Western Sun, Volume 8, Number 34, Vincennes, Knox County, 26 July 1817 — Page 1

THE WESTERN SUN

Vol. 8.

From the Press of ELIHU STOUT, Publisher of the Laws of the United States. V1NCKNNES, (Ind ) SATURDAY, JULY 38 18 1 7.

No. 34.

THE WESTERN SUN, IS printed on every Saturday, at Two Dollars per annum, if paid in advance r Two Dollars and Fifty Cents at the end of the year, for which a note will be required. No subscription can be withdrawn until ail arrearages are paid. Advertisements conspicuously inserted on the usual terms. Advertising customers will note on their advertiseme its the number of times hey wish them inserted ' hose sent, without such directions will be continued until forbid, and must be paid for accordingly.

t mi ir. -: m

from 'lie tndi ma Register, of the 27th May, lsT7. To the m mbert nf tli- late le gislature. As a stranger, passing thro' your country and sincerely anxious for its future prosperity and reputation, couid i t but regret upon a cursorily perusal of the proceedings of your legis.ature, the passage of a law which so strongly strikes at tae very foundation of your future Credit, and my astonishment was stid greater that an individual could be found to whom the destinies of your in feu it state had been committed, so lost to its interests, so regardless of justice and so ignorant of his duty as a Chief magistrate as to give his approbation to it. The laW that I have reference to may be found in the record of your proceedings, for a publication yen hare none, (a postponement of which is one orf wisest of your ac ts, for although if t should not redound to your credit as honest men, it Will show that some one individual among you had a claim to the Character Of a cunning o who could extend his views at any rate as far as a succeeding election) respecting (he claims of such individuals as now bold Warrants irivenbv the territorial govern-

over the glorious birth of your independence, and which have been washed by the tears of the patriots, who achieved it. where the miserable sufferers, that are daily sinking in the grave or wandering in poverty caused by the base injustice of your country, when your legislature in an emightened age could cooiy and deliberately pass a law that may deprive many an honest man of his bread and of the common comforts of dfe rob the very men, who had rocked the cradle of your infancy. Our national government, indeed, set the examme, from its consequences, we 1 ave lioped it never Would have been followed. Day after day, we are called upon to witness some melancholy instance of their iniustice and gratitude. How often do we meet the aged and infirm old soldier, whose looks have been bleached under the helmet, whose staff" is now his all, in the humble voice of a suppliant, extending his feeble arms for charity. Enquire of him, how have you been reduced to this deplorable state, after combating for the liberties of your country and devoting the prime of your life to her service : it is impossible, that in the hour of her prosperity she cou.d have forgotten you. What is the answer you invariably receive : at the commencement of our revolutionary contest, my country was poor ; but I cherished the hope that in happier times she woti.d be grateful I consequently freely offered my services, all I had to bestow in exchange, she crave me her promises, all she had to returned After the storm was oer and ' saw my country placed in the chair of independence and peace in poverty I returned to my family and home. A new set of men arose

to direct t .r destinies oi mv countrv

s oi my count was unknow

mcut1

tt r services

rendered at a time pec

when they wereunable otherwise to discharge the demands open them. Int ic first place your legislature and governor must have known, that such a law was unconstitutional as "no indivi lual stan- shall pass any law Which shall impair the obligation of contracts " Thisis the language of the constitution of your country which upon your admission into (he onion, you became bound to obey and observe and that same law remember, ha, been recognised by the constitution of yOui own state, fart. i. s c. iii Now I ask, could there be a more gross violation of that same p inciple than the One committed by jroui honorabl Body riming the last session. Hy the strongest ties of justice bv every principle of i umanity, you are bound for the payment of those warrants issued previous to your admission into the anion ; t te consideration for which thev were given, you acknowledge to be good- the persons hy whom they were granted, you confess were duly authorised -and the persona who now hold them, justlv entitled to the same. Then, upon wh it principle of law and equity, I would beg to know, has the legislature of this state aright to pass a law to impair the obligation existing between the people of Indiana and individuals, res pecting their payment, if the warrants were given payable with interest, Chat interest may at all times be recovered, an i as to the principal, the 51 ite is firmly bound for tt, any law which thev may make to the contrary, notwithstanding Do you wish, like the trifling stripling, who feels himself no longer bound after t" c age of twenty -one, for ni just debts, contracted previously, to plead minority to acknowledge you were mere in f it i r t c time the debts were contract c 01 t tone obligations incurred, and inc piblc of managing your concerns. If t :isis the case enroll it incanitals upon ton reco ds fr the Srlmiration of poste : , that thev mai lulv appreciate the 7 ' ifiirit of their fathers I ive them a-' pxamole of vour penerous, iust and

nest conduct one i tdeed nt rhu f ft i mixtion, vou m then have a i i upon their gratiui le, if ou have f ited that of the lh ii ig. But where could have been those

k pasres in the histoi o4"t ie Ame

them, the sol lie

them, his services were forgotten and his wounds only served as a passport to obscurity. Our claims, which we held as a pledge for their faith, were res

tful ly presented and our services resented in language which we fondly

ated would, at least awaken their ide." What was the answer ? have now an organized govern

prese antici grat it " We ment.

