ascertained by Congress, and shall be paid in Spanish Milled Dollars, or other gold and silver equivalent thereto, or in the Bills of credit emitted by this ordinance, or in any other Bills of Credit which may in like manner be emitted by Congress subsequent thereto, which said other Bills of Credit if any shall be received shall be retained in the Treasury and not reissued except in Exchange for the Bills to be redeemed by virtue of this ordinance, and the said Bills of Credit emitted by this ordinance, when they shall be received into the Treasury of the United States shall be destroyed by burning them, and shall not under any pretence whatsoever be reissued therefrom.

And be it further ordained that from and after the aforesaid first day of April 1785 expressed in the form of the Bills hereby emitted, if any of the said Bills of credit shall remain outstanding, the holder or holders of such outstanding bills shall be entitled to and shall be paid by the Treasurer of the United States for the time being, the value thereof in gold or silver equal to Spanish milled dollars, or in Spanish milled dollars, according to the nominal value declared in the said Bills on demand, and the same shall be repaid by such State or States respectively in just proportion, as shall have failed in the payment of their Quotas of such Bills respectively with interest thereon.

Provided nevertheless, that no State or States shall engross by any means whatsoever, with a view to receive any advantage from this ordinance or otherwise to exchange them for specie to the injury of any other State or States in this union, more of the said Bills of Credit hereby intended to be redeemed, than shall amount to the full Quota of each State or States as ascertained aforesaid by Congress.

And whereas Congress by Resolutions dated the 18th of March 1780 directed certain Bills of Credit to be prepared and issued pursuant to the said resolutions which from divers causes have not been completed or fully complied with whereby the expectations of Congress in passing the said Resolutions have been disappointed, and whereas by the said resolutions 4/10th of the said Bills were reserved for the immediate use of the United States, and it is judged expedient that no part of the remaining 6/10th of said Bills of Credit shall issue from and after the passing of this ordinance; be it therefore ordained, that from and after the passing of this ordinance, so much of the said resolutions as directs the manner of issuing the said Bills be and the same is hereby repealed.

And be it further ordained, that the Persons appointed to sign the Bills of Credit directed to be issued pursuant to the Resolutions of

the 18th of March aforesaid, proceed immediately to sign one fourth part of the 4/10ths of the quota of said Bills assigned to the respective States, and that the Loan Officers of the respective States pay the said one fourth part of the four tenths of said Bills to the Treasurer of the United States for the time being, or to his order, as soon as the said Bills shall be signed and compleated as aforesaid, and the said Treasurer shall stamp or cause to be stampt before the issuing of the said Bills the following words in red ink upon the back of said Bills ["Interest paid the day of "] filling up the said blanks with the month, the day of the month, and the year, at the time of issuing the said Bills, and the said Bills so issued shall bear Interest according to the tenor thereof from and after the day of issuing the same until they shall be redeemed or exchanged in the manner herein after directed.

And whereas the State of the Treasury of these United States renders it necessary that the said one fourth of the four tenths of said Bills issue in payment of all demands upon the same and nevertheless it is inexpedient that the said Bills so issued on account of these United States, should bear Interest and continue in circulation according to the tenor of the resolutions of the 18th of March 1780 aforesaid Be it therefore ordained that the Treasurer of these United States for the time being, shall issue the said one fourth of the four tenths of said Bills or such part thereof as shall be requisite in payment of all warrants drawn or to be drawn upon the Treasury until the said Bills to be emitted by virtue of this ordinance shall be prepared according to the directions of this ordinance to be issued, and no longer, and the Treasurer of these United States for the time being is hereby authorised and directed to transmit within the space of six months from the passing of this ordinance to the respective Treasurers of the States from whence the one fourth of the respective four tenths of said Bills shall have issued, so many of the Bills of credit emitted pursuant to this ordinance as shall be sufficient to redeem the one fourth part of the said four tenths of the Bills aforesaid as shall have issued upon the Funds of the said respective States, by exchanging them for the same, and the holder or holders of the said one fourth part of the said four tenths of the said bills in the respective States shall carry in the same to the Treasurer thereof, to be exchanged as aforesaid on or before the first day of April in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty two, after which time the Interest on the said Bills shall cease and the same shall be no longer current within these United States.

Here the repetition begins.

