The United States oracle of the day — Portsmouth, N.H., 1801-09-12 00:00:00, page 2

good opinion in advance," you promise
66 to conciliate that of others by doing
diem all the good in your power,"while
y,ur utmost endeavors shall be exerted
" to be instrumental to the freedom and
happiness of all."
Is it possible that the fame man who
thus wrote and spoke on the fourth of
March, fhouid, on the twelfth of July
following,in a public document, dip in
to all the troubled waters of political,
diffention and stir them to the bottom
that heexcufed it afterwards by observ
ing that"hehad forgotten that it was the
sabbath." In truth,Sir, it is believed,
that among all those persons whom you
have railed to the high departments of
Rate, there is not one who thinks any
more*of religion than you do yourfelf
And with respect to you, it is a fad
which it may not be amiss for you to
know, that, among the serious people
in this part of the country, a large pro
portion are distressed with the appre
benfion that you belong to that class of
philosophers who think the extirpation
of the chriftian religion would be a
benefit to mankind, that this is a part
ofthat plan of improvement upon which
your heart is set, and that to aid you in
the prosecution of it, you have feut to
France for the abidance of the author
of the /Ige of Reason.
Had you deferred the writing of said
answer until the sabbath fhonld have
been over, and spent that day in devo
tional exercises, in contemplating as a
model for you: felf, the character of that
Being ^ith nvhom there „ no refpeH of
perJons ; and in fervently praying to
him in the drain of the son of Betbfheba
on his exaltation to power, for a ^ife
and understanding heart to difeern between
bad and good —that you might be able to
judge this so great a people, and to go out
and come in aright before them ; had the
day been thus spent, you would, in all
probability, have attained to a degree
of wisdom infinitely superior to that
which now appears in ypur answer. In
its exordium you bear hard upon the
truth by speaking of Mr. Bishop as ap
pointed to succeed to an office vacated
by death : Your words appear as a
studied misrepresentation of a fad, art
fully intended to keep out of fight your
harffi condud in the displacement of a
worthy character in order to give his
office to another. The remonstrance
Rates that the person to whom you
have given it is through the lots of fight
and the other infirmities of an advanc
ed age, absolutely incapable of perform
ing its duties. Every thing contained
in your long recapitulation of his form
er talents and virtues, is explicitly ad
mitted in the remonstrance ; and to
what purpose you have dwelt so mi
nutely upon them, is inconceivable,un
lefs you hoped by that artifice to blind
inattentive and unwary readers. The
only point in the remonstrance
which it concerned you to difprove,was
the declared inability of your officer to
perform the duties of his office. The
import of the only argument which you
oppose to this assertion is, that “ our
Franklin, at * more advanced age,"
was so free from its infirmities as to be
the " ornament of human nature,"
therefore, &c. Is not such reasoning
below,our character,as a man of learn
ing, a reproach to your dignity as a
ruler, and an insult to the understand
ing of those who have approached you
with their complaint? But to what
purpose are all your smooth words in
coloring and painting? Is it not evi
dent to the whole nation, that you
would never have thoughts of confer
ring the office in question, upon the
father, how worthy soever he may be,
were it not for your attachment to his
worthless son, for whom alone the favor
was intended, either as a reward for
past services, or in order to retain him
as a fit instrument of 'your further
views ?
