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Volume I.") PcBi.ISHI.iI WKBKur, BY JOff.y A M VIUHLTOX PRICE TUHVE IM i LI. Alls PKB ANNCX, HALF PAID IV ADVANCE. To the People of Georgia. CONSCIOUS of having difeharged with zeal and ridelity, the arduous du ties u has been the pleasure of : lie Le gtfl i cure to assign me, and enfeebled by dfieafe, the relult of laborious exer lions to promote the public welfare ; I had determined to bear in fiience the unmerited and uncharitable reproaches, v.i*h which lam affiiled I wes sen sible that the misrepresentations of art fui demagogues, m'ghr for a season mifUad the judgment of honed men , hut relying on the libeiality and intelli gence of the people, I bad reposed in the conviction that time and reflection would be alone lullicient, to ettfure a just decision upon my pubiic conduct. Thar such will be the result, lam (till fully perfunded •, but the very extrordi nary presentment of the Grand Jury of the county of Wilkes, which has re cently appeared in the public papers, {and which, as I appiehend, was pro cured by piatifible reprefenution, un der the tjuife of ’ patriot il'm having for their obj,*r\ perfi.-nal aggrandizement, and the gratification of a mean ami ma lignanrfpiri: ) would seem to impof on rne the ta k of prefen ing to the pu blic, a fair exposition of rne levera! sub jeefs of comp'aint. The Act of Congress, changing rhe mode of compenfafing the members, appears to conftuute the principal ground of displeasure For my vote in its behalf. I am denounced as un worthy of your confidence. Sentence of condemnation is promptly pafT and upon me, without examination, and Without a knowledge of the fact* and circumstances, which were indiipenl? bie to a correct decision ; while long .><! ‘"ervicec in times of nation al difficulty arid adversity—while a life of upfuilird integrity, and difinrerefted devotion to the public weal, which can not be dented me, and which ought to have fhieided me from vague and un founded fufpkions, are totally forgot ten. Bur, fellow citizens, the object of this address is not to complain It it to furnifh a full and frank.develop© ment of th- fe proceedings, which have produced so much excitement among you.’ Cong refs affenbled at their !aft fef fron under (he moit aafpiciou: ebeurin ft a c es. Ihe dorm of war had pass ed away---the n> bh exertions of our cour,’i v, had become the ‘heme of eu lofty/through ’-nr the evdoz- and world o irrevenues,••ve’-e unexampled, and lie penp e profperoas aid hap ov At such a time, not to nr. fit by pad events not to provide ‘or the future, agairift the recurrence of < vilg which experi ence ha i disclosed, would have benray ed 2 want of political faggeitv and fore* cafl:, unworthy the reprefon'a'ifes of the American People. Fo dovife and perfect a general system of po! ; cv, cal culated to pet pVtuate the blelfitgs of our free confutation, and to, prepare for those viciflruder in human affai-s, wh ch are the lot of nations, became Our obvious duly. The ta k was one of no ordinary character, nor was if to be performed without great delibera tion and active diligence. Never rid the national legifl iture labour more in- Ciffvitly and probably never during ti ny fcffioa, was more important busi ness trap fact ed Among the various subjects which attracted our attention, va- the •.ompe.-ifation of the members. When the prelent confti ution com menced its eziftence, it had been fix ed a r fix a day, during ti at tendance of members, and rhe fame sum was allowed for every 20 miles, in going to, a.d returning from the feat of government. At that period the ne- CetTirv expenses of a representative were equal >& ab ‘at half ct thole which are now incurred. This fail is fufcepfible of unquestionable proof. * „ . t v„ h lenor-nt of ibis fart, or cares not what means he eropbws o delude the people; Without citing the numerous instances diving almost every session, in which H The autbo. nf Ji- p*‘ j ’ u s , • ■ i r: <■ -s will be sufficient to shew that congress have, bestowed “on the several officers ot the general government an additional saUry also. \.. h ‘ % llVjtPO n oi p,,, Treasury. at g 2,000, mu of the Attorney-General, -*t 3 15)0. Vn Vet v.- . ■•>;* twelve yen ■ sag >, irtrr as mg the a.ilarv oc the * : “L* ,?uf Sun- and of \l Tasms ta fcJ-jOO. if War and Xavy.'o % 4,500 ;of the Comptroller to I). 35-JU, uv\ ot ‘.lie Attof.tey-Gcnewl to U.jJM). luC law was Uuuted m its dur*ton |; i 4 ** -1. THE NEW S. WASHINGTON, (georgia) FtfIDAY, JULY 19, 1816. Indeed. I appeal to your own candor & recollection to fay how much more,mo ney was worth, or in other words, how much more,an equal quantity of money would purchase in the year 1789, than at the present time. The value of mo ney, like the value of every other ar ticle, is incre-ifed or diniinifhed by va nous circumstances. It has been gra dually depreciating for years pdt j and it ts as unreasonable to imagine, that because fix dollars a day were formerly a fuvfieient competifrion, rhe fame a mount is (till adequate, as it would be to fay, that fix dollars will puicliafe as much cotton now, as they would have done four years ago I know, that even since I firlt became vour reprefenta live, the expences of living in the city of Wafh’ngton, have increased fifty per cent. For board, 1 then paid ten dol lars a week, and