Newspaper Page Text
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■ 4 'tJfrs. Randolph & Bunce.
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H 9j|, ffi I \ a country wherßwe pure pnn
■ of Liberty an<l ought
B Bf-lßweil understood, and the perfect irec
mmmof individuals preserved, it is to be
B 'jgpj|tted that many abuses daily occur,
B ifflijarc prated arts of opprclfion cither pals
or meet with countenance from
ariftocrattcal mortals, who pretend,
■Mb the preservation of private security
■ Bf®pubiic order, necessarily require that
gif' dtp iny fliould be difeouraged, and crime:;
B Bfifil ‘(bed, While interested and designing
I Ml are extolling the freedom and excel-
S of our government, how many are
gm instances where the mod virtuous and
■! meaningKepublican citizens are borne
l iV n i and almost crushed to death, by the
Mfffight of opprelhori they are compelled to
fJll jifain. Volumns would liardly be fuffi-
B|f Is nt to contain a bare lid of the instances
■ pJPrkh might be adduced to evince the
■ iV'h fbis observation—l feel it a duty
■ to take notice of one or two fla-
BI jlrnnr instances, of cruelty and corrupt op-
I IJBroffion, which have come to my know
s ■ .Bdge, that Republicanism may be roused
gg om ' ts lethargy, and our friends placed
Uggn their guard again If public authority t and
[gßßie rulers of their country.
Wm A friend of mine who had fought and
Bflkled in the cause off American freedom, (at
I) Bcafl he said he had) was, forne time since
pjßmoft cruelly arraigned at the bar of public
Buftice, for the mere otfence of (tabbing
■bis neighbour who had offended him ; and
it was strongly lufpefted, that the
(tabbed was an enemy to a free go
fl verr.rnent, vet nay poor friend would have
If been unfortunately convicted had there
■ not luckily been on the jury a person who
K had concerted with him the (tabbing bu
ff finefs, and who would not agree to find
B l»im guilty, although the evidence was
B- clear and full, because he said the person
ft (tabbed was a worthless fcilow.
■ y Not long after, three persons were moll
jf] fhamefully tried, convicted and executed,
fl for no other offence, than that of plunder-
B ing a house and murdering the owner in
fr, the night, although there was fatisfaciory
\l proof, or at lead preemptive evidence,
% thattiie murder would not been com
■ mitted, had not the owner of the house
g wickedly aftd unjultly attempted to pre
g vent tjwWpfcaking in, and with unpardon-
B able effrontery attempted to alarm his
Bv neighbours, whereby the murder b«came
j abfolufely necefftry byway of security.
About the fame time an indictment was
preferred again It a gentleman of known
refpeftabilitv for only dealing a piece of
gold of abhut seven or eigljf dollars value;
but the chdritfcble and manly exertions of
\ our ftieuss ? w‘!;o affirmed the prosecution
,! t« be founded in party spirit and ariftocra
»" t eal principles, prevented its being found
• a*• true bill” and thereby avoided the mor
tification of that conviction which would
undoubtedly have rcfnlted from a tryal
and fair inveftigatlon; and which would
have been doubly injurious, as it might
have added another (hade to a reputation
already of a deep “ bluet(h* flavour And
it would alto inve been highly oppcejfive,
for though the turn taken was lullicient to
nave charged him with Grand Larceny , to
which capital puniflment is annexed, yet
in the zeal and heat of per/ecution, the in
diiftmeut had magnified the otfence by re
ducing it to Petty Lately , which fubje&s
the offender to public whipping only—
whereas in fa£t no real crime was commit
ted, inv friend merely took money that did
not belong to him, in a secret manner for
the fake of gain only, and without the felo
nious intention of being difeovered, much
less puniftied.
With the mod bare faced aflurance not
long since, an individual had the audacity
to bring a suit again ft a friend of mine, to
he repaired in damages, for an invasion of
liis private right, and an injury to his pri
vate property; and though my friend in
the true spirit of benevolence publicly af
firmed, that while he intended to do pri
vate wrong, he meant also to fervethe pub
lic ; yet so unprincipled were the court
and jurv, that they no foouer difeovered,
that a fellow-citizen had been wronged,
and the laws of the country violated, than
a verdift was found and a judgment enter
ed agriinft my virtuous friend for a sum in
damages equal to the lols he had occasion
ed the other.
