The New-York gazette, and the weekly Mercury — New-York [N.Y.], 1777-02-10 00:00:00, page 1

WHILE I have been reviewing the
Proceedings of the Congress, I
have frequently thought, that the
Gentlemen, who compose it, are
prompt Schemers, clever Difputan s, florid
Orators, with fifty fine Qualities besides, and
yet, after all, they are but dull Accomptanfs.
Their Disregard of a little common Arithme
tic has tended more to render their vast De
signs abortive, than People, who are content
with lower Speculations, could havd fufpeded
from Men of their immense Talents and Pre
tensions. The Truth is, as with some other
ingenious People, their Imagination cannot
descend to such mean Business, as the dating
and reckoning of Sums ; and, therefore, they
suppose, that either calling for Money at
Random, or calling a Subflance by the Name
of Money, which, for the Soul of me, I be
lieve to be nothing better than a common
Piece of Paper, will fully answer every Pur
pose of War and Peace, and fettle all Things
upon their favourite Foundation. Now, as
the Gentlemen of the Congress seem to have
their Hands too full at prefect to descend to
such vulgar Amufementy as a Speculation
formed upon a little @lgar Arithmetic, and
yet may be glad to have the Matter in the
Gross ; I propose myfelf a Candidate for the
Office of Ascomptant General to the High and
Mighty United States of North A
merica, and, by way of strengthening my
Frctenfiwns, will give them a short Detail of
the Expences and Disbursements that will ne
cessarily attend our grand and flourilhing
Empire. I have no Doubt of Success, from
the Specimen 1 shall offer of my Abilities,
and will be content with the Salary 1 beg
Leave to subjoin, and which I must prefumc
will be thought very moderate, when the pub
lic Dignity of this vast Continent, from its
Eastern Shore to the Straits of Annian and the
South Sea, is justly considered;
In the firft Place, I have calculated, that
we must have an Army and a Navy : —
An Army, Sufficient to expel all the Armies of
Britain and her Allies, as well as to secure us
from all other Invasions; and a Navy, equal
to the Talk of defending our own Coasts
from Insult, and of pretexting our Trade at
Sea. Taking this as granted by every Man
of Common Sense, and certainly by Men of
Congreffiorial Wisdom, I proceed to put down
their Ellimates in Pounds, Shillings and Pence ;
and, because it is a more general Medium, 1
shall calculate the whole in Sterling.
To defend the extensive Sea Coast of our
vast Empire, our Politicians have talked of at
lead ico,ooo Men. But I chufe rather to fol
low the worthy Congress, who certainly must
understand that Matter much better from their
long Experience in the military Way, and
will only fay 50,000 Men, which they have
proposed shall form the stated, handing, Ar
my of our great and understanding States.
To make the Affair as cheap as possible, I
will calculate, that each Regiment is to con
sist of 1000 Men, like the Regiments in Spain,
and that each Man is to have but Nine Pence
a Day. It will then be found, that fuchaße
giment, properly officered, will cost us full
£. 20,000 a Year ; not to dwell upon railing,
arming and eloathing these Corps, which would
amount, at least, to a fourth Part more Money.
The Expence of our Army, confining of 50
such Regiments, would be, Year by Year,
only a Million Sterling.
Come we next to our Navy, by which we
are to drive off the British Fleet, and com
mand Refpeft upon our own great Ocean.
The Author of Common Sense, our political
Oracle, fays, that “ 50 or 60 Ships, mount
" ing 20, 30, 40, or 50 Guns, with a few
" Guard-Ships, would keep up a fufficient
"Navy." A worthy Friend of mine, whom
I intend to bring forward as my Deputy Ac
comptant General (and Deputies, Mr. Printer,
are commonly the Principals in Business), has
calculated for me, that, as the British Navy
consists of full two hundred and twenty four
Ships, of which twenty one carry from 80 to
100 Guns ; we certainly, cannot contend with
those Hearts of Oak, and yet make a proper
Allowance too for our Courage, with a less
Number than One Hundred and nine. I will
only take the Sum of his Calculation (for
Debtors and Ladies hate long Accounts)
Monday, February 10, 1777.
NE W-Y ORK
AND
WEEKLY
ASSIZE of BREAD. Flour at 30s. per Cent.
A White Loaf of the finedFLOUR, to weigh
3 lb. 4.0 Z. for 14 Coppers, and in the fame
Proportion for Loaves of a lesser Weight.
Published January 10, 1777.
