Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

[VOL. I-] '^QITSTA- PRINTED BY DANIEL STARNES & Co. PROPOSALS |y DANIEL JTARNES & CO. JHE CITY of AUGUSTA, TO BE ENTITLED Mirror of the Times. TpF universal promulgation of w ! ' \ h e eeatnl deftribution of know of the firft importance m C ountry where liberty ha. left trace. Sto tftep., under every government uvh confult* the happmef* of Man.— h edve” f«id the Great Lord Bacon .gnewWg <^. ted w - tb vjr(ue .. it certainly 'tK ’ Where ignorance reign, there t lthumph* and despotism govern.. A, I!! become* enlightened authority will be - Vi, morality reflorcd.- Knowledge Ac r'fX hie. Os freedom-the one Ssu»r. our right, the other teache. antin' the tit ft lhew* us how to *Xa the best poffibl. form of govern the la ft requires us to obey it when con- Sa. hi» therefore advantageous every ..ire, but i» * Public it ts abfolutely■ ne v J (bat corred information thou'd be “J’diffufcd and eaftiy obtained, For ,Wr, l the fmfU who govern. 7be, never Ltionally choole bad leaders or approve wtm raeafurei, yet they are I,able to error then, true detatls and they will judge coueclty—t'oron phi* groundt the people al iform j*l tpinionj ; whenever they mif ukl their own mtereft ‘ti» owing entirely to wsntof information in the many or want of bsnefty in the fttn. But txtcnfivt political in luimiton is not to be acquired without much iilHiur, and few have leifurc to study the "fjtlmi,compare the opinions, Ac peruse the page, of Locke, Sydney, Gibbon, Hume Ac Valid. If an acquaintance with the true ptiDciplesof government & duties of a citizen could be acquired only from huge folios Jcdiffufc(resides, it would be seldom fought or if fought, the plough, the iMchet, and the law mult Hand (fill. Some cheaper and «a£er means of fatisfying curiosity and procuring information ntuft therefore be looked lor; and where is intelligence Urapnefo and convenience united with more iduouge, tnan in the dofcly printed col inni oi the humble News-paper ? Our countrymen appear so well ef the ufetulnefs of periodical print., and have Id firj liberally encouraged them, that we derm it unnecessary to iufift on their merit uOalmolt hefttate to request public pat ronage for auother News-paper eftablifh wnt. We e,n promise little except what atten tion, honesty & industry can perform. Th« printiplesofour Paper, like our own, will be Republican, “but the fame freedom of opin ion which we claim for ourfelvct, we wifli dlothento enjoy.” Civil and Religious liberty i§ the birh right of evry man, and It who will not extend the sane indulgence to dlparties, and all fed, which lie wiflie* for his owu, is already or deierve. to be a hn, Tofopport Religion snd morality will W our priue—to encourage literature our endeavor—no communication* calculated to do either will be relnfed ; no hint will be Mgleded. In a free country it is neceflary that the law flinuld be neither vague nor ,1! purmc aft, of the State leg •Haturt, will therefore be publilhed as they wmetohand. The MIRROR OF THE TIMES will he •pea to all who canvass public measure with derency.and in examining the condntft of »-divid ua ! 8t as i fficers of government —it *know—“ So Part, but my Country, No l Truth" CONDITIONS. I The MIRROR OF THE TIMES will be publilhed every Monday, on a royal focet of au excellent quality, and good r yPf ' “• J 1 * P r, « to fubferbers will be three Wr* per annum, paid half yearly in tuvancc 11 BLThe P ri « lor advertising will be fifty «»>» per fqnarc tor the firlt insertion . ,11,r *y l * v en and a half f u r each con j Htuiation. W-will he delivered to Town a'h-rs at their places ot abode and ' c tor the country will be dene up Offi« CktU * D<i del ‘ ver * d « the Polt- M. Jameson & Co* tine jii'f received in addition to ntlr former stock the following tr iules, which wilt be sold U - l Jor CAhH or COTTON. VIZ. f OO Bu *Wl| Salt, Gteen cWe, arrts Irish Potatoes, * Lime, IT* Chee ’*' ,sC are uricd » lnd Kentucky Cotton- ALSO, f ° Hi y GALLONS , v lr 'sh mu key, Bbt old. bf thv n -I. }«ry, s y lhr J> c *"»J°hn. MIRROR OF THE TIMES. SPEECH OF Mr. DE WITT CLINTON, Delivered in the Senate of N. Tori. Tuefday, January 31. Mr. President, The critical situation in which the United States are placed, aflailed from without and from 1 within, menaced on the one hand by foreign violence, and on the other by domestic facti on, renders it the incumbent du. ty of the state government to ! step forth and unite their ener. gies with those of the general government At no period since the revolution have we b< en in greater jeopardy, and at no pe riod have harmony, patriotism, and exertion been more neces sary to ward off the dangers with which we are menaced.