Portland gazette, and Maine advertiser — Portland, Me., 1810-03-19 00:00:00, page 1

-• i * i j
t
PORTLAND) PUBLISHED UT ARTHUR SitTRLEY... FISH-STREET.
‘<!if_|£L_ .... - ■ ! . ' . ---’ •' ' - ' V
1 ■' z . ai| ..r ■ si ; |
N,- 49, of Vvl. AY/.] , MONDAY, MARCH 19, 1810. [Whole No. 621.
S? I _L—_
--- - --- _ _ ..... . ■■ - - . . - - --- -- - -- - - - - ---- - - ^ — - - - —- - - - - -- - — - - - - - - —- -
dje Ooicf cf Ucjson.
, -
FO;l THE FOuTLAND GAZETTE.
To the) 'eomanry of the District of Maine.
Frfctow*CiTt®fis»s>
ONE of your number, who 1ms long been a
silent spectator of the political world, asks leave
to address you. Believing, that at the present
*iisis“ silence i* cowardice, mid neutrality, trea
son,” he is constrained to raise Ids feeble voice in
the cause of his country.
You will snoti be Called once more from your
labours to ex< rcise the important lightofehoos
y®ur public rulers At this period it is high
ly incumbent on you to pause before your suffra
ge arc cast ; to consider well the situation of
your country ; to enquire seriously what are the
causes of your present calamities, and who can
best lead you again to glory and safety. You
ought also to take a careful view of the artifices of
the enemies of your peace to mislead the public
mind, and exert y ourselves to counteract their
nefarious designs.
For what cause mysterious Heaven has se^i
fit to lead us to all that an ambitious and growing
empire can desire ; and then to commit our desti
nies t® the hands of visionary, dry-dock, gun boat
and salt-mountain rulers, must forever to us be in
scrutable : unless to leach us the high value of
what we once so lightly esteemed.
In the short space of nine years you have fallen
from wealth and a respectable standing among
nations, to the depths of poverty and humiliation
You once had a most abundant commerce ; your
purses were filled ; you couid meet your pecuni
ary engagements ; the produce of your farms
and your work-shops found a ready cash market;
your national councils were filled • ith the wise
and the good ; the helm of state was guided by a
strong and steady hand ; you were respected
abroad and happy at home. But now, alas I how
changed ! I will not embitter your recollection by
H*pe rih'g the mLeiirs of your present situation.
I o:d as»\ vou to look at the causes that have pro
duced it.
It is worthy of remark that those who are now
generally at the head of national affairs, were a
ir.ong the early opposers of your constitution.
Washington cautioned you against the secret at
tacks of its enemies, which, he said, would come
under the specious form of amendment and ex
periment. What then have been the endeavors
of your national rulers to preserve the integrity of
the constitution ? Has not innovation of every
kind been attempted for eight years ? Look at
the proposals in the Aurora to abolish the “ petty
state sovereignties.” Look at the infamous pub
lication in a late number of the /ialtimore Whii
execrating the frequency of your elections as the
curse of the nation, and proposing to render the
office of President hereditary ; transmissible from
father to son like monarchy 1 Recollect, by the
way, that those newspapers art patronized by your
rulers. The transition from Consul for life to
Emperour of the French, you have seen v\ as easy ;
and just so easy would be the change from thtir
contemplated President for life, to a JTenchiiied
u Emperor of the two Americas ! 1” Arc you
ready, my fellow-citizens, 19 ent-ii slavery on your
children ?
It was another solemn camion of your political
father to avoid entangling alliances or officious
intermeddling with European politics. He ad
vised to nourish and foster your commerce ; to
diffuse gently its streams, but to u foice nothing.’' ,
Why tlun is Mr. Adams sent, at the charge of
nine thousand dollars outfits, and nine thousand
dollars salary, minister to Russia f W hat possible
motive can there be for this embassy, unless it be,
as has been asserted and not denied, to pledge the
United S'ates to become members of the u North
ern Confederacy,” \of which Bonaparte is the
father and head,) to destroy com met ce ? Is not
this an 44 entangling alliance ?” Is it not an offi
cious intermeddling with European policy ?
