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abandon their schemes, and acknowledge America as terrible in arms as she had been humble in remonstrance. With this object in view, he has long shared in your toils, and mingled in your dangers. He has felt the cold hand of poverty without a murmur, and has seen the growing insolence of wealth without a sigh. But, too much under the direction of his wishes, and sometimes weak enough to take desire for opinion, he has till lately, very lately, believed in the justice of his country. He hoped that as the clouds of adversity scattered, and as the sunshine of peace and better fortune broke in upon us, the coldness and severity of government would relax, and that more than justice, that gratitude, would blaze forth upon those hands, which had upheld her in the darkest stages of her passage from impending servitude to acknowledged independence. But faith has its limits as well as temper, and there are points beyond which neither can be stretched, without sinking into cowardice, or plunging into credulity. This, my friends, I conceive to be your situation. Hurried to the very verge of both, another step would ruin you forever. To be tame and unprovoked when injuries press hard upon you, is more than weakness; but to look up for kinder usage, without one maniy effort of your own, would fix your character, and shew the world how richly you deserve those chains you broke. To guard against this evil, let us take a view of the ground upon which we now stand, and thence carry our thoughts forward, for a moment, into the unexplored field of expedient.

After a pursuit of seven years, the object for which you set out is at length brought within your reach. Yes, my friends, that suffering courage of yours, was active once; it has conducted the United States of America through a doubtful and bloody war. It has placed her in the chair of independency, and peace returns again to bless..., whom? A country courting your return to private life, with tears of gratitude, and smiles of admiration; longing to divide with you that independency which your gallantry has given, and those riches which your wounds have preserved? Is this the case? or is it rather, a country that tramples upon your rights, disdains your cries, and insults your distress? Have you not, more than once, suggested your wishes, and made known your wants to congress....wants and wishes which gratitude and policy should have anticipated, rather than evade? And have you not lately, in the meek language of intreating memorials, begged from their justice, what you could no longer expect from their favor? How have you been answered? Let the letter which you are called to consider to-morrow make the reply.

If this be then your treatment, while the swords you wear are necessary for the defence of America, what have you to expect from peace, when your voice shall sink and your strength dissipate by division? when those very swords, the instruments and companions of your glory, shall be taken from your sides, and no remaining mark of military distinctions be left, but your marks, infirmities, and scars?

Can you then consent to be the only sufferers of this revolution, and, retiring from the field, grow old in poverty, wretchedness, and contempt? Can you consent to wade through the vileness of dependency, and owe the miserable remains of life to charity, which has hitherto been spent in honor? If you can, go, and carry with you the jest of tories, and the scorn of whigs; the ridicule, and what is worse, the pity of the world. Go, starve, and be forgotten! but if your spirit should revolt at this; if you have sense enough to discover, and spirit sufficient to oppose tyranny, whatever garb it may assume; whether it be the plain coat of republicanism, or the splendid robe of royalty; you have yet learned to discriminate between a people and a cause; between men and principles, awake, attend to your situation, and redress yourselves. If the present moment be lost, every future effort is in vain; and your threats then will be as empty as your entreaties now.

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I would advise you, therefore, to come to some final opinion, upon what you can bear, and what you will suffer. If your determination be in any proportion to your wrongs, carry your appeal from the justice to the fears of government. Change the milk and water style of your memorials; assume a bolder tone; decent, but lively, spirited, and determined; and suspect the man who would advise to more moderation, or longer forbearance. Let two or three men who can feel as well as write, be appointed to draw up your late remonstrance; for I would no longer give it the soothing, soft, unsuccessful epithet of memorial. Let it represent, in language that will neither dishonour you by its rudeness, nor betray you by its fears, what has been promised by congress, and what has been performed; how long and patiently you have suffered, how little you have asked; and how much of that little has been denied. Tell them that, though you were the first, and would wish to be the last to encounter danger; that though despair itself can never drive you into dishonor, it may drive you from the field: that the wound often irritated, and never healed, may at length become incurable; and that the slightest mark of indignity from congress now, must operate like the grave, and part you forever: that in any political event, the army has its alternative. If peace, that nothing shall separate you from your arms but death. If war, that courting the auspices, and inviting the direction of your illustrious leader, you will retire to some yet unsettled country, smile in your turn, and "mock when their fear cometh on." But let it represent also, that should they comply with the request of your late memorials, it would make you more happy, and them more respect. able. That while the war should continue, you would follow their standard to the field; and that when it came to an end, you would withdraw into the shade of private life, and give the world another subject of wonder and applause....an army victorious over its enemies; victorious over itself."

