- - / -i
#a?Ette 4 «* UnitCDfltateSvi- Philadelphia Daily Advertiser.
gl - TUESDAT EVENING, FEBRUART 7, 1797. [FWAT* XI.
— — the Annans, but it does J__ The <000 ,«,<*» of «»♦ "fc*.P"®? "" «* W « k » d
CONTINUATIOh OF % .
Latest Foreign latclhgencc. fime
It is confidently 'affiled. that Eali Affendi is A
goin? to reside at Paris as Ambassador from the
P °U appears that the French were, on the sth of *
November, still in poflTeffion of the bridge: of .1
with • f nien. of byJ
" any mo r.ent had taken place on Us sice of Kehl, c
or on the Lower Rhine. so late as the 10th- Ta;
A Spanish squadron of 19 fail of tne line and ade
several frigates is arrived in the port of louion. ; fro]
Gneral Clerk, Chief of the Topographical- bpr
Department, has been appointed by the three- ma ,
tory, Ambassador to the court of Vienna, for <-
vvaich place he set oat on the 17th inft. No
Noyember 25. r/ ma
Gen. Sim'coe was yesterday fwom in before to ,
his Majesty in Council, Governor of St. Domingo
in the Well-Indies, for which place he is to let
off immediately.
The Hamburgh mail, which became due yel
terday, had not arrived when this paper was put
to press, nor had Government, received any fur-
ther intelligence from Paris.
Mr. Timms, the messenger, set out yesterday, on
and not before, 'jvith dispatches for lord Mahuef- had
bury. These it is generally considered, contain Ma
the final resolution of government on the fubjeft
of the present negociatioh. Mr. Ellis, we under- JV
stand, will have to deliver a verbel message to his Tr(
lordship. . pof
Extract of a Lettsr from an Officer Rationed at too
St. Marcou, dated Nov. 19, 1796.
« The trooos -for fame months past had
lined the French coalt opposite to thele lflanas ; ulc
have marched frorh thence, being, as lam inform- er ,
ed, ordered to reinforce thearmies on the Rhine. <
Even the lignal posts which, previous to these be
encampments, were eftablilhed along the (hore,
now appear abandoned: so urgent have been t.'ic rai
wants of the French government for men. All an(
the eun-boats have returned to England." ha.
By the arrival of the Spaniih fleet at Toulon, fw
we are relieved from a late anxiety, left admiral ™
Jervis {hould be blockaded by them at Corsica. ol
A Flen.ifti paper received yesterday of the c 6
date of the 18th inft. speaks of a considerable cai
commotio'h having manifefted itfelf in different th.
parts of Belgia, in confequencs of some violent
proceedings of the French, and which is not a | : j.
little promoted by the late ill success of the lat- p;
teronthe Rhine. A considerable of the
army of Biurnonville, it is said, have been order- bu
ed to march to quell the disturbances.
The court of Lisbon has positively refnfed to ac- [ ri
pede to the insulting proposition made to it by
the court of Spain, viz.—to Ihut out all Eng- an
► lift veffek from the ports of Portugal. The f"
r -~•'"'.court of Spain offered only a period of ten days vc
to decide on this momentous point, and to re- t(j
ceive a careg.y.'iC.VcT"a 11 fwer. The courtflf Lif- ,i
---boTTretUrnsd one v/i; hout h'ghl v honor
able to its own dignity, and replete with good le
faith to its Allies. It declared that it would r e - h;
main true to its engagements with Great Bri A
tain. —Accordingly, when the last letters left ni
Liibon, it was expetted that the Spaniih forces
would Tittaclc without delay. P;
Nothing is worse than ill luck,—Sir Roger
Curtis only left his station off the port of Roche- J;
fort on the 3d inft. in the evening, and Ad- u
miral Richery entered it cm the 4th. We sup
pose his inftru&ions wpre, to wait there no ti
longer. His squadron met Twitli inoft terrible V
gales of winds during its cruize.
