The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1779-12-08 00:00:00, page 1

2. And whereas the making of a legal tender of
money, and perpetuating the evidence thereof, ip not
clearly expressed and explained in any law of this
State, now in force; therefore be it enabled by the au
thority aforefaid, That when any person shall make a
tender of money for the payment of any debt in this
State, in the pretence of any one or more creditable
witness or witnesses, the said witness counting the
fame, shall be deemed and taken to be a legal tender,
provided that the whole of such debt be so tendered:
and it shall and may be lawful for the person so ten
dering the money as aforefaid, to cause the evidence
or evidences present at the time of making such ten
der, to come before any one justice of the peace in
the county where such tender is made, or wScre such
debtor may reside, ard make and fubferibe his or
their deposition or depositions on oath or affirmation
in writing, which deposition or depositions shall be
filed in the clerk's office of the county where such
debtor may relide, and shall be deemed and taken as
legal evidence in any court in this State, provided
that such evidence or evidences is or are dead, at the
time his or their testimony is required, or iffuch evi
dence or evidences cannot, in the judgment of the
court, reasonably be obtained.
3. And be it further enabled by the authority afore
faid, That all and every person and persons, who,
from and after the publication hereof, shall counter
feit or alter any of the aforefaid bills of credit, by this
aft made a legal tender, or utter or pass any bill or
bills so counterfeited or altered, knowing the fame
to be so counterfeited or altered as aforefaid, and be
duly convicted thereof, shall be adjudged guilty of
felony, and be punished with death, in like manner
its persons convicted of counterfeiting or altering the
former bills of credit of this State, and knowingly
uttering the fame, might or should have been.
Passed at Trenton, October 5, 1779.
STATE of NEW-JERSEY.
A Supplement to an J^l, intitled, An Act
to render certain Bills of Credit a legal
Tender within this State, and to prevent
the Counterfeiting of the fame, and other
Bills of Credit.
WHE REAS doubts have arisen,
whether the bills of credit emitted
and made current by Congress,
since the passing of the ad, inti
tled, An Aft to render certain Bills
of Credit a legal Tender <within this
State, and to prevent the Counterfeiting of the fame,
and other Bills o f Credit, are a legal tender for the
payment of money, or not: therefore,
Sect. I. Be it enabled by the Council and General
Assembly of this State, and it is hereby enabled by the
authority of the fame, That all bills of "credit that "here
tofore have been, fincc the passing of the above
recited ad, or hereafter shall be emitted, and made
current by the United States in Congress assembled,
(except such as have been called out of circulation)
ihall be, and they and each of them are hereby de
clared to be a legal tender tor the payment of money:
and if any person or persons, from and after the pub
lication hereof, shall refute to take any of the said
bills of credit, when the fame shall be properly ten
dered, in payment of any debt or demand whatso
ever, provided the whole of such debt or demand be
so tendered, he, the or they so refufing, shall be for
ever barred from suing for, or recovering the fame in
any court in this State: and if any suit or suits shall
be commenced for such debt or demand, after tender
and refufal as aforefaid, the defendant may plead pay
ment, and give this aft and the special matter, in
evidence.
A Supplement to an Aft, intitled, An Aft
the better to prevent the Concealing of
Jiray Cattle, Horses and Sheep.
WHEREAS the penalties to be inflicted on persons
neglecting to give proper and seasonable notice
of stray cattle, horses and sheep, and the rewards
allowed for the lame in and by the aft, intitled, An
A& the better to prevent the Concealing of flray Cattle,
Horses and Sheep, are not fufficient to procure the
service required, nor prevent the evils by the said aft
intended to be prevented: therefore,
Sebt. I. Be it enabled by the Council and General As
sembly of this State, and it is hereby enabled by the au
thority of the fame, That if any person who, agreeably
to the direction of the above-recited aft, shall give
notice of any stray cattle or horses, shall have, as a
reward for that trouble, Twenty Shillings the head for
NEW-JERSEY GAZETTE.
[Vol. ll.]
WEDNESDAY, /December 8, 1779.
