A message from the of the United States, was delivered by Mr. Secretary Lear, to gether with a rtateinent of certain articles of ex pense, which have occurred in the department of foreign affairs, and for which 110 provilion is made by law. — [The expense alluded to, was in curred for the relief of a number of American sailors, imprelled in England to serve on board the Britifti navy.]— The tnellage and accompa nying papers were referred to a feletil commit tee, to examine and report. A bill for apportioning representatives among the several states, according to the fir ft enume ration ; and making provilion for a second enu meration, and an apportionment of representa tives thereon, to compote the houle of represent atives after the 3d day of March, 1797 —was read u second time, ordered to be printed, and refer ed to a committee of the whole house 011 Mon day next. The committee, to whom was refered the re port of the Secretary of the Treasury 011 the pe tition of Comfort Sands and others, made a re port, which was read and oidered to lie on the table. Mr. W. Smith laid on the table a resolution, that the Secretary of State be directed to lay be fore the honfe copies of such laws as have been adopted and published by the governor and judg es of the territory north weft of the Ohio. Mr. Gerry gave notice, that, if the poft-office bill is, by the approbation of the President, pass ed into a law in its present form, he will move for bringing in a bill, to amend it, by reducing the portage of newspapers. The committee, appointed for that purpose, reported a bill, providing for the settlement of the claims of persons under particular circum stances, barred by the limitations heretofor efta blifhed ; —which was twice read, ordered to be printed, and reset ed t j a committee of the whole house on Wednesday next. The house then resolved itfelf into a commit tee of the whole on the fiftiery bill, and having gone through, and amended it, rose and report ed it with the amendments, which the house im mediately took into consideration, and adopted. The bill was then further amended, and the houfc adjourned. THURSDAY, February 9 The bill for the encouragement of the bank am! other tod-fifheries, and for the regulaiion and government of the fifhermen employed there in, was read a third time, and pafled—Yeas 38, Nays 21 IWelT'rs. Ames, Barnwell, Benfon, Boudinot, S. Bourne, B, Bourne, Clark, Dayton, Fitzfinions, Gerry, Gilman, Goodhue,Gordon,Gregg,Griffin, Hartley, Hillhoui'e, Huger, Kittera, Lawrance, Learned, Lee, Livermore, Madison, Muhlenberg, Wiles, Schoonmaker, J. Smith, f. Smith, W. Smith, Sterret, Sturges, Sylvester, Thatcher, Treadvvell, Vining Wadfworth, Wayne—3B. Meflrs. Afhe, Baldwin, Brown, Giles, Grove, Heiiter, Key, Macon, Mercer, Moore, Murray, Page, Parker, Seney, Steele, Sumpter, Tucker, Venable, While, Williainfon, Wyllis— 2l. The House then resolved itfelf into a commit tee of the whole—Mr. W. Smith in the chair— on a bill (received from the Senate) relative to the election of a President and Vice President of the United States, and declaring the officer who fliall aift as President in cafe of vacancies in the offices both of President and Vice-Prefident. The ninth feetjtioner against the validity of the elec tion of * said member— Should be furnifhed ref pedtively on application, with copies of such de positions and documents relative to said election, as may be received by the Speaker; this resolu tion was agreed ro. The resolution, that the Secretary of State lay before the house copies of the acts and resolves, parted by the Governor and Judiciary of the Weffern Territory—was agreed to. 111 committee of the whole on the bill relative to the election of a President and Vice-President of the United Slates, &c. Mr. Ben lon's motion to insert the Senior djfo ciate "judge, as the officer to fill the vacancy in the office of President and Vice-President, was negatived. Mr. Giles's motion to insert ihe Secretary of State, was then difculled, and, after some debate, adopted—2B 10 21. The committee rose and reported the bill, with the amendments, to the House, which took the fame into confederation : The firft amend ment was to strike out the 9th fec f tion, which provided that the President of the Senate pro tempore, should aift as President in cafe of vacan cy— this amendment was agreed to—ayes 32 noes 24. The substitute which provides that the vacancy shall be filled by the Secretary of State for the time being, was also adopted—33 members rising in the affirmative. Several amendments in addition were propos ed—some of which were disagreed to—One mo ved by Mr. Hillhoufe, to determine the number of elecftors, was discussed till an adjournment was called for, and no decision took place. A ineflage from the Senate informed the House that they have agreed to their amendments to the fifhery bill. BOSTON, January 28. On Thursday afternoon came before the House of Representatives, the report of the committee 011 the law for preventing stage plays, and other theatrical entertainments—" That it was not ex pedient to repeal that law." The report was opposed, in a sensible and judicious fpeecli, by Mr. Tudor ; Mr. Gardiner delivered an elaborate and learned cflay to prove it confident with the principles of christianity and good morals, and Dr. Jarvis displayed ihe blaze of eloquence in a speech, pure, forcible and refinedly ingenious. Yet all this, enforced by observations from other gentlemen, and not opposed by any other speak er, did not produce conviiftion in the house, who accepted the report by 99 votes out of 143. Philadelphia, February 11. The Briti/h December Packet arrived at New- York on Tuesday lait. Accounts by her, are re ceived to the beginning of December. Lord Cornwallis writes from India, that he had attacked and totally defeated Tippo before Se ringapatain—but on account of the Monsoons set ting in earlier than usual, he found himfelf ob liflied to retreat to Bangalore, without making an attempt on Tippoo's capital. The English and Parisian articles of intelli gence, are to the 2d December—They refer prin cipally to the movements of the counter revolu tionists—some in a ridiculous way, others more serious. No decisive lteps appear to have been taken by the ex-princes. