The constitutionalist — Exeter, N.H., 1810-10-08 00:00:00, page 2

the dust. Amidst this ruip and this
, convulsion of empires and kingdoms,
1 there is one nation that has braved the
fury of the storm and still exists toset
bounds to the rapacious hopes of
France. From your hostility to this
nation, about the existence of which
the fates of your own country are in
dissolubly entwined, hare flowed all
the pernicious measures which have
nearly surrendered our freedom to
France. But recollect, sir, should
the shades of a, general despotism in
vade Europe, the sun of liberty will
not long continue to enlighten the re
gions of the west. He will discend
blushing into the waves of the Pacific
and leave us too to the horrid night of
despotism.
Bonaparte shall no sooner have clo
ven down the liberties of 'Great Brit
ain, than he Will turn indignantly up
on the American republics and tram
ple them out of existence. I need
hardly insist otathe motives that will
urge him to our destruction.—Appre
hensions that our existence may prove
fatal to the repose of his successors,
will dissuade him from permitting us
ever to become a great & powerful
I, people. lie knows that free govern
ments are the nurseries of enterprize
land talent. That from the bosom of
republics have sprung those prodigies
of genius and valour that have chastis-
/ cd the insolence of tyrants. Thesword
(hat cut down the Persian monarchy
was forged in a Grecian republic. The
Romans, a free people, overrun and
subjugated the world, and when Rome
,lost her freedom and sunk in the lan
guor of despotism, it was the free and
l untamed barbarians of the north that dis
mantled tier of her glory. :. Bonaparte
I himself tyfung out of the jarring ele
juents of tumultuous democracy. But
enough of this.
hNow, sir, along with the freedom I
Fave taken in addressing to you an e-
I pintle, I have pressed you with some
Iwarmth—But it is a warinth inspired
by affection for my country. I con
clude in the words of one whose lan
guage and sentiments gate dignity to
his subject. "I do not pretend to
understand those prudent forms of de
corum, those gentle rules of discretion,
I which some men endeavour to unite with
conduct of the greatest and most haz-.
lardous affairs. Engaged in defence
I of.an honourable cause, I would take
a decisive part. I should scorn to
provide fdr a future retreat, or keep
terms with a man who preserved no
;measures with the public. Neither the
abject submission of deserting his post
• in the hour of danger, nor even the sa
cred shield of cowardice should protect
him. I would pursnehim through?
'life and try the last exertions of my a
bilities to preserve the perishable infa
my of his name and make it immortal."
I LEONTIUS.
From the Luzerne Federalist.
WHO'LL TURN GRINDSTONE.
When I was a little boy, Messrs.
Printers, I remember one cold winter,
day, I was accosted by a smiling man,
IWith an axe on his shoulder: 'My
I pretty boy/ said he, 6 has your father
1 a grindstone." ' Yes, sir, said I.
'You are a line little fellow, said
reach of the swdrd. Thespirit of mill,
tary adventure has sanctified the maxims
of injustice. The dazzling attributes
of regal power stand within the grasp
of every daring and ambitious mind.
The nature of the times is eminently
'calculated to try the stability and
force of your republican government.
If it survives the present see of things.,
there is no trial over which it may not
eventually triumph. It is a defect in
separable from free states, that while
they are of all others, most liable to
corruption and venality, they are des
titute of the prourpt and efficient means
of remedy. The strong arm of mon
archy can pluck from its bosom this
evil. But how shall we attempt in a
republic to crush the incipient move
ments of conspiracy. Can we insti
tute a dictator and invest him withfhe
bloody axe and the rope? Can we call
into existence a body of men likb the
state inquisitors of Venice, who may
place before the hardy traitor the en
gine of fortune? We may do all this.
But the statute of liberty must be veil
ed, while the axe of the executioner is
fulfilling the commands of a stern and
inexorable necessity. Few democra
cies have outlived these violent reme
dies that have not been supported by
the sense and virtue of the people.
