, A NATIONAL PAPER, PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN FENNO, No. 6g, HIGH-STREET, PHILADELPHIA [No. 95, of Vol. lII.] SECOND CONGRESS or the UNITED STATES. AT FIRST SESSION, Begun and held at thecitv ot Philadelphia, in 'he State of Penn sylvania, Monday the twenty-fourth of October, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one. AN ACT relative to the Eledtion ofaPRESiDENT and Vice-President of tlie United States, and declaring; the Officer who shall acl as Pre sident in cafe of Vacancies in the Offices both of President and Vice-Prefident. BE it enacted by ttie Senate and House of Representatives of the United Slates of America, in Congress aiTembled, That ex cept in cafe of an election of a President and Vice-Prrfident of the United States, prior to the ordinary period as hereinafter fpecified, electors (hall be appointed in each state for the election of a Pre sident and Vice-President of the United States, within thirty-four davs preceding the firft Wednesday in December, one thotiland (even hundred and ninety-two, and within thirty-four days pre ceding the firft Wednesday in December in eveiy fourth year (ucceedingthe last election, which electors shall be equal to the number ot Senators and Representatives, to which the several (tales may b> law be entitled at the time, when the President and Vice-President, thus to be chosen, should come into office: Pro vided always, That where no apportionment of Representatives shall have been made after any enumeration, at the time of chufing electors, then the number of electors (hall be according to the existing apportionment of Senators and Representatives. And be it lurther enaftrd, That the electors (hall meet and give their votes oh the said firft Wednefcfay in December, at Inch place in each IVate as (hall be dircfted, by the legislature thereof ; and the electors in each state (hall make and sign three certificates of all the votes by them given, and shall (ca 1 up the fame, certify ing on each that a lift of the votes of such Hate for President and Vice-President is contained therein, and shall by writing under thejr hands, or under the hands of a majority of them, appoint a person to take charge of and deliver to the President of the Senate, at the feat of government before the firft Wednesday in January then next ensuing, one of the said certificates ; and the said elec tors (hall forthwith forward by the poft-office to the President of the Senate, at the feat of government, one oiher of the said certi ficates ; and (hall forthwith cause the other of the said certificates, to be delivered to the judge of that diftrift in which the said elec tors lhall assemble. And be it further enacted, That the executive authority of each State (hall cause three lifts of the names of the ele&ors of such State to be made and certified and to be d< livered to the elec tors on or before the said firft Wednesday in December, and the said elettors lhall annex one of the said lifts to each of the lifts of their votes. And be it further enaded, That if a lift of votes, from any State (hall not have been received at the feat ot government on the said firft Wednesday in January that then t he Secretary of State shall fend a special messenger to the diftrift judge in whole custo dy such lift shall have been lodged, who shall forthwith transmit the fame to the feat of government. And be it further enaded, That Congrcfs (hall be in feflion on the second Wednesday in February, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, and on the second Wednedav in February tuc ceeding every meeting of the electors, and the said certificates, or so many of them as (hall have been received, (hall then be open ed, the votes counted, and jhe persons who shall fill the offices ot President and Vice-President afccrtained and declared, agreeably to rhe conftitutior.. And be it further enabled, That in ca(e there shall be no Pre sident of the Senate at the feat of government on the arrival ot the peifons entrusted with the lift of the votes of the cle&ors, then such persons lhall deliver the lifts of votes in their custody into the office of the Secretary of State, to be fafelv kept and delivered over as soon as may be to the President ot the Senate. And be it further enabled, That the persons appointed by the ele&ors to deliver the lifts of the votes to the President ot the Se nate, fh ill be allowed on the delivery of the said lifts twenty-five cents for every mile of the cftimatcd distance by the molt usual road, from the place of the meeting of the elcttors, to the leat of government of the United States. And be it further enafcted, That if any perfpn appointed to de liver the votes of theele&ors to the Pr fident ot the Senate, (hall after accepting of his appointment ncglc£l to perform the fertices required ot him by thisaft, he shall forfeit the sum of one thou sand dollars. And be it further enabled, That in cafe of removal, death, re signation or inability both of the President and Vice-President of the United States the President