The United States oracle of the day — Portsmouth, N.H., 1801-09-05 00:00:00, page 1

Liberty is little less than a name,
where the government is too feeble to
withstand the enterprises of faction, to
confine each member of the society
within the limits prescribed by the laws
and to maintain all in the secure and
tranquil enjoyment of the rights of per
son and property.
Those who are good chriftians can
never fail of being good citizens.
A political maxim of no small utility
in government is, that caths should be
admitted on as few cases as poflible,and
administered with all those circum
bances of solemnity which are bed a
dapted to fill the mind with awe and
reverence. It feerns to be reasonable
that government ought to make pub
lic provision for the worship of God, in
such a manner as not to infringe the
cogfciencts of any, so that inftrudion
may be extended to the bulk of the com
mon people, who 'will, many of them,
neither support nor employ teachers.
A feeble executive implies a feeble
. execution of the government. A feeble
execution is but another phrase for a
bad execution ; and a government ill
executed, whatever it may be in the
theory, mull be in practice a bad gov
ernment.
Those politicians and statesmen who
have been the most celebrated for the
soundness of their principles, and for
the justness of their views, have declar
ed in favor of a single executive. They
have with propriety considered energy
as the most necessary qualification in
,this department,and have regarded ibis
as most applicable to power in a single
hand.
Battheerly, my lads ! we have been on the
ocear^
And rode out the puffers, full many's the day ;
And Aiff mutt the gales blow, and dire the
commotion
That baffle our Ihip, or our bosoms dismay ;
Tho' fees should assail, or the tempest should
roct her,
Tho'white squalls of fadion should take her
a-bearn,
Here's Jiand by her fliffutile a feat's in the locker,
^ndcling to b'erjide nubile foe floats on theftre^m.
glories
In tempest, and hurricane, lee shore, and flat,
Will reef not a rag for the blasts of eld Boreas,
Nor put down his helm for a ihoal—and all
that.
What argufies telling of this, that, and t'other,
How Commodore WASHING! ON put her
to sea,
And trimm'd her so cheerly to all kinds of
weather,
A spar was not Shiver'd nor parted a stay.
How 'ADAMS the bold, lately flood on the
quarter,
And ballaoPd her canvas so well to the gale,
Thro' gulph-dteams and eddies so kept his de
parture,
As bro't her to part under fafe easy fail.
True, messmates, they-tells us of shoals and of
breakers,
And fays how the ship may not live to come
back ;
Mow timbersmay fail when tornadoes o'ertake us,
Her mad by the board, and her hull all a
yvreck.
They fays as how Commodore Jefferson
The following nervous efofan was fag at
Stockbridge, Mafochufetts, at the cele
bration ofour independence July 4, 180 f.
The SHIP CONSTITUTION.
Tune Bitt Botjlay.
UP anchor— clear decks, boys, and each to
his Ration,
Stand firm at your watch, and belay h^r all
snug;
Wbate'cr be the voyage of our bold destination.
Tis the Ship Constiiuton —we'll try her
a fug.
What tho'at the helm we behold a Commander,
Whofc Ikill we have never yet tried on the
main ;
'Tis the owners d'ye fee, whose the loss if we
Itrand her,
Have placed him there, and forbid us com
plain.
ENERGY in government is essen
tial to that security against exter
nal and internal danger, and to that
piompt and salutary execution of the
laws which enter into the very definition
of good government. —Stability in gov
ernment, is essential to national charac
ter, and to the advantages annexed to
it, as well as to that repose and confi
dence in the minds of the people,which
ar^ among the chief bleflings of civil
society.
Celled from feme of the left writers cm
POLITICS.
A council to a migftrate, who is him-
MISCELLANY.
AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE, TWENTY-SIXTH YEAR.
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. Printed and Published every SATURDAY
Laws &c. of the United
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER , iSot.
Ship Conihtution.
1
OF A LL THE DISPOSIT K >NS ANDHABITS WHICH L E AD TO PO:mC A L PROSPERITY , RELIGION a ND MORALITY A RE INDISPENSABLE SUPPORTS IVASHINGI^T^^
0e Biteti ^tatt§
THOUGHTS,
HURRICANE at N^-P^^en^!
