The national intelligencer and Washington advertiser. (Washington City [D.C.]), 1801-05-13 00:00:00

The National Intelligencer,
AND WASHINGTON ADVERTISER.
VOL. I. WASHINGTON CITY, PRINTED BY SAMUEL HARRISON SMITH, NEW-JERSEY AVENUE, NEAR THE CAPITOL. No. LXXXIII.
FIVE DOLLS. PER ANN.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18th, 1801.
PAID IN ADVANCE.
LONDON, March 25.
HOUSE OF COMMONS.
Debate on Mr. Grey's motion, to wit, "that the House do resolve itself into a Committee to enquire into State of the nation."
[Continued.]
MR. PITTS SPEECH.
"Sir, I cannot be indifferent in the discussion of this subject, recollecting as I do with gratitude and exultation, the confidence which in common with myself and honourable friends, I have experienced as a faithful servant of the crown, nor can I with any consistency pretend to indifference, when I remember the ample portion of personal confidence I have enjoyed. Unless gentlemen are fully prepared to retract all the votes which they have given;—unless they are completely convinced of the necessity of changing their opinions, so repeatedly and so solemnly pledged, with regard to the nature of the contest;—unless they are in every respect satisfied that it is not, what they have all along considered it to be, a contest for our independence as a nation with our enemies abroad, and for our internal safety and existence as a people with our enemies at home, the honour and consistency of the house must be violated by agreeing to the motion of the Honourable Gentleman. It will be a future consideration for the house and the country at large to decide whether those persons who have from the commencement to the present period opposed the war on the principles of the enemy; whether those persons who have proceeded upon the plan recognized by our adversaries themselves; whether those who have by their arguments promoted their views, and by efforts counteracted your exertions during the whole of the struggle in which we are engaged, are worthy of directing the system of public affairs, and of possessing the confidence of the country. If the moment shall ever come when, by treading back those steps in which you have hitherto marched, you are to avoid a small portion of the calamities which threaten you;—if that moment shall arrive when the house shall listen to those counsels which they have uniformly rejected, then shall I think there is some cause for despondency,—[A general cry of hear! hear! ] When the counsels of those persons shall be resorted to as necessary for the support and security of the state, then shall I feel much reason for banishing the hopes I now entertain of our successes and triumphs. Those who are friends to the administration, and at the same time concur in the vote which you are called upon to give, cannot easily convince the house of the consistency of their conduct, for having approved all the important cases of the conduct of that administration, they now come forward and press an inquiry into the causes which induced them to support the measures they sanctioned. I perceive, according to the manner in which the question is proposed, two sets of gentlemen are requested to vote upon principles directly opposite. One set is called upon to vote because the late administration is out of office; and the other, because they are adverse to the new ministers. There is no explicit charge preferred of crimes and misdemeanors; there is no precise accusation brought forward; no specific statement made; but these gentlemen are to take the benefit of the vote, while I shall only have the benefit of a speech. The honourable gentleman opposite to me says, here is an administration gone out of office who had the confidence of the house, and the complaint is not that the persons are out of office who had the confidence of the house, but that you are deprived of their services for some cause which the honourable gentlemen wish to know, and which cannot be explained. At the same time, while it is admitted and made the subject of complaint, that these persons are no longer employed, and it is known that those who succeed them profess the same prin-
ciples, yet they are not to enjoy the confidence given to their predecessors. If the exercise of the Royal Prerogative should appoint new Ministers, might not the same objection be made against them upon the ground of their not being tried, as against the present administration? I should like to know, and to have the point satisfactorily made out upon what grounds, in a fair and constitutional way, we are to deny to them that trial to which they have an undoubted right, and which I, as well as the honourable gentleman opposite to me, have enjoyed? But, on the contrary, I maintain Sir, that they are not unknown to the country and that they are not, what they have been called, new ministers. If one of them in particular were the subject of investigation; one who knew how to conciliate all parties; one who has evinced talents of the most distinguished kind, with what propriety, let me ask, can you refuse to try him? With what consistency can the Hon. gentleman opposite to me undertake to say, "because you have quitted a situation superior to all others in this house, because you have displayed powers which graced that high situation, and because you have accepted an office of great trust without any solicitation on your part, we are therefore to refuse the confidence which you have a right to claim?" If I turn my eyes to the bench below me, I see another instance of irresistible claims to confidence of the house. I see a Noble Lord filling the office of Secretary of State who has been ten years in Parliament, whose information, industry, and superior powers of mind are undoubted, and I may add, whose abilities are hereditary. If any gentleman can be named more qualified than the Noble Lord to perform the duties of his office, I consent to admit that he is new and untried. I certainly except the Hon. Gentleman on the other side of the house, whose extraordinary talents make him an exception in every thing that requires uncommon powers, and the exertion of superior faculties. If the hon. gentleman can state any person more qualified for the situation which he fills than my noble friend, I shall then give up the question; but I beg leave to say, that in the observations I have made I mean incivility to no man. It is necessary for me to mention those who at present hold the great offices of the state? I believe any notice or eulogium of mine, with respect to the arrangements in the law department will not be requisite. Is the man who is to hold the Great Seal unknown and new to the country? Yet there is one of whom I shall take the liberty of speaking a word. I must in common with all who hear me give to the noble Lord who presided at the Admiralty that approbation and praise to which his eminent services are entitled; but I must also ask, is the name of St. Vincent new to the public? Are the professional merits and the active services in which he has been constantly employed, of no account? His name alone is sufficient to inspire the enemy with terror, and is a shield and bulwark. I therefore maintain that the hon. gentlemen are not borne out in their statements against ministers, when they assert they are incapable or untried men. Having said thus much as to the general view of the subject, may I be permitted to say a few words of personal relation to me and my colleagues? I must confess, Sir, that I am at a loss to understand what is exactly meant by the mystery which has been the topic of animadversion. The hon. gentleman was pleased to allow that a conscientious feeling is a sufficient reason for declining offices of importance held under the crown, and I may add, that no man can withdraw his services at a moment when they are particularly wanted, unless that conscientious feeling do exist, and be applicable to considerations of great magnitude. I have for my own part lived in a very active manner for seventeen years, during which I have of course had a very considerable share in the direction of public affairs, and I do not hesitate to say, I now feel that I have retired to a private station, as much inclined and ready to chal-
lenge and indulge enquiry, as when I was in office, and enjoyed the confidence of this house. In all the interests which have been agitated, and the responsibility which must be found, I feel that I have a deeper share than any other person, and I do not shrink from any discussion either into the motives or effects during my official situation under the crown. But I must observe that I have not relinquished that situation from the apprehension of difficulties, or the fear of dangers and embarrassments which might be thrown out in the way of the public service. Respecting a melancholy event, and my conduct upon that occasion, in which I was certainly very deeply interested, I have to state that I feel myself ready to challenge enquiry, and to meet the question of responsibility. With respect to the importance of the measures alluded to by the hon. gentleman, I mean to the Catholics, though I may be supposed in my sentiments by the gentlemen opposite to me, I am not convinced that I shall have their perfect concurrence. It is not a fit time to agitate the question, and whatever measures may be thought just and necessary to be brought forward by myself and friends, I beg leave to be distinctly understood, that we desire to disclaim the phrase of Catholic emancipation. We entertain no such meaning; but I think that extending to them the benefits of the remaining rights and privileges, would be a measure rendered particularly wise and salutary after the great act of the Union; that in every point of view it would be less dangerous than before that event, and could be accomplished with more safety to the interests of the church and state. More than this I will not say, and beyond it will not go. With respect to the nature of the measure, even thus much would not have been drawn from me if the house had agreed to go into the committee on the state of the nation; for it does not possess the power of compelling an answer from me or any individual upon any principle which can be set up in consequence of such a proceeding. The discussion of the question will not serve the country; it will not serve the cause of the Catholics, nor can the committee throw any light upon it, and as little will its enquiries tend to lay open the obstacles and difficulties which prevented us from bringing it forward. When the hon. gentleman speaks of a mystery, they are pleased to draw the name of the sovereign into the question, and appear at the same time angry that we should make it a matter of consideration whether it is proper that name should be introduced. Thus they use the opinion of the sovereign in one way, and the conviction of his servants in another. If they deny to the sovereign the right of having and expressing an opinion, they are guilty of conduct which goes in the most material manner to destroy the constitutional privileges of monarchical power, and they will consent to the establishment of the oligarchical system. If any measure can occur of a peculiar kind in which the royal opinion is to be defended, it is the present consideration. With respect to the assurances said to have been held out to the Catholics, a paper has been mentioned which has been the subject of much conversation, as the name of a noble lord at the head of the government of Ireland has been introduced. I believe that the noble lord did write that paper, for the purpose of making certain communications to the Catholics of Ireland in consequence of the resignation of ministers, and in order to prevent expression of feeling that might be likely to disturb the tranquility of the country. It may be necessary to state, that the subject of the paper was not communicated through me, but through my noble friend near me; and it cannot become the substance of a charge, because we published our intentions that we might prevent any embarrassments and dangers which were likely to arise. The phrases used in that paper were not conformable to the opinions I have expressed in the house. I mean, that a measure of this sort appeared to be so great, as to require the sanction and support of government; and that although we desired to carry it in-
