tions of submission on the part of the mutineers. That they had hitherto given no satisfactory evidence of this disposition, having lately presented the officers they had chosen to represent their grievances, with a formal commission in writing, enjoining them if necessary, to use compulsory means for redress, and menacing them with death, in case of their failing to execute their views. Under this state of things the committee could not forbear suggesting to the council, that it would be expedient for them so to qualify the reception which they should think proper to give to any propositions made by the mutineers, as not to create embarrassments, should Congress continue to act on the principle of co ercion. The committee finding that there was no satisfactory ground to expect prompt and adequate exertions on the part of the executive of this state, for supporting the public authority, were bound by the resolution under which they acted, to advise the president to summon Congress to assemble at Princeton or Trenton on Thursday the 26th instant. Willing however to protract the departure of Congress as long as they could be justified in doing it, still hoping that further information would produce more decisive measures on the part of the council, and desirous of seeing what complexion the intimated submissions would assume, they ventured to defer advising the removal till the afternoon of the day following, that on which the answer of council was given. But having then received no further communication from the council, and having learnt from General St. Clair, that the submissions proposed to be offered by the mutineers, through the officers they had chosen to represent them, were not of a nature sufficiently explicit to be accepted or relied on-That they would be accompanied by new demands, to which it would be improper to listen; that the officers themselves composing the committee had shown a mysterious reluctance to inform General St. Clair of their proceedings; had refused, in the first instance, to do it, and had afterwards only yielded to a peremptory demand on his part--The committee could no longer think themselves at liberty to delay their advice for an adjournment, which they this day accordingly gave; persuaded, at the same time, that it was necessary to impress the mutineers with a conviction, that extremities would be used against them before they would be induced to resolve on a final and unreserved submission. mittee had the most distant intention to insinuate that the executive council had any share in promoting the insult which was offered to Congress by the mutinous troops, but that the executive council had shared with Congress in receiving the insult. [Journals of Congress. BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR Of DR. JOHN DAVIS, late of Chester county, Pennsylvania. Br M. MORGAN, M. D. Surgeon in the U. States' Navy. DR. JOHN DAVIS was born in Tredyffrin township, Chester county, on the 13th of December, 1745. His ancestors came from Wales, towards the latter part of the 17th century, and were among the first settlers of the Great Valley, where they purchased a considerable tract of land. His parents were much respected and beloved by their neighbours, being alike distinguished for industry, temperance, and benevolence, and thei sincere piety. They lived to an advanced age, and are still recollected with veneration by many of the older inhabitants. His father, having a large family, and the want of physicians being very much felt in the neighbourhood at that early day, encouraged the predilection of his son for the profession of medicine. There was no school convenient to his residence, where the Latin and Greek languages were taught, and he obtained his preparatory education from Dr. William Currie, a highly respectable Episcopalian clergyman, who was then pastor of the churches of the Great Valley, Radnor and Perkioming. Dr. Currie did not teach a regular school, but employed his leisure in instructing his own children, and admitted the son of his friend to his paternal care. While with Dr. Currie, his application to his studies was as assiduous as could be permitted by his other avocations. He had to assist his brothers in the cultivation of the farm, a healthful exercise, which fortified both his body and mind, and prepared him for the life of labour and usefulness which he afterwards pursued. Not having as much time for study as he wished, he learned early to appreciate its value, and wasted none in idleness and dissipation. From the exhausting fatigues of the field, be returned, in the evening, with avidity to his books, and was seldom allured by his companions to pleasure or amusements; for his character in youth and manhood was firm and inflexible. Having acquired a good English education, and a competent knowledge of Latin and Greek, he commenced the study of medicine at eighteen years of age, with Dr. Cadwallader Evans, of Philadelphia. He remained three years with Dr. Evans, who was well qualified to give him a liberal course of instruction, having finished his education in London, and carefully taken notes of the lectures of Dr. William Hunter, and other celebrated professors, who Philadelphia, June 24, 1783. The Letter to His Excellency the President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. Sir-We have the honour to enclose for your excellency and the council, a copy of the