A NATIONAL PAPER, PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS HY JOHN FENNO, No. 34, NORTH FIFTH-STREET, PH'ILA D&JL Pill A [No. 85 of Vol. IV.] CONGRESS. HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES. FRIDAY, March I. In committee of tlie whole, Mr. Muhlenberg in the chair, on the jd, 4th, sth, 6ih, 7th, »nd Bth resolutions, reflecting the official conduct of the Secretary of the Trealury, for which fee Gazette of the 6th irift. (CONTI N U r.D.) MR. Madison. He wilhed not, he said, to watte a moment of the small portion of time left, by regretting its for a (full difculiion of the fubjeet before the commit tee. But he thought it due to truth,and to the honorable and inde|>endent motives of his col league (Mr. Giles) in proposing the resolutions, to remark that the lateness oi the day to which they had been postponed did not juftify the ftridhires which had been jnade on it. If the delay was not to be con fide ted as unavoid able, folne blame at least woukl fall elsewhere. The enquiries in which the whole bufinei's ori ginated, had been moved by Us colleague »nd pafftd the house some weeks ago. The re ports in answer to theie enquiries had not been finally made a single day be fore the pre'ent resolutions were fubmltted to the bouse. He admitted that it might have been impracticable to report the information called for as early as was deliredby the house : He was sensible cf the anxiety tlmt would be naturally felt by the officer called upon, to present every confide ration that might place his conduct in the most favorable poiut of view : yet with all these allowances, it was inipoliible to deny that the reports contained thing's which did not belong to thein,and there fore consumed time which belonged to the pe riod for difcufilon. He would mention one in dance on which there could not possibly be a difference of opinion ; viz the vindication, formally undertaken by the Secretary, of ihe policy of borrowing money abroad. 'Whether this policy was right or wrong, the leLiiflature had themselves decided in favor of it ; and it was the duty of the Secretary in complying with the orders'of the house, to inform the house, how the law had been executed, not why it had been made; to explain his own conduct, not to juftify that of the legislature. It had been why th© c»U svt«M~u>a lionhad not been sooner made ? The anfiwe* was obvious and simple. It was not sooner perceived by the house, that there was fucli a necessity for it. The want of information was firft suggested by the bdl for paying two millions of dollars to the bank, altho' 200,000 only were immediately due, and for authoriz ing another foreign loan to the amount of two millions. From the dawn of light thrown by fjnie eh curaftances incident to the occasion, on the darkr.efs in which the house had re mained, proceeded those doubts and enquiries which had led to the information now possess ed. His colleague had great merit in having brought about this devclopement. He had rendered a service highly valuable to the le gislature, and 110 less important and acceptable to the public. One good etfeft of the infor mation had been, that it prevented the pas of the bill for borrowing 2,0q0,000 of dollars as an anticipated payment to the bank.- The bill had dropt from the hand of its pa tron with the firft light that broke in upon the house. What other meafutes would have been prevented or varied, if a like knowledge of our Tulwls and finances had I Ten sooner ob tained, was matter of serious consideration. Another consequence of the reports taken together, was that the face of them presented to his colleague, an evidence of the charges contained in the resolutions. Whether at so late a day it was heft to leave the fubjeft as exhibited by the various documents in print, for the examination and opinion of the public, or to press it on the confederation of thehoufe, V/as a point which every member had a 1 igbt to decide for himfelf. His colleague had viewed the portions stated in his motion, as too important to be suspended ; and as sup- P :)1 re( * b y such clear and authentic proofs,that a finall portion of time would fufrce for the fubjeA. Under this impreffton, what was his right became his duty ; and he had discharged it Wy ofFe ing his resolutions to the houle. . thfc house had refufed to commit the two introdu&or* resolutions which ellablifhed the r ( °f judgment to be applied to the cafe, and the lalt also, which declared the iiifcrance to dra\vn : the talk of the committee was li niitted to a fiijiple enquiry into thq fads dat ed. _ Tliey were to make out and reports lpecial vendiftofthefe, and leave it to the notift to pronounce the proper judgment arif ing from then). The refolutfon immediately before the com mittee imported 4t that the Secretary of the Trcufury had violated the Jaw palled on the 4th of Angust f 1790, making appropriations ©1 certain monies," frfi* 44 by "applying a cer tain portion of the principal borrowed, to the payment of interefton vt u by drawing part of tiie fame monies into the Un»ted States, without the iuftruftiou of the President." The qwiftions here are questions of fact; «<id whatever quality maybe attached bvdiJ Saturday, March 25. 