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS The people have seldom cause to feai\that ac cusers of their government will be wanting. The rifle is, that a sudden and patfionate censure will be paded upon their rulers. The pleasure of the people is often opposed to their interest. Public men are at least apt enough to yield to the love of popularity. The greater danger is that they will want firmnefs when great things are to be obtained by disregarding little ones. It concerns the people therefore todealont their censure sparingly ; and never till enquiry has firft been had. In that cafe, many men whoj>of fefs virtue, but want firmnefs, wiil dave to serve the public faithfully. Every thing has its season—There is a kind of fafhion in the turn of writing, oil political fub jetfts especially, which every warrior of the quill is fond of following. He likes to step to the tune that is playing : when the government was firft adopted, they came forward in ranks, keeping time to the music ; What a ble[fedgovern mtnt—what a wife government —the -wonder of th? world ; public credit will be protest ed, we shall be a nation, ire.—then the tune chan ged again—This government wants amendments without amendments 'tis a terrible government, a ty ranny—hrdfhipi will be as thick as taverns, and we 321 Adjourned till Monday shall get as much intoxicated with them—The amend ments, like cold -water, -will keep us temperate and Co ber. After the fir ft Congress met, what salaries— what a burden on the country—the public debt will not oe paid—the money all goes Jor Jalaries—trade is taxed t» death—the land is ready to Jink under the weight oj taxes, which are not laid to pay them—the wheat will blajl—the grass will not grow—tte ships will not fail-the tide will not rife, becaufc of high sa laries. The second fefiion of the firft CongVefs brought a new fy flein of grievances into fafhion IVhy does Congress hear Quaker petitions, andnegleft providing for the public debt P—why is it notfunded ? —the public creditors are jlarving—Cong) ej sis trow ing fat in Jloth aud good pasture—while the time is loft in making and hearing Qilaker frmons, for aud against flavsry. The debt was funded':—out rushed an angry tribe of writers, crying, rogues and cheats—Congress hat cut of the jyft demands of the creditors— 4 per cent, in/lead of 6—and one third of the debt 'deferred jor ten years, without interejt. The state governments pursued the idea, and made up the deficiency to their creditors. That tapic was worn out, and then the oppofue dodtrine was taken up : — Congress has given too much—the public creditors are living in luxury—such a flood oj wealth will drown us—What will btcomeof all this sea of money P—lnduftry will turn lounger economy will keep open doors—virtue itches to take a bribe, and republicanism has loft her voice, and is choaking with her own fat. IVe might have gone on without funding the debt and mortgaging the reve nues—w; pay too much to the creditors— we might have paid the debt e after —we might have paid it with out paying, and have kept our money and our tem pers, and have had no taxes—and all this we mi«ht have done, and have kept our credit as good as it was. Now the Indian war seems to have beaten the debt, and the lordfliips, aud the Quakers, and the amendments, as soundly as it has beaten the brave St. Clair, and his army. Nothing but the Indian war—How cruel to kill the Indians—how joolijh to jend regular armies, which will not kill them. Poor humanity is ready to die of grief, be cause you take their lands—yon seek their lives', and advifs to fend volunteers to kill them all. It is not flrange that a fubjetl should be left as soon as the public is tired of it; —but the curiosity is, that one fide of it should be taken, and then the other, so that the accusation may never lanauifli. 1 find by reading tbe papers, that Congrefs°is al ways in the wrong—it errs by forbearing to act, as well as by acting :—and if the advice of the complainers is followed, they turn about to the other fide, and condemn them for having done it. Is the public opinion nndeady—or are there a few men (a few can make a great noise) who lie in wait, and l'eize every opportunity, Speci ally public disasters, to make the people hate the government as bitterly as they do themselves " Between two stools wp are likely to fall to the ground."—rThe people found the state go vernments incompetent to the prefervatipn.of the Union, or the support and encouragement of their trade, a criculture,& manufactures ; it is a late discovery that the general govern ment is equally incompetent to these objedis, par ticularly in regard to the two laft.—lf we are thus circumstanced, our boasted sovereignty and independence are but empty founds. How different have events turned out from the predidions of those who opposed the funding fyftein ! —Have any of the Ethiopeans changed their Ikin ?—Let recent publicationsanfwer " All human virtue to its latfft breath, Finds envy never conquered but by death; The great Alcides, ev'rv Lihor past, Had yet this monflcr to subdue at last." This day the President of the United States enters into the 61 ft year of his age. At a meeting of the of the Bank of the United States, tin Monday,laft, the following Gentlemen were chosen Direfior* for the office of Dcpofit'and Difcoumt in the town of Baltimore : Smith Stephen Wilson James Weft Nicholas Slubey James Carey David Stewart , Adriai) Valck Geoige Gale Archibald Campbell Jaffnes Dall John Swain John Holmes, jun. Christopher David Harris, Cajkicr. SUPREME COURT OF the UNITED STATES. Friday, Feb. 10, 1792. The Court met pursuant to adjournmen—prefent The Hon. William Cushing,") Tames Wilson, v arr » > John Blair, ( Affocute Judges. J. 4 mes Iredell, ) No business being before the Court, it adjourned till to-morrow 11 o'clock. The Judges appeared on the bench in their robes ps office. •„* Sundry favors omitted, (hall appear in our next. Erratum—ln our last, under the Philadelphia head, middle column, for 14 a small (chooneifrom Jamaica" read, from Jeremy; which is a port in Hifpaniola. ADVERTISEMENT, fcT THE Subfcribeis for 1 his Gazette, in the City and State of New-York, or to the kaflward of said State, are requested to pay any arrearage which niay be due from thim refpeftively, to MclTrs. Prosper Wetmore & Brothers, No. q, Burlinz- Slip, New-York. Philadelphia, February n JOHN, F£NA'C.