plan, contribute all in his power to the forming such

a one.

Mr. RUTLEDGE moved, that the proposition might be committed, in order that some practicable plan might be reported before Congress should declare that it ought to be adopted.

Mr. IZARD seconded the motion, from a conciliatory view.

Mr. MADISON thought the commitment unnecessary, and would have the appearance of delay; that too much delay had already taken place; that the deputation of the army had a right to expect an answer to their memorial as soon as it could be decided by Congress. He differed from Mr. WILSON in thinking that a specification of the objects of a general revenue would be improper; and thought that those who doubted its practicability had a right to expect proof of it from details, before they could be expected to assent to the general principle; but he differed also from Mr. RUTLEDGE, who thought a commitment necessary for the purpose; since his views would be answered by leaving the motion before the House, and giving the debate a greater latitude. He suggested, as practicable objects of a general revenue, first, an impost on trade; secondly, a poll-tax under certain qualifications; thirdly, a land-tax under ditto. *

Mr. HAMILTON suggested a house and window

A poll-tax to be qualified by rating blacks somewhat lower than whites; a land-tax, by considering the value of land in each State to be in an inverse proportion of its quantity to the number of people; and apportioning on the aggregate quantity in each State accordingly, leaving the State at liberty to make a distributive apportionment on its several districts on a like or any other equalizing principle.

tax; he was in favor of the mode of conducting the business urged by Mr. MADISON.

On the motion for the commitment, six States were in favor of it, and five against it; so it was lost. In this vote the merits of the main proposition very little entered.

Mr. LEE said, that it was a waste of time to be forming resolutions and settling principles on this subject. He asked whether these would ever bring any money into the public treasury. His opinion was that Congress ought, in order to guard against the inconvenience of meetings of the different Legislatures at different and even distant periods, to call upon the Executives to convoke them all at one period, and to lay before them a full state of our public affairs. He said the States would never agree to those plans which tended to aggrandize Congress; that they were jealous of the power of Congress, and that he acknowledged himself to be one of those who thought this jealousy not an unreasonable one; that no one who had ever opened a page, or read a line, on the subject of liberty could be insensible to the danger of surrendering the purse into the same hands which held the sword.

The debate was suspended by an adjournment.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29TH.

Mr. FITZSIMMONS reminded Congress of the numerous inaccuracies and errors in the American column of the Treaty with Holland, and proposed that a revision of it, as ratified, should take place,

4

in order that some steps might be taken for redressing the evil. He added, that an accurate comparison of it with the Treaty with France ought also to be made, for the purpose of seeing whether it consisted in all its parts with the latter. * He desired the Committee who had prepared the ratification to give some explanation on the subject to Congress. Mr. MADISON, as first on that Committee, informed Congress, that the inaccuracies and errors, consisting of mis-spelling, foreign idioms, and foreign words, obscurity of the sense, &c., were attended to by the Committee, and verbally noted to Congress when their report was under consideration; that the Committee did not report in writing, as the task was disagreeable, and the faults were not conceived to be of sufficient weight to affect the ratification. He thought it would be improper to reconsider the act, as had been suggested, for the purpose of suspending it on that account or any other, but had no objection, if Congress were disposed, to instruct Mr. Adams to substitute, with the consent of the other party, a more correct counterpart in the American language. The subject was dropped, nobody seeming inclined to urge it.

On the motion of Mr. RUTLEDGE, and for the purpose of extending the discussion to particular objects of general revenue, Congress resolved itself into a

* Mr. HAMILTON told Mr. MADISON, privately, that M. de Marbois, speaking of the treaty, asked him emphatically whether there were not some articles which required animadversion. Mr. H. did not, at the time, know what was alluded to. He now supposed the allusion to be to some article supposed to be inconsistent with the treaty with France; particularly the article referring to the select articles of the latter, instead of the whole; which article, Mr. Adams informed Congress, had been satisfactory to the Duke de la Vauguyon.

Committee of the Whole, to consider of the most effectual means of restoring public credit; and the proposition relative to general revenue was referred to the Committee. Mr. CARROLL was elected into the chair, and the proposition taken up.

Mr. BLAND proposed to alter the words of the proposition, so as to make it read establishment of funds on taxes or duties, to operate generally," &c. This was agreed to as a more correct phraseology. Mr. HAMILTON objected to it at first, supposing, through mistake, that it might exclude the back lands which was a fund in contemplation of some gentlemen.

Mr. MADISON, having adverted to the jealousy of Mr. RUTLEDGE, of a latent scheme to fix a tax on land according to its quantity, moved that between the words "generally" and "to operate" might be inserted the words "and in just proportion."

Mr. WILSON said he had no objection to this amendment, but that it might be referred to the taxes individually, and unnecessarily fetter Congress; since, if the taxes collectively should operate in just proportion, it would be sufficient. He instanced a land-tax and an impost on trade-the former of which might press hardest on the Southern, and the latter on the Eastern, but both together might distribute the burden pretty uniformly. From this consideration he moved that the words "on the whole" might be prefixed to the words "in just proportion." This amendment to the amendment of Mr. MADISON was seconded by Mr. BOUDINOT, and agreed to without opposition, as was afterwards the whole amendment.

Mr. WILSON, in order to leave the scheme open for

the back lands as a fund for paying the public debts, moved that the proposition might be further altered so as to read "indispensably necessary towards doing complete justice," &c. The motion was seconded by Mr. BOUDINOT, and passed without opposition.

The main proposition by Mr. WILSON, as thus amended, then passed without opposition, in the words following: "That it is the opinion of Congress that the establishment of permanent and adequate funds on taxes or duties, which shall operate generally, and, on the whole, in just proportion, throughout the United States, are indispensably necessary towards doing complete justice to the public creditors, for restoring public credit, and for providing for the future exigencies of the war."

Mr. BLAND proposed, as the only expedient that could produce immediate relief to the public creditors, that Congress should, by a fixed resolution, appropriate to the payment of interest all the moneys which should arise from the requisitions on the States. He thought this would not only give relief to the public creditors, but, by throwing into circulation the stagnant securities, enliven the whole business of taxation. This proposition was not seconded.

Mr. WILSON proceeded to detail to Congress his ideas on the subject of a continental revenue. He stated the internal debt, liquidated and unliquidated, at twenty-one millions of dollars; the foreign debt at eight millions; the actual deficiency of 1782 at four millions; the probable deficiency of 1783 at four millions; making, in the whole, thirty-seven millions; which, in round number, and probably without exceeding the reality, may be called forty millions.