The Columbian informer, or, Cheshire journal — Keene, N.H., 1795-03-03 00:00:00, page 1

Mr. Nicholas declared that he
fhcuid be very wilting to vote for the ap
pointment of fech a committee, if he
could fee any good purpose to be derived
from & orjf the gentleman who kid the
reflation on the table, could B ive him
any new information that tended to prove
its expediency. For his own part he had
but a small family, and of ih^he had left
one half behind him in Virginia, yet he
found that his allowance, as a number
of the legislature, was barely icuueni
for fappordag this half of iris family,
though at lived wuh as much economy as
he had overdone id his life. He was cer-
W n that he afraid not cake one Shilling
Os public money home with him to Virgin
ia He requetted gentlemen to remem
ber that it was not the present Congress
who had given fix dollars per day to them
faves, b^t that it had been fixed by their
predecessors, and fixed at a time when liv
ing was fifty per cent cheaper than it was
"°Mr Bovßinot said, that he could
speak with the greatelt impartiality on
this fubfea, because after the present fef
flun he had not the foalleft idea of touch
ing a farthing of public money in his life.
He was one of those who had originally
objected to the allowance of fix dollars, per
day, as too high. He had kept an exact
account of his expenses, during three lef
lions at New York ; and there wasa bal
ance of forty three (hillings and four
pence, that he had either gained or loft,
he could not fay which, &fflfe," ta
fions. He could allure th< Koufe, upon
his honor, that this Statement was exactly
true. Yet, at that very time,, he lived
fifteen or twenty per cent cheaper perhaps
than any other member of Congress. He
tedded with a nephew of his own, anal
though he paid him the ordinary rate of
•board wages, yet living with a family
where he was entirely at home, and be
ing in reality only fifteen miles distant
from his own house in Jersey, he had ma
ny opportunities of fearing expence, which
most other members had not. Mrs. Bou
dinot, was with, him during t^oof theft
three sessions, in the third he was by him
fejf. !
The reflation on the table went to the
molt fatal consequences, and dirfflyop
pofite to the alledged objeri of pie, gen,
tieman who made it, fog it rapid eng
thus, that if the wagerw,e reduced, none
but persons of the mo#, independent for
tunes could afford to come to the ,hpufe,
and tbmthe whole power of (he govern
ment would be thrown into the hadtof
the rich. Mr. Boudinor sod, ,h^,
the officer in the service of ,gqrcpmq^,
this moment, that is making 4 fprtUM by!
bis salary ); Where fy, thp prpfefod
pae in the public service, who Gpoldpot
make more out of it. Iris said the peo
ple complain. He did not know whati
people did so, but they must be ignorant.
, —g=,HE+oufe went into a committee,
I Mr. Cobb in chair, on the mo
fl tion ot Mr. Ckubaurm. for re
dicing the Salaries dfnticm of
government and membeusi
Congress. Mr. C/orfara, introduced
bis motion by a variety of remarks on the
propriety and necetiity of economy, with
%to public money. He profeffed
not to aff-rc that the frcknt ulanes were
too high ; hi# motion went oni, to (heap
poiatmcot of a committee for enquiring
into the hate of facts.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTAtI YES.
Jan. 27.
[No. 4,. ofVoL. ll.]
Congrels -
of the UNITED STATES.
REDUCTION OF SA LARIES.
Or, CHESHI RE JOURNAL.
PRINTED ANO PUBLISHED by HENRrBL 4 K E, & CO. in KEENE, New-Hampshire.
Columbian Informer;
For himfelf he was convinced that at *,
end of this feffioo, he lhou% not have,
his pocket a shilling of public money, fle
would desire gentlemen to come forward
and fay if they have laved money. He
would not have wift^ this motion to be'
negatived with a fileat vote. '
Mr. CI.AIBOVIIKB begged leave w
remind the house that he had never affect
ed the salaries to be too high. His mo
tion Wentonly to appointing a committee
for an inquiry whether the salaries were
too high or not / He never had made
feed anafiertion.
Mr. W. Smith said, the reflation
was Hi its present fiape so extreme,
vague, that one did not know how to
give it a definition or e vote. Different
objects were lumped together. If, by an
inquiry, the gentlemen meant to exam
ine into the wages of members of this
house, it was quite neeclefsto appoint a
committee, becaufa every member can at
this moment fixak for himfelf. But Mr.
