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Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
Report of the Grand Committee of the Continental Congress concerning the budget for 1785
United States. Continental Congress
September 17, 1785
Volume 17, Pages 525-532

REQUISITION FOR CONGRESS FOR 1785 &c.
[From Executive Letter Book.]

By the United States in Congress, Assembled,
September 17th, 1785.

The report of the Grand Committee being amended to read as follows:

Resolved, that for the services of the Present year one thousand seven hundred and Eighty five for the payment of one year's interest on the foreign and Domestic Debt and as a provision to discharge the balance of the estimate of April twenty seventh, 1784, above the sum called for by the resolve of Congress of that date, it will be necessary that those three Million of Dollars in addition to 649,880 Dollars hereafter provided for, be paid into the common

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treasury on or before the 1st day of May next to be appropriated to the following purposes:

Dollars.
Cilvil Department
122,331.
Military Department
187,224.32
Purchases of Indian rights of soil and the incidental expenses
5,000.
Contingencies, the expenses under which head shall on the 1st day of Jan. annually be transmitted by the Board of Treasury to the Legislature of each State
90,000.
Foreign Debt—amo't bro't up
404,555.32
10,000,000 Livres loaned in Holland and Guaranteed by France one year's interest thereon
74,074.
24,000,000 ditto public French Loan one year's Interest thereon
222,222.20
174,000 dollars Spanish loan one year's Interest thereon
8,700.
5,000,000 florins first Dutch loan one year's Interest thereon
96,527.5
2,000,000 Ditto second Dutch Loan 1 year's Interest thereon a 4 p. Ct
30,888.88
846,710 Livres to the Farmers General of France, 1 year's interest thereon
7,840.
440,252.58
Liquidated Domestic Debt
10,517,380,6 Dollars one year's Interest thereon
631,042.6
Loan Office Debt
3,778,900 Dollars issue to 1st September 1777 equal to Specie, one year's Interest thereon
226,734.
3,459,200 Dollars issued between Ist September 1777 & 1st March 1778,
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This sum is subject to liquidation by the scale but the Interest is payable on the nominal Sum, one year's interest thereon
207,540.
434,274
5,146,330.8 Dollars Specie value of uncancelled Loan office Certificates issued after 1st March 1778, one years interest thereon
308,780.6.
743,054.6
4,823,744 Dollars estimated amt. of Certificates issued and to be issued to the lines of Maryland and Virginia, North Carolina, So. Carolina and Georgia, one year's interest thereon
289,423.4
1,141,551.5 dollars balance of the estimate of the 27th April 1784 above the sum called for by the Resolution of Congress of that date
1,141,551.5
Total Estimates
3,649,880
Deduction
649,880
Balance to be called for
3,000,000

Deduct for part of the Dutch Loan applied towards a discharge of the last year's Estimate, and which the sums required from the States last year will replace; and for Loans now in the hands of the Dutch Commissioners and hereby appropriated for the purposes of this Estimate 649,880 dollars and there remains the Balance of 3,000,000 of Dollars to be paid into the common Treasury.

The Committee find that for reason stated in the Resolve of Congress of the 27th April, 1784, there yet remains a moiety of the requisition for eight Millions of Dollars and the whole of the requisition for two Millions of Dollars to be applied to the use of the United States before any new requisition ought to be made. They

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are therefore of opinion that the States be called upon to make actual payment of three quarters of the remaining money aforesaid on or before the first day of May aforesaid.