The Paris Papers, we received yeflei- c
day afternoon by Express, to the 19th inft. i - h
clufive, give an accou t of fcveral changes k
which have taken place in the Naval appoint
ments of the Republic-.—Vice-Admiral Villaret
Joyeufe, who has till now engaged the confi
dence ofthe Government, botii underthe Com
mittee of the Public Saifety and the Directory,
lias been difniiffed from the command of ths
fleet at Brest ; and Citizen Marad le Gail has
1 een appointed to succeed him—Twelve Post-
Captains have also Iseen difniiffed. Ten Ihips
afrtie hile', ,slKl fS'TrauTports are preparing at Q
Brest for a secret expidition. At Toulon, t
Vice Admiral Martin has been replaced by
Citizen Boucps. The want of money is severe-
Jy felt at both ports. At the latter place 5000 N
artificers have been difch.irged, as it was-found r
impoflible to pay them.
" The Santa Margaritta of 38 gups, is gone J
»ip Hamoza to refit ; the Edgar of/4. guns,and (
the Spitfire of 16 guns, are now up. <
" Ciame from Hamoaze, and failed for Fal- t
anoutli, his majesty's P, cebe of 38 guus, capt. j
Larlowj and Amazon of 30 guns, capt. Rey- J
molds.
" Chapman of 24 gunt is gone up to L* no- 1
c. J y r
aze to rt:i'u.
Extract of aletterfrom Portsmouth, Nov. 21. |
" In confeque.ice of an order received this
morning by the Telegraph', his majesty's ships j
Latona of 38 guns, hon. capt. Legge, and
Greyhound of 32 guns, capt. Young, irnme- !
diately put to sea.
" Admiral Gardner'! squadron is] ready, :
and will fail in a few days to cruise on the coast i
of France. 1
" The Namurof 98 guns, capt. Whitehead;
end Colloffus of 74 guns capt. Grindall, are or
dered to virtual for the Mediteranean."
Extract of a letter from Deal, Nov. 21.
'• Sailed thro' the Down's the General
Pinckney, White, for Charleftown. Remain 1
the (hips as per last. Wind S."
NoDembbr 22. ,
" Sailed this morniug on a cruise to the
Eastward, his majesty's ships,
Melpomene 44 Capt., Sir C. Hamilton 1
La Nymphe 38 Cook
Clyde 31 Canningham.
< 1
The French Dirfdorj haut announced the proportion ;
I for an armistice luitb the Aujirians, but it does 1
not appear ia bane taken place except in regard to
some out posts. - brail
Nothing decijive on the fubjeil of peace, hut it is £sri
certain that negotiations are on foot between the Em-
r peror and the Republic,
Mr. Pitt has proposed a rn-jdi of rasing rtfomces
byfu'cf iption.— '
' Oil the 25th Dec. the Carteret, Captain ban
Taylor, fjjokc with the Andromache, of Phil van
adelp'.iia, Simon Kinfton, mailer, 35 days
J from Cadiz bound to New-York. Palmatheu
horeS. E. 16 leagues. The head of her fore- q
mast was fprnng. . J".* 1 '
" On the 16th "January, spoke the Danilh (hip hi?
Northern Lion, of Altona, Capt. John Yantzen,
master, from Hamburg and lenneriffe, bound .
3 to Charleston, out days. lat. 23, OS, loug. t (, r
I 57-**
ARMY OF ITALY. van
BUONAPARTE 'TO THE DIRECTORY.
t General nartert at Vtrona,
.2 3 Brumairt, Nov- I'i.- .