The immediate attention of our Washington to his duty, at this critical moment; the full avowal of his firm reliance on the purity of the intentions of congress to liquidate the accounts of the army, and as far as they were able, to do justice, pacified the soldiers; while the anonymous letter had the effect to rouse the dormant sensibilities of the states, for which purposes, no doubt, it was chiefly designed. The author well knew that our old charter congress, possessed but the shadow of the necessary powers for the general weal. What could be more farcical than a power to raise an army, with nothing to support it? To obtain loans, but not to discharge them? To make laws, but not to execute them? To make treaties, but none to fulfil them? With astonishing powers of promise, but really none for performance? Hence, after the accounts of the army were liquidated, most of the soldiery looked upon the new paper given them, as very doubtful. This is mentioned here as a memento for posterity. The writer of this note, with a number of his friends of the army, parted with their public paper at an eighth of its nominal value, for present subsistence; but they did not therefore conceive they had any demand on the purchasers, after the funding system. They abandoned what they then conceived to be a great risk, equal to the premium. As this was a common sentiment, our quixotes of the army were generally hurt at the proposition in congress to interfere with their private bargains, in order to obtain for them a return of premium, not contemplated at the moment of insurance, when the whole property was abandoned for a sum in hand, by mutual agreement, and all parties equal judges of the final result. The feelings, therefore, of the gentlemen were hurt at the attempt to do them a mere pecuniary service at the expense of their unsullied honor.* They further said, what the few that remain on this side heaven will yet say, if congress are ever disposed to make up their losses by any provision out of the prize-of-war lands, for the few soldiers that are in extreme want, though with no external scars, it will be very acceptable, and settle the account for ever. This might still be done by issuing notes in full, bearing interest, till sunk in the land offices, at 2 dollars the acre, and call for not a thousandth part of the surplus prize lands, after every part of the war debt was thereby provided for, in exchange for acres at the rates established by law; but instead of doing this, congress have contemplated reducing the price of lands, now too low, and to favor lord Melville jealousies in our country. No more of the war debt is to be duly honored in the land offices, in future!!! This a few speculating gentlemen have been for some time trying to effect

The motion for a discrimination in favor of the original possessor of certificates of public debt, was made indubitably with THE VERY BEST PATRIOTIC INTENTIONS; but as in the course of the debate many improper expressions and reflections were cast on both sides, these occassioned an unfortunate breach and a marked division into parties not yet on the original footing of UNANIMITY FOR THE PUBLIC WEAL. When ye do this for one of the least of these, ye do it unto me.

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in congress, and against their designs we now quote Mr. Gallatin's public sentiments.*

Extract from Mr. Gallatin's sketch of the finances of the United States.

"The actual demand which must regulate the price that may be obtained by congress, for the lands belonging to the public, is determined itself by the increase of population. Land of good quality, and in actual demand for settlers, will fetch 4 dollars, payable in about 5 years by instalment. If sold upon shorter terms of credit or in large tracts, the real settlers are generally excluded in favor of speculators who buy to sell again.

"The provision which fixes the price at two dollars at least, will exclude speculators to a certain degree. •

"Various circumstances render it impossible to form any tolerable correct conjecture on the amount of sales; it is not probable that on the plan which has been adopted, they will exceed 250,000 acres ; the first year will perhaps be more productive than the succeeding ones." (The last years sale was 619,266 acres, for $1,235,953.)

