From the Pitfcurgh G.zeft*. /I R.port of the proceediitgt of the enrrt mittee appoi itfdat the meeting at Par kiafn't Ferry en the 14 th injlant, to confer with commiffionrrs on the f.irt of the executive / the Union, and on tie part of the executive of Pennjylvania, on the fuhjed of the late opposition to the taiuj of the Union, and violation of the peace bf the slate government. \Continued from our last.) Pitt/burgh, Augufl 22, 1794, Gentlemen, The Committee of Conference having made up their opinion, and exprefied it to the Conrmiflioners on tbc part of the union, that it is the interell of this couritty that on the terms of accommo dation proposed by them there Ihould be a fubmiflion to that law which has been the octSifion of certain acts of op position lately said to be committed within the jurifdiftron of PennCylvan'ia, it will of course be the opinion of this committee that acts of oppofitiori fliall e'eafe, and they will be dit'poi'ed to r<- commend this temper and principle to others. They 1 will report it particularly to the Committee of Safety to whom they are to make repot t, and they will state the reasons which influenced them selves in being dirpoled to wish a general fuboi'dination td the laws of the union. But the signing any instrument of wri ting will have the air of a recognizance, and of having broke the peace, or of being disposed to do it oh their part, whereas in fact we expect to be consi dered as a body well afflfted to the peace of the country, and coming for ward not only on behalf of those who may have violated the peace, but of the great body of the country who have organized thenifelves into committees in order to prefei ve it; As to what the committee of flxty do niuft remain with themselves.—We shall make report to ttieln of the pro portions. 1 We wish it to be undfcrftood that it will be one thing for tis of them to de clare our sentiments, and to support them by arguments, and another to sub scribe our name 3 to any writing in any other manner than a»oiherpublic bodies by their official reprt feiitative of Chair frtan or We would requeltj therefore, that the propofiticiri should be reconsidered, and that foftie otlier evidence or fuhrtiflioti to the latvi may be accepted from the people vfchich may fnbitantially have the fame effect with out a form which may be mifundt rftood by theru, and in which they tfiajf not so readily aequiefce. It is also bur tviftl and Cxpe&atidn that the proportion of an amnesty may extend to the county of Bedford. It is our idea also, that it will have a good efFect in reconciling the public mind to have the amncfty considered as absolute at this time, liable to be for feited only as to its benefits, by the fu ture violation of the laws by the indi vidual. By order of the Committee, EDWARD COOK, Chirman. Thomas M'Kean and William Irvine, C;>rt\miffioner» on the pari of Pennsylvania. Pittlburgh, Aug. lid, 1794. Gentlcmerf, We have received your answer, signed Edward Cook, chairman, of this day's date, and obfcrve that you have in a degree confined yourselves to a subordi nation to the laws of the Union. These we conlider as part of the law of Penn,- fylvania, but independent of a breach of the laws of the United States, you cannot be insensible that the laws, the peace and dignity of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania have been more eflen tially violated in the county of Alleg heny ; and tho' frorft a knowledge of your characters and confidence in your dispositions we reft allured of your chearful obedience to the laws of the state, and that you will inculcate the like among our fellow citizens, yet we would have been pleased, had it been exprefled. Your obje&ions to signing your names refpe&ively to your answer, we have considered, and, tho' the fignirtg the name as chairman, speaker, or preli dent, in regular conflituted bodies, implies the consent of the majority, which binds the whole, yet it means no more, and in theprefent body of twelve one half of the number present may not have acquiesced in the aft, and yet it may be formally true. For this rea son we wished for your refpeftive (igna tures; or that it had been Written, signed by the unanimous consent of the committee, or that you had otherwise alcertained the number. We have never before heard it fug- geihtd, that a persons signing hi» name to any-iuilrumeiit, implying an engage me.lt o'r.prorfnfe to do a lawful aft, had the air of a recognizance ; nor did we ever mean that it coold be fnppofed, | that any gentleman of this committee was implicated in the late riots in these