Republican gazette — Concord, N.H., 1802-05-25 00:00:00, page 2

navy department, from its eftab.
lifhment in 17^8, §0 the 31st of
- March 1801, exclusively of, the
fam paid by the treasury to fndi#
viduals, amounts to 9,981,313 dr
73 cts. Os which fom, accounts
have been fettled by the account
ant, and rendered to the treasury,
to the amount of ^,5,810,661 91
—leaving v unaccounted for or
unsettled balance of ^4,170,651
75 cenf s.
These statements of the accounts
ants, altho' they exhibit balances
apparently unaccounted for, to a
large amount, will likewise shew
that accounts have been rendered
* for a considerable portion, which
1 are in a train of settlement, but
not finally clofed/'
The late hour at which the vo
luminous documents accompany,
ing chis report were received by
the committee, (upon the 9th of
April) and the labour necessary
to investigate such amass of ac
counts, and of advances unac
counted for, particularly in the
war and navy departments, em
bracing an expenditure of 20 mil.
lions of dollars, have rendered it
impossible for the committee,con#.
Agency with their attention to
their other duties, to form an
/Opinion as to the manner in which
this sum has been expended,-—
but from the partial view which
they have taken, they beg Leave
to present some faffs and princi
ples Which they believe to be wor
thyof the notice of congress.
There are two previous requi
files' which are necessary to jufti
fy the expenditure of public mo
ney, and without which no legal
expenditure can be ipade : Fitft,,
that the expenditure for the obje&
to which it is applied, Should be
authorifed by law; and secondly,
$ that an appropriation should have
' beeri made to cover that authorif
ed expense. In the war and 'na
vy departments. this ruledoes not
appear to have been ftri&ly ad
hered to in all cases ; but for the
,reasons above assigned, the com
mittee have been unable to afcer
tairi how far it has been departed
from. The most piominent in
stances which have yet presented
themselves, are herewith Rated:
[To be concluded next week.]
t— — — —« — — — I=l A .r.' LFTr' — •
» ^ c^ra,s iwi.
Wdfaingion, Wednesday Ma, 5.
THE two houses of the Legislature on
Monday closed their sessions.
In no antecedent year has the pe
riod of the ftrftffrn of Congress
been Jd.Jkort, and in no antecedent
feffon has so much important bufi
'nefs been tranfa&ed as inthieftfon.
The measures of this-session may be pro
nounced to be so magnitude raify faon
dary to the establishment of the confti
turion, which, indeed, fa some refpeds
they rival, as tht legitimate foirit of that
Ainftrument is perhaps alone to be found
in the principles on which they rest.
Public opinion had, previously to the
meeting of Congress, declared itfelf in
favor of a return to the great whig prin
ciples on which the Republic rote, and
from which had been derived its irresisti
ble energies—energies before which do
mestic treafou and foreign violence had
fallen prostrate. It bad, of necessary con-'
fequerice, declared itfelf hostile to that
mass of measures, mistakenly denomio
'ated federal,which had partly arisen from
defigps inimical to liberty, and nartly
from a wide forearfdelufo. Inobedf.
/ence to this will, the head of a fallen par
ity retired to the repose of private life, &
CT a citizen, norfefs distinguished for mod
er^tion than firmnefi, for talent than in
/ •%% was called to fopply his place.
/ Upon this citizen it has been charged,
as a crime, that he led the public fenti.
^fe^ its that s&afon.which led
such a refulgent glory op Washington,
Q disgrace a Jefferfom That the lab,
ter has in some meafare led the public 0.
pinion, will not be denied. It is the boast
of a Republic, that virtue & talents tway
the Iceptre ; and that their union should
always be accompanied with power ; and
it rests exclusively with those devoted to
different sources of authority, fpriogiog
from the pride, the avarice, or the folly
of man, to bestow their eulogies upon o
ther objeas.
The truth, however, is that so perfea
was and still is the identity between the
public sentiment & that of the chief mag
istrate, that on most points, we in vain
attempt to find the cause of the one in
the other. The remark may be extend
ed to almost every diftioquifhed hiend of
the republican system in the U. States.—
The ends of all are the fame ; and the
means, used by each, but immaterially
differ..
