The Patowmac guardian, and Berkeley advertiser — Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.], 1797-03-23 00:00:00, page 2

npot rhe JoornTs ; but tT.ey Fare been careful*
? • conc-aied tor tear, no doubt, they wiil tf-ll
more tales upon the worthy member. The ob
j j of the Petitioners, from the Counties of Har
dy. H>mplhire and Shenandoah, was to he quieted
*in the polscffi.,n of lands which were neither cef j
rupied or appropriated Uy any oerfon. But you
.gentlemen, like land4hawks, fixed your warrants
upon landc which had bee*; appropriated by Fiirfax
and tuber:, and becaul'e you could not reclaim
them, you w.ihed to be made whole out of the
po'-kets of induf.rioos men. who had nothing to do
with y fcbetr.rs of making fortunes by *-nd i >b
bing. You talk of a compromife—what has that
to do wiTh rh; m;--its ot ysur petition ? A compro
r ;,e \v.-.« the obi-ct of iiioie petitions, therefore
i, • I've- 4' dfd ; nut the o! Uct otjeurt was chIf rent,
v.. .> fur rtir-hrrf'mtni, &c. &.£. lheretore it was re.
--Von lay, that it ic nothing more
ihin rig'.'- tliat the Coirmonwedlth, having ie
c.-iv dh if h million of dollars, in confrquence ot
thr: i .0 -office for •.he Northern Neck, being opened \
tii ,t i; ' .id lupp.o t your rights to the laud. You 1
o • iik ot North: rn Ne< U land warrants; this is !
ii fi.-ft tit!-" ! »*ver heard that there was a land of.
f; t r the Northern NeTt, or that there weiefuch
warr.n 's as Northern Neck warrants. I always
■t■ < .t«■\• ' *! rl-•r- there was hut one !*nd office, and
ti, :t w r,« tor rlie whole State, and that warrants il
h d i'mi i-nds in any part of the St3te: that if you
could not hud vacuu lands in the Nortnern Neck,
0 u>i*»ht Jay ynvr w arrants on lands in any other
p«rr of the State. The Land-Office r/ai tnitiruted
fi.,- thr pnrpofe of granting vacant lands, ancl the
revenue ariflng fiowt it w:» an incidental thing, and
a great part < f the money which it produced, was
aj propriated to the lupport of the land office it
' fell. Tin Krg'.Uer formerly had an uncommon
large falary .• there is a coftly building nude ufe of
fi.r the p.jrp ; and many n*hrr expeners attend
ing it. It could not therefore be fuppofed, that
every perfon who failed in finding vacant land,
fl;,>uid bs at liberty to return ti is warrant and get
his money hick again. It is rfot like the cafe of
one individual felling land to another, where the
perfon I dling lv»s no right to the land fold ; in the
latter cafe the land itfelt is fold locally and Ipecifi
cally, and an adequate price given for it ; but in the
forme** csff.'io land is fold, but a warrant to t*.ke
up * • ant land wherever you C3n find ir, and if vou
c.o fi...! nr. laud vacant, vour warrant is like a lot- i
f ry ticket which bus drawn a blank ; you cannot !
return it and get your money again. It is a novel 1
idea, that of returning land wart'snrs to the office j
from whence they ifeued ,* of what ule would they j
h" :h.-ro I ihry wruld by nrr? (dank?8._Equally no. ■
vel is the idea of receiving hack certificates that had 1
been paid into the treaiury lor thefe warrants.
rl hr. object of receiving certificates for warrants,
•wits to link the public debt, and v.hen they/ were
received., they became cancelled and deftroyed.
Vi'hat th-n do you mean, wffien you tell us that you
d* l not wifh to receive gold and fil\°r back again, ;
l>n your certificates, with 6 per * t. intereft —
Thele are my iclos of jtsftice, nor d.» l think them
fo extremely defective. 1 ant fure they are not
ju-rverted or corrupted by/ an unlatiable luft Inr
gain, as your hoi**>rs are.
You lie err. to think, gentlemen, that no oerfon
h as a l ight to fpr; k the minds and fentiments of the
People except a representative.— What is to he done
when the reprefentative (peaks and acts directly
contrary to t lie rr.indsand fentiments of the People ?
You are not for a new (paper war, I think you lay ,•
perhaps you are for a war of a more bloody nature,
therefore you are tor Hying bold of my perfen ; but
I node take care to keep my ft-If concealed, for 1 do
r.ot know how I could face three loch doughtv old
heroes as you are in the day of battle; but joking
apart ; if you will give me a releafe from all kinds
of fighting, biteing, and gouging, a general war
rantee a g** in ft all kinds of bullies, blackguards, &c.
and promil’e that you will carry your relent merit
mo farther than a little ink Ihed, 1 will come bold
ay forward, in my proper perfon—other-wife 1 mult
it211 lerten uiyfelf behind THE PEOPLE.