NASSAU, JULY 24.
ON Wednesday this inland was visit
ed with a tremendous hurricane.
Whether we judge by the cfcfts pro-'
duced, or the observations of our senses
during its period, we are eaqually led
to pronounce it one of the fevered that
we have ever witnefl'ed in these islands.
On a former occasion, we expressed a
hope, that we should be exempted from
gales of wind this'feafon—and, we gave
as a reason for our opinion, the fre
quency of rains, accompanied with
thunder and lightning.
It is worthy of remark, that for these
some weeks, there has been little or no
rain—and, though the weather has
been remarkably warm and close, there
has been an entire absence of thunder
and lightning. These unusual circum
stances, at this season, should put us on
our guard in future.
The wind, fora day or two previous
to the hurricane, hung to northward of
east, and on the morning ofits happen
ing, it blew very frefh, in squalls, from
e. n. e. and kept backing to the north
ward, with increasing violence. About
12 p. m. cautious people began to be
alarmed, and to prepare for what they
expeded would follow—but, in general
the carlinefs of the season quiet
ed the suspicions of the inhabitants,
as they knew it was unusual for hur
ricanes to happen till about the equi
nox ; doubt,however, was loon chang
ed into certainty, and by two o'clock
the gale had increased to that degree,
which we denominate a hurricane.—
The vessels, pretty generally, began to
drive from their moorings, notwith
standing their malls and yards were
As the tide refe, the hurricane in
creased in violence, and Hill kept back
ing, till it came about north. This,
very fortunately drove all the vessels on
the town fide of the harbour, and pre
vented any driving to sea. By three
o'clock, there was icarce a veflel riding
in the harbor. The Guineaman, prize
to His Majesty's ihip Echo, that lay
well up in the harbor,and on the Hogg
ifland lide of it, parted her anchors and
drove towards the town. In her pro
gress die got upon the middle ground,
and turned over upon her beam ends,
so that the seamen got on her fide.
The negroes, (250 in number) fell to
leward, in between decks, and were in
imminent danger—but fortunately the
vessels beat over the bank and righted,
and at length drove ashore againit Mr.
Benjamin Lords wars, which the in part
demolished—the negroes & crew were
happily all fafe landed.
The,lhip George a Guineaman be
longing to James Moss, Esq. that ar
rived on Tuefday, and was still lying
below the old fort, drove from her
moorings also, and came ashore, abreast
of the bar, in an exposed situation ; but
by judicious management, and great
exertions, the negroes were all got fafe
on shore. ^„
The wind, after three o'clock, began
to haul slowly round to the eallward,
but without any diminution of its vio
lence—indeed we are rather of opinion
that its violence was augmented. Ob
jeds, at a small diflance from the shore
were now invisible,or indillind,the fpiay
riling from the water in such clouds, as
to obscure every tiling that was near
it. In sass, the harbor rcfemblcd three
torrents cf different dehfitics, palling
with inconceivable velocity. First the
water from the accumulation at the
ealc end of the harbor, by being drove
in from the bank, and, railed 6 feet
above its common level, acquired an
extremely rapid motion down the har
bor. The foam, and spray next, form
ing aimed! an opake cloud, spun along
with the fwifted possible degree of vifi-
flruth, and all their anchors down, and
every other precaution attended to
The harbour, fortunately was thinner
of Ihipping than usual ; yet they drove
against one another, and came in whole
firings to the shore.
If the Elysium and Tartarus of the
Heathens, were of that importance to
fociety,which the ancient lawgivers and
politicians supposed, much more mull
the chrillian doctrines of heaven & hell,
which are founded in truth, and free
from all fiction and fable,
ielf responsible for what be does, is
generally nothing better than a clog up
on his good intentions ; is often ^e
infhument and accomplice of his bad
condua and is almost always a cloak
to his faults.
certain bgr that the gale would not
continue long. Its violence, however,
as yet, was unabated. Providentially
before it acquired any southing, the
tide had fallen, and the veffcls having
all been driven up at high water, tone
of them were blown-off; in which case
they mull have gone, to sea; and proba
bly would have been loft with those in
them. About an hour before fun let
the wind had fhifted round to fouth
or fouth by weft, and Hill blew with
great violence ; but the town and
harbor was so fneltered by the hills,
that it was very little felt. By sun-set
it moderated—and by eight or nine at
night, there was nothing remained of
it but a frefh gale.
