The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1783-10-04 00:00:00, page 2

To the Pzprefentatives of the Freemen of the Common,
wealth of,en^fyi>aßia in G neral Affe nbb met.
Tne Mem^rrt' a.J Rswmflrance of iim^t^y Mat
lack, of the city of Philadel, hia.
6HEW£TH,
fr^ h A T. by the printed journal of this honorable
' house if appears, o^t on the fifth day of March
I : ft, file house palled a vott of censure against him, on
e report of"a " romnidee' appointed to confer with
“ the comptroller general on the fubjed of his letter
<' ^te^ Dec^mb-r % 1782, and also examine the laws
" rel peaine the dutis of the secretary of the tupreme
" executive council." A letter and report, the con
tntsor wnjch have not been rimde known to your re
mon^rirrr rifher by this honorable house or by any
commi'te r o' the house; neither has he ever received
any neti e whatever to appear and answer to any
charge upon which that censure can possibly be found
ed; and thus a bevvy and exceedingly grievous cen
fur* : as been paded upon 1 im for a fuppofad neglea,
not only without due Enquiry, and an open fir trial
by hi c peers; but even without any fpec^c charge
made againfthim, or even the Ihadow of a trial of any
kind. A proceeding unheard of in any tree country!
Your remonhrant conceives it to be a fundamental
and deoar'd right of every citizen of Pennsylvania,
upon every charge againflhim to be heard by himfelf
an I is council to demand the cause and nature of his
accusation, 0 beconfronted with the witnesses, to call
fo # evidence in his faybur and a speedy public trial,
by an impartial jury of bis country, without th'e una
nimous content of wichjury he cannot be found guil
ty. Trfat he is'mtitied to all rhe r ghis of a citizen,
not only by the adventitious cucumflances of birth
and residence, but by an alive, early, detifive and
unif irm opposition, thro' every danger and difficulty,
to that system of tyranny wnich had been set up a
gaiolt the rights and liberties bf the good people of
America ; ano'a full exerrion of hi utmod endeavours
to obtain the independence of these United States, and
"the eflabliffitient or our free Iconflitution. He engaged
in this cause toe next day after the news of the battle
of Lexington, and he continued in office until the day
next after the news of the preliminary articles of peace
being signed. His services were always rcoflfreely
offered in times of the greater difficulties and dangers,
when some others retired in difpair. He has not only
flak'd his life oh the faeces of America, and repeat
edly met the enemy in the field; but he has also seen
the blood of a brother arid a beloved son shed in her
defence. And the man who has pa such a price for
bis civil rights and will part with one of them, but with
the last drop of his own blo d, and the ?afl gasp of bis
life, must be, not only " unworthy of public trust
and confidence," but utterly unworthy to breath the
v p a i air. And if there b p a member of this honorable
house who has paid an equal price for them, to his
heart your remohftrant appeals for the justice and
propriety of the sentiment. These rights purchased
at this price by your remonArant, he conceives has
teen violated by this honorable house, and it is a du
ty he owes to the memory of his son, to himfelf, his
family, and his country, thus solemnly to remunerate
again" the proceedings of the house.
Had this honorable house called on your remonfirant
to answer an explicit and fpecified charge at the house,
lie mignt have quefliomd and mod certainly should
have queflioned their authority in the case, the 9th
fedion of the confutation expressly confining it, in
such cases, to impeachment only. Had he been legally
caTd to answer at any bar, the charges against him
wou'd cer'ainly have been fpecified, but the house have
not either by themfflves or their committee communi
cated to him the particular (uppof#d faffs on which
the charge againfl him is founded, or the evidence on
which it has been ascertained to them. His imagina
tion can only furnish him with two upon which he can
conceive it is possible that such a charge can be pre
tended to be founded. One is, a report said to be pro
pagated by the honorable Frederick Augustus Muh
lenberg, that he had paid into the hands of the secre
tary, money which was not credited in his accounts.