The remainder of your answer chief
ly consists in an attempt, miserably im
potent and unavailing,to reconcile your
subsequent condu& with your inaugu
ral speech. This, Sir, is an Herculean
talk,above the abilities of all the sophists
of the age. The two parts of no contra
di&ion whatever,are more glaring. In
deed the very sentiments advanced in
this attempt,are a literal denial of those
in the speech. In the latter, you repro
bate “ political intolerance." In pa
thetic terms you call upon all descrip
tions of people “ with one heart and
one mind to unite in the restoration of
that harmony and affection without
which liberty, and even life itfelf are
but dreary things." After intimating
that our past differences refpe&ed wea
fures only, you unhesitatingly affirm,
that " we are all brethren of the fame
principle —all republicans—all federal
ills." Having particularized at large
the fundamental principles of good
government, you declare them to have
been hitherto,the chara&eriftics of your
own, and fay, explicitly, “ these princi
ples form the bright constellation whicli
has gone before us, and guided our
steps through an age of revolution and
reformation." You speak of our own
government at the moment when its
reins are falling into your own hands,
as being in the full tide of fuccefsful ex
periment." After thanking " those
who have bellowed upon you, their
by heaping invectives upon those who
were entrusted with the government
before him—stigmatizing them as a
fell —boldly charging them with politi
cal intolerance to an extreme degree —
with having "excluded from office every
shade of opinion which was not theirs"
—with " having proscribed half the so
ciety as unworthy of every trull"—
with hating conferred offices upon
others guilty of " delinquency, oppres
sion, intolerance, and anti-revolutiona
ry adherence to our enemies"—and
with having continued their appoint
ments of such characters to " the laR
moments of their administration, not
for their own aid, but to begin a career
with their successors." Then exhibit
ing himfelf as brought forward to cor
rect these abuses, declaring his purposes
to effect it ; and^hat until he shall have
accomplished it, the nation must not
expect that " the honesty, capacity and
faithfulnefs," of candidates, will be the
qualities which he will principally re
gard in his appointments to office—ls
this the language,and are these the sen
timents of a sage, a patriot, a peace
maker, a reconciler of parties, a doer
of good to enemies ?
I know not, Sir,whether I ever heard
you called a good man ; but it has
been often said, that you are a " great
and wife man." Is it the wisdom of a
Solomon that shines forth in the follow
ing queries, " was it proper for Mr.
Goodrich to place himfelf in office,
without knowing whether those whose
agent he was to be, could have confi
dence in his agency? Can the prefer
ence of another, as the successor of Mr.
Austin, be candidly called a removal
of Mr. Goodrich The affirmative,
to these interrogatories is so obvious,
that it seems impoflible that they should
have come but from the weakest pen
that ever wrote. On the death of the
collector of New-Haven, if was the du
ty of the then exiting organ of the na
tion, immediately to call another person
into the office. With the full approba
tion of those with whom the butinefs of
the office was to be tranfa&ed, Mr.
Goodrich obeyed the call. On your
becoming the national organ, you thus
found him regularly fettled in the of
fice, not as the agent of the former
Preiiderit, nor as jour agent (a> yod, in
the hingl, style, express it) but the agent
of the nation doing their business.—
That you had power to remove him
is admitted ; but the actual exercise of
that power without any fault or rnifde
meanor on his part, was as arbitrary
j an aft, as wanton and flagrant an abuse
'of power, as any that can be named.—
But how then, you again query, " how
,re vacancies to be obtained ? Those
by death are few,by resignation none."
That is, here I am with all my coadju
tors, having, after a long and tedious
druggle, at length " burst open the
doors of honor and confidence"—here
we be all hungry & starving for offices
—"how are vacancies to be obtained ?"
As this picture of yourfelf and of yours
is of your own drawing, while all men
must admire your dexterity in produc
ing so exact alikeness, no honed men
will ever envy you in possession of such
features.
How are vacancies to be obtained ! is a
fad difficulty indeed; but it is a diffi
culty which never occurred in the days
of Walhington Neither he nor those
whom he approved, were ever office
feekers. So far from barfing the doors,
they were never known to wail at them.
But, should another set of men of the
fame character with the prelent posses
sors of the government,four years hence
again bur^ the doors, the fame difficulty
mull infallibly return with all its pre
sent force ; and so on ad infinitum, ft is
however, a most dangerous delusion to
imagine that we can progress in this di
rection. The nature of things opposes
insurmountable obstacles. In the way,
Sir, in whicli you are managing our re
public, you will make it a mill-done
upon the neck of the nation, which will
speedily fink them in the gulph of anar-i
chy, or rouse them by some previous 1
struggle to throw it off. Already you'
have brought it into hazard and before
half the term for your administration
shall have expired, it may probably
perish and you along with it. You are
certainly bringing misery upon yourl
country and infamy upon yourfelf. In
your conduct, combustibles are faft col
lecting for an explosion. My appre
hension of this has prompted the warn
ing voice of the pefent address. As
you are surrounded by these who may
have an interest in deceiving you, it
has been my aim to tell you the plain
truth. You will be unjust towards me
and may injure yourfelf, if you attri
bute ought that I have said to party
prejudice. lam connected with no
party, nor with any of the former offi
cers of the government ; have received
no personal injury from you, and have
not the lead particle of ill-will towards'
you. On the contrary, would you be
iperfuaded in the administration of the
government, to tread in the steps of a
Washington, and conduct with his
wisdom and gnodnefs, were it in my
power, you should be Prefidetit all the days ofl
your life, and your life should be prolonged to I
the age of a Metbufalah.
