United States oracle and Portsmouth advertiser — Portsmouth, N.H., 1803-04-16 00:00:00, page 1

[Continued.] • ~
HAVING thus considered the ef
fect of this cession upon the U.
States, in a general point of view, let
us now examine it more particularly as
it regards the greater divisions of our
country, the weftern, the southern, the
middle, and the eastern States. I fear,
fir, I Shall detain you longer than I in
tended, certainly longer than the light
of day will lift, notwithstanding my ef
fort to comprise what I have to fay in
the fmalleff compass. I As to the
weftern States, the effects will be
remote grid immediate.—'lhole more
remote may be examined under the two
fold afped of peace and war. In peace
they will fufifer the diminution of price
for their produce.- The advantage of
supplying the/French, Dutch and Span
ish colonies, may at firlt fight lead to a
different opinion; but when the port of
New Orleans is Shut to all but. French
ships, there will no longer be that com
petition which now exif's, and which
always results in the highest price that
commodities can bear. The French
merchants have neither the large capi
tal, nor have they the Heady temper,
and persevering indultry which fofter
commence. 'llieir invariable objed in
traders, to acquire fuadeh wealth by
large profit'; and if that cannot be done,
they abandon the puifuit for fame new
project Certain of the market, and
certain of the increasing supply, they
will prefciibe the price botli to those
who cultivate and to those who confumc.
Such will be the effed in peace. In a
war with England the attention of her
fleets to cut offfupplies from her ene
mies rruft necessarily affect the price of
produce in a Hill greater degree ; and
in war with France it will bear no price
at all, until New- Orleans shall be wrest
ed frotn their grasp. Add to this, the
danger and the devaftatiori from the
troops of that country, aided bfr innu
merable hosts of savages from the weft
ern wilds. 1 Such being the evident ef
fe&s to be produced in times not far re
mote, the present evil follows from
tire anticipation of them. The price of
land mutt be reduced from the certainty
that its produce will become less valua
ble. The flood of emigration to those
fertile regions must ce^le to flow. The
debts incurred in the hope of advan
tageous sales must remain unpaid. The
dittreis of the debtor must t hen recoil
on his creditor, and fr^m [h e common
relations of faciety, become general.
What will be the effe&on the southern
''?".'?^""©a'Car oiina§and the Mif
fihppi 1 %itory are expofed,to invasion
^ rom Lie Floridas and New-Orleans. —
^ ere are circumstances in that portion
of America which render an invasion
easy, and the defence difficult., Pensa
cola, though the climate be warm, is
among the healthiest foots on earth.—
Not only a large garrison, but an army
may remain there without hazard. At
Penfacolaand St. Augustine forces may
be assembled to operate m that season
of the year when the morales which
separate them from ourftuthprn fron
tier no longer breathe pestilence. By
what are those armies to be opposed?
Will you call the militia from the north
to assist their southern brethren ? They
are too remote. WilMyou, to secure
their seasonable aid, bring them early
to the fields they are ordered to defend ?
They must perish. The climate, mote
fatal than the sword, will destroy them
before they fee their foe. '1 he country
adjoining to our southern frontiers is
now in possession of the most numerous
tribes of savages we are acquainted with.
The access to it from New-Orleans and
the Floridas is easy and immediate. —
The toys and gewgaws manufactured
in France will be scattered in abun
dance, to win their affedions and seduce
them from their present connection. —
The talents of the French to gain the
good will of the savages is well known,
and the disposition of those uncultured
men forwards equally notorious. Here,
then; is a powerful inlirument of de-
Xhuaion which may be used against you
with ruinous effect. Besides, what is
the population of the southern States ?
Do you not tremble when you look at it ?
Have we not within these few days paf
ftd a law to prevent the importation of
Speech of Mr. Morris.
t — raft „ _s7 .Q 3
^l^^^l^^NCQ^^
Fatten states ®^ ana
Portsmouth Advertiser.
