Camden gazette. (Camden, S.C.) 1816-1818, January 09, 1817, Image 1
IN LITE'S DISASTROUS SCENES, TO Oi Hl.RS DO,
CAMDEN
Number 4 1 .
CAMDKN, S. C.
WHAT YOU W0C1 U \\ lhH liY OTHERS DONE T. YOU.
I ? A V WIN.
GAZ
Thursday, January 9, Volume I.
terms:
7 he price to Subscribers is ?>3 per annum ,
exclusive of postage ; and in all casts where
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yars to be paid six months after subscribing.
^ving ut a distance , frcrp. the inconvenience of
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Terms ot advertising in this Gazette.
Advertisements not exceeding eight lines
mill be printed for titty cknts, for the
first publication, and half that price for evcr?
subsequent insertion . Larger advertise
ments will be charged in proportion.
?#* A liberal discount will be made on the
bills of those who are constant or consider ble
customers in this line .
tit ^ no directions are given with an ad
vertisement , it will be continued till forbid.
Wholesale Prices Current.
Domestic Articles*
Cotton, Sea Island lb
? Upland,
Rice, prime new cwt
J- lour. Superfine bbl
sy Fine country
Corn, bush
Wheat,
Tobacco, leaf lb
? manufactured
{Charleston Camden.
00 0 . 0 48
0 *24 . 0 25 0 21.0 23
0 00 . 5 00 1
W hiskey,
Butter,
1 5 "T ?
00 . 0 00
0 00. 1 00
0 U.O l()|
:a .14
87
1 50 0 00
o 10.0 II
0 20 .0 25
gal
lb
Bacon,
Lard,
Tallow,
Bees Wax,
Hemp,
Homespun, cotton yd
? N. Carolina tow
Shoe thread, lb
Indigo, prime,
Dvnr Skint in liair,
Foreign Articles .
Coffee, prime, lb
old
W
0 23
0 14
0 20
0 18
0 28
0 6.5
0 25
0 80 .0 85
0 18 .0 25
0 17 0 12 .0 15
0 22
0 20
0 30
0 12 .0 15
0 00 .0 18
0 00 .0 25
0 23 .0 2810 30 .0 37
0 25 .0 30
62
0 75 . 0 80j0 75 .037
18
0 19 . 0 23|0 30 .0 32
Salty
Iron,
Molasses,
bush
100 16.
ST"
0 12.0 151
0 55 .0 65
5 00 . 6 00
45 .0 48
M
0 18 .0 20
1 00 .0 00
7 00 .8 00
K> 87 .OOO
JWc are authorized to announce
Col. William Nixon, as a Candidate for
the office of Sheriff of Kershaw District.
Camden, 1 1th December* 1816.
Wc arc authorised to say that
Capt. POSTELL M'CAA i* a candidate
lor the office of Sheriff.
December I3V lfl 16.
We arc requested to state that
Mr. JOHN H AVIS is a candidate for the
office of Sheriff of Kershaw District, at the
ensuing election* Dec. 5? 1816
rnm+mmmmmm O?i i i * nl> i ? ? ? '? ?
We are also authorized to state
that Capt. WILLIAM DRAKEFORD is
a candidate for the office of Sheriff of Ker
shaw District. Dec. 3. 18) A.
1 ' " ? - 'r
^Wcw^ authorized to say that Mr.
MATTHEW C WIGGINS is a candidate
for the office of 8heriff of Kershaw Dis
trict, at the ensuing election*
December 5,1 ?16.
iwx? I mis i , ut.ii h ?? mm ? ? ? ? ? ??
an authorized to state that
Mr . WILLIAM. THAPP is a candidate
/or the Office of Sheriff of Kerehnv) District ?
-December :'*A 9, 1816. ^ ?3ft
NOTICE.
THE petitioner humbly solicits his
friends in Kershaw District, to aid
and assist him in trying to acquire a major
ity oNotes in his favour, for the Sheriff's
|>Uce, at our next election, as he assures
thera that he is a real candidate.,
WM. BRASINGTO NT.
