eated, *s hereafter directed, on tie river
Potomack, at fonie place between the
mouths of the eaftem branch and Cono
gocheque, be, and the fame is hereby ac
cepted for tiie permanent feat of the go
vernment us the United States: Provided
nevertVielefs, That the operations of the
law? of the states, within fach diftrift,
(hall not be affected by this acceptance,
until the time fixed for the removal of the
government thereto, and until Congress
(hall otherwise by law provide.
« —And be it further enacted,
*fhjt the President of the United States
%e authorized to appoint, and by supply
ing happening frefn refiifal to
ast, or other causes, to keep in appoint
ment, as long as may be neceflary, three
commissioners, who, or any two of whom,
fhallj under the direction of the President,
survey, and by proper metes and bounds,
define ahd liniit a diftrift of territory, un
der the limitations above-mentioned; and
the diftrift, fovdefined, limited and located,
(hall be deemed the- ■ diftrift accepted by
this ast for the permanent feat of the go
vernment of the United States.
" Sect. 3d And be it enacted, That
tlie said commiffionerß, of any two of them,
ftiali have power to purchase or, accept
such quantity of land, on the eaftem fide
of the said river, within the laid diftrift,
as the President (hall deem proper for the
use of the United States, and according to
such plans as the President (hall approve,
the said Commiflionersy or any two of
theiq, prior to-the firft Monday in
December, in the year.one thousand eight
hundred, provide fuitajjle buildings for the
accommodation of Congress, and of the
President, and for the Public Offices of the
Government of the United States.
Seftl 4th. And be it enacted, That for
defraying the expenee of such purchases
and buildings, the President of the Unit
ed States be authorised and requcfted to
accept grants of money.
" Sect. 5 th.—And be it enacted, That
prior to the firft Monday in December
next, all offices attached to the feat of the-
Government of the United States (hall be
removed to, and until the (aid firft Monday
in December, one thousand eight hundred,
shall remain at the city of Philadelphia, in
the state of Pennsylvania, at which place
the feflion of Congress next ensuing the
present (hall be held.
. . e^g^^e'd^e
Seat of the Government of the United
States (hall, by virtue of this a£t, be trant
ierred to the diftrifk and place aforefaid.
And all offices, attached to the, Seat of
Government, (hall accordingly be removed
thereto by their refpeftive holders, and
/hall, after the said day, cease to be exer
cised elsewhere; and that the necefTary
expencc of such removal (hall be defrayed
out of the duties on import; and tonnage,
of which a fufficient sum is hereby appro
priated."
£to be continued.]
.Legislature of Pennsylvania# '
Htufe of Representatives.
Tuesday, December 31.
Mil- Forreft. brought Jn a report on the
fubjeft of tliat part of the Governor's
communication, which relates to the o
pening roads in the diftridl of Southwark,
of Meyamenfing Towrifhip, with a reso
lution that a bill (hould be pailed.
Mr. Morgan reported' a bill from the
committee on the fubjedt of enlarging the
Jibrary of the commonwealth, which was
read the firft time and ordered that it be
taken up for a zd reading this day week.
Mr. Evans reported 011 the fubjeft of
intestate Eftgtes. •
Whereas by the Gxifting laws of this
commonwealth for fettling intestate's es
tates, the diftrihution thereof is unequal
and unjust, and made upon principles in
compatible with the spirit of the constitu
tion of this ftate—therefore
Refolyed, That a committee be appoint
ed to bring in a bill for amending the laws
of thia state relative to the fettling and
making distribution of intestate's estates,
so that the estate of any person within
this commonwealth, dying intestate, leav
ing lawful iflue, shall be equally divided a
mong such issue ; reserving to the widow
her full right of dower, according, to the
existing laws of this commonwealth. And
that the real estate of any person who is
arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and
(hall die intestate, üßmarried and without
issue, (hall be equally divided between the
surviving brothers »nd filters, or their re
preventatives. And that the personal ef
tate of afty perlon of, the Utter dekriptl
on, who leaves no. parents, ftallbe equally
divided between the fyrviving bp-others and
fitters, or their reprefcntatives
The report of a committee made yes
terday refpe&ing amendments to the con
stitution of the United States, was read a
2d time and made the order for next
Thursday week.
