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TOUR TO THE PACIFIC OC EAN.
City rs M’u thin “ton, March ‘4.
TI “ in;: been inform'd that there were sevc
r.i unauthorised, and probably some spurious
publiem - • now prcpai hi!} for die press, on
t he st’ > i i.t ( f iny late tour to the l*s.< if.'; Occur ;
iii<*ri ufoah entirely enk* own *o me, I have
lui.i.idercd it a duty which I owe to the public,
‘.veil as myself, to put tfo'in on their ,yiard
uitli i • spiel to sorb piibli<xitionv, hist, Iroui I
t ie practice of such in:pos;tioi , they may t;e j
tali',lit to depreciate the ■ rth o! die v .. i
■which I am, myself, prepa,fog for publication
Lelnra it can possibly appear ; as mr.’ h time,
labour, and expense, at - absolutely uc'..ess,tn,
m order to do justice toseveral j vets
which it will embrace. With a v.ou therefore
to prevent the practice of those do options, the
public are infori: td, that the list for subscrip
tions, which have been pi oruuigaled by my
seaf, are held with the subjoined Prospectus,
and, that those who wi ,h"to possess the • y inl
ine work, may obtain it by cntr.i mg ilicir
names on those lists. The Prospectus will
serve “to shew the distribution and contents of
the work.
The map will most probably so pubiifud |
by tin; latter < nil of October tie::*, and the liir.t j
volume of the wok, about the. first of .7 amtary, I
1808. The two . mailing volumes wiil folio'.;
in succession us e.-.rly us they tan possibly be
prepared for publu-alio;:.
As early as a jmt esrimu'e oi the price of
the several pails of this work cun be formed,
public notice will be when ofti v same, *hrough
uic medium of the pre r .
To Robert I . v.icr only, lias permission
been given, eitlicr by Gem. William Clark, or
myself, to publish any thing in relation to our
late voyage. V/he.i the proposals were first
drawn in October last, for the publication of
the journal of that man, they v. ere submitted
to me for correction. J then expunged the
promise which fail be * n made, that the work
should contain information in relation to the
natural history of ihc country through which
we had passed, and cautioned tie persons con
cerned in the publication, net to promise the
world any thin;,’ with which they had not the
means of complying; hut as the hope of pain
seems to have out-stripped their good faith, to
the public, in this respect, 1 think if my duty
to declare that Robert Frasier, who was only a
private on this c::|:dition, is entirely unac
quainted with celestial observations, mineral
fogy, botany, zoology, ami ther-tore cannot
possibly give any accurate inforinuUim on those
subjects, nor on that of geography, and that
the whole which can be c*prri 1 hum his
journal is merely a limited it, mil of our daily
transactions. Willi respect to all iin.aithor
ised publications relative to this \oyge, 1 pre
sume, that they cannot have strain,cr pie ten
sions to accuracy or inforinatiou tiiaii tluv. of
Robert Frazier.
MERIYVETHER IF.'VIS.
PROSPECTUS
OF LEWIS AND CLARK’S
TOIJR TO THE EACIFIC OCEAN,
Tliroiigb the Interior .l tlia Contineiu o'. North Ame
rica, get formed by oril-'t el th “ .;ov* iv.x. lit of the
United States, duriln; the yuan ISOt', 130 b, aim
i 800*.
This work will he prepared by cant. Meri
wether Lewis, and will bo divii led into two j
pains, the w hole comprised in three volumes,
octavo, containing from lour to five hundred
pages, each ; printed on good paper, ami a iair
}>icu Tvpc. The several volumes in succes
sion will be put to press at r.s early periods as
the avocaiious of the author will permit him to
prepare them lor pulikrati
I'lH l THE HIIS’1 —IN TW O VOl.VV.r.s.
r • /£n —\Y II ■■ nt tin ani ’tativeefthc
voyage, with a description of .-.omc ol the most
remarkable plac.< ; in those hitherto 1 nknowa
win's of Amcrie.r, accompanied! y a map <1
good size, and embellished with a view of the
great Cataract of the ‘.lis.souri ;tc plan, on a
large st ale, of the coinic. tiili. il f ihrt river,
ns also of those of tit-, tails, nam vami git..,
rapids of the t’c liunbia, w nil thcii - w;.nl por
tages. For the informal! ui 1 future voia
.vCr there will lie ai!do\, in the sequel of tie
volume, some observations and remarks on the
navigation of the Mi ..suv.ri und f fimifiir ii\. r*.
pointing out tin pri cautions wfii !: l lust net r
jianlv be taken, in order to instr.e success, io
crCther with an itinerary of the. most direct and
practicable route across the continent of .Ninth
America, from the coailuence oi the Missouri
:uul Mississippi rivers to the discharge of the
Columbia into the Racine Ocean.
