The United States oracle of the day — Portsmouth, N.H., 1800-09-20 00:00:00, page 1

Jr ACT to make appropriations for the
Nervy of the United States, during the
year one thousand eight hundred.
q T)E it cnaaed by tbqSenate and House of
°''Re,refentatives of the United States of
America in Congress affcmbled, That for defraying
the expenses iff the navy of the United States,
during the year one thousand eight hundred,
there shall be, and hereby is appropriated the
sum of two millions, four hundred and eighty
two thousand nine hundred and fifty-three dol
lars and ninety nine cents; that is to fay, for
the pay of the officers of the navy of the Unit
ed States the fnm of three hundred and ninety
one thousand five hundred and ninety-fix dol
lars ; for the subsistence of the officers of the
navy, the sum of seventy thousand, seven hun
dred and twenty-two dollars and forty cents ;
for the pay of the fcamen, the sum of eight
hundred and eighteen thousand three hundred
and forty dollars ; for provisions, the sum of fix
hundred and three thousand, fix hundred and
forty-two dollars and sixty-seven certs; for
contingent expenses including the waste of mili
tary florcs, the expense of the navy store at
Philadelphia, comprising (lore-keeper's salary,
clerk hire, store rent, labourers, porterage and
freight, and for making good deficiencies in
former appropriations, and for similar expenses
at Boston, Newport, Baltimore, Norfolk, New-
Yoik, and other ports, the sum of three hun
dred and ninty-three thousand fix hundred dol
lars ; for the expense of hospitals, medicines
and hospital ftores,the sum of thirty-two thou
sand fix hundred and forty seven dollars and
twenty cents ; for the support of the revenue
cutters while employed in the navy service, the
sum of ten thousand dollars ; for the pay of the
officers, non-commissioned officers and privates
oftlie marine corps, the sum of ninety-four thop
fand, seven hundred and thirty-four dollars ;
for subsistence of the officers of the said corps,
the sum of eight thousand and eighteen dollars
and sixty cents; for eloathing for the said corps
the sum of thirty three thousand five hundred
and thirty dollars, and seventy-sour cents ; for
military stores for the said corps, the sum of
twelve thousand two hundred and seventy-seven
dollars and eighty-eight cents ; for the contin
gent expenses of the said corps, including camp
equipage, quarter masters, barrack masters, and
hospital (lores, and bounties and premiums, the
sum of thirteen thousand eight hundred and
forty four dollars.
Sec. 2. And be it further erased; That the a
forefaid appropriations shall be paid out of any
monies in the treasury of the United States net
otherwise appropriated.
THEODORE SEDGWICK,
Speaker of the House of Reprefntativee.
Tn: JEFFERSON,
Vice-Prudent of the United. States, and
Prudent of the Senate.
Approved—May xoth, A. D. xßco.
JOHN ADAMS,
CHAPTER LVIII.
& ACT supplementary to the aft, intitu
'led, " ^n nd to efablifo tie Treasury
Department."
BE it ennaed by th Senate and House of Rfre
fentatives of th United Stafa of America in
Congress assembled, That it shall be the duty of
the Secretary of rhe Treasury to digest, prepare
and lay before Congress at the commencement
of every session, a report on the fubjedlof fi
nance, containing efymates of the public revenue
and public expenditures, and plans for improv
ing or increafin^ the revenues, from time to
time, for the purpoje of giving information to
An ACT to ascertain the co»f,e„fation of
public Miniflen.
, T) E it enaAed by the Senate tend House of
D Representatives of the United States
of America, in Congress cfembled, That exclusive
of an outfit which ftiall in no case exceed the
amount of one year's full salary to any minister
plenipotentiary or charge des affairs, to whom
the fame may be allowed, the President of the
United States shall not allow to any minister
plenipotentiary a greater sum than at the rate
of nine thousand dollars per annum, as a corp
penfation for all his personal services and expens
es : nor a greater sum for the fame than four
thousand five hundred dollars per annum to a
charge des affairs : nor a greater sum for the
fame than one thousand three hundred and fif
ty dollars per annum to the feerctary of any
miniflqr plenipotentiary.
