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! mirror of the times
VOL; VI.
AUGpSTA printed By DANIEL STARNES Os Co. west end of broad-street. SATURDAY Nioht, February :6, 1814.
JfEPUiUCJZ 'XELOqjJEXCE.
SPEICt of the Hon. Mr. HOLMES,
Jn the Senate of Massachusetts,
durin* the debate on 'he reported
answer to the Governor''s Speech,
]VIr. President,
When after eight dav'a deep
cogitatjpn of the committee, an an
swer Unreduced, which, I appre
hend, vfll remain a standing iro -
mimaotpf the degradation o: tins
once reipt state ; ti;e pemle
»nea ot f> e majority naust not deem
it unrcj*t>nsbie, it I cccitpy some
time ns raeriti. But
io this, I ronic&i, l despair of mak
ing anyji impression on the majority
of this b oard. Aher having, dur
ing a wfr of eighteen months, taken
their ground against their country,
and in favor es its enemy | ait r
having condemned their own go
veronvcpn, and justified the aggtvs
sions aid auotuies of the e >ciuy,
ju eveijr particular, without a soli
tary exception, an attempt to a.s
auade hem from this course, mun
in thia tase be desperate. 1 might
as vMH attempt to convc>; an
-Atbeie toy scripture; 1 might at
well g«i into the church yard, «e.
bake the tombs, and expe&iuia;t
with t e tdeeping ash<*» ot the dead.
No, »4r, it is not thtm s whom *
expect t<» convince or to edify : it
is an &)p rebension,tbat silence may
be deanur! an a q neaceuce iu the e
infUcfetnry proceedings} is :> 10.
the sate of my political friend* thai
I staid forth the advocate of my
injured country.
I agre* vri:h his esceiieccv, th*
the 1 berty of »pecch is important
to a iret people, and he who would
restrain it, is a fee torep. biican
freedom. It is a privilege which
I highly prize, and which 1 shall
take advantage of iu di b te.
True, it «n*y be abused : In ba 1
times, bad men wtd endeavor to
excite discontent. Iu ihe icuto
ineocemeut of war, slander ai/d
abuse are wonderfully successful.
There %va3 d-oger for a vrinle, mat
the outrages ot party might drive
the administration from office, or
compel them to nuke an ignomu
aiou* peace. But truth prevailed.
Nctwithitanding every attempt to
a (.tumbling block ui the way
of Ue adroieutrauon in the day*
©f iheir difficulty and cii.tress cheir
popularity has increased, and the
pee de are more united than at me
coamencement of the war. You
•petit of the g-owing u
tiie people; where is your evi_
dcolef In the elections ? In what
eleotions ? In New York, »h.-wiost
%«ourmercial state in the Union?
In Sew Jersey, where everj D!viKb ,
wat regenerated in a year ? Iu *U
rviriJ, where you but just-mug.
file! in yeur governor r In Vcr
uic-st, to &t sure, you have u sou
nevity governor fat one year, ana
1 trust, for one yea: only. But, in
the city of New York, at a ve.y
law election, the American cauuc
prevailed by a charigt ib«t wa.
trily astonishing-. And ail of this
in toe of war, gainst the lucc-saut
el.mors and slanders of party,
w.knut any sedition ac*., or uther
ac to screen the admuusuction.
His excellency informs us jhat
he has received fifteen hundicd
stmds of aruis from the secretary
utwar; and you, in answ» i,stm
bite this event to the efficacy of
%o>r famo«B resolve of June last.
1« suppose that, that anticlimax,
tbit complete apecimen in the art
olsioking,could produce any other
eftet tn the mind of the secretary
of war, than ridicule, i- to me ab
idutely incredible. It began with
full of invecovr?, with
a« Whereas” followed* by a string
“ HOLD THE MIRROR UP To NatUße— Shakespeare,
of accusations against the whole
course of th.* mra-ures of the ad.
ram'stratjen, and concluded with a
“ Therefore, lie*o'ved, iba* the ad j
jt»*ant grr.t r al be rt q »*'«(* d to write
o Gen Armstrong io r arms, ftc.*’ |
Ii was indeed a production which
promised much, and performed no- !
thing, and l will add, effected I
nothing. It is probable Gen. j
Armstrong, agreeably to hu pro- 1
m »e, sent yo« the arms as so??n as I
nuy w C re ready; bit nor.e the!
-oont-r for your pitiful resolve.
But this war is ut.j ist. Must i
we travel over this ground eg .iu?
This charge has been ruiuted mo-e
than it thousand times. Bui dm
nii'kea no ddf rence, they can re«
n n vv it 5 though vanquished, they
can argue atilt. The right of block
ade. orders in council, *nd impress
ment are brought up, &Dd all justi. (
h-d w'th ereater übstiuecy than in
the British parliament.
1 have said, and I rtpear it, that
tba priority of the French decrees
could be no excuse fur itiese or..
