The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1784-12-27 00:00:00, page 2

honest government to repair, not multiply mifchiefs ;
to restore publick credit; to conciliate the affections
of its people ; and, as far as possible, to do justice to
all. When these things are brought about ; when
obstinate prejudices fliall be removed, and injuries to
tally forgotten ; if the exigencies of the state should
absolutely require it, there is a possibility, that bills
of credit may again become money. Until that peri
od, I confefs myfelf, and I believe every other man,
unequal to the taflc of devising a fafe and eligible plan
of an emission."
So far the Reviewer of last year.
If these principles be true, this state of fads just,
and these remarks unanswerable, it must talk human
invention to suggest plausible arguments for adopting
an expedient, which, even in the time of our greatest
difficulty and distress, Icarcely feived a temporary
purpose. It may, however, be deemed arrogant to
decide, without hearing all that may be said, or wait
ing to fee whether, in the delineation of the plan,
there may not be something material to discriminate
it from all others. But should I wait for this, I may
not have an opportunity of being heard. It is my bu
siness therefore to anticipate.
The arguments used last year, on a similar occasion,
were these :—" The community deeply feels the want
of a circulating medium. Creditors cannot colled
debts. Merchants cannot procure money to carry on
their business. The people have not wherewith to
pay the tax. And a thorough convidion of the ne
cessity of removing these evils will engage every man
in the support of a paper emission, and then it cannot
fail." All these portions, except the last, I might ad
mit, and still it would remain to prove, that a paper
emission would remove the evils. The last position I
can never admit, because the sense of a general evil
was never known to bind the generality of mankind to
act contrary to the didates of private interest. I ap
peal again to the history of red money, with its asso
ciation, private security, and what not. Even the
sincere endeavours of every individual in this tingle
state would not, without defeating the very end for
which paper is to be introduced, give it equal value to
that of specie, because they could not make it answer
all the purposes of specie. That the community feels
the want of a circulating medium is much to be ques
tioned, because every man, who has commodities to
fell, may find a ready market, and a better price, than
was given before the war. That creditors cannot col
led debts is very true ; and yet this scheme would not
better their condition, because, if this paper should be
money in the true sense, a greater quantity of it will
not find a way to the pockets of debtors, than they|
could by the fame means procure gold and silver;
and no man would rifle a proposition of so deep dam
nation, as that of a tender law. That merchants
cannot procure specie to carry on their business, should
be fairly understood. That a great number of men
without capital want this paper, to launch forth into
a business, which already employs too many of our ci
tizens, I readily believe. This scheme would not be
beneficial to them, and a true merchant will perceive
no advantage in it to either himfelf or the state. He
will tell you, that if there is a necessity for increasing
the medium of commerce, that it cannot be done by
bills of credit; and that the only paper, which can
effed this purpose, is bank notes. Again—ls the peo
ple have not wherewithal to pay the tax, when they
can command specie for every kind of produce, they
would not have wherewithal to pay, if the scheme
should be adopted, and should aniwer the avowed ex
pectation of its advocates. If indeed it be said, that
we ought to ease the people, by taking from them
what may be more easily procured than specie, let us
in the name of common sense rather lower the tax, if
it be too high ; but let us not burthen them to pay
that, which cannot answer the true purposes of go
vernment.
It has been triumphantly said, that this emission
will " stand on the firm balls of private security." Is
not the security for the redemption of red, black, and
continental state bills, as ample as the heart of man
can wish, provided the publick can at all be relied
upon? Is not the fame outstanding extremely mode
rate? Are not the periods of redemption very near?
And yet are not these bills inferior to specie? And
do they in the flighted degree serve as ^ circulating
medium ?
To reason from the success of the paper emission
before the war is as ridiculous as it is common. C ir
cumftances are totally changed. There is as great a
revolution in the minds of men refpecling paper mo
ney, as there is in government. I will make one
plain observation, which is equal to a thousand vo
lumes. Paper was good before the war, because the
people thought it so. And it will be bad now, because
the people think it bad. To make good paper mo
ney, therefore, you have no less to do, than to give
them precisely the fame ideas on the fubjeft which
they had before the war.
