Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1802-05-27

tain the TACT is tHeIe, Vi Wdo ttHCie
ever a document in exifence that might
ferve TO elucidate the fubjeef Of this ex-
penditure, to which they had not acceis ?
Not one--the prominent feature OF the re-
port fpeaks loudly how unwillingly a
conviction that all theie monies were ex-
pended on objects of public nature,
forced itleif upon their minds how in
their de'pair, they caught at every fraw
Ian awful grafp twas TO them--it will
not fave them--the fhadow Of political
death is coming upon thcD, and, !" like
Lucifer," shey ioon fhall fall, never again
to rife.
But "this expenditure was made from
appropriations deGgned BY law tor other
objects, May / ak to what Object the
1858 dsllars and 81 cents, gained by
Col. P. on the purehafea Of bills, was by
any law deligned !? Until this be known,
we can fay nothing to the Multiplication; !;
but we will again and again repeat, that
ifthis fun had been loft, inRead of being
gained, in fnch a tranfaeion, no ore could
have expected the officer making the bar
gain to anfwer it out Of his private pro-
perry we will again and again repeat,
that If Col. P. had been " coyetous OF
gold'' or nor mott deIicateiy fcrupolous in
his public money tranfattion, he might
have pocketed this fun we will again
repeat that notwithstanding all this, he
did apply this fun to objects OF public ma
ture and again ak, where is the law defg-
mating the public objects TO which this
fun was to be applied, and if no iuch law
exits, how can Col. P. have been guilty
of a Multiplication of it?
Bur the other fun1-the $1,000 dollars
and Is cents, itands on different foot
ing this fun was appropriated by law 70
certain objects, and applied by Gel. ?.
to others.
The deicretion which it would be pro-
per to allow heads of departments in ap-
plying albalance of an appropriation fot
one public object in aid of another, the
the expenditures on which may have ex.
cceded the eainate, is delicate fubjetf,
and cannot be TOO hrialy confined, as long
as the fpirit of our contribution is regard
ed its letter has nothing to do with the
fubjea Immediately before us. The con-
ftitution fays /" No money fhall be drawn
from the treafnry, bur in confequence Of
appropriations made by law. 1t is nat
charged that ca. P. d,s4u any money but
liz emjeguenre Of appropriations 10 made
and it is only BY the mott wilful blind
nefs that the committee have refufed to
fee the propriety of what Col. P. did in
the application of this fun. His m3ap.
blieaftous may be illnfrated by fate
mens like the following
Suppote Congress fhonld direa one fe-
yenty four, two frigates, and four Hoops
ofwar to be built, and thould appropriate,
fay one hundred thoufand dollars for any
particular fum) for each Object. Suppofe
the feven yedels built at the expence eff
mated, the 100000 dollars--hut that 1t |
houli appear that the "a gun lhip colt |
90, 900, the frigates 90, coo, but the Hoops |
more than the fun appropriated fpecifcal-
Iy for them, fay, 10000 dollars can il |
be faid that the Secretary of the Navy,
finding the lhip and frigates fnilhed, the
furplus of 10000 dollars adequate TO the
expence Of completing the aoops, flfould |
delay efettuating the declared intent of the |
legislature TO have the feven fhips fit for |
fervice? Where would be the illegality Of
making this deviation from the declaration
Of the law When, as it is in nine out Of
ten of thele cafes, it ihould be msnifeR !
that the deficiency in the one, and the O.
verplus in the other were owing to the er-
ror in the efimates prelented by the Sc
cretary shimlelf, is he not juaihable, nay, |
is it not his bounden duty 90 correct the
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