CONGR ESS. lat th
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The
_ this!
VTEDNSSDAY, CECEMBtR 20. ftsnt
Continuation of the Debate on Foreign Coin, arise
Mr. Sewall laid, the reafoningi, of fo*ie altea
gentlemen upon this fubjeft were so differ- the
ent from h:6, that he was almost led to doubt - cula
the conviction of hisVjwn mind. The gen- Frei
tleman from Maryland had referred to what sit a
he had said on a former oecafion refpsfting tor t
fotir pfdoles pieces, andofefsrved that a few had
small fifiling vessels might carry on their, rece
trace in the way mentioned, but that mer- ford
chants in larger concerns did not. It was ave
true, the fa&hc alluded to, was the way in thoi
which ve furls which went with fi(h from the it. v
port frorruwhich he came did their bufip.efs the
at Biiboa. The gentleman said the btifinefs far 1
could be better done in London. He cer- gen
tain!-/ mult have been ignorant of the Tub- plae
jeft,orhe mull have known that in the pre- woi
lent state of warfare among the European dep
powers, that remittances from Biiboa to wer
London, could not now be made, and when wer
they were made it was at a loss of from 15 mg
to 25 percent. He believed the dollar of not
Spj'n wr.s worth 4od. fterliftg, but it had was
bten dov/n as low as zßd. and was mostly flor
about 3?d. whereas the loss fuftainedon the sou
importation of gold was less than 5 per cent, tnei
{o that it was much better to receive gold, refi
tUah .irinke remittances from Spain to Lpn- red!
ion. Sometimes, however, the traders a- wer
gres to lo'fe from 15 to 25 per cent, by Fre
dfavung oa London, when they have an ar- the
tide which will afford an extraordinary pro- inc<
fit. Taking the fubjett at large, he did infi
aot think so many difficulties would attend the
the filtering of the law to take effeft as had i was
been predicted. At present, he said, we tee
gave p fanft'on to foreign coin which was ]
,r«jt given in any other country. The efflef- f{ j
.wn'was not whether thsy (hould lay so-
reign coin ihouhlnot be received at all, but p 0 (
whether, by our law, a man (hall be obliged [ IC
to receive it, which would be giving full his
credit to the coin of a foreign government, wa
over which we have tio controul, and which |, ee
■ may, of eourfe, contain more alloy than it t h c
ought. 'At present, he said, our colleftprs g UI
received French crowns, banks would do w h
the fame. Gentlemen said this (hewed the ent
incxpedieney of disputing about the matter ; j, e
and if there would be no inconvenience at- co j
" tending the law going into effeft, it would
certainly be more honourable to government, ; t |
that our citizens (hould not be forced to re- H
ceive foreign coin in payment. If the bu- co
frnefs were left in the way the executive had ,jp
put it, the foreign coin, without producing t i„
any inconvenience, would take its eourfe t j t
toward* the bank of the United States ; t j,
for money did not need to be hauled a- d c
lung, it flowed like water through the coun- no
try. Gentlemen had said that copper circu- d c
lated in a direst eontradifton to the law ; ta |
and so far as it was tie'ccflary, the foreign f a]
. eqin in qutftion would have a currency ; hut j, a
it was no* necefTary T6 forte them into pay- j, e
ment. He believed the new coin of the a
' Ertnch republic contained more aUoy and c 0
wasof less value, than those of the monar- cu
c hv yet gentlemen would have all receiv- e( j
ed. He hop«d the motion would be agreed
■to, ss he saw no good in poftponiug the bu- if
fine'fs for two years. _ ra
Mr. Nicholas said, tfhe observations on ft;
this fubjefthad generallyadmitted that there re
would be a less attendant on the calling in p,
of the foreign coin in queflion ; but the p,
■gentleman last up had endeavoured to prove p;
that it was the intention of gentlemen in oc
favour of suspending the aft, to force so- w
teign coin to be received. It was aftonilh- ar
ipg the gentleman could so far impose upon cc
himfelf as to believe it poflible to impose b;
such sn opinion upon the house. The laws ar
had heretofore said they (hould be received ; at
they did not wi(h to add to them. He be-
lievtd they were not now to decide whether bi
the-v would have our own impreflion upon t
all the money in circulation, but whether u ]
they (hould be jollified in taking money out f e
of the hands of citizens at a less value than
that for which they received it. They had
been told that the suspension of this art
■wdu'.d be an intrcnchment upon the mint .
