The constitutionalist — Exeter, N.H., 1810-08-27 00:00:00, page 3

Extract of a letter from one of the
Committee of the County of Berk
shire, appointed by the Court in
' that County to settle with their late
Treasurer, Barnabas Bidwell.
From the Patriot of March 10, 1810.
" The only reason the Attorney
General and every republican Sher,
iff have not been removed, is that
G'overnour Gore has not dared to do
it.
BARNABAS BIDWELL, who,
under the former democratic adminis
tration of Massachusetts, was appoint
ed to the office of Attorney General,
to prosecute on behalf of the common
wealth, felonies and all other crimes
committed against the laws—-to be the
Guardian of the morals and the de
fender of the rights of the people—the
same BARNABAS BIDWELL,
after having for sixteen years last past,
been embezzling the property of the
the county of Berkshire, in the office
of County Treasury, and committing
forgery to conceal the fraud, has been
detected, and has actually fled, like
a felon, to escape the punishment mer
ited by his atrocious and unprecedent
ed villainy. A complaint for forgery
has been made, a warrant issued against
him, and diligent search made but with
out success. He is not to be found.
We have not yet learnt the amount
of his Defalcation in the small
office of County Treasury, but it is
several thousands of dollars. It has
also been discovered, by some gentle
men in Berkshire, that he has not only
defrauded the County as Treasurer,
but t^p Commonwealth as Attorney
General, by taking to himself the a
vails of forfeited recognizances, instead
of paying over the money to the
Treasurer of the State.
Indeed this same BARNABAS
BIDWELL, was guilty of crimes,
nearly twenty years ago, which ruined
his reputation with all honest men, who
had a knowledge of the facts. Such
men have uniformly made great efforts
to exclude him from office, upon that
ground, ever since.—But he had only
to complain of federal perescution,
and to shed profusely his crocodile
tears, to excite the compassion of ten
der hearted democrats, and get himself
elected and appointed to high and im
portant offices. He has been the Idol
of Berkshire democracy, and the small
est whisper against the purity of his
character has been rescued with warmth,
and considered a species of blasphemy.
Such are thy Idols, 0 Democracy !
" At the commencement of his most
inauspicious reign, the Repertory made
a shameful attack on the personal &
professional character of Mr. Bidwell,
the present Attorney General ; but
the STERLING INTEGRITY of
that meritorious and indefatigable
officer, blunted thearrows of calumny,
which fell harmless at his feet. He has
been suffered to retain his station, be
cause it was known the people would
not submit to his being removed."
" Mr. Gerry's election will ensure us
" an union of all honest men."
STOCKBRIDGE AUG, 6, 1810.
" The committee appointed to settle
with Mr. Bidwell, ourcounty Treasur
er concluded their session on Saturday
last. It was a most laborious and
painful scene. Three days and three
nights were consumed in examining
and searching out the roguery and vil
lany of this man.—Conscious that all
that had been said of him was true,
he had recourse to every expedient
that cunning could suggest to involve
the'subject in mystery and in darkness.
Among other things, he had the daring
imprudence to alter his accounts, filed
in the Secretary's office in Boston, and
insert among the credits of the county
nearly eleven hundred dollars, and re
ducing other credits so'as to have the
footings agree. He had also made
correspondent alterations and inser
tions in his account book. He was
detected by me in this way. I had a
set of copies of his accounts in the
Secretary's office, taken in February
last, by Mr. Dewey. These were
taken previous to the alteration, but
not altered or certified by the Secre
tary. From abundant caution, I af
terwards sent to the Secretary, and he
made out another account certified
in form. These last copies contained
mil the alterations, &c. above stated.
By comparing these two sets of copies,
the iniquity was discovered ; by dread
ing and fearing detection, he, (Bid
well) had not courage to follow up his
scheme ; for before we met to settle,
he had altered his account book back
again, so that it stood as at first. But
the erasures and interlineations were
all apparent upon a slight inspection.
ANOTHER INSTANCE OF DE.
MOCRATICK VILLANY,
FRAUD, FORGERY &
PERJURY ! !4
LET THE PEOPLE JUDGE.
From the Hampshire Gazette of last
Wednesday,
CONFIRMATION.
