creditors, which, it truly declares, "could only be done by a voluntary loan on their part," it proposes a loan to the United States, (directing for that purpose, books for subscriptions to be opened at the treasury, and by commissioners of loans in the several States, on the 1st of October, 1790, and to continue for a year), the sums subscribed to the loan to be paid in certain enumerated evidences of the debt of the United States, upon these terms, viz:

First. That the interest unpaid on the principal of those evidences, should be computed up to the last of December, 1790.

Second. That, for any sum subscribed and paid in the princi pal of the debt, the subscriber should be entitled to one certificate for a sum equal to two-thirds of the sum subscribed, bearing an interest of six per cent. per annum, commencing the 1st day of January, 1791, payable quarter gearly, and subject to redemption by payments not exceeding, in one year, on account of both principal and interest, eight dollars upon a hundred of the original sum so subscribed and paid; and to another certificate for a sum equal to the remaining third of that sum, which, after the year 1800, should bear a like interest, payable in like manner, and subject to a like rate of redemption. But that the United States, though having a right to redeem in the above-mentioned proportion, should not be obliged to do it.

Third. That for any sum subscribed and paid in the interest of the debt, the subscriber should be entitled to a certificate for a sum equal to the sum subscribed, bearing an interest of three per cent. per annum, from the said last day of December, 1790, payable quarter yearly, and redeemable at pleasure, by payment of the principal.

Fourth. That the new stock created by the said loan, should be transferable on the books upon which the credit for it should stand by the proprietor or his attorney; these books to be either those kept for the purpose at the treasury, or by commissioners of loans in the respective States; a mode being provided for the transfer from the books at one place to those at another.

Fifth. That the interest should be payable wheresoever the credit for the stock should exist, when the payment of interest

should become due; except that the dividend of interest for any quarter of a year which should not be demanded before the expiration of a third quarter, should afterwards be demandable only at the treasury.

Sixth. That, for the regular payment of the interest on the several kinds of stock, to arise from the loan, as it should accrue, including that which is deferred, the proceeds of the public revenues, which, before that time, had been, or, during the then session, should be provided, after reserving, yearly, 600,000 dollars, for the support of the Government of the United States, and their common defence, and such sum as should be necessary for payment of interest on the foreign loans before mentioned, should be, and thereby were, pledged and appropriated, till the final redemption of the capital stock.

5. Premising that some of the creditors of the United States might not think fit to become subscribers to the loan, this act declares that "nothing contained in it should be construed in any wise to alter, abridge, or impair the rights of those creditors of the United States who should not subscribe to the loan or the contracts upon which their respective claims are founded, but that the said contracts and rights should remain in full force and virtue." And to obviate all idea of compulsion on the creditors to subscribe, it allows to non-subscribers, during the pendency of the loan, and until the end of the year 1791, a rate per centum, on their respective demands, equal to that which is paid to subscribing creditors; on the sole condition, that the evidences of debt holden by them, except those which had been issued by the Register of the Treasury, for the registered debt, should be exchanged for other certificates, specifying the specie amount of those in exchange, for which they were given, and otherwise of the like tenor with those which had theretofore been issued by the Register of the Treasury, for the registered debt; stating, as the grounds of this condition, that some of the certificates then in circulation, had not been liquidated to specie value; that most of them were greatly subject to counterfeit ; that counterfeits had actually taken place in numerous instances; and that embarrassment and imposition might attend the payment of interest on these certificates in their then form.

6. This act likewise proposes another loan, to the amount of $21,500,000, payable in the principal and interest, indiscriminately, of the evidences of debt of the respective States, according to certain quotas, to be conducted in the same manner, and to be open for the same time, as that in the domestic debt of the United States. The terms of this loan to be:

First. That, for any sum subscribed, the subscriber should be entitled to one certificate, for a sum equal to four-ninths of the subscribed sum, bearing an interest of six per centum per annum, commencing the first day of January, 1791. To another certificate, for a sum equal to two-ninths of the said subscribed sum, bearing an interest, after the year 1800, of six per centum per annum; and, to a third certificate, for a sum equal to threeninths of the said subscribed sum, bearing an interest of three per centum per annum, commencing on the same first day of January, 1791; the interest, in each case, to be payable in like manner, and to be subject to the like redemption as that on the correspondent kinds of stock to be created by this, the said first mentioned loan. And the stock to be created by this second loan, to be transferable on the same principles, and in the same modes, as that produced by the former.

