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SATURDAY, May 29,1802.
THE AUGUSTA CHRONIC
AND
GAZETTE OF THE STATE
CV. — : ■■ ' - —— *■> ■■ ■ --
FREEDOM of the PRESS asd TRIAL bt JURY shall remain inviolate. ConJUtution of Gt
AaJ „
AUGUSTA: Printed by JOHN E. SMITH, near the market. £3 Dolls, per Annum.J
GEORGIA.
;,N' his Excellency JOSIAH TATT
NALL, iun. Governor ani Comman
der in Chief of the Anfiy and Navy
cf this State, and of the Militia there
■ 4
"J 9
A Proclamation.
the conrtitution of this
* ftacc provides that the governor
L«av, on extraordinary occasions, con
vene the legiflamre thereof.
AND WHEREAS an oecafion exists
| Jf convening the legiflaturc, and matters’
importance claim their conlideration :
I Have therefore thought fit to con
vene, and do by this iny Proclamation
convene the legislature of this state at
Louifrillc, rhe fear of Government, on
Thursday the tenth day of June next ;
licreby requiring the Senators and Repre
fentarives, and every of them, to then
and there meet and affembie, in order to
fake into their conuderation the important
matters which relate to their convention.
GIVEN under my hand and the great
f, al of the State, at the State- Uotj'e
in Lcufville, this \c,th day of May
*7 the year of our LORD eighteen
hundred and tvoo, and of the Inde
pendence es the United States of A
merica the twenty-fxth.
J O3l AH TATTNALL, jun.
By the Governor,
Horatio Marburj* Scc’rj.
GOD SAVE tAe STATE*
=-=*=:====
From the National Intelligencer,
REPORT.
The Comm;ttee*app ointed “ to enquire ani
report whether monies drawn from the
Treasury have been faithfully applied
to the objefts for which they were ap
propriated, and whether the fame
have been regularly accounted ferr;
and to report likewfe whether any fur
ther arrangements are necessary to pro
nine economy, enforce adherence to le
gijlative rejlriftions, and secure the
accountability of psrfons entrujlcd with
public money," submit
THE FOLLOWING REPORT
In order to afeenam generally in what
manner, and under what check, monies
were drawn Irom the trealury of the ki
nked States, and were afterwards expend
ed and accounted for, the committee ap
plied to the Secretary of the Treasury,
lhting the fevered objects to which they
intended to direst their enquiry ; his an
i'wers under date of the fecund March,
and the 9 I 10; April, are annexed to this
report; co which, as well as the state
ments of the accountants of the war and
Levy departments, on the fame fubjeft,
thev beg ieave to refer.
The committee deem it fuffieient to
Hate here, that all public monies are
drawn turn the treasury in virtue of war
raats fiFiled by the Secretary of the Trea
sury and counterfigric-d by the comotrel
let, and are paid to the officers or agents
to whom the fame are due, or who are
trot ruffed with their application ; or when
relating to the war or navy departments,
they are placed in the hands of the trea
urer, as agent for those departments, who
ikourfcs them on warrants drawn by the
ecrvtarv of the department, and coun
teriigficd by the refueftivc accountants.
For the general conliruftion heretofore
Nven by the treasury departments to the
Vinous appropriation Jaws, the committee
■- t r 0 t ;- c communication made to them
v f hc Secretary of the Treasury on the
•3 March, and more particularly for the
endruction given to the annual appro
priations tor thr- fepport of the navy and
rniy refpcdivciy, they refer to a report
lade by the rate Secretary of the Trea
ts’)' or the day of May, t.:.e thou
tud Even hundred and to the
lomrr.ittee of Ways and Means. I'tom
f’h of these it appeals ilia: the mpropri- !
tor the arit.v w;d va. y iftprttive
:» have.been confidercd rouitituinig
w bed. far et ch of the*'* ob- i
je<fls, although in mod of the laws mak
ing appropriations a variety of heads of
expenditure were diftinftly fpecified. If
the general conftruftion be corrcft, it may
perhaps be find that in most inflances mo
nies have been drawn from the treasury in
the manner prescribed by law. Some ir
regularities are stated to have occurred,
where monies have been advanced upon
the Ample application of the Secretary of
the Treasury by letter, without the for
mality of a warrant, and sometimes even
without a previous appropriation, but in
these cases the irregularity has been after
wards covered by subsequent warrants and
appropriations, and the committee do not
difeover that it has been productive of a
ny injurious consequence to the United
States. The Secretary of the Treasury,
in his communication of the second day of
March, having expressed a doubt whether
l the monies advanced on account of the
removal of the feat of government from
Philadelphia to Washington had been au
thorized by any previous law, the com
mittee directed their attention to that
object, and now offer the result.