' lers, if such had Deen tlie fact.
vVhat,sir, re'.aiiate upon *n inno
cent neutral thu aggrchsious which
your tn« my has committed upon
hat neutral. The priority of ay.
gressiun makes no difference; Each
nation must account with us, for
cbo injury it has don a us i A have
wondured that the government of
rlie United States have ever cuu
descended to ducus» tne q jestiou
of the priority of these edicts;
aUnougli ii is neyoud question, ihai
the b!i><kaiie us the l/th of Mxy,*
IBJS, wa* far more injurious to
Aißericau cuitiinerce, than the Ber
lin decree of the 21st of Novem
ber IjUu wing. This esira©idinary
oiccltade obstrucied the commerce
o tirady one thousand mdes ot ie>>-
..Oa t, tucluding usany importaut
cotumerciai cutes, and the mouttis
of several Urge and navigable ri.
vers, Bu. the advocates of firiiaiu
say she had a right to do a>l this,
bhe had force enough to invest this
whale t-xient; therciore, it was
legally blotkadtd, whether the
foice was applied or not. So, 1
auppo c, gendernen would conitcd
that some oih-ir coast, cquahy ex
tensive, was actually b uckadtd,
because it m’gNt be; and in this
way, Britain m-ght biockade everj
pou in the world at the same tinio.
But the sirongett a ivoc * teg for re
t«liatiOO, have no, preieujed that
it couui be ju»t tied uiv.it »«f er no--
ttce of the fi.s. aggression, a.ul i
neglwct or refusal to r.pel it.—- I
Upwn what principle, then, was two
Older 01 council of tne Bttt jao la
ry, 1807, imposed ? This was bui j
foriy.ji.v<*o days afttr 'he beiuu ;
• decree, and before v/e could have i
had nonce of it; and yet G i*t j
Britain nad a-tight, sav they, to!
retaliate on us tor an act widen we ;
couiil not prevent, and of wuich we i
did no. kuoA l it i t in vain to pre. !
tend that this order was not a icta. i
li lion of vile Boilvi dcCiee, be- j
cause leas tigorou* m it.nii. It;
waa contrary to the known law of I
na ions, aad Lin .am had not he
to enforce it; bu* Fiance
h«d no power to enforce ii r Je
cree, and it couid be conducted '
bui an ciop y threat.
Bui uis iUggc»'ed, 'hat thii war j
it for ibe prelection oi B.i :sii sea. i
u)cH. Ihi 3 -.na-g-; is vvi.H Hit c.ny i
foundation. Wo are coiurndmg
ior thv protection oi ou own sea- |
•nca on board of our own ships,
Ihe law ot nations ariin'is noi «n. |
subjects of one u«*t»'iivo mier on
board the ehip* ot an o her, and to i
iake guefi as they shall jitige heir '
o«n. I’ne c,i. is »l<n r .e, *U i ta. ,
pablc of ueoior.giiauou. Jhe oca* I
is die count) u nighway o: . atiuo*.
(fa It, cauu has a Ou Cuifeut, Dot i
tfither an exclusive jurisdiction.
If, then, one nation ha-, a right to
take such as she shad judge hei
j O’vn suhj-ict*, ia this couvwon ja
rindictii'Q, ihe retake the
| same subj cr, if she judges him to
be her own. If this nation has a
right to rmpture, she his. atser.
(tori, a right to retist the first tak.
! tog —so that pursuing your princi
ple, «ne nation claiming a C't’Xen -
in a jurisdiction common to bu h, >
has a right to take Ivui f om ano
, ther, white this other, if ohe claims ,
him. ha- a light to resist. But,
though the jurudiction is concur
rent on theocc?n,it is rot so on
hoard ship. Here the jurisdic.ion
ii exclusivvi The municipal law
prevails here.
Vattkl fays, that a per
j son born on sh ip board is con
lidered as the natur?l born
labject ct fbe nation to which
the Ihip belonged,* becaufc
within the exclusive jurif
did ion ot that nation. It is
true that there are cases, in
which a belligerent may be
put on board for certain pur- !
poses; lor instance, to search
lor Contraband goods, and to
prevent a violation of the
blockade. JBut these are ex
ceptions, and go to prove
the rule. It is inamfelt that
* these exceptions, especially
that relative to contraband
goods, are the eftedt of com
pact. They arc part of the
conventional law of nations.
The natural law never defi
ned what articles were con
traband. These executions,
so ftritfUy defined, and care
fully guarded, prove, incon-
the general rule,
that each nation has an ex
clufivc jurifiJidtion on ocard
its lliips on the ocean Hut
to pretend that because there
is one exception, there is
therefore another; that bc
caulc the officers ol one na
tion have a right ta enter on j
board the (hips of another, in
• learch ol contraband goods,
and if they find any that are !
lufpicious, they have a j
1 to carry in the ship formal,
| that therefore inch officers i
j have a right te enter on board ,
i and take such men as they j
i fhali judge their own, with
'■out triai, is, I confcG, aj
i couife of realoning which 1
ido not fully underlland. If
j this right exilts, why do not
gentlemen give us the proof!
ot it? They arc wife and;
, ieai ned in the law of nations;
j where is the writer on na-i
j tional law, who has under
taken to cflablid) the right
of a nation to enter on board
the ships of another, and to
take lath as (he may deem
her own, without fuhmitting
j tne q’jtilion to an . tenia- j
tionai tribunal ?
