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•v# SOUTHERN RECORDER. I V VOL. I. MILLEDGEVILLE, TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 1820. No. 8. PUBLISHED WEEKLY, (on Tuesdays) BY S. GRANTLAND tf R. M. ORME Air THREE DOLLARS, IN ADVANCE, OR FOUR DOLLARS AT THE EXPIRATION or THE TEAR. Advertisements conspicuously iuser- tedat the customary rates. SEMINOLE WAR, &c. CONGRESSIONAL REPORT. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Feb. 26. Mr. Stores handed in the following Re port: The committee appointed, on the 10th day of December Inst, to inquire and report to the House of Representatives whether n- ay of the public monies appropriated by Congress for the pay and subsistence of the regular army of the United States, since the 4th day of March, 1815, have been applied to the support of any army or detachment of troops raised without the consent of the House or the authority qf Congress, respect fully Report: That, oo the 11th day of January, 1818, colonel David Brearly, of the 7th regiment of the United States’ infantry, who was a- bout to proceed from Hartford, in the state of Georgia, to the Creek Agency, on public service, was, by order from Major General Edmund P. Gaines, authorised to receive in to the service of the United States not ex ceeding five hundred Indians of the Creek Dation ; and should they volunteer their ser vices, to muster, inspect and provision them, and direct their march to Fort Scott. In o- bcdiene.etothi* order, colonel Brearly, short ly after his arrival at the Agency, proceeded to fulfil the intentions of the commanding general. The necessary measures were ta ken for aaaembling the warriors of that tribe; and it being ascertained, that nearly the whole effective force of the nation would consent to serve, arrangements were made hr mustering them into service and organiz ing them. These arrangements were, that the whole force war to be denominated a re giment, to consist of eighteen companies, to 'be officered according to the regulations of the army of the United States, that William M'lntosh, the principal war chief of the na tion, should tank aa full colonel, and the two chiefs, George Lovett, and Noble Kennurd, as majors, This arrangement was commu nicated to general Gaines, then at Hartford, who approved of the proceeding of colonel Brearly, informing him by a letter of the 29th day of January, 1818, that he would cheerfully accept the services of all the In dians who might be disposed to join him, which dupositisB colonel Brearly was direc ted to encourage as far as practicable. Pur suant to these instructions, one thousand five hundred and thirty-seven warriors were mustered into the service of the United States on or about the 24 th day of February, 1818, and served until the early part of the months of May thereafter. Including Onir Haujo, a chief of the Creek nation, and se venty-five warriors, who h'ad been mustered Into service on the 6th day of December, 1817, the whole number of Indian forces em ployed during this period amounted to one thousand six hundred and thirteen men.— William M’lntosh held the rank of brigadier genera], and received in that capacity, one hundred and four dollars per month pay, se venty-two dollars per month for subsistence, forty dollars per month for forage, and forty- two dollars and twenty-seven cents per month, allowauce for eervants; having re ceived, for two months and fifteen days ser vice, from the 14th day of February to the 9th day of May, 1818, the sum of six hun dred and forty-five dollars aud seventy-two cents. George Lovett, Noble Kcnnara, Sa muel Hawkins, and Blue, were assign ed to the rank of majors, in which capacity they served from the 24th day of February until the 11th day of April, when, the Ame rican army under the command of major- general Andrew Jackson, then having arriv ed near to Suwaney river, after the capture of Fort St. Marks, in the Spanish province of East Florida, Lovett and Kcnnard were promoted to the rank of full colonels, and Hawkins and Blue to the rank of lieutenant colonels, in which capacities they respective ly served until they were discharged from service. These persons received for their services during these periods the full allow ance made for pay, subsistence, forage, and servants, to officers of the like rank in the re gular army. The vacancies occasioned in the regimental field and staff by these pro motions, were, on t he 12th day of April, 1818, partially filled, by the promotion to the rank of majors of two chiefs, John Bar nard and — Mattey, who had served as captains from the 24th day of February un til that time. The general field and stiff fur ther consisted of one assistant adjutant-ge neral, who received per month 60 dollars pay, 24 dollars for subsistence, 24 dollars for forage, and 58 dollars and 18 cents allowance, for servants. Four assistant commissaries of purchases were also appointed, who, re spectively, received salaries at the rate of thirteen hundred dollars per annum. In ad' uition to these, £8 captains, 28 first licuteR ants, and 28 second lieutenants, were ap pointed ; the whole force having been divided into 28 companies. These officers were, at the first organization of the corps, appointed 7 7® Creek natibn of Indians, unacr the sanction of the commanding general. By what authority the original arrangement for the