The American Republican gazette — Concord, N.H., 1802-10-26 00:00:00, page 2

ty and County of Philadelphia, it has
become out duty, to call your atten
tion to the important objects ofthe ap
proaching general eledion. Besides
making the annual choice for mem
bers of the general assembly, your
faffrages must be given on that occa
lion, to fill the high office of governor
and to return representatives to the
legiflaiure of the Union. The rights
and interests of the state, the profpe#
rity of the confederation, and, per.
haps, the exigence of a free govern,
ment, depend on the fuccefsful issue
of your exertions. The political vis
gilance and firronefs of Pennsylvania,
have, indeed, raised her to an emi
nence, on which she cannot remain
without honor — from which she can
not descend without disgrace : and
thither the eye of every American
patrjot is, at this period, directed, in
anxious hope, that where the dawn of
returning Republicanism firft ap
peared, the splendor of its meridian
will not be extinguished, or eclipsed.
If, fellow citizens, the accomplish,
ment of every obje&, for which you
have hitherto contended, can furnifh
a motive for perseverance ; mark, we
entreat you, the auspicious change,
which a Short lapse of three years has
produced, in the course of public
3 ran faElions, and in the condition of
private life. It was obvious to eve
ry refleding mind, during the memo
rable struggle for the eledion of the
present venerable chief magistrate of
Pennsylvania, that the affairs of Ame.
ripa had attained a crisis, which in
volved the dire& alternative, either
that the power of the federal party
muff be arrefied, or that our republi
can systems would be overthrown.—
By a progress at once insidious and
daring, the principles and monuments
ofthe revolution had been exposed to
derision; the character and conduct
of the revolutionary leaders had been
reviled; the theory of a republican
government was denounced as a vi.
fionary and equivocal speculation ;
every plausible expedient had been
tried to fetter and controul the legif.
lative authority, emanating immedi
ately from the people ; and all the in
struments of monarchy, the influence
of patronage and the glitter of parade
were employed to strengthen and a#
dorn the fceptre of the executive.—
But every enterprise against the liber
ties of a nation must have the aid of
a military force; and a military force
can only be procured, or maintained,
by the aid of money. The lawless de
predations committed on our com
merce by the pirates and privateers of
France, not only, therefore, gave rife
to the equipment of a fleet, but, with
a contemptuous disregard of the servi
ces of the militia, were, alfd, made a
pretext to embody a numerous army,
for which it was impossible to con#
ceive any rational use, connected
with the state of foreign hostilities :
while the general indignation, justly
excited by the insult offered to our
ambassador at Paris, and inflamed by
every artifice that ingenuity could de
vice, insured a ready acquiescence,
in a rapid and burthenfome impofi#
tion of taxes, to defray the expense
of warlike preparations. Nor was an
other, the mod cruel & effectual ftrat..
agem, to disorganize and subvert a
free government, omitted in this ca
reer of federal ambition. The party
animosities of the people were foment.-
ed. The creed of federalifm, with
all its monarchical tendencies, was
proclaimed to be the only means of
political salvation; and every citizen
who did not implicitly adopt it, was
exposed to perfecutien and proscrip
tion. His character, his person, and
his house, were alike doomed to in
sult and violence; and the perpetra#
tion of the injury has been found a
recommendation co ministerial patio.
nage and favor. „ The inflexible re
publican, arbitrarily excluded from a
participation in the honors and emol
uments of public office, was sometimes
menaced with the ignominy of being
0 delivered to an invading enemy ;'and
at other times unfeelingly told, that
“ he might expert to be ground to duJl
and aJhes by his indignant countrymen."
