Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. 1 (of 16)

by United States. Congress

Tuesday, January 10.

A memorial of George Turner, one of the Judges in and over the territory of the United States north-west of the Ohio, was presented to the House and read, praying a revision of the ordinance for the government of the said territory, and also an increase of compensation to the Judges thereof. Referred to Mr. Livermore, Mr. Laurance, Mr. White, Mr. Williamson, and Mr. Smith, (of South Carolina); that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House.

On a motion made and seconded,

"That the Secretary of War be instructed to lay before this House an accurate statement of all ascertained balances of pay, which appear by the books of the United States to be due to the officers and soldiers of the late Army of the United States, and which still remain either unclaimed, or claimed and unpaid, together with the reasons for withholding payment from those who may have respectively entered claims therefor;"

Ordered, That the said motion be referred to Mr. Wadsworth, Mr. Giles, and Mr. Smith, (of New Hampshire;) that they do examine the matter thereof, and report the same, with their opinion thereupon, to the House.

The House proceeded to fill up the remaining blanks in the bill to establish the Post Office and Post Roads of the United States; which was then read a third time and passed.

Petition of Catharine Greene.

The House resolved itself into a Committee of the whole House, on the Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the petition of Catharine Greene, relict of the late General Greene.

The object of the petition is to obtain an indemnification from the United States against certain engagements which were entered into by her husband, the deceased Major General Nathaniel Greene, while commanding officer in the Southern department; and for the circumstances on which it is founded, refers to a representation of the 22d August, 1785, which was then made by the said General Greene to Congress.

The petition is accompanied by a number of vouchers, arranged in alphabetical order by the Secretary of the Treasury in his Report; from all which he draws the following conclusion:

"That strong and extraordinary motives of national gratitude for the very signal and important services rendered by General Greene to his country, must serve to give a keener sting to the regret, which ought ever to attend the necessity of a strict adherence to claims of public policy, in opposition to claims founded on useful acts of zeal for the public service, if no means of protecting from indigence and penury the family of that most meritorious officer shall, upon examination, be found admissible."

Mr. Wayne rose and gave his reasons for supporting the petition, as follows:

Mr. Chairman: It may not be improper to mention the motives that impel me to wish a fortunate issue to the claim now under consideration of this committee, which I must also offer as an apology for the part I have taken, or that I may eventually take, in support of the claim. From my first interview with General Greene until the moment of his dissolution, we always lived in the strictest habits of friendship and confidence. He was an officer with whom I had participated in almost every vicissitude of fortune, (in many a well-tried field,) from the frozen waters of the North to the burning sands of the South. He was a man whose virtues and talents I knew and revered; his noble soul would have revolted at the idea of imposition. He never would have offered in a claim to Congress, but upon the purest principles of honor and justice. I was a witness to the pressing necessity that compelled him to become the surety, for which indemnity is now claimed. He did what I would have done, (as second in command,) had he been absent at that trying crisis. The claim I know to be just, and I am decidedly of opinion that he was drawn into that security from the situation in which he was placed by Congress, as Commander-in chief of the Southern Department. Under these impressions, I beg leave to submit to the consideration of this committee the resolutions now in my hand, and doubt not of their concurrent support.

"Resolved, as the opinion of this Committee, That the estate of the late Major General Nathaniel Greene ought to be indemnified for and on account of the engagements entered into by that General with certain persons in the State of South Carolina, for the purpose of obtaining supplies for the American Army, in the year 1783, and that —— be granted to the Executors of the estate of the late Major General Nathaniel Greene, for that purpose.

"Resolved, That a committee be appointed to bring in a bill in conformity to the foregoing resolution."

