Bills of Credit

v4:741

Saturday, January 13, 1776.

Convention met. All Members present, as on yesterday. The Proceedings of yesterday were read.

On motion, Resolved, That the nomination of Field-Officers, for Kent County, be referred to the next session of Convention.

Several Resolutions of Congress were read, and ordered to lie on the table.

The following persons were elected by ballot Field-Officers to the Militia in Prince George' s County, to wit:

The Lower Battalion: Mr˙ Joseph Sim, Colonel; Mr˙ Thomas Contee, Lieutenant-Colonel; Mr˙ Thomas Sim Lee, First Major; Mr˙ John Rogers, Second; Mr˙ John F˙ A˙ Priggs, Quartermaster.

Upper Battalion: Mr˙ Joshua Beall, Colonel; Mr˙ Robert Tyler, Lieutenant-Colonel; Mr˙ Addison Murdoch, First Major; Mr˙ George Lee, Second; Mr˙ William Turner Wootton, Quartermaster.

The Convention took into consideration the Report from the Committee appointed to prepare and report a scheme for the emission of Bills of Credit, to defray the expenses of defending this Province, and other purposes therein mentioned, and came to the following Resolutions thereon:

That for the defence of this Province, calling in and exchanging the bills of credit emitted by virtue of the Resolves of the last Convention, for the encouragement of Manufactories within this Province, and for other purposes resolved upon in Convention, bills of credit of the denomination of dollars and parts of a dollar, to the amount of five hundred and thirty five thousand one hundred and eleven dollars and one-ninth part of a dollar, be printed and struck with all convenient speed, under the care and direction of such persons as shall be appointed by the Council of Safety for that purpose, in manner and form following, to wit:

"This bill of ˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙˙ shall entitle the bearer hereof to receive gold or silver, at the rate of four shillings and six pence, sterling, per dollar, for the said bill, according to a Resolve of the Provincial Convention of Maryland, held at the city of Annapolis, the 7th day of December, 1775."

That the plates for striking the said bills of credit, be procured to be cut in copper, by some skilful person in the city of Philadelphia, at the expense of this Province, by the Deputies of this Province in Congress, or some two of them, and shall have such devices and marks as the said Deputies, or such two of them, shall direct, and the number and denomination of the said bills shall be the following and no other, to wit: sixteen thousand bills of eight dollars each, sixteen thousand bills of six dollars each, sixteen thousand bills of four dollars each, sixteen thousand bills of two dollars and two-third parts of a dollars each, thirty-two thousand bills of two dollars each, thirty-two thousand bills of one dollar and one-third part of a dollar each, thirty-two thousand bills of one dollar each, thirty-two thousand bills of two-third parts of a dollar each, forty thousand bills of half a dollar each, forty thousand bills of one-third part of a dollar each, forty thousand bills of one-sixth part of a dollar each, and forty thousand bills of one-ninth part of a dollar each.

That the said Deputies, or any two of them, also purchase and provide a sufficient quantity of proper paper, on

v4:742

That the said Supervisors shall use the best of their care and diligence that the said bills, according to their respective denominations aforesaid, and according to the manner and form aforesaid, be forthwith printed and struck, and that the number of any of the denominations thereof be not exceeded, nor any clandestine or fraudulent practice be used by the Printer, his apprentices, servants, and others, concerned in the priming or striking thereof.

That the Printer, and all his apprentices and servants, which he shall employ in the said work, before he or they enter upon the same, take, before some Justice of the Peace, in the presence of one or both of the said Supervisors, the following oath, to wit: "I, A˙ B˙, do swear that I will truly, faithfully, and honestly, perform the duty of Printer of the bills of credit directed to be printed by a Resolve of the Convention of Maryland, held at the city of Annapolis, the seventh day of December, seventeen hundred and seventy-five, and that I will not, advisedly, print or stamp a greater number of blank bills of credit than in that Resolve mentioned, nor of any other denomination than therein expressed, except such sheets as may be so blotted, unfair, or imperfect in the printing or striking thereof, that the same shall be unfit for use. So help me God."

That the said Printer shall not, by himself, his servants, or any other person by him employed, print, strike, stitch, or bind, the said bills, or any of them, but in the presence of one or both of the said Supervisors. And in every intermission of the work, the said Supervisors shall safely-and securely lock up the press and stamps with which the work shall be performed, and the impressions which shall be then made, in the room in which the priming and binding shall be done, and the keys of such room shall keep in their possession; and when all the said bills shall be printed and struck, the plates shall be delivered by the Printer to the said Supervisors, and by them to the Convention, or in its recess, to the Council of Safety.

That Charles Wallace, John Davidson, Nathan Hammond, Richard Tootell, James Brice, John Brice, Thomas Brook Hodgkin, John Duckett, Robert Lloyd Nichols., Samuel Sharp, Richard Tilghman, Jun˙, Henry Banning, Peregrine Tilghman, William Perry, Jeremiah Banning, and Joseph Bruff, be signers of the said bills.