Tales of the grossest fabrication were
circulated to render him the object
of popular suspicion and hatred; and
even to snatch from his enjoyment,
every solace of facial and domestic
life. Thus pursued by the zealots of
party, and unprotected by the hand
of power, the halls of justice seemed
likewise to deny him a fanftuary ; for,
every minister of justice was a feder
alift: The officer who prosecuted, the
judges who presided, the marshal who
summoned the jury, and the jury who
tried the cause, were all—all federal
ills ! Nay, the law itfelf, assumed the
form of a weapon made for the feder^
alifts alone to wield; by whose magic
riots might be converted into rebell
ion ; flattery became the test of polis
tical truth; and freedom of opinion
was condemned as sedition. In short,
at that affliding period, which has
been emphatically styled " The reign
of terror," the patriotism and fortitude'
of the republican party, (comprising
at least one half of the citizens of the
United States) were conspicuously
displayed. No art could seduce, no
danger could impel them, to a dere.
lictionof their political principles ; yet
looking ftedfaftly to the constitution
al power ofthe people for relief, they
neither vauntingly threatened the ha.
Vock of a civil war, nor traiteroufly
projected a dissolution of the union.
From (his painful review, hasten,
fellow citizens, for consolation and
triumph, to a contemplation of the
scene that now lies before you. The
example given by Pennsylvania, in
the general election of 1799, soon)
spread throughout the union. Thej
latent spirit of R^ftwrififttn^d
into action ; and, with a sudden, but|
salutary, explosion, swept from thej
political atmosphere, the clouds and
vapours, by which it was infected and
obicured. The voice of the people,
in a regular but decisive tone, tranf
ferred the powers of government from
federal to republican hands: And al
ready have the public functionaries,
faithful to their trust, revived the
principles of the revolution, cast off
the trappings of royalty, restored a
constitutional equality of tights to the
citizens, and established the impar.
tial administration of justice. With
an honorable zeal to maintain the na
tional independence, to di[charge the
public debt, and to prote& the free
dom of commerce, you have seen
them combine dispositions the most
conducive to peace, to order, and to
economy. With a sacred regard for
public opinion, and an honest sensi
bility to fame, they have manifefted a
dizain to accumulate official patron
age, as the means to purchase popu
larity ; or to employ a sedition, aCI, as
the instrument to fuppfefs investiga
tion. With a Ready adherence to
the republican cause, and an equita.
ble desire to communicate to all its
friends, a fair proportion of public fa.
vor, you may trace the association of
a liberal and conciliatory policy, in
the long lift of federalifts, who still oc.
cupy stations of confidence and prof#
it. Thus, under the auspices of a
republican administration, and within
the space of a few months, the repu
tation of the American government
has been elevated in the view of fo
reign nations ; the fpedres of war have
been driven from our shores; the
danger of a Handing army has been
averted ; the right of opinion, and the
liberty ofthe press, have been unfet
tered ; ufeleb offices have been abol#]
ifhed; and unnecessary taxes are dis.
continued. The streets of our cities
are no longer scenes of tumul,; our
habitations have become places of
fafety ; and our persons are again un^
der the protection ofthe law. In such
a situation, the republican can have no
wish to gratify, except for the preser
vation of the happiness, which he has
acquired ; and the federalift will have
no evil to endure, except from the
recollection of the power which he
has loft.
Nor, while we thus derive, from the
extent & value of your past atchieve
ments, a laudable incentive to future
exertion, can you be indifferent, fel
low citizens, to the daily occurrences
which admonish you of a subsisting
danger. The menaces that reverbe.
rate in the halls of Congress, the ca
lumnies that issue from the press, the
fallen discontent of individuals, and
the undisguised hostility of numerous
associations, give assurance ofa woun.
ded, but aspiring, spirit. No mode#
ration in the exercise of official pow
er, no overture to the restoration of
social harmony, no appeal to the e
qual dispensations of the constitution,
has been effectual to abate rhe rage
of federal animosity, or to silence the
arrogant pretension, to a monopoly of
public honors and emolument. Still
intolerant, a&ive,and intelligent, your
political opponents move in every di
re&ion : and transform themselves in
to every shape ; so that conflant vig
ilance can alone enable you to djfco
ver and avoid their toils. In the ef.|
fort to escape from the obloquy of
their own mifeondud, you have heard ;
them, unblushingly, ascribe to the ex-j
itting administration, an expensive ]
compromise, under the sixth ar icle of;
die British treaty, for the liquidation
of private, antiquated debts; the re.
