Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1802-06-09
DECIUS. No. VI.


fention, is the enormous balance yet IN
accounted for by the accountants of the
war and navy departments. Wheait IS
con6dered, that lhe new adminiaration had
been in power upwards Of a twelve month,
at the time thar this tatemcat was fubmit-
ted, itmay be thought fonewhat iurpriflng
that further progrefs had not been made
in a bufneis offuch importance. Why 1t
was introduced into the report at all IS
amatter Of aRonilhment. IF the balance
really be Jas Ifuppofc itis) greater than
ought 10 be at any one time unaccounted
for, nobody is TO blame but the preienr
adrinifration they have il in their pow
er TO appropriate money enough to pay
iuficient numberof clerks, who might be
employed in preparing and Eating the &C.
counts for dehnitive tettlemens at the
Treafury, and they have it in their pow
er to di(mifs the accountants, and appoint
more active men in their iead. Why
have they not done one of theie things, il
the immenle unaccoan,ed for balance Gre
atsd any approximations that an i'll uie had
been made irs But they had no appre-
henGoas- The committee after houncing
sabout with adding and fubtrading accounts
. of millions, tell Us, that, although the
fatements of the accountants exhibitbalan
ces abbapeatly anacco3uted to,, to large
amount, yet they will likewife thew that
accounts have been rendered, fra c0s}fder-
. able PORTION, which are in train of iet-
element, but not finally clofed )" and We
are alto told, that /" though the fums in
the report differ, nom'naly, from thoie
: contained in the ftatement of the fecretary
of the Treafury, yet the letter, to which
that ftatemenr is annexed, proves them TO
be actually the fame Now, gentlerea-
der, what think you of committee fate
ments Firtt balance is truck and fpe-
cited TO AGENT, and aated to be .unaccount-
ed for or uniettled, and to make you fare
ard bleis your Rars that a copper has been
left in the country, and>to rejoice might
ly that Adams, and Wolcott, and Picker
ing, and 5toddert, and all thoie wicked iede-
raliRs did not run of to England with all
the money that was in the treafury, this
balance is itated at lomething better than
eight millions of dollars When you are
jna gaipiqg for breath in the fright which
this miraculous eieape has excited, you are
told that Mr.. Gallatin's account differs,
aommally, from this that is, that at the
Treafury, whence the money, of which
this great unfsttled balance is part, was
drawn, they do not make the unaccount-
ed for amount precilely the fame but
the. admirable effect which would have
been produced from leaving you in a fate
of doubt whether Mr.. Gallatin made the
balance more or lefs is defroyed by their
telling you, in the fame paragraph that
however the itatements differ ugmiuaN,
the actual amounts is proved 10 be the
fame. Now two and two make four no.
mixally, and if Mr.. G. can prove fun
to be aRually, more or le(s, than it is no.
uuinal2y, two. and two may make dozen
for aught we know, and Mr.. G. may
pats for the beG hnacier thar ever exifted.
There is fomething really amuiing in
this difference between the nominal value
of dollar and its actual value. And not
only 10 the aatenenls of the committee,
and of Mr.. G. has it been played upon with
fuccels. In this balance of lomething
more than eight millions Of dollars ispo-
iitively fated to remain unlettled, and
yet TO be accounted for by, the account
ing officers of the war and navy depart
menrs then comes Gallatin's &atenent,
which differs nomiaalb then Gailatin's
letter, like Rannie's* thaunafic- palien-
geRical tahfnan, makes the nominal diff
ference between the two fumsno difference
at all: then this actual balance is ab-
barsnfb unlccounted fol-, why !? 6 be-