Newspaper Page Text
Vol. ll.]
GEORGIA, LOUISVILLE:—PabIifhed every Tuelday, by AMBROSE DAY Sc (AMES HELY, at 3 dollars per ann.
payable half yearly:—Where Kftays, Articles of Intelligence, Advertisements, Sec. Sec. arc thankfully received,
and PRINTING in all its variety, is executed with neatnefs and dilpatch.
MefTrs. Day Sc Hrly,
IF an officer of the public
bring found guilty of a breach
of tmfl to the amount of 9 or
10,000 dollars and acknowledg
ing that hr ventured to ufe the
monev, and being turned out of
office, will, openly and indecent
ly, and in contempt of the legif-
Jative authority of his country,
call himfelf the corflitutional
treaffircr of the ftatc of Georgia"
—not regarding the leniency
with which he h d been treated
finre his difmiffal; it is high
time fome of the evidence that
the members of the legiflature,
thought fufficient to break him,
fhould be laid before their con
diments—You will therefore
puhlifh the documents herewith
fent and numbered from 1 to 5
Had the g< ndeman but let his
own deeds h«ve Aid into obfeu
nty, thefe papers might have
bin dormant —by his oath which
is incorporated in and made the
condition of his bond, it will be
feen he was bound 4t to deliver
up all that might he depnfiud in
ins fojjejfion as Treajurer.”
Surely after a ferious perufal
of thele papers, no citizen of the
United Mates, but muft applaud
the legiflatuie in difsmifling rhe
late treafurer from office ; and
every citizen of this ftatc muft
feel an honed indignation when
the conduft of that body is at
tempted to be fet at nought by
the gentleman calling himfelf
the conftitutional officer of the
ftate. A.
(No. 1.)
Thf Cub committee appointed
to count the yazoo depofit re
ported that they had made fome
progrefs therein, but they had
thought proper to fubmit to the
committee whether they ffiould
proceed—Whereupon the quef
tion was taken, and the fub com
mittee was ordered to proceed.
The treafurer then dated offici
ally that he confidcrcd himfelf
duly and conditutionally re
tired, but that he had nof yet
been qualified and given bond,
that he was ready and willing to
do both, that from the example
°f his Excellency the Governor,
he does not feel himfelf bound
to proceed in the duties of his
office until fo qualified that by
the conditution and law of the
land he does not confider the
yazoo depofit, as any part <>f the
hinds of the date, and that he
ls n nt bound to account for it to
the committee or to any odier
h°' J v, unfit fpecially ordered by
tp e legiflafure ; but rh it es foon
3 he fhall have been qualified
an h given bond, which he claims
a a conditutional privilege, and
drafted, he dull bold him-
THE LOUISVILLE GAZETTE;
AND
republican trumpet.
T U E S D A Y, September 9, 1800
LIBERTY" IS OUR MOTTO HHP TRUTH OUR GUIDE.
felf ready to proceed at the ffiort
ed notice.
A true copv taken from the
minutes of the committee of
finance.
Signed , Edm. B Jenkins,
Clerk .
(Vo. 2 )
To CoL Hammond, chairman of the
committee on finance ,
Sir,
Vederday being a leifure mo
ment for the members of the
legiflature, I had invited a few
friends to dine with me. after
circulating the glafs for two or
three hours very liberally, two
of the gentlemen of the commit
tee of which you are chairman,
called upon me to go to my
office, I was neither in a fituai ion
to comply with their requeft, or
to give that rational excufe for
not doing it, which at another
moment 1 fhould have done ; 1
trufl and hope however, that I
treated them politely ; and as
well as 1 recolleft 1 told them I
fbnuld attend to your appoint
ment, to meet at the treafurv,
at candle lij ht this evening—l
fhall attend accordingly, but I
cannot poffibly enter upon any
further duty until I am qua ified,
the example of his Excellency
the Governor upon his re-elec
tion I humbly conceive will
judify this opinion. lam pre
pared to give bond and the ne
ceftary or ufual fecurity, and to
qualify as foon as the bond is
ready—in the mean time my
office (hall at all times be open
for the reception of your
mittee to proceed on your oid:-
nary and ufual bufinefs.
I have the honor to be vritH
great refpeft and efteem for you
and the gentlemen of the com
mittee.
Your mod obedient fervant,
Signed, John Berrien,
Treafurer eleß of the fate
of Georgia.
Louifville, Nov. 17, 1799.
The committee on finance
having received, and had under
their confederation a letter of
this date from the treafurer cleft,
beg leave to report the fame to
the legiflature for their confide
ration.
(No. 3.)
