A glance at the particular subject of the Virginia military bounty lands here, also strikes us as important on more accounts than the mere rehearsal of its origin and execution as part of the bounty land system in a general point of view. It would seem important for the suggestion it may possibly lead to, of making some provision for the like equitable claims for the revolutionary services of the troops, &c. of other States, whose legislatures had it not in their power to make such reservations in behalf of their State lines and navy, as had the far famed mother of States, through the favor of royal munificence in her unstinted land grants from the Atlantic to the Pacific, extending four hundred miles on either coast, according to the original crown grants. Through the means of these original grants, Virginia had it in her power to make magnificent donations of her "vacant and unappropriated Western lands," with large reservations to redeem her promises to her own corps of the revolution, though her rightful tenure was jeoparded by the war, and was only confirmed by the joint revolutionary struggle and expenditure of blood and treasure of all the States in making final conquest of it. Why, then, should not the revolutionary corps of other State lines and navy, now that those of Virginia are nearly satisfied out of her vast reservations, receive some evidence of the nation's justice, whereunto, although no claims were actually set up by reservations out of the fruits of royal grants scantily bestowed, their claims in equity are just as substantial, and might now be very opportunely considered, when new accessions of public domain afford such ample opportunity for the General Government to do them this act of justice in making them equal therein to Virginia?

The order in which the several States consummated this great national object of ceding their respective territorial possessions beyond their respective limits, and the sameness of purpose for which it was done, may be seen stated in a consecutive and brief manner in the second volume of the work on the Treasury, by the senior editor of this compilation, at pages 796, '97, and '98. It will be perceived that New York led the way in setting this magnanimous example to her sister States, by a deed of cession of her "vacant and unappropriated lands" on the 1st March, 1781, in pursuance of the invitation of Congress addressed to all the States on the 6th September, 1780, and just three years before Virginia consummated the tender she had indeed proposed to Congress two months in advance of New York, but which was not then carried into effect by mutual agreement; and yet it was twenty years before that patriotic object was consummated by all the States having royal grants in their power to contribute to the federal domain.

The history of these "deeds of cession,” by all the States having such lands at will, throws great light on the gradual development and concentration of the State sovereignties, of which copious extracts from the original documents themselves, dispersed on the journals of Congress, may be found embodied in the first volume of Bioren & Duane's edition of the laws of the United States, edited by JOHN B. COLVIN, Esq. From these

The following extracts from the preliminaries to the deeds of cession by the State of New York and the State of Virginia, will afford an interesting and instructive contrast-the one being fervid in its sentiments, and conclusive in its results, whilst the other, from the vast amount of domain ceded, and the reservations and conditions stipulated, have involved Congress in a course of almost interminable legislation, and the executive in official forms and proceeding of great complexity to execute those laws:

Cession from the State of New York.

JOURNALS OF CONGRESS, MARCH 1, 1781.

In pursuance of the act of the Legislature of the State of New York, read in Congress the 7th March, 1780, entitled "An act to facilitate the completion of the articles of confederation and perpetual union among the United States of America," and which is in the words following:

"Whereas nothing under Divine Providence can more effectually contribute to the tranquillity and safety of the United States of America, than a federal alliance, on such

it would appear that Virginia alone, in her "deed of cession," made reservations of land by which to fulfil her promises to the officers, &c. of her own State line and navy, the execution of which, according to the terms and conditions of the cession, has given occasion to an amount of legislation by Congress, that, if embodied, would fall

liberal principles as will give satisfaction to its respective members; and whereas the articles of confederation and perpetual union, recommended by the honorable Congress of the United States of America, have not proved acceptable to all the States, it having been conceived that a portion of the waste and uncultivated territory, within the limits or claims of certain States, ought to be appropriated as a common fund for the expenses of the war; and the people of this State of New York, being on all occasions disposed to manifest their regard for their sister States, and their earnest desire to promote the general interest and security; and more especially to accelerate the federal alliance by removing, as far as it depends upon them, the before-mentioned impediment to its final accomplishment:

"Be it therefore enacted by the people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That it shall and may be lawful to and for the delegates of this State, in the honorable the Congress of the United States of America, or the major part of such of them as shall be assembled in Congress; and they, the said delegates, or the major part of them, so assembled, are hereby fully authorized and empowered, for and on behalf of this State, and by proper and authentic acts or instruments, to limit and restrict the boundaries of this State in the western parts thereof, by such line or lines, and in such manner and form as they shall judge to be expedient, either with respect to the jurisdiction, as well as the right or preemption of soil, or reserving the jurisdiction in part, or in the whole, over the lands which may be ceded or relinquished, with respect only to the right or pre-emption of the soil. "And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the territory which may be ceded or relinquished by virtue of this act, either with respect to the jurisdiction as well as the right or pre-emption of soil, or the right or pre-emption of soil only, shall be and inure for the use and benefit of such of the United States as shall become members of the federal alliance of the said States, and for no other use or purpose whatsoever.

Cession from the State of Virginia.

IN CONGRESS, MARCH 1, 1784.

Whereas the General Assembly of Virginia, at their session commencing on the 20th day of October, 1783, passed an act to authorize their delegates in Congress to convey to the United States in Congress assembled, all the right of that commonwealth to the territory northwestward of the river Ohio; and whereas the delegates of the said commonwealth have presented to Congress the form of a deed proposed to be executed pursuant to the said act, in the words following:

To all who shall see these presents, we, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe, the underwritten delegates for the commonwealth of Virginia in the Congress of the United States of America, send greeting:

Whereas the General Assembly of the commonwealth of Virginia, at their sessions begun on the 20th day of October, 1783, passed an act entitled "An act to authorize the delegates of this State in Congress to convey to the United States in Congress assembled, all the right of this commonwealth to the territory northwestward of the river Ohio," in these words following, to wit:

"Whereas the Congress of the United States did, by their act of the sixth day of September, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty, recommend to the several States in the union, having claims to waste and unappropriated lands in the western country, a liberal cession to the United States of a portion of their respective claims, for the common benefit of the Union; and whereas this commonwealth did, on the second day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-one, yield to the Congress of the United States, for the benefit of said States, all right, title, and claim which the said commonwealth had to the territory northwest of the river Ohio, subject to the conditions annexed to the said act of cession. And whereas the United States in Congress assembled have, by their act of the thirteenth of September last, stipulated the terms on which they agree to accept the cession of this State, should the legislature approve thereof, which terms, although they do not come fully up to the propositions of this commonwealth, are conceived, on the whole, to approach so nearly to them as to induce this State to accept thereof, in full confidence that Congress will, in justice to this State, for the liberal cession she hath made, earnestly press upon the other States claiming

very little short of this volume in magnitude-a course of legislation still in progress, as may be seen by the act of the 20th February, 1850, entitled "An act further to extend the time for locating Virginia military land warrants, and returning surveys thereon to the General Land Office."

With this glance at the double bounty land system, which the revolutionary corps of Virginia have enjoyed, we may leave the subject to the further contemplation of those from whom it may, perhaps, be reasonably anticipated that something of a parallel nature may yet be extended to the survivors and legal representatives of the like revo

large tracts of waste and uncultivated territory, the propriety of making cessions equally liberal for the common benefit and support of the Union.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That it shall and may be lawful for the delegates of this State to the Congress of the United States, or such of them as shall be assembled in Congress, and the said delegates, or such of them so assembled, are hereby fully authorized and empowered, for and on behalf of this State, by proper deeds or instrument in writing, under their hands and seals, to convey, transfer, assign, and make over, unto the United States in Congress assembled, for the benefit of the said States, all right, title, and claim, as well of soil as jurisdiction, which this commonwealth hath to the territory or tract of country within the limits of the Virginia charter, situate, lying, and being to the northwest of the river Ohio, subject to the terms and conditions contained in the before recited act of Congress of the thirteenth day of September last; that is to say, upon condition that the territory so ceded shall be laid out and formed into States, containing a suitable extent of territory, not less than one hundred, nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square, or as near thereto as circumstances will admit; and that the States so formed shall be distinct republican States, and admitted members of the federal union, having the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, and independence, as the other States.