If such report has been propagated and a&ed upon,
your remintrant can only fay, It is not true, and calls,
as he is legally intitled to do, for the evidence of the
fall and to be confronted with the witnesses. The o
ther relates to monies paid to him by some es the pro
thonotaries of Counties. If this be the charge, he could
have fhewh, that by law it is expressly the duty of
prothonotaries to render to the committee appointed
by general assembly to fettle the public accounts, an
account of monies received by them, and, therefore,
that your remonstrant could not consider the money he
received from them as making a part of the accounts
he was bound by law to keep and render, yet the ac
count rendered by him into the comptroller general's
office on the t7'h of March last, only twelve days as.
ter the said resolve and within the time limited in the
writ issued under the order of this house, does actually
contain a faithful account of all monies received by
him from those prothonotaries. It appears by the
comptroller general's report on those accounts to the
president and council, that he had " compared" them
'' with the monies charged to him (the secretary) by
" the clerks and others so far as their several accounts
" have been rendered, which correspond, except some
" trivial differences arising from variation in calculat
'' ing the depreciation, &c. and where those accounts
«' have not been rendered, it appears from the state
" treasurer's accounts and other circumflances, very
<c improbab'e that any of the monies paid by them are
" therein omitted." Your remonstrant cannot sup
pose, that so severe a censure could have been, by men
worthy of " public confidence," founded on loch
flight ground. He is th refore left at a loss even to
gues on what ground he has been so censured.
The fa&, or fads ahuded to in the said vote remain
ing unknown, and the term defaulter made use of there
in, every one has been est at liberty to adopt whatever
conjectures his imagination might fugged, and in con
ftquence many flrange and injurious falfhoods have
been invented and spread abroad concerning your re
monstrant. Among other dories, it has been said, that
your memorialift has traded orc public monies, and
that be hat made very large™purchafes of lands and
other real eflates ; and these ffories are fuppofei to
have taken theifrife with f6'm, member or members of
this honorable house, whereby they may have gained a
more ready belief, and greatly tnd to prejudice the
minds of his fellow 'citizens ag drift your remonstrant,
and may pofflbly even affed the questions bf right to be
determined refpefling his claims. It is therefore his
duty to declare, that although he believes whenjhis
accounts as secretary are justly and equitably fettled,
there will be found a considerable balance due to him,
and that he had a right to have traded, had he thought
it advantageous to him so to do, yet he has not, dur
ing his continuance in office, been concerned in the
exportation or importation, purchase or fate of mer
chatidife of any kind, dirediy or indireHly, other than
such articles as were for the foie use of his own tamity.
And he declares, that he has not purchased and paid
for, during that time or since, any of the confifeated
eflates, or city lots fold by authority of the state, or
any other real reflate whatever, to the amount of five
pounds. And he calls all the world to witness against
him, if the declarations are not ftriHly true.
In the milage from the president and council of the
lift of March, accompanied with the comptroller gene
ral's report on the secretary's accounts, they •'' presume
" the quellions of right may be determined in the man
'' ner proposed by the secretary, wnich appears to us
" (fay they) to be reasonable." The cornmi tee of the
house speak, in general terms, of charges contained in
the secretary's accounts, w den the comptroller general
declares (as they fay) to be altogether inadmissible,
and give their opinion, that ''the thrift eligible mode
" of bringing this bufiuefs to a final settlement is for the
" comptroller general to prosecute 'the said Timothy
" Matlack, enquire, in the supreme court, in order to
" try the contested points by a jury ; " but there is
not any of the proceedings which have been made pub
lic, an account of what those queffions of tight are.
Tnefe questions, if your remonstrant is rightly inform
ed, are firft, Upon a claim set up by the comptroller
general in behalf of the state, to certain fees received
by the secretary, which the comptroller general is plea
sed to fay, “ are not granted him by law, such as the
" fees of the keeper of the great seal, &c. &c." The
ground 011 which this claim, on behalf of tie state, is
set up, your remonstrant is altogether a Granger to:
he has performed the duties and, he conceives, is inti
tuled to the fees declared by law to be a reasonable
and adequate compensation for the service. Secondly,
whether the state or the parties are to pay for militia
commitfons. On this your remonstrant observes, that
the rule in other like cases appears to be, that where
the office is lucrative the party pays for the commif
fioc, and where it is not lucrative, it is charged to the
public: thus a sheriff pays for his commission ; but
that of a coroner may be charged to the county.
