The constitutionalist — Exeter, N.H., 1810-07-23 00:00:00, page 2

Now, the seizure and condemnation
of ONEBUNDRED AND THIR
TY SIX American vessels and car
'goes, and the imprisonment and star.
M vation of their crews, by the French, is
scarcely sufficient to move# muscle of
I the body politic. A few newspapers
endeavour to rouse the departing spirit
of American honor and courage, but
it is almostin vain—one goeth to his
farm and another to his merchandize—
s and there are many French newspapers
which endeavour by every Wile and
* stratagem, to vindicate, either directly
L, of indirectly, the unparalleled robbery
land^utrage committed by the French
Dey. American spirit and feeling are
in their wane; commerce is unprotect
ed, and the treasury is exhausted ; our
citizens languish in foreign prisons, al
most destitute of the necessaries of life ;
many of our ships of war( have been
sold, or suffered to rot in dry docks;
the French barbarians treat tit
contempt, and the American Eafle
cowers beneath the Gallic Cock.
'times future.
ALAS! MY COUNTRY !
, Clouds and Darkness rest upon it.
'' Ilow is this gold become dim, and the
fine gold changed??
• K^ ^=to i —
The National Intelligencer has pub.
lished ffie French Rambouillet Decree :
but without comment.
Stories against the British'—The very
confiscations of the French have over
.-^nd over again been ascribed to the
British by democratic writers, and the
whole bent and aim of these adminis.
tration men and papers, is to suppress
truth and propagate falsehood, as it
respects the two great belligerent pow
ers towards us.— Tren. Fed.
In their official stamp! But this same
paper has, since the full information of
these losses, found both time and room
for the most pointed "reprobation" of
the British government, on account of
a certain blockade which was instituted
by the Fox administration some years
ago. And this is the paper that boasts
of the absence of all French influence
in democratic papers. It is gross h y^
pocrisy—The whole clan of these pa
- pers have been and are continually bu
sied in concealing the trespasses and
outrages of Bonaparte—in diverting
the attention of the people from them,
by fabrications and the revival of old
Every federal man who has been
faithful in his adherence to Washing
ton principles, must feel, at this day,
a conscious satisfaction, on account of
the part he has taken in the politics of
the country. The democrats are lit
erally coming out of the little end of
the horn. All their projects—all their
schemes ' —which they promised would
^ork such wonders abroad have com
pletely failed, and they are now sneak
ing back, with heads down, and striv
ing to get once more where they sat
out. An empty treasury—-reduced
revenue—borrowing money—^increas
ing French depredations, are thefruits
of their silly labours. They bark and
growl at old England; but With all
their malice and spite, they can neith
er provoke her to war, nor to budge
one single inch cither in compliance to
them or their Emperor and Kiug.-Qj.
Democratic Economy. Next week
we intend to give an extract from the
Speech of John Randolph in favour of
the reduction of the Naval Establish
ment. He gives us in this speech, ip
figures, the difference between demd
cratic economy and federal extrava
gance. It amounts to this, that where
.each seaman under Adams' administra
tion cost four 'hundred and seventy two
dollars per annum, under Jeffersons
system each one has cost eight hun
dred and eighty-seven dollars for a
like space of time ! No wonder the
Treasury is drained ; but our demo
crats would go to the southern states
for economists to save the people's
money and the sequel is just about
what common sense predicted.— ih.
or four American vessels by the Alge
rines, and the enslaving of their crews
■was sufficient to excite the feelings of
almost every man in the JJnited States.
Our newspapers groaned with the re.
cital of the sufferings of American citi
zens, but then we had no Algerine/
newspapers to vindicate the robbery
and plunder committed t by the Derf
Then American spirit and reeling were
in their vigotir, active exertions were
made to protect commerce, and to re
plenish the public treasury; our citL
Zens were liberated through the inter
ference of the government; and shifts
of war were built which afterwards not
only kept the barbarians in check, but
at length completely humbled them
and taught them to fear the American
Eagle.
TIMES PRESENT.
TIMES PAST.I
A few years ago, the capture of thice
From the Freeman's Journal/
and to fix it upon the British Govern
ment. In the second place, some such
publication by the Executive seemed
to be indispensable, for the reputation
and the ascendancy of the party. A
letter a few days before had appeared
in the public prints from General Arm
strong to the secretary of state, dated
February, 1808, more than two years
ago. In this letter Armstrong tells
our Government that the Emfaor of
France had taken his stand against
Americans, and they could expect
nothing from his justice! Could it be
supposed that such a letter, so very
important to this country, would be
kept secret by the administration.
And yet, O ! ye unbelievers, such is
the fact. I ask if this letter had been
published, as was the bounden duty of
the Executive, would twenty or thirty
millions of our property be at this day
in the treasury of the TYRANT ?