"That the necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by this State, in subduing any British posts, or in maintaining forts and garrisons within, and for the defence, or in acquiring any part of, the territory so ceded or relinquished, shall be fully reimbursed by the United States; and that one commissioner shall be appointed by Congress, one by this Commonwealth, and another by those two commissioners, who, or a majority of them, shall be authorized and empowered to adjust and liquidate the account of the necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by this State, which they shall judge to be comprised within the intent and meaning of the act of Congress, of the tenth of October, one thousand seven hundred and eighty, respecting such expenses. That the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers of the Kaskaskies, St. Vincent's, and the neighboring villages, who have professed themselves citizens of Virginia, shall have their possessions and titles confirmed to them, and be protected in the enjoyment of their rights and liberties. That a quantity not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land, promised by this State, shall be allowed and granted to the then colonel, now general George Rogers Clarke, and to the officers and soldiers of his regiment, who marched with him when the post of Kaskaskies and St. Vincent's were reduced, and to the officers and soldiers that have been since incorporated into the said regiment, to be laid off in one tract, the length of which not to exceed double the breadth, in such place, on the Northwest side of the Ohio, as a majority of the officers shall choose, and to be afterwards divided among the said officers and soldiers in due proportion, according to the laws of Virginia. That in case the quantity of good land on the Southeast side of the Ohio, upon the waters of Cumberland river, and between the Green river and Tennessee river, which have been reserved by law for the Virginia troops, upon continental establishment, should, from the North Carolina line bearing in further upon the Cumberland lands than was expected, prove insufficient for their legal bounties, the deficiency should be made up to the said troops, in good lands, to be laid off between the rivers Scioto and Little Miami, on the Northwest side of the river Ohio, in such proportions as have been engaged to them by the laws of Virginia. That all the lands within the territory so ceded to the United States, and not reserved for, or appropriated to, any of the before-mentioned purposes, or disposed of in bounties to the officers and soldiers of the American army, shall be considered as a common fund for the use and benefit of such of the United States as have become, or shall become, members of the confederation or federal alliance of said States, Virginia inclusive, according to their usual respective proportions in the general charge and expenditure, and shall be faithfully and bona fide disposed of for that purpose, and for no other use whatsoever: Provided, That the trust hereby reposed in the delegates of this State, shall not be executed unless three of them at least are present in Congress," &c. &c.

lutionary corps of the other States, to set them off and make them equal therein to those of Virginia.

THE PUBLIC DEBT-"COMMUTATION CERTIFICATES" AND OTHER SECURITIES. The frequent allusions, in the course of this compilation, to public securities, in satisfaction of pension claims, under the various denominations of "commutation certificates," issued by the superintendent of finance, (see resolution 22d March, 1783;) “Trea sury certificates," issued by the Register of the Treasury, (see act 11th August, 1790;) "Loan Office certificates," issued by Commissioners of Loans in the several States; and other "certificates," (of public indebtedness,) issued by sundry commissioners for the adjustment of army accounts in the several States, &c., &c., render it desirable to give a brief outline of the act of the 4th August, 1790, "making provision for the debt of the United States," commonly called the "Funding act," which, it is hoped, will conduce to an examination of the act itself, for the better comprehension of it. The preamble of said act is as follows:

"Whereas, justice, and the support of public credit, require that provision should be made for fulfilling the engagements of the United States, in respect to their foreign debt, and for FUNDING their domestic debt, upon equitable and satisfactory terms."

The first section of the act then reserves out of the proceeds of the revenue from customs, &c. $600,000 a year for the support of Government, and appropriates the residue for the payment of interest on debts and loans. The act then proceeds thus:

"And as new loans are, and will be necessary for the payment of the aforesaid arrears of interest, and the instalments of the principal of the said foreign debt, due and growing due, and may also be found expedient in effecting an entire alteration in the state of the same."

