would earnestly beg of thofe who have power to reconfider the matter, and make fuch alteration as their judgment and experience may point out. A CITIZEN.

Perilous Gout.-A gentleman in the fouth part of the city, who was taken ill a few days fince, had his cafe pronounced the yellow fever.-It turns out to be the GOUT, and nothing elfe *.

Humility of Spain.-In the different prefidencies of Africa there are French prifoners, who were fent thither on account of a pretended revolt excited at Barcelona during the war. Citizen Perignon having collected the facts, and being affured that the revolt at Barcelona was merely a falfehood, circulated by the emigrants as an excufe for their having matfacred 125 difarmed Frenchmen, has circulated a general note, demanding the releafe of all the French confined in the prefidencies, and the difcharge of thofe who have been forced to enter into the service of Spain †.

SATURDAY,

* Now if this gentleman had been seized, according to the arbitrary proclamation, and hoifted off to a place where, if the fever be contagious at all, he must have caught it, who would have been anfwerable for his death?-At the prefent moment, “pronouncing" fentence of yellow fever on a man, is nearly as bad as pronouncing him guilty of murder.

The fear of this fentence, and its confequent tranfportation to the Wigwam, are driving poor women and children,” labourers and journeymen, out of the city in fcores. A poor fellow went off to the distance of twelve miles yefterday, with his family at his heels, driving his chattels upon a wheelbarrow; and this for fear, not of the yellow fever, but of being accufed of it. If the object was to thin the city, the wife Governor's proclamation was exceedingly well contrived.

†These are so many examples to Americans. If the French impose their terms on us, can it be hoped that they will not "de"mand the release" of all their friends who may be in jail here? No: but they will not ftop at that. They will "demand" the pu

VOL. VII.

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SATURDAY, 26th AUGUST.

Remarks on Mifflin's Proclamation.-YELLOW FEVER. We have not been able to learn that a fingle death from this diforder has taken place fince yefterday. The number of deaths in the city for the last fortnight, have been much fewer than thofe during the fame feafon for feveral years paft.-Where, then, fhall we look for the caufe of fuch an alarm as has prevailed for fome days past ?

The Governor's proclamation will cut a confiderable figure in the records of liberty and equality. Matched I am certain it cannot be by the decrees or edicts of any defpots on earth, excepting only thofe of republican France. Were a member of the British Parliament to propofe any thing refembling it, his brains would be knocked out before he got a hundred yards from the House-What! forcibly enter my house, and drag from thence my wife or my child, for no other offence than that of being fick! and if I dare to defend my "caftle," or insist upon protecting those who are all that is dear to me, to fine me and tranfport me to State Island! O ye gods of republicanifm, we beseech you to fhelter us!Pray, good Mr. Thomas Mifflin, do tell us what tyranny is, if you pleafe; for very many of us really begin to fear that it is faft growing upon us. You may probably mufter up force enough to drive me

nishment of their enemies, and the difgrace of all who have, though but paffively, been a bar to the operation of their deteftable plans. Should they obtain the hold they are reaching after, let the minifters of the gofpel, let the federal government, let every honest man tremble. Let not those who have "done nothing," imagine that that filly plea will protect their property and their lives. When the blood-hounds of Carriere were dragging an old man to the guillotine of Nantz: "What am I to be punished for?" said he ; “ I "have done nothing."-" That's the very thing," said they, "that you are to be shaved for."

out

out into the fields, or trundle me along against my will to a ftinking and infected hofpital; but you fhall never make me fay that this is liberty. You may toast and boafi about your republican liberty as long as you pleafe; but fuffer me to tell you, that the bubble will very foon burfi.-The candle is now lighted, and, if it pleafe the Almighty to preferve me from the clutches of the heroes of the yellow flag, it fhall not be kept under a bufhel.