linquifhment of an indemnity for the
fpq/iations committed on our com
merce by the French ; the irritation
lofthe barbarians, on the coasts of the
ft McJkcfrancan ; the imposition of du
j ties on salt, brown sugar, coffee, and
! other commodities, in general con
sumption among the poor, and an
augmentation ofthe salaries of the
principal officers of state. So, in the
attempt to conceal from public obfer.
vation, the brilliant ctyntraft between
the present, and the past, tranfaflions
of the government, the motive of ev.
'ery measure, legislative or executive,
has been ftigmauzed, its nature has
been perverted, and its operations irityeded.
The repeal of the Judiciary Ad of the & of
February, 1801, has opened, above all, Co
pious source for declamation and delusion ^
The design of the system, which that ad haffi
introduced, was to ere& a judical fortrefs,
within which the routed federalifts might
fafely repose, and from which the triumph,
ant republicans might be fuccefifully annoy,
ed. The organization of the system, too,
was marked with all that malevolence could
didate to provoke resentment, or folly could
exhibit to excite difgoft. The constitution
was either violated, or eluded ; and the dig
pity of the chief magistracy, together with
ordinary maxims of perfooal decorum, lay
prostrate; while commissions were issued to,
transfer judges from one court to another,
without their previous coolent, or privity ;
while senators were appointed to fill fuppofi
iroirs vacancies in judicial offices ; and while
the tranquillity of the midnight hour was in
vaded, to rivet the last fetter upon a rival ad.
ministration. It was never expe^ed, that
such coodua should pass without animadver
sion, or that an encroachment like this, would
meet a prompt and paffire acquiescence.
Even, however, if the dissolution of the new
judiciary system had been a natural concom.
itant of the circumstances, that gave it
birth ; and even, if those confideratioos
focal advantage, in the administration of jus
tice, which inspired some republicans with a
wish for its preservation, had been more gen
erally diffufed ; yet, the fate which the sys
tem has experienced, must have been render
ed inevitable, by the very arts that were em
ployed to avert it. The power of the legisla
ture to repeal the ad was peremptorily deni,
ed. A dodrine was maintained, which made,
in this refpea, the personal ioterefts of the
judges every thing, and the national interests
of the people nothin. In a country, whose
population is but in the germ ; whose refour.
}m of agriculture, commerce, art#, and
manufaaurei, ere incalculable ; and r r ^
,iptercourfe . with the gftcot regions. 0; _ A
, world expands at every gale: i? w te h.^i
, contended, I" 'ft"!, that a legifktive fr
pngemerit of the courts of justice, once
made, is immutable ; and can neither be
modified to conform to encreafing exigences ;
nor be amended to correct the errors, which
experience th JI deleft. In other words, the
appointment of a judge, upon the, tenure of
good behaviour, has been represented, io a
wild and boundless latitude of interpretation,
as a constitutional ftipulatioo, that, under
every possible circumftato of public incon
venience, the office shall be perpetuated,
that the judge may be paid. Combining,
there, the result of those petitions, wth
the authority exercised by |he courts of law,
to determine the validity of al ads of congress,
& the federal claim of a common law juristic,
t on in criminal cases, it is ob^ous, that feme
thing more in tereftieg than the mere repeal of
an obnoxious statute, was at fake; for, a re
peal had, at lass, became fhe\inditpenfihle
medium, to vindicate and pr+fetye the theo
ry and essence of cur government Permit,
the whole doarinc of the federally, in rel%
tion to thejudicial authority, to pfyail, and
every trace of republican compad^anifhes
: from the constitutional code; the fotereigri-
Ity of the nation pafles from the peopra, and
the immediate representatives ofthe people ;
I while the judges (though appointed b^the
;prefident, and still, as we have repeatedly
4 witnessed, within the scope of executive f.+c,
land bounty,) will, indeed, be the rulers of
;the land.