Another of mv friends was also lately
fme^and imprisoned in a neighbouring
ft.te, when he had committed no crime,
whatever, but that only of pubhfhing a
Jew wicked and malicious lies again ft his
neighbour, bv which he injured him in his
bnfmefs, ?nd rendered him odious to fo
cicty.
1 hefe with numerous other instances
t'. .t might be mentioned, ought to exite
n ' 1 i.»l attention, and roule our fleep
,nc - virtue—They difeovef an evident de
termination in the government toobfetve
*
Ti^Ti3^P R ’TWfTiice, a«s|pjaid scheme
to obedience to
thelaivs, and by men in their
persons, property and notations. If we
may be puniflied for onl? slandering our
neighbours, if we cannot defame them as
we pieafe, deftray their good names and
ruiii their families, in vain do we boast of
a free press: And if fuch-trifling offences
as (tabbing, robbing, murdering and Heal
ing, are to be puniflied by law, and after a
fair and public tryal, we cannot surely be
said to befreemen : —For have I not a right
to run my knife into whofever carcass
I pieafe ? Have I not a right to take mv
neighbours property whenever I choose;
if not, where is our boasted equality ? Has
any man a right to withhold from me any
article I want, and if he does and will not
yield it up peaceably, have I not a right to
knock him in the head and take it ? And
whether I stab him, or rob him, or mur
der him, surely tis monstrous to deny my
•ight to blast the reputation of his wife and
children.
When men in authority who ought to be
the guardians of the liberties of the people,
when courts of justice which ought care
fully to prevent every infringement on the
previledges and rights of the citizens ; are
not aftiamed to alfift in giving energy to
trte laws of their country, and in counte
nancing the punifliment of such trifling
and indifferent offences as those I have
mentioned* their conduct deserves exposi
tion, and they may expeft their unreason
able proceedings will be occasionally noti
ced by A JACOBIN.
RIVER BANK.
THE injury that would probably
be done to the river bank, by the Aque
due for carrying the water from Broad
ftreet, was formerly suggested, and a com
mittee was appointed by the city council
for continuing the trunk to the edge of the
river—on examining the work to be done,
forne person offered I believe to do it for
twenty dollars—this was perhaps thought
too much, and the trunk remains as before
—the last rain did an injury to the bank,
that probably 150 or 200 dollars would
not repair, and carried into the river 500,
or perhaps 1000 loads of dirt. I take the
liberty of mentioning this, that persons
may refleft that in works of importance,
of general utility and pressing neceflitv, de
lay, may be more injurious, than compli
ance with a faiaU extra charge. On ti e
fubjeft of thcfcbank of the river, I lhal! be
excused I trust for observing, that the at
tention of the citizens of this place, ought
to be directed towards it, and forne meafares
adopted for preventing the deftru&ion oc
casioned by every rain—the banks are not
only walking away, but the river is there
by filling up, so that a double injury is
done—l do not know how this is efftaftu
ally to be prevented, perhaps were the brow
of the bank taken off, all bidden risings le
velled, and the whole bank reduced to a
regular, even and gradual defeent, so that
no large quantity of water fliould run oft
it any one point it might have a good ef
fect—if from the make of the ground, or
other causes, it was found that the water
would run off in feme places in large
quantities, those places fliould be guarded
by a causeway, or the water carried off by
a trunk, so that the laqd fliould not be tak
en with it. One more rain will probably
render all that part of Waftiington-ftreet,
near the bridge, orferry landing, impartible
for a carriage; no time ought to be loft in
mending it, and it appears to me, that
causeways, will alone prevent the wattling
of that part of the ftri'et into the river.
4M_ B -
Latest from EUROPE.
NEW-YORK, May ji.
From Glasgow papers at the office of
the. Comma cial Advert jer, by the arrival
of the Jkip Huron.
ARMY of EGYPT.
[An advice-boat, dispatched by General
Kleber, has brotan account to govern
ment of the Convention concluded in
Egypt between that General and the
Grand Vizier, refpe<s!ing the evacua
tion of Egypt. It appears by the letter
of General Kleber, who still writes to
the Directory, that on the 30111 of Janua
ry he was not informed of the revolu
tion of the 10th of Brumaire, (Nov. 8.)
Camp at Salahich , fan. ?o.
I have flgned, citizens Direftors’ the
Treaty relative totheevacuation of Egvpt,
of which I now fend you a copy. That
which bears the signature of the Grand
Vizier cannot come to my hand for forne
days, as the exchange was fixed to take
place at El-Arifch.
