MEW THEATRE - «"■ ■ "■ {KOT PERFORMED THESE TIPOYE.IRS.; THIS EVENING, t>ECEM6ER 15, Will be prcfeoted, a COMIC OPERA (written by the autl.oi ef the Poor Soldier) c?l!ed, THE HIGHLAND REEL. . of Col, Mr. VvVrfcio l.aird of Raafay, Mr. Warrell > M'Gjlpin, Mr- liarwoml Sandy; Mr, Mar.r.iUl Chnrlcy, Mr. Francis Sifelty, ]\lr. Bernard Croudy, Mr Bliffst Captain £>a(fi, Mr. M«retos Serjeant Jack, Mr. Da.-ley / pie, Mr. T. Warrell Eenin, Mailer l.'F.Hrjpge Moggy-M'Oilpiri, Mrn. Marfhail (Bc:illg her iirft appearance theie twelve months ) Jer.ny, Mn. Warrell CMeir.Dod.or.Liyaiicy.anlly.L'f -1 t <• t rr ) fertv, Mrs. Warren, Miss Mil- Lads & Lafles, J j, ournej MifsL'Eftrange.MifsAn (^derfon, Madame Harwcods &c. !'o conclude with A SCOTS' REEL. liy the Characters. 'iVa which will be added, a JFARCE, in two a&s, called, THE SULTAN; on, A PFEP INTO THE SERAGLIO. Soliman, Mr. Moyeton Ofmyn, Mr. Harwood Elrr.ira, Miss L'Efcrange ' !fm«ne (with Songs) Mrs. Wfcrrtii Rbxslur.a (for lha: night only) Mrs. Marrtiall TO-MORROW EVENING (Bv Dejire) Venice Preserved, WITH THE Lyirig Valet. %y The new Conedy of WIVES AS THEY WERE, AND MAIDS A 3 THEY ARE, which wa< received with the utmost approbation—will be repeated on Mon Ja^' Box. oi>e Dollar ; Pit, threr quarters of a Dol lar ; atid Gatlery, haif a Dollar. $pT The doors of the Theatre Will open at five, andilie curtain rife preciftly at Ct o'clock. Flace; Icr the Boxes to be taken at the Office in the front of the Theatre, from 10 till a o'clock, and fro."j 10 till 4 on the days of performance. Tickets to behati at H. and Rice's book-store, No. 4 jo Market-street, and at the Office adjoining the I heare. VIP A T RES PUBLIC A ! WANTE D, i ' A PERSON that can produce unexceptionable recommendations, to perform a jeurnay thfs winter as far at the Obto—Such ail one will miet with encouraging terms, by applying at.this office. N. B- Some one acquainted with Hanifon courty, Virginia, and its neighborhood, would be preferred Dec. rtv— NOTICE. To holders of JAMES GREENLEAFs and EDIVARD FOX'i Engagements IN conl'equtnce of many having been prevent ed, from late unavoidable circumllancn from obtaining their Certificates, agreeable to former notice. The Frtiftees now inform them, they are ready to iflue the lame to tltofe who may ap ply within sixty days, at No. 8 Chefnut Street, aad those who do not, will be confidercd as re linquilhinj their claim on th; Aggregate l'und provided for their payment. HENRY PRATT, TtICMAS W. FRANCIS, JOHN MILLER, JUN. ICKN ASHLEY, JACOB BAKER. December 15. dfict New-Theatre, December 11,1797. THE Managers particularly rcqucft the con currence of the public in the abolition of a custom, vrhich has hitherto obtained, ef giving a way or disposing of RETURN CHECKS at the Theatre. They are aware that gentlemen are unconscious of any wrong done to the interest of the inft'tu tionby this pradtice, from a general, though raif taken idea that Checks are the representatives of a right to so many feats in the Theatre, during an Evening's Entertainment, and transferable at will; when in fa A, thc-y were never intended as more than tohtnt by which the Door-keepers are enabled to afcertais with the least troubfe to the that tbey themselves have been before in the Theatre, or paid for their admiflion. Independent of the injury the Managers fuflain, such a practice encourages a croud of idle boys and other difor Jerly persons to surround the doors of the Theatre, to the corruption of their morals and the great annoyance of the Audience. It has also been thefource of two evils of no ih confiderablc magnitude; cne is, that fomctimcs very improper company is by these means admit ted ; and the other, that owing to Checks pafiing into diflioneft hands, they have betn frequenaly counterfeited to a large amount for the purpofesof Sale. This ftatemcnt will, it is refpe&fully hoped, in duce the Public to discourage such a traffic : and the exertions of the Managers will, if thus aflitted, easily prove adequate to its entire abolition. WIGNELL 13 REINAGLE. December 13 iw Public Sales of India Goods at New-York, "Will commence on Monday the 18th inft. by A L. Bleecket & Sons The cargo of theJhip Swift, Pierre de Peeler, Commander,jufl arrived from Calcutta, on a credit of 2, 4, and 6 months Confiftingof 279 bales of the following ar ticles : Manikpore" Kirabod Guzzena t r. Addee BaAa '- Emertie Patna Jellepore Ouddee Coffacs Tigerry Guzzcr.as Beeboorn Gurrahs- Blue Guineas Guillaudendiary Handkfs, Doreas Dacca Mulmuls Taßda Coffaes Santipore Muslins Kermichee Romals«^ Chandercoriah Nayanfook & Bandanoe Handkerchiefs The ai>ove Goods to be fold without the smallest reserve. Philadelphia, Dec. rz. *djt PHILADELPHIA, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 15, j CONGR E S S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. I TUESDAY DECEMBER 12. 