&(\zojc///^n\ feb [NO. LXXXIX. j THE TABLET No. LXXXIX 44 All human virtue to its latest breath, 44 Finds envy never conquer'd but by death ; 44 The great Alcides, every labor past, 44 Had still this monster to subdue at bft." I NEVER was acquainted with a perfonwho would confefs that any of his actions were prompted by envy. From this I infer, thatevery man deems it one of the ruoft hateful qualities of human nature. The mind of man isloconfti tuted that several emotions may be kindled at the fame moment; and it may be difficult, in any given instance, to diitinguilh the component parts of a motive with so much precision, as to deter mine which preponderates. A person may be stimulated by envy, when he supposes himfelf free from it ; and he may be fufpe&ed of it, when he is, in fa<fl, free from it. We ffiouldnot therefore too hailily acquit ourfelvjs, or charge others, of being und?r the control of this detestable pallion. There is perhaps no occasion where the fym toms of envy are more striking, than in the op position that is frequently made to conlpicuous characters. This restless agent of the foul darts its envenomed arrows onlyagainft objeds of dis tinguished merit. When a bad man is attacked, theaflailant may jnftly be impelled by indigna tion ; when a weak man is hunted down, the per secutor may have 110 feelings but those of con tempt. But when a good and great charader meets with opposition and reproach, envy is ge nerally at the bottom. It may be concluded, without much risque of error, that an envious disposition gives rife to a considerable part of the censure and calumny that areaimed against men in eminent stations. The propriety of such a conclufionis obvious from the difficulty, in many instances, of assigning any other adequate cause or motive to induce iiander and oppolition. Be sides, it will generally hold true, that men in ele vated employments have inducements to promote the public good, in proportion to their elevation. A man promoted to a dignified office should con sider himfelf as a mark, exposed to the sneers of ignorance, the aspersions of envy, and the re proaches of ill-nature. Some illultrious men however escape the effeds of all the evil propen sities of their fellow men. Mankind seem, as it were by common consent, to hulk all the turbulent paftions of the foul, in their treatment of those few characters, to whom all men are too much endeared, to render it fafe for any man to oppose or calumniate. Such fa vored individuals are extremely few. Moll men who engage in public life must not expert to eoinbine the affections of the whole community in their favor. And however eminent may be the knowledge or rectitude of a man, tkefe ex cellent attributes afford no infallible security a gainlt the intrigues of mysterious competitors, or the invecftives of avowed opponents. How great a portion of envy is intermingled in the motives which prevail on those occallons, let those who observe the actions of men determine. If I have been intimately acquainted with a man for years ; if during this time, I have been often heard to applaud his abilities and honesty, and ever lived on the most affectionate terms of friendftiip and good humor with him ; and if on his being suddenly elevated to a station far above me, I endeavor to raise a party againll him by io finuations and reproaches, do I not authorise a luppofition that 1 feel an envious temper towards him ? Why else do I fuffer my friendlhip to be co'me cold and distant ; and my confidence to as sume the appearance of distrust and mystery ?— "Why else do I check the tribute of applause, I have been accuftonied to pay my friend and com panion ; and even depreciate those qualifications which once I could not fail to admire ? If the government of the United States fliould not be established on such a firm and honora ble basis, as to promote the prosperity of its citi zens, and procure the rei'ped: of mankind, it will be owing to the prevalence of this fame paflion of envy, more than to any other cause. Rival cha racters cannot bear the idea of superiority. No government can be refpedtable and prosperous in which eminent men do not take the lead, in their different departments. When the people of this country are convinced of the truth ofxhisremark, they will nor, I hope, lose their circiimfpe<flion, but they will be less perplexed by the suggestions f>f envy and fufpicioii. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN FENNO, No. g, MAIDEN-LANE, NEW-YORK WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1790, THE OBSERVER HPHE report of the Secretary of the Treasury, being now before the -1 public, contains information which must remove the reluctance of some % who doubted the propriety of funding the debt, and re-eflablifhing public credit. Injidious means have been used to lead the people into an opinion, that a great part of the domejlic national debt, has been pur chased by foreigners at its lowefl price. In Bujlon, it has been published, andfaid to be under the fanflion of a member of Congref y that 44 the national debt is jive eighths owned by fo reigners, and is thus regiflered in the treasury of the United States." I much queflion whether any member of Congress ever gave such infor mation, and Juppofe it rather a fabrication of design ; but if it be true he is corrected by the treasury report. Many i nfinuations of the fame nature circulate, and cause a fear in some minds, that their country will be facrificed to the emolument of a few rich foreigners. The Secretary's report furnifhes means to detect these mifreprejentations—any person holding national securities or bonds, may have their amount regiflered in the treasury books, the original bonds are given up, and an account opened between the United States and the credi tor, to whom is given a new certificate of the amount due to him. The debt thus modelled is called the rtgiflered debt. Many of our citizens have regiflered their national paper, and it is welt known that all purcha fedfor foreigners or to fend abroad on adventure, hath been entered on the treasury books in this manner. By the Secretary's report we find that the whole dome/lie debt of the United States, is Dollars. Cents. 