I-ii.lS.HA bo YD,
you have pleated to fay, that “ The experience
-*■ of feveral years palt, mult have fatbfied the
Public, that before elections for Reprelentalives ei
ther to the Congrefa ot the United States, or for
the Slice Lrg'Eature, the Candidates for either nuift
expect aliul'e.” I know not how it has been hither
in, but 1 am lure no perfon had a better right to
expect above than you had,- you who had abttfed
the People, and betrayed the truft committed to
you by them ; you who had treated them with con
tempt, and trampled upon one of their molt valua
ble rights, I mean the right of Reprefentation ;
your i’hree faithful friends before you, and you af
ter them, feem to claim an exemption from cenfurc
end public anintadverfion for offences committed
againfc the public, hecattfe you have been called a
Kept efentative. What! Ihall the perfon of a trea
cherous Representative be held iacred, nay , Ihall his
very crimes and abul'es of the People behtid facred ?
What a tnonltrous doctrine! a doctrine preached
Up oniy by men who have long ago turned their
racks upon all honefty and honeft men. You and
your three friends have alfo prefumed to malign
the Pi-is, that watchfn) guardian of the rights and
liberties of the People, their faithful informer of
wrongs and abttfes offered ro them by defigning in
iei cited men and faithlefs fervants : Had it not
have been fee the Prefs, how would this lhatneiefs
.-'■mluct ot yottr’s been known to the Prople, who
were deeply intereited to know it f Nut from one
f-t of Journals, carefully concealed from public
y ew, nor ftoai private couverfgticti in faoall cir- '
ch«, b it ibrough the mediutn cf rhe nrwfoapefs
wb? cli y our worthy friends leem To much to despite.
It ]' ?. terrible thing to before that the minds of
the People ihoold he poifoned with the truth, that
they Ihoold have- the:r eyes ottered upon their be
trayer., ! Your three faithful adhereuts, have fa id,
tint thefe truths were told for electioneering pur
poles i they are very civil indeed to riifcover luch
an important fact to the People, but why were they
(o nu:♦ !i more folicittjus to dilcover the motives for
telling the truth, t ban for telling the truth it felt—
you know very well, therefore 1 )ha 11 not trouble
you more upon that head. The People have dii
cernment enough to diltfoguHh between ill founded
f.ibric ons, calculated to anfvver particular purpo
ses, and well founded facts which they ought: to
know; your own experience will farislyyou of this.
When you firfc offercd for the afsenibly", there was
a little ill natured, trivial- piece put in the paoers
agaimt you, which concerned rot the People • it
was treated with neglect ard contempt, and you
were elected by a reipectable majority ; but now
that yon have abufed the confidence ol the People,
ami offended againft fl.em, they hav^fotlik^nvjA*
ami will never truft^ou again.
You harVc offered to the Publican excufe for your
ill conduct, which I could wi.'h you had forborn.
I am ferry you hove brought upon me the necefsby
of difeufliog that point with you. You fay that
you left the Afscmhly in eonfequence of rhe pi-effing
folicitations of a dead friend, and a friend indifpol
ed : ro he lure the calls of the dead ere awful and
foie inn, but what could you do ? You could neither
bring the dead to life, nor remove the indifpefition
of the indifpnled. Precarious indeed mu ft be the
reprefent2tion of a people, that is to depend upon
the fever of a father, or\he death of a fitter ; but as
poor as this er.cule is, it wants a foundation in
truth : the rrue friend that brought you home, vou
have not mentioned to the public ; a friend that
you cordially embraced, and pur, not in your bofom,
bur in your pocket—I mean i yo dollars, which you
told many people you received at November Court }
but certainly you have not forgot that you told It.