Smith did not coafider the present time
as the molt proper for beginning to reduce
friaries, when within the led twelve
months, there had been rctignacions, vid.
the Secretary of btate, the Secretary at
iVar, and the Secretary of the Treasury,
and all chiefly for one reason, the fma.i
nets of the salary. " I have no doubt,?'
said Mr. Smith, "of their being com
plaints, and if the salary was reduced to
three dollars per day, there would be fill
complaints, as we lee is the case wi n tie
membc^ofihe Legislature ot Peon',!,
nia !" He only wished that the cornel
tee would rife, and he should then vote in
the house, that they migat not h<ve if
to fit again.. The mover ofthis fflsfa'
had mentioned the dagger of meeting
with reproaches from the people who
thought their friaries too high. M'.
Smith few very little in this matter, be
cause the people who railed at the salary
of fix dollars per day, were only anxious
to get in themselves, and embrace this
topic as an expedient of cutting the,
members whom they wanted to foeceed.
Mr. Goodhue wanted to a& Mr Citi,
bourne one qeeftion, whether he found
himfelf growing rich.
Mr. Sedgwick saw no occasion for ris
ing, because the committee were perfectly
competent at this moment, to determine
the question.
Mr. Rutherford was for reducing the
Alarics by one dollar per day, and owe
dollar every i§ miles that the members
had to travel. This would be a reduction
of one hundred dollars per day, which
would be much better bellowed upon the
indecent widow of the veteran who had
fallen in the service of his ccuntry.
Mr/Gillefpie proposed an amendment,
the scope of which was that a committee
Should be appointed to examine and re
port whether any, or what alteration was
necessary, to the aft appointing salaries
to the officers under government. He
faggefted this amendment from no motive
whatever but what was fair. There had
been and there till was a degree of clam
or upon the fabjea, and it was the duty
of the house to pay attention to rhe voice
of the publics whether right er wrong.—
IfUpon investigation it Should appear that
the Hilaries were not higher than they
ought to be, then the report of the com
mittee would be tire bast method for ftop
pinfcthetablic cltoer; 3 „M b ^;
'Mr.Claibdtirne hoped that the Commit
tee would not rife, but decide the point:--
He treated that no gentleman would 4
gain point at him/and fa, that the mu
s but of his brain. There was
riot ortofficer under'iibvernmeift^ whom
frigid' point cut gm fay, that such #
officer had to btfwfaff .He had
foahtioni tbffibWffifedfo© by bring
ing forward the observations of festal
gentlemen, would ibfo& degree fatisf,
Ithe people, and that there would be no
TUESD ^r, March 3. I79fc
T 01 B
.EONARD LITTLEGIZZARD, is
of thole kind of people who are com
monly ftiUd/for. Leonard prays thrice
a day, and fix times on a Sunday. All
this is good, but there is too much of good
in it. Leonard is like the Indian's fr sight
tree which, he said, was so Straight that it
beat a little t'other way.—Shew me a
faifl<aid @,fole Bathurft, when I was
Speaking of Mr. Littlegizzard, Shew me
a faint, said he, aad l will shew you a
saner. This he might easily do Should I
Shew him Mr. Littlegizzard, for Mr.
Littlegiazard thinks it no fin to cheat his
neighbor; if he is not in the pale of his
parftular church; he will defeend to er.
cry littlenefi for the fake of a penny ; he
will perjure himfelf for eighteen pence ;
=with all -his boifted chriftiaaity and
faviag yw howo ■me!" guilty of giv-
Mr. Giles was perfectly convinced,
that the allowance to the members is
small enough already. The Saving of a
dollar per day, faggefted by Mr. Rather,
ford, would be but little, and it was be
ginning at the word of ref erees. The
pay ought to be such as would bring per
foes of middle circumstances, into the
hbafc, persons neither too high in life nor
too Iqw. If the pay was greatly reduced,
none but very ricn people cow'd afford to
give their attendance, and if too high,
a feat in the house might be an obje& to
persons of an opposite difeription. For
merly the date of Virginia allowed eight
dollars per day to the members of its le
giQaiurc. This fam had Since been re
duced to Six dollars, Mr, Giles mention
ed this to Show that in the pradice of in
uivjdual States, there might be found a
^rettdebt for the aHnwano to members
ofCongrefs. He was for voting diredly.
Mr. G. Lid, that there was a country
from which America had copied a great
deal, and very often too much—a country
which Kill had aver, pernicious influence
ia the United States. The members of
the Britilh Houle of commons relieved no
wages, while the officers of Bate had im
mense Salaries. It was however under
stood that the British Hoafe of commons
were very well paid for the trouble of
their attendance. He did not with to fee
Scenes of that kind in this country.
Mr. Hiilhoafe hoped that the house
would have done with this thing immedi
ately, ns it had not answered ail the pur
poses expeded from it, and he traded that
all motions of that fort, which had an
eye to certain operations out of the hoafe,
would meet with the fame fate.