organization was changed, me rank of several of the chiefs raised, and an additional number of field and staff officers appointed, ’■>e Committee have not been able, conclu- 7 e 'y. t° ascertain; but as these various ransactions appear on the regular pay rolls the corps, which have been passed to the credit of the officer who made tho disburse ment, and have been recognized at the War department, it is presumed, that they must »iT' occurred with the sanction of some I utilic agent. The promotions, which took E r a f7 Hr Suwaney river on the 12th day April 18i 8, were made by order of major- Genetal Jackson. TV sums paid to these Indian forces, for vices, amount to thirty thousand one hundred and twenty-seven dollars and forty-nine cents, including the sum of three thousand five hundred and forty-eight dol lars and forty-eight cents, paid to the Gene ral Field and Staff. To ascertain out of what fimd these disbursements were made, a letter was addressed to the Second Audi tor or the Treasury, in whose office these accounts were audited, which, with his an swer thereto, dated on the 14th ultimo, is submitted with this report. By this com munication it appears that it became ques tionable out of what fund these forces were to be paid; but, after examination, it was concluded by the secretary of the war de partment, for the reasons stated in the said letter, to carry the expenditure to the charge of the appropriation made by the Congress for the pay of the army of the United States, for that year. For the purpose of determining with certainty, by what authority these forces were raised, the secretary of the war depart ment was requested to furnish to the commit tee “copies of any orders (if any such exist ed) which might nave issued from the war department” to the commanding officers of the southern division of the army “by virtue of which” these Indian forces were “ raised, officered, and taken into service.” The an swer of the secretary of that department, dated on the 22d ult. referring the commit tee to the documents therein stated, contains all the information relating to the subject of inquiry existing in the. ,‘ar department. Af ter careful and deliberate examination of these documents, the committee cannot dis cover that any orders whatever are therein contained, which, by the most forced or ar tificial construction, could be deemed even to imply an authority from the war depart ment to muster into service, organize, or em ploy, the Indian forces under the command of William M’lntosh and the chiefs of the Creek nation. The. papers referred to con tain no orders whatever addressed to general Gaines, and only one bears date previous to the issuing of the orders by that officer to colonel Brearly for employing the Indian warriors. Tins order is addressed to major genera! Jackson, and, so far as this commu nication and the answer of general Jaekson thereto, of the 29th day of January, 1818, furnish any aid to this branch • 'the enquiry, it is strongly to be inferred, that the em ployment of these forces was neither in ac cordance with the views of the war depart ment, nor justified by any existing necessity. In the communication of the secretary of war to general Jackson, of the 20th day of December, 1817, directing him to assume the command of the forces employed in the icinity of Fort Scott, against the Seminole Indians, lie was informed that “ the regular force now there was about eight hundred strong,”and “one thousand militia of the state of Georgia were called into service;” “ that general Gaines estirnatedthe strength of the Indians at twenty-seven hundred.”— The answer of general Jackson to ttiCWur department, of the 26th January, 1818, in formed that department, that “the troops assembled on the southern boundary, rein forced with the Tennessee volunteers called into service,” would enable him “ to inflict speedy and merited chastisement on the de luded Seminoles.” These Indian forces were not mustered into service until the 24th day of February thereafter. lit the judg ment, therefore) of the commanding officer of the southern division of the army of the United States, the addition of this 'extraor dinary force of sixteen hundred and thirteen Indian warriors, was not deemed necessary to the execution of the orders which had been issued for “ a speedy and successful termination of the Indian war. In confir mation of the opinion that the employment of these forces was viewed in that light by the commanding general, the committee sub mit, with this report, the proceedings of a court martial, convened by his order, for the trial of colonel David Brearly, who was ar rested on tire application of general Gaines, on charges of allcge.d neglect of duty, in not forwarding certain supplies from the Creek Agency, destined for the use of the troops of the United States, and Georgia militia, stationed near the Chehaw village, and at Fort Scott. To these charges exhibited by general Gaines was added, by order of ma jor general Jackson, a charge of“unmilitary conduct,” under which was specified an al leged offence, “ that the said colonel David Brearly did, in the month of February or March, 1818,musterinto the service of the United States a large body of Indian war riors, at or near Fort Mitchell, thereby con suming a large quantity of the supplies laid in and destined for the relief of Fort Scott, and to