veral perl'ons before you left home for the Afsembly,
that you ihuuld return to November Court ; if you
deny this it fnaf! be proved upon you j were you
not punctual to the time you appointed ? Were you
not here the nighc before the Court, and did yon
not arrend that Court throughout ? how then can
you fay tba: the death end indifpofit ion of your
friends were the caufe of your coming heme; hut
what excui’e have you for coming home the fecund
time r !)> you net remember you came home twice
during the feflion ? But how could you reconcile it to
_your feelings to m.-ke ule of luch an excuse, as you
have done; a poor filter, whom you were too oroud
to villt in her life-time—whoui you treated with
coldnef; and contempt—wbofe door you frequently
pifsed, without deigning to call, or even to bow
your head to her, butlow that Ihe is departed and
i’carcely cold in her grave, you make her the pre
text, in the public pi inrs. for your ill-behaviour
towards the people. Oh : lhame upon you ! cover
yoorfelf with Pack cloth and allies, and repent all i
the day: of your life to come, and you lhall be for- 1
I will intercede for you with the people. I hop? i
they will forgive you, though they will never truft ^
you again. I hope they will conttder that you are
a young man, and l can teltify that vou are natu
rally well difpofed, but that you have'kept bad com
pany and have wretched connfellors, who have i
brought you into all this difficulty ar.d thraldom, j
i have no doubt but that when you throw them off, ,
you will become a good citizen and valuable mem
ber of lociety. You have been guilty of ore or two
little inconfiltencies, which I mult remark to you.
When I formerly laid, that the diftance from
rvichmond to this place was nearly two hundred
mil'.'S, you very uncivilly laid it was a lie ! Now i
that you think it will anfwer your purpole, you fay :
it is nearly two hundred miles. Vou i‘3y yOU wcrV
only abfen: nine days from the Alsembly—this
nine days too long—but let me alk, will it not take
that time nearly, to travel from Richmond and back
again, in the dead of winter ? and where was the
time you were at Court, a\d other places in the
County ?
You have faid.that you will anfvver no more ano
nymous writings—in this I think you are right ;■—
and i would advile you not to anlwer them, or a
ny other kind, unlels you can do it with more ho
nor to yourlelf as a man, and credit as a writer.—
But tell me, of what ule would it be to the public
or you, that I Ihould fign my real name ? If the
truth appears, does it matter from what fource it
comes ? Your three worthy matters fay, that you
lhall go to the Alsembly again to ferve them—I fay
you lhall not, and lo fay
THE PEOPLE.
iYJR. B.
I
AN a former paper, of the 5th infr. I addrefsedyou
as a friend, and, 1 think, in a very feeling manner,
fuppoling, and indeed wilhing you to u me for
ward in fach a manner as would be a pleafure to
your friends, and an boner to yourfelf—but, in
Itead ot doing away the gloomy tnift and thedlia
greeable vapors that have taken impreffion on the
minds of the people, you add infulc to infult, and
aggravation to aggravation. You in the firft place
taKe upon you to abule the Printer, for the informa
rion derived to the people, 'through the medium cf
his fret and uninfluencedprefs. Your next attack is
on ‘‘ V he People,” and “ One of the People,** in the fol
lowing words :—“ Having teen two publications in
the late papers, figned The People, and One of the
People, which i fuppofe were imesfUd to injure
st the enfuing election," &c.—You nvght ar w.-->
have laid in plain, terms, ihat the id.have •
right to inquire tjiovour conduct. i J0 a;. ,'n
Sir, they have, and i hope and milt, Sir, iht
will i: all t-nics have that dilcerrmrr.t as to he ‘
to d iff over a true and faithful fervent, from, ore w'h
:s void of iruta, honor, end integrity.—1 clals j0u a.
mon-Ik the latter I and iilall go' on to prove my
grounds to bejult. *
You proceed to fay, with an afsitmitijr ?;r> ,1,,.
the People ha*e charged you with hetravi,’p "the
irufr committed 10 you by them. I, as one ofilie
People, alscrt,you have, talk yon, Sir, in the hr It
place, Whether >uu did not alierr, to a number of
gentlemen in Martinshurg, that you won ,I he at
ht~e at the hentnktr Cent. THIS 1 DEFY YOU
TU DENY. 1 w ill atk you. Sir, if the Aff ri.hiy
was not lining at tint time ?—1 anlwcr for e0u it
tvas. 1 a(k you again, it you ts'err not at home at'the
December Coml ?—1 anfwrr for you. von evert_-nd
was not the Aisemhly yf;7/fitting » 1 inlwtr. it wes
and engaged in very h,,p mam ft fine's. I ;,lk vuu
if yov did hot botfc t.i reecitirg from too to tto
ta^-es^t Nn*rober Court, tttftet, when job ought
I «•*■»* beer, rrorefemihg jour coni’ituents in the
I Gene-'-] Aisemhly of the State ? I anfwer again for
you fOUDID. And after acting id this improper
and unwarrantable manner, you have the tmevd,
come forward and aIsrrt, that the indiipohtion of
one, anti the tieaih of another of your reareft -eh
tions was tile a t os * caufe of your leaving the’ Af.
ftmoly ; at wit. ie nrelsing foliciiatlons, although
curing the molt inrenfeiy cold weather, in which
von fhould have rilketl you prtciatt healih, \c. s t.