See. 2. And be itfurtber enacted, That where
any sum or sums of money shall be drawn from
the treasury, under any law making appropria
tion for the contingent expenses of intercourse
between the United States and foreign nations,
the President shall be and he hereby is autho
rized to cause the fame to be duly fettled, an
nually, with the accounting officers of the trea
sury in'manner following, that is to fay, by
causing the fame to be accounted for spe
cially in all infiances wherein the expenditure
thereof may in his judgment be made public,
and by making a certificate of the amount of
such expenditures as he may think it advifeable
not to fpecify, and every such certificate shall be
deemed a fufficient voucher for the sum or sums
thererein expressed to have been expended.
THEODORE SEDGWICK,
Speaker oftbe House of Representatives.
Tit : JEFFERSON,
Fice-Prefdent of the United States, and
PreJident of the Sercate.
Approved—May loth A. D. 1800.
Sixth Con^refs of the United States,
At the firfl ftffion, begun and held at the city of
Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania,
on Monday the %d of December, 17,,.
Published bv Authority.
Laws of the Union.
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR.
Clie Wnitefc litate
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. Printed and Publiihed every SATURDAY
the United States,
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1800.
JOHN ADAMS,
Prudent of the United Stater.
OF ALL THE DISPOSITIONS AND HABITS WHICH LEAD TO POLITICAL PROSPERITY, RELIGION AND MORALITY ARE IN DISPENSIBLE SUPPORTS.—•— - IP.4SHING7ONJ, LEGACY.
CHAPTER LVII.
CHAPTER LVI.
Prtfdent of the United States.
patents.
See. I. Eit enaded by the Senate and Houfeof
^AJ&pffefentatives of the United State, of
America, in Con^refs affcmbled, That it shall be
lawful, and the proper officer is hereby author
ized, to issue patents on surveys, which have
been, or may be made within the territory re
served by the Rate of Virginia, north-weft of
the river Ohio, and being part of her cellion to
Congress, on warrants for military services, issu
ed in pursuance of any resolution of the legisla
ture of that state, previous to the passing of this
a& in favor of persons who had served in the
Virginia line on the continental eftahlifhment ;
Provided, that the whole quantity of land for
which patents shall issue by virtue' of this a&,
shall not exceed sixty thousand acres; and that
the surveys aforefaid shall be completed and de
posited in the office of the Secretary of War,
on or before the firfl day of December one thou
sand eight hundred and three : And provided al
so, that this a& shall not give any force or
validity to the entries, locations or surveys, here
tofore made in pursuance of these warrants, so
far as such entries, locations, or surveys, inter
fere in any manner with those of persons claim
ing the fame lands under entries, locations, or
surveys heretofore made in pursuance of war
rants, granted by the state of Virginia to the
officers and soldiers in the line of that state on
continental establishment.
Sec. 2. And be it further enaßed, That in eve
ry case of interfering claims under military war
rants, to lands within the territory so referred
by the state of Virginia, when either party to
such claims shall lose, or be evicted from the
land, every such party shall have a right, and
hereby is authorized to withdraw hit, her or
their warrant, refpe&ively, to the amount of
such loss or eviaion, and to enter, survey, and
patent the fame, on any vacant land within the
bounds aforefaid, and in the fame manner as
other warrants may be entered, surveyed and
patented.
THEODORE SEDGWICK,
Speaker oftbe Hoafe of Representative/.
Th : JEFFERSON,
Uice-Prejident oftbe United State/, and
Pref dent of tbe Senate.
Approved— May 13, A. D. 1800.
