The Eagle, or, Dartmouth centinel — Hanover, N.H., 1797-09-04 00:00:00, page 1

IINTEREST! NG DOCUMENTS:
I. 'C^%ftihde„ce bet%vee„,ames Mu
I r ftofy Plcliering, Secretary of State.
_, (Continued from car loft.)
Ia F,rtMr. Munros to tlx Secretoy ofState.
. 1 Philadelphia, 'fed, 30, 1^97.
■ ' SI ^
THAVE, received, and attended to
■ - X your official, letter of the 2+'h^ and;
ygur.private one of the 25th inftahr,
.and (foil now reply.to ,both? :
iPermit me to premise, that in any,dif
[ cuffion which fas, or may take place
between us, I, have not, nor fell I con
fider you in any other than' yen r official
chara&r, having yet to learn what your
preventions are to confidence as an in
dividual citizen, or the weight which
your opinion ought to have, as such es
pecially in the present case,
I think proper now id bbferve that
when I called upon you for an explana
i tion ofthe motives of the adminift ration
in making this attack upon me, it was
not with a view to derive any informa
t tion for myfelf. I have been too long
'and too well acquainted with the poli
tical conduct; principles and views of
0 the adminiftrarion,not to know what its
motives were in that refpea, without
L any aid from you. Indeed, knowing
what my own conduct was apd what
I your views are, of which a ferics of fads
L and circumstances leaves no doubt on
roy mipd,l had no expedation of ob
% taihing from you, any thing like a can
did answer. On the contrary, I expe&
, ed an evasive one, dealing in hints and
innuendoes, thrown out to divert the
mind from the true object of enquiry.
Nor have I been disappointed ,in my
expectation ; for I am persuaded that no
impartial person can read your several
letters upon this fubjed without enter
\ mining the fame opinion of them.„
/lexpelled even adifguife of the real
motives, and by every ^poffible artifice
which interest or ingenuity could sug
gest, because I knew the real motives
/could not be avowed 1 : and such I am
persuaded, will be the opinion of every
impartial person, who after reading
your letters, traces the true motives, by
a corre&inalyfis of those faffs and cir
cumftanccs to which I alude.
IVI called upon you in that spirit of
t candour which! have always observed
,towards the adminiftration' and others,
and to give you 1 an opportunity to jufti
fy your condud by your own argu
ments, and merely place it in the light
you wished ji to stand. But this you
have refofed to do and for reasons the
most extraordinary. In calling upon
ybu then, I have afted confidently with
my own principles ; and in refufing to
comply you have taken a ground for
-which the administration is responsible.
I forbear to difeufs again, the soli
dity of that principle whith foppofes
every public officer of the U. States
(the judges excepted) a menial servant
to the President : a principled which, if
established, baniflies from the bosom of
^very such officer'all regard for his
country ; every noble and patriotic
• sentiment ; and makes him dependant,
;not upon the integrity and propriety of
, . his own conduct, but upon the personal
favour of bis fopefiOr. If such were
the case, what confidence could the peo
ple of America repose in any public
funaionary, since after he gets into of
fice, whatever may have been his cha
rader before;, he finks into a machine,
and ceases to be a watchful centinel over
I the public • rights and interests ?If
I such were the case, the principlesand
practice of our own government are de
parted from & the most slavish dodrines
and the most flaviffi government are in
■ , 1 produced in their ftearl. And that such
most be the case is obvious, if the ex
ecutive can exetcife the diferetun you
■ fpcahof, in the ,leafarable manner you
M'QNDA Y,
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Volume
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——DEDICATED TO FCL/T/Q ANp ^K&fl^^ E^S-^£TTR£&-=
Quid verum, It Qua dmcbns, ^vno.—lmpartial Truttiand Ufcfulnefs we Stud).
contend for, and without accounting
for any of its afts, or the motives of
them in any case, to the party injured,
the public, or any person whatsoever.
This dp^rine merits the attention of
the people of America, because it is a
pernicious one. They have provided
Ip the Conftitutibn, they have adopt
ed a suitable mode for the appointment
of public officers, and which foppofes a
due regard to be paid to the characters
of those who are appointed ?nd'with a
view that they may be faithfully fetved.
