Norfolk gazette and publick ledger (Norfolk [Va.]), 1805-07-05 00:00:00

WHOLESALE PRICE-CURRENT.
Table with 5 columns: ARTICLE, per, From, To, Remarks. Lists prices for various goods like Bacon, Beef, Brandy, Bread, Butter, Candles, Coal, Cocoa, Coffee, Cordage, Cotton, Duck, Flour, Fish, Fustick, Gin, Grain, Hemp, Hides, Hog's-Lard, Indigo, Iron, Logwood, Lead, Meal, Molasses, Peas, Pepper, Pimento, Pork, Resins, Rice, Rum, Salt, Shingles, Staves, Tar, Tobacco, Tallow, Turpentine, Wax, Bees, Wines.
Tables for Insurance on American Property and Prices of Stocks. Lists rates for various banks and locations.
THE ADDRESS OF THE
Society of Constitutional Republicans. Established in the City and County of Philadelphia, TO THE REPUBLICANS OF PENNSYLVANIA. UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED AND ADOPTED, At a General Meeting of the Society in the City of Philadelphia, on Monday, the 9th of June, 1805.
(Continued.)
But here let us pause for awhile, to recapitulate the various pretexts, which have been used, as a cover for the real designs of the Malcontents; and as an excuse, for the unauthorised interposition of a majority of one of the Legislative Chambers.
1. It has been said, in general terms of reprobation, that the constitution is defective; but as it would be idle to expect a perfect work, from the hands of imperfect man; the remark carries with it neither censure, nor information. It may certainly be applied to every other form of government, past or present; and we shall only indulge a pernicious vanity, if we suppose that it will not be equally applicable to every future effort of human invention. But the constitution of Pennsylvania was constructed on the model of the constitution of the United States, and has itself become a model for the constitutions of several of our sister states. Its basis and its superstructure are, however, pre-eminently democratic; for, while other constitutions exact the qualification of property from electors, as well as candidates, and transfer the choice of a governor, from the people to a department of the government: the constitution of Pennsylvania establishes the right of universal suffrage, declares every freeman eligible to every office, and reserves for the people themselves, the appointment of their chief magistrate. It embraces, likewise, every principle of liberty, every security for life, reputation, and property, every means of knowledge by the freedom of the press, and every guard against the encroachments of delegated power upon popular rights, or co-ordinate departments, which the wisest statesmen could devise, and the most anxious patriots could desire. Still the constitution of Pennsylvania may be defective: but are the defects such as demand the corrective of a convention? Have they generated calamity, oppression, or disorder? Is there a coincidence of opinion on the points of defect, or the modes of reparation? And do we not incur the risque of losing a constitution, positively good, for the mere chance of obtaining a constitution, hypothetically better? The formation of every social compact, depends upon mutual deference, and conciliatory sacrifices of individual opinion. No system of government was ever approved, in all its parts, by those who framed, or by those who adopted it. And we venture to affirm, that no new system of government, no scheme of modification, or amendment, will ever unite so great a portion of publick sentiment and attachment in its favour, as are united in favour of the constitution, under which the people of Pennsylvania now live and flourish.
2. It has been said, in the indefinite expression of jealousy and alarm, that the delegated powers of the constitution may be perverted and abused; but this, also, is a remark so general, (embracing equally the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, power) that it strikes at the very existence of civil government. In truth, the use of power is essential to the order and peace of society; and the hazard of its being abused must, therefore, be encountered. But every well regulated system, while it confers power, exacts responsibility; and no government can, consistently with the other important objects and operations of its institutions, be more efficient in this respect, than the government of Pennsylvania. Thus the members of the House of Representatives must annually account to their constituents. The senate annually sends one fourth of its members, in regular rotation, to the ordeal of an election. The Executive Magistrate undergoes a triennial investigation of his conduct, at the bar of the people; nor can he enjoy the favours of popularity, beyond a limited period. The Judges are constantly subject to the cenorial power of impeachment, and to Legislative Addresses for their removal; while the subordinate officers of the state are amenable to the governor and (in common with himself and the Judges) may be impeached and dismissed, for misconduct in office. If with such precautions, there is not safety in the delegation of power, to what substitutes can we more confidently resort? Let it not be answered, to the direct and constant agency of the people, for, that is impracticable. Let it not be answered, to the exclusive authority of our Legislative Agents of the People; for we know that legislative agents, may feel power and forget right, as well as executive and judicial magistrates. But rather, let us bow with reverence to the decrees of Providence, thus mingling with all its bounties to mankind, a portion of bitterness and alloy.
3. It has been said, in terms of indignation and disgust, that the constitution tolerates the common law; and is, therefore, inconsistent with true liberty, and genuine republicanism. On no occasion has the declamation of the Malcontents betrayed more ignorance, or more wickedness, than in the attempt to despoil this venerable Code of the affections and confidence of the people. In depicting the common law, they have ransacked the cells of Monks; they have pillaged the lumber of colleges; they have revived the folly of a superstitious age; and they have brandished the rigours of a military despotism; but, in all this rage of research, they have forgotten, or concealed, that such things enter not into the composition of the common law of Pennsylvania: For, the constitution tolerates only that portion of the common Law, which your Ancestors voluntarily brought with them to the wilderness, as a birth-right; and which the Patriots of the Revolution bestowed upon us, as a charter of privilege and benevolence. Let us not, therefore, be ensnared by prejudices, nor be deceived by the mere similitude of names. Every nation has its common law. The common law of every nation, is the accumulated wisdom of its best men, through a succession of ages, settled into known rules, maxims, and precedents. The common law of England, stripped of its feudal trappings, is the admiration of the world. The common law of Pennsylvania, is the common law of England, as stripped of its feudal trappings; as originally suited to a colonial condition; as modified by Acts of the General Assembly; and as purified by the principles of the constitution. For the varying exigencies of social life, for the complicated interests of an enterprising nation, the positive acts of the Legislature can provide little; and, independent of the common law, rights would remain forever without remedies, and wrongs without redress. The law of nations, the law of merchants, the customs and usages of trade, and even the law of every foreign country, in relation to transitory contracts, originating there, but prosecuted here, are parts of the common law of
Pennsylvania. It is the common law, generally speaking, not an act of Assembly, that assures the title, and the possession, of your farms and houses; that protects your persons, your liberty, your reputation, from violence; that defines and punishes offences; that regulates the trial by jury; and (in a word comprehending all its attributes) that gives efficacy to the fundamental principles of the constitution. If such are the nature and the uses of the common law, is it politic, or would it be practicable, to abandon it? Simply, because it originated in Europe, cannot afford a better reason to abandon it, than to renounce the English and the German languages; or to abolish the institution of property and marriage; or of education and religion; since they too, were derived from the more ancient civilized nations of the world. Messrs Jefferson, Wythe, and Pendleton declared, in reference to a revision of the code of Virginia (for all our sister states have adopted the common law of England, differing only in the degree and the manner of the adoption) that "the common law of England, by which is meant that part of the English law which was anterior to the date of the oldest statutes extant, is made the basis of the work. It was thought dangerous to attempt to reduce it to a text; it was therefore left to be recollected from the usual monuments of it." (Notes on Virginia, p. 256.) How chimerical, then, must be the project of calling a convention, to reduce the common law into a constitutional text! How superfluous the trouble, and the expense, since the Legislature itself, already possesses a competent authority to reform every abuse, to remedy every defect, and to controul every operation, of the common law!
