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.