I have you, in my proceeding
difpatcbes, of the situation of the army. I
have alio informed you of the negocia’tions
which General had opened
with the Grand Vizier, and which I was
to continue. Tho at that period I relied
but little on the success of thole negotia
tions, I entertained a hope that they would
fiacken the march of the Vizier, as well as
his warlike preparations, that you might
have time to fend me fuccours in men and
arms, or to tranl'mit your ioftructions as
to the manner in which I fhouid conduct
myfelf under such painful circumltances.
I had founded my hope of fuccour on the
knowledge that the French and Spanish
fleets were united at Toulon, and waited
but for a favorable wind to fail from that
harbor. They did fail in fact, but it was
to pass the Streights, and to re-enter into
the port of Brelt. This intelligence deep
ly afflicfted the army, which at the fame
time was informed of our diiafters in Italy,
Germany, and Holland, and also in La
Vendee, without the appearance of any
measures being taken to avert misfortunes
which threatened even the existence of the
Republic.
The Vizier was then advancing from
Damas. On the other hand, in the mid
dle of October, a fleet appeared before
Damietta, which landed about 4,000 Jan
uaries, who were to be followed by an
equal number. Time, however, was not
given for this, the firft detachment being
attacked and beaten in less than half an
hour. The carnage was dreadful; we
made but 800 prisoners. This event did
not smooth the way to negociation. The
Vizier still manifefted the fame intention
and did not slacken his march any more
than was neceflary to form his establish
ments, and to find the necellary means of
conveyance. His army was then estimat
ed at 60,000 men ; but other Pachas fol
lowed him, and were recruiting new for
ces from all parts of Asia, as far as Mount
Caufafus. The advanced ports of this
army arrived (hortly after at Jaffa.
The Commodore, Sir Sidney Smith
wrote to me about this period, that is to
fay, some days before the landing at Da
mietta, and as I knew his influence over
the Grand Vizier, I thought it my duty
not only to answer him, but to propose
the vefiel which he commanded as the
place of conference. I was equally un
willing to receive in Egypt any Plenipo
tentiaries, whether British or Turkish, and
to fend mine to the camp of the latter.
My proportion was accepted, and from
that time the negociation took a moftdi
termined course. All this, however, did
not retard the march of the Ottoman ar
my, which the Vizier was marching tow
ards Gaza. The war continued, in the
mean time, in Upper Egypt, where the
Beys, until then dispersed, were about to
reunite themselves with Mourad Bey, who,
though always followed, but never com
pletely subdued, had drawn into his partv
the Arabs and the inhabitants of the pro
vince of Beniflburt ; and never loft aq op
portunity of harrafing and keeping our
troops in employ.
The plague threatened us also with its
ravages, and had carried off several men
in each dec'ade at Alexandria and other
places. At length, on the 21 ft of Decem
ber, General Deff'aix and the Citizen Pous
fielgue, whom I had named as Plenipoten
tiaries, opened on board the Tigre their
conferences with Sir Sidney Smith, to
whom the Grand Vizier had given full
powers to treat. They were to cruise off
the coafti of Alexandria and. Damietta,
but a violent gale obliged them'to put to
sea, where they were detained for eighteen
days, at the end of which term they were
landed at the camp of the Vizier, who had
advanced against the fort of El Arisch,
and obtained pofleflion of it on the 29th of
December. He owed this success to the
marked cowardice of the garrison, which,
without fighting surrendered on the 7th
day 'of the attack. This circumstance
was the more unfortunate, as General
Reynier was on his way to raise the block
ade before the main body of the Turkish
jirmy could arrive. There was then no
poflibility of prolonging any farther the
negociations, and it became neceftary to
weigh the danger which would attend
their being broken off—to lay aside all
motives of personal vanity, and not to ex
pose the lives of Frenchmen intruded to
me to the terrible consequences which a
farther delay would have rendered inevi
table.
The latest reports intimated, that the
Ottoman army amounted to 80,000 men,
and was about to be greatly augmented.
There were under its standard twelve Pa
chas, of whom fix were of the firft rank.