It is contended by some, that an emission is neces
sary for the benefit of certificate holders. There must
surely be magick in the management of paper, cr I
Foreign Intelligence.
LONDO N, October 16.
The following account of the extraordinary conduH
of the BiJbop of Derry, may be depended on as au
thentick. It is an extract of a letter from an of
ficer in the 4.9 th regiment, quartered in Belfajl,
to his friend in London.
" -fyrOUR countrymen hold us soldiers (particu-
X larly Englishmen) in great contempt. The
Colonel, and two or three other officers of our corps,
made an excursion last week to Giant's Causeway, and
on the road made a stop to fee the Bilhip of Derry's
house, as it is customary for molt strangers to do.—^
His Lordship, hearing who they were, lent a servant
to request their company to dinner, which they de
clined. However, he would admit of no excuse, and
again, in the politest terms, repeated his solicitations,
which common civility at length obliged them to com
ply with. He then accompanied them round his
grounds, and took the greatelt pains to render him
felf agreeable, and them happy. As soon as dinner
was over, and the ladies retired, he exprefled his plea
sure at feeing them in coloured coats, viz. out of their
regimental uniform, and said, if they pleafed,he would
give them a toast ; on which he proposed the Volun
teers of Ireland. This was drank with much good
humour. In a few minutes after, he gave the Cole
raine Battalion, and continued giving particular
corps of volunteers for upwards of half an hour, dur
ing which the officers, not a little furprized to be thus
treated by a Nobleman in his own house, silently
bowed, and drank their wine, which, by the bye, was
uncommonly good. Upon the Colonel's observing
what a fine youth the Hon. Mr. Hervey was, who
dined with them, and was clad in a white jacket, faced
with blue, the Bishop said, “ Yes," and that he made
no doubt it would Ihortly be tried what ftuff he was
made of. During the course of the conversation. he
was asked, whether he was really serious refpeding
the independence of Ireland? He answered in the af
firmative; and said he hoped it would soon be decided
in the field, and by the sword: that he himfelf would
meet them there, and that he trusted he should have
the happiness of feeing, ere he died, Ireland as inde
pendent of England, as of any other nation on earth."
October 21.
Extrafl of a letter from Rotterdam, Qflober 11.
" Ever since the affair of the Imperial vessel in the
Scheldt, an embargo for fourteen days was hid on all
The limits of a news-paper will not permit me to
descant on the various fubjeds, which might be in
volved in the difeuffion of this question. Enough,
however, I trust, has been said for the purpose of ex
poling the plan. I cannot conclude better than with
the words of rhe aforementioned essay.
“ Is it fair and honest, by not paying creditors their
interest, and denying them the right of discounting the
principal, to compel them to relinquish both for this
trashy paper ? Would you court rash enterprizing
men to embark in the most extravagant ruinous plans?
Would you give speculators—the men you have abused
so long—would you give them another fair field to
display their talents? Will you commit the most fla
grant injustice? Will you thrust daggers into the
hearts of your creditors? Will you, if it be possible,
reduce publick credit to a more deplorable state ? —
And will you do all this on the principle of benefit to
the publick? No projed, which is big with so many
complicated evils, can be salutary to the state ; and if,
instead of ninety thousand pounds, it could gain a
million, the scheme deserves to be damned."
A REVIEWER.
Annapolis, November 30, 1784.
must want common apprehension. I cannot conceive,
that if a creditor should call upon me, it would be
any fatisfadion to him for me take back my bond and
give him another ; unless indeed the old bond were
nearly out of date.
There is another argument for an emiflion, which
to me is more hateful than all the rest. By exchang
ing these bills for certificates, we prevent the further
accumulation of interest, whilst we may still receive
interest from our debtors. Or by lending these bills,
we may receive a sum that will considerably diminish
the weight of taxes. In plain English the argument
is this —lt is high time for the state to speculate, and,
like other {peculators, it must avail itfelf of the wants
and follies of mankind. It is easy to perceive that
the state, in truth, can neither gain nor save. The
state is composed of its citizens. The state is a re
publick, and all its citizens have equal rights, and are
entitled to the fame consideration and guardian care.
1 he revenue of the state, colled it by what method
you please, must be furnifhed by its citizens. There
is indeed a diftin&ion between the various methods of
obtaining it; but that, which is the most equal and
productive of least evil, is on every account to be pre
ferred.