I'he law eftablifliing the permanent
and temporary feat of government (pall
ed on the 16th of June, in the year se
venteen hundred and ninety,) provided,
“ that all officers attached to the fear of
government (hould be removed to this
ddtrift on the firll day of December, in
the year one thousand eight hundred, by
their refpeftive holders,” and declared
that the ncccffary expence of such remo
val should be defrayed cut of the duties
on import and tonnage. This appropri
tion is indefinite in its nature and perhaps
feme contrariety of opinion may exist as
to the extent of the expends it was in
tended to cover; but the committee con
ceive that a drift adherence to the letter
of the law, would coniine the appropria
tion to the cxpcnces actually incurred in
removing the books, papers, records and
furniture of the refpeftive offices. From
the document (marked G) hereto annexed,
it appears, that the sum of 15,293 dol
lars and twenty-three cents were paid for
the transportation of the books, papers,
records and furniture of the several offi
ces, and the furniture of the Presi
dent; and the sum of 32,872 dollars and
thirty-four cents for cxpcnces incurred
by the officers and clerks for the removal
of themselves and families. In general
the vouchers produced in support of those
lart mentioned expcnces are the stated ac
counts and the declarations of the officers
and clerks, to whom the fame were al
lowed. Transcripts of the accounts of
the officers only are annexed, those of the
clerks being too numerous to be detailed.
From these accounts (which are marked
g 1, to g 12, inclusive) it will be fecn
that the charges consist of travelling ex
pences, losses on the file of articles
thought too inconvenient to remove,
packing, breakage and transportation of
furniture, house rent in Philadelphia, and
extra expences after their arrival at the
city of Walhington. As all the officers
and clerks were, at the time, in the ser
vice and pay of the government, and re
ceived the full amount of their falarics,
exclusively of these extraordinary allowan
ces, and as the aft of June, 1790, pro
vided only for defraying the expences in
cident to the removal of the offices, the
committee are of opinion that this sum of
32,872 dollars ar.d 34 cents was drawn
trom the treasury and expended without
any legil authority.
The manner in which monies drawn
from the treasury under previous appro
priations have been afterwards applied,
presents a fubjeft oi enquiry of more dif
ficult v and importance.
'l"hc expen cs in relation to the civil
lift, being chiefly for fabrics, are not
otherwise liable to abaft, than in cases
where monies advanced to agents have
i not been applied to the objects lor which
the advance was made, and have not been
afterwards regularly accounted fcr.—A
j mm est the fuberdinate agents to w hom
GEORGIA
monies have been advanced for miscella
neous objefts, of a civil nature, some ap
pear to be delinquents, and some not to
have rendered their accounts, as will be
seen by a reference to the document
marked D, herewith reported.
The monies ncceflary to defray the ex
pences incident to the intercourse w’ith
foreign nations, have, till lately, been
paid to the Secretary of State, who used
to dilbarfe the fame. The accounts of
Messrs. Jefferfon, Marshall and Madison,
who have, at various periods, filled that
appointment, have been fettled, and no
balance is due thereon. A suit not yet
decided, has been instituted against Mr.
Randolph, formerly secretary of state, for
a balance unaccounted for by him. The
accounts of Mr. Pickering are not yet
finally fettled. He remains charged with
a sum of 3,333 dollars and 20 cents, er
roneouily paid by him for the freight of a
vcffel supposed to have been employed by
the coniul at Tripoli, and with another
sum of 3,239 dollars and 50 cents, be
ing the balance of an advance made to Sa
muel Hodgdon, for the purpose of being
remitted to Mr. Humphreys, at Madrid,
in part of his salary, which Mr. Hum
phreys did not receive. Both these sums
it is believed may, and will be recovered
from the persons to whom they were re
fpeftively advanced. But the principal
reason which appears to have prevented
an ultimate settlement with him, arises
fro n the citjcumflance of his not having
applied the whole of the money drawn by
him from the treasury, to the fpccific ob
jefts for which it was appropriated by law.
bor the extent and result of this misappli
cation, the committee refer to the state
ment (marked C) accompanying the com
munication of the Secretary of the Trea
sury, under date of the 2d of March.
From this statement it appears, that Mr.
