The Connecticut courant, and the weekly intelligencer — Hartford [Conn.], 1780-11-14 00:00:00, page 1

At a General Assembly of the Governor and to
pany of the State of Connecticut, Bolden at
Hanford, on the fecend Thuifday of Ofiober,
,A. D. 1780. . t
AL Alt to afartain the current Value of ^Continen
tal Bills of Credit in Spanish willed Dollart, in
thia State, and of Contacts made for the Payment
thereof, in the fevaral Periods of iti Depreciation.
BE it Ensiled by the Governor, Ccuncf and.
Rcp^&tatives in General Court afiembled,
and by i^e'authority ofthe fame, That all contrail,
made on or before the firfl day of September. <777,
foe lawful money, or bilk of credit of this State, or
Conaneutai bills of credit, ffiall be deemed equal to
the fame nominal fam in p|d ofc filver.-^That
all contua# made between,be fitft day of Septem
ber, 1777, and die eighteenth day ofMarch, 1780,
underfiood or exprefled to be for the common cur
rency of the United States, or of this Slate, ffiall be
rated in Spanish milled dollar#, or other coins equi
valent, apetable to the following,table, which ffiewe
the value of one hundred Spanish milled dollars in
Continental bills of credit, at the several times there
to upre^d, which is agreeable to the stale adopted
b, Coogrett.
1777. , Dollars. 1779.' Dollars.
September ift, too January aft, 742
~ i, ? 104 15th, 769
October 1,, iq February 1^ 868
. ,ijth, I'ls 15^1 93^
November lb, 124 March 1000
15th, ri, 15th, 104,
December rd. 133 April ift >lO4
15th, 1'39 T^ '!5 6
17,8. May Ift? 1119
J^uary 1% 146 u'h' M 72
15th, 152 June ift, 1344
February >*, 160 15th, 1404
i,h,j 16, July Ift, 1486
March id, 17.5 1 . 15th, 1548
15th. 186 Augeft 18, 1631
Aprii id. 203 15th, 1749
15th, 214 September ifi. 1800
Mey 1% 23° 15th, 'H
iph, 245 Oltober 1% 2032
June id, 265 15th, 2151
Ifth, 281 November id, 2340
Joly 1% 303 , 15th, 2 4 J3
15th, 332 1 December ift. 2597
Auguß Ift, 34^1 I^, 2741
B^ 1 370 1780.
September id. 400 January iff, 2932
15th, 429 15& 3115
Oahbe r rd, 464 February tft 3333
15th. 500 15th. [3531
November id, 1545 March fft. 3732
15th, 584 18th, 4000
December 18. 634
15th, 679
And be It further Enabled by the Authority
afonfaid, That all contrails made on or before the
eighteenth day of March lad, may be difeharged,
by paying the jno value of the currency cen^aaed
for, as afeertained by this all, in silver er gold, or in
bills of credit of the United States, at the current
exchange|at the time of payment : And that the afore
faid scale be the rule in all Courts of Law@d in the
Committee of Pay T^ble. for fetteling the rate of
depreciation in all contrails, as aforefaid.
A true copy of record,
Examined by GEORGE WYLLYS, Sec'ry.
TRAYED or S T'o LEN out of the pasture
of David Taylor, in Bolt n the nth indent,
a Sorrel MARE, a white face, hipt the off fide,
trots and paces. Whoever will tale up and secure
hid mare and theif, or mare only, shall have a hand,
fame reward and all niceffary charges.
ICHABOD WADSWORTH.
Raft Windfoe, November 2, 1780.
iUESDA Y, November 14, i„Q. THE f HUMBER 82^
CONNECTICUT COURANT,
AMD TMB
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCE R.
H ARr^ 0R Dt Pxnm> by HUDS ON AM, GOO DWI N, miar.Thi.Griat.Brwor:
The^following Essay, written by a Citizen of
Philadelphia in March last, is now re
printed by particular desire, ' \j
A Fifth ESSAY on FREE TRADE and
; # FINANCE.. ~
THE expenditures of the present
year 1780, are eflimated (as I am
told)at about ten millions of dollars hard
money. This sum muftbe- raised and
paid, or our defence must be difeontinued:
we must lo(e our liberties and probably
many of pur, heads too ; our ftruggles.'
