shock, and I might not again be able to go thro' the weight of business which neceflarily follows the command of an army. Although, Sir, I am myfelf perfuacled that e very thing was done, in the course of the lalt campaign, ihat could be done on my part, fully to answer the public expectation. yet it is denied by fonie, doubted by many, and known to but few out of the army. A wish to retftify the pub lic opinion, and a duty that I conceive I owe to myfelf; induce me to request that an inquiry in to my conduct may be instituted : when that is over, I may hope to be permitted to resign the commission of Major-General, which 1 now hold. Should the result of the enquiry be that, in any instance, the duties of my station were negleit ed, or that 1 did not improve every hour and e very opportunity to the belt advantage, or that the operations of the army, after it was in a con dition to operate ; were delated one moment in consequence of my illnels, I fliall patiently sub mit to the merited censure. To whoever may be appointed my successor, 1 lhall be happy, Sir, to give every light and in formation my situation, as General of the army, or as governor of the Western Territory, put in my power to obtain, and to evince to you, Sir, and to the world, that the confidence you were plea fed to repose in me, was not mifplatfed.' With every sentiment of gratiude, of respect, and, allow me to add, of affection, I have the honor to be, Sir, Your mod obedient fcrvant, ARTHUR StCLAIR- The President of the United States^ United States, March 28th, 1792. Sir, YOUR knowledge of'the country north-weft of the Ohio, and of the resources for an army in its vicinity, added to a full confidence in your m : - Jitary charatfter, founded on mature experience, induced my nomination of you to the command ips the troops on the frontiers. Your desire of redHfying any errors of the pub lic opinion, relatively to your conduct, by an in vestigation of a court of enquiry, is highly lau dable, and would be readily complied with,were the meafur'e praJiloable.—But a total deficiency of l'grvice, of competent rank to forjn aflkal fuu't, for that purpose, precludes the pow4(Pgratilying your wishes on tlieocca fion. The intinv. in jfyonr readiness to afford your successor all the tv foi mation of which you are capable, although linjieceffary for my personal convicftion, must be regarded as an additional e vidence of the goodness of your heart, and of your attachment to yoi'.r country. I am, Sir, • With eiieem and regard, You' iT!--ft obedient servant, G. WASHINGTON. Major-Genrra) Arthur Sr. Clair. Philadelphia, March 31ft, 1792. Sir, 1 HAVE intl the honor to receive your letter of the 28th inft. While I lament that circum stances preve." ai into my condudt, by a court of 1 uiry, I cannot but acquiesce in the reasons you have aliigned why it cannot take place ; and 1 beg leave to present my thanks for the desire to have gratified me, had it been prac ticable, which you have been pleased to manifeft. In my letter of the 26th, I exprefled an inten tion of retiring from the army, when the enqui ry ihould be over.—The only reason T had for wishing to retain my commilfion until that time was, that if any inifcondudt should appear in the eourfe of the enquiry, I might be amenable to a court-martial, which a resignation would have precluded. The House of Representatives: Sir, have diredied an enquiry into the caufcs of the failure of the last campaign to be made by a com mittee of their own body :—the fame reason that influenced me when a court of enquiry was con templated, operates now with equal force, and ■therefore it may be proper that 1 Ihould still re tain iny cnniniillion bur, as it will soon be re quisite that some person should be at the head of the army who is to continue to command ir, it is necessary, Sir, that I fliould inform you explicit ly, which I now do, of my fixed resolution to re sign the moment the enquiry is finifhed, should no fault be found, that any embarraflrnent which may exist, with refpedi to providing a fucceflbr for me, may be removed. Be pleased, Sir. to observe that my sole objert is to give effect to public iuftice, in the usual way by a court-martial, should it appear that, in any manner whatsoever, the misfortunes ofthelalt campaign can be attributed to me ; and it is the proper, and I believe the only tribunal, where military crimes and mifcondutft can be enquired into and puniflied ; or where an officer's reputa tion, infinitely dearer than life, can be vindicat ed.