National gazette. — Philadelphia [Pa.], 1793-02-02 00:00:00, page 2

foreign intelligence.
LONDON, Nov. 2—20.
The trial of Mr. Thomas Paine is ex
pected with more than usual eagernels by
the public : nothing, can be more interelt
iujr to Engliftimen than to know whether
opinion is free, or not, upon general lnb
jects of politics, for such is precisely the
question to be tried.
Every poflible attempt has been made to
seduce Mr. Erlkine from Handing forth
Mr. P.line's client. Thus, are there found
i 1 the kingdom men base enough to at
tempt debauching the honor and intereli oi
tie Britilh bar. It is almost needless tc
fiy that every endeavour of this kind had
n > effefl upon Mr. Erftiiw. The light will
be oild enough—a distinguished member oi
the French National Convention to be tri
ed at the Fngiilh bar, for afierting th£
Kights of Man !
Several accounts mention the failing oi
the French fleet from Toulon. Ihe at
tack of Civita Vecchia and Rome seem:
decided on. The men of Marseilles are
also proj-Cting an expedition to Loretto, 2
city 011 the eastern lide of Italy, where is
the d:poJit of riches in the Holy Houte for
merly brought from Bethlehem 011 angels
back*. The holy chert will probably lur
nitli the French with the greatell quantity
of rich plunder, of any place in the world.
It is foinewhat wonderful, that in the ma
ny wars of Europe, none of the privateer:
of any nation have ever attempted topil
-1 ige it. Ab the reign of superstition is now
on the decline; it will hardly befofafein
future.
A learned Profcflor in France, who has
for a long time employed himfelf in ma
king refearohes into the comparative ana
tomy of the brain, has publilhed one great
discovery, relative to the influence of the
ftrnCture of the brain on the intellectual fa
culties. He has found the brain, from the
most accurate iuveftigation, to coniilt of a
vast number of Inmi'itr, or thin ihe lis, 11 -
milar to the coats of an onion. These, in
some persons, he has found to amount to
the number of 7So. In others, they may
poifibly amount to more. In the brain oi
an ideot which he difleCted, were found
110 more than 324, and in a dumb perlon
only 362. He therefore. with"great rea
son, foppofes, that the intellectual powers
of inan are proportionate to the number oi
these lamina, or thin coats of the brain.
It would have been curious to have difTec
ted such a brain as that ol Newton : the
lamina would probably have exceeded
j 000.
From the experience of ages, we may
consider the clergy of all religions as a body
of men who have separate interests and
views, dirtinet from thole of the reft oi
mankind. The most despotic monarch:
exercise no jurisdiCtion but over the bodie:
and goods of men ; but all the clergy, from
the great Lama of Thibet to his Holinef:
at Rome, and the Archbishop of Canterbu
ry, at London, aspire to despotism over the
mind ; a despotism which is the more dan
gerous, as when once it is eftabliihed, it
extends to every thing else. The body
and goods are no better than rags ; those
gentlemen are the sole disposers of our sal
vation, and what will mankind not
obtain it ? This has been fufficiently evin
ced during seven or eight centuries of the
reign of the clergv and of ignorance. A:
to kings, their influence, origin, and con -
sequence among mankind, may be aptl)
depicted in the following apologue : Once
upon a time the horse called man in to his
aififtance agiinft the stag; the man got on
his back, aflifted him, fnbdued him, and re
mained his master. Thus did men call in
kings to aflift them against each other.—
Horses are still, luckily, ignorant of their
own strength, as well as subjeCts of their
natural rights : if they did but know them,
how many riders would be thrown, and
how many kings dethroned ! Some re
mains of ignorance in these matters are
perhaps an advantage.
Soon after the conclusion of Lord
North's administration, Mr Edmund
Burke became himfelf a pensioner in clif
guifc ; in the fame manner as if a pension
had been granted in the name of John
Nokes, to be privately paid to and enjoy
ed by Tom Stiles The name of Edmund
J3urke does not appear in the original tran
saction, but after the peniion was obtained,
Mr. Burke wanted to make the most of it
at once by felling or mortgaging it; and
the gentleman in whose name the peniion
stands, applied to one of the public officers
for that purpose. This unfortunately
brought forth the nameof Edmund Burke,
as the real pensioner of 15001. per annum !
When men trumpet forth the bleifings oi
the English conititution. it ought to be
known w hat fort of blessings they allude
to.
Mr. Boudinot's Speech in the House oi
Representatives, on Monday, January 14;
the house being in committee of the
whole, on the petition of the officers &c.
of the late continental army, for furthei
compenfat-on.