which will p sterity, freemen, the nat'nn feel for y sufferings one dollar

r t 1

vou if not, vou must return to your fields and once more gain your bread by the sweat of your brow." This is the language addressed to men, who gained the independence of the country by their blood. Where is the man, not dead to feeling, who looks back upon that picture of human depravity, but what blushes for their conduct where the patriot, who weeps not over that foul stain upon the honor of his country ? This is, nevertheless, the course you have pursued, indeed you have' not been so generous as to give one dollar in the hundred, for your law says if any person shall neglect or refuse to present their Warrants for payment on or before the first day of May next, he shall not at any time afterwards" have any right so to do, and the state shaft he under no okfi gat ions after the period last mentioned fir the ftUyment of any of the said war rants, and your thirl magistrate, who ought to be the guardian of the people's rights, has approved of that law. Provi led that law is followed, depend upon it, the reputation of your state is gone its credit is lot. 1 J the passage oft is very law, vour legislature has shown. What confidence may hereafter he reposed in you. i ut even if it had appeared to vo ir honorable body, expedient to lay asi le the common rides of honor, you should, at least have consulted those of prudence to have cloaked your conduct With some semblance of justice to have deceived, rather than to have opctly insulted your constituents, you should never have violated vour own constitution or attempt to execute a law, which l as no existence Your own constitution says u no law shall be in fbrCe until published." W hen was the law in question, Which was t take effect on the 3 1 of

tice have the people had of the passage .jf that law I The omy place w here it s to be found, is on the records oi your proceedings. Your honorable body could not have expected that the peopie of Indiana were to convene at Corydon to ascertain what their legislators had clone five months have now eiapsed since the close of the late session and the peop.e are stiii left in ignorance and will probably remain in this st ite until some succ ef ing legislature wili condescend to infi rm them. The execution of this law is perhaps considered "a case of emergency" as you term it. Y ur treasury must either be Oveflowing, to urge the government of Indiana, to so precipitate a sett lement of their accounts, or your hon. body must have supposed, if it is not done previous to the session of a succeeding legislature, you will forever, or most of you, lose the opportunity of again exercising your judgement upon the subject. Upon the latter ground, we entertain some pity for you are willing even to pardon vou to forget the injuries we have already suffered, upon the consideration that you will hereafter be incapable of doing more. Goto your farms until the people can find some other employment for you no doubt they are willing to forget you. I conclude these remarks, by observing, that although they are general, and mav be taken as indiscriminately apply

ing to the members of vour legislature,

I feel a nnde

i tut ion lias been formed.

secure to vou and to vour ; liberty and your rights as j t was from di.e necessity ecame indebted to you. We mr situation and pity vour ; provided vou will be satisfied, ! in a hundred, will be eiven

cui repubiicj that cs; io deep a shade ' January, lciir, published What nu-

m exonoratmg many

lncli-

1 HVI M I with the

die thev

viduals of vour honorable body, whose

conduct as gentlemen w hose talents and inform lion as le v i hators, Will effectually screen them from that censure that others, to who.n thev aoolv. have bv

- , tI j .

then behavior so justly n

former have been mtn

confidence of the people and wl

pursue the same course of conduct, depend upon it, it will not be withdrawn T' e people have shown h eir judgment in selecting you and a future election will cenvince you of their approbation. As to those who have forfeited that confidence and inflicted an indelible stigma upon the reputation of your state, let the

indignant voice oi t them from the eour and consign them to rite for which natur

nt-

It has been stated

o'ple summon your country ale of obscUided them, ct that a Copy

of the laws w is not d livered to the printer for publication until after the adjournment of the legislature consequently the gentlemen appointed to publish them are entirely exonerated from censure Tor fear of exhausting the patience of the public, the further consid

eration of this subject shall be postpon-

cd for some future number.