4. It has been said, that the judges, "under colour of the common law, have exercised the most daring tyranny, and violated the constitution and laws of the state;" and hence the necessity of a convention has, also, been inferred. This assertion appears under the signature of Mr. STEELE, the President of the Senate. It involves eleven of his fellow senators (republicans of inflexible political and personal integrity) in the imputation of perjury, for voting in favour of the impeached judges; and it charges those judges with a crime, of which they had been fairly tried; and of which they had been lawfully acquitted. But we will not enter into a discussion of the question, to which the charges refer, whether the judges of the Supreme Court, have a constitutional power, to punish Contempts of Court, by the summary process of attachment? Nor will we even state the essential distinction, between a wilful violation of the constitution, which could alone be criminal, and an honest error in judgment, which cannot be imputable, or punished, upon impeachment, as a crime. These might be proper grounds of inquiry in estimating the truth, as well as the decency, of Mr. Steele's publication; but in the abstract inquiry, whether the conduct of the judges, furnishes an adequate cause, for calling a convention, it is sufficient to observe, that if Contempts of Court ought no longer to be punished by attachment, the legislature may, by their own authority, modify, or abolish, the process, without any additional sanction from a constituent assembly: And, we presume, that the Malcontents will not avow the design to render a bare majority of the senate, competent to a conviction on impeachment; least it should be seen, that the unanimity of a jury, in other criminal prosecutions, is, also, obnoxious to their views, and equally the object of revolutionary reform.
5. It has been said, that the constitutional power of appointment to office bestows on the executive the means of acquiring a dangerous influence; and that the constitutional negative of the Governor upon legislative propositions, has been employed to retard the progress of political improvement. But the power of appointment to office, can only produce a dangerous influence, where those who enjoy it, may be swerved by gratitude, yet cannot be injured by resentment. In a free, Republican government, the power of appointment to office can never be made a dangerous instrument of personal ambition; since those who exercise it, are as dependent upon the candidates, whom they reject, as upon the candidates, whom they accept; and the number and activity of the former will forever exceed the number and activity of the latter. The transactions of the day, evince the truth of this political position. The clamour of discontent is loud and virulent, against the present distribution of offices; and an exercise of the power of appointment, in opposition to particular interests, has, obviously, furnished a signature for inductive, and a certificate for imposture. But when it is said, that the executive ought to be deprived of this power, we should, likewise, be told, where it can more safely, more usefully, be deposited. The secret has not yet been divulged; but, Fellow-Citizens beware! There is not an honest politician, who hearing the cabals of elections for Federal Senators, for State Treasurer, for Bank Directors, will readily consent to endanger the purity of the legislative character, by enlarging the sphere of its patronage, in the appointment to office.
Nor can the qualified negative upon legislative proceedings, however beneficial to the publick, advance the popularity, or influence, of the chief magistrate. It is a power wisely created, as an additional security for the preservation of the constitution from the encroachments of a popular assembly, whose numbers serve, at once, to abate caution, and diminish responsibility; for the protection of the co-ordinate departments of government, from the absorbing tendencies of legislative authority; and for the prevention of sudden and dangerous innovations, upon the laws and habits of the community. For all these purposes, you have seen a firm and honourable interposition of the power, during the present administration; but you have, also, seen, that (raising a host, in opposition to an individual) no respect for the power, as vested by the constitution; no deference for the claims of conscience, as involved in exercising it; no consideration of personal wisdom and worth, as due to the magistrate himself; nor any sense of decorum, as inspired by his constituents; could deter the Malcontents from resorting to this ground, as the strong hold of their operations, against the official reputation of the Governor. Let it be asked, however, in what instance the power has been found injurious, or inconvenient, to the rights and interests of the people? It has, indeed, sometimes suspended an important decision, 'till the sense of the people could be ascertained. It has often produced useful deliberation. And once, at least, it has prevented the disgrace of legislating upon subjects, that belong exclusively to the jurisdiction of another country. But are these effects of a constitutional power, that we should approve and encourage; or, on the contrary, that we should demand a convention to condemn and to prohibit? Let the honest and the intelligent Freemen of Pennsylvania, reflect and determine.
These, then, Fellow-Citizens, are the pretexts for raising an artificial tempest, in a season of calm and fruitful prosperity. With these pretexts, men de-
ranged by Utopian theories or corrupted by foreign arts; men, formed turbulent by nature, or become so from necessity; men, who delight in confusion, and subsist upon defamation; idlers, without social attachments; and politicians by trade; gathering their scanty numbers into a malignant circle, have scattered envy and malice, fear and suspicion, throughout the land. It was not to be expected, that, indulging a more than Gothic fury, for the demolition of our publick institutions, the Malcontents would permit the venerable McKean (who had long laboured for their establishment and preservation), to close his patriotick life in peace. His services, and his renown are, indeed, coeval with the dawn of American independence; for, he is among the few (the lamentable few) surviving members of the illustrious Congress of 1775; and in every vicissitude of the war of 1776, he was the warm and efficient servant of his country. But neither these testimonials; nor all the assiduity since displayed by an enlightened mind, for the publick good; nor the courtesy which age might attract; nor the gratitude which bounty should command; have furnished a shield to protect him from obloquy the most unjust; or from insult the most cruel! A new order of things, required a new character of men. Those who had contributed to reer the fabric of civil government, could never sincerely be beloved, by those who seek to undermine and destroy it. The first election of Governor McKean was espoused with a zeal that graced the noblest motives; and the second election was distinguished by an unprecedented majority of the of the suffrages of a free people. In these movements, however, the Malcontents (as far as their co-operation extended) contemplated their own interests, and not the interests of the community. The well-known name of the Patriot, gave assurance of success on the day of election; and, it was imagined, the unsuspecting nature of the Man, would render him an easy victim to the arts of solicitation and intrigue. For awhile, too, the Malcontents seemed to reap the fruits of their speculation. Much was obtained for personal gratification; but more to indulge the vanity of a reflected patronage. To prove the first part of our assertion, we refer to the evidence of commissions and contracts, of petitions and testimonials, on the publick files of the Secretary's office; and, as to the second part, the lapse of time is too short, to have impaired the recollection of the pains which were taken, to create a popular opinion, that the recommendation of the leading Malcontents, was a certain, and an indispensable, passport to Executive favour. During that period, every act that the governor performed, every sentiment that he uttered, furnished a theme for adulation and applause. But the pressure of incessant importunity, the insatiable thirst for place and patronage, could not be forever tolerated or supplied. The leading Malcontents were often here, as at Washington, solicitors for the same office; or advocates for different Candidates: All could not succeed, and all, by alternate disappointment, became discontented and hostile. Under these impressions, the designs against the fundamental institutions of our country were conceived; and, at length, the governor had no other alternative, but openly to renounce the favour of the Malcontents, or tacitly to permit the constitution to be violated and supplanted, by successive acts of unauthorized legislation. The decision, prompt and unequivocal, was worthy of the chief magistrate of Pennsylvania: but, from that moment, his downfall was deemed, by the Malcontents, to be a necessary concomitant of our government. The proper instruments for so ungracious an undertaking, were speedily put into operation. Because bills have sometimes been presented for his approbation, which he could not, in his conscience, approve; they have endeavoured to provoke an unwarrantable rupture between the legislative and executive departments. Because the execution of the laws have been sometimes difficult, and the administration of justice have long been obstructed; they have endeavoured to involve him in the odium of such defects, concealing, that the legislature alone can supply an adequate remedy. Those, who before extolled him, are now industrious to debase him; and, without enjoying the merit of invention, or feeling the shame of inconsistency, they assail him with the very slanders, which, on a former occasion, they had themselves refuted and condemned. He has been surrounded with spies and informers, who, crossing him in his walks of exercise, or obtruding upon his hours of domestic retirement, distort all his actions, and falsify all his words. In this progressive course, the Malcontents finally reached the ground of action; and the borough of Lancaster witnessed, in the same week, the invocation for a convention to abolish our constitution, and the cabal of a ballot to degrade our Governor!
[To be concluded in our next.]
