Ordered, That it be referred to a committee of three; The members, Mr. [Joseph] Jones, Mr. [Alexander] McDougall, Mr. [John] Sullivan.

Ordered, That the committee to whom were referred the letters from Major General Greene, Brigadier General Morgan &c take into consideration the state and condition of the southern army, and report ways and means of supplying their wants.1

Petitions from Thomas Felten, Benjamin Armitage, Joseph VanDyke, Joseph Jewell, Elijah Weed, Will Lawrence and Francis Proctor, were laid before Congress, each praying to be appointed keeper of the state prison in the room of R. Jewell, deceased: 2

Ordered, That they be referred to the Board of War.

Resolved, That the salary of the Superintendant of Finance be six thousand dollars per annum;

That the salary of the Secretary at War be five thousand dollars per annum; and

That the salary of the Secretary of Marine be five thousand dollars per annum.

Ordered, That Monday next be assigned for the election of the officers aforesaid, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. A report from the Board of Treasury was read; Where

upon,

TREASURY OFFICE, February 9th, 1781. The Board of Treasury having considered the letter of the 3rd instant from Philip Audibert Asst. to John Pierce, paymaster general, beg leave to report;

Ordered, That a warrant issue on Thomas Smith, commissioner of the continental loan office for the State of

1 A copy of this order, as an extract from the minutes is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 155, I, folio 545.

2 Felton's petition is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 42, IV, folio 268; Armitage's is on folio 230; Vandyke's on folio 272; Jewell's on folio 234; Weed's on folio 244; Lawrence's on folio 274; Proctor's on folio 260. A similar petition, from Henry Murfits, was also pressented; it is in No. 42, V, folio 225.

Pensylvania, in favour of Philip Audibert, on account of John Pierce, paymaster general, for eight hundred and eleven dollars new emission, to enable the said P. Audibert to discharge two warrants drawn on the paymaster general by the Board of War; one for five hundred and fifty-two dollars, in favour of Lieutenant Jenkins, of Captain Spalding's company; the other in favor of Captain Selin, paymaster to Captain Paul Schott's corps, for two hundred and fifty-nine dollars of the emission aforesaid, being on account of pay due to their corps now under marching orders from Wyoming to join the main army, and for both of which sums, amounting to eight hundred and eleven dollars, the aforesaid John Pierce, paymaster general, is to be accountable;

That on the application of the Inspectors of the Press, the following resolution is submitted:

The alterations

That a warrant issue on Thomas Smith, commissioner aforesaid, in favour of John Biddle, Isaac Howell, Peter Thomson, Isaac Snowden and Nathaniel Falmade on the 10th. Coner, inspectors of the continental press, for two one thousand eight four hundred and five two dollars and forty-five ninetieths of a dollar in bills of the new emissions in discharge part of their account settled to the 18th day of March last 4 day of December last;

That on the application of William Geddes, commissioner of accounts, a warrant issue on Thomas Smith, commissioner of the continental loan office for the State of Pensylvania, in his favour for twenty thousand dollars old emissions, on account of his salary and for which he is to be accountable.1 On motion of Mr. [Theodorick] Bland, seconded by Mr. [John] Sullivan,

1 This report is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 136, V, folio 93.

Ordered, That the Board of Treasury immediately lay before Congress an exact state of the returns from all the respective loan-offices, specifying the old emissions brought in to be destroyed, and the new emissions retained, subject to the orders of Congress; also, a state of the taxes paid in by the respective states, and that they make such report to Congress on the first Monday of every month in future.

[A memorial from Abraham Whipple, John Peck Rathburne, Samuel Tucker and Thomas Simpson, was read:1 Ordered, That it be referred to a committee of three. The members chosen, Mr. [Alexander] McDougall, Mr. [Oliver] Wolcott and Mr. [William] Sharpe.]2 Adjourned to 10 o'Clock to Morrow.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1781

The committee to whom was referred the letter, of the 2d, from William Geddes, delivered in a report, which was read.

The Committee to whom were referred the letter of the 2a instant from W Geddes, beg leave to report the following resolution:

That the setting aside the election of William Geddes and the appointment of another person to the office of paymaster general was founded grounded upon reasons of expediency and propriety, and all reports circulated injurious to the character or reputation of the said William Geddes on that account are false and unfounded.s

Congress was resolved into a Committee of the Whole, to consider farther the report on finance, and after some time the President resumed the chair, and Mr. [John] Mathews reported, that the committee have considered farther the

1 This memorial is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 41, X, folio 454. 2 The part in brackets was entered in the Journal by George Bond.

