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::; -l-i" 3E ; I .m REGISTER., NOaTH-CAROLINi WEEKLY ADVERTISER, " Ourt are the Plan of fair delightful Peace, UifarpM by Party ilUge t live like Brothm." No. iq. Tuesday, February 800. Vol I. , 1. 1 . " T" " 11 ' " " ' ' " ' ' - 2S;, IOUU. . . . , , - , . ; C O N T I N U A A T I O N? O F THE DEBATE o r Mr. Nicholas's Propofdioti For repealing certain PitrtJ of the Aft raiBg aa additional Army. for Mr. Nicholas 1 - t - faid, from the tnsni.er in wnicn fubjeft had been treated by gentlemen who op- h pofed the motion, thequeition aguu u amountxo .the millions wnicn nave recurred., as he conceited it woulddj , DCen fp&en of,- where will the mo to the pofuion firft intended, which jjney behind to fatisfy it ? Gen was, whetherthis additional armjitJemen will fay another loan muf fhould row or never be difbanded? jl be had ; but where rauft even the Since it was clear, that if it Was not j inlereft be got ? We cannot make now done, the ingenuity of gentle- U money here, but bv means of work. rnen oppofed to it, would always be j; able to keep, it from difmiffron. Mr. N. then went into an exami nation of all the arguments which ; had been ufed againfl his motion, I fbewingeither their inapplicarfelenefs or futility. The paffingof this refo lution, he faid, would befo far from evincing a. want of determination to defend ourfelves, it would bid defi 'ance to France, j or iny other coun try, with the natural flrength of America, her Militia, and (hew that fhe is not dependant on this pitiful j arrnv. .-.'. ! Gentlemen fpeaking on this fub- ject,'had Hated hitrras faying it was mi)ojnblt for the country to bear the expencc of this eflablifhment. Per- hip&he.had Rated his opinion in too . itrong t.rms." He knew the country would tjearVvery much in cafe of in- vafion.VHe would himielf. in cafe rof fuch an event, go as fir as any man. It was the ufelelTnefi and milapplication of the expence he condemned. The only Ipeciouj ar gument that had been ufed, was the trifling expence of thele troops for a few months. If this were all, he would willingly bear the. e,xpenc ; but, as has been already (hewn, it is for years that this expencc is con templated. It is the fyflem of bpr vowing 'money to pay thefe troops, thar 1 chiefly deprecated. This iyilem of borrowing money to pay the intercfl of money already bor rowed, will, if not checked, inevi tably hurr- us ori to ruin and bank ruptcy, 'f : Mr. N. took notice of the infinu atjon, that if this refolution wcie agecd to, it would convince France that there is a party favourable to her views in this country. H had fuppofed this topic was exhaufled, and that the koufe would have heard , , . . . no more on - that; head ; he did not believe that there are now any ears to receive this calumny. But if there were danger of this, he wifhed tq know how gentlemen would ha Ve the houfe to zt ? He fuppofed members mutt facrifice their opini ons, however 'well calculated to fei ve the country, that France may not at under fuch a deception. The confequence of this wouldevidentlv be,a juppreflion of the freedom of opinion, and to dettroy the ulefur. nefs of every member who is afraid of being, called a French partizan, I, faid Mr. N, am notafraid of this. and therefore hall not be deterred by clamours, or imaginary dangers, irom aoing what appears to me my duty. Mr. M a con obferved, that in the opinion of lbme gentlemen, it ap peared that theborrowing of five or lix millions was a trifling thirig,.arid that it 'might be left to be paid by our children,, j This, he mfifted was a conduct as unjuft in nations, as in individuals ; fince thofe who contract debt ought to ay it. It vas much ejafier to vote expenccs, than to lay taxes ; the people do not directly feel tke vote, whereas if they are taxed,; they miift inflantly know it-borrowing money is, on this, account, a favourite mode of railing money. The time is now com, when we begirt to feel that our revenue from import is lower. ,ng' One reafon of this is the low pi ice'of our produce, as the value pf the exports mud, in fome meafure, regulate the imborts. When it waaf faid that the American people would!' every tning at Itake, and make 'e1 acrces in order to flpport their independence, he agreed with gentlemen j but, added he you muft convince the people that thi$Js the cale, before this expencc is incurred, Jor, however willing they may be pay their taxes, their ability can nly-bejn proportion to the price 1 iwuuwc, iiua inai js now w:,ta oy caiwith difSeult pay i thigb taxes. Ought we not, afked he., to favc all the Jexpences which are not abfolutely neceffary, ef'pecL ally when wc have a very important J money concern to fettle with ano. i ther powerful nation (meaning, it lis luppofed old debts recoverable 1 from the U, States by an article in the Britifh Treaty). If this demand Labour is our only refource, there fore our money . nought to be well hufbanded. Mr. R'l. faid,-ijF;iiny;g;ood purpofe could be anfwerecUby . -keepin up this force, he fhpulcf ha'been lilent on the fuhject ; butv4rji& had not been proved : for, totCflculate that if would have any cnft1G0n; a dif tant