NEW WHEAT FLOUR, In Half Barrels for Family use—For sale by J. W. SOUTHGATE. July 2. 1w 290
OILS, PAINTS & WINDOW GLASS, Of all kinds, colours, and sizes. For sale by N. Gregory, July 8. tf 3
SAMUEL SAUNDERS & Co. Have just received from London, per ship Dunjries, Capt. Beard 18 Kgs assorted SHOT. 12 Casks HIBBERT'S BROWN STOUT. 12 do. PORTER. 30 Kgs GUN POWDER. 30 Boxes assorted GLASS. 15 Kgs SCOTCH BARLEY. 1500 lbs. Refined SALT PETER. 15 Boxes FIG BLUE. 12 do. DURHAM MUSTARD. A few Casks COPPERAS. 1 Box Best GUN FLINTS. Also—From the Northward. 50 Barrels Prime PORK. April 29. tf 364
THE SUBSCRIBER Having opened Tavern in the EXCHANGE COFFEE HOUSE, will be glad to take in TEN OR TWELVE GENTEE BOARDERS by the year. Peter Kemp. May 6. tf 654
REMOVAL.
JAMES TUCKER, Has removed to No. 1, HOLZ'S LANE, near MAIN-STREET, WHERE HE OFFERS FOR SALE, ON REASONABLE TERMS, HIS STOCK IN TRADE, CONSISTING OF A GENERAL ASSORTMENT OF HARDWARE, NAILS, &c. May 8. tf 659

TO SHEW THE VERY AGE AND BODY OF THE TIME, HIS FORM AND PRESSURE.
FRIDAY EVENING, JULY 5, 1805.
Not from a capricious motive does the Ledger again make its appearance as an Evening Paper. We have been advised to pursue this manner of publishing by a number of our best friends both commercial and political; who have politely intimated their wish to have a paper published each day of the week, and have flattered us with a request to that effect. As it is our duty and interest to gratify them by every means in our power, we have in conformity to their desire, issued our paper this evening, and shall henceforth continue to print on the evenings of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as formerly. By this, however, our readers must be sensible, that we shall frequently be subject to inconvenience, from the generally late arrival of the mails during the summer months; indeed that we shall often be obliged to forego the advantage of laying before them the intelligence which the mail may contain, and submit to the unpleasantness of being anticipated by others. This evil we shall endeavour to remedy by industry in collecting news from other sources, and in communicating it in the most correct form which we can impart to it; and we hope that the candour of our friends will make the necessary allowances.
We request that all advertisements for the Ledger may be sent to the office at latest by one o'clock p. m. on the days of publication. We would also limit the propriety of marking at the foot of the manuscript the number of times it is intended to have it published. This will save much inconvenience. All advertisements not thus marked are considered as ordered to be published during the pleasure of the advertiser, and are continued until forbidden; which is sometimes forgotten, until the charge becomes so great as to occasion dissatisfaction; for which we are by no means blameable, and which it is our anxious desire to avoid as much as possible.
Our Commercial Friends will perceive, by this days paper, the great rise in the rates of premiums of insurance. While, in common with every class of our fellow-citizens, we regret that our commerce should be forced to endure any additional burthen, we cannot but acknowledge that the numerous captures which have taken place, not only at a distance, but on our coast, and even in sight of our harbours, form a just cause of alarm to underwriters. Vessels trading or suspected of trading with St. Domingo are not now the only objects of seizure, as the daily accounts confirm: a plan of universal plunder and depredation has been devised and put into practice against us. The fatal consequence which must proceed from a perseverance in such a plan, as well to the publick in general as to the individuals immediately concerned, must be obvious to every man of common reflection. Intending at a future day to observe more copiously on this subject, we shall at this time only remark, that it is matter of surprise to us that the mercantile and marine members of the community, do not transmit to the Executive regular and authenticated statements of the losses which their interests have sustained, as well as information of the perils to which they are daily and imminently exposed. Such a measure could produce no evil; it might result in much good. Whatever may be our general opinion of the Administration, we cannot suppose that if authentically informed of all the dilapidations suffered by our trade, it would not make some exertion to protect the rights of individuals, and to vindicate the national honour; however its present supineness may bespeak a contrary belief.
The fourth of July, the Anniversary of our National Independence, was observed in our town yesterday, as a day worthy of our veneration. The volunteer corps paraded in the morning, and at one o'clock repaired to the Presbyterian Church, where, after a prayer of thanksgiving by the reverend pastor, an Oration was delivered by Mr. William Newsum, Junior, appropriate to the occasion. We shall notice only the corps denominated the Junior Volunteers, which, under Captain Maurice, made a most respectable and soldier-like appearance, highly honourable to their commander and to the spirit of their association. The evening closed with fire-works on the river, immediately above the New Bridge. Of Mr. Newsum's oration we have much pleasure in expressing our merited approbation; with the exception of the proemial part, which, however just, we were sorry to hear: because we consider it imprudent, and in a considerable degree illiberal, if not very impolitic, to endeavour to perpetuate national antipathies; to foster a spirit of resentment and enmity against a nation which has been our enemy, after the cause has ceased, and that enemy has been once embraced as a friend. It is the very conduct for which the English are so constantly and so justly reprobated: the implacability of that national hatred which it has for centuries been deemed good policy to cherish in the breasts of Englishmen against Frenchmen, cannot be too severely censured. What in others we so loudly condemn we should not voluntarily imitate. Therefore it is that we cannot approve of this part of Mr. Newsum's address. In other respects the sentiments of the Oration were such as a young American ought to entertain and avow. A due sense of, and gratitude for, the superior blessings which the Revolution procured: enthusiasm in the cause of rational Liberty: respect and affection for the Constitution by which that Liberty has been secured to us. We were also much pleased to find that it breathed so little of the spirit of party. As one attached to the present administration, we would not be so uncharitable as to complain of the encomiums which Mr. Newsum bestowed upon it; and we can in the same spirit forgive the glance
at that of Mr. Jefferson's predecessor; as we did not perceive any of the disgusting flattery in the one nor of the acrimonious calumny in the other, which are too frequently employed on such occasions. The composition of the oration was in general correct, in many parts very animated and eloquent; its delivery (from memory), so far as depended upon the speaker, modest and interesting. We cannot attempt to give it a more distinct commendation; as in that case we might only do it injustice.
Extract of a letter from New-York, June 28.
"One of the St. Domingo fleet (the Leader) from hence, had an engagement yesterday, after leaving the Hook, with a French privateer that has been lying here for some time repairing, in which the Leader came off completely victorious. The citizen has returned to port to repair his damages!!"
The Leader is commanded by Captain Cowper, formerly of the Navy of the United States. New-York papers of the 28th and 29th, received by Packets, are silent as to this engagement; but we have so much reliance upon the honour and correctness of the writer of the above, that we are not permitted to doubt the fact: and we are only left at liberty to admire the consummate impudence of the master of the privateer, who has had the temerity to enter the very port to which the Leader belonged, to repair damages received in an attempt to rob her owners; and so soon after committing the most violent outrage upon the privileges of Citizens of the United States, and on the honour and independence of our flag.
The Fleet—Captain Tompkins of the schooner Hornet, left Guadalupe on the 20th of June. On the 21st fell in with His Britannick Majesty's sloop of War Kingfisher, Captain Cribb, of 18 guns, who informed Capt. T. that on the 17th he saw the combined French and Spanish fleets to the Northward of all the Islands, steering North-East; and that, on the 19th he saw Admiral NELSON, with twelve sail of the Line in pursuit of them. He also stated that the day after the combined fleets passed Antigua, (at which they did not call) they overtook thirteen sail of homeward bound merchantmen, under convoy of a frigate and a sloop-of-war; the whole of the trade was captured, and ordered to Martinique, under the protection of a frigate. A few days afterwards they were discovered by the Kingfisher and an English frigate; upon which the commander of the French vessel set fire to all the merchant ships, and made his escape. Captain Tompkins further informs us, that, as the French passed Guadalupe, they took on board about 800 troops under the command of General Ott; six days afterwards four frigates returned with the same troops, and landed them on the North side of the Island. The two ships of the line heretofore said to have arrived at Guadalupe, were from Rochefort, and not from Brest, [see the London news in this day's Ledger]; they joined the fleet, which then consisted of twenty sail of the line, besides frigates and corvettes. The French did not touch at Dominica, as formerly stated. The embargo in the British Islands had been taken off immediately on the arrival of the British fleet, so far as respected neutrals. The accounts published of the taking of the Kingfisher, were incorrect: the vessel mistaken for her was the privateer Spy, Captain Dwyer.
