7HE BOW. AN African Prince subdued in balr.le, capi tulated for his bow and bauble bought his life. A British merchant sent hiin to South- Carolina, where he was used as a Have. A pla cid countenance, and fubmiffivemanners, mark ed his resignation ; and preserved him in all si tuations, the pofieflion of his arms—the only com panions he had left—the sole objetfls of his affec tions. His ftatelinefs and strength recommended him to Colonel Mott, a humane master, in whose service he died, in ftedfaft faith of a certain re surrection in his native slate. The bow and quiver were preserved as relicts of a faithful slave, in the Colonel's family, who gratefully remember the services, the fortitude, and the fidelity of the trufly, the gentle lambo. In the campaign of 1781, the "widow of Co lonel Mott, (who died a patriot) was banilhed from her house, on the river Congaree, then for tified by a Britilh garrif'on ; the garrison was besieged by a small detachment from the Ameri can army, whose approaches were soon within bow-shot. The widow, who lived in a cottage in light of the fort, was informed that the preserva tion of her house was the only impediment to its reduction—and she was informed of the expedi ents proposed.—Here, said she, (presenting the African bow and quiver) are the materials—lam bo never used these arrows and I fear they arepoi foned; use them not, tlierefone, even againll your enemies—but take the bow, any arrow will ■waft a match. Spare not the house, so you ex pel the foe. The blazing roof produced submis sion—the Britons dropped their arms—the Ame ricans entered the house, and both joined to ex tinguish the flames. Ihe misfortunes of a Prince, and the heroinn of a lady, are not uncommon—the novelty is the Bow—a Item of genuine bamboo—which, defi ned for the defence of Liberty in Africa, served the fame cause in America, was preserved by an officer of the patriot army—presented to Mr. PEALE, and is now deposited in his Museum. LONDON, MAY 28. BY EXPRESS FROM PARIS. 1 his expre f s contains an account of the de bates of the meeting of the States-oeneral. The relult is, that the clergy are iitgacious and mo derate, that the commons are Itarcled at the view of their own importance, and only want the ex perience of a people already free, to give them a dextrous command of their rights as I'ubjects. All however, l'eem to agree in a pofuion, once laid down by a celebrated writer of our own— a position which cannot too often be repeated, or wiitten in Ictte s too large or conspicuous, " THAT THE PEOPLE SHOULD Bh FREE." T he nobility evidently proceeded ftepby step, with an ungracious distrust, in order to preserve thole preferences which had been already given in their favour. Mobs have been formed in some places, and the townsmen have been wbliged to protect their villages from si. e ; one of tlieir of ficers I'peaks thus: " We arrived with a guard, and were received by 80,000 people in confufion of tears and applause, clapping their hands, and crying, ' Godfave the king and Monlxeur Cara ma.ll; jhis was indeed a triumphal entry ; never was a people more affectionate and fubmiflive. The General had left the army without, and only entered the city with his two aid-du-camps. We will venture to add to the above, with that precaution which distinguishes our paper, that the dauphin of France is not yet dead, how ever strongly it may have been reported. On the 13th inltant the Sultan, attended by "11 the Grandees, went on liorfeback to the mosque of Elub, where the ceremony of girding on the Imperial Ciinitar was performed with the usual pomp, amidst a great concourse of peo ple. In the proceflion from the seraglio through the city, a sum of money to the amount of fif teen thousand pounds in small lilver pieces, loaded on ten mules, was thrown amongst the populace ; and what has not always been the cafe on similar occasions, no one 101 l his life in the scramble. His highness returned by water flown the harbour, and was saluted by all the skips as well Cliriftians as Turks. The firft en tertainment given by the sultan was a tourna ment, as more coi.fiftent in time of war than music and daticing. June 7. Seltm the third, the present Grand •Seignior, has had an education very different from that of his predeceflors, for which he was indebted to his late uncle; he speaks French and Italian decently, and has read the belt works i:i both languages; but he is more particularly acquainted with European tacftics, which he was taught by a French officer of great ability. He has often been heard to declare that it was the duty of the Emperor of the Turks, to be at the head of his army, and from thence it is conclud ed, that he will not derogate from the Ottoman race. June 8. An unexpected change in the min istry has taken place ; Lord Sydney has retired from the office