It it my duty to give you an account of the operations
have taken place since the nth. I was informed >
on the 10th, that an Austrian corps was advancing, and
" had enc imped upon the I'iave; I du'tu tc \ g t;leral ,
n Malleua aifoon as po/Eble with a corps oi ohfer>'at 1011,
H to Uaffano on the Crenta, with orders to retire to vicen-
za the moment the enemy fhuuld pass the Piave : 1 or
dered gen. Vaubois to attack the enemy s posts on the
1S -frendu, ind by all mean, to drive them frow their »•'
polit:<sn between ths L» vis and the Brenta. The attack
It took on the t -th, and a brisk refiflanee was made, y
Ge,n. Guiex went to lit Michel, and burnt the enemy s
j bridge. Hut the latter rendered our attack upon Saonu-
, ' to"ni> purnofe, and the 85th derni-brigadc was hardly '''
' uled in Ipite of it* bravery. We have made joo priion
crs,and killed a great number of the enemy. 101
5. On the 1 ;th, I ordered the attack upon Seguazandrto lon
fe be renewed, a place of which it was.neceflary we (hould we
be in poflellion, and being informed at the lame time that 1101
' the enemy had paifed the Piave, I sent out withAAng- lic
ruu\ diviliun ; we joined Mafiena's divihon at Viecnxa.
*1 and marched on the fifteenth, and met the enemy, who a
had palled the Brenta, came upon them by furprizr, and 1 '
n, fxvept their, from their firft pohtion. The aiStion was
a j (harp, warm, apd bluody; the advaniage was ours; the
enemy repaiTed the Brenta, and we remained 111 poflelTion ei
oi the field of battle ;wc made 500 prifouers, and killed ''
ie cOnCderably the greatest number. We took one piece oi " .
le cannon. (Jen. Lanus was wounded with a sabre. /\ll )
nt the troops are covered with glory.
111 the meanwhile the enemy had on the i3thattacked I ''
gen-Vaubois in several points, and threatened to t ke ' '
a him in Hank, which obliged the gen. to retreat to l.a 11
■Pietra, his riijht to the mountains, and hi- left to Mo'e. 01
he Oa the 16th the enemy did uot make their appearance, m '
:r- but on the 17th there wa< a moll obilinate battle, in
which we took two pieces #f caunon, and 1300 prifouers,
put night coming on, a panic llruck one part of the '
troops.
by The division took its position on the 18th at Uivoli,
g- and Corona, by a bridge which 1 hadcaufed to be erected n "
he for that purpose. The loss of the enemy niuft have been
vs very considerable. t:
Being apprized of what was palling,in Tyrol. I haitened lu
f- to set ont on the 17th at day breik, and we arrived 011 <'
if- tiw -»Xrlr nt mitt dayat Varolii*.
>r- At three o'clock in the afternoon of the 2ifl, having 1
od learnt that the enemv had set out from Montebello, anc ' ,r
- e . had encamped at Villa Neva, we went fijom Verona, e "
and fell in with their advanced guard at' Si Martin.
1 ' An"ereau attacked it, routed it. and purlucd it three rc
e ' t miles; it el'caped under night. ,H
:es On the 2:ii, at day break, we found ourfelvcc in the I>C1 >C
preleijee of the enemy. It was neceflary to put them to
r fJ r flight W r c attacked them with (kill and bravery—Mas 'a
' fena's diviiion attacked tluim irn the left; gen. Angereau at
on the right Our futeefs was complete. Gen. Angereau £ ''
lC! " took the village of Cardera, and made ico prisoners. di
'P" M.f'hcua made hiinicif master of the riling ground, rc
no turned the enemy about, arjd took five pieces of cannon ;
i)) e but rain which (ell in spouts, wasl'icceeded by a cold
lleci, whivh a strong wind biavvin the faces of ourfol- hi
(tiers, and favoured the enemy, who, being joined by a 31
f " corps of reierve which had not been beaten, regained the cl
i'l- height. 1 have lent off the 7jth whii,h was
jes ktpt in reserve. The two armies guard their position.
n i. X'he weather continues very bad. to day our troops m
ret take repol'e; to morrow v/e lhr.ll regulate Qur opoiationj P :
- by tlie movements of the enemv.
(Signed)
,m - BUONAPARTE. rl
ry, ' f <
thjj Bulletin of the Army of Italy. "
has ' r
General Quarters Verona. 23 Brum aire Nov 13.
