Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1824-04-08

WA cannot make room:--a cHeuWs'anSe
the less 10 be regretted as both the law
ana the facts can be compressed into a
small compass.
In August 1921 articles Of agreement
were entered in,o by Lieut.. Weaver, OF
the Navy, of the one part, aud certain
,nsrchants OF New York. owners of the
ship A nerica, of the other. "A'eh arr
ticies Sc, forth, that Commodo'e Stewart
wa. about to proceed to Lima IN the
FRANKLIN 74,-that he said Commo.
do,e was a particu,sr friend OF the sa'o
Lieutenant, and "bs,ng ossirous to aid
him would gius particular protection
to q ship and cargo j" phach ne acas
interestsd''-that, therefore. IN co"si-
deraHon of such protection to 90 afford
cd, the said merchants would load the
shin A msrica with -four and salt Prov
sions, and send her under the command
of Ca plain Henry DekoSen to L''na,--
that Lieut. Weaver should 60 on BOAR"
the @sid ship. and for greater .sesr'ty
represent her AZ store hip, Add tha'
in conside cation It all the services and
protection afforded, he should receive
one fifth Of the oct profits o: the soy-
aye
The ship thus projected. to the ex-
ch,,oo of other A ;nerIcan vessels, an
se,s oil C ksded porte with safety. u
nan, me voyage is msds, anu Leu
seuans Weaver receives $i2 700 Tor
hi. .h..e III the prof g. but believing
that the merchants had DIVERSIFIED the
original cost OF the srticies. anu that
thew had not dealt fairly with him IN
Other respspts, he oriDgsa suit IN chan.
csry to detersa,ae what sun ne ID enu.
titlsJ 20, The Chancellor declares
tina me contract is founded IN fraud,
sua /. consequently illegal and Lieut..
Weaver may think himself happy 1t hs
rsts as mis- twelve thousand dollars.
In delivering his opinion. the Chan.
sellor took oce aston to declare that the
Ollie -rs of the navy cannot bargain Tor
q private re ward for the discharge OF a
public duty. "lf Weaver or other OH.
GERS OF the Navy were bound to DO the
acts in question, they we're bound to
psrform them as scts OF public duty
pertaining to their official station. The
idea that an officer employed by the
pu olie fCr the performance of a public
trus,, and paid by his country for bis
services, may take additional and Pri.
ya,s compensation for the discharge Of
his official duties, is wholly inadmissi-
BILE A distinction betweeR q bride tor
doing a duty. and brides for violating
. duty may exist in cssuistry, but that
bribery TOR doing duty,s lawful, is a
couos ption which never yet fou6d q
place 10 any code Of laws, or In any
system of morals.
"lf the contract supulatss that the Of.
fisers named should do something more
than their public duty, it is still more
p.oniy corrupt, as involving both a vi.
o.. ION Of duty. and . pecuniary reward
for ouch an at. But tbs eviden, tnst
the object of his contract was not mere
ly to engage officers OF the navy to DO
there duly. For each purpose no
contract was necessary. The Ameri.
ca was not store snip Of the U. Sts'es,
aDa he expedient OF sending some
storss of the navy IN tina, ship, was evi.
IDENTIFY adopted to conceal talsehood,
undsc some color OF truth, and 10 give
TO nc A ne ica snd'her ago, the guise
OF pa oi,c property Of he United S s'es.
Thus eon,r,vance was fraud up"n ihe
Ualtsd states, their public service aud
their sovereignty; a fraud upon the
rights Of nations, aud fraud Ia all re.
spects."
The Chancellor then proceeded to
expatis,e on the great evil which would
follow. If tho principle we're admitted
that officers whose rewards are fixed by
law. should be permitted to receive
private rewards for performing public
duties, viz that they would neglect o.
&hsr public duties to attend TO those for
which they are specially paid.
The declsra,ion that the Transaction
involves bribery and fraud, hes deeply
affected Lieut.. Weaver, and be has pub
lishsd a statement IN which he endea-
vorsd TO exculpase himself. The mat
ter Of ME dsteace is--thst Commodore
Stewart, in eonssI usuce of mis- not De-
ing able to fulfil ais promise TO make
him his fret ieu'susot, allowed HIN to
epgs 20 in the merchant service, with q
promise that if ne went to the Pacific,
he should have his friendly eountensnce
and protsction--that he then entered
into an agreement to take the manage
ment of the ship America and cargo
thai this 10 no moro than officers are
Pc united to DO every day.-that the
TY~>d Gt.kaa, ahinnA6 m