The Wheeling repository — Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.], 1808-03-24 00:00:00, page 3

;tion. He will not now pledge himself
to oppose n r\ moval.
\ \V hen we take a glance at the situa
tion ot Brooke county, the i earing of all
this cannot be misunderstood. Charles
town, the county seat, is about seven
miles from the lower boundary of the
county, and about thirty five from the
. upper. Though the upper part of the
county is thin and broken, it supports a
considerable population, l wo thirds ot
the inhabitants of Brooke county reside
above a line drawn due east from
Charlestown. It would theretore be a
comfortable thing, to shove the county
seat Oi Ohio thirty or forty miles down
the river, and extend the lower bounda
ry ot Brooke county^ so as to establish
tne seat ot justice permanently at
Charlestown : and if the Federalists of
'Wheeling, in support of party principles,
can be induced to further the project, it
will be so much the move likelv to suc
ceed. If any man can explain INIr.
Doddridge’s whole conduct, so as to
escape this conclusion, he shall have my
thanks.
Upon what principles of sound poli
cy, or good sense, can the people of O
h;o county, opposed to a removal of the
seat of justice, support Air. Doddridge’s
election ? L. t it he granted that he
saved tiie seat oi justice last year ; yet
it iS manifest he was not governed by
tiie interests of VV heeling, lit reserved
it omy for future disposal. Hike a glut
ton, lie will not, on one dav, join with
company to devour a delicious morsel,
because he hopes, upon the next dav,
to nave it ad to himself. Besides, he
is afraid to ac.voiate a removal to Grave
creek. Lt t 1 oinlinson su-. ceecl in a re
moval of the seat of justice from Whet'
ing to Grave creek, and it establishes a
precedent for removing the seat of jus
tice from Charlestown to Harman’s
creek or Holliday’s cove. 1 he same
ostensible reasons will » xist, and will be
•acted on to save appearances.
J.et it, however, be conceded, that a
removal is necessary and must take
place : are we not deeply interested in
opposing the plan proposed bv Dod
dridge ? If we are added to Brooke,
the permanency which such additional
population will give to the county seat;
the great additional business and inter
course which wc will give to Charles
town, will necessarily tend to aggran
dize our rival at our own expense. If
the seat of justice is removed to Grave
•feck, and the county preserved entire,
\ye shall be comparatively but little af
fected by it. Elizabeth-town, situate on
the borders of a barren and mountain
ous country, never can rival us in any
thing : Charlestown may. Whatever ir
ritation we may feel at the removal, it
is to be hoped we shall have wisdom e
nough to make the best ol the evil.
I am far from supposing our condition
desperate. I believe that, considering
the general interest of the county, the
county seat is properly fixed ; that a re
moval would produce more inconveni
ence than accommodati n. I b heve
that ii proper and judicious i\. rest illa
tions are made, the Legislature will not
be dispos 'd to interfere ; and I submit,
whether we can expect that these repre
sentations will be made by Mr. Dod
dridge, under present circumstances.
It is slid by some, that Mr. Dod
dridge will certainly be elected, and it
we oppose him, he will then advocate a
removal. I believe Mr. Doddridge cal
culates that lie will be elected in spite
ol us ; and it is quite probable he calcu
lates upon our lears. In this I wish him
to be disappointed. But what have we
to fear ? Nothing so much as his plan
ol cutting up our county. While he
holds and declares his present opinions,
he is more dangerous as a friend, than
as an enemy. 11 is conduct tends direct
ly 10 discourage and dishearten our
iriends, and to stimulate our opponents
to more vigorous exertion.
It may be asked, to whom should we
give our support ? I answer, let events
determine. I would never ask a Fede
ralist to vote lor David Chambers : an
obscure, chattering, conceited young
ster, who a few years ago came into our
state a wandering singing master, would
disgrace the Senate ol Virginia. I have
understood that a young man in Harri
son county, of the name of Pindall, is a
candidate. He possesses tolerable ta
lents, and some laudable ambition. He
has no interest in the removal of our
seat of justice, and would no doubt do
what he thought was right upon the
subject. If there is any chance of his
success, it might he proper to give him
a preference. But in no event would I
vote for a man, whom I suspected of
calculating either on my fears or my
party prejudices, or who, I supposed,
entertained a design to further his own
interest at my expense.
Fairplay.
Wheeling, March 21st, 1808.
intelligence.
PORTLAND, Feb. 29.
Capt. Stover, of the brig Dekuv are,
arrived at this port on Monday last, in
39 daysr Irom St. Andero, (Sp ain) Cap
tain S. informs, that he was induced to
leave that place w ilhout w aiting to take
a full cargo on board, fearful that all A
merican vessels would be stopped.
On the 13th ol January intormation
"'as received by the American Consul,
that a brig belonging to Norfolk, and
Irom thence bound to Biiboa, hau been
captured within 4 leagues from the port,
bv a French privateer, and carried into
St. Antonio, lor having spoken an Eng
glish armed brig, which according to
Bonaparte’s proclamation blockade, is
sufficient reason for plundering and con
demning American vessels.
On the same day, the Trench consul
informed him, that the late decrees of
the French Emperor were tantamount
to a declaration of war against the Uni
ted States, and advised him to hasten
ms departure.
Captain Stov;r was advised by thu
vice-consul, as well as by h:s consignee,
that in consequence of the alarming si
tuation of the two countries (France
and the United States) his business re
quired the utmost expedition, in order
to secure him a passport from the place.
1 hese apprehensions were repeated the
m xt day, in consequence of a letter
from Mr. Frying, consul general at
Madrid, to the vice-consul at St.Andero,
advising that it was necessary that all
American vessels should depart imme
diately. His apprehensions for their
safety were created by intelligence of an
embargo on all American vessels at
Bordeaux, but did not learn on what ac
count. 1 he U. S. Consul at St. Ande
1 o, in a letter to capt. Stover, confirmed
the above.
About the first of January there was
a general rejoicing at St. Andero, in
consequence of the combined fleet of
1'iance and Russia, having safely arriv
ed at a French port on the Straits.
It was reported that 64,000 French
troops were marching through Spain,
for the westward—destined for Portu
gal, and that provision was transporting
lrom different parts of Spain, for the in
habitants of Portugal, who were in a
starving condition in consequence* of
the blockade of their ports by the Eng
lish.