; .'itmc treottd —Whatever properly apper
tains to geography, embracing a description of
the rivers, mountains, climate, soil, ami face ol
the country ; a view of the Indian nations dis
tributed over that, vast region, shewing their
truth'tens, habits, manners, customs, national
, har.u'tci s, stature, coir.plexitis, ilrcss, dwei
lines, arms, and domestic nteuails, with many
other interesting particular;, in relation to
them : also, observations and reflections, on
the subjects of civilizing, governing, and main
taining a friendly intercourse with those na
tions. A vii vv oi the lur t r uticot North Ame
rica, setting I'nth a pian (or its extension, and
site vein-a* the immense advantages which would*
ccerne to the mercantile in Crests ot iLe Unit
ed ates, liv combining the same with a direct I
Hade to the Fast ludii s, through the continent
of North America. This vohu ic will be tm
belS died widi a number of plates, illustrative
pi he dre-c and general apjk .irtmee of such
fntlian nations as differ materially from each
other , -J the!; habitations, their weapons -x-T
habiliments used in war; their bunting and
fishing rppqratus; domestic utensils, for. In
an appendix there will also be given a diary of
the weather, kept with great attention through
out the \. (..>!■• of the voyage, shewing also the
daily l i e and fall of the principal water-cour
se*, which were navigated in the course of the
sunic.
y • TIT THK KZCOyn—IS OVX va:,u?iE.
’j i’A part of the work will be confined cx
h: i .cly to scicniifi ; research, and principally
to tia natural iiistoyv of those hitherto unknown
region':, n will contain a full dissertation on
such subjects a-; lute fallen within the notice
of the author, art! vvbiT.t mr.y properly be dis
tiibuted undid the heads ol Ixitany. mineralo
gy and zoolof , v, to'a'< tlvorwith some strictures
on tin: oi .an nf I’n nies, t,ic cause ot the mud
dir.t sos the Missouri, of volcanic appearances,
and other natural pi; s onvena which were met
with in the course of this intei sting tom;.
This .ohmin v.'.1l also contain a comparative
vice, o'” twenty-throe vocabularies of distinct
indie.i languages, procured by captains Lewis
and L. lari; on Übe voyage, and v ill lie orna
mented and embellished with a much greater
iiumbt i of [dates than will lie bestow ed on tie
first p: ft of tliw work, us it is intend. ;d tliat eve
ry subject of natural history which is until cly
le w, and of wluch there are a considerable
mini! or, >h;.ll lv ; accompanied by an appropri
ate engraving illustrative of it.
This distribution of the work lias been made
with a ‘dev. to, tie accommodation of every
d< .c.riptkn u r readers, and inhere offered to
the patronage of the public in such shape, that
all persons ‘.vis!ling to become subscriber* may
accoiTUTOda’ themselves v.ith either of the
paits, or the cntiiv work, as it shall be most
convenient to themselves.
Detached from this work there will be pub
lished on a large scale, as soon as a sufficient
number of subscribers be obtained to defray
tin; ex pc nee,
LEWIS A CLARK’
MAP OF NORTH AMERICA,
From longitude nine dtg. weft, to the Pacific Ocnak>
mid between :5G deg. and dl! north latitude,
Embracing all tlrric late discoveries, and that
part of the continent heretofore the least known.
This map will be compiled from the best maps
now extant, as well published us in manuscript,
from the collective information of the best in
formed traveller ; through the various portions
of that region, and corrected by a series of se
veral hundred celestial observations, made by
captaih Lewis, during his late tour.
For the convenience of subscribers, these
several works will be delivered at the most
rcsp, c'able commercial tow us, and at the scats
of government of the respective states and ter
ritories within the union. No advance is re
quired, nor vi ill payment be demanded until
siic.li delivery is made.
