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be irr. prrnt, receive
ar d do all other acts as natural
pnTons, and may purchafe and
jiold, real, perfonal and mixed
property, ordifpofe of the lame
jor the benefit of the faid city ;
and may have and life a city
feal, which may be broken or
altered at pleafure the city of
Wafhington (hall be divided
into three divifions or wards, as
row divided by the levy court
for the county, for the purpofe
of afleffment, but the number
may be encreafcd net cader, as
in the wifdom of the city coun- !
oil lliali feem moll conducive
to the general intereft and con
venience.
Sec. 2. And he it further
enatted, That the council of the
city of Wafhington fhall con !
fid of twelve members, red
rimes of the city, and upwards
cffcwenty five years of age, to
to be divided into two chambers,
the fir fb chamber to cnnfifl of
/even members, and the fecond
chamber of five members; the
fecund chamber to be chofen
from (he whole number of
councillors elected, by their |
joint ballot. I'he city council :
to be elc6led annually, bv bal- j
lor, in a general ticket, by the
free white male inhabitants of
/ullage, who have redded twelve
month m the city, and paid tax
es therein the year preceding the
eledion’s being held the jus
tices of the county of Wafh
ington, reddeut in the city, or
anv three of them, to prefide
a judges of eledion, with fuch
allbciates as the council may,
from time to time, appoint.
Sec. 3. And he it further
matted, That the drft election
of members for the city coun
cil fhall be held on the firft
Monday in June next, and in
every )ear afterwards, at fuch
place, in each ward, as the
judges of the tlcdion may
prefer! be.
Sec. 4. And he it further
enatted , That the polls fhall be
kept open from 8 o’clock in the
morning till 7 o’clorck in the
evening, and no longer, for the
reception of ballots. On the
clofmg of the poll, the judges
fhall clofc and feal their ballot
boxes, and meet on the day
following in the prefence of the
marflull of the diflridl, on the
firfl eledion, and the council
afterwards, when the feals fhall
be broken, and the votes count
ed, within three days after fuch
tledlion, they fhall give notice
to the perfons having the great
ell number of legal votes, that
they are duly elected, and (ball
make their return to the mayor
of the city.
Sec. 5. yJnd he it further
enatted, '1 hat the mayor of the
ci v dial! be appointed annually,
by the Prtfidcnt of the United
Stares: he muff be a citizen of
the United States, and a refident
of the city, prior to his ap
pointment.
Sec. 6. And he it further
matted, That the city council
fhall hold tl eir fc/lions in the
cky hall, or, until fuch budd
ing is ere<sled, in fuch place as
the mayor may provide for that
purpofe, on the fecond Mon
day in June, in every year; but
the mayor aav convene them
ofcenf r, if the public gooS re
quire their delibrations. Three
fourths of the members of each
council t».|y be a quorum to do
bufinefs/Dut a fmaller number
may adjourn from day to day,
they may compel the attendance
of abfenc members, in fuch
manner and under luch penal
ties, as they may by ordi
nance provide j they fhall ap
point their refpedtive prefidents,
who fiiall prefide during their
fefiions, and fhall vote on all
quefi ions where there is an equal
divifion ; they fiiall fettle their
rules of proceedings, appoint
their own officers, regulate their
relneftive fees, and remove
them at pleafure; they fiiall
judge of the elections, returns
ana qualifications (ft their own
members; and may, with the
concurrence of three fourths of
the whole, expel any member
for disorderly behaviour, or
mal-conduct in office, but not
a fecond time for the fame of
fence ; they fhall keep a jour
nal of their proceeding. 1 . a
enter the yeas and nays on . ,
queftion, refolve or Groin" ce
at the requeft of any men ber,
and their delibrations fhall be
public. The mayor fhall ap
point to ail offices under the
corporation. All ordinances or
adds pal Ted by the city council
fhall b' fent to the mayor for
his approbation, and when ap
proved by him, fhall then be
obligatory as fuch. But if the
fald moyor fiiall not approve of
fuch ordinance or aft, he fhall
return the fame within five days,
with his reafons, in writing,
iherefor; and if three fourths
of bothbranccs of the city coun
cil, on reconfideration thereof
approve of the fame, it fiiall be
in force, in like manner as if he
had approved it, unlefs the city
council, by their adjournment,
prevent its return.
Sec. 7. And he it further
enabled , That the corporation
aforefaid, fiiall have full power
and authority to pafs all bye
laws and ordinances; to prevent
and remove nuifant es; to pre
vent the introduction of coma
gious difeafes within the city ;
to efiablifh night watches or
patroles, and ereeft lamps, to
regulate the flationing, anchor
age and mooring of vefitls; to
provide for licenfing and regu
lating auctions, retailers of li
quors, hackney carriages, wag
gons, carts and drays and pawn
brokers within the city ; to re
ftrain or prohibit gambling,
and to provide for licencing,
regulating nr refiraining dieatri
cal or other public amufements
within the city ; to regulate and
efiablifh markets; to ereft and
repair bridges; to keep in re
pair, all necefiary ftreets, ave
nues, drains and hewers, and to
pafs regulations necefiary for
the prefervantion of the fame,
agreeably to the plan of faid
nty; to provide for the fafe
keeping of the fiandard of
weights and meafures fixed by
congrefs, and for the regulation
of all weights and meafures ufed
in the city ; to provide for the
licenfing and regulating the
fweeping of chimneys, and fix
ing the rates thereof; to eftab-
and regulate fire wards and
lire companies; ro regulate art!