of the Senate pro tempore and in cafe there (hall be no President of the Senate, then the Speaker of the House of Reprelentatives, for the time being lhall a6l as Pre sident of the United States until the disability be removed or a President shall bcele&ed. j And be it further ena&ed, That whenever the offices of Presi dent and Vice-President lhall both become vacant, the Secretary ofState (hallforthwith caulea notification thereof to be made to the executive of every stats, and shall atfo cause the fame to be published in at least one ot the newspapers printed in each state. ipecifying that elettors of the President of the United States lhall be appointed or chosen in the several states within thirtv-four days preceding the firft Wednesday in December then next eniuing : Provided, There shall be the space of two months between the date of such notification and the laid fifft Wednesday in Decem ber. but it there shall not be the space of two months between the date of such notification and the firft Wednefdav in Decem ber, and it the term for which the President and Vice-Preiident ]ast in office were elected lhall not expire on the third day of March next ensuing, then the Secretary ofState (hall fpccify in the notification that the elettors shall be appointed or chosen with in thirty-four days preceding the firft Wednesday in Dcccmber Saturday, March 17, 1 in the year next ensuing, within which time the electors shall ac cordingly be appointed or chosen, and the electors shall meet and give iheir votes on ihe laid firlt Wednesday in December and the proceedings and duties of the said electors and others dial! be puifuant to the directions prescribed in this act. And be it further rnafted, That the only evidence of a rrfufal to accept, or of a resignation of the office of President or Vice- Prclident, shall bean ittiument in writing declaring the fame and fnbfcribed by the person refuftng to accept or vefigning as the cafe may be and delivered into the office of the Secretary of State. And be it lurther cnafted, That the term of four years tor which a President and Vice-President (hall be eleftrd (hail in all cases commence on the fourth day of March next succeeding the day on which the votes of the elcftors shall have been given. JONATHAN TRUMBULL, Speaker of the House of Rcprcfentatives. JOHN ADAMSj Vke-Prejidevt oj the United States, and Prefidcnt of the Senate. APTKOVED, MARCH THE FIRST, 179". FOR THE GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES. IT is curious, ss well as ufeful, to observe the changes which induflry has effccfied. Italy is at prefeiit rich in silk—yet, in this very country, during two liiriulred and fifty years fioin the time of its being firlt known in Rome, it was fold for its weight in gold. Jr was not till many hundred years after silk was known there, that the (ilk worm was introduced into Europe from China. In the year 551, two Monks were employed by JuJUuian, the Emperor of Constantinople, to bring the eggs of that ufeful infecft. This'they acconi pliftied—and the rearingof (ilk-worms has spread into several countries, and at last is beginning to be an object of attention in some parts of Ame rica. It is more than twelve hundred years since the (ilk-worm was brought frpm China to Europe ; and one would naturally suppose that there is nothing further remaining to be done towards extending thte culture of (ilk to places where it is not yet introduced, or improving it where it is already pra«ftifed. Yet fjhis inference, however natural, is invalidated by two remarks. The progress of the culture of silk has been extremely (low, and late experience has proved that it may be extended even to northern climates. Dear as silk was, and eager as the trading world was to get it, it appears that it was near seven hundred years after the (ilk-worm was brought to Con (tantinople, before the culture and manufactory of silk was e(labli(hed even at Venice. It was (lowly spread from place to place on the (bores of tli,e Mediterranean. The experiments made in our own country have universally succeeded. It appears that the hatchingof the eggs maybe de layed, artificially, till the mulberry leaf is ready forthe supply of the young artists. The cold of our seasons leeins, in this manner, to be obviated without expence There is a fore of prudence which condemns lew schemes as viiionary, and which no doubt deprived ten generations of this prudent race of the advantages of this culture in Venice, and •other places near Constantinople. There is 110 doubt that had the culture of silk been haltened and foftered by the patronage of governments, and of enlightet.ed nations, it might liave been advanced a thousand years ago as far as we fee it at this day. The result from these remarks is, that the fuW jecft of the culture of silk deserves the attention of the governments and people of America. His tory Ihews us how little was done for ages—and our own experience proves that more may yet be done. The southern states leem to be belt situ ated for it, but the attempts made in the