. ■ ... • ,• .. A NATIONAL PAPER, PU BLISHI.D WE ON KSD AYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN FENNO, No. 34, NvRIH FIFTH-STREET, PH IL A DKLPHI A. [No. 79 of Vol. IV.] JCaNGRESS. BOUSE OF RFPRt.SrNTATIVFS. SATURDAY, February 16. IV committee of the whole on the bill to ef tablifii fees to be paid on the transfer of pub lic securities. Mr. Steele in the chair. The bill v.'as read by the chairman —an a mendment was propofcd, which was, to strike out the last line of the bill, and to fubllitute a clause providing for the disposal of the fees, which are to be received by the Comptroller of the Treasury and the Loan-Offices. Mr. said he did not know whether he should vote for the bill or not; at. prefsnt he had his doubts on the expediency of departing from a principle eftablifhtd in the government, which is, that public officers fliould becompen fated for their lervices without being authorised to receive any feeS. This principle has been adhered to in all cases whete it was praflicable; and i' mill appear the nioft eligible mode when it is corfidered how difficult it is to guard a gainst abnfes and frauds: he considered 4t would TO if not impoflible, :o pri>- vide adtqua e checks nrthe^brctirfefa. Mr. Benfon objefled to the provitlon gene rally, he confidercd it as laying a tax on a par ticular species of property already encumbered with variou«reftridtionsinrefpe>ft to which there is no option left to one of the parties. The go v rnm nt has prefcribcd for its own security a particular process i.i the business of transferring pr.blit certificate*. He saw 110 reason in impof inga tax in addition to thete regulations. \>r avton, in replying to Mr. Fitzfimons ob (' ved I." the process of the business inmak ifig the t - 'rs atthefeveral Loan Offices would afford ■ ' tunity to provide compleat and adij.m;; any ahufe in the business or em'ic**': it 0f the fees; the names of the par :, r.tffed in bqoks kept for the j> ; ! ♦ would f'.unilh the neceffary_ c: U : -'. fpecSl to the objsdlipD-»"''ng fr..; m • he c ""- ceive> spp. y with any greater forcc flfan what might be urged again <1 fees imposed on deeds, &c. Mr. Davton conceived that as a hod of clerks were employed in the Treasury Dirpartmant on thfs hufinefs of tiSnafer which was done for the benefit of individuals,'be tho't j it no more than reasonable that they Ihould pay the expence. Mr. Clark followed Mr. Dayton in a train of similar observations; he laid he saw no difficul ty in, the business, the expence wiil fall on the speculators only. Mr. Sturgesfaid, it appeared to him that the bill would operate as an infraction of the law shaking provision for the public debt; he con ceived that that law does not contemplate any charge being paid by the proprietors of public securities for transferring the certificates . they never supposed that they would be clogged with any such charge. In this view of the fubjed he Ihould be oppofedto the bill. Mr. Benfon replied to Mr. Dayton's remarks on the tax imposed on deeds; he said the cases are rotparellel. In th* present cafe there is ho option to the public creditors; the government has already prescribed how this bufiliefs shall be don*; it must therefore be considered as a breach of the rights of the creditors. With refpedt to the expence* falling exciufively on speculators, he said the gentleman was mi (taken, and men tioned an infbance,to fliew that perfom who are not speculators will be fubjedl to the tax. Mr. TSenfon doubted the propriety however, of a re gulation which ihould operate so partially He very much doubted the legality of framing a tax that Ihould be pointed at any class of citizens in particular. Mr. Mercer, after a few mtrodu&ory remarks on the general utility of public institutions, and the obligation which every citizen is under to support them, remarked, that however true this principle is, yet it is but just that those who de rive peculiar personal advantagesfrom these in stitutions, Ihould pay foi those advantage*. He applied this reasoning to the cafe in hand, and obferved,that on this principle he thought the provision contemplated by the bill was reafona bls and just. With refpeii to taxing the proper ty in the funds, he remarked, that the fubjeCfc in volved the moll extensive conliderations. He ihould not at present enter into a difcuflion of them; but,he observed, that it wa9 clearly his opinion, that that specie* of property was liable to taxation in common with every other; and this idea he said was famflioned by the usages tuftoms of nations. Mr. Barnwell said it appeared to him that the particular regulation eftablilhed in the Trea sury department were made for the public ad vantage : if so, he could not fee the justice of throwing the expence on individuals. If the bill fliould be fuilained,he contended that the indi viduals should have the alternative of transferr ing or not, as is the cafe in refpeft to deeds. He ihould therefore be opposed to the bill unless fbme provision for an alternative Ihould accom pany it. Mr. Ottrj ohje&ed to the bill on general principle*; he iUted (undry confcqiwnces cx Saturday, 2. 