to effect, yet we thought that any attempt to press the question forward, so as to endanger the public tranquility would be altogether unjustifiable. Upon these grounds, it was our determination to resist such an attempt with as much firmness and perseverance as we should otherwise have come forward in its defence, and left the consideration and adoption of it to a more fit opportunity and a more matured discussion. As to any other pledge, I declare that none has been given which can disable me from acting as my public duty requires and individual character.—I am allowed to trouble the house so long.—(A cry of hear! ) If the question be put to me whether gentlemen did so pledge themselves to the Catholics, and prejudged the decision of the legislature as to render our retirement necessary, I answer no; and I can state that the Catholics never conceived that any such pledge had been given. They certainly might have expected the accomplishment of the measure, as the consequence of the union, and they might have been justified in thinking that it had a more probable chance of succeeding as the result of an act which tended to reconcile opinions of the most different nature. Such were the sentiments I entertained before the union, and such are the opinions with which I continue since the union, to be impressed; but I desire to be distinctly understood, that no pledge of the kind alluded has been given. I shall say a few words with respect to the general plan of the war. That the object of the contest was the re-establishment of royalty in France, I do not attempt to deny; for, that end accomplished, would have necessarily restored tranquility to Europe; but I never yet stated that its establishment was the sine qua non of peace. I may class the objects of the war under three different heads. The first was the restoration of royalty, and consequently the restoration of peace; the next, was the security of internal tranquility and the suppression of destructive and anarchical principles; and the third was, the preservation of the national independence and prosperity. If we have failed in one of these objects we have most completely accomplished the others; and it is no inconsiderable consolation to us that we have at this moment in the wreck of surrounding nations, the glory and satisfaction of maintaining the dignity and happiness of the country. We have kept our resources entire, our honor unimpaired, our integrity inviolate, amid all the discordant elements of jarring confederacies, while those states which did not act in unison with the manly protection which we afforded to their wants and prayers, became the victims of the common enemy. We have not lost in the midst of all the dreadful convulsions which have devastated Europe, a single foot of territory, and we have given to the rest of the world many chances of salvation. I have one word to mention on the state of the finances, as a charge has been thrown out that it has been a war of unexampled profusion. If on this head any specific charge be made, I can only say that I shall at all times be ready to meet it. I can, however, say, that I have at least the merit of rendering the system more than on any former occasion, even when the sums necessary to provide for the exigencies of the public service, did not amount to one tenth of the present disbursements. That consideration, however, wants no committee on the state of the nation. It is a fair comparison made between the expences of the present war and that which preceded it, and it is considered at the same time that last war was one carried on and conducted by regular means and with accustomed method, and that the present is with a country which stakes its capital in the contest, which, unable to support the warfare with any regular revenue, is compelled to make an inroad upon its stock, and diminish the very source of revenue; and it will be found that the present war has been conducted with unexampled economy and frugality. That an universal pressure has been produced, bearing upon all orders of the people, cannot be denied; but the fact of economical expenditure during the present war, must at the same time be admitted. I will not go deeply into the subject, but

if gentlemen will look at the state of the revenue, excluding the taxes which existed at the conclusion of the last peace, they will find that allowing for some deficiency upon beer and malt, that those permanent taxes have increased in produce about 4,000,000l. per annum since the period of that peace. They will also find, if they look a little further, that the taxes appropriated to the sinking fund now produce little less than 5,000,000l. per annum, making together the sum of 9,000,000l. by which the amount of the permanent revenue has been increased since the conclusion of the last peace. A sum which is within 10,000,000l. of the interest of all the sums borrowed during the nine years which the war has unfortunately continued. That the expenditure of the present has been very considerably less than in all other former wars, cannot for a moment be disputed. The knowledge of this fact is, I hope, sufficient to operate as an antidote to that despondency which might be derived from a general mention of these topics, without bringing them to the test of particular detail. Late as the hour is, I must advert to the other topic, on which I think it necessary to make some observations, although I shall decline all minute investigation; I mean the subject of neutral laws and neutral nations, respecting which gentlemen on the other side seem so much inclined to impute rashness, precipitancy, and impolicy to his majesty's late ministers. They speak as if the blow was already struck, or had been inevitably decided on; but no man can say that all hopes of pacification with the northern powers are wholly excluded. It was the earnest wish of those ministers that the extremity of war might be avoided, at the same time they were prepared for both, either to commence a war with vigor and energy in defence of the dearest rights and interests of the country, or finally to settle the question in dispute on terms consistent with the honor and the dignity of the country. Were his majesty's ministers tamely to suffer the country to be borne down by the hostility of the northern powers, or were they quietly to allow those powers to abuse and kick it out of its right? They wished to bring the question to a prompt decision, whilst at the same time they rendered the way smooth for pacific negotiation. Here the right hon. gentleman went over the grounds of the question relative to neutral bottoms, denying that free bottoms made free goods, contending that contraband of war ought to include naval as well as military stores, maintaining that ports ought to be considered in a state of blockade when it was unsafe for vessels to enter them, although the ports were not actually blockaded up, and denying the right of convoy to preclude neutral ships from being searched. In support of these opinions, he quoted the decisions of courts of law, and treaties entered into between this country and various powers, in which he contended the rights now claimed by this country have been expressly acknowledged. He then proceeded as follows: It was during the short time Sir, that the hon. gentleman (Mr. Fox) filled the office of secretary of state, who, from the greatness of his genius, might have been led to those bold attempts, which, by common minds, would be denominated rashness—it was during that short period that he advised his majesty to cede these rights in behalf of the empress of Russia, for the purpose of purchasing her friendship, and preventing that sovereign from joining France, with whom we were then at war. How far this was good policy, I will not now pretend to discuss; but in this, as in every other cession of the same nature, it is plain the right rested from this country; since it could not give what it did not possess, it was ceded as matter of favour, and not given up as a matter of right. Let it however be granted, that it was an act of sound policy to make that cession to Russia, that it was so at that time when our naval inferiority was too unfortunately conspicuous—when we were at war with France, with Spain, and with Holland, and when the addition of Russian hostility might have been a serious evil: does it follow that, at the present moment, when the fleets of all the northern powers combined with those of France and Spain, and of Holland would be unequal to a contest with the great and superior naval power of England—does it follow that we are to sacrifice the maritime greatness of Britain, at the shrine of Russia? Shall we allow entire freedom to the trade of France? Shall we suffer that country to send out her 12,000,000 of exports, and receive her imports in return, to enlarge private capital and increase the public stock? Shall we allow her to receive naval stores undisturbed, and to rebuild and refit that navy which the valour of our seamen has destroyed? Shall we vo-
luntarily give up our maritime consequence and expose ourselves to scorn, to derision, and contempt? No man can deplore more than I do the loss of human blood—the calamities and the distresses of war, but will you silently stand by, and, acknowledging these monstrous and unheard of principles of neutrality, insure your enemy against the effects of your hostility! Four nations have leagued to produce a new code of maritime laws, in defiance of the most solemn treaties and engagements, which they endeavour arbitrarily to force upon Europe; what is this but the same jacobin principle which proclaimed the rights of man, which produced the French revolution, which generated the wildest anarchy, and spread horror and desolation through that unfortunate country? Whatever shape it assumes, it is a violation of treaty, it is a violation of the rights of England, and imperiously calls upon Englishmen to resist it even to the last shilling and the last drop of blood, rather than tamely submit to degrading concession, or meanly yield the rights of the country to shameful usurpations."
