post was obliged to travel by the ftraighteft road, the lea ports would be cut off from the advantage of a public mail—and it is a fa<ft, that the mer cantile interest principally supports the establish ment. The post to be as beneficial as possible to the community, and as profitable to government Ihould pass through as many towns as practicable —by journeying through the interior parts of North-Carolina, these ends would not be answer ed as letter writers there,will not be found to be numerous. Upon the present establishment he said, the profits of the poft-office in the state of North-Carolina, were not more than one fourth of the expence ; but if the proposed amendment \+as adopted, he wa<» of opinion they would not pay more than a tenth part. Kir. Bloodworth was in favor of the motion. Mr. Steele said he was fatisfied with the route followed by the poll as far as Petersburg ; but he objected to its returning thence to the eaitward, as if to avoid the state of North-Carolina, taking a circular, hazardous and unprofitable route. The merchants, he said, had water conveyance at hand from Peterlburg to Georgia, and general ly preferred it, as more expeditious than the post. If the excise bill pafled.he conceived there would be an additional necessity for a communi cation with the interior country by means of a regular post, if any revenue was to be colleded from distilleries dispersed throughout the state of North-Carolina. Under the present regulati ons the inhabitants of the interior and populous part of that state received no regular information of the proceedings at the feat of general govern ment, and other ufeful intelligence, but from the direA communications of their delegates in Con gress. In support of his opinion he also menti oned the desire expressed by the legislature of his state that a change of route fliould take place. He was sorry to find his honorable colleague op posed to his amendment; but for his own part even if he was to torture his invention, he could not, he thought, contrive a more absurd and im proper road than that now followed by the post. He allured the house he was no ways influenced by private interest in offering the amendment he had proposed. Mr. Parker objedled to the amendment. If a change of route took place, those now benefited by the poll, he conceived would be offended, and those in whose favor the amendment was propo sed, not materially benefited by, or greatly plea sed with the alteration. It would be injuring all the lea port towns of North-Carolina and Virgi nia, to give an advantage to the interior parts of the former, of which in their present circuniftan ces they would make but little ufc. Ifilic amend ment took place a very small portion of Mary land would feel the benefit ot the eftabli(hment. He was willing that channels of information from the feat of the general government fnould be opened for the advantage of the interior parts of North-Carolina ; but not so as to injure the intereftsof other slates. Mr. Sherman mentioned that the disagreement of the two houses in this paragraph had occasi oned the lofingof the bill last session. The house of Representatives wished to fpecify the several routes, and the Senate thought the President of the United States and Post-Master-General had a constitutional right to exercise that power, and that Congress had no authority to interfere. The present post roads, he said, were establish ed from long experience. Heftill thought the house was able to enter in to the detail of the business. He saw one great obje<slion to leavingit with the President : It was scarcely possible to give universal fatisfa(flion,and constant applications would consume much of his time Mr. Tucker adverted to the pains which the Jioufe had taken during last feflion, to fpecify in the bill the different routes in which it appeared neceflary for the pwft to travel; but unfortunate ly, he said, their labours had been rendered use less by the non-concurrence of the Senate. How ever, he wiflied afimilar clause again introduced in the bill, hoping that the Senate would now be differently disposed. He said that the ideas of particular States, ref petfting alterations in the post road, ought not to bedifregarded. He was firmly of opinion, that it should pals through the molt populous parts thothe inhabitants ofthofe parts had not at pre fentmany correspondencies, yet if aregular con veyance was offered them, they would in a short time acquire the habit of writing ; and though at firft the profits to government might by tne change proposed in the post-road be diminished yet by degrees they would encreafe, and iti the end become greater than before the alteration. He could with therefore, he laid, that the clause which had been before agreed to, and was now Jest out, might be inserted in the bill ; but as he had not the bill at hand, he would move a clause refpetfiing the state of S. Carolina, and such pro portions as fhouldbe moved by other gentlemen, on similar principles, he would give his assent to. He