To whatever point of the Horizon
we direct our view the prospect of
liberty is overcast. France who prom
ised universal emancipation to the na
tions of the earth, has herself become
the victim of resistless despotism—-A
despotism that is leading her devasta
tfog armies, over the fairest portion of
the globe. Mahomet issuing from the
bosom of Arabia,or Attila with his my
riad of Huns was not a more deadly
foe to the liberties of mankind. The
once proud and independent sovereign-
ties of christendom it has humbled to
Though the Diet has not yet agreed
on a Crown Prince, no doubts exist of
the success of the Duke of Augusten
burg [a member ofthe Royal House
of Denmark.] Frederick VI. of Den
mark is nearly unanimously opposed.
Marshal Bernadotte has been started
as a candidate, but he is opposed by
the Clergy on account of his religion,
and by the Commons (or peasantry)
because he is a Frenchman. Neither
Gustavus Adolphus, nor the Duke of
Oldenburg are candidates.
The French Officer, whose arrival
in this country we noticed on Thurs
day last, is as fine as the footman of a
new sheriff. He is covered with gold
lace, and judging from this specimen of
the French army, the expence attend
ing the dress alone of the officers must
beenormous. But the splendid attire,
however burthensome to the people of
France, is flattering to their vanity,
and however doubtful may be their
title to the name of the great nation,
there can be no question about their
finery.
In pursuance of a petition to the
House of Commons from the trustees
of the British Museum, Mr. Greville's
Collection of minerals has been valued
by Drs. Babington, & Wollaston, and
five other gentlemen, who report that
the whole collection consists of about
20,000 specimens ; the series of crys.
tallized rubellites, diamonds, and pre
cious stoues in general, as well as the
series of the various ores, far surpass
buy that are known to them in the differ
ent connections & that the value of the
whole Is 13,7271, including the cabi
nets which cost 1,6001.
The vast amount of the losses sus
tained by the French armies in Spain
and Portugal may ^tolerably estimat
ed by the following fact : —
A gentleman lately returned from
Paris, saw the Bth corps of the FrenQ
army,(one of those granted to Massena
he, 'will you let me grind my are on
it.' Pleased with his compliment of
' fine little fellow,'.' 0 yes sir, I an
swered, ' it is down in the shop.' And
will you my man,' said he, patting me
on the head ' get a little hot water.'
How could I refuse. I ran and soon
brought a kettle full. 'How old are
you, and what is your name,' continu
ed he without waiting for a reply. ' I
am sure you are one of the finest lads
that ever I have seen, will you just
turn a few minutes forme ?' Tickled
with the (littery, like a little fool I
went to work, and bitterly did I rue
the day. It, was a new axe, and I
toiled and tugged, till I was almost
tired to death. The school bell rung,
and I could not get away, my hands
wereffi blistered, and it was not half
ground. At last the axe was sharp
ened, and the man turned to me, with
'Now you little rascal, you've play
ed the truant, scud to school, or you'll
buy it.' Alas! thought I, it was
hard enough to turn grindstone this
cold day, but now to be called ' little
rascal' was too much. It sunk deep
in my mind, and often have I tho't of
it since.
When I see a merchant, over polite
to his customers, begging them to taste
a little brandy, and throwing half his
goods on the counter, thinks I, that
man has an axe to grind.
When I have seen a man of doubt
ful character, patting a girl on the
check, praising her sparkling eye and
ruby lip, and giving her a sly squeeze
—beware my girl, thought I, or you
will find to your sorrow, that you
have been turning grindstone for a
villain.
" h'en I see a man flattering the
people—making great professions of
attachments to liberty, who is in pri
vate life a tyrant—Methinks, look out
good people, that fellow would setyou
to turning grindstone.
IV hen I see a man, holding ? fat
office, sounding ' the horn on the bor
ders,' to call the people to support the
man, on whom he depends for his office
—Well thinks I, no wonder the rian
is zealous in the cause, he evidently
has an axe to grind.
W hen I see a governor, foisted into
the chair of state, withouta single
qualification to render him either re
spectable or useful- I —Alas ! methinks,
deluded people, you are doomed for a
season to turn grindstone for a booby.
When I see a foreigner expelled
from his own country, and turning
patriot in this— setting up a Press, &
making a great ado about our liber
ties, 1 am very apt to think, tho' that
man's axe has been dulled in his own
country, he evidently intends to sharp
en it in this.
foreign ^eto^
^^^^
SWEDEN.