Sec. I. I)E it enofled by the Senate and House of
D Representatives of the United States
of America, in Congrefe assembled, That whenever
it (hall appear to the surveyor of the revenue,
appointed or to be appointed in any aff.ffment
diftrid within the United States, under the aft,
intituled "An id to provide for the valuation
of lands and dwelling- houfeg, and the enumera
tion of Haves within the United States," that
any trad of land or dwelling-house, firuated
within his said diftrift, and directed by the said
ad to be included in the lifts thereby required
to be rendered and kept, hath been omitted in
the said lifts, then and in every such case it shall
be the duty of such surveyor, and he is hereby
authorized and required to inform himfeif of
the value of such tra& of land or dwelling, house,
by entry, view, or other lawful ways and means,
and to make a lift and valuation thereof, in the
form and manner prescribed in and by thefaid
aft, and to enter and record the said lift and val
uation with and among the lifts and valuations
by him to be kept and recorded pursuant to the
said ad ; and to charge the amount of the said
valuation to the person or perfens to whom the
fame ought to be charged, pursuant to the said
ad and to the aft, intituled, " An ad to lay and
colled a dired tax within the United States ;"
and that where any assessor, nqJift having.becn
rendered, shall have estimated any trad of un
seated land to contain a greater number of acres
than the said trad shall by the patent or sur
vey of the fame actually appear to contain, it
shall appear to the surveyor of the assessment
diftrid in which the said land shall be ficuate,
by the production of the said patent or survey
thereof, that there has been a mistake in esti
mating the said number of acres, it shall be law
ful for such surveyor to credit the proprietor
or proprietors thereof with the numbef of acres
so overcharged : Provided, That the said credit
shall riot oDerate to lessen the sum directed to
be colleded by virtue of the present law to lay
and colled a direct tax • .And provided alfa That
no credit shall be valid until the fame shall have
been approved by the infpedor of the survey,
or the supervisor of the diftrid, if comprehend
ing but one survey of infpedion ; and if any
error has happened,by charging any person with
being the proprietor of any tracft or parcel of
unseated land, who was not the owner thereof
on the fiift day of Odober one thousand (even
hundred and ninety-eight, or by assessing to any
person any trad or parcel of unseated land
more than once as proprietor thereof, it shall be
lawful in all or any of these cases, for the sur
veyor of the diflrid in which the said error
shall have happened, to corre& rhe fame by giv
ing the person so charged such credit in his ac
count refpeding the said land as may be just and
equitable.
Sec. 2. And be it further enaaed, That for the
ferviecs aforefaid, the furveyrts of the revenue
shall refpedively be entitled to, and receive
from the United States, the following compen
sations, that is to fay : For every trad of land
of dwelling-house, valued and recorded as afore-.
said without wry and view, feventy-five cents;
for every trad of land or dwelling-house so val
ued and recorded with entry and view, two dol
lars ; for every mile of necessary travel in going"
to make such entry and view and returning, five
\,
An ACT to enlarge the powers of the
Surveyors of the Revenue.
dirt ACT to authorize the issuing certdirt
Confers in adopting modes of railing the mo
ney requisite to meet the public expenditures.
THEODORE SEDGWICK,
Speaker of the Hmfe of Representative:.
Th: JEFFERSON,
' Vice-PreJident of the United Stater, and
PreJident of the Senate.
Approved—May 10th, A. D. 1800.
JOHN.ADAMS,
Prjid nt oftbe United States.
JOHN ADAMS,
PreJident of the United States.
CHAPTER LX.
CHAPTER LIX.-
Defcriptiou of Mount Vernon.
AT this moment of universal feel
ing and regret, for the loss of that
excellent man, the illustrious Walhing
ton, every thing refpeding him, even
the most fugitive biographic (ketches,
and anecdotes, are seized with avidity
by the public mind. This is a circum
stance which pronounces in his favour
as powerfully as the most laboured
eulogiums. Having been repeatedly
at his feat on the banks of thk Potow
mac, to which he always retired from
public office and care, with a strong
local partiality ; and in which he tasted
deeply of the sweets of domestic, agri
cultural, and philosophic enjoyment, I
will, in this weeks paper present my
readers with a short topographic descrip
tion of this his beloved retreat, the far
famed Mount Vernon, and subjoin a
few remarks refpedir.g him as a far
mer.