He came forward with his books
and papers to settle. We charged
him with this 1100 dollars andall other
monies, which we found he had receiv
ed and not credited to the county ;
and nothing was said about the mu
tilation of his accounts, till towards
the close of the settlement. I then
stated and explained to the committee
the whole of the business. We then
called on Bidwell and again stated the
whole thing to him ; pointed to the
erasures in the book, to the alterations
in the -Copies, &c. &c. and told him
that there was now an opportunity for
him to explain and satisfy the com
mittee how all this came about. —
His only reply was, " there is some
mistake." The committee took the
account book from him, sealed it up,
and deposited it in my office. The
report of our doings was also sealed
up. The man is irretrievably gone.
I have not thne to write further. I
can only give you a faint outline."
tion—no citizen ata loss for employ
ment, nor any regular and lawful em
ployment but met with reasonable
" To err is human ; 'tis the common lot
" Os frail mortality ; and he alone
" Is wise andhappy, who, when ills are done,
" Persists not,but would heal the wound he
made.
" But self-sufficient obstinacy ever
" Is folly's utmost height."'
So said and so sang the old Grecian
poet Sophocles, who had no means else
of moral instruction, but from the
light of nature.
Mr. Erving, we believe, has not yet
found any of the Privy Counsellors of
the Cabinet to whom to deliver his
" important despatches." The Ad
ministration may now take the name
of Noblebags' candidate, Mr. Scatter,
ing; for the President is at Montpelier
—not in the south of France, nor, we
hope, any other Mount under the in
fluence of Bonaparte—but in Virginia :
—The Vice-President somewhere in
New-York :—The Secretary of State
at the Berkly springs—Tire Secretary
of the Treasury at Washington or
Pittsburg—The Naval Secretary to the
northward of Washington: and the
God of War in Boston—Cent.
But they were told by ambitious
artful men, that things were going
wrong; that a different course of pol
icy would add immensely to the pros
perity of the country. In an evil
hour they were canght in the snare.
They gave ear to base flatterers and
calumniators; and discarded the men
Tho' they are convinced, they are ob
stinately determined not to be con
verted. Why ? Because, think they,
we must stick to our party. —That is,
in plain English, having been once
wrong, we will always continue so.
This is the extreme of folly and mad
ness.
blind obstinacy, has a prodigious and
most baneful influence at the present
day. It renders people deaf to the
solemn lessons of experience, and
causes them to sin wilfully against the
conviction of their own minds. Thou
sands and tens of thousands in this
country know that they have been
wretchedly deceived. They know
that the boasts and fine promises to
which they have listened with rapture,
have been in no wise fulfilled ; that the
system of policy pursued by their vis
ionary leaders, has been pregnant with
evils ; and that the man to whom they
all bowed the knee, as though he were,
a god, did, by his " whim-whams,"
by his partial an^ imprudent measures,
bring more mischief upon this nation
than he would be able to countervail,
were every hair of his head an ingot of
gold. They had beheld this nation in
the summit of prosperity, at peace and
in high honor with all the world, pos
sessing a vast commerce, which was
protected by a respectable and repect
ed navy. They had beheld all the
wheels of business, agricultural, com
mercial and mechanical, in brisk mo-
profits. They had beheld the whole
country in greater prosperity than
probably any country else ever enjoy
ed.
who had led them right. Would they
have done this, had they foreseen the
consequences ? Would they have done
it, had they foreseen that the nation,
in nine years, under this new order of
things, would be shorn of its honors,
would lose its reputation, would sink
faster than it ever rose; in a word,
would be reduced to the embarrassed
and comparatively feeble and contempt
ible condition it is now in ?—No. —
Thousands of them, had they at first
foreseen all this, would have shrunk
back with horror from the desperate
schemes into which the cunning and am
bitious were attempting to cajole them.
Vet, after experience has fully taught
theqi that they are sinking the ship, and
must themselves sink with it, and that,
to the nation, " destruction and mise
ry is in their way" —they still persist.
We must stick to our party —This
sentiment of false honor, or rather of
The treatment of the Americans at
Naples, was of a nature to excite the in
dignation of every man not lost to all
sense of feeling for his countrymen. Not
content with taking vessels & cargoes.
they were infamous enough to take
possession of the private adventures of
masters, mates, and even seamen. In
many instances, the crews of vessels
in the harbor were turned out, with
out the least notice being given them,
to shift for themselves, and not the
smallest allowance granted them to
subsist upon. Others, after their
cargoes were taken from them and
confiscated, were called upon to pay
the charges of landing the goods, as
well as the quarantine charges ; which,
in several instances, amounted to
nearly 1000 dollars each vessel.
