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CONGRESS. lIoUs-K <;F UePRI>ENTATIVES. Saturday, Feb. 21. The order of the dnv heinp rtlh'fl for on the l>i?! for hotter foriiftnir the ports and harbors of rl e United Sta'e®. Mr. COOK move'! to fill b~ Hank with the sum f*f 300 •■Oft) f]oih*r*i, nnd in support ol lus motion 1 poke as follows : Mr. Chairman, when on a for mer occasion f proposed to ap propi if.te r>ne million of dollars F6r the put pose of fortifung the ports and harbors of this nation arty design was to propose a per manent and general appropria tion instead of the temporary an ti md grants hitherto made, and which are by manv considered as little ltti.s than a wn.-.te of public money. Such grants not affording 10 tile engineer the means to per feet a plan of sufficient boldness for our great and rapidly grow ing nation. Reflection, anti the discussions in this blouse have confirmed me in that opinion. I am convinced it would be the most proper inod<- cf conducting a bht ral system ol defence lor our country and by far more economical than by par tial and yearly grants. The probable expence of forti ■ 1 fying the port of New-Ycrk has ! been estimated at 320,000 dol lars ; anil I a‘k,sir if that single object shall consume that sum, will rSO,OOO dolla.s be too huge a sum to apportion among ad urn numerous po t-> from Saint Cioix to Same Mary’s, and on ward to the southern extremity of our newly acquired territory ? Can it be believed that the one thirteenth part of the annual re venue on impost and t image is too heavy a sum to be taken f <m an overflowing treasury ior the important <>b|eit of securing for centuries to come, our numerous cities containing wealth bet nd calculation. Is this sum more than sufficient to a fluid wot Its oi ticnilv built as our lasting interest would direct. liowefce., with a view to meet the Wi sh A^jfother gentlemen, a .smaller .uVs now proposed, which l hope will prevail. Sir, in leplying to novel opin ions, it is not my intent to im peach any gentleman’s motives, pntiioiLm, or bravery. I shall impugn arguments and not pet sono. Indeed I should think my self guilty of defrauding the na tion, were I to waste their tune in those personalities and un merited invectives which are .strong coin s with some gentle men, and very impioperly per muted in tins 1 louse. i oinduce this .louse to apply but a small annual sum for the object before uj, we have heard it predicated ol fortifications, that they are worse than useless —end oi cities, that they a;e un it table and unwouhy of defence. Vfue ic not intuitively seen that cities are defensible & wor thy of such dele nee—the doubt ing., if they be not reason pi oof, may be syJlog.istically convinced. Tims we lineht ia\, what ceils moll labour is molt val uable — cities coil molt labour, ihercfoie are cities moil valu able. W hat is molt valuable is niolt worthy of defence. Cities are moil valuable, there fore are cities molt worthy of defence. But not to go far’ iher into proving tell-evident politicos, who can be Idem v.hen mcafures of injudice, degradation and cxtieme ca iatnity are thus recommended for onr adoption ? Aie nut ti e minds of the jufl, ti c libe ral and die biavc, icvolud ai | the mes lures propole a ? T not this docirme or Runaway ijm abhorrent to all our jtnl ;*iul facial feelings, ai.u to mole ir.efhmaoie (eciiu s s which gave cs the ccuiury wo aio bound to defend ■ A nrv ?-'d w- j nicer mode t!f vo.rjo't F ,1( " v urged upon n.- ; a pierr no lei:* divergent frcir. reafonor plan* (ibilitv of refti't, than it is from example or experience. Sir, 1 do not feci clifpo'ed that v.e Ibould rifqne rural! on a pro jcdi so tinpromifing. I? might suit a favcgc or an extremely barbarous nation, and mould readily be adopted as ffatute law in I : ayti. But Heaven forbid it fliould ever find ad vocates in this or any other ; poiifhed or civilized nation. Surely it would require the j eloquence of a Curran to pre- | sent you a pitfuref’que and j olowintideforitnior of al 1 the i horrois confeq jent upon an ; aslailiug foe, on a defence lets, populous and devoted city, j The mind is painfully a 1 retted with the bare imagination of a retreating multitude of ruined forlorn fugitives, dc ip oiled of ail the fund objehis winch h-id (aliened them to life —a count- j lcfa. numher of every age, sex, : and condition, inter period with the-lame, blind, halt and with- , ered crouding to the country i so ruuneroiifly that the very : ground might be liippofed to groan beneath the weight, and 1 rebuke the folly and madness : of the defpainng multitude. : This monUrous do&rine of a- I handoning cities, navies, gun* boats, and million*, to Jack, pillage, and conflagration, at the mere fight of an enemy & of retreating to forells, to dens, to caverns of the earth, is un warranted by examples in the ancient, dark, or modem ages. Indeed, fir, with the ancients the city was the five qua non of national exiilence. W hen IToy fell we hear no more of the fTojans, and the Cartha*” the ruins of their city. In tbofe days each city was dc fended as a Thermopylae, Mo dern tatties Support a doHrine equally brave Sc politic—hence the propriety even under our late Fabian commander of ! t lie battle.’ of Brandy-wine and j Charlcfiown. Nor has Great j Britain, although lurrour.ded j by floating cattles, omitted j itrongiy to fortify against a |li leakned invasion. Mr. Chair man, if the (laves, ; ofadefpot, or ;he fujects of a king (tunnelled to fight for 1 rights not their own, if they j defend the abatis of their forts l <St bravely meet thetr foes at | the parapet, (hail we ids valo j roufly protect our dwellings, our property, our families, Si our holy Sc (acted right of felf govei nment ? j ulliy to appreciate our hap. j pv government, we should | conlider it what indeed I think it is, the only solitary one on eertb, founded on tire will and interdl of the governed. For aii others cither in a greater or lcffcr degree, partake of force, fraud, or superstition. We are also acting as prox ies for poflerity, and on us are fixed the eyes and the hopes of the friends of long insulted humanity. Shall we not act unwisely in the extreme ii v.e lore our mea sure, permit our strong boxes to be rifled, the emporiums of our wealth invaded by withhold ing tire trivial expence of a lock ? None can deny, L think, that In such timid parsimony, v.e may be suddenly arid easily subdued by a conqueror, whose fancy may lead him to act like Charles the 12th, and send bis boot as his deputy to role the conscript fath ers of this land. „..!* robe a* conform- T corrre.K • i ’ ,1... ,Iterates cl. interest s r .t 1 1 cv os it is to ,!c:ie of justice ! that the enemv • .hr,old Ve met at the water's edge “rd will not gentlemen from the , •rr.rior coji>der that the scene | of Ullage and war would he thus j hpppilv for then-, far removed | from their peaceful mansions & { ! possessu ns ? Should a different mode of re sistance be adopted, what sum of j mono is proposed for erecting asvlums in the internal country and what positions are to be se ! lected for a retreating multitude. \ i Immense sums would be expend jcd f.abt rintbs as extensive as I that of Fgvpt will be found ne ! cessary to hide all but your ac- j live warriors. Such retreats ■ would be found to he indispensa blc-—tour hospitality would soon be exhausted —added to which | consider ation, the fugitives would be dolesome companions to the projectors of wretchedness and misery. As 1 verilv believe that a de fi-r.ci less sla*e necessarily leads I to a su> jugated state, a sense ol : duty winch 1 otve to myself, to ! my country, and to futtuity, o bligrs me to expose the fallacy ol such dangerous propositions. I do most seriously and hear tily detest anti abhor royalty, fk the doctrine of the many made for the few, or the many made ft r one. It is for tins cause that | i would defend our republican j rights against any and every’ as sailant. profuse expenditures j which generate heavy burthens j on die people ar e ever to be avoid - j eu ; but is it not possible to \ ergo to the opposite, though equally I dangerous extreme —we should j carefully shun the rock Scylla, hut | should we less cautiously avoid the vortex of Charybdis. Sir, forms of government, like every other human production, 1 are imperfect, perhaps the only ! weak part of democratic govern j m=nt is its liability to factions j and extreme changes —hence we find in such governments, Hint - ,J • vuwvu -.