The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1816-05-01
NEW WPORT
fUKSDhY EYEAING, .APRIL SO, 1918.

| cfessihg their pby@the new taiiT oC d,,,;-
-and ne Naiiona' Bank Bill--when W. 81. -,
/ me consequences OF each, must be ,,Lr,-,
eogeo 10 De the most important acts of ~,
honorable body. We propose 10 exar,;n.
| ktho' ID eursorily manner each of ,bs,, r.,
The order mentioned. In this exam;nu,io,
we shall be uDinfueDced and unbiased hv
what has been ssid 10 Congress, aud bv wba,
has been written Ia the different paris az ,bs
Union. We do not intend 10 condemn viii.
out hrst investigating the charges pref.rred.
and endea'oting to discover whether ,bsv ar.
properly established nor DO we m.s,,. =.
quit Tor the purpose OF following the eurren,
Of opinion.
We will nothing extcnua,e, nor Sc, down
aug ht in malice"
No legislative aet ha. been passed for m,
last ten years which has created so great ex.
citemen, in the public mind, or produced so
great clamor as the late law for increasiae
hc pay OF the members Of Congress.-Bus
he causes OF these exciiements and the rea-
sons OF these clanors will, on examination.
be found to'be various and different.--Some.
have deprecated the act for electioDe erinc.
purposes among these are the fsdcrsIists of
Nsw-EDg glaad--But these men have been al
lenced when told, that the act itself wss pss.
bed by the union Of federal Inajor,ry and
democratic minority--ot hers from an idea
that the old law gave empsnshtion 10 the
me mbers adequate 70 the services rendered.
and another class, and which by the bye the
Dose respectable and we may add The mo,t
rational, condemn the act, altogether, on the
score Of principle 49, That no men or clss. Of
men,ought over to be privileged to vote mons
ey fnto their own pockets, and TO increase
their pay sdarbitrum. Those who think that
the old law which allowed to each member
OF both houses, six dol,srs a day, gave an
ample compensation for The services render
ed, do not rehec, that mouty now fas no, the
same intrinsic value which il had eiXhcen or
twenty years ago, or at the time tbat the old
law was passed---and that the money which
the members formerly re.eivd4 vas some
thing of u more substantial oature than thar
which they now receivey that hereiofoFs, sia
dollars day was paid in gold and silver, or
iupaper which would comm and one or the 9th.
sr-that the members have Of late been paid
in paper which would not command gold or
silver without, frst discoun,ing twenty or
thirty per Geo, from the face Of the paper
bill or Bote-and that IN many instances the
papers received is, as Mr. Randolph has said,
but little better than old rags. Neither do
they consider that the high price Of proyis-
ions and the additional charges which the
members have lately been obliged to incur
have increased their expentes more than ono
hundred per cent. A due. consideration Of
these circumstances would suppress many Of
the numerous clamors against the members
on account of their increase of paw when, at
the same time il is ascertained that this in.
crease Of pay is By accurate calculation only
thirty per cent, But the principle, the pre-.
cedent W hich this law established is the great
obstacle which we should wish TO see remov-
ed.--Have the members right TO increase
their pay at pleasure 1t is true, there is no
constitutional barrier. Among the many a.
mendments to the constitution of the United
States which Congress in the year 's9, re-
commended, we find tie following No
law varying the compensation for the seryi.
ces Of the Senators and Representatives shall
take effect until an election of representatives
shall have interviewed :" and We regret thar
this amendment was not adopted by three
four,hs Of the Legislatures of the several
States and had THEREBY become part of the
Constitution of the United Sta,es-Had the
members any scruplcs of conscience, or any
doubt OF the propriety or correctness Of their
conduct, the law might and would have been
so framed, as TO suspend Its oper,ion until
new election had intervensd--and by SO do
ing the members would have manifesto at
least a little more delicacy. But this woud
not i'm diately redress the grievonce Of tho
members this grievance is not now greater,
nor is i, in fact, so great as it has been 70.
the three last sessions.
After, therefore, adserting to every plausi-
BILE pretex,, which we can any way suggest
in favor of the members who voted for tho
new law,we cannot bu, deprecate tbs, total want
of principle and disregard of consequences
which atehere manifest--,heir conduct will
long be Remembered, and if we are not much
mistaken, most of those who voted to increase
their o,Vn salaries, will soon ha &c leave 10 re.
tire-W heiher that despatch of hnsines.