Conjecture will again be set afloat to account for these new movements; and from Captain Tompkins we learn that the speculations on the operations of the French, were just as various at Guadalupe as they are here. It was, however, stated with certainty, that when they left Martinique, they were provisioned for a long voyage; which induced the belief that their object was not the islands. Our readers will see by turning to our file, June 22nd, that among other conjectures respecting the motive of Buonaparte in sending out his fleets, we considered it as not improbable that the principal one was to further his grand design upon the immediate territory of Great Britain. Let us suppose the communication made by the commander of the Kingfisher to be correct, and we will see at once that it has an immediate tendency to confirm that opinion. It was said that Admiral Villeneuve had sealed orders, which he was desired to open on reaching a certain latitude, after leaving Martinique. This seems to be corroborated by the return of the troops embarked at Guadalupe, which were probably taken on board under an impression that they were to act against the Islands, but on opening his instructions he found them of a different nature, and so returned troops which were supernumerary. Relying upon this intelligence, we have little doubt that these fleets are on their return to Europe; and if so, there could have been no original design to molest the islands. Then why embark so many troops? We answer for the purpose of invading Ireland; if not England itself, in conjunction with the flotilla.—Admiral O'Brien Drury, who, according to our latest advices, commanded on the Irish station, has no fleet under him, and probably will not be reinforced by a fleet, sufficient to oppose twenty sail of the line: the consequence of an engagement would, therefore, be defeat and disgrace; and whether opposed by the probable force on that station or not, the result would be the debarkation of their army on any part of the Irish coast. What might then be the consequence we forbear even to conjecture. How far the Irish Catholics, exasperated by the late conduct of the ministry and of Parliament, may be disposed to join their suffrages to the cause of the enemy of that government which has so unworthily treated them, is a subject too delicate for our discussion. We sincerely hope that, if such be the design of the French, it may be in time defeated. This will surely be the case if they are overtaken by Nelson; who, however inadequate his force may be to a complete victory, can at least, so far as regards the plan of invading, make a victory over him equivalent, in all respects, to a defeat of his enemy.
By Captain Hipkins, of the schooner Father and Sons, we have received an Antigua paper of the 18th ult. from which we extract the following article, which places the arrival of Nelson beyond doubt, and confirms the above report by capt. Tomkins. It besides corroborates strongly the remarks made in several of our late publications.
Saint JOHN'S, (Antigua) June 18. On Wednesday last, we had the pleasure of seeing the fleet under the command of vice-admiral Lord NELSON, consisting of 12 ships of the line, 4 frigates, 2 sloops of war, and a brig, anchor in the road of St. John, from whence his lordship sailed the next day, about noon, in search of the French fleet.
We understand that his lordship, in consequence of some information he had received, sailed from Barbadoes to Grenada, which, in all probability, prevented his coming up with the French fleet before they passed this island. His lordship did not come on shore; declaring, as we have been told, that he had not been out of the Victory for two years.
Before his lordship sailed, the Nelly schooner, under whose convoy the fleet from this island had sailed on Friday preceding, came in, with the very unpleasant intelligence that all the vessels had been taken, as we had indeed but too much reason to apprehend from the time the French fleet passed by this island. The vessels from this island taken, were 14 in number, viz.—The ships Kerby, Patriot, Mary, Emerald, Nancy, and Prince of Wales, for London—the ships Byam, Martha, West-Indian, and Highlander, for Liverpool—the ships Urania, and Singleton, for Ireland—the brig Caroline, for Halifax, and the schooner Argo, for New-York.—On board these vessels were 5,400 hogsheads of Sugar, besides coffee, and other merchandizes; which, with the vessels, are computed at the value of 400,000 sterl.
The Northumberland, Admiral Cochrane, did not sail with Lord Nelson. And the Curieux brig was despatched for England.
We have the pleasure to inform the publick, that the 96th, a fine strong regiment, under the command of lieutenant colonel Conran, were landed here on Thursday last.
By the above, Lord Nelson must have sailed from Antigua on the 18th of June—On the 19th he was spoken by the Kingfisher to the northward of all the Islands; and on the 20th a vessel from Philadelphia arrived at Antigua, which spoke the French and Spanish fleets, and in 72 hours after spoke Lord Nelson, both steering the same course.
From Captain Haynes of the Glory, arrived on Monday night from Liverpool, we received a file (but not as has been insinuated a double file) of London papers from April 25 to May 13, and of Liverpool papers to May 15—From these we have extracted for this day's paper what will be read in the subsequent columns—The same dates have been received at New-York; and the intelligence, as far as there published, differs very little.
The Traveller of May 11, is wholly occupied with the debate in the House of Lords, on the Catholic Petition. This debate is interesting; and we shall gratify our readers with a detail of it as soon as possible.
Sir Charles Middleton, created BARON OF BARHAM, has been appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, in the room of the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Melville.—Lord Barham was born and educated at Dundee. His father, Mr. Robert Middleton, was Collector of the Customs in that Port in the year 1736.
We observe that on the 11th of May Sir John Orde, in the Glory, arrived at Portsmouth. It appears that he is by many severely censured for losing sight of the combined fleet: professional men have declared that he ought to have taken a large offing before Cádiz, and waited a reinforcement. He has been ordered to strike his flag, and repair immediately to London.
Mr. Grattan has succeeded for the Borough of Malton; and has taken his seat in the House of Commons—He was sworn in on the 2nd of May. This must be pleasing news to every friend of Ireland.
Lloyd's Evening Post, May 10, intimates that General Craig's expedition is gone to the East-Indies, under convoy of Rear Admiral Troubridge.
DRAWINGS IN THE LOTTERY FOR THE BENEFIT OF WILLIAM & MARY COLLEGE. Thirty-fifth Day.
Prizes of 500 dollars—Nos. 7023 7744 2013 6813. Prizes of 15 dollars.
Table with 8 columns: Nos., 341, 348, 481, 123, 790, 1817, 1786, 6324, 3176, 2571, 7424, 1268, 1231, 5737, 5641, 2867, 7990, 5045, 2318, 2774, 6863, 6851, 4191, 5604, 3854, 7748, 1033, 4840, 6382, 7851, 4143, 3251, 2348, 6228, 5122, 5498, 1215, 3223, 5444, 1675, 2195, 6925, 2485, 3548, 1506, 7612, 4677, 4885, 5911, 4371, 1969, 4913, 7247, 4509, 7089, 1692, 5941, 6208, 4505, 6502, 6827, 1014, 1511, 6911, 5020, 6685, 5651, 6743, 7676, 7521, 6041, 3730, 4277, 7172, 5832, 2859.
Thirty-sixth Day. Prizes of 500 dollars—Nos. 882 902 6921 7679. Prizes of 15 dollars.
