National gazette. — Philadelphia [Pa.], 1793-09-25 00:00:00, page 2

REMARKS on the FRENCH CON
STITUTION. By a citizen of America.
REASON, Whatever may be our preju
dices, it will be granted, is : that uner
ring standard by which alone we are to
estimate the merits,. properties>or princi
ples of every thing which comes within the
circle of our observations. ImpreiTed with
this sentiment, I beg leave to offer a few
fpontaueous remarks tfa the new constitu
tion of t6^,T rencli Republic ; and while 1
bellow the tribute of my heart, 1 could
with my abilities to eulogise its excellencies
were equal to the unspeakable interest.
■which, as a man, as a philanthropist, as a
republican, but above all, as ail American,
I feel in its Uate. The meliorating prin
ciples, the rational plau of rignts, and the
perteft system of republican legiflatioii
which it contains, Will, in spite of the ma
chinations of the harpies of despotic domi
nation, spread themselves throughout the
world, and imprint their indelible traits on
the mind of man. Whether the despots of
Europe annihilate it in France, or tail un
der its emancipat ng influence, the great
truths which it exhibits will never be obli
teratedfrom the minds of thofeunftiackled
men who can, and who dare to think ami
speak: Every line, every principle of this
noble fuperftrufture is replete with beau
ties, which the pen of the philosopher wii'
delight to unfold—ln proportion as igno
rance t prejudice and opprellion is banifhet
"from among men, will the fundamentals o)
the free constitution of France be more
prevalent. In the course of the enfuiut
obrervations, I shall confiae myfelf to ;
few of the most eflential pillars or. whicl
this great work is placed. Equality i:
the great corner flone on which it rtfts
At firft view, this principle appears to em
brace too much ; but it is only in appear
ance and will vanilhon examination. Be
fore I proceed to elucidate this remark, ii
will not be amiss to difclaiin every idea ol
that abandoned, perverted fpec'es of equa
lity which the abettors of arbitrary puwei
inlinuate the French have eftablilhcd anion;,
them—An equality which, accordiHg li
their'/#* dixit, entitles one man to pilfei
from another the property which he iia:
indulfrioilfly and honestly earned—lf thi:
was true, there conld be no equality lr
France, since if even they had all turnec
highway-men, the thief of a .puny make
would have a small chance against the
brawny arm of inufcular depredators. A
Condition like this would not be foundec
on the basis of 'Equality—lt wonld be simi
lar to theftateof society among the brutes.
Let us endeavour to trace the inflitution!
of human society from the moll early pe
riods—A state of nature wa* incontellibl)
the firft condition of man—Bv a ltate o!
nature I mean, his being-obliged to roair
through the forefts in I'earch of tfee wilt
fruits of the earth, and such dtbfcr food a:
his appetites and uncul rivaled mind migh;
point out as most proper; and also, furnilh
jug himfelf v;ith a habitation, such as rea
son dictated to him as belt. Let us pursue
■ftianinall his perambulations, and infpefl
him in all his original charafteriflics: A horc
or clan of wild inen adventitiously take Us
their abode on the fame feeding ground—
They claim ho pi operty—they have no laws
—they want no king—but thcy have fami
lies to support. Every fathtr of a family
goes out to gather the acorns of the sorest
—he fjtisfies himfelf, and with both hands
filled (clothes and pockets not being yet
xontrived) returns home to his wife and
little ones—On the way he is met by a man
of superior strength, who, cortfcious of his
superiority, takes, by force, what the other
had gained by his induilry : The strong
wan, before he reaches his hut, is met by
another stronger than himfelf, who robs
him of his plunder, and who, in his turn,
is met by the Itrongelt man in the whole
wild fraternity, and experiences a treat
ment similar to that which the others had
received from him —Here, then, we llop.
Neceflity obliged men, in a state of nature,
to unite themselves againli the depreda
tions of the strong and powerful. This
produced equality, by reducing the strong
to a level with their neighbours—and thus
this equality is founded in Nature, and ap
probated by Reason. [-V. York "journal. J
« —
FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Paris, July 12.
Letter addressed to citizen DupoNT, chief of
brigade, and adjutant general of the firjl
divjfion of the North.
Head-quarrersat Cambray, July 16.
*• I have good news of you, niv dear Du
pont. I would not be too hasty in com
municating it t« you, till it were daily more
and more confirmed by our spies, and the
deserters who came over. '
" The power of the leagued Kings has
been dalhing against the walls ot Valen
ciennes; they may convert that unhappy
city into a heap of allies and ruins; but
they will never subdue the invincible cou
rage of its inhabitants, and of the republic
an soldiers who defend its ramparts.—
Hitlory does not futnilh an instance ot so
cruel a bombardment as this city is doomed
to fuffer.— For these three weeks near 200
pieces of eangon have played upon the city,
both day and night. The garrison makes
Tallies every day, whish proves not less fa
tal to the enemy than the loss of battles.