The Spanish patriots, struggling as you did,
for lilierty, have sent an ambassador to this coun
try, as you did to oilier nations in the revolution
ary war. It is said with confidence that he is au
thorised to pay you eight millions of dollars for
former spoliations committed by Spain on your
commerce. Mr. Madison has refused to receive
him. Not because be would avoid an 44 entang
ling alliance,” for he luii.ince proposed to send
a minister to Joseph Bonupuite, the would-be ty- ‘
mm of Spain. Is not the hand of Napoleon se
cretly in this thing ?
Again it has been asserted that overtures ©f an
H entangling alliance” have recently been made by
the French Emperor to your government. That
the form of a new treaty has been sent over ; that
in consequence of this the British minister was
dismissed ; but that the oid-fashioned spirit of the
Nation not being yet completely quelled, Mr.
Madison dares not lay this t cuty belore the Sen
ate. This, l sav,has been asserted ; and the state
t)i our relations with France; the repeated de
clarations of Napoleon that he would have no neu
Irals ; his letter of October 10th, 1809, to the
f-nipcrnrol Russia, expressing his approbatioQoi
0Ut anti-commercial system, all force the belie*
°n our minds that something lilie this is the fact.
'V e are far gone in the mazes of French diploma
cy* and are near being plunged into that fatal vor
tex, w uch uas 9v«i Wiivlmtd most of the nations
* Europe.
Unquestionably the interests ot this country
require that its commercial concerns be regarded.
Us floating capital ought to be protected on the
sea, the common highway af nations. Without
commerce, agriculture will decay. They are the
handmaids and supporters of each other. In vain
you are told that the Chinese have flourished for
centuries without commerce. It is nothing to
1 9 O
tne purpose, for you arc not Chinese. Your hab
its of commercial enterprize are fixed and cannot
be rooted out. Your canvas, that has whitened
every ocean, and watted wealth and strength to
your shores, is not at this time to be furled forev
er. Yet conmu'c. .' restrictions have ever been
the darling policy oi tne present and last adminis
trations. i hey are the deciued enemies of com
merce. They dismantled the ships which Wash
ing on and Adams built to protect your merchant
men and repe: lawless attack : so that the fruits
of your labours were left at the mercy of every
piiate that chose to take them. The plan was
deeply and artfully laid : first to expose commerce
to spoliation, and then to abandon it because it
was expostd. Embargo, first pretended to be on
ly temporary, but soon discovered to be designed
perpetual, was the next step. You were told
that Embargo was to preserve the energies of the
i nation for future exigencies. Equally absurd
would it be to stop your nostrils lest your breath
be wasted. The people were not quite ripe for
this, and began to discover symptoms of uneasi
| ness. It opened the eyes of thousands. Non-in
1 tercourse succeeded. The same sys cm is
kept up, though the name is changed. Non-in
tercourse new must be repealed. For what ?
\Y hy, lor a ifung called a “ navigation-law, lot
sooth ! This law was at first intended to exclude
all British and French vessels from your waters.
In this form U passed the house of Representa
tives : but the Senate has modified it, to exclude
| public vessels only. Nothing but the virtue of
I tiie minority in congress lias hitherto prevented
the passage of this law, witli all its original defor
mities Whert then b the difference between
the Embargo, the Non-intercourse, and the new
fangled Navigation law, as it was first designed ?
1 he principle, and the effect are the same. It is
the manifest intention of your democratic rulers
to continue the restrictions on commerce, under
various names, till the rtcollecting of your former
prosperity is iu some degree effaced : keeping at
| the same time a most ttrriole clamor about Or
; ders, Decrees, Belligerents, and so forth, to amuse
1 you, and then to make your commercial bondage
eternal.
