Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1834-02-13

4 account since we've been in-here is the amoun
of contracts for one spell, and there is the amour
\ for another-here is the number Of offices anC
clerks for SPELL and there is the number fol
J another-and here is the cost of wages and salIa
/ rvs Of the Post Office when MIR. Adams was Pre-
sident; and here is the cost since our time-plagy
deal of difference, Gineral, says /, aint it,-Th,
| Gineral he didn't say nothin--hc kept his eve:
! on the slate, and his mouth nigh upon wide open
ony once in a while he'd calklate on his fingers
/ spell And now, says !, there is the sum Judge
Mclean left in the Post Office when he went ou
on't;-and there, says /, is the sum that is no,r
| ,cdnting in the Post Office, TO make thing,
square there to say nothin of the sum Major Bar.
| ~ says the Post Office has overdrawn from the
Bank-and as he don't know what the amount is
don't mother; and don't care about guessin at IL:
| for it's bad enough without guessing. The Gil
neral put his eye the last line tigers Tit was
hard upon million of dollars agin the office, ]
and looked and blinked, and began to shut his
mouth up slowly, jest for all the world like shut
ting up safety valve, and he began to swell
and breathe plagy hard. i see the steam was
gittin up.
The Gineral he looked at me; and looked at
him; and then we both looked at the slate agin.
Bime-by the Gineral he opened the valve, and
let off the steam, and such a whizzin you never
heard in your born days. He took my slate and
was just goin to smash it into thousand atoms;
but got it afore il struck the floor. He then got
his hickory and thrashed round a spell with that.
But that didn't do no good. So says he to rights
Major, what is to be done about it, Why,
says l. Gineral, don't nothin else, says ], but
to take my ak, and do as did last night-therc
is a good deal Of hickory wants splittn in the
wood house yet. And with that / handed the
Gineral my axe, and he Slated about the cham
Der with it for spell; and if any of our folks had
come in then, guess they'd found more to fear
than when i frightened EN- so few days ago.
! never know'd the Gincral blow off steam so
long as he did this time; and l was peskily a
feard the boiler would burst arter all. And so
i went 10 work putin out the fire; and the ony
way was to get the specs, and screw EN- back 70
Glory agin; and soon as did that we got
our pipes, and sot down, and talked over the
Now, says /, GineraI, though this is bad bu-
sines il amt so bad il first looks. In the first
place, says /, if Major Barry had borrowed the
money of Squire Biddle, Congress would have
known it years ago, and the Post office reports
wouldn't a been slick as they have been; and
we'd a had more trouble to git so many OF our
folks in last election. And then, agin, by bor-
rowin the money of other Banks, on interest, IT
made them Banks the keener to get hold of the
deposites for if Congress wouldn't pass law to
pay the mony borrowed by our folks, to make
their accounts look square, why the deposit
Banks could pay themselves; and now by get
ting our mony away from Squire Biddle, who
was bound by law to make regular report to
Congress Of evry thing; and putin it in other
Banks our folks can square off good many ac-
counts, and Congress wont know nothin ont; for
it will take pretty spry siferin to flyer out all
the accounts with so many new deposit Banks;--
for we've got en- now pretty well mixed up with
what the Treasury calls contingent drafts and
transfer checks and Treasury warrants and
Zekel Bigelow says he could in three days,
with the power the Government has got now,
warrant and transfer and contingent away, be-
tween many pockets, nigh upon the hull fthe
deposites, and no body could never find nothin
about il.
And then again says j, here is another thing
the people wanted Glory and they wanted
Reform and they have had both now over 8
years; s. if they expected it warnt goin to cost
nothin, they was mistaken. And that amt all
there was that plagy Surplus mony business
evry body said spell ago if somcthin warnt
done about it, the country would all go to smash.
Well now, says we are gettin out OF that scrape
as slick as whistle.
The Gineral he began to brighton up-why
says he, Major, we've been in pashin then a.
bout nothin. | remember now tell'd the folks
in my message a spell ago, that the safest place
for the surplus money was in the pockets OF the
people; and j believe that saying alone brought
over more than one State to our side; and II our
people git the money, it's all right, amt it, Ma
Tor? Yes, says /, ony some folks, suppose, will
set up a squeeln, Jest like the pigs when they
come in leetle too late for their corn; and say,
altho' they don't belong to our party, they've got
Jest as good right to share as we have.
Well, says the Gineral, there they are msta-
ken; for Governor Massey said (and that made
him Governor too) that the corn all belonged to
the pigs that got into the pen afore the gate was
shut. But Major, says the Gineral, am Lttle
puzzled yet TO know what account to charge that
Post Office debt TO. If we ony git that right
| and save Barry, shall sleep sound Tonight
| Well says /, Gineral, there is ony one account
| that will stand that charge, and a good many
more too for as we go along, and Congress gifts tc
| sitting things, / suppose they'll find out some
| thing more.
In the first place, says /, that fire in the Trea'
| sury last Spring did good deal towards settling
| off good many land accounts, and other accounts
| If we don't have more fires, or other accounts
| and Congress presses us, We'll give them a ieae
! through the new Deposite Banks, spell, as
have Just bin tellin; and if they follow us up thro
| that track, for some of those fellows have go
good noses, then we'll fetch up the ony account
| know Of and that account i said afore VII
stand good many charges yet. Wen, what
! that account Major, says the Gineral! and he go
| up and looked at me--last week, says 1, GineraI
| was the 8th January. Now, says l, amt that day
| worth little more than the 9TH July! The I'll
neral gin rod. Well, then, says !, there
| sGlory,' amt that worth somethin? The Ginera
| Gin another nod-and there is Reform amt tina
| worth somethin? The Gineral nodded agin.-
! Well now, says !, put all that together, and
! that don't make a sum of debt due you, says
that will balance good many accounts, I'm ms
taken. sNe,c Orleans, Glory and Reform say
! /. debtor 70 the Gineral-Thats enuf, says IN
Gineral, and that was the eend Of the Post ONO
accounts.
From your friend,
| J. DOWNING, Major,
Downingville Militia, I'd Brigade