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« L. 1. THE REFLECTOR. CONGRESS. E LATE SESSION OF CONGRESS, ring completed the publication of the passed at the late session of congress, not be amiss to take a brief review of ts of a public nature, for the purpose bracing in otic view their general scope ndenev. ession of congress must be barren, irs- which does not produce some measure, ich it may be distinguished from others, e acts of the late session, if a discrim- be made among several.thatconcern- vigation, as it is entitled, hut which be more appropriately called an act to ail the selfish principles of the llri- olonial policy, may be pronounced the! important. It does not, it is true, in- ave itself with the feelings of every por- f the community, by its application to 'mmediate interests or concerns ; but it ecided experiment to raise, from its : depress.on, that interest of our coun- hich, so long as we remain a comtner- ation, it is important to cherish and t. It is itl Vain to look f >r universal during peace, on earth. Not the alli- ;f European monarchs can secure it ; ir mutual jealousies and rivalships will bonds on which they are now vo- ily united. Not the spread of free iples, because revolutions which they der, are rarely bloodless. Not the 'plication of peace societies ; because ;ost just and peaceful have ho reliance afety but in the principle of self defence, safest protection for a nation, is its abi- repel aggression ; and, where it is vulnerable, it should he best guarded, the policy of this nation, therefore, to eet its navigation, that, if the occasion rfunately recur, it may find ir! the sea reared in this nursery, the means ol ning our ships of war. In this view, rat ted from its anticipated beneficial ef- i the commercial intercourse between wo countries, the act concerning tntvi- ft, in connexion with the existing acts of ame tendency, is of great importance, e arc those, we know', who are consci ously prejudiced against every thing h looks to an increase of our military, particularly, our naval force, as not the means, hut the provocative of war. re; with those who reason thus, unequi- ly the friends of p ace, with its train niforts and of blessings ; we arc opposed ar, with its concomitant pageants, pa- age and horror's. But the world was before us ; and \Ve must adapt our mea , with a proper forecast, not to what ish, or fondly hope ; but to what we ot help, and of which, sooner or later rring, there is amoral certainty. ic a< tsofa nature calculated tostrength- c defences of the nation, are not as nu ns at the other sessions which have veileil Since we have gained wisdom by iXperi'mee of the late war. So liberal isi in had been previously made, for a ual increase of the navy* for building ficati >ns, and other means of permanent ce, that little, of that Sort remained tc ue. The general appropriation bills, ver, for the support of the military anil 1 eSt Idisumcnts, for the present year, in many provisions for building arse- foe improving the navy yards, for the Ts of our national vessels, Ac. which , that, congress have by no means lost of the policy which has dictated for iberal appropriations on that subject.— resolution directing the completion of the y of the waters of the Chesapeake, Ac. of those measures which propose the es- liracnt of permanent defences, wherever jcable. Respecting the militia of, the n, though, unfortunately, no effort has urCecded to improve its organization, i were passed at the late session—the r increasing their pay, whilst in ser- from five to eight dollars per month ; ther to defray their expenses whilst hing to and from the places ofrendez- =both as just, as they would have been if only liberal. The acts respecting ganization of the army, to regulate , pay, and to regulate the staff, were ly acts passed on the subject of our ry force ; the effect of which are to re lic number of the staff, to redurc the ses of brevet pay, and to change the of supplying the army, from the sys- f contractors to that of commissariat. the latter system will answer iri -untry, as it is an experiment, is also er of doubt. Those who affirm and ts expediency, arc about equally po- ; and time, the test of all predictions, one satisfy our minds on this head. All ts respecting (lie army, had fur their economy in the expenditures of that of our service. ides the act respecting navigation, the ircctly hearing on our relations with nations, passed at the late session, MILLEDGEVILLE, G. TUESDAY. MAY 26, 1818. were few and not important. Of this de scription was (he act to amend the several ads for enforcing the neutral relations of the United States, with the provisions of \i,rich nur readers are already acquainted : and of which it is difficult to say, whether in gene ral those who voted for, or against it. were nut indifferent as to its fate. It had hut few friends, though it passed, and does nut ma terially change the