The Jlatement of the Treafurer
eleß,
id. The treafurer dates, that
he was on Saturday re-elefted to
the office of the treafury. That
immediately after this, feeling a
doub: whether he was authorifad
to proceed to the exeicife of the
dune* of that office, without
qualifying in the ufual form, he
addreffed himfelf to the Gover
nor-informed him of hisclcftion,
and requeded that a bond might
be prepared.
That not receiving a fatisfac
tnry anfwcr to this communica
tion, he addrefted himfelf on
Monday to the chairman of the
committee on finance* and dated
his doubt, ard hoped through
the medium of to have
obtained the fanftion of
tivc dtcihon, as the guide and
direftion of his ennduft
This let ter was communicated
to the legiflature, but as no in
vefligaiion # on the fuhjeft ofqua
lification had taken place before
the legiflature and alfo upon
the fecund ground which he will
fiatc, he is induced to make this
further communication.
2dly, Thcie is in the treafury
office a large him of money Oiled
the yi’zoo depofit—This money
by 24th feftionof the fir ft article
of the conflitution is declared to
be no part of the funds of this
flate, or be liable to appropria
tion ay fuch; but until fuch
monies be dr twn from the trea
fury they fhall be co> fi ered al
together at the rifque of the per
rons who have depofued the
fame The committee of finance
under the prereeding feffion of
the legiflatuie, refufed to count
it. The treafurer was direfted
by the Governor to ttan fer it
from the books of the treafury,
and not to include it in his ab
flr.ift, and this in confcquencc
of the before cited article of the
conflitution. Under thefe cir
cumftanccs and under the fa
cred obligation of the oath which
he has taken, the trealurer ref
pedlfully foliots, that the coni
mittee of finance will refer thefe
two poi- ts to the confidcration
of the legiftiturc, that he may
obtain their decifinn thereon.
He does not either on the firfl
or fecond point, refule pofitively
either to aft without qualifica
tion, or to proceed to the exa
mination of the yazoo depofit,
but conceiving from his own re
flcftions, and the example of
the Governor in the firfl cafe,
and the opinions advanced to
the treafurer, by gentlemen,
* Was not the refolution of Mon
day doing auay the gentleman s no
minal eleßion of Saturday jefficient
mvefhgation—and if that was not
enough, fur eh the re five of the
houje of reprefintatives on the day
following •• that the monies in the
treafury of this fate, were in a dan
gerous niuanon from the cond-iB of
the treafurer ," and authorizing and
requiring the committee on finance
“ to demand and takemt* their p')fi
fejjion the keys of the treafury* —
precluded all invejligaticn oj quali
fication,
fNfo. 84.
rompofinga part r,f the Icgifla
ture m the fecond inftanre, that
the propriety of his aftiog with
out qualifying :*ml *he legality
of counting as tie hirer, a dc
pofit derlaied by the anflitu
tion to be no part of the funds
of the ftate may be qurfhoh* d.
Upon thele principles, for his
fecurity as an officer bound by *
folcmn oath to abide by the law#
and conftitution of his country,
he once more refpeftfulJy Hates,
hi? requeft that thefe two points
may be r-fened to the derifion
of the leg.H atu»e, by which he
will not only be abfohuely go
verned, but *• hich he is alfo
earneftly folicbou? to obtain.
1 have the honor to be very
refpc&fuUv,
John Berrien,
heafurer rlrft.
Clerk of the Ho'/fe of R eprelenla*
lives Office *gth Apnl , 1800.
I do ceilify th t the fbr«going
is a true copy from the 'Uigmal
letter bled in this office.
G, L I ami*k \n, for
lltnes Hf»LT (Lcrk if. R,
. T°
The joint committee on fi
nance having proceeded to count
and examine the monies in the
yazoo depofit. agreeably to Con
curred refutation
Report, that 1 hey have gone
through that duty, ard find now
in that depofit fou hundred and
ninety thoufand five hundred
and fifty (even dollars and 45-
lootta, as will appear by the
following Hatcmcnt—
In warrants on
the depofit 03,766 77 1-3
In Governor's,
Prefident’s,
Speakers &
Prcfidents o£
Convention
warrant* 38.57, ,8 3.4
In gold k filrer 7,208 67
In bank bill* 381,008 82
Dlls. 45
Whereby it appear* that there
i? a deficiency of the original
depofit of nine* thoufand four
hundred and forty two dollars
55-iooths ; and the trca'urcf
being called on to account for
the lame, exhibited to the com
mittee, a communication in wri
tmg, accompanied by a paper,
purposing to be a writing obli
gatory in the nature of taretv
tor that deficiency, which ftate
rnent and pao*r writing, your
* This deficiency was Tcreafed
in 14 days from the nfiner oj the
to alt but 10 000 d Us.
fo the comptroller general reported—
and not a cent is yet returned to th
tuajury ,