Camden, Aug. 31,1816. 3ltf
The Subscribers,
TTNDER the firm of J. C. 8c ELI AS
^ ? PRiOLEAU, have entered into the
factorage and Commi??ion Sum nr.*#. Their
Counting House is on Priol* au's wharf.
John Cordes PrioJeau,
Elias Prioleau.
Charleston, Nov. 25. 35-*0
40Q to BOOK Printing nratly exccuttd at
this Office .
FOK SALK,
A LIKELY Young Negro Fellow? Enquire of
the Printer. .
December v2 * 37tf
Lfc.E & DeLEON,
HAVE just received, in addition to iheir
former stock, the following GOODS :
Elegant Fioientine Silks,
_____ Levantine do". ~
? Craprj,
Muslins of various descriptions*
Long white Kid Gloves,
Short do do.
Silk do.
?Shawls, Cotton Ralls, Silk, Threads,
Black, Brown, Green St Mulberry Bom
bazetfes ? Calicoes and Furniture Chintzes,
Dimity, Brown Holland, Handkerchiefs of
every kind. Invert ess B AGGING, with
various other articles.
A L SO
London Duffil Blankets,} by the
Point do. ) piece or pair.
White, Yellow and l\ed Flannels,
Superfine Broad Cloths, From 2 50 to SlO
per yard.
Cassimeres of various Qualities.
I GROCERIES.
I Philadelphia Rve vVhiskev.
Cognac" BRANDY > t " TT """
I West India HUM. $ sU
Madeira WINK,
London Bottled Porter,
Sugar, prime irreen Coffee bv the bap-,
I Tobacco by the cask, Suit, Sweet Oil, Spi
ces, White Havanna Sugar. l?oafdo.
Fresh Hyson Tea, CROCK. Kit Y" a>>soited. j
? ? A l.Sn? ?
A supply of ft AU I) W ARK and CUT
LEUY, all ol winch they will dispose of j
on reasonable terms for cash or pioduce.
Camden, Dec. 24, 1816.
The Subscribers'
RESPECTFULLY inform their friends
and the Public that tHey have com*
menctc! the .FACTORAGE and COM
MISSION UUMNKSS, and will endea
vour careful'y to attend to the interests of
those who may be pleased to employ litem.
Their counting house is on Uunkins wharf.
J. S. MURRAY & Co.
Charleston, Nov. 16, 1816. 3 41 f
? ?? ? - ?
^o r m #r~
4 LOT laying on the west side of Broad
street between 1J c-ea 1 1 > anci Rutltdge
streets.? Any person w ishing to purchase
will do well to cull soon, as i; will be sold
low for cash ? For terms enquire of the
Subscriber
SYLVESTF.R BRONSON'.
December 52, ) 8 i 6. 37if
R KPOMT
Of the Committee t iftfiointcd on the 4 t/i i?t
I slunts to inquire into tht exfiendiency oj
rrfitaling or modifying the larj (tanned at
the taut srn^inny changing the mode o /
j com/iensaiiun to the ?nembers of Congress,
The committee* to wljom wan referred the
consideration of the expediency of re
! pealing or modifying the law passed at
the last session, relative to the compen
sation ?4-membtrs of Congress, ask leave
to report the following
The power, vested in congress by the
constitution, of providing for the pay of
its own members, is, doubtless, a delicate
trust ; and it might have been apprehend
ed, as well from the nature of the subject, |
as from former experience, that the most I
judicious exercise of that trust would not
be exempt from som4 degree of public ani
madversion. The committee, however,
j cuiinot perceive, either in the increase of
compensation, provided by the late act, or
in the mode of making that compensation)
cause of excitement or alarm, adequate to
the effects which are understood to have
been produced.? The addition which this
law has made to the public expenditure is
not considerable : and If it had been creat
ed by other measures of government,
would not, probably, of itself, have been
thought worthy of great attention. And
the change in the mode of compensation, j
even if it be not attended with real and
manifest advantages, docs not still appear
to be wrong, so clearly, and in such dan
gerous measure, as to furnish grounds for
any hi^h degree cf public inquietude. The
committee, therefore, cannot but be of
opinion, that the law in question has not
!>een considered without some mixture' of
misapprehension of its principles and ob
jects, and that a more accurate knowledge
of its provisions, and more mature reflec
tion on its design and tendency, if they 1
should not end in a conviction of its use- |
fulness, would yet result in a different and
far more moderate estimate of its proba
ble evils. It would not become the com
mittee to claim any infallibility for the bo- .
