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the States which have passed no acts towards complying with the resolutions of Congress of the sixth of September, and the tenth of October, 1780, relative to territorial cessions, to make the liberal cessions therein recommended; and to the States which may have passed acts complying with the said resolutions in part only, to revise and complete such compliance.

9. "That, in order to remove all objections against a retrospective application of the constitutional rule of apportioning to the several States the charges and expenses which shall have been supplied for the common defence or general welfare, it be recommended to them to enable Congress to make such equitable exceptions and abatements as the particular circumstances of the States, from time to time, during the war, may be found to require.

10. "That, conformably to the liberal principles on which these recommendations are founded, and with a view to a more amicable and complete adjustment of all accounts between the United States and individual States, all reasonable expenses which shall have been incurred by the States without the sanction of Congress, in their defence against or attacks upon, British or savage enemies, either by sea or by land, and which shall be supported by satisfactory proofs, shall be considered as part of the common charges incident to the present war, and be allowed as such.

11. "That, as a more convenient and certain rule of ascertaining the proportions to be supplied by the States, respectively, to the common treasury, the following alteration, in the Articles of Confederation

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and perpetual union between these States, be, and the same is hereby, agreed to in Congress; and the several States are advised to authorize their respective Delegates to subscribe and ratify the same, as part of the said instrument of union, in the words following, to wit:

"So much of the eighth of the Articles of Confederation and perpetual union between the thirteen States of America as is contained in the words following, to wit: "All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defence. or general welfare, and allowed by the United States in Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States, in proportion to the value of all land within each State granted to, or surveyed for, any person, as such land, and the buildings and improvements thereon, shall be estimated according to such mode as the United States in Congress assembled shall, from time to time, direct and appoint," — is hereby revoked and made void, and in place thereof it is declared and concluded, the same having been agreed to in a Congress of the United States, that all charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defence or general welfare, and allowed by the United States in Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several States in proportion to the number of inhabitants, of every age, sex, and condition, except Indians, not paying taxes in each State; which number shall be triennially taken and transmitted to the United States, in Congress assembled, in such mode as they shall

direct and appoint; provided, always, that in such numeration no persons shall be included who are bound to servitude for life, according to the laws of the State to which they belong, other than such as may be between the ages of * years.""

MONDAY, MARCH 10TH.

The Committee, consisting of Mr. CARROLL, Mr. DYER, and Mr. MIFFLIN, to whom was referred the Report of the Committee on two paragraphs of a report of the Grand Committee, brought in a report; and the Report of the Committee being taken into consideration, and amended, so as to read as follows: "That such officers as are now in service, and shall continue therein to the end of the war, shall be entitled to receive the sum of five years' full pay, in money or securities, on interest at six per cent. per annum, at the option of Congress, instead of the half-pay promised for life, by the resolution of the twentyfirst of October, 1780; the said securities to be such as shall be given to the other creditors of the United States; provided that it be at the option of the lines of the respective States, and not of officers individually in those lines, to accept or refuse the same; that

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* In the draft, as laid before the Committee by the tenth paragraph, the word “reasonable" before the word "expenses," was not inserted; but to the paragraph was added, "provided that this allowance shall not be extended to any expenses which shall be declared, by nine votes in Congress, to be manifestly unreasonable." In other respects, the original draft was unaltered, except that a former resolution of Congress, in the words of the ninth paragraph, was incorporated by the secretary before it went to the press.

all officers who have retired from service upon the promise of half-pay for life, shall be entitled to the benefits of the above resolution; provided that those of the line of each State, collectively, shall agree thereto; that the same commutation shall extend to the corps not belonging to the lines of particular States, the acceptance or refusal to be determined by corps; that all officers entitled to half-pay for life, not included in the above resolution, may, collectively, agree to accept or refuse the commutation."

Much debate passed relative to the proposed commutation of half-pay; some wishing it to take place on condition only that a majority of the whole army should concur; others preferring the plan above expressed, and not agreed to.

TUESDAY, MARCH 11TH.

The Report entered on Friday, the seventh of March, was taken into consideration. It had been sent, by order of Congress, to the Superintendent of Finance for his remarks, which were also on the table. These remarks were, in substance: that it would be better to turn the five per cent., ad valorem, into a tariff, founded on an enumeration of the several classes of imports, to which ought to be added a few articles of exports; that, instead of an apportionment of the residue on the States, other general revenues, from a land tax, reduced to one fourth of a dollar per hundred acres, with a house tax, regulated by the numbers of windows, and an

excise on all spirituous liquors, to be collected at the place of distillery, - ought to be substituted, and, as well as the duties on trade, made coëxistent with the public debts; the whole to be collected by persons appointed by Congress alone. And that an alternative ought to be held out to the States, either to establish the permanent revenues for the interest, or to comply with a constitutional demand of the principal within a very short period.

In order to ascertain the sense of Congress on these ideas, it was proposed that the following short questions should be taken:

1. Shall any taxes, to operate generally throughout the States, be recommended by Congress, other than duties on foreign commerce?

2. Shall the five per cent., ad valorem, be exchanged for a tariff?

3. Shall the alternative be adopted, as proposed by the Superintendent of Finance?

On the first question the States were, New Hampshire, no; Connecticut, no; New Jersey, no; Maryland, no; Virginia, no; six noes and five ayes, lost.

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On the second question there were seven ayes. The third question was not put, its impropriety being generally proclaimed.

In consequence of the second vote in favor of a tariff, the first three paragraphs of the Report were recommitted, together with the letter from the Superintendent of Finance.

On the fourth paragraph, on motion of Mr. DYER, after the word "war," in the fifth line, was inserted "agreeably to the resolution of the sixteenth of December last."

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