of secretary of Hate for the home department. He attended the council yesterday at Kew palace, wlierfc herefigned. His lordship is appointed one of the chief juitices, in Eyre, the profits of which are reckoned at 3006 a year. Mr. Grenville, the speaker of the house of commons, appointed to lord Sydney's place, yesterday a(fted in that capacity. Mr. Henry Addington, member for the Devizes is chosen speaker. Mr. Richard Fold, of Birmingham, has very lately presented to the Society of Arts, an ellay, in which he points out a method, demonstrated by a variety of fuccefsful experiments, that horses may be inocidated for the strangles, with the fame certainty of success that the human fpeeies are for the small-pox We are sorry to inform our readers, that last night the beautifid edifice of the opera house was burnt to the ground. We happened to bep re sent when the fire burst out, and mult declare that we never law any thing comparable to the rap idity with which it spread itfelf. It broke forth from the three domes of the roof, at one and the fame instant, and in less than three minutes the whole building was an entire Hame ; there were neither water nor firemen to interrupt its progress, and in a quarter of an hour the whole was totally demolilhed. The flames fpiead to the adjoining houses, seven of which were deflroyed, and the fire reached to the entrance into Pall-mall, but did not go up the Haymarket. Extract of a letter from Conflantinoplc, dated A pril 20. " All the proportions for peace, renewed under the preient reign by the two courts of Bourbon, have been rejected, the Sultan having declared that he has taken an oath to re-conquer the Crimea, so that without the preliminary res titution of that peninsula all proposals are vain." PARIS, JUNE 4. IHs royal hignefs the dauphin died between twelve and one o'clock this morning, in the eighth year ol his age, to the great grief of their moll Chi iftian majesties and the royal fami- The dauphin was in his eighth year; for four of which he has been alnioft constantly af flicted with diseases which baffled the art of the fi-ft physicians, and have now terminated in his difiolution. His royal highnefs's remains will be interred in the burying place of the Kings of France, in the (huvch of Notre Dame in Pa ris. All the public places ofamufement are shut up, and will remain so till after his burial. The Due de Normandie, the now only son of his Most Christian Majelty, is a fine child about five years old, and bids fair to become in due time the king of France. The present heir apparent of the crown of "ranee, and Maria Therefe Charlotte, born December 19, 1778, are the only remaining chil dren of their Moll Christian Majesties. NEW YORK. SKETCH OF PROCEEDINGS OF CONGRESS. In the HOUSE of Rt PRESE N TAT IVES of the UNITED STATES. FRIDAY, AUCUST 14, 1789. Sk tch of the Debate on Amendments to the Conjlitution. In Co mm 1 tt ee of the whole.—The ni ft article of the report be ing read, Mr. Gerry rose and ohjefted to the sentence, " Go vernment being intended for the benefit oj the people. 1 * ' I "'HIS, said he, holds up an idea, that all government is intend -4 ed for the benefit ot the people : This is not true—for if we examine, we (hall find that not one government in fifty, is confti tutcd upon this principle. Most of the governments, ancient or modern, owed iheir existence to either fraud, force or accident, and are designed for the purposes of opprcflion and persona! am bition. I wish to have nothing go out from this body as a maxim, which is not true in fact. He moved to amend the'claufe by in serting the words "ot right." This motion was negatived. Mr. Tucker observed, that the preamble is no part of the Con stitution : The object is to amend the Constitution ; The pream ble is no more a part of it, than the letter of the President which is annexed to the Inftrumem—and I cannot fee that the committee has any ihing to do with it. Mr. Sumpter moved that the consideration of the preamble mould bepoftponed till the whole amendments are gone through and then we lhall know what introduction may be proper. ° Mr. Smith, (S. C.) observed, that the amendments propofedto the preamble, had been recommended by three Siates, which ren • ders it proper. Mr. Page said, that in his opinion the original preamble will not be altered for the better, by this amendment, and therefore I 'hope it will remain as it is. Mr. Sherman said he was fatisfied with the original elaufe : If t e Constitution was a grant from another power it would be pro per ; but as the right is a natural and unalienable right, and inhe rent in the people, it is quite unneceflary to give anv reasons for toi ming the Constitution It is the ast of their own sovereign will I he words "We the People" contain in themselves the prin ciple fully, and the alteration