furnish the Tennessee volunteers,” which act is therein alleged to have “tended manifestly to the injury of the service.” After an investigation of several days, Col. Brearly was honorably acquitted of all the charges preferred against him. The com manding general, by an order of the 5th day of August, 1818, approving the sentence of the court on this specification, observed, “that they had, from the documents produc ed, properly found him not guilty, as it ap peared from General Gaines’s letter, hearing date 29th January, that he was ordered to accept all the Indians that might be dispos ed to join him. Notwithstanding the com mission of this act, so “manifestly” injurious to the service, was thus directly traced to the superior officer of colonel Brearly, no proceedings have been since instituted to fix the responsibility of the alledged offence on the officer from whom the order emanated. The committee further report, that it ap pears from the documents to which they have been referred hy the letter of the se cretary of war, of the 22d ult. that major general Andrew Jackson having been direct ed by that department, on the 20th day of December, 1817, to assume the command of tho forces in the vicinity of Fort Scott, was ordered to call on the Executives of the ad joining states, for such additional militia force of the said states, as he should deem it requisite to raise for tbe execution of his or ders, tp terminate the conflictthen commenc ed with the Seminole tribe of Indians. In stead of obeying this order, he proceeded to dated on the 11th day of January, 1818, the aid of one regiment only, to be composed of one thousand men, was requested. At a meeting, however, of the citizens who were to command, as officers, this corps of levies, on the 19th day of January thereafter, gen eral Jaekson accepted the services of two regiments, to be raised by voluntary enlist ments, which were accordingly assembled together, consisting of one thousand two hundred and eighty-six citizens of those Mates, who were organised ns auxiliaries, into an army of mounted gun-men. The organization of the officers commanding these regiments was made under the authority and sanction of the commanding general, and consisted of one assistant adjutant general, one assistant inspector general, one assistant deputy quarter master general, one judge ad vocate, one chaplain, two colonels, four lieu tenant colonels, four majors, four adjutants, one forage master, one assistant forage mas ter, two surgeons, four surgeons’ mates, two quarter-masters, amLeight non-commission ed staff. To this organization of the gener al and regimental field and staff, were added twenty captains, twenty first lieutenants, twenty second lieutenants, eleven third lieu tenants, and seventeen cornets. The addi tional lieutenant colonel and major to each regiment was made in consequence of an agreement for that purpose originally made hy general Jackson. The ruinous tenden cy of these unauthorized proceedings is for cibly illustrated by the fact, that, on the as sembling of these forces for the purpose of being mustered into service, at Fayetteville, they brought with them into camp no less than forty captains. The reason given hy the inspector general of the southern division of the army, who mustered them into ser vice, by order of general Jackson, for ap pointing an extraordinary number and grade of compnny officers, appears in a letter ad dressed to the secretary of war, hy that offi cer, of the 9th of February, 1818. In this letter colonel Hay ne chscrv es, that to “ merge the lesser fractions into the greater, arid thus amalgamate them into single companies, to cut down captains, to leave out subalterns, and yet to satisfy and secure to us nil tho men, has lieen a very difficult task indeed.— To effect this object, I have been obliged, in number of cases, to give an additional lieu tenant and cornet to the companies.” On the assembling of these troops, general Jackson proceeded to direct the disposition for their use of the funds placed in the hands of the regularly appointed officers of the ar my of the United States, imposed on major Fannin, of the corps of artillery, the tempo rary duties of deputy quartermaster general, and vested him with authority to draw on the quartermaster general for any addition al sums wanted for supplies. To facilitate their march, he also authorized the inspector general of the southern division of the army to draw either on the secretary of war or on the quartermaster general at Fort Scott, for such funds as might be found necessary.