Republican ledger, and Portsmouth price current — Portsmouth, N.H., 1802-05-18 00:00:00, page 2

tihue in eath c&afon diftgia, refpcaively,
until the colteaion of the duties above men
tioned shall have been completed in such
diftrid, and no longer, unless sooner discon
tinued by the President of the United States
who shall be and hereby is em powered,
whenever the colleaion of the laid duties
shall have been so far completed in any dif
tria as to render, in his.opinion, that mea
sure expedient, to difeontinue any of the said
collectors and to unite into one cohesion
diftria any two or more collection diftridts,
lying and being in the fame Rate : that the
office of supervisor shall continue ineach
Rate or district, ^fpedively, until the col
jedion of the duties above mentioned, to
gether with the collection of the direct tax,
shall haye been completed in such Rate or
district, and no longer ; unless sooner dif
•continued by the President of the United
: States, who shall be and hereby is empow
ered, whenever the collection of the said du
ties and tax shall have been so far completed
in any Rate or diftrift as in his opinion to
sender that measure expedient, to discon
tinue any of the said offices ; in which case
the collectors thereafter employed in the
collection of the said duties and tax in such
state or diftrid shall be appointed and remo
vable by the President alone, and shall be
immediately accountable to the officers of
the treasury department, under such regula
tions as may be eftablilhed by the secretary
of the treasury : that for the promoting of
the collection of any of the above mentioned
duties or tax which may be outstanding af
ter the said thirtieth day of June next, the
President of the United States shall be, and
he hereby is empowered at any time there
after, to make such allowance as he may
\ think proper in addition to that now allow-,
ed by law to any of the collectors of the
said duties and tax, and the fame from time
to time vary : Provided, that such addition
al allowance fliall in no instance exceed in
the aggregate, five per cent, of the gross a
mount of the duties and tax, outstanding on
that day ;- and the office of commissioner of
the revenue shall cease and be discontinued
whenever the collection of the duties and.
tax abovementioned shall be completed, un
less sooner difeontinued by the President of
the United States, who shall be, and hereby
is, empowered whenever the collection of
the said duties.and tax shall have been so far
completed as, in his opinion, to render that
measure expedient, to difeontinue the said
office, in which case the immediate fuperin
tendance of the collection of such parts of
the said duties and taxes as may then remain
outstanding, shall be placed in such officer of
the treasury department as the secretary, for
the time being, may designate : Provided
however, that all bonds, notes or Other in
struments which have been charged with the
payment of a duty, and which thall, at any
time, prior to the said thirtieth day of June,
have been written or printed upon vellum,
parchment or paper not damped or marked
according to law, or upon vellum, parch
ment or paper stamped or marked at a lower
rate of duty than is, by law, required for
such bond, note or other instrument, may be
presented to any collector of the customs
within the fiate ; and where there is no such
collector, to the marshal _of the diftri&,
whole duty it shall be, upon the payment of
the duty with which such instrument was
chargeable, together with the additional sum
of ten dollars for which duty and additional
sum the said collector or marshal shall be
accountable to the treasury of the United
States, to endorse upon some part of such
instrument his receipt for the fame ; and
thereupon, the said bond, note or other in
strument shall be, to all intents and purpo
ses, as valid and available to the person hold
ing the fame as if it had been or were stamp
ed, counter-damped, or marked as by law
required ; any thing in any aft to the con
trary, notwithstanding.
Sec. 3. And be it further tnaEled, That
owners of Hills, whose licenses to diftil shall
not have expired on the thirtieth day of June
next, thall, at their option, pay either the
• , whole duty which would have .accrued on
# their dills on account of such licenses, or the
, duty which would have accrued on said dills,
on the day aforefaid, if they had taken licen
ses ending on that day : that owners of fnuff
• mills, whose licenses had not expired on the
firft day of June, one thousand seven hun- :
dred and ninety-fix, shall be allowed a de
d»aioo from the duties incurred on the
fame, proportionate to the time thus remain
ing unexpired on fuchlicenfcs : that the se
veral ba#s, which may have agreed to pay
the annual composition of one per cent, on
their dividends, in lieu of the damp duty on
the notes issued by them, shall pay only at
' the rate of one per cent, per annum, on such
dividends, to the thirtieth day of June next :.
