National gazette. — Philadelphia [Pa.], 1793-02-02 00:00:00, page 1

Philadelphia County Jan. 28 1793.
Mr. FrEneau,
YOU will oblige several of your country
subscribers. in repnblilhiijg from TH
MAIL oflad S iturdny, Mr. Addx on' '
letter to the 'V or of that paper; to
gether with the fubfequeut letters that
palled between Mr. CI) er and Mr.
Adiijou d.ring the visit of the former r<
the we/lern country in September lad
\ ours, &c.
W. T.
I No. 1. From Mr. Addifon to Mr. Clay
poole, printer of THF. MAIL, dated
Wafhir.gton, December 19, 1792.
IN your Mail of the 29th of October lad.
[See National Garotte, No. 113 .]! wa
furprifedto find a publication, evidently
proceeding from Mr. Clymer's pen, i:
which, among many improper things, it
contained an assertion with respect to me
not less unprovoked than untrue. I cer
tainly should avoid thus noticing the Tub
ject, were it not that the public are, it:
fotne degree, intereited in the conduit of
every officer ; and th. several of mj
friends are folicitousfor an explanation o!
the charge bro't againd me I shall, how
ever, confine myfelf entirely to that ex
planation, without attempting either t<
ridicule or to fatyrize the proceedings o:
the fupervifor—wtiofe own reflexion inu(
fugged, that in the choice between
fahhood and a misrepresentation, a mail oi
spirit will be indifferent.
Mr. Clymcr has asserted."that I evprejs
ly gave asone for declining to take
the depofitionsof witnesses pointed out tc
roe i,i the cafe of a riot, the odium to b«
incurred by it." Lead I (hould be sus
pected of imitating Mr. Clymer, I (hallnoi
trull r<» nv . 1. >;it of r»w> i .
exhibit, to those who choose to examine
it, the condn£t itfelf. Mr. Clytner al
ludes to a correspondence between hiir
and me, which I requed you will publift
annexed to this letter. To those who
/hall take the trouble of reading this cor
respondence, it is not neceirary to remark,
that I considered Mr. Clymer's application
to me as, at leuft. indelicate: that I difbe
lieved and denied the danger to his person,
which he fuggelted ; but arguing on the
supposition of its reality, as with him it
Was fair to do, I thence inferred that hij
butinefs mult be odious, and in this hypo
thetical and not express manner, I gave
tfii; odium as a reason ; not why I decli
ned to take those depositions, but why it
was-indeeent in him to alk me to doit. I
gave him other reason; for declining it.
There is another assertion in Mr. Cly
mer's publication, which involving in it
the character of public justice in Pennfyl
yania, I consider in a far more feriotis
light. He ought to have so viewed it, and
taken good heed that he knew what he
was faying. If he knows any facts to
support his assertions, " that the feint ani
madversions of the State Courts in this
country upon offences committed again ft
the laws of the United States, have afford -
ed real encouragement to them " his own
reputation, either for truth or discretion.
requires that he disclose them. I ought
to know, at lead, as well as he, and I
know none, and deny that any exid. Im
prudence or a worse motive mud have
dictated this assertion. But in my letter,
Mr. Clymer, vvhofe senses were remarka
bly (harpened by every thing that happen
ed to him here, had discerned a battery
raised against the United States, and he
perhaps thought, that in Philadelphia he
might fafely ere£t a counter fortification.
The assertion might be believed long e
nough to serve as a fufficient pretence for
a vigorous exertion of the authority oi
the federal courts; andeven whendete£t
ed, might charitably be considered as a
pious fraud to advance the political hie
rarchy, and contribute to the desirable end
y t)f sublimating all authority in the arm oi
the Union.
If those who have read Mr. Clymer':
publication {hould also take the troubled
reading this and the following letters, 1
hope it will be thought, that I have not
I'afhly depped into public examination
nor extended it to unreasonable bounds.
I entered upon it with relu&ance, and now
drop it entirely.
I am, Sir,
Your very humble servant,
ALEX. ADDISON.
[To be Continued.]
Numb. 28 of* Vol. ll.] SATU Ft D iY, F^bruir7 2, 1793.
By P. hUNEAU: Ptibltjli:d Wednesdays ait'. Saturdays, at Three Dollars per annum.
On the EXCiSE LAW.