law ; that it would strike at the exigence t(
*f the mint; and that if the bulinefs were
postponed, the fame objeftion would arise
at the end of the time to which the law was
suspended. The crisis now arrived, he said,
was never in view when the law pafled ; the ,
mint law had not been carried into effeft ; '
it directed that all fortign coin which came
into tlve treasury, (liould be sent to the mint
and re-coineS. What would have been the
confeguence of this ? If it were ever possi
ble to fill the country with our own coin, it P
would now have been filled. But, instead
of this law being complied with, not a (hil
ling had been sent to the mint from the F
treasury. The confcquence was,' a coin of
the United States could not be seen, at leaf! *
in the interior of the country. He averred,
lie never did fee an eagle pass in any current ,
Commercial tranfafticn. He believed it im-
poflible to keep a circulation of this kind
for any length of time ; for the balance of j
foreign trade being against us, it must go to
pay that balance. Mr. N. said, be had at- (
tetlded to the report which they had reeeiv
ed on this fubjeft, and to the observations :
of the gentleman from Pennsylvania that it \
ought to produce a different result in the ; ,
committee. He had nothing but the gen i
tic-man's word for it. So far as he could ;
understand the report, he did not find the j
mint operative, or able to do the work
wh-'-sh gentlemen wiflied to give it ; that it .
had done last year less than ever, and if it j
gets the 300,090 dollars which are expeft
■ ed, upon the highest calculation of what it
can do sand not what it has done) it
will require seventeen weeks to re coin
them. What would be the effeft, then, if
all the foreign coin were to come in ? The
banks would, of eourfe, have the preference,
and the other must wait until the mint was
ready to receive it, without benefit to the |
owners. Was this reaftnable ? And wer?.
.gentlemen 'to be indulged ji» iVeW.phy-ti.ung4 from
at this expeace of the ptople ? Mr. N. said, j ed t!
gentlemen forced the mint into discussion. I beca
They fay it is nece(Wy,?pr Its existence that ed u
this law (lioiild be in ftirce. They were con He
fiantly told that all the mifehief which could as it
arise from the floppage of the filvercoin had opin
already taken place. His knowledge was coin
the rtverfe. When he left home, the cir- filve
-culaticn had flopped, "but persons holding pini
French crowns, declined parting with them the
at a loss, belying on fume thing beiug done aafv
for their relief. As to what the Executive wha
had done in ordering French crowns to be latii
received in the cuflom-houfes, it vyoifld as- had
ford adequate remedy. It perhaps was cire
a very properftep for the Executive to take/ coir
thoogh hedid not know by what authority tion
it. was done ; yet gentlemen wished to have fuft
the sole regulation of the bulinefs. He was he 1
far from bring of this opinion. But, fay It 1
gentlemen, if this suspension were t« take any
place for two years, the fame inconvenience as 1
would return. This, Mr. N. said, would tha
depend upon circumstances. If gentlemen was
were determined to support the mint, there mai
were other ways of doing it, without tax-] poi
ing any particular part of the people ; if mo
not, it might be put- down altogether It Tli
was not tied about their neck, like a to '
(lone to fink them. He trusted, if |t were the
found an ofcl<f» and unprofitable establish- I is t
ment, th tit would be relinqui(hcd. One Di
refu't, Mr. N. said, he drew from the di- red
rector's report, which was, that wkilft there I ror
were to the amount of, 300,000 dollars in fro
French crowns in this city and New-York, pr<
the quantity in circulation could not be so I It
inconsiderable as fonie gentlemtn seemed to lio
insinuate. It confirmed his opinion that Iwc
the amount throughout the United States I th;
. was p serious one. He hoped the commit- val
tee would not rife for the purpose proposed. I fib
? Mr. Ve.iable said, it would be remember-1
ed that' the gentlernan from Pennsylvania J 1
(Mr. was on a former day op- j
posed tothe report of th« committee, though I
he now wished to favour it, notwithftandiwg
his arguments were against it. He himfelf J
was one of the committee, and (hould have j
been fatisfied with the report. Mr. V. tho't r<
the gentleman had used a curious fort of ar- j
guraeut. He had said he had no data upon j
which to calculate what would be a fuifici- .