1795. ferent gentlemen to the &veraJfafts E it would feetii as if the facts them felve.s. are too Nearly supported by flic reports of tbp Secretary, and the documents attending them, to be denied or controverted. The law of Auo;uft 4, 179% authorised the Prehd<nt*o cause to be borrowed i;2,ooo,ooq of dollars to lie applied to the foreign debt of th~ United States. A fublequent law of An guft 12, 1790, authorised another loan of two millions of dollars, to be applied to the do meftic debt of the United States, A power to make these loans was delegated on the 28th 1790, to the Secretary by a genaral commifh'on in the uftial form, re ferring, to the Jeveral acts above-mentioned ; but without any farther discrimination of'the loans to be made. As the layv however for applying loans to the foreign object was. prior in date, the prcfuuvptiori would rather be Chat it was to have a priority of execution ; that the firft money borrowed was to belong to the firft object provided for. It was unnecelfary however 10 dwell on this consideration, be. cause the President had removed all uncertain* ty by the preci'e explanations and irftru^i T ons which aceomptmied the power to the Se cretary, and. which oright m vnutfa to be d«« m ed a part of the commiifion. The inftruftion having been more than once read to the committee, he would content him* felf with referring to it. [The part referred to is in the following words, il I do hereby make known to you, that in the execution of thejaid truJL yoU are to observe and follow the orders and directions following, viz. Ex cept where otherwise especially directed by me, you lhall employ in the negociation of any foreign loan or loans which may be made in any foreign country, William Short, Esq. you fliall borrow or cause to be borrowed, on the best terms which fliall be found practica ble, and within the limitations piefcribed by law, as to tittle of repayment and rate of in terest, Oich fmn or funis as fliall be fufticient to discharge, as well all inftallinents or parts of the principal of the foreign debt, which now are due, or fliall become payable to the end of the year 1791, as all interest and an, rears of interest which now are or lhall be come due, in refpeft to the said debt, to the fame end of the year 1791- And you lhall apply, or cmtjc to be applied, the monies \i hch (hall be so borrowed, with all convenient dif patcb, to tht payment of the said inftalments,and parts of the principal and interest, and arrears of interest 0] the jrid debu You fliall not ex tend the ariiouv.t of the loan which you thai! make, or cause to be made, beyond the fuin which lhall be neceflary for completing inch payment, unless it can be done upon terms more advantageous to the United States,than those upon which the residue of the said debt fliall stand or be. But if the said rejidue, or any part of the fataie can be paid off by new loans, upon terms of advantage to the United States, you lhall caufefudi further loans as may be requisite to be made, and the proceeds thereof to be applied accordingly. And for car rying into effect the ohjtfts ar.dpurpofcs ajorefaid: 1 do hereby further empower you to make or cause to be made, with whomsoever it may concern, such contra# orl:ontrafts, being of a nature relative thereto, as fliall be found needful and conducive to the interest of the United States."] —By this formal ast iflued along with the commijjion to the fecretaty, the Prelident designated the object to which the loans to lie made, were to lie applied ; and declared the object to be that provided for by the ast of August 4th, 179°> be expressly plac* ed the loan under the authority and provision of that ast ; so that the moment the money Ihould be borrowed, it was to stand legally ap propriated to its fpecified object ; as much as if another law, authorising another loan, for another purpose, had not existed. This arrangement of the President was the more proper, not only because provision for the payment of the foreign debt had been the primary object of the legislature, and the pay ment of the French debt, the anxious wish of their constituents ; but because payments to France were no longer matte? of option, but of ftrift and positive obligation on the United States. In proof of this, he stated, that the debt to France, calculated to the end of 179** and computing the livre at 5 4-10 to a dollar, amounted to 4,814,814 dollars, whilst the pay ments aftuaiy made, computing the florin at 2 1-2 to a dollar, amounted to 110 more than 3,372,717, leaving as a balance at the end of 1791 of 1,442,097— Adding to thjc balance the inftalmentsduefor 1792, amounting to 683,858 dollars—there were to be paid within the year 2,080, dollars. The entire payments, however, composed of 656,500 dollars in Eu rope, and 726,000 put to the account of St. Domitigo, (although 441,263.83 were actually paid) amounting to 1,382,530 dollar*, leaving due at the end of 1792, a tialance of 698,485. Here he adverted to and read a paragraph in the report of the secretary, page 