USA > Delaware > Minutes of the Council of the Delaware state from 1776 to 1792, V 2 > Part 9
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EODEM DIE, P. M.
The Council met.
Mr. Duff, a member of Assembly, informed the Council that the House of Assembly were ready to receive them, in the As- sembly Room, to ballot for a President, and also for Delegates to Congress, out of the persons before nominated.
The Council met the House of Assembly, in the Assembly Room, and there, in General Assembly, proceeded to the elec- tion of a President for the State, and the members of both Houses, to wit : nine of the Council and twenty-one of the House of Assembly, then present, having prepared tickets with the name of the President to be appointed and put the same into a ballot-box, the Speakers of the two Houses, in the presence of the other members, examined the ballot-box, and it appeared that eighteen votes out of thirty were in favor of the Honorable Nicholas Vandyke, Esquire ; whereupon the said Nicholas Van- dyke, Esquire, is declared dnly elected President of this State for the term of three years next ensuing, and until the sitting of the next General Assembly thereafter, and no longer, agreeable to ' the present Constitution or system of government.
The General Assembly then proceeded to the election of Dele- gates to represent this State in Congress for the ensuing year out of the persons put into nomination in the forenoon, and the bal- lots being examined, it appeared that there was a majority of
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votes in favor of Casar Rodney, James Tilton, Eleazar McComb, and Gunning Bedford, Jr., Esquires ; whereupon the said Cæsar Rodney, James Tilton, Eleazar McComb, and Gunning Bedford, Jr., Esquires, are declared duly elected Delegates to represent this State in Congress for the ensuing year.
On motion, agreed that the two Houses now separate. Then the Council withdrew, and adjourned till Io o'clock on Monday next.
MONDAY, P. M., Feb. 3, 1783.
The Council met. Present all the members, except Mr, Joshua Polk and Mr. Bassett.
On motion, by order,
The resolutions of the House of Assembly respecting the sale of the State schooner were read the first time.
By special order, the same were read the second time, and the first of the said resolutions was concurred in, which respected the propriety of the Vice-President's instructions to Colonel Charles Pope as to the sale of a part of the said schooner. The latter was disagreed to; and thereupon the Vice President's Message of the 13th instant, and the several papers relative to the same subject, and referred to in the said message, were also read ; and the same being read, Mr. William Polk moved for leave to bring in a bill for fitting out or selling the said State schooner, which was granted; and thereupon a bill, entitled "An act for fitting out or selling the State schooner," was laid upon the table, and, by order, read the first time.
On motion, by order,
The petition of Isaac Short was read and referred to Messrs. Grantham and McDonough, to inquire into the state of the facts alleged therein and to report their opinion on the same.
On motion, by order,
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The petition of James Abbott was read the second time and referred to the same committee.
On motion, by order,
The joint petition of George Abbott and Charles Williams was also read the second time and referred to the same committee.
On motion, the resolution of the General Assembly of this State, of the 12th February, 1781, appointing William Peery, Esq., to settle and state all the accounts between this State and the United States, and empowering him to call for such books and papers relating to the said accounts as might have come to the hands of any person in public office, and directing him to make his report to the General Assembly as soon thereafter as might be, returning therewith as many original vouchers as could be procured, or authentic copies, or other the best documents that might be obtained, was ordered to be read, and the same being read, and no report appearing to have been made thereon,
Resolved, That whereas, by the capture made by the enemy of the public papers in New Castle County, in the month of September, 1777, many of the original vouchers for supporting this State's account against the United States were then carried off, and the want of several of them only to be supplied by the minutes or memory of divers persons previous to that time en- gaged in the public transactions ; and that whereas the vouchers of charge subsequent to that time are much dispersed and irreg- ularly kept, that a Commissioner on the part of the United States having been appointed to make a settlement of all accounts be- tween them and this State, and Mr. l'eery authorized to lay the public accounts of this State against the United States before the said commissioner for liquidation and settlement, it is highly necessary that the General Assembly, previous to a final settle- ment of the said accounts, be informed in what state of readiness the same accounts are for such settlement ; therefore
Resolved, That Mr. Peery be called upon to report his pro- ceedings under the said resolution of the 12th of February, and that he return to the General Assembly an abstract or list of the several charges selected by him and to be. made in this State's accounts against the United States, specifying generally the ser- vice and the time thereof, with the sum charged therefor, to the end that omissions, if any, may be discovered and supplied.