counties. We only wilhe'd to have the weight that your names and charters would give to the effedtual quieting the prtfent uneasiness among the people. , j When we were commiflioned to the present pacific and humane service, it was not known to the Governor, that any aggressions of the nature you allude to had been committed in the county of Bedford, and of cburfe our powers do not extend to them, but if no future violations of the peace shall happen on a iimilar occasion, it is no more than probable his Excellency will extend hii pardon to what has pasTed lince, and which may require an amnesty.. We cannot grant a general pardon as yet, but when we fkall receive leafona ble afluiances, that the inhabitants of these counties have returned to their du ty", to an obedience to the laws, and that peace ®rdcr and tranquility have been restored, we (hall rejoice in having the opportunity of granting it without a day's delay. We are Gentlemen, Your moll obedient servants, THOMAS M'KEAN. WM. IRVINE. PITTSBURGH, August 23. Gentlemen, WE are fatisfied with the explana tion given of what was intended by re questing our individual fignatureg to any aflurance we should have given of oilr own disposition to pre rrve peace or to conciliate that temper in others. We areceitainly difpofedto prcferve peace and to recommend it to others, not dntjr Vi'ith regard to the laws of the union t>ri the terms of accommodation fettled with the Commissioners from | thence, but tnore especially with regard I to the laws of oitr refpedive Hates, and Pennsylvania in particular ; we are una nimou» in declaring our resolutions to fnpport Hie laws fct that no impediment shall exist to the due and faithful admi nistration of Ju(lice,and we can with the more confidence engage this on behalf of our fellow citizens, as at a general rrieeting of the Representatives of town, ships, oil the 14th of Augnft, inft. a resolution to this effed was exprtfTed and in fad we c3n allure you, thougl it may have been otherwise construed, that a great and leading objtd of rha meeting was the establishment of peac< amongil ourselves, and subordination t( the state government. By order of the Committee EDWARD COOK, Chairman. The Commiflioners on behalf of the State: she Committee deliberating on the above, the great and solemn question was considered whether we (hould ac cede or rejea, iri other words, whether we (hould have peace or Si civil war. It was considered that a convuilion at this time might affc£l the great in terells of the Union—that notwithstand ing an unworthy debt was accumulated in the hands of inonied men, by means of the funding system, yet the foreign debt wa6 justly due, and also a confl derable part of the domestic, for which a&ual service had been rendeied, or va lue given—.that it might affect the pay ment of these two species of debt, to countenance an oppolition which might communicate itfelf to other branches of the revenue. That a convuilion of this nature becoming general, might af fedl a nation of.. Europe struggling at this moment for life and liberty, by im peding the United States in making those remittances in payment of the debt due to them, which theif fitua-" tidn eflentially demanded ; that a con vulsion e*en in this country might affect the negociations pendiifg, in which our interefti were eflentially concerned the free navigation of the Miffifippi— the delivery of t(ie western posts, and our protection from a frontier enemy- That it might give offence to our fel low-citizens elfewhure, who might ex cuse a sudden outrage, but might resent a formed system undertaken without their consent { more especially as they might not yet know the local and pe culiar grievances of this country, and be disposed to make a proper .allbwance for the consequences ; that the con flit uti onal means of retnpnftrance might not yet be altogether rxhauftcd, and so it might become us still yet to persevere J that even a contcft with the United States, should it be fuccefpful, must in- this country, for a time at least, in ruin. 1 hat for this reason, every man ought to lay his hand on his heart and answer, whether he would think himfelf juilifia ble in countenancing the idea of a war ; ht olight to make up his mind, be sure that on every principle he was jus tifiable, having a confidence not only of right, but of power also. For these and other reasons it was thought advifeable to concede, as con-- tairtcd in the answer to the commifiion ers. From the Columbian Centitul. Mr. Russell, It Is matter of consolation to the true friends so the government and