Mount Vernon is an elevated and
commanding rife of ground on the
Virginia fide of Potomac river, where
the river is about two miles in width,
in Fairfax County, Rate of Virginia, 9
miles below Alexandria, four above the
beautiful feat of the late Col. Fairfax,
called Believoir ; and 2so miles from
the sea. Its name was given to it by
the General's eldest brother, Mr. Law
rence Washington, who had a captain's
commission in the Colonial troops, em
ployed against Carthagena, under Ad
miral Vernon. He gave it in honor of
this his commanding officer, from
whom he had received signal favours.
The area of the mount is 200 feet
above the furface of the river ; and, af
ter furnifhing a lawn of five acres in
front, and about the fame in rear of
the buildings, falls off rather abruptly
on those two quarters. On the north
end it subsides gradually into extensive
pafturc grounds; while on the fouth it
dopes more deeply, in a short distance
and terminates with the coach house,
stables, vineyard, and nurseries. On
either wing is a thick grove of different
flowering sorest trees. Parallel with
them, on the land fide arc two spacious
gardens, into which, one is led by two
Serpentine gravel walks, planted with
weeping willows and Ihady (hurbs—
The mansion house itfelf (though much
- embellilhed by art, yctnotpcrfe&ly fatis
fadopy to the chaste talle of its late pos
sessor) appears venerable and conveni
ent. The superb banqueting room was
finished , after he returned home from
the army, in 1783. A lofty portico,
96 feet in length, supported by 8 pillars
has a pleating effed when viewed from
the water ; the whole assemblage of the
green house, school house, offices, and
servants halls, when seen from the land
fide, bears a resemblance to a rural vil
lage ; especially as the lands on that
fide arc laid out somewhat in form of
English gardens, in meadows and grass
grounds, ornamented with little copse
circular clumps, &single trees. A small
^park on the margin of the river, where
the Englilh fallow deer and the Ameri
can wild deer are seen-through the
thickets, alternately with the vcfels as
they are failing along, add a romantic
& piflurefque appearance to the whole
fdenery. On the opposite fide of a small
creek to the northward an extensive
plain, exhibiting corn-fields and cattle
grazing, affords in fainter a luxuriant
cents; and that the accounts for the laid com
penfatiors shall be presented to the supervisors
of the diftridU -efpedively, and if allowed by
them,fhall be paid by them and credited te their
accounts refpe&ively, in the settlement thereof
with the Treasury Department.
Sec. 3. And be itfurtber enabled. That when
ever any person shall have been charged, pur
suant to the above mentioned ads or either of
them, or to this ad, with the amount of the
valuation of any trad of land or dwelling
hdufe ; and such person, or his or her legal re
presentatives or aligns, shall afterwards in due
course of law have been ejected from such land
or d welling-house, or have had a deeifioa against
him, her or them, upon the title thereof, then
and in every such case, it shall be the dutv of
the surveyor of the revenue within whose assess
ment diftrid the said land or dwelling-house
shall be situated ; and he is hereby authorized
and required,on the application of such person
or of his or her legal reprefentativea or assigns,
as the case may be, and on the payment or ten
der by them, or any of them, of the sum of one
dollar for every such tradl of land or dwelling
houfe, which sum the said lurveyor is hereby
authorized to demand and receive in such case,
to cancel the valuation on such laud or dw^ll
ing-houfe, so far as refpe&s the persons so ap
plying, and to difeharge him or her therefrom.
THEODORE SEDGWICK,
Speaker of tbe House of Repref/ntaives.
Th: JEFFERSON,
Vice-Resident oftbe United State/, and
President oftbe Senate.
Approved—May 13, A. D. 1800.
JOHN ADAMS,
President oftbe United State, of America.
M ISCELLAN Y.
==r=— —-= ——=r=—~r, r -
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, TWELFTH YEAR.
®racle of the >ap.