Pickering drew from the treasury under
the appropriations made u for defraying
the expences incident to the intercourse
with foreign nations, for negociating
treaties with the Barbary powers, and for
the contingent expences of government,”
the sum oi 63,999 dollars and 57 cents
more than he applied to those several ob
jefts, which, together with the sum of
14,588 dollars and 54 ccnt6 gained by
him on the purchase of bills of exchange
for the use of the government, form an
aggregate of 78,588 dollars and 11 cents,
'I he fame statement (C) will {hew that
the whole of this sum was expended by
him on objefts of a public nature (as far
as the committee can afeertain the faft,}
but this expenditure having been iriaile
from appropriations designed for other
objefts by law, the iniftmplication of the
money has prevented the comptroller of
the treasury from fettlinghis accounts.
Although the committee will not fay
there are no cases in which a public offi
cer would be j unified in applying monies
appropriated to one object, to expendi
tures on another, yet they are of opinion
that in every deviation the necessity for
the application ought to be for some ob
vious benefit to the Uniied States, and
in every such case, a disclosure .hereof to
congress ought to be made, at the next
feuion which should immediately thereaf
ter cnfuc.
The monies which have been advanced
to the several ftcretakes of fiate, hate
been remitted by them principally to mi
nisters, eonfals and other agents abroad,
whose accounts are not yet rendered, (al
though many or them are of an old dan)
and the committee cant-o; fa}* how, or in
what manner, the money h_s been ex
pended.
The advances receffurv for defraying
the expenses of >’uc military and naval
cftabliihmcnts verc ormerly made in pjrt
to individuals vvh a have accturned diteft.
ly with rh;t department; but ftr.ee the
law of the 16 I1 of July 1798, ti e whole
of the ir-mics have been paid to the trea- f
firvr nsagent for these two departments,
and hp'c uc n fuhjcft to the diaf.s of the !
rcfpe U.x fc:rc:a:i;s. The letter of the i
[Vet. XVI
secretary of the t
the ninth of Apri
nied by sundry a
A i, to A 9, in
the Itatements of
(marked E, e 1, e
tively) herewith r
amount advanced,
unaccounted for,
From these it appeal
day of January 179
year 1801, the ad
treasury on account
mcnt, have amounteu
sum in the hands of u\
846,963 dollars 29-iodl
Os which there have been
paid to individuals who
have accounted with, or
are accountable to the
treasury, a sum of . 11390,238 23
And there have been paid
by virtue of the warrants
of the secretary of war, .
or to individuals accoun
table to the war depart
ment, the sum of 8,456,72; 7
Making an aggregate equal
to the above sum of 9,846,963 29
to which is to be added a
balance remaining unac
counted for, oa the books
of the accountant, on the
jtt January, 1797, 1,756,1913®
Making in the whole a sum
chargeable to the war de
partment, from the year
1797 to 1801 (both in
clusive) of 19,213,1 r 6 46
Ot which the accountant has fettled and
rendered to the treasury, accounts to the
amount of 6,335,923 dollars and 5 3 cents;
leaving a balance of 3,877,192 dollar*
and 50 cents unaccounted for, or not yet
fettled.
The monies advanced to
the navy department,
from its eftablilhment in
1798, to the 31 ft March,
18oi,exclufiveof the sum
paid by the treaf-iry to
individuals, amount to 91931,313 Ji
Os which sum, accounts
have been fettled by the
accountant and rendered
to the treasury, to the a
mou.nt<>f 5,810,661 98
Leaving an unaccounted
for or unsettled balance of 4,170,651 75
Dollars. 9,981,313 73
These sums differ in amount, nominal
ly, from thofc contained in the statement
annexed to the letter of the secretary of
the treasury, of the 2d of March, but
the deference is explained, and the aftua!
amount proved to be the fame in the let
ter, and itatements of the 9th of April.
The itatemenrs of the accountants, al
though they exhibit balances apparently
unaccounted for, to a large amount, will
like wile shew that accounts have been
rendered for a considerable portion, which,
arc in a train of fetdement but not final!'-
closed. J
1 he late hour at which the voluminous,
documents accompanying this report were,
received by the committee, (upon the 9th.
of April,) and the labour necefTary to in
veiiigate luch a ixufs of at counts, and of
advances unaccounted tor, particularly in
I he war and navy departments, embracing
an expenditure of 20 millions or dollars,
have rendered it impolfi'ole for the commit
tee. con intently with their attention to
their other duties, to form an opinion
to the manner in which this sum has been
expended. Hut »rom the partial view
which they have taken, they beg leave to
prefert fomc facts and principles which
they believe to be worthy of notice efton
grefs.
Tr.are are two previous requires
w'" -’1 .re ntvcft.iry to juflify the expeu
-01 pu..»; money, and without
::■* *.rg.. . e can be made;
-i-o d.at v.'rc i:: the object