Mr. COLLINS,
n'HE freedom with which I expose the futility
l of regulation in your lall :aper will, no doubt,
draw upon me the resentment of some of its redoubt
able champions. I wish it may—as lam fully per
suaded, nothing is wanting to convince my country
men of its inefficacy, but a full and candid difeuffion.
Regulation is indeed a solecism in politics;—in
three words I prove it: let A stand for the quantity
of trade, that is, the quantity of goods bought and
fold; let B stand for the quantity of money, or circu
lating medium, necessary to carry on that trade; then
consequently A=B: but regulation would make A=
2 B=3 B, &c. &c. than which what can be a greater
absurdity?
But a gentleman, who stiles himfelfa True Patriot,
has hit upon a mod notable expedient to extricate us
from our difficulties. Let us, fays he, call in all the
money, and give in return one dollar for twenty: but
I would ask, what is to be done then? Is the fame
feene of iniquity to be again repeated—are thousands
again to be ruined by a second mundation of paper
money?—furely not. Indeed, csuld we suppose Con
gress wicked enough to make the experiment, happily
they would find it impracticable; and if impracticable
I would again repeat the question, what is to be done
then ? Indeed it is not cafy to conceive, howthe mere
alteration of certain characters, impressed 011 the face
of a piece of pasteboard, could relieve us of any part
ol the burden, which the support of the war necessa
rily brings upon us. The figures on the pasteboard
are mere types. It is the realities, which these figures
are made to represent, that support our army. The
proportion of this burden to a moderate farmer, we
will fay, is ten bushels of wheat annually, or as many
pieces of pasteboard, as will represent ten bushels of
wheat. Now, in the name of common sense, of what
consequence is it to the farmer, what fort of figures
we choofc to put on these pieces of pasteboard: but,
fays the I rue Patriot, we shall get rid of an immense
load of debt by it.
Now, should we even admit, that the paper emit
ted by Congress is really a debt on the publick, which
is by no means admissible, this certainly would not
be the most honourable way of discharging it: but,
for my part, I am perfectly at a loss to divine, in what
this great debt consists. Whatever has been borrowed
in France, or in any other foreign country, I readily
grant, is really a debt upon the United States: but,
in order to prove we have incurred no debt by the c
normous quantity of paper issued by Congress, I
would only ask this simple question; if, instead of
issuing paper, Congress had levied the supplies in
kine, would we, as United States, have been made
either richer or poorer by the war, than we are at
prefent?—certainly not. In short a small degree of
attention to this fubjeft will fuffice to convince us,
that it is not poffiblc, by any kind of artifice or con
trivance whatsoever, to anticipate the future refourees
of a State, by foreign loans: and however an internal
debt may be contracted, whether by limitation of
prices, depreciation of the medium, or by actual loans
from individuals, it is not the debt of the whole com
munity, but merely of one part thereof to another.
However singular this doCtrine may appear, I am
perluaded, on due consideration, it will be found to
be just.
The expences of the war has hitherto been con
stantly defrayed by every man who has received pa
per-money; the depreciation of which has all along
operated as a tax—but a tax unequal and oppreflive
to extreme. The farmer, who formerly fold forty
bushels of wheat to the States for forty dollars, and
who now can purchase but one bushel for that money,
has certainly contributed towards the support of the
war thirty-nine bushels. Now, if every one had re
ceived, and still possessed, his due proportion of the
money, all would be right—Whether it is all funk, or
all fuffered to remain in circulation, would be a mat
a. And be it further enabled by the authority afore
faid, That every person, wholhall negleCt to give
notice of any stray cattle, horses or fhee,,, as by the
laid aft required, shall forfeit to the owner or own
ers thereof, over and above th? penalties mentioned
in the 3d feCtion of the said art, the sum of Twenty
Pounds each for all neat cattle and horses, and Three
Pounds for every Iheep, to be recovered as in the said
aCt is directed.
ail neat cattle and horses, and Five Shillings a piece
lor all Iheep, so given notice of; and the clerk of the
town or precmCt, tor recording the fame in the town
book, Ihall oc entitled to receive Twenty Shillings the
head for all neat cattle and horses, and Five Shillings
for every Iheep.
