National gazette. — Philadelphia [Pa.], 1793-09-28 00:00:00, page 1

address
Of the National Convention to the
French People.
26thjune, 1793, 2d I(car of the Republic-
Citizens,
YOUR. Representatives, faithful to their
dary and to their engagements, have
completed the Co.iftitutioi, and are about
to convoke the primary alFeinblies. ihi
in their answer to the enemies ot equality
and liberty.
The National Convention having dif
cbarged the firft, the molt urgent, andmoft
sacred of its duties, will in a few days lay
before tile nation thecaufes ot the divillous
which have agitated the Republic at large;
causes which have so long withheld from
the order of the day the moll important
objects of deliberation, and, by reviving
civil discord, infjaired foreign powers with
the hopes of making conqUeits agiinlt a
Republic torn by fa£tions.
But whi Ift a legal convocation is rtbout
to re-unite you into primary aii'emblies, in
order to lay the eternal balls of liberty and
equality, the foundations of a republican
government ; those who have conftautly
betrayed their country, are now giving the
lignal of civil war i:i all parts of the Re
public.
War maintained by fanatacifm not mak
ing aprogrefsl'ufliciently rapid, they give a
new colour to the infurreftions which they
excite ; they midead by the idolatry of
persons and reputation, and the delulion
of political opinions, those whom religious
fanatacifm corld not seduce.
Could they carry their defigus into exe
cution, France woidd soon be given up to
greater horrors than Poland experienced,
which underwent the yoke of three tyrants,
■without having drawn h fwnrd. She
would destroy herfelf in * ie p'refence of
tl * combined powers and of their armies
alfcmbt'ed on our frontiers : instead ot a
fertile country and flourifhing cities, (lie
would present only the horrid fpeftacle of
fields of carnage and heaps of allies.
Citizens, the traitors who did their ut
most to midead you and to hurry you away
into their revolt, propose to you to march
against Paris and the National Convention.
Can Paris be an object 6f hostility to the
Republic? Is It not the alylutn of your
brothers and the cradle of liberty ? Like
you, the citizens of Paris wished for the
constitution ; they have denounced the au
thors of the evils with which France is
opprefled.
When on the 20th of June last year, Pa
ris proclaimed the dangers of the country
and the conspiracy of the last of its king*,
some admini(\rators, traitors to their
country, usurping the sovereign powers,
offered to reinforce the guard of the con
spirator, and to fend numerous battalibns
against Pari-;. France was soon undeceiv
ed. The federates of the 83 departments,
when arrived at Paris, found none but
brothers there, and (hared with them the
dangers aud the glory of overturning the
throne.
In like manner, when France fliali be
fully acquainted with the causes and events
which neceditated the denunciation of the
3tit of May and the decree of arrest paflcd
on the 2d of June, against 32 members of
the National Convention, (lie will approve
the wisdom and the happy result of these
measures.
Can the difTohition of the Convention be
the object of your with? Is it proposed
to you to abolifii it ?
What government would then remain to
you? Whither would you rally ? What
would become of eleven armies aflembied
on the frontiers and on the coalts ? Can
the action of government be suspended for
a (ingle day ? Should the departments dis
own the Convention, the Republic would
be without a government, without a cen
tral adininiftration; the armies would
tlifperfe ; foreign powers would invade
our territory: Frenchmen would turn their
arms against themselves, and the Republic
would be annihilated.
Citizens, your most dangerous enemies
are those who precipitate you into civil
war.
Those magistrates wham you had chosen
to maintain the police and to discharge the
municipal functions, those administrators
whom you had elected to execute the laws
and to be the agents of government, have
seized upon the government itfelf, and
have grasped at the national sovereignty.
Your rights, your interests have been a
bandoned and facrificed. In many of the
adininiftrative aflemblies your fsrvice his
Numb. 96 of Vol. ll.] SATURDAY, September 28, 1793.
By P FRE NEA U: (at No. 209, Market Street) Publijhed. Wednesdays and Saturdays, [Three Dollars per annum.2
b»?n wholly negle£ted,whilft the only object:
of concern were deputations, plots, coaliti
ons, i& projeitsof war againli the Republic.