Mr. M organ called up" the petition of
a chamber contiguous to the Statt-Houfe
for a law library, it was read and ordered
to lie on-the table.
The house next proceeded to the order
<f[ the day, viz. the report of a cofrirtni
tee on the petition of Archibald Magrcvv,
praying that he may be enabled to fell the
estate of Thomas Bracken deceased, said
Magrew being the only fhrviving executor.
The report of the committee was in favor
of the petition, and recommends a law
may be pafled agreeably thereto.
The question being Hated by the Speak
er, " will the house agree to the report ?"
a debate ensued, and Mr. Kelly moved to
commit it to a special committee of three
members, to prepare and report a bill, pro
vided they (hall, upon due enquiry, judge
it necefiary.
It is stated by the petitioner, that he
is surviving executor of the last will and
testament of Thomas Bracken, late of the
county of York, deceased, who died pos
sessed of a tract of land of 130 acres, situ
ate in Manallen toWnship, in the said coun
ty, and by his said will devised the lame tof
his widow during the term of her natural
life ; and after his decease, authorises his
executors to fell and convey the said tract
of land, and to apply the monies arising
therefrom, to the uses in the said will ex
prelied ; and Hating, that one of the ex
ecutors in the said will named, is ftnee
deceased, and doubts having arisen- whe
ther, the petitioner is enabled in law to
make a good title to the purchases, -with
out the aid of the legislature ; therefaVe
praying that an ast may be pafled to ena
ble the petitioner to fell.
Mr. Swanwick moved a pollponment of
Mr. Kelly's motion for the purpose of
considering a substitute which he proposed,
viz. that a committee of three be appojjttv
ed to confuk with the attorney-general,
and provided he judges it proper and eflen
tial that the legislature ihould pass a law
in J&jwr Ql the petitioner, theo.-lte.gJy.
This motion was opposed by Mr. Kellr,
who did not think it confident with thfc
dig n 'ty of the houfc that they (houtd en
tirely depend upon the opinion of any one*
person, without exercising their own judg
ments. He stated some items of the will, j
of sums being left to sundry persons, which
were to be paid out of the faleof the lands,
but that the surviving executor was pre
vented from paying those.legacies until the
said lands could be fold, and that therefore
a law might be pafiedto enable him to fell,
not vvithftanding the general objection, that
all the executors of a will mull iojn in a
sale, &c.
_ Mr. Evans was in favor of Mr. Swan
wiek's motion. Mr. Morgan propoftd a
nother fubftitutc which came nearly up to
the idea of that offered by Mr.
This was to add two members to the com
mittee, who would be appointed to pre
pare a bill, and that they (hould be in
ftru&ed to consult the attorney-general,
( not to be altogether tied down to his opi
nion) and to report the bill if they judge
it proper.
Mr. Stokely quoted a law which autho
rizes a jury to explain the intention of a
testator in cases of difficulty, without trou
bling the legislature.
Mr. M'Lene seconded Mr. Morgan's
motion, which was adopted, and a com
mittee appointed.
From the London Morning Chronicle of
September 3,
fEAN P. BRISSOT, A SES COM-
METTANS, &q. Bvo. P. P. 128.
BRTSSOT to hi, CONSTITUENTS;
&c.
I PUBLIC curiosity must be in no small
degree interested about a pamphlet which
Mr. Burke has declared to be " one of
the mod able and rascally produ&ions
that ever appeared." There are only two
copies of it in England, and having pro
cured a reading of ope, we fubjom such
extra&s a* the Ihort time allowed for a
hasty perusal would permit us to make. It
appeared on the 23d of May, eight days
before the final defeat of the Giroadift
party of whom it may be <<oafidered as ths
concluding inaiiifctlo. it is writt«%wt!i
great fofrce of reason and eloquence. Its
ohjeft is to prove,that all the misfortunes
of the Republic are to be aicribed to the
anarchic faction at Paris.