1795. tremely injurious to the publte credit, which might be grafted on the principle contained in the regulation proofed. Mr. Boudinot observed t" at when the propo rtion was firft brought forward, he entertained a favourable idea of the provision ; he had not, however, till this morning, critically examined the operation of the principle in relation to the contra& between the Government and the pub- j lie creditors : He was indebted, he said, to the gentleman from New-York for the idea of an interference. Mr. B. then analyzed the provi sion refpedhng the public debt, in order to fhewj that the regulations adopted were considered as final and conclusive; full *nd compleat provifipn was made to defray the expence by the govern ment ; from hence he deduced this consequence that the tax contemplated would have a retro fpe&ive afpc&, would interfere with the flipula tions of the contract, and go to injuring the public credit effentiaUy; for, said he, if Con gress can lay a tax on the transfer of the public securities, they may extend the principle to such a degree as to interdict all transfers whatever, yea to taxing the debt—an idea he conceived totally fubvedive of public credit. remarWd, tlfe reasoning of his coileaguc, and of the gentleman from Maffa chulet'rs (Mr. Gerry) went too far,it would ap ply to every fptcies of imposition whatever; and the government would thereby be in effe6l pre cluded from laying any duties on Impost and ton nage. Mr. S. Bourne was in favour of the bill—he cited precedents from Probate and other Offices in the several states, to fliew that paying fees w. s customary, and was submitted to by the people; the parties deriving the benefit, it is universally conceived should bear the expence incurred. With refpeft to the fee 9 he conceived the pre cedent is already established by the government, fees are paid in the department of state : these fees are accounted for to» the Secretary of the Treasury—he thought a similar mode might he adopted in the present cafe ; let the fees be paid for the benefit of the United States, and let the several officers account with the head of the Treasury department for the fame, who will ac- c ount to the legislature. t Mr. Clark bill by furthe*-*»«.. marks; he extended his ideas toTEaxlrijythepub lic fccu ities; this expedient, he said, the public exigencies may poflibly require. He repeated his observations relative to the number of clerks in the Treasury, employed on the business of transfers; the great expence hereby incurred he said was for the advantage of speculators, of which a host was colle&ed in a neighbouring city ; where, as from a center they extended, their negociations to all parts of the Union. Mr. Lawrance laid he always considered it as indicative of the badness of a cause, when a person descends to general invectives against public bodies; —he alluded to Mr. Clark's re flection on the city of New-York. Mr. C. said, he had not mentioned New-York. Mr. Law rance said his remark was applicable to the gentleman's refle<stioin,let him refer to any city whatever, Mr. Lawrance then entered into a general consideration of the fubje&, and stated the various steps of the process prescribed by the funding law in relation to transfers. The de du&ions he drew were similar to those made by Mr. Ben foil. Mr. Murray was agairft the bill—he tho't it wrong in principle, and thinking lb, no ar gument fpejcioufly drawn from a final! gain to the public whiah it_\vas unworthy in them to demand, (hoiild tempt him to vote for it. He declared that when the bill was fir ft no ticed —his reflections h'ad preftnted the provt fion merely in a sort-os analogy with fee? juft lv demanded in courts, and in common civ : l oJiices, as oifices for the registering of deed —But the moment the course of his reflexi ons had traced the fub}e£fc in that analogy, he discovered a strong and insuperable obje&ior. These inftiturions, for the li.poort of which fees were derir; ndable from such as had busi ness, were fucli as the law eftablifned for tie intercourse between one individual and ano ther—here, on the contrary, the law relates to a proceeding in which a debtor pubi c is to transfer its promiftbry notes to individual cre ditors—The public is a debtor—has iflucd ne gotiable paper, part t f the value of which de pends on t'le i'i ility of negociation—the ne cessity ef regifttfjfcig transfers being merely to fccurc the publ trr-As the debt was -übferibed under t le idea vf trailers being of ex pence, so to force the pur ties to pay fees would diminish the value of the piopert}—for if it be an cxpecfe now to the public, and that ex penfe lie intended to be taxed on the thing transferred, it would amount to something like diminiihing of the