About Statesman & patriot. (Milledgeville, Ga.) 1827-1830 | View Entire Issue (June 11, 1827)
TERMS,—S3 PER ANNUM,] H® tibierunt artes, pacisqueimponere morem, parcere subjectis et debellare superbos.—VIRGIL. [IN ADVANCE. BY E H. BURRITT. MILLEDGEVILLE, MONDAY, JUNE 11, 1827. [NEW Series No. 1.—WHOLE No. 75.] THE STATESMAN & PATRIOT, IS PUBLISHED EVERY MONDAY IN MILLEDGEVILLE GA. On Wayne-Street, opposite the Eagle Hotel. No subscription received for a less period than one year; and no paper discontinued, unless at the discretion of the Editor, until all arrearages are paid. L3The price of subscription must be paid in advance. N. B.—Notice, of the sales of land and negroes, by Ad- ministrators. Executors, or Guardians, must be published sixty days previousto the day of sale. The sale of personal property in like manner must be published forty days previous to the day of sale. Notice that application will be made to the Court of Ordinary for leave to sell land, must be published nine months. Notice that application has been made for Letters of Administration, must also be published forty days. *** All letters directed to the Editor on business re- rating to the Office, must be post paid. LAW NOTICE. HE Subscribers have associated themselves in the practice of Law, they v ill attend the Courts in the counties of Monroe Newton, Pike, Upson,Henry, Butts, and Jasper. One of the firm will also attend all the Courts in the Chattahoochie Circuits. WILLIAM V. BURNEY, - JOHN W. A. PETTIT. Jackson Butts Co.January 3, 1827. 53—tf • —— . — Contractors Wanted. T HE Board of Commissioners for the improvement of the Oconee river, are ready to receive sealed propo- sals for the construction of either or both of the locks and dams to be built in said river near Milledgeville, until the first of June next. The plans, specifications, and terms of contract will be seen at the office of the State En- gineer, by whom every information will be afforded rela- .tive to their situation, and in the absence of Mr. Fulton, the plans &e. will be shewn at the office of the Southern Recorder, by Seaton Grantland, Esq, one of the Com- Emissioners. R. A. BLOUNT, Chairman. Milledgeville, May 14, 1827. 71—tf GEORGIA, Henry county. tihhe. Peter Harris, of capt, Morgan’s 074—55 district, tolls before John G. Barnett, esq ad,((one Chesnut Sorrel MARE, six or seven hr years old, a small star on her forehead, a- at -ran about four feet ten inches high, with some small w arts on her neck, appraised to $40 by Jesse John son, and Elijah Willson. April 7—73 WM HARDIN, C.I. C. GEORGIA, Henry county. Thomas Trayler, of capt. Mor- gan’s districts, tolls before John G. Bar nett, esq. one Cream Couloured Squbald HORSE, eight or ten years old, branded with D, and others not discoverable, four feet eight inches high, with a small Bell on, appraised to $30. May 1 1827—73 WM. HARDIN c: I. c. FROM THE EXTENSIVE CIRCULATION GIVEN - to a malicious and unfounded report, in regard to the concern of the Macon Bank in the recent failure of a Respectable Merchant in this City and to prevent Confi dence in any other falsehoods which may issue from the same or any other source, I deem it my duty to state that the Bank of Macon is not, nor has not, been interested in that, or any other failure—that the discounted paper held by the Bank is considered undoubted and will be paid at maturity—that the holders of the bills may rest witli en tire confidence on the ability of the Bank to meet prompt- Jy all demands which can come against it, for which pur pose it has now more specie in the Vaults than the amount of its Capital besides Georgia and United States Bank notes; and that the bills are current in this City and have •always been promptly redeemed by the Bank of Macon. G. B. LAMAR. President of the BANK of MACON. Augusta, May 21st, 1827. 73 It. D Notice. -Hi HE Subscriber has removed to the store in front of the EAGLE Hotel, under the office of the GEOR GIA STATESMAN, where he is now receiving, in addi tion to other late arrivals, a FRESH bUPPLY oi DRY GOODS which will be sold low for CASH ONLY. ISAAC NEWELL. Milledgeville May 14, 1827. 71—4w — - . - THE GAZETTEER OF GEORGIA, is for sale at L Mr. Green’s BOCK STORE, and Subscribers are requested to call for their copies. 