Proclamation by the President. value of the deposite in coin of the United States, which is entered in the register. The bullion is then delivered to the Chief Coiner, on the warrant of the Director, to the Treasurer of the Mint, who takes his receipt thereon. When coined, the Chief Coiner pays them over, on a like warrant, to the Treasurer of the Mint, and he again to the Treasurer of the United States, on a warrant from the Secretary of the Treasury. By this system, established by the Treasury Department, all bullion is to be lodged in the vaults of the Mint, and secured under two locks, the keys of which are kept by the Treasurer and Assayer. When bullion is in the custody of the Chief Coiner, it is to be constantly subject to the inspection of the Assayer, he being responsible for the standard purity of the respective coins; and, when the bullion is not in use, it is to be kept under two locks, the keys of which are to be kept by the Assayer and Chief Coiner. From every mass of coins the Treasurer takes three pieces, in the presence of the Assayer, which are secured by him under cover, with seal of the Assayer thereon, for the purpose mentioned in the law. All coins made on account of individuals are paid by the Treasurer, on the warrant of the Di rector. and one-tenth part of pure copper, being equal to ten ounces sixteen penny weights of pure silver in one pound Troy. 5. Resolved, That the President of the United States be authorized to reduce the weight of the copper coin at his discretion: Provided, Such reduction shall not exceed two pennyweights in each cent, and in proportion in each half cent, of which he shall give notice, by proclamation, and report the same to the next session of Congress. 6. Resolved. That the Treasurer of the United States be authorized, by law, to distribute, at the public expense, all cents received from the Treasurer of the Mint, by sending them to some one Bank in each State, where any are established, and, where not, to the principal Collector of such State, in proportion to the number of inhabitants of the State, to be by them paid out, for cash, to any person requesting the same, in sums not less than ten dollars value. 7. Resolved, That provision ought to be made, by law, enabling the Director and Treasurer of the Mint to give a preference to bullion brought to the Mint, already of or above the standard of the United States, so as not to be prevented coining and issuing the same, although bullion below the standard, and not yet refined, may have been deposited for coinage before it; any thing in any law heretofore passed to the contrary notwithstanding. In addition to these checks, all receipts of bullion and delivery of coins are entered into a regu- BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF lar set of books, kept for that purpose. All the forms of the documents requisite for common use are printed, bound, and issued under indented checks, for the greater public security. Your committee having thus given a concise state of the Mint, beg leave to recommend the following resolutions: 1. Resolved, That provision ought to be made, by law, for the appointment of a Refiner and Melter in the Mint of the United States, whose duty it shall be to take charge of all copper, and silver, and gold bullion, delivered out by the Treasurer of the Mint, after it has been assayed, and reduce it into bars or ingots for the rolling mills, and then to deliver them to the Coiner or Treasurer, as the Director shall judge expedient, and to do and perform all other duties belonging to the office of Refiner and Melter, or which shall be ordered by the Director of the Mint. 2. Resolved, That provision ought to be made, by law, authorizing the Treasurer of the Mint to retain two cents per ounce from every deposite of silver bullion below standard, and four cents per ounce for every deposite of gold bullion below the standard, unless the same shall require the operation of the test, then six cents as a compensation for refining and melting the same. AMERICA, A PROCLAMATION. Whereas I have received information that cer tain persons in violation of the laws have presumed, under color of a foreign authority, to enlist citizens of the United States and others within the State of Kentucky, and have there assembled an armed force for the purpose of invading and plundering the Territories of a nation at peace with the said United States: And whereas such unwarrantable measures, being contrary to the laws of nations and to the duties incumbent on every citizen of the United States, tend to disturb the tranquility of the same, and to involve them in the calamities of war: And whereas it is the duty of the Executive to take care that such criminal proceedings should be suppressed, the offenders brought to justice, and all good citizens cautioned against measures likely to prove so pernicious to their country and themselves, should they be seduced into similar infractions of the laws. I have, therefore, thought proper to issue this Proclamation hereby solemnly warning every person not authorized by the laws, against enlisting any citizen or citizens of the United States, or levying troops, or assembling any persons within 3. Resolved, That the gross bullion brought for the United States for the purposes aforesaid, or deposite and coinage to the Mint, shall not be re-proceeding in any manner to the execution thereof, ceived in smaller quantities than two hundred ounces of silver and twenty ounces of gold. 4. Resolved, That the standard for silver coin, as now established by law, be altered, and made to consist of nine equal ten parts of pure silve as they will answer the same at their peril; and I do also admonish and require all citizens to refrain from enlisting, enrolling, or assembling themselves for such unlawful purposes, and from being n any wise concerned, aiding, or abetting therein, Proclamation by the President. as they tender their own welfare, inasmuch as all lawful means will be strictly put in execution for securing obedience to the laws, and for punishing such dangerous and daring violations thereof; And I do moreover charge and require all Courts, magistrates, and other officers, whom it may concern, according to their respective duties, to exert the powers in them severally vested to prevent and suppress all such unlawful assemblages and proceedings, and to bring to condign punishment those who may have been guilty thereof, as they regard the due authority of Government, and the peace and welfare of the United States. In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. Done at the city of Philadelphia, the twenty-fourth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighteenth. G. WASHINGTON.. By the President: EDM. RANDOLPH. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, A PROCLAMATION. Whereas combinations to defeat the execution of the laws laying duties upon spirits distilled within the United States, and upon stills, have from the time of the commencement of those laws existed in some of the Western parts of Pennsylvania: And whereas the said combinations, proceeding in a manner subversive equally of the just authority of Government and of the rights of individuals, have hitherto effected their dangerous and criminal purpose; by the influence of certain irregular meetings whose proceedings have tended to encourage and uphold the spirit of opposition; by misrepresentations of the laws calculated to render them odious; by endeavors to deter those who might be so disposed from accepting offices under them, through fear of public resentment and of injury to person and property, and to compel those who had accepted such offices, by actual violence to surrender or forbear the execution of them; by circulating vindictive menaces against all those who should otherwise directly or indirectly aid in the execution of the said laws, or who, yielding to the dictates of conscience, and to a sense of obligation, should themselves comply therewith; by actually injuring and destroying the property of persons who were understood to have so complied; by inflicting cruel and humiliating punishments upon private citizens, for no other cause than that of appearing to be the friends of the laws; by intercepting the public officers on the highways, abusing, assaulting, and otherwise ill treating them; by going to their houses in the night, gaining admittance by force, taking away their papers, and committing other outrages; employing for these unwarrantable purposes the agency of armed banditti disguised in such manner as for the most part to escape discovery: And whereas the endeavors of the Legislature to obviate objections to the said laws, by lowering the duties and by other alterations conducive to the convenience of those whom they immediately affect, (though they have given satisfaction in other quarters,) and the endeavors of the executive officers to conciliate a compliance with the laws, by explanations, by forbearance, and even by particular accommodations, founded on the suggestions of local considerations, have been disappointed of their effect by the machinations of persons whose industry to excite resistance has increased with every appearance of a disposition among the people to relax in their opposition and to acquiesce in the laws, insomuch that many persons in the said Western parts of Pennsylvania have at length been hardy enough to perpetrate acts which I am advised amount to treason, being overt acts of levying war against the United States; the said persons having on the sixteenth and seventeenth of July last past proceeded in arms (on the second day, amounting to several hundreds) to the house of John Neville, inspector of the revenue for the fourth survey of the district of Pennsylvania, having repeatedly attacked the said house with the persons therein, wounding some of them; having seized David Lenox. marshal of the district of Pennsylvania, who, previous thereto, had been fired upon while in the execution of his duty, by a party of armed men. detaining him for some time prisoner, till, for the preservation of his life and the obtaining of his liberty, he found it necessary to enter into stipu lations to forbear the execution of certain offcial duties touching processes issuing out of a Court of the United States; and having finally obliged the said inspector of the revenue, and the said marshal, from considerations of personal safety, to fly from that part of the country, in order, by a circuitous route, to proceed to the seat of Government; avowing as the motives of these outrageous proceedings an intention to prevent by force of arms the execution of the said laws, to oblige the said inspector of the revenue to renounce his said office, to withstand by open violence the lawful authority of Government of the United States, and to compel thereby an alteration in the measures of the Legislature and a repeal of the laws aforesaid. And whereas, by a law of the United States. entitled "An act to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions," it is enacted "that whenever the laws of the United States shall be opposed or the execution thereof obstructed in any State by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by that act, the same being notified by an Associate Justice or District Judge, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to call forth the militia of such State to suppress such combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed. And if the militia of a State where such combinations may happen shall refuse, or be insufficient to suppress the same, it shall be lawful for the President, if the Legislature of the United States shall not be in session, to call forth and em Proclamation by the President. ploy such numbers of the militia of any other State or States, most convenient thereto, as may be necessary; and the use of the militia so to be called forth may be continued, if necessary, until the expiration of thirty days after the commencement of the ensuing session: Provided, always, That whenever it may be necessary, in the judgment of the President, to use the military force hereby directed to be called forth, the President shall forthwith, and previous thereto, by proclamation, command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within a limited time." States, in certain of the Western counties of Pennsylvania, would yield to time and reflection, I thought it sufficient. in the first instance, rather to take measures for calling forth the militia than immediately to embody them; but the moment is now come, when the overtures of forgiveness, with no other condition than a submission to law, have been only partially accepted; when every form of conciliation not inconsistent with the being of Government has been adopted, without effect; when the well-disposed in those counties are unable by their influence and example to reclaim