And whereas it is indispensibly necessary to the proper arrangement of the finances and to the restoration of public credit within these United States, that due obedience be paid to the ordinances which are or shall be passed by the United States in Congress assembled, without which they must remain a fruitless pledge for the security of all who confide in their laws; and whereas justice and precision should mark the conduct of the United States to the end that each State in the Union may have a firm reliance upon them, and that right may be done to all and every of them in the administration of public affairs: Be it therefore further ordained, that from and after the passing of this Ordinance, if any State or States in this Union shall refuse or neglect to comply therewith without sufficient reason, to be assigned by the Delegates of such State or States and approved by the United States in Congress assembled, the Treasurer of the United States for the time being shall certify the same to the President of Congress who shall forthwith lay the same before the United States in Congress assembled and thereupon if cause be not shown to the contrary a remonstrance shall issue under the sign manual of the President of Congress for the time being, and under the seal of the United States, attested by the Secretary of Congress, against the conduct of such delinquent State or States, and demanding full payment of the arrears of such State or States with interest thereon, according to the purport and tenor of this ordinance, at a day certain, to be assigned by the United States in Congress assembled and if such delinquent State or States shall thereafter refuse or neglect to comply therewith a prohibition shall thenceforth issue against the commerce both by sea and land, of such delinquent State or States, in the manner herein prescribed in the case of a remonstrance, and the same shall be continued until full payment be made as aforesaid, and justice duly rendered to the United States.

And be it further ordained that so much of any act or resolution of Congress passed before the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, as comes within the purview of this ordinance be, and the same is hereby repealed.'

Ordered, That they be read again to Morrow.

Adjourned to 10 o'Clock to Morrow.

1 These words in the margin are in the writing of Samuel Huntington.

? This ordinance, in the writing of Meriwether Smith, except the parts in brackets, which are in the writing of James Duane, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 36, I, folio 169.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 1781

A letter, of 21, from the executive council of the eastern shore of Maryland, was read:

Ordered, That it be referred to a committee of three: The members, Mr. [James] Duane, Mr. [James] Madison, Mr. [John] Sullivan.

A letter, of 18, from Count de Rochambeau, was read.1 A letter, of 21, from General Washington, was read; 2 Whereupon,

Resolved, That the quartermaster general be, and he is hereby authorised to appoint Colonel Champlin, of Newport, a barrack-master to the French army; and to annex to that office a salary, not exceeding the pay of an assistant deputy quartermaster.

The report of the Board of War of the 16 March last, on a letter of the 15 of the same month from the paymaster general, was taken into consideration; and, Thereupon,

SIR,

WAR OFFICE March 16. 1781.

The Board have the honor to lay before Congress a letter from the Pay Master General on the subject of Pay due Cap Lieutenants of Artillery and Lieutenants and Sergeants of Infantry. We conceive that the matter was properly considered by Congress at the time of settlement of the pay of the Army in 1778 and that the Appointments of these Officers should be as they were then fixed. We therefore beg leave to report,

Resolved, That the pay of captain-lieutenants of artillery, and of lieutenants and serjeants of infantry be paid in bills of the new emissions, at the rate fixed for the pay of those officers and non-commissioned officers respectively, on the 27 day of May, one thousand seven hundred and seventyeight, any former resolution of Congress to the contrary hereof notwithstanding.3

1 The Maryland letter is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 78, XXII, folio 463; Rochambeau's letter is in No. 78, XIX, folio 343, a copy being on folio 351. 2 This letter is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 152, X, folio 89. 3 This report is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 147, VI, folio 307.

The Board of Treasury reported that in pursuance of the act of the 5th day of September last, they have prepared loan office certificates to the amount of one million dollars specie value, which are ready to be sent forward to the several continental loan officers; Whereupon,

TREASURY OFFICE April 23 1781.

The Board of Treasury beg leave to inform the United States in Congress assembled that the Certificates ordered to be prepared by the Act of the 5th of Sep! last are ready to be sent forward to the several Continental Loan Officers. That before they are sent the Board wish to have the sense of Congress whether the Commissioners afs are to consider the new money of specie value dollar for dollar.

The Board conceive the greatest disadvantage may result to the community, if it is so to be considered, as it is well known at this instant a considerable depreciation has already taken place in all the States where it has issued-they therefore propose the following Resolutions:

Resolved, That the commissioners of the several continental loan offices issue the specie certificates ordered by the resolution of the 5th day of September, 1780, only on their receiving specie, or upon the order of Congress, or of the Board of Treasury, for the balance of accounts liquidated in specie value.

The Board have reca a letter from Cha: Pettit Esq Ast Q. M. General dated the 20th inst. together with copies of a letter and Estimate approved by the Board of War from Donaldson Yates Esq Dr Q. M. for the States of Maryland and Delaware, requesting a supply of money for that Department and having taken the same into consideration, beg leave to report

Ordered, That a warrant issue on Thomas Harwood, commissioner of the continental loan office for the State of Maryland, in favour of Charles Pettit, assistant quartermaster general, on account of Colonel Timothy Pickering, quartermaster general, for twenty-six thousand and eighty dollars new emission, to be transmitted to Donaldson Yates, deputy quartermaster for the States of Delaware and Maryland, for the use of that department, and for which sum the said