ent circulating medium for this country, yet L
1 he was certain there must be now fufficient
coin to prevent any inconvenience from the
(loppage of foreign coin. He did not think et
1 it fafe to aft upon such arguments as these.
He said he was not much acquainted with
commerce, but some gentlemen had gone ec
' upon ideas which were very different from
! those imprefTed upon his mind. The gen-1 '
: tlemari from Massachusetts had said, that w
> the only way to support the Mint was to a
• depreciate the foreign coin ; but this could c
not last long, for if it were depreciated, that
" depreciation would put a stop to its impor- 1
> tation. Before he saw the report, Mr. V. 1 c
1 said, he fuppnfed the operations of the Mint i
1 had been greater than they proved to be j
" he was now fatisfied nothing would do, but
L ' a suspension of the law relative to foreign
* coin, as the mint could not supply the cir-1
~ cuUlion, In three years the Mint had coin-1
" ed 700,000 dollars. They were now indeed
' promised 300,000 dollars from the banks, j
" If therefore, the Mint encreafed in its ope-1
rations, the country would be in a better I
" state for dispensing with thecireulation of fo-1
e reign coin two years hence than it was at I
n present. Had the Mint answered the ex- I.'
e peftations formed of it when the Mint law 1
e pafled, there would Dot now have been any I P
n occasion for the proposed suspension. It j
was said, that as the officers of the customs
and the banks received French crowns, theie 1 t
f 1 could not be much loss upon them; but the j
c banks receiving them was a voluntary aft, I
'* andthey might depreciateor appreciate them .
> at their own pleafare. This was not the
the situation in which the country ought to I
;r be with refpeft to its circulating medium.
n The people wi(hed to have the bulinefs reg- F
;r ulated by law, that they might have I r
lt some certainty in (their money tranfafti-
n ons.
Mr. S. Smith said, the gentleman from ,
|t Maflachufettshad chargedhimwith ignorance (
in the obfervajions he had made with refpeft (
C to the mode of tranfafting business between 1
j- this country and Biiboa ; and though he ,
was ready confefs, he might, in some refpefts ,
j be deemed ignorant on many fubjefts which j
' came before that house, yet he did not j
think the term applicable on the present oc- ,
' cafion. The gentleman had aflerted that (
that there was no way of importing coin
1 from that country but by smuggling ; but ,
the true way of importing coin was to
j' pay eight per cent for the danger, five per
cent premium, and to sustain a further loss ,
j] of five per cent making in the whole eighteen
per cent. The gentleman had stated, that
at present it was impossible to make remitt-
ances by way of London, and that when
j they were made, they were attended with
' a charge of from fifteen to twenty per cent.
" The gentleman had also stated the Spanish |
"j dollar to be as low as 38 but this was j
owing to a paper curreney in Spain which
( had reduced the price'from 4$ to 28. The
° extent of loss, at this time, of remittances
of that kind was from 10 to 12-4 per cent.
