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T H F. N E WS.
WASHINGTON, AUGUST 2.
Mirabile Diflue*
Col Johnson said, (after M linger had de
livered his speech in opposition to the com
pensation law) “ 1 hope Mi iltr'ei* you veil not
fir decency’s sake, tnk ■ the money, after the
wonderful display of pair otism Si sell’ denial,
von have given us to-ilav.” “ Wont I, said
Huger ! but by God 1 will, far 1 am more de
serving of it than any of you.” jC/ -5 .hid h -
poiiti'nehf did take the money.'! Uis plainly
tie ons r te<l tt<cn, Mr Huger did speak for a
compensation ! !
It is somewhat singular, that the patriotic
grand jury of this ctmo'v, should have sent
their presentments to a paper of the Augusta
Herald’? character, for re-publication.
Was there no democratic one in Augusta,
that would publish this production, sufiicently
extensive in hi circulation, us to have giv. n
it a thorough round ? We answer yes. Why,
then,we ask, have these presentments been re
published in the .h;gii*ui Herald? Not on ac
nrjtit of its great .circulation, because it is
the most circumscribed in this respect to any
in the Shite. Nut for is democratic senti
meiits, because it cannot boast that virutt.
Why was it chosen then ?
The wncioun editor of the Savanna 1 -
Museum, after venting his ill humor upon the
unfortunate r <ngrssional folks, concludes Ins
•verv consistent and liberal remarks with
prayer so the re-election o poor Mr Cvrthbert!
We know no reason why MrCttrthhert should
be thought more deserving of pardon for his
transgression, if he lias transgressed, than tlx
other delegates of Georgia, unless f.rsoo h,
the interposition of so sober and worthy a tie.
irocrat as Phillip D. tl oo'hopwr moke* it so.
V <v, if one lias sinned, all have sinned, as
they all stand on the same footing in relation to
the compensation law. As our brother of the
press, has only had liberality enough to offer
h<s pious prayers at the throne of die people’s
mercy, for one sinner alone, to shew the superi
or! v of‘ours, when contrasted with his, we in
terpose and pray, that the good people of this
S ate, renowned for moderation and pa'rio ism,
will graciously condescend, (and as an act ot
just ice) if they save one, save all.
JT The communication signed A. shall have
a place in our next.
To Mr. A.
Slß—Your late ap
pearance in The News, under the fig
natuie of Wilkes, naturally suggested
to my mind, “2Esop’a Afg in the Lion’s
(kin your ears being seen and your
voice recognized, you seem to have
taken the hint from the fate cf your
prototype, and honeltly appeared be
fore the public in all your nakeanefs
av.d native deformity. Struck with
your ludicrous appearance, and arhufed
with the rich Vein of dulnefs that run
through the mock roaring of your firft
debut, l was willing to wink at <he de
ception for the sake of the amusement,
well knowing that all vour jjoife was
as harirdefs as “the mighty void of
ferric” whence it issued. In your fe
cond Lilly, you appear to have given a
loose rein to your wild wantonness ana
natural vicious difpofirion by braying
hiflily, and kicking mud, dirt and dull
into every body's face, and mure par
ticularly itno mine To inspire you
with a taffe for good manners, or to
reduce you to order and ufefulnefs,
would be a hopeiefs rafk, a useless un
dertaking, a mere wade of time*,
Naturam expelias furca, tamen
tifque recur ret j”
I (hail therefore point out feme of
your molt mifehtevous tricks, so that
the people may be guarded against you.
Among other idle whims, you have
taken up the extravagant notion that
grand juries have not the right in their
efficiai capacity to express their fenti
rr.ents on ihe a&s of our general go
vernment. Whether your hc.ftility to
grand juries originated from a fen fe of
your own crimes, or from an inbred a
version and fixed hatred to order and
decorum,l leave for you to determine*,
when you decide that other knotty
question, the treaty making power,
which lies with so much weight on
yoai mind. “ Now without going into
a minute detail cf argument,”it ap
pears to me, that he phrases “ so much
dtfplay cf literary aw a>d polical quail
fixation ,• “ foul mveStivt and contume
lious vulgarity together with nuuie
roun lire,pint? and ftammrring fsntenc‘ , s
juuibied together and mixed up with
(< that is to Jdys,” u viz\ ,ft( natural
lait\ national law . arid municipal law ”
“ taxation “ war and peace,” <* moral
and phy ftcal powers.” “ case and cha
racier cf case,” * the riajhn runs
and now and then a “ vice vtrfaA
found in your address to me, fiiow
moft clearly and fatisfaftorily, that
your conversation with correft writers,
has been fully as extensive as your ac
quaintance with good company When
you Laid to me, * your assumption of
the olhce of inftruftor, might be ac
counted for, either by supposing a
force of habit, &c you ought to
have recollefted, that this little ffiaft
of malignant in potence would be view
ed by me with the molt ineffable con
tempt, pass a-Ilie idle wind which I
vgard not, and he received by every
candid mind attd generous heart as a
reflexion un- worthy the head of a
common buffoon.