{fee the pity momhg tale /' — But, tins is too’ delicate
a tin ject lilt nit to lay much upor—yer the apolo.
p.y *5 In winningly, lo abominably faile, I cannot
help making a iew oSi>.rvaiiono on it.
\mt nnift cm:w the caulc of your friend's i n d i f
poiition was unforeseen at the time vou erg’-ed lo
return : You know, Sir, ire death alluded"to was
unexpected — ! may fay, very luthier i Hn-.v then
could the truly affecting occaiion he the motive or
an iniorview the nld.ct of your 'journey, the hard
ildps of which you lo feelingly delcribe, when it is
well known you wing’d your way, even pc ft the
very door the tiny which ctinfion’d the remains to
its I aft f.re, without deigning to honor the atvfu! (o
icmnitv svith yonr prvlenc-—or one fingle (binary
tear—or fo much as a Sympathetic iigh, !
Thir. poiition, Sir, will not do. Can vou deny,
that this is intuiting the u.-derftanding of the Pei
ple, ane! bafely apologizing ior your miiconduct, not
only at the coft of troth, but every degree ol ref
pOct to conilftemy ami inarm- t I alls you now.
Sir. if you have any thing tile to kart, in i iliiftca
tion oi your taking the airing of 2on miles, in il’ac
inclement fealon of i lie year, at the rilk id vour de i
cal: health and tender conitttuiioii,' the i:,':-iatr.e of
the prefervation ul which, in behalf oi the public
in general, anti your dependent conitituems in parti
cular, iitail ever be duly appreciated by Sir,
ONE OF T1 IK people.
March 17, ’07.
Mr.. Willis,
“AVING obierved in your Guardian of th<*
jTl 161b inftatit, two lengthy pieces, on.- fignecl
by tnree gem It men of Mart insburg, and the other
bv our late representative to (he Virginia Assembly,
in anfwer to two piece one signed “ The People/*
and the other “ One of the People,”—I tlvr k it my
duty as a friend to the rights of man, to nt»k* fon:e
ftrictures, “not on the foWjects of contention in
thole pieces,” hut on the ipu;,4 In widen they ap
pear to be written.
It was a ftntiment of the juftlv celebrated Frank
lin, “ That the Freedom of the Prep is the Pulladiuhi
our Rightsf and lorry l am to lec gentlemen attempt
toinhn.ge in the ''mallefr degree, any of tluife
rights, for which feme of them may have fought,
and others bled and died.
That t) i.sfpirit is manifefred in thofe pieces, no
one can doubt, who only attends ro the very thrtfh
old of them. Firft, the Editor himfeif is crimina
ted, becaufe he is confiftent with himfeif, and his
paper “ Open and unuf.timetdp— while he acts as
every Editor ought to di—ie.s his paper he a me
dium (or public Itricrures on the conduct of public
lervants, and for public information.
Secondly, all who feel for the welfare of their
country—who keep a watchful eye upon their pub
lic of&cers, and who, when they lee, or fear danger,
gives the alarm, are attacked, or confidered, (to ufo
the expreflions of the gentlemen) as infamous, bar*
bjrous, inhuman, &c.
And thirdly, the fpirit of rhpfe pieces breathe si
wiih, that let anv perfon whatever, “ however ig
norant or inadequate he may be to fsrveus, or how
ever defigning alter cholen,” but come forward and
efr-zr his fervices, yet no one has a right to judge of
his abilities or view** ; he ought not to be the (ob
ject of public difculGon, or hiu conduct enquired in
to, on any pretence whatever, let the people he
ever fodeeply inrerefted therein. This appears to
me to be nothing more or le!s than faying, that the
people ought to have their eyes put out, their enro
plug’d, and blindly and frupidly follow to Martini
burg once a year, (not as freemen, hut as fl.tves) two
or three, who may wi!h to be leading men, to eleat
any ignoramus or deftgnee that they patronize. I
vvilh to be confidered not as framing a cap to fit a
ny man, but as (heaving what confequences may fol
low from fuch premifes.
It a friend to his country either faw, or feared ho
faw danger, was it not his duty ro alarm the peo
ple. It another thought the alarm f*alotvable, and
feared it was too well founded, was it not his duty
to rco^ueft an explanation, or fay, he ntuft of courfe
Uke the premiics for granted; becauie not denied 3