1 Debate on a Motion for fu/ptndir.s~icfC opera- I lion of an A3 of Limitation. YConcluded from yejhrday's Gazette.) Mr. J. Williams said, he (hould vote for the resolution, though he thought it did not go far enough. The holders of these. of certificates had been informsd that the aft of limitation did not reach them ; they therefore supposed their claims would never be barred. This being the cafe, he thought they (hould agree to this resolution, and leave the holders at liberty to fund them, since they had evidently been igno rant of the pafiing of thelaw refpeftingthem. Mr. Baldwin thought some of the ar guments on this fubjedt went too far. The truth was they had not fufficitnt checks to guafd against frauds. They had for 12 or 14 years been end«avouring to guard against them. Jf the resolution paired, which per haps it ought, the suspension should be for a (hort time ; for though the public were able to guard against fraud, individuals would be continually exposed to deceptions, if this property were fuffered to be long a float. Mr. Edmond said, that notwithstanding all the observations which had ben mjde on this fubjeft, he could not vote in favour of the resolution before them. He had heard no argument fufficient to induce him to let aside the adl of limitation. They were to presume that this law was made after due deliberation. Why, then, repeal it ? Ber cause it was said, there were certain poor soldiers, and others, pofTefled of certificates which were barred by this aft. It was ex tremely easy to paint the' situation of such persons in glowing colours. But when they had paiTed an aft of limitation, they were not to set it aside for particular cases. This would defeat the idea of limitation. They mult, therefore, consider all persons in tHe fame situation ; whether a person was an original holder, or had purchased his certi ficate, was immaterial. The statute had e qually barred them. Had circumftanccs, since the pafiing of the aft, changed ? No j the only reason which bore any colour, was, that the law had not been fnfficiently pro mulged. If there hr.d been a negleft on this head, those who had been guilty of the negleft (hould redress it. Was it not made as other laws were made, and promulged in the fame way ? • But is it said to be incorpo rated in a lengthy aft, embracing a number of other articles, and ho reference was made to it in the margin ; bnt it was comprized in tne laws of a finglc fefEon, making a fmali volume, and had beert promulged in the fame way, in which penal afts which affeft the lives of individuals, were promulged.— However the fubjeft might be reasoned up on, it was said that the faft was, that the law was little known. It was said there were members in the house who were not acquainted with this law. Was this, he a(ked, an extraordinary thing ? No one sup posed that every member in the house was acquainted with every law of the United ■States. The soldier, who probably could neither write noT read was not supposed to look after the laws which were passed every feflion i no, the members of the legislature, when they return home, take the laws with them, and give the information to their neighbours. If they were not thus publi(h ed, it was owing to a culpable negleft.— From all'thefe eonfiderations, he thought the law (hould be preserved. Mr. Brookes said it was an extraordina ary doftrine, to fay, that though the mem bers of the legislature \yere unacquainted with a law, yet that individuals, who did not look into a book once in seven years, (hould be perfeftly acquainted with it.— What would the people of the United States think of this ? It had not the femhlance of jnftice. Mr. Macon said, on the principles of e quity, the statutes of limitation might be looked upon as injurious ; but as no law had ever been pafled with more notoriety than the one in question, he could not have believed, if gentlemen had not themselves declared it, that it (hould not have been known to them. It was founded upon the only report which the Sefretary of the Treasury ever sent to that house unaflced for, and it underwent as much debate as any other law in the United States. These claims, Mr. M. said, could (land in no better situation than those of persons who had not been in the way of getting their claims fet tled.