Knur iny; that a very considerable proportion
of the expc.nee of such p.iWi/xutions depends
on the engravings vhicYi embellish or form
them, and that the precise number of such en
gravings, particularly a. it regards the second
pu;\ of the work, have not yet been settled, it
is ditc'-Ailt for the author at this moment to fix
a pili. on them ; he therefore declares to the
pul'li . that bis late voyage was not undertak
en with a view to pecuniary advantages, and
pledges himself, tlmt the estimate which he
will, in this instance, set on his literary labors,
skull be if tiic most modi rate description. His
principal reason, iudji 1, for proposing a sub-,
seriplion at all. is, tint': he may be enabled to
fnrr i ome estimate of tie number of copies to
be struck off.
; ■ J'.if of Pullti’ Prill's in the United
Stuii •, dhji’Md io aid the JiubiUv ‘ton of this
■u’or.'N art- rctjuet\ :l to .pie;.’ ti e foregoing a j LXI .
i'tlitl I'lidis,
- i .Ttem— ■—
LITERA RY ENTE RFRI-’H.
A literary genfem .n, la* 1 arrived in X;.
fork k'i’.i l'.ngsau'.l, iur.ushes the following
inforination ;
“ Du the sixtren.b day of June, 179 ft, one
hundred young sei-ntific* ;>;c*n.tlemen, who had
just then fui’shcd tf.eir educuiion in the col
leg. . ol England and Scotland, met, by ap-
P'ointmi nt,Yarmouth, where, they resolv ed,
inv.a the strictest injunction oi secrecy, “that
each of them sh ni!d, it; m dev to obtain correct
mformalura ol the world, and ol the customs,
maimers and dispt -itions • i inaitkind, quit their
native island, and reside tor ten years, succrs-
MVc'y, ‘;i different lorcigti covntries, particu
larly specified; .aid that they should, on the
first dry of September, ! 307,‘again meet toge
ther in London, for the purpose of reading
over their difierent journals, and of preparing
the amt for public;, km;’ This strange reso
i'Hhm v:p .'.dually put in practice; and, on
the first id January, ISuT, it vias known to
some scientific men in London, that thirteen
of the young adventurers hail died, and that
the ienuiinir.g eighty-seven would certainly
meet next summer, accorciir.g to agreement.
It was said, that one of tliose adventurers had
i mstant 1\ resided in the city of New-York,
where he is said to have collected a most
v aluable mass of inforination.”
Married, lately, in the district of Maine,
Mr. Sou >l. s>< mi i , to Miss Salkx Paixe.
Two lovers pierc’d by t'eriu's dart,
Long ligh’d for linns'* chain ;
Fhe kindly w idl'd to have his Smart,
And he to have her Paine.
A Pr;cft they call’d, (nor call’d in vain)
Hi* biclliag to impart,
He loon give longirg Samuel Fai.ni,
And made load Sally Smart.
BURR’S CONSPIRACY.
FROM TIIF. VATIONVL INTF.M.TGEXCIR.
(Continued from our daft.)
But amidst these proud trophies of a govern
ment, whose best praise is its competency to
guard the public liberty anil general happiness,
we are called upon to notice some circum
stances of peculiar delicacy and even difficulty.
The mi itary power at Nev.-Orleans has as
sumed the exercise of authority, vested by
our constitution and keys in the civil depart
ments of the government, and has thus sus
pended for a time the enjoyment of some of
the and -arcs', privileges of the citizen However
strong the necessity that may have dictated
them measurer,, there is t o mint in this coun
try, friendly to our political institutions, that
mu and not sincere!} deprecate their occurrence.
i lie subordination of the military to the civil
power rs one of the most necessary preserva
tive; of freedom. There can be no principle
of greater value.
i hat the invasion of a principle thus sacrecl
—a principle for which we recently put our
peace, our properly and our lives at issue—
should awah.cn an extraordinary sensibility, is
not surprising, p, would, on the contrary,
have been surprising, if events so rate and in
teresting had not. comiiundeil a general and so
lemn attention.