enemy,- was wronger iAce. na tions calculate on the itrehjtiBAnd refources of nations, and notqppn a tew armed troops more or leis, If the Britifh, during the? war, had conceived, that our regular army had been the whole. ftrength of the country, they would not to Toon have given up the, contefl. We were then obliged to have our force in every place of danger ; and if any nation fhould again invade us, we muft again repel the enemy id thfJK?nfideration, he expreiled a wih fame way. It is therefore moftpril dent to lave all the money we bly can, while the danger -of an invafion could not be apprehended, to enab.'erus to meet tlie enemy, if he fhould really come to our doors. The burthen of the expence of re gular troops, as well as all the other expences of Government, feil hea viefton.the labouring poor, who would feel their weight, though the rich might not, - The principal dependence after all, faid Mr. M. mutt be upon the Militia, notwithftandine the little confidence which fome gentlemen appear to have in them. He did not wifh to take the Teaft honour from the valiant. men who were en gaged in the brilliant action of the Euta ws ; but he could not forget the unrivalled valour of our citizens at the battle of King's Mountain, where there was not a ft ngie regular engaged, but wjioUy men who had left theit homes on the fpur of the occafionf and yet they conquered regular troops, commanded by an able and experienced officer, fo that none elca'ped cither death or cap ture. ' V-,.. " ' Ii had been faid that it would be difficult to, get another army, if it fhould be wanted fome time hence. mould thele troops be difbanded: Mr. M. believed the very contraiy, fince the very famemen would enlift afain. for the hounrv nnv rA o . j , i j cloaths, expelling to be diicharged again in a f?w months, and this ex pcctation might' induce others to enlift. But whenever an army is really wanted, the patriotifm of the people will fupply the emergency. Gentlemen calculate on another loan ; but are they certain that we can make another loan, at eight per cent, or at any other rate? May not the prefent deranged -flate of the commercial world, prevent the pof fibility of getting one ? And fhould the'armv be keDt un. with thr ev. pectation of being paid in this way, in cafe of failure, would not the event be difaftroiis, and effeclually deftroy our Credit ? It is alio pof ible that the derangements of trade in Europe may prevent a loan from being made there;! The gentleman from Virginia cer- lainiy turnitticd an argument againit himielf, when he mentioned the im portanceof America in the two wars to which he alluded. Jt couLd not be luppofed, that France, if fhe wifhed foe th friendfhip of this country,, would invade it; unlefs fhe expe&ed conqueft ; and the fate of an invading; enemy marching thrpugh the country la fi war, would undoubtedy be a fufHcient warning 10 any natiqn aarntt making the at icmpt ; 'for if it did, the invading army would certainly be cut off, arid the vain attempt be rendered fruit As to the Militia being undifci- piinru, ana wunouc arms, as tne gentleman fromDelaware had ftated them fo beV -the knowledge of the J ufc of the gua i univcrfal.H4 had never feen an American who could not fhoot. which is the principal thing in the ufe of a gun. 1 his be inff the cafe, our youn'g men. foon become disciplined -fdldiers. . Apprehending no danger, there fore, and feeinff that if there were any. an eafv remedy could be ap plied ; and wifhir.g rather to fave money, than to wafte it on an ufe lefs object of expence, he fhould vote in favour of the motion. Mr. Ni cholso n obferved, that the member From Delaware had faid, that he was not furpriled at the in troduction of this refolution, asjie believed it to be part of a fyftem which rtad for feveral yars exiftedj the dbjecl of which waVto debilitate and degrade the government of this country ; and believing this, he was not furpriled at the, quarter from which it came; When gentlemen undertook to criminate the motives of otherp, Mr. N. faid it would be welt if they would offer fome evi dence of the purity of their own ; and he believed the gentleman from Delaware would find confiderable difficulty in convincing, not onlyi this, committee, but the public at large, tjiat his motives were more pure and patriotic than thofe of other members who differed from him in opinion. When the mover of this refolution called it up for that it might be di feu fled with tem- : pofnXcr and moderation ; that it was not propoiexl witn a view of lntlammg the. houfe, but to corredl an undue and ufejefs expence It might have been expected, that an cxpielhon ot thisrwifh, would have protected the frinds of the refolution from thole general imputations which the mem ber from Delaware had thrown ou againft them ; butj inftead of a cool and temperate difcuffion, that gen tleman had indulged himielf in a tu nous invective a gam ft hisopponents, which would have better lyited a member of that rapacious and fana tical government which he had de- feribed as ex i (ting beyond the At- an tic, and again ft which a principal part of his" harangue was directed. Disapproving of this conduct, Mr. N. laid