" Cobourg, finding that the fire of the
fortrefs slackened, thought it was destitute
of ammunition, and attempted to scale it in
the night between the sth and 6rh. The
Englilh, the Hungarian Grenadiers, ami
Hanoverians, were to perform the talk,
by means of barges laden with scaling lad
ders, which were tnrown into the foflees.—
Genera! Ferrand perceived the enemy's de
lign, and fuffere:l them to approach, but
« hen they were preparing to throw up the
scaling ladders, he a (Faulted them inftanrlj
with a fhovver of balls and case-shot, which
lighted upon them in every direflion.! The
nunvber of those who fell victims in thi
raf.i enterprize, is computed at about 600 c
men. lam positively sure, that Cobourj
was determined to facrilice 5000 men tc
fecufe hiinfelf in the success of this assault.
The afl'aiUnts thus repulsed, took flight ir
confufion, and were pursued into heii
camp. The explofi.on of a mine, whicl
blown up the fame moment at the Rolleux.
completed their deteat.
Since the beginning of the liege, the ene
my have loft a great number of cannons,
which were taken, spiked, or diftnounted
An epidemical malady, occalioned by the
putrid exhalations from the woods ol
Raimes and the camp ofFamars, spread
desolation ainony the combined armies.
The hospitals of Mons and Brufiels are no:
spacious enough to contain their lick anc
wounded.
(Signed) CHF.RIN.
Adjutant-General.''
London, July 22. The siege of Valen
ciennes advances but {lowly, owing to the
vigorous resistance of the besieged, whe
smploy every refonrce of art to retard
the completion of the third parallel. The
bombardment is continued with the utmofl
fury, and not one part of the city isflielter
ed from dettru&ion. The deserters report,
that above 6coo inhabitants have been kUl
?d or wounded by the fire of the combined
army : they fay, that the commandant Fer
rand, has made the garrison take an oath to
die rather than content to surrender the
city.
July xs- We have fevcral letters from
:lie camp before V alenciennes ; & although
:hey are all uncommonly barren of intelli
gence refpecling the liege, we learn from
:hem, that the third parallel was
?d, but the batteries upon it not opened on
Lhe 19th ; that there was no chance of
Laking the place but-by aflault» ia which
cafe the Austrian troops, exasperated by
:he number of men they have loft, and the
British troops, by daily converfatiiri with
the Auftrians, will put the garrtfon and in
habitants in (iifcriminitfly to the sword; thai
Che eSlcers of the garrison, in conversation
during a (liort triue, said, they regretted
the issue to which the siege must come, that
they knew that they had no right to ex
pect quarters, but that they felt it theit
duty to defend what their country had giv
en them in charge, to the last extremity.
Front the .prof peel of luch carnage the mind
turns away with horror and disgust.
By letters from Turin, dated June 28,
we hear, that the king of Sardinia is going
to command in person the allied armies a
giirift the French ; all his houfehoid were
aiready departed when the letters came
away
sre afftired that M. Gafton, wh.c
commands the royalists in France, is the
celebrated Gafton de Bougainville, well
linown'by his voyage round the world.
Lord Hood reached Gibraltar, with the
division of the fleet under his command, 011
the 20th ult.—He was joined by the divi
[ion that had put into Cadiz on the 23d,
and immediately proceeded up the Medi
terranean. He was off Alicant on the Bth
111 ft.. Part of his van had even got up as
high as Malaga.
Britilh Head-quarters, F,ftreux, July 16.
On the 13th, agreeable to articles of sur
render, the garrison of Conde marched out
:>f the town, and laid down their arms.
It consisted of four thousand and eight
hundred men, antongft whom were three
regiments of the troops of the line, a
mounting to two thousand seven hundred
men; the reft were national guards, the
tlrongeft battalion of whom consisted ol
four hundred and forty menv
One hundred and three pieces of Ord
nance were found in the place, but the
quantity of ammunition is inconfulerable.
Paris, July 16. The treatment of the roy
al family is less rigorous than formerly.
The separation of the dauphin from the
queen is the only circumstance of -crueltj
that has been added to the past.
The comtniflioners on duty in the temple
are no longer changed, and continue to
wait on the royal captives. They treat
them with refpeflful greatness. They are
not only fuffered to walk about, but even
their table has been bettered.
Tifon, the woman who waited on the
queen, has turned lunatic. She was im
mediately taken out of the tower, put in a
separate room, and a* ntirfe afligned to her.
This nurse was bound to take an oath not
to reveal any thing of what Tifon might
fay in her fits of phrenzy.
The dauphin is now allowed to play in
the garden with his new kee| er ; he may
also speak to the centinels ; an indulgence
which vra« never granted before.
PHILADELPHIA.
Wednesday, Seplember 2j.