pre-existing legal provi sions. Among the. acts respecting the revenue, were several which wore intended for the ben efit of manufacturers of the United States; by whom they have been hailed with as much Satisfaction as the navigation act has been by the ship owners. These, are the acts to increase the duty on imported iron of certain descriptions; to increase the duties on ccr tain manufactured articles imported ; and to continue in force for seven years from June, 1819, the duty imposed on coarse wool ens and cottons imported, The last is con sidered as particularly important to the ma nufacturers of cotton and wool, and passed by large majorities in both houses of con gress, although not without earnest opposi tion from the planting interest, whose repre sentatives protested against being compelled longer to pay a tax on these articles of 100 per cent, on their value, in order to support the manufacturing interest. There were some gentlemen who spoke of imposing stili higher duties at a future day ; but the debate left a general impression, that what was now conceded, was in a spirit of compromise which was opposed to any further bounties to these manufactures than are now given b_\ law. Two of the acts w liich come under the iicad of revenue laws, are the result of stipu lations, or understandings, with foreigii go vernments, under reciprocal commercial re gulations, or constructions of treaties—the me, to authorise the remission or re-pay ment of certain alien duties (on British ves sels)—the other, concerning tonnage and dis- < laminating duties, in certain cases,(of Dut( li vessels.) The only remaining acts passed relative to the revenue, that supplementary to the art for collecting the revenue, and that to provide for the deposite of wines and distilled spirits in the public ware-houses, embrace a system of amendments, which, it is hoped will go fat 1 to put a Stop to the flagrant abuses of the revenue system, so fully disclosed in the treasury reports, and in the able exposition of Air. Sanford. We believe these acts, whilst they protect the re venue from invasion, contain no provision in the least objectionable to any fair merchant ; hut, on the contrary; highly acceptable to the mercantile community. The act for the relief of the indigent sur viving officers and soldiers of the revolution ary army, for which they are indebted to the urgent recommendation of the executive, is one which lias been variously received.— By some it has been called wasteful; by o- tlicrs stigmatised as penurious. We regard the art as gratuitous, certainly, but equally remote from waste and penury. We cannot consider it wasteful to bestow front your su- perfluity for the support of the friend of your youth, by whose early aid you have risen to prosperity; nor penurious, in so doing, to make a discrimination between him who stands in need of it, and him who has no oc casion for your bounty. The art ir, of that liberal character, which lias distinguished most of the acts of the government, in rela tion to those who have suffered in its milita ry service. If the system of pensions were not so justly odious, an affording the means of corruption, we could almost wish to see the same liberality extended to those who have devoted their lives to the civil service of government, on incompetent salaries, and are left as destitute in old age as any soldier or sailor. If wc were to say, that such per sons had an just claims on the public purse, wc should broach a heresy, that would call down upon us much reprobation ; but, it cart- nut be denied, that the rewards of military and naval service, in this agricultural arid commercial republic, arc ample, if not pro fuse, in comparison with those bestowed on the most laborious exertions in the. legisla tive, executive, or judicial employments un der the government. If there he any well founded objection to the act of the last ses sion, it is, that it did not comprehend a larg er class of men, the militia of the revolution —and another class, those who lost their all by their generosity to the country in time of need ; whom many considered to be entitled to relief with the officers and soldiers of the regular army. But so far as the act docs go it lias our hearty approbation, and, wc be lieve, is calculated to exalt tlie character of the nation. ..., Speaking of sufferers in the revolutionary war, naturally leads us to those in the last war, whose claims, for property lost and t* stroyed in the public service, have been turn ed over, by an act of the last session, to the third accountant of the treasury for settle ment, after a construction given to the law of April, 1816, which renders it nugatory as to buildings, Ar. destroyed. AH hope we fear, has vanished, of tlie relief ot those who were burnt out of house and home during those incursions, which the progress of a war alternately invites and provokes. After dan- cinafAttendance on congress