_ 22A? AA? H 'Saturday Morning, by WilTm ^ Dtf L Tt^mLU
111.} SATURDAY, April lißo3. Price ose dollar and fiftyce
Or ALL THE DISPOSITIONS T AND HABITS WHICH LEAD TO POLITICAL') J^^ (^ADVERTISEMENTS reasonably and conspicuou el " Co
PROSPERITY, RELIGION & MORALITY are indispensable} N { N icat lON3 duly attended to -and every Favor tha^^,?
supports. WASHINGTON'S Legacy.\ [ EDGnD ~ ' thankfully aoknowl-
American Senate.
Such being the probable result, as to
the southern, what will it be to the mid
dle States? Their trade to the Wed-
India Islands is gone the moment that
country is in possession of the. French.
England, to wlr.de dominions alone
they can have recourse for the vent of
their produce, and the purchase of their
supplies, will confine that commerce to
her own Grips. I fay the moment the
French are in poffefiion of New-Orleans
your Welt-India trade is gone. - Ido
not mean that this effect will be sudden
as a slash of lightning, but it will be
gone in a few years, which may be coru
fidered as a moment when compared
with national existence/ You will then
be dependent for that trade on the good
will of England; and as your naviga
tion decreases, your dependence will be
Rill greater, because you will rely on
her navy for your protection. I again
repeat, that when it shall be a question
in your councils whether you will have
a navy; the increasing weight of the
weftern country will be thrown into, the
scale of oppofrion. They will insist on
an army for their protection. My hon
orable colleague has exprefed his fears
from a landing ar/ny. Sir, your pres
ent negligence will put you under the
necessity of having such an army, and
expose you to all the consequences to
be apprehended from it. You may in
deed remain united in a body as one na
tion, but with such contrarient interests
and opinions, with sentiments and views
so different, it will be a large and lan
guishing body without a foul.
To the eastern States, when separate
ly considered, this may appear a matter
of less moment than to the other great
divisions of our country.'But they will
perceive in it the loss of their naviga
tion ; they will fee the theatre of their
industrious exertions contrasted ; they
will feel the loss of the productions of
that weftern world in the maH of their
commercial operations ; and, above all,
they will feel the loss of an ample re
source for their children. These weftern
regions are peculiarly their heritage. It
is the property of the fathers of -Ame
rica which they hold in trust for their
children. The exuberant population
of the ehftern States flows in a Steady
Stream to the Weftern world, and if that
be rendered useless, or pass under the
dominion of a foreign power, the fair
eft hope of posterity fc .destroyed. The
time may come, and I fear it will pome,
when those who cross the mountains
will cross the line of jurisdiction. Whe
ther we confider therefore this objec
tion in its relation to our general poli
cy, or examine its bearings on the great
er divisions of our country, we find
ample reason to agree with the gentle
man near me, that New-Orleans and
the Floridas mud not be Separated from
the United States.
Let us now confider the consequence
of the cession we complain of to other
nations; and this we may do generally,
and then more especially as to those who
have a direCt and immediate interest in
the tranfadion. In a general view, the
firft prominent feature is the colossal
power of France. Dangerous to Europe
and to the world, what will be the ef
fect of a great increase of that power!
Look at Europe. One half of it is
blotted from the lift of Empires. Aus
tria, Russia, Prussia, and Britain are
the only powers remaining, except.
Sweden and Denmark, and they are
paralized. Where is Italy, Switzer
land, Flanders, and all Germany well
certain dangeious characters ? What
will hinder them from arriving in the
Floridas, and what can guard the ap
proach from thence to our fouthei n
frontier ? These pernicious kmiflaries
may ftiraulate, with a protpeft of free,
dom; the miserable men who now toll
without hope. They may excite them to
imitate a fat» example, and to ad over
those fcen.es which till our minds with
horror. When the train stall be laid ;
when the conspiracy shall be ripe ; when
the armies of France shall have reached
your frontier, the firing of the firft mus
ket will be a figrial for general carnage
and conflagration. If you will not fee
your danger now, the time must soon
arrive whenyou shall feel it. The south
ern States being exposed to such immi
nent danger, their representatives may
be made to know that a vote given in
Congress shall realize the word appre
hensions. You will then feel their dan
ger even on this floor.
of the Rhine ? Gone, (wallowed up in
the Empire of the Gauls. Holland,
Spain, Portugal, reduced to # Hate of
fdbmiffion and dependence -What is
the fituatiod of the powers that remain ?