that retailers of wines and spirits, who may
take licenses after the polling of this ad,
shall pay for such licenses only in proportion
to the time which may intervene between
the obtaining of such licenses and the thir
tieth day of June next ; and that the Qwners
of carriages tor the conveyance of persons,
who may enter the fame after the passing of
this adyand before the thirtieth day of June
Yes, very important—much more fa to Ameri
cans than any accounts of battles or navies or such
like appendages of royalty. The report we this
day publish is very important, ift to Americans
because they fee what a charming administration
the last was, and what little probability there is
of the present equalin^it in its excellencies I—2d
itis important to b^4&, by fiibftantiating eve
ry accusation we have br, ght against the lafl ad
ministration, —and 3d, it is important, becanfe to
life the expression of the Gazette of the United
States those “ Lucifers have fallen never tb rife a-, (
gain," and therefore no danger is longer to be ap
prehended from them.., (Aurora.)
THE CONTRAST.
Our readers are seriously invited to compare
the following important document with the re
ports we publish—it is their duty to do so, and to
take every opportunity of explaining to our op
ponents the matters now laid before them.
&traft of a letter from a Member of Congress, da
ted,
-IVa/hington, April 29, 1802.
" Enclosed is a practical commentary upon the•
democratic test of economy. By ityou will learn,
that we are not alone profeffors of economy, but
that we pra^tife it; The argument afforded by a
faring of one million, twenty-one tkoujand, fee
hundred and thirty-three dollars, in one year, muff
,he intelligible to every citizen of the community,;
and must fatisfy the people, thai'fhe exitting ad
miniflration is attentive to their substantial •inter
est : although the tories tell us m derogation of
.the president's merits, that he is inattentive to his
dress, that he is sometimes seen without a clean
shirt, sometimes, with a long beard, and sometimes
with corduroy pantaloons and long Boots.-~Thefe
are horrible demerits in him ; but in mercy r I trust
the people will pardon him when they refled, that
Rutledge, Harry Wood and little Dana.
have enough of the righteousness of dress and friz
zle about them to atone for th@ coxcombical omis
sions of every man in the government."
"Retrenchments by Acts or the ,present
Session of Congress.
Ift. In the appropriation for the army,
being the difference between the ap
propriation for the year I Sox and that
for the prefect year. Dolls. 55t o°° 0 °°
Sec. S. And be it further eitaßed, That
for preparing and issuing the certificates the
colleaors performing that duty shall be en
titled to, and receive the fame compensation,
as heretofore has been allowed to the foper
vifors, rcfpeaively..•„
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted. That
all persons who shall, on or after the thir
tieth day of June next, have any blank vel
lum, parchment or paper, which has been
stamped by the fuperintendarit of stamps and
counter-stamped by the commissioners of the
revenue, and on which a duty has bten paid,
to the use of government, shall be entitled
to receive from such colle&or or Colledors
of the customs, or other revenue officer in
the refpeftive states or diftrias, as„may be
designated for that purpose by the secretary
of the treasury, the value of the said stamps,
after deducing, in all cases, seven and an
half per cent, and the said officers are hereby
authorized to pay the fame : Provided, the
said blank vellum, parchment or paper, be
presented within four months after the thir
tieth day of June next.
NATHL. MACON, x
Speaker of the House of Rebrefentatives.
A. BURR,
Vice-Prudent of the United States, and
President of the Senate.
Approved, Abril 6, 1802..
TH : JEFFERSON, ’
PreJident of the United States.
next, shall pay the duty for the fame only to
the said thirtieth day of June.
Sec. 4. And-be it further smaaed, That
the supervisor of the North Weft diftria
shall, in addition to the fame commissions on
the produ& of all the internal duties co)|ea
ed in his dittria, as heretofore have been al
lowed to the supervisor of Ohio, be.allowed
an annual Salary of five hundred dollars, and
at the rate of three hundred dollars per an
num, for clerk-hire./'
Sec. 5. 'And be it further enafled, That
the following extra allowances for clerk
hire, shall be made for one year to the su
pervisors of the following diftri&s, as a full
compensation for the additional duties ari
sing from the fettlement,of. accounts of cer
tain infpe&ors of the internal revenues,
whose offices have been suppressed by, the
President of the United States, that is to fay,
to each of the supervisors of Maflachufetts,
Pennfyfvania, Maryland, North Carolina
and South Carolina, the sum of eight hun
dred dollars, and to the supervisor of Virgi
nia the sum of five hundred dollars.