That the said Supervisors, as soon as the said bills shall be printed, struck, stitched, and bound, shall deliver three-fourth parts thereof in value to the Treasurer of the Western Shore, appointed by the last Convention, and the other fourth part thereof to the Treasurer of the Eastern Shore, appointed by the last Convention; and the said Treusurers shall deliver out to the signers residing on their respective Shores, such and so many of the said bills to be immediately numbered and signed by them, as may be sufficient to answer any probable and immediate demand on them for the same, not exceeding twelve thousand dollars; and each of the said bills shall be numbered and signed by some two of the said signers, and returned again, after being numbered and signed, to the respective Treasurers; and so, from time to time, shall the said bills be delivered out, numbered, signed, and returned, to the said Treasurers, respectively, either of the said Treasurers not keeping by him at any one time, ready numbered and signed, more than twelve thousand dollars.

That receipts of every delivery of the said bills, before and after the numbering and signing the same, be given by the signers and Treasurers, respectively, each to the other.

That the Treasurer of the Western Shore, out of the said bills of credit in his hands, pay to each of the Supervisors two dollars, and two-third parts of a dollar for each day' s attendance and supervising the said work; to the Deputies who shall procure the plates and paper for printing and striking the said bills, so much as they shall pay for the same, and for transmitting them as aforesaid; and to the Printer, so much as shall be agreed by the Council of Safety for his services, and for the ink and other materials, except

v4:743

That each of the said Treasurers shall retain for his services, at the rate of one-half per centum on all moneys by him paid and delivered, and no more.

That torn and defaced bills shall be exchanged at reasonable and convenient times.

That the said bills of credit shall be redeemed and sunk on or before the first day of January, seventeen hundred and eighty-six, by taxes or other legislative provision; and this Convention bind their constituents, and pledge the faith of the Province for the redemption of the said bills on or before the said first day of January, seventeen hundred and eighty-six.

That two hundred and sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-six dollars and two-third parts of a dollar of the said bills of credit, so to be printed and struck, shall be applied to exchange the bills of credit printed and struck by virtue of the Resolve of the last Convention of this Province, and that the said Treasurers shall, forthwith, after their receipt of the bills of credit hereafter to be printed and struck, give publick notice in the newspapers printed in this Province, and in several of the newspapers printed in Philadelphia and Williamsburgh, that they will give and deliver in exchange any number and value of the bills of credit hereafter to be printed and struck, for the like number and value of the bills of credit printed and struck by virtue of the Resolve of the last Convention, at such times and places as shall be by them appointed for that purpose; and the said Treasurers shall, upon the application of any person or persons holding any number and value of the said former bills of credit, deliver to such person or persons the like value in the new bills of credit in lieu thereof, at such times and places as aforesaid.

That each of the said Treasurers shall, at the publick expense, provide a fit instrument for cutting a piece of one inch square, as near as may be, out of the bills so to be brought in and exchanged, and shall, upon his receipt of any of the said former bills of credit, in exchange as aforesaid, cut out of every of such bills so received, one inch square, as near as may be, taking care not to deface the denomination thereof, and shall preserve such bills until the meeting of the then next Convention, and produce all such bills, and also all the former bills of credit remaining in his hands, to such Convention, to be destroyed.

That from and after the receipt of the said new bills of credit by the said Treasurers, respectively, all payments which they shall make by virtue of any resolve of this or the last Convention, shall be made in the said new bills of credit, and not in the said former bills of credit.

That the person to be employed in the cutting the said plates for striking the said new bills of credit, if required by the said Delegates, or such two of them as shall agree for the same, take an oath, (or affirmation if a Quaker,) that he will not, by himself, his apprentices or servants, make or cut, or suffer to be made or cut, any more or other plates than those which shall be ordered to be cut by the said Deputies, or some two of them, in the similitude and likeness of the plates which shall be so ordered to be cut, or in the similitude and likeness of any of them, unless requested so to do by the Convention of this Province, or by some authority derived from the said Convention.

That the Treasurers aforesaid, respectively, be allowed to retain, as a satisfaction for their trouble in exchanging new bills of credit for the former bills of credit as aforesaid, at the rate of one-half per centum for all bills by them so exchanged, out of the said new bills of credit.

That the said bills of credit which shall be so as aforesaid printed and struck, over and above the said bills hereby directed to be applied to exchange the said former bills of credit, be applied to the several purposes resolved on in this and the last Convention of this Province, and that the Treasurers pay the same to the orders of the Convention or Council of Safety.

That the said Treasurers, before they receive the said blank bills to be printed and struck by virtue of the Resolves of this Convention, shall give bonds, respectively, the Treasurer of the Western Shore in the penalty of twelve thousand pounds sterling, payable to the honourable

v4:744

Mr˙ Buchanan and Mr˙ Beatty have leave of absence.

Convention adjourns till to-morrow morning, half after nine o' clock.