— Should the public service, however, require that another officer of the fame rank with me be appointed immediately, I am ready to make the vefignation forthwith, notwithflanding that it may feern to proceed, and at a distance will be supposed to have arisen, from a sense that the volume of calumny and defamation, which is daily pouring from the press into the public ear, has too much foundation for me to meet it,—that 1 (brink from the consequences and chufetofhel ter myfelf in a private Nation :—I am ready, Sir, upon this occasion, as 1 have been upon all others, to facrifice every private and personal feeling and consideration to the public good. 1 have the honor to be, Sir, Your molt obedient servant, ARTHUR ST. CLAIR ThePRESiDENT of the United States. United States, April i,th, I 792 Sir, I HAVE read and duly considered your letter of the 31ft ultimo. The reasons you offer for retaining your com mission, until an opportunity Ihould be presented, if nerell'ary, of investigating your conduct in every mode prefcribjed by law, would be conclu sive with me, under any other circumllances than the present. Bui the eftablilhment of the troops allows on ly of one Major-General. You have nianifefted your intention of retiring, and the efl'enrial in terests of thepublic require that yoor fucceflor iliould be immediately appointed in order to re pair to the frontiers. As the Honfe of Representatives have been pleased to institute an enquiry into the causes of the failure of the late expedition, 1 should hope an opportunity would thereby be afforded you of explaining your conduift, in a manner fatisfac tory to the public and yourfelf. I am, Sir, With esteem and regard, Your moil obedient servant, G. WASHINGTON. Major-General Arthur St. Clair. • Sir, I HAVE had the honor to receive your letter of the 4th instant. Although 1 was very desirous, Sir, to hold the commiHion of Major General until the enquiry by the committee of the Honfe of Representa tives should be over, for the reasons I assigned, and which you are pleased to think have some weight—yet the necessity of the officer being ap pointed who is to command the troops, in order to his repairing to the frontiers, is certainly prefling, and ought to silence with me every wifti of a mere personal nature. Ido therefore, Sir, now formally resign the appointment of Major- General. I have never, Sir, entertained a doubt that an enquiry into the causes of the failure of the late expedition, whether directed particularly to my conduct, or to that connected with other causes that may have operated in whatever way it might be conducted, would not prove honorable tome, and fatisfatfory to the public, as far as I was con cerned with it ; but setting, as I do, a due value upon the public opinion, and desirous not to lose that place in the elteeni of the virtuous and in telligent of my fellow citizens which I have long held, you will not wonder that, under existing circumstances, a degree of anxiety, not only that there ftiould be an enquiry, but that every thing capable of being misconstrued, fliould be avoid ed or. my part. I will own to you, Sir, that the desire of honest fame has ever been the ftrongelt paflion in my breast : I have thought that I had merited it, and it is all that I have to compensate for the facrifice of a very independent situation, and the best years of my life devoted to the pub lic service, and the faithful application of my ta lents, such as they were, in every situation in which I have been placed, with a zeal bordering upon enthusiasm. I trust, Sir, J fliall still enjoy it, while those who have attempted to disturb it, will be forgotten, or remembered with indigna tion, and in their bosoms, if they have feeling, sensations may arise something similar to what Milton has described to have seized upon Satan when he discovered our firft parents in Paradise. With every sentiment of refped: and duty, I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, ARTHUR St. CLAIR The President of the United States. Last Tuefdav the following gentlemen were ele&ed AMermert in the room of the late F. Hopkinfon, Esq. and Samuel Powel and W. Collady, Efqu ires, who had jefigned, viz. Jonathan Bayard Smith,) Michael Hillegas, and > Esquires. Francis Gurney, ) The following gentlemen were ele&ed Common Council- Men, viz. Mordecai Lewi, John Wood, Bc.tjamin Chew, jun. James Millegan, Isaac Snowden, John Stille, William Wells, Law rence Scckel, Joseph Norris, Richard Fullerton, Jacob Schrciner, John Montgomery, Philip Wager, Edward Bartho'omew, Samuel M. Fox, John Craig, James Abercrombie, Robert Wain, Robert Ralfton, Robert Smith, John C. Stocker, ]ohn Perot, George Bckham, David Jackson, Frederick Kuhl, James C. Fifacr, Godfrey Hags,' William Van Phul, Tacobß. Howell, and Robert Wharton, Esquires. 