1T " And so far from the gentleman being correft
' n!> in faying that no remittances could at this
l' 1 " time be made, it was the common eourfe of
16 : business; as, though it could not be made
?, direft'y to London, it was done through
. ' Hamburgh, in tLo fame way as remittances
£ '.from Holland to London, were made thro'
>r - 1 Bremen. With refpeft to th? report before
'r • t ! them, the direftor said they could coin from
' l \lB to 20,000 dollars per week. Let us fee,
C ." said he, what has been done. The last de-
C '. posit was 29, COO dollars from the bank of
• lt North America, made three weeks ago, and
yet it was not finilhed. This varies from
the report of the direftor. Supposing, how
-12 ever,that mint was capable cf coining I SjOCO
CC ' dollars a week, it would take a year and a
the luar1 uar ' < - r to coin a million cf dollars,
Mr. Sitgreaves said, that the genden-an
from Virginui (Mr. Nicl»6laa) had mGi»ti&t T the
ed thai his motion aUgtft ?>«< to be carried, but
because liejwas on a former oreafion, oppof- of <
ed to the report, though rlovv in favour of it. the
He did not oppefe it altogether, but only Mr,
as it related to gold coin; he then tryed the bee
opinion of the committee with refpeft togold pro
coin,,lie wilhed now to try it with refpeft to far)
silver, and fee whether they were not of o- fort
pinion that the measures recommended by but
the Executive, would not prove fuffieient to woi
aufwer every pnrpofe. He- hadalfo noticed lag
what he had said with tefptfft to the circu
lating medium of t lie GM#Wf .*» lit cause h« in (
had said he'did jjf|he n«
crrcnlatihg rrridiutnVyet tffotti the .ajiioyßt fa"
coined, and "ttljj dollars and
tion, he bttlievfled'no inconvenience could be ad
sustained frerth the Itoppsgvof French fti-ovvna
he had called it an extraordinary argument, cal
I It was not one of those things upou which tio
i any certainty could behad. He might with
as much propriety fay it was fuflkient, as
that gentleman thould fay the contrary. It ga
was their opinion. But the gentleman re- po
marked, that the film now ready to be de- -of
I pofitcd in 'he Mint, was nearly half the a- ly
mount of what had hitherto been coined. fh<
This wa3 a faft, Mr. S. said, which ought an
to be a firong inducement with them to take in<
the -course he advocated; for, said he, what of
is the reason so little has hitherto beea.done? th
Did it not appear from the report of the di- th
reftor of the Mint, that it was owing to er- pi'
rors in the law wliich prevented deposits B
I from being made? And had not these re- cc
prefeMations been uniform'y disregarded ? w
It had, therefore, been for the want of bul- pe
lion alone, that the Mint had not done more M
I work. The former direftor had told them m
; that the Mint was equal to the coining the 01
. value of three millions.of dollars of gold and ac
silver coin in a year; the prefeut director told ci
I them from 18 to. 2C,000 dollars, a week in tl:
( J silver, urhich wjas a a year, hi
j and gold in Henpe it was clear gi
that the capacity of the Mint was equal to ct
the issuing of three millions a year. So that d<
M it was not incapacity, but error, which pre
„ I vented a fufficiency of coin from coming p
t from the Mint. The aft for flopping so- vv
reign coin had already, in force degree, as
they learat from the report before them,
I correftedthe error. G entleraen had suggest- I
~ ed another mode offupportiug the mint by C
t appropriation. He had heard nobody deny C
that this would nat be proper : but he wish- n
ed the law to remain in aid of any appropri- I
, ation which might he made. Mr. &. con- r
eluded with remarking, that he had eiiquir- I
ed of one of the bank directors, the reason r
why so great a proportion of gold coin had I
been sent to the miut, and he told him it I
was owisg to the gold's being in Co mutilated 1
' C a state that they could not put it off to their '
. customers.
Mr. Gallatin said, after what had fallen
lt from the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Ni. 1
\ I cholas) he djil not expeft to have heard the
' I arguments made use of by his colleague ;
U I afterithad t>een stated tfcat the law ps I 793,
i( ' whicli required the Secretary of the Trea- 1
I fury to f»nd to the mint all the foreign coin I
II I which came into his hand, had not been 1
r " I complied with, he was aftoniftied he should
talk to them of the errors of the system as to 1
I deposits. It was said there were good rea-
S " I fon»-for this breach of the law ; he did not
e ~ doubt this, because they knew the law had
I not been carried into effeft. The reason
J ~ I why it had not, was not now under difcuf
at fion ; but let it not be faidthat it was ow
*" ing to a great part of the revenue being
N I paid in paptr, because it was known that
J I cafti was always demgndable for that paper.