Passed at Trenton, Obiober 9, 1779.
THE
ter of perfect indifference to every individual—No one
would find himfelf one whit the richer or poorer for
it. But unfortunately this is far from being the case
—the burden has fallen most unequally—whilst some
have contributed more than twenty times their just
proportion, others have been great gainers, or, at
lead, have contributed nothing. That restitution
should be made to those, who have borne more than
their equal proportion, is what fofice and equity re
quire of us—and it was solely with a view to effeCt
this purpose, that Congress have pledged the faith of
the United States for the finking all the money witl in
the term of eighteen years. But, should this mode of
making restitution prove prejudicial to the publick:
welfare, I do not conceive we should be under the
Raft obligation to make good the performance of this
promise, provided some other mode could be adopted,
that would do equal justice to the fufferers.
But whether Congress, at the conclusion of the
war, shall think it necessary to fink so much of the
money, as that the remainder shall be equal in value
to silver, dollar for dollar—or whether they will fuffer
the money to find its own level, and difeharge the
debts due to and from individuals amongst us, at the
fame value they were contracted at —are questions, in
the solution of which, the difficulties at present pref
bug us, are /wt involved. The grand desideratum at
present is, able to raise the necessary supplies,
without doing farther injustice to individuals : and let
us turn which way we will, let us amuse ourselves
with this or that plan, lam pgrfuaded, we thall at
length return fully convinced, that it is only to be
effected by taxations and loans.
It has been proved that regulation and depreciation
are in reality taxes—butof the most unequal and op
pressive kind. Surely then, when urged by every
motive, which can animate the exertions of a wife
and fptrited people, we cannot hesitate a moment,
with the greatest carneftnefs, to set about equal tax
ation. Let the pressure of the burden no lofoer fall
partially on individuals, but let us oblige every man
to put his shoulder to the wheel. We have now
weathered out five campaigns, whilst the debt we
have contracted, is not worth mentioning. For, I
again repeat it, nothing but what is due to foreigners
can be properly called a debt—As to what has'been
borrowed among ourselves, it is hot the debt of the
publick, but of individuals. Let no man then plead
our inability. Has not our supplies of all kinds (ex
cept to the amount of the foreign debt) been drawn
from amongst ourselves—and if this too could be done
by means of a tax the most unequal that could be
contrived—how much more easy will it be to effeCtby
one, where the united wisdom of the legislative body
of each State will be exerted to render it as equal as
possible ?
r ro be fold by publick vendue on Thursday the
l 14th of December, about four miles from New
Germantown, lying on Foxhill on the road fide from
Germantown to Ilacket's-town, One Hundred and
Ninety-five Acres of good Land, very well timbered,
well watered, and about half cleared; on the place is
a good dwelling-house, a blacksmith's shop, a framed
barrack, and seven acres of good meadow, and n ore
may be made. The vendue to begin at twelve o'clock,
and attendance will be given by me,
Somerset County, ) A T an Inferior Court of
State of Ne^v-Jerfey. ) A Common Pleas held in
and for said county of Somerset, were returned in
quisitions for joining the army of the King of Great-
Britain, and other treasonable practices, found a
gair.ft Andrew Bell, James Voorhees and Benjamin
'I omfon, ot which proclamation was made at said
court, that if they or any other person or persons on
their behalf, or any persons interested, should appear
and traverse, a trial should be awarded, but no tra
verse offered: therefore, notice is hereby given, that
if neither they or any in their behalf, or any interested,
shall appear and traverse at the next court to be
holden in and for said county, the inquisitions will
then be taken to be true, and final judgment entered
thereon in favour of the State.
Jacob Bergen,l
Nov. 29. Frederick Frelinghuysen,
4W. Hendrick Wilson, ) "oners
lhe highest Price will be given, in either
Caih or Paper, for any Quantity of
Clean Linen Rags,
Delivered at the Printing-Office in Trenton,
[Numb. 102.]
JEREMIAH WOOD.
HONESTUS.