Mr. Boudinot allured the committee,
that he had determined not to trouble them
on this flibjeft, and he fliolild have carried
chat determination into execution, did he
aot find that the question was likely to be
taken in a manner not altogether plealing
to him. He had expe&ed that the claims
of the officers would have been fairly met,
and if decided in the negative, tliofe gen
tlemen would have gone away fully fatis
tied that their claims had received a fair
and candid difcurtion : But he feared, from
the arguments of gentlemen, that the idea
that the United nates had unjustly failed
in performing the contrail with the army,
would take place, and an ungrounded im
putation of partiality, (at lealt in the minds
of the petitioners) would be left on the
government, when, Mr. B. thought, t
lair iiatement of the matter would un
doubtedly put a very different face on the
whole business. The officers of the arm)
had come forward as creditors of the Uni
ted States in a decent and becoming man
aer, and presented their claims founded or
'ormer contracts, which they conceivcd hai
lot been fulfilled, and therefore they callet
an government to do what was right anc
lift; on the occasion. Congress were the
independent representatives of the wholt
anion, to whom every citizen ought tohavt
free access. and where every Citizen wa:
to be considered as equally entitled to ai
mpartial hearing. It on examination i
Ihould appear that juftite required a far
:her competition to the petitioners as i
:lafs of public creditors, when considered 01
1 general scale, 110 man in the house wouk
De more ready tlrin himfelf to give his voice
"or such a measure. But if it should ap
tiear that the contrast 011 the public hac
iieen complied with, as far as diflributive
uftice would permit, he vvifhed the petiti
oners to be convinced of it, and that thoft
losses they had met with, were such as hat
seen equally borne by other creditors of the
union, and therefore a general burthen, b)
which he hoped they would receive full fa
tisfaction on this ftibjeft.
Mr. Bouelinot, while he acknowledgec
:he patriotil'm and virtue of the American
irmy, and fubferibed fully to their eminent
ervices and patient futferings, he could not
join in decrying the eliential services anei
"ufierings of the other public creditors ol
:lie Uniteel States, who in the day of their
liltrefs, had administered their property, tc
:he support ot that army and the defence
jf the union. Ail public creditors who
jrefented themselves in the day of diflrefs
:o the relief of the union, were equally en
titled to the attention of Congress ; but
:he officers in their memorials liad applied
111 behalf of the army alone, he wiflied to
conlieler their cafe, in the firft instance, ab
lfra£tly, without connecting it with any o
ther class of creelitors, and then compare it
with others of their fellow-citizens.
He undertook, therefore, in the firfl
ulace, to slate the public conduct towards
the army from the beginning to the com
mencement of thp present government —
He would then examine the conduct of the
present government, and lafHy, supposing
their claim just, enquire into the praftica
oility of it.
The committee were well acquainted
with the rife and progress of the late war.
At the firft alarm, the patriotic citizens of
the colonies flew to their arms and formed
in the field, without terms or stipulations as
to their services. In 17-5, Congrefj turned
their attention to the army as the firlt great
abject, and having organized it, fixed the
pay at the rate of 50 dollars for a colonel,
and 20 dollars for a captain. In 1776, de
lirous of encouraging citizens who were so
zealous in their country's service, they gave
a bounty of 20 dollars to each private, a -
mounting in the whole, to upwards of
200,000 dollars, besides a promise of 100
acres of land, and to the officers at the rate
of 500 acres to a colonel, and the reft in pro
portion. In October of the fame year, de
irons of keeping up the zeal of the officers,
they increased the pay in proportion of 75
dollars to a colonel, and 40 dollars to a
captain, and gave a suit of cloaths per an
num to every private, or 20 dollars in cash.
111 Dec. 1777, Congress fliewed their desire
of encouraging the service, by giving a
month's extra pay to the army. The offi
cers, anxious for their future support after
the war was over, exprefl'ed an earnest de
lire of having forne provision of this fortan
ticipated, and Congress in compliance with
their desires, after a consideration of three
months or more, agreed in May 1778, to
give each officer half pay for 7 years after
the enel of the war, on condition that they
did not hold any office of profit under any
individual state, and 80 dollars to each pri
vate. In November following, they gave
to each fupernuinerary officer one year's
pay extraordinary, and increased the allow
ance for every retained ration, to 2s. 6d.