constitu tion of their country, that the eyes of peopje are opened; to discover and de tect, the gross falfhoods which have been palmed upon them as fads for the last two yean. Falfhoods, gro!s aa the Father of lies, and palpable as ihe pro geny of Vice and folly. . From Georgia, to New-Hamp(hire; a chain of newspapers has been esta blished, which have lluck at nothing, in order to deceive the public, and to destroy the government that prote&s them. Lie has followed Lie, in fiieh rapid succession, that Truth has milled itsobjeft of refutation, and has been 101 l l'n the multitude of its. adverfarics. Eve ry adl of the General Government has been vilified and iufulted ; and every measure of THE PRESIDENT'S, been declared the mod abominable stretch of power. Strange the men of the People's choice Ihould not have done one good deed ! Let the public hut re-peruse in ihe hour of calm inquiry, the extiafls from the Insurgent Gazettes of Charlejlon, S. C. Norfolk, in Virginia } Baltimore, Philadelphia, New-Tort, and Bojlon, and their little satellites in the interior places, and they mud blufli for their proftitutioo of the Freedom of the Press. In those papers they will fee one conti nued tifluc of abuse, the mod foul and unmerited ; of afftrtions the most falfe and groundless ; and of alarm, the most absurd and ridiculous. To cnu.-.ierate the instances would oc cupy more than a newspaper ; but let the public revert but to the abuse before • alluded to, of every aft of Congreis; j of the President's Proclamation of neu • trality, which deserves to be engraved j with the point of a diamond, in moriu j ments of coral ; of the opinion of the ■ Federal Judges refpeftwg Genet's priva { tecrs; of the measures of the executive ! to remove that father of the Jacobin j clubs ; in (hort of every traniattion j wherein the advancement of the gen-ral ' prufperity has been connected, and con ( viftion will be forced home to the heart los eveiy peruser. From these let him call his eyes on the mutilations, fabri cations, and remarks made on the events in Europe ; and when comparing them with Trvth, he shall not find one afler tion in an hundred true, he will fee tlie necefiity of discountenancing such glar ing impositions, that the people may no longer be led away to believe a lie, and the deception of Jie word of de ceivers be exposed to the light of the day. A FEDERALIST. Mi'ddlefex, Jug. 1794, From the Columbian CcntincL Mr. Russell, From a candid perusal of the pam phlet published at Brest, and the letter of Lord Howe, relative to the a&ion that took place between the French and English fleet*, it appears evidently, that the French on the 28th May, in the tirlt engagement had twenty fix fail of the line* and that the Englilh had the fame number } that in the partial en gagement which took place at the close of that day ttie Revoliitionaire, a French (hip and the Audacious an English (hip, had been damaged and did not keep company with their refpedtive fleets ; that after this day nothing material took place between the fleets, before the lit June; in the mean time the French re ceived a reinforcement of three (hips of the line, hijt tvtro others tliat had been engaged separated 5 making on the lft June, 26 fail of the line. So much as relates to the Fiench i exadl with the repart of their Repre sentative Bon Jean, and of course muA be true. Allowing the fame indulgence to Lord Howe, which he is certainly equally entitled to ; his own force was ; 25 fail of the line. I fay he is equally \ entitled to belief, because it is not pos sible that a commander /hould deceive in the number of his oWn fleet ; thou sands are ready and able to contradict him if he (hould attempt it., and the m'oft abandoned than would have more regard to his reputation than to expose himfdf by so public a lie ; if it is neces sary to make a difference between tht forces, the numbers of the enemy toil always be increased j but without inten tional misrepresentation, an enemy's force nay be easily augmented in our belief, beyond the reality. M. Bon Jean lays, the British had thirty fix fail of vfcflels, when the firft day tfiey disco vered them. Of these many were, doubt less, frigates. The French themselves failed with fifteen frigates and a sloop of war, and though the French parted with many of their frigates for convoys, &c. this was a circumllauce that moll probably did not happen to the British, and that they might reasonably be al lowed ten frigates. One French "fri gate who had a good oppoitunity to count the British ships, reported only 24 of the line ; the