We thank God, before we proceed
to recapitulate the damages sustained
from the hurricane, that so few lives
have been loft in this elemental ftrife
and cralh of matter, we have heard but
of two or three that were drowned,
and none that loft their lives on the
ffiore.
Os all the vefels in the harbour, three
only rode out the dorm, viz. the sloop
Primrofc, an American, and a Spanish
veflel near the eastern fort. Between
Evans's hill and the Weftern Water
Battery, w c counted 120 vessels Brand
ed ; besides which there were several
funk,Mothers crushed topieces,and lay
ing under other vessels, that we could
j take no account of.
To attempt to make an accurate es
timation of the damages fu&dned by
the inhabitants of Nalfau and its vi
cinity, would be the height of presump
tion : for there is no person can fay
exactly, what his own loss amounts to.
If we may be permitted however, to
hazard an opinion, it is that the aggie
gate loss sustained from the late hurri
cane, is not less than icc,oool.
The following is the most accurate
statement we could celled pl the veflels
ashore.:
The sea to the southward of Fort
Montague, made a breach througli
the sand hills, and has filled the exten
sive valley to the westward of it, many
feet deep. It also rose 5 feet over the
new eastern causeway and the road, to
the foot of Evans's hill ; which it has
materially injured. The eastern parade
and burying-place was completely over
flowed by the rising of the water in
the harbour ; and the sea patted in a
torrent between the editor's house in
the white ground, and the new road :
it then found its way into the harbor
bypassing over the causeway and the
road by Capt. Gibson's, where it has
made a large gully, and would have
completely destroyed it had not the
fhifling of the wind occasioned the
water to fall in tire upper part of the
harbour.
The most convincing proof of the
extreme violence of wind, and perhaps
the bell criterion we can adduce, is
that the greater part of the vessels had
their mails blown away—not cut, but
blown away by the board. The prize
Guineaman loft all her's and her bow
sprit by the sheer force of the wind.
Several vclfels we underhand, are
bilged, and others from the extreme
difficulty that would attend getting
them off, are abandoned. In general
however, we are in hopes the branded
vessels will be got afloat without much
difficulty or damage to their hulls.
On shore in the town, and its vicini
ty, the devaluations were equally great
—many valuable houses have been
blown down, and all the fences and
trees in general, laid level with the
ground. Nearly one half of Mr. Jo
seph Hall's beautiful giove of cocoa
nut trees were defhoyed, bv being
broken off near the butt, one of « hich
was measured and found to be 7 feet 7
inches in circumference, just above the
part where it was broken.
Mr. Ansel Ferguson's house, one of
the largest in town was blown down ;
and the roof in falling had well nigh
demolished Mr. Howies adjoining.—
Other new done houses fuftered con
siderably, from the mortar being in a
moist Hate ; and a great many wooden
houses fell from the fame cause, the
stone under pinning not having had
time to cement.
ble motion, and formed a stratum, as it
were, oi 20 or 30 feet deep, and over
that the rain paifed in a rarer medium,
in a perfectly horizontal direction ; and
appeared incapable of defeending, from
its prujeftive velocity. By half past four
the wind got round to the east, and
kept veering round with the fun—a
AR XI.
=v*t .irrrTCrt*terw
No. 48
Morning, by WILLIAM TREADWELL, & C° Printers of the
States, in New-Hampshire.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THIRTEENTH YE
PRICE x DOLLAR 50 CENTS Per X^^.
• Washington, august 10.
OFFICIAL.
APPOIR T MENT by the President.
Francis l. taney, Esq. to be
Commercial Agent for Oilend.
0
A„ ORDER of the PRESIDENT of
the United States,
Mating certain alterations in the DifriAs
therein mentioned, and erecting a ne^jj
Ree ^nue Difriffto be denominated "the
N. Weft Diftria."
Sell. 1. In pursuance cf diverse ads
of the Congress of the United States,
vetting in me certain powers and au
thorities, in relation to the internal
Revenues thereof, the following altera
tions of and additions to the arrange
ments heretofore made, for securing &
collecting the said Duties, are hereby
adopted and established.