for four years, in expectation of some indemnity, an at tempt at fraud, in one or two cases, has been discovered, and the whole of them arc con demned, It is true, a hill was reported, in one house, for allowing to a certain class of sufferers of this description, on the Niagara somewhere about half the ascertained amount of their losses ; but even that was rejected. It will be recollected, that the power of de ciding such claims was taken from the com missioner of claims at tliosession oi’1616 IT, on the ground that congress ought to art on the caseS without any mediation, and decide them on their individual merits. In vain was it to urge against that decision, that the house of representatives was incompetent, from its organization, to exercise judicial functions. What is the consequence ? Con gress lias been in session five months ; out ol thirty claims from New-Orleans, alone, for property thus destroyed, one only passed the House of h presentatives, and that wan re jected by the senate, because it did not come, up till the last day of the session. In the integrity and competency of the third audi tor, there is full confidence : the fault is in the law, which we hope yet to see adapted more liberally to the distress and ruin bro’t on a few individuals in the country by tlie op erations of the late war, from which the na tion generally lias benefited so much; . Besides a variety of private acts relating lo the public lands, there were several acts of a,general nature, among which may be mentioned that for the establishment of ad ditional land offices in the Missouri territory —and that suspending for twelve months the sale or forfeiture- of lands for failure to make payments thereon, The first of these acts was called for by the great extent of em igration in that direction, and the latter by the lamentable state of the circulating medi um in the new countries, which, it was re presented, absolutely deprived the purcha sers of the means of paying for their lands at the times stipulated and required by law. Several other laws relating to public lands do not require particular mention, except, perhaps, .that continuing the act of last ses sion which affords some indulgence to set tlers on the public lands, But the most important act of a domestic character, among those of the late session, was that for the admission of a new state in to the union, to be formed out of the territo ry of Illinois, and which will probably be named Illinois. The quantity oi'land which the location of inilitaiy patents in that ter ritory has thrown into market, has drawn thither a current of population, the stream of which daily increases, and promises to make it as populous a state as any in the union. The acts for regulating our intercourse with the Indian tribes, exhibit the attention of congress to that object. Their purpose is to place that subject more within tlie con trol of congress, by requiring the assent of the senate to the appointment ofsupc.rintendants, agents A factors ; A to fix their compensation in a manner which in some degree reduces the expenses of that branch of our expendi ture. We consider it fortuhatc (hat the dis position to economise stopped short of the a- liolition of the trading houses, which would have left the Indians entirely at the mercy of the cupidity and extortion of unprincipled hucksters, who would have taken every ad vantage of their appetites and necessities. We must not omit to notice the act for more effectually prohibiting the importation of slaves, which is consistent with the cha racter of the nation, that first shewed the world the way to the abolition of that execra ble traffic, and lias most earnestly endeavor ed to suppress it. Had the eastern members joined with half the earnestness, in favor of the bill to prevent the harboring arid to as sist the ret lam ation of runaways, that the representatives of the slave bidding states did—in tlje act we have just mentioned, an other evil Aould have been prevented, the magnitude of which, those who live on the lines separating the states well know how to appreciate, and which common justice to tlie holders of that species of property appeared to call on congress to remedy, Since the con stitution lias declared its inviolability. The abolition uf the internal duties, was .so confidently expected that it produced scarcely exultation or regret. If we are not mistaken, some of those heretofore most anxious for their repeal, the distillers par ticularly, have found the effect of the repeal such, that they would be glad now to replace them. There can be no doubt however, but the public voice demanded their repeal. The acts to establish the flag of the United States ; to continue the mint at Philadelphia, and to fix the compensation of members ot congress, may pass together without remark except that the seat of government is nn- NO. '19. questionably the proper position for a mint, and hither must one