National gazette. — Philadelphia [Pa.], 1793-06-15 00:00:00, page 1

For the National Gazette.
Mr. Freneau,
j T would be to the advantage of the Unr
ted States it" there was not a newspaper
in it, for t!i:v are the vehicles of sedition,
wilt ;:rt til-.' llie illi of exciting jealoulyin
the minds of the people and diltniit of the
infallibility of their rulers. They have
tee.ne.l lately with criticisms on the pro
clamation of the Preiidetlt, which was evi
dently deli/.ned for go«d purposes, to warn
t!ic ;)'<)j;! people ot America th ic the lt.ite
of' France \v.«H critical, that they fliouM
have nothing to do with her, that treaties
•were those »f inttreft an 1 not or faith, anil
that if the citizens interfered they mould
be put to the bar of the government. Nu
difpalßonate mail could take ex.eep.ion at
this intention. Although the proclamati
on was irtued immediately after the c.eua
jration of war by France againit Gre.it
Britain, it is evident that there was a go
vernmcntal I like wrmnefs before,aid inat
lje imprudence of France in not l ubniittin ll
tj t!)e ditlator/llip of Great Britain, ha
produced a ftiil greater coldness Surely
every one niuit allow that the connection
between America and France is a very un
natural one, considered in every point of
view, and that therefore the executive was
highly to by commended tor taking the
eirliell opportunity to make ic appear.
The French have a diltinA 'language, the
execu rive in general do not speak : rench,a
coa.ieftion therefore between them and
Frenchmen mult be unnatural. Our man
ners, cuitoins, habits, have aßrltifii etymo
logy, and as there is no nation in thf
world, nay I would fay in the creation
tha: can possibly compare with them in an)
t'ling that is great and wonderful, no won
der that we Ihould give them a preference;
I: is a compliment paid to ou f.-lves.—
There 13 a considerable analogy between
the governments and leading ine:) of the
two countries, as well as of their iyllems.
ihefe would naturally incline n that way
as birds of a feather flock tnget/ier—there i:
a congeniality of sentiment between Aims
influential ■men here and there, a politica
affection, and as they have the fame object:
in view, a connection is quire natural —
With France the thing is otherwise—the
dregs of society, the people, wifli to posses:
the fovereignty —Tuis is unnatural anc
therefore cannot beget the afFection of on.
government —In France diltinetions arc
abolilhed ; even the niolf trifling pageantr)
of monarchy or ariltocracy i 3 abolished
and therefore it does not harmonize with
the men of our gover .menr—l n France
merit begets confidence and trull, her<
money is the high road to confluence ant
power, how unnatural therefore mult b<
such a connection —In short, altho' the pea
pie may correspond in their principles ant
their willies, there u such a dilcordanct
in the governments, that a connection can
not pofiibly fubiift—lt might be fuppofec
that the late war between America ani
Great Britain, had alienated every favour
able impredion ; but this has only obtainet
among the vulvar, who are more difpofe<
to resent injuries, and keep alive enmity
than men of better condition —The wif
men of this country, by which is under
flood, the men in office, are not under thf
influence of such narrow considerations,
they love Great Britain, becaufc she fa
vours their views, they detelt France be
cause (lie i« hostile to them—How judici
ous, how wife was the proclamation 1
It is a blefled circumltance for the Uni
ted States, to keep at peace with Great
Britain, for without it, we fuould have no
.loathes to wear —nakedness and barbar
ism would be seen (talking thro'the land—
JJ"he manufa£tnres and literature of France
V are a bagatelle in the scale with Great Bri
tain's—An Englilhman can tight three
Frenchmen, and by the fame rule he can
make better cloth, and better ideas—How
politic is our government to cringe to the
Britiih lion, as well as to the BririQi Mi
uerva !
Itisanabfurd and vulgar idea which
many people entertain in this country, that
treaties ought to be held lacred—thf y are
things of convenience, and as soon as they
answer the purpose. they arc to be laid
aside, as a man would lay afitlj his breeches
when he had no further life for them—the
treaty with France, was a thing of necefii
ly with us, and as it was the effect of force,
it ought not to be binding —The proclama
tion has wifely declared this.
An error has crept into our confiitution
that treaties fliould have the force of law,
but this constitutional prortfion is very pro
Numb. 66 of Vol. ll.] S A T U R D A Y,. June 15, 1793.
