The Republican ledger — Portsmouth, N.H., 1800-05-27 00:00:00, page 1

" A certain Knight, swore by his honour, the pan
cakes were good and the mustar d was naught
now rUfland to it, the mustard was good and
the pancakes were naught ; and yet was not this
knight forefw orn— for to swear by that that is
not, you are not fore/worn.
{TOUCHSTONE.
I Have long determined within myfelf to
write a treatise upon swearing, as I un
derstand from the majority of my acquain
tance, that this habit is condemned by fev
cral. I acknowledge that the vulgar me
thod of swearing is very unbecoming a gen
tleman ; but I hope to prove that there is
a genteel mode that gives aja ne fcai qtloi to
our language.
There is a great difference between curs
ing and swearing; the former is Shocking
to a degree : and there is one day in the
year that I would not go to church upon
this account ; for I cannot bear the tho'ts
of cursing my neighbours.'
Swearing, in it's true light, I acknowl
edge to be a fin § and I think it not only
impious, but vulgar to a degree. 1 confefs
there is no fun in swearing by our Maker,
or in making use of any word that offends
religion. This pra&ice betrays abase
mind, and must be condemned even by the
Merry Andrew himfelf.
But a man may, in ajuft cause, swear to
any thing that appertains to himfelf, so that
he does not violate it—this is done by even
the greatest enemies to swearing.—How
frequently may we hear from the lips of the
mod pious— upon my life, upon my foul, upon
my honour, &c. but still I condemn even the
habit of cursing ourselves, as, d—n my eyes,
my foul, my life, &c. To tell the truth, I fee
no meaning in it ; and any thing without
meaning must certainly be, at lead, absurd.
But the pradice of swearing thus—if it has
not, undoubtedly had a great deal of force &
lignification.—A lover, whose all depends
upon the smiles of his mistress, has a very
good right to swear by his life and foul ; and
formerly, when titled men adhered to prin
ciple and justice, they dignified themselves by
swearing upon their HONOUR ; to be sure
as, tempora nratamur et nos mutamur in illis,
the custom may be deemed somewhat ridi
culous f lovers being now-a-days more the
lovers of sordid interest than sublime virtue;
" and many of our great people having for
feited all pretensions to honour before their
greatness was acquired. There are very
few, therefore, who forefwear themselves
by swearing upon their honour, their word,
or their conscience ; the former, as before
observed, being forfeited long ago; the se
cond, of course, not in possession ; and the
latter, in consequence thereof, lulled to sleep.
Forgive me, courteous reader, for being
thus sentimental ; but really I cannot for
° bear, the fubje& is so serious.
Genteel swearing consists in using those
words which are suitable to the fubjed, and
not common. Now I think, as it would
be somewhat novel, that it would be very
genteel for a lover to swear by his heart —
that place of tenderness and susceptibility !
but perhaps the great critics would deem it
a blunder, or an evasion, like the knight's
honor ; (fee the motto.) —All real lovers (as
supposed) having loft their hearts.
There have be been as many corruptions
in swearing as any thing else. Several, not
knowing the origin of some swearing ex
pressions, make very improper use of them.
When large buttons were in fafhion, a dash
ing blood then introduced the phrase ,of daJb
my buttons ! but now we may hear it from
the mouth of many a petty landlord, who
has not a single button to his coat.
The ancients were very happy in having
a number of gods which answered every
fubjea. Whenever a Czfar wished to
boast of his strength, he need only fay, “ By
Hercules, lam the man." Isa lover wifh<
ed to animate his mistress, he might exclaim
"BY Prometheus, I am all on fire." A
' I ( h COI) ld swear by Vulcan, a soldier
a prude by'Dtoi, thus every one
have an applicable oath.
I think as it was formerly the way to
swear by deceased heroes, such as Achilles,
Hedor, and so on, that we should adopt the
fame, and thus immortalize the names of
Montgomery, Warren, Washington, &c.
