A letter of 26 February, from D. Cottineau,¹ captain of the ship Ferdinand, at Cape Lookout, North Carolina, with an invoice of her cargo, was read:

Resolved, That the Committee of Commerce be authorized, after a conference with the Board of War and the Marine Committee, to purchase such articles of the cargo as they shall deem expedient for the public service.

Ordered, That the letter be referred to a committee of three:

The members chosen, Mr. Duer, Mr. Chase, and Mr. F L Lee.

The Committee of Commerce, to whom was referred the letter from Mr. Gillon,² in a report; Whereupon,

Resolved, That, as Mr. Gillon hath accepted of an appointment to command the navy of the State of South Carolina, and Congress have empowered their commissioner at Paris to appoint agents to transact the commercial affairs of these states, it is inexpedient to proceed upon his contract.³