SeR. 2. Fhe Diftrids of Maffacbu
fetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North-
Carolina, and South-Carolina, Ihall from
and after the thirtieth day of Septem
ber next, severally, form each one sur
vey ; and the duties of Infpedor of
each of said furveys,lhall be performed
by the supervisor of the Dittrid com
prehending the fame.
Sett. 3. The fevcral counties of the
dittrid of Virginia, originally and here
tofore contained within and forming
the firft, second, third and fourth sur
veys, of the said didrift, shall, from and
after the thirtieth day of September
next, be contained in,and form but one
survey, (to be thereafter denominated
the firft) and the duties of Inspector,
in and for the fame, shall be performed
by the supervisor of the said diftrid.
Sep. 4. The second survey of the dif
trid of Ohio, according to its present
limits,heretofore ellablilhed by the Pre
sident of the United States, shall be,
and is hereby eroded into an entire
new diftrid, to be denominated “ the
„N. Well Diftria.”
And the said diftrid shall consist of
one furvey,and may from time to time
be divided into such, and so many di
visions, as by the Supervisor thereof,
shall be found expedient and necessary.
Sell. 5. The Colleftors of Revenue
in the diftri&s of MafTacjiuletts, Penn
sylvania, Maryland, North-Carolina, &
South Carolina, and in the firfl, second,
third and fourth surveys of the diftrid
of Virginia, shall render their accounts
of duties, arising from and after tire
thirtieth day of June last, and pay over
the monies, arising from the fame, to
.the lefpedive supervisors of the said
dillricis.
Ctyiven under my hand'at the City of
Wajhington, on the twenty-ninth day
cf July, one thousand eight hundred
and one.
Schrs. St. Trinidad, Dolores, La Cari
dad, and La Hendura—Felucca Le Cari
dad—-fap Nenftra Senora 1), Belin.
[o# this measure the following remarks
are made in the National Intelligencer
—the e£ic:ai Gazette, of the Executive.]
By the above order the Prcfident has abohfed
after the 30th of September next, NINETEEN
of the officers of INSPECTORS of surveys ap
pointed under the feveial ads of Cpngrefs for
railing internal revenue.
Before this alteration was made, the follow
ing arrangements exiled. The Bates of New-
Hampfhire,Rhode-Ifland,Connecticut,Vermont,
New-York, New-Jersey, Delaware, Georgia &
? r '& Adventure—Schrs.Jerufoa, Branch
Enterprise, Fancy, Ranger and Paragon
—Stoop Harmony.
LICENSED VESSELS.
Ships Fraternitie, Dane; St. Antonio,
fy^—Brig St. Antonio de Padre, do.
Schrs. Fancy, do ; Brothers, Dane; Ma
ria, Spanijb ; St. Hofca, do ; St. Barba
ra, do ; Polacre Atreveda, do ; Feknca,
do.
BRITISH.
Skips Brinie & George—Brigs Admiral
Duncan, Mary, Peace, Ranger and Sheer
water—Schrs.Bellona,Snearl,Two Friends,
Neptune,Lion's Revenge, yafin, Hunter,
Mary & Sufon, \S Lydia—-sloops Prince,
of Wales, Industry, Who'dfre thot it,
A Three Brothers.
There are several others whose names
we have not learned, besides a number
of small vessels.
Arrived yesterday the schooner Haz
ard, Capt. Mason, from the coast of
Cuba. She has brought in the Ameri
can fchr. Experiment, Richardfon,from
Salem, bound to the Havanna.
Articles per Mails.
®racle of the Dar.
PRIZE VESSELS.
AMERICAN.
Th : JEFFERSON.
Tennefa, being so many diftrifts, formed each
one survey, wherein the duties of InfpeCtor were
performed by the Supervisor. By the late al
teration the Situation of these diftriet; remain
, unaffected.
In Maffichufetts there were three surveys in
Pennsylvania four, in Maryland three, in Vir
ginia fix, in North-Carolina five, in South-Ca n
hna three, and in Ohio two ; making in al! 26
surveys, anl 2% infpe&ors, die Subervuor; of
Maryland, North-Carolina, South Carolina and
Ohio,being also InfpeCtors of one of the fur veys
of their respective districts.