[Extracted from the Fayetteville Gazette
of Jan. 15 ]
■""pHF. extreme rigour, cnieltj, and op
preiiion oi the excif- i. is further
mamteic in the quantum of punilfnu-nc .1
infljefs. For 1 omideriug the number ar.d
variety of fmail flavUh requilites imposed
011 diilillers by tliis ast, it might have
seemed, that the forfeiture of all the (pi
nts they o ■. n. would be a fufticient and
dequate cunilhment lor >ntglt£li»g toper
lorni each or any 1 f those iiicomid. ruble
and favifli t equifitions. But by this ast
rhere is frnnrt 1 :ne- not only a forfeitureof
ail the fj>"r t. a distiller polfefl'es, but like
wise the value thereof'at tne highn't rates
of fiich spirits fold in the markets; though
generally the forfeiture is to includc not
only all the distiller's spirits, but at leaf!
one hundred dollars fur every non-obftr
vance of even the-moft ininnte and tri
lling reqnifitions enjoiopd by this act. So
rliatfuch a t zeri who may wi(h to gain
Something for the comfortable support of
lis fani ly. by diliilling up the fuperfluou
materials produced by his indefatigable
industry, in the cultivation of his land
and the improvement or hi. farm, i- to b.
;r once Uroke lip a ,d railed, and in 1!.:■
iy cases, his family turned out 01" doors
if he chances to incur a forfeiture, by o
niitting.a pi.;iftilions observance of every
the moll trifling reqtblite, imposed upon
!iim by this act.
He will in thtfe cases be sued to a fede
ral court, at the diliante, in many instan
ces, of frojfll two, to three or four hun
dred miles from the plate of his retidence;
where his antagonifls will always hive tk.
idvaotj;;e of him, at I-.-aft In point ot* ma
nage ur.nt, and in providing testimony to
8' 1 V ><• '" "/ 'nm \Vb'-rh.<r ar.
l"very he tin:: 1! y iiad against him or not.
yen his being dragged down to a federal
court at the rema'.-j diltance before men
tioned, in nejlect of t!ie bulinefs of hi;
farm, and of the aaerintendency of hi
domestic affairs, added to the heavy ex
udates he will neceil'arily be at, in atten
i on, and defending his suit, will even
at trie best, greatly injure, impoverish and
Hiftrefs him. But ii the penalty be reco
vered pgainit him. this, together with thf
;ofts offuit and all his expences incurred
in the course of his attendance and de
fence,—added to the loss of his time, the
legleft of his domestic concerns, and the
lavoe that will probably take place in
:he file of hi elf 'e, through the scarcity
as money in the part of the country where
he resides, will be apt to reduce hiin and
his family to total def: rudion and ruin.
I acknowledge, that there i:- a section in
this excise ast, which seems to hold forth
a method of relief to a person again!!
whom a rigorotr. recovery of a penalty
has been had in virtue of this ast: which
ir to be by a petition exhibited to a cfilirifl
judge, which i afterwards by him to be
transmitted together with the depofitiom
of lasts thereto annexed, to the fecretarj
of the treafiiry ; who is authorized there
upon to mitigate or remit such forfei
ture, if he thinks proper. But I look up
on this feition to have been thrown inec
the body of this ast, with scarcely any o
ther delign, than by wav of palliation, tc
wear the appearance of foftening the ri
gour of it without giving any certain ot
effectual remedy againit the oppression oj
it. Though it carries in it the certaintj
of much trouble and espence, that mull
necessarily attend the mode of procedure
thereby pointed out ; which may in forr.t
cases amount nearly to the value of the!
film forfeited, whether the petitioner suc
ceeds in his application or not. —I con
ceive that any further observations on this
head, ar? unnecefl'ary to convince every
person of common sense, of the wauto;-
nest, cruelty and opprsffion of this excise
act.
-In the next place I observe, that the
mode of the tax imposed by this ast, as far
as itrefpefts the spirits diflilled from ma
terials produced from the orchards anei
farms of the citizens of the United States.
is unnece[fary, un/atisfatiory, and odious.
to the individuals on whom it is to fall.
Very little is necelfary to be said in ordei
to prove, that the mode of this tax is un
fa isfaftory and odious to the people of the
United States in general, and especially to
those who live in the interior and frontier
parts of the country.