LONDON, March 19. The public expenses of France for the present year, are stated in the Moniteur at 200 millions. Hahnemann, of Altona, has discovered a new fixed alkali, which he calls Praxum , because when it is heated so as to become red, it acquires a compass twenty times greater than its ordinary one.
Port Wine, first quality, just received and for sale at the store of the subscriber near the President's Square, next Mr. Rhodes's tavern.
ROBERT ELLIS, Washington City. Also a general assortment of liquors, teas, groceries, Spanish and East India segars, and a trunk of Ladies' Kid morocco and leather shoes, &c.
PROPOSALS WILL be received by the subscriber until Monday the 25th instant, to contract for the building the M R INE BARRACK in the City of Washington, agreeably to a plan, which may be seen at the Navy Office. The proposals may be made for the whole, or for the Brick and joiners work separate, Wm. MARBURY. May 12, 1801.
TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
THE subscriber feels himself impelled by the ill treatment he has received from an individual to appeal, however repugnant to his wishes, to the candour and liberality of a well discerning public. In September last I issued proposals for publishing a full length portrait of the present PRESIDENT of the United States, and began the work in November following. While our prospects of success in the presidential election were very brilliant, a person, heretofore obscure and whose republicanism is very doubtful, of the name of Augustus Day, began to entertain ideas of publishing a portrait upon a plan nearly similar to mine. In a short space of time our prospects of success were rendered more doubtful than they had heretofore been, when Day gave not the least intimation of the prosecution of his former design: but on the receipt of the result of the election in South Carolina, he issued proposals and began the work, and by hurrying it on at hazard has been able to present to the public proof sheets of what he calls a portrait of Mr. Jefferson. I have heard the opinions of men of taste, which do not dispose me to think very favorable of the design, execution or semblance, nor to be apprehensive of its proving injurious to me with men of taste, who are in the least acquainted with Mr. Jefferson's features. My motives for this publication are to assert my right of priority, which is ever respected by every man of honor, and to caution the inhabitants of the District of Columbia and its vicinity against mistaking Day's publication for mine, which circumstances I am induced to believe he and his agents would not hesitate to profit by, as they may shortly be expected to be with you. Every subscriber to my portrait will receive, in addition to the advantage of a proof print, a small pamphlet containing a sketch of Mr. Jefferson's life. The engraving will be executed by a Mr. David Edwin, whose abilities are well known in the line of his profession. Any subscriber not approving of the likeness or execution, may return the print, which will positively be published in the course of the present month.
GEORGE HELMBOLD, jun. Philadelphia, May 6, 1801. The Editors of the Richmond Examiner, Petersburg Republican, Charleston City Gazette, and Mr. Jordan of Norfolk, are requested to give the above three insertions, addressed to the public of their respective places.
OFFICE HOURS At the Post-Office in Washington City. FROM May 1. to November 1, the office will be open from sunrise to 11 A. M. and from 3 P. M. to Sunset. From November 1, to May 1, the office will be open from 8 A. M. to 7 P. M. It is not opened on the SABBATH. THOMAS MUNROE. Postmaster. May 4.
WASHINGTON CITY.
WEDNESDAY, Mar 13, 1801.
ABRAHAM TRIGG, is re-elected Representative in Congress for Virginia, without opposition.
JOHN STRATTON, the federal candidate, is elected a member of Congress, by the District of Northampton, &c. formerl. represented by Mr. Evans.
The following is the most correct statement we are enabled to give of the New-York election for governor. It is chiefly drawn from the prints of that state, which appear to blend reports with facts. It follows that entire reliance ought not to be placed on it.
   Clinton. Van Rensselaer.     New-York maj. 176   Richmond co. maj. 193   Kings co. maj. 120   Rensselaer maj. 647   Albany maj. 1431   Dutchess maj. 324   Columbia maj. 98   Rockland maj. 542   Schoharie maj. 340   Delaware maj. 500   Montgomery maj. 700   Herkemer maj. 500   Green maj. 352   Orange maj. 1,219   4 519 2,623   2,623   Present majority for Clinton, 1,896  
ELECTION.
We give the following statement as a probable result of the election for governor in the state of New York. It is taken from a letter written by a well informed member of our legislature in March last. Without making appeal, for its probability, to the uncommon change of sentiment which has taken place in almost every town and county throughout the state, we have reason to believe, that the majority herein to Mr. Clinton, the republican candidate, will be realized. As far as returns have been made from some of the counties, more than the majorities here given have been obtained.—Nor have we reason even to suspect that that will not be the case in those counties, from which no returns have yet been made. The calculation is rather a mild than a sanguine one. And our readers, we sincerely believe, may rely upon it as implicitly as upon any other calculation of future events.
   Counties. Clinton. V. Ransselaer.     Suffolk, 932   Queens, 370   Kings, 125   Richmond, 190   Westchester, 300   New York, 176   Rockland, 542   Orange, 1100*   Dutchess, 224   Ulster, 400   Columbia, 90   Greene, 50   Delaware, 200   Albany, 1424   Rensselaer 672   Washington, 350   Clinton & Essex, 600   Montgomery, 300   Schoharie,   Otsego, 300   Chenango, 350   Tioga, 100   Herkemer, 150   Oneida, 1000   Onondago, 300   Cayuga, 600   Ontario and Steuben, } 800   7109 4536   4536   Majority for Clinton, 2573  
*The returns from this county have been obtained since this paper went to press. The majority for Mr. Clinton is 1219. Amer. Cit.
