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About Columbian centinel. (Augusta, Ga.) 18??-???? | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 1806)
LONDON, June 8. T>j the independent elector* *f Honiteiu Gintlemin, Perceiving that Mr. Cavendish Brad shaw has, since hy your voice he was I constituted one of the guardians of the public purse, taken care to obtain a place by the means of which he drew into his own pocket some thousands a year out of that purse, abd this, too, at a time when the load of indispensible taxes is pressing his honest and indus trious constituents to the earth ; per ceiving this, and being fully persuaded, that whenever the electors of any place re-choose representatives under similar circumstances, the cause is not so much in their own disposition as in the apa thy and luke-warmness of those inde pendent men who may have the ability to rescue them from such hands ; with this truth being deeply impressed, I did, upon hearing of the approaching vacancy, use my efforts to prevail up on other men of this description to af ford you an opportunity of evincing your good sense and uprightness, and having failed in those efforts, 1 have thought it my duty to afford you this opportunity myself; it being manifest ly true, that unless men of indepen dence and of publicspiritwill offer them selves as candidates, to rail at electors for choosing and re-choosing the de pendent and the mercenary is, in the highest degree, unreasonable and un just. As to professions, gentlemen, so ma ny and so loud, upon such occasions, have they been ; so numerous are the instances, in which the foulness and the shamelessness of the apostacy have borne an exact proportion to the purity and the solemnity of the vow ; so com pletely, and with such fatal effect, have the grounds of confidence been destroy-; td that it is now become necessary,. upon all occasions like the present, to i give a pledge, such as every man can \ clearly understand, and such as it is impossible to violate without exposing the violator to detection and to all the consequences of detected hypocricy and falsehood; and, such, a pledge I now give in declaring, that, whether you elect me or not, I never, as long as I live, either for myself, or for, or through the means of any one of my family, will receive, under any name, whether of salary, pension or other, either di rectly or indirectly, one single farthing of the public money ; but, without emolument, compensation or reward of any kind, or in any shape, will, to the utmost of my ability, watch over and defend the property, the liberties and the privileges of the people, never therefrom seperating, as I never yet have, the just and constitutional rights and prerogatives of the crown. This declaration, gentlemen, is not made without due reflection as to the future as well as to the present, as to public men in general as well as to my self. It proceeds, first, from an opin ion, that the representatives of the peo ple ought never to be exposed to the temptation of betraying their trust; se condly, from long observation that those who live upon the public are a mongst the most miserable of men ; and thirdly, from that experience in the various walks of life, which has con vinced me of the wisdom of Hager, who prayed for neither wisdom nor poverty ; not riches, lest he should for get God ; not poverty, lest he should be tempted to steal; and, to receive the public money unjustly, is not only stealing, but stealing of the worst and basest sort, including a breach of the most sacred trust accompanied with the cowardly consciousness of impuni ty. From reflections like these, gen tlemen, it is, that the declaration now' made has proceeded, and, when I de part, in word or in deed, from this de claration, may I become the scorn *f ray country ; wherein to be remem bered with esteem I prize beyond all the riches and all the honours of this world. But, gentlemen, as it is my firm de termination never to receive a farthing of the public money, so it is my deter mination equally firm, never, in any way whatever, to give one farthing of my own money to any man, in order to induce him to vote, or to cause oth ers to vote for me; and being convinc ed, that it is this practice of giving or promising to give, money or money’s worth, at elections; being convinced that it is this disgraceful, this unlawful, this profligate, this impious practice, to which are to be ascribed all our ca lamities, and all the dangers that now stare us in the face, I cannot refrain from exhorting you to be against all at temps at such practices, constantly and watchfully upon your guard. The candidates who have resorted to such i means have always been found amongst the most wicked of men ; men, who, having, by a life of adultery, or of gamb ling, xr of profligacy of some other sort, ruined both their character and their fortunes, have staked their last thousand upon an election, with the hope of thereby obtaining security from a jail, or of selling their vote for the means of future subsistence, drawn from the sweat of the people at a hun dred fold ; and thus expecting to pock et the profit of the corrupt speculation, sneering at their bribed and perjured constituents, as Satan is said to have sneered at the reprobate with whom he had bargained for his soul. Far from you, gentlemen, be credu lity so foolish ! Far from you disgrace so deep, infamy so inddiuble 1 Far from you so flagrant a violation of the law, so daring a defiance of the justice and the power and the wrath of God ! But, were it otherwise, and did I find in Honiton but as many righteous men as were found in Sodom and Gomorrah, I would tender them in my hand and lead them from the rest. Very different, however, are my hopes ; these hopes forbid me to believe it possible that there should be, collected upon one spot, four hundred Englishmen, hav ing the eyes of all England upon them, who will not, by their votes, freely and