They pay to their public officers, Fre
fident and all, liberally, and ought to
be faithfully feryed. They have like
wise provided for and wish a superior
ove.r the inferior; but I trust it is their
intention that the merits and character
of the latterlhould be estimated by the
Randardof his integrity and public ser
vices, and not by the whim, caprice, or
& any less worthy" motive pf those above
him.
Nor (hall I difeufs the solidity of the
principle, pr ,he policy of the practice
you have adopted, opening a door in
your office for the reception .of spies
and informers, to whose communica
tions it appears implicit faith is given,
althq their names, their charafters and
even their purport of the denunciations |
be withheld. This praflice 4s of great
antiquity, and is now in use in the des
potic governments of' Europe, but I
hope never to fee it transplanted to this
fide thb Atlantic, especially in the de
gree to which you-extend it. Idifmifs
these topics from view because they are
only incidental to the main ohje& of
enquiry, and involve principles, in
which I am not interested, other wife
than in common with every other A
merican citizen. 1 have noticed them'
however, that their tendency may be
correfily upderftood.',
But I think proper to make a few
comments upbn the hints and innu-p-,
does contained, in your letter of the
.24th, and with a view to place them @nd
your conduct in making them in their"
.true light. A .
You suggest many cases, which pro
vided they exist, you fay, would juftify
the executive in the removal and cen
sure of a public minister, or other offi
cer, such for example, as a " defied
of judgment, (kill, or diligence; the
wantofconfidence in him by the admin
istration ; his holding improper cor
respondence with men known to be
hostile to the government he represents
and whose actions tend to its subversion ;
his countenancing and inviting from a
mistaken view of the interests of his
own country, a condu& in another, de
rogatory from and injurious to those
interests, &c." The exiflenee of any
of these cases you fay would juftify the
removal of an, public minister. \
It is not my intention to contest with
you abftra& principles, because I will
.readily admit that if a public officer be
incompetent to the duties of his office,
whether it proceed from want of judg
ment, (kill or diligence ; if he be the
tool or partisan ot another country, a
gainst the honor and interefl of his own;
or be officiated with foreigners of any
description whatever, or with the agents
or creatures of foreign powers, in pro
moting anyplan of conspiracy against,
inferredion in, or °dforganization of his
own country, that in any and everv
such case such officer,whether he be em
ployed at home or abroad, ought to be
di(miffed and disgraced, or rather fe
verely punished ; for disgrace upon
those who are capable of committing
such enormities, is no punishment ar
all. But do you mean to apply any <$
these imputations to me ? If so, wh>
not avow it, and present your proof?
Would itnot be more manly so to do,
than to d;al in innuendo and insinua
tion, which, without making you res
ponsible for any charge, are, perhaps,
intended to be understood as such ?
Ordp you hope that we ihall take these
innuendoes for fads, without your de
claring them to be so, or producing any
teftimonyto support them ? This might
herbaps, promote your views in the
present case, but would certainly not
promote the cause of truth.
With refped to the clamour which
is so incessantly railed (and of which
you seem disposed to avail yourfelf in
the present instance) of danger to the
government, from the exercise of free
dom of opinion, in debate and writing,
or of your insinuation that I had im
proper correspondence with any such
perfons,it is one winch knerits no reply.