GOTHENBURG, AUG. 13, 1810.
KING MAKING.
ENGLAND.
LONDON, AUG. 14.'
The terms of the Licenced Trade
between England and France have not
yet been settled.—We insist, the return
cargoes shall consist of Wheat, Meal,
Bur-Stones, and one third Wine.
Bonaparte says we shall take one
third brandy.—As this will injure our
West-India colonies, Ministers will
not consent to it.—-Our exports are
to be India piece-goods, English man
ufactures, Coffee and Sugar. Bona
parte, it is said, will suspend the opera
tion of his Licences until the 2d No
vember, to know our determination
respecting the Orders, of Council.
This need excite no other anxiety.
Our Orders of Council will cease on
the Ist November, if the French De
crees do. But no other right guaran
teed by the Laws and Usages of Na
tions will be abandoned. Bonaparte
knows this; and knows we shall block
ade his ports whenever we think our
safety or interest requires it.
A desultory firing was heard on the
22d, on the French coast near Calais,
Dunkirk. We can only conjecture its
cause.—Bonaparte may be taking
those places in his tour to Holland.
Our cruizers may be,exchanging shots
with the French batteries; and it may
be for news of a victory in Portugal, .
though it did not seem regular enough
for a rejoicing.
The Emperor Napoleon, as he can
not drive, thinks to cajole the Ameri
cans into a war with us. We think he
will again be disappointed. For what
can the United States gain by War?
They cannot annoy ns. They indeed
may put an end to all intercourse with
us.—This they have already tried, and
what did it produce? Nothing but in
jury to themselves. Our West-Indies
were not starved, as they so confident,
ly predicted ; and all our Colonies
would rejoice in the event of that
suspension of commerce.
AFFAIRS OF PORTUGAL.
Aug. 25. The French under Mas
sena heve given' indications of' falling
back. The great scarcity of provisions,
their situation on a ten-mile-lodg plain
in the heat of summer, and the great
scarcity of water, has filled their hos.
to makeup the 70,OOOadditional troops
required by that general, previous to
his taking the command of whatis call
ed by the French the army of Portu
gal,) pass in review before Bonafrarte.
It passed in at one gate of the Thu
illeries, where Bonaparte was, and out
at the opposite one. It formed a
complete army of 40,000 men, of which
10,000 were cavalry. There were two
divisions of infantry of 15,000 each,
with all the adjuncts of a train of artille
ry, pontoons, bread waggons, and
those various troops of sappers, arti
zans, &c. invariably attached to the
French armies.
Bonaparte was so minute in his in
spection, that when a particular pon
toon came up, drawn only by four hors
es, the rest, of fourteen in all, being
drawn by six, with led horses to each,
he immediately halted the corps, and
asked the cause of this deficiency.
He was told that one horse had got
lame and his companion had been taken
away with him. '' Then," said Bon
aparte, "let the deficiency be supplied
from the led horses ; that is the use of
them." This was accordingly done, the
march was then resumed till the whole
passed under the eye of the Emperor.
Within two months, however, this
corps, thus full and complete in every
particular, had suffered so much by
want, fatigue, sickness, and desertion
in the bare march into Spain, that in
the first return sent to the War Office
at Paris from the frontiers of Portugal,
its effective strength was stated only at
31,000, making a deficiency of 9000;
and subsequently, when it maneuvered
between Lord Wellington's army and
Ciudad Rodrigo, it was stated only at
26,000.
Allowing a reasonable deduction for
detachments, &c. (though this being a
fighting corps intended for field service,
it would of course be as little as pos
sible diminished in that way,) there
would be a reduction of a full fourth
from the original strength. Allowing,
however, the return of convalescents
may make up a considerable portion
of this deficiency, yet, when we consid
er that this corps had left Paris only
three months before in a perfect state,
and had not fought a battle, the in
stance presents a portion of a mass of
loss, not less astonishing than true.
The French soldiers, do not hesitate to
avow, that they consider Spain as a
grave; their march to that country is
looked upon by them as a procession
to execution.
