Notes from Congress’ Secret Journal on Instructions to Peace Commissioners, 8 June 1781
Notes from Congress’ Secret Journal
on Instructions to Peace Commissioners
MS (LC: Madison Papers). See Notes from Secret Journal, 28 May 1781, headnote.
June 8[, 1781]
State of Virga. moves to limit power to cede boundaries as qualification to Mr. Witherspoon’s motion1 to recede—all no but Sharpe Houston & Virga2—on question on the sd. motion—all ay but Virga.3
1. See Notes from Secret Journal, 6 June, and nn. 2, 3, 4; ibid., 7 June 1781, and n. 7; Motions on Boundaries, 8 June 1781.
2. The two motions introduced by the Virginia delegates were voted on separately, but both were designed to “limit power to cede boundaries.” JM evidently considered the votes cast on the two motions as being one, since they reflected the reaction of the delegates to a single issue. All members of the Virginia delegation voted “ay” on both motions; but actually William Sharpe voted “ay” on the first and “no” on the second while William C. Houston and James M. Varnum voted “no” on the first and “ay” on the second. Every other delegate voted “no” on both motions. See Motions on Boundaries, 8 June 1781, and , XX, 612–13.
3. Each of the two parts of the Witherspoon motion was voted on separately. Only the vote on the first part was “all ay but Virga.” In the vote on the second part of the Witherspoon motion, which instructed the peace commissioner to co-operate closely with the French in the negotiations, all the state delegations, including the four delegates from Virginia, voted “ay,” except the delegation from Massachusetts ( , XX, 614–15).