The Mirrour — Concord, N.H., 1795-04-03 00:00:00, page 1

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Mirror
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NEWHAMPSHIRE PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY RUSSELL AND DAVIS, AT CONCORD.
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[VOLUME 111.
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Mr OSGOOD's
THANKSGIVING SERMON.
[continued.]
A SERMON delivered on the Day of An
nual Thanksgiving, November zo ? 1794.
,BY DAVID OSGOOD, A. M.
Paflet of a Church in Medford, Moffaebytts.
psalm. cxi, 4.
He hath made bis <wonderful <works to be remem
bered.
THE federal government was no sooner
organized, than it fpeedity rescued us
r from this eminently hazardous situation. It
gave frefli vigor to each of the state govern
ments ; awed into submission the factious
through all the states ; reffored the course
of juitice, and thereby established peace and
good order among the citizens at large. It
recovered the finking credit of the nation,
together with that of the refpedive states ;
and gave such afpring to commerce, agricul
ture, manufadures, and all those ufeful arts
which supply the necessaries and convenienc
es of life, that they flourish to a degree in
comparably beyond what had ever been
known in this country before. In promot
ing these important ends of every good gov
ernment, it exceeded the most sanguine ex
pedations of its friends and patrons. So
striking and manifeft were its beneficial ef
feds, that even its restless enemies were com
pelled to silence. This tide of public prof-,
pefity continued rising even after the com
mencement of the present troubles in Eu
rope : The current of our trade flowed for'a
while with but little interruption, and with
accumulated profit to our merchants and
farmers.
~ In this prosperous situation of our affairs,
a foreign incendiary appeared among us; the
object of whose , mission was, at all events, to
draw us in for 'a Ihare in the war with fat
rope. By fair negcciation with the exiting
government he had no hope of success. It
was therefore necessary, that the government
should be overthrown, or at least, the wife
and good men entrusted with its administra
tion, Ihould be driven from the helm. Ma
terials for either or both of these purposes
were ready to his hand.
In everv country, there are some who envy
the abilities of their superiors, and covet their
Rations ; some constitutionally turbulent
* *and unsafe, who have pleasure in nothing
but feezes of tumult and confufion ; some
Who make themselves conspicuous on no oth
er occasions ; and some in desperate circum
stances, whose only hope of bettering them
is in revolutions of government. Besides a
portion of all these, there has been in this,
country a large party, from the beginning,
ill-affeded towards the federal government ;
and with these may be reckoned,numbers of
ignorant, though honest people, who think
the period arrived when our debt of gratitude
ought to be paid to our allies. The pa ffions,
prejudices and opinions of these several class
es of people prepared their minds to receive
the impressions of an insidious minister.:
. He immediately, put in pradice the arts
which had proved so dreadfully efficacious in
his own country. His intrigues were sud
denly and surprisingly extended. H^ very
breath seemed to kindle the smothered em
bers of edition, from Georgia to Newhamp-
Ihire. Presses through the Rates were en
gaged to forward his designs, by conveying
torrents of Hander and abuse, against the
^ great officers of government. Popular so
cieties unknown to the laws, were recom
.X mended and adually formed under the in
fluence of demagogues well /killed in the
business of faction. The Bntifh councils,
as though in league to aid the attempts of
Genet, perfidioufly seized upon our trade,
and thereby furnifhed (what had yet been
wanting) a plausible clamour to those who
were seeking it, and a just resentment and
X indignation to the most peaceable and well
disposed. The passions ol men were worked
k up to a degree of fury. Rafa and violent
metres were proposed and ftrenuoully urg
ed. Favoured by these circumstances of em
barrafment to the government, the weftern.
counties of Pe h nfylvania, embraced the top.
''s^Tm^eVreTs,'^ the trials and
dangers to r ^ y ~
' political happiness, have been expoieu.
C 0 NC OR D, F RID AY, April 3,1795.
foQQnfo^^fa^fe=t=B—==~~!=~S^^"= ra ~* H = CT == ra "™"" ram =—==^^
our rights and privileges embarked, has been
fteerihg between Scylly and Charybdis : That
we have not been dallied upon either, is ow
ing to die good hand of God, influencing
and directing the pilots. ,;, ^
The profped is now more favourable.—
Through the wife and good conduct of the
President, his ministers, and the men of so
ber judgment in Congress, we seem to have
avoided many rock and quick sands. With
dignity and firmnefs they refilled the in
trigues and machinations of an unworthy
ambassador, till at length, they obtained his
removal. With refpe& to the nation from
whom we have received unprovoked injuries,
while they have been preparing for the der
nier resort, by putting the country in a state
of defence i they have sent forward to them
the rcmonftrances of reason, truth and jus
tice, that (if possible) they might prevent
the dreadful calamity of war. A degree of
success Has already attended the negociation :
The offending power now appears half a
shamed of the wrongs ^hich it hath com
mitted againit us ; and is constrained to
promise restitution. They have also the
present year, been fuccefsful againftthe hos
tile tribes of savages. And to suppress re
bellion, have sent forth an army so numerous
and powerful, as affords the hopeful profpe&
of effecting the purpose without tl}e effufion
of blood. To the federal democratic socie
ties through the states, who have incessantly
censured, misrepresented and calumniated
all these measures of our federal rulers, they
have opposed a dignified patience and mode
ration, worthy of their high Rations and great
abilities.