cordially given, sanction the grdat principle upon which I now stand.... and in these hopes, I will, if I have life, do myself the honor to meet you on the day of election. In the mean while, I am, With great respect, Gentlemen, Your most humble and Most obedient servant, Wm. cobbett. Eotley, Southampton , J | of June , 1806. y —— Juki 10. Honiton, June 8» This afternoon, to the great surprise of the electors of this Borough, the Gallant Lord Cochrane, .having been apprized of the day of election by Mr. Cobbett, arrived here accompanied by several gentlemen, in two chaises and four, from Plymouth, with colours fly ing, and with every appearance of an inflexible determination of entering up on a desperate engagement with the Teller of the Irish Exchequer. The surprise excited by this unexpected ar rival in the bosoms of the Electors, was surpassed by nothing, but the astonish ment of Mr. Bradshaw, when he found that his Lordihip was to be his opponent instead of Mr. Cobbett, whe, adhering to the statement of his Address, re signed his pretensions as soon as he found another man perfectly independ- - ent ready to stand forward. The great- • est bustle prevails throughout the town. Expresses and post-Cliaises are flying in every direction, and the contest pro mises to be as warm a one as has been witnessed for some time past. The election commences to-morrow, when it is said that Mr. Cobbett means to ad dress the Electors : to draw a compari son between the qualities of the noble and gallant Officer, in favor of whom he has resigned his pretensions, and the qualities of the man on whom the new Ministry have thought proper to lavish three thousand a year of the pub lic money. Paris, June 5. MESSAGE Os his Majesty the Emperor and King. Senators —We charge our cousin, the Arch Chancellor of the Empire, to acquaint you, that, adhering to the vows of their High Witnesses, we have pro claimed Prince Louis Napoleon, our most dear brother, King of Holland— and the said crown to be hereditary, in sovereignty, by order of primogeniture, in its natural, legitimate, and masculine offspring. Our intention, in the mean time, is, that the King of Holland, and hi* offspring, keep the dignity of Con stable of the Empire. Our determina tion, in this case, has appeared to us conformable to the interests of our peo ple. In a military point of view, Hol land, possessing all the strong places that guarantee our northern frontier, it was necessary for the security of our states, that the guardianship should re pose in persons, whose attachment we could entertain no doubt. In a com mercial point of view, Holland, being situated at the mouth of great rivers, which water a considerable part of our territory, it was necessary that we should have the guarantee of the faith ful execution of the commercial treaty which we have concluded with her, in order to conciliate the interest of our manufactures and commerce with that of these nations. . In fine, Holland is the first political interest of France.— An elective magistracy would have had . the inconvenience of frequently dcliv- i ering the country to the intrigues of j our enemies, and each election would have become the signal of a new war. Prince Louis, not being animated by any personal ambition, has given a proof of the love be has for us, and his esteem for the people of Holland, by accepting a throne which imposts on him so many great obligations. The arch-chancellor of the German Empire, elector of Raiiffion, has ac quainted us that his intention was to obtain for himself a co-adjutor, and that with the agreement of his ministers and the principal members of his chapter, he tho’t that for the good of religion and the Germanic Empire, it was necessary that he should appoint to that office our uncle and cousin, cardinal Fesch, our great chaplain and archbishop of Lyons. We have accepted the said nomination in the name of said cardinal. If the de termination of the elector arch-chancel lor of the German Empire can be of any use to the said Empire, it is not less con formable to the interest of France. It is so that the services of our coun try calls from amongst us our brothers and sons; but the happiness and pros perity of our people composes cur dear est affections. (Signed) NAPOLEON. NEW-YORK, July 29. We learn by Wood, of the brig Mary, from Trinidad, that Gen. Miran da, in the ship Lcandcr, the Lilly sloop of war in company, arrived there on the 22 of June. He brought with him about two hundred men, and had enlisted about three hundred more at Trinidad, among whom were some persons of the first respectability. Several of the in habitants of Carracas had fled to his standard. The Leander was under British colors and commanded by cap tain Johnson. The colors intended to be hoisted, on effecting a landing on the Main, are red, yellow and blue. The prospect of success was in the highest degree flattering. Letters from Trinidad, by the Mary, contain the following information: “ We have this day received such in telligence as places things in so favor able a point of view, that hardly a doubt of success remains. V/e shall certain ly leave this in a few days, and as cer tainly effect a landing, from whence I shall immediately write you." “ We are making every preparation for the point in view, and shaii leave this in 6 days, and in 10 more the fate of the country will be decided. Our force is respectable, of which I would give you a correct statement, but for a ’ reason which has prevented my writing j as fully as I wish, that is, lest my let ters should fall into improper hands on the passage. “ Reports from the Main states that the government is tremblingly alive, and they treat the prisoners, our friends, with a degree of lenity which was not generally expected. On the 28th of June, Gen. Miranda issued the following proclamation : Friends and Countrymen, M The glorious opportunity now presents itself of relieving from oppres sion and arbitrary government, a people