{ title: 'Catskill recorder. (Catskill, N.Y.) 1804-1828, March 24, 1806, Page 1, Image 1', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn83031455/1806-03-24/ed-1/seq-1/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn83031455/1806-03-24/ed-1/seq-1.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn83031455/1806-03-24/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn83031455/1806-03-24/ed-1/seq-1/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
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r>- m£2Sitm r ^ T ^ I Nt4wa»cicCT<nliw>iaiaa> ^ »<^ xiFss;*t;s*az(ye^ 3 CATSKILL, (MW-YORK:)—POBLISHIR PY, MAOCAY CROSWELL. fV O L . 1 ].} MO N D 2 4 . - A v J i t •■_ '- - ■ - ■ . [N o .- 9 8 ,] gini^ thi-Whiiade^ta Gazette. Frvra TVt^ingtonj, ifl Mo. 2 8 thj i%o6* . F riend R elf , ^^O M E time {ince Staunton of Vir- laid a rcfolution on the tabic calling on she Executive tor a particular detailed account of the miliury ilores belonging to the Uni ted States. The refolutioa Was ordered to '^lie on the table, tefterday morning he cal led it up^—a gentleman moved it Ihould* lie on the tabic $ Staumon faid he had no objec tion j and the majority decided it fljould lie on the table—It was lying on the table— Staunton wdihed k carried—it mull be called up-^as foon as called up he Confents it fbould lie on the table. This is the way they have in the honfe to get rid of time. Suppofing the Houfc to fit three hours and one half every day, wMch is onar average more than ought to be allowed, every quarter of an our of the Houfc will coft the United States 0 /r<? Hundred Dollars i yet fometimes a debate ^hout the expenditure of $0 dollars will coft the union from € ro to htthd^cd doHats* This ihewetb, Friend ^elf, how careful the Houfe ought to he of their time. Improper lefoiu- tions {hould be- withheld 5 and improper per- fons never appointed to draw bills which coft a day’s expence to amend, and even then per haps they arc returned to be new coined. Friend Sloan reported a bill for laying a tax of ten dollars per head on Haves. Paffed through two readings. Eppes ofFered a refolution calling on the navy department for a lift of the United States veffds, diftinguiftiing thofe that need no re pairing, thofc that need repairing, the pro bable ex pence of reparing, and thofe that are not worth repairing-—Carried. Some debate took place On the final pafiage of the bill authorifing the detachment of loo- ooQ mihtia. Fnend Talroage and Dana op as a the Uak<?di State'f^ ows, for lands which Ufiked States have to fell, and were'hereto fore defirous of felling to extinguifh theft^^ery notes. Now the old foldier may go to the land office and detband iq O acres of land: fays the land officer where’s thy chafti friend ? thc old foldier replies, here’s a note that has been due me from you who have this land for fale, ever fince 1776, you’ll take your own notes in pay for the lands my blood and va lor has enabled you to have to fell. No, re plies the land officer, we can get thy note, friend, under far, and Congrefs agents want to fqueeze a little out of thee. Friend J. C. Smith fpokie againft the Ran dolph in fovour of it. It psfied tp a'third reading by a large- majority- The Houfe have been moft of this day en gaged in the report of the committee recom mending leave for building a bridge from Waffiington acrofs the Potomac.—The Speak ers were, againft it, Elliot, Findley arid Nelfoh 5 for it, Fly- Ndfon was one hour and an half' on the fioor, and acquitted him- feif -vaftly better than ufual—He foftened the thunder of his voice, diminiftied the en ormity of his corporeal contortions, difeov.* cred fome humour, ^iid coufidetable argu- gument. I expetft this fubjed, in a great mealurc uninterefting to thee, will occupy one or two days more. THINE. THS I^EANDER. Mrom the NeW‘ Tork Evening Doji, AS the oppofition papers have difeontinued their illiberal animadverfions refpedfing the Leandcr, and as the perfons implicated in the expedition will -be tried before the diftridf court (in which Judge Patterfon will prefide) Oh the Brft of April next, we have deemed it becoming to fufpend our remarks until the ifiue ffiail be known. American Citizen. T H E above paragraph efcaped us till this moment, when we perceive it as a republica- pofed the bill, as a ntere defence on paper, ! tion in the Aurora. The oppofition papers as operating i^jurioufly oh