AuHria is cut off from Italy; the great
object of her ambition for mre than
three centuries ; long the rfuabf France
l° n ? lbalancing; with the I'.nitons the
fate of Europe,'Hie mud now,fcbmit,
and tacitly acknowledge to the world
the superiority of her foe, and her cwn
humiliation. .Pruffia,under the aufp ces
of the great Frederick was at the head
of a Germanic league to balance the
imperial power, — Though unital with
Aulria for a moment in the hollow
league of che coalition, the ha|, like
Austria, been a&uated by a blind jeak
oul'y, and favouring the operations of
France for the rain of her rival, expec
ted to (hare largely in the general spoil.
In this fond hope she is difapointed.
She now fees the power of Ftiicce at
her door. There is not a fort^fs from
the Rhine to the Baltic, except Magde
bourg, which the First Ccjful may
leave on his lefr. The fertile plains
near Leipfic contain the magazines for
his armies, when lie shall think proper
to march to Herrin. Westphalia and
lower Saxony are open, on the fide of
I'landers&Holland. The Mainepiefents
him a military road to the borders of
bohemia. By the.Neeker he approaches
Utm, and eltablifhes himfelf on. the
Danube. These rivers enable him to
take the »aft resources of his wide do
main to the point where he may wish
to employ them. Menacing at pleasure
his neighbours, he is himfelf Retired by
a line of fortreffes along his whole fron
tier, Switzerland, which was the only
feeble point of his defence, and which
feperated his Gallic and Italian domin
ions, has lately been fubjefted. The
voice you now hear warned the Swiss
of their fate more than eight years ago.
'1 he idea seemed then extravagant ;
but realized, it appears but as a neceT
fary incident, Russia is deprived of
herrinfluence in Germany, and thereby
of a principal instrument by which her
policy might operate on the great pow
ers of the fouth. The Germanic body
is indeed in the hand of the First Con
sul. Three few electors alpng the Rhine
are under the mouths of his cannon.
They dare not speak—Speak ! None
dare speak— They dare not thifk any
thing incontinent with his wishes. Even
at their courtly feafts they fit like Ta
mocles, deftruaion suspended over their
heads by a single hair. Would you
know the sentiment of England ? Look
at the debates'' .In the two houses of
Parliament, they speak their fears. Such
being the general sentiment of Europe,
can it be supposed that they will view,
without anxiety, a new extension of that
power and dominion, the objeft of their
hatred and apprehension?
[ 7b he continued]
NEW-.YORk, APRIL 6.
. RIOT AT THE STATE PRISON.
From a report made co the Inspectors of
the State Trifon, by Capt. Pray, the prin
cipal keeper, it appears that Daniel Mac
doiidld, who was convicted at Albany for
horfe,-Healing, and sentenced for 7 years
to hard labor in the State Prison, Iwas
the ringleader in the attempt of the pris
oners to efi/pe from that building on
Monday latt. On one of the keepers going
into the shoemakers apartment that after
noon, he was informed of their intentions
by M'D^nold, who allured him that he
fho'd not be hurt ; that he had been nujutt
pungfhed, and that he would escape over
the walls of the prison that night. Several
of the prisoners then proceeded to put
their plan into execution ; but it appears
that they were by no means generally dis
posed to follow the example of their
leader. On the rioters entering the yard,
the finiths and nailers, at work there, al
niod to a man refufed to join them ;, but
came forward to the, keepers, and offered
to protect them at the rifle of their lives.
On the alarm being given, the guard of the
prison flood ready to oppose them. Th?
prisoners were then mounting the w 11 by
help of a fcaffold, and on the guards cal
ling to them to defiH, they m return re
ceived" very abuhve language ; and had
brick-bats and hammers thrown at them.