FIDELIS.
AS 1 find several of my fellow citizens in
this port, who seem determined to fail, notwith
standing their being informed cf war being de
clared by the Bafhaw of Tripoli against the
United States of America, I conceive it my du
ty to inform them through your office, of the
actual force of that Regency, which was ready
to fail on the 24th of May, and the coufcquence
attending the capture of any of them.
Firfl — Should any of our fellow citizens be
unfortunately captured, they would be kept as
boftages, in order to force our Government to
comply with terms wholly incompatible with
the honor and iotereft of the United States,
and which, I am of opinion, our Government
will rejed with difdam.
''tad —ls, on the contrary, our fellow citi
zens Ihould defeat them, and fink two or three
of their cruizes, they will render an essential
service to their country, as we shall be enabled
thereby, to concluded peace with Tripoli upo,n
our own terms, and the other Regencies will
probably be intimidated in some meaforc from
breaking with us.
Third —The Bafhaw of Tripoli has pawned
all the honor he has, that he will no: capture
any of our veffcls, until the expiration of forty
days, to commence from the 14th of May; but
I am persuaded that if any of his squadron falls
in with any ofeur veffcls even beforethat period
expires, they will capture them, and if they are
valuable,they as certainly willbecondemned;nev
erthelefs, 1 recommend our countrymen to a&up
the defective only, until'the expiration of said
period; but should the Tripolitians fire the firft
gun, to exert themselves to the utmost, in order
to inspire these people with a high idea of A
merican intrepidity, and to realize the idea I
haste already inspired them with, that the A
mericans were a superior race of men to the
Caftrati of Naples, and that they would never
take any of our property, without its being firft
disputed to the utmost.
Fourth. —The a&ual force of Tripoli, ready
for sea on the 24th of May, wasftf the Ad
miral, an American built ship, coppered, deep
waifted, yellow sides, with a white streak, muz
zle of the guns red, low, paltry green fern,
with flowers feftooned above the windows,
painted white, and a white woman head, heavy
rigging, an d looks at a distance, like a Span
iard. She is commanded by Peter Lisle (alias)
Morad Raize, an English renegado, mounts 18
nine-pounders on her main deck, 6 fours on her
quarter deck, two bow chasers, and two flern
chasers, which are placed in such a manner that
the taffarcl is cut down very low, and is a good
mark to know the vessel by. She is manned
with 200 men, and carries 28 guns.— Second, a
Swedifli-built bark, which is fitting out at Mol
tha, and is to carry 150 men and 20 guns, 6
pounders.—A Swedish-built brig, which is fitt
ing up in a hurry, and carries 14 guns, 4 pound
ers, and 120 men, has a great fbeer aft, and has
the Johannes %n Berk painted above her cabin
windows, and a white woman head. Fourth,
two polacres of 18 guns each, one of which is
black, the other yellow sides, and a Bermudian
poop, painted red ; their guns are 4 pounders,
and they carry ICO men each.- Two quarter
gallies built at Malta, the one rowing 28 oars,
the other 24 —carry 4 guns each, and from 70
to 100 men each, are calculaled to keep under
the Pern and rake in a calm, in a frefh breeze
are of no service, may easily be known by hav
ing extraordinary large latteen fails. '1 he
whole force cf Tripoli consists of seven fail of
vcffels carrying 106 guns, 4 6 and 9 pounders,
and 840 men ; very badly equipped. They
have more v< ffels, but have no people to man
them. Their mode of attack is, firft, to fire a
bread fide, and then set up a loud shout, in or
der to intimidate their enemy, they then board,
if poffiblc with as many men as they can, arm
ed with pistols, large and small knives, and prob
ably a few hlundcrbuffes, if you beat them off
once, they fcldom rfik a fecord encounter, and
United States & Tripoli.
OFFICIAL.
O
CIRCULARS.