5 Milledgeville, May 14, 1S27. SHERIFF’S SALES. ILL BE SOLD, on the first Tuesday in July next, in the town of Jackson, Butts county, between the legal hours of sale, the follow ing property, to wit : 1 0 Acres of Land, part of Lot No. 43, in the 3d, district f said county, whereon Bryant V- Hammil now lives, adjoining Catlett Campbell, and oth ers, levied on as the property of Bryant V. Hammil, to satisfy sundry fi. fa’s, in favor of Wilson & Lovejoy property pointed out by the defendant. Levied on and returned to me by a constable. Also, one Sorrel Horse, levied on as the property of Jesse Benton, to satisfy a fi. fa. in favor of Andre a Nutt—property pointed out by defendant. Also, 1264 acres of Land, more or less, part of Lot No. 126, the east side of said Lot, lying in the first district, formerly Henry, now Butts county, levi ed on as the property of Joseph Henderson, to satisfy a fi. fa. in favour of the partitioners of said Lot. May 14—73 R. W. HARKNESS, D. Sh'f. ILL BE SOLD, at the Court House door in Swainsbrough, Emanuel co. on the first Tuesday in July next, between the usual hours of sale the follow- ing property to wit: * One Tract of Land, containing 250 acres, more or less, adjoining land of Wm. Prices and others, taken as the property of Wilson Drew, to satisfy one fi th. in favor of John Perec, vs. said Drew. Also—Two Negroes, one negro man nam ed Gim, about twenty-seven years old, and George, a boy about nineteen years old, taken as the proper of James Wales, to satisfy sundry executions in favor of John S. Drew, all levied on and returned to ms bya Con astable, this 2nd of May, 1827. HENRY DARDEN, D. S. May 21, 1827.—72tds. TOTILL BE SOLD, in the town of Covington, Newton IV county, on the fourth Wednesday in June next, between the lawful hours of sale, the following property, to wit:. Th n East part of lot No. 304, in the 16th district of ori- ginally Henry, now the county of Newton, containing 91 1-1 acres. . ALSO—The West half of Lot No. 217, in the 10th district of originally Henry, now Newton County, con- filing 101 1-4 acres. The aboveland sold in obedience to an act of the Legislature of the State of Georgia, pointing out the mode of disposing of the State’s interest lan a which may have been condemned as fraudulently drawn. L. P. Mackey, D. s. .. May 34, 1827. “ 71—tds. executed under the immediate direction of Mr. Richard Vanrick, who was appointed towards the close of the war, Recording Secretary to the commander in chief. He was employed nearly two years and a half, with the aid of three assistant clerks, in arranging and tran scribing these papers. It hence appears, that there are two distinct copies of every letter, and other paper, from the beginning to the end of the Revolution. The originals, or copies of first drafts, which were preserved by Wash ington for occasional reference in camp, and from which the above volumes were transcrib ed, are mostly on seperate sheets of paper; they are now filed in perfect order, with such labels and direction on each, that any one, in the whole series, can be immediately consulted When the Revolution had terminated, and Washington was settled on his farm, although relieved from public duties, his correspon dence continued to be very extensive with eminent persons in this country and Europe, and frequently on subjects of much interest and moment. From this period till the time of his accepting the Presidency, his copied let ters fill six folio volumes Scarcely any of them have been printed and on many accounts they may be considered among the most valu able of his written remains. Notwithstanding he was closely occupied with his agricultural pursuits, and visited by crowds of company from all parts of the United States, and from the old world, yet he claimed to himself hours of seclusion, and evidently bestowed no little pains on the letters he wrote to a large circle of friends, and a few eminent strangers, who courted his correspondence. To the promin ent statesmen of this country; he repeatedly pointed out the defects of the old confedera tion, lamenting the evils that were daily un dermining the body politic, and which were to be ascribed to a badly organized system of Government, calling loudly on all to suggest and apply a remedy, to rouse the people to a sense of their danger, and to bring the reflect ing part of the community to unite in energetic measures to stop the tide of ill fortune, that threatened to sweep away the fair fabric of liberty, which had been erected at so dear a sacrifice of blood and treasure These were a perpetual theme with him in his letters to those who, from their weight of character, or public station, exercised a commanding influ ence ; and when these letters shall be publish ed, it will be seen, that the agency of Wash-' ing, in preparing the way for the new constitu tion, was much more efficient, than has gen erally been supposed. Another subject, upon which he often dwelt with apparent fondness, was the internal improvement of the country, and particularly the importance of water com munications between the east and west. His correspondence witli Mr. Jefferson and other gentlemen, on this subject, is full of informa- tion, < • mbined with sound views of policy, that have since been successfully acted upon by the wisest men of the nation. Soon after the war was closed, he visited the internal lakes of New-York, and in one of his letters he emphatically predicts, that a water commu nication would at no distant day be opened through the western parts of that State, and enlarges on the benefits that would be derived from such a work. In short, there were few