OLIVER ELLSWORTH, late Envoy of the United States to the French Republic, has arrived at Boston, in the ship Nancy, capt. Orne, from Bristol.
The United States Brig Augusta, was sold a few days ago at Gosport, for 13,250 dollars.
MARRIED—Last Thursday, by the right reverend bishop CARROL, Miss CARROLL, daughter of CHARLES CARROL, Esq. of Carrollton, to ROBERT GOODLOE HARPER, Esq.
The Grand Jury of Newberry District, in S. Carolina, have presented as a subject of an alarming nature to the liberties of a free people, the conduct of the Representatives from that State in Congress, for having voted for Aaron Burr, instead of Thomas Jefferson, for President of the U. S. in opposition to the well known sentiments of an immense majority of their constituents; declaring that they therefore hold them as unfit, forever hereafter to fill any office flowing from the suffrages of a free Republican People.
We understand, that at the General Meeting of the Friends, lately held in Philadelphia, a very melancholy account of the distresses of their brethren and others, in England, in consequence of the great scarcity of the necessaries of life in that country, was laid before that body, which immediately took the subject into consideration, and came to a resolution to recommend the opening of subscriptions in their different societies for the benevolent purpose of affording relief to the unfortunate subjects of this distressing calamity. We further learn that the disposition evinced by the individuals of this very respectable denomination of christians, in furthering the laudable attempt of the meeting, promises an honorable issue to the praiseworthy undertaking.
LOUIS XVIII. has at length obtained permission of the King of Prussia to fix his residence at Warsaw, the ci-devant capital of Poland, as a private individual, under the title of Count de Lille, and his niece under that of the Countess De la Meilleray.
Extract of a letter from a gentleman at Fort Harmer, on the Ohio, dated Feb. 1800.
"I must not close my letter without dealing a little in the wonderful. We have discovered the ruins of a very ancient town; it is 90 rods square, surrounded with a wall which is at this time two rods thick, and five or six feet high, and from the appearance of soil two or three growths have already added to the manure, and the present timber affords trees seven feet diameter on the walls; I cannot give a minute description without delineating it, for which I have not time present. It is four square, with twelve gates, three on each side, and very regular; Between the town and the Ohio are regular fortifications with turrets of observation, lines of defence, outworks, &c. In the town are a number of raised grounds with regular ascents to them, probably places of worship, and canals to lead water from town, eight rods wide—a wall on each side which is still thirty feet high in some places—the burying grounds, &c. &c. We have made every enquiry of the inhabitants and Indians; they can give no satisfactory accounts: The Indians say their fathers do not know who made them: Then it would be mere conjecture in me to strive to unravel the secret. That they are not works of nature, is certain; and that the Indians in their present state, have not made them, is as certain: Then it follows, that the present Indians are descendants of nations once acquainted with arts, or this continent was inhabited by a nation unknown, who are lost in the revolutions of time, and entirely extinct: For many reasons I am apt to embrace the latter; but let either of the two be true, it convinces me that we know very little respecting the first people of America."
NEW YORK, May 7.
By the Betty, captain Clark, from Norfolk, we learn, that the captain of the Boston British frigate has sent a challenge to the captain of the French frigate Semillante, now laying at Norfolk, to meet him at sea—to which the captain of the French frigate has agreed, provided no other British frigate is in the way.
PORTLAND, (Maine) April 27.
A shock of an Earthquake was felt at Augusta, and some of the adjacent towns on the Kennebec, on the morning of the 10th inst.
NEW-LONDON, May 6.
On Thursday last the French prisoners who have been for some months in this place, were sent to New-York. Those which were at Hartford and Middletown have also gone to the same place. We understand they are to be conveyed to Guayama, in the Schooner Swan, capt. Samuel H. Parsons, of Middletown.

TRENTON, April 23.
On Thursday last was brought to this place the famous MAMMOTH OX, bred by John Humphries of Hopewell, in this country. This extraordinary animal far surpasses, in size, any of the same species ever raised in America, or perhaps in the world. He is now 7 years old and was purchased for the sum of 300 dollars. His measurement is as follows: Height, 18 hands 1 inch and 3 3/4ths; length, 18 feet 2 inches and a half; circumference, near the fore shoulders, 14 feet, and from his weather to the bottom of the dew lap, he measures 5 feet and 7 inches.
CARLISLE, April 29.
On the night of the 21st and morning of the 22d inst. there fell, at this place, a snow about 12 inches in depth, which is considerably deeper than any we had last winter, and much deeper than any ever seen by the oldest inhabitants at this season of the year; it disappeared in a short time, and the weather, after three days rain, having cleared up without frost, the fruit, we believe, has not been injured; considerable damage, however, has been done through the country by the creeks rising to an unusual height and carrying off fences, &c.
PHILADELPHIA, May 8.
Yesterday the sentence of the Mayor's Court was delivered in the case of the Commonwealth against Owen Foulke, John Melbeck, Edward Shoemaker, John Coxe, Abraham Singer, Wm. Lewis, and John Morrell for a Riot, and an assault on the Editor of the Aurora. The Recorder stated the origin and cause of the aggression, and summed up the evidence, generally, interspersed with a great variety of animadversions—and concluded with sentencing the persons indicted severally to pay as follows:—Owen Foulke, Abraham Singer, and Edward Shoemaker, one hundred and twenty dollars each, & costs of suit; John Melbeck, and Jacob Coxe, 100 dollars each, and costs of suit; and William Lewis and John Morrell, one cent each, and costs of suit, and each severally to be committed until the terms of the sentence were complied with. As it is our wish in this case to give the whole of this transaction in as impartial a manner as possible, we have postponed the detail of this trial until the report of the evidence shall be duly and correctly authenticated in the most minute way—our remarks of course will not appear before the detail.
WINCHESTER, May 6.
DIED—On the 18th ult. on Patterson's Creek, Hampshire county, Matthias A. Herfinon, a native of Germany, aged, by the most accurate accounts, 125 years. Lived upon low diet, and drank but little ardent spirits, had three wives in Germany, and one in this Country.
WAR DEPARTMENT, April 20th, 1801.
Notice is hereby given,
THAT separate PROPOSALS will be received at the office of the Secretary for the Department of War, until the expiration of the 30th day of June next ensuing, for the supply of all RATIONS, which may be required for the use of the United States, from the first day of October 1801, until the thirtieth day of September 1802, both days inclusive, at the following places, viz.
First. At Pittsburg; at Fort Franklin; at Le Boeuf, at Presquille; at Niagara; at Oswego; at Detroit; at Fort Wayne; at Michilimackinac; at the Falls of St. Mary's; and at the Grand Portage on Lake Superior.
Second. At Forts Washington, Vincennes, and Maffac; at the Cantonment near the mouth of the Ohio, and at any post or place on the east side of the Mississippi River, between the mouths of the Ohio and Illinois Rivers; and at any place or places where troops are or may be stationed, marched or recruited within the state of Kentucky.