moved that the general rout should be from "Wifcaffet to Augusta, the feat of government in Georgia—from thence to Savannah—and by cross pods to the feat of government in S. Carolina, and so in each State, in cases where the feat of government is jut of the direct road. Mr. Williamson remarked, that no one knew which was the direct road ; if the gentleman who had proptfed the amendment would point out its course, liembers would then be enabled to judge of the propriety of it, but not before. With refped to the excise, and the neceflity of interior polls on that account, he observed, that tho some <onfiderable revenue might be ex pected from that source, yet in his opinion, the treasury of the Union would Itill receive more augmentation from the duties collected on im ported fpirits,in the ports of entry, throngh which for that reason, he conceived, the poll ought still to pass. If it took its direction through the in terior parts of North-Carolina, four of those ports out of five would be out of the poll-road, and the filth at a distance of forty miles further than be fore. Besides the duties on spirits, those on other goods amounted to a sum by no means trifling, and for the collection of which a diretft and regu lar communication between them and the feat of general government was requisite. He men' tioned the neceflity of giving the merchant re gular opportunities to write for insurance, as an additional argument against the amendment. Mr. Jackson said that if any revenue was to be derived from the poft-office, it would be from the commercial and not the agricultural parts of the states. He was against the amendment. He wiftied matters could be so arranged as to give Augusta, in Georgia, the advantage of the pub lic mail, by eftabli/hing a post-road to that place, but thought the poll Should firft go to Savannah, and from thence to Augusta. Mr. Tucker's motion was disagreed to Mr. Bloodwotth spoke in favor of Mr. Steele's amendment. He said he had no idea of flopping the communications with the sea-ports, he sup posed that provision would be made for their ac commodation, and in this view he conceived there was no impropriety in opening the com munication in the molt diredt manner with the interior country. He urged theneceflity of giv ing the people every advantage to acquire in formation. Mr. Sherman wiftied a limitation to the power of establishing cross roads—that such only Ihould be established, as could defray their-own ex pences. Mr. Bourne was against the amendment as it stood ; it would tend to render a number of good post roads almost tilelefs : He hoped as an amend ment to the proposition before the house, that a fen tenre be added m as ro udKe It read cnus: " That the mod direct roads from Wifcaffet in the diftridt of Maine, to Savannah in Georo-ia, and thofc ufcd as poli roads, be eftablilhed as such." Mr. Hartley feared the lioufe would not find time this session to enter into the minutis of the establishment, and wiflied a temporary discre tionary power given in the business to the Presi dent of the United States, and the Post-Master- General, afterMiaving fixed that the main road should remain as heretofore eftablilhed. How ever he proposed that the power be not granted without a limitation : He thought no part of the revenue of the United Stales, other than that derived from the poft-office, should by them be touched for the establishment of posts. He wish ed also this power granted for a limited time. Mr. Baldwin moved chat the pod road fliould be extended from Savannah to Augulta, in the State of Georgia. He observed that it was a du ty which the government owed to the parts of which it was composed, to provide at lead some channel of communication to them ; that hither to the poll had only crofled the river from Caro lina—bu ely landed in the State of Georgia, and returned ; that the feat of the government in that State, is 120 miles from that place inland, and all communication with it for that dillance' depends entirely 011 contingency. The opera tion of this government will prove, said he, that the didant extremes of the union, remote from the warm and vivifying influences of the govern ment, will have a fufficiently hard lot. And is it to be thought bed that no way fliould be pro vided to communicate any information to them > that ignoi ance may be a foporific, to prevent a a sense of their fituatiou. He was obliged to add that great provision hacl long been made on one extreme of the union, and none at all for the °^ e r- Did the poll only cross the river into the didritf: of Maine, and return immediately, their situations would be somewhat similar ; but the poll: road there had been several years extended to Portland, which is 60 miles within the dif trirt ; and in the year 1788, it was extended 80 miles further, to Pownalborough— not to go to the feat of government of a date, for it is not a 'late, and the return will shew that it could not be for the fake of the revenue. The piefent claufein the bill provides for con tinuing the post