Captain of another I affaires M. Bon Jean, after the engage ment, that they were thirty four. M. I Bon Jean, of his own authority, aflerts they were twenty eight fail of the line. The fact is, probably, that the Captain of the Proserpine included frigates, and M. Bon Jean might have ieen three fri gates apparantlv in a line of battle ; but where there is such positive difference of accounts among the French, we may credit the British, especially as they faithfully represented the force of the French. Refpefting the battle, there undoubt edly never Was one more obstinately fought—and it docs not detrail from the praise due to the French, to fay, that the British diftipliiie and fuperiqr naval experience, especially among the officers, gave the latter the victory. M. Bon Jean fays his van gave way, and when he was clear of the smoke, they were two leagues to leeward of his ship. Lord Howe fays the french van were the firft to give way, with this difference, th<\t the Admiral led the re treat. The British, disabled as they were, certainly could not retreat to windward, which situation they main tained until the close of the day. That the English did not renew the engage ment was by his own confeflion, through inability j and fujjicient to the day had been the evil thereof. By the ret urns made into port, of the two fleets, there can have been but one ! ship funk on both fides ; which was the Vjngeur ; this ship viewed from diffe rent pontions, and in the confuiion and smoke of the engagement, gave rife to the number* fuppufed to be funk. The facility l of deception on such an occasion is proved from the < Touri>ille f reporting that an English ship cloied with the j French ship Impetueux, and he saw them both fink—whereas the Impetueux was j carried into the British port with Lord j Howe's fleet. IMPARTIALITY, From the Carl'fte Gazette of ictb Aug. At a meeting of a number of the inha bitants of the townships of Weftpenlboro' mdNcwton, in thecounty of Cumberland, held in the town of Newvilk, Thursday 14th mfiant, for the purpose of taking in to consideration the excise law, and some. other important acts of Congress ; the fol lowing reiolutions were unaaimoufly agreed to. Resolved, that the mode of felling back lands, in great quantities to companies, is unjust and improper, because, it is deflruc tive of an eflential principle in every re publican government, viz. the equal di vision of landed property which ought to be encouraged by law, so far as is confifl«nt with that encouragement due to inclUftry : impolitic, because it tends to alienate th» a.Teftion of the common people from the federal government, by keing themftlv*s deprived of becoming puuhafers upon th« lame terms with the favorites of govern ment, and comfcqently -prevent* that rapid encreafe of population that our courttrybids to fair for, both from the nature of the climate and the quality of the foil. Kefolved, that the funding aft ought to be repealed, or at ltaft so altered as to pre vent that unprincipled class of mankind, called speculators, from drawing out of the treasury what they never were justly entitled to. Ref'olvcd, that all orginial holders of eertificatesought to be paid the real nom inal value. Resolved, tliat the cxcife law it unjust in principle, opprefiivein its operation, and impracticable in its execution, in every re publican government. . Resolved that the people of the United j States ought not to cnufe at the ensuing • election for members of Congress any fpeeu i lator in the funds, any flock holder in the ■ bank of the United States, nor any land . jobber, as these ate a clals of men who ferm to have a separate interest from the i mass of the people, and confequsntly must ! be under its influence in their deliberations. Resolved, that the prt ienl pay of the mi litia is na way adequate to their frrvices, as being far short of the pay of the day la borer, and the difpropcrtion isfo great be tween the pay of officer* and privates; and ilfo the fines, it appears to us, that it was he fine Congress had more in veiw than >erfonal fcrvlci. Refolvtd, that all civil authority origin nates with and is derived from the people, in a republican government, that every law made by the representatives, not agree able to the voice Of thofo from whomthey derive their authority is tyrannical and un jaft. Resolved, as virtue i« the only spring that supports a republican governraent, and not power, the law, fnould recom mend themfelvci to the affetfions of the peopleby their propriety, consequently it would make them easy in their c « cu . tion. LU