By p. FRENEAU: (at No. 209, Market Street) Publijhci Wednesdays and Saturdays, [Three Dollars per annum.']
prrly superseded hy proclamation ; for ac
cording to ir, have two men been arretted
for acting according to treaty, and agaiiilt
proclamation—The Cayenne republicans
censure this actui arbitrary, and fay that
the proclamation was au infringement ol
law, and not the conduct of the volunteers,
for independent of the treaty they were
freemen, aud not {laves obliged to obey
the mandates ol" a Jovereign —But this it
all fluff; lor their aiTeit i?j approved of by
the Britijli influence, which is muchgreat
erthan every other influence put together
[t :j »tl J direct the muttons of government',
the spirit ol the proclamation declares u
to be fubjeits, and no fubjett seas a right ti
trespass upon the edicts of fovereijnty;
How just then is the prosecution, ho w jult,
how leg a 1 the proclamation ! Upon the
whole, sir, in whatever light I place the
conduct of governmental men, and in what
ever light 1 view the conduct of men who
illlethemfelves republicans, jour "OA;
Soldiers. vourßr. tuJes,and your Verita
ret.'''' 1 find much to commend, and much
to censure and abominate.
JOHN BULL.
June ii, 1793.
[Rcpubli'hedby requeff, from the Ame
rican Lailv Advertiser of June
10]
To the Author of the letters to the Presi
dent of the Uuitcd States, under the sig
nature of VEIU T A 5.
S I R,
VT7HF.N a citizen undertakes to remark
on the public conduct of government
nr it's officers, every poflible attention
Ihould be given to the as v eil to
juard againrt the encroaciiments of their
.lower, and difcoverthe errors they may
have committed, as to prevent improper
ideas being entertained igainft them ; for
3s much evil may arise from rendering a
jood adminiflration unpopular and odious,
us is to be feared by an enlightened and vi
llain people from a bad one. The lor
:ner, overturned, makes a change of fylteni
and coiiduct neceflary, which mult be for
:'ie worse, while a discovery of the latter
rnuft always tend to better it by amending
what was faulty.
I am led to this reflection by your twe
letters under the lignature of Veritas ir.
the National Gazette, ol the iff and jthoi
]une. addrelled to the President of the
United States, oil the fnbject of his pro
clamation concerning the neutrality of the
Union in the war now raging in Europe.
You have in a file and manner of some
what more tlia:i individual importance,
undertaken to censure the Preiident for
:iie opinions contained in the proclamation,
<ml have boldly pronounced, " that the
ritiiens of these Hates from one extremity
if the Union to the other, are firmly at
tached to the cause of France," and the
inly apparent tendency of both your let
:»rs is to intimidate the executive intc
"nmc ait that lhall infringe the neutrality
>f our nation, and involve us in a war 011
thelkleof France againfl all Europe.—
One of the advantages laid down by moll
writers in favour of a republican farm ol
government is, that it is flower to wrath
ind to war than a monarchy : that the
jood sense of the community at large will
:ertainly "set down aud count the coll"
Defore it engages in hostility : that i«,it will
"ee whetht r the objett ii worthy of the ter
ible conferences which always ensue
when the bonds of friendlhip between nati
ons are broken asunder, and the citizen:
educed, as to each ether, to a Urate ofna
mre ; wherein thegreateft muiderer,plnn
tlerer & delli oyer of lifr& property is some
times fallely honored with the greatefl
You, however, would fain have us
chink you are a republican,not withllanding
the evident tendency of ynur letters is foi
war, and you are not contented with gi
"ing your own opinion 03 the subject but
fay it is the decided opinion of the Union.
1 suppose you to be a private citizen, ami
as such, you have undoubtedly a right tc
give your private opinion, and so have I.
and every other individur.l citizen; but it
becomes us. when we do it, to do it with
some little degree of rnodelty. and especi
ally when the proper officer of the govern
ment, entrulled by the conffittition to
speak the sense of the Union in the execu
tive department, had spoken that opinion
in the way that the constitution of this,
and the laws of all nations warrant, by a
proclamation conceived in terms of repub
lican decency, and when this opinion had
iscen approved in addrelles to the President
lay a number of the merchant's and traders
in tlic.- city of Philadelphia, the tow not
Baltimore, and other places where a sense
of a fm;ill p.irt at lealt of the community
one would think might be collected and
known.