. " On the 18th Bruuintre, the diviiion of the Divi-
-fionary General Vaubois took its position at Cor- a i
II oua. The enemy's army, ii advanced from Viceza t i
on, tcf Montebo.lo, and from thence to St. Martin. it
by The General in chief h». marched the corps •*
re- • which he had upon the Adige, which set out from »
joo Vej-onaon the 21ft, at tty-ee o'clock in the after
lncl noon. It met the advanced guard of the enetny be- "
tween St. Martin & St. Mitchel, which it routed, w
ins and purfucd for the space of three miles. ,
, TJie next morning the two ami es found them
u selves in prffetice of each either, and had a (harp
e.igageineiit. The weathec was extremely bad ;
? -l~ this did not preveht the French aruVy, however,,
pt. from dillodgingthe enemy several times from their
ey- position, after having made tibout 700 prisoners.
The General in Chief having been informed that
-j o _ the enemy were in motion upon the Lower Adige
with a view of palling it, he marched, atday break, '
the whole body of the army to Verona. — The s
21 .' battle was very smart, the enemy's loss was efti- 1
J" s mated very high. Launay, General of Brigade, a
"P s ha-, been killed. , v
and Gentili, General'of division, Commander for the r
ne- Republic in Cerfica, at the head of a column of
light-infantry, made hunfelf mailer ofthe import
jjvj ant height of Mortela, which has obliged the En- s
aa'ft glifh fleet to evacuate the gltlph of St. Florence. c
Three Engiifli (hipsXf war have been burnt in f
, the port of Ajeccio. f
acl; (Signsd) BERTHIER. ,
GERMAN ACCOUNTS. ,
VIENNA, November 12. •
A me/Teuger is arrived here from lord Malmefbury at
jral Paris, with dispatches for the Englllh miniiler at the 1m '
lain perial coun, who immediately aitei had a long confer- t
rence wiUi Baron Thurgut; oQr miniiler of Hate. The t
dispatches were dated Paris, the 27th OiftOber.ind eon
.timed the *»fwer of the direiitory to the firft note pre
t'' e fenitd by lord Malmefbury, in confeqnence ol which fir '
Morton hden has inquired of our cabinet, whether his '
ton Imperial majcGy could commimon and empower lord
Malihelbuiy to ntgociate a peace for Austria ? It frem ;
however, mofl likely, that an Imperial niinifter will be ,
sent to Paris to carry 011 the negotiations jointly with
the Englilh negociatpr, although the trench directory
~tion appears to be averie to all forts of congrcfs.
The 4000 troops of Hetft jDarmftadt, which at firfl of
, were to enabark at Civita V»cehia, have now marched
to'Triefle, from whence they are to be conveyed to Gi
braltar. •
November 15". 1
I (FROM THE EXTRAORDINARY VIENNA COURT hi;
GAZETTE) tin
The reports of field marshal Baron Alvinzv, Rate the | ()
following particulars refpe&ingthe battle wf the 6fh, near
B man® aad Fonteniva, thv eonfequerices of which are
' highly important. 4
"he position of the army was as follow*;—.twelve ftil
1 battalion* were-polled near Fonteniva, and had their ad
vanf'ed posts on the banks of the Brenta; one
s batraljnn was encamped ne<r Cordtyiano, to covcr the
communication of the other corps, and eleven battalions cv<
' were near Ba llano }CO
On thesth at break of day, accounts reached the field jj,
rnarfhalfrom »I 1 fides, that Buonaparte had drawn in all |
) his <}etachmcuts from Leg\ia«o. Ferrary, Verona and ■
Mantebello, and even a part of his battering train; and j
1 had taken a position Hear Viceuza, with three diyiftons. , fid
> These accounts having been found true on reconnoitering 1
' the enemy's position, the neceflarv dispositions were made
to meet them, in cafe they (houldattempt an attack. j
On the 6th. in the morning, the enemy attacked the j 'j* 1
van guard of field martlial ProVera, near Fonteniva, the : thi
report of which having reached Held irjarfhal Alvinzy, ; re ;
the whole army was immediately ordered to advance, and OJJ
tvo battalions were detached tu Lenova, and one to 1
s Morofdica, to threaten the enemy's flank and rear, and |
d to force them to dclift from their attaoks on field naarllial jwl
( j I'rovera. But these troops had scarce reached Lenova, w ,
[| wi'h the enemy far fuperior'm F«rce. attacked them with QU
, their usual impetuolity. Lenova was, with a eonlidera
,' jule loft on both fides, fcveral times taken and abandoned.