To the Confab and Agents of tie United States of
America, rtfding in France, Spain, Portugal, &
Italy, the Barbary Stater and Britijb Garrisons in
the Mediterranean, and to all others tubom it
doth or nsay concern .•
Gentlemen,
IN the Circulars, which I have had the honor
to transmit to your cffice since November
last, I have informed you cf the state of our af
fairs with this regency, and now confirm the
whole of their contents, and request you to con
tinue to keep our vessels in port, and by no
means permit any of then to fail, unless un
der convoy, as I expea aery instant that war
will be declared against the United States.
The greatest force thatthi§ Regency is able
to put to sea at once, is ore ship of 28 guns and
200 men, one brig and two polacres of 14
guns and 100 men eachrfhe whole of which it
is supposed will be empbyed against the mer
chant vessels of our felloe citizens. I therefore
request you, gentlemen, 0 make this Circular as
public as possible, and t< transmit a copy of it
to the Department of date. I am, &c.
JANES L. CATHCART,
Chancery of the U. S of America at
Tripoli, in Barbary, May 11, 1801.
IN addition to my Circular of the iith
inst. I am sorry to inform you, that our flag
ftaff vis cut down upon Thursday, the 14th
inst. and War was declared in form, by the Ba
fltaw of Tripoly against the Spited States of
America.
You will please to give every possible public
ity to this Circular, and transmit a copy thereof
to the Department of State.—l shall depart from
Tripoly bound to Tunis, in a few days, where I
shall remain to wait the President's orders.
I am gentlemen, &e,
JAMES L. CATHCART.
Tripoli, May 15,1801.
0
To Thomas Appleton, Est. Confol of
the United States of America, at Leghorn.
Quarantine, at Leghorn, June 2, 1801.
Sir,
I AM sorry to inform you, that this in
stant, 6 o'clock P. M. the Bafhaw of Tripoli,
sent his Chacri to inform me, that he intends to
declare war in form against the United States
of America, upon Thursday, the 14th of May,
and that the flag of the United States has alrea
dy been hoisted ou board the cruizers, in the
place where the flags of the nations at war with
this Regency are always hoisted. You will
please to use every means in your powento
give publicity to this Circular, and transmit a
copy of this to the Department of State.
I am, gentlemen. &c.
JAMES L. CATHCART.
Tripoli, May 11, 1801.
To the Conf:th,Agents, i^c.i^c.[as above.]
Gentlemen,
0
To the Coufuls,Agents, Oc. <s!c[as above.]
Gentlemen,
7° GIBRALTAR, JULY TO.
A. HE French squadron, confuting, of three
line of battle ships and one frigate, Rated in our
111 tu have entered the Bay, proved, agreeably
to our information at that time, to be part of
Admiral Gantheaume's squadron, under the
command of Rear Ad. Linois.—The (hips of
the line are, the Formidable, L'/m/om,table' and
^ Defeix. It was reported, that their objed
was to join the Fleet at Cadiz, for the manning
of which they had about 2000 men on board
more tQan their complement. On Saturday
morning the wind having come to the eastward,
they again flood into the Bay, and came to an
anchor in front of Algcziras ; the frigate being
close in Ihore on the Southern part of the Town.
The next day they altered their position, and
moored in a line of battle, about a cable and a
half diftaut from each other, in which fituarion
they remained until Monday morning the 6th
inst. when, the signal being made for a squad
ron from the Weft, we bad the plcafure soon of
perceiving it was an English squadron, and of
afeertaintng it to be Rear- Ad. Saumarez, in the
Cartar with five of bis ships.
The front of Algeziras is defended by various
Batteries of heavy guns, on the illand, as well
as upon the banks co the north and fouth of the
tawn ; the fire from which crosses before the
town and harbour, and intersects in front of the
French ships, taking in flank any assailants who
might approach them. Theanchorage here is
also extremely dangerous, the whole harbour &
liland being surrounded by reefs of sunken
rocks. In short it was imagined that, even had
there not been a single man of war in that har
bour, no hostile Ihip would have the boldness to
venture to come near the port, or expose itfelf
to the dangerous obftru&ions which both na
ture and art had provided for the security of
this place : But no dangers can appal or discour
age our intrepid Tars wh^ the enemy appears
to be within their reach.