Wherefore, the second section authorizes the President to cause $12,000,000 to be borrowed, part to pay arrears and instalments of the foreign debt; and to make other contracts relating to the FOREIGN DEBT. The act then proceeds in relation to the DOMESTIC DEBT, thus:

"And whereas it is desirable to adapt the nature of the provision to be made for the domestic debt to the present circumstances of the United States, as far as it shall be found practicable, consistently with good faith and the rights of the creditors, which can only be done by a voluntary loan on their part.”

The third section then authorizes a loan to be proposed to the full amount of the "domestic debt," by opening books for receiving subscriptions, by a Commissioner of Loans to be appointed in each of the States; and that the sums which shall be subscribed thereto, be payable in "certificates" issued for the said debt according to their specie value; which said certificates are designated and described as follows:

Description of certificates receivable for sums subscribed:

"1. The 'certificates' issued by the Register of the Treasury.

"2. Those issued by the Commissioners of Loans in the several States-including 'certificates' given pursuant to the act of Congress of the 2d January, 1779, for bills of credit of the several emissions of the 20th May, 1777, and of the 11th April, 1778. "3. Those issued by the Commissioners for the adjustment of the accounts of the quartermaster, commissary, hospital, clothing, and marine departments.

"4 Those issued by the Commissioners for the adjustment of accounts in the respective States.

"5. Those issued by the late and present paymaster general, or commissioner of army

accounts.

"6. Those issued for the payment of interest, commonly called indents of interest. "7. And the bills of credit' issued by the authority of the United States in Congress assembled, at the rate of 100 in the said bills for one dollar in specie."

And then the fourth section designates and describes the Two new "certificates" which the subscribers to the said loans shall be entitled to receive in lieu of the aforesaid certificates and bills of credit, viz: One certificate to express the indebtedness of the United States to the holder, in the sum of two-thirds of the amount subscribed, and to

bear interest of six per cent., payable quarter yearly, &c.; the other certificate to express the indebtedness of the United States to the holder thereof in the sum of one-third the amount so subscribed and paid, and to bear interest of six per cent., payable quarter yearly, &c.

But, for the certificates for payment of interest, called "indents of interest," which may be subscribed, the subscriber shall be entitled to a new "certificate" for the amount subscribed, bearing interest of three per cent., payable quarter yearly, &c.

And the said act further provides, that, as it may happen that some of the creditors of the United States may not think proper to become subscribers to the said loan, nothing in this act contained shall be construed to alter, abridge, or impair their rights, or the contracts upon which their respective claims are founded, &c.

And the said act, in the thirteenth section, authorizes a loan to the amount of $21,500,000, by subscriptions to be received at the same times and places, by the Commissioners of Loans: And provides that the sums which shall be subscribed shall be payable in the principal and interest of "CERTIFICATES" or "NOTES" which were issued by the several States, before the 1st of January, 1790, as acknowledgments of debts by them owing, &c. And that said "certificates" or evidences of State debts to be subscribed shall not exceed the following proportions, viz:

But it further provides that the certificates of said States, so receivable, must have been issued for no other considerations than compensations and expenditures for services or supplies towards the prosecution of the revolutionary war, or the defence of some part of the United States during said war. And it also provides, in like manner as aforesaid, for the issue of "CERTIFICATES," in lieu thereof, bearing six per cent., and three per cent., payable quarter yearly, &c. &c.

Such was the beautiful fiscal device of the funding system, which is substantially but another form of "commutation," by which the evidences of our "foreign debt," of our "indebtedness to individuals," and of the "debts of the several States," were bought up at their estimated value in specie and re-issued in Government securities, bearing interest, payable quarter yearly, with the privilege of their redemption within certain periods as being probably more satisfactory to claimants than the former precarious state of their respective claims; and so it proved to be, with the double result of "sustaining the public credit."

It is to be regretted, however, than the original losers by the "bills of credit" issued by the authority of the Old Congress, at the rate of "100 in said bills for one dollar in specie," when our resources were low, have never received some atonement since we have been most prosperous. But it may not yet be too late to take the subject under favorable consideration in behalf of their legal representatives, since our national prosperity has made it difficult to devise the ways and means of expending our surplus of revenue, and our immeasurable accession of waste and unappropriated domain.