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Resolved also, That a copy of the foregoing motion and reso- lutions be forthwith made and delivered to Mr. Peery.
Adjourned till to-morrow at 10 o'clock.
TUESDAY, A. M., Feb. 4, 1783.
The Council met. Present all the members, except Mr. Bas- set and Mr. Joshua Polk.
Ordered, That Mr. Baning deliver to the House of Assembly the resolutions directing a report of the state of the accounts be- tween this State and the United States.
Mr. Baning, being returned, reported the delivery thereof ac- cording to order.
On motion, by order,
The amendments proposed by the House of Assembly to the resolutions of the Council founded on the resolutions of Congress of the 30th October and 2d November, 1781, were read, consid- ered and agreed to.
Ordered, That the said resolutions, as amended, be transcribed and sent to the House of Assembly for concurrence.
M1. Gordon, a member of Assembly, was admitted and return- ed the resolutions directing a report of the state of the accounts between this State and the United States, with the concurrence of the House of Assembly thereto.
The Council now took into consideration the amendments pro- posed by the House of Assembly to the bill for preventing and punishing the counterfeiting of the common seal, &c., of the Bank of, North America, and agreed that the bill thus amended should pass the House and be engrossed.
On motion, by order,
The Council now took into consideration the several aniend-
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ments proposed by them and by the House of Assembly to the bill for raising {26,250, &c., and, upon the motion and question, "Shall the Council adhere to their first amendment by striking out the words [twenty-six thousand two hundred and fifty] and inserting instead thereof the words [thirty-nine thousand]?" the Council determined to adhere to their said amendment.
Mr. W. Polk required the yeas and nays on the said question to be entered on the minutes. They are as follows, viz :
For the question-Mr. Read, Mr. McDonough, Mr. Grantham, Mr. Collins.
Against the question-Mr. William Polk, Mr. Baning.
The question was carried.
Upon the motion and question, "Shall the Council adhere to their 11th, 12th and 14th amendments, for the changing the mode of the collection of the State tax, proposed by the said bill, by vesting the power of collection in one person in each county, he to be accountable in the Auditor's office by rendering his ac- counts there of the collections on the 20th of July and the Ist of November, and finally accounting there on the said Ist day of November, paying in the meantime to the State Treasurer, on the first days of June and October, the several proportions di- rected to be raised in each county, thereby changing the col- lection from the collectors of hundreds and their account and payment to the County Treasurer, and by him to the State Treasurer?" the Council determined to adhere to the said amendments.
And thereupon Mr. W. Polk required the yeas and nays on the same question to be entered on the minutes. They are as follows, viz :
For the question-Mr. Read, Mr. McDonough, Mr. Grantham, Mr. Collins.
Against the question -- Mr. Wm. Polk, Mr. Baning.
The question was carried.