Table with 8 columns: Nos., 69, 444, 871, 677, 213, 947, 7837, 2433, 2393, 3660, 2282, 3117, 7581, 7408, 3632, 2678, 7904, 5856, 2418, 6090, 2124, 6593, 6507, 4527, 5551, 1995, 6750, 5780, 4842, 4111, 4835, 1943, 5151, 5535, 4567, 7073, 1037, 6592, 7500, 4458, 1651, 2441, 3593, 7359, 5430, 2246, 7593, 4651, 6124, 2177, 3920, 5044, 4480, 3327, 4754, 4691, 6657, 3163, 5867, 6508, 6932, 7417, 1409, 4425, 2119, 3055, 6120, 2367, 6172, 1249, 2819, 2076, 4602, 2787, 3099, 7906, 2502, 3424, 3611, 6144, 2619, 4331, 6830, 4110, 2091, 3913, 6459, 6729, 2520, 5701.
Thirty-seventh Day. Prizes of 500 dollars—Nos. 7503 1464 1372. Prizes of 15 dollars.
Table with 8 columns: Nos., 688, 940, 918, 562, 186, 417, 822, 556, 181, 3759, 7027, 7510, 6470, 1771, 2092, 1663, 2881, 2651, 4099, 2937, 7739, 6214, 1913, 3195, 6623, 7994, 3719, 6311, 6529, 6435, 7999, 6145, 2748, 1692, 1785, 3402, 2374, 2605, 3574, 2890, 7947, 4925, 2618, 7416, 3731, 5219, 1393, 5708, 4077, 2208, 4656, 6013, 6091, 1921, 3745, 6304, 2095, 5660, 1395, 6415, 4926, 7441, 6246, 6441, 4923, 5847, 3430, 4108, 3231.
Thirty-eighth Day. Prizes of 500 dollars—Nos. 352 6370 3110 5723. Prizes of 15 dollars.
Table with 8 columns: Nos., 21, 298, 733, 294, 860, 896, 576, 997, 441, 922, 274, 7780, 3940, 3451, 7755, 7069, 1279, 1913, 1862, 6898, 3961, 6333, 7413, 5735, 1252, 4707, 2842, 2465, 7877, 6764, 7790, 5315, 7132, 1333, 1549, 4316, 5689, 5486, 2935, 6350, 2587, 6444, 4864, 3850, 1574, 3415, 4531, 2201, 5088, 6098, 1247, 1624, 3560, 7225, 7177, 4097, 7595, 1696, 6551, 4718, 7878, 1518, 3527, 3314, 7505, 6201, 5662, 3372, 7505, 4169, 4256.
MR. ELLIOT TO HIS CONSTITUENTS.
LETTER XI.—AND LAST.
I have explained my congressional conduct to the satisfaction, I presume, of every candid man in the district. In imitation of certain characters whose step I am proud to follow, I shall now present my constituents with my general political creed; and they will then determine whether I am an apostate or a republican of unaltered principles.
With the venerable subscribers of the Declaration of Independence, I hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.—That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government." Although I have been from my earliest infancy a firm believer in the Christian Religion, yet I detest the idea of a religion established by law, and cordially subscribe to the sentiments expressed upon this subject in the Declaration of the Rights of the people of this State. I believe the republican system of government to be the best that has ever existed in the world, and the constitution of the United States to be the best of all republican systems hitherto. I believe that the immense territory and heterogeneous population of the United States cannot be preserved in a state of union under a system less energetick than the present constitution; it would be dangerous to make it more democratick, and I hope that it will never be necessary to make it more aristocratick. I believe that Washington was the greatest warrior and probably the most correct statesman in our country. I believe Adams to be a man of integrity and talents, but that the general system of his administration was wrong. I believe that Jefferson is a man of great abilities, and a sincere friend to a republican form of government, and I shall support his administration, and that of every future President during my life, and the constituted authorities generally, so far as in my conscience I shall deem their measures calculated to preserve the constitution and the rights of people. I believe we ought to have no political idols, and that every man ought to be at liberty to express his sentiments in a decent manner respecting the measures of government. I believe that some of the larger states possess too great a degree of influence at the present moment, and that the small states ought to guard their rights with jealous vigilance. I believe that the doctrines preached by certain republicans of distinction, that men should adhere to their party in defiance of their God, and that no regard should be paid to the private characters of candidates for office, are equally immoral and anti-republican, and destructive of religious as well as of correct political principles; and sooner than embrace such detestable dogmas, I will abandon society, and wander in the darkest wild of solitude. I believe that the preservation of republican principles in the United States is inseparably connected with the exertions and talents of wise and good men, and not with the meanness of office hunters, and the madness of enthusiasts. I believe that the American people are possessed of sufficient wisdom and virtue to support a republican government; and I wish for the freedom and happiness of mankind universally.
It appears to me that this cannot be called the creed of an aristocrat or a demagogue: it is that of an inflexible constitutional republican. Such as it is, it will guide and govern my conduct in every future moment of my life. I shall strive to be honest, not enthusiastic; independent, not clamorous. But I shall always be in some degree emulous of a particular trait in the character of Agricola, as described by Tacitus. "Scorning to disguise his sentiments, he always acted with a generous warmth, at the hazard of making enemies."
I shall conclude with a quotation from a speech to the electors of Bristol in England, by Edmund Burke, whose talents will always be the subject of admiration, as his political apostasy will be of regret. "And now, gentlemen, on this serious day, when I come as it were to make up my account with you; let me take to myself some degree of honest pride on the nature of the charges brought against me. I do not here stand accused of venality or neglect of duty. It is not said that, in the period of my service, I have, in a single instance, sacrificed the slightest of your interests to my ambition or my fortune. It is not alleged, that, to gratify any anger or revenge of my own, or of my party, I have had a share in wronging or oppressing any one man of any description: No; the charges against me are all of one kind, that I have pushed the general principles of general justice and benevolence too far; farther than the opinions of many would go with me. In every incident which may happen thro' life, in pain, in sorrow, in depression, and distress, I will think of this accusation and be comforted." JAMES ELLIOT.
NEW-YORK, June 29. The ship Mississippi, captain Skidmore, arrived at this port last evening in 30 days from Nantz, having on board his excellency R. R. Livingston (late minister from the United States to the French government) his lady, and suite. The vessel left Nantz on the 27th of May. Our Paris papers by her are to the 20th, inclusive, and would have furnished some interesting intelligence had not the most important part of their contents been anticipated by late arrivals from London and Liverpool.
We learn verbally, and by the papers in our possession, that Buonaparte arrived at Milan on the 8th May, for the purpose of being crowned King of Italy, and would pass through Brussels on his return; that the Brest fleet had not sailed; that the existence of a treaty between Russia and Great Britain was not known in France; and that no new movements of consequence had taken place in any part of Europe.
Madame Jerome Buonaparte had arrived at Amsterdam, but was not permitted to land, and the ship was ordered to sail immediately, destination not known.
Mr. Livingston is the bearer of bills drawn by the American minister at Paris on the treasury of the United States under the treaty of Louisiana; and it is supposed that all the creditors under that treaty will receive their bills in the course of the summer. The Mississippi has on board 160,000 francs, in bills on the French treasury, for the relief of distressed Frenchmen in America.
In the suite of the American minister are Mr. Peter R. Livingston and Mr. King, son of the hon. Rufus King.
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.
Received at the office of the PUBLICK LEDGER, by the ship Glory, Captain Haynes, from Liverpool. LONDON, MAY 6—13.
Mr. Pitt has this morning informed the Agent for Jamaica, that Government, aware of the danger which threatens the West-India Islands, have lost no time in adopting measures for their protection; that exclusive of the force under Admiral Cochrane, naval and military aids have been sent out which will act according to circumstances.
The Commander of the Viper cutter, which arrived at Plymouth on Friday, has brought intelligence, that the united French and Spanish squadrons were

seen on the 3d inst. by the Guernsey privateer, in lat. 44. F. long. 15. W. Their force consisted of nineteen sail of the line. The Viper was off Cadiz on the 23d ult. at which time she could discover only two sail of the line in that harbour.