Sec. 6. And be it further enabled, That
so much of any a&, as directs an annual en
try of stills to be made, be, and the fame
hereby is repealed.
Sec. 7. And be it further enabled, That
the certificates accompanying foreign distill
ed spirits, wines and teas, which are now
furnifhed by the supervisors to the infpc&ors
of the ports, shall, from and after the afore
faid thirtieth day of June, be furnifhed by
such collectors of the customs, as may be de
signated by the secretary of the treasury.
And it shall be the duty of the infpedors to
account with such collectors, for the appli
cation of such certificates, in like manner,
and under the fame regulations, as hereto
fore they have accounted with the fupefvi
fors.
VERY IMPORTA NT.
2d. Tn the appropriation for the navy.,
being the difference between die Ra
val peace etlabßfhment for the year
1801 and the appropriation tor the
present year,^ ± , 200,000
3d. In the appropriations for fortifica
tions of ports and harbors; being the
difference between the appropriations
for those objects and for the defensive
protection ot'the frontiers, inthe year '
^. 1801, and the appropriation for the
fame objects, in the present year, - 13,^00
4th. By the aft to repeal the late judi,
ciary att constituting additional cir
cuit court^and judges, # . 45,00°
sth. By the difeontinuance of the offi-,
- ces of the commission -rs of revenue,
and fuperihtendant of -{tamps,’ paya-„
ble out of the civil lilt appropriations, 12,033
6th. In the appropriation for foreign
intertourfe, being the difference be
tween that for the year 1801 and that
for the present year, at,600
7th. A like difference in the appropria
' tions for those years for the relief of
American fenmen, 15,000
Bth. A like difference in the appropria
tion of those years for presenting
claims for captured- property, gs.ooo
Dolls. 1,021,533
REPORT.
THE committee appointed " to enquire and report,
whether monies drawn from the treasury have
been faithfully applied to the objects "for which
-they were*appropriated, and whether the fame
. .have been regularly accounted for ; and to re
port llkpwije whether any further arrangements
are negefary to promote economy, enforce adhe
rence to legflative reflriblions, and secure the
accountability of persons entrufled with public
-money, Submit
The following Report :—
IN order to ascertain generally in what man
ner, and under what checks, monies were drawn
from the treasury of the United States, and Were
afterwards expended and accounted for, the com
mittee applied to the secretary of the treasury, Ra
ting the several objects to which they intended to
direct their enquiry ; his answer under date of the
2d of March, and.the 9th of April, are annexed to
•this report; to which, as well as to the llatemeMs
of the accountants of the war and riavy depart
ments, on the fame fubjeft, and beg leave to refer.
The committee deem it fuffiefent to Rate here,
that all public monies are drawn fromihe treasury
in virtue of warrants signed by the secretary of the
treasury, and countersigned by the comptroller,
and are paid to the officers and agents to whom
the fame are due, or who are entrufled with their
application ; or when relating to the war or navy
departments, they are placed in the hands of the
treasurer as agent for those departments, who dis
burfes them on warrants drawn by the secretary of
the department, and counterfigued by the refpec
tree accountant#
For the general conffru&ion heretofore given
by the treasury department to the various appro
priation laws; the committee refer to the commu
nication made to them by the secretary of the trea
sury on the ad of March, and more particularly
for the conftruftion given to the annual appro
priations for the support of the navy and army re
fpedively, they refer to a report made by the late
secretary of the treasury on the ' day of
May, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-fix,
to the committee of ways and means. From both
of these it appears that the appropriations for the
army and navy refpeftively, have been considered
as constituting but one general fund for each of
these objeßs, although in most of the laws making
appropriations a variety of heads of expenditure
were,diflin&ly fpecified. If the general construc
tion be correct, it may perhaps be said that in moR
infiances monies have been drawn from the trea
sury in the manner prescribed by law. Some irre
gularities are Rated to have occurred, where ato
nies have been advanced upon the simple applica
tion of the secretary of the treasury b, letter,
without the formality of a warrant, and fomrtimes
even without a previous appropriation, but in
these cafrt the irregularity has been afterwards
covered by subsequent warrants and appropria
tions, and the committee do not difeover that it
has been productive of any injurious confluences
to.the United States. . The secretary of the trea
sury, in bis communication of the fecoud of March,
having exprefifed a doubt whether the monies ad
vanced on account of the removal of the feat of
government from Philadelphia to Washington had
been authorized by any previous law, the com
mittee directed their attention to that object, and
now,ffer the refalt. •, : '
The law eftabliffiingfhe permanent and tempo
rary feat of government (passed qn tKe 16th' of
June, in the rear seventeen hundred and ninety,)
provided, " that all offices attached to the feat of
government Should be removed to chisdißriC t on
the firft day of December, in the year one 4hou
fand eight hundred, by their refpeftive holders,"
and declared that the necessary expence of such
removal fliould be defrayed-eut ot the duties on
impost and tonnage. This appropriation is inde-.