Hence your remonstrant inferred, that a commrffion to
a militia officer ought not to be charged to the party. If
he is miflaken in this inference it is an error which ope
rates io favour of the best friends of the revolution:
whereas the contrary mast operate against them. He
conceives this queflion, in other words, to be whether
or not, the whigs thould at once perform the great,
important and hazardous duties of militia during the
war, and pay for the authority derived from the
state to perform those duties ; while those of a contra
ry charaaer remain exempt from the personal service,
and at the fame time avoid their part of the expence ?
upon this queflion let a whig jury decide. And third
ly, the queflion relates only to the time when the se
cretary is bound to give up his former salary and fees
and receivein lieu thereof the salary lately fix'd. This
queflion, to a certain time, has been decided by the
attorney general and the general assembly That the
secretary may take either the former or the latter at
his own choice, and the queflion at present relates to a
few months only. Should your remonstrant think it
proper to give up this point in order to gain a more
speedy decision 011 the other points, the good people
of the state, when these accounts are fettled, will be
enabled to judge how far they are indebted to the comp
troller genera! for railing the queflion, by the fam
which th e date-will have gained by it. If there is any
other queflion on those accounts it is unknown to your
remonstrant.
However reasonably and legally your remonstrant
might have refufed to submit to a trial of those quef
tions of right, ordered in such terms, and in so unusu
al a manner, he, for the fake of, “ a speedy and public
trial" waved every objedion thereto and urgel in the
most earned manner, and by every means in nis power
to obtain a decision at the lad supreme court, and (hall
earnestly pray tor it during the present fitting of that
Court; but he being informed that this honorable house
are aboutto close their session, he conceives it to be
his duty now to present this memorial and remon.
ftrance, and as it is not in the power of the house to
do him that justice and afford him that redress to
which he is justly entitled, he only prays, that the
fame may be entered on the journals of the house *, in
order that he may hereafter make such further appeals
as the nature of his case may appear to require.
* Even this reasonable request has not been granted
although it is a right to which the remonstrant is cer
tainly intitled,
LONDO N, Aqguf 18.
An aft for appointing commissioners to enquire into
the losses and services of al such perfops who have
fuffered in their rights, properties, and profeffions
during the late unhappy diffentions in America, in
consequence of their loyally to his majefly, and at
tachment to the British government.
WHEREAS, during the late unhappy diffen
tions in America, many of your majefly's
faithful fubjefts have, in consequence of their loyalty
to your majesty, and attachment to the British govern
ment, and their obedience to your majefly's procla
mation, and various other proclamation* and mani
feftoes, issued by your majesty's commissioners, gene
rals, and governors, fuffered in their rights, proper
ties, and profeffions, insomuch that several well deser
ving perlons are reduced from affluence to circum-
Hances so flrainted as so require the aid of a temporary
support, which has been allotted to them by the com
missioners of the treasury, by annual allowance made,
and occasional affiflance by sums of money given to
them from the revenues of your majefty'scivil lift, the
amount of which has hitherto been made good by par
liament ; and your faithful commons, not doubting
but that your majefly's most earned endeavours will
be employed for procuring from the United States of
America reflitution of or recompence for the estates
and effeas of those who have thus unhappily fuffered,
and intending to give all due aid and afiftance to those
who may return to America for the recovery of their
former possessions under the provisional articles, and to
extend such relief to others who may, by particular
circumflauces, be deprived of that advantage, as their
refpedive cases may require, and the public afford ; to
to which end, it is necessary that a diligent and impar
tial enquiry ihould be made into the losses and fervice#
of all iuch persons as may, within the time herein
after limited for that purpose, claim or request such
aid or relief as is hereby intended to be given* wo
pry your majefly that it may be enabled : and be it
tenanted by the king's most excellent majefly, by and
with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and
temporal, and commons, in this present parliament
assembled, and by the authority of the fame, That
Jolin Wilmot, esquire, Daniel Parker Coke, esquire,
colonel Robert Kington, colonel Thomas Dundas, and
John Marlli, esquire fliall be, and they are hereby
constituted commissioners for enquiring into the respec
tive losses and services of all such person and persons
who have fuffered in their rights, properties, and pro
feffiohs, during the late unhappy diffentions in Ameri
ca, in consequence of their loyalty to his majefly, and
attachment to the Britiffi government.