the regular rmji^|jiav^fth'~cont^ their illiberal animadver- : t - Trb^rnup-pofk b ^ pspers y^wttiarirrlb^^ eral animadverfions f The truth is Air. Cheeu bam. has nq foundation for. affign'ing this as the reafon for fufpending his remarks ; we fufpetS! if he would fpeak ©ut, a very different reafon would be given for his fo fuddenly checking himfelf—we (hall know more about this after the trial. But as the affair excites fo much intereft, and our diftant fubferibers doubtiefs wiih to hear fomethihg further about it, the following general hiftory of the tfanf- adUon, with a few accompanying refiedlions, may not be amifs. General Miranda, arrived in this city from, London, fome time in November laft, and du ring the fame month, left it to vifit the feat of Government, which he reached early in De cember, and remained there about a fortnight. V/hile there, he was received with marked diftinffion by the Prefident, and Secretary of State. He returned to Nev/-York before Chriftmas, and meafurcs were immediately commenced! and profecuted with diligence to procure and put on board the Leandcr, a quantity of cannon, fmall^rm s, amm'unition and cloathing, togetherwfth a printing prefs, and furniture. All this became matter of public notoriety, and for fometime before the Leander failed, it was fpoken of in ail compa nies, that officers and privates had been en gaged to embark in her. She was regularly than nothing—the fpkit of the Houfe is not up to the fpirit of the nation—foreign pow ers will wdl underftand our fervility, and treat ul accordingly. Varnum urged the correflri^s and utility of the bill. A tiicmber from New-York, whofe name T do not know', caufed a little diverfon. When I go home to my conftit- uents, I fhall be aOfeci, what have you done towards fortifying our ports and harbours ? we have given the Prefident power to call out 100,000 of the militia—what have you done about gunboats and 74’s ? we have giv en the Prefident power to call out 100,000 of the militia—[a laugh] what have you done about the opanitli fpoliations, the Britiih cap tures, impreffments &c. ? oh, fir, we have given the Prefident power to call out 100,000 of the militia—[a loud laugh] Mr. Speaker— ns i do not fee that we are likely to do any thing, and as this bill may have the appear ance of doing fomething, I don’t know but I fhali vote for it. The bill paffed by a large majority. When the revolutionary war clofed, we were indebted to the old foldier. He wait ed many years before he could obtain a valid note for the money due him—Congrefs af- furred him many years ago that he might ex* chang his note [the funded debt] for lands at par. he might purchafe and pay iu cafh, as notes | cleared at the Cuftom Houfe for the port of Jacmel, in St. Domingo, and failed on the 2d of February. Such is the coneife ftatement of the leading faffs, which we believe will be admitted on all hands to be correct. if the Leander be really bound to Jacme] in the way of trade, no law has been violat ed. But if this is a falfe deftination, and the expedition he ultimately intended to co-ope rate in effedting a revolution in onc^of the provinces of Spain, (a fuppofition to whicli the long meditated views of Miranda give an air of pTobability] it becomes a natural en quiry, whether the expedition has been fet on foot, or encouraged dire£Uy or indxredlly by our own or any other nation f As neither France nor Holland can be Juppofed, in tbcir prefent circumftaiices, to defire a revolution, in South America, there is no foreign na tion excepting England, to wmich views of this nature can be leafonabiy aferibed. But is there any thing in this expedition that marks an Englifh origen or connexion ? England being at war with Spain, would Some of thefe notes are obtainable for cafh under par. Gallatin hath written to K a n d l^b, chairman of the committee of \Ways and Means, Randolph hath brought iti a bill, giving to the commiffioners of the finking fund, of which Gallatin is the prin- ^ cipal, the right to oppoint fecret agents to purchafe -this ifock as much below par as he can or at diferetion. This openeth an im- menfe field for ftock jobbing \ it giveth to M r. Gallatin and his agents a power to de- prefs or raife the funds at any moment; it giveth moreover to the Secretary of the Trea- fu'ry for the time being, a power, were fuch Secretary fo difpofed, (which however thou knoweft catinot be