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The Papers of James Madison, Purchased by Order of Congress
The Papers of James Madison Purchased by Order of Congress Author:James Madison Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: which was to justify himself to his constituents, would be frustrated. Most of those who voted with him were opposed to an immediate publication. The expedient o... more »f a temporary concealment was proposed as answering all purposes." Tuesday, February 20-rH. Nothing of consequence was done. Wednesday, February 21st. The Report of the Convention at Annapolis, in September, 1786, had been long under the consideration of a committee of Congress for the last year, and was referred over to a grand committee of the present year. The latter committee, after considerable difficulty and discussion, agreed on a report, by a majority of one only, (see the Journal,)129 which was made a few days ago to Congress, and set down as the order for this day. The Report coincided with the opinion held at Annapolis, that the Confederation needed amendments, and that the proposed Convention was the most eligible means of effecting them. The objections which seemed to prevail against the recommendation of the Convention by Congress, were, with some, that it tended to weaken the Federal authority by lending its sanction to an extra-constitutional mode of proceeding; with others, that the interposition of Congress would be considered by the jealous as betraying an ambitious wish to get power into their hands by any plan whatever that might present itself. Subsequent to the Report, the Delegates from New York received instructions from its Legislature to move in Congress for a recommendation of a convention; and those from Massachusetts had, it appeared, received information which led them to suppose it was becoming the disposition of the Legislature of that State to send deputies to the proposed Convention, in case Congress should give their sanction to it. There was reason to believe, however, from the...« less