Third. At Knoxville, Tellico, South West Point, and any place or places where troops are or may be stationed, marched or recruited within the state of Tennessee; at Bear Creek on the Tennessee River, and at any place in the Chickasaw or Choctaw country between Bear Creek and Natchez; at the Chickasaw Bluffs; at Natchez; at Fort Adams and its dependencies, and thence to the Mobile River.
Separate PROPOSALS will also be received as aforesaid for the supply of all rations which may be required for the use of the United States from the 31st day of January 1802, until the 31st day of December in the same year, both days inclusive, within the several states herein after mentioned, viz.
Fourth. At Point Peter; at Fort Greene; at Fort Wilkinson; at Fort Pinckney; at Fort Johnston; at Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor; at Fort Johnson, Cape Fear, and at any place or places where troops are or may be stationed, marched or recruited within the states of Georgia, South-Carolina, and North-Carolina.
Fifth. At Fort Norfolk; at Harper's Ferry; at Fort M'Henry; at the City of Washington,
and at any place or places where troops are or may be stationed, marched or recruited within the states of Virginia and Maryland.
Sixth. At Wilmington; at Fort Mifflin; at the Laboratory near Philadelphia, and at any place or places where troops are or may be stationed, marched or recruited within the states of Delaware and Pennsylvania, excepting Pittsburgh, Fort Franklin, Le Boeuf, and Presquille, in the state of Pennsylvania.
Seventh. At Trenton; at Fort Jay; at West Point, and at any place or places where troops are or may be stationed, marched or recruited within the states of New Jersey, and New-York, excepting Oswego and Niagara in the state of New York.
Eighth. At Newport; at New-London, and at any place or places where troops are or may be stationed, marched or recruited within the states of Rhode-Island and Connecticut.
Ninth. At Fort Independence, Boston Harbor, at Salem, at Marblehead, at Portland, at Portsmouth, at Bennington, and at any place or places where troops are or may be stationed, marched or recruited, within the state of Massachusetts, New-Hampshire and Vermont.
A ration is to consist of eighteen ounces of bread or flour, or when neither can be obtained, of one quart of rice, or one and a half pound of sifted or bolted Indian meal, one pound and a quarter of fresh beef, or one pound of salted beef, or three quarters of a pound of salted pork; and when fresh meat is issued, salt at the rate of two quarts for every hundred rations; soap at the rate of four pounds, and candles at the rate of a pound and a half, for every hundred rations—The proposals will extend to the supply of rum, whiskey, or other ardent spirits, at the rate of half a gallon per ration and vinegar at the rate of two quarts for every hundred rations. The price of the several component parts of the ration, as well as of substitutes and alternatives, must be specified.
The rations are to be furnished in such quantities as that there shall at all times, during the term of the proposed contracts, be sufficient for the consumption of the troops at Michilimackinac, Detroit, Niagara, and Oswego, for six months in advance, and at each of the other posts on the Western waters for at least three months in advance, of good and wholesome provisions, if the same shall be required. It is also to be permitted to all and every of the commandants of fortified places, or of posts, to call for at seasons when the same can be transported, or at any time in the case of urgency, such supplies of like provisions in advance, as in the discretion of the commandant shall be deemed proper. It is to be understood that the contractor is to be at the expense and risk of issuing the supplies to the troops, and that all losses sustained by the depreciation of an enemy, or by the means of the troops of the United States, shall be paid for by the United States, at the price of the article captured or destroyed, on the deposition of two or more persons of creditable characters, and the certificate of a commissioned officer, ascertaining the circumstances of the loss, and the amount of the articles for which compensation shall be claimed.
The privilege is to be understood to be reserved to the United States of requiring that none of the supplies which may be furnished under any of the proposed contracts, shall be issued until the supplies which have been, or may be furnished under contracts now in force, have been consumed, and that a supply in advance may be always required at any of the fixed posts on the sea-board or Indian frontiers, not exceeding three months.
HENRY DEARBORN, Secretary of War
Auction & Commission Store.
THE subscribers embrace the earliest opportunity of informing their friends and the public in general, that they have obtained a commission to act in the capacity of AUCTIONEERS in Prince George's county, including the city of Washington—and offer their services in that capacity, with assurance of attention to the interests of those who may employ them. They have also commenced the Commission business, which they intend to execute in the most extensive manner. A general assortment of DRY GOODS will be opened in a few days, which will be sold remarkably low, wholesale or retail.
ROBERT CAMP & CO.
Near the Pennsylvania Avenue, City of Washington, May 11, 1801
FOR SALE,
The complete frames for two buildings, ONE 44 feet by 24 feet, two stories, the other 28 by 16, both of best white oak and prepared in the best manner, being intended for the use of the owner. Poplar feather-edged plank, sufficient to complete, may be had with them. Enquire of the printer.
April 10.
BUILDERS.
WILLIAM LOVERING, of George-Town, and WILLIAM DYER, of the City of Washington, having commenced partnership in the Architectural and Carpenter line of business, which they are determined to carry on with assiduity, integrity and dispatch, hope for the patronage of their friends and the public.
Having a number of the best workmen now employed, are ready to execute any orders which they are determined shall be done, in the best workmanlike manner for those who will please to favor them with their commands.
Orders directed to W. LOVERING, Gay Street near the Union Tavern, George-Town, or to W. DYER, 1 Street, North of the new War Office, City of Washington, will be punctually attended to.
N. B. Wm. LOVERING has been in the practice of drawing for and superintending great part of the Buildings in the City of Washington and its Vicinity.
Washington, April 1.
Nail Manufactory,
ALL kinds of Cut Nails for Sale by Whole Sale and Retail at the Factory on F Street and at the Hardware Store of the Subscriber where persons building and all others wishing to purchase may be supplied with any quantity at the most reasonable rates
JOHN JACK Washington Feb. 4, 1801.
FOR SALE, OR RENT.
TWO Brick dwelling houses, situated on the Pennsylvania-avenue near the President's house; each contain six two handsome parlours and passage on the first floor, four lodging rooms, including garret, all private, kitchen and cellar; the whole will be completely finished in a few days; the yard's front palisaded and set with trees; the walks to the street paved or gravelled, which will render the same as comfortable a situation as any in this City for a private family, and will be sold for less than any gentleman can have the same built for. A family of negroes, will be taken in part payment, or Lots will be exchanged for Slaves. For particulars enquire on the Premises of
OWEN ROBERTS March 11, 1801.
FOR SALE, THREE BRICK HOUSES,
Opposite the Navy Office—They are three stories high, with two parlours on the first floor. Immediate possession may be given. Enquire of WILLIAM DYER, either at the above-mentioned buildings, or at his house on 1 street, north of the new War Office.
April 17, 1801.
FOR SALE OR RENT,
Two elegant brick Houses, 40 by 20 feet. SITUATED on King and Columbia Streets Alexandria, as well calculated for the grocery and flour business as any in the city; also two large stores adjoining the above houses, 25 feet front, by 36 feet deep, and I will likewise lease or sell, 7 or 8 valuable lots on King and Patrick streets, subject to a small ground rent. Possession will be given of one of the houses, immediately, and the other in 30 days. Any person wishing to purchase, one fourth of the purchase money will be required in hand, one fourth in 3 months, and the balance in 12 months, by paying interest and giving a security on the property.
I will also sell,
Six or eight thousand acres valuable Kentucky land. The terms of payment will be required as above mentioned.