finite iu its nature, and perhaps some contrariety
of opinion may exist as to the extent of the ex.
pence it was intended to cover ; but the commit
tee conceive that a Strict adherence to the letter of
the law, would confine the appropriation to the
expences actually incurred in removing She books,
papers, records and furniture of the refpeCtiyr
offices, from the.dpcnment (marked G) hereto
annexed, it appears that the funi of 15,239 dollars
and ^3 ceffts were paid for the transportation of
the-books, papers, records and furniture of the fe
verjl offices, and the furniture of the President ;
and the sum of 32,372 dollars and 34 cents far ex
pences incurred by.the, officers and clerks for the
removal of themselves and families. In general the
yepchers produced iri fapport of these iaR
tion^d expences, are the Rated accounts & the decla
rations of the officers and clerks, to whom the fame
were allowed. Tranferipts of the accounts of the
officers only are annexed, those of the clerks ce
ing too numerous to be" detailed. From these ac
couhts(which are marked g 1, to g t2,jnclufive)
it will be teen that the charges coblift of travelling
expences lefts on the fale'of articles thought too
inconvenient to remove, packing,- breakage and
transportation of furniture, house rent in Pbiladel,
phja, and extra expences after their 'arrival ,at tbe
city of Washington.— As all the.officers and clerks
were, at the time, iri the service-and pay of the
government,.arid received the full amount cf their
salaries; exclusively of these extraordinary allow
ances, and as the att of June, 1790, provided only
for defraying the expellees incident to the remo
val of the offices, the committee are of opinion
that this sum of 32,872 dollars and 34 cents » 8 s
drawn from the treasury and expended without a
ny legal authority.
The manner in which monies drawn from the
treasury under previous appropriations have been
afterwards applied, prefers a fubjeft of enquiry,
at more difficulty and importance.
# Ilie expences in relation to the civil lift, being
chiefy for salaries, are not otherwise liable to a
buie, than in cates where monies advanced to a
gents have not been applied to the objects for
which the advance was made, and have net been
afterwards regularly accounted for.—Amongß the
subordinate agents to whom monies have been ad
vanced for miscellaneous objects, of a civil nature
some appear to be delinquents, and some net to
have rendered their accounts, as will be teen by a
reference to the document marked D. herewith
reported.
The monies necessary to defray the expense, in
cident to the intercourse with foreign nations,
have, till lately, been paid to the secretary of
Rate, who used to difourfe the fame. The ac
counts of Messrs. Jefferfon, Marshall and Madifen,
who have at various periods, filled that appoint
m^t, have been fettled, and no balance is due
thereon. A suit not yet decided, has been institu
ted against Mr. Randolph, formerly secretary of
Rate, for a balance unaccounted tor b,bim. The
accounts of Mr. Pickering are not yet finally fet
tled. He remains clrarged with a sum of 3.333
dollars and 20 cents, erroneoufiy paid by him for
tJi efreight of a vedel supposed to have been em
ployed by the Consul at Tripoli, and with another
sum of 3.289 dollars and 50 cents, being the ba
lance of-art advance made to Samnel Hodgdpn, for
the purpose of being remitted to Mr. Humphreys,
, at Madrid, in part of his fitlary, which Mr. Hum
phreys did not receive. Bgth these sums it is be
lieved may, and will be recovered from tlie per
sons to whom they were respectively advanced.
