, 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.