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WILKINSON AND iiURR.
From “ Libeity Hail,” a printed at Cim.inr.ati.
V"n ft once the law to your au'l 01 it'/ :
‘J o do a ,'irui rj/ht, do a little wro / ;
And curb thia cruel devil oi his will.”
Shakszearz.
From tin; present agitated statu of our coun
try, relative to the jaic t. naaettons ol general
Wilkin.,on and colonel Burr, it v. ill he difficult
to remove emu icon, pivno -.essious, or localise
t:e voice til li tii to be In-util Jim, sooner or
1 der, the evidence ol Lo t . must prevail ; and
those whose business it Ims been to ck-iuue the
public miix l will be execrated by all honest
and impartial citizens. 1 pretend not to ex
plain all the causes ol tin, late extra): binary
movements* nor to disclose all the views ol the
h tiers of them. 11 1 can bring our sober citi-
Ze.i:> to reflect justly on the subject, induce
them to think unfavorably of hasty determina
tions, and stimulate the i lo le iew ihe steps
they have taken, my object lu this publication
will be in ly ansvvei ed.
It will be recollected by all, that our dispute
v.i'h Spain is of a veiy seiious nature, l.ach
party is tenacious ol its own opinion, and does
not appear disposed to yield any points in ihe
discussion. On tins dispute depends a iciiitu
iv ol greater cx cut .nan aii tin Vtlantic Stairs ;
No wonder we are not disposed to yield it.
Tnc conduct ot the Spanish court more thru
two years ago, and the new dispositions assu
med by the Spanish troops on the borders ot
Louisiana, connected with a variety ol other
circumstances, created leaf in out government
that war was inevitable. Under these circ urn
st anecs it lx < one the duty of the l-V shicn’ to
be prepare i tor events, and to devise the best i
means of defence and annoyance. It i-> un
derstood, that lie ( (insulted general tY ilkiuson
and colonel Burr (at that time vie e-pre-blent)
on the most suitable plan of operations, in case
we were plunged into a war. It i also under
stood, that these two gentlemen suggested
nearly the same great outlines, and that the
President appeared to think well of them.
These cjreumsnuices, added to the prospects
of war, strengthened the intimacy between
Wilkinson and Burr. Their ostensible objects
were nearly the same,hut they were influenced
by different motives. 1 lie former was solici
tous to disc barge his duty, and to share with
his country the gloty of successful enterprise ;
the latter was stimulated by ambition, and the
hopes of profit. In consequence of his dispute
with Hamilton, and the unfortunate termina
tion of it, he was obliged to abandon the Atlan
tic Stales and to seek a residence among stran
gers. Destitute of employment, he turned
his whole attention to the means necessary to
accomplish whatever vie as he hail formed.
For this purpose he visited the Mississippi in
1805 ; and most probably a mutual intercourse
on the subject of a Spanish war existed at that
time between him and Wilkinson. The real
fact is, that Burr was determined in hi, own
mind, at the head of a Aos choice s/i.to
share the glory of whatever enterprise might
be undertaken ; and no doubt he flattered him
self w ith the acquisition of a splendid fortune,
and perhaps with a seat on the throne ol Mex
ico. Natuially sanguine in lus temper, ren
dered still more ardetu by Ins embarrassed si
tuation, lie readily convened, lli.it the golden
prosp cts, which presented themselves, would
induce thousands of warriors to flock to his
standard In this, however, he was sadly dis
appointed ; for with all his exertion,only a few
hundred were ready to follow ills fortune.
I lie com idatory agreement made by Wil
kinson on the Sabine, disconcerted the projects
ot Burr, and disappointed him in hisexpc na
tions. Had he been honest in his views he
ought to have rejoiced at the continuance of
peace, and immediately disbanded his follow -
its. But instead of this he still exerted him
self to procure men. and the muniments of
war, and gradually unfolded new schemes, sub
ve. sive of the interests and peace of the United
State-,. Those were doubtless formed long be
fore, as will appear from the disclosure of ge
neral Eaton. Wilkinson first became acquaint
t*v with them while on the Sabine, partly from
the written declarations of Burr, and partly
Lorn the communications of his spies and ad
herents. Whatever were the private senti
ments of Wilkinson, relative to a Spanish war,
no sooner had lie concluded the Sabine con
vention, than his duty compelled him to frus
trate the hostile movements of unauthorised
individuals, and to arrest them for trial. What
then was his astonishment w hen he found that
lbtrr still persisted in his project, and even at
tempted to allure him by a bribe ! much great
• must have been his astonishment when he
tbund that Burr had either deceived him, or
had relinquished Ins original design ; and that
ins', allot aiding the United States he contem
plated a separation of the union, and the seiz
ure of Nc"'-Orleans preparatory to it. lie
then repelled to the defence of the capital—
and at a convenient time denounced Burr as a
conspirator and traitor.
