Tuesday, January 2.
John Fowler, from the State of Kentucky, appeared and took his seat.
General Kosciusko.
Mr. Dawson moved the order of the day on the report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the claim of Gen. Kosciusko; which motion being acceded to, the House resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, Mr. Kittera in the chair, and the report having been read,
Mr. Dawson said, when he had the honor of presenting this business to the House, he hoped the proposition he then submitted would have been agreed to in that way, which, in his opinion, would have been most honorable to the United States, and most agreeable to the person concerned. In this hope he had been disappointed; but, though they differed as to the mode of doing the business, there was but one opinion as to the business itself. He had now a resolution to submit to the consideration of the House, which he trusted would meet with no opposition. It would be found, by the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, that the accounting officers were ready to pay to General Kosciusko $12,280 principal, and $2,947 interest, from 1785 to 1788. To recover those two sums, therefore, there would have been no occasion for application to that House. It also states, that a bill had been remitted to our Minister at London, for the interest from 1789 to 1792, but which money was afterwards, by direction of the General, ordered to be remitted to Leipsic or Dresden; but it did not appear that this order had been complied with. It was clear, however, it was never received by him, nor had he given any person a right to receive it. He hoped, therefore, as the money lay at Amsterdam, Leipsic or Dresden, and could at any time be got by the United States, there would be no objection to pay the General that sum at this time. It was further stated in the report, that in September, 1792, a notification was published, informing all the foreign officers that provision was made at the Treasury for the payment of the principal of their debts, and that the interest thereon would therefore cease after the last day of December in that year. Upon examination he did not find that this arrangement was founded upon any law; it was, therefore, a regulation agreed upon by the Treasury Department, and ought not to operate to the injury of persons who were ignorant of it. It was well known, that, from the peculiar situation of General Kosciusko at the time, that he could not hear of it; and the truth was, he never did hear of it until he arrived in this city. He hoped, therefore, there would be no objection to the payment of the amount of the certificates, with interest to the present time. To effect this purpose, he proposed the following resolution:
"Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, that the Secretary of the Treasury be authorized and directed to pay to General Kosciusko, the interest of six per cent. per annum, on $12,280 54, the amount of the certificate received by him from the United States, and now lost, from the 1st of January, 1789, to the 31st day of December, 1797."
This resolution was opposed by Messrs. Macon, Coit, and J. Williams. They were opposed to interest being paid up to the present time, and wished, if any provision were made for paying interest beyond the time fixed by the notification of the Treasury, that the regulation should be a general one, and extend to all other foreign officers. They were also against paying the interest, which had been transmitted to Paris for General Kosciusko's use, and which, by his direction, was afterwards remitted to Leipsic or Dresden, as it most probably lay there, and would be paid to his order without their interference.
The motion was advocated by Messrs. Venable, Pinckney, J. Parker, Harper, Gallatin, and T. Claiborne, and was finally agreed to without a division.