16, whertf in alJulion to the measure of drawing bills in the latter part of 1792, he fays, I feel my felf tlie more at liberty to do it, bccaufe it did not interfere with a compleat fulfilment of the public engagements in regard to the fo reign debt. It could be done conliftently 337 witwj * full re im bur foment of all arrears and tnftaimentsi which had accrued on account of that debt." Mr. M. observed, that as he could not reconcile this paragtapb with tie calculations which lie had stated, and which wete drawh from official documents, he mult regard it aslan uuqueftiooable error produced by Ibme hasty view of the fubjeft. Returning to the commifiion, Mr. M. re peated that all the money which that instru ment, defined and qualified by the inftruftion annexed to it, authorised the secretary to bor row, Vvas actually and fpecificatly appropriated to the payment (if the foreign debt, and under circutpftances particularly ip relation . to a p^rtofit. In what manner had ttlis trust been carried into execution ? It was to be ohferved with regret, that on the very day, 011 which the-coin million and inftruftion issued from the Prefir dent, the secretary commenced his arrange ment for diverting part of a loan, accepted and ratified by virtue of his commission, to a purpofV different from that fpecified and re quired by his inftruftion. That a fact of lb extraorilitery a complexion, might be ground e4 °n the proof, jVJj.M. ft .J, he ihould take the line ty of fttpporting it by the authority of the Secretary himfelf. Here l>e read from the Secretary's letter dated Auguji 28, 179"), to the Dutch houses from whom the loan had been accepted, the follow ing padages, viz. 44 I Ihould also wilh for par ticular reasons that the business may be lb re gulated as to give it the form of two Joans, one for two millions under the fir ft ast, and the other for ore million under tk:fecond. But neither about this, am I so solicitous as to be willing it fnotild constitute an embkrrafT ment." I dejiive a million and an ha!J of this Jum as a payment to France under the direction of Mr. Short, our charge des affaires at that court, whole orders for that purpose you will please to follow." The afpfcft here presented by a companion of the several documents, was Angular and re markable; The subordinate officer appeared in dircft opposition to the chief magistrate. The agent was seen over-ruling by his own orders,, the orders of his principal. The lan guage of the President was—By virtue cf the power vetted in me by law, I deifcine the mo ney to be borrowed, to the discharge of the iti ftalments and interest of the foreign debt* The language of the secretary was—l defline a part of the money only to that purpose, and a pat t to be brought to the United States for ether purposes. He left every member to make his own reflections on the fubjeft. He would only oblerve in general that it del' on ftrated the truth afterted in the proposition, that the secretary had violated both the law of August 4th, 1792, and the inftruftion of the President relating to it. He then proceeded to a more diftinft view of the two points particularly stated iu the resolution. The firft was, ** That a certain portion of the principal, borrowed under tne ast of Au gust 4, 1790, had been applied to the payment of the irtterett falling due on that principal " As the f.ift would not, he presumed, be deni ed, lie forbore to quote Chac part of the docu ments, which admitted and authenticated it. He would, however, premise to any obl'erva tiofis on it, a cur.fory view of the natute of appropriations. Jt was unr.etcflary to repeat Ihe emphatic remarks on this fubjeft, which had fallen from the member from Pennsylvania (Mr. Findley) It was fufficiently understood, he concluded, that appropriations of money were of a high and sacred character; that they were the wrestt bulwark which our ronfritution had carefully and jealously established against ex ecutive ufurparions. He meant only to take notice of the different plans into which appro priations might be moulded, and of the patti cular operatior, which ought to he given to them. One of the plans, was that of appropriating fptcified funds to fpecified objects ; in which the supposed cerrainty of the funds was ad jufled to the fuppoled importance of the ob jects. The other plan formed all the branches of the revenue into an aggregate fund; on which ' the several objects should have a priority of claim, according to their fuperior.ty of im pel nee. It was evident, that in both these cafes,the leffiflature alone poffcftYd the competent au thority. Theexclufive right of that depart ment of the government to make the proper regulations, was the basis of the utility and efficacy of appropriations. There was a third question incident to the doctrine of appropriations, viz—Whether, under fpecific appropriations,fuch as had been adopted by Congress, the executive «uthonty could, without Ipecial permission of the law, apply the excess of one fund to the aid of a deficient one ; or borrow from one fund for the object of another. On this question there might perhaps be a difference of