The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1782-04-17 00:00:00, page 1

NEW-JERSEY GAZETTE.
To the PEOPLE of AMERICA.
On the expences, arrangements and dilburfements
for carrying on the war, and finifhing it with
honour and advantage.
WHEN any necessity or occasion has
pointed out the convenience of ad
dressing the publick, I have never
made it a consideration whether the
fubjeCt was popular or unpopular, but whether it
was right or wrong; for that which is right will
become pppular, and that which is wrong, though
by mistake it may obtain the cry or fafhion of the
day, will soon lose the power of delusion, and fink
into disesteem.
A remarkable instance of this happened in the
case of Silas Deane; and I mention this circumstance
with the greater ease, because the poison of his bypo
crify spread over the whole country, and every man,
almost without exception, thought me wrong in op
posing him. The best friends I then had, except
Mr. Laurens, Rood at a dißance, and this tribute,
which is due to his constancy, I pay to him with
refpeCt, and that the readier, because he is not here
to hear it. If it reaches him in his imprisonment,
it will afford him an agreeable reflection.
"As be rose like a rocket, be wouldfall like the
flick," is a metaphor which I applied to Mr. Deane
in the firft piece which I published refpe&ing him,
and he has exactly fulfilled the description. The
credit he so unjustly obtained from the publick, he
loft in almost as (hort a time. The delusion peril
ed as it fell, and he soon saw himfelf stripped of
popular support. His more intimate acquaintance
began to doubt and to desert him long before he
left America, and at his departure he saw himfelf
the object of general suspicion. When arrived in
France, he endeavoured to effect by treason what
he had failed to accomplish by fraud. His plans,
schemes and projects, together with his expectation
of being sent to Holland to negociate a loan of mo
ney, had all miscarried. He then began traducing
and accusing America of every crime, which could
injure her reputation. " That she was a ruined
“ country; that she only meant to make a tool of
" France, to get what money she could out of her,
66 and then to leave her, and accommodate with
“ Britain." Of ail which, and much more, Colonel
Laurens and myfelf, when in France, informed Dr.
Franklin, who had not before heard of it. And to
complete the character of a traitor, he has, by let
ters to this country since, some of which, in his own
hand writing, are now in the possession of Congress,
used every expression and argument in his power to
injure the reputation of France, and to advise Ame
rica to renounce her alliance, and surrender up her
independence. * Thus, in France, he abuses Ame
rica, and in his letters to America he abuses France;
and is endeavouring to create disunion between the
two countries, by the fame arts of double dealing
by which he caused dissensions among the Commissi
oners in Paris, and diftraCtions in America, But
his life has been fraud, and his character is that of
a plodding, plotting, cringing mercenary, capable of
any disguise that suited his purpose. His final de
tention has very happily cleared up those mistakes,
and removed those uneasinesses, which his unprinci
pled conduct occasioned. Every one now fees him
in the fame light; for towards friends or enemies
he aCted with the fame deception and injustice, and
his name, like that of Arnold, ought now to be
forgotten among us. As this is the firft time I have
mentioned him since my return from France, it is
* Mr. William Marshal, of this city, formerly
a pilot, who had been taken at sea and carried to
England, and got from thence to France, brought
over letters from Mr. Deane to America, one of
which was direßed to " Robert Morris, Esq."
Mr. Morris Jent it unopened to Congress, and ad
lifed Mr. Marshal to deliver the others there,
which he did. The letters were of the fame pur
port with those which have been already published
under the Jignatsre of S. Deane, to which they
had frequent reference.
[Vol. V.]
WEDNESDA Y, April 17, 1782.
Imprefled with a sense of the danger to which the
country was exposed by this lax method of doing
business, and the prevailing errors of the day, I
published, last October was a twelvemonth, The
Criss Extraordinary, on the revenues of America,
and the yearly expeace of carrying on the war.
But there is one error which might have been
prevented, and was not; and as it is not my cuftoni
to flatter, but to serve mankind, I will speak it free
ly. It certainly was the duty of every Alterably
on the continent to have known, at all times, what
was the condition of its treasury, and to have ascer
tained at every period of depreciation, how much
the real worth of the taxes fell Ihort of their nomi
nal value. This knowledge, which might have been
easily gained, would have enabled them to have kept
their constituents well informed, which is one of
the greatest duties of representation. They ought
to have Rudied and calculated the expences of the
war, the quota of each date, and the consequent
proportion that would fall on each man's property
for his defence; and this must easily have shewn to
them, that a tax of an hundred pounds could not
be paid by a bushel of apples or an hundred of flour,
which was often the case two or three years ago.
But instead of this, which would have been plain
and upright dealing, the little line of temporary
popularity, the feather of an hour's duration, was
too much pursued; and in this involved condition
of things, every state, for the want of a little think
ing, or a little information, supposed that it support
ed the whole expences of the war, when in fad it
fell, by the time the tax was levied and collected,
above three-fourths Ihort of its own quota.
my intention it shall be the last—From this digres
sion, which for fevera! reasons I thought necessary
to give, I now proceed to the purport of my ad
dress.