topics of much interest at that time, on which he was not led more or less to touch in his let- ters, and especially such as related to the po litical condition and prospects of the country. By his foreign correspondents he was made acquainted with the impressions entertained in Europe of the American States, and he was thus enabled to render some service by com municating intelligence and correcting errors. His numerous letters to Lafayette, are fraught with a warmth of friendly feeling and kind recollection, which impart to them an uncom mon charm; and his correspondence with Rochambeau, Count d’Estaing, Count de Grasse, and other French officers, with whom he had shared the toils of war and tiie triumphs of victory, is highly honorable to the parties, and replete with incidents that may be perus ed with pleasure at the present day. The following are the names of a very small number only of the persons,, witli whom he habitually corresponded during the period to which I have been alluding: In this country, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Rich ard Henry Lee, Edmund Kandolph, Patrick Henry, Jay, Knox, Lincoln, Moultrie, Clinton, Chas. Carroll, Benjamin Harrison, Humphreys, Governeur Morris, Grayson, George Mason, Arthur Lee, Boudinot, Robert Morris, Trum bull, Henry Le Marshal, Pinckney, Rutledge, Hopkinson, Thomas Johnson, Dr. Ramsay, General St. Clair Baron Stuben. In Europe, Lafayette, Rochambeau, Count d’Esting, Count de Grasse, Duke de Lauzun, Chevalier de Chastellux, Chevalier de la Luzerne, Count de Noailles, Marquis, de la Rouiere, Count de Moustier, Dumas, Don Diego Gardoqui Count de Floride Blanca, Paul Jones, Countess of Huntington, Mrs. Macauly Graham, Arthur Young, Lord Fairfax, Dr. Gordon, Sir Edward Newingham, and numerous others. When Washington entered upon the ardu ous office of the Presidency, he was of course obliged to relinquish a portion of his private correspondence, yet his early formed and long continued habits of industry, procured him leisure from his public duties, and within the years of his Presidential labors are seven vol umes of recorded private letters, besides ma ny others of which press copies were taken, and which were not entered in books. A long letter he regularly wrote, once a week; and some times oftener, to the manager of his plantation, press copies of which he retained; and he kept up a spirited correspondence on agricultural subjects, with Sir John Sinclair Arthur Young, Mr. Anderson, and other per sons. His European correspondents rather increased than diminished, but his answers be- From the end of these military services, till the first movements of the Revolution, Washington lived in retirement, at Mount Vernon, not otherwise mingling in public af fairs than as an occasional member of the House of Burgesses, in Virginia He was de voted to the cultivation of his farms.—During this space of fifteen years, therefore, few pa pers are found of much general interest or va- lue, except as showing the nature of bis pur suits, and the traits of mind and character that markeed his private life. There are several volumes pertaining to this period, chiefly in his own hand writing which contain letters to his mercantile correspondents in London, in voices of articles shipped and,ordered journals of daily accounts, ledgers, letters to tenants and agents, and entrances of all the minute de tails of business, incident to a personal man agement of his large plantations. In these days it was the custom of the Southern plan ters to ship their produce directly to the Lon don market, and receive from that place, once or twice a year, by special order all the arti cles of importation necessary for family use, thus acting in the double capacity of merchant and farmer. This practice was followed ma- ny years by Washington, and his papers will shew, that he pursued it with a skill and at tention, that proved him not less acquainted with the various branches, of business, than prompt and diligent in prosecuting them. We are now arrived at the opening scenes of the Revolution, after which, almost every day of Washington’s life affords matter for his tory ;and, happily from that date, the records of the great events in which he bore so con spicuous a part, the testimonials of his acts, opinions, and motives, are numerous, well preserved, and attested by the sanction of his own band. Being actuated by a single aim to public good, which left him nothing to conceal and apparently anticipating the eagerness with which posterity would trace his footsteps, and search into his deeds, his habitual caution to preserve every document that could in any manner help to lay open his conduct to the broad inspection of the world, seemed to in crease with the responsibility of his station, and the wider sphere of his duties. There was probably no important public act, either performed by himself, or with his counsel or approbation for which his motives and