propoftd will injure the preamble Mr. Madison observed, that the proposed amendment is a truth, and I conceive there is a propriety in inserting it ; besides jieveral of the States have thought proper to mention the preamble in their ratifications, which renders it proper to be attended to. I can lee no difficulty in alTociatiiig the amendment with the pre! amble, without injuring the beauty or fenfeof the paragraph ■ Th< principle it is acknowledged on all hands is felf evident and can derwe no force from thisexpreffion, still for thereafon before fuo. geited it may be prudent to mfert it. ° The (jueftion 011 this amendment was carried in the affirmative . Second amendment: From art. ~ fee. 11, par. 3. ftnke out ali between the word '• direst" and " until such." and infte.d there of, insert after thejirfl enumeration there Jhall be one reprefcntatiic jor every thirty thoufa.nL until the number jhall amount to one hundred ■ aftei a Inch, theproportionJhall be ri Jo regukudby Congrejs. tUtthe num ber of rebrefentativesJha/l never be less than on-huni, j one hundred and,jeoentyJive ; but each flute Jh.u! reprefentatnc." J ' Uv "" lcujl„ c Mr. Vininc : The duty which I owe to my conftit., anxiety on the fubjeft of amendments, and the iuftice and policy of the measure, lead me to propofc 3!ter'th >r,pr ' ety ' " one hundred and tevemy-five," to insert these wo 'l V ' Wdl ' vhere He,:, -ber ,J inhabitants of an, fiarticul,, State, J" they Jhall be entitled to tat representatives 1 h ls w JS „ „V* ooo . out a division. ° ca w ith- Mr. Ames moved, that the word "thirty" fhonM v. n out, and[ forty inserted—so that the ratio of representation t"u be one lor forty thouUnd. lam induccd, iaid he to n l motion, because I think the prcfent tiumber fufficiemlv \ c the purpose of Icgiflation—that number which u found 0r to the object is to be prefered : The people it ispreiumeH a . • ate sally fatisfied with the pref. Nt number, which falls Ihort would, on this proposition, actually constitute the house un exact apportionment upon the present fuppofcd number ofinhT tants : Experience has taught, that all the information neceiT ar both of a general and local nature, may be found in a body more numerous than the present legiffeture : The ex pence oh, T merous reprefentat.on would soon become diffatistadorvtoth' people, and be considered as intolerable burden • The rati c one to every 30000 will swell the reprefentat.on to an enorm? mass, whole support will be mfufferable, and whose deWberati will be impracticable : The present population will onthcS census produce upwards of 100—the augmentation will be ve * rapid : It theretore appears proper to fix the proportion imm7 d.ately, to prevent these evils. By enlarging the representation' we left en the chance of feeing the mod competent charaae and of concentering the wisdom and abilities of the United Stat"' which alone can support the importance and dignity of that branch in which the people are more peculiarly mterefted : The refp on libilitv of any assembly, is in proportion-to the number: In larel representations the weight, the consequence, and refponfibilityof individuals is diminished. Numerous representations en -ender parties, arc fubjett to peculiar fermentations, delay the public bu siness, and byencreafing the expence, lead the people to consider government rather a cUi fe than a bit fling. Tho parties may pro mote the public good, they often give rife to v ry alarming evils. Whether it is poflible so to constitute a popular assembly as toba nifh or restrain to any considerable degree, a spirit of taftion, ij an important enquiry. This however is certain, that in propor ti°n as the assembly is encreafed, the opportunity for intrigue and cabal, to influence weak and unsuspicious characters, and to attach them to the views of ambitious men, is encreafed. It mayalfobe observed, that refponlibility is in some proportion to the numbers reprinted. A representative of a large body of people will feel in .« higher degree the weight of the charge he undertakes, and will thereby be more interested to support a virtuous fame, and redouble his exertions for the public good. The people aTe not anxious to have a representation for every 30000 : This was not the objt& originall) in view by those who proposed this amendmeut ; their intention was to fix a limitation, so that the representation fliould not be diminished by Corigrefs in any future time, below the point of fecuritv—their object was certainly not augmentation, for in proportion as the people mul tiply, the representation will encrcafe, and their influence will be diminished ; this will lessen the controul of the people over them; increasing the number therefore beyond certain limits will expose the government to fa&ions, will lessen the agency of the under standing, and