expense was paid by taxes, levied and collected during the war, and the residue remained a debt due from the United States, or from the individual states, on the return of peace. In April, 1783, the debt with certainty. The following are estimates of this expense, made out by the Register of the Treasury in the year 1790, and furnished a committee of the house of representatives of Congress. "General abstract of the annual estimates, and abstract statements of the total amount of the expenditures and advances at the Treasury of the United States. "The estimated amount of the expenditures of 1775 and 1776 is in specie Dolls. 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 90ths. 20,064,666 66 24,986,646 85 24,289,438 26 10,794,620 65 3,000,000 00 1,942,465 30 3,632,745 85 3,226,583 45 To Nov. 1st, 1784, as pr. schedule D. and subordi nate accounts, 548,525 63 $92,485,693 15 Forming an amount total of "The foregoing estimates being confined to actual Treasury payments, are exclusive of the debts of the United States, which were incurred at various periods, for the support of the late war, and should be taken into a general view of the expense thereof, viz. : Army debt, upon commissioners' certificates, For supplies furnished in the quarter-master, com- For supplies, on accounts settled at the Treasury, Dolls. 90ths.. 11,080,576 1 3,723,625 20 1,159,170 5 744,638 49 16,708,009 75 "NOTE. The loan office debt formed a part of the Treasury expendi tures. "The foreign expenditures, civil, military, naval, of the United States (inclusive of the state debts) was estimated at $42,000,375, and the annual interest at $2,415,956. No funds had, at this time, been provided for the payment either of the interest or principal of this debt. As the war was now brought to a close, it be came necessary for Congress to provide permanent funds for this purpose. It had been foreseen by many, that this could not be done, unless Congress had the power to regulate the commerce of the country, or at least, were vested with a power to levy duties on imports. By the articles of confederation, this power was not delegated to them, but remained in the respective states, who had the right of laying and collecting such duties on imports, as they judged proper for their own benefit. Congress could only recommend to the states, the propriety and necessity of delegating to them this power for the ben and contingences, amount, by computation to the sum of "The expenditures, of the several states, from the commencement of the war, to the establishment of peace, cannot be stated with any degree of certainty, because the accounts thereof remain to be settled. But as the United States have granted certain sums for the relief of the several states, to be funded by the general government, therefore, estimate the total amount of said. assumption, 5,000,000 00 21,000,000 00 135,193,703 00 "Estimated expense of the late war, specie dolls, The advances made from the Treasury, were principally in a paper medium, which was called continental money, and which in a short time depreciated; the specie value of it is given in the foregoing estimate. The advances made at the Treasury of the United States, in continental money in old and new emissions, are estimated as follows, viz. : efit of all. Accordingly, as early as the 3d day of July, 1781, they passed a resolution, recommending it to the several states " as indispensably necessary, that they vest a power in Congress, to levy, for the use of the United States, a duty of five per cent. ad valorem, at the time and place of importation, upon all goods, wares, and merchandize of foreign growth and manufacture, which may be imported into any of the said states, from any foreign Port, Island, or Plantation, after the first day of May, 1781," with the exception of certain articles. They also, at the same time, resolved, "that the monies, arising from the said duties, be appropriated to the discharge of the principal and interest of the debts already contracted, or which may be contracted, on the faith of the United State, for supporting the war, and that the said duties be continued until the said debts be fully and finally discharged." The journals of the old Congress shew, that this resolution, in the opinion of some of the members of that body was not sufficiently extensive; but that Congress ought to have the general power of regulating the whole commerce of the states, and the exclusive right of laying duties on imported articles. A substitute was, therefore, proposed, couched in more general terms, declaring it to be "indispensably necessary, that the United States in Congress assembled, should be vested with a right of superintending the commercial regulations of every state, that none may take place, that shall be partial or contrary to the common interest; and that they should be vested, with the exclusive right of laying duties upon all imported articles.". This substitute was negatived, and the resolution which passed was not accepted by the states. On the 18th of April, 1783, Congress again urged the several states to establish some permanent funds for the payment of the debts of the United States. For this purpose, by a resolution of that date, they recommended to the states, 66 as indisensably necessary to the restoration of public credit, and to the punctual discharge of the public debts, to invest the United States in Congress assembled, with a power to levy, for the use of the United States, the following duties upon goods imported into the said states, from any foreign Port, Island, or Plantation. Upon all rum, of Jamaica proof, per gall. 4-90ths of a dollar. all other spiritous liquors, 3" 12" do. do. and upon all other goods, a duty of five per cent. ad valorem, at time and place of importation; with a proviso that none of the said duties should be applied to any other purpose, than the discharge of the interest and principal of the debts contracted on the faith of the United States, for supporting the war, agreeably to the resolution of the 16th of December last, nor be continued for a longer term, than twentyfive years," &c. It was calculated, that the proposed duties would raise an annual sum of 915,956 dollars. This would fall short of paying the annual interest of the debt, about one million and a half of dollars, Congress, therefore, at the same time, recommended to the states" to establish for a time limited to 25 years, and to appropriate to the discharge of the interest and principal of the debt, substantial and effectual revenues, of such nature, as they may judge convenient, for supplying their respective proportions of 1,500,000 dollars, annually, exclusive of the aforementioned duties." This system was not to take effect, until acceded to, by all the states, but when adopted by all, was to be a mutual compact, irrevocable by one or more, without the concurence of the whole, or a majority of the United States in Congress assembled. To induce its adoption, an appeal was made to the states, by Congress in an able address, in which they urged the propriety and justice of making some permanent provision, for the payment, at least, of the interest of a debt, which was the price of their independence. These propositions, however, were not agreed to by all the states, in such a manner, as to take effect. Congress, therefore, had no means of paying either the principal or interest of the debt, but by requisitions upon the states. Had this plan been adopted, the produce of the duties recommended by Congress would, no doubt, have exceeded the estimate. Before the adoption of the present constitution, and the regular establishment of custom-houses, under the present government, there were no data from which any accurate calculation could be made, of the amount of exports and imports of the United States, or of the value of their trade with particular countries. The English custom-house books shew the imports from and exports to the United States, and furnish the best account of the amount of our trade with Great-Britain from the peace of 1783, to the establishment of the present general government. The following is an account of the imports into England from the United States, and exports to the United-States from that country in sterling money, from 1784 to 1790, taken from the English customhouse books-viz. During the first two years after the war, goods imported from England alone, amounted to nearly six millions sterling. As the value here stated is the official value, which is considerably less than the real, the amount of goods imported from England into the United States in the year 1784 must have been about eighteen millions of dollars, and in 1785, about twelve millions, making, in those two years, thirty millions of dollars; while the exports from the United States to England during that time, were only between eight and nine millions. This vast influx of goods soon drained the United States of a great part of the specie they had, at the close of the war. Congress in vain therefore made requisitions upon the states, for money to fill the public treasury. The impoverished state of the country, in consequence of the war, the want of regular markets for its produce, the burden of the states, in providing for the payment of their own particular debts, incurred during the war, and a jealousy which began to exist among the states, all combined to retard a compliance with these requi |