cftablifh the fize of bricks that
are to be made in this city ; to
fink wells, and eredl and repair
pumps in the Erects; to impofe
and appropriate fines, penalties
and forfeitures for breach of their
ordinances ; to lay and colled!
taxes; to enad! bye laws for the
prevention and cxtinguifhment
of fire ; and topafsall ordinan
ces neediary to give effect and
opperation to all the powers
veiled in the corporation of the
city of Washington ; Provided,
That the bye laws orodmanccs
of the faid corporation, be
in no wife, obligatory upon the
perfons of non- refidents of the
laid city, unlefs in cafes of inten
tional violation of bye laws or
ordinances previously promul
gated : all the fines, penalties
and forfeitures impofcd by the
corporation of the city of Wafh
ington if not exceeding twenty
dollars, f all be recovered be
fore a (ingle majifirate, as fmall
debts are, by law, recoverable;
• 'd if fuch fines, penalties and
forfeitures exceed the fum of
twenty dolla s, the fame fhall
be recovered by action of debt
in thediflrid! court of Columbia
for the county of Waldington,
m the name of the corporation,
and for the ufe of the city of
Wafhington.
‘"•ec. 8. And be it further
enabled, That the perfon or pei -
funs appointed to colled! any
tax impofcd in virtue of the
powers granted by this ad!, fhall
have authority to colled! the
lame by diftrefs and fale of the
goods and chatties of the per
fon chargeable therewith: no
fale fhall be made unlefs ten
days previous notice thereof be
given; no iaw r fhall be pafied
by the city council, fubjedhng
vacant or unimproved city lots,
or parts of lots, to be fold for
taxes
'"ec. 9. And be it further
enabled, That the city council
fhall provide for the fupport of
the poor, infirm and difeafed in
the dry.
Tec. 10. And be it further
enacted. That no tax fliail be
impofcd by the city council on
real property in the laid city,
at any higher rate than three
quarters of one per centum, on
the afiefiment valuation of lu h
propel ty.
ll. And be it further
enabled, 1 hat this ad! fhail be
in force for two \ears, from the
puffing thereof, and from thence
to the end of the next leflionof
Congrefs thereafter, and no
longer.
Nathaniel Macon,
Speaker of the Uoufe cf Repre
fentatives.
Abraham Baldwin,
P reft dent cf the Senate, pro tern.
Approved, May 3, 1802.
Thomas Jefferson,
Prefident cf the United States.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15.
G. Duval Efq. one of the
judges of the general court of
Maryland, is appointed Comp
troller of the Treasury of the
United States, in the room of
general Steele refigned. Mr.
Duval has accepted, and arriv
ed in the city, to take upon
him the duties of his office.
LOUIS VILL K,
Deccm cr 8, 1802.
LEVI LINCOLN the At
torney Genral of the United
States, has been mentioned in
a New york paper, as a can
didate for the office of Vice-
Prefident, at the enfuing elec
tion. A writer in the Warren
ton paper of die 15th inftant,
addrefling the legiflature of
North Carolina on the fubjeft
of elections, obferves—“ She
will certainly aft wifely in tak
ing all the neceffary flepts for
placing a Macon in the fecond
office of the federal govern
ment/’
Other gentlemen will no
doubt be mentioned as meriting
this didinguiffied and honorable
nod—-Charles Pinckney, of
Souch-Carolina, will probably
be thought nor undefervingpub*
lie confluence
From the National Intelligencer.
THOMAS PAINE ,
TO THE CITIZENS OF THE
UNITED STATES.
LETTER the FIRST.
AFTER an abfence of almoffi
fifteen years, I am again return
ed to the country in whofe dan
gers I bore my ffiare, and to
whofe greatnefs I contributed
my part.
When I failed for Europe in
the fpting of 1787 it was rnv
intention to return to America
the next year, and enjoy, in
retirement, the edeem of my
friends and the repofc I was en
titled to. I had flood out the
dorm of one revolution and
hadnowifh toembaik in ano
ther. But other feenes and cir
cumftances than thofe of con
templated eafe were allored me.
The French revolution was be
gining to germinate when 1 ar
rived in France. The princi**
ciplcs of it were good, they
were copied from America*
and the men who conduced it
were honed. But tne fury of
faftion form extingmffied the
one, and fent the other to the
fcaffold. of thofe who began
that revolution I am almoft
only furvivor, and that through
athoufand dangers. I owe this,
not to the prayers of priefts,
nor the piety of hipocrites, but
to the continued protection of
providence.
But while I beheld with plea
sure the dawn of liberty rifingj
in Europe, I faw, with regret,
the ludre of it fading in Ameri
ca. In lefs than two years from
the time of my departure, fomc
diilant fymptoms painfully fug
geded the idea that the princi
ples of the revolution were ex
piring on the foil that produced
them. I received, at that time,
a letter from a female literary
correfpondent, and in my an
fwer to her exprefled my fears
on that head in the following
pendve foliloquy.
<f You touch me on a very
ff tender point when you fay*
ff that my friends on your dder
<f the water cannot be reconcil
(( ed to the idea of my aban-
Cf cloning America even for my