A NATIONAL PAPER, PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN FENNO, No. 69, HIGH-STREET, PHILADELPHIA. [No. 85, of Vol. lII.] Saturday, February iB, 1792. FROM THE DEL AWARE GAZETTE CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT PUBLISHED FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE CITIZENS OF THE DELAWARE STATE ; Purluaut to an Order of the Convention ot the 31 it Dec. 1791 (CONCLUDED FROM OUR LAST.) a. T TPON the revsrfal ot a judgment or decree of the supreme court, or cf the common pleas, or decree of the chancel lor, this court shall refpe&ively reader such judgment, or pass such decree, as the supreme court of the common pleas, or the chancellor ought to have rendered or pa fled, except where the re *erfal is in favor of the plaintiff or petitioner in the original suit, and the damages to be aflefied, or the matters to be decreed, arc uncertain : in°any of which cales thetaufe shall be remanded, in order to a final decision. 3. The judges of this court may iflue all process proper for bringing records fully before them, and for carrying their deter minations into execution. ARTICLE VIII Section 1. The members of the Senate and House of Repre sentatives, the judges of the supreme court and the common p'eas, and the chancellor, (hall by virtue of their offices be conservators of ihe peace throughout the Stale ; and the treafurcr, attorney.ge neral, secretary, clerks of the supreme court, prothonotanes, re giflers, recorders, fheriffs, and coroners (ball by virtue of their offices, be conservators thereof, within the counties refpe&ivcly in which they rcfide. 2. Provision refpe£ling the militia (hall be made by, law, con formably to the conflitution of the United States. 3. The representative, and when there (hall be more than one, the leprefentatives of the people of this State in Congress, (hall be voted for at the fame places where representatives in the State le gislature are voted for, and in the fame manner. 4. The State treafurcr (hall be appointed annually by the House of Representative with the concurrence of the Senate. No per son, who hath served in the office of State treasurer, (hall be eli gible to a feat in either House of the legislature, until he shall have made a final settlement of his accounts as treasurer. 5. Two persons for the office of lheriff", and two for the office of coroner, shall be chosen by the citizens residing in each county, and having right to vote tor representatives at the time and places of election of representatives, one of whom tor each office rel pe&ively, shall be appointed bv the Governor. They shall hold iheir offices for three years, if so long they shall behavt themselves well, and until fucceflors be duly qualified ; but no person shall be twice chosen or appointed fhenff in any term of fix years. The Governor shall fill vacancies in these offices by new appoint ments to continue unto the next general election, and unnl fuc celTors shall be choien and duly qualified. Every flierifF shall keep a regular ftaiement and account of all monies received by hirn as fhenff, and of the application thereof, and of all fees be coming due to him ; and wiihin three months after the expiration «f his office, shall deposit the book containing the fame, or a true duplicate thereof, among the records of the prothonotary's office, there to remain tor ir»fpe£hon. under such penalties for default as shall beprefcribed by the legislature; and in like manner shall return a statement and account of all monies received and applied, and fees becoming due, upon sales made by h:m after the expi ration of his office, within three months after every such falc. The legislature, two thirds of each branch concurring, may when u shall he judged expedient, vest the appointment of fheriffs in ihe Governor, but no person shall be twice appointed fhenff in anv term of fix years. 6. The attorney-general, clerks of the supreme court, protho notaries, registers, clerks of the orphans courts, and of the peace, ihail refpe&ively be cominiflioned tor five years if so long they ihall behave themselves well; but may be removed by the Go vernor within that time on convi&ion of misbehavior in office, or on the address of both houses of the legislature. Prothonotarics, clerks of the supreme court, of the orphans courts, regiflers, re corders, and fheriffs, shall keep their offices in the town 01 placc 111 each county, in which the supreme court and the court of common picas ace usually held. 7. All inferior officers in the treasury department, attornies at law, election officers, officers relating to taxes, to the poor, and to highways, constables, and hundred officers, shall be appoint ed n luch manner as is or may be dirc£led by law. 8. All falancs and fees annexed to offices shall be moderate ; and no officer lhall receive any fees whatever, without giving to the person who pays, a receipt for tnem, if required, therein fpe ciiying every particular and ihe charge fur it. 9. Norofts shall be paid by a person accufcd, on a bill beiAg returned Ignoramus ; nor on acquittal by a jury, unless a majority of the judges present at the trial certify, that there was probable cause tor the prosecution. io. The rights, privileges, immunities, and estates of religious societies and corporate bodies, fliall remain as if the conftituiion o{ this State had not been altered, No clergyman or preacher of the gospel, of any denomination, shall be capable of holding ar.y civil ofiice in this State, or of being a member of either branch of the legiflaiure, while he continues in ihecxercife of the paltoral or cltrical tunftions. ii. All the laws ot this State, existing at the time of making this conrtitution and not inconfiltent with it, fhal 1 remain in fntce, "nlcls they thall be altered by future laws : And all actions and prufecutions now pending, shall proceed as ii tins constitution had not been made. 12. 