintendent, in conformity to a resolution of the late Congress. Also, A petition of sundry inhabitants of the town of Salem, in the State of Massachusetts, praying that so much of the law for regulating the coasting trade, as compels the owners of vessels employed therein to take out a licence for the same, may be amended. Ordered, That the said memorial and petition do lie on the table. A petition of Nathan Read, of Salem, in the State of Massachusetts, was presented to the House and read, praying the aid of Congress, and an exclusive privilege for constructing sundry machines and engines, which he has invented for improving the art of distillation, for facilitating the operation of mills and other water-works, and for promoting the purposes of navigation and land carriage. Also, a petition of John Stevens, junior, praying that an exclusive privilege may be granted him, for an improvement on the steam engine, which he has invented, by a new mode of generating steam. Ordered, That the said petitions be referred to Mr. Burke, Mr. Huntington, and Mr. Cadwalader; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. On motion, Ordered, That the Committee of the Whole House to whom the engrossed bill providing for the Actual Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the United States, was committed, be discharged therefrom. The said engrossed bill was then read the third time, and the blanks therein filled up. Resolved, That the said bill do pass, and that the title be "An act providing for the Actual Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the United States. Ordered, That the Clerk of this House do carry the said bill to the Senate, and desire their concurrence. A message was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Lear, his Secretary, notifying that the President approves of the act, entitled "An act for giving effect to the several acts therein mentioned, in respect to the State of North Carolina, and other purposes;" and has this day affixed his signature thereto. And the Secretary delivered in the said act, and then withdrew. Ordered, That the Clerk of this House do acquaint the Senate therewith. The House, according to the order of the day, resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the report of the Secretary of the Treasury relative to a provision for the support of the public credit. Mr. Speaker left the chair. Mr. Baldwin took the chair of the committee. Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Baldwin reported that the committee had, according to order, had the said report under consideration, and made some progress therein. Resolved, That this House will, to-morrow, again resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the said report. The order of the day for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act for the Punishment of certain Crimes against the United States," was read, and postponed until to-morrow. And then the House adjourned until to-morrow morning eleven o'clock. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9. Ordered, That the petition of the inhabitants of the town of Salem, in the State of Massachusetts, which was presented yesterday, be referred to the Secretary of the Treasury, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. A petition of Donald Campbell, of the city of New York, was presented to the House and read, praying the attention of Congress to a representation which he made to the late Congress, against certain statements of the late Board of Treasury, on the subject of his claims against the United States. Ordered, That the said petition do lie on the table. A petition of the contractors for conveying the mail between the cities of Philadel phia and New York, was presented to the House and read, praying the interposition of Congress to relieve them from a tax imposed on the mail stages by the State of New Jersey; and also, in compelling a preference to the mail stages in the passage of ferries, and along the public roads. Ordered, That the said petition be referred to the committee to whom was referred the letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, with the report from the Postmaster General. The House, according to the order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the report of the Secretary of the Treasury relative to a provision for the support of the public credit. Mr. Speaker left the chair. Mr. Baldwin took the chair of the committee. Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Baldwin reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the said report under consideration, and made a farther progress therein. Resolved, That this House will, to-morrow, again resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the said report. The order of the day for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act for the Punishment of certain Crimes against the United States," was read, and postponed until to-morrow. And then the House adjourned until to-morow morning eleven o'clock. On motion, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10. The memorial of Robert Morris, late Superintendent of the Finances of the United States, presented on Monday last, was read, and ordered to be inserted in the Journal, as followeth : "To the President, the Senate, and House of Representatives of the United States of America: The Memorial of Robert Morris, late Superintendent of the Finances of the said United States, humbly sheweth : That, on the twentieth day of June, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five, and subsequent to your memorialist's resignation of his office of Superintendent, the Congress passed a resolution in the words following: "Resolved, That three commis"sioners be appointed, to inquire into the receipts and expenditures of public moneys "during the administration of the late Superintendent of Finance; and to examine and "adjust the accounts of the United States with that Department during his administra"tion, and to report a state thereof to Congress ;" which resolution, to persons unacquainted with the nature of the office, and the mode of conducting the business of the Department, gave