We rejoice that this sensibility and this at
tention have been excited. Regardless ol the
auspices under vvluch the one - ; s attempted to
be kindla! into furv- and .he other challenged,
to the exclusion of all otic :’ subjects by a zeal
whose vc!k na nce lctravs great art or little oc
llcctio.g the friends of the governmvit ought
to be. and we believe wiLlbe, among the fore
most to give ties subject the rulifst and freest
investigation. They will not pursue the enqui
ry in that spiri: which has characterised most
of those animadversion-, recently presented to
the public—they w ill not make use of it as a
striking horse, to gain the confidence of the
people—they mi! not seas’ upon it as the last
forlorn hope of turning tht tide of public opini
on against those who have heretofore possess
ed the confidence of tire nation—they will not
torture truth so as to effect the basest political
or personal objects—ihci v. ill not, before they
have made am examination, pn-determine to
destroy this man or that man. Unused to the
use of such means, they will leave them ex
clusively, as they heretofore have done, to their
adversaries, and confine themselves to the
single enquiry, how far t! events at New-Or
leans arc justified by actual circumstances.
The first suggestion which presents itself to
the unprejudiced enquirer, after truth, is, that
any decided judgment, at the present time, is
premature. I’e.v events, which have occur
red in this country, are clouded in so much
uncertainty, as those on which we are thus
called to pronounce. Tlv; virtue of the com
mander in chief, is itself loudly impeached.
Whether there in any truth in tire Imputations
thrown on his fame, we pretend not to say;
They may lie true; but however clearly thi;
may be eventually established, it is net less
certain, that there is at present before the pub
lic, no information, on which an honest ani
unprejudiced min 1 would feel it .elf at liberty
to decide. If any judgment were given, it
would be that of acquittal and not conviction,
according to the, invariable feelings of every
honest mind, that an individual ought to he
considered innocent until proof is adduced of
lus guilt. Equally obscure is the information
we have heretofore received of the degree of
danger existing or apprehending at New-Or
leans. Nor are we better enlightened with
regard to the number or power of Burr’s con
federates at that place. Under these circum
stances, it is the duty of a man, (not rash to
madness, or prejudiced beyond conviction,) to
hesitate before he definitely declares Gen. Wil
kinson un justified in the strong measures he
has taken.
For ourselves, we should practice what we
inculcate on others, and refrain from all far
ther discussion of a topic, so difficult of treat
ment at the present moment, were it not for
the unjust attempts which are so industriously
made to throw odium on the conduct of the conr
niaiulbr in chief, and to use this as the means
of virtually injuring the government. When,
however, the federalists are in arms, from cue
end of the union to die other, and. are using
these events as the means of once more ral
lying their forces and arraying them against
those now in power; when their denunciations
arc mingled with those of a still louder note,
emitted by the voice of treason ; when, too, cf
the republicans of the nation, some from impure
and others from honest motives, are induced to
increase the clamor—it certainly becomes the
duty of the friend of truth and cf his country,
to give the subject as full an examination as
the circumstances already referred to admit.
Had he been permitted to take his own course,
he would have remained silent. Attacked by
an avowed enemy, resistance becomes a duty
—enforced by principles of all others the
strongest—the principles of self-defence.
The first point that presents itself for exa
mination on this subject is, whether their can
exist any situation in which an invasion of civil
rights by military authority is justifiable. It
may be confidently affirmed that there are. It
is true, that the general theory of our instituti
ons, no less than their positive injunctions, pla
ces the civil above the military power. It may
likewise be demonstrated that this is essential
to the maintenance of republican princioles. u
without it freedom cannot exist; but although
this proposition be allowed in Us utmost latitude,
it is notwithstanding a gloomy fact that emer
gencies will too often occur, in which the sal
vation of the country, or at any rate some of
the most invaluable blessings enjoyed bv it,
will depend upon flie instantaneous application
offeree ; in which the imminence of the dan
ger v ill require immediate and vigorous exer
tions. If tins danger presents itself at a point
where the armed force may be stationed, re
mot ■ from the sea: of government, it will ine
vitable follow, that a good officer, who clearly
perceives the approaching danger will consider
it his duty to exert all the means to repel it ;
nor will any man hesitate under such circum
stances. According to their nature, he will ob
serve or violate the instructions he may have
received, as well as the existing laws or consti
tution of his country, w here the necessity is
great and commanding. These, however sa
crcdly he may hold them in common times, will
be r.o limitations on the exercise of his power;
he will do what he deems right, and stake his
life, his liberty and fame on the issue. It has
been wi 11 said that necessity knows r.o law; and
•although this be called the plea of tyrants, it
mav still be, as it often has been, the best justi
fica.icn of freemen. For its v erification we
appeal to the annals of the revolution, which, if
they illustrate any one thing emphatically
above another, illustrate the necessity, in times
of danger, of transcending the regular limits of
law.