He begin* with an avowal of some im
portance to the future historians of the re
volution.
" The whole truth, fays he, has ne
ver been spoken at any time since the com
mencement of the revolution ; we were
afraid by expressing it of injuring and dis
honouring the caule of liberty, of discou
raging the people, and of impeding the
progress of public bufmefi. This circum
fpedtion is right and £ven necessary. when
nations are to be saved by individuals or
bodies of men ; but it is deftruftive when
the nation alone can save herfelf. To dis
semble her situation, is to prolong her le
thargy, no great popular efforts can be
produced or well directed without inform*
ing the people of their situation Such
is our position, and such are the motives
which induce me to tear asunder the veil
that hides from us the source of our mif
fortunes."
He proceeds to establish three pofitiotis.
" i it. That the party of anarchists has
governed and does govern all the delibera
tions of the Convention, and all the ope
rations of the Executive Council.
" 2d. That that party has been and is
Hill the sole cause of all the evils, internal
and external, which afflict France.
" 3d. That the Republic cannot be
saved, without a rigorous measure which
shall refcuethe representatives of the peo
ple from the despotism of the faction."
He afterwards presents us with a des
cription of anarchy, contrasted with the
creed of the genuine republicans.
" I believe, fays he, that the people
will now regret the lethargic tranquillity
of its ancient servitude, if we do'not pro
cure it a republican tranquillity ; because
the people desire to be happy ; because
they mud desire it Hill more after such
great and continued facrifices ; becaule
their happiness doe* not consist in the eter
nal repetition of violent convulfiohs ; be
cause if ruffians live by sedition, the peo
ple live by repose. I believe that the ef
tablilhment of order is a truly revolution
ary measure ; because it strengthens the
revolution within ; because it furnilhes re
sources against our enemies without; and
rope. I believe this do&rine as salutary
to the non-proprietor as the proprietor, be
cause he can only subsist by constant labor
and there can be no cpnftaat labour for
the poor where there is no constant feeuri
ty for the lives and properties of the rich.
I believe that this doctrine of eternal in-
furred ion, #ill produce pillage and maf
kcre, which must difgull & fatigue the na
tion a* to a republican form of government
•—Such are the opinions of thofc coura
geous patriots, who have been devoted to
ignominy, and to the daggers of aflaflins, ~
by the names of Girondins, Rplandins,
Briflotins, &c." '
The majority of the Convention, are,
according to him, pure and uncorrupt, but
feeble and domineered over by a handful
-of an archills, who rule by terror. If they
unanimously agree to protest their inde
pendence by a departmental guard, if they
decree the punirtiment of death against the
instigators of murder, if they hear accu
sations against Roberfpierre, and order tlie
prosecution of the aflaflins of September,
they are speedily forced by the clamou-s
and the menaces of anarchists to revoke
all these salutary meafurea. Barrere, Le
and Danton, had all privately
declared their opinion for the appeal to
the people, in the cafe of the King. Dan
ton had repeatedly said.that theimprifon
ment of Louis was the only measure dic
tated by justice and policy ; and these very
men now direst the vengeance of the po
pulace against the Girondists for fupport
fng what they themselves had contended
fpr.
The following confeflion it so remarka
ble that we must recommend it to the no
tice of our readers :
• One word composes the greater part
of the history of the three afTemblies, and
that word is fear !'
A very able account follow* of the ad
drefa with which the anarchists governed
the neutral and independent party in the
Convention, sometimes by the terror of
their mobs, and sometimes by inspiring
them with jealousy of the Girondists. To
those who refufed to petition for the ex
pulsion of that party, the commune of
Pans refufed certificates of patriotism,
w hicti in the then- cifcutnAani.es, wev* <
fafCgudrds of life, By such means -was
prepared that revolution i)f the 31ft of
May, which Brftfot fecms clearly to have
forefsen, and which he justly compare* to
Col. Pride's Purge.