I have often Ltd, and 1 now repeat,
that no man by being impaiirteled on a
grand j ury, is ipso fafto deprived of
anv right, which as an individual he
might lawfully exercise. The right of
grand iurors to express their fenti
ments on all public matters, is founded
in renfon, recognized by our judges,
fan£t;oned bv precedents, aurhonfed
bv our laws, and guaranteed by no less
than two articles in the con ft i tut ion of
the United States. Cur senators and
repreferitatives in congress, are in a po
litical point of view, public fervantr,
and as such, refpofible to the people
for their official atls- If thev have not
with fidelity dtfeharged the important
fruit reposed in them, it ought to be
known to their conffituents. If on
the o’her hand, thev have done their
duty, no alarming it jttrv or cifaffrous
evil is likely to arise from an invelti
gation of their conduft. Grand juries
as well as all other public bodies, ought
to be encouraged in speaking their opi
j mons on the policy and measures of
jour St a. a and Genera! government}
| thereby matters of public concern
j would be brought home to the people,
and they enabled to take a more in
tended and a more correct view of the
nature and principles of the only r.v
tionai government known to the world
The enemy moft formidable to repub
| lies, and the one, we have moft to fear,
is Ignorance Hence every friend to
; our happy government, every lover of
( our free conftiiutiou, will anxiously
guard and keep open all the avenue to
information. Who are more deeply
interested in the welfare ofourcoun
try * who has a greater rif>hr to Cxa
mine political matters ? who is better
qualified to decide correftly on the of
< ficial a ft’- of our public fer varus, than
such men asar* generally found on cur
grand juries ? Is it conget tal to our re
publican institutions, is it at al! reffon
hle, or is it not rather a strange infa'u
tion, a fata! deiufion, to wirhhoh* from
twenty of our molt refpeclahle citizens,
and they too uttder a solemn cath, the
exercise of a right which has never
been denied to the printer of a news
paper, nay no* even so a foreign rene
; gado ii Is it decent for moment to
suppose that our farmers ai'e so leufelefs
i as quietly to lie down and fuller them
selves to be fhorn of their moft valua
ble rights, when it is very well known
I that if we “ touch but the bristle of a
J printer, we should have the whole ftye
in an uproar” from one end of the
States to the other, the very hill3 would
reverberate, the vallies re echo, “ Li
bett\ of the press ami freedom of speech !
Liberty of the press and freedom of speech!
Where now, I demand, is the foiitary
reafoti why grand jurors should not in
ther official, as well as in their indivi
, dual capaci'ies, exercise this right ? Is
1 it as you wish to fay, because there is
no law in express terms commanding
them to do it ? Where is the law fpe
cifying in detail their duties ? None is
found, neither in our common nor fta
tl tp law. We have a law which pre
■ bribes in substance she following oath
to be taken by grand jurors: “ You
{hall diligently enquire, and true pre
sentments make of all such matters and
things as ftiali be givpn you in charge,
or foall come to your knowledge, touch
ing the present lervice *, y< u ftia 1 p r e
f.-nt no one tor envy, hatred or malice,
I r ,or ihall you leave any one pref* n*ed
frem fear, favor, affeSion or reward,
i or ihe hope thereot j hut you ihuhpre-
, sent all things truly and as they come to
your knowledge, &c.” This law fure
!y does not bind juries down to
the presenting of breaches of the peact
and capital offences only. Their du
fits as exprelVed in this law, are gene
ral and unlimited, it commands them
in the moft pointed terms to take no
rice of, and present all mattero and
things contra bonos mores, within their
knowledge, and touching or aff’Hing
the welfare and security of the coun
try. One of our judges, whose law
opinions have always b i deservedly
relpe&ed, in a charge to the grand
jury of this county in the year
Laid to them . “ in your
deliberations vou are not confined to
r fences whi ‘h have already taken place,
this is but one parr of vour duty Un
der the general power of presentment and
cenjorffoip which you possess, you may
look into the situation of your country
generally, and if there remains,any
thing undone which may tend to its
improvement in literature, agriculture,
inland navigation, or any arrangement
of internal police, it is within your pro
virtce to notice them in your present
ments, by way of recommendations to
those bodies who are Constitutionally
a”d legally author!.ed to aft on those
fuhje&s. Ii there a!fo exist any a
bules arising from the inexecution of
any laws in force, or from the affitmp
ticn of any powers not given, hey
will not escape your enquiries and ani
madverfion I cannot omit observing
that the improvement of your liigh
wa-s, the conftruftion of bridges, the
appiicatiou of your county funds, the
regulation of your public houses, and
the execution of your patrole laws, are
fubjefts well woitby your attention.’’