fufpe6fed of Gallatin) of throwing by untoward and wordly contrivan ces with his fecret agents, hundreds of thou- fands and peradventure miiUoss, into com fortable lodgings in his ,gwn private purfe : contrary to the rules of common honefty, and fecond policy, the bill foibids the land officers in future to receive thefe notes, which jty wereffie fo difpofed, haveprtpaTed ^ < expedition in her own ports ? furniffied it from her arfenals ? and dffpatched it in her Owm fiiips ? Would (he have Tent Miranda hither to. hire a^pylvate veffcl, t.o hunt up rufty mnfkets a-nd worm-eaten cannon, atjd to enJift a mere handful of men asfoidiersi The infignificauce of the means, its apparent ifludequacy to the obj^a, if the Leander compofes ihe whole of the expedition, teems to aiiord ftrongeft prerumption, that it is not art Engiilh meal'ure. We therefore venture to exprefs our belief,_ that when the whole affar (hail be developed, it will be feen that England has no cofinexion with it. Has the expedition been fet on foot, or countepanc<ed by the American, govern ment ? by the fame government that has ordered Miranda and his fuppofed affoci^es to be pro- lecuted z^fiate criminals ? This (eems to be quite impoffiblc j for would any government expofe ii,fe!f to the fiogular difgrace of au- thorifing 01 countenanciJ^g a mcafure, for the execution of which, the agents ffiouid be afterwards profecuted by itfirlf as criminals ? ■But give Miranda, and through him to bis affociates, reafon to Relieve that k would wink at the expedition f On this point, with which ru mour is fo bufy, we affirm nothing ; becaufe we have not the Itnoledge that permits us ci ther to affir|n or deny. We may be allowed, however, ^Uer imparfial inquiry, to exprefs our own .jonvidHon, that the perfons v/ho have been atrefted, were themfdvcs perfua- de.d. tiiat whatever they have done, they were not ailing in oppofition to the view's of their government. By what partic ular evidence they became fo perfuadtd, has not yet been difclofed to the public, and pio- bably wiH not be known before the trial in April next. It ought not to be too readily believed that any men would engage in an affair of th|s nature in hoftiliiy to the known poliey and laws of their country. If want of precifion on the part of our gaverhmeta^^ iETw-, .ambiguity- in their ex- / . . . - .......... fellow cifizens have been beguiled and niif led, the public cenfure will moft affuredly fall where it ought to fall and the deceivers inftead of the deceived meet that condem nation they merit. But here again the mere fuppofition prefents a bafenefs and a treache ry, that, without die cieareft evidence. We cannot, and will not aferibe to the adminif- tratibn of our country. If the expedition of the Leander, be con trary to the laws of the United States; if the perfons who affifted in preparing it, fince re ly believed they were adling in conformity ^ith the intention of government; and if they are profecuted as offenders, the public muft content itfelf to wait for a full and impartial examination into the affair before the proper tribunal; in open court : And though we may regret the erroneous impreffions under which mdividuals may have a£ted, we ‘ffiouid be utterly unworthy of the name of an Ameri can, if we hefitated in preferring that fuch jfliould be the refult of this important invef- tigation, rather than that fo foul and indeli ble ftain ffiouid be fixed on our government as muft follow from a conviction of double .DEALING. And here for the prefent we leave this myfterious affair# From the Charleflon Courier, of the w'e have Through the poUtenefsof a gentleman bar, on whofe accuracy we rely, been favoured with the following imprefi five and eloquent fentence, paffed on the inhuman and brutal Slater, on Monday laft, by Judge Wilds^ which we have plea- Ture in communicafing to the public, as doing no left honor to his head, as a found aiidable judge, than' to his heart, aa a vir tuous and humane man. ' Jzkn^laUr^ YOU have been convidled by a jury of your country, oT the wilful murder af your own {lave ; and I am forty to fity, the ffiort, impreffive, uncontradicted teftimeny, on which that convi£tion was founded, leaves but tpo little room to doubt its pfoprlety. The annals fif human depravity might be fafely challenged for a parrallel to this un feeling, bloody, and diabolical tranfafifion. You capfed your