Thereupon the following message, stating the reasons of the Council's adherence to their said amendments, and rejecting
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those proposed by the House of Assembly, was drawn up, read, agreed to, and ordered to be transcribed, to wit :
Gentlemen :
The Tax Bill for the present year, with its respective amend- ments, hath been further considered by the Council, and upon mature deliberation they are still of opinion, that the sum of thirty-nine thousand pounds, as proposed in their first amend- ment, is a necessary one, to be raised for the uses expressed in the bill, to wit: to answer the two requisitions made by Con- gress of forty-four thousand eight hundred dollars, the payment. of the sums due to the inhabitants of the State for supplies fur- nished for the Army of the United States, money borrowed on the credit of the State, and public services performed in, or on behalf of the State, and to be paid for by the State in the first instance, the interest on certificates given to the officers and soldiers of the Delaware Regiment, and the necessary.and in- cidental expenses of the State within the year. The Council are satisfied that even this sum will be inadequate to these pur- poses, but, from the deficient manner in which the public ac- counts of the State have been kept, they do not pretend to say with precision how much more will be wanting ; and when the Council advert to their second proposed amendment, ac- ceeded to by your House, they must suppose that such was your opinion ; for as the bill first stood the sum therein of £26,250 must have been considered as only adequate, or nearly so, for the purposes there expressed in its preamble, which limi- ted the sums to be paid to the inhabitants for supplies furnished for the army to the latter part of the year 1780, or beginning of the year 1781, to monies borrowed within the same time, omitting all prior demands of the inhabitants of the like sort, which prob- ably when taken together will amount to more than the specified ones of the latter part and beginning of those two years, and further confining the public services, which this State is to pay in the first instance, to those performed by the officers and soldiers of Col. Neil's Battalion of Militia in the fall of the year 1780, when prior services, yet unpaid, will probably double the sum that battalion is entitled to ; therefore taking it for granted that so much or more will be wanted for all these purposes, the Coun- cil apprehend it to be prudent and wise to make a provision somewhat adequate to the necessary uses there generally men- tioned, and prevent any suspicion that might be entertained of
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postponing one just creditor of the State to another, and particu- larly to avoid a preference of the latter creditor to the prior one of some more years standing, and that the General Assembly, in whom the disposition and application of the remaining part of the £39,000 is, after discharging the two requisitions of Con- gress, may have it more in their power to satisfy the old, and many very poor creditors of the State, and make some advances towards the restoring of public faith and public credit within the State, essentially necessary to its welfare and existence : whereas on the other hand, if the sum should be confined to the one in the original draught of the bill, there must be partial pay- ments, and those payments may fall to the lot of the later creditor, according to the influence he may make at the time of such dis- position. We should not, and we ought not, even to leave any cause for such suspicion when in our power to prevent it. The Council are well aware of the great want of a due medium of cir- culating specie within the State, and the difficulty attending the carriage of its produce to a market where a further supply thereof might be obtained, but they are of opinion that the difficulty may be surmounted, for that they know very many of the taxables of the neighboring States have and do still combat greater evils of the like kind. The Council conceive it to be their duty to exhibit the actual wants of the State to their constituents, that they may provide accordingly, and judge it ill policy to continue the practice of leaving the debts of preceding years unprovided for and unnoticed, to accumulate, and by that means put it out of the power of their constituents to pay them perhaps ever, as each succeeding year will have its particular charge, and an in- creased one when we are called upon to provide for the payment of the interest of the national debt which the United States have contracted during the present war. A further argument which weighs with the Council, is, that they have reason to believe that it was the intention of Congress, when they fixed their de- mand upon the United States only to two million of dollars of the six million which was their estimate for the. War and Civil Department, (relying upon obtaining the other four million by way of loan in Europe), thus to afford the States in the Union an opportunity to raise extra sums to discharge their former internal debts ; this opportunity ought to be laid hold of; justice to the public creditors of the State, and the true interest of our consti- tuents demand it of us-yet if, upon further deliberation had by your honorable House, you shall be of opinion, that the time