Those functionaries did not luok on as
thei.' brothers arid fellow citizens, five
hundred thousand Frenchmen who have de
voted thenil'elves to the defence of liberty
against tyrants. Dy intercepting the ar
tillery, amu>uniiiou and provilions, they
expcifed them t ) perish to no purppfe, and
without cementing with their blood the
foundations of the Republic.
Geieroin warriors whom so many trea
sons have not artonilhed, you Have con
ltantly rallied to the fttnd. rd of the Re
public and to the tree of liberty.
You have surmounted by your courage,
the oi.ftacks which La Fayette and Du
monrier had oppofcd to your success. A
new conlpiracy drtefled, is the last crisis
through which you were to pass, in order
to conquer and eflabliili liberty.
You alio expected a confutation which
your arms will make Europe respect; the
lability of a free and acknowledged go
.'ernm;nc will etifure you success ; the
;onllitution will powerfully support your
irms, and will conduct you, through vic
:ory, to peace.
In the midrtofher agitations and difor
lers, France counts but a fniall .number of
onfpiracors. The mass of citizens, al
ways pure, inspired by sentiment, eulight
:ned by eternal reason, has preserved it
elf from fed action and error.
Thole adminiftrStive bbdies, whomtrai
ors had lljrrcd up against the Republic,
■ecollect at lull, that they have a country,
ind that they can have nolle othex than
:he Republic.
The National Convention has received
'rom several departments, recantations
.vhich will prove to potterity, that the vir
:u oust man in ay be milled, b net hat be opens
lis eyes to the light before his error be
:onies hurtful tofociety and humanity.
The examples, whiift they warn us to re
irefs confulionat its firit appearance, and
to be severe towards the factious and the
.onfpirator, make it the duty of a humane
egiflator to receive with indulgence the
deluded fellow citizen, and to ofter only
nlfruition to those who have always been
lttached to their country, and who want
jnly to be informed in order to relume
heir rank among good citizcns.
Citizens who have sworn to befree, whe
ivifhto have a country, aconltitution, rallj
:o the National Convention, who pledge
tfelf to preserve the Republic one and in
livilible.
EXTRACT from the New-Brunswick
Advertiser: being part of an Ad
dress on a very inter eftiugfubjeit.
1J" ET me now be indulged in speaking :
■*-' few words on theprolpe£l there seem:
:o arise of a' war between Great-Britair
ind the United States, which fee is to b«
:he delign ot the Prelident's proclamatior
to avert. It appears to me and I presume
:o every thinking man in the United States,
►hat we have had and (till have an indirect
war with that reltlefs-and deligning nation,
nearly lince the ligning the late peace—
through their unjult detention of the wefi
-rn polls—which it was prefu:iied at thai
treaty they really meant to give up in the
courte ot a year or two—taking a reason
able time lor their Indian traders to call in
their property fronrthe didant regions. Il
is true that that part of the treaty is loofly
worded, and not so explicit as a bargain
school-boys would have made in the tranf
fer ot a top, a ball, or a marble—yet I
think the honelt un(nfpe£ling hearts of out
commifioners thought the tfritons as ho
nest as themlelves, and that they would
luon give lip those ports according to the
true intent and meaning of the treaty, and
I can by no means impute their condufr, as
has been surmised, to Britilh gold dull
blinding the eyes of their underflanding in
the ligning that article.