Be not deceived by the clamor about British
Orders in Council. All agree that though they
were passed a long time after the French De
crees and as a retaliation cm them, yet neither the
Orders nor Decrees a>'e justifiable by the laws
: of nations. But had Mr. Jefferson support
ed your little navy ; had he cherished the nation
j al spirit ; had he given free scope to your efier
: gies, “ forcing nothing no foreign nation would
| have dared to insult you with its Orders or De
crees.
Iam not the apologist of Britain. But you
will recollect that with France you have a treaty
now in force signed by Napolean when first Con
sul, which is every day grossly violated. With
England you have no treaty. A treaty in the
highest degree beneficial has been offered you,
which Mr. Jefferson cavilled at and sent back,
lie did not even lay it before your Senate, for fear
its advantageous terms should induce them to ac
cept it, to the utter displeasure of Napoleon, the
grand Pacificator, protector of America. France
has openly commissioned her captains to “ burn,
>ink, and destroy” all American vessels. Eng
land has issued no such commission ; and when
ner officers have violated your rights, she has of
terecl you ample reparations. 1* ranee nas ottered
mo reparation. And yet your rulers utter no
complaint against France. But of England—
what evil has not been said ? Much of it deserved,
to be sure, but why not complain of every aggres
sor ? The truth is, your national rulers wish to
provoke England to make war on you. They
dare not adjust any differences with her, for fear
of offending that arch enemy of liberty, Bona
parte.
The British minister has been dismissed for a
pretended insult to your government, which is
said to appear in the printed documents. I have
asked many democrats to shew me this insult.
Some have referred me to one of his letters to
Mr. Smith ; others, to two of them ; ethers say
it appears from all the correspondence taken to
gether ; others thinkHhe insult consisted insending
“ Copenhagen Jackson” here. In short no two
of them agree in the charge. Mr Jackson has
positively told your government that no insult
was ever intended ; but Mr. Smith said he found
one, and they are willing to take his word far it.
But enough of Mr. Jackson. I should not
have mentioned him but to shew' that your rulers
are consistent in this one thing ; they will have
no accommodation with England, because Fiance
has foibid it.
If you look at the management of your domes
tic concerns, you will see that the same left-hand
ed policy has prevailed.
Nine years ago Mr. Jefferson acknowledged
that your country prospered beyond example.
How is it now ? His friends will tell you that
causes extraneous and beyond his controul have
produced its muforiupcs. But many «f you
know that the difficulties he has encountered bear
but small comparison with those greater evils
which threatened you in the memorable years
1795 and 1794. Had he conducted with liberal,
energetic and impartial policy, the nation might
yet have been respected and happy.
Washington rewarded, with a liberal hand,
those veteran soldiers, who fought and bled for}
liberty. The time was once when merit alone j
was a sufficient title to public confidence. * But
the time lias since been, when merit, however
transcendant, was disregarded, unless political con
formily to the nriv School were its concomitant.
The war-worn veteran and the hoary and honest
statesman have alike been thrust trom office, to
make room for men of no character nor integrity,
who have cheated the nation. I could particular
ize many instances of this sort, but will name only
two,?|or three more recent. Brown, a democrat,
appointed by Mr. Jefferson, has absconded from
1 New Orleans with 150,000 dollars of ymir money.
Clark, another democrat, in your own district,
has defrauded you of 31,500 dollars more. Now
1 admit that government have not the gift of
prophecy, to foretell whether a man, seemingly
honest, will prove a scoundrel or not. But what
think you of the late Treasurer Skiiiner ? This
man was known to have been a defaulter in his
office of Marshal, to a considerable amount. He
was known to be a defaulter in his office of Trea
surer of Williams-College. And when he was
a second time chosen treasurer of this State, he
was known to be deficient in large sums of his
former accounts in the same office. Yet with
these damning facts on record, this man was;
twice chosen by democrats to the exclusion of a;
man whose administration of the office had ever;
been found faithful ! After this, the squandering,
of 68,000 dollars of your money was not more
than might be expected !
