The Louisville gazette and republican trumpet. (Louisville, Ga.) 1800-1809, February 10, 1802, Image 1

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THE LOUISVILLE GAZETTE; and REPUBLICAN trump et. ~ —— «w - - I~n < — 1 -- ■■ Mii»«|||„ „ —»S!# Volume IV.] WEDNFSDav r A __ 1 i-J AY, TjErR UARY 10, 1302. [No. 155. —lib Earns our motto —wad rxu'ih ovr guide. GEORGIA. LOUISVILLE :-~Pabhfhed every Wednefday, by AMBROSE 1 AY & JAM Lb LILLY, Pr nU sto ihc Stair at 3 Oilais pei ann :~\Vhere .iLys, Articles of Intelligence, Advetiicroems. eke. &c. aie thankfully icrcivcd. and I KiM i ILO in ad its variety, is executed with neatncCs and clilpatch. Hickory Grove, Jan. 10, 1802. To the Editor of the Monitor. sia,. IT is with reludance that I make a reply to a man who ap pears to be the cats-paw of ge neral Meriwether; and I lament having tried to fave the feelings I o t o of Mr. Halim myfirft publica- 1 tion, as he ffcill continues the | figner of the general’s midnight productions A piece fimilar to the one that bears his figna ture, was fliewn in Wafhington, the week after I brought their dirrv bufmefs before the public; it may have undergone fame alterations, but the pitiful grounds taken are (he fame. Why it did not appear fooner, I was at a lofs to account; but the thing is now developed, the general Jhulds himfelf behind his certi ficate figner. ; I (hould not have fpared Mr. ' Hall in the firft inftance, had it not been for the humiliating af- j furances which he gave me, as 1 well as my friends, relative to the , erroneous certificate which he iigned; the ufe of which I never would admit, to exculpate me from the cenfure of any man. I believe I am not lefs imprefft d With the folemnity of an oatli, than Mr. Hall, nor was I more flcgledful of the intereft of my condiments; vet I did not vote on the quefHon for difeharging major Berrien from his impeach ment, in a divifion of thehoulc, nor in the yeas and nays.* And here i beg leave to trouble | the public with a more minute iEtement of this t ran faff ion than has been given before ; and how laded on the fame. When the fubjedt was firfl agitated be fore the houfe, it was declared to contain new matter ; confe quentiy, by the rules of the houfe, mud lay one clay on trie table before a decifion could be had. It was the next dav called t*p, and a refolution offered by Mr. Elliott, to difmifs the arti cles of impeachment againft major Berrien, on the grounds their not being maintainable ; and it was while the motion Hood in this fhape, that I made my objections to voting and left the houfe, after obferving that 1 7 O "as not fufliciently informed of the grounds on which the im peachment was to be fupported, to enable me to determine whe ther they were maintainable or not, and that I therefore fhould decline to vote —Other mem ber or members, I believe, made the fame objedions as I walked °tit ; which I prefume induced tht gentleman who offered the refolution, to withdraw the lat ter part of it before there was — -•. ... . FTMIT a- „ g any decifion of the houfe on it; and the qutllion was taken fi r requdling the Senate ‘odifmifs all proceedings againft John Berrien Efq. founded cn articles of impeachment, without giving any rcafon why, and 1 did not I return to the houle until after j this queftion was decided, when I I I walked in and made my obfer- , 1 vation relative to Yazoo, as in i my former ftatemenr. M\ rea fon for declining to vote, and leaving the houle, 1 conceive, were juft ill able ; and in doing this, I conformed to what 1 law to be the cuftom of members. And while general Meriwether and Mr. Hall are making ufe of p every fubterfuge for ftreening themftlves, and trying tocrimi- | nate me in the eyes u die peo ple, I will propofc a few inter i rogatories. In the firft place, I 1 will afk tliofc gentlemen if the I D oath they and my ft-If took a.^ ; members of the legiflature, i makes any difference between I queftions of the firft magnitude and thofc of the Icaft ? I be* lieve they will not be able to draw the diftindion 3 but whe ther they can or not, under the opinion Mr. 1 all feems to have of the duty of members of the leg: flature, he would do well to O J explain to his confhtuents, the caufe of his abfenting hnnfelf from the Reprefentative Cham ber for fome hours cn the 21ft November laft, when queftions came on leading to an alteration of the conftitution, fo as to bring the election of county officers and members of the legiflature on the fame day ; at a time too when a minority favoured by the Speaker, (General Meri wether) to prevent this alte ration taking place, impeded the progrefs of bufmefs; and the day was confumed in fruit lefs efforts of a rcfpedtahle ma jority, to go on with matters then waiting for difcufilon ; du ring part of which time, quel tions of importance were deci ded by the houfe and the yeas and nays called for, he had fta rioned himfelf as a filent fpcdla tor on the flairs leading to the Senate Room ; and at other