Mr. Boudinot said, there was no greater friend to the memory of General Greene than he was, nor any person more anxious to have justice done to his widow and family; but he was apprehensive that the resolution proposed by the worthy gentleman who had first brought forward this subject was not drawn up in such a manner as to ensure it a passage through both Houses of Congress. He wished, therefore, that it should be so expressed as to prevent any tedious discussion, and at the same time do ample justice. The Report of the Secretary of the Treasury puts the subject on the best footing. The motives which led him to make the contract were, first, the public good; and perhaps, secondly, to serve his friend, Mr. Burnett, because he was his aide-de-camp, and he wished to put him in the way of being established in business after the war; but Mr. Burnett was never in any other way connected with General Greene than as a young man brought up in the family, whom he wished to patronize.

After a few other observations, Mr. Boudinot moved to strike out the preamble of the resolution proposed by Mr. Wayne, and to adopt words nearly in substance as follows:

"Resolved, That it is becoming the dignity of Congress to make compensation for the widow and orphans of the late Major General Greene, who so gloriously served his country; and that they be indemnified for the loss which his estate is likely to sustain by his having entered into certain bonds for supplying the Southern army with rations and clothing, at a time when they were threatening to disperse."

Mr. Findlay observed, that on the question as it is now stated, the committee have a choice of three alternatives; the claim may be rejected, a pension or gratuity may be granted to the amount, or the claim of the petition may be granted as a matter of right, upon the footing of its own merits by a special law, as all authorized claims which Congress grant are given. Claims for which the standing laws are competent, do not come before us. I am in favor of the last alternative. I am against rejecting the petition; because, as the facts are stated in the Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, General Greene putting himself in this situation of risk was from the most public-spirited motive; it was to support the public interest at a most important crisis, when the well-being, if not the existence of the Southern army was at stake, as well as the security of the inhabitants. If a commander-in-chief of an army may be ruined in his private affairs by making an unauthorized exertion to save his army or his country, the precedent may be dangerous; it may teach commanders lessons of prudence, which may have ruinous effects. It is true the necessity of the case must be such as will justify the unauthorized measure: from the Report, this appears to have been the case in the subject of the present debate. From the whole state of the facts before us, General Greene appears not to have had his own interest in view in this transaction, if the proof of this only lay between Banks and him. The established character of General Greene, not only as an officer, but as a man of integrity and public spirit, certainly cannot sink when laid in the balance with the secret insinuation of an unprincipled speculator. Such has been my own opinion of General Greene's character, that I would certainly require other proofs than this before I would even indulge suspicions: but it does not rest upon this. We have Banks's own testimony to the contrary, and his partner, and we know it would have been the interest of Banks & Co. to have made the contrary appear: nay, we have such a cloud of witnesses, all concurring to the same point, as appears sufficient to remove doubts from the most scrupulous mind. Unauthorized accounts are admitted in settlements between the United States and the individual States, upon the principles of equity. I consider this as a case of the same nature, and will vote for it agreeably to this precedent. I consider granting the prayer of the petition in this manner, as an act of justice, not only to his estate, but to the memory of his character. But I object to granting the relief in the indirect way of a pension; it is not so safe to the public, nor so honorable to the heirs of General Greene. To the public it is highly dangerous as a precedent; it will operate as an opening wedge to other claims without limitation. Few indeed can have an unauthorized though just claim as commanders-in-chief of an army reduced to such a dilemma as originated the present question; but merit and distress are not confined to commanders alone; they are to be found in every rank of citizens. The struggles during the late revolution produced abundance of merit; we cannot look around in this House, nor in any large collection of citizens, but our eye meets with those who have claims of merit. We can scarcely be acquainted in any neighborhood, but we must be acquainted with such as have been reduced to distress by their meritorious exertions, either in the camp, in the cabinet, or by granting supplies. How many who have aided the public with their substance, have been obliged to part with the evidences of their meritorious claims for a temporary relief. Many of the aged, many widows and orphans, to my knowledge, labor in penury, and mourn in secret, on the account of such meritorious aids not being recompensed when they ought to have been; though this was owing to the public misfortune, yet the merit and sufferings were not the less. I am very sensible of the great merit of General Greene; it is so well known, and so generally acknowledged, on all hands, as to render it improper for me to enlarge thereon. But, superior as his merit was, if we grant a pension or relief not founded on a just claim, merit of a lower order must be also admitted: there is no distinguishing the shades. I have heard of claims on the footing of merit brought before Congress, supported by such arguments as would induce a stranger to think that nearly all the merit of accomplishing the revolution was centred in the claimant. If merit is to be rewarded by pensions, we shall soon have claimants in abundance. In the exercise of supreme command, difficulties often arise which render exertions necessary for which general rules cannot be provided; these have been generally treated as objects of indemnification. Many claims are now before Congress; they are various in their nature, and no doubt a number of them will be admitted; but from every view I have taken of the claim before us, I think the present as strongly addresses our justice and sympathy as any of them.