The subscriber intends carrying on the bricklaying and plastering business extensively, and will keep a constant supply of bricks and lime for sale, he will also undertake to furnish all materials to any person disposed to build in the City, on the most reasonable terms for cash. Application to be made to Francis Peyton, Esq. for the property in Alexandria, or to
N. VOSS.
City of Washington, April 8, 1801.
FOR SALE.
THE SUBSCRIBER offers for Sale, four hundred ACRES of Valuable Land upon the Eastern Branch, opposite the City of Washington, it is bounded by the Water, from opposite the Navy Yard, nearly up to Dyer's Ferry; and extends back across that range of hills, South east of the City where are several elegant situations, for Building, as any in its vicinity. Two hundred and fifty Acres at least are covered with wood and timber; which independent of every expense, will in the Judgment of Judicious persons, yield to a purchaser, fifty per cent more than the proprietor will ask for the land. The soil upon the water, is a rich sandy loam of course excellent for early vegetables of every kind, clover &c. As all doubt respecting the continuance of the Government at Washington, must surely now be removed from the mind of the most incredulous, the subscriber is induced to offer this property for sale, in the expectation, that it must attract the attention of those who have money, and who wish to vest it in such a manner, as will produce an handsome interest for the present without risk, and the chance of a great rise in value, as the City increases in Population and wealth. A fourth, a third, a half, or the whole may be purchased upon easy terms by applying to
ANTHONY ADDISON, At BARNABY, three miles from Dyer's Ferry. Washington, April 6, 1801.
Ten Dollars Reward.
RAN away, a negro boy, named DICK, about nineteen years of age, about five feet six or seven inches high, slender built, has a large scar on one cheek of a burn, which reaches up over his eye so as to disfigure the eye a little, of a yellowish complexion, not to be a mulatto; he had on a pair of blue cloth pantaloons, a sailor jacket of blue, a large wool hat about half worn, a good pair of shoes, and took with him a leather apron, he has belonged to Mr. Richardson Stuart of Baltimore, five or six years past, and worked in his shop at making nails, which business he is tolerable well acquainted with. He left me between Alexandria and George-Town. I expect he will endeavour to get to Baltimore to his mother. Any person securing him, so that either Charles Rogers of George-Town, Richardson Stuart, or Archibald Shaw, of Baltimore, or me the subscriber in Wilks county, North-Carolina, shall receive the above reward.
ANDREW ERWIN.
April 20.
FOR SALE,
A young Negro Girl,
about 13 years old—Apply at this office. April 22, 1801.
The subscriber respectfully acquaints the public, that he has removed to the corner of Ninth and E streets, where he continues to manufacture and sell all kinds of Ornaments for Chimney pieces, Door Caps, Frontispieces, Metal Sashes, &c. which may also be had at his store No. 51, Barclay Street, New-York, and at Mr. Wild's store, Market Street, Baltimore.
GEORGE ANDREWS.
Who wishes to let a BRICK HOUSE, the west side of the President's house.
May 8, 1801.
Notice is hereby given
To MERCHANTS trading with the Island of St. DOMINGO,
THAT the Government of the said island, in order to provide against the fraudulent entries and declarations made by traders, with the view of evading the duties laid on the value of goods, have desired the commercial agents of the French Republic in the United States, to attest the prices quoted in the invoice bills as conformable to the prices current in the places from which the shipments are made. In conformity to that desire, the agents aforesaid are directed to give the above-mentioned certificates. Such, therefore, as choose to have their bills so certified, may apply for that purpose to the French Commissioners in the several ports of the United States.
L. A. PICHON.
George-Town (Potomac) 7th Floreal, } 9th year (27th April, 1801) }
Printers of newspapers in the U. States are requested to insert the above.
Conrad & M c Mann
HAVE opened houses of entertainment in the range of buildings formerly occupied by Mr. Law, about two hundred paces from the Capitol, in New Jersey Avenue, leading from thence to the Eastern Branch. They are spacious and convenient, one of which is designed for stage passengers and travellers, the other for the accommodation of boarders. Here is stabling sufficient for 60 horses—They hope to merit public patronage.
City of Washington, Nov. 24, 1800.
CONVEYANCERS OFFICE,
AND
OFFICE FOR SALE OF CITY LOTS,
On the Pennsylvania Avenue fronting the President's Square, near Rhodes's tavern, City of Washington.
THOMAS HERTY has connected with the business of drawing Conveyances of Land, Wills, Mortgages, Leases, Bonds, Assignments, powers of Attorney, petitions, and every other species of deed or contract in the profession; that of buying, selling and leasing lots and houses in the City, negotiating loans, &c.
His long experience as a draftsman, and knowledge of the laws relative thereto—the knowledge which he has acquired by residence of the situation of City Lot, and how their titles have been acquired, or are liable to be affected; together with his impartial and strict regard to the interest of those who may be pleased to employ him, will, he hopes, secure to him a continuance of public patronage.
Titles to real property investigated, and opinions given thereon when required.
For sale a great variety of Lots, in desirable situations in the City.
N. B. At the above office may be had, his Abridgement of the Laws of Maryland, price 6 dollars. Also his Digest of the Laws of the United States, price 3 dollars. As the Laws of Maryland are in full force on this side the Potomac, it behoves settlers to avail themselves of that information which affects their lives, liberties and property. He who is without a knowledge of his "rule of conduct" is like a stranger in his native land.
May 4.
2aw4w. Iowa
LOTS.
IN different eligible situations in the City for Sale or Lease on ground rent.—Likewise,
100 Casks inspected Rhode Island LIME.
A number of Quarter and half and Casks of MADEIRA WINE, of a superior quality, by JOHN STICKNEY
At his building opposite Rhodes Tavern President's Square. Washington, March 2, 1801.
LOTS FOR SALE,
In the City of WASHINGTON.
THE SUBSCRIBER offers for Sale a number of valuable Lots beautifully situated between the Capitol and the Eastern Branch. Also a few Lots to be let on lease for ninety-nine years in the vicinity of the Navy yard.
WILLIAM PROUT.
City of Washington December 12, 1800 N. B. A few Lots of good Meadow Hay, one Kiln of Bricks, and some Cord Wood.
W. P.
REMOVAL.
The subscriber has removed to Mr. Voss's house near the Pennsylvania Avenue, where a few BOARDERS can be accommodated.
ROBERT W. PEACOCK.
April 24, 1801.

Review of Noah Webster's brief history of epidemic and pestilential diseases.
On no subject has the medical world been more divided in opinion, than on the origin and nature of the Typhus Icteroides; a disease which has, of late years, proved so particularly calamitous to several cities in the United States of North America. — Philadelphia, New-York, Baltimore, &c. have all in their turns experienced its visitations, and suffered by its desolating ravages.
