Newspaper Page Text
VOL. VI.
AUGUSTA printed BY DANIEL STARNES O? Co. west end of broad-street. SATURDAY Nioht, March j. i 3i + .
Truth and Eloquence. |
Mr. Holmes made the fol
lowing remarks in his second
speech:
The honorable gentleman
rose, and after lome prelim
inary remarks, he observed :
There is more clamor in
the senate of Mafiachufetts,
than there is among the citi- f
zens of the commonwealth.
Out of this house every thing
indicates peace and quietness.
If you are fincercly desirous
to have the conflituficnality
•f the embargo law decided,
I have obierved before, you
may apply to the judiciary,
and have a speedy dtcifion ;
and then, it not agreeable to
your feelings, you can dill
pursue your revolutionary
courie. I have heard of
some gentlemen who pro
posed to take the sword in
one hand, & the constitution
in the other, and demand
their rights, ts the gentle
man was to attempt finch a
thing in thedillridof Maine,
where he came from, he knew
the courie which would be
pursued against him; he
would be taken before the
judge of probate, ar.d be put
under guardianlhip.
The gentleman has made
ft range remarks upon the
fubjed 0 f free ships making
free gates. Our govern
ment docs not contend tor
this; yet general Washing
ton was in favor of free (hips
making free goods—he made
ieveral treaties recognizing
the piinciple.—By the treaty
oi Litca a in 1677, & Utrecht
1 713, Grcat-Britaiu recog
nized the principle, & three
times was it engrafted into
treaties wiili Holland. The
rcaion is, that Gieat Britain
was, at those periods, neu*
trai, while other nations were
at war. It teems singular,
that after these opinions and 1
decifi >ns of neutral cornmer
-1 iai nations, the gentleman
fr xn Eficx lhould be the firlt
to discover that this principle
was aguiaft the rights oi neu
trals.
States’ govern
ment know the objects of the
Maifachufetts ’ leg 1 flu ure
they do not care for them —
neither will they had it ne
ccftary to u(e any force.
The friends of the union in
Mafiachofetts aienumerous,
and fully competent to put
ctawn any attempt that mav.
be made 10 reli t the laws of
the onion by force.
Suppose liic fainted (hides ;
of your Hancock and your •
Adam*. were to vdit this ;
fienak chamber by accident
MIRROR OF THE TIMES.
and hear your debates, they
would naturally conclude
they were in the affcmbly of
one of the Britilh colonies. !
How could it be otlierwife, !
when they heard you juftify
every meafureof the mother
country, eulogize her laws
& apologile for her otfences.
But what would be their!
feelings when they found, to
their oifappointment, they ‘
were in the Maffacfoufers* |
senate chamber, hearing the j
debates on the answer 10 the I
governor’s speech.
I perfedtly agree with his
excellency, that, if the wax
is as he deferibes it, unjust , i
it is difficult to account how
chose who think so, can re
joice at a victory, or reward j
the man who has achiev*
cd it—upon the governor’s
ground, commodore Perry
and all his brave affuciates
must be hired assassins. The
cause is not less wicked, be
cause it is fuccefsful. It
would hardly comport with
\he views of a mural and re.
ligious people, to rejoice at
a murder, becaufc it was
done with a favorite weapon,
Suppose it to be true, as you
lay, that your parry have
been the exclufiveadvocates
of a navy, and we hive been
its exclusive foes, which, by
the by, is rar from being the
lad, would that be a reaiou
tor icjuicirrg at its triumphs
in a had cause ? Suppose, fir,
you had a'favorite pair of
pUtols, and you and I had
contended about their effica
cy. You, that they were of
the best construction, and I
that they were not. At
length, however, ] am con
vinced and purchase a pair,
i fee, palling by the high-'
.way, very peaceably and in*
noceiftly, your old friend &
parent; he was particularly 1
dear to you ; he had never
* done you any rffential inju
ry, and had at all times been
tne bulwark of the religion
you profcflcd. Though I
had no ground of complaint
again(f him, yet this is a
good opportunity to try my
l*iltd —I take good aim and
lodge the ball in his heart—
i lurn to you — “ fir, you
was ri gin. I am convinced ;
come rejoice with me, fur i >
have killed your parent with
thole pistols ; they even ex- ;
ceed your dclcription." You
would view me with horror. l
“ Well,’* I.would lay cairn
iy, “ if you will not rejoice 1
jat the evet:t, you may at ieafi
; honor and reward me for the ,
| a t. lb 1 I alfure you that l!