To the PRINTER.
SI R,
Containing tbe cariieff suites
0 Printed by HUGH GAINE, at the BIBLE and CROWN, IN HANOVER-SQU ARE.
which he has arranged, from pretty exaCt Data,
in the following Manner.
To Building the Grand American Navy.
To 55 Ships of go Guns )
each, at £. 14,355 Sterl. >£. 789,525 0 0
each Ship)
To go Ships of 74 Guns)
each, at £. 27,000 Sterl. > 716,000 0 0
each ShipJ
To 12 Frigates of 32 Guns)
each, at £. 7,480 Sterl.> 89,760 0 0
each Frigate)
To 12 Frigates of 20 Guns)
each, at £. 4370 Sterl.> $2,440 0 0
each Frigatej
Total £. 1,64.7,725 0 0
Allow one third for Cannon ),_„
and necessary Furniture. J 54 z »7)
First Cod of the Navy £. 2,190,300 0 0
I am afraid my intended Deputy has calcu
lated the Matter rather too low ;--but let it
pass ; I am sure it is a more just and solid Cal
culation than ever was yet made by my in
tended High and Mighty Maders.
I come next to the Annual Expence of
these said Ships, which my Deputy has rec
koned up as follows.
To Annual Expence of the Grand Ame
rican Navy.
To Annual Expence of 55)
Ships cf 50 Guns, at >£. 1,001,000 0 0
£. 18,200 Stcr. per Ship )
Ditto of 30 Ships of 745
Guns, at £. 33,800 Ster.> 1,014,000 0 0
per Ship )
Ditto of 12 Frigates of 32)
Guns, at £. 11,440 Stcr. } 137,280 0 0
per Frigate ,
Ditto of 12 Frigates of 20)
Guns, at £. 8,320 Ster.> 99,840 0 0
per Frigate J.
Total £. 2.252,120 00
As an Accomptant, I am pleaded to fe
such a fine Row of Figures, for I really have
too much Patriotism to with for a Sinecure
Profeffion ; and especially where the Joes and
the Dollars are likely to run about: In all
which, who can blame me : —For I only copy
my Matters.
Thus much for the Materials of Warfare :
Now for civil \ hings.
We are arrived (fay the Congress) at com
petent Maturity, and are grown up, after the
Fashion of the Country, into Thirteen
tall States, aiming to over-look, I would not
fay over-reach, ail our Neighbours. Now,
thirteen different States mull have so many
different Governments; and each of them
must let up a civil Efablifmtnt, proportionate
to its refpea:ive Grandeur. And as we form
such a great Figure in the Map of the World,
it is proper we ihonld form a suitable Figure
in the Dignities of the World. But, putting
that off for Convenience Sake to another Op
portunity, we will only take at present, what
will be ab blutely necessary for preserving mere
Exigence in the World, and frame our civil
Polity upon that Scale.
First then, each State must provide for its
refpe&ive Deputies at Congress, what is suit
able to their high Rank and Importance ;
for, Mr. Printer, our Gentlemen of Congress
are rather too wife to be in love with all that
Patriotism, which, like old Andrew Marvel,
works for nothing. I am too old myfelf to
believe such Stuff; and, if you will forgive
a Quibble, it is too marvellous indeed for our
Days. But to proceed in our Business ;
I calculate, that, upon an Average, each
of the High and Mighty States must support
at Congress at lead four Deputies, who may
(if they like it) be all Knights of Independence
or Knights of any thing else, for what I care.
As there are no real Figures in the Order ;
whatever Figures they mike beside, they will
not embarrass my Account. Now to each of
these Deputies, it is impossible, considering
Journies, Rank, Expences, &c. to allow less
than £. 2000 Sterling per Annum. Fifty two
Deputies, therefore, representing all the States,
at this Ratio, will occasion an Article upon
our Civil Lift of 104,000 per Annum: And
little enough too, considering all the Good
Monday, 18 Min. after 11
Tuesday, 9 Min. after 12
Wednesday, 59 Min. after 12
Thursday, 35 Min. after 1
HIGH-WATER at NEW-YORK, this Week.
THE
^^^l
3^^^^
Friday, 42 Min. after 2
Saturday, 35 Min. after 3
Sunday, 25 Min. after 4
Moon's F. Qi. next Friday.
they intend to do us. But let that pass : It
is above my Calculation, and has nothing to
do with Arithmetic.