Republican Malignity." Three ships of Lord "Bridport's fleet had returned to Spithead about "five days fubfequent to the EXECUTION of PAR"KER, the delegate, in a fiate of mutiny, one of "which was the Marlborough, of 74 guns, Cap"tain Eafton; the remainder of the fleet was in fight, and expected all in, in the fame state.”

We are

When our readers pronounce "expected all in, in "the fame ftate," they will recollect that the above extracts are from a New-York paper, and will make confiderable allowance for the impartiality of the channel through which the news comes. fo apt to expect what we wish, that our expectations are feldom well founded. There is every reafon to hope, that the univerfal indignation expreffed by the country at the difgraceful conduct of the mutineers, and particularly the example that has been made of the infamous ringleaders, will have a good effect on the fleet in general. Should it not, there is no way left but to coax them under the batteries, and blow them up.

An expreffion, or a fingle word, will fometimes furnish a criterion of the credit to be given to a paper. That paper, from which the above news is taken, fays, that Parker, the mutinous fcoundrel (I beg pardon, perhaps I may be profecuted by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania for libelling the memory of this great man): the paper fays, that this infamous

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chief of the "floating commonwealth" behaved at his execution with manly fortitule." This was a way of praising the villain as far as the public would bear to hear him praised; and from this circumftance we may judge of the reft of the intelligence contained in the fame paper.

Private letters from Hull fpeak of " the fituation of affairs in Great Britain, as having changed much for the better;" which they moft certainly would not have done, if Lord Bridport's fleet had been thought to be in a state of mutiny.

MONDAY, 28th AUGUST.

Jefferfon's Letter to his British Creditor.-The following curious piece was, it feems, read in evidence at the last federal court at Richmond. It is by me taken from the South Carolina Gazette, where it was inserted with the profeffed intention (whether ironical or not I do not pretend to fay) of clearing Mr. JEFFERSON of the charge of having oppofed the British treaty, because it obliged him to pay his just debts.

Extract of a Letter, dated Paris, January 5, 1787, written by Thomas Jefferfon, to a British Creditor of Mr. Wayles, whofe Daughter Mr. Jefferson married.

After expreffing his anxiety to begin the payment of the debt on the part of Mr. Wayles, he proceeds:

"I am defirous of arranging with you fuch juft and practicable conditions as will afcertain to you the terms at which you will receive my part of your debt, and give me the fatisfaction of knowing that What the laws of Virginia are, you are contented. or may be, will in no wife influence my conduct. Subftantial justice is my object, as decided by reafon, and not by authority or compulfion.

"The first question which arifes, is as to the article of intereft. For all the time preceding the war, and all fubfequent to it, I think it reasonable that intereft should be paid; but equally unreasonable during the war. Intereft is a compenfation for the use of money. Your money in my hands is in the form of lands and negroes. From thefe, during the war, no use in profits could be derived. Tobacco is the article they produce; that can only be turned into money at a foreign market.

"But the moment it went out of our ports for that purpose, it was captured either by the King's fhips, or those of individuals. The confequence was, that tobacco worth from twenty to thirty fhillings the hundred, fold generally in Virginia, during the war, for five fhillings. This price, it is known, will not maintain the labourer, and pay his taxes. There was no furplus of profit then to pay an intereft; in the mean while we ftood enfurers of the lives of the labourers, and of the ultimate iffue of the war.

"He who attempted during the war to remit either his principal or intereft, must have expected to remit three times to make one payment; because it is fuppofed that two out of three parts of the shipments were taken. It was not poffible then for the debtor to derive any profit from the money which might enable him to pay an intereft, nor yet to get rid of the principal by remitting it to his creditor. With respect to the creditors in Great Britain, they moftly turned their attention to privateering, and, arming the veffels they had before employed in trading with us, they captured on the feas, not only the produce of the farms of debtors, but of thofe of the whole ftate-they thus paid themfelves by capture more thau the annual intereft, and we loft more. Some merchants indeed did not engage in privateering; these loft their interest, but we did not gain it :