resolutions communicated in our conferences yesterday. Having then fully entered into all the explanations which were necessary on the subject, we shall not trouble your excel-attended to the hospitals of that metropolis. Dr. Evans lency with a recapitulation; but as the object is of a delicate and important nature, we think it our duty to request the determination of the council in writing. We have the honour to be, with perfect respect, your excellency's most obedient servants. Philadelphia, June 23, 1783. was one of the physicians to the Pennsylvania hospital, then an infant institution, and his pupils attended to this as well as to his extensive private practice. Lectures were delivered at this period by Doctors Shippen and Bond, and soon after the college was or ganized, in which the first course of lectures was given in 1765. He attended to this course, as well as the pri vate lectures which had been previously read in the On motion of Mr. Williamson, seconded by Mr. Ells-hospital, and was a favourite pupil. He cherished thro worth, Congress, came to the following resolution. Friday, July 11, 1783. One of the delegates from Pennsylvania having read in his place, a letter from the supreme executive council of that state, complaining of an ambiguity in part of the report of a committee which was entered on the journal of the 1st instant, in the following words: That they (the executive council) regretted the insult which had happened, with this additional motive of sensibility, that they had themselves had a principal share in it." Resolved, That Congress do not conceive the com life an affectionate regard for the abilities and virtues of these excellent men, and a lively recollection of the great benefits he had received from their attentions. He finished his studies under Dr. Evans, and soon after settled himself in Vincent township, Chester county, where he almost immediately obtained a large circle of practice; but not being satisfied with his knowledge of anatomy and surgery, he resolved to return to Philadel phia, and spend a year in the Pennsylvania hospital.Being recommended by his former exemplary conduet, he found no difficulty in obtaining the appointment he solicited; and having spent one year there, as house sur geon, he, at the expiration of this time, established himself at his native place in 1768. He was now conscious of having availed himself of every opportunity which his country at that time afforded, of obtaining a sound knowledge of his profession, and was well prepared for commencing the practice. Possessed of warm affections, a cheerful temper, and polished manners, in a short time he gained general confidence and extensive patronage: but what contributed most to his advancement was his skill in surgery, to which he had carefully applied himself. Soon afterwards he formed a happy matrimonial connexion, and the commencement of the revolution for independence found him with a rising family and a well earned reputation. In the part of the county in which he resided there were few who were loyal to the cause of the mother country, and scarcely any who were lukewarm and indifferent.Most of them, on the contrary, put every thing cheerfully at hazard to oppose British misrule and violence. Among the most enthusiastic were Gen. Wayne and Dr. Davis, who lived neighbours to each other, were nearly the same age, having been born the same year,) and between whom there had long existed a community of feeling and congeniality of principles. They acted in concert in preparing the public mind and arranging the little military resources of the surrounding country for the approaching conflict, and when a determined spirit of resistance was excited, they were among the first to give up the comforts of home, and trust every thing to the issue of the momentous struggle. Gen. Wayne immediately received a commission as colonel of the 4th battalion of infantry raised by congress for the defence of the colonies; and on the 5th of March, 1776, the general assembly of Pennsylvania voted fifteen hundred men, (officers included,) to be taken into pay for the immediate defence of the province, and to serve until the 1st of January, 1778. Of these troops, two battalions, of five hundred men each, were riflemen, and placed under the command of colonel Samuel Miles.The other battalion was infantry, and the command given to colonel Atlee. Dr. Davis received the appointment of senior surgeon of the staff, and they were soon in readiness to co-operate with Washington's army. Among the other officers of this afterwards gallant and distinguished corps, we find the names of the forefathers of a number of the respectable families in the counties adjacent to Philadelphia; but most of the veterans themselves have long since slept in the bosom of the land which they loved so much, and which they spent the best part of their lives in defending. When Washington resolved on the perilous attempt of meeting the British forces on Long Island, in order to prevent them from obtaining possession of New York, these battalions were in the hottest part of the action, and suffered severely. Colonel Miles, Dr. Davis, and one of his brothers, were among the prisoners, but were so fortunate as to be exchanged soon afterwards, and escaped the hard fate of many of their companions, who were sent to the prisonships at the Wallabout, the melancholy history of which is but too