Mr. Wayne thought it necessary to make some observations on what had fallen from the gentleman on his right, (Mr. Boudinot.) In order to place this subject in a proper point of view, he begged leave to mention certain circumstances previous to the evacuation of Charleston. Some of the first characters in South Carolina obtained a flag from General Greene, to meet a deputation of merchants and others under a flag from the British lines. Those merchants were anxious to remain after the army, for the purpose of disposing of their stock in trade, and wished for a reasonable time to transact that business; this indulgence was readily granted, for it was thought an object of consequence to retain supplies for the use of the country as well as for the army; and they were permitted to continue in the place for the space of twelve months after the abandonment should take effect. Assurances were also given them for the inviolable protection of their persons and property for that period. Thus sanctioned, they were probably induced to speculate upon such stores as the British army could spare, (for that army was redundantly supplied,) whilst the Americans were experiencing almost every possible distress for want of the common necessaries of life. About this time hopes were entertained of the speedy appearance of a superior marine force from the French West Indies, to that of the British; and the operating army under my command was advanced to the quarter-house, in a position to prevent the enemy from embarking with impunity, and to protect the town and its inhabitants from depredation and insult. This manœuvre had the desired effect; it created a jealousy in the British General for the safety of his rear, and General Leslie was, in a manner, compelled to come into a convention, more resembling a capitulation than an abandonment, for he was under the necessity to "agree not to commit any insult upon the inhabitants, or depredation upon their property, or damage to the city, at or after his embarkation." The word after caused some demur; but it was insisted upon and complied with, in consequence of the orders I had previously received from General Greene; a measure which at once afforded security to the inhabitants, and a flattering prospect of full supplies, as well for the citizens as for the army.

The gentleman (Mr. Boudinot) says—How are we to distinguish between the articles and necessaries that were actually made use of by the army, and of the other goods purchased of the British merchants? This may be fully answered and explained by mentioning this fact: that those merchants took advantage of their situation, and would not dispose of any article suitable for the army unless their whole stock were purchased together; having but twelve months to dispose of their goods and collect their debts. Nor could the necessary articles be obtained at the point of the bayonet, as the merchants were protected by a compact made under the sanction of a flag. Nor would they trust the contractor Banks with their property, unless General Greene became his security; by which act, in their opinion, the United States would be bound in honor to fulfil a contract made by their commanding officer; nor did General Greene come into the measure until compelled by dire necessity, to prevent a mutiny and dissolution of the army. And such was the exhausted situation of the country in the vicinity of Charleston, that the Executive and the Legislature found it expedient to send a distance into the country to obtain supplies for themselves and the refugee families who were returning to the city after the evacuation: in fact, we were under the necessity of taking part of these very provisions, to prevent an instantaneous revolt.