opinion. He would only remark, that admitting ftich adif cretion to be implied in the trust of executing Uie laws, it \ypuld still be requisite that the [Whole No. 40;.] due fivxftiwi <rfK*«HJe«tlve flion'd he give*, that a fefcular accoiitrflHonld be ktfitr Bef\#een the different and that yjl advai'Cts from one tp t!je other'lftonld he le'plaeud a# soon S'.pofliblc. . Thii equally necelfary to the.preservation of order in tlie public fi nancesj ami to a prop.'i relj>e<ft for the autho rity of the laws. In tfie present cafe it did not appear tfuip the monies taken at different times from tha leans designated by the President, and thereby .placed under the appropriation of the ast of .August 4, 1791, to the foreign debt, ever been replaced. It did not appear that #ay ftich replacement was regularly planned* or provided ibr. It was particularly worthy of •bier vat ion moreover, that the only life with in the United States for which afiv loan iq Eitttope could be afiigned, was that of the (ifik ingfiind j that the trutteei of this fund' had never been even informed of the drafts; if all the moniei drawn had been carried to the finking fund, tlie liinitted Turn of 2,066,b00 of dollars would have been exceeded; and tbat the ftatethents and accounts had ly so woumi up, as njcntioned by'tlfie l SeOfe tai not a fingk flilTar of tlie money "laid out iiV purebafihg the public debt,, had. beert charged on loan ; draw 11 into the United .States; although such was the onlj pnrpoie to which they were legally applxahle, and such the principal reason alfigued for making the drift. He did not go into a particular proof that the sum drawn into the United States, after fubtra&ing the whole sum placed to a foreign account, exceeded the Aim of 2,000,000 of dollar-;, becanfe the fa<ft had been conceded on the other fide, particularly by the ftatemcnt of the member from Connecticut (Mr. Hill hou'e). Thus it appeared clearly, fn confirmation of the firft point, that the application of a cer tain portion of the principal borrowed in Eu rope, to payment of the inteieft. vas not a mere transposition of monies, so prevent the fending them backwards or forwards ; nor an advance of money from an overflowing fund in favor of a deficient one ; but an al>- solute diversion of appropriated money : and consequently a violation of the law making the appropriation, Tlve (econd point in the resolution, renting to the drawing of monies into the United States without the inltruClion of the President. This point had been fully eftablilhed by the documents and explanations applied to the firft. They had done more : They had 'de monstrated that the inftru&ions of the Prtfi der.t which dedicated the loans to be made under his commission, to a foreign ohjec%wiei e an cxprefs prohibition of drafts for any do mestic object. ft was f\ifficient therefore to refer to the inftru&ions of the Pre/jrient, 4r,d to the contradictory steps taken by the Secre tary. Two attempts had been made to eluHe the force of tbeie official proofs. The firft appealed to the President's speech at the opening of theSeflion in 1790 ; to Vhe report of the Secretary made in of.it to the house; and to the fuppiemcntfcry ast of Congress paifed in conformity to the report,. Had the circumstances invoked in this tranfa&ion been attended to by those who Teemed to rely on it, Mr. M. was periuaded that a reference to it would never have been made by gentlemen on that fide. As they had thought fit however to draw argument-, from that f'ource, it was proper to give an anfXyer to them 5 and the best aniwer would be 3, naked statement of The inftruftign of the President to the Se cretary, was given, as has been seen, on £he 28thofAuguft 179°' The letter of the Se cretary contravening this inftrultion, was dated, as has also been seen, on the fame 28th dayofAnguft, 179°- The actual drawing of bills by the secretary commenced tbe I jth of December, 1790. The law now pleaded in justification of the condgft of tl-e secretary pulled on the 3d of Marcb, 1791. , ■ ' ' There are other facts material to a correct ard full view of the bu(ii;efs. The speech of the President was delivered on the Bth ofDete'mber, 1790. It biiefly in formed the two houses that " a loan of three millions of florins, towards which some pio vifional measures had previoiifly telcen place; had been completed in Holland," —and,"That the secretary of the treasury had his direftioo to communicate such further particulars a} plight be requisite fur mort prccile inl'orma tion." The confeqnent report of the (ecretary re» comniending the provision in the fuppltnien tary ast, was not received till the 2jth of Fe bruary, 1791 : fix days only before the con stitutional diflolution of tl.e house. In the interval between the speech of the Prtfident and the fecretary'j woport, le had proceeded to draw bills to the amount of 793.392 florins. His rep«rt ( ratwilhftaxdtng what had been Jaid of it, contained not a word from which it couid be known that a fii'gte florin had been actually drawn over to the U <lted-StaU«. ' [Tc h -cntiuui.]
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