purpo ses may not be easily gathered from some of his papers; and so regardless was he of any discoveries, which the prying eye of curiosity might make in this respect, that he seems to have taken no pains to separate private, from what might be more properly called public papers, any further than circumstances might suggest to him the prudence of such a measure for a temporary period. In whatever station he was placed by Providence, listening to no other monitor than his conscience, and obey ing no other guide than the rectitude of his own heart, he never sought to shield his own conduct from the most rigid secrutiny of man kind, nor to withhold or disguise any testimo ny that might be used in a faithful narrative of his actions. This brilliant gem in the crown of Washington’s glory, this stern virtue, and unmingled purity of motive, at the same time it exaults his name above every other that has been called great, communicates to his histori cal character a reality peculiar to him alone, and stamps the records he has left behind him with indelible marks of truth. As no country has been so fortunate as our own, in the hero that achieved its national exisitence and greatness, so none could rely with such as surances, on the facts which narrate the story of its early struggles and growing renown. Washington’s Revolutionary papers have all been transcribed into large folio volumes, a- mounting to forty-fore in number, and arrang ed according to the following clasification: 1. Letters to the Congress of the U. States; to committees of Congress; to the American Ministers Plenipotentiary at Foreign Courts. to individual members of Congress in their public characters. This class contains seven volumes. 2. Letters to officers of the Line, of every rank ; to officers of the Staff ; and to all other military characters of every denomination Sixteen volumes. 3. Letters to Conventions and committees of safety, and Correspondence; Governors, Presidents and other Executives of States, to Civil Magistrates and citizens of every denom ination. Five volumes. 4. Letters to Foreign Ministers ; to subjects of Foreign nations in the immediate service of the United States, but not in virtue of com missions from Congress ; to Foreign officers oi all other description. Two volumes. 5. Letters to officers of every rank and de nomination in the service of the enemy; to British subjects of every character, with the enemy; to persons applying for permission to go to the enemy. One volume. 6 Proceedings and opinions of Councils of War, and opinions of the General Officers respecting the various points on which they were consulted from time to time, by the Commander in Chief. Three volumes. 7. Private correspondence during the revo lution, being letters written to persons both in private and public stations, but on subjects of a private nature. Three volumes. 8. Orderly Books, containing all the orders to the army, entered in details from the day he took command of it at Cambridge, till he left it at Newburg, at the end of the War. Seven volumes. These volumes are arranged with a remark- able exactness of method. Copied with ele gance and care, and written throughout, in a uniform and neat style of penmanship. Each class of subjects is brought together in a strict chronological order, and a copious index is added to every volume. The whole was From the National Intelligencer. WASHINGTON’S PAPERS LETTER I. From Mr. Jared Sparks to the Honorable Joseph Story. MOUNT VERNON, May 4 1827. Dear Sir : Since I have been at this place, engaged in examining General Washington’s papers, I have thought it advisable to defer replying to your kind inquiries, respecting the progress and probable results of my investiga tions, till I should be able to speak with some degree of certainty arc confidence. After two months of assidious application to the task, I am now prepared to state such partic ulars as will give you an outline of the sub ject, both in regard to the extent and charac ter ofthe papers and to my own plan for bringing them before the public. You are already apprised of my arrangement witli Judge Washington, by which 1am to have access to all the papers in the archives at Mount Vernon, that belonged to gen. Washing ton, to select& prepare for the press such parts as shall be best suited for that purpose. With this view I have been employed in a general survey of the materials and in arranging them for future examination and use. It was a hab it, adopted by General Washington at an ear ly stage of his life, to preserve copies of all his important letters, as, well those of a private, as of a public nature. Before the Revolution this was a troublesome labour to him, as the copies were usually taken by his own hand, and this even during the active years of his military command on the Virginia frontier; but, after the Revolution, he was seldom with out a Secretary, who transcribed his letters in to letter books, as they were