Saturday we received a letter from an Officer of the Diadem, from which we can assure our readers, notwithstanding the reiterated rumours to the contrary, that no part of the Channel fleet had been detached in pursuit of the Toulon squadron as late as the evening of the 5th inst.
A great number of French and Dutch troops have lately been sent to Zealand. As they belong to the different Corps composing the army intended to act against England, this movement has excited a very great sensation.
Transports, to convey about 10,000 men, are collecting at Bergen-op-Zoom, as well as in the Island of Walcheren.
The French General Dumas has arrived at Middleburgh and Flushing, in his capacity of Adjutant to Bonaparte: he brought private instructions, which induced a general conference of the French Commanders in that quarter. It quarter. It is generally understood that the Expedition against England will be attempted without delay.
The last despatches received by Government from the Continent are said to intimate decisively, that the Russians are not to take the field this season, unless Bonaparte should cause an attack to be made upon Naples, the Seven Islands, or any of the dominions of Turkey.
A report prevailed yesterday that the Treaty of offensive and defensive Alliance with Russia had been definitively concluded, and that an account of this event had been received by Government. We have reason to believe the rumour premature.
By the Hamburg mail which arrived on Friday we have been favoured with letters from Hamburg and Berlin. An English frigate is said to have been captured off the island of Vion, by the Toulon fleet. The Texel squadron was, according to accounts of the 3d inst. on the point of sailing under the command of Admiral Kikkert.
An article from Hamburg, dated April 20, says, "It is now decided that the new Danish port, so long talked of, shall be formed near Floodstrand, in Jutland; the Danish government have also proposed purchasing the town of Wandsbeck to our Senate."
The foreign Papers contain a letter from Mitau, of the 8th April, which state that on the 7th, at midnight, a fire broke out in one of the wings of the castle, principally inhabited by the General of Artillery. The Count De Lille, the Duke D'Angouleme, and their suite, awakened by the noise, attended and assisted in extinguishing the flames. On the morning of the 8th, smoke was seen to issue from one of the apartments occupied by the Count De Lille. The Minister of Police and many others, repaired to the spot, and in the garet found an old earthen pot, some charcoal and some burnt rags, and the floor on fire, which they extinguished. It seems as if it were meant to be insinuated that the fire was raised on purpose, but no particulars are mentioned so as to point out the object of suspicion.
The following singular paragraph appears in a French Journal, received this morning, dated from frontiers of Turkey, April 7:—"All negotiation between Czermi Georges, having been broken off, the Servian Chief has taken his measures for an immediate opening of the Campaign. Jacques Czaranzig has advanced towards the bank of the Cwina, there to wait for Muss Aga and Zega, who threaten to penetrate into Servia by this route, assisted by a body of British troops!"
The Queen of Etruria, it appears, is expected to attend the Coronation of Napoleon the Great at Milan, where she will be formally introduced to the Imperial family. It is supposed that she will have a very particular introduction to Prince Eugene, who has not yet taken into himself a wife. Buonaparte will have an opportunity of showing the amiableness of his disposition, in the friendly way of bringing the young people together.
Thursday the King in Council commanded the book containing the list of the Privy Counsellors, to be brought and laid before him, which being done, his Majesty drew his pen across the name of Henry Lord Viscount Melville, as an erasure thereof from the said list.
The sailing of two French sail of the line from Rochefort, is confirmed by official despatches.
In the fleet which sailed on Monday evening from Hull, there were sent out to Russia, 110 valuable horses, many of them stallions of the first breed and celebrity, selected in various parts of this country, some English cows, a few dogs, and a number of game cocks and hens.
Letters from Madrid of the 13th ult. state, that the French squadron of Toulon, which sailed from that port about a fortnight ago, appeared on the 7th off Carthagena. Here the Commandant, Vice Admiral Villeneuve, required the junction of the six Spanish ships equipped in that port. Rear Admiral Salcedo, who commands that division, declared he was disposed to form a junction with the French squadron, but added that he would require forty-eight hours to take on board the gun-powder which he wanted. On this declaration, the French commander being unwilling to suffer so favourable an opportunity to escape, proceeded on without waiting for the Spaniards. The Toulon squadron arrived at Cadiz on the afternoon of the 9th in good order, and without seeing the enemy. Immediately the Eagle, a French ship of 74 guns, and two corvettes of the same nation which had remained in the port of Cadiz since their return from St. Domingo, joined the Toulon squadron, and in the evening five Spanish ships of the line, under the command of Admiral Gravina, joined also the French squadron. A sixth Spanish vessel having got aground in going out, was not able to join the fleet till next day the 10th, at which time it began to get under weigh. It was observed, that while the latter was aground, no person was permitted to have any communication with her: besides, the Captain received from Cadiz the most positive orders to throw all his papers into the sea, on the least appearance of danger from the enemy. These circumstances, which sufficiently prove the importance attached to secrecy in regard to this expedition, have rendered the publick curiosity more lively as to its destination, which is the object of a thousand conjectures.
"We have received here no detailed account of the force of the French squadron, but we know that it consists altogether of 20 ships of the line, six frigates, and 4 corvettes, including the vessels which were in the port of Cadiz. It is commanded by Admiral Villeneuve, and the French troops on board, which according to authentic intelligence amount to 20,000 men, are commanded by General Lauriston. Admiral Gravina, who on this occasion supplies the place of M. de Ville-Vencio, first appointed to this command, has under his orders the Spanish vessels. The land troops on board the Spanish of the line, form a total of 2550 men, 1710 of whom are infantry, and the rest artillery. They are all picked troops, selected from those corps most esteemed for their bravery and discipline."
The following particulars respecting the junction of the Toulon and Spanish squadron, have reached us in a letter from Cadiz, dated April 12:
"I wrote you last post (the 9th inst.) all the news which occurred till ten o'clock at night, respecting the Toulon squadron. That night and the following morning, the Spanish fleet of five line of battle ships, and a frigate, joined them. The St. Rafael, another Spanish line of battle ship (a 90,) ran aground, it is
strongly presumed by design of the Commander, Montes. The wind being moderate, and these calm, no hurt happened, but Montes appeared little inclined to follow, when officers from the General of the Navy department, as well as from Admiral Alava, obliged him to sail about 24 hours after the others; so that yesterday, at six o'clock in the morning, she was out of sight, and her junction with the fleet is of course supposed. At eight o'clock yesterday morning an English brig of war was in sight, but disappeared in the afternoon, and since then we have seen nothing else. It must be confessed, that the French do not appear to be such great bunglers in naval affairs, as they were during the Revolution: all the ships appeared to be in the best state; they came from off Carthagena in thirty hours, and in the morning of the day before yesterday they were seen in full sail, and in great order, keeping their line with much exactness."
LIVERPOOL, May 15. Since our last publication, several mails and messengers have arrived from the continent, but nothing has transpired to warrant the hope, expressed at the opening of the present session of Parliament, of a continental connection. Despatches received by government and the Russian ambassador, are stated to bring the ratification of the treaty which has been so long negotiating between this country and the Emperor Alexander. The ratification of a treaty may sound very well, but we want something more than names set to an agreement. We want to see substantial assurances of action, and in that respect we much fear that we shall be disappointed, if there be any weak enough to entertain such hopes.