But as our troops had confideiably fullered in,this fc- c«
c vere and con (lastly renewed attack, they wereonjered to lal
j r fall back into their former position, which emended lrom |y
k the mountains of tfie Sette Communi, by Morofdice, be- g ,
j yond Lenova, as far as the Tunt i; aun even on this poll
'j tion the enemy made levefal tim-s the mod furious at- •<!
tacks; but about the fall of night the conflitft took adi
| y favorable turn,' and the enemy were repulsed on all points f lt
/. Field Majilial Frovera was eiaoily in the fame litua.
tion ; ... d lie Itates, that his loft on that day amounts to
to forne thousands in killed and wounded, but that very few *
I j were taken prisoners, which (hews, tjiat the troops were In
; , t not thrown into confulion. The field marshal eUituates p,
e . the enemy's loss at 4060 men. .jy
a The night put a period to tlie action, during which,
10 at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the field marlhal : cceivcd P
the agreeable intelligence, that field marshal lieutenant tc
35 l)av idovich had rendered himicll matter oi Trent, in
ie The situation of our troops having been much impro- CJ
1n ved by this event, the field marshal reiolved to attack
c j the enemy o'n the ytli, in order vigoroully to pursue the
0 f objt<ft of his expedition, if the entmy.on account of tne ol
. ftvere loss they sustained on the 6th, fhouid not retreat. ol
The flight after the battle, was employed to bring the (((
t( j troops to the different pints alEgned them, and to make
the necell'ary dispositions fur the loltowing day. At
t break of day the whole army wa, under arms, and ready 01
g for acflion. But on the return of the patroles, the tield ai
, e marthal learnt that the eijcmv had fallen back, 'i hey t|
' wottld liaye been immediately pursued, but that field
ri marshal lieutenant fovea was obliged to rc-efUblifh the
hg bridge ot Pontoons, broke down by the enemy, which
was accoitipliflied about iroon. Ja
U U At one o'clock in the afternoon, the army began to j,
e d move forwards, both from BafTano and Fonteniva, and
eu at niue o'clo. lc at night, reached the camp near Scalde-
ftrro; three battaliuiis having been left on the rieht flank K
C(1 neai Msuofdica, and the diiferent columns ordored to 1!
011 form a juuclion betivecu ■>! 1 lttro di Gu and (iiolo. But
no cnejiiv to btfven, except that the van guard of p
n „ column overt e*j* me rear of the French, which
n( "j hroiqjjtt on a trifling skirmish between our trbops and the H
[4<l enefuy. _
yn thi Bth, early in the morning, the field marlhal c
rec rcvi. ('d the divifians or field martlial Itfuteuants 1 rove- v
ja anu Quofidanovich, and as it appeared to l» m indif
[l£. petjlably necellary cloiely to purlue the enemy, already
t „ thrown info confulion, without allowing _ tlieni time to
a s and gather flreiigth, the army put itfelf in motion r
au at ten'o'clock in the morning, and pursued the enemy in ,
. au thi ee ciiiums, a* saras Vicenza On our approach they ,
drew in their advanced polls, abandoned Vicenza, and
1( J retreated to Montcbcllo.
,U ' The field mai (liat ordered his vanguard, under general c
nlj Holi^nzollc'rn, to take pofl at Altavilla, and the main c
'oj. body of his to occupy a position on the road to Verona, c
j a and Mas determined, in cafe the enemy ihould not eva-
[he cuate Montcbello in the course of the night, to dislodge
j- as thein from thence the next morning
The French General Anuffc, who commanded the ene
aps mv's and van guard, ieverely wounded, taken
cnii prifonef, and conduefed to Vicenza.