But the gentleman (Mr. Boudinot) says that General Greene's private friendship for Major Burnett, who had been his aide-de-camp, was a peculiar inducement for his entering into that security, and that Major Burnett had mortgaged an island to General Greene as a collateral security. This, indeed, was an act of private friendship; but it was a subsequent transaction, and noways connected with the former, nor is it amongst the charges. This was a private purchase by Major Burnett from Mr. John M'Queen, a gentleman well known in South Carolina; and it was thought to be a very advantageous purchase for Major Burnett at the time it was made, (although it has turned out otherwise,) but it was necessary for him to obtain security, previous to receiving titles. He applied to General Greene to become his security upon that occasion, which was complied with; and in that act he certainly displayed a superior degree of private friendship, and such as has already been found extremely injurious to his family; but it is by no means connected with the claim now under consideration.

The danger of establishing a precedent in future, unsupported by previous authority obtained from Congress, is also mentioned as an objection. Mr. Chairman, there never can be any danger of drawing this circumstance into precedent; for the page of history never did before, nor I believe ever will again, produce a similar precedent, i. e. an army facing and surmounting every difficulty and danger through a long and bloody contest, badly clothed and worse paid, and frequently destitute of the common necessaries of life. Sir, it is for the honor of General Greene that we contend; and I am warranted in asserting, that he was not interested in the contract of Mr. Banks, otherwise than from the pure and virtuous motives of serving and saving his country. I therefore feel myself interested, and bound in honor to support and defend the character of my departed friend, and to demand this claim as a matter of right, and not of grace; and I have a confidence that the candor and justice of this committee will induce them to adopt the principles of the resolutions submitted to their consideration.

Mr. Sumter.—With respect to the resolution as it now stands, I feel myself obliged to oppose it. Nothing that has fallen from the gentleman over the way (Mr. Wayne) has convinced me that the measure is proper or just. It is necessary to be cautious in the manner of discussing a matter of so much delicacy. I rise, not to make any pointed objections that can in any degree injure the reputation of the officer, whose abilities I respect, or to hurt the feelings of his family or connections. I suppose that no gentleman will decide in favor of the resolution without examining the merits of the case. The committee will have that information which they shall deem to be requisite on the occasion. I am sorry to differ in opinion with the gentleman from Georgia, and am therefore disposed to make sacrifices of my own feelings of past injuries, and will not suffer them to warp my judgment, but will endeavor to decide in conformity with the opinions of the people of the State of South Carolina, and in particular of the district which I have the honor to represent. In going into the investigation of this matter, I will give my reasons why I do not think the country, although in extreme distress, was in that deplorable situation which has been represented; neither was its credit reduced so low but that relief might have been obtained, and that so small an army might have been accommodated, had a proper application been made in time to the Government. The gentleman must therefore be mistaken in stating those circumstances; for if the proper documents be examined, it will appear that the army received very ample supplies from the same source, some months previous to the contract made by Mr. Banks, which must have been in November, or early in December, and previous to the evacuation of Charleston. Whether it was better to adopt the means used by General Greene, or those within the power of the Government, I shall not pretend to determine; but I have no doubt that the Government possessed both the means and the inclination to find supplies. The contract was first made by Banks in November or December, and General Greene did not become the guarantee until the April following; whether there were any reasons for preferring this mode to that of an application to Government, will perhaps appear in the course of the investigation.

Mr. Chairman, this contract has been considered to have operated rather as a misfortune, although it may have afforded a temporary relief; it was the occasion of much complaint, vexation, and distrust, rather than of conciliation; and that this discontent ran through the army is within the knowledge of several officers whose names could be mentioned. It is therefore necessary to bring the matter into the full view of the committee, and to have recourse to the files of the public offices, before we agree to the resolution on the table. At the same time, it is my sincere wish to render justice to the family of the deceased in every reasonable accommodation; but it does not appear to me that the family is reduced to that disagreeable situation which has been represented. The large grants that have been made by the States of Georgia, North and South Carolina, are still in the possession of the heirs of the deceased, and I have been informed that a gentleman offered $30,000 for that granted by North Carolina, so late as last summer; neither have I heard that any distress has been levied upon any of these estates, or that they are so much affected, in reality, but that the claims made against them are rather of a nominal and visionary nature. But admitting that General Greene was security for the United States, and that the operation had been beneficial, (which I deny;) does it appear that executions have been levied to any considerable amount, or to such an extent as to justify the present application? To me it does not appear this has been the case, neither do I believe that the estate has been reduced in the manner represented; and, whilst I say it, I honestly and sincerely hope it; under which impression, I can never accede to the resolution on the table.