— When I can plainly perceive a spirit of faction and sedition ex hibiting it (elf in the mod odious light, and evidently acting in obedience to the nod of a foreign government, and that govern ment at the fame lime, assailing our rights and trampling upon our honor, I think it our duty to declare our sentiments to the world in a voice that can be heard and underflood. I have therefore prepared some reio lutions, which I will now pre. sent; and upon which I will de tain the Senate, with a few re mat ks. Indeed, the fubjeft is so well understood, that I would have preferred silence, if silence were compatible with the im portance of the occasion, and with the refped due to the Se. nate. I fliall pass over the inimical fpini which has been generally evinced by Great Britain, du ring Mr. Jefferlon’s adminiilra. lion, her redrifciions upon our commerce, and the unjud deci. fions of her admiralty courts, the judges of which are paid in propoaion to the amount of condemnations. Nor will 1 particularly dwell upon the nu merous acts of violence and in tuit, which have been commu ted upon our codlts, and in our haibors. It has been common for the veflels of G. Britain to Ration themleives at the mouths ot our harbors, to examine all veflels entering or departing, to capture on the moll frivolous pietexis, and to expose us to all the evils of a blockade. An Engliih frigate has entered the poriof!'Jew York, Sc has open- ' ly IMPRESSED fearnen from a merchant velfel at the Quar antine ground. loltead or be ing pumfhed by his government lor this audacious outrage, it is laid that the captain was pro moted to the command of a seventy four. Part of a French squadron was puriued by a Bri tilh fleet within ihejurifdictional line of the United biates, and a t rench 74 was burnt on the coalt of N. Carolina. The murder of Pierce is frefli in our j memories. An American cit izen, in purluit of his ordinary butmefs, and even when obey ing a command 10 come to, was MURDERED within our waters, by the inlamous Whit by. At the time dm atrocity was perpetrated, the offending velfels were wnhin a maiinc ieaguc of our coals, and p »eiee’s <s hold the mirror up tO nature.”— Shakespeare. WEST END OF BROAD STREET. veffe! was near the iliore. The lenfibility felt and expreTed by all parties on this occaiion, ex. cited terror in the bosom of the ruthless murderer, and in a struggle between his pride and his fear, he wrote a letter to me as chief magiftrateof the city of Sew York, atiempiing-to pah j liate his enormity, but at the fame time criminating the ma giltrates, for the detention of lb me of his officers in the city, (an allegation totally destitute of truth) and breathing inlult and menace. The conduct, of Whitby was represented to the President. A formal complaint was made to the British miniitrv. A court martial was in(tiruted. Witnesses were sent over to England at a great ex pence, who fully fublfantiatcd the char, ges against him. The court ac* quitted him, and his sword was rellored to him wi:h a compli mentary speech from the prefi. ding officer ! This mock-trial, by a packed court, was more insulting than no trial at ah, and one of the molt atrocious crimes that man can perpetrate again It man, and one of the molt in fufferable infuLts that nation can commit against nation, is to this day unpunished and u ;ex. piaied. the President oh the United Slates, on this occaiion, ifTued his proclamation, inter, dieting the offending velfels from the rights of hospitality. One of ihem, the Driver, after wards proceeded to the port of Charletton, Sc the captain there refufed to comply with the in junctions of our government, in terms of insolence and defiance, & compared our national chief magistrate to one of the petty delpots of the Barbary coalt. But the great fubjeet of con troversy between the two go vernments, is the impressment of Teamen from American vel lels. The right of impress. ment involves the right of search, and the right of search extern!* by the law of nations, to two cales only; contraband arti cles and enemy’s property.— The latter is even a doubtful poinu The great objefct of the armed neutrality formed by the Emprels of Rullia, was, to al ien and maintain the doCtririe that free ihips make free goods. But as this point has been con* ceded when Gen. Walhington was President, and Mr. Jetfer fon Secretary of State, it will not be proper to chicuts our claim on this occaiion. But there is no ftauue in the code of nations, which authoriles a learch and an imprcJJ'menL of seamen on board of neutral vef lels. This is an odious exten lion of the fy Utm of derivative tyranny, to the citizens of fo reign nations. The right to impress Bruifh fubjeCts on Bri tilh territory has been previouf •>' doubled and is exienuated on ly on the ground of necellity— a tyrant’s plea. To apply this a ffumcd right, so queitioriable as it lefpetts their own lubjetls or territories, to the citizens and vessels of foreign govern, ments, is an cxecrablcencroach' ment on the independence and rights of nations. The mode in which u is exercised is calcula ted to produce the greatest op. prefhon. A merchant vellel u detained on the highway of nations or when entering 'ts port, a Lieutenant of Tome petty officer is sent on board, the lailors are mustered on deck, and the (lave of delpotifm (e --lefts his v‘itfims without refpecV ing the claims of citizenlhip, the demand of juliicc, or the prayers Sc fuppheations of the kneeling, friendlefs faiior. All he regards are phvlical ability and nautical dexterity. Thus an ignorant, prejudiced and in. terelled inllrument oftyranny is conflituted a judge in our own juriJdiction (for 1 cotvend that we have complete jurildiCtion on board our vessels on the high seas) —he is to determine on the citizenlhip of Americans to decide whether our brave tars (hall be (laves of the worlt kind, or continue fieemen.