The judge then proceeds with great
propriety, to urge the necessity of re
vising our criminal code} and concludes
by faying, ** Should you, gentlemen,
join with me in sentiment on this fu’o
jeft, my wilh is, that jou .would lend
your aid in bringing it forward before
riie leglfia'ure of our country, who
posses the power and the means tr aft
with efficacy in this is interesting bu
siness. A recommendation from you
either to the repreferitatives of your
own County, or the lcgiflarure in gene
ral, will be amended to no doubt with
the happiest effeft.” Now Mr A pray
tel! us, what has become of your irre
fiitible inference, that our grand jury
wandered from their original pro
irice ? ” Are you not heartily afhartied
of all fiang, mummery canting and
whirling about the “ corrective” and the
exercise of an ariitocrafic.il power by
the “ jury ?” What fays our great na
tional charter on the fubjeft of our
rights in general ? •* Congress ftiali
make no law abridging the freedom of
fpt ech, or of the pi est,; or the right of
the people peaceably to ass inble and
petition the government for a redress
of grievances. The enumeration in
the constitution of certain rights,
shall not be coujlrued to deny or difpardgt
ethers retained by the people/’
Henc grand juries have the right in
their official, as well as in their indi
vidual capacity, to express their fenti
nients freely on all fubjefts, and they
will unquestionably retain this inesti
mable rieht, at ieali until they give it
up of thrir own free will by an amend
of the constitution. What magician’s
wand does a Solicitor general wave in
his hand, by which he may at pleasure
deprive citizens oi rights which
have been expressly guaranteed to
them, or is there any enchantment in a
j gaand jury room, vast and mighty e
nough to cleave down and burst afun
der the ltrongeft barrier of our liber
ties ?
You have said } one power or
. right which is veiled in the jury, is
that of preferment } but the very idea
of a prefentmenr from a jury in an of
ficift capacity, implies a power in the
bady to which the piefentment is made,
to order and enforce the means for .or
reeling or punishing the thing or per
son complained of. It has been tho’*
that Dot Q hxote’s attack on the wind
mills was a pretty bold broke in th<
extravagant, but th” Don’s folly, when
compared with the wild idea of a
court punishing a thing, ii fairly put to
. tiu* blufti and who iy thrown into the
• bark ground. Ii .w ‘he decision of the
j jury could pcffibly “ partake of tuo na
ture of an evpoft facto law,*’ is to me
perfectly inco oprehenlible. df ou cer
atnly ruilt have received, in fome of
vour wild moments, an unlncky llroke
on the head, or at least your brains
Itavfc been, forne .■ v or other, jollied
out of their natural position. The
compensation law having a retrofpcc
ri.e operation, hrofcs to me more like 3ri
export facto law, than the derision of
rhejurv. In truth, the compenfatioti
law and an export facto law are of the
lame family, or, as our orators tvouid
fay. they are twin brothers, and as
like one another, us Seballiau and
Viola n
Go now. my good fir, reflect, that
like another CaTban, you have gabbled
wi’hout knowing your own meaning }
cover the bluffiest of zealou- folly wnh
the impenetrable dakn> fs of a weak
mind, fniile at ignorance, and call all
the comforts of intrinsic impotence
vour own Retreat in time from the
poll assigned you; a"d acknowledge,
for it h appa’en'. y u “have not abili
ties to play wirli credit, the Punch of
the puppet Ihow, to speak a? you have
been prompted by the cht f juggler
behind the curtain ” And when ano
ther fit of feribbung comes on you, it
may probably bedifpelled by remem
bering what I now tell you, that there
is certainly in your head piece, no
thing more nor It fs, than what was
once found in an Apothecary's (hop, >a
beggarly lilt of empty boxes.” Z.
An odd character.
An epitaph on the tombftonp of
a lady, fays of her—“ She was al
ways busy , and always quiet ! ”
Gnml and punctual u ill be given to a
journ<‘\ m ,n pritut r, t tins, .(fire, who can come
recommended a, a sober St firs -i.itc. workman,
TO THE MILITIA.
I WILL attend on Monday the
sth August, in Lincolnton, for the
purpole of paying off (’apt Lamar’s
company, and at Wafhi tgton,
(Wilkes county) on the 7th, Bth
and gtli of the fame month, to pay
off the troops of that county.
Joshua Clark, pay-master
to Geo. State troops late
in the U S. service.
August 2, 1816. 29.
NOTICE.’
Nine months after date, applica
tion will be made to the Inferior
Court of Wilkes county, for leave
to fell the trad of land, or half, be
longing to ihe estate of J. C An
tony, fix hundred acres, adjoining
R. Thompson, A. E Stokes, and
others, known as Antony’s Mills.
John Hill, & > ,
i> c admrs.
W. Robinson, 3
August 2, 1816. (29 —9m)
COLLECrOR'T~OFriCE. ~~
Notice is hereby given, that an
attendcnce will be made for the
j convenience of Brandy Oilfillers,
j who will) to enter their Stills, and
j affording the opportunity of pay
! ment to those who have hitherto
failed.
‘This ic the la ft offer those who
are in arrears will have, to fettle
theit debts, unless by fuir.
At Washington, (Wilkes) sth
; and 6th August, 1816.
At Lincoln Court-houfc, 7th
August, 1816.
At Elbert Court-house, on the
12th August, 1816.
At Madison Court-house, on the
13th August, 1816.
At Franklin Court-house, on
the 14th August, 1816.
A pun&ual aftendence will be
expefted, and I hope those who
have not completed their payments,
will relieve tne the trouble of firing
them.
J. W FREEMAN,
C R. 4th D G.
Mallory’s. 2d } .
1 August, 1816. y ‘