One year ago, Mr. Jefferson very gravely ask-1
ed the advice of Congress to dispose of the tur-;
I /Uus revering of the nation. But now, Mr. Gal
latin tells you that all the money in the treasury j
will not pay the ordinary expences of the year,'
without a lopn of four million* at least i Was Mr.!
i Jefferson mistaken ? Or did he intend to deceive •
! you ? Has this huge surplus of money been squan-!
j tiered ? Hus it been shared among the new Pre
sident’s friends i Or has it gone to France, who,
i as Mr. Madison said, u wants money, and must
‘ ha1* e it 1 hese are questions yon have a right
* to ask, and vou are entitled to true answers.
■
A word more of national policy, and I will dis *
i miss that subject. Federalists have been charg
ed. among other crimes, with wishing to dismem
ber the Union. Now without condescending*to
refute that charge, which is totally false, aiad nev
er was supported by a shadow of proof; 1 assert
) that democrats have given the union its death-blow.
I mean in the purchase of Louisiana. You w’ell
! know that your present constitution was obtained,
by mutual concessions of all parts of the then ter
ritories of the United States. The interests of
northern States, and those of Southern Statts,
were mutually consulted, and the balance was ad
justed with the greatest possible accuracy. It
was a delicate subject ; and the constitution was
accordingly framed for the States as they then
stood. The treaty conveying Louisiana to us,
which was made under the eye of Napoleon, stip
ulates that as soon as may be, that country shall
be divided into States, and admitted into the union.
Whenever this takes place, will not the old bal
ance between Northern and Southern influence
be destroyed by the preponderaney of the latter ?
When so large an addition of Southern members
is made to the national council, our interests
must depend on their will and pleasure. If
they should neglect them, or should not take
pains to be informed of them, who can foretel the 1
consequences ? I pray God I may be alarmed
without cause. Let us grasp, with the hold of
death, the bond of our national union, for on it our
political salvation depends.
But what motive had Bonaparte for the inser
tion of such an article into that treaty ? If he
parted with all the territory, why was he an..ious
ior its future fate ? I answer, because “ divide
and conquer” has ever been the favorite maxim
of French policy. He must have calculated that
when the Louisiana treaty had effected a sep^ra-;
tion of the union, the fair countries of the South
would fall to his share. IIow could your rulers
have been thus deceived ? Or is this another
proof of their determined devoteclness to France ?
Was the genius of America sleeping l Oi was it
gone to a far country 1
Suffer me now to call your attention to your
own state. Its constitution was framed before
parties were known among you. It was for a
long number of years administe ed, and faithful
ly administered, by federalists. But the ambition
of office-seeking demagogues would not permit
you to repose in quiet on your accustomed insti
tutions and long tried servants. The rage for
novelty commenced, and you were for the moment
deceived. You changed federal rulers lor demo
crats ; and what did you profit by the exchange ?
I ask vou seriously. I put it home to your bosoms
and consciences ; what ground ot oftence ban you
against the conduct ot federalists in the govern
ment of this State f Did they squander your mo
ney ? Did they displace worthy rmn from office ?
D;! they refuse to appoint the deserving i Di
i timy oppress the poor ? Did they deny liberty oi
conscience ’
The most common objections against your lute
excellent governor Strong were, that he pruned
his appletrees with his own hands on election-duys,
rode in the mail stage, and had not a military air.
And now it is said of Mr. Gore that lie has trav
elled into this district, in his own coach, and has
reviewed two brigades of militia !
Let it be remembered for a Get, that the ac
counts of the Treasury were correct till Mr Skin
ner kept them. That no complaints Were made
of removals from office, till Mr. Sullivan came to
the chair, and Mr. Lincoln drew up the famous
“ report of council/* advising the governor to
remove from office every federalist without discrim
ination /* Was this political liberty l
It ought also to be known that a large portion
of federal appointments came from the ranks of
Democracy ; for they nevtfr scrupled to appoint
an honest man of any political sect. But how
manyJederalists, I ask you, were appointed by
the democratic administration ?
Federalists were accused of denying liberty of
conscience. 44 Standing oi'der/’ 44 Priestcraft/’
and a thousand such terms have been uttered by
the leading hounds and re-echoed by the whelps
of party ; till sober men, of every Christian denom
ination, blush for the profligacy of such accusers.