The nature of febrile contagion, is unquestionably a subject involved in much obscurity; and, until still farther advances be made in chemical physiology will probably continue to elude our research. Although neither the particular nature of febrile contagion, nor the manner in which it operates in producing disease, be well understood, yet many facts render it sufficiently probable, that all fevers of a pestilential nature derive their origin from heat, moisture, foul air, or marsh miasmata; and that under particular circumstances all of them may become more or less contagious. This holds particularly true in fevers of the typhoid type, when once formed, and raised to a certain pitch of malignity. Divided, however, as the opinions of physicians are, respecting the origin and nature of contagious diseases, they seem all agreed in one point, that, howsoever generated, they may be propagated by infection. Hippocrates was so much aware of the inadequacy of the mere changes of seasons to the explanation of the production of pestilence, that, in order to elude the difficulty, he had recourse to an aliquid sive num , or a something divine in the atmosphere. Allied to the opinion of the Grecian sage was the doctrine of the celebrated Sydenham, that certain diseases, and favored the diffusion of others. This doctrine he applied, not only to the plague, in particular, but also to some exanthematic affections, such as the small-pox and measles, when generally prevalent. The author of the present treatise, who declares, "he has never before turned his attention to chemical or medical science," appears in some sort to have adopted the exploded doctrine of Sydenham; and, reproaching equally the opinion of those physicians who have written in favor of the imported or domestic origin of the yellow fever in America, he argues that it depends upon a pestilential state or constitution of the air, which he terms general or primary contagion.
In support of this theory, Mr. Webster gives what he calls a brief historical View of Pestilential Epidemics, and the phenomena in the physical world which preceded, attended, or followed them, from the earliest accounts to 1798 inclusive. Whilst our trans-atlantic author seems willing to renovate and support the almost forgotten theories of the ancients, he condemns, with the most inconceivable illiberality, 'Modern compilers,' as a set of men 'who appear to have written for fame or for money, rather than for the sake of unfolding and diffusing truth,' others of them, he goes on to assert, 'appear to have undertaken historical compilation, solely or principally to support some pre-conceived system of government or religion; and have studied to bend the evidence of facts to the accomplishment of that purpose.' Not satisfied with this indiscriminate abuse, in the course of his extracts Sir Isaac Newton, Volney, the two Russels, Cullen, Gibbon, and Doctor Cullen, with a long list of truly respectable authors, are accused, by Mr. W. either of gross ignorance, or of distorting and suppressing facts, relative to the origin and propagation of the plague; even the college of Physicians at Philadelphia do not escape without censure.
Speaking of Mr. Gibbon, he says — 'I cannot help noticing the observations of Mr. Gibbon, on the calamities of this period. Our habits of thinking so fondly connect the order of the universe with the fate of man, that this gloomy period of history has been decorated with inundations, earthquakes, uncommon meteors, preternatural darkness, and a crowd of prodigies, fictitious or exaggerated.'
'If the original writers who have related the above-mentioned, had been as fond of decorations as this author, we might well have distrusted their accounts of unusual occurrences. Had this elegant writer taken due pains to inform himself of the truth, before he had indulged such reflections on the most credible historians, he would have found similar phenomena to have attended the same calamity (pestilence) in every age, from that period to the present, and many of them, if not all,
during his own life, if not within his own observation.'
'He goes on to observe, that "famine is almost always followed by epidemic diseases." This point will be afterwards considered. He lays, also, that the plague, at this period, "raged from 230 to 263, without interruption, in every province, in every city, and almost every family of the Roman empire." The words without interruption , were probably inserted for the sake of decoration. They are not authorized by the original writers, and cannot possibly be true, for an uninterrupted plague in a city or country, would soon leave it without an inhabitant. The truth is, it seldom raged more than six or eight months in the same place, at one time. It seized this town one year, and that, the next, as we observe in modern times, through the whole period. The more I examine the original writers, from whom Gibbon derived his materials, the less confidence I place in his representations of events. He appears to be a partial historian, and superficial philosopher.'
The hyper-criticism of Mr. W. on the version of the words of Zonaras, ' per quindecim continuos annos ,' seems illiberal, and is perhaps unjust. The works of the original writers not being, however, at present accessible, we would not wish to be understood as affirming that the plague absolutely raged, in a strict sense, that is, without the smallest interruption, for the period above-mentioned; we only assert what every school-boy knows, that the word continuus , literally signifies without interruption . Let the reader, therefore, judge whether these words were inserted merely for the sake of decoration. Mr. Gibbon, perhaps, like other men, was not free from prejudice and error; yet his Roman history is written in the true spirit of philosophy, and, we may venture to predict, will be read and admired long after the crudities of Mr. W. with the memory of their author, shall have been forgotten.
In the second volume, we are presented with the bills of mortality of several large cities, such as London, Dresden, Philadelphia, &c. with the corresponding state of the weather, occurrence of volcanic eruptions, and the appearance of comets, throughout the greatest part of the globe, from the year 1600 to 1798 inclusive. We are also supplied with a chronological view of the order in which epidemics have prevailed of late years in North America. From these data the author attempts to establish the hypothesis, that pestilential epidemics, from catarrh to the plague and yellow fever, as well as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, &c. brood from one common cause viz. an occult principle of electricity.
'The fire of the globe,' says our author, 'is in perpetual motion or action; and to this great agent, philosophers are agreed, are to be ascribed the changes of seasons, and the generation of rain, hail, and snow. Its operations, however, are not all of them visible, nor even perceptible, until they appear by their effects. It is probable that the invisible operations of the electrical fluid produce more effects than those which are seen. Indeed, we may question whether most of the visible phenomena of that principle are not mere effects of that action which influences the vegetable and animal world. It is probable to me, that neither seasons, earthquakes, nor volcanic eruptions, are the causes of the principal arrangements we behold in animal and vegetable life, but are themselves the effects of those motions and invisible operations which affect mankind. Hence catarrh and other epidemics often appear before the visible phenomena of eruptions and earthquakes.'
To follow Mr. W. through his numerous quotations, in the selection of which he has displayed but a very small portion of discrimination; to remark upon his bold and vague assertions, or combat in every instance his inconclusive reasoning; would far exceed the limits of our publication. It will be sufficient to observe, that the author appears to have written the present treatise under the powerful bias of a preconceived theory; and that, if he has not restrained quotations to support his hypothesis he has overlooked those contrary facts by which it would have been rendered doubtful, or altogether overturned.
Diemerbroek, whom our author so often quotes, as well as many other medical writers of the last century, considered the plague as a peculiar infliction from the Deity; and, among the philosophers of that age, it was by no means uncommon to impute it to diabolical influence. The secondary cause, which they admitted as producing pestilential fever, was a certain state of the atmosphere, supposed to be saturated with the poison; but to this opinion it has long ago been very properly ob-
jected, that, were the atmosphere so vitiated, no person could possibly escape the disease. Many circumstances, were it necessary, might be adduced to prove that the plague, and other pestilential diseases, do not depend on any peculiar constitution of the atmosphere: even Diemerbroek's facts, when impartially considered, tend to the same conclusion, although that author himself held the contrary opinion. Upon the supposition that the yellow fever is the offspring of a pestilential constitution of the air, how, we may be permitted to ask, did it never become, strictly speaking, epidemic throughout the United States? — How, if contagion were not present in those places where it did prevail, shall we account for its dreadful fatality? — Or how has it happened always to originate in large cities, and upon the sea coast? — Is our author prepared to affirm, with Sennertus, that the poison was only dispersed in different circumscribed parts of the atmosphere? And will he contend that these pestiferous portions of the atmosphere hovered over a few devoted cities? These and a great many other absurdities, upon his principle, he must be compelled to admit, or at once shelter himself, like Diemerbroek, under the supposition that the yellow fever is a peculiar infliction from the Deity.