1,.- icral Wilkinson was early apprised of
these hostile projects, but he deemed it pru
dent to keep the know ledge of them to him
self. The people were ignorant of the defec
tion of Burr ; and hence the anxiety of Wil
kt - >ll to put Nov-Otic.ms in a state of de
fence, without any apparent danger, excited
r.t n h surprise among the friends of govern*
lilC't.
H's me isrres on the other hand were se
,* -t ‘l’ awn ved i v the conspirators, who num*
K:-e 1 him among the friends of Burr, and rea
dily conceive 1 that all his preparatiotis were
fctvtnde . f.r the advantage ol their chief, and
hi’- parti?.; re B--* no sooner- had he publicly
tie lured the situation ot ntk.irs, than the con
spirators opened all their buttei ies on him, and
in their turn denounced him as a traitor to
Burr. The situation of Wilkinson at this mo
ment was ciiticul, not only as it respected his
personal safety, but as it respected the security
of Ins country. True it is, tnat he was deceiv
ed as to the number of men under Burr—but
he was not deceived as to the object of the con
spirators, and the multitude of them in the
heart (ft New-Orleans and its vicinity. ‘1 htse
circumstances ,ervcd to am men the weight of
his rc-.pi risibility. He saw himself surround
ed with difficulties ; and he also saw, that any
line of conduct he was able to pursue would
draw after it a multitude of complaints, and ex
pose him to censure. He therefore wisely re
solved t' pit; sue such measures as he deemed
the most likely to frustrate the objects of the
conspirators, and of cout .-e to save his country,
reg irdless of consequences.
In the political, as in the animal economy,
violent diseases requite violent remedies. In
a crisis of public danger, the ordinary course
of justice is interrupted; the courts of law are
puralized : and when the judgf sos them favor
tee enemies of their country, tlie binding force
of the laws and constitution is suspended ; the
flood-gates of anarchy and civil war opened;
a lad the temple of fr< uloin is in danger of de
struction, unless voluntarily defended by its
friends and udmirets. i well know the nature
and importance of the habeas corpus act. In
England, il i • called the second Magna Chaita ;
anil in the United States, i. is ji; by denomi
nated the palladium of public liberty. Situated
as Wilkinson was, he had only the choice of
two thing's—either to submit to the writ of
habeas corpus, to surrender the conspirators
as 1.-. st as lie arrested them under the procla
mation of the lhebuleut, and the next horn to
see them at large in the cx>- ‘.ntiou of their tic -
sonahic projects; or to disobey the mandate
of the law, and thereby to prevent a civil war
and perhaps a dismemberment of the union.
In this case the choice was not easy ; serious
difficulties presented themselves on every side ;
though at that time the probability was, that
not only more censure would attach itself to
general Wilkinson, from an obedience to tr.e
law, than a temporary violation of it, but that
some great public calamity would ensue as the ‘
consequent's of a legal rubmis.don.
If, by the prudent maxims of a well regulat
ed sgovernnlent.no one be permitted to employ
a criminal action as a lawful means to attain
tui end in itself good, those of nature are para
mount, and arm man and nations with the
t ight of sell preservation. When a nation is
menaced by enemies, whether internal or ex
ternal, its situation resembles that of a man
who is attacked hv his neighbor, and is in mani
fest danger of fcis ife In either of these cases
can the tardy operations of judicial author
ity afford any relief. The nation may be at
tacked, or the man may perish, before the
sword of criminal justice can be drawn for
their protection. Neither ofthem is obliged to
wait lor an attack ; the danger, if it be mani
fest, is sufficient to authorise the means of se
curity, even to the destruction of the aggressor.
And hence it is, that among all nations, the
right of self-defence, as derived from nature,
and never surrendered to society, remains per
fect m the individual, and in bodies of men,
and is in no degree impaired by political or
civil regulations. If, therefore- a man t,un
justly take the hie ot his neighbor, when Ids
own cannot be saved without it, the same right
devolves on nations under the like circumstan
ces. And it, to save themselves, they can just
ly attack and destroy other nations, with how
much more propriety can rebels and traitors
be attacked, and deprived of the means of in
juring their country ! I contend that these
principles are correct; our hearts approve
them ; they are to be found in every treatise
of tile laws of nature and nations ; and it only
remains to apply them to the conduct of gen.