' There are fevefal expressions that seem to
meto include both swearing and cursing,
winch must not pass our notice. We may
hear greybeards very often fay, Gadfofy ! this
is certainly a corruption of Gods, O^ee! E
gad and ecod is an evasive Way of swearing
NUMBER 40. —VOL. I.]
" WHEN YOU SHALL THE,^ DEEDS RELATE, SPEAK OF THEM AS THEY ARE ; NOTHING EXTENUATE NOR SET DOWN OUGHT IN MALICE."
Cbe ^errp HnDteto,
PORTSMOUTH, (NEW-HAMPSHIRE) PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GEORGE JERRY OSBORNE, juh. MULBERRY LANE, NEXT DOOR TO ROUSSELET^MUSEUM.
The Republican Ledger.
by our Maker.— Odjheart ! Odflife ! &c. are
in my opinion, only exclamations, fignifying
Oh heart ! Oh life! &c. A flower girl
rtiay therefore very properly fay Ods dazy !
Exclamations are a very great proof of sim
plicity, and therefore very innocent. What
can be more rustic than Oh gemini ! There
can be no harm in any thing tharhas no
meaning. Hoydens, we read, very often
swear by Goles, after one M'Goles, who
was a blacksmith and clergyman at Gretna
Green. Several of our old oaths are exceed
ingly applicable and worthy of commenda
tion.—What can be more ex preffive when a
man is very hot with passion than fire and
faggots ? Nothing, I am sure, can speak his
beat and warmth more !
N TUESDAY, MAY 6.
An ad to enlarge the powers of the Sur
veyors of the Revenue, an a& for compen
sating Public Ministers, an a& making ap
propriations for holding treaties with the
Indians, were severally passed.
French Intercourse.
Mr. Parker called up his resolution on
the fubjed. Mr. Macon proposed to in
ftrua the committee to confi^er of the repeal
of the non-intercourse bill altogether, or the
amending of it.
Let your conscientious persons fay what
ihey will, our language would be very lame
indeed, only for the word damn'd. There is
no epithet in the Englilh tongue that has a
greater variety of applications, or more force,
She is a damn'd fine girl ! conveys to our un
derstanding beauty beyond all description.
Damn'd bat, damn'd cold, t^c. are more forci
ble than exceedingly hot, immensely cold ; in
short, this fafhionable word is beyond even
the superlative dgree ; for, if one buck cries,
“ My girl is the loveliest girl on earth!" a
nother will exclaim, " Don't compare your's
for mine is datan'd lovely !"--—and thus, as
it exceeds the superlative degree; there is
greater propriety in faying damn'd good, than
the befl.
We should always, in discourse, endeavor
to make use of such oaths as may strike the
auditor with a just sense of what we are
talking ; and where is the fin in such swear
ing ? For my part I can fee none ; but on
the contrary, think it adds force to the ex
pression, and gentility to the orator. It
would be both needless and presumptuous in
me to offer examples of this kind, when a
more eloquent and learned man has already,
in a comedy, called the Rivals, by his char
acter Acre,, fully set it forth, no doubt, for
the imitation and practice of all the faffiion
able and genteel.
Congress of tbe United States.
HOUSE—FRIDAY, MAY 2.
THE bill prescribing the mode of count
ing the votes for President & Vice-President
of the U. States passed amended. Yeas 57,
Nays 37. e I
A resolution for making additional allow
ance to the State, Navy, &c. Clerks, was ne
gatived, 36 to 32.
Revenue Officers.
A supplementary aft refpeding the com
pensation of officers employed in the collec
tion of duties, was taken up and amended.
The salaries of the collectors of Boston, Bal-,
timore, Philadelphia and Charleston, were
reduced ; and the further consideration of
the bill postponed until to-morrow.
Several local and private reports and peti
tions were acted on.
MONDAY, MAY $.
Intercourse with France.
Mr. Parker, observed that a favourable
change had occurred in the conduct of
France ;, that he wi(hed provision to be
made for our citizens, carried into France,
whose vessels have not been condemned, and
who, aCling without information, having
returned to this country with cargoes, where
now by law, vessels and cargoes, so circum
stanced, are liable to condemnation. One
such vessel has just arrived at Norfolk. He
proposed a resolution directing the Commit
tee of Commerce to enquire whether any
and if any what amendments are necessary
to the law suspending the intercourse with
France. Mr. Nicholas was in favor of the
repeal of the law ; but not of its partial sus
pension. The resolution was laid on the
table.