• The motion was negatived b, a very
great majority. - The committee rose.—
The Chairman reported, and the house
agreed to the report.
Mr. Gillespie then made a motion of
the fame tenor with hib amendment to
that of Mr. Claiborne. It Vis negatived.
more pointing out with a finger and fay
ing there goes a fix dollars a day man.
Another member observed, that is was
the duty of the houte to attend to the
voice of their coo&uueats, and for this
lesion he ihould vote for a committee.—
He would mention what he had always
coafidered as a mod odious diftindiou, the
additional dollar per day, which is to be
given to the Senate from and after the 4th
March am—(the reader will observe
that by the att,members of the Senate were
to have fem dollars per day, but the
additional dollar was not to commence till
thelapfe of fix years,when all the Senators
of the fi^Congrefs had gone out.) There
was another thing lor which he never
could fee any reason, and that was the gi
ving of twelve dollars per day to the Spea
ker.
From the HARTFORD GAZETTE.
The NARRATOR. N°. 11.
Extract of a letter from William Penrofa
late master of thefeip Preffo. belonging
to Philadelphia. Algiers, Sept. 28, 1794.
<<tT is now eleven months Since the pe
riod of m, unfortunate captivity
commenced— and in that time have only
received one letter from America, and
that only came to hand a few days ago.
In that letter you inform me, that there
were some hopes of our being ransomed in
a Short time, but alas ! the time has e
lapfed,and c.r prospers of obtaining oar
freedom appears to be as distant as ever.
The Dey hath given per mission for any
person to come forward on the part of the
United States, to effedthe retention bf
the Americans, in captivity in this place.
" Nay, be even fervently wilbes to be
upon good terms with America, bat he
thinks them too haughty to come to an
understanding with him. But if Some
thing is not done soon, we may as well
give up every idea of liberty, and fink
underihe prefiteof the mod anjedt and
cruel flavry. What in the name of God
can our countrymen be about ? I will
not for a moment entertain the torturing
idea of their having forgotten or nylea
ed us. Every oilier nation has ratfemad
their fubjeas and citizens who have been
captured. , . ,
" The Dutch, io the amount of 7$
were ranfcmed in April left upon the a
bove terms, as well as, the Spaniards tsk,
en in the American Chips. But will A
m„tea, the fr<eh country upon earth, suf
fer her citizens, who have "fli,, and
bled ,p ertablifti and secure that liberty,
to languish out a miserable, exigence in
chains, and the most abj^fityy, doom
ed every day to carry large ftoers on oer
Moulders from one place to another, from
lawrence lessstill, ©uie.
himfelf a Doji ; he believes, or pretends
to believe, that there is neither braves nor
belt, and he lives accordingly. Nothing
but the fear of the gallows keeps him frera
cutting the throat cf Liulegizzard, for
Littlegizzard is always tormenting him
with leniences from a certain old book,
which (Littlegizzard) infills was given
by iofpiration for the inftrudion and in
formation of ignorant mortals ; and which
Mr.Lefsftill swears is nothing but a firing
of fables competed b, designing rafcals'to
make dupes ofthofe wife, knowing animal*
called men. Mr. Lafsthll acknowledges
that he cannot have patience to read the
foolish ftuff that is written in favour of the
chrikian religion, but pronounces it all
a parcel of lies and nomfenfe, which no
•wife perlon ought to read. Mr. Little?
gizzard can bear to read nothing but
good books written by the good pastors of
Iris fed. and those passages in the old to k
which seem to favour the said fc& ; all
other books of whatever name or nature,
are pronounced to be nuchriftiao, idle Huff}
which a faint ought by no means to poluie
his eyes with. Mr. Lefsftill pretends to
a great deal of virtue; he displays it b,
now and then giving a dollar to some dis
tressed person, and then telling of hit gem.
erofiity more tines than there are cents in
the donation. Mr.Tlitlvg?zzird e<Mbot
(pare money to the poar, bet he will lift
holy band's and prey for them drily—Ah !
said I to my uncle Bathurft, Mr. Little
gizzard. yen fay, is nota good mau, what
is Mr. Lefsitill I He is. Aid my uncie—
he is Ditto.
ing a mite to the poor ; all ether feds
but his own lire pronounced by him to be
damned hereticks ; and none are to go to
heaven bee shefe of the lame damp with
himfelf:—Thcle are the faints wno are co
judge Angels and Sinners ! From Inch
judges and foch a heaven as they wcud
make, weihmay we pray, Good Lore de
liver us!7
FROM ALGIERS,
[Whole No. 101.]