dy of which they are members, nor to take
it lor granted, that every law which it inay
p3s*, must necessarily, be a wise and
wholesome ae( of -legislation; ? Human cr
rors and imperfections find their way into
all bodies ; and there is, doubtless, exist
ing in the judgment of the community, I
a power under whose revision this and other
acts of government must and ought to pass.
If. h owtver, on a review of this s.ibjert,
lite hous^ should slill be of opinion, that
the la\r~tn "question* or some equivalent
provision, h4s become essentially necessa
ry for the useful exercise of the powers of
government, and for the safety, security,
and honor of the people ihemselves, its
members may still hope, that in not hasti
ly departing from it, they will he j' Stified
bv the enlightened sanse and generous
sentiments of the 'nation. The abandon
ment of a measure, which, according to
their most conscientious conviction, is in
timately tonnected with the genera! good,
**oukl be no means of obtaining favor with
Ihe Aineiicaii people.
II, in passing the' law in question, the
H<iu>e of Hepi esentatlves discharged any
jMM'tion of its duty, it acted upon general
and public principles, with an entire dis
regard to the convenience of its own mem
ber*, any further than their convenience
was supposed to be connected with the
public service. It treated the question
not as one heuveen them and the public,
but us exclusively of public and national
concern. It regarded it as a subject of
general policy, by which the nation, and
the the nation only, was to be affected ; as
much so as any other act of legislation
wnatever. Any imputation, so moss as
to impeach its conduct in this essentia! par*
ticular, a fceiing of self respeci mubl com
| pel ihc house to pass over in silence, and
its members must rely on their known char
acter as members of the government, and a?
ctiiftthtuf the community, to Hi sprovejt.
1 he house would not presume to jud?4 .1
I * bethel* its services, in the various, and
important matters upon which it has acud,
"Have deserved i.ny consideration or respect
from the public; but for those set vices, j
such a* they are, it has not sought, nor
wouid accept, arty reward which could be
measured out to it in a tnore pecuniary
compensation. And while the members
of the house would certainly not thihk of
i claiming any merit for pa&sinv* the law in
question, any more than for the discharge
of what they ti.ought their duty in any
other case the committee do not see that
they have *ny cause lur taking humiliation
upon themselves, on account of having
pj-ssed an act which they believed would be
essentially useful to the countiy<but which
they must have foreseen would be expoatd,
itself, and might expose its authors jlo
misapprehension and misrepresentation of
all sorts. Holding offices in the immediate .
gift of the people^ of short duration, and
at u time when the people were soon to ex
el cise, in most districts, their accustomed
privilege of a new election, if these offices
had been objects of their regard, and if
they had permitted personal consideration
to inlluence their conduct, it is obvious
that all such considerations pointed to a
coarse different frttm that which they pur
sued. They must have ?known, that no
measure could be more easily misconstrued
and perverted to the purposes of objdquy
and reproach. The committee cannot yet
believe that a faithful discharge of duty, in
the face of these probable consequences,
is to be reckoned among dangerous politi
cal errors.
At the commencement of this govern
ment, it was, of course among its first
measures, to fix, by law, agreeably to the ?
requisition of the constitution, the pay of
members of Congress.? In the old Con
gress tinder the confederation, the mem
bers were paid, not out of the national
treasury, but, by the states, which they
representated. The rates of compensa
tion were different in different states ;
tome Mates paid to its delegates eight
dollars A day ; others six ; others less / and
one state at Ifcast paid them by an anual
provision of six hundred pounds sterling.
