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Communicated to Congress, February 20, 1801.
Gentlemen of the Senate, and
Gentlemen of the House of Representatives:
I transmit to Congress a report, received this morning, from Elias Boudinot, Esquire, Director of the Mint, dated February 13, 1801, which will require the attention and decision of Congress, before the close of the session.
JOHN ADAMS.
United States, February 20, 1801.
. . . . . . . .
The Report of the Director of the Mint.
Mint of the United States, February 13, 1801.
The Director considers it his duty to inform the President, that Monday last was the day, directed by law, on which the assays of the reserved pieces of coin should be made, in the presence of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Comptroller of the Treasury, the Chief Justice, and Attorney General; but none of those officers have attended, nor could indeed have been expected; and the Director has not been informed of any other provision, yet made by law, to accomplish the same purpose. By this means not only the check established by law on the coin of the United States, is frustrated, but the reserved pieces are still locked up, and the depositors complain of being thus deprived of the use of their property. The design of bringing this subject before the President, is, that the Director may be instructed what steps to take on this occasion.
It is also necessary to inform the President, that, by the act of Congress of the 16th of July, 1790, all offices attached to the seat of Government shall be removed to the district accepted for the seat of Government of the United States, by the said act, by their respective holders, on the first Monday in December, 1800, and shall, after the said day, cease to be executed elsewhere; but, by an act of the last session of Congress, the mint is to remain at Philadelphia till the fourth day of March next, any thing in the said act to the contrary notwithstanding. This act expires on the fourth day of March next, and unless some other provision is made by law before that day, it will be difficult to ascertain the duty of the Director, except to prevent any further operation of the mint at Philadelphia. He wishes, therefore, for instructions from the President, as to his conduct with regard to the mint, in case further provision, by law should not be made; at all events, the public property here should be attended to.
All which is respectfully submitted to the President.
ELIAS BOUDINOT, Director.