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 in our hearts a deep and solemn sense of our obligations for them; to teach us rightly to estimate their immense value; to preserve us from the wantonness of prosperity from jeopardizing the advantages we enjoy, by culpable or delusive projects; to dispose us to merit the continuance of His favors 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 them 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 ourselves, to the whole family of Mankind, that so men may be happy and God glorified throughout the earth. Done, &c.

WASHINGTON TO CONGRESS.

UNITED STATES, January 7, 1795.

Gentlemen of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives. Experience has shown that it would be useful to have an officer particularly charged, under the direction of the Department of War, with the duties of receiving, safe keeping, and distributing the public supplies, in all cases in which the laws and the course of service do not devolve them upon other officers; and also with that of superintending in all cases the issues in detail of supplies, with power, for that purpose, to bring to account all persons intrusted to make such issues, in relation thereto.

An establishment of this nature, by securing a regular and punctual accountability for the issues of public supplies, would be a great guard against abuse, would tend to insure their due application, and to give public satisfaction on that point.

I therefore recommend to the consideration of Congress, the expediency of an establishment of this nature, under such regulations as shall appear to them advisable.

G. WASHINGTON.

SIR:

HAMILTON TO WASHINGTON.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Jan. 12th, 1795.

For a considerable time past the Commissioner of Loans for New-York, has labored under a degree of bodily infirmity, little suited to the arduous duties of his station. A belief that his demise would speedily have terminated the embarrassment, united with other considerations, has hitherto prevented me from officially representing his situation to you, and the possible inconvenience to the public service from it. Hitherto nothing has materially suffered. But some new shocks of his complaint have added to his inability, and the disease being of the paralytic kind, there is no prospect of any considerable amendment.

Fearing that the public service may henceforth suffer, and unwilling to leave to my successor a disagreeable task, I feel it a duty, though with extreme regret and reluctance, to state to you that the officer in question is now incapable of doing justice to the duties of his station; that there is no prospect of his restora. tion to a competent condition, and that in my opinion it is indispensable he should be changed with all convenient dispatch. With perfect respect, &c.

HAMILTON TO WASHINGTON.

January 14th, 1795.

Mr. Hamilton presents his respects to the President. He has written the letter to Mr. Clarkson, which the President desired,

and which, if not countermanded, will go by post. But, in the course of writing it, the following reflection has pressed upon his mind with so much force that he thinks it his duty to submit it to the President.

Clarkson held the office of marshal, a troublesome and unprofitable place. He resigned it (as it is believed) in a short time. Giles has taken and kept it for a considerable time, and during a period when disagreeable things were to be done, no doubt looking forward to something better. Clarkson is a man of considerably better fortune, and smaller family than Giles. Giles is as capable and trustworthy as Clarkson. Will he not have some cause to be dissatisfied if he sees an opportunity of doing something for him turn to the benefit of his predecessor? No answer is expected unless the President should change his view of the subject.

CLARKSON TO HAMILTON.

NEW-YORK, January 19th, 1795.

MY DEAR SIR:

Your letter of the 15th instant met me last Saturday at this place on my return from Poughkeepsie. The offer of the office of Commissioner of Loans by the President of the United States, demands my warmest acknowledgments and meets my wishes

provided the appointment can be deferred until the 27th instant. To you, sir, I will detail my reasons for wishing a postponement of it till that period. Being a member of the legislature for this State, and the appointment of Senator of the United States being fixed by law to the 27th instant, I conceive it of the utmost importance that the gentleman who has so faithfully served his country in that station should be re-elected. The acceptance of the office previous to that day, would vacate my seat in the Senate, and I have reason to believe, as relative to that business, it is of consequence that I should remain in the legislature. Indeed, sir, I consider it of so much importance, that

however desirous I may be of the office which the President has thought proper to offer me, I must not hesitate to say that if a new appointment presses, so as to preclude the postponement of it to the period mentioned in my letter, I consider it my duty to sacrifice my own good to what I conceive for the good of my country, and to decline the appointment. In either case, sir, be pleased to tender my best acknowledgments to the President for this mark of his confidence, which, under his administration, is rendered peculiarly valuable; and accept for yourself the best wishes of one who, with real esteem, has the honor of being your obliged friend and very humble servant.

SIR:

HAMILTON TO WASHINGTON.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 21, 1795.

Pursuant to the 13th section of the act, entitled "An act making further provision for securing and collecting the duties on foreign and domestic distilled spirits, stills, wines, and teas," passed the 5th of June, 1794, the commissioner of the revenue, in consultation with me, has prepared a plan for additional compensations to the supervisors and other officers of inspection, and for compensations to such new officers of these descriptions as result from the laws, and as the experience which has been had of their operation is believed to recommend; which plan, thrown into the usual form of an act of the President, is now submitted to his consideration, with estimates of the resulting expense, which, it is not doubted, will be found within the limits of the laws.

This plan has been delayed longer than was desirable, by the necessity of previous information from the supervisors, and by an excess of occupation on the officers in this department, which unavoidably postpones the less to the more urgent objects of public business.

It may happen that the President, after considering the plan, may desire some further explanation. For this purpose, I will wait upon him on Monday next, 12 o'clock.

With perfect respect, &c.

GENTLEMEN:

HAMILTON TO WILLINK, ETC.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, January 25th, 1795.

I acknowledge the receipt of your letters of the first and twenty-sixth of September of the last year.

Remittances from this country to Amsterdam, at the present juncture, and with the anticipations here of your possible situation, are attended with unusual difficulty and embarrassment. After maturely considering all the modes which occurred to reflection, for effecting the payments of principal and interest on the first of June next, I have concluded on the following:

To purchase 500,000 dollars of 6 per cent. stock, to transfer them into your names, and to send them to our Minister Plenipotentiary in London, to wait your orders, to the end that you may cause them to be disposed of as, according to circumstances, shall appear to you advisable. Measures have been taken for this purpose. The numbers and particular amounts of the certificates of stock, are noted at foot. They will be forwarded in duplicates.

You will concert, with our Minister resident in Holland, the best mode of disposing of this stock; and if the market of London be preferable, you will forward there the necessary powers and directions for sale of so much as it shall be concluded to sell, according to eventual circumstances.

If the stock can be sold, so as to net par for principal and interest to the time of sale, this will be the most agreeable mode of proceeding. By par, I mean 40 current guilders at Amsterdam, or 4 shillings and 6 pence sterling, at London, per dollar; pre