he would.cndeavour to pur fue .a different line in delivering his ferttiments. He fhould not ceafe to ref peft ;the opinions of others, being willing to believe that gentlemen may purfuea different road from him I " O .ll ana vet oe actuated Dy motives equally patriotic with his own- equally defirous of promoting the happinels and prolperity of the country. M r . N. was willing to admit, that theconduft of France towards this country had excited one general fen timent -of indignation in the people of America, and produced an unani mous zeal for ihe maintenance of American honourand independence. This ptoved that the people are wiU ,ling to expend their money in de- tence pt their rights, but not that they are willing to throw it away in fapjjort of ufeleis objels. If the gcntlefrian had gone on a little far ther hi the hiftory of this bufinefs, he; m?ht have fhewpi, that of late, the French had afted a different part, and are noW offering us that Oiiye Branch, which,! in "a moment of phrenCy, they had trod under foot i and that the Prefident of the United States had wifely embraced their of. fei'S off accommodation, which flep he believed met With general appro bation,' with an allowance for a few exception only, ' Mr. IN. thfcn took a yiev of the arguments which had1 been ufed againfb the refolution,' combatting them Is he went alorigi'in a very mafterly .manner ; and fhewing the utter inadequacy of thefe troops to repel an invafion, if fueh were ex pected ; and the folly of fuppofing any fuch -thing, from the pretent lituacipn of France ; or, if fuch an attempt were made, the flill greater folly there was in fuppofing it could be effectual, , : ;Buf how far, faid he, would this fpirit of Alarm,; which hus been im properly excited, and is flill endea voured to be! kept up; carry us ? Certainly farth0r thanany gentlet trriiin can wifh. Vvre fhould not only nbv. ber in il ftate of ireadinefs for War, : bat for ever hereafter ; for, if inyalincrc always Id be ppre he n ded . ws muft al w a vs be read v to preparation jijuft coa tinue in proportion to our European conneaions. We jnever can form a new conneaion with any power, but we fhall be more or lelsengaged in her quarrels ; and if thefe troops could not now be parted wth, h could fee no moment when wc fhall not be in equal danger, and if in equal danger, equal preparation will hi contended fori We fhall be; compelled, therefpre, to admit the dangerous doarine of keeping up a Standing Army in time of peace. It had been faid, that the direaing of thefe 10,000 men to be raiiea, had produceda good effea, in chang- ing the conduct 01 r rants hjw- us ; but it had been truly flated that the law was Da fiedin luly, and their overtures weremade in Auguft. But irdenendent of this, he would aife gentlemen at what period France had been alarmed, or lhrunk from a contefl with her enemies ? Have preparations of war in other coun tries produced conciliatory propo- finons on her part f Was not ner fpirit rather been roufed inloaaion in proportion to the martial difpofi tion of her neighbours ? Mr. N. produced in fiances to fhtw that it had, and that therefore our Tniall force could not have had the effea afcribed to it. The argument of the gentleman from Delaware, that a meafure of this kind would have been diated by the French Directory, if they could have influenced.our Councils, Mr. N. thought equally unapt with many others. They would rather have adviled the railing or more troops, and to hlkve expended our money upon ufelefs objeas, thereby to have crippled our finances, and loaded the people with debts and taxes fo heavily, as not to care uyder what government they lived, and fo become an eafy prey, ihe wilelt courfe for us certainly would be, to hufband our refburces, to let our people live eafy and happy, and thereby attach them to the govern ment ; to make no new loans to impofs no new taxes, and then we mould always berprepared tor war, when either the honour or interefl of the country may require it. If, concluded he, 1 could believe that we were in danger from any power whatever, I fhould be ready to ex claim, v Millions for defence : not a Cent for tribute.' Not believing this, I fhall give my hearty afTent to the rclofution. Mr. She?aro lpoke againfi the refolution. Mr. R. WHliamj faid, from the arguments of gentlemen oppofed to the meafure, it would fcem that this refeutioa went to the deflruc tion of the whole fyflem of defence. If fo, he fhould hehUte before he voted for it ; but it went to make a reduaion only triflingasit related to the" fyflem, but important in it felf. It no change were at any time to be made in iour public meafures, the houfe ought to be cautious how it takes its fieps, In order duly to appreciate the arguments againfl the rciolution, it might be well to notice thofe made ufe of to get the law pafTed. Inva, fibn was then ihe cry ; but though nearly two years had elapfed, no in vafion had been attempted, or, he believed, thought of. Internal dif. turbances were alio apprehended, but no fuch thing had appeared worthy of notice, It was, however, flill neceflary to keep up the alarm. After the former negocjation failed, invafion