The Republican ledger — Portsmouth, N.H., 1799-09-26 00:00:00, page 1

PROOFS OF BRITISH INFLUENCE.
See BrirUh Influence ftll! prevailing,
And each and every part assailing ^
•'^From men abtroa to lowcft order,
' All tainted with the vile disorder. > ,
FROM A PHILADELPHIA PAPER.
CT— Q±.
THE rife, the progress, and the present
state of the British party in America,
Is a matter no lets curious and extraordinary
than it is important and alarming. Linen,
we beseech you, to afro of the proofs of its
existence, and judge for yourfelVes. Many
more can be adduced.
The firft secret symptoms of the creation
of a British party which have been difeovered,
will be palled over at this moment, because
so many little particulars would take up too
much time. It is belt to commence our re
marks at that period when Great Britan firft
began to make open arrangements for her
ministerial and consular bufinfs in thiscoun
try. In carrying this consular and ministe
rial plan into execution, it merits very parti
cular observation, that the British goverment
employed generally, persons who had numer
ous family connexions in the United States,
These persons had at the fame time very
many friends & acquaintances here. They
knew well all the individuals in America,
who retained their prejudices for the English
government and conflitution. Among the per
sons feleaed were Phineas Bend a full blood
ed cousin of Mr Charles Smith ; & Thomas
William Moore a full blooded cousin of Mr
Smith. The injuries to the interests and
honor of this country committed by Mr.
Moore, while under the known deputation
and auspices of Mr. Bond, were such, as drew
down upon him the exemplary justice of gen
eral Washington, then president of the Uni
ted States. The general would no longer
fuffcr him to a& as confnl of Great-Britain,
on account of his condu& in grossly insulting
the government of this country in the affair
-of Captain Home. Their scheme was to
violate the territory, flag, and dignity of the
United States by seizing an American vessel,
in Long Island found, to get possession of the
person and papers of a Foreign minister to
this country — They seized the vessel, and one
of Mr. C. Smith's uncles' was cashiered for
this British outrage on Our country. Yet
Mr. Smith vociferates and clamors again#
the republicans as a French party !
, The condua of Mr. Phineas Band (the
cousin of Mr. Smith) has been, upon many
occasions, (harp, bitter, indecently full of an
ti-Americans and anti-republican feelings
and declarations.- The friends of our in
fant manufactures must well remember his
condua in regard to that objea.— -The mer
chants of Philadelphia will rememberhisgro/s
refleaions upon them in the presence of Mr.
Bingham, Mr. Clymer, and others, which
drew on an affair between him and Mr.
Bingham.—-The farmers of America have
cattle to remember his conduct in regard to
our wheat, at the firft appearance, of the Hes
sian fly. The value of our wheat crops had
Jike to have been ruined by the industrious
mfrepresentations of the English, that it was
mat fafe to import it into England, and of course,
into other countries in Europe. If Mr. Bond
could have made good his views, our defam
ed wheat would have funk to half a dollar for
a bushel. This native American, this cou,
fin of Mr. Smith, has declared, that Congress,
dared not to regulate the British trade with
us, iwd he has sarcastically and offenfively
called a squalid and tattered beggar, (who
was possibly some unfortunate man forced a
broad by the rigors of the British or Irish
government) “ a part of the people."—
rrom the influence and patronage of this fame
Mr. Bond, the elder brother of Mr. Charles
Smith has received an appointment in the
bosom of our country, from the British gov
ernment with a handsome salary in sterling
, money, and has very great opportunities of
receiving valuable fees or perquisites besides.
The business of this office of Mr. William
Moore Smith, is to fix upon the government
and people of the United States as much as
possible of the British demands under Mr.
Jay's treaty. The claims of the British cred
itors, for old debts, for depreciation, &c. be
fore a board of five, of which a majority are
1 Englishmen are to be managed by this Mr.
W. M. Smith. It includes the arrears of
quit rents to the Penus, for which they have
accepted a consideration from us already.
