Enclosure: Acts Requiring Presidential Action, c.8 June 1796
Enclosure
Acts Requiring Presidential Action
[c.8 June 1796]
Act may 17th 1796—empowers the President to appoint Superintendants of the Light house to be erected on Cape Cod.1
Act may 17th 1796—empowers the President to approve of the locations of certain lands granted to Ebenezer Zane.2
Act may 18th 1796, empowers the President to appoint a Surveyor General—also an agent to join in the direction of the sales of land to be made at Pittsburg—The President to fix the compensation of the Assistant Surveyors, Chain Carriers and axe men, not to exceed in the whole 3 dollars per mile.3
Act may 19th 1796, Boundary line according to treaties with the Indians to be marked under direction of the President—a Superintendant to be appointed for granting licences to reside among the indians—Sect. 7th Temporary agents to reside among them.4
Act may 27th 1796, The President to give directions to certain officers concerning Quarantine.5
act may 28th 1796, directs the president to appoint two or more agents concerning Seamen.6
act 1 June 1796, form of Passports for ships to be approved by the President.7
act 28th may 1796, President to make allowance of compensation to inspectors relative to duties on Carriages.8
act 31 may—President empowered to borrow 324,539 dollars 6 cents.9
act 31 may President to approve of the loan of 5 millions of dollars.10
no. 45—June 1. Passports for Ships & vessels—form to be approved by the President.
no. 46—regulating grants of land &c. to the Moravians.
47. admission of the State of Tennessee.
48—making appropriation to satisfy certain demands attending the late insurrection &c.
49. drawback.
50—further appropriations for 96.
51—President to borrow 650,000 dollars.
52—relief to owners of Stills.11
53—to indemnify the estate of the late Genl Greene.12
No. 13. Date April 18. Agents for Indian Trading Houses.13
No. 12. date Apl 8. The President to approve of the Contract for building a light house on Baker’s Island, near Salem.14
No. 14. April 20. The president to authorize to be sold such of the perishable materials provided for the frigates as shall not be wanted to complete three of them—& other materials to be safely kept for further use.15
No. 21. May 6. To direct the loan for the city of Washington.16
No. 22. May 6th. To authorize the building or purchasing of revenue cutters; & to order to be sold such as are unfit for service.17
D, DNA: RG 59, Miscellaneous Letters. This document immediately follows Pickering’s letter to GW dated 8 June and was docketed by Pickering as “The Atty General’s Notes on the Acts of Congress.” Attorney General Charles Lee wrote the first portion of the document, with the remainder in Pickering’s writing (see n.10 below).
1. See “An Act authorizing the erection of a Lighthouse on Cape Cod, in the State of Massachusetts” ( 464).
2. See “An Act to authorize Ebenezer Zane to locate certain lands in the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio” ( 27).
3. See sections 1, 6, and 10 of “An Act providing for the Sale of the Lands of the United States, in the territory northwest of the river Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky river” ( 464–69).
4. See sections 1, 7, 13, and 20 of “An Act to regulate Trade and Intercourse with the Indian Tribes, and to preserve Peace on the Frontiers” ( 469–74).
5. See “An Act relative to Quarantine” ( 474).
6. See sections 1 and 2 of “An Act for the relief and protection of American Seamen” ( 477–78).
7. See section 1 of “An Act providing Passports for the ships and vessels of the United States” ( 489–90).
8. See section 12 of “An Act laying duties on Carriages for the conveyance of persons; and repealing the former act for that purpose” ( 478–82).
9. See section 5 of “An Act making further provision for the expenses attending the intercourse of the United States with foreign nations; and to continue in force the act, intituled ‘An act providing the means of intercourse between the United States and foreign nations’” ( 487–88). GW had approved this act on 30 May.
10. See section 1 of “An Act making provision for the payment of certain Debts of the United States” ( 488–89). Lee’s writing ends here (see source note above).
11. GW approved the preceding eight acts on 1 June, and the numbers match the chapter numbers in 489–94. The text associated with numbers 46–50 and 52 was later bracketed in the manuscript, probably because those measures did not specify presidential duties.
12. See “An Act to indemnify the estate of the late Major-General Nathaniel Greene, for a certain bond entered into by him during the late war,” approved on 1 June ( 28). The nine words following the number also were bracketed on the manuscript.
13. See section 2 of “An Act for establishing Trading Houses with the Indian Tribes” ( 452–53); see also Isaac Levan to GW, 26 April, and n.1 to that document.
14. See “An Act authorizing the erection of a Lighthouse on Baker’s Island, in the state of Massachusetts” ( 452).
15. See section 3 of “An Act supplementary to an act entitled ‘An act to provide a Naval Armament’” ( 453–54).
16. See “An Act authorizing a Loan for the use of the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes therein mentioned” ( 461; see also GW to the Commissioners for the District of Columbia, 22 May).
17. See sections 3 and 4 of “An Act making further provision relative to the Revenue Cutters” ( 461–62).