So delusive is the prospect of a continental war, that we learn from letters, dated Hague the 6th inst. that Buonaparte's new title of king of Italy has been recognised by the Emperor of Austria. Indeed if anything were wanting to prove the conscious security in which our mortal enemy reposes, and the contempt with which he considers our endeavours to form a continental confederacy against his gigantic power and his unbounded ambition, it might be found in his present visit to his Italian dominions. He leaves the care of his good people of France to his military banditti; he smiles at the chance of insurrection; and proceeds by easy journies with all the testimonies usually paid to a beloved and venerated sovereign through the cities and towns of his empire. At Lyons, Grenoble, Geneva, and Turin, he is hailed with triumphant honours; he graces his train with the abject presence of the successor of St. Peter, who is now literally what he was before but figuratively servus servorum ; he creates Princes and Princesses; he overawes the Court of Vienna; terrifies that of Naples; and all this he does with as much indifference as if not only he had nothing to apprehend from Russia, but as if even an alliance, defensive and offensive, had been cordially concluded between him and the Emperor Alexander. So well is he served in his absence, that expeditions are undertaken, and his fleets put to sea without what was formerly thought indispensable, his special instructions, or his personal superintendence. He waits, no doubt with impatience, the moment when the grand attack upon our coasts may be attempted, but he feels that in order to facilitate the execution of this formidable enterprise, he must weaken our naval force at home.—To this conviction we may justly attribute the late attack upon our West-India islands, and the sailing of the combined fleet from Cadiz, which is certainly destined to execute some act of colonial aggression. He attacks us in the extremities, for the purpose of striking a fatal blow at the heart of the British empire. But although he has calculated on the precarious system of blockades, and on the ultimate contingency of having a superior force at sea, he has not taken into his account the spirit, the magnanimity, the numbers, of the British people, to whom death would be preferable to the yoke of a foreign tyrant. The sea is now at hand, when the grand floua at Boulogne will resume all its activity, and when Buonaparte will himself, after his Italian coronation, preside over its movements.—The vast number of small craft that compose it continues to increase, and the army of England, on the opposite coast, as it is ostentatiously called, has of late been considerably reinforced. In proportion as the enemy augments the means of aggression, we are confident the country will not be wanting in adding to its resources, and confirming its patriotism. Government is well aware of the policy of Buonaparte; if his majesty's ministers once thought an invasion likely to be attempted, surely that sentiment must derive new weight from the present relative state of naval affairs between the two powers: they ought, therefore, to act with a promptitude and vigour adequate to the crisis; they have at their disposal a great and effective force; and, should it be necessary, they will, in addition to the regular volunteer army, by calling out the levy en masse , put into activity the whole strength of the nation.
The question of final Catholick emancipation was certainly discussed in a very masterly manner on Friday evening last by the noble lords who took the lead on the opposite sides; and although several have yet to express their opinions upon this interesting subject, there is but too much reason to anticipate the decision of the house. Of all the topics which have, for the last twenty years, engaged the attention of parliament, not one has occurred capable of eliciting more powerful, yet contrary arguments. On the one hand, in favour of the Catholick claims, it is maintained, that the feelings and interests of between three or four millions of our fellow subjects should be gratified, that there exists no principle, no doctrine in the Catholick religion which should exclude those who profess it, from the participation in the government, and all the benefits of the constitution; that all the concessions granted to them during his majesty's reign, have tended only to render them better citizens, and more loyal subjects; that by the great measure of the union, it was proposed to remove all the remaining disqualifications under which they still laboured; that a cordial conciliation and complete union of the whole body of the British people, is at this crisis peculiarly desirable; that the principle of a free constitution is composed of, and consists in, equal laws and privileges; that having given to them, in the fullest manner, the right of acquiring property, the rejection of their claims would destroy the influence naturally arising from it, and that no practical disadvantage can result from the admission of Roman Catholicks into both Houses of Parliament, and the great offices under government, to the present establishment of church and state.
On the other hand, it is contended, that the grand principle of the constitution growing out of the revolution and the bill of rights, requiring the king to be a protestant, his immediate advisers, and those delegated to act for him, ought to be of the same religion; that there is an extreme difference between civil rights already granted to the Catholicks, and political power for which they now petition; that the concession of the Catholick claims would justify the repeal of all the existing tests, as it would be absurd to refuse to the dissenters what might be granted to the Catholicks; and, above all, that the acknowledgment of the king's supremacy, which is not contained in the oath they offer to take, ought, while they refuse it, to form an insurmountable bar to the objects of their petition.
The subject is unquestionably of great importance, and although we have our own opinions on it, candour compels us to admit that difficulties attach to
each side of the question, sufficient to repress dogmatism, and excite the spirit of diffidence and modesty. For ourselves, we shall consider with the most minute attention, the arguments which may be adduced in both houses; but from the pulse of ministers, felt as it was last Friday in the upper house, there can be little difficulty in ascertaining the issue of the Roman Catholick Petition.
It is yet undecided whether any detachment from the channel fleet has been sent in pursuit of the combined squadron; but we understand that government have determined to send out such strong reinforcements to the commander in chief, as may enable him to despatch a number of vessels according to the exigency of any unforeseen and pressing occasion. The press, which is now carried on with the greatest activity on the river, and in the out-ports, will be continued until every ship of the line either fit for service, or being equipped in a short time, shall have been completely manned.
The order for an embargo at this port was announced from the custom-house last Thursday, on which day, and indeed during the whole week, the press-gangs have been indefatigable in their exertions. Persons of all professions, as well as seamen, have been occasionally taken, though many have been released on proper application having been made on their behalf. In the early part of the week about forty Irishmen, just landed from a Dublin packet, and who were proceeding up the country in search of employment, were pressed, and taken on board the tender. Since that, however, most of them have been liberated.
The country are given to expect that the military will become the next and immediate branch of national investigation; and if the commissioners are pure and honourable men, and the powers with which they are to be invested, be ample and uncontrolled, such scenes of profligate peculation will, it is said, be developed, as will, comparatively, enrobe Lord Melville and Mr. Trotter in vests of official purity! But nothing short of a fair and open tribunal of inquiry will either satisfy the just claims of the country, or appease the general resentment of an injured people! These national inquisitors must be selected out of independent senators, men of business, and superior to all staff , or other militia influence whatever, for they will have to pass mountains and labyrinths of figures, drawn up for years in great martial array, and to explore defiles of subtleties, which nothing but patience and perseverance can possibly pass through! Their commission must not be rendered nugatory by a fifth clause , justifying a contumacious silence in examinations, lest any acknowledgment on their part should tend to their own crimination!
The people of Edinburgh have voted, and have probably begun to erect, a statue complimentary to Lord Melville:—As no inscription is yet fixed upon, we would recommend to the worthy citizens there the Tenth Report!
The news of the "lamentable end" of a certain Noble Lord has not been received in his own country with all the demonstrations of grief that were expected. No bells were rauffled on the occasion, but not a few of his ardent admirers were certainly struck dumb .
One of the subects of inquiry by the naval commissioners, is said to be the article of hemp : the publick will probably look for this as the finish !
Intelligence from Cork of the 9th says, "On Saturday morning last, the outward bound West-Indian, and the transports with the 62d and the 63d regiments of infantry on board, under convoy of the Africaine, got under weigh in Cove harbour; but had scarcely reached the harbour's mouth when they were recalled by signal from rear-admiral Drury, and now remain at anchor until further orders. One of the light battalions quartered at Bandon, marched in here this day: the other is expected in tomorrow. The light companies of the 71st, 72d, and 89th, are also arrived."
Last week a most flagrant insult was offered to the British character at Tonningen. The commander of the Danish guard-ship in that port, sent a party on board captain Wilson of Sunderland's vessel, to carry him on board the guard-ship, where he was tied up, and received twelve lashes with a rope's end. In consequence of this proceeding, all the British captains have joined in a petition against the Danish officer, which has been forwarded to the British minister at Copenhagen. They have also forwarded a memorial on the subject to London.
Gazette Marine Memoranda.
ARRIVED.
Ship Earl of Leicester, Calhif, 14 days from Guadalupe, Ballast, William Pennock.
