Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1802-06-09

Church Alley can make pancakes OF eggs
without FIRE, and metamorphoie bird IN
70 ,notatoe, and make chickens live al
fer their heads are off: but the more IA
pient n,agicians Of the iuveaigating COM
m.ttee, can with " prelfo, quick, Jack and
beeone" make mammal difference no
difference at all unlooie the twifted bands
Of the mott intricate, complicated, and
unintenigible accounts 6 tanlliafly as
their garter = fart millions of dollars in
70 exilteace, and infantIy make them va
min without leaving track behind. No
wonder that under the mild reign OF JET
terfon and liberty, we have 10 pay no
| taxes: thar clouds never obtcnre the fan;
and that chickens fhake of the lneil with
out the tedious procefs of Matching, BY
the mere exerfiou Of their energies. All
hail (! We great yotasies of philolophy
In paving off che whole Of thenatonal debt, the
enlightened legislators, OF whom this inveltiga-
ting committee continued an etticIent part, gave
us another example OF their wonderful powers.
They decreed that the debt ihall be paid off the
fooner BY reduction Ill the receipts OF govern
ment, namely, by the abolition OF certain taxes
uoon luxurics and that the whole fhali be paid
off, by borrowing money for the purPoie, at
trihing expence (not TO exceed i've per cent? and
the ehabliihment Of one or two agencies, which
are not TO cot much more than the ialary OF the
Vice PRECEDENT of The United states. 1t is not,
to be ilre, mentioned in the act whether by this
proceis il is intended effect nominal or an &C
tuai paynlent of the whole OF the debt, but re-
ference by way OF illulration, to the hocus pocus
tricks OF the itatements, by the political wizards
ofthe committee, may give thoie whom it con-
Germs fome light on the lubJect
So Mr.. Pickering was fill deoited with an
unaccounted for balance of ieventy eight thou
fand and odd dollars nominally; butactualy four
teen thoufand and more OF this tunl had been
thrown into the public flock by his own act.
Then was annexed docnmentC. which Rated that
the prcient fecretares Of State and OF the Treafu-
ry, nigh. actually cover, BY appropriations made
according TO law, that the whole of the rrldue
except one hundred and ieven1y three dollars
for which it would he necedary that Congref,
fhould make all appropriation, and of courfe, the
whole of Mr.. Pickering Interpretations to take
the committees own itasenene, amounted 10 the
nominal lunl of Is, ooo and TO the aaual fun of
I73d lis. Hence new light is afforded Us, fir, III
which to draw conclaiions on the relative value
of an actual and nominal payment of the whole
Of the national debt, by the famous act of the
| lail felton,.
| Whether or not the v0iuminous abtra9s and
Hatemenrs, TO which the committee refer in this
part Of the report, would give more poiitively
nominal, and actually apparent proofs of miicon
| duct and Multiplication, time alone mutt deter
nine But, in our progrefs with an examination
Of the report, we mutt, at every tage, permit
| ted to express our abhorrence OF luch an incon.
! gruousma!s of accufations which have been heap
! ed up by malice, and carry with themfelves full
proof OF their inaniry. In ende2youring TO diico-
yer what charge is meant TO be conveyed in the
! item which is examined in this number we OBJ
| ferve, on very flight inveftigation, no mputa-
ton ofmilcondu9 to any officer Of the late adni-
| nittraton, unleis indeed the committee meant
thereby TO chide the tardnefs of the accounting
officers, who, as has been lad before, hold their
offices at he will OF the PreGdenc, and are not re-
moved But even their accounting officers might
with iuaic- complain Of luch fatemenr After
difplay of advances, and accounts and balances,
all carefully noted, even to the cent, the accoun
tsnts of the committee fate reduction OF
Gderable portion indefinitely Is this way for |
men, under fueh relponlibi.ty, to tcatter fate
ments among the people! VAST meant to preis, |
by all the parade of figures, the enormous balance
of eight unaccounted for millions into public
view, in hopes that the flight, and 70 gently
ticed reduction might elcape public obfervarion?
Was this mmenfe balance puihed forward as |.
BACKWARD fer the vapid pouters Of ale houfcs'
1t will not, j truG, be faid that the committee
could not tell, what was the pre2ifc amount
Of the .. comfortable portion" OF the eight
millions, fer which accounts had been rendered;
they mutt have knownit, and sghy they did not
openly and manfu'ly fate it, and make it as pub
lie as they did the balance OF winch it is part,
VIC know not all that we know is, thar they
have done othcrwile. They have buried this part
ofthe buGiaeis in the MATS OF documents which
may, at fone future day, be brought to light
A Jingle iue-r-nay-but few figures would
! have given a view Of the whole fubjea, and OF
the actual balance uuaccounsed for. Why vast
not given? 'rhe further we proceed, the more are