VIEN'N.-*, Nov. 18. |
A messenger is arrived here tiom lord Malmelbury at Pa.- [
ris, with dispatches for the minister at the Imperial
eouri, who immediately after bad a long conference with Bj
ron I hugut, our minitter of state. The dispatches were dat- '
ed Paris, the 17th Ottobar, and contained ihe ariiwerof the 1
Diieftory to the Hi ft note preloited by lord Malmcfbury; in |
consequence of vyhich, fir Morton Eden hasinquired of our .
V 1" cabinet, whether his, Imperial majeltv would commilli(V>
1 ~ ■ and empower lord Malmefbury 10 negotiate a peace for us- 1
trial It seems mofl likely, howevei, that an Imperial minis- ,
ter will be sent to Piiis to carry on the ilegociatiens fointly 1
*ps wiih the i rvrlifh negociafor, although the Irencft Directory
0111 ai'peais-to be t© ail fortj of congress*
The 4000 troops [of Hf iTe DarmUadt, which at firfl were |
to embark at Civita Yeccnia, haee now marched t« Tricfte,
whence they are to be conveyed to Gibraltar.
'"■ p CONGRESS OF thr UNITED STATES. 1
d ; —
er,. house of representatitbs.
teir 1
' rs * FRIDAY, January 13.—Continued.
Mr. Harper said, they had been informed farther
tevenae was wanted. Every gentleman who had
l,g advocated a fyttem of direst taxation, had taken
fti- pains to prove this, 'which was unneeeffary. He
4e, admitted the fact in the amplest extent. But there
was another position of gentlemen in which he by
''"l no meant agreed, viz. that the foarce of indirett
taxation, would, if refortcd to, be unproductive,
p n . and that it had lince been exhaafted, confe
e. quently, that we mull have recourse to a land tax to
tin procure the necessary supplies. This statement he
entirely dissented from. He was pcrfuaded this
country poffeiTed ample sources of rev.enue, thre'
eflahlifhetJ channels, to raise all the money wanted.
The quettion, then, was one of expediency, whether
this or that mode of raising revenue (hall be adopt
iter- ed I And here lie would observe, that however the ,
The tax was laid, it roust be paid by the people; the
co " pofftffor of the foil and consumer mult pay. The
j^ r whole question was, which way will fee the most
. ],; s convenient to draw the sum wanted from them ?
lord Whether by a circuitous and inditeft mode, or
cm i d y a dircdt and pofitive 1 method ?In comparing
' these different modes 0/ taxation, it would be ne
tof}, ctffaiy to take a view of the difference of circum
itantcs which liiftiiigoifoei ihiscountry from ethurs,
of whose practice in this refpcdl we had foms
knowledge.
He confefled there were great difS.ulties aftend
-1 i«g this fubjoft. He was not a&amcd to c ante fa
himfelfvery uueqoal not only to the ta/k of indica*
ting t» the house what meaftires would be proper
to be taken, but even of judging for himfelf on the
fubjefl. It was a fubjeft which h*d engaged for a
long time tlje heft talents of thi« country, and there
still existed a divifmn of opinion about which wa»
the best mode of railing revenue ; but, when an In
dividual wa« called tipon to foms a judgment, bow»
e»er difficult the talk m&jr be, he mull take feme
j courfe-or other, and in his choice he could only be
directed by his own understanding, improved and
informed by the experience at others.
Since the fubje& was full of difficulties on all
fides, he said, they had only to chufe between evils.
He was of opinion that whatever objections might
be brought against the fyflem of inditedt taxation,
that the inconveniences of that fyliem weic far left
| than those which would be found in a fyliem of di
rest taxation. With refpe£t to a land tax, or tax
on real property, there were circumstances in whick
he believed it the very belt mode of raifiug revenue
which could be adapted, vis. in a country where
wealth & population were equally diffufed through
out the whole territory ( were markets were, of
course, every where convenient 5 where a farmer
could easily exchange his labour for another man'*
labour, or where produce fold evety where at near
ly the. fame price. In such a country, he believed
a land tax was a very good tax ; there the ratio up
on which such a tax might be equally laid, was rea*
dily attainable ; but, in our country, he said, the
situation of things was totally diiferent.
