Western Sun, Volume 8, Number 17, Vincennes, Knox County, 29 March 1817 — Page 2

A.Y ORDINAMVE for imiosing and collecting taxes, S"c. (Jfc. Sec. 1. BE it ordained by the Trustees of the Borough of Vincenncs. in council aascmhlrd audit is hereby ordained by auth irity of the same. That a tax of one h:i!f per cent shall be imposed annual, v on the value of each and every Lot, half Lot and h-sscr parts of divided Lots within the BoroUgh of Vinccnncs, taking into consideration the improvements thereon at the time of assessing the said tax. Sec 2. And be if further ordained by the authortnj aforesaid That it shall be the dutv of the as .cssor or assessors who mav be appointed by the Trustees of said Borough, immediately after the fourth monthly in March, and annually thereafter to proceed to make out two fair lists of the Lots or part of Lots within the limits of said Borough, with the number thereof attached, and the owners name if known, and if unknown, then opposite the said Lot, or part of a Lot, shall be written, u non resident." and the said assessor or assessors, shall value the said Lots or parts of Lots, and the Said valuation, set down in a column, in figures) opposite to the number of the Lot or p ins of Lots, and proportion the tax to be imposed on said Lots, or parts of Lots, and the same also set down in figures, in columns opposite to the said valuation. And it is further made the duty of the said assessor, or assessors to make separate Duplicate lists of all free male inhabitants over the ae of twenty one years, who may reside within the limits of the said Borough, and w ho, at the time may not be subject to pay the Tax aforesaid ; one of each of the said lists, shall by the said assessor or assessors, within Ten days after the first day of April, in each year be delivered to the Chairman of the board of Trustees, and the other two to the Collector of said Borough. Sec. 3. And h. tit further ordained by the authority afresuid. That a tax or fine of Fifty Cents be imposed on each free male as described in the second section of this Ordinance, which said tax or fine so imposed, shall be collected by the Collector of said Borough as herein after directed. Sec. 4. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That it shall be the duty of the Collector of the said Borough, for the time betngto receive the respective lists discribed in the second lection of this Ordinance, and at the time of receiving the same shall give Bond ana' securitj to the Trustees of the said Borough in double the amount of ihe Whole I iX I et down in said lists, conditioned for tlit faithful discharge of his dutv in collecting the said Tax, and paying over the same to the Treasurer of the Board at such time and times as he mav be require d by the authority of the same.

Sc further crdaine o the authority af resaid, '1 hat it snail be the dutv of the said collector immediately after giving Bond as aforesaid, to proceed to the collection of the said Taxes, in manner and form as prescribed in and bv the third section of an act oi the Legislature of the Territory of Indiana, entitled, An act to amend the act," entitled, an act to incorporate the Borough of tncennes," Approved December twenty-sixth eighteen hundred Sc fifteen. Sec. 6. A-:d h U further ordained by the aufhority aforesaid That it shall be the dutv of the collector aforesaid to make a Deed to the pure baser of any lot or p It of a Lot sold by him for the tax on the same as is directed, in and by the fourth section of the above recited act .aid the proprietor or proprietors of any Lot, or Lots, or part of Lot or Lots so sold shall bv entitled to the equitable provision in the said last mentioned section contained. Sec. 7. And he it further ordained by the auth rity aforesaid. That it shall be the duty ofth said collector and he is hereby authorized and empowered to collect the Ta? . or fine imposed bv virtue of the authorit) given in the third section of this Ordinani v, in case of a refusal to pay the same, by any person so taxed or fined, by attaching any gOOcta or chattels the property of the delinquent that would be liable to Execution! and the same to sell at public auction to the highest bidder at the Court House door in the said Borough, giving at leat ten days notice of the sale thereof, by advertising the saiM in one of the Newspapers printed in t Mi said Borough, an 1 the ballancc of the mom so raised by the sale of such u;oods or chattels, if any should be alter satisfying the said tax, or tine