That immense number of waggon®, feme
of them from far beyond the Alleghany, that
used to crowd Maiket-flreet at this season
of the year, are totally disappeared. We
are told that the drrets of Baltimore are
bow thronged with them ; and thus not
one of the lead ill confeqtiences of the de
flru£tive yellow fever, is the chance of its
eventually turning,for a time, a considera
ble branch of trade into another channel,
and occasioning many new connexions in a
rival city.
On Friday evening last. all the New-York
and Philadelphia land stages returned to
this city with their paflengers,. mortified
and fatigued. They were refuled a pas
sage through the Jerfies. One of the dri
vers had a very narrow «scape with his
lite, being cruelly fired upon at Trento»,
the ball palling wihin a few inches of one
us his ears. No provisions were to be ob
uined on the road, norany accommodation
jf any kind, 'even for the lady-paflengers.
The French ih'p of war La Perdrix, of
52 guns, and l'lmpatient of 14 guns, ar
rived at New-York on Thursday last, in
days from Naiitz. They toek on their
pafiage, two 'Slips, the Jamaica and the
Sarah, on the'ir passage from Jamaica to
London. By these vefl'els the Minister of
Prance has received letters to the 25th of
July, which contain new proofs of the
?fteem of the French nation for that diplo
matic character. " His firft report, which
:entains the inoft agreeable information
jpon the brotherly reception made him,
particularly by the American citizens, and
which makes such a linking cor.tract with
:he aridocratSc behaviour of Mr. M«rris,
he American minifterat Paris, spread uni
rerfal joy, and gave the greatest Jhope for
.he success of his negociation, though he
:onft(Ted in hffe report, that he had a ftrons
ind ci lining party to fight, who, in the firfl
nomcDt of popular enthufiafiu for the
French cause dared not to (hew themselves
>penly, but who, in lime would find fe«ret
ind perfidious means to oppose the great
:ft difficulties to his zeal."
" When the above vefiels left France,
he siege ofValenciennes was raised, Con
ie had furreadered:—the infurgtnts were
jeaten every day, and the fleets of the re
public, not only proteiled the coasts, fcul
.vere mailers of the gulph and channel.
Vlarat had been killed by a woman, as he
ivas coming out of a bath.
The Conllitution was accepted by the
jreateft number of the departments, and
ill the members of the Convention, aa well
is tlie ministers who had been under ar
rest, were delivered up and reltored tc
heir funflions.''
On the fame day arrived at New-York
the ship Factor, Brown, from London.
she brings London papers to July 26.
According to these, the French fortrefs ol
3ellegarcte frtrrendered to the Spaniard:
in the 2 jtli of June [Bsllegarde is a for
refs commanding one of the partes thro :
he Pyrennees from France into Spain. _
The garrison, confiding of near a thoufanc
nen, were to remain prisoners of war.—
& fquacron charged with Tome important
niflion, had failed from Bred ; its depar
ure was retarded a few days on account
rfa mutiny on board two seventy fours.—
"For other particulars by these veflels, fee
jui* foreign head ]
We hear from Bodon, that Mr. Du
Maine, French Vice-Consul at that port,
' was arretted"there at the indance of i
Jetty officer of the federal government, foi
>pp»fing with an armed force from the
Concord trigate, the marlhal of thediflrifl
n the execution of a precept from the
United States." "It is the (insert hope
>( every friend to the peace and happinef:
jf his country (observes the Chronicle]
:hat this, as well as other flagrant instance!
jf insult and a6ufe to the diplomatic chst
■aiters of the French nation in America,
may be represented by them to their re
public, as the effort of a contemptible par
ty, who were once as much opposed to the
-evolution of America, as they now are tc
that of France, that when reparation dial
be demanded by that gallant nation, thej
inay be fatisfied with the punilhment of the
individuals-, rather than the great body ol
the.American people, whole feelingsanc
principles are congenial with their own
Ihould be involved in the horrors of war.'
All hopes of effecting a peace with thi
hostile tribes of Indians, being now givei
up, great preparations are making at For
W aihington for a campaign- Genera
Wayne's army at present confids of 300 c
regular troops, riflemen, artillery, and in
fantry, btfules one regiment of horse, ol
about 400 men. The volunteers from Ken
tucky will cenfid of 1500 mounted inf*n
try, to be commanded by general Scott,
The army are in excellent spirits, and said
to be in a date of superior discipline.
From Paris papeiswe learn,that the re
mains of Marat were interred on the 16th
of July with great funeral pomp. The
Parisian feftions alEfted at the ceremony,
and an immense concourse of people at
tended. On the 17 th, the woman that
aflafficiated him was tried ; she was con
demned, and fuffered the fame evening.