Even the garb of religion has been prostituted
to political purposes. Missionaries have been
hired & paid by wealthy demagogues for making
political proselytes ; and it has been boldly asser
ted that no man can feel certain of the influences
of the spirit of grace, unless he be converted from
federalism to democracy 1 the assertion is blas
phemy itself.
I appeal to the printed laws for proof, that the
number of Baptists, Methodist, and Universal so
cieties incorporated by the government of this
State while in the bauds of federalists,is more than
double the number of all other religious incorpo
rations put together.
But I ask your pardon for descending to notice
those allegations, while thinking men treat with
contempt, and which belong only to the scaven
gers of party.
Democracy, thinking itself seated in the chair
of State forever, soon shewed the cloven loot of
tyranny. You saw' that you had been dect tved,
and you hurled it from its seat. You are a: jin
invited to commit your destinies to its trust. on
which of its acts while in power is this bold rt picst
founded ? Or will you rely <ig in on its /iror r«r>* ?
You had them once from Mr. Jefilrsorj lie
promised you peace, and left >ou, in every g
but in form, at war. lie promised you l r ony
among yourselves, and you are torn in pit eer> by
civil disseniions. He promised you wealth and
reputation, and you are reduced to poverty, ai d
almost to a reproach in the earth. Are you not
yet satisfied with democratic piomises i VY ill you
trust them again ?
Mr. Gerry, their candidate fir governor, was
once set up in opposition to t :*c patriot John H n
cock ; but the vitues of Hancock prevailed against
him He was a member of the ronventio;. that
formed the constitution of the Unittd States, to
which constitution he was,from first to inf d cd
edly o/ifiosed. He obtained a seat in the conven
tion of this State, not as a member, but for the os
tensible cause of stating facts, that lie ami his
friends might more securely intrigue lo prevent
its adoption. He was afterwards ^ent to France
with the illustrious Pinkney and Marshall. W'heti
the insulting demands of that nation drew from
General Pinckney,that memorable reply H Jmeri
cans will give millions for defence, but not a cenr
for tribute,” and national dignity and honor com
pelled them to return home ; Mr. Gerry, com
pletely captivated with the French, ami duped by
the Directory,consented to remain behind lor their
future uses ! This circumstance, to say the least
of it, proves a want of firmness, unpardonable in a
Statesman. Either of those objections ought to
disqualify him for your suffrages. There is one
more also. Mr. Gerry, though not quite seven
ty, has every mark of palsied, debilitated old age.
I speak from personal knowledge of the fact. In
deed alter having been unsuccessfully held up
as a candidate at various limes for more than
twenty years, it argues something like dotage
that he should consent at this late houiyo be drag
ged forth once more—In these times of tempest
tre need a man of nerve at ihe helm.
Of Mr. Gray, I have heard but little either way.
Ilis newly adopted associates say that he is tlte
friend and advocate of Embargoes ; which is verv
probable,for he made half million ofdeliunby that
ill-fated measure. But his strong predilection for
Jeffersonian policy, and bis partiality tor France,
render him a most dangerous ruler for Massa
chusetts. It has ever been the policy of democrats
thus to reward apostates from federalism. The
bait tempted Mr. Gray’s cupidity ami ambition.
Against Mr. Gore, malice itself cannot produce
a solid objection. You have tried him, and prov
ed him, and he is worthy. You know him to be
of integrity a gentleman of firmness,©! talents,well
affectiontd to the Constitution, the entrny of Em
bargoes Sc of foreign influence, the biend of union
and peace, and attached to j cur interests by ev
ery tie. -—
* The names of the worth; r% who signed !)*|t .
hie longue, ought tn t>e published tor the o.-ncth of the
people. They are, Levi Line do, Ssmuvl Ft w!er, Wil
liam Widjjery, Marshall Spring, Daniel n
jamin J Porter, and Thomas Hazard, jr. Nathan Wes.
ton’s name ««,> written, and aftervrarus eruaed.