shall be regulated by the value of the lands in the several states with the buildings & improvements thereon. Experiments made however since the date of that instrument for the purposes of ordinary taxation had induced doubts both as to the practicability of this rule of apportionment and of it's equality-appor tionable. Yet Congress thought it their duty to give it fair trial, and recommended to the several states on the 17th of Feb. 1783. to furnish an account of their lands buildings & number of inhabitants, whereon they might proceed to estimate their respective quotas. But apprehending that the incompetence of the rule would immediately shew itself, and desirous that no time should be unnecessarily lost, they followed it with another recommendation of the 18th of Apr. 1783. to substitute in lieu of that article in the Confederation another which should make the number of inhabitants, under certain modifications, the measure of contribution for each state. Both these propositions are still under reference to the several legislatures; the latter accompanied by the earnest wishes & preference of Congress, under full conviction that it will be found in event the most-as equal the most more satisfactory, & mest more easy of execution: the former only pressed if the other should be rejected. The Committee is informed that the states of Connecticut, New Jersey, Pensylvania & S. Carolina have acceded to the alteration proposed; but have no evidence that the other states have as yet decided thereon. As it is necessary that the one or the other measure should be immediately resorted to, they are of opinion it should be recommended to the legislatures which have not yet decided between them, to come to decision at their next meeting. In order to present to the eye a general view of the several existing requisitions & of the payments made under them, the Committee has subjoined them in the form of a table, wherein the 1st column enumerates the states: the 2o the apportionment of the D1.200.000: the 3 that of the 8. millions: the 4th that of the 2. millions: the 5th the sums paid by the several states in part of their respective quotas to the last day of the year 1783: and the 6th the sums now required to made up three fourths of their respective quotas of the 8. millions express in Doll's 10th & 100th of Doll. It remained lastly to consider whether no facilities might be given to the paiment of these sums by the several states. The Committee observed that of the purposes for which money is wanting, about a moiety can be answered by nothing but money itself; but that the other moiety, consisting of interest on our domestic debt, may be effected by procuring a discount of the demand in the hands of the holder; an operation which will be shorter & less impoverishing to the state. And however, in times of greater plenty, the accuracy of fiscal administration might require all transactions to be in actual money, at the treasury itself; yet till our constituents shall have had some respite from their late difficulties, it behoves us to prefer their easement. The Committee are therefore of opinion that the several legislatures may be admitted so to model the collection of the sums now called for as that, the one half being paid in actual money, the other may be discharged by procuring discounts of interest with our domestic creditors; only taking care that the collection of money shall proceed at least in equal pace with the operations of discount. And to ascertain the evidence of discount which shall be receivable in lieu of money, the holders of loan office certificates shall be at liberty to carry them to the office from which they issued ; and the holders of certificates of other liquidated debts of the United States, to carry the same to the loan office of that State wherein the debt was contracted and to have the interest due thereon settled & certified to the last day of the year 1783; for which interest the loan officer shall give a certificate in such form, and under such cautions & instructions as the Superintendant of finance shall transmit to him; which certificates of interest, being parted with by the holder of the principal, shall be deemed evidence that he has received satisfaction for the same, & therefore shall be receivable from the bearer, within the same State, in lieu of money in the proportion before stated. And where loan office certificates, issued after the 1st day of Mar. 1778, shall be presented to the loan officer, they shall be reduced to their specie value according to the resolutions of Congress of June 28, 1780. that specie value expressed on some part of the certificate, & the interest thereon settled & certified as in other cases. TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. W. MSS. ANNAPOLIS, Mar. 31. 1784. DEAR SIR,-Your servant delivered me your favor this morning; Capt. Barney is gone to Philadelphia and his vessel to Baltimore, having left with me one of your packages only. The persons who brought this could give me no certain account of the other package which you suppose to have been brought. This your servant now receives. Being obliged to seize a moment in Congress of writing you these few lines, I can only mention to you that late advices from Europe mention another revolution in the British ministry, Mr. Pitt & his friends having resigned. No new ministry was formed. This does not come however authentically. TO THE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA.1 (BENJAMIN HARRISON.) ANNAPOLIS, Apr. 2, 1784. SIR, We have received no foreign intelligence through any authentic channel since the letter of Dr. Franklin of Dec. 25, an extract from which I formerly did myself the honour of enclosing to you. Through different ways however, such as to merit belief, we have information that the utmost confusion prevails in the British government. The House of Commons on the 16th of January came to a vote that the ministry (Mr. Pitt & his associates) neither possessed nor ought to possess the confidence of the nation. One account sais that on this Mr. Pitt resigned. Another that he had not resigned and that the doubt was whether the King would dissolve the parliament or part with his ministry. The error in the composition of the administration seems to have been the filling it from the house of lords, and taking in not enough of the men of interest and talents in the house of commons. Matters on the continent are quiet. The Emperor & Dutch have appointed commissioners to settle their differences. Whether his object was to have opened the Scheld, or whether the dispute arose about contested territory seems not very clear. I should have added to the above intelligence that the city of London were warm for Mr. 1 From the original in the possession of Mr. F. J. Dreer, of Philadelphia. Pitt and had addressed the King to continue his favor to him.-Your letter from Mount Vernon came safely to hand. We have eleven states in Congress, and are applying ourselves solely to the important subjects. I am not without hopes that we shall be able by the first of May to adjourn till November. Nothing could prevent it but the loss of votes sometimes by divisions of the states, 8 of the 11 being represented by two members only, any three of the sixteen members can still defeat our endeavors, and your knowledge of men will suggest to you the possibility of 3 dissenting voices out of 16 on any question. Mr. Mercer, the corresponding member for the month will perhaps be able to supply any intelligence which may escape me. TO GEORGE WASHINGTON. W. MSS. ANNAPOLIS, Apr. 6, 1784. DEAR SIR, I am obliged to you for your query as to the distance from New York to Cuyahoga, as it occasioned my re-examination of that matter & detection of an error of 150 miles. The distances from New York to Niagara I collect from information as follows from N. York to Albany 164 miles Oneida 165 Oswego 171 Niagara 180 680 From Niagara to Cuyahoga 140 this last distance I 820 |