No, it would not, and the adminis
tration is justly chargeable with the
loss! But this dereliction of duty is
agghivated by the facts that in this
very Intelligencer, about the same time,
in speaking upon our foreign relation,
told us— with France all was well ;
and so late as last March our affairs
with France wore a more promising
appearance! Thus then Armstrong's
letter was not permitted to see the
light, and the ? ernment print going
on deceiving the merchants and decoy
ing their ships into the merciless fangs
of the tyrant! I ask could Bona
parte have devised a better trap to en
snare our/property ? The odium which
such transactions must inevitably bring
upon the heads of the administration,
now since they are brought to light suf
ficiently accounts for the laboured
publication in theJntelligencer and the
government resorting to the hacknied
Jeffersonian cant upon British aggres
sion. \
The Rambouillet Decree. —Our rea
ders,fre already acquainted with the
French Berlin* and Milan decrees ;
and /we now introduce the Rambou
illet decree, as first published in the
Philadelphia Gazette of the 9th ihst.
Government, no doubt, have been in
possession of this decree for some
time, but did not choose to favor the
public with a knowledge of it.—N. Y.
Gaz.
'
More French Hostility.
From the Bulletin des Lois.
RAMBOUILLET, 23d MARCH 1810.
Taking into consideration that the
government of the U. States has by
an act of the Ist March 1809, ordered,
1. That from the 20th May next
ensuing, vessels arriving in the United
States, under the French flag, shall be
seized and confiscated, together with
their Cargoes. 2. That from the same
period, no merchandize, nor produc
tion of the soil or manufactures of
France or her colonies, can be im
ported into the ports of the United
States from any foreign port whatso
ever, under pain of seizure, confisca
tion and penalty of three times the
value of the goods.—3. That it shall
not be lawful, for any American
vessels to proceed for any ports in
France, her colonies or dependencies- —
We decree as follows—
“ All vessels sailing under the Amer
can flag, and owned in whole or part,
by any citizen or subject of that
power that, reckoning from the twen
tieth of May 1809, may have already
entered orthat shall subsequently enter
the ports of France, her colonies,
or the territories occupied by the
French armies, shall be seized arid
sold, and the produce of the sale shall
be deposited in the Cuisse D' Amor^
tisaion. From this provision are
alone excepted suoh vessels as may be
charged with despatches, or com
missions from the government of the
United States, and have no lading or
merchandize on board."
REMARKS ON THE RAMBOU
ILLET DECREE.
' From the n. y. evening post.
New French Decree. —ls the
American people arc riot entirely lost
to all sense of feeling, their indigna
tiort will be roused at reading the fol
lowing extract from Napoleon's late
decree. This decree was issued so long
ago as the 23d of March last, and has
been acted on ever since, though it
*
OUR country is certainly in a
deplorable situation when the adminis
tration, in order to disguise their blun
ders and partialities t,o France, impose
upon a deluded people the grossest
misrepresentations. In the Intelli
gencer of the 22d June, may be seen a
publication of this kind. The object
clearly is in the first place to divert the
publick resentment against France,
which is so justly excited by Cadore's
villainous letter, and the more villain-
ous confiscation by Napoleon of all
American property within his gripe,
From the Independent American.
London, may 29.—A vessel which
left Ostend on Saturday last, brought
letters from the Continent up to that
date. They relate the following in
teresting fact:—'When Bonaparte and
his suite were visiting the docks and
harbour of that place, on Sunday the
20th inst. he observed a ship standing
in, and waited till it had cast anchor.
On the master's landing, he was usher
ed into the presence of the Emperor,
whose rank was not revealed, & who en
quired from what part of the world he
came? Alarmed at this question, the
master stated that he came from Nor
way, and that his vessel was laden with
wood. “ You do not tell me the truth,
(replied Napoleon) let me see your li
cence ; you are from England." Fear
ful lest the production of his,licence
should subject his ship and cargo to
confiscation, the trader still hestated,
when Bonaparte, penetrating into the
cause of his apprehension, assured him
.that it was unfounded.—The licence
and the ship's papers were then produc
ed and surrendered, and the master re
ceived orders to attend in two hours at
the Imperial Hotel. When the surprise
occasioned by his discovering that the
person with whom he had conversed
was the Emperor had subsided, he was
closely questioned by Napoleon on the
state of British commerce. The latter
tried to ascertain the motives which
could induce our Government to ob
ject to taking from France a portion
of our imports in wine and brandy?
When his curiosity had been satisfied,
he returned the licence and papers, and
allowed the vessel to unload and take
on board a cargo of wheat. After
this, according to the report of the
Captain,Napoleon formally announced
to the Chamber of Commerce at Os
tend, his determination to sign no more
licences for imports, unless England
would consent to receive wines and
brandy; in which case, he was willing"
to grant licences to enable vessels to
proceed directly to a British port and
thus secure to both Governments the
reciprocal advantages of a circumscrib
ed trade.