in money. The army, not being fatisfied
with this provision, in August 1.779, a com
mittee appointed for the purpose, reported
farther provision of half pay for life, with
out any condition in favour of those who
should continue till the end of the war, and
recommended to the states to provide for
widows of officers and foleliers who should
be killed in the service. Congress likewise
encreafed the allowance of monthly subsis
tence for officers to 500 dollars for a colo
nel, a captain 200 tlollars, and a private 10
dollars, and_added to all this, Congre/s al
lowed the officers to receive from the pub
lic stores, one hat, a watch coat, body coat.
four vests, four pair breeches, four shirts,
four itocks, fix pair stockings, four pair
(hoes, per annum, nearly at former price?,
and the folcliers in proportion. The half
pay for life was adopted, to the great of
fence of individual states, who sent forward
petitions againfl the measure as impolitic
and unjust. The war continuing, the dif-
Crell'es of the country increased, which re
duced the public credit so low, as to pro
duce great uneasiness among all clafles of
public creditors, both in the army and
country.
The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Hartley) in his argument reprefente'd (ir
Mr. B's opinion)his own'feelings on the oc
calion,rather than a comparative view with
the fufierings of the citizens at large ; for it
is not uncommon, when gentlemen arc
connected with a particular class ef fuffer
ers, to view what they fee and hear as
an exclusive and peculiar evil, withoul
considering what pafles elsewhere. Thui
the soldier considers the facrifice of the ar
ny as the only intolerable burthen, while
he merchant, knowing his own loiles bell,
.onliders others' complaints 3s trifling as
uis ; and the farmer, who earns every far
thing by the fvveat of his brow, blames the
government for not giving him the firft place
in all their systems. Yet the fair cortclu
lion is, that the burthen has been generall)
nearly equal, and a common tax for the de
fence of our country —And altho' Mr. B.
readily fubfi ribed to the great fufterings and
patriotic exertions of the army, yet the)
should also give credit for the attention oi
their country, to the utinoll of their abili
ties. As the gentleman from Pennsylvania
is befl acquainted with the line of his owr
(fate, Mr. Boudinot undertook to mentior
what was done by Pennsylvania for he:
own officers in addition to the allowances
of CongreCs.—During the war, llores were
provided, from which they received a par
tial supply at the hard money prices. The
depreciation of their pay was fully made nj:
to them ; at the faies of tile confifcated es
tates their certificates were received as hard
money ; the fame for lands in the land-of
fice—the intereff of 6 per cent, was paid on
their certificates for a number of years—a::
additional bounty of land was given to them
ready surveyed and free from expence ;
and when the funding system took place,
they had their 3 cent, and deferrec
debt made good to 6 per cent, oy addition
al certificates from the state, which were
afterwards redeemed at about 50 and y,
per cent, in hard money.
[ J'/ie remainder in our next.2
For the National Gazette.
No. I.
nnHE present rulers of the United States
call peace, peace I—but there is no
peace. Peace reigns where jtiftice reigns ;
where this is not made the foundation of a
government and of laws, confufion mull
ensue.
Whatever were the nftenfib'e reasons for
adopting the present government of the U
nited States, there is no doubt but that it
owed its existence to the influence and ar
tifices of a few men, who had taken advan
tage of the diftrefles of this conntry unci
who had largely fpeculatec in the certifi
cates given for services rendered by the
mofl meritorious citizens. Thefarmers anci
soldiers, knowing how much cheir countrj
had fullered du ing a long contett to sup
port the natural rights of men, they accept
ed certificates in lieu of their full pay, al
tho' public opinion at the very moment oi
acceptance, had reduced them to one eightl
part of their nominal value; thus making i
facrifice of their equitable demands to tilt
distresses oftheir country. These origina,
and honorable creditors, when thej
parted with their certificates, regarded the
public opinion refpeiting their value, as the
mofl certain criterion of the value of the
public debt. They knew that it was to.tht
prosperity of citizens, and not to the de
mands of the creditors of the state, that the
firft and original faith of government was
pledged. The claim of the citizen they re
garded as prior in title and superior in e
quitv; and never contemplated that the
rights and privileges of their fellow citi
zens were a part of the creditor's fecurit)
exprelled or implied. Congress coult
pledge nothing but the public eltate, whicl
confifled in an immense tract of unoccupiec
and unimproved land : this much was en
gaged, and nothing else could be engaged
to the public creditor.
Whilst with the ardor of freemen, we
were contending againlt the arbitrary views
of the Britifli government, who wilhed to
prevent the free sale of the produce of our
industry by commercial regulations, and tc
draw a revenue by means of indirect taxes
on tea, painter's colours, glass, and other
necessary articles, we had no idea that the
corrupt and wretched system of Britifli po
litics and finance, would ever become the
favorite object of an American government.