I confider the war of America against Britain as
the country's war, the publick's war, or the war of
the people in their own behalf, for the security of their
natural rights, and the protection of their own pro
perty. It is not the war of Congress, the war of the
Assemblies, or the war of government, in any line
whatever. The country firft, by a mutual compact,
relolved to defend their rights and maintain their in
dependence, at the hazard of their lives and for
tunes. They elected their Representatives, by whom
they appointed their members to Congress, and laid,
aft you for us, and we will support you. 1 his is
the true ground and principle of the war on the
part of America, and, conlequently, there remains
nothing to do, but for every one to fulfil his obli
gation.
It was next to impossible that a new country, en
gaged in a new undertaking, could let off fyßemati
cally right at firft. She law not the extent of the
Juggle she was involved in, neither could she avoid
the beginning. She supposed every step she took,
and every relolution she formed, would bring her
enemy to reason, and close the contest. Thole fail
ing, flie was forced into new measures; and these,
like the former, being fitted to her expectations, and
failing in their turn, left her continually unprovided
and without system. The enemy likewise was in
duced to prosecute the war, from the temporary ex
pedients we adopted for carrying it on. We were
continually expecting to fee their credit exhausted
and they were looking to fee our currency fail ; and
thus, between their watching us and we them, the
hopes of both have been deceived, and the childilh
nefs of the expectation has served to increase the
expence.
let who, through this wilderness of error, has
been to blame ? Where is the man who can fay, the
fault has not in part been his? They were the natu
ral unavoidable errors of the day. 1 hey were the
errors of a whole country, which nothing but expe
rience could detect, and time remove. Neither could
the circumßances of America admit of fyfteni, till
either the paper currency was fixed or laid aside.
No calculation of finance could be made on a medi
um falling without reason and fluctuating without
rule.
THE
R ESOLVED,
That it be recommended to the several fates, to
lay taxes for raising their cartas of money for the
United States, separate froA those laid for their
own particular nfe.
On these resolutions I shall offer several remarks.
First. On the sum itfelf, and the ability of the
country.
Secondly. On the several quotas, and the nature
of a union. And
Thirdly. On the manner of collection and expen
diture.
First. On the sum itfelf, and the ability of the
country. As I know my own calculation is as low
as possible, and as the sum called for by Congress,
according to their calculation, agrees very neatly
therewith, I am sensible it cannot possibly be lower.
Neither can it be done for that, unless there is rea
dy money to go to market with ; and even in that
case, it is only by the utmost management and ceco
nomy that it can be made to do.
By the accounts which were laid before the Bri
tish parliament last spring, it appeared that the charge
of only subsisting, that is feeding, their army in
America, cost annually Four Millions Pounds ster
ling, which is very nearly Eighteen Millions Dollars.
Now, if for Eight Millions, we can feed, clothe, arm,
provide for and pay an army fufficient for opr de
fence, the very comparison shows that the money
must be well laid out.
My estimation of the latter, together with the civil
lift of Congress, and the civil-lift of the several states,
was Two Million Pounds sterling, which is very
nearly Nine Millions of Dollars.
Since that time, Congress have gone into a cal
culation, and have estimated the expences of the
war department and the civil-lilt of Congress (ex
clusive of the civil-lift of the several governments)
at Eight Millions of Dollars; and as the remaining
Million will be fully fufficient for the civil-lift of
the several Rates, the two calculations are exceed
ingly near each other.
This sum of Eight Millions of Dollars they have
called upon the Rates to furnifh, and their quotas
are as follows, which I shall preface with the reso
lution itfelf.
By the United States in Congress assembled,
October 30th, 1781.
Resolved,
THAT the refpedive states be called upon to
furnifh the treasury of the United States with their
quotas of Eight Millions of Dollars, for the war
department and civil-lift for the ensuing year, to be
paid quarterly, in equal proportions, the firft pay
ment to be made on the firft day of April next.
Resolved,
That a committee, confiding of a member from
each state, be appointed to apportion to the several
Rates the quota of the above sum.
November 2d.
The committee, appointed to ascertain the pro
portions of the several Rates of the monies to be
raised for the expences of the ensuing year, report
the following resolutions:
That the sum of Eight Millions of Dollars, as
required to be raised by the resolutions of the 30th
of October last, be paid by the Rates in the follow
ing proportion.
It may be of some use, either in debate or coa-
New-Hampshire, - 373,598
Massachusetts, - 1307,596
Rhode-Ifland, - 216,684
Connecticut, - - 747,196
New-York, - 373,598
New-Jersey, - - 485,679
Pennsylvania, - 1120,794
Delaware, - - 112,085
Maryland, - - 933,996
Virginia, - - 1307,594
North-Carolina, - 622,677
South-Carolina, - 373,598
Georgia, - - 24,905
[Numb. 225 ]
8,000,000 Dollars.