— These troops, thus mustered into service, and organized, served from the 81st day of January, 1818, until ihe 251 h day of June thereafter, and have received from the pub lic funds the pay and allowances mudu to the pilar armies of the nation. The committee further report, that two companies of rangers, under the command of captains Boyle aud Gist, consisting of about one hundred and forty-fivernen, were called into service by order of ma jor general Jack- son, during the Seminole war. It does no! appear that these forces were mustered into service pursuant to any requirement on any civil or executive officer of any state or ter ritory. By the letter of William W. Bibb, governor of the Alabama territory, dated on the 15th day of April, 1818, it appears that at that date he was “ignorant of the views of the government with respect to Florida,” that lie “knew not the orders which had been issued to general Jackson,’’and that he was “not acquainted, in any degree, with the arrangements on the part of the United States for prosecuting” the war against the Seminole Indians. The gnawer of the se cretary of war to governor Bibh, communi cating the information of those arrangements in reply to his enquiries, was transmitted from the war department on the 13th day of May, 1818. No muster or pay rullsof these forces have yet been received at the war de partment, and no documents can be furnish ed in the public offices, hy which the num ber of these forces, the period of their en listment or discharge, the mode in which the appointed, .. satisfactorily determined. The communi cation addressed to the committee by the secretary of war, on the 19th inst. contains all the information existing in the war de partment relativoto these companies of rang ers. The object for which these forces were raised, appears in the letter of general Jackson to the war department, dated on the 2d day of June, 1818, and the inst ructions issued to them were to scour the country between tile Mobile and Apalachicola rivers, exterminating every hostile party who should dare to resist, and would not surrender, and remove with their families above the 3lst de gree of latitude. Excepting this letter, the only information relative to these forces, winch exists in the war department, is found in tile papers referred to in the letter of the secretary of war of the Kith inst. From them it appears, that captain John B. Hogan, paymaster of the 4th regiment of infantry, was directed by colonel King, on the 18th day of September, 1818, to prepare an esti mate for the amount of funds necessary to pay them off. This estimate is submitted with this report, and it appears thereby, that the sum required for this purpose amounts to nineteen thousand eighthundred and sixty- seven dollars and ninety-two cents, including eight thousand five hundred and sixty-three dollars, for pay, seven hundred aud twenty dollars for subsistence, and ten thousand five hundred and eighty-four dollars allowance for the use and risk of horses. These various forces, forming no part of the military establishment of the United States authorized by Congress, and not hav ing been called into service by virtue of any jaw providing for calling fortli the militia of the people of the states of the several states, the committee, in ohedi- Tennessee and Kentucky, hy circular letters, ence to the resolution of the house, which urivatclv addressed to individual citizens of I has imposed on them the duty of reporting his own selection. In this circular address,' whether any of the appropriations for the pay and subsistence of the regular army of tho United States have been applied to the support of anyarmy or detachment of troops raised without the consent of this house, or the authority of Congress, deeming that on the preservation of the constitutional powers of Congress the chief security of the people of these United States against all encroach ments on their liberties must for ever de pend, and thatontbe firmness, independence, and fidelity of their immediate representa tives, they justly rely for the protection of the solemn trust confided to their charge, do unreservedly express to the house their opinion, that the levying of these forces, their organization and employment in the public service, was in violation of the consti tution of the United States, and a dangerous infringement on the powers of Congress. To attempt seriously to establish by ar gument, that Congress alone possesses the power to raise armies, instead of partaking of the nature of the enquiry how extensive the breach sustained by the constitution has been, would rather imply that it might be doubted whether we have any constitution at all. In no instance of the delegation of sovereignty to the federal government have the people manifested greater caution and wisdom, than in confiding to their immedi ate representatives the exercise of this pow er, which, above all others, is susceptible of tbe most alarming abusrs in every govern ment. The experience of all nations had uniformly taught them, that their only secu rity from violence and rapacity was to be found in the careful restraint of its exercise. In the elective franchise an adequate reme dy was provided for the redress of most of those abuses which originate from the temj>- tations of avarice and tne love, of power; but they well knew, that whenever their liber ties should be directly assailed, the physical force of the government alone could be re sorted to, for the successful accomplishment of the designs of ambition. The'Unlimited power of supporting any military establish ment whatever is denied, even to Congress; and the term of appropriations for this ob ject has been wisely restricted to the consti tutional period of service of the members of this house. So highly fraught with danger has the raising of troops, and their mainte nance, been considered, that, except in time of war, actual invasion, or imminent danger, these powers have been withheld from the state legislatures; sovereignties, w hose juris diction are more comprehensive and indefi nite than any known to our institutions.