Since he enjoyed this lucrative British office,
he has held a meeting at his own dwelling
house to condua an ele&ion in the city of
Philadelphia and published their proceeding#
NUMBER ,—VOL. ij
/ PORTSMOUTH, (NEW-HAMPSHIRE) PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GEORGE TERRY OSBORNE, fan. MULBERRY LANE, NEXT DOOR TO ROUSSELETs MUSEUM.
66 WHEN YOU SHALL THESE DEEDS RELATE, SPEAK OF THEM AS THEY ARE ; NOTHING EXTENUATE NOR SET DOWN OUGHT IN MALICE."
The Republican Ledger.
in one of our gazettes. So .grievously has
this office been managed, that, after the
Pennsylvania loyalists or refugees have been
liberally paid by England, we are in danger
of awards of the three Englishmen, binding us
to pay again these confifeated debts, and not
only large sums of arrears of quitrents to the
family of the Penns, but other sums. The
English government has paid them all they
thought just, and now the English Commis
sioners, would condemn us to pay the English
Government. We are warranted in assert
ing, that our constituted authorities never
could have intended the treaty to burden us
in such a manner; The debts of the loyal- 1
ifts have been paid out of their lands by our
State Government.
It is also true that the Gazette of the U
nited States has, for some time, had a con
nexion with the Englijb government betyt here.
A person in the family of the British minister,
possessing and deferring hit bigheft confidence, has
been known to declare beforehand; that on a
certain day soon after to follow “ Fenno's
66 paper would be enlarged, and then (added
“ the person in the British minister's family,)
"we Jhall have a Gazette of out own." The
paper was enlarged accordingly ! and has since
libelled the constitution, the president, repub
licanism, and even religious lieerty ! The bro
ther-in-law of Mr. C. Smith (Samel Blodg
et) who is also the cousin by marriage, of
Phineas Bond, has since been a constant writ
er in that paper, a daily attendant at the
Printing-Office, and finally bn the death of
old Mr. Fenno, (to the wonder of all men)
became his administrator, though the son
(John Ward Fenno) was old enough to con
duct the press and fettle the estate of his fa
ther. The younger Fenno was employed by
Mr. Blodget uuder the singular chara&er of
"the agent of the adminifrator." Yet they
talk of us as a French party ! No wonder,
for we fee, that they are Eriglijh partizans, or
;allied to Englijb parii&m^ ~^^e^m
(To be continued.)
From tUe LONDON STAR, of July 25.
PARiSnULT
s TALLEYRAND.
CITIZEN Talleyrand has just ,blilhed
a vindication of his conduct, in answer to the
accusations preferred again# him in several
pamphlets and journals. —He begins with
remarking, that all his accusers are them
selves either Ex-Priests or Ex-Nobles, and
even Princes or Foreigners, who havihg firft
introduced themselves to notice with cun
ning and dexterity, soon assumed with auda
city, the privilege of in#ru&ing us how we
Ihould be free in our own country:
" What then," continues Talleyrand, "do
these men urge, who are not Frenchmen, or
those among Frenchmen whose integritv they
have succeeded in corrupting ? That I have
been one of the Constituent assembly I- Yes,
I was fully convinced, that they who could
never forgive those whose names are illuftri-
Ous among the founders of liberty, I was ful
ly convinced that men who had never expe
rienced the firft sallies of the French people,
in 1789,wh0 indulged in Ihameful raillery on
the sublime enthusiasm of the nation, and
who, unable to to prevent the Revolution,
exerted themselves to render it odious, were
in secret, enraged against the affem^ly which
firft proclaimed the declaration of the rights
of man, and were more favorable to the an
ti-revolutionary part of that allembly than to
the part which produced the Revolution.—-
But I was ignorant that they could carry
their audacity so far as publicly, and without
any malk, to reproach a Citizen with having
been a Member of the Constituent assembly.
And yet this is one of the numerous accufa.
tions preferred again# me in their favourite
Journal.