The Committee have not been able to obtain information how many States have complied with the Resolutions of February 17th or that of April 18th, 1783, relative to a rule for adjusting the quotas of the several States in federal requisitions. They are therefore of opinion that the several States which have not decided on that subject, be again solicited to come to a division thereon, and to send forward the same, as a measure necessary to enable Congress to effect a settlement of Accounts with the several States, and to apportion to each a just quota of the public Expences, but in the mean time, as the public faith renders it the duty of Congress to continue their annual demand for Money, the Committee are of opinion that in the apportionment thereof the quotas of the several States shall be adjusted agreeably to the best information which Congress may from time to time have obtained on the subject. Upon this principle they recommend to Congress that in the present requisition for three Million of Dollars the quotas of the several States be as follows, viz:

Dollars.
Massachusetts
448,854
New Hampshire
105,416
Rhode Island and Providence plantan
64,636
Connecticut
264,182
New York
256,486
New Jersey
166,716
Pennsylvania
410,378
Delaware
44,886
Maryland
283,034
Virginia
512,974
North Carolina
218,012
South Carolina
192,366
Georgia
32,060
3,000,000

Which sums when paid, shall be passed to the Credit of the States respectively, on the terms prescribed by the resolutions of Congress of the 6th day of October, 1779, and together with the

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Money relied on to discharge the aforesaid deduction of 649,380 dollars, be applied in conformity with the several appropriations in the preceding part of this report, giving preference according to the order in which they are stated in the Estimate.

As more than two-thirds of the sum called for is to be applied to the payment of Interest on the Domestic Debt; the Committee are of opinion that the several Legislatures may so model the Collection of the sums called for, that one-third of any sum being paid in actual money, the other two-thirds may be discharged by the Interest due upon Loan Office Certificates and upon other Certificates of the Liquidated Debts of the United States. And to ascertain the evidences of interest due upon Loan Office Certificates the holders thereof respectively shall be at Liberty to carry them to the office from which they issued, and the holders of other Certificates of Liquidated Debts of the United States to carry the same to the Loan office of that State, wherein they are Inhabitants or if foreigners, to any Loan office within the United States, and to have the Interest therein due, settled and certified to the Last day of the year 1784.

Provided, that the Commissioners of the Continental Loan office in any State shall not on any pretence whatever, settle or issue any Certificate, or Certificates, for the Interest due on any Continental Loan office Certificate, or other Certificates of Liquidated Debts aforesaid, unless as hereafter provided until the State for which he is Continental Loan officer shall have passed a Legislative Act, complying with this requisition, nor shall he issue any Certificate or take any other Measure whereby the Interest may be paid by the State in any mode not pointed out by the requisition, nor shall the Commissioner of the Continental Loan office in any State that shall have complied with this requisition, issue any Certificate or take any other measure whereby a discrimination may be made by such State between the holder of Loan office Certificates issued from his office, who are Citizens of that State, and foreigners, or the Citizens of any other State that shall have complied with this requisition Excepting from this proviso, such State or States as by the Books of the Treasury shall appear to have paid their full quota of the requisition of the 30th October, 1781, for 8,000,000 of Dollars upon the former and present apportionment of the same, so far as

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to admit the Commissioner of the Continental Loan office in such State or States, to issue Certificates in the same manner as the Commissioners in the States passing Legislative Acts as aforesaid, provided always that any Continental Loan officer shall issue Certificates for Interest as aforesaid due on Continental Loan office Certificates issued from his office and belonging to foreigners, and also to the Citizens of such States as shall have passed a Legislative Act complying with this requisition as aforesaid.

Provided, nevertheless, that where any State hath made provision by Law, for paying any part of the Interest of the Domestic Debt of the United States contained in the Estimate on which this requisition is founded, the Continental Loan officer in such State shall without delay ascertain the sum which shall have been so paid pursuant to such Law on or before the first day of January next, and shall make report thereof to the Board of Treasury and also to the Legislature of such State, who may deduct from their quota of this requisition, and be Credited in part payment thereof, the sum so paid not exceeding two-thirds of such quota, every State being held to pay in Specie one-third part of the said quota previously to the admission of such Credit, and if any State shall have so paid in discharge of the Interest as aforesaid, a sum exceeding two-thirds of its quota of this requisition such surplus shall be admitted as a charge against the United States in the settlement of the General Account of such State, but if any Interest, after the said first day of January shall be paid by any State contrary to the true intent of this requisition such payment shall not be admitted as a charge against the United States. And if any Commissioner of a Continental Loan office shall disobey or neglect to carry into execution any resolution or order of Congress or otherwise neglect his Duty in the said office, the Board of Treasury shall suspend him from his office and the Emoluments thereof, and immediately report the reasons thereof to Congress, and the Board of Treasury are hereby empowered to appoint in the room the Commissioner of the Continental Loan office, so suspended, a Citizen of the State in which the office is kept who shall have all the powers and Emoluments of a Commissioner of the Continental Loan office, until Congress shall finally determine respecting the suspension.