I He did not mean to thiow blame upon the
" S department, in thebufinefs,any farther than
this, that as it was their duty to carry the
laws into effeft, when they found it incon
' ' venient to do so, they ought to state the
inconvenience, in order that the law might
that no appropriation had been made for the
purchase of bullion : there would have been
® no necessity for this, had the law been car
*. C ried into effeft, as'all m9neyin the treafu
-1 ry for ; tjie purgofc, by the
law direftingiit to be re coined. The gen
'm tleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Sewall)
tce complained that the law making foreign
:ft coin legal tender forced the people of the
611 United States to receive aforeigncoin which
h e might not be of fufficieut purity, and upon
which they might fuffer a loss. Mr. G.
said the gentleman was mistaken as to the
lot faft, as no loss cf this kind could be fuftain
3C" ed, uutil the President issued a proclama
lat tion declaring that a certain coin was of less
J ' n Value than it ought to be. The prefeut
> ut question was not, as that gentleman had fta
to ted it, whether they should give currency
P er to foreign coin or not ; but it was whether
ofs t h e y should take foreign coin out of circula
;en tion before they got their own into circula
rs' tion. The law consisted of two parts ; the
' u * one was direfting thatall money which cam£
ien into the treasury should be re-rcoined ; the
ith o ther, that at a certain period foreign coin
nt - should be called out of circulation : but the
ifh j fi r ftpart not having been carried into effeft,
yas > jt wal highly reasonable the operation of the
j c 'h secOnd should be suspended. Mr. G. did
he not think thr'report of the director of the
cc » mint made any change in the question. If
' nt - a r,y inferenceopuld b« drawn ( fjfom it, it
was, that tht bants having f«Pt in a confi
this fidcrablequa(irity«f' foreign coin to be re
; G ' r coined, they may probably continue to do so
ade though the aft be suspended. Wi»h ref
igh p C( c\ to the depofitspremifedfrom the banks
ices 0 f New-York and this city,he did not think
iro ' they were of any consequence in this bufi
forc ness, as they did not affedt the main argu
rPm ment,—He said it would be the interest of
the holders of French crowns to take them
e " to tile mint, or n<»t ; iJ it were theit inter
-1 of eft, they would do it without any legitimate
<>nd force (as his colleague had termed it) : if
rom not, they ought not to do it <it a loss. He
ow " should, therefore, vote against the commit
oco tee's riGng for the puipofe mentioned.
lcJ a Mr. Sewall thought it incumbent upon
him, before the question was taken, to state,
a-.an that he did not apply the term ignorance to
r the gentleman from Maryland, generally, ' tlis
, but merely as to the particular circurtiftance Uni
- of which he spoke, nor should he have used to o
. the phrase if another had occurred to him. Trc
f Mr. S. also took some notice of what had mat
e been said by Mr. Gallatin refpe&ing the tion
d proclamation of the Prelident, being neeef- fl* i
o fary, before any loss could be sustained by this
foreign coin containing too much alloy ; of
y but a proclamation of this kind, he said, wis
0 would occanon ai great difficulty, as fuffer- j '
d ing the law in question to continue in effeft. ted
1- The qisejtion for the committee's rfiing, 1 wh:
.« in Pi-der to re-cominit the bill, was put and j mei
le negatived, there being only votes in its tbe
it. favor. *•_' ■
j- The question was then earned without hpj
>e a division for rifmg and reporting the bill, i'' <}ia
ai Tliehoufeliaving resumed, Mr» Sitgreaves thi
t. called for the yeas aud nays on the qusf- ext