" A dreadful picture is prefenttfd of the
revolutionary tribunal, in which'a body of •
men, whom in defiance of common feofc
they called a jury (though it be perma
nent, and the accused has no right to chal
lenge,) deliver their fufFrages openly, un
der the. menaces of galleries filled with
hired ruffians.
" A tribunal, adapted indeed to make
us regret monarchy and her baftiles. A
tribunal in which two directors of the iflaC
{acres of the 2d of September, fit as judg
es J !_The triumphal acquittal of Marat,
does it not -prove that the Convention and
the tribunals are the instruments of afFafc
fins. That wretch, whose foul is made up
of filth and gore,
" Hamulus ex crutrt etlutO JiSus. v CrCi
" The Opprobrium ef the Revolution .
and of humanity." Two (Jays before his <
trial, RoufiUon one of his jurors, (aid in
the club of the Cordeliers,'" Fear nothing
for his head! They speak »f arreting hinr- r
1 invite you to poignard the man who
should dare to lay his sacrilegious hands
on the friend of the people to arrest hittL
Let the people fend us the Girondists, you
will fee who will preserve their heads on
theirfhoulders." •
The defpotifro ©f this anarchic fa&ion
was not less conspicuous over the Miniflero
than over the Convention- It appeared
in the horrible perfection of the virtuous
Roland ; it appeared in the tame and pu
sillanimous submission of Garat to men
whom he must detest ; 'it appeared in the
impunity with which Pache plundered the
treafureg and disorganized the armies, with
no other protection than his Jacobinism;
it appeared in the prote&ion given by the
fame faction to Monge* coavi&ed of the
moll scandalous incapacity and negligence
in the adminiftratign of the marine.
To the fame execrable faction ought in -
some raeSfure to be ascribed the defedion
of Dumourier. :
" I know," fays BrifTot, " his ambi*
.tion, his immorality, and his indifference
for liberty. Hq never ftneerely wished: a
Republic. He desired a mofrarchy-tem.
pered by democratic forms. That form
of srQvernment. hut .suits men whn join
great talents to violent pafifons. But I
will venture to fay that the calumny which
pursued cvei) the triumphs of Dumourier,
has precipitated his treachery, and by con
sequence our misfortunes."
The fame finftion has exercised it« des
potism over the departments by those exe
crable commissaries with which they have
deluged France.
: " Leonard Bourdon, one of them, pro
duces a tumult at Orleans, which until hit
arrival had, during the whole revolution,
been tranquil.
" He fills the prifom of that unfortu
nate city with his vi£Hmt, and when the
wives and children of the prisoners come to
him to expostulate, he compel* them at
the point of the bayonet, to dance and
drink, as if displaying lavage triumph, at
the miseries of their huftmnds and fetberx
A few are provoked to give this Bourdon
a drubbing. This if called the affaffins
tion of a deputy, and they have expiated
their offence on the fcaffold."
To the fame faction he ascribes the war
with Spain, England and Holland.
" Hofliiities with Austria were inevi
table; insult and injury had been too long
and too tamely endured from that power.
She meditated attack, and only waited a
favorable moment. It was the policy of
France not to permit her to chufe her own
time of attack, and France declared war.
" But the war with the maritime pow
ers may be ascribed to three causes : The
decree of fraternity of the 19th of Nov.
extorted from the Convention by the cla
mours of the anarchists ; the ufclefs and;
impolitic death of Louis, which afforded
to the. mi'uiftcr» cf. thqfe cyuutriei the
means of fanaticizing the people against
Fi-ance •, and the general horror against
the unpunished massacres of September.
" Of the lafi,Thomas Paine, in a work
about to be published, speaks thus ; " I
was in England at the massacres of Sep
tember. Before that fatal event the prin
ciples of the French Revolution had made
rapid progress; scarce had the news of
those massacres arrived, when a general
cnangc took place in the public mind
all the friends of France mourned ; ther
lhunned each other ; they dreaded the
melancholy of each other's afpeft; they