By the new arrangement of the Execute,
all the finwysin each of these seven diftri&s
are condensed into one furvey,and the duties of
InfpeCtor devolved upon the Supervisor, except
in the cases of Virginia and Ohio, in the former
of which two Infpeftors are retained, an hn the
latter there are in future to be two Gl^tts,
with a supervisor in each, on account or the
extensive trails of country they embrace.
By the new arrangement the';difficulties
are removed, by the Collectors being obliged
to account directly co the Supervisors, and these
lad dircaly to the Treasury.
0
OF PORTUGAL.
Letters from Portugal, as late as the
30th June, have been received at Wafh
in^ton. —The Editor of the National
Intelligencer, states the news by them
to be, —“ Peace between Portugal and
France and Spain, had been concluded
at Bajados ; and a short armidicu had
been agreed on to allow the Prince
Regent time to deliberate on the terms.
—The Prince had signed the treaty,
which had been feut to Paris ter
ratifications. The terms agreed on
were secret, but were supposed to be,
the payment to France of about 4 mill
ions of dollars, the making the bound
ary line, in the treaty of 1797, that
which is in future to exist in America,
and the cession to Spain of a few fnall
places on the frontier. It was though:
by some that Guadiana was tiie boun
dary agreed on, which would give
Spain a large accession of fertile terri
tory. It was understood that the pla
cing the French and Spanish garrisons
in Portugal had been relinquished. —
The Portuguese had made a brave
refinance, but owing to the scarcity of
provisions, the fewnefs of their numbers,
and the, badness of their Officers, —.
had been obliged to submit.—On the
30th of June, no advices had been
received from Paris, Great fears
were entertained of the ratification of
the treaty by the French government;
in the failure of which it was supposed
much severer terms would be exacted
by France."
It was reported at Lisbon, that a
body of French troops had embarked
at Cadiz, on board a Spanish squadron,
commanded by a French, admiral, sup
posed to be defined for Egypt.
" Yesterday arrived from Minorca,
the British frigate Sea-Horse with a
convoy. The commander took under
his protection the schooner Tritan of
Boston, David Higgins, commander,
with wine for St. Thomas; likewise the
schooner Charlotte, of N^w-York,
(which he met With at sea with bran
dy for,faid port, commanded by Cor
nelius White, who confirms the ac
count of there being many Tripolitan
cruisers at sea, and on the wait pf
Catalonia."
Estraß of a letter /r^John Gaviria,7%.
Consul at Gibraltar, dated Jane 19.
It appears,from this statement, that no correG
pondence existed between the Collectors and
the Supervisors, or between the Coll Ctors and
mrpedtors and the treasury department. It
follows that whenever the accounts of a super
visor were not rendered in time,he might charge
the delay on any one Infpe&or,who might him
felf throw all the blame upon one or more Col
lectors, —Thus the delinquency of a fi^gh Col
lector might flop the feulement of the accounts
of a whole state, without its being possible for
the Treasury Department to trace the evil to
its source. And although the Super visors,
having the absolute power of appointing and
removing Collectors, might be considered rc
fponfible for their conduct, such responsibility
was neatly annihilated by the intermediate c lade
of InfpeCtors, appointed by the President who,
flood between them and the Collectors, and
who bad the immediate fuperirtendance of the
Subordinate class of officers.
By this modification of the old plan of
collection, an annual saving of about 20,003
dollars will be made, or near 3 per cent, on the
net product of the internal revenue. But in
addition to this interesting elTCt,we underhand
the following reason has great weight.—
The Collectors of the internal revenue (ap
pointed by the Supervisors) under the late fyf
tem,made their payments to and accounted wich
the InfpeCtors who made payments of the fame
so received to the Supervisors, and rendered
to them their own general account afer fettling
quarterly the accounts of all the collectors in
their survey.
The Supervisor finally made payment to the
treasury, and after fettling the accounts of the
fnfpeCtors in his diftriCt, rendered his accounts
to #ic Commissioner of the Revenue.