the wicked from their fury, and are compelled to And whereas James Wilson, an Associate Jus- associate in their own defence; when the proffered tice, on the fourth instant, by writing under his lenity has been perversely misinterpreted into an hand. did, from evidence which had been laid be-apprehension that the citizens will march with fore him, notify to me that "in the counties of reluctance; when the opportunity of examining Washington and Alleghany, in Pennsylvania, laws the serious consequences of a treasonable opposiof the United States are opposed, and the execution has been employed in propagating principles tion thereof obstructed by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshal of that district." And whereas it is, in my judgment, necessary, under the circumstances of the case, to take measures for calling forth the militia, in order to suppress the combinations aforesaid, and to cause the to be duly executed, and I have accordingly determined to do so, feeling the deepest regret for the occasion, but withal the most solemn conviction that the essential interests of the Union demand it-that the very existence of Government, and the fundamental principles of social order, are materially involved in the issue, and that the patriotism and firmness of all good citizens are seriously called upon, as occasion may require, to aid in the effectual suppression of so fatal a spirit. Wherefore, and in pursuance of the proviso above recited, I, GEORGE WASHINGTON, President of the United States, do hereby command all persons, being insurgents as aforesaid, and all others whom it may concern, on or before the first day of September next, to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes. And I do moreover warn all persons whomsoever against aiding, abetting, or comforting the perpetrators of the aforesaid treasonable acts; and do require all officers and other citizens, according to their respective duties and the laws of the land, to exert their utmost endeavors to prevent and suppress such dangerous proceedings. In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. Done at the city of Philadelphia, the seventh day of August, one thousand seven hundred and ninetyfour, and of the Independence of the United States of America the nineteenth. G. WASHINGTON. By the President: EDM. RANDOLPH. of anarchy, endeavoring through emissaries to alienate the friends of order from its support, and inviting enemies to perpetrate similar acts of insurrection; when it is manifest that violence would continue to be exercised, upon every attempt to enforce the laws; when, therefore, Government is set at defiance, the contest being whether a small portion of the United States shall dictate to the whole Union, and, at the expense of those who desire peace, indulge a desperate ambition: Now, therefore, I, GEORGE WASHINGTON, President of the United States, in obedience to that high and irresistible duty, consigned to me by the Constitution, "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed"-deploring that the American name should be sullied by the outrages of citizens on their own Government; commiserating such as remain obstinate from delusion; but resolved, in perfect reliance on that gracious Providence which so signally displays its goodness towards this country, to reduce the refractory to a due subordination to the law-do hereby declare and make known, that, with a satisfaction which can be equalled only by the merits of the militia summoned into service from the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, I have received intelligence of their patriotic alacrity, in obeying the call of the present, though painful, yet commanding necessity; that a force, which, according to every reasonable expectation, is adequate to the exigency, is already in motion to the scene of disaffection; that those who have confided, or shall confide in the protection of Government, shall meet full succor under the standard and from the arms of the United States; that those who having offended against the laws have since entitled themselves to indemnity, will be treated with the most liberal good faith, if they shall not have forfeited their claim by any subsequent conduct, and that instructions are given accordingly. And I do, moreover, exhort all individuals, offi BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF cers, and bodies of men, to contemplate with ab AMERICA, A PROCLAMATION. Whereas, from a hope that the combinations against the Constitution and laws of the United horrence the measures leading directly or indirectly to those crimes, which produce this resort to military coercion; to check, in their respective spheres, the efforts of misguided or designing men Proclamation by the President. to substitute their misrepresentation in the place of truth, and their discontents in the place of stable government; and to call to mind, that as the people of the United States have been permitted, under the Divine favor, in perfect freedom, after solemn deliberation, and in an enlightened age, to elect their own Government, so will their gratitude for this inestimable blessing be best distinguished by firm exertions to maintain the Constitution and the laws. And, lastly, I again warn all persons, whomsoever and wheresoever, not to abet, aid, or comfort the insurgents aforesaid, as they will answer the contrary at their peril; and I do also require all officers and other citizens, according to their several duties, as far as may be in their power, to bring under the cognizance of the law all offenders in the premises. In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. Done at the City of Philadelphia, the 25th day of September, 1794, and of the Independence of the United States of America the nineteenth. By the President: G. WASHINGTON. EDM. RANDOLPH. acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almignty God, and to implore him to continue and confirm the blessings we experience. Deeply penetrated with this sentiment, I, GEORGE WASHINGTON, President of the United States, do recommend to all religious societies and denomi nations, and to all persons whomsoever. within the United States, to set apart and observe Thursday, the nineteenth day of February next, as a Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer; and on that day to meet together and render their sincere and hearty thanks to the Great Ruler of Nations for the manifold and signal mercies