♦muiu, u liU from system, make opposition to every measure their opponents may approve. The Roman ge nerals adopted a different policy 1 he errors of the past ad mini* | station may lead us to others, j opposite indeed, but not less dan gerous,as one extreme is too of ten succeeded by another. But of gentlemen who are j willing to look arguments in the j face, and fairly meet them, 1 | will ask, whether justice, -good j faith, or honesty, will permit j them in these belligerent times, to suffer our ports and harbours to remain defenceless? Justice is a cardinal virtue, St the only basis of aligood govern ment, and everv government not thus founded, is from its nature evanescent, or evidently fleet, ing. Sir, I will ask, if any be hardy enough to claim allegiance and at the same time refuse pro tection? W ill you issue decrees of dis. franchisement and excommuni cation? Will you put citizens at the ban of the empire and still claim of them obedience and re ! venui? If you should act thus | unjustly, will you not drive the j oppressed into rebellion? Will they not be justified in following (lie example of the ancient Thes salians, a people inhabiting a frontier state of Greece, who, I wlun threatened with a Persian invasion, asked that their coun try should be fortified, and who being refused, joined the invtt der> to subdue their own coun try men. Jt is an incontrovertible fact, ! Btat the minority have their rights, this will eternally remain a fact so longas force and justice ate distinct. Ihe agricultural representation is, aud will re main more numerous than that from the cities. Our interests are one, united and indivisible, and tun were they not thus ln sepi.rabiv linked, the genius of i htn government forbids unequal J light-., bir, it is lor the sake of safety, justice, and pro?-cti on that we associate in govern- ! ir.ent—deny and refuse tins, and ail the uses of government are at an end. _ The cities have their claims, the merchant and mariner have their rights, which wc as legrs lators have sworn to deti-nd, be cause we have sworn to support the constitutin'*, *nd that consti tution makes it our bounden du ty to provide for the common defence and genera! welfare- Manv merchants a;e opposed to the administration; is it be cause they are not generally re publicans? I hope not. Many of them perhaps look too singly to their own interests, and be cause government does not do e. very thing for their protection, therefore thev do nothing- *f thev ask too much, perhaps we | are willing to grant them too lit tle. Sir, every species of govern ment, of whatever name, which shall not equally protect every single individual ol the nation in his civil and political rights, is a tyranny, and as such to be de precated and opposed. “ Not even the anointed hand of Heaven, ! Can authorize oppression, give a law For lawless power, wed faith to violation On reason, build, misrule, or justly bind Allegiance to injustice. Tyranny absolves all faith.” I lament that the mutualities of the different parts of this one great whole, are so little attend ed to; that localises so much prevail over our minds. Do we to spectators appear in the sub lime character of national repre sentatives, or do we not rather tooohen appear as state, district, j and ev en parish champions? I t cannot but hope yet to see the proud day, when we shall be come truly national, when the whole country shall appear to each, as one common and equal object of attention and care— rfh oK.,)J tow l,e vhol a, joint stock, and as such repel c f very violation; Crowned heads must be ini ; mical to the success of our expe riment ol seif government; as its success goes to hurt their selfish trade of self governing. Their forbearance is therefore uncer tain and precarious, and we should be constant ly ready to re pell. bhculd they he permitted peaceably to land their hosts of veterans used only to the bayo net, I fear our militia would waut time for they are not ail e- I qual to those of the division of my honorable colleague on mv left ; many are sadly armed and poorly equipped, in such an e. vent a war of posts would be oUr only safety. Thus, sir to a coun try defended by militia fortifica- I trons are absolutely indisperrsi ble. I ask, sir, ol military inert who served in our revolutionary war, could we without fortifica tions now so decryed,have sue. cetded in that war ? Asa sedative we are constantly as sailed with the cry of too soon dr too late, too much or too little. Are We not immediately threaten ed ? We are asked, why pre pure, it is too soon. Arc* tvu actually threatened, insulted, and despoil ed, then tve are lu!d it is quite too late, and we have no time to prepare.ls a liberal sum proposed, that is ruinous—is a small tine named, it will be utterly useless, i hus 1 ft ar we shall be hushed to j sleep on the verge ol a precipice. ! 