day or other, be trans ferred. The appropriation of congress for continu ing the Cumberland road indicates an inten tion to complete that noble undertaking, and lias allayed some anxiety which had been felt on that subject. The provision for the pub lic buildings at tlie seat of government has been very liberal. The appropriation for ktving the foundation for, and commencing the central building of thccapito!, is par ticularly satisfactory ; and we begin to hopo to live to see that magnificent structure com pleted. Two additional buildings are au thorised for the accommodation of the pub- liu ulUicS) uf equal oiiiC- hi 111 iliooc uliuL already exist; which have been long want ed, and which will greatly facilitate the pub lic business; the extension ol‘ which has re quired them. ■. In thus running our eye over the principal public acts of the session, we have tlie sat isfaction of finding that, if some good has been left undone, much has been accomplish ed, and very little, has been done that does not command general approbation. Of what has been left unfinished at the late session, and of the measures which were pro posed, but did not pass the ordeal, we pro pose to .take a view at a future day. HISTORICAL^ BRADDOC K.\S DEFEAT. The following.extract of a letter from the venerable Wil liam Findley, esq. to tlie editor, dated at Youngstown, Penn. March 27, 1818, contributes some thing to the stock of information we arc so desirous to collect as to tlie earlier events in the history of these United States, and pays a handsome tribute to the virtues of the Father of his Country.—xix.es* ueo Sir,—On perusing tlio different accounts given of Braddock’s defeat, in the Register of June 15, vol. X. my attention was forci bly struck by tlie statement of Smollett, page 351, in which, he says, “ at last the general, whose obstinacy seemed to increase with tlie danger, after having had some horses shot under him,received a musket ball through his right arm and lungs,of which lie died in a few hours, having been carried off the field by the bravery tiif lient, col. Gage, and another of his officers.f’, I was surprised indeed, to see Gage's bravery boasted of, to whom I had always heard cowardice ascribed, from the time I first heard of his name. Officers en gaged in the same battle frequently vary in their accounts of it, yet paying a strict re gard to trutli; but this is an absolute false hood : l am enabled to say so on the authori ty of general Washington himself, to whom falsehood, misrepresentation, or vain boast ing never was imputed. It Was well known to those acquainted with him that general Washington rarely, if ever, in mixed companies, introduced or engaged in conversation on the events of the revolu tionary war ; but he was much less reserved witli respect to earlier scenes, and particu larly about the western country ; and as I, for some time, was the only member of con gress from the western counties.of Pennsyl vania, and before this time acquainted with the president, he frequently introduced con- vesation about that country with me. On one occasion, in a mixed company, some question being asked of me, then sitting next, the president, about the Big Meadows and Dunbar's run, by col. Sprigg of Maryland, which I could not answer, the president, to whom I referred tlie question, in answering them, described Dunbar’s camp to which the remains of Braddock’s army retired after the defeat. From this, in compliance with such enquiries as I suggested, he entertained us with t.he most particular information of that defeat that I had heard. lie asked me if £ knew Braddock’s road—I said i did, but that it was now changed in many places. He said it was then new and hard to find in the dark ; that there had been a coldness be tween the general and Dunbar,, a circum stance which too frequently took place be tween tlie first and second ill command ; that in consequence of this he, as aid dc camp, was under the necessity of going with the or ders to colonel Dunbar, hut first to stop the retreat in a proper situation, which was the easier done as the enemy did not pursue.— He overtook colonel Gage three miles a head of tlie place in which he had halted the re treating army, and to which lie sent Gage back ; that this being done, he with two men in company, in one of the most wet and darkest nights, in which they had often to alight and group for the road, and after tra velling forty miles, arrived at Dunbar’s camp about sun rise. He said lie had taken care of the wounded general, and had him care fully brought to Braddock's camp in a tum bril—and that on a retreat over the moun tains being determined on by Dunbar, with out necessity, he buried general Braddock’s corps in tlie middle of the road, makiag wag gons and horses to pass over it, to conceal it from the Indians, designing at some future day to erect a monument to his memory, which lie had no opportunity of doing till af-