must vanish into invoke and disgrace, and:
our glorious revolution must be .dubb'4
rebellion, and punished as such, and horc
much more G@d knows. The said furn
must be raised, or these miseries must en^
sue.. We .have no other alternative, anti
its vain and idle to amuse ourselves with
any hopes or even fhadpws of any others
Our defence cannot be continued without
the .necessary money: if .that ceases, we
instantly lie open to the full power of but
enemies, and mpft fobmit to any conditi
ons they may prescribe. /This I take to
be.the plain state of the fads; stubborn
fa&s, which can neither be removed, elud-,
ed, or foftened, by any possible fineffe,
colouring, or evafiors. JVe.may as well
keep them in fight as to fliut our eyes
against them ; for faffs they are, and will
have their operation, which tee must feel,
whither we will fee them or not. If the ex
penditures, on which the estimates are
made, can be reduced; doubtless every
possible attention will be paid to such an
objed, but we cannot flatter ourselves that
any very considerable savings can be made
in this way ; it only remains then, that
we set ourselves immediately to raise the
money, or give up the cause in despair.
I fay immediately, for it will soon be
too late ; every department will be so in
volved in debt, and the difficulties, disap
pointments, and confufions thence arising
will multiply so faft, that no remedy can
be admitted. In a crisis of danger, when
the most spirited and resolute efforts are
called for, to fee men like children fiand
with one hand in their eyes, and the other
in their mouths blubbering cut with their
voices half assured, I can't! Ican't! I
dare not ! I dare not! is ridiculous, argues
such meanrefs of spirit, such heartless
cowardice, lam ashamed of it. If I real
ly thought the people of America capable
of this, I would not move a finger to save
them from that slavery and fubjedion for
which they must in that case be so well
fitted by nature; it would not move my
pity to fee them lathed by their matters in
to that severity of effort which their cow
ardly fouls had not animation enough to
exert in defence of their own liberties.
The very taxes which we now hesitate te,
impose on ourselves to defend and fecufe
our liberties, will, frdare fay, be imposed,
and rigidly < extorted by our enemies,
whenever they drill get their yoke on our
necks : :The<priee which thcyrwill make
us pay for our chains will be grearer Fan
that which is now receffary to pay for cur
liberty : The temporary, burdens which are 1
now demanded do secure ther Wed berg
of ourfelvei and posterity, will be made,
perpetual on us and them by our enemies;
when they ^hall find it necessary to secure
our slavery ^rd their, luxury : tFer did
any man ever know:or tead the,? history:
of any country, governed a&an appehdage.
of a distant empire, that was nctFeeced,
if not skinned and^ele^ to the bone^by;
thetf dariant; unfeeling/ unfyrnpathizing
depots,- , Such countries, are never in
such case, estimated by any other scale,
that the amount of the. revenue : and other
advantages that can be drawn from them.
I don't really think that The people of
the United States are at ail the .proper sub.
jeds of this kind of government ; I don't
think a me^nnefs of spirit, a gross ftupi-,
drty or cc wardly. diffidence makes any
part of their chara&er ; they have :nfa&,,
resented injuries, affereed their liberties,
and nobly, dared to defend them, with a
degree of exertion, per severance, and firm
nefs, unparralleled and aimoft beyond be
lief. It is my opinion th# we may fafely
depend on any degree of exertion and fpi-,
rit in our people, which is necessary to
their fafety ; and if this is not all called
cut and put in force, when and to any de,
gree the public lafety may require it, the
fault will lie in the rulers, net in the peoph.
Indeed I am cf opinior, there are few, ifc
stances cf any ecuntr.es overrun or erflay
ed, thro';.ny defect of virtue/ n the people,
which, dees not originate in their rulers,
the natural and common source of rerne
dies lies in the rulers, kind if thty are geo:
they will fee the mifebief and apply the
remedy, before it rises to fuel force as to
endanger the liberties of a country. If
vice ,or corruption gets ground in any po
pular state, it generally difee vers itfelf
pretty earlydn the appointment of officers
of notorious improper character or irfuffi
cient abilities, to fill and manage the im
portant departments ofthe state ; for where
any corruption or prejudice prevails in a
ny state, they will generally endeavour to
get into place, such officers as are likely
to Support such c rruption or prejudice.
In this case the mifehef is carried into the
very source cf remedy, and corruption gets
a whip row, which gains by every move
ment ; and if this whip row can't be
broken, the game must soon be up, and
there remains nothing to do, but to set