1 o avert the eviis or war, lei us j “ ‘sely he prepared to meet them. I trust, we shall tef,bvsuch pre paration, deter till aggressors, and by our justice and bravery, in scribe our li'tcdoin on the most I lasting records ol 1 hue. From the Charleston Tines. Messrs. Csx Sheppard, i ne subscriber having obse: v ed in your Paper of iuesday last, an article, dated Savannah, I Mh March, iust. relative to the capture of ih e _ B coa, in which amonc* ‘."'’B it is said, “ that fronuwß opposition ina.de to |,„ . B in taking possession of and. it was generally ‘B that (he place ha i l ;e , n p^B designedly lhe ,;! 1u ‘ n iA B had been nightly extended TB the mouth ot the °B neglected on the 3Ur ol 1).’!B ber.” This comp / f him ,B test against,and solemnly C r, n ' n ß diet the above paragraph, bB cause, he conceives lus therein concerned. Kvt.-rv ;l B in Curracoa knows, or c;m B informed why, (for past) it has been physicalfy D B possible to shut the cntranee ol the port with a sufficient chaiß and why it has been necessaryß discontinue, for several niuni.liß the closing ol the port in the ;i | sual manner. It cannot said, with propriety, that B security of the port, in that rB spect, ha . been neglected. B Trie subscriber does not cnn| sider it necessary to nuke j ;i ß further observation on t: ;car| ous insinuations rout m;r! :uh| paragraph alluded to, being his way to Holland, there tomß der a faithful account ol kiitoß lonial Administration. fl P. J. CHANGUIOnB Late Governor of Currm^m 19th March, 1 07. B From the .jarxr B ru; .\i.. B Os the Schooner Sally Amß Cargo, from. Sew Fork, ‘::.iß to Guadaloupe, in the hfl Court of Admiralty, IkUat .Vfl J ohn’s in the island of A nth B sth Feb. 1807. fl ‘1 his American vessel, dfl tained and sent in by a king’sfrß gate, is loaded with Amcricaß produce, gin, claret, soap, oiß &c. The owner of the cargoiiß native Frenchman, but has beeß a citizen for upwards of year s, and resid ‘d all t'nattimß in New-York; nor did the cafl tors make any difficulty on toB point. The goods were ship'Bj upon hia account and consigtied to a French Guadaloupe. The captain ttH not only ftirnished with all tIH usual documents, resweiiag tfl neutrality of his vessil audiaß go, but hurl also an adtliiionH certificate, signed by the cslkH tor and naval officer of N. stating, that the di tie rent fortiß articles had been duly iwmrttß and the dutie ; thereon secntcM also, at what time, where froß by what vessel, and bv wh'.H whereby it appeared that mfl thereof had been brought to‘B York by the. Sally Ann, or imported by the present ol the cargo; who, in ■ to the above, had gut iinnettdiß declaration on oath, t!iatn' ,De ß the goods were imported hvsß order, but that he bought tfl j whole in N. York. I i he first point nn w’'ich ‘fl ! agent for tl'-e captors groyndfl their claim, w as, that partoltfl claret which had been importfl only on the 4-th of Dec. and : H Sally Ann had cleared on :fl 22d of the same month; ‘hefl lore, from the short s[ ce fl time, this wine could not be ccH sidcred aa constituting ? url ß the general stock in trade oflfl United States; but that it B imported for the ixpre-.spurpfl of exporting again to the cJ iny’s colonies, which is contrfl to the intent and meaning B majesty’s order, which pioluofl neutrals from tarrying on between the mother’ country the colonies ot Ins eneirtci, J making no difference ‘ V ‘ ICI B this was done thiough dre niw® of one or more vesselsi 01 C B or more persons; and hicie fl ing no cer tifieate on uoanh ,v fl ing that the other goods ,a( D B been in.ported with t ,lc i | ‘- c ‘ lll fl of expor ii'.g them “b’ aiß B the enemy's colonies, they “■ so came under die same j ir * fl camcnt. fl After the claimants If - ®*fl their defence, the judge g"’’ fl decree to live* foliovvingrtF'-- ■