In obedience to the diaates of his own
mind,no lefs,than in correfpondeoce with
the national wishes, the Prefi^ent began
the work of ieform, which he conduced
with a cautious hand and an intrepd ipi
fit. Moving, with circus,e&ion, with
in his constitutional orbit, be difeharged
those duties which the public good enjoi
ned. He lessened the public expendi
tures; he reduced the corps of officers ;
he flood aloof from the violences of Eu
rope.
After doing that which he legally could
by which was accompli^ed an annual fi
. ving of more than 150,000 dollars ; he
left the rest 'to the legislature. When
convened, every source of information ~
was opened, & an unprecedented stream
of knowledge continued without inter
ruption to flow, to enlighten their under
iLandings, and to enable them, from a
diftina and detailed view of every cir
cumstance, to aft on the diddles of their
own independent minds.
They found in existence,
An Army, uuneccflarily large, reared
in the day of anti republican alarm :
A Judiciary, established in the left mo
ments of federalifm, by men who had for
feited the public confidence.
An ismenft Dibt, part of which was vir
tuously contraded in our revolutionaryl
contest, and which ought long since to
have been paid ; while part of it was cre
ated in the days of alarm, to swell that
terror which menaced states with degra
' dation, and individuals with ruib ?
An odious and opprtffive system of in
ternal taxes, confining of excites, stamps,
and other subordinate objeds of revenue,
whose effect had been to divide the com
munity without benefiting the public,
and to swell executive patronage, without
enriching the public coffers.
The people demanded, thro'
the organ of elections, relief from
these oppressions. Their voice
has been heard. Their R^rfat.
atives have done Meir duty. They
have reduced thearmy from 5000
to 3000, faying thereby an annu
al Tum of 450 : 000 dollars; they
have put down an useless exten
sion of the judiciary, faying there
by an annual fam of 45,000 dob
lars; they hive abolished the
whole of the internal taxes; fup
prefog thereby nearly 500 offo
ces. A # ,
In addition to these great met#'
fores} the legislature has discharg
ed another duty, which, while it
fh^ll elevate their name, will con
stitute the basis of the truest na
tional glory. They have pledg
ed the United States to the annu
al application of seven millions 3
hundred thousand dollars for the
payment of the whole debt, until'
it fhallbeukimatcly discharged.
The evils o,fa great national debt
under a republic, are innumera
ble. Sb great indeed are they,
that some intelligent men have
considered such a debt as entirely
incompatible with the republican
system. Whether these appre
hensions be, or be not, exagge.
rated, no doubt can be entertain
ed, but that a great debt tends to
/ corrupt the government, to im#
poverifh the citizens, and to im-,
pair the power of the nation.—
Let us then rejoice in the prof
ped ofits speedy annihilation, re
membering, in order to avoid a
fruftration of otarhopes, that
the House of Representatives 19
w
and in the Senate federal mem
bers voted against it.
Notwithstanding this great ap
propriation, which demonftraies
the sacred regard paid by repub
licans to national faith, and hum.
bles the daring calumny that char,
ged them with a determination to
invade so fooncas they acquired
the power—the legislature has
been able to relieve thecornmu
nity- from the burthen of the
whole internal taxes, without in
the least endangering the fifeal
operations of the government. —
Tfois great result has been produc.
ed b, the l enlightened and patri.
otic labours of the President and
Congress in the reduction and
annihilation of useless eltablifh.
menis. The total amount of these
annual savings is about 900,000
dollars ; whereas the revenue de.
rived from the internal taxes did
not exceed 600,000 dollars.
These are the prominent a&s of
the session. Os subordinate im.
portance are : f
A new apportionment of Rep.
refentatives among the states, ac.
cording to the new census, by
which the next,boule of Repre.
fentatives will be composed of
142 members.
An authority given to armed
public and private vessels to cap.
tufe Tripolitan ships.
The establishment of a new
principle of naturalization where,
by foreigners are admitted to cit.
}izenfhip after a residence of five
j years, instead of being fubjetted
[ to the rigorous provisions of the
I old law that required a previous
residence of 14 years,
An amendment of the Judicial
System, whereby a happy mode
is devised of compromising the
ideas of every description of cit#
izens with rcfpe€t to the itineracy
of the judgesof theSupremeCourt
by confining the duties of each to
a particular diftrid, forming one
sixth part of the union.