There is one consideration on this head that
merits some attention, as arising from the ; e
culiar nature of our institutions. It is, that just
in proportion to the approximations ofa govern
ment to the greatest state of freedom, will be
the occasional necessity in periods of uncom
mon danger, for some of the public function
aries to adopt measures that will in some mea
sure violate the established constitution or laws.
In despotic governments, where all power,
civil as well as military, is in the
hands of one. man, it is obvious that no occasion
can present itseif in which the despot can tran
scend his powers : and the same remark will
applv with proportionate strength to ibe mon
archies and aristocracies of Europe, according
to the several degrees of similitude they hear
to a despotic government. It is to be remark
ed, that in almost all of them the military pow
er is, without limitation, placed in the hands of
the civil executive. Collisions between these
two departments of power can therefore rare
ly happen; whereas, under a free government,
which principally consists in the limitation and
distribution of different species of power among
the several distinct and co-ordinate depart
ments, they may naturally, and will sometimes
necessarily take place. Hence we may expect,
;f exposed to equal dangers with the European
v, oriel, that these interferences of or.e depart
ment with are -her, these usurpations of autho
rity, these violations of the constitution, will
more frequently fall to our lot than to that of
nations less free.
It may be well on this subject however to
descend from general reasoning to particular
cases, which will perhaps more conclusively
shew the duty ot the jmblic officer in several
cases to violate the constitution of his country*
to act without law, and in some instances, even
contrary to Jaw ; for this is in fact the true
view of the subject. It is not so much a casa
between the military and civil power, as be
tween tire former and the constitution and
laws of the country. The civil power is in
deed no otherwise entitled to respect than, as
being the established constitutional organ for
carrying'these into effect. So long as the mi
litary, or any other species of power, aids it in
executing them, the act is meritorious. It is
only when it opposes itself to rights or bene
fits guaranteed by the constitution or laws, that
j it becomes reprehensible.
Let us then suppose a case, which indeed
federalists have not many years since sounded
in our ears, not merely as possible, but as pro
bable—the case of a sudden anil alarming in
vasion by a foreign enemy. Among the wise
instruments cf defence, devised by republican
policy, is au overflowing treasury. With five
millions at the disposal of the government,
without any particular objects calling for its
disbursement, it lias been justly believed, that
wc would {lie enabled, on any emergency, to
present a bold front to the enemy. Let it,
however, be recollected, that this sum remains
entirely unappropriated to any particular ob
ject. Suppose, then, the invading army to be
on our shores, and the loudest call consequent
ly made upon the federal government, to pio
tect tlie country from desoiatton. The consti
tution makes it the duty of the President to de
fend the country, and vests him with full autho
rity, in the very case referred to. This, how
ever, could not be done to any effect, w ithout
money ; and in such a case as this, without a,
very large sum of money. On this point tho
constitution holds a different language, ft exs
prcssly prohibits the expenditure of a single
dollar, unless previously appropriated by law.
Suppose Congress not to be in session. ‘ The
invading enemy surely could not be expected
to wait until they should be regularly conven
ed, to crdl cut the national strength.’ What
would the President do in the mean time ?
Wcrud he permit she enemy to advance, will;-
out an effort to check them i Would he bid the
good people of the United States to foil back at
1 bell-approach, when he had the means within
his reach, to arrest, if not destroy them f
V oli and be wait til! the tardy forms oi’ legisla
tion should have legalised to his use, the mil.
linns in the exchequer ? No—instead of this,
if lie did his duty, he would take them with
out a scruple, and expend them in embodying,
and furnishing a competent force to defend that
country . Not doing this, however unconstitu
tional and illegal, he would not do his duty.
He would omit doing that for which he ought
to be, ar.d would be impeached, and ejected
from office, amidst the frowns and indigna,
lion of an incensed nation. Here then is a
clear, decisive, indisputable instance, in which
the Force ol necessity rejects all fe.Lnjut, and