written. For several of the latter years of his life he used a copying press, and the impressions thus taken are still preserved, although these letters also are for the most part recorded in volumes, so that in many cases, duplicate copies are re tained. Such having been his habit during a long life of extraordinary activity, a large por tion of which was devoted to pursuits various in their character, and of the highest moment, it may reasonably be supposed that his pa pers accumulated rapidly under his hands, and that amongst them are many materials worthy of a better fate,than that of being shut out from the eyes of the world, and of a more lasting preservation, than can be secured to them in the condition of perishable manuscripts. The earliest written document of much im portance from the hand of Washington, was the journal of his tour to the Western Country, performed by the order of Governor Dinwid die. This was printed at the time, both in this country and England, and was much ap plauded, as indicating a discretion and a spirit of uncommon enterprise in so young a man, he being then hardly twenty-one years old. For several years previously to this period, he had followed the profession of a practical survey- or, in the employment of Lord Fairfax, and had surveyed numerous tracts of wild lands in the upper counties of Virginia, on , both sides of the Blue Ridge. In this occupation he seemed to have peculiar pleasure, and in the end it proved of essential service, as it opened to him a knowledge of the country, which was afterward 'o be the theatre of his early mili tary career ; and it innured him to hard-ships and privations. There are now remaining, journals, and fragments of journals in bis own hand writing, of some of these surveying ex peditions. A small volume, in particular, re cords the events of a tour of this kind among the Allegany mountains, when he was but six teen years old.' In addition to a diary of the principal incidents of each day, this volume contains his field book, or minutes of surveys, and original drafts of letters to his friends. But the time at which his papers begin to assume an importance worthy of special notice, as claiming a rank in history, is wl.en he en gaged in the campaign witli General Brad dock. He had air ady returned from the af fair of the Great Meadows, and been appoint ed, by the Governor of Virginia, to command a body of new forces immediately to be raised, and dispatched to the frontier. But as the Assembly broke up without appropriating any money to carry the scheme into effect, Wash ington resigned the command, and went back to his farm. Braddock shortly after landed in Virginia, and invited him to join his family as volunteer and Aid-de-Camp. From this date his papers have been preserved in detail, to the last day of his military services under the Virginia authorities. These papers were recorded in letter books, and copied out by himself when written. They consist of his correspondence witli Governor Dinwiddie, the Speaker of the Virginia Assem bly, the Earl of Loundoun, General Forbes, Governor Sharpe, Colonel Stanwix, Lord Fair fax, and with the subordinate officers under his command : also with his mother, brothers, and other private friends. There is, more over, in Washington’s hand writing an entire copy of Braddock’s General Orders, as they were issued daily, from the time he entered Virginia till the fatal defeat, except, a few days, while Washington was confined witli a fever, and unable to be on duty. After his return from that expedition, and appointment to the command of the Virginia forces, his letters orders, and instructions, are minutely and fully recorded.—The whole collection ex tends through four volumes, embracing not only his public but private letters; and ex hibiting a complete history of the operations in which he was engaged. The value set by Washington on these papers may be inferred from the circumstance that, several years af terwards, he corrected the language by era sures and interlineations, and had them all transcribed anew. Both the originals, thus corrected, and the transcripts, are preserved. came brief and formal. Many, indeed, were turned over to his Secretary. It appears to have been a fixed principle with him, all his life never to receive a letter ot any descrip- tion, respectful in its language, without reply ing to it, and commonly, with great pr. mpt- ness. The number of letters which came to him from all quarters, on subjects having no relation to his own concerns, would hardly be credited, without occular proof. Letters from persons in distress, asking charity ; letters from old Soldiers and soldiers’ widows, making claims on the Government ; letters suggesting projects of improvements; letters innumera- bl from Europe, desiring information as to the inducements for emigration to America, and inquiring about lost relatives or friends sup posed to be in this country, or about lands