Previous to the 20th inft. the malignant
fever in this city had abated to a mblt
flattering degree. Warm weather, how
ever, succeeding some cold andfroliy days,
the contagion again took wing, and hat
made melancholy havoc among our mutli
lamented citizens. The wind being now
northeasterly, and an equinoxial gale in
the atmosphere, it is hoped the change ill
:he temperature of the air may have some
effe£>, under ProvideHce, towards mitiga
ting or expelling the disease.
Accounts from the combined armies (via
London) fay, that the garrison of Valenci
ennes made a vigorous foriie on the 6th of
July, by which the combined armies lefc
[ix thonfand men, killed: previous to
which the garrison fuff'ered a continual fire
us 200 pieces for several days and rights,
ind an attack by escalade was attempted
3y general Cobourg, which general Fer
rand fulfered to approach very near before
le Tallied out upon them wihthis determined
troops; daily sallies proved very fuccefsful;
autrid fevers made great havock in the
:ombined armies, occasioned by rains and
lamps; the hospitals hi Brussels could not
:ontain their sick.
Conde certainly fwrrendered on the 13th
if July; the garrison made prisoners of
war : 103 pieces of cannon were found iu
:he place, but no powder.
The king of Peland (fays a London pa
3er) on being required tb lign the *.£1 of
jccellion to the new partition of Poland.in
favour of the empress of RnHia, gave an
ibfolute refufal, aud informed the ambas
sador that he would foener part with his
:rown than fiiin an ait of consent to tho
new dismemberment of his unhappy coun
try. The Diet, by a great majority, had'
decided againlt the difaierobernieDt of the
country, and have offerett rather to drive
tl Ruffians entirely ent of the kingdom,
and surrender it wholly into the hands c;
Rufiia, than agree to a difmeßibcrmeiit.
—[June2j]
The attempt of the F.nglifh miniflry to
withdraw the Grand Duke of Tufcany
from his neutrality inrefpeft totheFrench.
has excited a general indignation through
that l'ingdon). The 4th article of their
late treaty with Kulfia. is as follow:
" Their majeflies engage to unite all their
efforts to prevent other powers, not impli
cated in this war, from giving, on this oc
cation of connrfon concern to every civi
lized state, any protection whatever, di
rectly or indirectly, in cor.sequence of their
neutrality, to the commerce or property
of the French o-n the sea. or in the ports of
France." Thus have they faithfully en
tered into engagements to prevent, if pof
ible, any prince from securing to his fub
lettsthe bleflings of peace and commerce,
and have determined as far as in them lies,
to extend the horrors of war all over
Europe. Some curious manoeuvring in
this country, renders it suspicious that a
imilar game has been attempted here, but
without the wiflied for success ; the people
being yet matters of the government of the
United States, and not vice verja.
Some accounts from Europe fay, that
the island of Corsica has been delivered up
to the Spaniards, through the treason of
general Paoli.
By a late arrival at Boflon from Gibral
tar, we are afliired that there has not been
any jnnftion of the English and Spanifli
fleets : the Spanifli had gone to Carthage
11a, and the crews in general were very
sickly. The French fleet was at Toulon 1
the English at Barcelona.—Theßrit'fl fri
gate Iris, of 32 guns,had put into Gibraltar,
much fliattercd in an attion with a French
frigate.
" The citizens of the United States, &c.
lave been deceived by the publication of a
ettcrfrom Halifax, said to be written on
board of the frigate Boston. The fact is,
that tnis letter was written on/here, and
hat the Boston has not (as we have yet
jeard of) arrived in any port. It was fup
t>ofed at Halifax, that die was gone to
Newfoundland." [AT. York Journal.3
Baltimore, Sept. 17, "As this plague,
nalignant fever, or what you may please
o call it, has become a general topic in
tonverfation, I mult beg leave to put in a
Lvord or so 011 the dreadful fubje£t—l will
"uppofe then, that Margery, (an old wo
nan of four score) lias got this diabolical,
jvicked, and unrelenting'fever ; (lie willies
o live a few years longer, though flie has
lot got a tooth in her head, and for leven
/ears past has walked upon crutches—She
ends off port haste for Deborah Doleful—
sou must know, my readers, before I
jroceec! any further in my narrative, that
Deb. and .Margery had been playmates
when young, and both had bioke their leg*
[hort off in the middle, before their nine
teenth year, whether by jumping a fence,
jrcrofling aftone wall, is unknown to the
author. But this is not the point I wifli to
beat—l only nwant, their fuffering fucli a
melancholy accident was the cause of their
tiling crutches—Hum I—Deborah, like a
good old foul, came hopping to fee Mar
gery—almost out of breach, (lie dropt her
crutches at the bed fide, and began to feel
Margery's pulse—Heigh, Madge, said De
borah, you are in aragingfever, and 'tis ten
to one that you will live to fee to-morrow
—you are very bad indeed—and I am
really afraid we must part at last. You
have made your Will I hope—if not, let it