But as those societies, and the spirit of fac
tion which they engender, nourish and spread
among the people, are in my view, the great
est danger, which, at present, threatens the
peace and liberties of our country, I shall
close this discourse with a few ftriftures upon
them.
In every country, the men of ambition,
who covet the chief feats in government, ex
ert all their abilities to ingratiate themselves
with the source ofpower. Under monarchy
they are the most servile courtiers at the levee
of the prince. In a republic, the fame men
appear in the chara&er of flaming patriots,
prefefs the warmest zeal for liberty, and call
themselves the friends of the people. In
monarchies, their intrigues and factions are
endless. But as the monarch himfelf is the
main object of all their attempts, over whom
they endeavour to extend their influence ;
; their fadions are usually limited to the pre-,
cinds of the court, and rarely occasion any
general convulfibn in the empire, In a re
public, the case is widely different :—Thou
fands and millions are the objeds whom they
would influence. Os course, the more pop
ular any government is, the more liable it is
to be agitated and rent, by parties and fac
tions. Ours is not the firft republic the
world has seen. Some centuries before the
chriftian era, the states of ancient Greece and
Rome were so many republics. But thro'
the intrigues of ambitious and designing
men, influencing each one his party, they
. become so many hot beds of faction and dif
fention. Their worthiest and best charac
ters, when such chanced to hold the, reigns of
government, were soon hunted down ; and
the vilest of men took their places, and this
in continual rotation Civil wars often oc
curred ; and as either prevailed, proscrip
tions, banishments and massacres ensued.—
Precisely the fame scenes are now exhibited
in France. Weall rejoiced at the downfall
of despotism in that country : We consider
ed it as the dawn of liberty to the world.—
But how soon was the fair morning overcast ?
They had no sooner adopted a popular gov
ernment, than all the violence pt faction
broke out. A constitution / -which the col
leded wisdom of the nation had been two
years in framing, was in a day, or an hour,
overfet and demolished. From that time to
„this, their civil government has been nothing
but a contest of parties, carried on with all
the ferocity of barbarians. Previous to the
revolution, it Was said of the French, that so
refined was their sensibility, so abhorrent of
every appearance of cruelty, that they would
.not fuffer tragedy to be a&ed at their thea
tres, Is it not astonishing, how so great aI
change in the morals and manners of a na
tion could be so suddenly effected? 'Faction
alone accounts for it. Had the reprefenia
tives of the nation been left to act their judg
menl, uncontroled by the leaders of faction,
they would never have been guilty of those,
excesses and cruelties which chill all human
minds with horror. But how came those
factious leaders by such a controling power
over the Convention ? Solely by means of
those popular societies, in which they presid
ed, or over which they firft gained influence.
T^'e gave to faction its whole force.
On the fame principle with those in France
are founded the democratic societies in this
country ; and should they become numerous
b^e, as they are there, they will infallibly
hv/afimilar effe&. Their pretence is
watch government—they mean the federal
government. But this, like each of toe state
governments, is chosen by the nation at large
—and, of course, every man, in his individu
al capacity, has an equal right and an equal
intereft, in watching its measures. What
presumption then is it, and what an usurpa
tion of the rights of their brethren, for pri
vate associations, unauthorised by the laws,
to arrogate this charge to themselves ? ^Ad
mitting the propriety of setting a watch up
on Congress and the President ; are not the
state legislatures fully competent to the busi
ness ? Is not their interests at ftake,'and
their jeaioufy always awake, ready to notice
any fault orerror in the general government?
What then is there for these private associa
tions to do? Good they cannot do; and if
they do any thing, it mull be evil. And that
they have done evil already, and are, in faft,
the support of a pernicious and inveterate
fa&ion against the general government, a
mong many other unquestionable proofs,
the omission of our chief magistrate, just
mentioned, is, to my mind, not an improba
ble one. For unless we Suppose him to have
fallen under the baneful influeoceotthofe so
cieties, we know not how to account for his
having hazarded a proclamation, in which
we are directed neither to give thanks for any
advantages enjoyed by means of that govern
ment, nor even to aik the blessings of heaven
upon it.* As though its deftrudion were
already decreed, it is treated as no longer the
°fubjea of prayer.