now I pay fifteen. The price of keeping a horl'e was then three dollars a week, and now it ts from four and a half to five—generally the latter Was it'ever supposed, that the firft law pafT and bv Congress, for compenfa ting i;s members, was of a character so iacred that no occasion ccul<l jultify the alteration of its provisions ? The law was paffeJ as other laws, and fubj'-ct, like ctie.n, to fucli modifications, as -i'ne and circumstances might fugged l here h nothing more n >vel in chan ging the compensation of the public functionaries ‘hanin amending fiatutes in general. Have not the date Legif larure fou’>d it necessary to increase ‘he cotnpeufanon of their members, since the pay of Uongrefs was otiginal lv fixed ? Has not CongreU long since, and from time to time, ir.crcafed the salaries of mod of the public officers, which had been considered adequate at the time the offices were created •[ All those things have been done, while the National Reptef-natives have ab stained from inorefiag their own com ! penfation until found policy imperioully demanded it, and the fiuiation of the country permitted it, without inconve nience to the people. It has been jodly said, that a good government badly adminifiered, mav be worse than a bad government well administered ; .and as well mght you expect to find men capab’e of u ana gii g a ship judiciously, who are unac quainied with her machinery a, to im agine that the divetfified and complica ted.cqncerns of the government of thi U S canbe lately committed tothe hands ; of ignorance & inexperience. The im i portat.ee of experience and a thorough ’ knowledge of the nature ar.d hiitory of | government iri general, and of our own in particular—of the progress from i time to time of our relations with orh er countries, and of ;he policy, bo:h foreign and domestic, bell calculated ; to advance the national prosperity, is ! too manifeft to need il'aftration. And I may add, that inleg flation as in oth er purfuus, be a man'* talents what i thev may at the commencement of his political carter, practice and obferva tinn are indispenfibie, to make him an able and ufeful Ratesman. If rhefe pi fnion- are true, (and I am persuaded they will not be denied,) I submit to ycur candor, whether at the morrtent when c ingress were Engaged in eftab j lifhing die great principles of pubiic po -1 licy, upon which might essentially de [ pend the future deltiny of the only free government on earth, thev could, ’ with a: a dereliction of duty,-have o verluoked so great an evil as the p*obi ble exclusion of experience and talents, from the councils of the nation or so far as on ihetn. have neglect ed to apply a remedy. In times ot war and great national calamity, it is ex pec j ted of every patriot, that regardleH of personal cor.fiderations, his services | will be devoted to the public welfare, i But, little does he know of human na- I tute, V/ho believes, that while the na i fion is in profound peace, and the peo | pie reaping unexampled wealth from personal attention to their private af fairs, any citizen, who i not a nabob in riches, or who is not without com forts at home, will for a series of years so far forget his duty to himfelf and family, as to facrafice to the public his dome flic happiness, and neglect the im provement of his private fortune, with, ut due compcnfation It would be uureafon.ible to expect it—unjust to ask it. That the love of fame, and o ther honorable incentives, might under the former rate of compensation induce many men of intelligence and patriot ilni to enter the councils of the nation, is admitted ; but it is not less true, that a few yean, fetvice (and when too, stu dy and experience have qualified them to be mod ufeful to their conitituents) are i efficient to convince them, that poverty*at home, or retirement from the pubfic concerns, are their only al teuratives. I’his fact is substantiated by the history of congress. Mod of those who were members when I was I firlt honored wiih a feat in that body, j are now, in common with ‘he red of you, devoting their time and lalenfs to the advantage of themselves and fami lies. With the present unprecedented pre fpect of gain, and the correfp.md ing iofs which mud he fudained by ibe abfeuce of men from their home’ , a cnnfrderable portion of the year, with the fact that owing to causes beyond oar controul. the rfti/amount of com pensation had dimmdhed not withstan ding the nominal rate was rhe fame ; judice and the public welfare appeared to unite in calling for h vifla'ive pro vision Looking at the change in the C'>ndi'ionof the country, it could not cfcapn -he observation of men raking enlarged views of national policy, that the facrifices ‘O be incurred by a mem ber, would drive petfons of moderate fonunes from the public councils In that event the competition would be limited to the wealthy, (foch as frl Huger of South Carolina,) and anoth er defenprion of men, who have noth ing to make home desirable, and as little, to recommend them to rhe pub lic confidence Is it pi ffible, fellow citizens, dial you can beiicve such a date of things would promote your in terest, or advance the success of repub lican principles ? According to my conception of r he ful jr-ct, the basts of those principles are equal rights and privilegesand whatever has a tend ency to >he direction