unoffending,- uiirefifting Have to be bound hand and foot, and by 3 reftnctne-iTt Lis panion, perhaps the friend of hk heart, to chop off his head with an axe ; and to caft his Dody, yet .convulfmg with agonies of death, into the water 1 And thk deed yo-a dared ■ to perpetrate in the very harbor of Charleftof], within a few yards of the iliore, u-noluffiingly in ffic face of open day. Had your murderous arm been raifed agaipftyour eqaai, whom the laws of felf-defcnce, and the more efficacious haws 01 the land unite to proted:, your crime would not have been without prscedent, and would have feemed kfs horrid. Y'our periomai rilk would' at leait have provddj that tho’ a murderer, you were not a coward.—But you too well knew that this Unfortunate man, whom chance hsd fub- je£ted 10 you caprice, had nor, like youcfdf, chartered to him by the laws of the land, the facred rights of nature ; and that a ftern, but necefTary policy; had difajmed him of the rights of fdf-defence : Too well you knew, that to you alone he could look for protec tion ; and that your arm alone could (hidd him from opprcffioii, or aveng his wrongs; yet, that ^argi^.you iL'etchcd out for his deftfiic^ion. The cOiinfel, who generoofly volariteered his ferviccs iii your behalf, (hocked at the enormity of your offence, endeavored to find a refuge^ as w'di for his own feelings as foi thofe bi ail v/bo heard your trial, in a de rangement of your intellesfL Several wit- neffes were examined to eftabliffi this fa£f ; but the refuh of their teftimony, it is appre« bended, was as little fatisfadfory to his mind, as to thofe of the jury, to v/hom it was ad- dreffed, I fincerely wi(h this defence had proved fuccefsful; nor from any defire to lave yoii from the puniftiment which awaits you, and which you fo richly merit, but from the defire of faving my country from the foul reproach of having in its bofom fo great amoniler. From the peculiar fituation of this coun try, our fathers felt themfelves joftified in fubjefiring to a very flight ptmiffiTnent, him who mtipderjs a Have J—Whether the prefent e f of'■this policy, fo Oppofite to the apparent rights of humanity, it remains far a fuMequent ieg^ iflature to decide. Their attention would long ere this have been dire Bed to this fub- jedt, blit lor the honor of human nature, fuch hardened finners as yourfeif, are rarely found, to difturb the repofe of fociety. The grand jury ot this diftriB, deeply impreffed with your daring outrage, agaioll t he jaws both of God and man, have made a very ftrong expreffion of their feelings on the fub- jeB, to the legiflature ; and from the wii- dom and juftice of that body, the iueiidf o. humanity may confidently hope, foon to fee this biackeft in the catalogue of human crimes, purfued-with appropriate puniftiment. In proceeding to pafs thefentencs, which the law provides -for yolir offence, 1 confefs, I never felt more forcibly the want of power to make refpeBed the laws of my country, whofe minifter I am. You have already vio lated the majefty of thofe lau's^ You have profanely pleaded, the law under which you ftand conviB'ed, as a juftification of your crime. You have held that law in one hand, and. brandiffied your bloody axe in the other, im- pioufiy contending, that the one gave a li- cenc to the unreftrained ufe of the other, . But though you wall go off unhurt in per- fon, by the prefent fentence, expect not to efcape with impunity. Your biaody deed has'fet a mark upon tou, which I fear, the good aBions of your luture life will not ef face. You will be held in §,,bhcinence by an impartial world, and.ffiujnrkd ss a monfter^ by every honeft man. Ypur unoffending pofterity wdli be vifited for your iniquity, fcy the ftigma of deriving their origm from an unfeeling murderer. Tour days, which v/iii be but few, will be fperst. in wretchednefs. And if your confeience be not fteded againft every virtuous emotion 5 if you be not e-ntire- ly abatidcned tv haidnefs cf Ireart, the .maug- ic’d mutilate^ corple of your murdered fiave, wjUl ever be prefent in your imaghiation ; obtrude itfelf into all your vtBufemeBtf, and hi'unt you in the houfe of fijenc and repofe. But ffiouid you difregard the reproaches of an offended world; fhculd you bear, with caOcu's infer)fibility, the gnawing.of a guilty coEfcierice ; yet icmemberl i charge yoa rememberT that an a^fui period is fa# ap- pToaching, and with ie doffi st »•
