The Arkansas advocate., 1833-02-06

flow was Il done? not by hands hired [ by the mouth of the lresident. and all
 oycrscer with d daily stipend to over
 look them. The President Mas never
 q ]obber after such iashloD. Nor was
 It ever intended that the Governor should be. The President did not make secret bargains with few iavorites, and exclude all others from the chance of doing the public service at d cheaper rate. Ire contra, ts for o;,eitiifig ;,iiii,sii making the road from Jackson 10 Wash ington were made according to the es- tabilshed usage. ask the t.oycfiior 10 point me to a single instance (exccpt this of his oNw il ihc history oi tie !ra. proYeme.is ot tue U. S., either in ma King or repairing roads, canals, docks. <Se., Where the man wiio wao wiling to perform a specified labor CT se4tiec,. for tue lcas prlf had not aeel4aneea ato. say so--alse seeurt5--perfofn the h Der or sefsiee, and receive the casl4.
 Puplic improvements of the kind, lays ever been enpptdiicIyotTered forpublc com. petition. except ID otle instance. ii has been the fixed usage oi Inc Republic, from the date of' it's existence. Ghis usage is old, uniform. and veaer. hlss.-- Ii Is kind of common CT customary Ia@ of the nation. Why has i; bees d..vi. ated tfom Tn this one laeiaHee? Ibe Governor ought 10 have '.strong reas- ons' for t. or il ought not to have beer, done. The public perceive no .sstrone reasons.' If the Governor have then, he should bring them forth. l'uhlie anxiety requires, public indi ignaiionde. mapds an explanation.
 This usage las been adopted to pre- vent speculations and frauds in the dis bafsements of public monies placed ia tlie hands Of public agents. Why has 'ae Governor, as public agent, made secret contracts which he will not or dare moi explain? That hc cen not ex plain them! tell t not. accuse the Governor ofno speculation. ofno fraud. This secrecy utterly pfecludes the possi- bllliy oi ins knowing any such thing.- Yet cannot hat wonder, that con tract about public work, which every citizen had tle same righsto undertake that ieorerllad, and which the Govern. orongid to have made by public oatery, is wrapped mp in such profound and im- penctrable secrecy.
 Why does Rofer monopolize q com mon right, to the exelusono Ill olhers2 There is something suspicious in deep coaecalnent about public aiIssirs. s.I don't much like that white heap wonder. Something whispers me there is mis- chief efconcealed under it,'' saysthe spel ling book.
 This is eertai'.ly ono instance of the disbursement of public money. The Governor gives 20 security for fathfal ness. There is a chance for fraud, for speculation, here. Rorer can afford to give $ l5G0 or SSsa0o0 for a new road that will make his new ferry t.le chief place of crossing the Arkansas, at Little Rock. Every body knows, that while the bar. gain Is q secret, the charges for the fali value oi the work can be made. q oer. tain part paid down, and the balance fe. ceipted for, without lhe cash passing. ] repeat it. accuse the Governor of no fraud, of TO speculation. show only that this secret private agreement gives q chance for them. Every maa Ilas right to suspect as he pIeases.-- 'fhe Governor should have lei OF, this road repairing pubiiely to Inc ,osrcst re- sponsible biddrr. Then lie would have coniormed to the public and established usage: then he would have acted as other public agents act. He should have contracted, too, for the repairing of an old road. not the opening, cutting out and and making si new roai, so much to the interest of the man he contracted with, and so greatly 10 the injury Of some of his enemies and nfne. Then there would have been no foot-hold for suspicion.
 The Governor is fond of novelties. He goes for neso road, contracted for in a ne7u mauaer, declared public road by the aid of nezo commissions, aad by which nczU ferry IS benefited. iil his passion for qcsc things, he has forgotten 10 regard tie laws or to respect the rights and privileges of citizens. In q former number, proved that he had 10 authority from any act of Congress to open and make the new Pope and Rorcr road, 1t was in consequence of his ut ter Restitution of legal authority or right to make that road, that he met with l., on, E rro ec ,,,o,,t r., L;o ,f,J f.