State of New Hampshire ( SIR In Committee of Safety Exeter January 26th 1782. The General Court having been informed of the distressed Situation of the Troops of the New Hamp' Line Stationed at Saratoga for want of Rum & other Articles necessary for them came to the following Resolution, Copy of which is inclosed. It is therefore requested by this Committee, if in your Power, that Noah Emery D. Q. M. may be ordered to convey to Albany such Quantities of said Rum as may be though necessary for the use of said Troops. M. WEARE Presidt P. S. Please to send your answer as soon as may be. Col Jabez Hatch D. Q. M. Gen1. State of SIR Copy. In Committee of Safety You will receive herewith a letter directed to Col° Hatch, the purport of which is, that a Quantity of Rum may be sent to the New Hampshire Line. You will please to en[P. 138.] quire whether our Troops are supply'd with Rum by Contract or any other way. If you can be assured they are supply'd it will supercede the necessity of any being sent—and you need not deliver the Letter and in that case you will desire Colo Hatch to receive the whole of what may be in Mr Barretts hands belonging to this State & give a Receipt for the same as part of this State's quota of Rum raised for the use of the United States the year past. If our Troops are not supplied, You will use your utmost endeavours, that part or the whole of what is in Mr Barretts hands belonging to this State may be immediately sent on, and in such manner, that the Troops of our Line may receive the same, as they have been destitute of that Article as well as many other necessaries for a long time. Noah Emery, D. Q. M. M. WEARE, Presdt Copy. State of SIR In Committee of Safety Whereas there is great reason to apprehend that the enemy have a design to destroy the ship now building at Ports[P. 139.] mouth for the use of the United States-You are hereby required to keep a strong Guard at the Great Island and constantly in readiness with a good Boat to go on Board & examine all vessels & small Craft of every kind that may enter the Harbour & you are to cause such examination to be made as shall be sufficiently satisfactory. Capt. Titus Salter. DEAR SIR JOSIAH BARTLETT Chm. Hampton Falls, Feb. 4th 1782. A Committee are now here from our Army in order to settle with the State for what may be due for Depreciation, and also for what may be due for back Rations or subsistence Money. They think there has been some Resolutions of Congress recommending to the States to settle respecting Rations or Subsistence Money as well as Wages & at what Rate they are to be settled. We cannot find any Resolutions of Congress relative to this matter among those that have been transmitted to us; for want of which the Committee cannot proceed in the Settlement. You are therefore desired to send me by the first Post after you re[P. 140.] ceive this letter, Copies of such Resolutions or Recommendations as Congress may have pass'd relative to settling for back Rations or Subsistence money that may be due to Officers or Men. I have nothing particular respecting the affairs of Vermont since my last, by what I have heard, they are somewhat more calm. We hear that Messrs. Allen & Fay are gone to Congress from Vermont. I cannot say what Plan they are now upon but I conjecture they would willingly Renounce all on the east side of Connecticut River if they could be admitted to be a separate State to the West. But whatever may be their schemes I think there cannot be the least danger that they will ever be allowed to hold any thing East of the River. I am impatient to hear how the Affair stands at Congress, hope you will inform me by ever opportunity. This is to desire that you would make Inquiry what supply of Provisions particularly Wheat and Flour, can be obtained in your Quarter for the Troops, which have been ordered to be raised for the support of the Civil Authority in the Western parts of this, in case it should be found necessary to send them there-Have wrote to Letters similar to this. You will please to inform the Committee. respecting this Affair by lettter as soon as may be. M. WEARE President *The persons wrote to were Colo Hunt, Capt Goldsmith, Mr Nath' Bingham & Capt Burt. Copy. State of hire } New Hampshire Sir Exeter Feby 23d 1782 Agreeably to a Vote of the Gen1 Court of this State, I am to give Information respecting a sum of Continental Currency now remaining in our Treasury over & above the proportion assigned to this State by a resolution of Congress of the 18th of March [P. 142.] 1780; Also on the Subject of the proportion to 8,000,000 Dollars assigned to this State by a resolution of Novembr 2d 1782. In pursuance of a resolution of Congress of the 18th March 1780 this State made provision (by their Act of the 29th of April 1780) for calling in the proportion of Continental Currency assigned them by said Resolution by which, a part of said Sum was collected, but it was generally supposed that at the time which said Tax was granted there was not half the Sum which was called for then in possession of the Inhabitants of this State-By an Act of our General Court passed Jany 27th 1781 for raising the sum of £120,000 in Bills of the new Emission for the support of the war & defraying the necessary Charges of this State Liberty was given to all persons to pay the whole of said Tax in new Bills or in Continental Currency at the rate of forty for one (which was then the Common Exchange & agreeable to the Resolutions of Congress) the Court being unanimously of opinion that the whole quantity of Continental Currency then in this State would not [P. 143.] amount to near the proportion assigned them by the Resolution of Congress and not doubting the compliance of the other States with the aforesaid Resolution, were not apprehensive of its being in the power of this State to Collect more than their proportion. The Tax of £120,000 was payable at different Periods, the last of which, was affixed at the last of Nov 1781While said Tax was collecting Continental Currency depreciated rapidly in the States to the Southward and before the people here had knowledge of the same, large Quantities were pushed in from thence, and the General Court finding that the Tax which was principally designed to pay something to the support of the War and other Exigencies of the State would not answer the intended purpose did by a resolution prohibit the receiving any Continental Currency into our Treasury for said Tax after the 23d day of July 1781. As some States had not complied with the resolutions of Congress for calling in the Continental Currency and [P. 144] as the value thereof, when compared with new Emission was much altered after the passing our Act in consequence of the rapid Depreciation of the former the money was pushed into the Treasury in large Sums, and the State found that by the said 23d day of July last, they had in their Treasury upwards of five Million Dollars Continental Currency over and above the proportion assigned them as aforesaid, and considerable sums still remain in the hands of Individuals by which means the principal Intention of the State in granting said tax of £120,000 was in a great measure defeated, many Debts which were determined to be discharged by said Tax, are now unpaid which occasions many complaints and those debts must be discharged out of the Taxes for the present year and the State will be unable to pay any considerable Sum to the United States, unless some of those States, who have not called in their proportion should be directed to purchase the same from us or otherwise the Continental Currency be received [P. 145.] in part payment of our Taxes for the current year. With respect to the proportion to 8,000,000 Dollars assigned this State by a Resolution of Congress of Nov 20 1781, I must say that the same far exceeds any Ideas that we have ever had of our just proportion, that the Gen1 Court are unanimously of Opinion, that the same is too high by a very considerable sum, that by our numbers which were taken in the year 1775 by the selectmen of the several Towns & Parishes & Return made under Oath (Copy of which I sent you some time past) this proportion will appear much too large. I am sensible the resolutions of Congress purport that these proportions are not to be final; But that the same may be adjusted hereafter. This State is very unable at present to pay their just proportion. We have very little Trade, our Farms are many of them new, and produce very little and with respect to hard money we never had but a small Quantity within the State and having estimated paper money at a higher rate than some [P. 146.] of our sister States, the little hard money we had is drained from us. Add to this the great difficulties and embarrassments we are under on account of the disputes subsisting in the Western parts of this State & our Inability to pay (even the just proportion of the State) will be easily perceived. The Subjects of this State (in General) seem willing to exert their utmost abilities in support of the common cause, but any addition to their proportion of Taxes will serve to discourage them unless they can be at the same time assured of the justice thereof; and Jealousies may arise, that their proportion of future taxes will be in some degree. |