"In the present agitation of the, public
mind three luppofitions are alone possible.—
The Republic will consolidate its strength in
the midst of so many events ; we Ihall be o
verwhelmed in the confusion and deftruaion
of every kind of authority ; or Royalty will
be restored to oppress us with increafcd fury
and tyranny. Every other fuppofifto'n is to
me a chimera, and I have unquestionably
given Sufficient pledges of my zeal against
the two last systems. The fate allotted to
me by both the one and the other of them, is
fufficiently known, as well as the kind of
preference which they would give to me. It
has been a thousand times demonitrated, that
I have no other desire but that of consolidat
ing the power and establishing the glory of
the Republic. I did not, indeed exped, I
confefs, to be reduced tethe necessity of prov
THURSDIT, SEPTEMBER 26, 1799,
ing, in the 7th year of the Republic that 1
am not an Emigrant. A proof rendered un
necessary by the unanimous declaration of the
National Convention, w^ch ordered my
name to be erased from all* its of Emigrants,
and repealed, at the fame time, the decree of
accusation which had been brought again#
me.
" But it Is alked by my accusers, What
are the motives which caused the national
Convention tb erase the name of Talleyrandr
The answer however, is simple, and undoubt
edly decisive, I was sent to London, for the
second time, by the Provisional Executive
Council, on the 7th of September, 1792. —
I have ih my possession the original passport
delivered to me by the council, and which is
signed by fix of its Members, Lebrun, Dan
ton, Servin, Claviere, Roland, and Monge.
It was transmitted to the Convention when
it thought proper tojtake my case into con
federation. and I will produce it to any person
dehrous of feeing it."
Talleyrand denies that he wore the white
cockade to America and at Hamburgh, and
appealsto the testimony of the Envoy and
Confitfat that city.
With refpe& to the reproach of having
fuffered the new coalition to be formed, he
vindicate himfelf by quoting his opinion,
which was decidedly given in favour of an
honourable peace, and makes the following
observations : " when it is considered that
those who dare to accuse me of wishing for
the continuance of war are the very persons
who ftkred up the fire of difeord, invoked
with the most ardent prayers all the fury of
war, were eager to excite revolutionary
movements in every part of the world, abul
-d every power ih the most insulting and im.
politic manner, threw obftadles in the way
of ever, negociation, and propagated in the
public journals the assertion so fatal to the
tranquility of Europe, That Republics and
Kin, ate neceffarilv ih ato ^ t%i
—wsen his considered that I have been con
-Iliantly engaged in repairing the mifchiefs
produced by so many inconfifencies and fol
lies, and in calming the apprehensions of the
Envoys of neutral and amicable powers, e
ver/ one must be struck with astonishment
that these men Ihould accuse of co-operating
in producing thecoalition, and that they Ihould
themselves be ignorant on how many accounts
the acCufation applies to their own conduct.
I have also, in a detail which has been notic
ed by the Legislative Body, pointed out the
principal and more immediate causes of the
Coalition, and I may be allowed to observe,
that my observations have been received by
the National Representation, with a degree
of interest which it only confers on acknow
ledged precision and truth.
" It is known that Austria, even from the
signing of the treaty of Campo Formio, how
ever favourable that treaty might have been
to it, having recovered from the terror inspir
ed by our arms; began to meditate proje&s of
greater ambition ; that it was then encourag
ed by England and Russia ; that the events in
Rome and Switzerland became new motives
and pretences for its actions ; and that it
fought every where, from that time, for new
allies, which it did not find difficult to ob
tain, in con sequence of the principles of the
'Reprefentative system which struck at all
aristocratic establishments, or by the natural
effedof the pppreffions exercised by some of
the French agents, unworthy of that name,
even in friendly countries, or principally ,n
consequence of the impression made by the
engagement of Aboukir, which in giving us
an additional enemy, revived the audacity
and hopes of the others.
" At the commencement of last Brumaire,
the end of October, when General Joubert
fa out for Milan, about five moths before
the Ruffians entered Italy, I had the good
fortune to procure the plan of attack which
had been combined between the Ruffians and
Austrians, and I gave it to him myself, He
has since declared that it proved highly uleful
to his operations. Every thing relative to
the great changes in Switzerland and l^y
was never either difeuffed or decided by the
Directory in my presence. The alterations
in the Cifalpine Republic are totally without
my knowledge. 1 was merely acquainted
with them in consequence of theire^ecution ;
so much so, that when citizen Rivaud was
sent Ambassador to that Republic, 1 was ap
plied to for blank letters of credence,and thus
1 was totally uninformed with relped to his
embassy, until he had been employed faa
considerable time. Here I knows it is ob
jeded to me with femity, that I should not
[1 DOL. 56 CtS. >ER ANNUM.
have hesitated to give in my resignation. And
is it imagined that I was not disposed to
that measure r can it be thought that such
an idea was not gratifying to my indepen
dence ? but 1 confefs 1 was prevented by
that desire, that indefatigable hope of peace,
from which nothing could detatch me. I
forgot myfelf entirely in that sentiment, and
to that I facrificed my personal uneasiness,
my repugnance as ah individual.