Recent advices from Holland state,
that great quantities of Colonial pro
duce had been seized, and a considera
ble addition had been made to the
French force in that country. A let.,
ter dated May 15, mentions that the
whole of the American property which
had been detained there, and which a-\
mounted to more than two millions of
dollars, was to be sold on the 15th of
next month, under the decree lately
published at Faris. In the same com
munication it is mentioned that thelike
proceeding is to be adopted in all the
ports of Flanders and Holland. Ap
other letter from Schowen of the 17th
instant, observes that the decree just
alluded to is carrying into execution
with the utmost rigour, and many ships
in that harbour apd i^ the neighbour
hood were, in consequence put under
sequestration.'
Liters of the date of May 21, were
yesterday received from tire South of
France which state that reinforcements
to the amount of seventy-five thousand
men, 15,000 of which were of the Im
perial guards, had passed through on
their way to Spain, their route was
through Saints and Angouleme. Mas
sena was to be vested with the chief
command of the force, by this efforts of |
was not published, as far as we can
learn, until the beginning of May.
How it found its way to this country,
we are not informed, but we sus
pect some foul play in the business.
We areapt to think our government
received a copy of the decree by the
John Adams ; but did not think fit to
publish it at that 'time, for fear the
indignation of the people against
France would be such that it would
not be restrained. If our government
received a copy of this outrageous
order, Duane had a copy Jike wise.
Indeed, from many observations in
the Aurora, we think there is very
little doubt that Duane received the
substance of the decree, if not a full
copy, by the John Adams. But per
haps with his imperial master's in
structions not to publish it, for fear
it might prevent the sending of Ame
rican property to ports under his con
trol. p
To state the injustice and inhuman
ity of the decree is useless. Nothing
better is to be expected from the gov
ernment of Napoleon.—All that as
tonishes us is, that our government can
bear such outrages with such stoic
indifference. Had Great Britain done
half what has been done by France,
this country would be under arms-—
war would be inevitable—and more,
it would be just and proper.
RECEIVED BY THE RICHMOND, ARRIV
ED AT BOSTON, FROM BRISTOL.'
(hT London dates to June 2.
Foreign Articles.
CONTINENTAL NEWS.
The Corunna papers by Capt.
Gridley are to the 4th of May. Their
contents indicate a bold and unabated
spirit of resistance in the Spaniards to
their invaders. They mentionthe fall
of Astorga, but not with the least
despondency ; and the conquest they
say cost the French 4000 men. Junot
directed the siege. The Spaniards ob
tained a most honorable capitulation,
which they charge the French with
almost immediately violating. From
the obstinacy with which this and other
places have been defended, it is evident
the siege of Cadiz is not the whole
work the French have upon their hands
in Spain.
MUNGO PARK—again.
A Spanish brig from River Gambia,
for Pensacola, put into Nassau,for sup
plies, informs that Mungo Park is
yet alive ; but a close prisoner in the
Bambara Nation. —An African arriv
ed at Senegal,rom the interior gave
this information. A vessel was des
patched up the Gambia, with the in
formant, to gain further tidings of
this intrepid traveller.
Nyulfuryport Jlerald.
tENN. PHILADELPHIA, JULY 6.
Presque Isle, Erie, Penn. June 16.
On Sunday the third instant, this
place and neigbourhood for several
miles around, was visited by the most
tremendous storm of wind attended
with heavy thunder, lightning and rain
ever witnessed perhaps within the re
collection of our oldest settlers. The
gust commenced from the west south
west, between five and six o'clockin
the evening, and blew for a few mo
ments with such unaccustomed vio
lence as not only to fell innumerable
trees on almost every man's plantation,
but to level fences, unroof houses and
barns, and one new log house it blew
entirely down to its foundation. Many
of our farmers have sustained serious
losses, insomuch'that some were almost
discouraged from trying to plant or
cultivate their corn..,
" PARIS, MAY 24.— The fate of Tur
key is, we believe decided. It is un
derstood that a treaty has been in con
templation some time, and is now a
bout to be executed, between the'
Courts of Paris, Vienna, and Peters
bugh, for the expulsion of this Mahom
etan intruder from among the Chris
tian nations of Europe. The Cour
iers that pass and repass continue very
frequent, and almost daily.
'' You have received most proba
bly before this time the Decree pub
lished here on the 13th. It is not an
unexpected blow, and it will be a very
serious one, considering the immense
quantity of American property in this
country. As to a mitigation of its se
verity, you know it is not to be ex
pected.
From Marblehead, July 9. —
Saturday arrived at this port brig Cato,
Capt. Lewis Girdler, from Corunna
and Isle of May, 35 days from the
latter, where he tarried only one day,
says a fever raged there with the
greatest violence, supposed to proceed
from want of rain, as they had not
experienced for any four YEARs-Could
not tell what number had died, but
victims to it were falling every day.
