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