Centinel 23

I have promised a number on the subject of the enormous sums of public moneys unaccounted for by individuals, now ascertained by a late investigation of Congress, but find so extensive a field opened, as to require many numbers to treat of the several parts in a proper manner; I shall, therefore, confine my remarks at present to one paragraph of it. This investigation, after being long suppressed, has at length reached the public eye, and is of such magnitude and exhibits such immense peculations on the public treasure by men who now assume the lead in this and some other of the state governments, and are among the most distinguished patrons of the new constitution, as to demand the serious attention of the citizens of the United States at this peculiar crisis of public affairs.

Unawed by that power and influence, that false glare of reputation and by that clamor and partiality of party spirit, which for many years had rendered the characters of the great public defaulters sacred and impervious to public scrutiny, the Centinel., regardless of consequences in such a cause, impeached them at the bar of the public; he charged them with the receipt of millions of public money, for which they had not accounted ; and notwithstanding he produced sufficient documents to substantiate the charge — such was the shameless effrontery of these men and their minions on the one hand, and the confirmed prejudice and partiality of the public on the other hand, that the Centinel was deemed a libeller., a calumniator of some of the best and most illustrious characters in the United States. So immaculate was the Cofferer considered, that the epithets of rascal, villian etc., were lavished upon every person who dared to assert anything to his prejudice, and the cry of a cruel persecution was raised against the Centinel and others for endeavoring to compel him to disgorge the public treasure.

Congress have now confirmed the charges adduced by the Centinel against Mr. Robert Morris and the other great public defaulters, so that if any person hereafter advocates the principles and measures of these men, he will thereby acknowledge congenial sentiments and proclaim his own character— the public will be equally aware of the one as of the other.

In my seventeenth number, there is the following paragraph: "When we consider the immense sums of public money taken up by Mr. Morris, as commercial agent, to import military supplies, and even to trade in behalf of the United States, at a time when the risk was so great that individuals would not venture their property; that all these transactions were conducted under the private firm of Willing and Morris^ which afforded unrestrained scope to peculation and embezzlement of the public property, by enabling Mr. Morris to throw the loss of all captures by the enemy at that hazardous period on the public, and converting most of the safe arrivals (which were consequently very valuable) into his private property; and when we add to these considerations, the principles of the man^ his bankrupt situation at the commencement or the war, and the immense wealth he has dazzled the world with since, can it be thought unreasonable to conclude that the principal source of his wealth was the commercial agency of the United States during the war? — not that I would derogate from his successful ingenuity in his numerous speculations in the paper moneys, Havannah monopoly and job, or in the sphere of financiering."

And in a piece which I wrote under the signature of "0«^ of the People^'''' published in the Independent Gazetteer of April 17th last, I referred to a report of a committee of Congress of the nth of February, 1779, to prove that Mr. Morris was a member of the secret or commercial committee, and that this committee had authorized and entrusted him solely with the purchasing of produce in the different states, and exporting the same on the public account, and that all such contracts were made by him under the private firm of Willing and Morris.

Mr. Morris, being absent in Virginia when the Centinel made the foregoing charge against him, his friends and minions undertook the vindication of his character; they asserted that he had rendered his accounts as commercial agent, and that they were settled; but Mr. Morris, sensible that the ground which his advocates had taken for his justification was not tenable, and that their officious zeal had led them to make assertions that could easily be disproved, was obliged to confess that he had not settled, nor even rendered his accounts as commercial agent, at the distant period of ten years after his transactions in that capacity; but with his usual ingenuity endeavored to apologize for not doing it, as will appear by a recurrence to his address to the public, dated Richmond, March 21st, and published in the Independent Gazetteer of April 8th last.

I will make an extract of this address containing Mr. Morris's acknowledgment of receiving the public money and his not settling his accounts. It is as follows, viz. : " At an early period of the revolution, I contracted with the committees to import arms, ammunition and clothing, and was employed to export American produce, and make remittances on account of the United States, for the purpose of lodging funds in Europe. To effect these objects, I received considerable sums of money. The business has been performed, but the accounts are not yet settled."

Having stated the charge formerly made against Mr. Morris and the evidence that was then in my power to establish it, I will now add a quotation from the late investigation made by Congress, extracted from their journals of the 30th September last, viz. : ' ' Your committee turning their attention to an act of Congress on the 2 2d of May last, directing the board of treasury to call upon all such persons as had been entrusted with public money, and had neglected to account for the same, and such other persons as had made partial or vague settlements, without producing proper vouchers, were desirous to obtain a particular statement of the accounts which are in the above predicament; but they are sorry to find that such a detail is too lengthy to be here inserted. Some of those accounts are stated in the file of papers marked papers respecting unsettled accounts^ which is herewith submitted. From the general aspect of those accounts, your committee are constrained to observe, that there are many strong marks of the want of responsibility or attention in the former trasactions respecting the public treasures. No less a sum than 2,122,600 dollars has been advanced to the secret committee of Congress, before August 2d, 1777, and a considerable part of this money remains to be accounted for otherwise than by contracts made with individuals of their own body, while those individuals neglect to account."

Thus it appears that a considerable part of the enormous sum of two millions, one hundred twenty-two thousand and six hundred dollars, nearly equal to specie, which was advanced to the secret committee of Congress, remains unaccounted for, otherwise than by contracts made with individuals of their own body, while those individuals neglected to account. And who those individuals are is evident from the report of the committee of Congress on the nth of February, 1779, before quoted, 'and from other records of Congress. By them it appears, that after the death of Mr. Ward, who was the first chairman and agent of the secret committee, which happened very early, before this committee had transacted much business, that Mr. Robert Morris was solely entrusted by the secret committee with the disposition of the public money advanced to them, and that all his transactions as commercial agent, were conducted by him under the private firm of Willing and Morris.

Eleven years have now elapsed since Mr. Morris was entrusted with the disposition of near two millions of specie dollars, and no account of this immense sum has yet been rendered by him. What conclusion must every dispassionate person make of this delinquency ? Is it not more than probable that he has converted the public money to his own property, and that, fearful of detection, and reluctant to refund, he has, and will, as long as he is able, avoid an investigation and settlement of these long standing accounts?

I will ask, did the majority of the late assembly evince either wisdom or virtue, when they appointed this man to a seat in the/ederal senate, or will the people evidence any regard to their own interests if they give their suffrages to his creatures, who are now proposed as federal representatives? Under the administration of such men, is it rational to expect that public defaulters will be called to account, or that future peculation and pocketing of the public money will be discouraged or detected?

I intend in future numbers to notice the other numerous instances of public defaulters, and to show that if it had not been for the immense peculations and pocketing of the public moneys by individuals, and those among our most distinguished Federalists, that the people would not have been burdened with above one-third of the present national debt and consequent taxes.

The following article of the last report of the committee of congress on the finances, will be the subject of my next number, viz. : ' ' Your committee were desirous to discover in what manner the large sums of money received in France have been accounted for, but the subject of this inquiry seems to be involved in darkness.

Livres s. d. The amount of the several receipts is 47,111,859 12 8 Of this sum there has been sent over or drawn for and expended in America 26,246,727 5 5

Salaries of foreign ministers 1,160,183

27,406.910 5 5 There remains 19,704,949 7 3

"The documents for the expenditures of this balance have never been produced at the treasury. They must be in France if there are any such papers. A full inquiry into the premises now claims the attention of the board of treasury. Some time must be expended in making the necessary investigation, but the result may be of important service to the United States."

In the investigation of this article, which informs us of a deficiency of upwards of nineteen millions of livres specie, however it may offend, I must expose the names of the men who have received this money.