well recollected. He continued with the army, where his services were highly appreciated, where he had a great deal of experience in surgery as well as the diseases incident to military life, until nearly the close of the revolution: when the fatigues of duty, and the mental anxiety and suffering, brought on by the destitute condition of the hospital department, occasioned a dangerous fever, which compelled him for awhile to absent himself from his regiment, and which he with great difficulty survived. At the termination of the war, he returned to his agricultural labours and professional pursuits on his farm, in the Great Valley, where he spent the remainder of his life. With what zeal and ability that life was devoted to the discharge of all his duties, social and professional, can be well attested by the inhabitants of a large extent of country, many of whom are still living, who were raised from the bed of sickness by his hand. His abilities in his profession were of a high order, the fruits of intense labour, and a steady, exalted tone of moral feeling. He had great judgment and sagacity in all the practical branches of the healing art. The true theories in physic had of course received a proper share of his attention. But he was precise in his reasonings and deductions, and though naturally quick and imaginative, he kept this faculty under just subordination to a discreet and chastened judgment. Having witnessed in early life the evils derived to medicine from too strong an attachment to authorities loosely hypothetical, and having seen the subversion of a succession of visionary doctrines, from the reign of Boerhaave to nearly the present times, he knew well the true fountain of human knowledge, and always discountenanced a dogmatical adherence to speculative reveries, which he regarded as seducing the mind from the proper objects of its puruit, and as tending to impede the progress of the science. The improvements in medicine and surgery were not neglected by him, as is too commonly the case with country practitioners; he read the best periodical works, and purchased good books. The most common operations in surgery he frequently performed with success, and never attempted such as were improper or of very doubtful efficacy. No state of the weather, or condition of his domestic affairs, interfered with his attention to his patients, and in his intercourse with the sick he was kind and affectionate. Perhaps no man was ever more free from the pedantry of the profession. He was ready to consult, on all proper occasions, with the neighbouring physicians, and not one ever accused him of want of candour, or any thing that could be construed into duplicity. He was not overbearing to the youthful, and never disparaged the judgment of the absent. In speaking of others, he seemed to consider them as present. Sincere and modest in his deportment, he was exempt from an ostentatious display of learning, always indicative of a weak mind, and little knowledge of the world, and he detested every species of trick, hypocrisy, and charlatanry, which would degrade the character of the faculty, in the eyes of the judicious.Conversation on medical topics was never obtruded by him on people unacquainted with them, but he answered all questions with courtesy and brevity. His conduct was marked by great good sense, in which he was excelled by few, and by unaffected dignified behaviour; nor is it now recollected that he was at enmity with any well educated and honourable physician. His charges were moderate, his farm afforded him more than a support for his family, and his bills were not rendered till called for. It is the fate of physicians every where, to make greater sacrifices to the unfortunate and destitute classes of their species than any other set of men. This is peculiarly the case in a country practice, where the population is much scattered. Every log hut in the woods, and every cottage, however remote, must receive the punctual calls of the physician, without any prospect of pecuniary reward. To those who were unacquainted with Dr. Davis, it would appear like exaggeration truly to declare, how this part of his duty was performed. Of the measure of his charity, therefore, the writer will say nothing, but the manner in which his favours were dispensed, left no load on the poor man's heart, and he was always glad to meet his smiling benefactor. He practised medicine for nearly half a century, and never refused a call, except from indisposition. This rarely happened, for his own health was seldom interrupted, and Providence seemed pleased to give that to him, which he so much delighted in bestowing on oth ers. He was of a temperament uncommonly free and ardent. His mind was unfettered by contracted systems, and he entertained sanguine views and anticipations with regard to the moral improvement of man. He was therefore indifferent to nothing which related to his condition. Education was the object dearest to his heart, and he esteemed good teachers as the most useful members of every community. Accordingly, he procured the best he could for his own children; but he suffered the affliction so bitter to a fond and aged parent, of seeing several of his promising sons cut off at that period of life when the prostration of a father's hopes desolates the heart. In the political concerns of his country, he felt a strong solicitude, and took an active