or other property in some of the States; these are but a few of the topics upon which he re ceived almost daily communications. All the World seemed to think, that, if they wished to know any thing concerning America, or what was in America, they had only to write to Washington. In no instance did he treat such applications, obtrusive as they were, with harshness or neglect. In acts of charity, he was open handed, to an extreme; where information was desired, he frequently submit ted to a good deal of trouble in collecting it; where claims were presented, over which he had no control, he would put the petitioner in to the proper channel for having them exam ined and adjusted. To all letters of this sort, whether he could return a favourable answer or not, and however humble a rank in life the writer might sustain, lie never failed to reply in a condescending and friendly manner. Among the letters demanding particular at- tention, while he was President, are those of a private and confidential nature, to our Minis ters abroad—Governor Morris, Pinckney, Jay, Monroe, King; and those to the members of the Cabinet, Jefferson, Hamilton, Randolph, Pickering Knox, during his absences at Mount Vernon, and while he was on the Western ex- pedition, caused by the insurrection in Penn sylvania. Morris was in France at the first movements of the Revolution, and the corres pondence with him goes largely into a discus sion of principles and events then shewing themselves in that country. But in all the pa pers left by Washington, there is nothing which can be read with more satisfaction than his private correspondence with Mr. Jay, while the British Treaty was in agitation and pro- gress. Such a flame did that instrument kin dle in the nation when it was promulgated, that, even at the present day, it is almost im possible to touch upon it, without stirring up some of tiie slumbering embers of party. Could the private letters of Washington and Jay have be in exhibited in broad day light to the public, when the Treaty was laid before the Senate, there would have been but one loud and undivided voice, as to the motives of the men, their unsullied patriotism and ar dent efforts for the best interests of the coun try, whatever might have been thought of any features in the Treaty itself. In fine, I take it upon me to say, without qualification that, among the mass of Washington’s private and confidential papers, pertaining to the stormy seasons of his Administration, there is no re cord that dreads the light, none that would, in the smallest degree, detract from the brightness of his character, by being exposed. The early dissentions between Hamilton and Jefferson, he endeavored to south and quell: for he was a sincere friend to them both. He gave every facility to Randolph that he could possibly claims or desire, for making a full and fair vindication; and in all times of trial and excitement, he maintained a dignity, firmness, and composure, which at the same time they proved the integrity of his heart, calmed the troubled elements of party, and reared the pillars of Government on a solid and durable foundation. In addition to the volumes of letters just mentioned, as pertaining to the period of the Presidency, there are fourteen other volumes, in which arc recorded the transactions of the President with Congress and the Heads of the Departments, and which consist of letters that passed between him and the Secretaries, on special subjects; also, opinions, reports, and intelligence, from the Secretaries. Among other records, is a private journal kept by the President, in which his official acts and inter course with the Departments, are daily noted down. After Washington had agun retired from the scenes of a public station, lis letters were still numerous and important t the end of his life, especially those written t< Preside nt Ad ams, Pickering, Hamilton, Pinkney, Knox, & McHenry, on the concerns of the provisional army. Nor were his old correspondents for- gotten or neglected. At this period, also, he wrote on agricultural subjects, and gave min ute instructions in writing to lis managers for the cultivation of his farms. I have only to add, that besdes the papers hitherto mentioned, there are three volumes of addresses received by him a different times from States, Cities, Towns, Religious Socie ties, Colleges, Academies, Misonic Lodges. Benevolent Institutions, Civi, Political, and Military Associations, and other corporate bo dies without number. Some of these were sent from Europe.—They are all methodical ly recorded, together with the answers to them, & tne originals are for the most part preserved. Having thus presented you with a brief sketch of General Washington’s papers, as they are now found at Mount Vernon, I shall defer to another I tier an exposition of the method, by which 1 propose to arrange and prepare them for the press. Meantime, I arn, sir, &c. JARED SPARKES. Hon. Joseph Story.