Morning, by CHARLES PEIRCE, Printer of the Laws &c. of
in New-Hampfhife.
PRICE I DOLLAR 50 CENTS Per Annum
\landfcape ; while the blended verdure
!of wood lands and cultivated declivities
on the Maryland (here, variegates the
profited in a charming manner.
The Gen. was probably the greatest
and most opulent farmer in the United
States. He had about 9000 acres of
excellent land attached to his favourite
I Mount Vernon, betides vaR tra&s of
• land, situated in the interior of the
;Country. He combined philosophy
; with practical farming, and^by a thor
ough cultivation, rendered his lands
highly productive. He eagerly adopt
ed experiment and improvement. Or
der and economy, in their most perfect
forms pervaded the whole extent ofhis
arrangments. He has railed in one
year 7,000 bushels of wheat, & 10,000
bushels of Indian corn. His household
confided of abertit 1000 fouls, all of
whom where under a fydematic, order
ly, and beneficent management. His
estate at hisdemife could not have been
worth left than a million of dollars.—.
What a group of extraordinary quali
ties, fuccefles, fortunate circumstances,
and high enjoyments in one man ! But
that man was mortal. Now the flocks
the torture of their bites so long, till at
length they lie faint and exhausted, and
finally perish by the talons and beaks of
the ravenous birds of prey that are
hovering round. The authority with
which the husbands rule over their
played in a very tyrannical manner.—
When the wives, on being attacked by
the hunters, abandon their cubs from
affright, and these are carried off, the
hu&nd ceases from purfaing the com
mon foe, and turnsupon the mother,
as if to demand an account of what is
become of them. Then seizing them
with their teeth, dafli them with vio
lence against the rocks ; the wives stun
ned with the blows, creep and crouch
at the feet of their despots, arid caref
.fing them, (bed abundance of tears. —
While the hufyand continues to feel his
vexation he goes, growling to and fro,
the father comes up growling,he drives
the wrestlers asunder, coaxes the con
queror, and even tries himfelf to throw
him to the ground ; the greater the re
finance Ihewn by the latter, the more
he gains the love of the parents, to
whom on the other hand, their flothful
or timid children, appear to give but
little joy. Though poligamy prevails
among the sea-bears, and some of them
have as many as fifty wives, yet every
one watches over his offspring with un
common jealousy, and is excessively fu
rious if a Granger come too near them.
Even when they lie by thousands on
the beach, they are always divided
family-wife into companies, and in like
manner they swim together in the o
cean. The aged, who no longer have
any wives, live solitary, and are of all
the most grim ; these frequently pass
a whole month on shore in sleep, without
taking any food ; but whatever ap
proaches them, whether man or bead,
they fall upon with the most outrage
ous fury. The sea-bears at times wage
bloody wars together, the usual ground
of hostility being either the den of the fe
males, or a good couching place. When
pro are contending against one, oth
ers come up to aflift the weaker party;
and during the combat, the swimming
fpe&ators raise their heads above the
water, and calmly look on for a length
of time, till they also find a motive for
mingling in the fight. Sometimes
these cbnfliding armies cover a trad on
the shore of two or three miles, and all
the air resounds with their dreadful yells
and growlings. It often happens that
the combatants make an armistice for
an hour to recruit their forces, during
which they lie beside one another with
out any danger ; then both parties sud
denly rife up, each takes its place, and
the battle begins anew with redoubled
fury. This goes so far, that they pur
sue one another into the sea, when
those of the victorious party drag their
enemies back to land, and put them to
" The affeftion of the mother for her
young is exceedingly great ; and they,
in return endeavor to divert her by va
rious kinds of frolicfome play. On fee
ing these gambols, it seems as if they
were exercising feats of wrefUing , • one
driving to give the other a fall ; and if
the (hades, the walks, the weeping wil
lows, the mourning bird of night, the
pensive dreams, and the fad murmurs
of tlie broad Potomac, which in pride
rolled its waves before the Mansion of
its great improver, tell, again and again
the fad story which has filled a nation
with sorrow, that the illustrious Hero
of Mount Vernon is no more.
wives and children, is frequently dis-
SEA BEARS.