debt without d) (charg ing it. There is a (olid diiference between laws that regulate fees to be paid on the trans actions between man and man, and such as relate to t ran fa <51 ions like this between a debt or public and an individual creditor —If a debtor const tutes a debt of a negotiable kind, and at the time ofiffuing bis note makes each transfer necetiarily to depend on an ai°t of his own, We cannot expect to be paid for this— 313 l'iquality farms a part of the value he has parted from. The debate on the fub'efl was continued till a late hour ; several other gentlemen spoke on the occpfion. The motion to amend the bill was at length agreed to, the committee then rpfe arid reported accordingly. The bill and the amendment were laid on the table. Foreign Affairs. PARIS, December 23. NATIONAL CONVENTION. Saturday, December 1 5. Letter from Lieutenant-General Miranda. ' " Head Quarters General at Ruremond, Dec. ft. " Tbe citadel of Antwerp being taken,and the navigation ofthe Scheldt opened,l inarch ed forward on tbe 6th current with the army under mv command, to attack Austrian Guel dres, This mmcU.ofaSJtaguesfor the most pin . .i'er a wild country, was executed with aftoniiiing order and rapidity. On our ar rival at the Mettfe, we found several posts of tlie entmy, which the vanppiard easily requir ed, Imingtaken some of them prisoners. We took possession alio without opposition of the townsof Wefem and Wert, belonging to Aus trian fiueldres, and of all the territory on this fide of the Meufe. We then crofTed that river ;t the town of Wefem, by means of some boats, as the enemy had destroyed all their lying bridges. In Ihort, with 3000 in fantry, and 300 buffars, we attacked our ene mies, <vho, to the number of 3000 infantry, and 3so cavalry had retired to Ruremond. At break of day the head of our army having appeared before Ruremond, found the bi idge on tie Roer burnt. Our cavalry finding a ford,,pafted the river, and the infantry effect ed a falfage, by procuring pontoons. At nine in thi morning, our troops entered the Capi tal olGueldrcs in triumph, amidst the accla mations of tbe inhabitants, who, in their joy, invo!«d liberty, and blessed the French who had lipught thr.m that prefcnt. " 1 then found by the best information, theenemy to the number of 3»5 30 regular troops, commanded by General Gentreuil,bad retired precipitately at five in the morning. The Austrian Council, or government of the Netherlands, who had taken refuge here, did the fame four or five days before. My van guard, which I immediately sent in pursuit of the enemy, will not fail to come up with them in their flight. Some of the inhabitants of Prussian Gueldres, have already presented themselves before me; to offer me their Cer vices, and to solicit the fame happiness which Austrian Gueldres mnft enjoy under the egis of France. (Signed) After the reading of the above, Cambon in the name of the military and Diplomatic Com mittees, said, that the progress of liberty should no longer be checked. 14 You must (said he) freely declare our revolutionary power in every country which weentcr. You mnft overturn eftablilhed conftitutionr, and cnnvoke primary afiemblies. This, instead of infrjjfginp; oil the fovereigoty of nations is eAablifhing it. 1 now present a decree for that purpo'e." I. The Generals in all those countries, which are, or may be occupied by our armies, lhail immediately proclaim in the name ef the Republic, the abolition of the ancient contributions, nobility, taxes, feudal right', real and perfonat servitude, the exclulive right of tumung and fifliing, and all privileges. They aifo declare to the people, that they bring them pcape, liberty and fraternity. 11. They, (ball declare at the fame time that the constituted authorities are suppressed. They (hall pioc'-im the lovereigntv of the people. They (hai> convoke the Primary Af femi'ltes to elect Judges and provifioiial Ad njiniftvators, anil fliatt post up the Proclama tion of this dcx. ee. 111. No on; can be admitted into the Pri mary AifemWy, nor lie eietled a Judge or Ad minifUator, if he has not taken an oath to be fait'-.fyt and Equality, and if he has not reiioß«ci-d all the privileges which hn en joyed. ' &i.c r.ember< of the existing admi ni(lr?tl»r>s and judicial powers cannot be oo minatfrf »n the firft election. IV. The National Convention shall ap point commifliorers ciiofen from their own bodv, to go and tofraternife with the people. V. The Council (hall also ap point Commiifioners for the fame end, and to regulate the 'um due to the republic for the expences it may have incurred. VI. They (hall give an account of their proceedings every fifteen days. VII. The Fxeuc'n Republic (hall keep an accAint of the expenccs it has beijn at, and Iba'.l make arrangements for the payment of tliefe expences. VIII. The French ration declares, that it will consider as enemies those people, who, liberty, shall enter into accommoda