§Other topics of federal misrepresentation
I and clamor, present themselves in rapid fuc
i ceffian. The difeontinuance of the internal
taxes has been reprobated, not because the
revenue is wanted at this time, but becaafe
;it is poffible,,hat a future emergency may re
quire a pecuniary supply ;—nm because the
difeontinuance affords no relief to the com
munity, but because tte fifeal economy of
the administration cannot fafely embrace a
repeal of more taxes, nor conveniently apply
the repeal to other taxes instead of these.
I The provision for the extinguishment of ths
public debt, has been called nrrful and in
, !fincere; yet, all the art consists in feleaing
ithe best means for the attainment of the ob-
I jed; and the only shade of irfincerity (the
I power to re-loan, is, simply, a precaution to
; guard the public faith from the effeas of ac
,cidental difappointmeot. Every display of
the attribute of mercy has been censured,
without information on the fads, without
decency in the manner, and without human
ity in the design. The flow, but, we trust,
certain progress of the executive, to restore
the repoolicans to that share in the public rs
patronage, of which they have been so long,
and so uojuftly, deprived, furnifhes an ever- 1
lifting theme for Inveaive and defamation^ ^ ^re
to the prefumtubus, the idle, and the des
perate. The bafeand paltry practices of pri
vate scandal, have, likewise, been indulged,
at the expence of truth, modesty, and feeling,
when the hope of eftablifhiog official delin
quency, or public error, has been abandon- ft
ed. In short, it has been evinced, in the
course of the opposition to the present ad
ministration, that the foie ob)ta of the fed
eral party is the re-acquisition of power ; and,
we fear, that this objed ftnaifies, in their
opinion, every measure which can be devised
to accomplish it : For, regardless of the con
fcquences to the honortif the nation, or to
the peace of the community, is it not the di
re& aim of every federal press, and of every ►
i federal orator, to degrade tbe government,
to depredate the talents and virtues of tbe.
'toilers, and to scatter jesloufy and difeerd
fapng the people? The system is, indeed,
■thee a fyftem-of fedudion and alarm ; but
'' "ty m P°'e only on the weak, and can
'""'ty o "' 'h e tint'd.
Them^nembrances of past (offerings, of
present eQmeots, and of surrounding dan
gers, have buQ presented to ydu, fellow cit
izens, not ~b a view to awaken in your
breasts a spirit retaliation, but to confirm
your zeal and coQ OC y j n maintaining the
, empire of repubtictyn. Even at this mo
ment of your triam^od power, we know ,
that the republican fo^ciple, affords am
undiminished Security f^tte rights of your
pqliiioloppenents : andStyou have never
contended for more thaa -rGonftitutionaf
equality of proteaion and rafoge, weave
confident that the federalifts find you,
at all times, ready to embrace th& 6 § breth
ren, though you disdain at any to it
cept them is reafters. But in thqtafas
cause which you have Spoofed, lA^^ry
man now exhibit an example of patraWfa
and firmnefc that the republican party h,
fhiue forth, with intrinsic laftre, tbe get\
ine friends of order and good government A c '
the patrons of iaduftry; and the guardians^
of independence. 'Exringuifh, we befeech]
you, tbe feuds that ate occsfiooe&by local 1 \
prejudice, or a collision of pet fonal interefts.l
Resist every fioifter attempt to few diffusion I \
among you ; to generate injurious fufoiciooe 1
of each other ; to substitute, In your political I
discussions, denunciation for argument, oe I
intolerance for perfuafioo ; end to undermine I
the confidence of the people in the pubite I
agents, whom they have chosen. Arf- l_l
above all, let it be deeply impressed epoa ■
your mindi, that a fepimefr, produced ty