42,414,085 94 The whole reg'flercddelt is, 4,598,462 78 The regijleied debt is not one ninth part of the whole, and only apart oj this is owned by foreigners. Several gentlemen oj veracity, who are profeffionally acquainted with the circulation of paper,and the manner of its negotiation, inform me that by enquiry at the rcgifler office, three months paji, confieUrable I els than 3,000,000 dollars had been registered on account of foreigners \ butfup pofe three millions of dollars is the sum, this is but one fourteenth part of the national debt.—The d:bt of the particular States hath not to my knowledge, unless it be within a few weeks pajl, ever been purchased for foreign adventure, and ij this be confdered as part of the national debt, which it ought to be both injuflice and policy, not more than one twenty seventh part of the whole is vefled in foreign owners, and a considerable proportion of this was taken by them, either in payment of debts due, or at a price of purchase much higher than it has been in the country. Some persons have laborioujly circulated an idea, of a prodigious jo reign sale of paper, to prejudice the minds of the people againjl ajund ingfjlem ; but I think fueh attempts base and difhonejl; even allow the fafls, such as they wish to reprejent, it would be unfortunate for the country, but is nofubjlantial argument againjl funding the debt. Jvjlice jlands on fixed principles, not on a man's combledion, the tone of his voice, or the country in which he zoas born. Other things being alike, that which is justice to a native citizen is also jujlice to a foreigner. The quantity of regiHered debt, is alfofome guide to determine the sum, which hath been alienated by the original holders at a low price. The brskers and great speculators in paper, in the middle States ; where mofl of this traffic hath been managed, have regiflered in the treasury much the larger part of thefums purefwfed by them, and the whole of this we fee to le a sum, comparatively fnall. The alienations which have taken place between citizens removed fom the course of speculation, have generally been at a price much nearer the original value. Continuedexamination of this fubjeff gives me new con viction, that the alienations which have happened are far less than many suppose. Ido not mention this as supposing it a matter which ought to influence in the provision of funds, but ij eafecan be given, in confiflen cy with truth, to those persons whose opinion is different from mine, they ought to receive it. In the Secretary's report there is an argumentfor the re-eJlablifJiment oj national credit, which Ido not remember to have beforeJeen publicly noticed—he fays, " The effefl, which the Junding of the public debt, on 1 right principles, wouldhav: upon landed property, is one of thecir " cumflances a'tending such an arrangement, which has been leafl at " tended to, tho it deserves the mojl particular attention. The present " depreciated/late of that f)ecies cf property is a serious calamity. The " value of cultivated lands in mofl of the States has fallen since the revo " lution from 35 to 50 p:r cent, in those Jarthejl south the decrease is lt flilimore conjidcrable. Indeed if the representations continually re " ceived from that quarter, maybe credited, lands there will command " no price % which may not be deemed an almojl total facrifice. Thisde " crease in s he value of lands, ought, in a great meafure,to be attributed " to tie fear cits of money. Confequentiy whatever produces an augrnen lt tation of Vie moniedcapital of the country, mufl have a proportional u effcEl in raising that value. The beneficial tendency of a funded debt. "in this refpeft has been manifefied by the mojl decisive experience in <( Great The evil here mentioned Is mofl sensibly felt, and has come near ruining many thoujands of our fnall planters, and if a remedy be possible it ought to be immediatly applied. The opening of *n immense new territory is the cause, which hath been commonly ajjignrd \ this may have its influence, but is not proportioned to so great an effect. The fear city of money is a cause greater and more immediately op'rating. To give a value to fixed or landed property, there mufl be a certain pro portion of property, in its nature negotiable,fuch is money, and theprin ciple in public funds, which by its credit, is received as money. The dif truflion of negotiable property injlantly towers the value of landed pro perty. tVhen bufivef flagnated by the commencement of zoar, the whole negotiable property oj'the people was throne into the hands of thepubhc, and has in cffeEl been annihilated by the failure of credit. At the return ofpetce, habit, and other causes. for a short season, prefcrved a decent price, but the depreciation oj lands joon took place> and is now become ex treme. Unless a remedy can be in part effected, by the mec-fares recom mended, th'fii!cable valve of the farmers property is half deposed. The argument addrcjfcsitfcjflrongly tc the policy and inter efl of all our plan ters who feel the evil. If a small number of people were to be benefited, it would be less material; but the cl fs of citizens zvhofe cafe we are now Confidently, contains nine parts, in ten, of the whole people. CONGRESS. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THURSDAY, FEB- 11, 179°-, MR. BURKE having withdrawn his motion for discrimination. Mr. Madison rofc and observed, that no person had exprejfed more itrongly than he felt the im portance and difficulty of the fubjeA. That although he had endeavoured to view it under all its and analyze it in all its princi ples, yet he had kept his mind open for the light to be expected from the gentlemen who had en- No. XVIII. PRICE THREE DOLLARS PR. ANN tered Into tiie difcuilions. That he would gladly have remained (till longer a hearer; not a Speak er, upon the lubjetl: ; but that the turn which the arguments had taken made it requifire for him then, if at all, to trouble the committee with his refleiftions, and the opinion in which they had terminated. In order to understand fully the debt due to doineftic creditors, he thought it proper to look back to the circumstances under which it was con tracted. He Remarked that it was the debt, not of the government, but of the nation ; that the United States contra&ed the debt 5 the govern ment was the agent, or organ, only. That for the purpose of this contrad:, the United States had then a national capacity. That although, by the revolution just eft'e<fted, other national capacities had been added, and a material change had taken place in the government ; yet that the national identity of the United States, relative to the debt, was not affed;ed ; nor was the present; go vernment any thing more than the agent or organ of its constituents. That the political 34 well as moral obligation, therefore,to discharge the debt, had undergone no variation whatever. That this was the language of the constitution, which ex prefcly declares, that all debts fhallhave the fame! validity against the United States, under their new, asunder their old form of government. A question had been llarted, as to the jaft mount of the debt due from the United States. This, he thought, admitted of a ready answer : the United States owed the value which they had re ceived, which they had acknowledged, and which they had promised. No logic, no magic, could diflolve this obligation. The true question to be decided was, to -whom I the payment was really due. He divided tliof® connected with the liquidated debt into four clas ses : 1. Original creditors who have never alienated heir securities. 2. Original creditors who have alienated. 3. Present holders of alienated securities. 4. Intermediate holders, tfhrongh whose hand 9 securities have circulated. The only principles that could govern the de cision on their refpediive pretensions, he stated to be, 1. Public judtice ; 2. Public faith ; 3. Public credit ; 4. Public opinion* VVith relped: to the firft class, there could be 110 difficulty. Justice was in their favor, for they had advanced the value which they claim ed : public faith was in their favour, for the written promise was in their hands ; rcfpecl for public credit was in their favour, for if claims so sacred were violated, all confidence muftbe at an end ; public opinion was in their favor, for eve ry lioneft citizen could not but be their advocate. With refpecft to the last class, the intermediate holders,their pretensions, if they had any, would lead into a labyrinth for which it was impofli ble to find a clue. This would be the less com plained of, because this class were perfedily free, both in becoming and ceasing to be creditors ; and because, in general, they must have gained by th'eir speculations. The only rival pretensions then, are those of the original creditors who have alfigned, and of the present holders of the alignments, The former may appeal tojuftice, because the value of the money, the service, or the property, advanced by them, has never been really paid to them They may appeal to good faith, because the value stipulated and expecfled was not fatisfied by the Heps taken by the government. The certi ficates putinto the hands of the creditors, on clo sing their settlements with the public, were of less real value than was acknowledged to be due ; they may be considered as having been forced, in fatft, on the receivers. They cannot, therefore, be fairly adjudged an extinguishment of the debt. They may appeal to the motives for establishing public credit, for which justice and public faith form the natural foundation. They may appeal to the precedent furriifhedby the compensation al lowed to the army during the war, for the depre ciation of bills which nominally discharged the debts. They may appeal to humanity, so? the fufferings of the military part of the creditors can never be forgotten, while sympathy is an Ame rican virtue. To fay nothing of the lingular hard - ship, in so many mouths, of requiring those wha have loft four fifths or seven-eighths of their due, to contribute the remainder in favor of those who have gained in the contrary proportion. On the other hand, the holders by alignment have claims which he by no means wifiied to de preciate. They will fay, that whatever preten J W
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