Now, Sir, I have no need to call infoVid
any of the eminent qualities wlifch have
been universally allowed to the Prcftdent
whom you so fiercely dttiaunce and call on
to account to you for his proceedings ; be
came, admitting him tots no more than
you allow him to be, your fellow citizen,
and equal in character to yourfelf, his opi
nion is as much entitled to our candid re
ception and examination as your's : and a
little morefo ; because he has put his name
to it, and you have thought proper to con
ceal your's under a signature which I ;a
ther fnfpeil will be an eternal dilguife to
your real name.* There is another consi
deration, that, with modest men, would
certainly give the preference over your's,
to the PreiidenVs opinion, and that is, th;<t
jy the constitution of our government
: which I fear you will nor allow much cre
:lit to, from the tenor of your writings)
certain persons are declared to be his advi
:'jrs ; that is, he has a right to call npon
them for their opinions 0:1 any fubjeel
wherein he Hands in need of advice, and ol
ihefe, at least one, is acknowledged byyoui
warmelt pat tizans to be a true republican ;
md if I millakc rot, he 01'ficially attells the
proclamation. But, Sir, as I don't uiilito
.countenance " our executive department
n aping any abfilrd or tyrannical tyftcms"
[ have meant from the iirft to come to ar
gument with you. to difcardall declamati
on, and examine coolly the merits or de
merits of the proclamation.
Your obje£tions to the proclamation are
imply that the President has laid, it is the
" duty and interest" of the citizensof these
[lates to preierve ftritt neutrality,and-'im
parrial friendlhip to the belligerent pow
;rs"—Thefe are the expreliions on which
foil found your alarm, and \\ilh to rouse
the spirit of 1776 ! In we had enemies
to contend with, who having been accus
tomed ito govern us under what was
by them claimed to be a conflitutional au
thority, aimed to destroy our liberty and
property at one stroke, by making laws
binding on us in all cases whatsoever.—
"fhis extravagant claim was attempted to
'V enforced by myriads of hireling troops
rent i:i.'o our aountry to reduce us to fub
ection to iheir will. We refilled force by
force ; our mct;o war, pax queritur bello:
kve conquered —weob.-IJied pcace ; that
peace was solemnly ratified by triples a
jreed on between plenipotentiary mini
ters on both fides—The horrors of v. ar
:ealed, and we became friends to Britain
jpon terms advantageous perhaps to both
ides, at any rate they were to us.
I don't mean now to enter into the me
-its of thetreaty. it is fufficient for my pre
ent purpose, that a treaty of peace \\ as e
tabhlhed, ratified and confirmed, befweer
jsaud Great Britain, that similar treaties
ere, Come before and some after, ratifiec
jetwejn and the states of Holland, the
cing of Prussia, and some other powers in
Europe, molt of whom are now ::t war
.vith France—Now, Sir, you feein to be
ivhoily ignorant of the force of the term
luty, as mentioned in the Pi efident's pro
:lamatioii. There are, Sir, duties fiibJlit
ngeven between enemies at open war.—
Under the republics of Greece, captives
:;iken in war were either made (lavesfor
ife, or more humanely facriiiced to the
manes of the deceased friends of the c;:p
:ors. Under the Roman republic a milder
fyllem of national jurifpruder.ee obtained,
and their captives were only fubjecled to
1 political fpecic3 of slavery, from which
merit and talents often relieved them ; and
we find that some of the greatett men who
adorn their history, were their lihertini,
or freed men. The introduction of chris
tianity into Europe foftencd, in some de
cree, the lot of captives in war, and'many
us the severities attending it; lience, by
the common consent of modern Europe
an nations, hasrefultecl a fyltem called the
Jus belli et pneis by some, the lew of nature
nations by others ; Grotius, Puiferidorff,
Vattell and some others, have written very
learned works on these fubjefts, and tho'
they have never carricd their ideas as far as
modern treaties between some of the belli
gerent powers anil the United States have
done, yet they all acknowledge certain
things to be due from a nation at peace to
every nation at peace with it. These things
¥; Veritas, the Latin word for truth.