When a great, generous, and enlighten
ed people have waded through such scenes
of blood and distress, as the citizens of the
American dates have done, and have in
to. feqiience of their perseverance and va
lor, acquired a perfect freedom, andeltab
!i-'hed their independence and sovereignty;
Mmething is certainly due to their f.• nti
lents, to their habits of living, and even
ili'.heir prejudices ; and their feelings an 1
net to be outraged or sported with b>
:';tir rulers, who derive their authorit)
it j:n the people, for no other purpose bin
to render profperou;, latislied a:ic
undo:- the government they theui
ft Ivesjiave initialled.
■' von in the oldest countries,where theii
ni.uuifaitjircs and home productions whicl
are the object of extife, are more thai
tvpial to the confuniption of the inhabi-
M. ts, —no mode ol ta:ti.t;o:i is so gene
rally unfati .factory, odious ami deteftabh
o the people, as a:: excise; which is ill
.iced a specie; of tax w!iU li ot><;ht n-.-vei
o..be adopted but in tile lad instance, ant
which nothing can jullify in any country
>n<! f())ecially in a country offree citizens
>uc the lad pinch of neceilitv.
Becanfejt lays open the peaceful dvvel
ings of the inhabitants ol a country to th
Jiuran.ce, insult, aild rudeness of a set o
inpr.'ncfpled excifenien. Many of the ci
tile United States, especially a
he mv'l of jhem have been accuftomet
<> a Jiredl tax, payable immediately out o
heir pockets, would think themfclve
• /•(•> under the imposition of such a di
reft tax, rather than to be fubjedt to th
ihjoct and f. rtile performances retpiirtt
>* thorn by this ait, and the dill urbance o
hp peace and happiness of their s familic
•>y the entering, searching, antl raufackii::
nooir house:- anti t !ofc t., by a set of rudi
inlulting oxcifemen,authorized there
<• 8v the fame act.
tor to pre re. d to evade the fa&, or pal
: -t' c theji.u tllliip of this outrage, by tin
'Wends oF'tHs act, is netdieis. It is tin
lei iable, that every itizen's house in th'
I'rited States, is liable to undergo tile in
ult of a search, if the excise / officeris ca
sable of fwe ii ing prtt.y roundly, foi
rounding his suspicions oft he concealing o
;>ir is h i o 1 vhi' i the excise has beei
jrjfuiiijtl tut to havebeen paitl. V.'hicl
. -p tit; of swearing in such excise officer
ive have probabi} litrl- occefum to cioub
:.t. He will therefore without doubt fuc
:eed in hisdelign ; efpetially as it may not
-e clifru vi!t to hnd a willing federal judge
lr juiliee of the peace, lor granting ;
eareh warrant to answer iiis purpose
tnd a tondableor othtr peace officer ma'
alily be had to accompany him in hi
earch ; who will perhaps have previonf
y entered into a stipulation with such ex
.:f •••r.ter, to come in tor fnaciu vvitf
lim."
To the Editor of the National Gazette.