— To levy armies, without the authority of Congress, is, therefore, to substitute the ar bitrary pleasure or caprice of individuals, in the place of the national will, and to violate all those securities which the people have provided for theirsafety. The nature or character of this assump tion of power derives no exemption from the application of these principles, by reason of the particular description of the forces ori ginally called into service by general Gaines, and subsequently commanded by general Jackson. As lawfully might a commanding officer in the army, of his own authority, re ceive into the service of the. United States, as auxiliaries, the forces stationed in the neighboring provinces of Great Britain, as to embody and organize into regular armies, and associate with his command, the Indian tribes residing within our jurisdictional limits. In relation to forces of this latter descrip tion, tbe constitution hag heretofore received a pract ical exposition from Congress; which, whether w e consider the perio'd of its enact ment, or the character of the distinguished patriot and statesman, from the history of whose administration this illustration is de rived, is entitled to the greatest considera tion and respect. So clearly does it seem to have been at that time considered, that the tower of employing Indian forces in the pub ic service, even for the protection of the frontiers, had not been vested even in the ex ecutive department, that, in the act entitled “An act making further and more effectual provision lor the protection of the frontiers of the United States,” approved on the 5th day of March, 1792, it was found necessary to derive tout power from the authority of Congress; ; nd the President of the United States was, by the 15th section of the said act, authorized by Congress to employ, in the public service of the nation, that descrip tion of forces, in case he should deem tne measure to be expedient. This act was re pealed by Congress, and the authority, thus conferred, ceased on the 3d day of fllarch, 1795. The appointments of the officers of this corps of Indians, and the promotion* which took place by order of Gen. Jaekson, were also, in tbe opinion of the committee, an in fringement on the powers confided to the Executive of the United States and the Sen ate. It is scarcely more titan to repeat a mere political truism, to say that the exer cise of all power whatever, not derived from the will or the people, is not only in itself unlawful, but contrary to the fundamental principles of every free government, and the orderly administration of its public con cerns. The declared will of the nation has entrusted to the President and Senate alone the power of appointment to all offices, not otherwise provided for by the constitution. The prudence and wisdom of these emiuent and distinguished functionaries of the go vernment, were the guarantees on Which the people relied for the careful selection of those subordinate agents to whom the sword of the nation was to be entrusted. The as sumption, therefore, hy others, of the re sponsibility of exercising this power, is self- created—unrecognized by our institutions, and tends to the mo.it (icriucious and alarm ing disorders in the administration of the government. In the case of military appoint ments, the most powerful as well as the most obvious considerations, especially de mand that this power should not he w rested from the hands of those on whom alone the constitution has imposed this high responsi bility. Trie Congress of the United States alone is vested with the general authority to or ganize the militia, and to provide for calling them forth for the purposes expressed in the constitution. These powers have been ex ecuted. Not only the organization, but the rank and description of the officers of the militia has bean prescribed by the act of ployed during the war with the Seminole Indians, exclusive of the troops of the rejd- lar army, Amounting to aix thousand and fifty-eight men, of which number four hun dred and twenty aerved ip the general and regimental field and ataff, and aa company officers. The whole number of forces, of att descriptions, actually lo service on the Aral day of April, 1816, amounted to upwards of five thousand six hundred men. From tho state of the accounta it is impossible at this time satisfactorily to ascertain the whole amount of public expenditure on the object for which these forces were raised. Tho disposition, however, of the appropriations made hy Congress for the support of a bri gade of militia, amounting to four hundred and forty six thousand seven bundled and forty-three dollars, appears by tiro annexed statements, furnished front the office of the Second Auditor of the Trasury Department. The pay rolls of only four compeincs of the Tennessee volunteers have yet been received. From an examination of these it appears that the paymaster of those forces Captain John B. Hogan, has paid to the men respectively the sum of fifteen dollars and fifty cents each, as an allowance for clothing. Should the same disbursement for this allowance have been made to tbe whole number of the non* enmmiaaoned officers and privates of this corps, the total amount of this item w ill ex ceed the sum of eighteen thousand dollar?. The amount of these pay rolls (twenty se ven thousand eight hundred and fifty five dollars and forty five cents) having been