A bill allowing slaves to be introduced to
the Mississippi Territory was read.
A bill for the further relief of imprisoned
debtors, was reported.
TUESDAY, MAY 27, 1800.
The resolution for laying a tax on draw
backs was negatived : That for laying an
additional duty of one half cent per. Ib. on
brown sugar, (coffee being excluded) was
carried ; as was that for retaining two and
an half per cent, on drawbacks, in addi
tion to what has been hitherto retained ; and
also on the whole of the additional duty on
goods imported in foreign vessels. Bjlls
were ordered conformably to the resolution
passed.
• FRIDAY, MAY 9.
A bill for eroding a Mausoleum for Gen.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, was ie
ported. The base of the tomb is fixed at
ioq feet ; 70,000 dollars were appropriat
ed.
The Senate notified that they had passed
a bill appointing the time and place for the
next meeting of Congress. In the House
the Bill was read twice. Nov. 3, next, is
the time fixed by this bill for the next meet
ing of Congress.
From the Constitutional Telegraphy.
MR. PARKER,
MR. Pitt may be compared to a wick
ed Magician who smiles at the storm he has
railed. ^From his clofit he dire&s the tem
pcß and enjoys the pleasure of destroying.
Mr. P. agreed to this alteration.
Mr. Nicholas moved to amend the reso
lution by striking ont the words in italic.
A long debate took place on the motion,
in which it was frequently observed, that the
change of conduct on the part of the French
government, which was tranifeft, ought to
produce an equal change on our part, but
that we should not touch one system of de
fence, without connecting with it another ;
that the power for ceasing of hostilities,
which was lodged with the executive, would
no doubt be justly exercised, and whenever
circumstances would warrant the measure,
which no doubt would be taken upon the re
ceipt of the firft dispatches from our Min
isters at Paris.
The motion to strike out was negatived.
Mr. Gallatin then opposed the resolution
on the ground that it would be highly im.
proper to take any measure at the present
time which would change our defenfive sys
tem. He had no wish even to fee the bill
amended, persons who may or have fuffered
could obtain relief by petitioning Congress,
who no doubt would grant it wherever there
was no fraud or collusion.
Revenue.
It was resolved to be expedient to lay an
additional duty of 20 per cent, on the amount
of the present duty on wines. It was re
solved to be expedient to liy an additional
duty of 2 1-2 pr. centum ad valorem, on
such goods, &c. as now pay 10 per cent.
Mr. Harper said, that by the terms of en
liftmens of the additional army, they were
engaged to serve for three years, or until an
amicable adjustment of the differences exist
ing between the United States and France ;
from which circumstance, the President was
precluded, even if he knew the prelimina
ries of peace to be adjured, from disbanding
it until a treaty should be a&ually conclud
ed and ratified by the two governments ;
whereby the troops would be kept perhaps
fix months in service unnecessarily ; the na
vy and other parts of our defenfive system,
were upon a different footing ; he wished
the army to be placed on a similar one, and
therefore moved the following resolution :
Resolved, That it is expedient to author
ife the President to discharge the additional
army thereof, as soon as the state of things
between the United States and the French
Republic will warrant the measure.
Bills were brought in pursuant to the re
solutions passed yesterday and the day be
fore, read three times and passed.
H'ajhington.
The Committee on the fubje& reported
in favor of eroding in the new city, an E
questrian Statue of Gen. Washington ; but
the House, after some debate, decided in fa
vor of a Mausoleum, instead of a Statue.
The President was authorifed' to give direc
tions.
The resolution was agreed to and referred
to the committee of the whole house to
whom was committed the bill from the sen
ate to suspend part of the aft intituled " An
ad to augment the army of the U. States."
Revenue.
Revenue.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7.