"The lands may be applied to the payment of the debt either indirectly or immediately: INDIRECTLY, by selling for the best price that can be obtained, and applying the monies to the redemption of the public debt; immediately, by inducing the holders of some species of the debt, to exchange it for lands by making the price payable in certificates of debt: the second mode will secure a proper application of the proceeds of the lands; the land itself will pay the debt, without coming into the treasury in the shape of money, WHICH MIGHT BE APPLIED TO OTHER PURPOSES!" He then proposed, page 145, a subscription and lottery plan, to dispose of ten millions of acres at two dollars on a credit and instalments, with interest at the rate of three per cent. payable in any species of stock at its nominal value. The advantage to subscribers (says Mr. G.) would be obvious; the average price of lands equal in situation and quality, is now 4 dollars: a part might now, in 1796, be sold above that price; a great portion of the lands will attain itwithin a shorter period than ten years; the most remote situation will be worth it at the expiration of that time, viz. in 1806. The only objections made to this plan of Mr. Gallatin's was, the profit to be made by the speculators was equal to the intire purchase money proposed, and this profit ought to go either to the United States, or to individual settlers, rather than to speculators.

* In aid of this injurious speculation in favor of treasury patronage, the committee of ways and means joined their influence, to the astonishment of every one who saw the inevitable effects of such measures; but there is now reason to hope as soon as the speculative operation is effected by the authors of the motion, that order will be restored; and as the sales of the public lands have, even in a scarcity of money, so far exceeded the expectations of Mr. Gallatin, when he opposed a cash sinking fund, in favor of a debt sinking fund in the lands only, we hope another session will not pass till the true interest of the UNION may be thus established for at least half a century to come.

Such were the patriotic opinions of Mr. A. Gallatin, now secretary of the treasury. These he is now, more than ever, called to defend, if he is still firmly opposed to excessive or unnecessary treasury patronage, to useless commissions, &c. as he has formerly declared. Now is the time for us to prove this patriotism, by reloaning the reimbursements of foreign loans, and doing this in a manner that the specie drain in the cash sinking funds may be stopped, and all future foreign and domestic debts die in the land offices their natural death. This would indeed be highly grateful to the old soldier, thus to know who had contributed to make so important a present as the value of the war debt, and a surplus of 200 millions of acres to his country this they ought to be allowed to make; for it is more than one hundred per cent. better, in the entire operation on the acres in question, than any other plan ever proposed in congress.

Its effects upon the CURRENT CIRCULATION of money, for the universal benefit of all classes and descriptions of our citizens, and for the general weal, are too obvious to require any comment; while the refusal of certificates of war debt, for the prize-of-war lands, in the public offices, can only disgust the whole commercial world for its injustice, impolicy, and for the fixing a British cash sinking fund in lieu of a debt sinking fund, instead of retaining the specie loans in Europe till our citizens find we have no further use for the addition to our very deficient capital, with our over growing population. More will be repeated on these subjects of lands, of loans, and of sinking funds, than would have been published here, but for the known present intentions of further speculations on the public property. We were so fortunate as to apprize many members of both houses, of an attempt to reduce the public lands to 125 cents, a short time since. Who knows but we may be again with the majority ? We shall, however, at every risk, oppose all such highly injurious designs as those, for the unnecessary reduction of price in the public lands, and for public CASH or MAN drains, till we have a surplus of both.

If the specie drains are not counterpoised by public reloans, one of two effects must necessarily follow in consequence. Our merchants, finding an annual flux greater than the annual balance, realized in the amount of their imports, must have recourse to the forming of more banks, for stock to remit; and thus subject us to 8 per cent. annual drains, in lieu of 4 to 6 per cent. paid by the United States; or they must suffer immense losses by the effect of the superior specie capital with their European commercial rivals. This is common sense, and financially true, though there are a few superficial essays, that by mere sophisms may have made contrary impressions. Witness the late rise of usurious interest, and specie is now at five per cent. advance; to remit the rise of British bills, that would be down 6 to 10 per cent. under par, if government were no longer rival purchasers in the market, to the great and manifest injury of our extensive commerce, at a very important period for the interest of agriculture.

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