And to crown the whole, after re
peated applications from the Ameri
can Consul at Naples, for liberty to
purchase some of the vessels to convey
the unfortunate sufferers to their own
country, they had the barbarity to re
fuse even selling more than one vessel
for that purpose, but crowded into one
ship, like so many convicts, upwards
of 200 ulster, supecargoefy mates and
Fortune, Salem, 25,000
Amherst, Duxbury, 13,000
Louisiana, Boston, 18,000
John, Marblehead, 25,000
Mary, Beverly, 50,000
Morning-Star, Boston, 26,000
Two Friends, Beverly, 18,000
Perseverance, Boston, 118,000
Aurora, Plymouth, 11,000
Sukey-&-Betsey, Salem, 40,000
Radius, Boston, 30,000
And cargoes of the following :
Augusta, Baltimore,)
Zephyr, do. ( 350,000
Hamilton, N.York, (
Sophia, Baltimore,) T. 2,251,000
By this vessel we learn, that the
brig Radius of Boston, Capt. Lander,
arrived at Gallipoli the 18th May; &
was immediately confiscated. The
Sch. Shaddow of Philadelphia had com
promised with the privateersmen which
took her.
List of Vessels confiscated at Naples
and Civita Vecchia.
JVanieS. Where belonging. Sup.amt. sates.
Hercules, Salem, 135,000
Frances, do. 125,000
Trent, Boston, 76,000
Romp Salem, 94,000
Victory, do. 129,000
Two-Betseys, Beverly, 80,000
Ruth-&-Mary, Philadel. 100,000
Nancy-&-Ann, Newburypt. 30,000
John, do. 22,000
Phenix, Boston, , ballast
Emily, N. York, 110,000
Orozimbo, Baltimore, 105,000
Betsey, Salem, 80,000
Maria, Boston, 90,000
Kite, Baltimore, 40,000
Hound, do. 40,000
Urania, , N.York, 70,000
Syren, Newburypt. 26,000
Peace, do. 18,000
Ousatonack, N.Haven, 20,000
Nancy, Salem, 48,000
William, do. 36,000
Mary, do. 30,000
Dove, Beverly, 12,000
Capt. Gardner, of Philad. captains
Waterman, and Messrs. Smith & Clark,
of N.York —Capt. Sheffield of Derby,
and Mr. Miffin of Baltimore: And one
hundred and ninety-eight mates and
seamen.
,
Sequestration.. :
Os One Hundred and Thirty-Tied
vessels and cargoes decoyed into, seiz
ed, confiscated and sold in the domin
ions governed by Bonaparte, no less
than Fifty-One belonged to Massa
chusetts. The Salem Gazette states
the loss of that town in the eight ves
sels condemned in Italy, at 687,000
dollars! Marblehead too has suffered
severely from thesqueezing of its "good
friends." Centinel.
Recapitulation, or summary vieiv ts Spoliations
in Naples, - ^,
Boston, 358,000 ^. t
Salem, 753,009^.
\i propertv Be
306>°°° d °' J lo ^^^^
% 384,000 do.
in the U.S.)
On Sunday the ship Frances, Capt.
Haskell, arrived in Salem, a cartel from
Naples, crouded like a Guineaman,
with American citizens,' despoiled of
their vessels arid property by Bona
parte's decrees in Italy. She was pur
chased for the purpose by Mr. Ham
matt, our Consul at Naples. The fol
lowing is a list of the passengers :
Captains, Cavendish, Felt, Brown,
Haskell, Lander, Hanscom. Tucker,
Gardner, Curier, Bartlett, Foster, At
kins, Newhall, Bradford, Thomas,
Mastin, Turner, Derby, Dixey, and
Hofman : Messrs. MaggetandF.Thorn
dike, supercargoes, all of Massachu
setts.
ts Total, 2,251,000 dl+Tr.-o Million^
Two Hundred and Fifty-one Thouß^d Dollars
in one port ! !—Of which sum more than half
and rather less than two-thirds is Massa
chusetts' share of loss.
Aug. 22, 1810.
This day received, and for sale at the
Exeter Bookstore,
ELEMENTS of general History,
Ancient.& Modern, by Alexan
der F. Tytler; Natural & Civil History of
Vermont, by Samuel Williams, L. L. D.
second Edition in 2 vols. octavo ; Account
of the Empire of Morocco, by James G.