—Where both had performed services, both had the fame equitable claims ; books were the testimony in both caf*s. If it were necefiary, therefore, to take these claims of the statute, it was equally necefTary to repeal all the statutes of limitation at once. Mr. M. mentioned an inftatice of fraud which took place in Rhodc.lfland, by a small sum being altered to a larger in a certificate, upon which the interest had been several times paid,before it was discovered. It was impoffiblc, he said to guard against frauds. But he knew very Well that whenever the claims of a soldier came up, the humanity and philanthropy of the house were called upon to afford relief; but 110 difference ought to be made in favour of one class of claimants more than another. There had been a number of hard cases which had been dec.ded against, from their being barred, and if they opened the door at all; it (hould be opened generally. Mr. Gallatin said, he (hould not have offered any thing more on the fubjeft, but for what had fallen from the two gentlemen last up. There was an essential difference, he said, between these claims and other's ; it I * w . as .ttafe were- liquidated, the others vfere" unliquidated.. ■ In thelatter trfere were open sq;coijnt3 at the treasury, and if they were natfettled in a given time, it was riot pofiibje to check them ; that time had therefore been limited; but, with fgfpfQ to ' 'claims, the fame order had not been taken. They were accounts fet tled, which never could be expefted to be barred, a» thg certificate was a fort of nego tiable note from the government. If this had not been the view ofof th;e legillature, why except tbefe claims from the afts of li mitatioij > It was clear, therefore, that they stood on quite different ground from the de scription of claims alluded to. And let it not be said (added Mr. G.) that the hold ers of tl\efe certificates ought to be acquaint ed with the law which affefts these claims. If the United States owe a debt, which they do fi6t mean to pay, except presented before a certain day for fettlcment, it was their duty so to promulgate the law as that it (hould be generally known. Much had been said 6n the score of speculation. He thought the great zeal which was now (hewn against speculators, ought to have been brot into aftion at an earlier period. Ten years agb the idea of difcrim'm&tiun had been dis carded, and he thought it too late to intro dute it now. The gentleman from Connec ticut (Mr. Smith) had said, it was the du ty of members who were prefent*at the paf ling of the law of 1785 to have op posed it it the time. If the gentleman alluded to him, he was mistaken, as he was no! 'a mem ber of the house at the time the aft pafled. Gentlemen who had spoken against specu lation had confounded two things together, viz. persons who had purchased these evi dences of debt of individuals for a trifle, and those who had received them in a regnlar way. It would be perfeftly unjust to put the latter upon a worse footing than origi nal holders ; if it were meant only to affeft 1 the former, if the bill could be so modified, he (hould not objeft to it, though he believ ed great difficulty would attend the inser tion o&fuch a provifioitF and he hoped the motion tvftukl Ue adopted in its present form. Mr. AlCen wished the committee would rife, and have fit again. He wan ted this matter developed ; there seemed something behind which did not appear ; it was impofiible that a million of dollars of this description of debt could lie in the hands of original holders. This business had only been introduced this morning, and he tho't it was not well understood. He wished to have a littletime forconfideration. He tho't also, that a new fyflem of morals had been in troduced on the occasion, which ought to be examined. Mr. Brookes and Mr. Thatcher were opposed to the rising. Mr. M'Dowe&l was in favor of it, that gentlemen who wished to speak on the fub jeft might have an opportunity ; and that their feelings, which had been worked upon by highly colouring the fWferings of poor soldiers, might have time to cool. He fearedthe certificates in queftion,were chief ly : .i the hands of other persons- Mr. Coit had no objeftion to the com mittee's rising. The sum which had been dated ai the amount of the class of claims under consideration was not correft—that sum included a number of claims ef a differ ent kind. Mr. Gallatin was perfeftly willing that the commtttee (hould rife ; but not from the insinuations thrown out by the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Allen) that the motion was >vi(hed to be hurried through the house, or that there was some thing behind which did not appear. Hav ing declared he did not know a person who had one of these certificates, and not hav ing had any desire for the motion to pass to day, of course the iufinuation could have no foundation, as it refpefted him, though he had introduced