It was natural to recur to these precedents,
when the subject was taken up by the first
Congress, under this constitution. Ta
king a just and obvious standard, by which
to regulate the amount of compensation,
the average of the rates which had been
paid by the different States, to their dele
gates in ihe old C ongress, it was found
thai such average amounted to somewhat
mote than six dollars a d \y. The com
-^p*U3<*iion was accordingly fixed at six
dollars a day, by the law of 1789.
As it was foresee^ that the deprecia*
lion of money, or the increased expencc*
of living, might render ihis iitwlsion in
adequate, t lie law was limited in its dura
tion, in order that it might br: considered
and altered, if necessary, at a luiui e period.
The subjeet was again brought before
Congress in 1796, by the expiration of
the fonr?er law. On this occasion, as the
committee have learned, and indeed* at
some of them remember, there was much
diversity of opinion in the House of K (pre
ventative ; some members wished, theft*
to change the mode from a daily sum to an
annual allowance-^-others pre fe red to re
tain the existing mode, but to increase th#
sum, and ccftnittee a of the House rej>ort
ed m favor of increasing the daily pay to
?8. assigning, for reason, a proportionate in
crease in the price of all commodities, and
the expencc of living, since the passage of
the first act. Those who opposed this
augmentation, admited it would be reason
able* if the price of commodities ^iul the
expence ol living should keep up ? but
they hoped the rise would be temporary,
and that money would soon resume, in
relation to the e*pence oi living, its former
value* The proposition to increase the
pay was lost by one or two votes only, and
I a law passed establishing the former rate*
The state of things existing in the gov
ernment and in the country, from >796 to
the clo^e of the late war, furnish obvious
reasons to account for the circumstance*
that, during that period, no attempt was
made to raise the pay of members of Con
gress. In the mean time, the seat of gov
ernment had been transfered to the city o?
Washington, and the cxpcncc of living
instead of returning to its Cornier rale,
at was expected by some, has gone on in
creassng progressively, until money, irt
relation to the means of lifrr, does not re
tain more than half its former value* In
other words, tf 6 dollars a day was no
more than a reasonable provision, fh the
jcitiea-oLl'hiladelphia and New-York, eight
^And twenty years ago, la dollars would
not he more than a reasonable and equal
provision in tht city of Washington, at t lie
present time. Forty years ago, as ha*
been stated above, some of the st tes paid
their delegates in congress eight dollars a
day ; and yet it never was supposed, du
ring the revolution, or afterwards, that the
people of the U. S* had made unteason
abie or exorbi ant provision for their nib
lic agents. But, unless the early history
of the country was marked by great extra*
vagance in this particular* the rate of six
dollars a day, fixed by the law of the first
congress, was no more than a moderate
and necessary allowance at that time, be
cause it waa no more than the average of
what all the states had found it necessary
to pay to their respective delagatea during
the revolution*
The only question, then, is whether
thefe has been, in tfuth, such a change in
the country in the Value of money and the
i expence t)f living as to render that provi
sion which was no more than sufficient in
1789, insufficient in Id 16# It is a truth*
plain to all whose experience or informal
tion enables them to judge, that so great
has been the change in the foregoing par
ticulars, which eight and twenty years have
produced, that it is not incorrect to esti
mate the expenditures necessarilv attach
ed to a teat in congress at twice their for
mer amount. This change has not been
confined to the condition of members of
congress? it has extended all .over tb?
country ;and as well the national govern
ment as every state government has been
obliged to provide for it in * proportionate
increase in the salaries of their public offi
cers.
The statute book of ihe government ex
hibits a constant and progressive increase
of compensation in all the departments of
government, with the exception of tke le
gislature and the supreme judiciary* On
the recommt-TMlaiion of the executive, or
its branches, the legislature has repeatedly
augmented the provisions for that depart
ment, patiemently raising the pay ofclerka
and ?f writer* far above thnt of it* own
members, without agitating either itself or
the country with afijr question about its own
com pen sad >n. From the heads or the d<4
puitmtnU to the lowest clerkships in the
public offices, a general augmentation hae