augment that of the passions. I mproper charafttrs will more easily get elected. The number of suitable persons is not great in any country, of those, many will be indisposed to serve. The United States has as great a proportion of competent abilities perhaps as any country whatever. If however the repre sentative body is unduly enlarged, the probability of inferior can didates being ele&ed will rife. It has been asserted that so large a territory as the United States contain cannot remain united un der on« government, even if the administration was cntrufcd to men of consummate abilities, and incorruptible virtue; but this idea will receive additional force, if the chance of different charac ters being callcd to the administration is encreafed. Mi. Ames added many other observations, and concluded by faying, tlfat from the foregoing rcflcftions upon the fubjeft, he was led to make the motion, conceiving it to be consonant to the ideas of the people, and that it would conduce to the dignity and security of the government, and the prefcrvation of the rights, and privileges of the people. Mr. Madison said, he thought differently from the gentleman last speaking : The design of the amendments is to conciliate the minds of the people to the government—prudence requires that the opinion of those States who have proposed this important a mendmcnt should be attended to. It is a fatt that some States have proposed an encreafe of the numb r—feveral have mentioned 200 —this renders it probable that they would not be fatisfied with a less number. Ido not think it necessary at this time to go into an accurate investigation of the advantages or disadvantages of a numerous representation; beyond a certain rule, the number might be inconvenient ; that point is a matter of uncertainty. It is true that numerous bodies are liable to some abufes,but large assemblies are not so fubjett to corruption as smaller ones : If we fix the ra t>o at one for forty thousand, it will not prevent the abuses the gentleman apprehends, for before the second census (hall be taken, it is probable that the population will be so encreafed, as to make the representative body very large ; these is therefore, withrefpeft to futurity, but little choice between one ratio, or the other. I think it will be best toretain the 30000, as attended with the lead difficulty—it is the proportion contemplated by the States, and I hope therefore that this part of the report will beadopted. Mr. Sedgwick stated some particulars refpe&ing inftruftions from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and said he hoped the article in the report of the committee would be adopted. Mr. Gerry also replied to Mr. Ames : He controverted his calculations, and enforced theneceflity of an ample and adequate representation. He observed, that;the gentleman had said, " cn " creasing the number lessens the importance of the members;" but Sir, said Mr. Gerry, are we, in order to preserve our own dignity and importance, to facrificethe liberties of the people? He avert ed that small assemblies are more liable tofermentation than large large representative assemblies will commonly be composed of a conhdeiable proportion of the yeomanry of the country, who are found to be more difpaflionate than persons ele£ted from elevated walks of life. Mr. Livermore was opposed to the motion for 40000. Mr. Ames rose to juftify the motives which induced him to make the motion : He made a copious reply, and among other observa tions said, that he had no idea of attempting any alterations of the Constitution which would injure or weaken the system : The a mendments it is to be cxpe&cd will improve and make it better, this he conceived would be the cafe by the alteration he propoled- Mr. Jackson said, that what he had expe&ed, had taken place. It is now proposed, by way of amendment to the Constitution, to reftrift the number of the representative body to one for every 40000 inhabitants. In support of the argument, the gentleman fays, that in a small assembly the abilities of the best men may e brought as it were to a focus : If this argument has any weight in it, why not trust one person ? One representative to 30000 has been complained of—one to 40000 would certainly be lels competent to doing justice to his constituents. The motion for linking ou 30000, in order to insert 40000, was negatived. , Mr. Sedgwick moved, that the words " onchundred an fevc nty-five" should be struck out, and two hundred infers • Mr. Sherman objected to this motion : He said that was the constitution now to be formed, he fliould be for one re P Tentative to every 40000 inhabitants, inftcad of 3 0C0C '^ a £ c upon that principle I was going to move, said lie, that 1 7> struck out, in order to insert a less number.
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