" lam accused that an attack was not
made on Portugal. But if such an attack had
taken place, and had been violently opposed
by Spain, would they not have thought them
selves justified in blaming a condua which
would have irritated this latter power, whose
alliance it was so ufeful to cultivate ? I am
reproached with not having Efficiently en
couraged privateering again# England, but
if it had been encouraged withoutany bounds,
with what vehemence would they not have
inveighed again# the want of precaution, or
the stupidity of mioifters, who assured, that
545 armed vessels for cruising had been cap
tured by the enemy from the beginning of
the war to the end of the 6th year, that the
number of our prisoners now in England,
amount to more than 30,000, for whose sub-
Grtence the Republic is at the yearly expense
of 15 millions, and that it is principally to
privateering such a result is to be attributed,
might have dared to expose the nation to the
repeated hazards of a game, the losses of
which are so sensibly felt /
" I am reproached with the expedition to
Egypt, which was planned previously to my
administration, and had in no refpe& been
determined by me. But if that expedition,
in which the genius of Buonaparte, in which
his glory, and that of his invincible army
rendered certain, and still renders certain, so
many successes had not been effected, and it
could be oroved, that I had opposed the pro
jeft/with how much acrimony would not
: thefe fame perfoae have said, that I was in
fluenced bv secret and improper views, and
that I wiihed to deprive the Republic of th&
'moft magnificent eftablilhment in the world,
which was to strike a most terrible blow at
the British power in India.
" They complain of thd cold indifference
of the Sweediih government, but how much
more would they have to complain, if in or
der to prevent it, the republic had given way
to demands incompatible with her dignity 2
They also obje& (could it be imagined) that
men of the best charaaers as republicans
have been entrusted with diplomatic missions,
with an irretention they fay of getting rid of
their vigilant observation at home. But if
others who were not republicans had been
entrusted with business of that nature, would
they not have had more reason to complain,
and would they have been silent upon so fa
vourable an opportunity ?
" The Journal des Hommes Libres
maintains, that it was Talleyrand who pro
cured the return of Malmefbury, after the
latter had been dismissed by Charles Lacroix.
But it was not to Paris, that was no longer
neceflary, but to Lille, even in the centre of
our military bulwarks. Is this point clear
ly made out ?• There was never an important
fad that carid conviaion with it more strong
ly. On the 18th Mellidor, when the con
ferrences* began, " I was not Minister; it
was the 28th Meffidor I was appointed by
the Diredory." In ihort every thing 4vhich
has been done, either within or without the
republic, is imputed to me, and I am inter
rogated why the grand Duke of Tuscany
was not kept as a hostage, as if it were my
province to give inftru&ions to the Generals.
They have the effrontery to aflert, that it
was I who alienated from the Republic the
United States of America, at a moment when
they know that American negociators have
arrived in France, and they cannot be igno
rant of the (hare which I have had in that
event, on account of the language full of de
ference, of moderation, and I will be bold to
fay, of dignity, which I addieffed them in the
name of the French Government, while
these who now attack foe were desirous only
to convey to them expressions severe and ir
ritating.”,
Talleyrand cocludes his vindication by ac
cwfing his assailants of ignorance, malice, and
the balcft designs.
Obfercatiom of Charts Delacroix upon the Reflet
tiom pblftedh Talleyrand Perigord.
A# I have been named,er referee! to twice in the
reflections which citizen Talleyrand has pdbliflred
I owe it to my own character, to ellablilh those
faCte uhich with refpett to which I have been al
laded to in this worg It is true as citizen Talley
rand feyfy that it was me of whom lord Grenville