Second. That, for the regular payment of interest on the several kinds of stock to arise from this loan, as it should accrue, including that which is deferred, the proceeds of the public revenues, which, before that time, had been, or during the then session should be, provided, after reserving the aforesaid yearly sum of $600,000, the sum necessary for payment of interest on the foreign loans made, and to be made, and the sum necessary for payment of interest on the loan in the domestic debt, should be, and thereby were, pledged and appropriated; to continue so pledged and appropriated until the final redemption of the capital stock.

7. To secure the due application of these revenues, according to the appropriations, an account of them is directed to be kept, distinct from that of the proceeds of any other revenues, except such as should be raised to make good a deficiency in those; and the faith of the United States is pledged to appropri

ate additional and permanent funds, for satisfying such deficiency.

8. The proceeds of the sales of lands in the Western territory, then belonging, or which thereafter should belong, to the United States, are pledged and appropriated for the discharge of the debts which the United States then owed, or by virtue of that act should owe.

There are several collateral and supplementary provisions, which are omitted, as immaterial to the intended view of the subject.

2d. "An act repealing, after the last day of June next, the duties heretofore laid upon distilled spirits, &c.," passed the 3d of March, 1791.

The proceeds of the duties, laid by this act, are made subject to the same appropriations, and in the same order of priority, as those contained in the funding act; and, to secure their due application, an account is directed to be kept of them, distinct from that of any other revenues, except those appropriated by the funding act.

3d. "An act for raising a further sum of money for the protection of the frontiers, &c.," passed May 2d, 1792.

This act, which, as has been before noticed, increased permanently the duties on certain imported articles, and laid a temporary additional duty on some others, appropriates, primarily, the proceeds of the permanent augmentations, in the same manner, and to the same purposes, as the antecedent duties were appropriated; that is, in conformity with the funding act.

4th. "An act concerning the duties on spirits distilled within the United States," passed May 8th, 1792.

This act, which lowers the duties on spirits distilled within the United States, and on stills, appropriates the proceeds of the reduced duties in the same manner as were the former duties; and, to make good whatever deficiency might be occasioned by the reduction of the rates, pledges, as a substitute, the surplus of the augmented duties laid by the last cited act.

5th. "An act providing for the payment of the second instal

ment due on a loan made of the Bank of the United States," passed June 4th, 1794.

This act, in addition to a provision for paying that second instalment, appropriates so much of the dividends on the stock which the United States hold in the bank,.as should be necessary to the payment of interest on the capital of a loan of $2,000,000, had of the bank, pursuant to the 11th section of the act by which it is incorporated. It also fixes the last day of December, in each year, as the annual period for the payment of the successive instalments of that loan.

6th. "An act making provision for the payment of the interest on the balances due to certain States," upon a final settlement of accounts between the United States and the individual States, passed May 30th, 1794.

This act directs that interest shall be allowed and computed on the balances to creditor States, from the last of December, 1789, to the last of December, 1794; which, being placed to their credit respectively, shall bear an interest of three per centum per annum, from the period last mentioned.

It further directs that the interest on the principal balances, to be funded agreeably to the terms of the act for the settlement of accounts, together with the interest upon the arrears of interest, computed on those balances, and forming a new capital, shall be payable at the offices of the commissioners of loans within the States to which the balances are respectively due, and shall be paid quarter yearly, after the last day of December, 1794, at the same epochs in each year, at which interest is payable, on the other parts of the funded debt; to which end, so much of the proceeds of the duties on imports and tonnage, as may be necessary, and as were not otherwise previously appropriated, are appropriated; and the faith of the United States is pledged to provide for any deficiency which may happen by additional and permanent funds.

There are several acts which prolong, from time to time, the subscriptions in the domestic and State debts, on the same terms as by the funding act, those in the domestic debt being continued down to the last day of December, 1794; which acts, together with