The gazette. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1798-1799, 1798-09-17

Portland.
Communication.
MoND.4r, SEPTEMBER '71, 1898.

a crime which far exceeds whatever is fnbjea 10
weight, msafare aud calculation, viz. the hor-
rid but namelels crime agana the moral fyf-
tenn Of the univerft. WHAT'S the delruaion Of
city or province, the unProvoked and needles
conquea of kingdom, and even the exterrni
nation of half the human race? Thee thisgs
are but earthquakes, pe(tilence and famine.
But having once entertained the var ambition
to enlave mankind, and finding that mere ply
zeal force aided only by eltlbliihsd morals and
religions, would not only be Insufficient TO the
end, bur awed by thcfe would rcfulc to at !;
then to form the deGgn Of removing thefe imPe
dimeuts in the mind Of man, ard without com
Function or remorfe, amidR all the confequenl
horrors to proceed in the MOI deliberate ana
underwriting manner % its full and perfst3 ex
ecntion This is greataefs, this IS glory, in de
ference to which the prince Of darkness will rife
fiom his throne, and all hel; fall proRrate on
on their faces, on the arrival Of the French
patriots from the edge Of thu gullotire, fro0f
the field of battle, from the dagger Of afafina
ton, or from Cayenne. To overthrow a moral,
intellectual, and metaphysical empire Is talk
the greatness of which we have feen in the
means it required reaore it ages mu # pats
away.
The great plan which Condorcet, Robefpierre
and Others finally executed in France, had been
conceived, its religious part by Voltaire, and
its political by Rouaeau Thefe gentlemen Of
the cloiet, in Whole writings we fee more the
JsHlag5 of youth than the reflection of age, rather
the enttuliafic apprehension Of what man in To-
ciety might be defred to Be, than what he is or
can be; in fine, more Of wit and turn than foil
dity and fenle, were frR rerorted to and deifej
when it Became necedary to perfuade tie VIOLA
tile French that they NUT be regenerated. On
the one hand, monarchy was found to be an
inveterate abule and wholly UNREASONABLE on
the other, religion was difcovered 10 be nothing
but folly and fuperRition (; aud no 4 oner were
thele novelties made public than the people
greedily devoured them, overthrow the fuppofed
abules, and as Tom Paine fays, " the monk
and the monarch were left to rot and moulder
together. During fome time there was no Cod
acknowledged in France but what they called
Resi5n, that is their own imagnations. They
beheaded their King to get rid Of monarchy,
and baniihed God 10 hake of religion. Nay,
they went farther, for morality might politely
fill have remained-but this they aboliihed BY
declaring that all was lawful which tended to
aggrandize what they called the Republic, and
all was criminal thatwas idle or opppoled. Thus
all thar had been facred in government, rsli.
gion, or morality, in fact even the poltenels-
and whole character of the nation, were annbi
lated-and in their places came again Of conrie
what. thele things had gradually fubdued Or
chaaened, the whole gang of Gothic and Van
dalicferocities and follies. Thus were vindicat-
ed the noble rights Of nan p thus was per
fe6ed the elegant age gf rsqjau."
Was it or was it not incumbent on the Jaco-
bins Of this country to forelee the coufequence
Of introducing this legion Of devils among hi.
happy people Was It Of 70 importance thar
an infant government, ike ours, boull Be ref
Peacd, infead Of being vilaea AMI ABUSED il
the mott fcandalous and deteaable manner p
What have we not fulFered BY the contempt
imported from France and thrown hy our own