are properly called duties, and whatever
comes within this description was certainly
the duty of the United States, not to Frcnce
only, but to all mankind, with whom we
were not at war: Hence the Prdider.t in
.lis proclamation very jufily made use ot"
tne exprefiion duty. j don't wilh.toavoid,
or even parry, any thing you may have to
lay on this subject, by a change of exprtf
lion. for 1 aljert (and I have a.; good a right
to aflert, as any other person has to deny)
chat it is the duty ot the United States to
avoid every ast which will offend any other
power in the world ; unless* tl.ey are
bound to do such afJ, by some solemn and
..'xpicls treaty. J hele duties include pro
tection within our bays, ports and har
bours, and in the Ureeta of our peaceful ci
ties, t. oni mutual insults to tl:e citizens or
I'ubje&s of contending powers, and an exact
and equal friendlhip and impartiality t»
jotii. ihe dignity of our government
c quit es this, and many ether ihi:ios, and
when; vera fafliou on either fide Ihallbe able?
to intimidate the federal government iiiifit,
J'i.'fuing tills line of impartiality, I li.all
:late its decline from that day. Jam very
eiiiible, and therefore (top here to lay it,
-iijC these sentiment., will, by writers of
v'onr ciafs, be called the "Buzz of the ari
iiocra.ic iew and their contemptible mini
ot peculators, lories and llritilli emif
jaiie:, i:i order toleflen their influence ;
but let such writers remember that on the
moment they (hall be able to f.lenc-e the
public voice, "by these hard names, that
moment they drftroy liberty of fpcech, li-
L>erty ci the prels, and with these every fpe
..es oi liberty. Itisvainin an anojymou*
kvi .i.r to pi etend to ardor fur the public
>ood. These sacred words may be aliamed
-iy a mail ed Cataliue ; and while I conceal
;ny real name, I pretend to no better ti~
:le to the confidence of the public than I
will allow to Veritas, that is, the weight
us argument, which our refpeflive nerfor
mancts contain. I am.rot on? of those
persons who wish to rife by others falls, bt z
anew ho would willingly rase ifpoliible, aIL
mankind to his own muderate level, with
out attempting to bring those. v.'hcm the
ultrages of, his fellow citizens have p'acecl
ibove him, down to his level : let these
.ibfer vations fuffice as to those parts of your
etters, which are meant to throw an odi
,lm on all who differ from you in opinion,
liid dare to publiih their sentiments. Ire -
urn then to the word which gi\es yon so
much offence, the word duty, I wil'h, you
iinderftood the iorie of it in regard to tie
government, nnder which xoiT enjoy li.j
.ranf«.£;.i,^i: t r.crrty of traducing it ; a li
berty, winch, J have certainly as -good
iglu to claim, in specking well of it.
[To be concluded in cur next.]
At a meeting of the inhabitants of the dif
trici jof Germantown, Koxbury, ai.J
Brillol, held on the 6th of June, the fol
lowing petition v. as drafted, to b«circu
lated thro* the above townships, and to
be prefetued to the Leg flau re of ihe
11 ate ot Peunfyivacia, ac their next feiii
on.
To tie House cf Representatives of the
(late of Penr.fylvania.
The Remonstrance p/the SU/crilcn,
Citizens cf Petinjylnania,
Rrfpet:fully Jbeweth, That
W7K have observed with great anxietv. a
Bill before the Legifluture, entitled,
•Ail ast to enable the Governor of this
Commonwealth to incorporate a company
'or making an artificial l oad, from tin,- city
>f Philadelphia to the ten mile ft one on
Chelhut-Hill, ai d from thence to North
impton county."
With legard to the general principles of
:his bill, we doubt whether the lejnliature,
?ntrufUd by the people with the gtu rdian
!,ip of tnery fijcc.es of pnbiic property,
can, confident with the powers veiled in
them,alienate the public high-v ays ior the
private emolument of individuals. Tlie pub'
lie roads w ere thought of so much in j ort
ance by the original founder of Fenniylva
nia, that they occupy the full article of the
conditions entered into between William
Penn and the adventure rs to this country,
in the jear 1681, in which article it is de
clared, that the surveyors (hall eonfider
what roads or high-ways will be necefi'ary
to the cities, tow ns, or through the lands :
greet roads from city to c.tv, not to eon-
Lain then foi tv feet in breadth ihall be
rirlt laid out, and declared to be for high
ways, t tiers ifcs dividend of tvlit
[Total. Numb. 170.]