But the principal reason which appears to have
prevented an ultimate Settlement with him, arises
from the circumfiance of his not having applied
the whole of the money drawn by him from the
treasury, to the fpecifc objeft sot which' it was
Appropriated by law, For the Extent and refolt
of this misapplication, the committee, refer to the
flatement marked C. accompanying the communi
cation of the Secretary of the treasury under date
of the 2d of March. From this fiatemem it ap
pears, that Mr. Pickering drew from the treasury
under the appropriations trade " for defraying
the expences incident to the intereourfe with fo
reign nations, for regociating treaties with the
Barbary powers, and for the contingent expences
of government," the sum of 63,99, dollars and 57
cents more than he applied to those federal objefts,
u hich, together with the furn cf 14.583 dollars 2nd
54 cents gained by him on the parfhafe of bills of
exchange for the use of the government, form an
aggregate of 78,588 dollars and rr cents. The
fame Ratement C, will fnew that tire whole of
this film was expended by him on objects of a
public nature (as far as the committee ca> after
tain the fact), but this expenditure having bee>
made from appropriations designed for other ob
jefts by iaw, the misapplication of the money has
prevented the comptroller of the treasury front
fettling his accounts.
Although the committee will not fay that there
-are.no ...cafes in which a public officer would be
jufoned in applying monies appropriated to one
°r' e '^' . to expenditures on another, yet they are
of.opinion that m every UCTitUm ,he necessity for
the application ought to be for some obvious bene
fit to the United States, arid in every such case, a
difclofnre thereof to Congref sought to be made,
at the next fefficn which should immediately there
after enfue._
The monfes which have been advanced to the
several fecretarics of Rate, have been remitted by
'them principally to ministers, consuls and other a
gents abroad, whose accounts are not get rendered,
(although many of them are of an old date) and
the committee cannot any how, or in what man
ner, the money has been expended.
The advances neceiTary for defraying the expen
ces of the military arid paVaTehabfilhmenls were
formerly made in;„yfrt to individuals uho bare
accounted dife&y with that department ; but
since the few of the 16th of July 17,8, the whole }
of rhe monies have been paid to the treasurer as a-{
gent.for these two departments, and have been
fubjeft to the drafts of the refpettive secretaries.
The letter of the secretary of tlte treasury, under
date of the ,th of April, accompanied by
sundry abßra&s, (marked from A 1, to. A 9, inclu
sive) together v ith the statements of the two ac
countants (marked E, el, e2, e3, and E respec
tively) herewith reported, exhibit the amount ad
vanced, fettled and remaining unaccounted for, in
each department. From these it -appears, that
from the iff day of January 2797, to the end of
the year ißoi,the advances made by the treasury
on account of the war department, have amounted
(exclu(jvely of a sum in the hands of the treafurer}
to 9,846,96^1011% 29 cents.
Os which mere have been paid to in
dividuali who have accounted with,'
or are accountable to the. treasury,
a sum of- v^390,238 2£{
And there have been priid, by virtue
of the warrants of tie secretary of
wertf or ro'm*tordw<:s accountable
to the war departments, the sum 0'8,45'6,725 7
Making an aggregate equal to the 4-
bove fbm of 9)846,963 29
To which is to be added a balance
remaining unaccounted for, on the
books of the accountant, on the 1Q
of January 1797, 1 5756,391 36
Making iri the whole a sum charge-.
able to the war department, from
the -year ' 179710 ißQi,(both irgu
five)of - 19,^3,116 46
Os which the accountant hi§ fettled and render
ed to the treafary, accounts to the amount cf
6>335-9 2 ^ dollars and ,3 cents ; leaving a balance
0'3,877,1'92 dollars and 50 cents unaccounted for,
or not yex. fettled.•
The monies advanced to the navy
department, from its eflablifliment?
iu 1798, to the gift of March 1801,
exclusively of the sum paid by the:.
treasury to individuals, amount to 9,98x4313 ,3
Os which sum, accounts liave been
~ fettled by the accountant, and ren
dered to the treasury, to the a
mount of r,Sref6i ~
Leaving an unaccounted for, or ufr
fettled balance of 4,170,651 75
.Dollars, ^^l^ 73
[To be concluded nexrwttx.}, .