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specified in the bill, and enlarged by our amendment, for the collecting and finally paying in the said sum of £ 39,000 may be further enlarged and thereby tend to the greater ease of the tax- ables of the State, we shall have no objection to such a proposi- tion. As to the mode of collecting and after accounting for the receipt and payment of those quotas in each County, as proposed in our 11th, 12th and 14th amendments to the said bill, we are decidedly of opinion, that it ought to be adopted, and therefore adhere to those amendments. The barely stating the two differ- ent modes proposed by the respective Houses, will perhaps tend to throw light on the question, which of the two is the most eli- gible : The one in the original bill is a collection to be made by twenty-four persons in the three Counties, ten, nine, and five of which number are respectively to account with and pay to three more persons, one in each County, viz : the Treasurers thereof, and they after to account and pay to the State Treasurer, and he finally to a committee of the General Assembly ; so that the persons in the receipt and management of this public tax account with one another, except the State Treasurer. As we cannot consider the accounting of the County Treasurer with the Levy Court, or their committee, in any degree either proper or satis- factory, no report, return or certificate thereof being to be made to the General Assembly, who ought to be perfectly and min- utely informed of the monies drawn from their constituents for public purposes in every stage of receipt and payment ; and further, that none of the first twenty-seven persons are of the nomination or appointment of the representative body, which directs the raising and applying of the State tax ; so that let the choice of any of them be ever so improper, or they be totally unfit for such duties, the General Assembly must adopt them with all their imperfections, and solely rely on a circuitous rem- edy on the bonds to be given for the performance of their duties ; with this, that there must be twenty-four accountings, such as they are to be, more under the bill than under the proposed amendments ; for that by the amendments one collector for each County appointed by the General Assembly, and in case of dis- ability or removal, after by a session of Justices in each County, makes the whole collection of the quota of his County, and pays over the respective portions of such quota immediately into the State Treasury at the times limited for such payment, and in. seven weeks after his first payment, and in one month after his second payment, he is to adjust and settle, in the office of the
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Auditor of Accounts, for the amount of each portion, with an allowance of three per cent. The balance of the first portion is to be carried into his second account, and its balance paid to the State Treasurer in about seven weeks after settlement thereof, and in case of failure, chargeable with an interest of ten per cent. till paid.
By this mode, proposed by the Council, the collection is made by three, the accounting for, receipt and payment into the State Treasury by the same three, and that accounting is with the immediate officer of the General Assembly, the Auditor of Ac- counts, whose situation is to be at Dover, nearly central as to the State, and the place of meeting of the General Assembly, where each member of the legislative and executive powers of the State may resort, and at a single view discover a state of such receipt and payment. And further, as to the accounting by the State Treasurer, the provisions in the amendments by Council are, that he shall once in three months transmit into the Audi- tor's office an exact state as well of all the monies by him received, with the names of the persons by whom paid, and the time of payment, as of the monies by him paid, to whom, on what ac- count or order, and the time when ; and at the expiration of each year appear in the said office and lay his general account before the Auditor, who is to adjust the same. After this just representation of the two modes, the Council cannot suppose it necessary to urge any arguments further, tending to shew that the first mode of collection and account, as proposed by the original bill, is a complex one, requiring so many things to be done to complete it or compel its due execution ; or that the latter mode proposed in the amendments by the Council is a plain and simple one, wherein the conduct and acts of three per- sons, chosen specially for the service, are necessarily inquirable into, until the monies are got into the Treasury of the State ; and this may be known to and viewed by the representatives of the people whenever they meet in General Assembly. The first mode, it is true, hath been several years in use, but the best ex- cuse for its existence is either inattention or want of a more satis- factory simple plan being struck out and offered to view ; its defects were always apparent, and a competant remedy not ex- hibited to supply its place till now. It may be said that the term competent is here used rather prematurely, for that trial and experience alone can justify the term, but as the usefulness and success of the single collection don't admit of a doubt, in
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the opinion of the Council, they venture to use the expression ; sure they are, that pursuing the old plan of collection and ac- count they will only increase that chaos of unaccounted for public grants of monies and supplies, that it will become exceedingly difficult, if not impracticable, to reduce it to form, and give their constituents an opportunity of knowing what hath been the dis- position and application of all that has been drawn from them by way of tax for several years past : none of which yearly grants, in the knowledge of the Council, have been yet regularly or in- telligibly accounted for. The Council request that your honor- able House will please to take these their reasons for dissenting from you in opinion as to the Tax Bill sent from your House, and for their adhering to their amendments, into your considera- tion ; and be assured that the Council consider those amendments so important and necessary, on behalf of the people both Houses represent, that until reasons, operating more powerfully than those before enumerated, (though not all that had been suggested in Council), shall be offered to Council, they must retain their opinion in favour of their amendments.
Adjourned till 3 o'clock, P. M.
EODEM DIE, P. M.
The Council met.