The report that Bonaparte on his
birth-day, the 15th signed a cartel for
a general exchange of prisoners, is not
yet confirmed. Our government has
done every thing in its power to bring
about an event so auspicious to hu
manity.
BELLIGERENT COMMERCE.
LONDON, AUG. 24,1810.
NEW-YORK.
NRW-YOEK, SEPT. 26.
Extract of a letter from a Captain of
a New-York vessel, to a friend in
this city, dated Copenhagen, Aug. 3.
" I was captured on thelßth. May,
under the guns of Elsineur Castle. I
have been detained ever since till yes
terday, when my ship was given up.
Three weeks the supercargo and I were,
kept close prisoners on board, with
out being allowed to speak to a boat
that came along side ; we were after
that kept 12 days prisoners on shore,
that the privateersmen might have
sufficient time to tamper with the men,
some of whom they offered to bribe
as high as 5000 dollars, if they would
swear the ship came from England ;
they however proved all honest.
" All that was alledged against the
ship was there was one name more on
the roll than was on board, and that
I did not heave too for them till after
several shots were fired.—l have been
obliged to pay the villains 600 dollars
and court charges, amounting to about
1000 more.
" The ship Swift, of New-York has,
been condemned here, because the
privateersmen swore they saw papers
lying on the bottom in twenty feet
water, and some floating, which they
did not take up ; they called theship's
crew to see these papers, and though
two thousand dollars were offered to
sharpen the sight of any one, still they
could see nothing but a Beef bone ! !
The supercargo and captain both of
fered to swear that There never had
been any papers thrown overboard,
but the oaths were not admitted, as
the Judges said they were interested
parties ;—now I suppose the privat
eersmen were considered as quite dis
interested ! !
" I hear there are several French
privateers cruizing in the Baltic.
" Captain Palmer, in the Statira, of
New-York is detained here."
Bohapartenow "loves Americans!"
He loved Italy—he loved Holland, and
he loves Spain and Portugal! The
Wolf loves fat lambs, but when ,he
once has them in his power what are
they—how does he use them ?
RKEv.PosC '
KENTUCKY.
LOUISVILLE, AUG. 31.
By a letter dated 12th inst. from a
gentleman of our acquaintance whose
veracity we do not doubt, living on the
Wabash, near the mouth, we are in
formed that the Indians there had so
much alarmed the people that they
have all left their houses, and are now
residing in a fort. A battle is every
day expected, in which they (the In
dians) must be successful without some
assistance from other places.
Petals with sick,, and -occasioned their
retrogdation. The dysentery prevails
t'o a great extent; The British army
being in the high lands, wit" plenty of
good water and provisions, etijoy a'
fine air, and remarkable health.
Massena has essayed all his arts to in
duce Lord Wellington to descend to the
plain.—But in vain. The longer his
Lordship delays fighting the better.
The French are circumvallating Alme
ida.
COLUMBIA,
WASHINGTON, SEPT. 26, 1810.
The President of the United States,
and the heads of department, are ex
pected in this city, in a few days.
The Secretary of State is here.
sept. 28. We understand that no in
formation of the late decree, &c. of
the Emperor of France has reached
the scat of government,, other than
that received through the medium of
the British papers.
Atkinson, the Clerk, who has ab
sconded, sailed for America in 'the
Charles, only two hdurs before the
arrival of the officer to Liverpool to
arrest him.
There is a despatch from Mr. Pink
ney, for the,United States' government,
by the Magdalen, from Liverpool, and
some letters, of the 17th and 19th of
Augnst, from London, whichstate that
Mr. J. Q. Adams, our Minister at
Russia, had been some time in a bad
state of health, and signified an inten
tion of returning home. Aurora.
Three American vessels from Salem,
New-York and Baltftnore, with mix
ed cargoes, for the Baltic, have been
sent into port for examination.
The harvest turns out to be a good
one, but the demand for the armies
abroad, keeps up the price of grain.
Holland is in a wretched state. —;The
conscription is executed with relent
less severity ; 30,000 French bayo
nets are kept sharpened to punish re
fractory Dutchmen. Vive la Liber
ty !
W theW^
PENNSYLVANIA.