Jackson, Esq. illustrated with maps; His
tory of North & South America from its
discovery to the death of Gen. Washington,
by Richard Snowdon, Esq. in 2 vols. ; Orig
inal Anecdotes of Frederic the Great, King
of Prussia,, and of his Family, Court, &c.
translated from the French of Dieudonne
Thiebault, in 2 vols. octavo ; History of
the rise, progress, & accomplishment of the
Abolition of the Slave-Trade, by the Brit
ish Parliament, by Thomas Clarkson, in 2
vols.; Elements of General Knowledge in
troductory to useful Books in the principal
branches of Literature & science, by Henry
Kett, D.D. in 2 vols. ; Works of Mrs. Cha
pone, to which is prefixed an Account of
her Life & character in 2 vols. ; Parent's
Assistant, or Stories for Children, by Maria
Edgeworth, in 3 vols. ; Essay on the most
important subjects in Religion, by Thomas
Scott D. D. ; Philosophy of Natural His
tory, by William Smellie ; A Spiritual
Treasury for the Children of God, consist
ing of a" Meditation for each Morning in
the year, upon select texts of Scripture, by
William Mason, Esq. in 2 vols. ; Letters to
the Rev. Thomas Belsham, on some impor
tant subjects of theological discussion, by
John Pye Smith, D. D. ; Complete History
of the Holy Bible, by Rev. George Border,
in 2 vols. octavo; Power of Religion on
the mind in retirement, affliction, & at the
approach of death, by Lindley Murray ;
Treatise on the Life of Faith, by W. Ro
maine, M. A. in 4 vols. 12mo. ; Authentic
, Narrative of the causes which led to the
death of Major Andre, Adjutant-General
of his Majesty's forces in N. America, by
Joshua H. Smith Esq. ; Letters to a young
Lady, by Rev. John Bennett, a new Edi
tion ; New-York miniature Edition of Ju
nius' Letters; A new & elegant Edition
'of Goldsmith's Rome abridged; Secret
'History, or the Honors of St. Domingo ;
Pleasures of Memory & other poems, by
Sam'l Rogers, Esq. & the Pains of Memory,
by Robert Merrv ; Fragments in prose &
verse, by Miss Elizabeth Smith ; A System
ofSurgery, by Benjamin Bell, in 4 vols.
octavo, illustrated with Copperplates ; Ju
lia De Roubigne, a Tale in a series of
Letters, published by the Author of the
Man of feeling & Man of the worlds ,
August % N '
From a Liverpool paper of July 4, 1810.
" Paris, June 16. (Extract of a
Letter) —Reports have been in circu
lation here, that the Non-Intercourse
Act in America has been repealed ;
that measure will consequently induce
Bonaparte to declare war in the usual
form against America, for his depre
dation against American commerce has
existed now these three years. His
treating the American seamen like
prisoners of war is certainly tanta
mount to a declaration of war. His
conduct to the American Legation was
equally outrageous. It is well known
that when Bonaparte was at Bayonne
in 1808, an American flag of truce ar
rived at Havre with despatches for
Gen. Armstrong and for Mr. Pinkney.
The despatches were forcibly taken
from the messenger Lieut. Nourse,
and were forwarded to Bayonne, where
they were first broken open, and in
spected by his Imperial Majesty, also
a bag of commercial letters. Mr.
O'Mealy, an American, was sent by
the American Minister to Bayonne, to
claim the despatches, which were de
livered to him ; but the bag of letters,
M. Champagny told him, were sent
to the Minister of Police. On appli
cation there, some few were deliver
ed; the remainder were suppressed,
as they were supposed to 'contain some
political remarks."
NEW BOOKS.
seamen, who were hurried off by thi
'^il as soon as possible, afraid thej
fe~-. this fancied indul.
"' ^°' sever
wouiu rec-whicn,
gence. As a prooi v. .'^ tip
of the masters returned home b ; %
Frances, heard the Consul say^ ah
thesti'ip w as under sail from Naples,
that the Minister of Foreign Affairs;
had advised him, as a friend, to hasten
the departure of the shi^ as he e?^
not answer even for an hour. And ah
this after the King of Naples had only
a short time previous issued a procla
mation inviting the Americans to his
ports, andpro^isi/ig them safety and
protection. Surely such conduct, so
contrary to every principle of honor,
honesty, orgoad faith, must excite the
execration of every American,and brand
t!m name of Bonaparteand his minions,
with everlasting infamy.
Er. C. 11. Books.
From Salem, Aug. 21, 1810.
