Papers of John Adams, volume 21
ca. 7 November 1791
The Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate, The Chief Justice, The Secretary of State, The Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General respectfully report to the Congress of the United States of America.
That pursuant to the Act intitled an Act making provision
for the reduction of the public debt and in conformity to two resolutions
agreed upon by them one on the fifteenth day of January another on the 15th. day of August last and severally approved by
the President of the United States, they have caused purchases of the said
debt to be made through the Agency respectively of Samuel Meredith 76 Treasurer of the United States,
William Seton Cashier of the Bank of New York, Benjamin Lincoln Collector of
the District of Boston and Charlestown and William Heth Collector of the
District of Bermuda Hundred,2
to the amount of Eight hundred fifty two thousand, six hundred seventy seven
dollars & forty six Cents; and for which there have been paid Five
hundred forty eight thousand, Nine hundred twenty four Dollars and fourteen
Cents in specie, as will more particularly appear by the several documents
No I to VIII herewith submitted as part of
this Report and which specify the places where, the times when, the prices
at which, and the persons of whom the said purchases have been made. That
though the statements of Willm Seton and
Benjamin Lincoln have not yet passed through the forms of a settlement it
appears by the document No. VIII being a
certified transcript from the books of the Treasury that the amount of the
stock by them respectively reported to have been purchased has been duly
transferred to the said Books.
That the purchases now and heretofore reported amount in
the whole to One million, one hundred thirty one thousand, three hundred
sixty four thousand Dollars and seventy
six Cents, for which there have been paid six hundred ninety nine thousand,
one hundred sixty three dollars and thirty Eight Cents in specie.
Signed in Behalf of the Board
RC and enclosures (DNA:RG 46, Records of the U.S. Senate).
The dating of this letter is based on when it was
read in the Senate (U.S.
Senate, Jour.
, 2d Cong., 1st
sess., p. 337). For JA’s role as a sinking fund
commissioner, see vol. 20:452–453. The board enclosed
various financial documents related to the U.S. government’s purchase of
stocks and securities, as instructed to do so under the Funding Act of 4
Aug. 1790.
Philadelphia merchant Samuel Meredith (1741–1817) was
treasurer of the United States from 1789 to 1801. New York City merchant
William Seton (1746–1798) acted as cashier of the Bank of New York from
1784 to 1794. William Heth (1750–1807), of Henrico County, Va., served
as U.S. customs collector at Bermuda Hundred, Va., from 1789 to 1800.
Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln was the Boston port collector from 1789 to
1809 (
Biog. Dir. Cong.
; Catherine O’Donnell, Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, Ithaca,
N.Y., 2018, p. viii, 13; Hamilton, Papers
, 3:526–527,
16:491–492; Washington, Papers, Presidential Series
,
2:120–121; Madison, Papers, Secretary of State
Series
, 1:144–145;
ANB
).
Closing line and signature in JA’s hand.