Finding that coercive measures must be
taken, they fired and killed Isaac Lyttle,
from Wifilington, who at the indent of
the firing put his head out of a Window,
though not concerned in the riot ; mor,
tally wounded a man by the name of John
Primer (since dead) Sul woun ed ihr e
a hers, viz. Henry Meflenberg, Gil
bert, and Day id Buck, <!il of them danger
oully. During the!Hot, the primers let
fire to one of the rooms, but if was put out
before any injury had been fultained.
I. What <was Connecticut from her settle
ment to the close of the revolutionary war ?
11. What was floe at the time of the adop
tion ofthe confstation in 1788 ?
111. What waj her condition at the ctofe es
the adminifration of Wafnirgton and
Adams ?.
1% Why did an offiftion exif againf
their adminifration ?
V. Hew was that oppoftion conduflrd ?
VI. What has been done by the present ad
ministration of the United States ?
VIA What i. now attempted to be done in
this state by thojewhoare filedrepiddic ns?
VIII. What means are used to efcdt their
IX. What is the plain du, of those who are
Federalifs, and who rejoice to be called
the followers of Wafoington and Adams.
• It will be at once seen that the an
swers to these quellions must be.confin
ed—l pledge myfelf that they Shall be
conformable to truth.
I. What was Connecticut from her set
tlement to the close of the revolutionary war ?
Connecticut was fettled by a plain,
induHrious and virtuous people. Their
object was, the acquisition of a Sufficien
cy of property to elevate them above
want, and the enjo ment of civil and
religious liberty. The liberty they
fought was equally removed from ty
ranny and licentiousness.—They were
too wife and too virtuous to wish the
latter—they had too much felf refeft
to submit to the former.
To acquire and preserve these great
objects, it was with them a firlt princi
ple that instruction, both moral and re
ligious, Should be enjoyed by the great
body of the people. Hence Schools and
churches were established in their settle
ments, and a town or Society without
them, could hot be found. Knowing
that in 11 free government, confidence
must be reposed in rulers, they also
taught refpeh and obedience f r those
in authority. The Legislature, Second
ing the views of the people, cheerfully
co operated with them to procure the
establishment of these bulwarks cl so
ciety.,
In their progress, harmony between
the people and the clergy, was main
tained. It was no part of the instruc
tion of our ancestors, that those men
Facts ae Stubborn Things,
Or Nine PLAIN QUESTIONS, to the
People of Connecticut,
With a brief Reply to each.
By Simon Holdfast.
&T has become quite fashionable, of
h'-te, by a certain elafs of writers, to rid
icule the Hate of Connecticut. Our in
habitants are represented in the Auro
ra, the Watch Tower,the Boston Chron
icle, and the Mercury printed by Mr.
Babcock, as a wretched, pried ridden,
and deluded people. The Legislature
is denounced as arbitrary and tyran
nical—- The clergy as bigots, and rhe
men in office, as the enemies of the lib
erty & happiness of their fellow-citizens.
It cannot have escaped the observa
tion of men of ordinary reflexion, that
this abuse is offered to Connecticut be
cause (he has remained the unshaken
supporter of Wellington and Adams.
It became necessary in the viewof cer
tain men, for reasons which I shall de
tail at large hereafter, to overthrow the
adminiihaticra which governed for 11
years past. This could not be clone
except by exciting dittiu.t and odium
against public men and measures.— To
effect this, the newspapers,fiW Repub
lican, years fince;commenced; and have
carried co a warfare against the men
who were denominated fedeialills. In
this warfare, truth, virtue a .d honor
have been openly and iharnci'olfofac
rificed on .the altar of paity fyir.t —and
thus the desired change has been pro
duced. The fame weapons are now
employed, with the avowed Jefiyn, to
destroy the confidence ofAbe people of
Connecticut in.their rulers, ana to drive
them from their ftatious, that others
may enjoy them.• Among these weap
ons; calumny against the manners;hab
its and religion of the great body of
federalists, is deemed very important.