to the fame place, he relied on thejuftice of the house, that his motion would 750 prevail, and that the post-road would be extend ed to Augusta. Some other alterations toMr.Steele's proposition were offered—all of which were negatived, as was the original motion. SATURDAY, Feb. 12. Sundry petitions were read and referred. On motion of Mr. Boudinot, the committee on the navigation ad; was discharged from any fur ther proceedings relative to that fubjecl. The report of the Secretary of State, on the memorial of Andrew Brown, was taken intocon fideration. A refolation in conformity to said report was submitted, which, after some debate was amended and agreed to. A report of the Secretary of the Treafurv, 011 the petition of John Hollins, of Baltimore, was read—which negatived the prayer of said peti tion. This report being accepted, the petitioner had leave to withdraw his petition. Read and laid on the table, a report on the memorial of the holders of Loan-Office Certifi cates, received for loans in 1777 and 1778. Reported, the enrolled bill for incorporation the subscribers to the bank of the United States* which was signed by the Speaker. ' A meflage from the Senate informed the house. that the Kentucky Bill has received the aflent of the Prelident of the United States: Also, that the Senate has palled a bill providing for thead miffion of Vermont into the federal union on the 4th March next:—And a bill determining the number of representatives for Kentucky and Vermont;—by this bill, each of these states is to be entitled to two representatives. These bills were read the firft and second time, and macle the order of the day for Monday next. On motion of Mr. Gerry, the petition of Tho mas Walley, and others, on the fubjedl of the new emilfion money, was referred to the Secre tary of the Treasury. The amendments to the land-office bill, re ported by the committee of the whole house, were taken into consideration—aster some de bate, the fubjedl was postponed to Monday. Adjourned to Monday, 10 o'clock MONDAY, Feb. 14 A meflage was received from thePrefident of the United States, relative to a commercial treaty with Great Britain, the substance of which is, that from such communications as he had receiv ed from the Court of London, he cannot infer any disposition on the part of the British govern ment, to form any connection ftriiftly commercial with the United States. Snmlry petitions were read and referred to the Secretary of war. On motion of Mr. Bourne—Archibald Crary, who presented a petition the last session. which was referred to the Secretary of war—had leave to withdraw said petition. Mr. Madison, Mr. Wadfworth and Mr. Leo nard were appointed a committee to bring in a bill explanatory of that part of the aid laying du ties on goods,wares and merchandize, which im poses a duty on foreign lead and calicoes. In committee of the whole house—Mr. Boudi not in the Chair. The Vermont bill received trom the Senate on Saturday, was taken into consideration—and af terwards reported to the house without any al teration—the bill was then read the third time, and pafled. Mefli-s. Sedgwick, Benfon, and Sturges, were appointed a committee to bring in a bill to give effetft to the laws of the United Scates, with in the state of Vermont. A meflage was received from the Senate, by Mr. Secretary Otis, with the bill,entitled an act,repeal ing after the last day of next, the d uties hereto fore laid on distilled spirits, and laying others in their stead pafled with fandry amendments-— Another meftage informed the house that the act to continue in force for a limited time, the a<ft to regulate procefles in the courts of the United States, which originated in the house, had alio pafled the Senate The house then proceeded in the further con sideration ol the amendments, proposed by the committee of the whole, to the bill to edablifh offices, for the purpose of grantinglands, within the territories of the United States ; and having gone through the fame, and made some further amendments. Adjourned. TUESDAY, Feb. 15 Mr. Sumpter, Member from South Carolina,took his feat this day. A number of petitions were read, and referred to the heads of departments. Sundry reports from the Secretary of War, on petitions and me morials referred to him, were read and laid on the table. A report from the Secretary of the Trcafury, pursuant to a reso lution of the house, directing him to report whether any further compensation is uecefiary to be made to the Commissioners of the Loan-Omc< s, in consequence of extra duties and expences, occasion ed by the funding-fyftetn : This report was in favor of a tempor ary extra allowance with refpefl to paying expences—alfo ot Clerks. Laid on the table. ° The report of the committee on the petition of lofhua Barney, was taken up, and agreed to by the house. Mr. Stone had leave of absence from Monday next. The meflage of the Prefulent of the United States, communi cated yesterday, was taken into consideration.
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