the business, and he (hould be juftified in taking no notice of it. Mr. Allen said what he meant was, that certain owners of public paper ef the Uni ted States had determined not to accep.t of the terma offered by the government, but to have (hilling for (hilling ; 'and that this suspension was intended more to relieve per sons of this description than poor original holders. T}»e qucftton on the committee's rising ■ was and carried. They had leave to fit again. Adjourned. -JL. "~WEDNESDAY DECEMBER Delate on the fubjed of Foreign Coins. The House being in a Committee of the whole, the following report of the Seleft Committee was read. " That it appears from the best informa tion they can obtain, tl»t very little of the silver coin of the United States has circu lated at any considerable distance from the Mint, especially in the interior parts of the country. " That by tl»e operation of the law which provided that at the expiration of three years after the coinage of gold and silver (hould commence, at the mint, alt foreign silver coins, except Spani(h milled dollars, and the parts of such dollars, (hould cease to be a legal tender : considerable embarrass ments have already beer, produced, and ma ■ny lwiTes sustained, as a very considerable quantity «f foreign silver coins other than Spanilh milled dollars, and the parts of such dollars, was at that time in circulation. " Your Committee also find, that by the operation of the said aft, all foreign gold coins will cekfe to be a legal tender after thirty-firft day of July next ; that a great quantity of it is now in circulation, and must aeceffarily continue so until that period ar rives, as it will be scarcely possible for the mint on its present establishment to Gpin a fuffieient quantity to replace it. " Your Committee are therefore of opin ion, that provision ought to be made by law, authoiifing and requiring the colleClovs of the revenue, to receive in discharge of all demands of the United States, foreign silver coins other tlinn Spanish milled dollars and parts of such dollars, at the rates, and un „dsr,tbe regulation by wbich they were re ceivable before the 15<h day of October last; that this regulation lhould continue fbrnvo years, and until the end of the next fefiion of Congress thereafter. And that so much of the.said aft as relates to the circulation of foreign gold coins, be suspended for the like time." Mr. Pinckney moved that the report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the peti tion of Robert Hazlehurft, and others, of th* city of Charleston, on tht? fubjeft of weighing goods imported, be referred to-the Committee of Commerce and Manufactures. This motion being agreed to, Mr. Pinck ney .prefepjed the petition of fupdry wli rf hoiders of that <c*ty on the fame fubjeft, which was referred to the fame committee. Mr. Gallatiu preferred the petition of Mary Ivings, formerly of New-Jersey, but now of this city, praying for compsnfation for the services of her late hulband, and for losses fuftaincd during the war. ■ Referred to the Committee of Claims. A message was received from the Senate, informing the House that they had appoint ed ajoint committee of Enrolled Bills, and requeuing the House would appoint ode on its part. Mr. Swanwick moved that the petition of Edward Thompson, which he prcfented some days ago, ajid a reference of which had then been opposed by the Chairman of the Committee of Claims, (hould be referred to a Committee. Agreed. Mr. Gallatin wished to know from the Committee, why the diftinftion had been made between Foreign Gold and Silver coin; why they had not recommended the Aft to be fl/fpended with refpeft to Silver as well as Gold. He could not fee any reaf « .vhy Crowns (hould not be a legal tender for pay ments in General, as well as to the Collec tors of the Revenue. Mr. Sitgreav.'s rofc to propose another queftiou to the Committee. His Colleague had supposed the dillinftion which had been madebct ween Foreign Gold and Silver Coin was in favour of the Gold, and would limit the circulation of the. Silver coin. He (hould rather suppose the strength of th<> diftinftion was the other way, and he wifhtd to be informed what had induced the Com mittee to recommend, a fufpenlion of the laws refpefting Foreign Gold coin. They knew the Silver coin circulated by tale, the value of the latter had been aftually dimin ished by various means, such 9s sweating, plugging, clipping &c. so that there was no methad of afeertaining, with precision, the value of Gold coin, without weighing it ; and persons not in mercantile habits, and who were not possessed of a pair of foalet, | were at a loss to know its value. The infe- ' rence he