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•■fo’-qett, totally unconcerned j—the uproar of
contending waves is not pleasant, bat dill
they etc dathiug against a rock.
Mr. Smith)
ts the following sketch on duelling fueeta
your approbation, plcafe to publilh it in
your p*;>cr, and you will oblige
A CONSTANT READER.
•< Who commits bravtly is not therefore brave ,
« Ht dr tadi a death bed like the meant ft fia ot;
•» Who reajons "wifely is not therefore vJi/'e ;
a* His pride in reafsuing, not in a£ting, lies • *
THE law of honour ia a fyffem of rules,
conftrufted by people of fafliion, and
calculated to facilitate their intercourfc with
one another, and for no other purpose; con
sequently, nothing ia adverted to by the law
of honour, but what tenda to incommode thia
intercourfc. Hence thia law only preferibea
and regulates the dutiei betwixt equals. For
which reafoo profanenefa, want of charity
•o the pocr, injury done to tradefmtn by in
folveney or delay of payment, drunkenntla,
fornication, adulter/, prodigality, Sec. are no
breaches of honor ; because a man ia not a
lefa agreeable companion for thel'e vices, not
the wovfe so deal with, in those concerns
which are uftially made use of between men
©f honour. From the fame principle arifea
duelling. If men are on a footing, or ao
Inowledged to be so, as men of honor, all
other ednfideration is at au end. But when
we become to condder duelling as a punith
inent, it ia absurd ; because it ia an equal
chance whether the puniffiment falls on the
offender or the person offended. Nor is it
ynuch better as a reparation; it being difficult
to explain ini what the latisfa&ion confide, or
bow it tenda to undo the injury, or to afford
a compensation for the damage already sus
tained. The real taft is, it ia not coniidered
as either; the law of honour having an*
Hexed the imputation of cowardice to pati
ence under an affiont, challenges are given
and accepted with no other design than to
prevent or wipe off this suspicion ; wiihout
malice agaiuff the adversary, generally with
out a wifli to dedroy him, or any concern but
to preserve the duellifta’a own tepufation and
reception in the world. The urueafonable-
then, of thia rule of manners, is one
consideration ; the duty and conduti of in
dividuals, whilst tuch a rule exists, ia another.
As to which, the ptopeT and single qweflion
is this: Whether a regard for our own re
putation ia, or ia not, fufficicnt to juftify the
taking away the life es another f Murder is
so-bidden ; and wherever human life is deli*
berately taken away, otherwise than by pub
lic authority, thersr if murder. The value
and feturity of human life make thia rule ne
ceffary; for Ido not fee what other idea or
definition of murder can be admitted, which
will not let in f<> rnuth private violence, as to
render society a horrid feene e ( peril and
bioodfhed. If unauthorifed laws of honour
be allowed to create exceptions to divine pro
hibitions, there ia an end of all morality as
founded in the will of the Deity; and the
obligation of every duty, moral or political,
may'at one time or other be discharged by
the caprice and fluftuationa of fafhion.
“ But on the other hand, a feme of rtiame
** ia so much torture, and no relief prefenta
** itfelf otherwise than by an attempt upon
the life of our adversary.” What then ?
The diftiefa which many of us fufter, by the
want of money, is often times extreme, and
no resource can be difcovwed, but that of re
moving a life which Bands between theditfref
fed person and his inheritance. The motive
in thia safe ia as urgent, and the means much
the fame at the former; yet this case finds
so advocate. Take away the circiunftante
of the duellid'a etpofing his own lire, and it
becomes assassination ; add this circutnftance
and what dUfe'ence does it make t None but
this, that fewer perhaps will unitatr the ex
ample t and human life will be f one wlu
more fife, when it rannot be attacked with
•ut equal danger to the aggreffoiN own. Ex
perience, however, proves that there ia for*
thud# in mod men to undertake thia hazardj
and w#r# it other wife, the defence, at bed,
would bf only that which a li gltwavmmoi
Ji*itfe*bf#ab«f pi#eJ* W*wf§ Altciapi
had been lb daring and defperste, that few
1 wete likely to repeat the fame.
Ia expoftulatiug with the duelhft, I
along fuppoft hie adversary to fall, becaule
if he ha* no right to kill bis advarfary, he
has none to attempt it.
In return, l forbear from applying t 0 t* l ®
case of duelling the Chrifttau principle of the
ferrgiveuefs o t injuries ; because it is pofiible
to suppose the injury to be forgiven, and the
duellift to ad entirely from a Concern for his
own reputation : Where this is not the case,
the guilt of duelling is raanifeft, and greater.
In this view it icems unnecelTary to diftingmih
between him who gives, and him who ac
cepts a challenge ; for they incur an equal
hazard of destroying life i and both art upon
the fame persuasion, that what they do is ne
ceffaiy in order t > recover or preserve the
good opinion of the world. Public opinion
is not easily coritrouled by civil institutions;
lor which reaion, I question whether any re
gulations can be contrived of fufficient force
to suppress or change the rule of honour,
which ftigniatizes all fcrnples about duelling
with the reproach of cowardice. The in
fufficicucy of the redress which the law of
the land affords, for thoft injuries which
chiefly assert a man in his sensibility and
reputation, tempts many to redress them
selves. Profecutione for such offences, by
the trifling damages that arc to be recovered,
serve only to make the fufferer more ridicu
lous.-—Thi» ought to be remedied.
In the date of Georgia, where the point of
honour is cultivated with exquifne attention
and refinement, I would establish a Court of
Honour, with a power of awarding thofelub
mirtions and acknowledgments, which it is
generally the purpose of a challenge to ob
tain } and it might giow into faftnon in time,
with perfon* of all rank, of all profeffion, to
refer their quarrel to the fame tribunal.