Mr. Wadsworth.—The gentleman last up has said many things to me utterly unintelligible, and others which directly militate with what has been said by the gentleman from Georgia. He has, however, declared that no real or supposed personal injury shall influence him in giving his opinion or vote. I hope, sir, he will not now feel or resent those real or supposed injuries. I do believe they are not real; and from my long and intimate acquaintance with General Greene, I had good opportunity to know him; a better man I never did know. That he had enemies is not to be wondered at; the nature of his command to the southward was important, critical, and difficult, and he might be constrained to do things that necessity only would justify. If he has injured any man, he has atoned for it; neither the tongue nor pen of malice have been able to affix a stigma on his character. If I ever knew a man whose heart was pure and without guile, it was General Greene. Yet he had enemies; no man deserved them so little. More honest fame is due to no man. And if his fortune is to be sacrificed, and his family beggared, it is a consolation that his good name will last for ever. Being one of his executors, I know something of his affairs; but it was with reluctance I rose, as my attachments to him and concern for his family render it extremely difficult for me to enter on the subject. The gentleman from South Carolina has told us he is acquainted with the affairs of the estates in the Carolinas, and has said they are without any executions against them, the bonds on good credit, and the family in no danger of poverty, &c. I can hardly allow, sir, that he is acquainted with the affairs of General Greene, even in South Carolina and Georgia; but if he is, I will ask him if he does not know that all the negroes from the South Carolina estate are sold, and that the land is totally unproductive? that Mr. Rutledge has prevented executions from taking the Georgia estate by his personal interference? that all the estates in Rhode Island and New Jersey are sold? and that the hope of the justice we now ask for has delayed the sale of all the rest, to satisfy his creditors—his Southern creditors?

The proofs and documents alluded to by the gentleman (Mr. Sumter) have been before Congress for several years, and the friends and executors of General Greene have challenged his enemies, in every part of the Union, to disprove them; and I hope no delay will now take place. The subject is fully before Congress. I hope justice will be done to the widow and orphans of the late General Greene, and that the investigation will now be finished, his honest fame vindicated and established, and his family saved from the ruin that awaits them.