( It was well known, that the great population and
wealth of this country lay near the sea coafi, and
: that, in proportion as it was reaeded fr«m, the pa.
1 pulation became thin and the country comparative
ly poor by being far removed from a market for th«
1 produce of the foil. The exchange against a man
t removed 300 miles from the coast was so great, th«
much oi what he sent to market was waited by the
' expence of conveyance. Hence results, said he,
, the feSrcity of money which exilts in the interior
: of a country like ours, which renders the payment
of a small sum inconvenient, and this difficulty can
" not be removed by any regulation which on be in
t troduced, A man on the Mon .ngaiiela called up*
f on for twenty (hillings, would lind it lie hcavierwp
i on him than a farmer on the Delaware would find
f twenty pounds lie upon him, as he would experi«
ence more than twenty times the difficulty in pro«
, curing the money ( for, from the fcarcliy of circu.
lating medium, in remote fituafions, it was almost .
0 imp'oflible to convert the molt valuable articles of
produce into money, wbilft persons living near a,
good market were able to fell the molt triliing
o cles for a good price.
t These observations were so well verified in that
part of the country with which he was belt ac»
c quainted, that tlfangh the molt equitable valuation
had taken place, yet a tax which had been laid in
d consequence of that valuation, had been collected
• with the greatclt difficulty.
y It would be found, therefore, from these ftate
u ments (for tiie ttuth of which he appealed to eve
n. ry gerttleman who had thought upon the fubjeft)
n that" let direct taxes be laid in whatever manner
they might, tliey would bear ejttrem.ly hard in
fnme cases, though they mi x ght be perfectly light in
al others. This lie considered as one of thegreateft
" objeitione to a land tax, an objciftion which did not
exist in European countries, as they are full of inr
re habitants, and the farmer had where a mar
ket for his produce.
f n lndireit taxes, on the contrary, Mr. H. said,
were c©lle£ttd with facility, and were voluntarily
paid. If a man found himfelf pinched for money,
3 - he might refrain, from purchaling.'at leali for a
time, of such articles as were taxed, and not ira
lt. mediately necefiaries of life, or he woulel make a
he less quantity serve him ; but a dircft tax could not
,B be avoided, however unable a man might be to pay
it. Hence, he said, would arise executions and a
if- variety of diltrefs amongst that class of citizen*
'f- who wete unable to meet the demands of gewn
'y ment.
ry
Another obje«Sion, not lef* strong, to direA
j' e c taxation, was the impossibility of apportioning such
a tax equally. He said impossibility, ?nd he was
wairanted in the expression. He was desirous ef
"" hearing how the committee of Way* and Mean*
. meant to apportion and colledl this tax ; but thi*
information was withheld, and they were called
upon to agree to the principle without any plan of
carrying it into effefl. He said it was impossible
from two causes; firfl, from marketsbeing remote
ier in foane parts and convenient in others, and confer
ad quently land being of much less value in f.ime part*
en than in others, and from the vast inequality which
■Je took place in proportion to population and to the
•re improved or unimproved date of agriculture. S»
by that some parts of the fame di/Mft was of much
id more value than others, and even some farms more
re, than other*, from the superior skill and indultry of
fe- their present pofleflbra, or of those who heretofore
to poffetled them. There, was no part of the country,
he he said, where this remark would not be verified.
!>i« Combine with this circumflance, the contiguity
re' and distance from markets, and the impossibility ef
rd. an equal apportionment would appear evident. Nor
ier was the diffance from a market alone to be confidr
pt- ered ; bad roads were an insurmountable objefiioa
he in some parts of the country. How these difficul
he ties were to be overcome, he was at a loss ta fee,
'he He believed such a tax could not be laid with any
oft degree of justice. It had been aUempt#d in some
n ? slates ; in some it had been found impracticable,
or and 1# otheis attended with very great incoeveni
ing ence. In the (late which he represented, it had
ne- been attempted upon a principle which seemed to
im- be generally approved ; but it had been found that
c/s, a man who pvffefiVd land t>f four tiroes the valu« of