The American Republican gazette — Concord, N.H., 1802-10-12 00:00:00, page 1

' ,5.2 Year,]
TUESDAY, OCT. 12, 1802.]
political flfstedani
FROM the declarations of feder
alifts, persons not well acquaint
ed with the political state of our coun
try, might be induced to believe that
the existence of the Government de
pended upon them —that they are the
exclusive friends of law and order-=
and that general Washington was one
of the leading characters in opposi
tion to republicans, and the promot
er of their views. Let us examine
this fubjea.— Let us ask, from
what part of the life of General
Washington can it be said he was
opposed to republicanism ?—Was it
in the convention ?—Was it in the
nomination of Mr. Munroe as am#
baffador to France ? —Was it in the
appoinment of Mr. Jefferfon as Sec
retary of State ?—ln his ardor in the
'caufe of the French republic—Or in
his refpe& for the militia, and his en,
mity to a public debt ? Can fed
eralifts fay that in those things, they
supported the Washington system,
or that republicans were opposed to
it ? In what instance, therefore,
excepting in the British treaty, was
not Washington supported by the
whigs of 1776, and the republicans
of the present time? And yet the
committee of Mercer's dare to fay,
that the republicans were inimical to
Washington and his system. The
people must discover that the sacred
name of Washington, has been made
use of by the profane pen of these
committee-men, to deceive the peo
ple and to promote fa&ious purpo#
fes. They must believe, that such
men as these, bringing the name of
our late illustrious chief, into an elec,
tioneering handbill, can have no
great refpeH either for his memory,
or his principles—but are anxious
to make use of it as a spell, whereby
they may induce many to believe, as
Porcupine did before them, that
Washington was a federalift, and op.
posed to the principles of republican
ism. As republicans, and admirers
of the virtues and services of Wash.
ington, we feel contempt at those
who would deceive the people, by
disturbing his ashes, to promote the
Safe views, and unworthy designs of
an intrigueing faction.
Tree of Liberty.
From the Chronicle,
-■*6v»'
What is a Federal Republic ?
" SEVERAL sovereign and inde
« pendent States may unite them.
66 selves together by a perpetual con,
66 federacy, without each in particular
" celling to be a perfed state. They
fi will form together a Federal Re#
"public : the deliberations in com
-66 mon will offer no violence to the
sovereignty of each member, though
they may, in certain refpe&s,put some
constraint on the exercise of it, in vir
tue of voluntary engagements." . ?
Mattel.
" As to the compound govern
merits, formed by the perpetual con.
federacy of several states, it is to be
observed, that this is tbeonly method
by which several Imall governments,
AMERICAN REPUBLICAN
PRINTED AT CONCORD, N. HAMPSHIRE, BY E. RUSSELL, POR THE PROPRIETOR.
too weak to maintain themselves fep#
arately against their enemies, are en
abled to preserve their liberties.
These confederate states engage to
"each other only to exercise, with
common consent, certain parts of the
sovereignty, especially those which
relate to their mutual defence against
foreign enemies. But each of the cc !
federates retains an entire liberty yf
exercising, as it thinks proper, ttye
parts of the sovereignty, which %e
not mentioned in the treaty of union,
as parts that ought to be exercised in
common." — Buriamaqui. a
Such being the definition of a Fed
eral Republic, a concise considera
tion of the nature of our govern
ment, a few observations on the ad.
ministration of it, will lead us to form
a just opinion of who are real Fed
eralists. The States of America
were once Colonies of Great-Britain.
On the 4th of July, 1776, the Rep
resentatives of the United States, in
general Congress assembled, dissolv
ed the political bands which had con
ne&ed us with Great Britain, and
solemnly declared, “ that these unit
ed Colonies are, and of right-ought to
be, free and independent States." —
And here it may not be amiss to no#
tice, in tranfitu, that among other
reasons for our separation, it is said,
« He has ere&ed a multitude of new
Offices, and sent hither /warms of
Officers, to harrafs our people and
eat out their substance," In Nov.
1777, Congress proposed '' Articles
of Confederation and perpetual U
nion" between the States, 'then thir
teen, the firft article of which was,
“ The Jl, le of this Confederacy Jhall be
Me United States of America."
Art. 3d, 66 The said States hereby
severally enter into a firm league of
friendfhip with each other, for their
common defence," &c. The faidArti
cles were not finally ratified till the
Ift of March, 1781 ; the state of Ma
ryland having, by their members in
Congress, on that day acceded there,
to, and completed the fame. Thus
we confederated as free, fov&eign
and independent States, for our mu.
tual fafety, and became truly ahd re.
ally a Federal Republic, and the
People of the said States were almost
universally Federal Republicans. But
let the truth be confeffed, the bond
of federalism was weak, and though
intendedrfor durability, was made of
such fluff as was not fufficiently co
hesive; there was not enough of pow#
er given to the Federal Government
to answer all the purposes of the Con
federation, All became sensible of
this, and wished the band strengthen
ed; therefore a Convention was had
to amend, add to, and strengthen the
Confederation. This Convention, in
dead of proposing additions to, and
amendments of the Confederation,
proposed and offered to the People,
for their acceptance and ratification,
a new form of Government, or a
Constitution of Government; which
having received the assent and rati
fication of the several States, is now
the Constitution ofGovernment under
which we live. Upon its firft propos
al to the People, there were, it is
true, numbers in every State of the
LIBERTY and the CONSTITUTION.