and the cost, shail be returned by the collector to the said delinquent. Sec. 8. Aud be it further ordained by the authority a fori said. That any proprietor or proprietors of any Lot or Lots or a part of a Lot or parts of Lots that may be taxed as aforesaid, or any person on whom a tax or fine may be imposed by virtue of the third section of this Of dinance, shall in either case if he or they think themselves agrieved have the right to be heard before and be redressed by the Board of Trustees, at their next meeting after the assessment taxation or fine. Sec. 9. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the assessor or assessors, and the collector to be appointed by the Trustees for the purposes aforesaid, shall be allowed for their services Seven per cent on the sum collected to be a full compensation for assessing and collecting and to be paid by the Treasurer of the Borough as he may be directed by a bye law of the said Trustees. Sec. 10. .hut he ft fa rther o rda ined by the authority aforesaid That no collector shall either directly or indirectly purchase any Lot or part of a Lot by him sold for the Taxes due thereon under the penalty of one hundred dollars. Sec. 1 1. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid That this Ordinance shail take effect and be in full force from and after the legal promulgation thereof and that an ordinance heretofore passed, entitled " an ordinance for laying and collecting taxes and for other purposes" be and the same is hereby declared to be n pealed and of none effect. R. BUNTIN, Chairman. passeo March 24, 1817. C. H. Tilling u AST, Clk. For the Western Sun. JUSTICE k TRUTH. Xo. IV Mr. Stout, IF messrs. Hendricks & No

ble had correctly conceived the subject matter oi exuressed letter if it had been well ssed, and in time to effect any defect in short, if it had been ciaj instead of injurious, they have v shevt n bj giving to it such imme0 biicitv, mat their intention was sirab bene! clear diat to found on its worth, a claim for public favor. We have exposed it in part, to be worthless, and what will become of their claim ? But suppose lor a moment that it had been otherwise, and their sham claim for public favour continued, (as no doubt it will be even as it is) could they merit even in that case, one gracious smile of our fellow citizens for so trivial a matter ? Could it, or would It he taken as poof of their fitness for the stations they now occupy ? No -it is a correct rule in the affairs of life, that when a man be upbraided with benefits received, the obligation is impaired; and if a demand be made for what was conferred as a favour, the obligation is changed into a debt of contract it should then be weighed in the scale of justice. How far any claim can be founded by them on this letter, and how far we have sustained our just complaints against them on account of its glaring improprieties, the preceding remarks have in part demonstrated, and when we finish one number after this, the public shall be left to jude. After the passage noticed in our last the letter proceeds u in order to obtain their pay, that he furnish to the officers or offic er concerned, upon application th.ro' the medium of the mail copies ot muster rolls and subsistance accounts that mav be in his office, also, that he forward forms of the pay rolls that may be necessary It i probable with the Undersigned) that with many of the officers concerned, and the mode of coming at their pay so new to them ; in some instances they have not retained in their hands copies of the muster rolls." We might here appeal to every officer of the Indiana militia and rangers, whither the conduct of maj. Whitlock required such information as the above, to be communicated to the secretary of war I And if it were further necessary to counteract its unfounded but implied censure, we would call upon them to say, if major Whitlock has not always communicated with alacrity and precision, such information as he may have possessed, k such forms as were required i Hut on these points he requires no defence, all who know any thing of the matter know his incessant and laborious attention to the various duties of his office that Hendricks j Noble should have touched UpOf! the subject, and yet be ignorant of