tion or negocjation with their tyrants. IX. The French nation swears never to lay clown its arms until the countries int» which thev have entered shall be free and their liberty fecmed. The Proclamation referred to above was then read. It wis in substance the lame as the above decree, and was ordered to be sent to the Generics by extraordinary couriers. Sunday, December 16. A letter was Tent to the Prefideht, ftating 1 , that the Rovalifts were beginning to shew themselves ; and, that many writings were circulated in favor of Louis s XVl. Thuriot—" This is certainly true ; but the best means of bringing hack tranquility, and fupprclTing faction, will be to Decree,that whoever {hall propose, or attempt to break the unity of the Republic, or to detach any part of it, in order to unite it to a foreign country, fliall be punished with death.''— Decreed. Buzot-— 14 If this dec ee fe'ves to bring baclf confidence, I fliatl propose another which will tond fttl) to scco*iipri'ffi that objedt. The Throne f* orcrtnrrred—tfce tyrant will foon'he no more, hut despotism exists ; its ancient habit?, its creatures ftiW exist ; let us iipitare the Romans, they expelled Tarquiw and his family;—like them let us banish the family of the Bourbons. Louis XVI. criminal and in chains is now not dan gerous : we miift however facrifice him to our fafety, and banish his family. If any Cfc ception is to he made, it must not be in lavor of the branch of Orleans. Thole who are the most beloved a e the most dangerous. The name of Bourbon is odious to every true Re publican, and that of Fga/ify is so much the more lingular as he a!Te<sb to conceal it. His children have great courage, and they may form alliances with the daughters of Princes. I think them dangerous. If Orleans has made facrifices to Liberty let him add to them, that of delivering us from his p efence and froni the lad branches of tie family of the Capets. Charles I. died on the fcaffold, and yet En gland recalled his son. The Lords placed Charles 11. on the Throne. We have no more Princes,but monarchy has its superstitious vo r»»4e*» tfre~namc of King, and we shall cease to be divided—drive from you eve ry thing that may bring back arbitrary pow- er." Louvet—lil1 il I support this motior, and in my opinion, except Antonietta and her son, refpe&ing the fate of whom the Convention re'erve to them r elves the right to determine, every individual of the family ought to quit France in 24 hours after the trial of Louis, and to be punished with death if they return." Laujuinais Remember the manner in* which Egalire was ele&ed. Remember that the armies are in the hands of his son are beloved by the {©Idlers, and they defrrve to be To on ac count of their bravery. K emember also, that an attempt was made to get a person who was for merly only Chancellor to F.galite, appointed Minister at W?r ; any one may comprehend these hints : Wedeteft Royalty—let us therefore prove it by banifhwg all the relations of the ty rant. " MIRANDA." Chabot.— If you wifli to exercise ostracism, vf-'U must not confinc it to the family of the Caocu. The Convention, after some further re marks, decreed by acclamation, That " All the members of the family of the BOurbonrs, Capets, except those who are de tained at the Temple, {hall quit the depart ment of Paris in 24 hours, and in three days the territories of the Republic and the coun tiies in which the French armies prelently are." The Convention likewise decree, that the Ministers Pache and Roland should t>e replac ed, and that the Committee of Constitution should prefcnt, in as (hort a time as pofTible, a pian for organizing an Executive Council aj> pointed by the people. JCerfaiiit. I request the Convention to lecoJ !c£t the fatal epoch, when England, which al ways takes advantage of the faults of the French Government, caused to he exiled bv its intrigues in 1757, M. D'Argcnfon and M. Machant, the only two Ministers whose talents it dreaded, and bv their means harried us into a difatlrous and difgraceful war. Pet ion Rabaud, and frveral other members here attempted to fprak, but they were not able to make themfelvcs heard. Am adjournment was then twice proposed and negatived, and Barrere proceeded to read the firft article of a decree for banilhing the whole family of the Bourbons, except those confined in the Temple. A violent tumult now ensued ; and after lons and uproar, during which the President was twice obliged to putcn his hat, it was refolvcd «fiat the queflion fhouid be decreed; and that any member who might interrupt the deliberation, fhouid be condu&ed to the.Abbaye. Rewbel hav'ng asked the Convention whe ther they co\ild, without infringing the fort reignty of the People, expel a member [Ega lity] for no other reason than that he belonged to this or to that family, a mod tumultuous debate, or lather an uproar took place in tie [Whole No. 40j.] -
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