was talked of as the confe quence ; now another ncgooation is fet on foot, and another alarm of the fame kind is ipiead; but the ap prehenfions of gentlemen having failed once, I they cannot be relied on. Experience teaches us that the ftory of invafion has no foundation. The only plaiifible argument agajnfl this meafure,; was the polfibiluy of its having an eftcci on the pending neociatiop jj but not believing that his could be the cafe, this confide- ration would riot influence his vote. It appeared, indeed, to him, that it would rather promote the negoci ation than otherwifci as it would put it in the power of our Envoys to lay to the jfrencn Government, Whilfl you rcfufed to give us an audience, and continued hoflile, our Government took meafures of de fence ; but ftOy,J when you fheiv a iojitrary, difppfitionj -ilitf tnmcdi- ately relax and are difpofed to meet you. This conduct would alio prove, that on an emergency wc can rane an army 5 ana wnen it removed, we can lay to the men who com pole it, Keturn to your nome atnp em ploy ments1; we want you ho logger. But it is faid, that thedifpahdinf of thefe troops would fhe w to tre French that we are not able to keep up an army, ana mat our Teiourcef are inadequate to Our wants. Haw, afked Mi . W. could fuch an infe- i rence be drawn ? Becaufe he did not chufe to incur unnecefTary. ex pence, would this be a proof that '-s- he could not afford it ? " And if the Government doe? not chufe to bor- ro w monev -to defray un n eceffarv expence, will France fay fhe cannot - ; borrow f lo lucn thing : the will rather admire our prudence, sv When gentleman fay that this ar- ' my muft be kept up for what may , happen, they ufe an argument which r would always apply for the keeping up a Handing force, arid ,he there fore took it for granted, that thofe r who ufe this argument, mean this , force to be permanent. Gentlemen afk whether the com- 1 mit tee have forgotten the infultsof-. fered to this country by France ? Though the treatment of pur" Com miflioners will never be forgotten, ' Mr. W. could not agree to carry his refentment fo far as to incur extra ordinary expcn.ee in the fupport of an eflablifhment for which we have . no occafien. But it is faid, that this refolution is the fit 11 ftep to a fyflem which has been long purfued by a party in this houfe, to debilitate the government I in all its fyflems of deferwee and 4 it wasexpeaed thatnext an attempt 3 would be made to renew treaties and j commerce. And, faidhe,is it iodifa- greeable to renew friendfhip, com- , merce and treaties with any nation 1 ,..u. ii. . -j wtwicvci, iiKii. inc committee are called upon to dread the confluen ces ? HeconfefTed he himfe.lfdid not dread this flate F things ; and that members couidnot be permitted to differ in opinion; -and fpeak of the tendency of certain meafures, without being charged with impro per motives, was flrange; The fpirit of '76 had been called up. What, enquired Mr. W. has that fpirit to do With the jprefent queflion ? The two things arc al together diflimilar.; Arc wc now engaged in a continental war, or it the enemy in our rpuiury, burning and deflroyingour towns, and fcat tcring our villages ? This is hap pily not our fituation at prefent. Were our profpea$ one-tenth as bad now as t,hey were then, we fhould foon have an army, and no member on this floor would think ten limes, the fum nov called for, mif-fpent If our independence were at flake the money required for our fecunty ought only to Be a lecohcjai y confi deraaion ; for if we loic our coun y we lofe our all. God fcrbid there fhould ever be another American, army, equally ufeful with that whrCh toughiior our independence, paid off at the rate of tvo and three fimhngs in the nounrl ' Were nm- inH. . -WMA illUWk! dence really in daneer, men enough. wouia De iouna reaqy to repel any 1 11 C I - l . o . uivauwu, vyoum caii xorth. tiae patriotifm or numbers, that mo ney wquid not. Our prelent fitua tion calls tor no luch iacrifices : we have no occafion tor fuch noble ex e.tions, or they would be made. 1-' . ' It was worthy of remark, Mr, W. faid, that whenever anymeafure had been adopted, its continuance was conflantly urged on fume point of expediency or policy, notwith ftancling the change which msty have taken place in theiituation of things fince it was adopted. J Xiut tlie time was fa ft approaching when it could " tio longer be dpne our real fitua tion muft appear. Our government has been p rog re fling regularly in the accumufationof a public debt, at the fame time that ;it is coutlaptiy im pofing new taxes on the people ; and yet we are told not to mind expen ces toe cart borrow, ' Vv?nen hc neceflity of anexpence c c "r 1 1' i'r iii. is 10 iar icicnea, ana lounoeu narely on alarm and -conjectuie, it cauhot J1 be faid, that amotion to repeal- thej-'ij objea of it, docs not requ.re ferious ; 1 f-rn firin t inn - T''ir Kit tn ri" .Af'?. timer nor prol 'cipf their i u tureule-- c he fhould vote for the refolution; v tj is, (I '-I hi 1 1 K 5 if. V v. ii v j- it
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Feb. 25, 1800, edition 1
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