And every Commissioner of the Continental Loan office, previously

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to settling and issuing Certificates as aforesaid, for the interest due on Certificates of Liquidated debts, other than Loan office Certificates shall administer an oath or affirmation or require a Certificate signed by one of the persons whom the State in which the Commissioner resides shall, in the Legislative Act complying with this requisition appoint, that he has administered to the owner or possessor of every such Certificate an oath or affirmation, that the same is bona fide the property of the particular State in which the said Commissioner resides, or of a Citizen or Citizens of the said State, or of some Corporate body or Charitable institution within the same, or of some person who is not a Citizen of any of the United States; describing the Certificate or Certificates alluded to in every such oath or affirmation in such manner as shall be necessary to identify the same, or as may be prescribed by the Legislature of the said State.

And for preventing the depreciation of Certificates to be issued as aforesaid the Legislature of each State is required to provide in the Act complying with this requisition that if on the first day of January, 1787, the said States' quota of the said Certificates so to be issued shall not be in the hands of the State Treasurer or other proper officer, the deficiency shall be Collected and paid into the Continental Treasury in Specie, which when so paid, is hereby appropriated to the redemption of such surplus Certificates.

Provided, nevertheless, that any States which shall have obtained a Credit in the Books of the Treasury for the full compliance with the requisition of the 4th September, 1782, for 1,200,000 dollars with the requisition of 27th April, 1784, for Completing the payment of one-half of the requisition of 30th October, 1781, for 8,000,000 dollars, and also, with this requisition, shall at any time after such compliances, be admitted to pay into the Treasury of the United States and sum or sums in the said Certificates to be issued for Interest as aforesaid, and have Credit for the same to be de-ducted out of the quota of such State in the next succeeding requisition provided that such sum or sums do not exceed one-half of the said quota.

That the Board of Treasury cause to be made a bank-paper and thereon to be struck the form of Certificates, to evidence the Interest due as aforesaid and transmit to the several Loan officers a sufficient

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number of the same. That the said Board furnish the several Loan officers with such Checks and Instructions as they from time to time shall judge necessary to prevent Counterfeited Certificates of Debts from obtaining a settlement of Interest, and to detect Counterfeit evidences of Interest and thereby to avoid receiving them in discharge of Taxes, which Certificates of Interest being parted with by the holders of the principal, shall be deemed evidence that he has received satisfaction for the same, and therefor shall be receiveable from the Bearer in lieu of Money in the proportion aforesaid, in any other States in the Union, as well as in the State in which they were issued. That the State receiving such Certificates and paying the same into the public Treasury, with a proportion of Specie as aforesaid shall have Credit therefore which payment shall be considered as a discharge of the Interest due on the Domestic Debts in the proportion that each State avail itself of the said Certificates of interest. And where loan office Certificates issued after the 1st day of March, 1778, shall be presented to the Loan officer, they shall be reduced to the Specie value, comformably to the Resolutions of Congress of June 28th, 1780, and that specie value expressed on some part of the Certificate and the Interest thereon settled and certified as in other cases.

As a motive for the cheerful payment of the sum now called for, as well as of the arrearages on that of April 27th, 1784, the Committee are of opinion that the States be reminded that Congress have passed an Ordinance for the Survey and sale of the Western Territory of the United States, and that the proceeds thereof will be applied as a sinking fund to extinguish the Domestic Debt. Future requisitions for Interest on the Domestic Debt, will therefore be reduced in proportion as this fund may be rendered productive.

Resolved, That Congress agree to the said Report.

CHAS. THOMSON, Sec'y.