From this cause, without a doubt arising
in the mind of any sensible man I have con
versed with on this fubjett, springs the war
with the Indians, for it is well known that
at those polts they are supplied not only
with arms and ammunition, but with every
article they Hand in need of for their ra
vage depredations, in which the United
States have fjtfered the loss of thousands
of men, women and children, betides the
expenditure of at lead five millions of dol
lars, and in this present year, I doubt whe
ther the account will be closed under two
millons, and perhaps the lives of many of
our worthy/ellow which'money
(hould hive been applied ,to pay our just
debts: add to this, their late and present
depredations on the ocean, perhaps not
less than 150 of our veflels, taken by then),
from our honest merchants, and unjultly
detained, to the ruin of their families, and
our unarmed Teamen treated in an inhu
man manner. Now if we are to bear all
this without a profpeft of redrtjfs, dud our
hands to be tied up, let us strike out from
our new made calendar the Day that ha:
bees kept in remembrance of our birth as
a nation, and turn to lick the dust that des
pots are preparing for us. If the Britons
with to be at peace with the United States,
let them come forward and ftiew an exam
ple of justice and humanity, by immediate
ly giving up Niagara, Detroit, and all the
extent of country they ceded to us by the
la;e treaty of peace ; but so long as they
hold thole polls, they certainly war in 2
daltardly manner against us. And Jet 0111
government also cofne forward and fliew
an example of justice to the natives, ant
[his terrible and expensive war will fooi
:ea!'e. It is true that wc as private citi
zens cannot judge fully of these matters,
lot knowing the secret springs of govern
ment, but so far as they have come to 0111
cnowledge, we as free citizens have a righi
:o judge for ourfeives, and may and ough;
:o remonffrate to Congress whenever ihey
ire in feffton, which I trust will be verj
"0011. There seems indeed a general dreac;
if war Tept, I know not how, among ns
[ wouh here ajli, have the Americans 101 l
heir v: rue? Are they callous to insult:
Vom a bankrupt nation? In my humble
spin',o:i we never had nor perhaps nevei
ivill have a time,for humbling the Englilh(il
Mongrels thinks it proper to take time bj
:he for.Jock to do their country ample ju-
Irice) liice the present time; but if it car
be don "iy proper negociations, and the Ig
nited ates'at the fame time fulfil witl
honour .uoir treaty with the French nati-
Dn, our allies/in the name of humanity, ft
be it.
Upon the whole, I beg to be indulged ir
moving this very respectable audience, thai
i resolve may be made that a dutiful peti
tion be prepared and] sent to the Fathei
t>f our country, intreating him to iflue hi:
request to both branches of the federal go
rernment to meet sooner than their latt
*djonniment was fettled at, as we conceiv<
the critical situation of our country call
for the immediate best counfelsof our wif
:it citizens at this present time.
And also that a Resolve be imriiediatelj
made by us, that we enter into the spirit o
liis proclamation, so far as to allure hin
that we wili not direOly or indire£tiy fii
out any veflels for the purpose of war, awe
that so far as our power can be lawful!)
exerted, we will dii'courage any overt
that may be attempted among us, uuti
Congress thinks it proper to uuloofe oui
hands."
/
Governtr HANCOCK'S Speceh to tin
Legijlature of M.iJfjchufctts, at the open
ing of their SeJJioni on the 18M of Sep
tember inflant,
Mr.Prefidei't.-diid Gentlemen oftheSenate
Mr.Speaker,and Gentlemen of the Houff
of Representatives,
""PHE Proclamation by which the Gene
ral Court is convened, contains £
copy of a civil precept. The service o;
which on me, andonthe attorney-general
was the principal reason of my exercifinj
this part of that authority devolved on nit
by the constitution.
The suit commenced by W1 Lf.rAM VAs
sAL,if the commonwealth is held to an
swer thereon, mull be decided on principle:
very interesting to its welfare as a slate.
I cannot conceive that the people of thi:
commonwealth, when they, by their Re
presentatives in Convention, adopted the
Conflitution of a General Government
expected that each slate fliould be held lia
ble to answer 011 compulsory civilprocefs
to every individual resident in anothei
state, or in a foreign kingdom. Three
Judges of the United States of America,
having solemnly given it as their opinion,
that the several liates are thus liable, the
question then [us become highly important
to the people.
I did not find myfelf authorized in virtue
of my office as governor ol the common
wealth, to appear, either by myfelf or by
uiy substitute, in any court of jultice, eithei
to deny the authority of the court over this
government, or to lubmit to its jurifdic
cion in a point, which I cannot, at present,
consider as fettled. Nor did I conceivt
that any other perfoi) touid have that ay
thor -y, without afpecial appointment by
the Jegiflature for that purpose.
