Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-09-08
From the Nev York Evening Post
THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF.
No. III.

No. AL.
Before the reader begins with the E.-
tracts think it not amiss to make few OBJ
servations respecting the nature OF the evil
dence to be expected.
Let it be borne in mind then, that the
fact now to be proved, is, that money to the
amount of more than 10000 dollars was
paid to the commander in chief of the army
of the United States, by the Spanish 60.
vernment; that this large sum was neces-
sarily paid in silver, there being at that time
no paper money in circulation in that part of
the world that it was transported in bulk
more than thousand miles, partly by land
and partly by water; that, as it would have
been at least very hazardous, if not imprac-
ticable, for the commander to have left his
post, and gone down every year to New
Orleans TO receive the money in person, it
consequently became absolutely necessary
TO con6de his secret and entrust his BUSH
ness to agents; that even to these agents,
however, he would be cautious Of commit
ting himself any further than was indispen.
sable, and of course that explicit written
documents were hardly to be expected in
the case. The nature OF the crime, the
manner of carrying it on, and the heavy
and condign punishment attending detec-
ton, all would seem to forbid us to look for
any thing more than evidence indeed OF the
fact of his actually receiving the money and
the source from whencs it came, but it was
scarcely to be hoped that we should be fur
nished with even that: BY the confessions
of those employed both by himself and the
Spaniards, explained and confirmed by some
of his private confidential letters, and oral
confessions, the whole finally corrobora.ed
by his own STRENGTHENING defence, the
reader is not permitted to entertain one sin.
gle doubt on the subject.
|" Pro2E Of the corruption sen. James
WaAkinson, and Of his connection Nth Aaron
Barr" SIC.
I" Hitherto my proofs have been presump.
tive, and such only as might be expected
from the secret nature of the crime. l come
now to tread on surer ground, and will clear
~ prove the payment Of FIVE different sums
of money to gen. Wilkinson by the Spanish
government, amounting TO 54,563 dollars.
will prove negatively, that no part OF this
was on account OF the tobacco or any other
commercial speculation, as he had alledg-
ed in his defence and then aAirmaElveiy,
that they were the wages of his treason.
In 1889, he visited New-Orleans a Sc
cond time, and returned by land, carry ing
with him sum of about 5000 dollars in Sill
yer, loaded on two mules, and accompani
MED by MIR. Philip Nolan, and preceded,
believe, as far as Natchez, by Mr.. 10
seph Ballingcr, both of them his confden-
tidl agents, as will appear by a number of
documents referred to in the course of this
enquiry. Before their arrival in the Anne
rioan settlements, the general thought it
prudent no longer to accompany his trea-
sure. 1t was therefore confded to Bali n
ger, who carried it to his own house, while
the general and his faithful Nolan rode on
to Frankfort. Joseph Ballinger having fall
len sick was obliged to transfer his trust to
his brother John, who after some days Of
anxious expectation on the part of the sc.
neral, arrived at Frankfort, delivered the
money to Wilkinson and took his receipt,
which is still IN existence, and will probably
be printed in an appendix to this work.
The arrival of Joseph Ballinger at his own
house with the money, and the subsequent
delivery of it TO Wilkinson, are proved by
the testimony of John Ballinger, Note No.
s.. His being accompanied by Nolan is
added, and the other circumstances corrobo.
rated by the letter of Evan Jones, Noe. u
X This and the subsequent figures refer
to corresponding figures in the appendix.
think Mr.. Clark unfortunate II, haUing thyosvn
all his evidence into an appendix instead Of
en,bodying 1T with the argument: it is too
| poExmn;0us to be rebrinted here, but Iyent,tre