11. And be it further enafted, That any three com
miffion^rs in this aft named, before they enter upon
the execution of the fame, shall take an oath before
the matter of the Rolls for the time being, of one of his
majesty's justices of the court of Ring's Bench, com
mon pleas, of barrens of the exchequer, (which they,
or either of them, ^are hereby authorized and required
to adminifler) in the form following ; that is to
fay*
I A. B. do swear, that according to the best of my
(kill and knowledge, I will faithfully, impartially,'
and truly execute the several powers and trusts veiled in
me by an aft, (intitled an a& for appointing commis
sioners to enquire into th'e losses and services of all such
per sons who have fuffered in their rights, properties,'
and profeffions, during the late unhappy diffentions ih
America, in consequence of their loyalty to his maje
tty, and attachment to the British government) accord
ing to the tenor and purport of the said ad. And e
very other of the said commissioners in this aft named,
shall likewise take the fame oath, before the said three
commissioners, who are hereby authorized and required
toadminifter the fame, after they shall themselves have
taken the said oath as aforefaid.
111. And be it further enaded, That it shall and
may be lawful to and for the said commissioners, or a—
ny three or more of them, and they are hereby author
rized, impowered, and required, to examine upon oath,
(which oath they, or any three or more of them, are
hereby authorized to adminifler) all persons whom the
said commissioners, or any three or more of them,
shall think fit to examine touching all such matters and
things as shall be necessary for the execution of the
powers veiled in the said commissioners by this aft ~
and all such persons a r e hereby directed and required
pun&ually to attend the said commissioners at such time
or place as they, or any three or more of them, shall
appoint.
iV. And be it enabled by the authority aforefaid,
That the said commissioners, or any three or more of
them, are hereby authorized to meet and lit, from
time to time, at the office of the late secretary of state
for the American department, with or without adjourn
ment, and to fend their precept or precepts, under their
hands and seals, for any person or persons whatsoever,
and for such books, papers, writings, or records, a^
they shall judge necessary for their information in the
execution of the powers veiled in the said commission
ers by this aa; and the said commissioners, or any
three or more of them, are hereby authorifed to ap
point and employ such clerks, messengers, and officers,
as they shall think meet; which clerks and officers are
hereby required faithfully to execute and perform the
trust io them severally and refpe&ively reposed, with
out taking any thing for such their service, other than
such salary or reward as the said commissioners, or any
three or more of them, shall think fit to dired and ap
point in that behalf.
V. And be it enaded by the authority afo efaid,
That if it shall appear to the said comm ffioners that
any person shall have delivered to them an account or
claim beyond the real loss, with an intent to obtain
moie than a just compensation, the said commission
ers shall, with all convenient dispatch, report such ac
count or claim, with the evidence taken thereupon,
to the commissioners of his majefly's treasury, who
are hereby authorifed to make such further enquiry
upon the case as they shall think proper; and if they,
or any three of them, shall be of opinion that such ac
count or claim is fraudulent, then fueh person shall be
absolutely excluded from any compensation or provifi #
on whatsoever.
VI. And be it further enaHed by the authority a
forefaid, That in case any person or persons, upon ex
amination upon oath before the said commissioners re
fpe&ively, as before mentioned, shall wilfully and cor
ruptly give faife evidence, every such person so of
fending, and being thereof duly convi& e d, shall be,
and is and are hereby declared to be fubjeft and lia
ble to such pains and penalties as, by any law now in
being, persons convicted of wilful and corrupt perju
ry are fu I jefl and liable to.
VII. And be it further enabled, That no claim or
request of any person or persons for aid or relief on ac
count of the loss of any property during the late diffen
tions in America,|fhall be received after the 2514 day of
March 1784.
VIII. And be it further enabled, That the said com-