Mr. Hartley, in support of Mr. Wayne's motion, observed, that he had paid some attention to the report and the documents referred to in it, as well as the objections made to the resolutions under consideration. Many of the objections, said he, have been answered by gentlemen who were nearer to the scene of action than myself; I shall strive to obviate others. The mode of conducting our affairs in South Carolina does not seem to have been agreeable to the gentleman opposite to me from that State, (Mr. Sumter,) and he expresses his high disapprobation of many parts of it. When I disagree with that gentleman, I do it with great reluctance; for no one on this floor has a greater respect for him than myself. In a hazardous and difficult situation, or in carrying on war, or even in great political questions, the best friends may differ in the mode of conducting them; and it has too frequently happened, that such difference has tended to lessen the friendship which formerly existed. Upon the whole, our arms to the southward were crowned with success; we must presume the means generally used were right. If supplies could have been furnished by the State of South Carolina, it is a pity they were not granted. I say, it is possible General Greene might have pursued a different mode to obtain clothing and provisions. He did not. He was of opinion no other plans could have been successfully followed but those which were adopted. The idea of his being a partner with Banks & Co., seems to be given up by the opposition. The mere insinuation of Mr. Banks and some others can have no influence against such a cloud of evidence and documents. These are so strong for the General, that they would work conviction on the greatest infidel. I shall barely advert to a part of them, as mentioned in the report, and on this head give a few observations of my own. And, first, the application to the Legislature of South Carolina, in order to create a competition: Had he been concerned as a partner, or intended to be so, no competition through that channel would have been proposed. If he was to be a partner, the more secret the transaction, the higher the advantage. The bond of indemnity to General Greene, oaths of Banks and Hunter, certificate from Major Forsyth, Nathaniel Pendleton's oath, Charles C. Pinckney's oath, (now Governor of South Carolina,) and the certificates of the two Chancellors of South Carolina, who were both high in the Executive, when these transactions should have happened. Besides, sir, if we consider how many partners there were concerned with Banks in the different transactions, had General Greene been one of the company, it must long since have been manifested to the world. The secret could not have been kept; nor can we possibly think that General Greene, who was undoubtedly a man of understanding, would have expressed himself in the manner he has done, in the close of his letter from Newport, dated the 24th of August, 1785, had he been a partner. He says there, "Thus have I given your Excellency a short narration of the origin and situation of this matter, and have only to add on this subject, that I never held any commercial connection with the company, other than what concerned the public, either directly or indirectly, or ever received one farthing profit or emolument, or the promise of any one from them; and my bond of indemnity expressly declares that I have no interest, connection, or concern, in the debts for which I became bound, all which I am willing to verify on oath." Would he have pledged his honor, his reputation, had he been interested? No, it is impossible! He would have been silent had he been a culprit, and not have challenged the world, as the power of detection would have laid with so many, and the shaft of envy always ready. I hope every man must be satisfied that the General was no partner.

The great points of contest before the committee seem now to be—

1st. Did the General enter into these engagements out of personal regard to individuals, without a view to the public interest?

2dly. Was not the good of the public his principal object?

3dly. Under all circumstances, should not his estate be indemnified?

As to the first, I cannot think that the General, out of mere personal regard to individuals, without a view to the public good, would have been bail. He had been esteemed a man of prudence, and was not a person of large fortune. How would he embarrass his family and property in such engagements? Who, under mere motives of friendship, would have done so? The sum was too large; he had no interest. He got no goods or money for himself. He might have had a favorable opinion of some of the company, but his responsibility was become necessary with a view to the public good.

As to the second, public good must have been his principal object. The contracts before made would not have been carried into execution, without the aid of the contract, for which the indemnity was made in April, 1783. A great many articles were absolutely necessary to the army; they were connected with others; the necessaries could not at that critical period, or for the moment, be obtained elsewhere. The merchants, as I understand, insisted upon two conditions before they would deliver the goods: 1st, that all the goods should go together; 2d, that the commanding officer should become security. There was a necessity for an additional capital to furnish the means for supporting the army; and as most of the goods were useful and necessary, the residue might be disposed of to the best advantage, and the money arising from them be applied to the payment of the debt. Public necessity and the state of things would oblige the General to agree to the first condition. The compliance with the second condition became a necessary consequence. The General's letter from Newport, and General Wayne's oath, Nathaniel Pendleton's oath, and other evidence, prove the situation of the army. As to the third point, should not his estate be indemnified? Through his zeal for the public good, he has unfortunately involved his estate in difficulty. Whatever the conduct of the company might be, the creditors were not to be affected either by the fraud or failure of Banks and the purchasers. General Greene was liable. The General, when he hears of misconduct, does all he can to save and indemnify himself, and through him the United States. Securities were taken in as ample a manner as they could he obtained from the delinquents; and General Greene never wished to call upon the public, until every other means failed. So late as the year 1785 he had still hopes there would be no loss; but when he found the danger, a sense of duty obliged him to come forward to save himself and family, to ask the protection of the public to indemnify him from a debt that he had contracted to save an army from mutiny and disbanding; to protect a country which otherwise would have been exposed. Many exertions had he to make to feed the hungry and cover the naked; were not these for the public good, and shall his private property suffer? Shall his family be reduced to beggary, be stripped of their all, to discharge what the United States are in honor and in justice bound to pay?

