Republican gazette — Concord, N.H., 1801-12-03 00:00:00, page 1

AMERICAN POLITICS.
The VOICE of AGE & Experience.
[CT Fellow Citizens, will you hear and attend
to the voice cf Inftruaion, from a venerable
Old Pa riot !—Though the <warm imagina
tions of feme vain-boaftiog.politicians, of
C9tkAJe memory, have cuttingl, infinoated,
that Judge Pendleton Is in his fecohd
ebitagt ; yet, we conceive the soundness of
his Political Axioms, indicate a stranger
mind, (if not a better heart) than fag of his
oppofers possess— But we submit the decifron
to the better judges. — Read—Read, j
' -=3^=-—'
fyfr The Danger not over.
From the Virginia Examiner.
ALTHOUGH one of my age, (8o,)
can have little to hope, and Jess to fear,
from forms of government, as rather
belonging to the next world than the
present; and possibly may be charged
with intermeddling where he has no
interest, whenever he utters opinions
concerning social regulations; yet I
feel impelled by an anxious desire to
promote the happiness of my country,
to submit to the public consideration,
some reflexions on our present polity
ical Rate. It is far from my intention
to damp the public joy, occasioned by
the late changes of our public agents,
or to disturb the calm which already
presages the most beneficial conse
quences; on the contrary, honfider
this event as having arrested a train of
measures, which were gradually con#
du&ing us towards ruin—These chan
ges will be matter of tenfold congrats
ulation, if we make the proper use of
them ; —lf, instead of negligently re
pofingupon that wisdom and integrity,
which have already foftened even po
litical malice, we seize an opportunity
to ereft new barriers against folly,
fraud and ambition ; and to explain
such parts of the Constitution, as have
been already, or may be, interpreted
contrary to the inten ion of those who
adopted it.
This proposition does not argue a
want of proper confidence in our pre
sent chief magistrate, but the contrary.
It can be no censure to believe that he
has a nobler destiny to fulfil, than that
of making his contemporary country
men happy for a few years ; and that
the rare event of such a character at
the head of a nation, imposes on US
the sacred duty of seizing the propi
tious opportunity, to do all in our
power to perpetuate that happiness ; as
to that species of confidence which
wquld.extinguifh free enquiry & pop
ular watchfulnefs, it is never desired
by patriotism, nor ought to be yielded
by Freemen.
In pursuit of our purpose, we ought
to keep in mind certain principles
which are believed to be found; to
enquire whether they have been vio#
lated under the constitution? and then
confider how a repetition of those vi=
olations may be prevented—As thus,
1. Government is instituted for the
good of the community, and not to
gratify avarice or ambition ;—there-
No. 44-]
REPUBLICAN GAZETTE.
LIBERTY AND THE CONSTITUTION.
Published by E. RUSSELL, CONCORD, [n. h.] December 3, 1801.
fore, unneceflary increase of deb% ap
pointment of ufelefS offices, such as
stationary ministers to foreign courts,
with which we have little connexion,
and Sixteen additional judges at a time
when the buftnefs of the Federal courts
had greatly diminished—and engaging
us in a war abroad, for the fake of ad
vancing party projeXs at home—are
abuses in government.
2. The chief good derivable from
government, is Civil Libert,• and if
government is so conftruXed, as to en
able its administration to assail that
liberty with the several weapons here
tofore most fatal to it, the ftruXure is
defeXive ; —of this fort, standing ar
mies, fleets, severe penal laws, war,
and a multitude of civil officers, are
universally admitted to be ; and if our
government can, with ease and impu
nity, array those forces againftfociaj
liberty, the constitution is defeXive.
3, Peace is undoubtedly that date
which proposes to society the belt
chance for the continuance of freedom
and happiness ; and the situation of
America is such, as to expose her to
fewer occasions for war, than any oth
er nation ; —whilft it also disables her
-from gaining any thing by war. But
if, by indire6 tmeans, the executive can
involve us in war, not declared by the
legislative; if a treaty may be made
which will incidentally produce a war,
arid the legislature are bound to pass
all laws necessary to give it full effeX;
or if the judiciary may determine a
war to exist, although the legislature
hath refufed to declare it ; then the
constitution is defeXive, since it ad#
mits conftruXions which pawn our
. freedom and happiness upon the secu
rity of executive patriotism, which is
inconsistent with republican principles.
4. Union is certainly the basis of
our political prosperity, and this can
only be preserved by confining with
precision, the Federal government to
the exercise of powers clearly required
by the general interest, or refpeXing
foreign nations, and the State govern
ments to objeXs of a local nature; be
cause the states exhibit such varieties
of charaXers and interests, that a con
solidated general government would
be in a perpetual confliX with state in
terests, from its want of local knowl
edge, or from a prevalence of local
prejudice or interest, so as certainly to
produce civil war and disunion. If,
then, the diftinX provinces of the gen-,
eral ind state governments are not
clearly defined—if the former may ab
fail the latter by penalties, and by ab
forbing all fubjeXs of taxation—ls a
system leading to consolidation, may
be formed or pursued —and if, instead
of leaving it to the refpeXive states to
encourage their agriculture or manu#
fa&ures, as their local interest may dic
tate, the general government may by
bounties or proteXing duties, tax the
one to promote the other; then the
constitution has not fufficiently pro
vided for the continuance of the u4£
6. An essential principle of repre
sentative government is, that it be in
fluenced by the will of the people ;
which will tan never be expressed, if
their representatives are corrupted, or
influenced by hopes of office. If this
hope may multiply offices and extend
patronage —If the President may nom
inate to valuable offices, members of
the legislature, who shall please him,
and displease the people, by increasing
his power and patronage —If he may
be tempted to use this power and pat
ronage for securing his re-eleXion—
and if he may even bestow lucrative
diplomacies upon judges, whilst they
are receiving liberal salaries, paid as
the price of their independence and
purity ; then a risk exists, left the le
gislature should legislate, the judges
decide, and the senator concur in no#
minations, with an eye to those offices
—and left the President may appoint
with a view to his re#eleXion ; and thus
may at length appear the phenome
non, of a government, republican in
form, without possessing a single chaste
organ for expressing the public will.
Many of these observations were
forefeen, when the constitution was rat
ified, by those who voted for its adop#
fe,tion ; but waved then, because of the
vast importance of the union, which a
rejeXion might have placed in hazard
—Of the provision made for amend
ments, as trial should discover defeXs,
A arid the hope that in the mean time,
the instrument with all its defeXs might
produce social happiness, if a proper
tone was given to the government, by
the several agents in its operation :—
But since experience has evinced, that
much mifehief may be done under an
unwise administration ; and that even
the most valuable parts of the consti
tution, may be evaded or violated, we
ought no longer to rest our security up
on the vain hope which depends on
the reXitude of fallible men in succes
sive administrations :. But now that the
union is firmly established by-the gen
eral opinion of the citizens, as we can
ever hope to be, it behoves us to bring
forward amendments, which may fix
.it upon principles capable of restrain
ing human frailties.
Having, I trust, shewn the utility &
necessity of such efforts at this time, I
will venture to submit to the conside
ration of my fellow citizens, with great
humility and deference, whether it
ion, by securing the rights of the state
governments and local interests.
5. It is necessary for the preserva
tion of republican government, that the
legislative, executive, and judiciary
powers fbould be kept separate and
diftinX Jrom each other, so that no
man, or body of men, shall be author
ifed to exercise more than one of them
at the fame time ; —The constitution,
therefore, in consigning to the federal
senate, a participation in the powers of
each department, violates this import
ant principle, and tends to create in
that body, a dangerous aristocracy.—
And—
[Vol. I.