3 This report, in the writing of William Sharpe, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 19, II, folio 405. It appears in the list of postponed reports in No. 31, folio 371.

reports on finance, but not having come to a conclusion, desire leave to sit again.1

1 The following motion, without date, in the writing of John Mathews, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 36, IV, folio 37:

That an eighth of a dollar p. ton, Carpenters tonnage be paid upon all vessels arriving in any port of these United States coming from foreign ports loaded with any foreign commodities or in ballast.

postpon!.

The following motion, in the writing of Thomas Burke, was, the indorsement shows, postponed on this day. It is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 36, IV, folio 371:

Resolved, That the duties which the States are requested to empower Congress to levy by the act of the 3rd Instant be payable in specie only—and that all imported articles prizes and prize goods be rated for the purpose of ascertaining the said duty, in specie and that it be recommended to the States to make provisions in their respective laws conformable to this resolution.

The following motion, in the writing of Henry Wynkoop, was referred to the Committee of the Whole as the indorsement shows. It is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 36, IV, folio 39:

Resolved, That it be recommended to the respective Legislatures to repeal all penal clauses, that may be inserted in any of their Laws enacted for the purpose of funding and redeeming the Bills of Credit emitted by the Resolutions of Congress of the 18th of March last.

That all Taxes, Duties or Imposts which now are or heretofore have been recommended to the States since the 18th of March last be considered as estimated in specie or the actual value thereof and that their respective Quotas and Proportions, be charged to them, by the Treasury Board accordingly.

And that it be recommended to the Legislatures to adopt such Modes and Regulations as shall best suit their respective situations and circumstances for effectually procuring the payment of all Taxes, Duties or Imposts either in specie or the actual value thereof in paper Bills of Credit.

That the Commissioners of the respective Loan offices be impowered and directed to attend particularly to the exchange between specie and the paper Bills of Credit actually existing from time to time in those States within which they respectively reside, and transmit weekly Rates thereof to the persons appointed to collect the Duties and Imposts upon goods and merchandize imported into those States to which the Loan Officers respectively belong; which rates shall be the Rule to direct the said Colectors in the receiving of all the aforesaid duties in specie or paper Bills, and shall be transmitted once in every month by the respective Loan Officers to the Treasury of the United States.

That it be recommended to the Legislatures of each State to emitt such proportion of the Bills of the 18th of March, in Bills of such Denomination under one Dollar as shall suit their respective purposes for small change and to the Amount of such sumas they conceive the Circumstances of their respective States may require; and that they be requested without delay to transmitt such amount to the Treasury of the United States to enable that Board to prevent the Issuing of any greater quantity to each State than the amount allotted to them respectively by the Resolutions of the 18th of March last including the sum emitted for Change as by this Resolution recommended.

Ordered, That on Monday next Congress be resolved into a Committee of the Whole, to consider farther the reports on finance.

The Board of War, to whom was referred the letter of Alexander Skinner, delivered in a report; Whereupon,

Mr Peters
Gen Cornell

AT A BOARD OF WAR Feb 10th 1781

The Board having considered the letter from Doc Skinner referred to them, beg leave to lay before Congress an estimate they Countersigned on the 2nd of Nov! last and sent to the Board of Treasury for £10,414:5:2 of the new emissions to procure the articles therein specified for the Southern Army.

As the saddles intended for Col. Lee's partizan Corps, which are indispensably necessary, were included in the estimate, and as the other articles mentioned are equally essential, the Board beg leave to report:

Ordered, That a warrant issue in favour of Chas. Pettit, assistant quartermaster, for twenty-seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-one dollars of the new emissions, to enable Colonel S. Miles to procure for the southern army the articles contained in the Board of War's estimate of 22d [2d] November last.1

A report from the Board of Treasury was read; Whereupon,

Ordered, That a warrant issue on Thomas Smith, commissioner of the continental loan office for the State of Pensylvania, in favour of Chas. Pettit aforesaid, on account of T. Pickering, quartermaster general, for five hundred thousand dollars old emissions, for the use of Colonel Carrington, deputy quartermaster for the southern army, and for which the said T. Pickering, quartermaster general, is to be accountable.2

Adjourned to 10 o'Clock on Monday.

This report is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 147, VI, folio 139. ? This report is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 136, VI, folio 97.