J he service of this process being laid
before the Council, they advised me to
call the two Koufesinto feflion. My opi
nion accorded with their advice, for seve
ral reasons ; some of which are too ob
vious to need repeating—others I will fug -
geft Lo you.
Uie demand of William VafTal, if I am
not mistaken, in his design and in the ten
dency of the process, will involve and con
clude a question of legality, on the mode
of confifcating the persona! estate of that
class of people, who, in our laws, are de
nominated Absentees. It is therefore
neceflary, that effectual meaftires lliould be
peedily adopted, to prevent a determina
tion, which may so greatly injure the in
terell, and so di'fagreeably affect the feel
ings of the citizens of this commonwealth.
Should you, gentlemen, he of opinion*
lhat by the constitution of the United
Stares, the Commonwealth may becem
pelled to answer on this process, you will,
make such provision for defending again ft
the itiit, as shall appear to you to be pro
per and expedient.
Should you coniider the commonwealth
not to be thus liable, your deliberations
will beftich, as will tend to procure to the
-onftitution, under which this authority is
:lairrled, a more favourable and a more
unexceptionable confttuftion. But it may
lappen that your investigation may lead
(■ou to conclude, that the conftru&i
diis given to the judiciary power of the
United States, by three ot the judges, is
-ight, according to the letter of the coufti
:ution, and yet, that it will tend to the
promotion of peace and harmofjy in the Li
lian, and to the preservation of our fede
-al government, so happily ellablifhed, to
procure such alterations iu the judiciary
irticlei, as may fecurejhe States fev-eraliy,
n the enjoyment of that (hare oHVf
y, which it was intended they should re
;ain poifefs. In this last cafe you will
iireit your measures to that point.
From these considerations, I confiderecl
t as absolutely neceFary, that you should
ie in feflion at an earlier day than that to
■vhlch the general court flood adjourned,
i'our deliberations 011 this fubjeft will take
ome time, and though Congress will meec
jn the iirfl: monday in December, yet their
effion may be fliort. You could not,
therefore, after the last Wednesday inja
luary, have tini# to do what «-i!l be necef
ary. The court too, where this suit is
lending, will be in ieflion early in Fe
bruary, and the result of the business will
pe then expefied.
I avoid giving an opinion either on the.
question, vvhether the commonwealth is
liable to be sued, or whether if it is so cir
cumltanced, an attempt to procure an al
teration, is eligible. Yet I consider it to
oe of the last importance to the hap
piness and interest of the United States, as
well in their united, as in their separate
:apacity, to have this point, properly, fatif
tartorily and finally fettled. It is true that
llates, kingdoms, and empires ought to do
justice ; but it is as true, that there are cer
tain inherent principles in the conftitutioii.
of each, which can never be surrendered
without eiientially changing the nature'
or destroying the existence of the novernl
ment.
I believe that the commonwealth of
Maflachufetts, from the generosity and
good feelings of its citizens, will be always
ready, as iar as the people's abilitv fhaJL
idiilit of, to do justice to all men. Yet ia
order to preserve the peace and fafety of
the Union,, and to establish in the bofonis
of other nations, a confidence in the refli
tiide of this, it is very proper that there
(hould be a tribunal of justice, independent
of the particular states, which may be re-
Ported to in certain cases. This was in
tended to be provided for by the federal
constitution : but whether the present cafe
is properly before that tribunal,
to that constitution, or whether the procefi?
under confederation, is within the intend-;
ment of that provision, you will consider.
Whether the provision in the Federal
conilitution for the extension of the judicb;.
ary power to states, is intended to be er - .
ercifed in matters of civil contract, or in d .
ther matters which took place before thic
government was formed ; or whether it i
intended only to give a remedy for fu.-Jfi
injuries as may take place by force, ariiy
may therefore have a tendency to destroy
the peace of the Union, or involve the na
tion in a war with foreign powers, is of
consequence enough to demand a confide'-
ration. Jf fbe judiciary power of the Unit
[Total Numb. 200.]