One of the inhabitants informed him
he had lost 9 sons, an another 3, in a
very short space of time. —The island
contains about 800 inhabitants.
Letters from the Flemish depart
ments of France, state, that a courier
was despatched from Antwerp, by the
Emperor in person to the Emperor
of Russia, with an important com
munication, supposed to relate to their
mutual designs for the subjugation of
the Ottoman Empire—From Antwerp
we are informed, that by an Imperial
decree, published there, all colonial
produce in the towns of Breda, Bergen
op-Zoom, Ilezoghusch, # others ceded
to the French, is to be sequestered and
sold immediately. The Director of
the Douaniers of that city addressed a
circular letter for this purpose to the
Agents under his orders.
v" The buzz respecting a peace be
tween England and France, has, like
other unfounded rumours, died away,
and we no more expect it now than we
did before it was mentioned."
which, and the French troops already
there, he is Understood to have pledg
ed himself to effect the complete sub
jugation of the country.
They also state, that in virtue of
the decree of the 23d of March, which
was only promulgated a few weeks
back, all American vessels and their
cargoes, detained in any of the ports
of France, Holland, Italy, or any
other place occupied by French troops,
had been finally condemned.
MAY 30—We received the follow
ing important letter from Paris yester
day morning :—
MASS.
S, the saiK
SA UEM, JULY 7.
forded scope for the most happy dis
play of wisdom and patriotism, but
folly or ambition may defeat the aim.
Our country is surely an admirable
theatre for the exhibition of talents,
splendid and useful, and not less favor
able for those secret and mischievous.
Hence every consideration of fame, of
interest and safety, urges the import
ance of filling places of trustand influ
ence, with talents of the first order,
and probity of the purestmould. That
men might be found with these qualifi
cations cannot be questioned. When
America in her infancy, pressed with
difficulties and danger, collected her
statesmen and heroes, they astonished
the world. Chathart declared, that
“ for solidity of reasoning, force of
sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion,
government, wise and excellent as it is,
There is nothing in our constitution of
which can preserve it from the perver
sion and abuse of ignorant or designings
men. Its illustrious framers, bent a
lone on good, seem to have expected
that none but the able and upright were
to exercise its powers. They have as-
O! that Estates, Degrees and. Offices
Were not deriv'd corruptly, and that clear
Honour
" ere purchased bythe Merit of the Wearer.
THERE are in every community,
under every government, men, who
seek honours they have not merit to
purchase ; power, they have not heads
nor hearts properly to use. In gov
ernmedts where a prince's favour be
stows distinction and authority, false
hearted sycophants beset the throne.—
In popular governments where the peo
ple confer emoluments and honors, tha
people arc flattered and deceived. Men
impotent and base, wind their way to
trusts, which ignorance betrays or
wickedness perverts. But iu states
where an individual is vested with high,
controlling authority he can correct a
buses in subordinate ranks without
disorder or delay. Or should even the
sovereign for a time follow bad advice,
or recline in indolence, he may at once
make amends by changing his counsel
or shaking off his sloth. But in pop
ulargovernmen ts this collected,prompt,
decisive power is wanting.
Reforms are ever difficult, and must
be deliberate and slow, or they break
out into wild revolution. Their safety
depends on preserving their form and
spirit unimpaired and uncorrupt. But
to keep a government in soundness and
vigor in the hands of weak or wicked
men, is no more practicable, than to
preserve health with bad diet in a nox
ious atmosphere. If they do not with
gothic rudeness batter down the whole
structure, they are sure to .taint its
spirit and pervade it with corruption.
In the governments of Greece, not
only the political measures, but the
national character, depended on the
transient influence of a few individuals.
Brave and virtuous leaders inspired the
people with principles suited to ever,
thing great and useful, while feeble'
and corrupt ones sunk them in miseries
and disgrace. Forms of government;
may be adopted, fair and promising in
theory, but expectation will be blasted
unless rulers be capable and honest.
Bad men, intrusted with authority un<
der the best forms, will mar a people's
prosperity in the best times, and in.
times of difficulty and peril they will
not injure but ruin. This subject
brought homq to our own country is
interesting and important.
ish here unsullied and undiminished.
This is indeed a pleasing train of specu-
rights and privileges would ever flour-
lation but unsound and fallacious.—
the subject of admiration and eulogy-
Confidently concluding on the happy
effects of its successful operation, many
have imagined that our land would ever
be the seat of greatness, prosperity and
peace. That all laws would, of course,
tion just and wise, and that the choicest
be good and wholesome, their execu-
We have a government the excels
lence of whose form has justly been
For the Constitutionalist.
COMMUNICATION.