having made a report; and the said report, after debate, being postponed,

A motion was made by Mr. [Elbridge] Gerry, seconded by Mr. [Samuel] Osgood,

That the further consideration of the report be postponed to the 1st Monday of April next; and that a copy of the memorial and papers relative therete be transmitted to the present claimants of the brig Lusannah, to shew cause, if any they have, why the prayer of the said memorial should not be granted; and in the mean time that all proceedings in the sentence of the court of appeals, touching the premises, ought to be stayed.1

Your Committee find that by a resolution of Congress of Nov 25, 1775, it was recommended to the legislatures of the several states to erect Courts for determining the cases of captures from the enemy on the high seas, and it was declared that in all cases an appeal should be allowed to Congress, or such persons as they should appoint for the trial of appeals.

That this resolution was complied with by the several states, some of them ceding appeals to Congress on a larger and some on a more contracted scale; and New Hampshire particularly, by their act of Assembly of 1776, allowing them only in cases of captures by armed vessels fitted out at the charge of the United States, and reserving the appeal in all other cases to the Supreme Court of their own State.

That the course of Congress was to appoint a Committee for the trial of every Special appeal till the 30th Day of January, 1777, when a standing Committee was appointed to hear and determine appeals from the Courts of Admiralty in the respective states.

That the Brigantine M: Clary, a private armed vessel owned by John Penhallow and others, citizens of New Hampshire, captured on the high seas in the month of November, 1777, the Brigantine Lusanna, the subject of the present question, carried her into Piscataqua in the State of New Hampshire and libelled her before the

1 This motion, in the writing of Elbridge Gerry, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 36, II, folio 283. The letter of the New Hampshire legislature is in No. 44, folio 203. Sullivan's letter is in folio 207.

maritime Court of the said State, whereon the said vessel and cargo were by the said court condemned.

That the claimants, Elisha Doane and others, prayed an appeal to Congress, which being refused, they appealed to the Superior Court of New Hampshire, where the sentence being confirmed they again prayed an appeal to Congress which was refused, and the sentence, carried into effect by a sale and distribution of the vessel and cargo.

That on the 9th Day of October, 1778, the said Elisha Doane petitioned Congress for a revision of the said sentence, which petition being referred to the Committee of Appeals, they in May, 1779, summoned the Libellants to appear before them in defence of their right, which-they-accordingly did by their counsel, and the said committee on a hearing of both parties reported to Congress that

That on the 22 of the same month Congress resolved that certain Resolutions of theirs of March 6th, 1779, relative to their controul over all jurisdiction in cases of capture on the high seas should be transmitted to the several states, where upon Congress by their resetn. of May 22, 1779, and they be respectively requested to take effectual measures for conforming therewith.

That they were accordingly transmitted to the State of New Hampshire, the legislature thereof by their act of Nov., 1779, extended the license of appeal to Congress to every case wherein any subject of any foreign nation in amity with the United States should be interested in the dispute, and allowed it no further.

That in May, 1780, a Court of Appeals was established by Congress with jurisdiction over all matters respecting appeals in cases of capture, then depending before Congress or the Commiss" of appeals, consisting of Members of Congress.

That all these transactions were prior to the completion of the Confederation which took place on the first day of March, 1781.

That on the 17th of September, 1783, the Court of Appeals proceeded to consider the case of the said Elisha Doane and others against the Brig Lusanna, John Penhallow, Libellant, and to reverse the said sentences passed by the inferior and superior courts of New Hampshire.

Whereupon your Committee, have Come to the following resolu

tion:

Resolved, That the said capture having been made by citizens of New Hampshire carried in and submitted to the jurisdiction of that state before the completion of the Confederation, while appeals to Congress in such cases were absolutely refused by their legislature, neither Congress nor any persons deriving authority from them had jurisdiction in the said case.1

A motion was made by Mr. [Jeremiah Townley] Chase, seconded by Mr. [Jacob] Read, to strike out the latter part, viz. and in the mean time, &c. to the end:

And on the question, shall those words stand? the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [Abiel] Foster,

So the question was lost and the words were struck out. On the question to agree to the motion as amended, the yeas and nays being required by Mr. [Abiel] Foster,

1 This report, in the writing of Thomas Jefferson, is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 44, folio 223.

SIR,

OFFICE OF FINANCE, 19th January, 1784.

The Secretary of Congress has transmitted to me the Petition of John Cowper with an order to report thereon. I must on this occasion pray leave to observe that this with a variety of other similar transactions depends on the adjustment of the accounts of the secret and commercial Committees of Congress. In a letter of the twelfth of August last I had the honor to observe that those accounts "were far from being inconsiderable either as to their nature or magnitude. That they were involved with others and had extended themselves to different Parts of the United States and to Europe, and the West Indias; that they are more connected with the marine accounts than with any others, and that the settlement of them was highly necessary." I took the liberty also (then) to suggest the propriety of submitting the investigation of those accounts to the Commissioner

1On this day, as the indorsement states, a letter of November 1, 1783, from William Williams, speaker of the Assembly of Connecticut, was read; also a letter of November 15, 1783, from Jonathan Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut. Both are in No. 66, II, folio 252. They were referred to Mr. [Thomas] Jefferson, Mr. [Arthur] Lee and Mr. [Hugh] Williamson. Committee Book, No. 186, states that the committee reported February 13.

for settling the Marine Accounts, or of appointing a special Commissioner for that express purpose.

Since writing that letter the Commissioner on the marine accounts having been obliged in the course of his business to look at the commercial and secret committee accounts, has not only discovered some balances due to the United States; but has reported other matters which shew in a strong point of light the necessity of examining and settling those accounts. I think they could be more easily, speedily and effectually settled by that gentleman than by any other, and therefore the submitting of them to him, might be eligible in an economical point of view.

I come now, Sir, to observe (which I am sorry to do) that my report on Mr. Cowper's case must necessarily be suspended until after a reference to the Commissioner appointed to adjust the accounts of the Secret and Commercial Committees, I shall be possessed of such a state of facts as will enable me to report with propriety.

Before I close this letter, I must also observe that as the accounts in question originated with and were under the superintendance of Members of Congress, it is a kind of Duty, which Congress in their political capacity owe to themselves, to trace the applications of money thro' those channels with the same attention which has very properly been applied to other public expenditures.1

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1784.

Congress assembled: Present, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pensylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina; Mr. [Richard] Beresford having this day taken his seat; and from the State of New Hampshire, Mr. [Abiel] Foster, and from New Jersey Mr. [John] Beatty.

On the report of a committee, consisting of Mr. [Thomas] Jefferson, Mr. [Elbridge] Gerry, Mr. [William] Ellery, Mr. [Jacob] Read and Mr. [Benjamin] Hawkins, to whom were referred the definitive treaty of peace between the United

1 This report is in the Papers of the Continental Congress, No. 137, III, folio 415. According to the indorsement it was read this day and referred to Mr. [David] Howell, Mr. [Jeremiah Townley] Chase and Mr. [Arthur] Lee.