j Ciid 11 genteelly Sir, you;
1 VV ULii %a cifcilwwiilcC lb w ** J <i
44 HOLD THE MIRROR UP to Natuß E-— Shakespeare.
murderer of the blacked hue. t
But I do not believe that
gentlemen are quite io in
! confident—l fufpedt that
j this rejoicing is matter of
policy rather than sincerity j
It was necelTary to dissemble !
to keep the people right, & J
perhaps it was found conve- !
nient to pacify your own
; confcicnccs; men lometimes
‘practice this artifice upon
themselves. I remember a J
I case which I believe is in j
j point—l will relate it, that
you may judge—two neigh
bors lived in a date of the
j bitterest enmity ; one of them
was sick 6c expe&cd to die— !
j he lent tor his enemy and
; proposed a reconciliation—
it was agreed to, and every
thing wore the appearance
of Christian charity and for
givenels; hut as this new j
I made friend was about tak
ing his leave, the lick man !
beckoned to him—“ Stop,
fir, now remember that if I
recover this all goes for no
thing, it is to be just as it
was before, if I get well.’*
Your case is not very differ
ent. When the country j
prclpers and triumphs and
you are lick and likely to die !
(for die you mud in times
of proiperity) you fend for
your political opponents, al
| led to repent, propose to be
, Americans, and to jjin in (
rejoicing at our victories; 1
but it is with the sick man’s
i , ,
iclci vation—“ dop, gentle
men, now remember if we
| recover, if any misfortune
; happens to your country up- I
on which we can rise , we ■
r,., . . I
; reierve tlie right to rejoice
as loudly, and ten thuuiand
times as sincerely at your
! country’s misfortunes as we
! did at her triumphswhe
: ther some conscientious mis
givings, were the cause of
the rejoicings at Perry’s vic
tory, I leave fur some gen.
tlcme;. in the majority to
determine—certain I am that
, this is the bed way of rccon- 1
I ciliating their kerning in
! confidency—and I am incli- j
, ned to heheve that some ex- 1
! uitation at our late misfor
tune* will jjftiiy the con- I
clulion.
The gentleman from Es
-1 sex has intimated that if G.
Britain yields the right of
I iaipreffmtTit, it would be the
deltruitiun of our marine.
And the realbn he gives, is,
j that it would induce an m
! liux of Britcli Uilurs, 10 the
cxciulioi of our oa'ii. His
ttic gentleman fcrgoiten that
! we have a law cxpicf.i/
ciudnikT Brituh ( ulurs from
I „
uur employ r h) du gen-
Jtlemen keep this a<d out of
view in debate ? Is it becaufc
it is a pacific tneafure, and
they are afraid to dileufs its
merits ? The majority have
taken fpccial care to exclude
Ithat ad from this debate.
[ Here Mr. Putnam rose, and
laid that he did not notice
the ad, because it did not ex
clude Britilh lubjeds which
I had been naturalized here.]
The gentleman is welcome
: to his explanation, but it
doe* not help him to his con*
clulion—it is thought that
there are not fifteen hundred
Britiffi sailors who have been
naturalized here. But if there
were fifteen thousand, it
would create no influx, be
c.iufe naturalized Britilh lub
jeds arc presumed to be
already here—it is really
difficult to perceive from
what preinifes the gcmlc
, man could have drawn his
conclusion—it is a little lin
gular that Washington and
j Adams did not view the l’ub •
jed in this light—they never
, conlidtred impreffmenta be
nefit—on the contrary, they
opposed it as an indignity,
which the U. States could
' not endure—even Mr. Pick
ering denied the rigiit—
; Judge Mai (hall 5c Mr. King
clearly and definitely con
tended and proved that Great
Britain had no light to im
press a Britiffi subject natu
ralized m America—ids new
dodrine, fir, that impress
ment on board our /hips is a
Britiffi right, ..and a benefit
to ciic United States.