Forty -five thousand men had appeared be
fore El-Arifch who were provided with
fifty pieces of cannon, and caiflbns in pro
portion. This artillery' was drawn by
mulesj twenty otherpieces were at Gaza,
with the Lcrpe de Re/erve. The remain
der of the troops were at Jaffa, and in the
environs of Ramie. A number of active
coalers supplied the army of the V '
with pr 9 vifions. Aii the tribes of * 2 ' er
Arabs eagerly iccont’ed this army, and h‘l
tomftjdlt wht. more than ,3,000 ca*
els. ims force was conduced bv £ u
P“" Officers, and 5 or 6000
were daily expe&ed. To this army 3 , n *
to oppose 8,500 men, divided on the thr
points of Kutich, Salnhich, and
This division was neceiTary, to
our communications with Cairo , n a
give immediate luccour to that post W h«rk
ihould be firli attacked. It was certai
however, that all these polls could
ther turned or avoided, as had recent "
been done by Elfil-Bey, who, pending Z i
negociation, had entered with his Alam
looks into Clarkle, to join with the Bi!' *
Arabs, and from thence to unite w j' r u
Maurad Bey in upper Egypt. The rest of
our army was diflributed as follow-s •
1000 men were under the orders ofGetiT
ral Verdier, to form the garrison of Left-*
to raise contributions in money andprovi*
fions, and to hold in check 'the country
between the canal of Achmoun and that
of Moues, u'hich was secretly agitated by
the Cheik Lelkam. Eighteen * hundred
were under the orders of Genera! Lanufle
to form the garrison of Rofett3, Aboukir*
and Alexandria, to hold in check the Del!
ta and Bahire; 1200 remained at Cairo
and Geza, tofurnifh efcortsfortheconvoys
of the army ; and finally, 2,500 men
were scattered in Higher Egypt, along a
line of more than 150 leagues in extent.
These had daily to combat the Beys and
their partizans. The whole formed a bo.
dy of about 15,000 and this was at the
highest the whole of my force.
Notwithlfanding this disproportion, I
Hill hoped for victory, and Ihould have ha
zarded a battle, if I had any hopes of fuc
cour before the time of debarkation. But
this feaibn having once arrived, without
my receiving any reinforc«ment, hvasob- 1
liged to fend 5000 men at lead towards the I
coast. Therein then remained only 3000 ■
men, to defend a country, open on every I
fide again!! the attack of at lead 30,000 I
horsemen, seconded by the Arabs and the I
inhabitants, without any one ilrnng placr, H
without provisions, without money, and B
without veflels. At such a crisis, it wis I
my duty to inquire what could be done fl
for the preservation of the army. Then I
remained no means of fafety, as thereis H
no poffibilitv of treating but arms in hand, B
with undilciplined hordes of fanatical bar- B
barians, who delpife all the usages of «• B
fare. This was a fadt evident to ah,and B
it determined my opinion. I gave orders B
to my plenipotentiaries not to breakofß
thS negociation, unless such articles were Hjj
proposed as may commit our glory or our HE
fafety.
I end this report, Citizen Directors, by B|
observing to you, that the circumfhnces B
of my situation were not forefeen in the He
inflrudl ions left with me by General Buon- Bi
aparte. When he promised me a fpeedr B|
fuccour. he retted his hopes, as I did, on B
the junction of the French and Spanrfh H
fleets in the Mediterranean. We were fl§
then far from thinking these fleets vat
to return into the ocean, or that tl.e Expe- Bff
dition to Egypt, being completely ab3H-B|
doned, fhouid become a head of accofi'Hf
tion against those by whom it had !xnß|
decreed.
I join to this letter copies of my core- Bf
pondence with the Grand Vizier,Sirsid«? HE
Smith, and my Plenipotentiaries,
the official Notes on eitherfide. I lubja* B|
also a copy of the Report which
made.refpe£lingthe capture of EI-Aril»B|
The French army, in fine, duringj*B|
flay in Egypt, has engraven in the
ledlion of the natives the memories
vidtores—of the equity and
with which we governed them— and
sentiment of the force and .power of !as ß|
nation of which this army makes a
The French name will long be
not only in this province of
Empire, but in every part of the East-
I reckon on being in France w
the armv bv the middle of Jut* 2 at
iatefl. B
Flealth and refpedl. B|
(Signed) Kle bE *\^H
CONVENTION W
On the evacuation of Egypt, agre^. u P\B
between General Defaix and , 'pß
Poufliolgue, Administrator of
nances, on the one part, and
cellencies Mouflafa Rafchid .
and Monflaf Raffiche, Plenipot enti
of the Grand Vizier, on the other
The French army in Egypt- *’ lt
to fliew its desire to flop the e»ub B
blood, and to put an end to the
ate dispute between the French
and the fubiime Porte, agree to
Egypt, according to the terms or
sent convention, and in the hope B
conceiuon will open the wav to a
peace in Europe. % B