A quantity of Lscetlent
Sheathing Paper,
For fal, at C PEIRCE, Bockdore,
DESCRIPTION
Os a Cateraft in Connecticut River,
TWO hundred miles from the
Sound is a narrow of five yards
only, formed by two shelving moun
tains of solid rock, through this chasm
are compelled to pass all the water
which in the time of the floods bury
the northern country. Here the water
is consolidated, without frod, by pres
sure, by fwiftnefs, between the pinch
ing sturdy rocks, to such a degree of
inundation that no iron crow can be
forced into it ; here iron lead and cork
hav; one common weight ; here, Rea
dy as time, and harder than marble,
the stream passes irrefillible, if not
fwift as lightning ; the electric fire
rends trees to pieces, with no greater
case than does this mighty water. The
parage is about 400 yards in length,
of a zigzag form, with obtuse corners.
At high water are carried through this
strait, mails, and other timber, with
incredible fwiftnefs and sometimes with
fafety ; but when the- water is too low,
then mads, timber and trees strike on
one fide or, the other and are rent, in
one moment into drivers, and splinter
ed like a broom to the amazement of
fpedators.
No living creature was ever known
to pass through this narrow, except an
Indian woman, who was in a canoe
attempting to cross the river above it,
but carelessly let herfelf fall within the
power of the current. Perceiving her
danger, she took a battle of rum she
had with her, and drank the whole
ofit, then lay down in her canoe to
meet her destiny. She miraculously
went through fafe, and was taken out
of the canoe some miles below, quite
intoxicated. Being nfked how die
could be so daringly imprudent as to
drink such a quantity of rum with the
profped of instant death before her, the
Aquaw as well as her condition would
let her, replied, ?'Yes it was too mucli
rum at once to be sure ; but I was not
willing to lose a drop of it ; so I drink
it, and you fee I have (lived all."
From tbe Pbiladelpbia Gazette.
PATHE TIG.
The following incident requires not
the aid of the pencil to awaken every
feeling congenial to humanity, nor, in
exciting our tendered sympathy for the
unhappy fufferers, can it fail to rouse
the keened indignation againd the au
thors of such inhuman wrongs.
Two vedGls, belonging to citizens of'
the United States, concerned in the in
famous traffic of human flelh on the
coast of Africa, have been lately cap
tured and sent into this port by the
Ganges sloop of war.
Taken at different times, they arriv
ed separately at the quarantine station,
the one having on board one hundred
and 18, and the other 16 unhappy vic
tims.
With a view to their health and conve
nience, it was deemed proper to land &
encamp these unfortunate people.—
Scarce had this benevolent measure
been affected, and the miserable Afri
cans mingled with their fellow fuffcrers,
when a IJufband and Wife ! who had
been torn from their home and hap
piness, and hurried on board Separate
veffeb by their brutal oppressors, met,
and recognized each other. Loft for
a moment,in an ecftacy of surprise, they
exhibited a fccne of tenderness which
would have foftened even the savage
hearts of those who had occasioned
their reparation. But the meeting was
more than the unhappy female could
support ; —her frame shaken by the
influence of her affections, yielded to
the shock, and she was prematurely a
mother 1
Let the mongers, who encourage
and who pradtiie this horrid traffic, re
flect on the vengeance of an offimjed
God. An appeal to their conjugal or
their parental feelings were a lort hope,
and a mockery of humanity.
To console the .feelings of our rea
ders, we can assure them that th: bene
ficence of the Abolition Society, and
the general sympathy of our citizens
have greatly alleviated die fufferings
of these much injured people ; and we
are happy in knowing that the unfor
tunate woman is rec overing.
and rolling his eye balls, just as the
land bears are wont to do ; but when
his rage is abated, he then begins also
bitterly to weep for the loss of he
young."