— The praQice partakes of the cha. racier and nature of the preten tion ; Sc on every lea Sc in eve ry harbour, Amercan citizens are wrested from their ships by force incarcerated on board fo reign vellels, lorn from their famlies and country, and com. polled, not only to endure mote than Egyptian bondage, but also to fight the battles of the very tyrant who inflaved them. The lupplications or our unfor tunate leamcn reach the govern ment from every quarter of the globe, and every Gazette is fil led with melancholy accounts of their (offerings. Our admi. niltration, ever attentive to the intereits of their couutry, has not faded to call the attention of the Briulh mmiltry to this sub. jefct, to protelf againlt thole usurpations, to demand re drei’s, and infilt upon a relin. quifhment of their pretended right. After many difficulties and great efforts, the Britilh ministry evinced a disposition to relax, and in verbal con ferances it was at one time a greed between Mr. King and lord Hawkebury, that Great ltain Ihould nui exereije her pretended right of imprdfment on the high leas. Idadthisino' dtfication been obierved, altho’ not entirely iatisfattory, yet it would have been gaining a great deal, Sc would have fervedasa preliminary Itep to a total abol ition of the pratticc. Before (he articles of the contemplated treaty were reduced to form, however, unexpected difficul ties were railed—the ommpo tenceofthe Britilh navy might be affected. And to enable Great Britain to back out of the. negociation with iouie appear ! ance of decency, a relervanon of the right within the four leas, and an implicit acknowledge, ment of her excluhve dominion to that extent were set up and made a fine qua non t on the part of Great Britain. This bioke off the negociation and our lea men continued exposed to vex. anon, to unrighteous imprison ment, and to every indignity Sc injulfice —“ hewetsof wo 0 d and drawers of water/' the mer 2 slaves of Britilh oppres sors. Messrs. Munroe and Pinkney, our ministers at London, found that this usurpation was the great stumbiing-block in the way of a renewal and arrangement of a treaty with Great Britain. With dispositions by no means unfriend ly to this country, the administra tion of Mr. Fox were bttii unwd- [No. XXV.] MONDAY’, April 3, l"*>? to abandon r pretehsion, and alter much difficulty it wag finally agreed that every obstacle in the power of the ministry slidyUt be interposed agabt't practical op. preasion. And toe treaty was ac conipanted Be a written declaration t'l t!ie British ministers of a right reserved, to vlo'ate the treaty, with a view to Retaliate upon France. This unsatisfactory pro vision for the protection of our seamen, and this unprecedented de. duration that the treaty should be obligatory on us at alt times, and should only be binding on Great Britain when she did not see fit to assert the law of retaliation, ren. dered the ratification of the treaty impossible. And the sending it b- ck unratified, with a view to the removal of the negotiation* could not be considered as offensive to Great Biitain, because our minis ters, at the formation of the treaty, assured her ministers, that they exceeded their instructions, and did not consider their government committed to sanction the arrange ment. With every disposition to benefit their country, with ta* lents adequate to vindicate her rights, and af\er the most earliest and commendable exeritnos, ai.er having exhausted every argument, and after having appealed in the most powerful manner to her inter ests ami tier sense of justice, all (fiat our tmuisur* Could obtain from Great Britain* was an empty declaration in favor of the right* of our seamen, which however plausible or proper, would, in fact nave been no barrier against her enormous oppression. Small as our confidence was in the justice of Great Britain, particularly after the establishment of the present m nistry, which is composed of the understrappers Si disciples of Put Daudas and Jenkhison, the decided foes of Ameiica, and as humble ia talents as they are destitute of in tegrity —*t ll it was not dreamed, that an act so atrocious in us cnar acter, so unauthorised in its princi ple, so unprecedented in the anoal* of nations, and so alarming to the world, as tiie attuck on the Chesa peake, could be committed. Tha nature of this outrage is well un derstood. Il has commanded tha attention and excited the indigna tion of every American. >\ n merican ship of w.tf was detained on the ocean, under pretence of toe right of searching f ur deser fd, umi »V4*- over powered by a.British armed ves^ } tlie lives of American citizens destroyed ; her crew w aß muster ed on deck, and some of them im pressed and forcibly dragged away, and to complete the muuman ca tastrophe, one or mo tc nauritred utidei the forms of just, ce< \V,,ei» # this eveut was announced, but one emotion thrilled the Oosouis of our citizens, q hose of New York of ,a > ,n d “Side their differ cn<f*s» assembled together, and in the face of day, dfcu the presence ■ <ocir themselves the government m a |l measures that might be adopted to vindicate hono? and to maintain our rights. s>im ilar declarations were made in all parts of the United States. All Africa appeared as if animatad with but one feeling, a 8 express.ng one voice, and tendering a united and energetic support to the go. vernuient. Would to God tnac tiicsc sentiments and feelings had continued in force to this dav.— If they had, the storm which now threatens our country would pro bably have passed by. If our na | ttonal government were actuated | by that hostility to Great Britain and that partiality to France, which have been so mjustly ascribed to them, this would have been a per iod peculiarly favorable to pro mote their views, to wreak their vengcauce fit to gratify their pre possessions. An immediate con vocation of Congress, at this time, i when the public sensibility w a » >o