\\ ilkinson.
An attack was not actually made ; but it was
meditated under circumstances calculated to
inspire terror and dismay. There was good
reason to believe, that a large armv was on its
wav to attack New-Orleans. to seize on public
and priv ,te property, and to dismember the
union. What served to increase the danger,
was the belief that some foreign nation had
furnished the conspirators with the means of
offensive operations; that many of the con
spirators had clandestinely placed themselves
among the people, with a design to corrupt
them; that sentiments, hostile to our national
interest and security, were secretly propagat
ed ; and, that the judges of the courts, design
ed to protect the holy sanctuary of the laws,
profaned it In shielding rebels and traitors from
their merited punishment.
Under these circumstances, an awful res
ponsibility devolved on general Wilkinson;
and, as 1 before insinuated, he found himself
obliged, either to disobey the law, or tamely
to suffer the conspirators, like a cloud of lo
custs. to swa m around him, and to gather
strength, when prompt and energetic measures
were necessary to weaken and disperse them.
He was also too far removed from the seat of
government to consult the executive on every
emergency, and therefore, governed himself
tts nearly as possible by the proclamation ; re
solved to arrest the conspirators, as well as
their means, and to reserve them for trial. It.
therefore, seems to follow, that general Wil
kinson had a right to employ such means as
were necessary to the end in view—the safetv
of the country. A great and imminent danger
existed; not sufficient, indeed, to authorize
the destruction of life; but it imperiously urg
ed general Wilkinson to abridge the conspira
tors of their liberty, and tc - cure them for trial.
If'* ••./-Orieanr. did not t.f r rd this security ‘and
, 1 believe it did not, who will contend that their
transportation to the Atlantic states, was not
a prudent measure, and authorised by the events
of the day ? It therefore appears to me, that the
conduct ol general \\ ilkinson may be defended
on the principles of self protection and of self
preservation.
I am well aware, that in a court of justice,
neither the danger, nor the circumstances,
however great and imperious, under which
general Wilkinson labored, will amount to a
legal justification of the measures he has tak
en ; because the judges and jurors are fettered
by certain forms at.d luies, prescribed by the
laws, and better calculated for the reign of
peace, than for tumultuary times of anarchy
and rebellion. Pei haps those whom he arrest
ed, and transported to the Atlantic stales, may
sustain an action of damages against him ; pet
it >ps,too,lie may be indicted and lined for a vio
lation of the laws. These things are of too
little moment to affect his character; nor can
they impeach the puriy of his motives; much
less will they serve to stigmatize, as impolitic
and unnecessary, the me: sures he has pursued.
1 o a much more elevated tribunal, to that of
the public, he appeals for decision on his con
duct. The citizens of this great community
ate his judges ; and if he be honorably acquit
ted by them, the verdicts of inferior jurisdic
tion wili be more tolerable; otherwise, he
will derive pleasure from conscious rectitude,
at .and pride himself in the public services he has
rendered—the’ thousands, who experience the
benefits of them, should attempt to load him
I with obloquy and reproach.
A JURISCONSULT.
* FROM THE RICHMOND ENQUIRER.
The cause end manner of the late
change ct administration in England
furnish some curious commentaries on
her boasted constitution.
t it seems that a single individn •!, of
‘ veiy contemptible talents, is enabled
ij “ to excommunicate four millions of
human being.-,” from the highest civil,
military and naval departments-a~be
* CuUse they happen to differ from him
fl in certain articles of religious faith.
1 h'.s man is called a king.
Tins influence does not, however,
’ stop here. Hr is not only entitled to put
i his veto upon such a measure, by ar
resting- the bill, afi er it has passed
both houses of parliament, but to pre -
vent its introduction or discussion be
fore parliament. Such is the misera
ble constitution of the house of com
mons, the only boasted depository of
English freedom ? A minister first
purchases a majority of votes in this
body by means of rotten boroughs , or
bribing rotten members ; and then the
influence of his majesty over his min
istry completely subjects this majority
to his influence. If his ministry
should be disposed to object to his
measures, he may possibly control
them by threat of the loss of their pla
ces ; and if they appear completely
unmanageable, he m y proceed to car
ry his threats into execution. If they
therefore retain their places, they com
ptete.y sacrifice their principles to the
king; if they retain their principles,
they sacrifice their places. In the first
case, his majesty controls the majo
rity of the commons : in the second,
he displaces the old ministry, that he
may appoint anew one more obsequi
ous to his wishes, and equally readv
with the first to employ ail the influ
ence of the offices of the crown to pur
chase a majority for his majesty.