part, but he was a purely disinterested republican, and never sought or accepted an office. He had a deeply rooted attachment to the illustrious man who has always held, and always must hold, the first place in the affections of his countrymen; he, however, belonged to that party which elevated Mr. Jefferson to the presidency. The war with Great Bri. tain of 1812, was warmly advocated and supported by him, believing that it was a war of national character and honour, without maintaining which, the advantages of the revolution would have been in a great measure lost, and the requisite confidence in the stability and energy of the representative system, impaired. pressive. His head was well proportioned, his forehead full and high, his hair brown, eyes gray, and all his features regular and strongly developed. Possessing human fallibility, he doubtless had faults, but it would scarcely become any one who knew him to mention them, if recollected; because almost every one had received some great kindness at his hand. They were but foibles at most, and in comparison with his virtues, like the spots on the sun, which are not easily discoverable, and which neither diminish his heat nor obscure his brightness. ANNALS OF PAUPERISM. ACCOUNTS OF THE GUARDIANS OF THE POOR, and Managers of the Almshouse & House of Employment of the City of Philadelphia, the District of Southwark, and Township of the Northern Liberties, for the year ending 26th of May, 1828. We at first designed making an abstract of these accounts; but recollecting that they are the last, which will appear under the old system of poor laws, and that they His taste for literature was better cultivated than usual will probably, at some future time, be required for referly happens with men engaged daily in an arduous pro-ence, we have concluded to publish them entire. There fession. His historical knowledge was by no means circumscribed, and he was conversant with the beauties of Shakspeare, Milton, and Pope. Moral philosophy was a favourite subject of his thoughts, and he had examined with attention most of the works on the mind from the time of Mr. Locke. From him he obtained his first principles, and he was an admirer of some of his works. He viewed his labours as having established a new era in the history of man, and as setting at liberty the human mind. With Locke, he believed "that revedation was natural reason, and natural reason revelation." This gave much concern to some of his friends, lest he should be too sceptical in his religious opinions. But a life of rectitude and integrity like his, wanted no apology, and his homage for the Creator of christianity was shown in the habitual reverence for its precepts evinced in his daily intercourse with the world. It is true, he regarded bigotry and fanatacism as the deepest stains on the human character, as tending more than any thing else, to debase the soul, by eradicating charity, destroy ing health, banishing social comfort, and counteracting all the benevolent aims of God towards his creatures.His abhorrence however was equally great of the cold, unstable and frivolous character of the sceptic, who gives no serious thought to any of the important relations of life, and makes light of all that is most deeply interesting to mankind. His philanthropy was conspicuous to the last, and to this, it may be truly affirmed, he was a martyr. His last professional act was one of charity, and cost him his life. A poor woman was suffering under the interesting pangs peculiar to the sex, and demanded his assistance. He hastened as usual to her relief. The weather was cold, the fire became low, there was no wood cut short, and no person about the house but females and children.The Doctor took the axe himself, but finding his coat too tight, he was obliged to lay it off, and remained some time exposed to the cold. Having finished his attendance, he returned home, and in a few hours was seized with croup. His disease was violent and painful, but was endured with the firmness and resignation which were to have been expected, from the general tenor of his life. On the 13th day of February, 1816, in his 71st year, he closed his eyes upon the world, towards which he had discharged all his duties with unsurpassed fidelity, and few have better merited the divine salutation of "well done, good and faithful servant." There was an obvious affinity between his physical and moral structure. In his stature he was of good size, his person finely formed, his face handsome and ex are few subjects in which the public are more interested, than in the expenditures of public money for the support of the poor, and therefore we presume, it will be satisfactory to every one to have an opportunity of investigating these matters for himself. The details of such an immense establishment as the Alms House bas become, are deserving of attention. TO THE HONOURABLE JUDGES OF THE COURT OF COMMON The Auditors of the County of Philadelphia, That they have carefully examined the Accounts of the Guardians of the Poor and Managers of the Alms House and House of Employment, of the City of Philadelphia, District of Southwark and Township of the Northern Liberties, commencing on the 29th day of May, 1827, and ending on the 26th of May, 1828; and ments, relating to the same, and now report the followthey have compared them with the vouchers and Docuing statement. Almshouse, Oct. 29th, 1828. |