From the Board of the Sinking Fund to Congress, [ca. 7 November 1791]

The Board of the Sinking Fund to Congress

[ca. 7 November 1791]1

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 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

John Adams3

RC and enclosures (DNA:RG 46, Records of the U.S. Senate),

1. The dating of this letter is based on when it was read in the Senate (U.S. Senate, Jour. description begins Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, Washington, D.C., 1789– . description ends , 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.

2. 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. description begins Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–2005, Washington, D.C., 2005; rev. edn., bioguide.congress.gov. description ends ; Catherine O’Donnell, Elizabeth Seton: American Saint, Ithaca, N.Y., 2018, p. viii, 13; Hamilton, Papers description begins The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, ed. Harold C. Syrett, Jacob E. Cooke, and others, New York, 1961–1987; 27 vols. description ends , 3:526–527, 16:491–492; Washington, Papers, Presidential Series description begins The Papers of George Washington: Presidential Series, ed. W. W. Abbot, Dorothy Twohig, Jack D. Warren, Mark A. Mastromarino, Robert F. Haggard, Christine S. Patrick, John C. Pinheiro, David R. Hoth, Jennifer Stertzer and others, Charlottesville, Va., 1987– . description ends , 2:120–121; Madison, Papers, Secretary of State Series description begins The Papers of James Madison: Secretary of State Series, ed. Robert J. Brugger, Mary A. Hackett, David B. Mattern, and others, Charlottesville, Va., 1986– . description ends , 1:144–145; ANB description begins John A. Garraty, Mark C. Carnes, and Paul Betz, eds., American National Biography, New York, 1999–2002; 24 vols. plus supplement; rev. edn., www.anb.org. description ends ).

3. Closing line and signature in JA’s hand,

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Source Project: Adams Papers
Title: From the Board of the Sinking Fund to Congress, [ca. 7 November 1791]
Authors: Board of the Sinking Fund
Adams, John
Recipient: United States Congress
Date: 7 November 1791

Reference

Cite as: “From the Board of the Sinking Fund to Congress, [ca. 7 November 1791],” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-21-02-0049. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 21, March 1791–January 1797, ed. Sara Georgini, Sara Martin, R. M. Barlow, Gwen Fries, Amanda M. Norton, and Hobson Woodward. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2022, pp. 75–76.]