state of India

That

pub ic accounts be authorised to li uidate or settle any such ciahas after tiit time. - cc. 4 The said auditor shall give notice to the public on or beforn the first dav of February next of the passage f this law, and that the funds have been deposited in the treasury foi the payment of the sai ' territorial warrants, which notice shall be published in every news-paper of this state, ai d in one news paper published at Louisville, Kentucky, and at Cincinnati, Ohio, for three w eeks successively. This act to take effect from and after its passage. ISAAC BLA KFORD, Speaker of the house of representative CliR.STOP ER HARR SON, Pi esident of the senateJan. 3, 1817, Approved, JO A. ENNINGS:

An Act providing for the payment of certain claims. Sec. 1. BE it enacted hv the general

whenever, within the period hereinafter mentioned, any person or persons shall present at the auditors office for payment, any warrant or warrants issued by the authority of the late territorial government of Indiana, in favour of any person or persons aticl w hich remain unpaid ; it shall be the duty of the said auditor of public accounts to calculate the interest clue thereon, and endorse the same on such warrant, and enter the amount of principal and interest of every such warrant the time when it was issued and the name of the person in w iose favor drawn, in a book to be kept for that purpose, and after having filed such warrant, t draw on the treasurer of the state for the i mount of the principal and interests in favor of the party entitled to the same, and t lie said treasurer shall pay the s me out of any monies in the treasury not otherwise appropri ;ted Sec 2. Ml such tenito ial warrants as aforesaid s) all be presented for payment as aforesaid on or before the first day of March next or no interest shall be paid thereon after that period. Sec, 3. I a .v person sHa 1 -iee;Iect or refuse to present for p ipment as aforesahl any such territorial warrant on or before the first day of May next he sha'l not at any time afterwards have any l ight so to do, and the state shall be under no Obligations after the period last mentioned for the payment of anv of the said warrant noi shall t..e auditor of

Much dissatisfaction having existed and been pointedly expressed by many of the citizens of tnis state, in consequence of an apparent neglect of duty in ?lr Whitiock, district paymaster we insert, in this day's paper, a correspondence between Mr. 1 Jennings then delegate to congress from tins territory and the secretary of war, together with communications from the paymaster geneta! to Mr. Whitiock. When it is understood that the directions from the pay department to Mr. Whitiock, for the payment of the Rangers were retained by r. Hendricks, by whom they were forwarded, from the 28th of ebruary till the 17th of June; notwithstanding Mr; Whitiock w as twice thro the state during that time attending to the duties of his office, we have certainly just ground to belies e that the people Will know where to attach the blame. Ed Sm. House nf Representatives, Wth of OCTOBER, 18 14. SIR, Under the provisions of an act of congress, entitled, -4 An act authorising the president of the TJ. States to raise certain companies of rangers for the protection of the frontiers of the U. States' approved the 2d of January 1812 and Other acts of a similar character ; four of those companies of rangers were raised in the Territory of Indiana. During the spring of 1813 they were brought into public service as mounted men, and as such continued therein until last winter, w hen they were ordered fo be dismounted and serve on foot, : the effects of this order on these men were peculi irly hard, many had purchased horses upon tl e faith of receiving pay as mounted men, to enable them Ofi enter into the ranging service, but on being dismounted, their wages were curtailed their horses became items of expence without the possibility of disposing of thein, but wi:h a loss equai or nearlj so, to the expenses incurred in their sustenance. I he act above recited, provides for their serving cither as mounted men or infantry, but to me it appears, that as they w ere raised as mounted men ic v as not intended by the act of cmgrca5 alluded to, or by the executive government after having made its se.tc ion 'hat they should be raised a- mounted men, that they should he harrassed with orders sd injurious to them, as were those wT.icli dismounted them To another circumstance conr.e ei with this subject I beg leave to call vour early attention. C oi. Riissel ol th 7th Regt. in February or arch ast by order of geid. . an ise: , suspended several of those companies of rangers from service. Shortly af er this order wa rar-'

ried into effect u fbrrnatk n was that the lm ims : ad atta ked t tie is for the protection of whn rangers Were more particulai 1) The ordc therefore wis manded, and the com paries we brought into the actual strvh c

States ; If those men had been actual y discharged, they could not again j ve been ca ed into set i w it' out 1 1 ' it enewed consent or n inl t ment ; indeed not a solitary man of them, re i- id m y written evidence of their discharge fem the public survive. Under the eirconssfsnrtw, fhe district pay master, I as not felt hinw If entirely si liberty to pay tLve wu, fqtrtfct

i ived e fioni tl osc g n fth II