drew, therefore, was, that the ' sooner they could get the Gold coin out of j circulation the better, and the quantity was so small, that no great inconvenience would j ensue from such a measure. With refpeft to Giver coin, the provision recommended would, he believed, occafionbut little incon- ' venience. But instead of suspending the ' aft as it related to gold coin, he thought 1 they ought to accelerate the period ofthrow-j ing that coin altogether out of circulation, j Mr. Venable (ths Chairman of the com- ' mittee) in answer to the two gentlemen [ from Pennsylvania, said, that the diftinftion : which the committee had made betwixt Fo- i reign Gold and Silver coin, was founded on j this consideration, that the law relative to ' silver had already been carried into effeft, ani the consequences which would be pro duced by the provision recommended, were now felt ; and it was supposed that this re ftriftion would be a means of bringing the Foreign Silver sooner into the MiMt ; as if it were not allowed to be a legal tender for auy thing but duties, its circulation would, in a great degree be confined to the Sea* ports, and when the United States got it into poffefiion, they would fend it to the Mint, aad it would be re-ilfued in our own coin. With refpeft to gold coin, though there was little of it in circulation near the Banks, there was a great deal of it in re mote parts of the country,where there were no Banks ? so much, that it would be irn poflible to bring it to the Mint, to have it re-ifTued without sustaining great loss, and without almost being totally deprived, in the mean time, of a circulating medium.— And tho' Foreign Gold coin was fubjeft to the injuries which had been mentioned, our own Gold coin was equally fubjeft to them. Few of the coins of the United States, he said, had found their way into the interior of the country ; indeed, so rare, were they, that when they were met with they were preserved with as much care as if they were curious medals. Mr. J.- Williams approved of the report. In the northern parts of the state of New- York, and the northern and western parts of Vermont, considerable merchandize was carrried on with Canada, from whence they received gold coin in payment ; and if the law refpefting foreign gold was not suspend ed, there would be no circulating medium in that part of the country, as they had no papers but all payments were made in dol lars, crowns, guineas -ii'.d half joes. As to a coin from the Mint of this Country it was with'them quite a curiosity. * Mr. Nicholas was not fatisfied with the reason which his colleague (Mr. Venable) bad given for not going farther in the buli nefs. He seemed to think that the law for prohibiting the circulation of foreign coin had already been felt, as it refpefted silver. He believed the firft (hock had only been experienced. He did r.ot fee any advanta*? to be derived from the regulation propoied. It went to lesson the value of a certain kind of property, in order to enforce it into the mint of the United States; but until it could be (hewn that such a mealure would be of some advantage to the community, he did not think that the house would be juftified in adopting it. It would be said by the people, and with propriety too, that they had eftablifhrd a Mint, but could not work it wjthout defrauding them of their proper ty— he had always thought eitablifh tntnl ufiAcfs ; and in orderto make it other/ wife, a plan was now conltMptartW to rob'; the people of their property. If the ftme regulations were to be adopted with reffeft to gold, which were recotnmendedr relalive to silver, the inhabitants of the interior fart oi the Count! y would be wronged to ten per cent of their rnonied capitals, as at ffe fent a French crown would there pass for no more than a dollar; he knew many whore tained this kind of property in their hands, because.they would not submit to the lass. He saw no reason for prohibiting this kiid ot coin; he believed it as good as any whbh •could be given them iri exchange for it, as a proof of this the banks of this City rec(i- Ved it at its original value. The fame obftr vations Would hold good with refptet to good coin.