north ern ftiould be also patronized and extended. LONDON, January 7. THE finances of Sweden are 111 such a ruinous fituatlon, that the King finds himfelf under the neceflity of convoking the States. His Ma jesty, still perseveres in his in tentions in favor of the French Princes ; for all the officers of the army have received orders to remain with their regiments ; no leave of absence is granted on any pretext whatever. No less than seventy Swedish merchantmen are at prefenc in the Mediterranean : the late rup ture with Algiers therefore fills the merchants of Stockholm with great uneasiness. Her Imperial Majesty was so much affetfed with the death of Prince Potemkin, that Ihe did not appear in public for fifteen days after she re ceived the melancholy tidings ! The house of Jiope, at Amsterdam, has found a great increase of banking bufinefc by their con 369 GEORGE WASHINGTON, Prefidcnt of the United States. [Whole No. 501.] cents with the French Princes. This misforiune, however, attends ir, that ir is tranfaOted chiefly with cro\vned heads, in which there is sometimes not the mod exact remcmbravce of fromifss ! It is said that a commercial treaty Ijetwecn Grear-Britain and America will take place tiie next feifion. The Kinprefs of Russia refufe? to recognize. M. Genet, rhe French Minister at the court ot' Sr. Peterlburgh. The town of Seringapatam, in the East-Indies, (since the mafl'acre and plunder of Delhi by Na dir Shah in 1737) is now considered as the lar gest, and by far the molt wealthy town in India ; it contains the accumulated wealth of a long line of affluent princes, and the iniinepfe trenfiires of Tippoo. It is situated upon a long island in the Caveri river, and connected with the' main by an immense bridge : its defences are not naturally Itrong. The Caveri, like most of the rivers in India, is fordable at all times, except during the rains, at which period the (trength of the place becomes considerably increaled. The rains ge nerally commence about the end of May, and break up in July. Jan. 9. The exiled French Princes have be gun'a coinage, and are about instituting an or der of knighthood. Monficur has replied to the king's letter in ihe following terms, so that a ci vil war seems yet inevitable. " 'Sire, my Brother and Lord, " Count Vergennes has remitted me a letter 011 the part of your Majesty, of which the ad dress, in spite of my baptismal names thereon written,, was so little mine, thai 1 was abouc to return it, even unopened.—However, upon his positive afl'urance that it was for me, I opened it, and the name of brother found therein, leaving me no more: donbr, 1 read it with the refpe<ft I owe to the hand-writing and signature of your JYlajefty. " The order it Contains, to present myfelf be fore your Majesty, is not the free expression of your will ; and my honor, dntv, and atFeiftion, equally forbid my obedience." The Emperor and the King of Prussia have con cluded a defenlive alliance, in which the latter has undertaken to guarantee the Germanic con ftitutian, and all the rights and pofleftioiis of the empire We are happy to hear from one of the firft mer cantile characters in the city, than great as the surplus of the revenue was latt year, that of this prefeiit year will exceed it by one litillion lix hundred thousand pounds. To the above pleafingcircuniftance we are hap py*to add, that, in consequence of the sum appro priated for the American loyalilts being liqui dated this year, we shall have next year, beiide every other incidental increase, a further addi* lion of three hundred thousand pounds. * It is said that the court of Madrid has agreed to all thedemands of the Anglo-American States, even to the free navigation of the Mifliffippi. The King of Spain persists in rcfufing to re cognize the New Constitution of France. The following is the reply of Count Florida Blanca, to the French Minister, in regard to the question— ' The King, has not asyet fufficient experience of the conduct of the French nation, in regard to their own sovereign or Spain, to give a categorical answer on this fubjecS.' The King of Prussia has conferred the rank of Major-General, and a penlion of 200 Rix Dollars on General Heyinann, who left die iervic? ot France in company with M. Bouille. Yrfterday morning at eight o'clock the house of the Duke of Richmondj in Privy Garden,wa» discovered to be on fire.—Before the engines ar rived, the flames had got to fuc'i a height that it was a considerable time before they could be in any degree reduced—but fortunately the firehav ing broke out at the top of the house, an oppor tunity was thereby afforded of getting out uie molt valuable furniture in the lower apartments, which was removed to places of falety in the neighbourhood. It is with much pleaftire we learn that the Duke of Richmond's valuable museum did not fall a prey to the flames during the late fire. —Had it been destroyed, it would have been almost a na tional loss, for the collection is one of the molt splendid in Europe.
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