It is contended that the
treaty of Monroe and Pick
ering could have fettled all
difficulties. That treaty, if
ratified, would neither have
fettled tlie question of im
pressment nor prevented the
orders in council. This I
will prove. The treaty it
felf contained no ftipujation
on the fubjed of impreff
tnent. The nete on that
fubjed was never con/idered
in ihe nature of a (tipula
tion ; and the Britiffi minis- J
! iry, when called on for an |
explanation, dilavowed hav-
I * * V
mg made any arrangement.
The Britiffi mini/fry, by their
ictier ol the 3 1 ft Dec. t bob,
; cxprenly declared, that if:
the Berlin decree was enfor
; ced and not refilled by A®ic
rica, they claimed tiie right
to rciaiiate, notwithstanding
the treaty. Had that ’redy
been raiificd by Mr. Jcthr
i'ji 1, after tins av*wai, it ,
would have been comtrucd
’ . I
1 into an al.m: on our pair
. 1 <
that Gicat Bntam inigtd le- ,
taii..ie wnticvcr ft*; iu: _h*
deem French aggreflion, and
i might be the judge, when,
and how far we ought to
resist them. And it feemi
flic undertook in eight days
after this letter to retaliate
I the Berlin decree, by the or
der of 7th January, 1807,
before we had heard of that
decree.
In speaking of Frenc h in
fluence, Mr. Holmes obier
ved, the gentleman from
Worcester fpcak< of Genet
and Fouchet, and of their
infulung the government.
Whatever attachments we
'might have had for France,
: when (lrugglt‘ig,a» we tho’t,
for liberty; we have none
1 now. Her attempt failed,
! and our attachur nt, if any,
: | vamfhed at thecUablifhtnent
’| of her monarchy. The gen -
1 j tleman alludes to flour con
1 neceflary to go back to the
| days of Fouchet, to prove
“ flour contracts.” It is pof
j Able that fume very late con
trad® might implicate some
1 of our friends near homo,
j It is, perhaps, mod prudent,
i or the gentleman and his
friend to fay rcry little of
flour contiads. Was the
fending Dack Turreau’s /illy
and mloleiit letter iviibou: an
answer, evidence of French
influence ? Had Mr. iv 4 tdi
fon lent back an insulting
letter of a Britilh minister
wnanlwercd, the gmis and
wanton inlult offered »o it is
I majetly’» crown «nd dignity,
, would have heco so -nd-d iront
U«orgi» to Maine j the minuter*
would hava appealed to the pro.
pie iu the form of a circular :o thn
consuls, or some 0 her form, and
he would have been aynapathizad
with, cammed and feared by all
{ hia majesty’* laitlilul subjects Irutn
Washington to Bos'on. Vet Mr.
Madison for refuting to answer
i thin lettet, and compelling ih** wri
' ter to take it back, i. a Frenchman.
Was Washington an Englishman,
in a similar case, for atnd'tig back
a letter unopened, because u waa
iiiiuluogly addressed l
Mr. Holmes, after reading tho
documents relating to the Ilutsian
msdiatjon, observed, What will
i those gentlemen say, who have un-
J dertaken to prove, by “ facts aid
; reasoning,” that Mr. fHiad
no authority to prapoie this oiedia.
tion ? Here ia proof that will put
1 down the revilers of 'h«t great and
good »*", James Madi»on. Let
these gentleman aiteir.pt lo im
peach his character—they cannot
reach it! Let your mo«r malignant
j rewtpaoers attack him; let your
Lillie Hebei and other little rep
til*** raise their nuny head* '«> p«UI
down the fair fabiic ot hi* fame—
n* will 111 ght the moa: coir'rinpti
b|.* gro’indb' g atieiop- «o subvert
1 fie un.vrrse! No. sir I H*• rsi«>iin•
tun * r sinh '.i© g! |i 11 e*bl)ii h« d
uii ilij »oik el rteroal "u n ! la
tan will iliJ o' 1-cufo
buf»' upon it- b *' occa.i
t», r.a.'iUill/ btCwK - » O-liv** ll* '
l«lt, j j
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No. a3i.