;h tion of the bill's going to a third reading, by
ih —Agreed.] vcc
as Mr- Champlin said he intended to vote a- Ijis
It gainst this bill, and as several gentlemen op- mil
'o posed to it had taken very different grounds die:
le- -of opposition, he rofc, with a view of mere- Tl
a- ly dating the grounds, upon which he his
d. should give his v»te. HcVas as sensible as do;
ht any member of the house, of the evils and j on*
ke inconveniences resulting from a certain part |as
iat of the aft relative to the Mint. An iif cal
ie? they could not be remedied in any other way thi
di- than the one contemplated by the bill now ftic
er- proposed, he should certainly assent to it. his
Its But he was convinced, that the provision
re- contained in this bill, to remedy those evils |be
d ? was both improperand unneceffary—lmpro- bii
ul- per, as it would operate to the ruin of the m:
jre Mint; and unnecessary, as the feleft com- qu
em mittee, to whom this fubjeft was referred, te
the originally reported a proposition which, if in
ind adopted, would pu' an end to all the diffi- ta
old culties, eonfequent upon the operation of
in the aft in question, as it now flood. He !le
:ar, hoped therefore, that the bill would be ne- 1 w
ear gatived, and the original report of the feleft G
to committee would be again resorted to ami's- ar
hat dopted. T
ire- The question being put upon the bill's
ing palling to a third reading, the Yeas and Nays m
so- were taken as follow :
as YEAS. w
em, Meffrv. Baldwin, Baird, Blount, Brent, b
eft- Bryan, Bullock, Burgess, Chapman, T. fc
by Claiborne, W. Claiborne, Clay, Clopton, ft
eay Cochran, Coit, Davis, Dawfon, Dent, Ed- v
ifh- mond, Elmendorph, Evans, Findley, J. 1:
pri- Frpeman, Gallatin,Gillefpie, Gregg, G«od- e
:on- rich, Grifwold, Grave, Havma, Harper, li
uir- Harrifon, Havens, Heifter, Holmes, Host
ifon mer, Jones, Kittera, Livingfton, Locke, r
had Lyman, Machir, Macon, M'Clenachan, f
11 it M' Dowell, Morgan, New, Nicholas, J. a
ited Parker, Pinckney, Reed, Rutledge, Shep- r
heir ard, Skinner, S. Smith,W.Smith, Sprague, j
Sprigg, Stanford, Sumpter, Swanwick, 1
Hen Tillinghaft, A. Trigg, J. Trigg, Van j
Ni. Cottlandt, Varnum, Venable, J. Williams, «
1 the R. Williams—6B. 1
ue ; NAYS. i
(93, Messrs. Baer, Bartlett, Brookes, Champ- |
'rea- lin, Craik, Dennis, A.- Foster, D. Fof« \
coin ter, Glen, Gordon, Hindman, Imlay, Mat- 1
jeen thews, Morris, Otis, I. Parker, Sewall, i
ould Sianickfon, Sitgreaves, N. Smith, Thatch- 1
isto er, Thomas, Thompson, Van Alen, Wads- 1
rea- worth— 25.
not The bill v.-as accordingly ordered to be 1
had engrofftd for a third reading to-morrow. 1
afon Mr. Pinckney, from the committee to
fcuf- whom was referred the petition and remon- !
ow- ftrance of the Legislature of the State of
eing Tennessee, made a report, recommending
that that a fom of money (liould be granted by
iper. Congress, and placed in tha hands of the
1 the President of the United States, for the re
than lief of such citizens of Tennessee as have
r the titles to land, by virtue of the ceTioa aft of
icon- North Carolina, and who have been depri
the ved of them by the carrying into effeft the
light late treaty with the Indians, to be employ
d of ed in extinguishing the Indian cla m or in
r the such manner as the President of the Un;ted
been States shall think proper, for the relief of
car- the said citizens.
eafu- The report was twice read, and comuit
y the ted for Monday.
gen- Mr' D- Fofttr-moved that the report of
■vall) the committee of claims, on the petition of
reign Comfort Sahds and others, and a leport
f the of the Secretary of the Treasury thereon,
rhich be referred to a committee of the whele—
upon Agreed and made the order for Friday .
Q_ Adjourned.