this, is only to themselves digraceful. In the mind of maj. Whitlock, so far as he is himself concerned, such language as they use may justly provoke contemptious meriment, but in our mind, it provokes indignation the credit and the knowledge of the officers of Indiana are deeply concerned let us look into this. It is not, it should not be thot' surprising, if some of our young officers were unable to make out their company accounts and rolls in due form but it is, it must be viewed as surprising, that II. & N. should publish this at Washington to the secretary of war it is the more strange as such information jas obviously unnecessary to attain theiaji)ject they professed to have in view, ami could have no other tendency thalTnr bring into discredit our militia office. Now, we would ask, have v.e not throughout Indiana militia officers better acquainted with their duty as such, and as intelligent on every other matter, as either Hendricks or Noble ? We believe there are many such, and it is in their behalf we have noticed this passage of the injurious letter. Messrs. H. k N. may think there are no militia officers ttieir superiors this vanity and pride when it injures nobody, we might pardon we have often observed how unwillingly conviction is admitted, when vanity or interest opposes it, and we need only remark, if they do think there are none such, it proves a want ot know ledge a want of that best knowledge in the world, self-knowledge. The letter next goes on the undersigned will suggest another difficultythrough necessity some of the militia have sold their claims and transferred their discharges. Capt. Huff has sold his,. claim and since removed the distance of one hundred miles, it is hoped this wifNv;i Drejudice the claims of those unddPhir command or the purchaser." This is the last sentence of the renowned letter, except one which gives the honorable secretary to understand whatosiblu he mav not have known before ! It tells him "that the departments concerned in the adjustment of the claims of the Indiana militia, feel a disposition that they should be promptly paid" a disposition is here acknowledged to exist, just the contrary of whal they em throughout the letter to have been arguing against ! 'tis strange ! "lis passmg strange 1 but from such men, nothing like this acknowledgement, tacked as it is even to such a letter, can be long wondered at. The difficulty they mendon in regard to claims sold and trail -erred, and the hope that capt. Huffs' removal i!l not prejudice the claims of hism.cn, or the purchaser is one We arc informed that messrs. Noble and Hendricks must have felt a particular desire to remove. It hr.s ben suggested, that either as lawyers or purchasers, they feel an interest in se eval claims; but whither it be so or not, or whither their friends did so for them, 'tis all one a certain fact we know a brother of Mr. Noble's (and we have heard he is a partner in trade) held a great many claims. This is enough it may explain w hat otherwise is inexplicable throughout the. whole letter. Self-interest is a busy prompter but when men are placed in public stations of great importance, they should be cautious not to act upon its dictates. Next week we shaH close dur remarks upon the whole matter. SPANISH AFFAIRS. It is now hijjh time to conclude e 1 that the failure of the several attempts our government have made to settle, on a just and solid footing, our relations wit n Spain must be ascribed to a longcontinued del. rmi nation of his caiholic majesty never to satisfy our demands, by peaceable means. It i. on the oth r hand, to the honor, of the American administration that we observe a constant and unremitting desire of having justice administred, without resorting to arms. But great as tlii desire may be. on our part, we confess it has already exhausted the public patience. At this moment, c believe there is scarcely a man throughout the Union, who is not convinced of the unfriendly disposition of the

Spanish government towards the United States. When our claims on Spain? were not so considerable, as they now are, we sent a special mission to that court, in order to brin them to an amicable termination. Everv individual must be wellacquainted with the correspondence that took place between the hon. Mr. Monroe, and Mr. Cevallos, the very man who is now the Minister of Ferdinand VII. Our affairs then could not be placed in better hands nor, we dare to say, could not be abler conducted than during t he stay of Mr. Monroe at Madrid. A minute investigation was there made on all the points of our differences, and the justice of our demands clearly demonstrated. The investigation was carried on in the face, and with the consent of his catholic majesty ; but when we came to the point of getting reparation, though no obstacles arose to prevent satisfae-v

non, tne negoe;ation was Imaiiv frustrated. We only got. at that time, from the king Gf Spain, protestations of friendship and generosity, so common in the mouth of a Spanish minister, but never, or very seldom, accompanied with sincerity. From that time to the present period, a most interesting epoch, has occurred in our intercourse with Spain. We allude to the time when that nation was nobly engaged in giving to the world a brilliant example of a people who although plunged in misery, by the most abominable combination of priestcraft and despotism, yet dared to assert its natural rights, and devote itself entirely to its defence. Such a nation could not be too highlv admired, by the American republic : we were then too generous to resume our demands, in the days of her affliction. We, of course, willingly consented to leave our affairs in a. statu quo, so much more injurious to our national interests in 1808, as it was then probable we should soon be engaged in war with G. Britain ; which was declared in June, 1812 : our politic0 in re gard to Spain remaining unchanged. This moderation went undoubtedly too far, as the Florian wcic, til 1 1 Kit iiiiir, in a staie ot complete revolution, and it being

our in interest not to expose cur southren slates to invasion through the territory of a neighbour incapable of defending its neutrality, it was certainly a fair opportunity to take them under our protection, until a definitive treaty with Spain should have fixed it- permanent po ;sessor. We mention this, because the late conduct of Mr. Cevallod plainly manifests that the Spanish government is not yet actuated by that sense of iu-'i,,: and gratitude which our forbearance entitled us to. We pity, indeed, the puerile diplomatic artifices of hU catholic majesty's government ; we sincerely lament that we have to treat with a bigotted aud uncandid administration, who. boasting too much of justice, liberality and mod ration, cannot comprehend, in their own proceedings, the meaning of these words. -Our government, well know-