1 his coni\itution (Tiall be prefixed to every edition of the made by dire&ion ol the legislature, 13. 1 he legiflaature thail, as soon as conveniently may be, pro vide by law, tor afceuaining what ftatutej, and parts of statutes, J ":f nt ' nuc to be in llir « within this State ; for reducing them, and all acts of the general assembly, into such o.der, and publilh ing them in such manner, that thereby the knowledge of them may be generally diffufed ; lor choosing infpefto.s and judges of flections, and regulating the fame in such manner as fhill molt tiKctnally guard the rights of the citizens entitled to vote; for better fecunng personal liberty, and ealily and speedily redrefinz all wrongful redraints thereof ; tor more certainly obtaining re turns ol impart,al juries; for dividing lands and tenements in la.es by theriffs, where they will bear a division, into as many parcels as mav be, without spoiling the whole; and for ad*er tiling and making the sales in such manner, and at such times, and places, m may render them mod beneficial to all persons con < erned ; and foi eftablilhing schools, aud promoting arts and fci uoc" »n one or more {cminaties of karainj. ARTICLE IX Members of the general alTembiy, and all officers executive and judicial, (hail be bound byoath or affirmation to lupport the con ltitucion of this State, and to perform the duties of their iefpe£live oracci with fidelity. ARTICLE X The general affcmbly, whenever two thirds of each house shall deem it necefTary, may with the approbation of the Governor, propose amendments to th"S conftitut ion, and duly publish them in print for the consideration ot the people, at least three and not more than fix months before the next general election of repre fenrativcs ; and if three fourths of each branch of the legislature shall after such an election, and before another, ratify the said amendments, they shall be valid to all intents and purpoles as parts of this conllitution. No convention lhall be called but by Che authority of the people; and an unexceptionable mode of making their sense known wi'l be for them at a general election ■of representatives, to vote also by ballot Jot or againjl a conven tion, as they lhall feveraliy choose to do ; and if thereupon it shall appear, that a majority of all the citizens in the State voting for representatives, have voted for a convention, the general alTembly, shall accordingly at their next leflions, call a convention to con fill of at leail as many members as there aie in both houses of the le gislature, to be chosen in the fame manner, at the fame places, and at the fame time ihat representatives are, by the citizens entitled to vote for representatives, on due notice to them given lor one month, and to meet within three months after the laid ele&iou. a true copy JAMES BOOTH, Secretary oj the Convention. FOR THE GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES. MR. FENN'O, I AM a plain farmer ; and as the winterevenings are long, I love to gee the city papers and to con over the affairs of the nation. My own af fairs go very well ; wheat has fold very well since the new government began, the crops have been good, and I find since the debt has inade such a suss 1 get the ready cacti better than ever, for cafli is grown plenty. Thus I am quite at leisure to inind what does not more concern'me than another man. I have a family, however,and I look forward to futurity as I ought. No body will wonder then that 1 am a deep politician. I have read the city papers til! the cold sweat ran down my face—l never sweated more at the plow. I read about the danger that our repub lican principles are exposed to, and how nionied men are growing up to the lize of Goliah, and how Congress is all wrong, and how we are too rich now to be virtuous and free, tho t'other day we were too poor to pay for a government, and then the charge of it would take our bread away, and our children would cry for a crust. 1 love my family as well as a bird loves her nest, and my children as well as she loves her young. I had rather secure to them a good education and a free government, than to learn them to dance and leave behind me a great estate. I have been led into an hundred scrapes by thinking too well of my own opinion, and so fays I, I will fee how the wind is with my neighbors, far we live migh ty well together. A dozen of us got together on new year's evening, and then we talked all these matters over. If we had drinked small-beer, it would be a short story to tell you all that palled, but as small beer would not go down, we were all very talk ative— we did not drink to excels however. in stead of telling you all that was said, it will be fufficient to tell you what was finally agreed to. The funding fyftetn was at firft condemned as very improper, and anti-republican — but after mature enquiry it was allowed that it was a very good thing. What does that promise, said we, more than to pay ourjuft debts—Debts contract ed to make the lands we live on our own, and to remove a stranger and intruder from them. Tho we pay at 20s. in the pound, as some com plain, we had the value at that time when the debt was contracted, and now we have the bene fit more than twenty fold, having beaten our e nemies, and being let down to enjoy pcace and security under a free government. If then we owe the debt, what harm to promise to pay it. The funding fyftein acknowledges the debt, and engages to pay the interest quarterly. Something was to be done with the debt—Congiefs must ei ther pay the principal of ihedebtat once, orpay the interest yearly by annual grams, or fund it as they have done, or take ihe fpuiige and rub it out. When we blame Congress for the way they have pursued, it is but fair 10 fee what o ther ways lay open for them. We should not have thanked Congress to call for a direCt tax to pay off the debtat once. We had not the money. Such a great demand would have cruflied us, and it is out of the queltion.