We must next provide for our Thirteen Go
vernors. These mull not be more High and
Mighty than our other Highs and Mighties ;
and yet, to keep State and a Table, at which
a Body may take a Bit now and then, they
ought not to be less. Suppose them upon the
fame Footing; and we must put down
£. 26,000 Sterling per Annum, on their Ac
count.
I fear to tire your Patience, Mr. Printer, or
I would enter very particularly into the ,Ex
pences of the Civil Eftablifnment, in all the
inferior Branches, of every State. But I will
give you a round Sum of £. 10,000 for each
Government, which; I am sure, every Man,
who knows things, will allow to be much
below the Mark. This Charge, then, will
amount to £. 130,000 Sterling per Annum.
Ambassadors, &c. to foreign Stares, whose
Bofinefs it is to cultivate a good Underhand
ing for the Sake of Trade, mull next be con
sidered : And we mud confider them, as High
and Mighty States ought, in a Manner suit
able to our Dignity. We mull even have an
Ainbaffador to Great Britain itfelf, when Af
fairs are fettled as we have planned them;
and we ought, for many Reasons, to make
him shine at that Court with peculiar Luhre.
The usual Expence of an An.baffador Extraor
dinary is full £ Boco Sterling per Annum, exclu
sive of Mcney paid for 'Secret Services, for Intel
ligence, &c. We must employ one of this Rank
at the Three great European Courts of London,
Paris, and Madrid at itaft; and these will
hand us in, with Contingencies, full (and I be
lieve mere than) £.?0,000,rr annum. We mult'
likewise ehabliih Envoys in Holland and for
tugal; Rtfdents at Naples, Leghorn; Venice,
Hamburgh, &c. and Confals at all the prin
cipal trading Ports in Europe. To save other
People the Trouble of reckoning, 1 can affure|
ttyem, that all these necessary Gentlemen can-1
not be supported in their refpeftive Stations }
at a less Expence than /, 90,000 Sterling per(
Annum. I know that I am below the Mark ; I
but l would not wiih to difeourage Affairs. 1
I recoiled coo, that we have Indians in our|
Rear, who will be apt tc >give us a Kick, if
we don't make it worth their while to be quiet.
Britain used to allow them considerable Pre
sents ; and we mull not allow them less.
Perhaps, we must exceed the British Genero-|
fity, in order to attach them perfectly to our
Interests. 7 hose Presents, and other contin
gent Expences, amounted annually to at lead
£.,10,000 Sterling. Say £.lo, cooper Annum ;
though 1 believe the Amount mult have been
considerably more;
But, after all this Load of Charge, I perceive
we have provided for no Contingencies, arising
frem a War and a thousand other Accidents in
this vexatious World ; arrtl perhaps they can
not be calculated easily, or cahly provided
for. To triumph over Britain in the present
(parrel, will cell us a Trifle; and God knows
what the Expence will be, before we have run
the Gauntlett with all the other European
Powers. But this is a melancholy Business,
and therefore let us huddle it over. I have
lived too long in the World not to fee, that a
pleasant white Lye has a better Reception than
a thousand unwelcome Truths: And I don't
chufe to spoil my Fortune.
Take the Sum of what has been said, and
the State of Things will be as follows:
To annual Expence of ) ,
1 r > £.1,000,000 0 0
the Army,)
To Ditto, Navy, 2,252,120 0 0
To Grand Deputies of 7
n> 104,000 0 0
Congress,)
Toi; Governors, 26,060 0 0
To 13 Civil Establishments, 130,000 0 0
To Ambassadors, &c. 90,000 0 0
To Indians, &c. 10,000 0 0
To Treasurers of Congress,"
Deputies, Clerks, and other
incidental Charges in Con- ' "' °°°°
gre fs ,
To the Accomptant General, 1,000 0 0
Annual Expence, £.3,623,120 0 0
Add the ftrft Cofl of the Navy, 2,190,300 0 0
First Year's Expence, 5,813,420 0 0
Our PEACE-Eftablifnment requires almost
the goodly Sumos Four Millions Sterling
Wheat per Bushel, 9s. od.
Flour, 30s. oh.
Brown Bread, 25-. cd.
Weil-India Rum, Bs. of.
New-England do. ss. od.
(No. tel
GAZETTE:
T H E
M E RC UR°Y.
PRICE CURRENT, in NEW-YORK.
Mufeovado Sugar, 5 1 . 10s.
Single refin'd ditto, 2s. 9b
Molasses, 33 . 6J,
Beef per Barrel, 90s. od.