» the CjT The petition of the Marshal of Vir-
Hain- ginia, presented yeftercfay, did not eom
lama- plain of the infufficiency of gaols in Vir
f less ginia generally, but that of Petersburg in
efent particular,
d fta-
■ enC y I»RIDAY DECEMBER 22.
ether Mr. Dawfon wilhed to call the attention
cula- of the House to a fubjeft which, he doubt
-cula- ed not, would interest the feelings of every
; the member—The fubjeft alluded to was the
came situation of General Kofciufko. It was a
; the faft well known to every man in this coun
coiu try; it was a faft known to the world, that
it the this brave man entered into the service of
:ffeft, the United States, at an early period of
of the our revolutionary war. When this ft rvice
. did was ended, he received from the gsvern
>f the ment a certificate of what was due to hiin.
i. If He returned to Poland, his native country ;
it, it there, animated by the fame
confi- had led him to take a part in our struggle
Je re- for independence, he endeavored to over
do so throw the existing tyranny, and to intro
h res- duCe in its place liberty and independence,
banks For some time bis attempt seemed likely to
think be ctowned with success ; but, 011 the fatal
i bufi- 10th of Oftober, 1794, overpowered by
argti- numbers, he was defeated and taken pri
reft of foner,' covered with wounds and wish gh>-
them ry, he was condufted to the prison of Pe
inter- terfburg. When he was released from
itimate thence, he immediately set out for this
t) : if country, here to spend the remainder of his
He life. He was now within this city; but,
mmit- from the wounds he had received in his ar
duous but unfuccefkful confllft, he was una
upon ble to walk, or to attend to any business.
> state, On the unfortunate day-on which he was
ance to tsken prisoner, hs loft his all, and with it
, ' the certificate of the ferviee* to tis
e United States. He was uuab! « therefore, v
el to obtain a settlement as his account at the
i. ' Trcafury. To set a fide all difficulty in the
d matter, Mr. D. proposed to offer a refolu
n: tion to the consideration of the House; and
f- tts it was justice-only which he fought far
y this brave man, he doubted iiot that a spirit
; of jultic; would infur.e its adoption. It
i, was to the following, effect,
r- | « Refolvsrd, that a committee be appoin
t. ted to enquire and report whether if any,
5, | what provisions are necessary, to obtain pay
id j ment of the*laim of General Kofciufko oh
ts tiie United States."
j Mr. J. Parker seconded the motion. He
ut bpptd thi resolution would t"e agreed to, and
<i" <hat immediate attention would be piid to
es this unfortunate Gentleman, as he believed,
:f- except he made use of the grant madeto him
g. by the Emperor of Rufiia, which he belie
ved he was disinclined to do, for considering
a- Ijis predeccffor as the chief cause of bis own
p- misfortunes, and those of his country, he
ds i did not wish to be under obligations to him,
e- Thp certificate given to the General, on v
he his departure from hence, was for 12,800
as dollars, upon which he had only received
nd : one years interest. He hoped, therefore
irt | as he had the misfortune to lose his certifi
if cate, at the time he was taken prisoner, that
ay the House wonla take such measures as
jw (hould enable him to receive the amount of
it. his certificate, with the interest due therfeon.
on Mr. Coit moved that the resolution (hould
rils | be committed to the Committee of Claims,
ru- but afterwards changed his motion so as to
:he make that committee the committee to en
m- quire and report, ioftjtrad of a Selefit commit
ed, tee. He proposed to have no other objeft
if in these motions,than that this claim (hould
Jfi- take the fame course with other claims. ■«
los The motion was supported by Meflrs.
H.- ! len, J. Williams, Macon, and Edmond. It
ne- 1 was opposed by Mess. J. Parker, Livingfton
Gallatin, Brookes, Nicholas, Harper, Sliep
ard, Pinckney, Otis, Swanwick, t>. Smith,
T. Claiborne, and M'Dowell.
ill's The- motion for a reference to the eom
ays mittee of claims wasloft.—s9 jto 33.
Mr. Pinckney said, that as this claim
was different from most others which caxrie
?nt, before that house, and having bfmfelf had
T.' something to do in the business, he would
on, state te the house what he knew of ii.