which distinguish our lot as a nation; particularly for the possession of Constitutions of Government which unite, and, by their union, establish liberty with order; for the preservation of our peace, foreign and domestic; for the seasonable control which has been given to a spirit of disorder, in the sup pression of the late insurrection; and generally, for the prosperous course of our affairs, public and private; and, at the same time, humbly and fervently to beseech the kind Author of these blessings graciously to prolong them to us-to imprint on our hearts a deep and solemn sense of our obligations to him for them-to teach us rightly to estimate their immense value-to preserve us from the arrogance of prosperity, and from hazarding the advantages we enjoy by delusive pursuits-to BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF dispose us to merit the continuance of his favors, AMERICA, A PROCLAMATION. When we review the calamities which afflict so many other nations, the present condition of the United States affords much matter of conso lation and satisfaction. Our exemption hitherto from foreign war, an increasing prospect of the continuance of that exemption, the great degree of internal tranquility we have enjoyed, the recent confirmation of that tranquility by the suppression of an insurrection which so wantonly threatened it, the happy course of our public affairs in general, the unexampled prosperity of all classes of our citizens-are circumstances which peculiarly mark our situation with indications of the Divine beneficence towards us. In such a state of things it is, in an especial manner, our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to by not abusing them, by our gratitude for them, and by a correspondent conduct as citizens and as men-to render this country more and more a safe and propitious asylum for the unfortunate of other countries-to extend among us true and useful knowledge-to diffuse and establish habits of sobriety, order, morality, and piety; and, finally, to impart all the blessings we possess, or ask for our selves, to the whole family of mankind. In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed to these presents, and signed the same with my hand. of Done at the city of Philadelphia, the first day By the President: PUBLIC ACTS OF CONGRESS; PASSED AT THE FIRST SESSION OF THE THIRD CONGRESS, BEGUN AND HELD AT PHILADELPHIA, ON THE SECOND OF DECEMBER, 1793. . An Act making an alteration in the Flag of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, from and after the first day of May, Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, the Flag of the United States be fifteen stripes alternate red and white. That the Union be fifteen stars, white, in a blue field. FREDERICK A. MUHLENBERG, Approved, January 13, 1794. G. WASHINGTON, President of the United States. 2. An Act providing for the relief of such of the inhabitants of Saint Domingo, resident within the United States, as may be found in want of support. Be it enacted, &c., That a sum, not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars, be, and the same is hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any moneys which may be in the Treasury, arising from foreign Loans, for the support of such of the inhabitants of Saint Domingo, resident within the United States, as shall be found in want of such support. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, in order to secure the due application of the moneys aforesaid, the same shall be placed under the direction of the President of the United States; and it shall be lawful for him to draw the said moneys, or any part thereof, from the Treasury of the United States, and to cause the distribution thereof to be made, for the relief of the persons aforesaid, in such manner, and by the hands of such persons, as shall, in the opinion of the President, appear most conducive to the humane purposes of this act. vernment of the United States and the said Republic: Provided, however, That, unless the French Republic or its Minister, or other authorized agent, shall, within six months from the passing of this act, expressly authorize a charge to the debit of the said Republic of the said supplies which shall have been, or may be made under this act, all further supplies under the same shall, from and after the expiration of the said term of six months, be discontinued. Approved, February 12, 1794. An Act in alteration of the act establishing a Mint and regulating the Coins of the United States. Be it enacted, &c., That, from and after the passing this act, it shall be the duty of the Treasurer of the Mint to receive and give receipts for all metals which may lawfully be brought to the Mint to be coined; and, for the purpose of ascertaining their respective qualities, shall deliver from every parcel so received, a sufficient number of grains to the Assayer, who shall assay all such of them as may require it. And the said Treasurer shall, from time to time, deliver the said metals to the Chief Coiner to be coined in such quantities as the Director of the Mint may prescribe. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Assayer and Chief Coiner of the Mint, previous to entering upon the execution of their respective offices, shall each become bound to the United States of America, with one or more sureties, to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, the said Assayer in the sum of one thousand dollars, and the said Chief Coiner, in the sum of five thousand dollars, with condition for the faithful and diligent performance of the duties of his office. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act, entitled "An act establishing a Mint and regulating the coins of the United States," as comes within the purview of this act, be, and the same is hereby, repealed. Approved, March 3, 1794. tonnage of sundry French vessels which have taken refuge in the ports of the United States. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That a regular statement and account be kept of the moneys so expended, and being lodged in the proper office/An Act for the remission of the duties arising on the of the Treasury Department, the amount thereof shall be provisionally charged to the debit of the French Republic, subject to such future arrangements as shall be made thereon between the Go3d CoN.-46 Whereas, the disastrous situation of the town of Cape Francois, in the Island of Hispaniola, com |