We beheld with admiration, tho' not without
anxiety, the English squadron haul up directly
for the French ships. The Venerable, under the
command of Capt. Samuel Hood, led the line,
according to his orders, with his usual address,
and passed the batteries, and the French ships,
without returning their fire until he arrived at
his Ration. The French ships opened their
fire at 25 minutes part 8 o'clock. The Eoglifh
were to come up in the following order, as di
re&cd by the Admiral :
The Venerable to lead in, and pass the ene
my's ships, without coming
to anchor.
„ ? To anchor abreast of the in
ompec J ncr fyp of the cnemy's line.
Audacious
Casar ('° ar:c h° r abreast of the ene-
Spencer ( my's ships. and batteries.
Hannibal )
All this appeared to be executed, as far as
the sudden failure of the wind would permit.
At 35 minutes past 8, the action commenced
by the Pompee and Audacious —at 9 the Cajar
opened her tire, a quarter of an hour after war ds
ihe passed the Venerable and came to an anchor :
At 35 minutes past 9, the Spencer opened her
fire, and soon afterwards the Hannibal. The
roar of cannon was, about this time, incessant
and tremendous ; and the fire was returned
with spirit by the French admiral; who, how
ever, as well as the two other French ships, ran
close in upon the Ihore, and apparently ground
ed. About half an hour past ten, the fire from
the enemy's Batteries on shore became so galling
to the C^far and Pompee, that it was judged
necessary to order them to cut and make fail.
The Pompee was so much injured in her masts
and yards, that the signal was made to tow her
out of pie action. About 12 o'clock, the Han
nibal was difeerned, thro' the fmoak close to the
French Admiral, and there was great reason to
hope that a few minutes would have brought her
along-fide of his Ihip, when the contett
would have been probably terminated
in the surrender of the latter ; but un
fortunately the Hannibal at this criti
cal instant, grounded, immediately op
polite to the battery on the north of the
town. —She, notwithstanding, kept up
her fire on the French Admiral; but
under such disadvantages, the valour
of her officers and crew could not avail.
Being completely expoled to the fire
from the battery on Ihore, Capt. Fer
ris had the misfortune to fee a conside
rable number of his brave crew killed
and wounded, before be would content
to strike his colours. The wind having
now entirely failed, and the British Ad
miral finding it totally impracticable to
bring any of his ships near enough to
thole of the French, found himfelf (at
35 minutes past 1 o'clock P. M. after
three well directed broad sides will insure you
a complete viftory. The capture or finking of
their Admiral is of such importance that it will
not only insure us a permanent peace upon our
own terms, but will probably effe& a 'revolu
tion in Tripoli favorable to our interest in the
whole of the Barbary States. From viewing
the importance of the object meant to secure,
should a battle ensue, I am persuaded that eve
ry worthy son of Columbia will exert himfelf
to the utmost of his abilities, and will sooner
submit to death than flavety, the continuance
of which, probably may be for many years,
which God in bis infinite mercy forbid. 1 rc
queft Mr. Appleton to furnifh the makers of
all the American vessels in port, with a copy of
this letter, to make it circular in all the ports
in the Mediterranean, Lisbon, London, and
Hamburg, and to transmit a copy thereof to the
Department of State. lam with sentiments of
the greatest esteem, Yours, &c.
JAMES L. CATHCART.
P. S. The Admiral is reputed a coward, fel
d°m goes near a vessel that looks warm, a few
wooden guns, waist and quarter cloths would be
of service, and in case of a&ion, boarding net
tings ought to be obtained.
Capt. U yeth, from Gibraltar, politely favor
ed us with two Gibraltar papers (the loth
and 17th ult.) from whicl iwe extract the
following Interesting NEWS. [To-morrow
we shall give further and more particular de
tails, from an English Officer on board the
Cxiar, together with the Spanjfh account of
the engagement of the 6th ult.
Capt. Wyeth is the bearer of Dispatches for
Government which will be forwarded to
Wafuington this morning.
——
NAVAL° ACTION
Os ALGEZIRAS, Monday, 6th jaly, 1801.
From tie Nem-Tork Gazette, September 3.
Naval Battles.
GIBRALTAR, JULY 1 7.
In our former Chronicle we Rated
the arrival at Algeziras of the Spanish
squadron intending to a& in conjunc
tion with the French ; and our readers
will recoiled we then observed, that
“ their trusting themselves out of port is
general, the prelude to a Britifo viHor,."
