PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS RY JOHN FENNO, No. 69, HIGH-STEEET, BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD STREETS, PHILADELPHIA.
[No. 84, of Vol. ll.] Wednesday. February i 6, 1791.
FOR THE GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES.
MR. FENNO,
ALTHOUGH I conceive it improper for indi
viduals to obtrude their ientiments on the
public, too frequently, with refpedt lo lubjeAs
that engage the attention, and require the deli
beration of the legislature of the Union ; yet if
ic appear from proceedings already had, that any
thing will be pretermitted, which merits legida
tive provision, it ought to be communicated. The
multiplicity and variety of buiinefs that is pre
sented to the minds of the members of the ho
norable body, unavoidably prevent an accurate
and precise view of every part : Hence I infer
the reason that induced Congress to adopt the
practice of refering certain fubje&s to those of
ficers, that fill the different executive departments
to report on : A practice proper enough, if con
fined within due bounds: The danger which may
result is, that lb implicit a reliance may be placed
on those reports, as to preclude a due investiga
tion of the fubje&s reported on—Few men pos
sessing industry enough to invelligate a fubjeifl
already considered to their hand. This I pre
sume, hath been the cafe, from certain proceed
ings of the house of representatives, in conse
quence of a late report, made by the Attorney-
General, relative to the Judiciary Syllem, the re
vilion of which, as there recommmended, hath
been postponed to a subsequent period. The
Attorney-General among other things, recom
mends it to the legislature as proper, " That the
Clerks and Marlhals should have emoluments
equal to a livelihood," considering with jultice
that the precarious profits of their relpeJtive of
fices cannot be adequate to their support : Upon
the ground of this recommendation, I suppose
the house of representatives have appointed a
committee " to prepare and bring in a bill mak
ing provision for the Clerks and Marshals."
An indifferent observer would be led to sup
pose, from this circumltance, that those were the
only officers known in the courts of the Union,
and that by some novel regulation, they had dis
pensed with a third officer, who hath been here
tofore deemed important and elfential in the
constitution of judicial tribunals—l mean the
Prosecutor of the pleas of the State, whom it would
be conjectured from his stile was a character that
filled an appointment of considerable trust and
confidence. Our observer would be not a little
surprised to be told, thataltho such an officer ex
i(ted,yethe was thought of such trifling account,
that he was left without any kind of provision,
except the uncertain allowance of so much as the
court might deem fufficient for casual services—
and that he was not even permitted to make his
own charge for such service.
I cannot avoid expressing my astonishment, that
it ffiould never have occurrcd to the Attorney-
General, or to the Members of Congress, that it
was the duty of the Diltric r t Attornies, as well as
of the Clerks and Marshals, to attend the refpec
tivc feilions of the Courts of Ihe Union—distant
perhaps from t heir relidence, without much prof
petft of profeffional employment, and with no
other object in view but a discharge of the duties
of their office, and generally no doubt to the
very great injury of their bufinels at home.
It is unneceflary to mention the duties incum
bent on that officer—they will occur upon reflec
tion to the understandings of gentlemen—who,
in revolving this fubjec'l in their minds, must be
itrongly itnprefled with an idea that talents and
profeffional knowledge are requisite for the due
discharge of the office—contrary to the usual,
I may fiy, aln.ioft tiniverfal praiiice of the honorable
body, they have expected that services will be ren
dered by the Attornies without proper compen
sation. I have lately been informed, that it
hath some time ago been required of them, by
certain officers in some of the executive depart
ments, to perforin certain fervicesth.it called for
considerable attention and trouble, and that they
were told their aflual expenditures should be re
imburfed. lam certainly no friend to salaries,
but I think government ought to preserve some
degree of confittencv.
There is one confederation, in my view, that
is conclusive as to the propriety of rendering the
diflrifi Attornies an adequate compensation : It is
well known that molt, if "<>t all the States, have
taken effectual fleps, cither by legislative aifts,
or the inculcation of a jealous diftrult, to exclude
aU jcderal officers from it ace appointments—in or
tier, as they fay, to preserve the stare govern
ments free from the influence of the federal go
vernment— Ihe consequence of which is, that
every person who accepts an appointment under
the federal government, " ipfo fadio" expatriates
himfelf, and lofeth all chance, while in office, of
any appointment in the particular State, how
ever important. Is it to be supposed then thai
persons, whole talents afford them prospects of
advancement kt home, will accept of the office of
dijlrit7 Attorney, eltimated at so low a rate as it is
ai present by Congress. On the contrary, will it
not be spumed at by men of abilities, insomuch
that none but inferior characters can be obtained
to difcliarge its duties : Would this, I ast, be an
eligible plight for pleas, that regard the interefl
and welfare of the Union, to be placed in. It is
obviously the interefl of the Union, that a due
attention be paid to the profecinion of smugglers,
the bane of its produiftive resources—and it is
equally certain, that a spirited and determined
prosecution of such offenders, will tend much to
the discouragement of their ma)-prac r tices—This
relts very much upon the diftrirt Attornies, who
are the principal agents in the commencement
and condudl of suits : Men inuft be rewarded for
doing their duty—the imperfections of humanity
require the spur of interefl::—" If you expeifl
work well done, you mult pay well."
N E W- Y O R K, Feb. n.
Extraß of a letter from London, November 30.