Pork, ' 51. ios.
Jordan anil DomeOUh.
per Annum : And we must set off the firft Year
at an Expence of near Six Millions. But
what will our WAR-Ellablilhmcnt amount to ?
I vow, I cannot tell. But lam sure it cannot
be less : It may probably be four Times the
Sum ; and especially if we feel bold.
But here copies the Qpefion (and a plaguy
Question it is) “ E[ow is all this vast Sum to
be raifedi"—Why, by Taxes, undoubtedly.
Did ever any States raise Money without
Taxes ? Was ever any Country protedled with
out Taxes ? 'ls it possible to keep off Foreign
Foes, to preserve a refpeclable Appearance in
the World, and to guard or extend ohr Com
merce, without Taxes ? 'Tis a Part of our
political Creed, “ that there can be no Tax
" ation where there is no Reprefeptation :"
Ergo, there mus he, wherever it is. But I can
name a Country, which was nourished, fet
tled, protected, fought for, secured, and all
without Taxes to — that Country. Itwas some
other Country that paid the Piper.—But let
that pass; for I am only an Accountant.
" How mull we get this ugly Sum of near
Four Millions a Year provided for ? And how
3 the firft Coftof our great Navy to be paid ?"
These are hard Questions to a Man of my Un*
derilanding, but 1 will try at 'em.
In the firfl Place, for the good of my Coun
ty, which lvalue more than any Man's Eyes
but my own, I propose, that the Sum offeven
t, oZ/Thoufind Pounds Sterling, in Cash and
Produce, remitted within this Year or two past,
by some of our Congress-Gentlemen to France,
against “ a wet Day," be ordered back again-
This indeed would not do much ; butit would
do something. Certainly the Messieurs adams
and Company could not object to it; n r ,
nor the Congress neither—for “ they are all
" honourable Men."
In the next Phce, we must lay a Tax upon,
our Lands. And, as we have a Domain almost
as extensive as all Europe, who knows but we
may, by proper Management, be able to raise,
by this Land-Tax, at least as much as. Half of
it ? For otherwise, why fhouid wo boast of our
extensive Lands, and Acres, and the like ?—•
A Land-Tax, and around one too, not like a
quibbling Quit-Rent which we have sometimes
paid ard sometimes not, must come into the
Lift of eur Ways and Means.
Again; we must also have a Poll-Tax: And
let me tell you, Mr. Printer, or rather the wor
thy Congress, that a Tax of Twenty Shillings
Sterling a Head ,er Annum, upon all the Bodi
es and Souls in America (1 mean human Bo
dies and Souls, for I would not tax Dogs) would
amount to something. Indeed, the Revenue
on this Score will, be reduced by last Year's
Tranfaclions at least 30,000 Polls, and I will
suppose, that in the next, the Loss will be con^
fidcrable. But then the Remedy is a short:
one we have only to lay a double Sum up
on those that remain, and our Account will
Hand better perhaps than before.
Besides these, we must eftablilh an Excise and
Cufems, and must be careful to prevent all
smuggling too ; or this said frightful Sum of
Four Millions Sterling a Year will run us
aground. And then, the Lord have Mercy
upon us; for we can borrow no Money to set
ns afloat again, because new Powers are unfet
cled and precarious; and such Powers never
find Credit, unless they are very remarkable
for their Tionefty.
Upon second Thoughts, and upon reviewing
what I have said, I am afraid this cursed Load
of Taxes, which we must unavoidably bear to
support our new Government, will fink us to
the Dogs. But yet it must go on: We can
but be ruined at last. However, Mr. Printer,
as I pique myfelf upon my Honesty, I cannot:
help telling you one Thing, which, whether
you believe it or not, I am sure of; for I have
counted it: And that is, Our old Mother-country
could havefupported andprotefied us at oze Twen
tieth Part of the Expence, which it will cos us
to defend and secure ourselves ; and when we have
done all that we can do, we shall not be One HuN*
dreth Part so secure nor a Thousandth
Part so happy, as we were before. But now I
am speaking against my own Ofice; and,
therefore, I have done: And I believe, Mr.
Printer, you may wish that I fhouid ; but old
Men will prate. However, here is enough for
the present ; and so farewell.
INTEGER.
Fine Salt, ios. o&
Coarse Salt, Bs. cd.
Indian Corn per Bu. 6s. 6d.
Come, is. gd.
Chocolate, 265. per Doz.