occasion to the supposition that your memorialist had accounts both difficult and important to settle with the United States in respect to his official transactions. That, though your memorialist foresaw the disagreeable consequences which might result to himself from the diffusion of such an opinion, he; notwithstanding, not only forbore any representation on the subject, but scrupulously avoided every species of interference, direct or indirect, lest it should be imagined either that he was actuated by the desire of obtaining from Congress those marks of approbation which had, in repeated instances, been bestowed on the servants of the public, or that he feared to meet the proposed investigation. Respect for the Sovereign of the United States, concurring with motives of delicacy to forbid even the appearance of asking what, if merited, it was to be presumed would be conferred, (as being the proper reward of services, not of solicitation,) and a firm confidence in the rectitude of his conduct, leaving your memorialist no inducement to evade any inquiry into it which it might be thought fit to institute. That your memorialist, taking it for granted that the reasons which had produced a determination to establish a mode of inquiry into the transactions of the most important office under the Government, would have ensured the prosecution of the object till it had been carried into effect, long remained in silent expectation of the appointment of commissioners, according to the resolution which had been entered into for that purpose. But it has so happened, from what cause your memorialist will not undertake to explain, that no further steps have ever been taken in relation to it; and your memorialist has remained exposed to the surmises which the appearance of an intention to inquire into his conduct had a tendency to excite, without having been afforded an op portunity of obviating them. That the unsettled condition of certain accounts of a commercial nature between the United States and the late house of Willing, Morris, and Company, and your memorialist, prior to his appointment of Superintendent of the Finances, having been confounded with his transactions in that capacity, your memorialist has, in various ways, been subjected to injurious imputations on his official conduct, the only fruits of services, which, at the time they were rendered, he trusts he may, without incurring the charge of presumption, affirm, were generally esteemed both important and meritorious, and were at least rendered with ardor and zeal, with unremitted attention, and unwearied application. That your memorialist, desirous of rescuing his reputation from the aspersions thrown upon it, came in the month of October, 1788, to the City of New York, as well for the purpose of urging the appointment of commissioners to inspect his official transactions, as for that of procuring an adjustment of the accounts which existed previous to his administration. But the first object was frustrated by the want of a sufficient number of members to make a Congress, and the last was unavoidably delayed by the preliminary investigations requisite on the part of the Commissioner named by the late Board of Treasury, towards a competent knowledge of the business. That in the month of February, 1789, your memorialist returned to New York for the same purposes, but the obstacles which he had before experienced, still operated to put it out of his power to present the memorial which had been prepared by him in October, praying for an appointment of commissioners. That he was therefore obliged to confine himself to measures for the settlement of his accounts respecting the transactions antecedent to his appointment as Superintendent, which he entered upon accordingly with the Commissioner appointed by the Board of Treasury; and in which as much progress as time and circumstances would permit, was made, until the fourth of March last, when that Commissioner, conceiving his authority, by the organization of the new Government, to have ceased, declined further proceedings; and, of course, your memorialist was obliged to wait the establishment of the new Treasury Department for the further prosecution of that settlement, which has been accordingly resumed, and, he hopes, will speedily be accomplished. But, inasmuch as no mode of inquiry into his official conduct has hitherto been put into operation, and as doubts of its propriety have been raised by an act of the Government, your memorialist conceives himself to have a claim upon the public justice for some method of vindicating himself, which will be unequivocal and definitive. Wherefore, and encouraged by a consciousness of the integrity of his administration, your memorialist is desirous that a strict examination should be had into his conduct while in office, in order that, if he has been guilty of maladministration, it may be detected and punished; if otherwise, that his innocence may be manifested and acknowledged. Unwilling, from this motive, that longer delay should attend the object of the resolution which has been recited, your memorialist humbly prays that an appointment of commissioners may take place to carry the said resolution into effect. And your memorialist, as in duty bound, will pray, &c. New York, February 8, 1790.” ROBERT MORRIS. Ordered, That the said memorial be referred to Mr. Madison, Mr. Sedgwick, and Mr. Sherman; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. The House, according to the order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the report of the Secretary of the Treasury relative to a provision for the support of the public credit. Mr. Speaker left the chair. Mr. Baldwin took the chair of the committee. Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Baldwin reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the said report under consideration, and made a farther progress therein. Resolved, That this House will, to-morrow, again resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the said report. The order of the day for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act for the Punishment of certain Crimes against the United States," was read and postponed until to-morrow. And then the House adjourned until to-morrow morning eleven o'clock. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11. Memorials of the People called Quakers, in their annual meetings, held at Philadel phia and New York, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, were presented to the House and read, praying the attention of Congress in adopting measures for the abolition of the Slave Trade; and, in particular, in restraining vessels from being entered and cleared out for the purposes of that trade. Ordered, That the said memorials do lie on the table. A message from the Senate, by Mr. Otis, their Secretary: Mr. Speaker: The Senate have agreed to a resolution, "That three Commissioners "be appointed by the President of the United States, to inquire into the receipts and "expenditures of public moneys during the administration of the late Superintendent "of Finance; and to examine and adjust the accounts of the United States with that "Department during his administration, and to report a state thereof to the President; " and that five dollars per diem be allowed to each of the said Commissioners while "they shall be employed in that service," to which they desire the concurrence of this House. And he delivered in the said resolution, and then withdrew. The said resolution was read, and ordered to lie on the table. The House, according to the order of the day, again resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the report of the Secretary of the Treasury relative to a provision for the support of the public credit. Mr. Speaker left the chair. Mr. Baldwin took the chair of the committee. Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and Mr. Baldwin reported that the committee had, according to order, again had the said report under consideration, and made a farther progress therein. Resolved, That this House will, to-morrow, again resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the said report. The order of the day for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12. A memorial of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery was presented to the House and read, praying that Congress may take such measures in their wisdom, as the powers with which they are invested will authorize, for promoting the abolition of slavery, and discouraging every species of traffic in slaves. On motion, The memorial of the People called Quakers, at their annual meeting, held at Philadelphia, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, presented yesterday, was read the second time: Whereupon, A motion being made and seconded, that the said memorial be refered to the consideration of a committee, It was resolved in the affirmative, SAyes..... 43, 11. The ayes and noes being demanded by one-fifth of the members present, Those who voted in the affirmative are, Fisher Ames, Samuel Griffin, Egbert Benson, Elias Boudinot, Lambert Cadwalader, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, William Floyd, Abiel Foster, George Gale, Elbridge Gerry, Benjamin Goodhue, Jonathan Grout, Thomas Hartley, John Hathorn, Benjamin Huntington, John Lawrance, Richard Bland Lee, George Leonard, Samuel Livermore, Peter Muhlenberg, Ordered, That the said memorial be referred to Mr. Foster, Mr. Huntington, Mr. Gerry, Mr. Lawrance, Mr. Sinnickson, Mr. Hartley, and Mr. Parker; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. Ordered, That the memorial of the People called Quakers, at their annual meeting held at New York, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine, as also the memorial of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, presented to-day, be referred to the committee last appointed; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. A petition of Isaac Trowbridge, of the State of Connecticut, was presented to the the House and read, praying to be relieved from a contract which, through inadverteney he entered into with the public for the transportation of the mail from New York to Hartford, and which is likely to become ruinous to him. Ordered, That the said petition do lie on the table. The order of the day for the House to resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole House on the bill sent from the Senate, entitled "An act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States," and on the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, relative to a provision for the support of the public credit, were read, and postponed until Monday next. And then the House adjourned until Monday morning eleven o'clock. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15. A petition of James Derry was presented to the House and read, praying compensation for military services rendered during the late war. Also, a petition of John Stone, of Concord, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, praying that an exclusive privilege may be granted him for a new and expeditious method which he has invented of driving piles attached together, whereby the construction of wooden bridges over the broadest and deepest streams may be greatly facilitated. Also, a petition of Anna Treat, praying that some allowance or provision for her support may be granted her in consideration of the poverty and distress to which she is reduced by the loss of her son, who was slain in the service of the United States during the late war. Ordered, That the said petitions do lie on the table. Ordered, That the petition of Donald Campbell, which was presented on Tuesday last, be referred to Mr. Bland, Mr. Cadwalader, and Mr. Benson; that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House. Ordered, That the petition of Isaac Trowbridge, which was presented on Friday last, be referred to the Postmaster General, with instruction to examine the same, and report his opinion thereupon to the House. A message, in writing, was received from the President of the United States, by Mr. Lear, his Secretary, who delivered in the same, together with the papers therein referred to. And then withdrew. The said message and papers were read, and are as follow: |