154] ANNUAL REGISTER, 18l6. 



eating the execution of the reso- 

 lution pa.-ise(l to resume ca-h ])Hy- 

 inents, the ol^jectioii to whicii 

 payments, he .*;iys, rest chiefly 

 Avith the bunks i,f tlu- tnirldle 

 states. A notice i * then given by 

 the treasury, for the coasiiliMation 

 of tiie stale bunks, reconimemi- 

 ina; as a preliminary measure, 

 that all small noie> under Iht- 

 liollars shonhl not be taken after 

 October l>t, unless the bank is- 

 j-uinir it -tiouUl pay tiie amount 

 wlieu required. Several bank- 

 ^ent deputies to Philadel}>h:a, in 

 order t-.i eonsu.lt on the present 

 state of tlie cuireiu-y ; and it is 

 .•;aid in ti-.e Ne>v York paper, that 

 the delegates frmn the banks of 

 New Voik, rhilad. Inhia. iialti- 

 niore, am! \'iixinia, ai^reed on 

 resuming- paynionts in specie, im 

 July Ist^ 1817. 



A notice isaued from the 'I'rci-.- 

 surv ilepartnient on Sept. I'Jth, 

 nicnlion.s, that the payment of 

 jinall sums in coin on October 1st. 

 has been jrenerally declined by 

 the state banks ; and as an ar- 

 ramrement for supplying the peo- 

 ple with a recpti-ite medium to 

 ]iav tl'.eir (hitie^ and taxes inde- 

 pendenlly of tiiose banks eamiot 

 f.inv{nicntK in- made until tin' 

 bank of the inited Slates •^l\all 

 be in operation, no further mea- 

 sures will i>e taken with a view 

 M, ihe collection of tlie revenue in 

 coin on the above day. In pm- 

 suanee, however, of a resolution 

 of (.'onunes-^ on April '29th, notice 

 is i;iven, that from the '27th of 

 February 1«!7, all deljts <.r sum- 

 of umnev becnmini:; due to the 

 United Staie-; must be paid in the 

 k'tijal cuireney, or irea,sury notes, 

 or notes of the bank of the United 

 States, or in rotes of banks pa\TL- 



ble on demand in the legal cur- 

 rency, atul not otherwise. 



■Some of the earlier American 

 papers speak of bickerings on the 

 Canadian lakes !>etween the ves- 

 sels of the two powers ; which 

 %vill be very liable to arise in 

 tracts of jjivided sovereignty, and 

 which have so lately been the 

 theatre of severe conlesr. There 

 lines nf)t, howcvei', appear any 

 present danger of serious ditier- 

 eitces from this source. At the 

 other extremity of the territory 

 of t!ie United States, where they 

 come in contact by land and sea 

 with the Tmnsatlantic dominion 

 of Spain, th.e liazanl of national 

 tpiarrel i- much more urgent, 

 (■sj)ecially on the undetermincil 

 limits of maritime possession ; 

 and an act of hostility in the 

 (lulf of Mexico practised by a 

 Spani-h. sipsadnm upon an Ame- 

 rican vessel, excited nmcli indig- 

 nation in the United States to- 

 wards the close of the year. But 

 instead of en'erjng ujjon the du- 

 bitm*; details of thi.- anil other 

 circinnstances related in the public 

 pai'e's, we .shall have recourse to 

 the i'resklent's speccli for a con- 

 eluding view of tiie general state 

 of this jepublic. 



On Decembei :id, the President 

 transmitted :i message to both 

 Houses of ( ongress, of which 

 the following were the mo.st ini- 

 port.ant particulars. It began 

 with adverting to the peculiai-ity 

 of the seasons, which had threat- 

 ened some districts with scarcity; 

 but upon the whole, the aggre- 

 gate resources were said to be 

 more than sufficient for tlie ag- 

 gregate wants. It wa^ then re- 

 iretied that a dq)resslon ha«i 

 been expei it-need by particular 



branches 