Ed- vious to general Kofkiufko's return to Po
, J. land, whilst he was in Germany, he appli
ed- ed to the Poli(h ambassador ia London, .by
per, letter, requesting him to make application
los- to the American minister there, for pay
:ke, ment of a part of the money due to him
lan, from the United States. The made of tranf
, J. afting this business was this, Mr. P. said.
hep- The interest arising from the certificate
gue, granted to the general was made payable in
ick, Paris ; but from the change which took
Van place in the French gov*rnment, the gen
jms, eral did not know how to receive it there,
which was the reason of his making applica
tion, through the Polish minister, to . him,
imp. (Mr. Pinckney) in London. Mr. P. wrote
Fof* to the ' American minister at Paris, for an
Vfst- p»der on the bankers of the United States
.vail, in Holhnd, but having, in the mean time,
itch- received a letter from general KofkiuJko, re
radf- .quelling the money to be for him to
RatiJbon or Leipfic, he (Mr P.) sent an
3 be order to Amsterdam, requesting the banker
v. there to transmit the money either to* Rwt
:e to ilbon or Leipfic, as the exchange (hould
non- be moll advantageous. In the interim, ge
:e of neral Koikiulko returned trt Poland, and he
ding supposed, he then had no time to attehd to
I by thri business. He never heard aay more
f the upon the fubjed until he saw the general iu
e re- Philadelphia, when he found this money
have had not been received hy him, so that he
ft of supposed it yet lay in the hands of the Leip
epri- sic or Ratifbon banker. Finding this, to be
t the the cafe, Mr. P. immediately wrote to the
j!oy- banker at Amsterdam, requesting him to re
>r in draw the money, and to transmit it here for
nited the general's use. But, as he might, in
:f of the mean time, stand irt need of it, it might
be.proper in the United States to anticipate
1 nit- its return, by fettling the account with the
general. He hoped in whatever way this
rt of business was effedted, it would be in such a
on of way as not to wound the feelings of a man
rport who had deserved so well of this country,
reon, On a suggestion of Mr. Sitgreaves, in
le.— stead of appointing a committee, the secre
tary of the treasury was directed to make a
rd. report what " legiflafive provifipn was ne-
Vir- ceffary, &c."
com- This motion was carried 49 to 40 ; but
Vir- whatever difference of opinion there was in
rg in the house, as to the mode of doing the busi
ness, thers seemed to be but one lentiment
as to the propriety of complying with the
spirit of the resolution.
ntion Mr. Harper proposed a resolution cliree
oubt- ting the committee onPoft-Officesand Poft
every Roads, to enquire whether it would be ex
s the pedient, that the road from Edgefield court
was a house (S. C.) to Augusta in Georgia,
coun- (hould be changed so as to go thro' Char
that lefton, S. C. which after some observations
ice of to (hew it unnecefiary, as the fubjedl was al
od of ready generally under consideration, was
irvice negatived.
jvern- A bill from the senate, for the relief of
j him. William Imlay, commiilioner ■of loans for
irctry ; the state of Conneflicut, was twice read
\vhich and referred to the committed of claims,
■ggjlt Mr. faid, it vvotild be feeii by
over- the report of iinfinifhed business, that a bill
ittro passed the house in February last, for the
dtnee. relief and protection of American seamen,
ely to but not being a&ed upon by nhe Senate, he
e fatal found it would be necessary to bring sor
ed by ward the business anew in the House of Re
in pri- preventative?. He (hould, therefore, move
h glo- that a committee be appointed to bring in
of Pe- a bill for this purpose on Tuesday next. —
from Whilst he was up, Mr. L. said be (hould
r this present
of his A petition from the three daughters of
; but, the late Count ae Grade. Hie petitioners
his ar- state their funds asexliauftcd, principally by
is una- paying debts contra&ed before the grant of
ifinefs. Congress ; and not having yet received any
lie was returss from the estate left them in P 0 **
with it Paix, they pray for the farther,afiStfauce of