, My object is, in the following page,,
to call the attention of my felio -ciri
zens to this fubjeCt. . I cannot do it
more effectually than by adopting the
following method :—
T he history of the connexion betrac.n
Connecticut and Great Burdin, and a
view ol their interim! policy, clearly
Shew, that the people and their rulers,
v ere the real levels and Erm Supporters
of genuine liberty. Ail attempts,
wl e.her Secret or open, againh their
heedoin, were met with the intrepidity
of feemen who despised even the ap
pearance of Slavery. In the war which
Separated them from their mother coun
try, they bore a confpicu us pait. 'lhe
wisdom and firmriefs Shewn in the cabi
net, u ere equalled; if not excelled, by
the patience, fortitude and valor ofrhe
field. The officers and Soldiers 'f the
Connecticut line, received repeated and
high commendation from their beloved
Commander in Chief, arid the praise of
Washington w.is,till lately,real glory.
At the close of this war, the people
of Connecticut principally returned to
their variou pursuits of agriculture,
commerce and manufactures. It wili
not be forgotten,however,that the great
exertions made by her citizens—the re
peated ravages made upon her sea port
tov ns, together with the other calami
ties incident to a tedious war, had ex
hauled her Treasury and accumulated
a heavy debt. This leads me to the
fcond enquiry, .viz. What was foe at
the time of the adoption of the Cosfitution
in 1788?
At this period it appeared that the
Bates most ready and moll able to lend
their aid, were greatly in advance to
the U. States, while they owed to their
own citizens for their property and Ser
vices, sums beyond their ability to dis
charge. Socle of the dates had replen
ished their treasuries whh the avails of
confiscations Not so with Connecticut:
—her treasury had not a pepper corn
in it.— She then owed a debt of nine
teen hundred thousand dollars. New-
Yoi k, her powerful Neighbour, was
draining her to the vitals, by a partial
impost, and there w,s no general gov
ernment which poffefled either energy,
or commanded refpeCt. Her creditors
were calling, with a voice that Seemed
wholly iriefiliible. Her citizens were
exhausted with the expense and fatigue
of war— a fcaicity of money existed
which seemed to forbid industry, and
this was rendered more intolerable by
a total want of confidence between the
Bates and arcong indivi uals—the peo
ple were deeply involved in debt, and
public and private credit existed only
in name—labor and produce command
ed nothing but a bar tei ing commerce—,
taxes were enoi moully heavy — consta
bles, collectors and Sherif&, and theiq
wretched accompanirceuts,vendues aa4
This people, planted in a good foil
favored with a healthful climate—situ
ated happily for so much commerce as
was neceffiry tor their well being—and
thus established in the principles of lib
erty, morality and religion,foon became
a prosperous and happy people.
It is not here intended that enihufi
aim aud bigotry did not tarnish their
religions chamber to a certain degree -
or that errors and vices uere not Seen,
Suffered ana ueplored—but it is averted
that as much virtue was practiced, and
as much happiness enjoyed, as could
rationally have been ex etle.l ; and
that, on a comparison with other com
munities, here was eminently a good
hate ot i<©etv.
who bad taken upon them the solemn
dmy of directing men to happiness here,
and endless happiness hereafter, were,
on tint account, to be ridiculed in week:,
newspapers, and held up as objects of
Icorn and hatred. 0 It was not then
deemed a mark of good sense, or got d
Reeving, or a qualification for promo
te in to < Are, to denounce ministers of
Aw g<^oA, and profeffors of religion,
as tools knives and hypocrites. ° No
young gentleman then fought populari
ty by openly profaning the Sabbath —
by pouring contempt on the bible, or by
announcing his behefin deism, or mhe
drn. One day in seven was then kept:
as a day of public worship. AfEmbiing
toge^icr on this day—hearing forces
thing of the world to' come, the d^li
ration of all men, abstaining fiom lab' r
and amufument, and learning the great
duties of life, wa, then deemed as Lend
ing to make men wiser and better -
uiferreffecting their bighett intereHs—
better as neighbors - as members of so
ciety-as citizens—as rulers—as chil
dren—as parents—as men—as Chris
tians.