And not even here does this influ
ence cease. If the majority of the
commons are too independent in
themselves, or too much attached to
their former patrons, to desert them
for his majesty, he has anew expedient
for recovering his influence. lie mav
dissolve his parliament; in other
words, he may turn every’ representa
tive out of office, who has been ap
pointed by the people to take care of
their interests. Then come the writs
for anew parliament, which is to be
more obsequious than the old one.
Then come the same arts into plav
which secured a majority for the old
ministry; the same corruption over
the liege lords of the boroughs; the
same corruption of the electors in those
boroughs, where the liege lords are
too honest to be bribed, or too weak
to contiol the election ; the same cor
rupt purchase of the members’ votes,
after they have been duly returned.
The proceedings connected with
the Roman Catholic bill, seem not to
have been sufficiently understood.
In the year 1793, the Irish parlia
ment passed the Irish Catholic biii, by
which the Catholics of iiekti.d wue
enabled to hold certain commissions
in the army, on taking a particular
oath. There were other high com
missions however from which they
were still excluded; as, commander in
chief of the army, master general of
the ordnance, and general of tire staff’.
Still the Catholics of England could
not hold any commissions; and the
Irish Catholics, who could hold them
in their own island, were liable to pen
alties, if called to England to perform
their military duties.
Some of the London prints state,
that his majesty was informed, when
the measure was first proposed to him,
that it was simph intended to put the
Catholics of England upon the same
footing with those of Ireland. The
poor ignorant monarch was complete
ly deluded; or perhaps did not at all
understand the subject.
When the bill was brought into par
liament, it was then said to embrace a
wider compass; not only to extend tire
pro\ isions of the act of ’93 to England,
hut to destroy all the disabilities recog
nized by that act; in other w ords, to
abolish the test generally as to army
and navy, and as far as it respected the
Catholics. It was even predicted by
its opponents, that it would ultimately
embrace all the civil offices; of course,
that a Catholic might at least be privi
leged to hold the highest situations of
the law’; the lord chancellor and keep
ers of the king’s conscience. And this
revolution would even at last extend to
Dissenters as well as to Catholics.
It is useless for us to enquire into
the propriety of such a measure ; us
nothing in this country appears more
redieulous in the eye of reason and of
justice, than to shackle the liberty of
conscience by any kind of political
disability to any order of men.
Ilis sage majesty, however, at last
discovered his mistake ; and his min
istry were the first victims of his re
sentment.
It is perhaps not generally known
here, that the manufacture of ivoollen
cloths was the principal manufacture
of Ireland previous to, and at the time
of the revolution in England. Large
quantities were exported, and the su
periority of the Irish manufactured
woollen goods was so great over these
of England, as to almost shut the latter
out from the foreign markets.
The following paragraph, from
O’Llalloran’s History of Irelai and, will
show the means taken by the sister
country to procure to herself the mono
poly of die woollen trade, and will ex
hibit one instance, among thousands,
of the injustice and cruelty of the B i
tish government to those countries who
have the misfortune to be under „ts iron
rod.— Democratic Press.
“ Still the cities continued opulent
by commerce ; and the large exports,
particularly of w r oollengoods,gave em
ploy to thousands. Their situations
and circumstances were not more over
looked than those of the very common
peasants, who were forbid by a law
to take more than two acres of land
each. “Very soon after the revolution
in 1688, an act passed, directing two
shillings in the pound duty to be paid
for all Irish broad-cloths exported, and
one shilling in the pound for ‘Harrow
goods. “I his was succeeded some time
after by a second, which obliged the
merchants to pay four shillings in the
pound upon broad cloths and narrow
goods, shipped for foreign markets.—
A third followed, confining the ex
portation of woollen cloths to four
pounds worth to the captain, and forty
shillings worth to the sailors of every
ship, and no more; and this was soon
after closed by total prohibition.”
The bankrupt Prince of Wales has
lately had a service of plate, value one
million dollars , thirty tons of precious
silver ! enough to pay the salary of the
president of the Unfted States forty
years. Surely England is a most stu
pendous model of federal republican
ism.