Mr. W. proceeds to consider the means of preventing or mitigating pestilential diseases. In this part of the work, we meet with some judicious remarks respecting temperance, cleanliness, the mode of building cities, &c. observations however, which, were our author's theory true, it appears to us, could be of little avail. Indeed, he himself admits that 'epidemic pestilence is not under human control.' Is it necessary to observe how pernicious such a doctrine, if acted upon would prove to the health and lives of mankind? Its consequences, by destroying every motive to exertion, would be equally baneful to the moral and physical powers of man, as the predestination of the Turks. Mr. W.'s observations respecting health laws deserve the severest reprobation. At page 317, vol 2d, he says —
'The application of quarantine laws to our epidemic pestilential fever, is just, as useless as the order of the Sultan, Achmet I. in the wasting plague of 1613, for transporting all the cats in Constantinople to the island of Scutari. The Jewish physicians told the emperor, that the plague was occasioned by the cats; and the poor cats were dispatched into exile. Yet this did not restrain the plague.'
We agree, with our author, that 'nothing is more dangerous than to build a theory, or to establish a principle, on a few detached facts, inaccurately stated and ill understood.' Yet quarantine laws, of such vast importance to the safety and prosperity of whole countries, Mr. W. decides to be of no utility, simply because they have not hitherto produced all the effects which might have been expected. That they have not done so, in some instances, may be easily traced to something defective, either in their organisation or execution; and, in others, to the arts resorted to by the cupidity of the mercantile world, to evade and render abortive the best devised regulations. Respecting the truth of these facts, the author might have satisfied himself, by consulting the works of the justly celebrated Mr. Howard. He next endeavours to invalidate the propriety of the quarantine enjoined by the English government on vessels from the West-Indies and United States; because, according to him, the yellow fever cannot spread even in the summer temperature of our Island. We are not to learn, that cold is favorable to the extinction of the contagion producing Typhus Icteroides; hence it has been too rashly inferred, by our author, that we should not entertain apprehension of its importation into Great Britain, or places under similar parallels of latitude: but, if we may be allowed to reason from analogy and facts, such apprehensions will not appear so perfectly groundless as Mr. W. would insinuate; for since the plague, which is a disease of warm climates, has not unfrequently passed into the cold and temperate regions of the earth, we are warranted thence to infer, that the Typhus Icteroides, a disease not essentially different, may in like manner be imported. It must therefore be obvious, that, during our commercial intercourse with the United States, we cannot be too much on our guard against the danger of an importation of the pestilential contagion into Great Britain. The sensations produced, among the American merchants, by the proposition to stop all intercourse with the West-Indies, and the Mediterranean, during the summer months, are well known. Whether Mr. W. be a merchant, or connected with that body of men, we know not: certain it is, the Treatise before us appears
in a very questionable shape, and has more the appearance of the memorial of a pleader in a court of law, than the work of a philosopher anxious only for the discovery of truth. Let us continue, then, to employ those prophylactic measures against the introduction of pestilential contagion — which, although hitherto but imperfectly executed, have preserved, in a great measure, Europe from its desolating scourge; and which, while no restraints were imposed on the free and unlimited intercourse between different parts of the Roman Empire, frequently depopulated and laid waste its provinces. Let us recall to mind, that the abuse of trade has almost always given rise to pestilential importation, which frequently the greatest skill of the physician, and the greatest vigilance on the part of the police magistrates, have been scarcely able to subdue. Such is the account we have found ourselves compelled to give of a work, in which the author appears to us to have wantonly hazarded an hypothesis fraught with the greatest danger to the lives of an incalculable portion of mankind; — an hypothesis, the adoption of which would mislead nations into a fatal security, and to a neglect of the only rational means adapted to ward off the destructive agency of epidemic pestilence.
The style of Mr. W. is sometimes incorrect, and frequently deformed by quaint expressions and provincial idioms.
CHEAP LUMBER.
FOR SALE,
By the Subscriber, on reasonable terms, either by large or small quantities, at his Lumber Yards, the north end of Lamberton, and at the old Sturgeon Pond, above Richards's wharf,
A QUANTITY OF ASSORTED LUMBER, viz.
One and 1-4 inch, 1-8, and 1 do. Yellow pine heart boards — 1 inch pannel, 1 1-4 do. for floors, 1 do. common, white pine do — 2 do. 7 1-4 and 2 1-2 do planks, 1 do. 1-8, and 2-8 do. boards, black walnut — 2 do. plank, 3 do. 1-2 do pannel boards, bedstead sets, poplar the whole of the above are well seasoned and fit for use — Clear heart pine, and sap pine white oak, and bilthead, hemlock and white pine scantling, assorted — best kind three feet cedar shingles, dressed and undressed, do. two feet white pine do.; do. 18 inch cypress do — Cedar rails — Also, white pine sawed rails — shingling and plastering laths, best kind; white oak waggon timber — sap pine planks sap pine one inch boards, 3-4 cedar, best kind, 3-4 white pine, 3-4 sap pine, seasoned weather boards — A quantity of handsome chestnut pailings, sawed 1 by 3 inches and from 4 to 16 feet long, for garden fence, &c. A quantity of chestnut oak posts, dressed and undressed; a quantity of cherry boards, a quantity of large white oak joice, a quantity of chestnut posts — 5000 feet of neat beach scantling for tool stock — 5000 feet of sycamore scantling for bedsteads; 2 inch white oak plank; 1 inch white oak boards, 3-4 do. do. — 25,000 feet superior cherry boards and plank, 3,000 do. ry clear 2 inch white pine plank, 3,000 do. handsome beater wood bedstead sets seasoned, 100,000 prime North Carolina shingles, a quantity of ash plank, 150 tons plaster Paris, warranted, 3,000 bushels best Virginia pit coal, 200 bushel cleans house sand
The subscriber intends, establishing a Lumber Yard at the Federal City of Washington, which he will keep regularly supplied as above — Any quantities may be agreed for by contract, deliverable, as the purchaser may will, provided that the place of delivery may be comecable by water with a navigable vessel — Any quantity that may be ordered for shipping abroad, shall be supplied with punctuality and dispatch, agreeable to order.
Gentlemen who are or may be building — as well as carpenters who may be under or may enter into contracts to build and furnish the materials, will find it well worth their attention to apply as above — Applications may be made by letter (post paid) or otherwise, to the subscriber, or left with Wm. and Anthony M. Buckley, or Benj. W. Morris and Co. merchants, Philadelphia.
Also for Sale or to Let,
A large commodious Dwelling House, with out buildings complete, and from three to seven acres of land — Two small do. with lots thereto — Also, a small Store near the river — All laying in the village of Lamberton.
NATHAN COMBS.
N. B. A Screw Jack to let, that raises from 10 to 40 tons by hand — a constant supply of plaster and Smith's Virginia coal. Lamberton, New Jersey, (on Del.)
January 12, 1801.
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The subscribers hereby give notice, that at the next court to be held for the county of Washington, application will be made by them to the court, to grant them a licence to keep a FERRY over the Potomac, from the Commissioners' wharf in the city of Washington, to the mouth of Gravelly Creek, on Alexander's Island; and that they will apply to the next court to be held for the county of Alexandria for a licence to keep a Ferry over the Potomac from the mouth of Gravelly Creek, on Alexander's Island, to the Commissioners' wharf in the city of Washington.
JOHN ARDREY, PHILIP ALEXANDER. Wm. WASHINGTON.
April 29, 1801.
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