[ Bat gentlemen infimate,
that Brmth fubjei‘ts t “w;iom
we have naiuiai:/ J, .m th--;
fubjed of contention ; and
they infid on the doctrine of .
pe r petnal allegiance ; or at
lead, that a naturalized citi
zen, has but a local protec
tion. That is, inasmuch as J
allegiance and protetftion are
reciprocal ; and this protec
tion does not extend beyond
the territory or exclusive ju
! rldiclion of the nation, so
the allegiance is lubjeft to
the fame limitation. As a
confcquence of that doctrine,
a Britiih fubjed, naturalized
here is obliged to fight a
gaintl his native country un
til he gets three leagues from
the shore, a\d the moment
he crosses this imaginary
line, he is absolved from his
allegiance, and obliged to
fight for his native againlt his
adop : cd country. This con*
sequence, alone, is fufficient
:to make the propofkion ri
diculous. But the law has
removed every doubt on this !
fubjett. Naturaliz tion is
denied, the giving a foreign
er the rights of a cruizcr j or
converting a foreigner into
a citizen. The word itfclf
carries with it its own defi
nition. — Our own law has
determined its eflfedt.—lt
wis decided in New-York,
•that it operates retraElively,
and places the man in the i
fame situation as if he had !
{always been a citizen. The j
| principle is the fame in
; England. Coke and Black
| hone tell us, that, if a man
be made a denizen, the
children born after he was
denizated dull inherit, but
j not thole which were born
before. But it is not so in
the cafj of naturalization ; j
[ bccaufe naturalization has a
retrol'pedtivcenergy. Butthe
ißrituh tlatuie which pro- 1
! vides for the naturalization
of such foreign Teamen as
fhali have lerved two years
ion board their fhtps, puts
j this quediori beyond doubt.
The a£t makes them as na- ;
tural bom lubjedh or natives
I within the kingdom.
w i
But the anlwcr to his ex
cellency t fpcechlus brought
up ihcqueition of retaliation ;
1 and a wonderful degree of
! sympathy is excited for his
majeity’s lubjeCtc Newark
; is artrully feleded, prot3abiy ,
as the licit aggretfion. 1 sup
pose the burning the defence- ,
lels villages on the 111 ares of
the CneUpcake, are inltan
cts of Lrtiilil mercy. Ine
excinng the Indians to i.idif
criminate mafiacre, was Bu
t’fh mercy. The brutalities
oi mat Vandal, CoCKBUKN,
arc inllnnccs of tins mercy !
Tiie cold-blooded rrvirJe s us
■■ V
No. 280.
' I
****** MMMkM
that Goth, Proctor, are
; further inftancci of it! Who
were the aggieflW? in thii.
bulinefs of retaliation ? The
(advocates of perpetual alle
. glance will fiy A ncr-ca !
i With them, a man i« fixed to
I the lpot where he drew his
tirft breach. If an American,
onavifit m England, happens
to have a son born there,
though the parent should
, immediately return with him
to America, this child owes
an allegiance which he can
never (hakeoff; and it thir
ty years afterwards, in tie
i fending his foil from Eritilh
1 pollution, his houle from
conHagiation, his wife and
; children from rape, he hap
peneu to be made piifoner,
he is condemned as a vile
traitor to hts Mijefly, is fen.
tcnced to be hanged by the
neck until he is almost dead,
to be cut down, his bowels
‘ torn out by violence and
thrown in his face, Ins head
cut off, his body diffcdtcd in
quarters, and the quarters to
be at his Majesty’s dilpofal :
This is a necellary confc
quence of Bririfh humanity.
Put we arc charged with
driving the aborigines from
their inheritance. It is but
: a Ihort time iince Mr. Jef
ferson was an ©bje<st of ri
dicule, for his regard for the
Indians and his difpofuion
to civilize them. Now, that
they are the allies of his Ma
jedy, all hostility again!*
them is cvidcnceof a disposi
tion to exterminate them—
Never was a charge more
unfounded, cruel, and per
nicious—Wc have uled them
as children.—They hive no
ground of complaint again!*
; us; and what good motive
could have induced his Ex
; ceilency to infulc into the
minds of the people, and of
thole Indians, that the Uni
; red States a»e determined to
I drive them off? I’ he effect
iis beyond doubt. —lt will
awake them to vengeance,
!and the innocent blood
which may how m conse
quence. may one day he re
quired of us, who difTcmi
natc charges so groundless
1 and injuriour.
J3.it it is hid that this is a
; war again!* New-Eogland.
| Here is the attempt again
to exciie local jeaJou i.s.—
Nevv-England has interests
pcctilidr to herhlf; !he mast
bu leparate. The honorable
chairman, probably looks
forward io the period, when
we can fucak of the king
(iom of New-Eugl inn ; ami
poflibly antic»o-ffS Jo
si ah the Itßsr H).»y be