1 have no correspondent in whom. I re
pose. confidence, who has not given atl
least as ttrong proof of his attachment
to good government and good order,
and who is not as much interefed (per
haps much more so) in the preservation
of those blessings as yourfelf, or any of
thpfe, who make the loudest clamour on
that fubjed. Nor have I had a com-
I munication with any perlon or per
foas whilff employed abroad, or at any
other time, of a public nature, but with
a view to preserve the government and
the union entire ; always forking to
counteract the difaniting, disorganizing
projrtls of those who fecretlj wish to
subvert them. Do you kno^ of any
correspondence of mine exhibiting an
opposite character ? or having an oppo
fire tendency ? If you do, produce it
and then we will difcofs this point fur
ther, But till then I shall, confider
this inundo like the others, as being
thrown out only to obfeure the subj et
"and divert the mind from the true ob
jed of enquiry. , ~
.And upon the point of confidence be
tween the administration and myfelf,
with refpe& to the period of its com,
mencement and termination on both
tides (if indeed it ever exited on theirs
in the view in which! had reason to
believe it did) with the cause which
created and destroyed it, I shall fay but
little at present, because it is a very
important one, and requires to be more
fully illustrated than the nature of this
communication will admit of. This
point involves init the whole policy of
the administration in my mission. and
recall, and will, I think when fully un
derstood, tend essentially to illustrate
the conduct, principles and.views of
the administration, during this great
and interesting crisis of human affairs. I
think proper, however to observe here
that whatever may be the opinion of
the world, as to the merits of the ad
miniftratjon in these refpeds, or of its
conduit towards me through the whole
of my.ntffioo, I can lew in the most
f^tisfaebry manner that my political
charaaer and principles, whilst a mem
ber of the American Senate, and whilst
minister plenipotentiary of the United
States with the French Republic, were
always the fame, and that in both Ra
tions and through every viciffiarde of
our affairs, ^t was the constant and la,
boriout ffirt of my life, to preferyc;
peace, harmony, and perfetl amity be
tween the two Republics. lean (hew
too, that thofirefforts had produced and
were fill producing a good eff^'t, of
^hich the • administration had full
knowledge at rhe very moment when it
chdeavoofcd,o impress the public with
a belief chat I hid failed to do n:y du
-4fc The adminiftration'may, perhaps
find it hereafter expedint to explain,
why I was invited to accept that mis
sion, and confided in at that time, and
w 'y that confidence was withdrawn
afterwards.^ Were my political charac
ter and principles left known in the
former stage than in the latter ? I pre
sume not, for at that time- when I was
invited to accept this mission to the
French Republie, I was a member of
the Senate of the United States, and
hadladed with such decision upon all
topics which came before that body, as
to leave no doubt with any one what
my political principles were. ^ Was
there any particular objeft in view das
pending any where at the former peri=
od, and which my appointment to the
French Republic might then promote ?.-
And did th® accomplishment of that
object produce a change in the polity
of the administration towards that re-'
public, and of what nature was that-,
objeft ? I suggest these ideas incident
tally only, and without meaning to go
fully into them.
So much have I thought proper to.
fay in reply to the hints and innuendoes
contained in your letter .of the 24^,
and which I presume will fully explain,
l your motives in making them. I will
now proceed to another point of more
importance in the present enquiry.
The change in the political fituatiou
of the United States, is too obvious
and inrereflingnot to atrrad the atten-, /
tion and excite the feqfibility of even
those who are the lead observant. A
few years past, the name of America
wasa venerable name in the catalogue
of nations. It commanded the refpeft
and drew thefy apathetic attention of
all powers and of all men. Her com
merce and hey agriculture flouriflied
hand in hand and her people were hap
py. Beloved by her ancient friends,
apd dreaded by her ancient foes, there
was no cloud in the political horizon
to darken her profpetl& A coalition
of tyrants, it is true, whose avowed ob-,
jedit was to extripate liberty from off
the face of the glQle, excited uneafi
nef# for a while.; soon however the
strong and potent arm of republican
ism crushed its efforts, and averted the.
ftor m. But what a reverse has now
taken place and wher: will the catastro
phe end ? Our national character has
not only alreadly greatly declined, and
our commerce and agriculture great,
ly fuffcred, but we are upon the point
of being involved in a war with our
ancient and deferring ally, now be
come a Republic after our example, and
on the fide of the remarks of that coali
tion, which was lately armed against the
liberties of the world. Strange and al
most incredible event indeed I By what
means has this change been produced ?
Much has been said and done by the
administration not simply to exculpate
ritfelf from all blame in that refped, but
to criminate others, and when called
upon to state and substantiate its char
ges what has been therefult ? Let your
letters show.
It is now time to close this fubjeft
and to bring into view an important
question, which must be decided on ; <
Has the administration performed its
duty to its country in these great con
cerns, and acquitted itfelf to tfie pub
lic as it ought to have done ? In my
judgment it has pot. Might we not
have avoided this crisis by other and
obvious measures, more confident with
our national honor and interest and with
out expofiog oUrfelves to any real;
danger whatever ? In my judgment we
might. In this latter view then the fub
jed acquires new importance and is
entitled to more particular attention.%
You will readily perceive that our', '
fellowcitiz;nsingeneral are deeplyify
cerefted in the several points in difen-
Gon between u, ; to whom it likewise
belongs "to estimate yours and my own.
Condud; and I now think proper to
inform you, that it is my intention to
SEPTEMBER 4 , 1797.
Number
VII.