Duelling, as the law now (lands, can fel
donl be overtaken by legal punithraent. The
challenge, appointment, and other previous
circnmftances which indicate the intention
with which the combatants met, being Cup.
pressed, nothing appear to a court of jullice,
but the artua! rencounter. And if a person
be flaw, when artuaily fighting with his ad
veriary, the law deems his death nothing
more than msndaughter.
V ! E N N_A, December 5.
BY an order of the Emperor, fiKncU me
23d of November last, all the regiments
of dragoons are to be augmented with a
fourth division, which in all will make r»
squadrons more. This unexperted order has
occasioned many conjerturer: Sdrne artribute
it' to the troubles in the Low Countries, o
thers interpret it as a sure proof of a third
campaign against the Turks j whilst others,
. in fine, regarded it as a mere precaution,
which the present date of things requires.
As the orders are verv prefirag, the/foldiers
will be drawn from different regiments, which
will afterwards be compleatt s by recruits.
They also talk of an order sent by the War
Department to all the Governors of the Aus
trian Provinces, informing them that they
will iurnilh 90,000 recruits for the service of
next year. are affined also. that the
third battalions to fume regiments, which in
tunes of peace confided of but 400, and in
war time of 6©o, will now be made up to
! 200 men *, and to supply all wants, the ex
tiaordmary contribution imposed last year
continues to be levied, throughout the whole
Monarchy,
14 It being proved that the cruelties
and thefts committed at Alzantiz, in Gallica,
were by Polith foldiere, the Emperor has re~-
juired fatitfartion for it of the Republic, as
a violation of territory. The regiment es
tCarauzai has received orders to march in
inec divisions to the frontiers of Poland,
nd will be followed by the light horse.
H ER VC, (Lembourg) Dec . »$.
Several delerten who are arrived from the
mperial armv, with their arms and baggage,
nave brought ui word that the Patriotic army
*as only at half a league'* diflance fiom that
f the Emperor, which waa near the Marche
vhen they left it, ami that the peasants that
ouduttfd the Austrian baggage took away
bet i hetlee and Had, iiUeiauefc tJuai it tea*
supposed that General Vender Mcrfcfc may
have oveitaken and dilperftd the rest of the
Royal troops, and probably taken the fortrefa
of Luxemburg, from whence we impatient
ly wait for further accounts.
PARIS, December 31.
Three persona have been taken up for cir
culating the hand-bill securing the King’s
brother of a conspiracy.
Fifty-four witneiTes have been already ex
amined, on the process against the Baron do
Beleuval; of these, one part knows nothing
of the particulars of the aftur, and the other
haa no accusation to bring against the de
fendant.
The following is the authentic relation of
the frightful cataftrffphe which happened on
Sunday the 15th in the city of Senlis, in the
Isle of France, as drawn up by the order of
the Permanen Committee of that city, and
sent to the National A trembly.
This being the day appointed for the be
nediction of the National Colours, all the
companies of this municipality were aflemblcd
at the Hotel de Ville, to proceed from thence
to the Cathedral.
The proceffiun had scarcely advanced forty*
fleps when a (hot, sited from a window,
bounded one of the drummers. While they
were looking about to find from whence the
blow came, many other (hot were fired from
the fame house; one of these broke the arm
of M de Blanc, an officer in the company of
Fufilicrs. and son of a Deputy in trie Nation
al Allembly ; another pierced the bread and
killed M. de Lorme, Captain of the famci
company.
The order of the pmcefliiu vifra immedi
v ately iute>rupfed. Detachments of the ca
valry and infantry, which composed the tear
guard, and many of the corps of Archers
and Royal Purifiers, forced open the door of
the house ; but the inride of the house was so
barricadoed a6 to preveut all possibility of en
trance into the chamber from which the vil
lainy was perpetrated. Some mining instru
ments however were soon fetched, aud they
made away to the chamber. On breaking
the pannel of the door, they perceived a fire
within, and many of the companv ran out t<>
brine the fire engines to the place; at the
tame iuftant, the whole house blew up ip the
air. About rix-ty perfon* were buried in the
ruins, fbme of whom were afterwards extri
cated alive indeed, bu* grievouflv wounded;
but the greatest part perilhed. ’ The parricuJ
tars ann me rannves in vav
yet only guessed at, the villainous contriver,
the master of the house, being one of thol#
who perished in the ruins. The only we®
attested faft is, that this wretch, by nama
Billon, had been a little while before turned
out of the corps of the Fusiliers Some pen*
pie have since declared, that they had heir®
himfwear to be revenged ; so that we hav«
no reafan to attribute the event to any other
source than the refemment, however horrid
in its effects, of an enraged individual. If
there should be any accomplices in this attro
cious aft they will probably be soon discover
ed, from the measures taken by the Magify
trites of this city
We the undersigned have sent this authentic
relation of the mournful caraftrophe, to pre
vent, as much as possible, the effefts of filfip
and exaggerated accounts fpiceding through
the kingdom.
Signed by DESLANDES, Prerident,
And all the Members of the Permanent
Committee of the city of Senlie.
AUGUS~f% May 8.
An ACT
Providing for the enumeration of the Inhabit
tunts of Ihe U iittd States*
BP it enaSed be the Senate and House of
R.preientatvves of the United States of
America its Congress ajftmbled , That the Mar
ihals of the fcvcral diftiifte of the United
States, (hall be K and the? are hereby autho
rifed and requited tocaufe the number of in*
habitants within their refpeftive diftrifts to H#
taken ; emitting in such enumeration Indians
not taxed, and diftinguifliing free perious,
including 'hofe hound to ftrvice for • term of
years, from sll others, diftinguithiof also the
tests and colour• of free ptrfons, aud t n§
fits males of Jiaiee* years and upward* frog}