THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH.

The Committee report to Congress the alterations yesterday agreed on with respect to the five per cent. impost.

The Deputy Secretary at War reported to Congress the result of the inquiry directed by them on the 24th day of January, into the seizure of goods destined for the British prisoners of war, under passport from General Washington. From this Report, it appeared that some of the seizors had pursued their claim under the law of the State; and that, in consequence, the goods had been condemned, and ordered for sale. The papers were referred to a committee, consisting of Mr. RUTLEDGE, Mr. GORHAM, and Mr. LEE, who, after having retired for a few moments, reported that the Secretary of War should be authorized and directed to cause the goods to be taken from the places where they had been deposited; to employ such force as would be sufficient; and that the Duke de Lauzun, whose legion was in the neighbourhood, should be requested to give the Secretary such aid as he might apply for.

This Report was generally regarded by Congress as intemperate, and the proposed recourse to the French legion as flagrantly imprudent. Mr. HAMILTON said, that if the object had been to embroil the country with their allies, the expedient would have been well conceived.* He added, that the exertion of force would not, under these circumstances, meet

*This was an oblique allusion to Mr. LEE, whose enmity to the French was suspected by him, &c.

the sense of the people at large. Mr. GORHAM said, he denied this with respect to the people of Massachusetts.

Mr. LEE, on the part of the Committee, said that the Duke de Lauzun had been recurred to as being in the neighbourhood, and having cavalry under his command which would best answer the occasion; and that the Report was founded on wise and proper

considerations.

Mr. MERCER, Mr. WILLIAMSON, Mr. RAMSAY, Mr. WILSON, and Mr. MADISON, strenuously opposed the Report, as improper altogether, as far as it related to the French legion, and in other respects so until the State of Pennsylvania should, on a summons, refuse to restore the articles seized.

Mr. RUTLEDGE, with equal warmth, contended for the expediency of the measures reported.

Mr. MERCER and Mr. MADISON at length proposed that Congress should assert the right on this subject, and summon the State of Pennsylvania to redress the wrong immediately. The Report was recommitted, with this proposition, and Mr. WILSON and Mr. MERCER added to the Committee.

The speech of the King of Great Britain on the fifth of December, 1782, arrived and produced great joy in general, except among the merchants who had great quantities of merchandize in store, the price of which immediately and materially fell. The most judicious members of Congress, however, suffered a great diminution of their joy from the impossibility of discharging the arrears and claims of the army, and their apprehensions of new difficulties from that quarter.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH.

Mr. JONES, Mr. RUTLEDGE, and Mr. WILSON, to whom had been referred, on Tuesday last, a letter from Mr. Jefferson, stating the obstacles to his voyage, reported that they had conferred with the Agent of Marine, who said there was a fit vessel ready for sea, in this port, but was of opinion the arrival of the British King's speech would put a stop to the sailing of any vessels from the ports of America until something definitive should take place; and that if Congress judged fit that Mr. Jefferson should proceed immediately to Europe, it would be best to apply to the French Minister for one of the frigates in the Chesapeake. The general opinion of Congress seemed to be, that, under present circumstances, he should suspend his voyage until the further order of Congress; and on motion of Mr. GORHAM, seconded by Mr. WOLCOTT, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs was accordingly, without opposition, directed to make this known to Mr. Jefferson.

The report of the Committee for obtaining a valuation of land was made and considered. Journal of this date.

See the

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH.

The report respecting a valuation of land being lost, as appears from the Journal, it was revived by the motion of Mr. DYER, Seconded by Mr. Mercer, as it stands; the appointment of Commissioners by VOL. I.-22

Congress for adjusting the quotas being changed for a Grand Committee, consisting of a Delegate present from each State, for that purpose.

A motion was made to strike out the clause requiring the concurrence of nine voices in the report to Congress; and on the question, shall the words stand? the States being equally divided, the clause was expunged. It was thereafter reconsidered and re-inserted.

The whole report was agreed to, with great reluctance, by almost all-by many from a spirit of accommodation only, and the necessity of doing something on the subject. Some of those who were in the negative, particularly Mr. MADISON, thought the plan not within the spirit of the Confederation; that it would be ineffectual, and that the States would be dissatisfied with it.

A motion was made by Mr. HAMILTON, seconded by Mr. FITZSIMMONS, to renew the recommendation of the - February, 1782, for vesting Congress with power to make abatements in favor of States, parts of which had been in possession of the enemy. It was referred to a committee.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH.

Committee of the Whole on the subject of general funds.

Mr. RUTLEDGE and Mr. MERCER proposed, that the impost of five per cent., as altered and to be recommended to the States, should be appropriated

exclusively, first to the interest of the debt to the army, and then, in case of surplus, to the principal. Mr. RUTLEDGE urged, in support of this motion, that it would be best to appropriate this fund to the army as the most likely to be obtained, as their merits were superior to those of all other creditors, and as it was the only thing that promised, what policy absolutely required, some satisfaction to them.

Mr. WILSON replied, that he was so sensible of the merits of the army, that if any discrimination were to be made among the public creditors he should not deny them perhaps a preference, but that no such discrimination was necessary; that the ability of the public was equal to the whole debt, and that before it be split into different descriptions the most vigorous efforts ought to be made to provide for it entire. That we ought first, at least, to see what funds could be provided, to see how far they would be deficient, and then, in the last necessity only, to admit discriminations.

Mr. GORHAM agreed with Mr. WILSON. He said an exclusive appropriation to the army would, in some places, be unpopular, and would prevent a compliance of those States whose citizens were the greatest creditors of the United States; since, without the influence of the public creditors, the measure could never be carried through the States; and these, if excluded from the appropriation, would be even interested in frustrating the measure, and keeping, by that means, their cause a common one with the army.

Mr. MERCER applauded the wisdom of the Confederation in leaving the provision of money to the States;