Mr. Waples, a member of Assembly, attending, was admitted and returned the bill for auditing and arranging the accounts of this State, &c., with the first amendments proposed thereto by the House of Assembly generally agreed to by the Council ; the additional amendments proposed to the said bill, and amend- ments by the Council generally disagreed to by the House of Assembly, together with a further amendment proposed by the House of Assembly to the said additional amendments of the Council.
The same member also delivered a letter from Major William Polk, dated this day, together with a resolution of the House of
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Assembly for referring Major Polk's accounts to William Killen and Thomas Rodney, Esquires.
The same member also delivered a resolution for making pro- vision for the subsistence of the Delaware Regiments.
The same member also delivered a resolution of the House of Assembly for the appointment of a committee to wait on Mr. Vandyke to desire his answer as to his acceptance of the office of President.
The Council now took into consideration the bill for audit- ing and arranging the accounts of this State, with the several amendments proposed thereto by the House of Assembly, and the Council adhered to their 5th amendment, which was dis- agreed to by the House of Assembly, and disagreed to the fur- ther amendments proposed by the House of Assembly to the said 5th amendment of the Council, and adhered to the Ist, 2d and 4th of their additional amendments to the said bill, and therefore the following message, stating the reasons of such adherence, was drawn up, read and agreed to, and ordered to be transcribed :
Gentlemen :
The bill for auditing and arranging the accounts of this State, &c., with the respective amendments proposed by both Houses, as well to the bill as it originally stood as the subsequent amend- ments, have been taken up and duly considered by the Council, and they find themselves bound by opinion, and duty to their con- stituents, still to reject the fifth amendment proposed by your honorable House in your first paper, restricting the Auditor of Accounts from liquidating and settling any claims against the State for services performed, monies advanced or articles furnish- ed by order of the legislative or executive power for the use of the State, or for any other purpose, before the first day of March next ; and also to reject the additional amendment contained in the third paper, seemingly intended to enlarge the restriction oc- casioned by the fifth amendment, by permitting the Auditor's duty to extend to accounts for such articles and things prior to the first of March, not already exhibited to the General Assem- bly, and for which the laws of this State have directed no parti- cular mode of settlement.
When the Council framed this bill, among the many objects of
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public utility they had in view, the first was, to relieve the two Houses of the General Assembly from that embarrassment they were then under with the very many accounts, that had been exhibited for years past, and dispersed among their severel files of papers.
The disinclination of the respective members of both Houses to accept of a place on the Committee of Accounts, the time that had been spent in the present session, and the little progress made in that business, with the great interruption given to the other general and more peculiar business of the General Assem- bly, convinced the Council of the necessity of immediately pro- viding and adopting a mode, better calculated for a more exact and speedy settlement of all public accounts whatsoever ; and after, for the regular entry and state of the allowances, or bal- ances found, by some person well skilled in the arranging and stating of accounts in mercantile and intelligible form ; whichi entry, subsequent to settlement, hath been always omitted here- tofore, and the State left open to second, third or more charges for the same articles, and no other chance of detecting the im- position but the recollection, perhaps, of an individual member, unless the old bundles of accounts of preceding years were mi- nutely examined. The Council therefore, on the first appearance of your fifth amendment, agreed to reject it, as it tended to defeat the first object of their bill, that of immediately transferring the liquidation and settlement of all public accounts from the General Assembly to the Auditor, whose daily expense for such service would not be the thirtieth part of the sum that the two House's were then sitting at, and but small progress made in the busi- ness -- ten days expense of the present General Assembly being equal to a full years allowance for the service of the Auditor. And upon the same grounds the Council disagreed to the further amendment in the third paper, as it tended to retain all the ac- counts already exhibited, and almost every one that could or would be exhibited, for matters or things prior to the first of March. This the Council considered as not remedying the griev- ance, either as to the State expense, or that of the accountants- two only of whom had been in waiting in the present session, and one for five and the other for more than ten days before their ac- counts could be examined, reported and determined upon. The Council also considered the last part of the said additional amend- ment as exempting every public debtor or accountant from the Auditor's settlement and bringing them before the General As-
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