THURSDAY, MAY &
[I DOL. 50 CTS. PER ANNUM.
His charms are very potent ; and he will
perform prodigies, seemingly unaccounta
ble ; with the help of certain yellow medals
commonly known under the denomination
of guineas, the efficacy of which far surpas
ses Dr. Perkins' metallic points. Those
talismans lose not their power by eroding
the Atlantic and seem even to increase in
virtue. Some of them cunningly dropped
in the pocket of a lawgiver will seal or open
his mouth and give a new turn to his politi
cal ideas. The holy minister cannot resist
their influence ; they will enflame his blood
to a high degree and make him substitute a
nathemas and curses to the mild admonitions
of the chriftian law. They work powerful
ly upon the Editors of certain News-papers
and force them to bring forth periodically
Ihapeiefs mongers, the abortive conceptions
of heated and prolific brains.
The violent agitation and calumnious rav
ings of the Britith party at the present mo
ment, however no unfavourable symptoms
of its verging faft down to a'Rate of impo
tence and dissolution. They, in the words
of Shakfpeare do buffet the torrent and try to
fem it with hearts of controversy ; but they
will soon fink into obfeurity and vanish for
ever from the fight of men. In the times
of Grecian and Roman heroism, there exist
ed, no doubt, men nearly as contemptible
as the mercenary tribe of Federal scribblers,
whose delight was to afperfe the characters
of JefFerfon and Samuel Adam, of the age.
Their names however sleep in the bosom of
oblivion, whilst those of the calumniated He
roes defy the power of time and store the
brightest monuments of human virtue and
perfe&ion. Go on therefore, vith your
works of calumny and falfehood ye sons of
Aristocracy ! Make haste ; for the iron
tongue of time is going to proclaim your nul
lity ; and not a minute is to be loft if you
with to drain your bosoms from the poison
ous substance by which they are corroded.
The British faaion becomes more outra
geously clamourous in proportion as its ne
farious schemes are unveiled by the Citizens
of America. The result of the New-York
election has given them a degree of viru
lence -which must be highly pleating to the
friends of liberty : the Anti-Republicans fee
plainly that though truth may be for a time
obfeured by the clouds of sophistry, it will
soon flrime again with increasing brightness.
The Repuclican Jefferson has his daily
(hare of their enviable abuse. They begin
however to despair of hurting his character
in the public opinion, and would even wil
lingly cease their harmless attacks against
him, but that they must earn the money they
receive from Profpero Pitt. They muftpe
riodjcally furnifh a certain quantity of ca
lumnies according to the direction of his in
fernal Agents, and as lying is the only talent
they can boast of, we fee that they are never
at a loss for regular fopplies.
He was very constantly accused with be
ing sometimes an Atheist and sometimes a
Deist ; his Enemies were reduced to those
paltry fhifts because they Could not find a
tingle ad in his life that did not bear the
Ramp of virtue and patriotism. Conscious
of his innocence, strong in his integrity
Jefferson disdained to notice his calumni
ators ; he smiled at their impotent rage and
left it to time and the good sense of the peo
ple to difeover the base motives and dark
manoeuvres which were intended to blast his
political character ; but have cflablifhed it
beyond the power of fools and Villians to
injure.
" The mouth of the wicked and the
mouth of the deceitful are opened against
me ; they have spoken against me with a
lying tongue."—Thefe words from the 119
psalm, Mr. Jefferson could with pro^
priety address to his calumniators if he tho't
worth his while to address them at all.—
The best answer we think will be the next
election for the presidential chair. ,Mr.
Jefferson is the man who framed the dec
laration of Independence, that chef-d'auvre
of composition and spirit which wasthe firft
severe blow felt by the British Tyrant. He
has no political prejudices in favour of mo
narchical principles ; he is untainted with
partiality for ftandipg armies, the bane of
free nations ; Hypocrisy forms no part of
his public character and he despises flatte
ries of courtier like tycophants ; in short
he is the firm Republican who, according to
the energettic expreflion of Tully will work
for the public weal, virily pro parte, with
mafeuline strength.
MANLIUS.