car ried to the chaise of the appropriations for a brigade of militia, in the annexed abstract from the office of the Second Auditor of the Treasury, and appearing thereby, also, to have been deducted from the balance re maining dtie from the paymaster, on account of this fund, a letter was addressed to the Second Auditor, requesting that officer jo inform the committee by' virtue of what law of the United States or regulation relating to this subject, the paymaster was entitled to credit at the Treasury for a disbursement of this nature. From tne answer of the Sc- Congress of the 8th day of May, 1702, and the act of the 2d day of March, 1804. Nei ther of these acts contain any authority for the appointment of those descriptions oi officers selected for the command of the corps of volunteers, who were respectively Invested with the rank of Assistant Adjutant General, Assistant Inspector General, and Assistant Deputy Quartermaster General. These offices have been created only in the reguiarnrmy of the United States. The extraordinary assignation of an ad ditional Lieutenant Colonel and Major to ench regiment, and a third Lieutenant and Comet to each company, is also unknown to the laws providing for the organization of the militia. With whatever force the propri ety or necessity of varying these laws msy be urged, until the Congress of the United State?, who arc the constitutional judges of the utility of such a measure 1 , and who have the exclusive right to provide for calling forth the militia, and the sole power to es tablish regulations for their government, shall, by the authority with which fliey have been thus invested, revise the present system, there is no power known to our institutions which can lawfully execute any scheme of reformation or improvement in the establish ed organization of the military force of the oution. By the further provisions of the constitu tion, (he appointment of the officer/ of the militia is expressly reserved to the states. The object of this reservation of power was to provide for the security of the people a- & ainst the success of any design which might e formed to alienate the militia from the allegiance which they owed to their respec tive states. So “ necessary to the, existence of our union, and a free government, has th* preservation of the rigiits of the individual states, in their full extent, according to a just construction of the principles of our consti tution,” been considered by Congress, that the utmost extent of power to call forth the militia, conferred hy the act of the 28th of February, 1795, even on the executive, has only authorized the issuing of orders fer that purpose to the “officers of the militia.” Nei-1 cond Auditor, herewith submitted, dated on therthc executive, by virtue of any autho rity which has been conferred by this act, or much less an officer of the regular army, of his own authority, can, without the as sumption of powers repugnant to the prin ciples of tile constitution, and of the most dangerous tendency, proceed to levy armies by enlistment from the citizens of the res pective states. When it is further consider ed that the authority of the states over their militia “ ceases when they are called into the service of the general governmentthat, they “ constitute u part of the national force for the time as essentially as the troops of the regular army;” that, “ like the regular troops they are paid by the natiou ; like them, their operations are directed by the same govern ment ;” and that their superior commander may he designated by the Executive of the United States, it is evident that the chief reliance of the states for the pi scrration of this great bulwark of their liberties, must essentially consist in scrupulously retaining the selection of those officers to whose au thority their citizens are to be immediately subjected. From whatever source, there fore, the officers selected for the com mand of these, volunteer forces might have received their rank, the power to appoint them was self-assumed, inasmuch as the appointments were not made, and they held no commissions virtue of any authority for that purpose, derived from any of the states. Tbe committee submit to the House with this report, n vindication of the proceedings of General Gaines, addressed by that officer to the Department of War, dated at Au gusta, in the state of Georgia, on the 17th day o<Octor>er, 1819. This document chief ly relates to the result of the measure* a- aspted by the Senate of the United States at tbe last session of Congress ; and, although the committee do not consider that subject to he directly connected with their duties, as prescribed) by the resotutiob of the House, yet they are impelled by a sense of that justice which is due to an officer whose pro ceedings are the subject of inquiry, to furnish all the information within their power, how ever remotely affecting the investigation con fided to their charge. It does not appear to the committee at what time General Gaines made known to the War Department his proceedings in relation to the assembling and organization of the Creek warriors, under the command df. Wil liam M’ Intosh. In a letter addressed to that Department, on the 15th day of December, 1817, he observes, that the steps which he had taken were “ known to the Department of War;” hut the date of this letter was se