" It is with pleasure I inform you that the cre
dit and character of the American states is rapid
ly appreciating in this country ; one considera
ble proof of which is, the speedy appointment
of an ambassador, to reside in Philadelphia,whofe
arrival, it is said, will be fuceeded by a commer
cial treaty with Great Britain ; and which ifcon
ftituted npon the liberal basis of rpclpro«"»l ad
vantage, cannot ocherwife than highly bene
ficial to both countries. Many of your vorks of
literature are in growing eflimation 011 this fide
of the Atlantic ; and, as refinement advances we
have no small apprehensions of rivals in the fine
arts riling in the western woods. An American
production, entitled, " A law cafe between So
loman Dash and Frederick Flute,*" has been
lately delivered with great eclat in the British
theatre, owing to that fund of fatyrical humour
with which it abounds, and yet is of such a na
ture as to please without offending."
* See a volume of Miscellaneous pieces, by P. Freneau—page 216.
PROVIDENCE, February 3.
While we remark with pleasure, on the ad
vantages resulting to the public from the new
regulation, by the Pod Matter General, for con
veying the mails from the feat of the general
government, we cannot help regretting, that
the portmanteaus used in that business are so
finall, that Neiufpapers direßed to Printerj, are
frequently excluded, and thereby the editors of
the public papers at adiftance from the capital
prevented the pleasure of prefentingtheir read
ers with the latest proceedings of Congress.—
The more than usual number of public difpatcli
es which weekly go with the mail, point out the
necelfity of enlarging the portmanteaus, in or
der to leave as much room as formerly for news
papers.—lt is of the greatest importance to the
general government, that the people in all parts
of the union (liould have early and authentic ac
counts of the proceedings of Congress—and in
no ether manner can rhey receive such accounts
but by a free and general circulation of news
papers.—By newspapers thus being flopped, op
portunities are given to those so disposed to mis
represent luch proceedings—and sorry are we
to fay there are filch dispositions in every part
of the United States. Other substantial real'ons
could be given, were it deemed neceflary, tofhew
that the legislature of the union ought immedi
ately, to give special directions to the officers by
them appointed in the Poft-Office department to
attend punctually and faithfully to the forwarding
and delivery ok newspapers—especially those pub
lished at the feat of government.
BOSTON, February 2.
FOREIGN ARTICLES.
Mr. Burke, for his P ilippick on the French National Assem
bly, is denominated a: Paris, Guy Faux, and the fifth ot Nov em
ber. was burnt in effigy, al Angiaife.
1 he exiled Nobility nf France, ill various quarters, are still pro
je&ing coumcr-rcvoluiions.
749
CURT I U S
NOTE
[Whole No. i 88.]
M. de Calonnc, the Ex-Minister ot France, has lately left Ena
land for Turin.
The city of London has addrefied the Britilh King on the pa
cification with Spain. It approves highly of the Convention
,nd the Recorder [Mr. Rose] who read, and the Sheriff who pre
sented the Address, were Knighted.
The Britiih Parliament will again take up the Abolition of the
Slave Trade.
Mr. Pitt has a majority in the new Britith Parliament of two
o one.
John Boydcll, Esq. the celebrated printfeller, is ele&ed Lord
Mayor of London.
Ot Aflignats [or funded Paper Money] Nov. 4, last, there was
fold at Paris, 125,000,000 livres, at per cent, above par.
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
AT THE THIRD SESSION',
Begun and held at the City of Philadelphia, on Monday the sixth
of December, one thousand seven hundred and ninety.
An ACT declaring the consent of Congress to a
certain adl of the State of Maryland.
BE it enabled by the Senate and House of Rprefentativet of the Uni~
tedStatei of America in Congrejs assembled, That the consent of
Congress be, and is hereby granted and declared to the operation
of an ast of the General Aifembly of Maryland, made and passed
at a feflion begun and held at the city of Annapolis, on the firlfc
Monday in November last, intituled, " An a£t to empower the
wardens of (he poit of Baltimore to levy and collefl; the duty there
in mentioned, " until the tenth day of January next, and from
thencc until the end ot the then next session of Congress, and no
longer.
FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG,
Speaker of the Hovfe cjßeprefentatives.
JOHN ADAMS, Vice-President of the United States,
and Prejident of the Senate.
Appro v ed, feb ru ar y ninth, 1791.
CEQRCk WASHINGTON, P?efident of the United States,
(True Copy)
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Secretary of State.
CONGRESS.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
MONDAY, Jan. 31.
In cVinmittee of the "whole, on the bill for the eflablifh-
ment of Pojl-Offices and Pofi-Roads.
Mr. Boudinot in the Chair.
MR. STEELE moved to expunge the second
fec r tion, for the purpose of introducing an
other as an amendment; in substance, that the
molt diretft route from W'iicaflTet in the diftrictof
Maine, to Savannah in the state of Georgia be
established as the post road ; and that the Presi
dent of the United States be empowered to elta
bliflicrofs post roads, where they shall appear to
him necessary.
He observed that upon the present eftabli/hmenc
of the principal post road, a considerable and po
pulous part of North-Carolina derived 110 advan
tage from the establishment, and the sea coast ex
clusively enjoyed the benefit of a regular and
speedy conveyance for their correspondencies,
and thus the agricultural interest was facrificed
to the commercial.
In the last felfion, it was true, he had been of
opinion that a discretionary power, which by his
amendment was propofedtobe left, with thePre
fident, should not be given to him ; not that he
thought it unconstitutional, but because he then
conceived the representatives, from their collect
ed local information, better able to determine in.
what parts of the coiintry polls would be requir
ed : But the Senate did not concur with the house
in exercising that power, and a change ofcircum
ftances required a change of nieafures ; —the Pre
sident, by a tour to the southward, hefaid, could
colled: the neceflary information whereon to
found proper regulations in that quarter.
Mr. Williamfon opposed the amendment offer
ed by his colleague. The obje<fl of an eftabli/h
----ed post was not to afford the nioft speedy convey
ance, by the ftraightell line between two distant
places : but to accommodate on the route as ma
iny persons desirous of writing as possible. If the
i\tis o