'' The Frances from Naples, having
port holes, and full of men, appeared
so warlike, that it is said the U. S. brig
Argus looked at her with caution, and
thought prudent to be prepared forthe
worst. —She came into port in high
style ; —her sails, as she dropt anchor,
were all handed in an instant—and the
sailors gave three cheers, with a good
round curse to Bonaparte at the end of
them. Ex. C. 11. Books.
, L IW^ it enacted by the Senate
'D and House of Represen
tatives in General Court convened.
That the superior court of judicature
for the county of Strafford shall be
holden at Dover on the Ist Tuesdays
of February and Sept, annually. And
the superior court of judicature for
the county of Rockingham shall be:
holden at Portsmouth on the third
Tuesday of February, and at Exeter
the third Tuesday of September, annu
ally. And the superior court of judi
cature for the county of Hillsborough
shall be holden at Hopkinton on the
third Tuesday of April, and at Amherst
on the first Tuesday of October annu
ally. And the superior court of judi
cature for the county of Cheshire shall
be holden at Charleston on the first
Tuesday of May, and at Keene on the
third Tuesday of October annually.
And the superior court of judicature
for the county of Grafton shall be
holden at Haverhill on the third Tues
day of May, and at Plymouth on the
first Tuesday of November, annually-
And the superior court of judicature
for the County of Coos shall be hoi
den at Lancaster on the fourth Tues
day of May, annually. And the court
of common pleas for the county of
Strafford shall be holden at Rochester
on the first Tuesday of January, and
at Gilmanton on the third Tuesday of
August, annually. And the court of
common pleas for the county of Rock
ingham shall be holden at Portsmouth
on the second Tuesday of January,
and at Exeter on the second Tuesday
of August, annually. And the court
of common pleas for the county of
Hillsborough shall be holden at Am
herst on the second Tuesday of Febru
ary, and at Hopkinton on the first
Tuesday of September, annually. And
the court of common pleas for the
county of Cheshire shall be holden at
Keene on the third Tuesday of March,
and at Charleston on the second Tues
day of September, annually. And the
court of common pleas for the count,
of Grafton shall be holden at Haver
hill on the last Tuesday of February,
and at Plymouth on the second Tues
day as September annually. And the
court of common pleas for the county
of Coos shall be holden at Lancaster
on the first Tuesdays of January and
July, annually.
§ 2. Aad be it further enacted, That
all actions, pleas, indictments, infor
mations, complaints, appeals, petitions,
libels, writs, venires, inquests, recog
nizances, verdicts and processes of what
name or nature soever, now pending:
in said courts respectively, or return
able to or sustainable by the same,
shall be returned to, sustained by, tried,
adjudged, and finally determinedin said
several courts respectively, to which
they rightfully and properly appertain ;
at the times and places by this act fixed
for holding said courts, it being the
true intent and meaning of this act
not in any way to defeat any of the
processes commenced or pending as
aforesaid.
§ 3. And be it further enacted.
That all laws now in force, for estab
lishing the times and places for hold
ing the superior courts of judicature
and courts of common pleas, so far
as respects the times and places of
holding the same, be, and they here
by are repealed. Provided, that this
act shall not take effect untii the first
day of December next.
STATE OF NEW.>MPSHIRE.
In the House of Representatives,
June 19, 1810.
The foregoing bill, having had three
several readings, passed to be enacted.
Sent up for concurrence.
CHARLES CUTTS, Speaker.
In Senate the same day.
This bill, having been read a third
time, was enacted./
WILLIAM PLUMER,, Preside
Approved June 20. 1810.
JOHN LANGDON, Governor. ,
A true copy—Attest,
SAMUEL SPARHAWK, Sec', /
ft# Thgprinters of newspapers in
this State are requested to publish the
foregoing act three times tn their re
spective papers, S. SPARHAWK,
ft The Town Clerks throughout
this State Trill confer a great favour
on the Editor by sending a correct re
turn of votes, by the earliest conveys
^ce.
' DIED.]—In New-York city, Hou.
Jo^Q Broom, Lt. Governor oi
Killed suddenly by the fall of
of a tree at Pittsfield, N . H . Major Moo.
dy Dustin, aged 68.—At Lebanon, Mr.
Richard Kimball, aged 85.—At Lime
Mr. Elijah Pierce, aged 40.—Mr. JonZ
athan Bixby, aged 83.
STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE.
In the Fear of o^r Lord, one thou
sand eight hundred and tern
AN ACT establishing the times and
places for holding the Superior Courts
of Judicature and Courts of Common.
Pleas.