Robert Treat Paine Papers, Volume 4
The General Court of the State of Massachusetts Bay having attentively Considered the Articles of confederation and perpetual Union between the United States of America recommended to our attention by the Honble. Congress do approve of them in general as well calculated to secure the Freedom, Sovereignty and Independence of the United States, perhaps no plan could have been proposed better adapted to the Circumstances of all. We therefore the Council and House of Representatives of this State in General Court Assembled, do in the Name and behalf of the good People of this State Instruct you their Delegates to subscribe said Articles of Confederation & perpetual Union, as they were recommended by Congress unless the following alterations or such as may be proposed by the other States can be received and adopted wth.out endangering the Union proposed.1
The first thing We desire your attention to, before you ratify and Confirm these Articles, is the mode of supplying the Continental Treasury with money to defray the public Expences pointed out in the eighth Article, in short we conceive the Questions upon this Article to be so difficult of solution without some experience of the Effect, any method proposed may be attended with, that we apprehend Provision ought to be made for varying the mode from time to time untill experience has discovered which will be the most equitable plan, which when discovered & laid before the several States will doubtless be confirmed.
The Provision made in the sixth paragraph of the ninth Article, which makes the assent of nine States necessary to exercise the Powers with wch. Congress are vested, does not give all that security to the States in these 24 important matters which we think necessary & which perhaps was intended by Congress: As the paragraph now stands, it will put it in the power of the five smallest States to give a Negative on the most important & necessary Business, & as it is probable that a very small Majority of the People of the United States will be contained in the nine smallest States, nay perhaps less the half, it certainly ought not to be in their power to give Law in the important matters mentioned in this paragraph. We apprehend it would be better to substitute in the room of nine States these words Ten States or at least the Delegates for two thirds of the People of the United States of America, represented in Congress.
The paragraph which determines the principle on which each State is to furnish its Quota of the Army, demands your special Attention because it appears to be unequal, & consequently injurious; if the numbers to be furnished by each State to the Army are to be rated in proportion to the number of whites, it will be unequal because those numbers are so, & will be injurious by Operating as a Tax by the Bounties necessary to be given, & by an unequal drain of the Inhabitants & consequently a diminution of the many advantages derived from their Industry and Labour, while other States who have a less number of whites tho’ perhaps an equal if not greater number of Inhabitants are free from the Burthen of the first & the disadvantages arising from the last.
If any improper term or Words are now in any Article, or if any Sentiment may in your Opinion be better Expressed, you will propose & agree to have proper alterations made.
You will consider yourselves, also at Liberty to consent to amendments proposed by other States or their members provided that such amendments are not materially repugnant to the Articles of Confederation, or the Spirit of these Instructions.
On June 23, 1778, the Massachusetts delegates reported on the “sundry objections transmitted to them by their constituents.” These requested reconsideration of the proportion of taxes to be paid by each state, the apportionment of forces from each state, and the rule requiring assent of nine states as necessary to the 25 exercise of congressional powers. All three considerations were rejected by Congress (Journals of the Continental Congress, 11:638).
Jeremiah Dummer Powell (1720–1784) of North Yarmouth served on the Massachusetts Council, including as Council president from 1776 to 1779. After the adoption of the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution, he served as president of the Senate until 1781 (John A. Schutz, Legislators of the Massachusetts General Court, 1691–1780: A Biographical Directory [Boston, 1997], 316).
I have Long Look:d for the things you were to get at Boston but their not come & my wants are Such that I cannot waite any Longer for which reason I Send Seth1 I hope you will fill the cart. Seth cannot tarry with us his father is dead & he must take care of his mother. Our family are well & have I take good care of my self for fear of the Small pox folks have the Small pox in their own houses here.2 I hope I shall have it in mine when you return which I hope will be this week. Give my to all friends in haste your affectionate
PS Bob wants a Testament.
Seth Burns, the family servant, was among those in the Paine household already inoculated against smallpox (see Bond to David Cobb, June 10, 1777, RTP 3:375)
RTP, still in Boston, noted in his diary on Mar. 16, 1778: “the small pox spreading in Boston innoculation taking place.”
We did our selves the honor of addressing you on the 13th. Feby. last upon the subject of our proceedings in persuance of the Resolve of Congress of Decr. 12th. for enquiring into the Causes of the failure of the Expedition against Rhode-island; we then informed your Honor that after spending a Week on the business & not being able to finish it we 26 adjourned to the 23d. day of March at which time we have met & have finished the Enquiry in the best manner we found ourselves capable & we hope the manner in wch. we have executed it will give satisfaction to the honble. Congress.
We are very sorry the Execution of this Commission has been so long delayed & we wish to Satisfy the honble. Congress that it has not arisen from a want of due attention in us who were honored with the appointment. The Severity of the Season at which the Enquiry was Appointed, the exceeding badness of the travelling, our previous Engagements in public business of equal great importance were the real Causes.
it gives us much uneasiness to find our selves obliged to perform this business with a bare quorum of the Comsrs. we hoped for the assistance of Mr. Benson on the adjournment, but have not been happy enough even to hear from him on the Subject.
The Ideas we have of
The business of our Commission is a matter of such great Expectation & concern that it was with great reluctance we entered upon it with a bare quorum of the comissrs. & nothing but the Idea of embarrassing the Administration of Congress by neglecting their requisition, & the danger of having this matter too far postponed or totally neglected, induced us to undertake it. We hoped for the assistance of Mr. Benson on the adjournment, but have not been happy enough even to hear from him on the Subject.
In persuance of this business we have attended to the questions pointed out in our Comissn. & have proposed them to every person whom we could judge capable of answering them & we have proposed some other questions which we thought tended to throw light on the Subject, we have also collected all the proceedings & determinations of all Councils of War & the opinions of each member of such Council & other papers respecting the matter which have come within Our knowledge, we have also procured a Copy of the Enquiry made by Committees from the N. England States into the Causes of the failure of the sd. Expedition, all which we herewith transmitt.
In the Execution of this business certain Expences have arisen, some of which the honble. vizt. Waiter, Expresses procured by our Order by the Sherriff, Wood & Candles. The honble. the Council of the State of Rhodisland proposed advancing an acct. of the United States but it was thought more convenient the Accounts should be paid by Mr. Tillinghast Continental Agent after they had been examined & allowed by the honble. 27 Council of War, & accordingly We drew an order of Mr. Tillinghast for that purpose as also for 28 dollars for the Clerks & also for 200 dollars for the actual Expences of the three Comssrs. on their first meeting & we have proceeded in the Same manner for the Expences of this meeting, being 32 dollars for the clerks & 78 dollars for the actuall Expences of the Cmssrs. & stated the same in acct. to Mr. Tillinghast, as the honble. Congress had given no direction for the payment of these Expences we thought the method we have taken would be most satisfactory & hope it will prove so.
Copy
Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774–1789, 9:345–346.