The admission of the N. W.
Territory to the rights of a state,
on terms just, liberal and en
lightened.
An authority given to the Foft
mafter-Geneial to facilitate the
progress and secure the convey
ance of the mail, whereby the
means of diffufirig information
will be greatly increased.
It cannot escape remark, that
all ; these measures are not only
predicated upon the public good,
but actually confer either, upon
the whole community, or on a
large portion of it, some import
ant benefit; while not one of them
deprives either the peoplecoUeU
ively, or any individual citizen,
of any right or benefit.
I,} In the above catalogue we find
no alien law, no sedition law, in
vasive of the constitution; no
new tax to oppress industry ; no
new law to swell the national debt;
no extension of military force; no
aft or establishment, infringing
personal right, or imposing na
tional burthen. On the contra
ry, an examination into the na
ture and tendency of all the mea
sures of the session will shew that
the government has returned to
its legitimate duty, the duty of
^roteuing the citizen in the en
joyment of his rights.
In the commencement of the
session the republican majority
exhibited an honorable spirit of
amity and conciliation. In the
!&&cffe of powers, assumed arthe
command of the people, the^e
vinced a magnanimous desire to
confute the opinions of their op
ponents : and to unite with them in'
the promotion of the Purdie good.
Their proffers were early reject
ed, and the federal fide of the le
gislature continued to sustain an
oppofirion, unprecedented in vi
olence, to every measure propos
ed. Notwithstanding, however,
the intemperance of their oppo#
, nents, the majority devoted them
selves to the public business, and
faithfully discharged their duty,
without descending to notice the
revilings of party. Firm in con
feious integrity, and convinced of
the policy and justice of their
measures, they felt too strong a
confidence in th6 intelligence „of
the people to doubt the corred
nefs of their decision. On their
decision they may fefely rely, for
they know their friends, and will
fopport them.
-Wethington, Ma, 7. Yesterday
Mr. Lear arrived here from the
Weftindies, Cape Francois.
We learn that on the return of
Gen. Leclerc from Port auPrince
he informed Mr. Lear that from
an examination of the treaty be
tween France and the U. States, ,
and from the nature of his [Le.
clerk's] powers, he did not think
hAnfeif authorifed to recognize
him in the character of Consul of
the United States. Mr. Lear ac
cordingly took his leave.
We underhand that the treaty
only authorifes the U. S. to fend
Copfuls to the European posses.
fions of France,, and that previ
ously to the year 1796, ho Ame
rican consuls were received in
the French Weftindies.
When Mr. Lear failed, Arne,
rican produce w;s extremely low.
The day before he departed, the
Batavian fleet, cpnfifting of four
ships of the line; had failed for
Newyork,
• Philadelphia, May it.
Extraa of 4 letter from Norfolk, May 3.
"T have no news, only that the
negroes made an attempt to rife
last week, for which fix of them
are condemned to be hung."
Ncuyork, Ma, 12. By Capt. Dodf.
worth, arrived at Norfolk from
St. Thomas's, we learn that three
days before his departure, infor
mation Was received there that
the ioth regiment of blacks, sta
tioned at Dominica, had risen on
their "officers (whites) and massa
cred them. An express was im
mediately lent up to Martinique
for assistance ; a 74 gun ship arid'
frigate were dispatched to reftorq
tranquility; and after cannonad
ing a small fort, which the blacks'
had taken possession of, for two
hours, they were obliged to retire
from it, and as they came out 200
of them were /hot by troops fta.
tinned for that purpose. ~
—Qx^^-' 0
CIRCUIT COURT-
Portland, Ma, 3. Last Saturday
was the day on which the Circuit
Court was, by law, to have fee in
this towri." The Marshal, Diftrift
Attorney, the Grand and Petit
Jurors attended ; but no Judges
appeared, nor any Clergyman.
However, on motion of some pres
ent it was moved that thetburt
should h e opened in form^—this
was done by one of the grand Ju
rors, and as much business effed-,
ed as ever has been tranfaded at
? n X former Federal Circuit Court
in this town. (Eastern Herald.
^ ,-. — — — — —-^' .
The days of ftuandermg money in ,
this manner, are about over.