Temporary Expense.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
Office of Finance, March 17th, 1784.
Sir,
Permit me, through your Excellency, to call the attention of the United States to the situation of my department. During the last year, engagements were made to a very considerable amount for payment of the army. This payment was effected by notes which fell due the end of last year, and the commencement of this. The funds at my disposal were unequal to the discharge of them. I was, therefore, under the necessity of drawing bills on the credit of the loan in Holland. The information I had received from the gentlemen who had the management of it, gave me hopes that funds sufficient to discharge those bills were in their hands; for in the months of April, May, June and July, they had received and distributed obligations for one million one hundred and thirtysix thousand florins. But from causes, which will readily suggest themselves to Congress, that loan, which had taken a rapid start at the peace, began to decline in August and stood still during all November. It has happened, therefore, that bills to the amount of one million three hundred and twentyfive thousand florins, equal at the current exchange to five hundred and thirty thousand dollars, are protested for non-acceptance. Should they come back protested for non-payment, the consequences will be easily imagined.
For about a month past I have been in the expectation, that this disagreeable event would happen, and whether it will or not is yet undetermined. My last advices from the gentlemen who have the management of the loan are in a letter of the 22d of December; by which they tell me, "we are sorry to be obliged to repeat, that since our last till the present moment, our prospects are not very much increased; however, we are not quite without hopes, and have determined, if we cannot do otherwise, to sacrifice some more premium to the undertakers, which if we do, we will charge to the account of the United States. We think ourselves fully authorised to do this by the circumstances; since without the bills going back, it is certain that, besides the disappointment and the discredit it would give to the government bills, the expenses attending the returns will be much more burdensome. We have almost no prospect of getting the money without such a sacrifice, and only hope it will answer your views." Enclosed you have the account current with those gentlemen, as sketched out by the register for information; by which it appears, that they had in their hands a balance of three hundred and fortyseven thousand seven hundred and seventy current guilders on the 31st of October last, and by the subordinate account, number five, it will appear, that my bills exceed that balance by one million five hundred and thirteen thousand two hundred and twentynine florins; but from this a deduction is to be made for some tobacco shipped to them, the account of sales whereof is not yet come to hand. They have, however, accepted of my bills beyond the amount of their funds, and still there are to the value of one million three hundred and twentyfive thousand florins protested for non-acceptance. In order, however, that Congress may possess as full a view of things as possible, I will suppose, for the present, that by making a sacrifice of premium the funds for discharging these bills may be obtained. I must also mention here, to obviate what might be suggested, that the remittances to Messrs Le Couteulx and Mr Grand will be found accounted for in their accounts, but time will not permit going into all those details at present.
| Supposing then the funds to be obtained for payment | |
| of these bills, the interest falling due the beginning of | |
| June next, will amount to two hundred thousand florins, | |
| equal at the current exchange to | $80,000 |
| By the enclosed state of payments | |
| just received from Mr Grand it will | |
| appear, that on the 5th of November, | |
| there is payable at his House | |
| the sum of one million six hundred | |
| thousand livres, equal at the current | |
| exchange to | 320,000 |
| ——— | |
| $400,000 |