veral days antecedent to the first order issu ed to Col. Brearly, for the mustering of these forces. That a crisis of such great public peril It imminent danger to the nation, might exist, as’ to palliate, if not in a great measure jus tify, a commanding General in departing from the strict rules of subordination and obedience, the committee most readily ad mit ; but they believe that a careful exam ination of the circumstances under which these Indian forces were assembled, must lead to the conviction that any necessity which might have been supposed to exist for resorting to this extraordinary proceed ing, is rather to be imputed to the premature commencement of hostilities by the com manding General, than to any unforeseen or inevitable events not within nil own con trol, and which a cautious and prudent fore sight of the probable result of nis own mea sures would not have enabled him to avoid. The waste of the public resources which has resulted from these various assumptions of the power of raising armies, is not among ‘ ‘ £ the Otli instant, and from an inspection of the books of that office, it appears that the accounts of the paymaster, which include this item, have not been acted on at tlie Treasury, nor has any part of them been tawed to his credit This disbursement ho ng directly contrary to the act of the 28tb day of February, 1793, and totally unauthor rized, the officer canrtot receive credit there for under any circumstances Whatever. It appears further to the committee, that the accounts for the monies paid to the Creek warriors, composing the general Acid and staff of that corps, for forage and ser vants, have been passed to the credit of the disbursing office', in the office of the 8eeond Auditor of the Treasury, without any evi. dence whatever that the number of hot-sea and servants allowed for, were actually kept or employed by those persons. The expla nation which the Second Auditor relies up- on as a justification for this departure from the established regulations of tha Treasury Department, is contained in the communi cation of the 5th inst addressed by that offi cer to the committee. In their opinion this deviation from those regulations which have been adopted, as salutary and indispensable restraints on improper expenditures of the public monies by the disbursing officers Of the government, or any other persons act ing in such capacity, and winch ie all qasae should be impartially applied, wao irregular and unauthorized. The House having authorized the com mittee to report hy Mil, they devoted their attention to the devising of some legislative remedies against the recurrence of these dis orders. To prescribe the principles of the constitution by legislative enactments, might tend to impair its high and uncontrotiahl* sanctions, and the faithful discharge of the duties of the several committees of this House furnish an adequate remedy against all a- buses in the public expenditure. Tile cons* mittee, therefore, submit the fact* contained in this report, and the documents which eo- tablish them, referring them to tho discre tion of the House. Extracts from the Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, in retatien to the condition tf the Banks, the state of the Currency, Vc— [Continued from our last.) “ If banks were established only in th* principal commercial cities of each state; if they were restrained from the issue of notes of small denominations; if they should retain an absolute control over one half of their capital, and the whole of the credit which they employ, by dis counting to that amount nothiogbut trans action paper payable at short dates ; the credit and stability of the banks would, at least, be unquestionable. Their notes could always be redeemed in specie oo demand. The remaining part of theif capital might be advanced upon long cre dits to manufacturers, and eveu to. agri culturists, without tbe danger of being under tbe necessity of calling upon such debtors to contribute to their relief, if emergencies should occur. Such debt ors are, in fact, unable to meet sudden exigencies, and ought neverto accept of advances from banks, butmjj&b long cre dits, for which timely provision may be made. The latter data, of all othera, it the least qualified to meet the sudden de mands which a pressure upon banks com- the least of the pernicious disorders whicl have originated from these unauthorized measures. The committee submit to the house with this report an abstract of the mus ter rolls of the militia, volunteers, and Indian warriors, employed in the public service dur ing the late operations of the army against pels them to make upon their debtors* The returns ofcapiUl invested in agri culture are too slow and distant to justi fy engagements with banks, except upon long credits. If the payment of the prin cipal should be demanded at other peri- . — * .. • . ods than those at which the husbandman the Indians qn the southern frontier of the recetT « t the annual reward of his toil United States. It appears from this docu- «r« f meat, furnished from the office of the pay- tb « d ,“ tr *“ " b,ch w ° uM «•«»» frfltath* master general, that tbe whole number of **Rct*°n would greatly outweigh anfhe* such forces, (including the rangers under the ne “* which was anticipated from the oommand of captains Boyle and Gist) em- loan. That the establishment of hanks,