Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1816-07-09


Treasury, hopeful and an imported sprig
from The stock of monarchy, speaks to the
Representatives OF lreemen, as pedagogue
would to his school boys. There veoaiisy
stalks abroad in the face OF day, and heIe il
Is covered only with 4 cobweb veil There
vice is arrayed in dignity, here i, is studded
with littleness aud meanness There the
hard earnings of The poor are 6lched from
them without sympathy and here the pur
scs of frcemcn are considered as open, to
glui The cupidity and the avarice of men in
power. lherc war is considered pas
time, and here il is chess-board for polit-
ical gamblers TO play upun.-- his short
analogy will satisfy you, my brethren, that
instead Of republican, We have the rule
OF o.igarchs, of political prostitutes, who
profess one thing and practise onother, and
who make publick functionaries as George
Ill makes knights ofth Bath, or a Minis.
ter OF his members OF Parliament: and that
in such hands we shall soon finish ourre-
publican career. So
What has become OF economy, the boast
ofdemocrats, nay the pass word to power !?
Have we seen any glimmerings oft through
the darkness Of the times Shall we look
for il in late act of Congress to increase
their pay 20 more than Twelve dollars day
Commerce is laDguisaing, manufactures
are at stand, the currency embarrassed,
taxes heavy, and .ne people 10 difficulties !;
and yet, at such a moment, and with an
normous publick debt upon our shoulders,
| cur economical and democralick admins.
tra,ion, SO called, more than double the
congressional pay he people to be suse
will no longer have Cause 10 complain of
long sessions to, as members OF Congress
are soiaried by economy, the course OF leg
islation will be as raj as impotence itself
would desite- Hercaiter Congress will be
enable d to despatch its business in about
thee months, or less and then the econo-
mical advocates of the new republican
school may comfort themselves with an al
lowance of seventeen dollars day! What
golden comfort for Jonathan Roberts and
Abner Lacoek. They surely must have
taken the hint OF being salaried from impe-
rial Fra,cx; for there the Conservative
Senate, 10 sustain the imperial dignity, were
pu. upon the pension list.
But, brothers, there isa feature in this
measure which so strongly marks tie de-
generacy of the times, that must be per
mi,ied to call your particular attention to il.
The act,' which more than doubles the nav
ofme mbers Of Congress, is ushered into the
world by false title; it is Il aud upon the
publick, and a deception prsc,ised 10 keep
the people ignorant OF the measure, as il The
authors were ashamed or asraid il should be
known. ! here isa littleness, a meanness
in it which has no legislative parallel in our
country. The ACT is entitled "an &c, to al
ter the mode oil com2ensal ns members Of
Congress Isthls true the mode ofcom
pensalion remains the same, while the a.
mount is more than doubled. he Speak e., :
no doubt draws his checks as usual, the
money, Isuppose is pu, into his hands BY
the treasurer, and the srrjean, at arms calls
at the bank, receives the money and pays ii
over 10 the members. Unless then this
method be altered, the mode remains the
same how unworthy then ora National
Legislature to resort to a con emp,ibIe .arii-
tice to cover their Outrage upon the publick
purse Why not call the brat by its prop.
er name and say at once, that i, was an ACT
to double or treble thepay OF members OF
Congress, and to place them upon the pen
sion list this would have been honest, and
an indication OF their conviction, tina, the
deed would bear the light.
Brothers, with real sorrow say il, our
republick is rapidly on the decline. lha,
Constitution which was made by The pa,ri-
OTIS and sages of our country, by the. bes,
heads, and the best hearts in it, is already
little more than cahas morfuuns and We
li,,le longer in such hands, we shall UNI
,lerssand how Augustus amused the Roman
people with the shadows of the Common.
wealth., while the substance was held BY the
hands Of Caesar. We see already, thar il
iaclihe President nominates his successour;
he dominates and appoints the SECRETARY OF
State, and an imperial senatas conSaitum,
under Executive adyis. ment, constitutes
the Secre lary OF Stats President The pco
pie are amused with slips of paper, upon
whioa names are written and they carry |
them to the poll and drop them into box
and this is called the right of suffrage and
the election OF their pubiick functionaries
when in fact sixty five members Of congress,