Retrospective laws, to affect rights attacked, ought never to pass; but laws have frequently been enacted to indemnify persons for a conduct, though not strictly legal, yet founded on the special circumstances of the case—the safety or honor of a nation or army, where the constitutional authority could not come forward in time. Such was the treaty or system formed by the Duke of Marlborough and the great De Witt. The Dutch, instead of punishing their minister, approved the measure; it eventually tended to the safety and honor of the allies. The individual who undertakes risks for his country's good, a magnanimous Government will always sanctify. We should consider the case upon substantial principles, not according to the letter, not act as the Lacedæmonians did to one of their leaders; they fined him for the infringement of the letter of the law, yet for the same act rewarded the hero with a garland. The fine here ruins the General's estate, and the garland alone, I fear, in this country, will not give his children bread or a becoming education.

In our late contest, the common maxims of old nations could not always be adhered to. We were obliged to act according to emergencies. In the case of General Greene, he seems to have intended for the best. He helped to serve and save a country. His merit stands high indeed. I need not repeat the number of his great and glorious actions, which mark him the General and the hero. His name will be handed down with honor to succeeding ages.

Under all circumstances, I think his estate should be indemnified. If the committee do not like the whole of the resolution, let there be a division, as proposed by one of the gentlemen from South Carolina; though I should think we might safely vote for the whole of the resolution, and let the bill make any other provisions which it may be thought necessary.

Mr. Lee, Mr. Barnwell, Mr. Wayne, and Mr. Bourne, R. I., spoke in favor of agreeing to the resolutions, and Mr. Macon and Mr. Sturges against the motion. Mr. Sumter closed the debate in sundry remarks on extracts from letters wrote by General Greene during the late war, inserted in Gordon's History of the American Revolution, which extracts contain unfavorable reflections on the militia of South Carolina, and the patriotism of the inhabitants of that State. These reflections, Mr. Sumter said, were gross calumnies on, and misrepresentations of the character of that people, which he said were invalidated by facts that at that time took place, and by the general tenor of the conduct of South Carolina throughout the whole course of the war.

Monday, January 23.

Petition of Catharine Greene.

The order of the day being called for, on the report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the petition of Catharine Greene, several members objected to taking up this subject, being of a private nature, while matters of the greatest public importance demand the immediate attention of Congress. The question being taken, the motion for going into Committee of the Whole was carried, 21 to 16; and Mr. Livermore took the chair.

After considerable debate, the question was put for agreeing to the first resolution, in the following words:

Resolved, as the opinion of this committee, That the estate of the late Major General Greene ought to be indemnified for the engagements entered into by that General, with certain persons in the State of South Carolina, for the purpose of obtaining supplies for the Army of the United States, under his command, in the year 1783.

Which was negatived, 28 to 25.

The committee then rose, and the Chairman reported that the Committee of the whole House had had under consideration a report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the petition of Catharine Greene, and had come to no resolution thereon.

Mr. Macon then moved that the Committee of the Whole should be discharged from any further proceedings on the subject; which motion was agreed to.

Mr. Bourne then laid on the table a resolution for referring the Secretary's Report, together with Mrs. Greene's petition, and the vouchers accompanying it, to a select committee, with instruction to inquire into the facts which rendered it necessary for General Greene to become security to Banks & Co., and the nature, circumstances, and amount of the original debt, and the obligation entered into by General Greene for payment thereof; with an account of the moneys or collateral security received by the obligees, or by General Greene in his lifetime, or his representatives since his death, in part thereof; and the eventual loss which his estate will sustain in consequence of the said securities; and after examining all the circumstances and such further evidence as may be offered relative to the transaction, to report their opinion thereon to the House.