SIR,
r T~ i-' RE appears to bo a great uproa;
A in your city about Levees—ltv..t ;
[otig time before I could underfiaia! tilt
me.ining tf the word, having never heart
it 'till lately, and as it was a new and ou
tre found to n.e, I supposed it li.nlt have
:a veil its rife in the nature of our govern
ment, antl be applied to some favourite
republican diftiaoion ; 1 therefore refol
> etl to trace its origin—l found that it was
the legitimate oft pring of inequality, be
goneu by aristocracy and monarchy upon
corruption, and that the famous quon
dam councillor and afiifcuit (I will not
"ay principal) of the S of the
T , his excellency IVm. D ,
v\as the author of its being, and intro
duced it into the vocabulary of this coun
try, to the great credit and honour of the
I :,ited States ! l Ihould be glad to know
if he holds levees in his present dwelling in
New-Yark, for itis to be feared, uniefs
he Hill tountenances the young inoiiiier by
his example, as he has already tlone by hi.-
adviceand afiidance, the people will lose
that fuperfiitious veneration for it, which
has hi herto been inseparable from ihoft
u ho adopted the bantling—There was n
time, antl that since the effervefcence of
republican enthusiasm hud abated a little,
cveii fmce the peace, when the citizens of
the United States, who were the friends
of the revolution, would have execrated
everything which had the leaf!: analogy to
royalty : when they would have contem
ned, even the man of their fouded affefli
ons, bad he attempted to blind them with
the glitter of dilUnition ; hut not long
lince they feem'd to think danger at too
grea: a distance to alarm them, because
iiey hart become too supine to take the*
trouble to separate the a£tion from the ac
tor, the corruption from the than of their
confidence, or they would, perhaps, have
difcover'd that an implicit reliance on any
man is to give an anodyne to N liberty—
I pretend not to divination—but if I may
be allowed to reason from what I know,
and predict from what has come within
my own knowledge, there will be a mon
strous revolution in the opinions of the
people of this country—My friends anil
acquaintance have nothing to do with fac
tion or party, they judge difpallionately be
■-aufe they are without the vortex of pre
judice, and I know nbt one among them
vvhofe opinions have not undergone a
change—They fay, and very justly too, thar
when men change their conduct (and it is
only from that they can judge cftheirprin
c iplesytheir opinions of them ought to keep
with tins variation—A few days ago 1 had
a warm argument with a friend of mine
who is extremely zealous in his republi
ii >r nciples ; I contended, forthefake
of argument, that we had nothing to fear
from any one man among us ; that tho'
i inie of the officers of government had de
\ iated from the true principles and prac
tices of republicanism, they could have no
delign upon the liberties of the .people, but
that they were under the influence of a
■vat lily, which sober reflection might do
away j that tho'attempts had been made,
and werellill making,to Introduce distinc
tions among us, and make equality less
common, the bafenefa of such attempts
would for.n be discovered, and would
bring contempt, and perhaps infamy upon
the authors ; that the freemen of Ameri
ca understood their rights, and the dignity
of their tharafler too well to furreiider
them for the gratification of the ambition
of any man, however well he may havd
deferred of his country: that—My friend
could bear with me no longer—"Zounds!
exclaimed he, who would have supposed
that Cromwell ever had it in contempla
tion to raise himfelf to kingly authority, or
that the republicans of that day would
have ever bowed their necks to his ambiti
on ? Trace his conduct from his firft ap
pearance on the flage of nation to his as
sumption of the proteftorfhip, and what
does it exhibit but republican profeflioii
tophi (Heated with religious & moral cant;
and after having made himfelf the idol of
the people by pretending to be their friend,
what did he do ? He endeavoured to be
come a king—l tellyou. and I can prove
it by the teltimony of all ages, that it is
dangerous in the extreme to set up any
man as an idol, to suppose that he alone is
capable of dispensing the blessings of liber
ty ; to proflrate your entire confidence,
and fecmity before him ; to hail him as
your political saviour ; for however defer
ring he may be, there is a magic w power
which assimilate: everything to itfelf,&the
more implicit your confidence, the more
easily will you become dupes to his views—
Cail to mind t.lio ostracism of the Greeks ;
so jealous were they of their freedom,
that they thought it insecure to'retain any
man among them, who had it in his pow
er to command the entirewill of the peo
ple, left he might turn it to their ruin, and
vet you think yourselves wiser than all the
world, and are willing to commit your
, most sacred treasure into the hinds of one
man, without other security than that for
med i>v a heated imagination—l respect
every man for his virtues, but I idolize
■oman; it is beneath the dignity of free
men, ami I lincerely hope, that slavery will
be his portion, w ho bows down before any
being but his God!" The solemnity of my
friend's declaration startled me, for I had
never before heard him express himfelf
with so much fire, and as I wiflied not to
inflame him further, 1 put an end to the
| argument—Yonfee, Sir, that even mode
rate men are awakened intorefentnient by
the monarchical practices of adminiftrati
-011, and that the spirit of equality is not iu
so found a deep, but that it begins to oj en
its eyer—l hope the Prefideut, who ' »
hitherto had the warmest aftedtions of h's
fellow citizens (the great eft diftindinn
that he could receive) will be no longer
milled by evil counsellors, but that he will
abolish every custom which can call in
quellion the sincerity of his profeffions,
the upriglitnefs of his views, or that
would lell'en a fame, which was more
glorious, than erer fell to the lot of mor
tal man.
A FARMER.
Bucks County, Jan, 29,1793.
[Total No. 132.]