And we have now the fatisfa&ion of
anouncing the accomplishment of this
predi&ion.
It was upon Saturday the iztb July,
at noon,'that we saw the combined
squadron get under fail. The fide of
this mountain was covered with spec
tators of this formidable squadron, as
it advanced in battle array, through
the Bay, towards the Streights.
A sudden burtt of applause amongst
the croud dirc&ed attention towards
the New Mole, where the five English
fliips under Sir James Saumarez, the
Thames frigate and C'alpe sloop, were
spreading their fails, and in motion to
encounter this greatly superior force.—
As the night closed upon us, we could
just difeern the enemy's fleet fleering
over towards the African Ihore, and
the English bearing down upon them,
when both fleets disappeared from our
view. The heavy cannonade and ex
plosions were, however, beard dirtin&-
ly during the night, and occasioned no
fmall anxiety, till the return of the
Admiral, with his PRIZE, a SpanhE
74 gun ship, bearing a French Conh
modor&broad Pendant.
E'¥,P regret, that the Supple
ment tWfoe Gibraltar Chronicle <1 the
17th July, containing the particular,
of this combat, we have not been abL
to obtain. In addition to the ab&v,
Capt. Wyeth informs us, th^rbe Cv
an a&ion of 5 hours, with very little
intermission,) under the necessity of
withdrawing his force, excepting the.
Hannibal, which being ashore, he was
obliged to abandon to the enemy; to
whom however we do not conceive Ihe
can be of any service.
We have great reason to believe that
the French ships have fuffered so severe- .
ly by this ataack, that it-will be a con
siderable time before they can be fit -
for sea, ifat all repairable ; and so far
Sir James Saumarez has attained his
For our part, we mutt observe,
''A' . Faring, and valiant characters
of Britons, was most nobly displayed
in this arduous conflict, which would
have been crowned with moie comolete
success had not the breeze failed It
is not in the power of mortals to com
mand the elements, but mtn who are
capable of seeking glory in the midst
of Inch perils, will hade the good withes
and admiration of their countrymen
on their fide, and must at lad triumph
over every foe.
The circumstance of an English ship
having fallen into the enemy's hands,
is no doubt, an uncommon event at
present ; but tho'.it may be from that
consideration, a matter of exultation to
Jiem, he inuit beg leave to observe,
that the lots of the Hannibal is not to
he attributed to any superior skill or
courage, in her opponents; but folly
to the ditafter of her being becalmed
and running on fliore upon a flrange
coart. The enemy, instead of hoiking
the customary prize colours, kept the
English flag flying, with the union re
verted ; which being with us the signal
of di(lrefs occasioned a number of boats
to go off, with a view of affording as
sistance, all of them, with their crews,
were captured by the enemy.
I otal killed, of officers, feamen,and
mariners, 121. Wounded, 240. Total
killed and wounded—36l..
It is reported that the French ships
had about 300 men killed, and near
600 wounded, in this a&ion.
vV e are glad to hear, that the town
and inhabitants of Algeziras, have not
fuffered to any considerable degree
from the heavy cannonade in their
neighbourhood.
This morning another Spanish two
decker came into our bay and anchor
ed at Algeziras.
I his squadron correspond in num
ber, with that which some time since
arrived at Cadiz from Ferrol.
Yesterday afternoon, (July 9) a
squadron of French and Spanish men
ot war,under the command of a French
Admiral and a Spanish Vice-Admiral,
entered the Bay, and came to an an
chor a little to the Northward of
Algeziras, which place they saluted.
This squadron consists of two Span
ish three-deckers, and three two-deck
ers—one of them a French ihip, the
other two Spanish, and two frigates.
They were preceded by his Majesty's
flip Superb, Capt. Keates, the Thames
frigate, Capt. Laken, and Sir Thomas
Paisley, brig. They anchored off the
garrison.
Two or three small vessels lying at
Tangier, dellined for this garrison,
mistook the enemy's squadron for En
glish, and having joined them, were
all captured. The novelty of such an
enemy's fleet parading in those Teas is'
extraordinary. It will be |f long du
ration. Their trusting th&nfelves out
of port is generally the prelude to a #
British viclory.
SAUMAREZ's VICTORY.