PHILAD. SEPT. 25.
Torpedoes.
Commodore Rodgers hid prepared
the U. States brig Argus far an attack,
and we understand set Mi. Fulton at
defiance. The experiment! was to have
been made on her, and ndt " on mod
els in a private apartment." A tor
pedo boat was built for this purpose.
Torpedoes prepared, and some of the
Commissioners had repaired on board,
among whom was Gov. Claiborne.-
-Gen. Stevens and Col. Wartou were
invited on board to witness it —The
Argus was prepared—no experiment
was made, and now we are told " ex
periments are to be made bn models ia
a private room." The one expected
was to have been with blank torpedoes
on the Argus, which was to oppose no
force. The defence consisted in nets,
spars and grapnells, arranged withsuch
judgment as completely to bid defiance
to all the torpedoes the ingenuity of
Mr. Fulton could invent. But the
ability of Commodore Rodgers had
started ojections, which Mr. Fulton
never had discovered with his "mod
els," and so much greater is the man
ageabkmess of a model in a tub of
water, than of an ' uh wieldy torpedo in
a tide way that Mr. Fulton was not
prepared for a public experiment, but
with a degree of modesty, eatirly new
to him preferred the more novel,
though certainly full as practicable
method of blowing up a ship by ar
gument. Ev. Post.
Extract of a letter to a gentleman of
respectability in this town, from
his friend abroad, of a very late
date.
" The affairs of Spain,have assumed
a very favourable aspect, and people
now begin to think that Bonaparte
will find it a difficult task to conquer
Spain, not to say if he will ever be
able to accomplish its entire subju
gation.
" I consider the late irruption of
the French into Andalusia a very for
tunate circumstance for the whole
Spanish Nation, as it was the means
of dissolving a Government which
had imbibed all the vices of the former,
which had taken no steps to expel the
enemy, or to reform the abuses, which
the . Country so much required, and
which .had lulled the people into an
apparent security by circulating false
reports respecting their true situation
—The present Government is com
posed of men who have given sincere
proofs of their patriotism and talents ;
great activity is observed in all their
operations and they have adopted some
very judicious measures. The Min
ister of State, Don Eusebio de Bar
daxey Azara, has been always distin
guished for his loyalty, capacity, and
disinterestedness, and is a man well
adapted to be at the head of affairs in
the actual state of the Nation."
The President, and Heads of Departments
are now, probably convened at Washington.
Mr. Metier, the British Charge-des-ffaires,
was at Philadelphia a few days since, on his
way to the seat of government.
Centinel.
A great Eclipse of the Sun takes
place on the 17th of Sept. 1811, at 2
P. M.
Massena's main force was in front of
Almeida, preparing for the siege of
that place.
A letter from Gen. Beresford,
dated Aug. 12, incloses an official let
ter from Gen Silveira, dated at Puebla
de Senabria, (Spanish Province of Le
on) Aug. 10, giving an account of
the surrender of the garrison of that
place by captulation. It consisted
of 400 Swiss, including 9 officers. A
French force of 4000 infantry and
800 cavalry was at the time in the vi
cinity.
It is reported that a body of 8000
French troops have been defeated with
the loss of one third, between Garcia &
Serena, in Estramadura, by the Span
ish Generals Ballesteras and Carrera.
There are some intimation that the
Anglo Lusitanian army were about to
commence offensive operations.
The papers contain a letter from
Lord Wellington, dated at his head
quarters at Celerico, Aug. 10. Noth
ing very important had occurred from
the Ist of the month to that date. The
French General Regnier, from Span
ish Estramadura, appears not to have
advanced beyond Salvaterra. Two
detachments of his army had been de
feated by the Portuguese and Spanish.
The Spanish General Romana's head
quarters were at los Santos in Estra
madura. The Portuguese Gen. Silveira
gained some advantage over the French
in the North on the 31st July.
A letter says, desertions from the
French army are numerous ; that Mas
sena has a sick list of 23,000, and is in
great want of provisions.
Since our last, letters and papers
to Aug. 18th have been received from
Lisbon.
MASSACHUSETTS.
BOSTON, OCT. 3.
FROM LISBON.