Relblved, that as long as direfl taxes i, for the payment of public debt and the support of government, Congref, ftouW ay a tax upon all warranted patent lands, andleaft we may be thought by some, enem.es to all taxation and order, we unin-moufly refoive, that « will be ready at all times to support govern ment by the payment of taxes m common with our fellow-citizens in property, to the value of our estates real or personal. Whereas, the governor of this state," in compliance with a requifhion from the »re sident of the United States, hath ordered i the militia to hold themielves in readinei# j to march at a moment's warning, to en force the execution of the excift,' l ul on £ a [ our brethren in the western country, there lore resolved ut.animoully.that the citizens of this county be earneitly recommer.ded to fend a number of delegates, not fewer than fix, nor more than ten, to meet at the court house in the borough of Carliile on Friday the 29th inft. for the pii'rpoi'e of taking into consideration the important crisis in which we are placed, and the mea sures proper to be pursued. Relblved, that our fellow-citizens of Mifflin county, with whom we have so often a died in union in public meafuies, be requested in the spirit of fraternal affedlion to fend some of their confidential citizens to meet us on this occasion. Signed by order of the meeting, ROB RT SHANNON, Chairman, JOHN iVtl i CHJEL, Clerk. OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. Philadelphia, September l, 1794. S I F, IF after the information, upon which my letter of the 20th of May 1194, was founded, any confiderabie doubt had rfcmained, of Governor Simcoe's liivaf.on j your long silence, without a refutation of it; and our more recent intelligence forbid 11s to qtieftion'it* truth. It is supported by the refpe&a ble opinions, which have been &nce tranfmlttcd to the executive, that in the late attack 011 Fort Recoveiy, liritiih. officers and British loldieis were, on the veiy ground, aiding our Indian enemies. But, iir, as if the Governor of Up per Gtnada was resolved to dettray eve ry pofiibilitv of difbclievmg his hostile views, he has sent to the Great Sodus, —a ieitlement begun on a bay of the fame name on I-ake Ontario-— a ccm mand to Captain Williamfon, who de rives a title from the ft ate of New-York, to ckfijl from his enterprise, This mandate was borne by a Lieutenant Sheaffe, under a military escort ; and in its tone correfpoiu's with the fiurm of its delivery, being unequivocally of a military and hostile nature. " I am commanded to declare t'.at " dining the inexecutiun of the treaty " of peace between Great Britain . rid " thcUnited States, and until the exiting " differences refpedting it.fhali be im:: .1. " ally adjutted, the taking puffeflion of " any part of the Indian territory, ei " ther for the purposes of war or fuve " reignty, is held to be a dirift violation " ot his Britannic Majesty's lights, ai " they unaueftionably exiltecl before the ".treaty, andjbas'an immediate tenden-» "cy to interrupt, and in its progrefg "to delSijr, that good " which has hitherto subsisted between " his BritSnnic majesty and the United " States of America. 1 therefore re. " quire you to desist from any ftieh " aggrefiion. R. H. Skeaffe Lieut. " sth Regt. and Qr. Mr. Genl. Dept. "of his Britannic Majtffly's service. " G. Sodus 26th August 1794. Captain Wtlliamfon being from tiome a letter was written to him by Lieute nant Sheaffe in the following words. " Sodus 16th August 1794. Sir, " having a special commission and in " ftruftions for that purpose from the " Lieut. Governor of his Britannic Ma " jefty's province of Upper Canada, " I have come here to demand by wh;.t " authority an establishment has been " ordered at this place, and to require " that such adefign be immediately i» " linquifhed, for the reasons stated in " the written declaration accompanying " this letter ; for the receipt of which " protest 1 have taken the acknowledge " ment of your agent Mr. Little, i " regret exceedingly in my private as " well as public character that I have " not the fatisfaflion of feeing you here, " but I hope on my return, which will " be about a week hence, to be more 1 am, Sir, your mii " fortunate. " obedt. Servt. R. H. Stieaffe Lt. sth " Regt. M: G: B;" The position of Sodus is to be seventy miles within the territorial line of the United States, about twen- ty frotti Ofwego, and about one hurdrtd from Niagara. For the present, all causes of discon tent, not connected with our wefteri
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