TRENTON, December 27.
On the loth inst. the Marquis La FAYETTE ar
rived here from Philadelphia ; and on the 11th
the Legislature of this State presented him with
the following ADDRESS:
To the Honourable the Marquis LA FAYETTE.
S i r,
W E, the Representatives of the Citizens of New-
Jersey, convened in Council and Assembly, cheerfully
embrace the opportunity which your present visit to
this state affords, of paying you that publick mark of
refped which is justly due to your distinguished merit.
With pleafiue wo recoiled, that, actuated by a love
of liberty, and a sacred regard for the rights of man
kind, you left your native country, and all the en
dearments of domeftick life, and voluntarily engaged
in the hazardous cause of America, in her late con- •
test with Great-Britain : And we acknowledge, with
gratitude, that theJignal services which you have ren
dered this state, and the other Rates in union, have
greatly contributed to the complete establishment of
that freedom and independence which they now en
joy.
Your unremitted endeavours to support our national
credit and character, and your generous efforts to pro
mote our trade and commerce, afford us the strongest
evidences of your attachment to this country, and of
your regard for the interests of opr Federal Repub
lick.
Permit us, Sir, to conclude with expressing our fer
vent wishes for your welfare and prosperity, and with
assuring you that the citizens of New-jersey will ever
retain an exalted sense of your disinterested friendship
and important services.
Council-Chamber, House of Assembly, De-
Dec. 11, 1784. cember 11, 1784.
By order of the By order of the
Council, House,
Wil. Livingston, Benj. Van-Cleve,
PreJident. Speaker.
To which the Marquis made the following AN
SWER:
Sir,
IN the friendship and esteem of the state of New
jerfey, so kindly expressed by your Excellency, the
Council, and Assembly, I feel myfelf the more bartered,
as I have had numerous occasions to admire the spirit
and patriotism of her citizens, to which, in trying
emergencies, our cause has been so signally indebted.
the vetTcls (not foreign) in the ports of Zealand,
which will be taken off or prolonged, at the expira
tion of that time, as circumstances require."
A letter from Toulon, by the last mail, fays, that
the Count Dillon flcop of war, bound from that port
with defpatches for Cadiz, was taken in the Medi
terranean, by two large Barbary corsairs, after a smart
engagement of one hour, and carried into Tunis ; the
Captain, the Surgeon, and several of the crew, were
killed in the engagement.
Extras of a letter from Vienna.
" Grants for land are now making out from his Im
perial Majesty's registry in this city, to persons who
are to be permitted to build on those spots where the
frontier barriers between Flanders and Holland were
lately destroyed ; there are many more applications than
grants, the Emperor having reftri&ed the quantity of
land, and allo the number of houses to be built
thereon."
Extraß of a letter from Brufr!s.
" The barges, &c. which are furnilhed with im
plements for removing the obftru&on in the Scheldt,
will go to work in a short time, the several artificers
having arrived at the city of Antwerp for commenc
ing those operations, which the States General have
given their consent not to obftrud.
" The Emperor is fliortly expected here on a visit
to his brother Prince Charles; he will stay only a
short time, but we understand he will visit most of the
principal towns in Flanders before he returns home to
Germany, which will not be till towards Christmas."
Authentick letters from Paris, dated J' ly 26, men
tion, that the learned Mihionary, M. ? lilot, lately
transmitted some very inrereftiog memoirs from Pe
kin, where he has relided some years, concerning the
arts and manners of rhe Chinese. From these we
learn, that'the present Emperor Kien Long, who is
in the 75th year of his age, has published an edi& in
favour of the Europeans, by which the former impo
litick and illiberal reßraints upon them are taken off,
and they are ordered to be treated as friends and bro
thers.
The lame accounts declare, that upon an estimate
of the number of inhabitants in each province, made
last year by order of the Emperor (who appears in all
refpeßs to deserve the noble title of father of his peo
ple) it was found they amounted to upwards of two
hundred millions of fowls. Incredible as this calcu
lation may seem, it is delivered upon good authority,
and supported by the tettimony of Mr. Allerftain, Pre
lident of the mathematical department at Pekin.