of the govern ment enclujively into the hands of the rich, or oi any particular ciafi. of focic ty, k anti-republican and ought to be refilled. The Ita'esmeri who in th<’ public c ur-ciU have so zeaionfly and so ably maintained their country's cause, and who have so often received from the people the encouraging plau dit, “ well done thou good and faith fu’fiwants,’'are for the molt part, in moderate pecuniary circumstances To enable the people of ‘.he United Sta'esto avail ihemfidves of the fervi te;i of ufeful men, in whatever ranks they might b found, (which is the irue republican doctrine) without subj- ct ing them ‘o unnec- iTtrv and U’ jult ia crafices, was the object of the act changing the mode of compensating the members. It provides that instead of fix dollars a day, during the ft (lion, each m ember fhali be allowed fifteen hundred dol lars a year, and travelling expenses as heretofore For neglect of duty a pro ponionaVe deduction is to be made, rhe.fp ker of the House of Rep rrfontat Ves and President of the fen a'e are as formerly, to double the'pay of a member. Upon the juf ice of in creasing the compenfatlor., <Sc at leall to the amount provided by the act,, there was very little dives fity of o pinion in, congress. The details of the bill—the period when it fhonid take etFect, and w-hether the increase liiould be by the day or in the mode pTopofed, were the principal subjects of contro versy. Some gentlemen voted against the mealute in consequence of its ope ration not h-iv.tig been poltpoi. . *t til the fth of March next, so ne frtux their objection* to tne mode j and oth* ers from the apprehension. tha: al though the thing was right in iifeif # the views of congress wounl b.‘ mis reprelented, to the advantage of .he cunning, and to the injury of the mer itorious The few who occupied a different ground, have never been dif tinguilhed for Superior information : or exiraordinarv patriotifmj nor is it more difficult for the uncharitable to impure to them unworthy motives, than to o thers. I’heir opinions, therefore, aro entitled to no more respect than the o pinions of an equal number of mem bers in general. Is the compensation jufl in its am ount, with reference bo h to the peo ple and their reprefenratives i In the determination of this queftton, a varie ty of confidera’ions ae to ca tmy soberly considered. To be represented, at the expense of the reprefentaiive, can neither be jult nor cotifo tnable to our republican institutions- ; because, thereby, all would be excluded from the reprefen a ive of : fie people, ex cept men of large fortunes .Such a a Rate of things might be acceptable to that class of society. but, I apprehend, it wid nor !>.• dt fifed by an enlighten ed community I elletm tlur c> ni pejifanon juit and wife, which, whila it avoids i.x ravagance, will eftab e a ny man whom the people may elude to eletl, to .erve them without g-.eai ac rifices. lsuno facrifice on ih ■ part of the representative, to do violence f tile bell h npa hie -of our nature, to be absent at a g ca; diflatice, and a great portion of the yea-’ horn hn family 8c domestic connfor ? At* ii fanri'y fubjetfled to rto flier i’cet- ? I * 10 facrafice thar his personal arret mil and exertions towards the adva 1 ce ment of hi* private elta-e an 101 l l Is the devorlon of *i* * ...p #l |. etita to the public, wi.rth I t put these quedhev sto ev r y dtfpalfion ate man in the country, and la. k w he ther it ia reafonabe to expect hit competent men will iucur fucli face di ces for any great leffgth of urie, w h* rut due cnmpenfali a Whih tlieie fore. I wt>uld not diem it nec fin y to f'x the wages so high as to make era a source of wealth ; ldo think ‘at every confidera'ion of juftite and found policy requires, that they fbeuld h a* dequate to ass and fometlfing Ike indi in nay for the facrafices incuu.d heif examination aione, fellow cuiz nr, will convince you, tha a hough ti e love of diftincth n, of honor, and oih“ er fimiiar inducements, may ten.pr in telligent and worthy men to embai k the public council* they will be wh< i.y infuffic'eut to htep thony the. ■- if l< pa rated from their families a c> i fiuerable part of the year, by a pittance of com pensation, not iqaal to thep lo fie s in curred by their abfcnce from h< me A $ to the fifteen hundred dollais, 1 am persuaded it would not be though ex travagant if *ou knew the ex; rtidi tures, to which a member is iubjccf To what cx ! eiu it an ivcreafp n 1 a nrount of the forn,ei i mper.Tation, beafeertained wnh lufficier-t <c curacy, by retVit tice to the r.urnbt • <-£ day„ in each year, during which C n grefs have been in f fit r ,, o;. an aver age since the coirmer : ment of he present government. Taking that afc the rule, the increase i ..b'ut fifty seven pet cent. And cc nfiderirg the great ace. (Tion ot men ben, amount ing at pn sent in the lioule of Repre sentatives to one hundred and t- tghty two,and*the probable addition cif ma ny more- in a feW years—die enlarge ment of our territory ar.d fetth merit— the extension of our commercial rela tions, it is nvariildt that the duration of the {Whom for the future, was not likely to be fliOrtened. The inert afe ol compensation, therefore, so far from, being enormous at has been faifely as serted, is not equal to the increase in the price of hoarding and other fourcek [No *7