fshould so melancholy an event as its over
throw ultimately take place, no cause at pre
sent appears so probable, as those ill judged
associations. To pull down & destroy good
governments as well as bad, is their only
tendency. In the nature of things, they
can have no other effed. In such a country,
as this, therefore, where, through the distin
guishing mercy of heaven, we have obtained
a government, so admirably adapted to pro
mote the general happiness, these irregular
and unwarrantable associations ought to be
guarded against and suppressed, with a vigi
lance like that with which we extinguish fire,
when kindling in a great city. Their meet
ings are so many collections of combustibles ;
and should they be generally extended, the
whole country will be in a flame. The mem
bers of those societies, by virtue of this rela
tion, necessarily become the mere tools and
dupes of their artful leaders, who have their
own ends to serve, by all their profeffions of
patriotism. '' The moment a man is attach
ed to a club, his mind is not free : He receives
a bias from the opinions of a party : A ques
tion indifferent to him, is no longer indiffer
ent, when it materially effects a brother of
the society. He is hot left to a& for himfelf,
he is bound in honor to take part with the
society—his pride and his prejudices, if at
war with his opinion, will commonly obtain
the victory ; and rather than incur the ridi
cule or censure of his associates, he will coun
tenance their measures, at all hazards ; and
thus an independent freeman is converted
into a mere walking machine, a convenient
„gi„ of patty leaders,'' In this way a few
ambitious individuals are enabled to extends
"their influence ; and as they rife in power
and consequence, to infringe upon the liber
ty of the public.
“ Each individual member of the state
should have an equal voice in elections ; but
the individuals of a club have more than an
equal voice, because they have the benefit of
another influence ; that of extensive private
attachment, which come in aid of each man's
political opinion. And just in proportion as
the members of a club have an undue Share
of influence, in that proportion they abridge
the right of their fellow citizens. Every dub
therefore, formed for political purposes, is an
aristocracy, established over their brethren.
It has all the properties of an aristocracy, and
all the effects of tyranny. It is a liberal
'# This must appear the more extraordinary,
cwto we refea, that et the time ofifo ; *g^
proclamation, war with tbejaruaget raged ox our
fmt&ri, Ttbdtete the btfomof tbe c^^ and
our fixation with rejpeA to the power: ^ Europe,
bad become ft critical, thatrax were aaulljfor.
tifying aadforming a uwmmtuaQ
• I
truth, that the democratic clubs in the Unit
ed States, while running mad with abhors
renc^ofariftocratical influence, are attempt
ing to eftabffi precisely the fame influence
under a different name. And if any thing
will rifque this country from the jaws of fac
tion, it must be either the good sense ofa
great majority of Americans, which will dis
courage private political aflocintions, and
render them contemptible ; or the control
ing power of the laws of the country, which
in an early stage, /hill demolish ail such insti
tutions, apd feeure to each individual, in the
great political family, equal rights, and an
equal ihare yf influence, in his individual ca
pacity. ;
" But let us admit that no fatal consequen
ces to government and equal rights, will en
sue from these institutions, still their effeds
on social harmony are very pernicious, and
already begin to appear. A party spirit is
hostile to all friendly intercourse, it inflame#
the pedions ;it fours the mind; it destroys
good neighborhood ; it warps the judgment
in judicial determinations: It banishes can
dour and substitutes prejudice ; it retrains
the exercise of benevolent affeaions of the
foul, it undermines the whole system of mor
al virtue. Were the councils of hell united
to invent expedients for depriving men of the
little portion of good they are destined to en
joy on this earth, the only measure they need
to adopt for this purpose, would be, to in
troduce factions into the bosom of the coun
try, Fadion begets disorder, force, ranco
rous passions, anarchy, tyranny, blood and
flaughter."f May the God of order and
peace; preserve us from such dreadful calami
ties ! And to him shall be glory forever.
AMEN.
f The Revolution in France : by an American
, — Ajudicious and irftruaive pamphlet.
LAWS of the United States.
PUBLISHED fog
BY AUTHORITY.
Third CONGRESS ^UNITED STATES,
AT THE SECONDSESSION,
Begun and held at the city of Philadelphia, in the
date of Pennsylvania, on Monday, the third of
November, 1794.
An AQ to continue in force the aft
" for afee?taiming the fees in admi
ralty proceedings in the diftribl coarts
of the United States, and for other
purposes."
BE it enabled by the Senate and Hsufe
II of Representatives of the United
States of America, in Congress assembled,
That the act, intitled, " An aft to
afeertain the feet in admiralty pro
ceeding! in the diftrift courts of the
United States, and for other purpos
es," be, and it hereby continued m
force, for the term of one year from
the passing of this ad, & from thence
to the end of the next session of Con
gress, and no longer.
. Approved, Feb. 25, 1795.
George Wafoingtort.
An AQ enabling George Gibbs to oh-
I tain a drawbacks, duties on certain
exported -wines.
BE it enabled ty the Senate and Honfe
of Representatives of the United States f
of America, in Congre/s affemblid, That
the colledor of the port of Newport,
in Rhodeifland, be, and he hereby is
authorized to allow George Gibbs, the
legal drawback of duties on certain
wines by, him exported to Calcutta, in
the lhip Warren, feme time in the
month of December, one thousand
seven hundred and ninety : Provided,
the said George Gibbs, shall produce
all the other testimony (excepting the
oath of the mate of the said ship)
which is required by the fifty seventh
^ ^ © "^reifore
effedually for the colle&on of the du
to imposed by law on goods, wares
[number 128/