- He thought it much better that gold coin should pass according to its. weigfit, than they should pass sanguinary laws to punish persons for reducing its value. He wiflicd therefore, that the whole law might be suspended, as if the regulations proposed were adopted, it would injure on; party of the people, for no other reason thai) beaaufe gentlemen were determined ta prc fevere in what he deemed always an error, 1 the support of a national Mint. Mr. Champ.in said, the arguments of the gentleman lalt up did not go to the prelent quettion, but to whether we fliould have a Mint, or not. Mr. C. said, when he firft saw the law for prohibiting the circulation of foreign, he thought unfavorably of it ; but, from the information he had received on the fubjeft, he now thought differently and believed, if the plan proposed by the committee was agreed to,' it wyuld remove any obje£tions to its operation. He tho't the reasons which had been assigned for the regulations were good. With refpecl to the effect it would have on the Mint, as French crowns were to be received iinpay ment by government* they would doubtless be recoined ; banks wou'd also receive French crowns, or parts thereof, their ope rations would go on as usual, and the value of this species of coin would not beleffeiied. —The aft incorporating the bank of the United States had declare;!, that the notes of that bank should be received in payment by the officers of the United S f ates for du ties, which had given a circulation to that pa per more extensive than any other, which would of course have a tendency to lefien the evils complained of. He was well fat isfied with this report : but, if any amend ment could be made to it, which could make it more acceptable to other gentlemtn, ancf equally favorable to the Mint, he fheuld riot object to it. Mr. Nicholas asked whether it would be in order to move to insert a resolution in the report. « The chaitman answering ia. the affirma tive, Mr. Nicholas said, to agree to the r*port as it flood would be to set one part of the people to speculate upon another ; as iA those parts of the Union where little was paid to the custom-house, a French crown would pay for no more than a dollar, and it; would be the bufinrfs of persons living in sea-ports to purehafe th»-m at a reduced va lue, which woifld be giving a different valun to coin in different parts of the country, and be an unjust tax upon a large portion of the people. Mr. Harper agreed with the gentleman just fat down, that if the coin of the Unit ed States was no better than that whieh they wished to flop the circulation of, everv thing which had been done in the cftablifh rnent of a mint was wrong. This point had often been difcufTrd. It was agitated when the mint was firft cftablifhed, and it was decided that the coin to be issued from the mint would be better than the coin then in circulation ; not becau'fe a particular piece of gold was of more value to an individ ual, but because it was better for a nation to have a coin of its own. It was on this ground that the expence of the eftablifhraent was juflified. Therefore the 'gentleman was begging the quettion upon a fubje£t which had long been decided. He was far from being opinion of the gentleman from Virginiljrthat the proposed regulation would reduce the value of foreign coin ten per cent ; for, if a French crown palled for an hundred and teri cents in the sea ports, it would soon have the fame value all over the United States ; and if the rttempt to pur chase them at an under-value were to be tri-* ed, it would be found that a competion would produce their real value. But, he said, though there might not be much duty paid in some parts of the country, there were every where storekeepers who had deal ings with the merchants in the sea ports, and wbo would be glad to receive them in payment for their goods. H: allowed some little inconvenience might arifu, in thus en T deavouring to promote the circulation of our own coin ; but if the business was postpon ed, the fame evil would always occur He hoped, therefore, the regulation with ref peft to silver coin, recoihmended by the committee, would be agreed to. As tofu reign gold coin, he should wifli that to be put upon the fume footing, which would bring it into the mint, and it would be turn ed into circulation in a new shape. But the committee had reported a face which, if founded, was of importance, viz. " that it was fcareely poflible (or the mint to recoiu this money so fall as it should be brough; in." If this were, so, ti:sy mufl either not call it in, go on in enlarging the mint, or have no mint at all. But he did not take the fait as Hated. He believed there was no waot of meohanical force in '.he mint. Mi. Vcnable interrupted Mr. Harper to fay, the committee did not mean that the mint had not the necessary mechanical force; but that they could not get fuSicient bul lion for the occasion. Mr. Cliamplm wilhrd to hive the liberty of aflsiiig the chair, whether the question was not lifceptiMeofdiviftori. H it were, he t it would greatly (horten the rieba e M divide The Chairman anf.vered the question m'gnl be dlvi'l d.
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