It is as much the duty of American citi
zens to oppose such ruinousmeafures, when
brought forward and supported by a few
androcratic characters amongst ourselves,
as when attempted to be enforced by a fo
reign power. The American farmers and
soldiers should take care that the property
facrificed by them to their country v hen
in distress, ij not by a mod iniquitous furd
ing system, now put into the pockets of un
deserving (peculators.
An AMERICAN FARMER.
Jan. 31.
CONGRESS.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Tuesday, Jan. 30.
The report of the felett committee be
ng 1 ead on the petition of Thomas Wi
hart, said report was agreed to, and a bill
was ordered to be brought in pursuant
hereto—A repi rt was also made by Mr.
Benfon, in favor of the petition, read tome
ime since from Robert Heaton, a "V ork
iiire Englilh farmer, praying exemption of
luty. on cattle and other propertj brought
with him from Europe—laid on the ta
nle.
The house, in committee of the whole
proceeded to col lider the bill from the
Senate, for regulating foreign coins, and
for other pm poles. After making several
inconlider-able amendments, which vtre
agreed to, the bill was reported, the a -
inendmentß adopted, and the the
third time—On the question, bill
pass? it was after some debate, agTeed to
by a confiderabie majority.
A mefi'age was received from the Se
nate, informing, that they had agreed to
che bill (with the amendments) for regu
lating claims to invalid penlions—and re
qudting the concurrence of the House of
Representatives.
The committee of the whole house then
took up the conlideration of the bill lor
promoting the progi ess of the ufeful arts :
after difeuffing the fame for some time, the
committee rose and reported progrels.
Wednesday, Jan. 30.
After admitting a new member from
Maryland, William Hindman, Esquire,
vice. Jolhtia Seney—A petition was read
From G. Brown, praying compenfatiori for
wounds received—also, a petition from
Patrick Dennis, commander of the reve
nue cutter for New-Yo.k diftritt, praying
augmentation of pay for himfelf and crew
— referred, the firf't to a select committee,
the latter to the Secretary of the Treasu
ry—A memorial was also read from seve
ral Printers and Bonkfellers o f Philadel
phia, praying that the duties on royal, me
dium, and clemi printing paper may be ta
ken oft", as alio, the- duty on imported
—referred to ;i committee.
Stveral other petitions were read and
referred.
The refohltions of the legiflattire of the
(late of Kentucky, laid before the hrufe a
few days ago, were, on motion of Mr.
Greenup, referred tr a committee of the
whole 011 the Hate of the Union.
The hill (received from the Senate,
with their amendments) to regulate claims
to invalid penlions, was taken into consi
deration, and referred to a committee of
the whole house to-morrow.
The house then went into committee of
the whole, on the bill to amend the ast to
promote the progress of ufeful arts—The
committee proceeded as far as the lixth
feftion, and having made several amend
ments, rose and reported progrels.
Thursday, Jan. 31.
Mr. Parker, from the committee, re
ported a bill in favor of the claim of Tho
mas Wilhart—read twice and made one of
the orders of the day for to-morrow. A
petition was re; d from Meflieurs Brown
and Francis, merchants, Rhode-Hland,
praying allowance of a drawback on g n
aild fifii, which they had re-exported alter
previously paying the import—referred to
the Secretary of the Treasury.
A bill was reported by Mr. Grove, from
the committee, for re-imburfing H- E.
Lutterloh, for expences in coining to A
merica in 1777 to jointheAmerican army—
read twice, and made one of the orders of
the day for to-morrow.
The Secretary of the Treasury's report
on the petition of Captain Bell, was then
taken up—the prayer of the petition is, to
be allow ed a drawback on goods exported
from New-York, which the collector of
that port refufed to allow, the terms of
the law in fiich cases having not been com
plied with ; which refulal was confirmed
in the report —referred to a committee of
the whole house 011 Tuesday next.
A melfage was received from the Se
nate, informing, that they had considered
the bill for regulating the value of foreign
coins, &c. and had pafled the fame with an
amendment, to which the concurrence tif*
the house was requested. A letter was al
so received from the Senate, directed to
the Frefident of Congre/s, and read in their
houle, f rom M. le Brun, French minister
for foreign aftairs, relative to the pay of a
b rench officer formerly in the American
service, and praying payment of arreara
ges to his heirs.
1 he house ihen resolved itfelfinto com
mittee of the whole on the bill to promote
the progress of ufeful arts—after some time
(pent in difcufling, the biil was reported
with amendments—-which were laid on
the table.