times, idly amufing himfclf in 1 he office of the fecrctary cf ftate. I Mil alfo draw Mr. J fall’s attention to another in ftance of the fame nature. He mu ft recollect that on the quef tion for returning thanks to the Speaker, a number ofgentlcmen whom I prefume were convinced lie did not deferve it, left the houfe, and among that number, he was one. This motion aflu med a ferious afpedt, and formed the fubjedt matter of debate for upwards of an hour, and the yeas and nays were ftvcral times taken ; yet Mr. Hall having abfented himfelf did not vote; aitho’ he continued the greater part of the time within the walls j of the State-1 loufe. From all this it is prefurrable that he was 1 not then po lie fled of his new I coined opinions ; or rather, that i gen. Meriwether had not yet 1 committed them to paper. To Tew further the cuflom ' of members. It may not be amifs to recite the queftion for electing the Speaker, when ge neral Meriwether left the houfe ■, and the one for returning thanks , to the Speaker, when he did j the fame. I v ill cite one ojher cafe ; a queftion va*- brought before the 1 houfe, which I do not now re- 1 colicdl, when, the opinion of the houfe was called for, mod of the j membeis were within ti.c chain- i her, but a a nfidcrahle number j declining tv) vote, aitho’ prefent when the yeas and nays were taken, the number was led than was required to ccnflitute a houfe. In the eleftion for one of the Judges, there w r ere fcveral blank I ballots: I fhould like to know tl e difference between a vote of this fort, and a member’s turn ing his back on a queftion, and Itavirg the houfe? Other in ftances could be recited ; but it is (homed unnecellary. Mr. Hall endeavors to im | preis, by inference only, the 11 nth of 1 is certificate : why . does not lie, and the General who wrote it, make affidavit to its validity ? I fhould then be the better enabled to judge how far they feel themfelves bound bv the folemnity of an oath. If they fhould ever adopt tins me thod, I will now anticipate what I fhould then fay : that one hav ing written at d the other ligned, a falfe certificate, in order to excufe themfelves, they aud perjury to the catalogue of their crimes. T his might probably | be a little grating to their feel ings : but men who leap over the facred bounds of truth with facilitv, for the felHfh gratifica tion of being popular, ought occafionally, to meet witn a corrective for the enormity of their crimes. If the General and isr. Hall could defpofe to the truth of this certificate, why did the latter Tew fu h concern in begging me to believe that he meant me no injury in figning it; and that he would not have had it to have happened for five hundred dollars r I fay, it the words in this certificate were true, why was there this humi liating and pathetic flowing : w as rht* juftnefs of it prerrn ' d to he fupportccl in thr houfc when f drew it f< 1 1!» ? No. And Mr. i ;all and general Mt - riv\e ther were prefenr. I inuft confeis 1 fhnnkl Inn p felt more charitably I m Mr. I lull in this tranlaGior, had I r remained penitent, < r had o • ( * foiward at once like a ca id. I man, and at'Knov ledgrd, 'hat i he had too much confidence n ! his litrk demi-god, the gem-ah and therefore figned the cert id eate without knowing theeonli - qucnccs or the contents. If the, was not the fad, he did it will - fully, and knowing it to be er * | roneous j the better to enable Ins feeble leader to M aintain his popularity and influence and to i facrilice a man, whom he knew, 1 would not be Itiblemenc tolas dtij licitv. It is more than probable, that i general Meriwether may take the greater part of this to h;m - felf, I lb all not deny him that privilege; but if he fhould be come reft Ids, 1 may be induced to (hew the world, that he lias repeatedly fa rifiet d his word at the Ihrine of duplicity. Mr. I 1 all retjutfh, the print ers, in whofe papers, what h'e teims my vindication appeared, to give his piece publicity.—• I eiions Ids inteu fled than him- Iclf do not give my publication a ccnftrudlion of vindication ; it contains charges agaiufl general Meriwether of ferious import; to which I have the atteftation of twelve gentlemen of at lea ft, equal refpcdabiiity with Mr, Hall. I have und( rftood that the General laid, that he could get fomc of thole gent J; men to ! give a counter certificate —I Hr on Id like to hear cf ins mak i ing the attempt. J( > IN CLARK. * I believe lucre was another queflkn relative to the impeach* \ merit, (n which a divijun cj"t'e hcvfie was called fer, when I kept ray feat cn the right hand oj the Speaker , where / generally f t ( durit.g the Jeffion ; after which the queftion ajjtuned aw t! er jhapv, when I made my olf eil ns as fiated. pdj’ 'She printers who have given the puce figned by Mr* i Halt publicity, will p ’taje to in-* fieri this. J- CLARK. 1 OR SALE, (fif A Negro llov abouc twelve years of age, for ready Cafn, a good baipo.n may be had —Enquire of the L rimers.; i January i, i 802,