— Had Congress forborne to fund the debt, it would ha. e been a better speculating I'cheine than it is now. The more uncertaiu from year to year, the better for the 357 ifc, [Whole No. 295.] {peculators. They would have (peculated oti the chance chat the interelt would not be voted for at the year's end. Who would have been the gainers by this uncertainty. Not the farm ers. The money would have been drawn to the seaports, where this icheme of yearly grants for the interelt would have opened' the molt profita ble market for money. Therefore few would have engaged in the improvements or purchale of lands. And the debt itfelf, tlio always em ploying money, would not have taken the place of money as it has done ot late. Another very bad conference has been told us, that foreign ers would have got the certificates for a trifle. It is true they have bought them (ince the debt was funded, but we have got into the country 245. or 255. for evet y 20s. We receive more than we give, and it is 110 c easy to fee how the coun try can he made poor by making good bargains. Why then (hould we not fund the debt at once. We mean to pay it—where was the harm of fay jng so. rh ela II method of d 1 fpofi ng of the debt was to blot it out.—Some peopie think that would be throwing off a weight they are tired of car rying on their backs. Now, | teach my children the ten commandments. I endeavorto bringthem up to be honest men—and I (hould be miserable it 1 forefaw that they would be brought to shame for their misdeeds. — 1 (hould truly be afraid of their turning out rogues in spite of my care, if Congress had agreed to fpunge out the debt. Government, by /hewing what advantage is to be got by dilhonefty, would do a great deal to wards (polling all the youth in the land. There fore, if the devil tempted Congress to jockey the public creditors, 1 am glad for my children's fake they did not yield to him. Some have found fault because the whole debt cannot be redeemed at pleasure. Where is the harm of that, pray ! We have taken a ftouc slice from the creditors on that account ; atid have we parted with any very valuable rights ? Have we not rei'erved.the right to redeem as much of the debt as we have money to pay off. And what a rout is kept up in the liewfpapers, because we have parted with the right to do what wecannot do. And yet we have been well paid for parting with the right by the funding fyftetn, i. e* by the 3 per cents and deferred debt. This is alledged to be dangerous to a republi can people. There may be a snake in the grafSj but 1 cannot fee how a people expose theinfelve* by a<fting according to good conscience. We owe the debt, and we ought to pay it as soon as we can. I cannot for my life fee what there is anti republican in purl'uing the plain old path of com mon honesty. As to the fiddle-faddle story of the great na* bobs becoming lords, I feel quite at my eai'e. They must leave off getting children—otherwile half a dozen or halfa fcoreyoung fellows in each family, will be found to have a greater inheri tance in folly and luxury than in 6 per cents. And what care we, the lords of the foil, for the fix per cent gentry. Their wealth gives them no power over us—and as to their number and influence, they will afFecft llie price of pheafanis and v enifoil more than the votes of Ihe yeomanry. The country is in the hands of the landed in terelt— which outweighs as much as it outnum bers the monied inteieft. The latter has ever been as a drop in the bucket : — and though it ha# intreafed of late very unexpectedly, the landed interest has not increased less—and it is going on with a speed and to an extent that mocks the filly apprehensions of the monied interest eating ic up. Look round and fee how the frontier circle widens—fee how the interior part improves— fee how arts and manufactures multiply—A man who stands 011 a wharf, fees none of this won derful growth of the landed interest—he fees the growth of trade, which indeed flows from the growth of the country produce—he fees the mer chants and rich people scattering handfulls of money for luxuries, and he is ready to cry out that the newspapers are in the right to found the alarm for liberty ; and lb he snatches his pen and ink to tell us how we afe made beggars by grow ing rich, and all slaves by honest and equal laws. But the landed interest governs every country — and as in this men live on their own farms, and are not tenants, nothing is more certain than that the people may govern if they will. Liberty is not exposed to any new danger by the new monied interest, as the public creditors are term ed by the angry newspaper writers, 0n thecon
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