who are worthy of a better fate, who txught to enjoy the blessings of the fin est country in the universe which boun tiful Providence has given them, but who are shackled by a despotism too cruel for human nature longer to en dure. Groaning under their present afflictions, they hail with extended arms the Noble Cause of Freedom and Inde pendence, and call upon you to share with them in the god-like action of re lieving your distressed feilow-creatures. Hasten then to join the standard of one who has the happiness to call himself your countryman, and is determined to rescue hi* country, and to shed the last drop of his blood in promoting its happiness ; an object of which he has never lost sight for a moment of his life. “ There will be made a liberal dis tribution of land at the expiration of twelve months, according to the rank; and privates at the instant of enroll ment, will be entitled to provisions and clothing, with a quarter dollar per day as pay, not subject to any deductions. “ And you, brave Volunteers of the Islands, who have nobly come forward to partake with us our honors, and to share with us our prosperity, hasten to follow those officers under whose care you have already been trained, and who are impatient to lead you on to victory and wealth. “ The Gulph that Columbus first discovered and honored with his pre sence will now witness the illustrious agtions of your gallant efforts.” PHILADELPHIA! August i. . L.ciruct s is a Utter froui Triniucd, ti&tai J J ULV Jift • j “ MIRANDA is collecting ships and troops here, to proceed on his expedi tion on the Main. It is generally be lieved here that he will succeed, unci a great number of respec table inhabitants have joined him as volunteers. I un derstand this government has ordered three sloops of war to cruize off where he intends to land, so that they may give him assistance in case he should want any ; and it is said that the govern ment has backed his bills on the British governmeut for his exptnses. It is re reported that he has received informa tion from the Main, that the majority i of the people are ready to join him as soon as he can effect a landing, which he can easily do with the reinforcement he will receive here, which I suppose v ill be about 7 or 800 men. r i he first attempt he made was very discouraging: for on his ariival at the Main he fell in with two Guarda Coast- ■*' ers, which attacked his two schooners he had with him w hich they took, and I believe, Irom the best informa’ion I can receive, it was by some mismanage ment of Capt. Lewis of the Leander, that they were taken; however, the whole affair remains an entire mystery how the two schooners should be taken, Sc the ship not far off to windward ; one of the schooners was the Bee, of Phila delphia, commanded by capt. Muddle. Capt. Lewis has either left the ship or has been turned off, but I believe the lat ter, he is now at Barbarities. The Le ander is now commandj-'d by a capt. Johnson, of New-Providencc, and a fit man in my opinion, for such an expedi tion, as he has commanded a privateer this and last war, cruizing off the Island of Cuba. GEORGETOWN, (Col.) July 31. We insert with pleasure the follow .ing ample refutation of a most scanda lous and unjustifiable calumny against the character of Com modcire Rodgers which was imprudently, as we then ■ thought and still think,' rung through the papers in the United States, during 1 the absence of that gentlemtip. Asthis refutation come 9 from Capt. Gale him self, it is scarcely necessary to request ' the printers, in whose paper the charge ■ appeared, to insert it—they doubtless will feel pleasure inpromptly publishing ’ a contradiction of so foul a calumny 1 against this meritorious officer,of which they were unwittingly made the more 1 extensive propagators. To 'INK PUBLIC. \ I have seen with no little surprise, a , a piece in a Ncw-York paper, of the Ist of March last, wherein it is stated, that * I was run thro’ the body and killed by > Commodore Rodgers, for remonstra ting with him on the impropriety of 1 flogging amarine. This has been done by some scandalous person, no doubt, 1 to injur:* his character, and, although ’ the effect could only be temporary, yet ’ people in general may suppose that it - originated from some misunderstand ing subsisting between him and me. I 1 can assure the public, that not only my self, but every officer that served under his command, have always been on the , j most friendly terms with him, and the . best proof of this is, that every one of ; his officers will be happy to sail with , him at any future period. During the . time I was under his command, it is on . ly justice to say, that he behaved to t wards me, with every politeness and at , tention due an officer. ANTHONY GALE, Capt. M. t Jufj 28, 1806. NORFOLK, August I. : The French fleet having failed in the . . attempt to destroy the British merchant . fleet at Tortola, may yet (if not chscov ; ered by Sir J. 13. \Varren) effect a f deadly blow to the British commerce, i This fleet, when spoken on the 25 th"' : of last month, by Captain Turlington, > of the sloop Director, was exactly in i the track of the valuable Jamaica con , voy, coming through the gulp!) passage. . By an arrival at New-York, we perceive f that the Jamaica fleet had sailed, con ; sisting of nearly 200 sail, the day of . their sailing is not mentioned, but by 1 another arrival at New-York, we ob - serve that this fleet had reached the Havana on the 14th of last month. : Having, since our last,“seen Captain I Tarlington, we understand that the > French officer who boarded him, wasw i particular in his enquiries about theear : rival of a British fleet in the West In i die s, and having got possession of an Antigua paper, stating the arrival of Sir J. B. Warren/ he went with it in stantly on board the Admiral. What • effect this information produced on the i subsequent rout of the fleet, we cannot say, but >ve are confident from what we