Sch'r Father & Sons, Hipkins, 12 days from Antigua, Rum, Sugar & Coffee, Donaldson Thorburn, & Co.—Left there 21st June, sch'r Sally & Priscilla, Hinton, of and for Fredericksburg the 1st July.—June 26, in lat. 25, long. 66, spoke brig Argus, Holten, from Rhode Island, for St. Bartholomews.
Sch'r Triumph, Fallen, 3 days from Charleston, Rice & Cotton, D. R. Waddel & Co.
Sch'r Charlotte, Block, 48 hours from New-York.
Sch'r Comfort, Drummond, 5 days from Charleston.
Sch'r Hornet, Tompkins 13 days from Guadalupe, Sugar, Wilson, Cunningham & Co.—Left there, sch'r John, Bayton, of this port, to sail next day; sch'r Baker, of Philadelphia, to sail in 6 days; a schooner from Savannah, just arrived—Spoke on Monday last, 50 leagues from Cape Henry, brig Sea Flower, Wickham, of and from Baltimore for Barbadoes.
Sch'r Virginia, Forsyth, 13 days from St. Martins, Rum, Sugar, Coffee & Molasses, E. Roberts. In Hampton Road, schooner Seventy-Six, Wills, from Trinidad.
A French ship 40 days from L'Orient, for City Point, anchored in Hampton Road yesterday. Brig Wheeler, Bessom, hence has arrived at St. Thomas.
Charleston, June 26.
The sch'r Mary, capt. Stephen Charles, of Camden, (N. C.) sailed from that port on the 11th April last bound for Jamaica. On the 24th was boarded by a French felucca in company with the brig Minerva, Samuel Parsons, master, and after being plundered and detained 24 hours, under the west of Caicos, sent the brig's crew on board the schooner, and then let her proceed, but sent the brig into Barracoa. On the 14th of May, capt. Charles sailed from Jamaica bound to Charleston, with a cargo of rum and molasses; on the 22d of May, off Cape St. Antonio, was taken by a French privateer, commanded by one Paul, who said that he was determined to capture all American vessels bound from an enemy's port that had either a cargo or money on board. The crew of the schooner were sent on shore; but capt. Charles and the cabin boy were detained on board the privateer until the 6th inst. when they were put on board the schooner Polly, capt. Marble, and arrived here on Monday last.
CUSTOM-HOUSE—ENTERED.
Ship Glory, Haynes, Liverpool. Thomas, Chisholm, Guadalupe. Erig Flora, Benthall, Liverpool. Sch'r Father & Sons, Hipkins, Antigua. Comfort, Drummond, Charleston. Hornet, Tompkins, Guadalupe.
CLEARED.
Ship Aurora, Titcomb, Algiers. Sch'r Margaret Tingey, English, New-York.
FOR LONDON, The American ship ABERDEEN, WILLIAM MORGAN, Master:—Burthen about 430 hogheads tobacco—Intended to sail by the 1st of August—can take on freight about 200 hogheads tobacco, and 50 bales cotton. For terms apply to J. & W. Southgate. July 5. 792
FOR BOSTON, The fast sailing schooner HAUNAH, Captain ELDREDGE, Burthen 900 barrels—will sail in 3 or 4 days. For freight or passage, having good accommodations, apply to Martin Fisk. July 5. 793
LANDING ON CALVERT'S WHARF, From on board the Schooner Hannah , from New-Orleans, 530 Barrels PORK. 130 do. BEEF, which will be re-inspected, and put in complete shipping order. IN STORE, 150 Barrels New-York Prime and Cargo PORK. 24 Hhds. & 24 Bbls. White & Brown Clayed SUGAR. 20 Puncheons Tobacco RUM. 40 Tierces Dutch LINSEED OIL. Dutch GLASS WARE, assorted in cases. 1000 Barrels Superfine and Fine FLOUR —For sale by James Dykes & Co.
WHO WANT TO CHARTER, A fast sailing Vessel, of 11 to 1300 Barrels, to load at Alexandria for Jamaica. July 5. 794
MARTIN FISK, Has this day landed from the ship Glory , from Liverpool, AN ELEGANT ASSORTMENT OF CUT GLASS, For family use—such as Decanters, Wine Glasses, & Tumblers. July 5. 795
SUGAR, COFFEE, AND RUM.
THIS DAY WILL BE LANDED, From on board the Schooner Father & Sons John Hipkins, Master, from Guadalupe, and Antigua, 40,000 lbs. Good Muscovado SUGAR. 12,000 lbs. Green COFFEE. 125 Puncheons Antigua RUM. For sale on liberal terms, by Donaldson, Thorburn & Co. July 5. 796
TO BE SOLD, On Wednesday the 17th instant, at 12 o'clock, Before the Exchange Coffee House, SEVEN NEGRO SLAVES. Three Males, and four Females. The above Negroes are sold under a deed of trust from John Gwyn, for the benefit of George Wilson. The Trustee. July 5. 797
CAMPHOR AND BARK.
THE SUBSCRIBER, HAS JUST RECEIVED, 200 lbs. REFINED CAMPHOR. In small convenient Casks of 2 lbs. each.—Also, RED, YELLOW, AND PALE BARK, Fresh—Apply to N. Gregory. July 5. 791
DR. REES'S NEW CYCLOPEDIA. SAMUEL F. BRADFORD, & CONRAD & CO. PHILADELPHIA. Are preparing to publish, by subscription, THE NEW CYCLOPEDIA; OR UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. IN TWENTY VOLUMES, 4to. FORMED UPON THE ENLARGED PLAN OF ARRANGEMENT THAN THE DICTIONARY OF MR. CHAMBERS. COMPREHENDING The various articles of that work, with additions and improvements, together with new subjects of Biography, and History, and adapted to the present improved state of Literature and Science, BY ABRAHAM REES, D. D. F. R. S. Editor of the 1st Edition of Cambell's Dictionary , with the assistance of eminent professional gentlemen.
Illustrated with plates, including maps, engraved for the work, by some of the most distinguished artists. The whole improved and adapted to this country, by gentlemen of its own abilities, by whose aid it will be rendered the most complete work of the kind that has yet appeared.
CONDITIONS.
1. The work will be printed in large quarto, with new types, cast for the purpose, and on a superior woven paper. II. It will be comprised in about twenty volumes, from eight hundred to a thousand pages each. III. A half volume, in boards, will be regularly published every two months, price three dollars, payable on delivery. No advance will be required. IV. Any subscriber, who, upon receipt of the first half volume, does not approve of the work, shall be at liberty to withdraw his name. V. Between six and seven hundred plates, engraved in a superior style of elegance, will be comprised in the course of the publication: by far a greater number than is to be found in any other scientific dictionary. At the close of the publication will be delivered an elegant frontispiece, the dedication, preface, and proper title pages for the different volumes. VI. The work will be put to press as soon as a sufficient number of subscribers are obtained. VII. A list of the names of those who subscribe will be published in the last volume, as the patrons of this great and magnificent work.
Subscriptions received by Bonsal, Conrad & Co. Norfolk. July 5. 798
FOR SALE, BY THE SUBSCRIBER, 82 Puncheons Windward Island RUM. 35 do. Jamaica do. 10 do. Old Jamaica do. 10 Pipes Holland GIN. 8 Pipes 4th proof Cognac, } BRANDY. 12 do. do. Alcant, } 17 Pipes, } 4 Half Pipes, } FINE OLD SICILY WINE. 2 Qt. Casks, } 4 Half do. } 15 Quarter Casks Sherry WINE. 30 Crates well assorted EARTHENWARE. 9 Casks do. GLASSWARE. 5 Cwt. Dry White LEAD. Half Ton STEEL. 4 Hogheads Philadelphia Loaf SUGAR. 1238 Barrels Superfine, } FLOUR. 489 do. Fine, } 50 Hogheads Petersburg, } TOBACCO. 50 do. Richmond, } 42 do. Lowland, } A. Maclure. April 29. 699