By CITIZEN NEWSCHOOL, Esquire.
THE
Union who were opposed to its adop
tion ; not because they were oppos
ed to a Confederation or a Federal
Republic, but because they thought
they saw in this new form, an insidi
ous attempt to consolidation, or mak
ing one sovereign authority in all
Rfpeds.and reducing the several
States/) mere subordinate corpora
tion^MThe framers of this Constitu
tion, /% knowing that the People
were, ^ I have before observed,
almost tyiverfally federal, (federal
was the" favorite of all true Ameri
cans) they never wished the league
broken, or a link of the chain that
united us to be loft, therefore called
it the Federal Constitution, whereas
in truth and in fa& many of its fea
tures were, totally repugnant to such
a government, and is a government,
orci generis, approaching, to be sure,
nearer a Federal Government than
any other for which we have an ap
propriate name, and therefore so
called—and, being so called,, has at
tached to it the great body of the
Americans, who are now really and
truly friends to this Constitution, and
with to preserve especially every fed
eral feature in it. The next ques
tion then is, who are the real Feder
alists ?
MODERATUS.
From the Baltimore American.
IT is presumed all the abuse, writ
ten and said against Mr Jefferfon, is
not so much with a view to correct
vitious practices, and reform alledg
ed moral depravity, as, by bringing
him into disrepute, thereby to de
prive him of a feat at the next prefi.
dential Ele&ion. It is a little singu
lar that that gentleman, who has fill,
ed for so long a time, so many im
portant offices in the state—who has
been loved by his acquaintance for
his suavity of manners and friendli
nefs of difpofition —who has been for
thirl, years in various capacities, the
repository of his country's confi
dence, grounded on a conviction of
his attachment to her interest—who
has been the pride of America, and
the admiration of Europe—we fay it
is remarkable that in the course of a
single twelve month, h^ should be
declared the veriest mifereant in the
land over which he has been called
to preside.
Till latterly, Mr. J. has always
been reputed not only a very learn
ed scholar and able politician, but al
so a very exemplary and moral man.
He is, perhaps better known as a
politician and philosopher in Europe,
than any other person to whom this
country has given birth—ls it be any
praise, so he has lately been fpoken[
of by one of the Cabinet in England|
—When he was sent as our Minifterl
to the court of Versailles, the little-;
nefs of a grovelling party spirit, did ;
not preside over the appointment.|
When he was nominated by Con-|
grefs one of a committee to draft a
Declaration of Independence, he
was not thought by them a timid
wavering character —When by that
committee itfelf he was named as the
fitteft among them, to pen the inftru,|
ment, he was not fufpe&ed ofhoftili-
GAZETTE.
Volume IL—Number LXXXVIit.
ty to the nation : and when that state
paper a&ually made its appearance
in the world, puerility of thought and
imbecility of expression, were' not
deemed (on either fide of the water)
its moftcharaderiftic features--When
he was feleaed from among his feh
low.citizens by die illustrious Wafh#
ington, to stand at his right hand, to
give him counsel, and fill the post, d
next to his own, the molt responsible
and difficult in government, he was
not considered altogether destitute of
merit—When he was elected to pre
side over wisdom itfelf, and was not
supposed unworthy to succeed the im
mortal Franklin and amiable Rit
tenhouse, in the firft honors in
the gift of the most learned body in
America, there was displayed a just
tribute of refpe& to towering genius
and modest worth—But, above all,
when called in the course of events
and process of time, by the unbias
ed voice of the people, to preside
not over a little corporation, or learn
ed society, but a great and growing
empire of independent citizens, there
is afforded such a splendid example
of merit rewarded, as gives the lie to
the antient reproach of 66 Republi
can Ingratitude."
When there is a want of refpe&,
in a foreign government, to the per
son of a minister who represents at
its court, the sovereignty of the na
tion from which he goes—it is always
a good reason for his immediate re
cal; and sometimes has been holden
a just ground for war—But what will
other nations think of the United
States, when they fee, not a Minis.
ter, the creature of government
merely, treated in a foreign clime
with, perhaps, conftru&ive negle&—
but the chief Magistrate, -the very
head of the government itfelf, slan
dered and abused by an ill-bred
and Unprincipled minority, whilst
ruling the people of his native land !!
—lt may, in some measure, save the
reputation of the country for moder
ation: but the lead that ought to be
calculated upon, both at home and
abroad would be, that the arms with
which more than one half of the na
tion were threatened three years ago,
to be driven " within the enemies'
lines," should now be turned on the
persecuting vaunters.
Republican vs. Democrat.
When thefederal papers use these
terms in opposition to each other,
they betray either a gross ignorance
of etymology, or a determination to
perfiftin a glaring error to serve par.,
ticular purposes. The editors of
those papers are not ignorant that re
;publican and democrat are fynoni
mous terms; that they mean exa&ly
Ithe fame thing; that the former is
derived from the Latin word which
fignifies a democrat, and the latter
derived from the Greek word which
fignifies a republican , —that the Re.
publics of Rome and Greece were
pure and fenple Democracies, though
called by different names. This is
all known and perfedly understood;
and yet, they labor incessantly to
create a doubt in the public mind re
fpe&ing the true meaning of these
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