402 Philadelphia, April 7, 1792 CONGRESS. IN S E N A T £.—April, 1792. The Committee an the fubjed of Weights <ani Measures, Repwt, thut it is thtir *• standard for the meafuresand weights A of the United States, be a uniform cy lindrical rod of iron, of such length as in lati tude 45 0 in the level of the ocean, and in a cel. lar of uniform natural temperature, fliall per . form its vibrations in final! and equal arcs in* one second of mean time. ' 2. That the President of the United States be requested to have such a standard rod provided : that it be prepared with all the accuracy whicl* the importance of the objetfl merits and rircum« stances admit ; —that this be done by adlugl ex periments, under the parallel of 45 0 of latitude complete, or by acftual experiments, rectified by due allowances, under any other parallel, where a superiority of means for accurate experiment may promise on the whole greater truth in the result. 3. 1 hat the expences of the measures he (hall adopt for this purpose, not exceeding dol lars, be defrayed by the public. 4. That the standard rod so to be provided, fliall be divided into five equal parts, one of which to be called a foot, fliall be the unit of measures of length for the United States. That the foot /hall be divided into 10 inches. The inch into 10 lines, The line into ro points, and That 10 feet make a decad, 10 decads a rod, 10 rods a furlong, And 10 furlongs a mile. 5- That measures of furface in the United States, be made by fqnares of the measures of length ; and that in the cafe of lands, the unit fliall be a square, whereof every fide fliall be an hundred feet, to be called a rood. That each rood be divided into tenths and hundredths. That io roods make a double acre, And ten double acres a square furlong. 6. That the unit of measures of capacity, in the United States, be a cubic foot to-be called a bu/hel ; That each bufliel be divided into ten pottlei, Each pottle into 10 demi pints, Each demi pint into 10 metres ; That io bufliels be a quarter, And io quarters a last or double ton. 7. Thatthe unit of weightsofthe United States, be a cubic inch of rain water, to be called ail ounce, and to be measured and weighed in a cel lar of uniform natural temperature ; That the ounce be divided into io double fcrn- pies, The double scruple into 10 carats, The carat into 10 minims ordemi grains, The minim into 10 mites ; That 10 ounces make a pound, 10 pounds a stone, 10 stones a kental, io kentals a hogshead. The consideration of this report is poftpened until the next Session of Congress. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, WEDNESDAY, APRIL ir. ' The memorial of T. Fielder, inventor of an apparatus to facilitate navigation, praying t ,c aid of Congress to carry his projetft into eX " u tion, was read and ordered to lie on the ta e, as was also a memorial from thecommiflionerso the city and county of Philadelphia, refpe ' n S compensation for the use of the cityjail - an memorial from the merchants of New->oik, ' e monftrating againrt the proposed augnientatio of the import duties. A memorial from the inhabitants of the tow of Cincinnati and Columbia, on the littlei > I,]] • was referred to a feletfl committee. A memorial was read, from Signor Giu f PP Ceracchi (the Roman artist, who execute bust of liberty over The Speaker's chair) e » forth that he is ready to enter upon t " BeX ,. jj tion of a design for the national nlo " unl r ent '™ c (' er . he foine time ago laid before Congress. _ red, together with his former memorial, to Gerry, Benfon, Lee, Murray and Tucker. Presented by the committee of e,ir """ ,en R '.|i signed bv The Speaker, the Representation and the bill foraltering the times of ho' ett Circuit Courts in certain diftritfts of t ie States
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