Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1802-11-16

cho:ea 20 give taefn} as contained sny
inAruaions or direction, ei,iler 70 Mr..
Monroe, or to Mr.. Morris, or to any
other psffon Rejecting me for, after you
were Informed of my imprisonment III
France, il was Incumbent on you 10 have
made fonie enquiry INTO the cauf, as you
might well conclude, that ! bad r1ot The
opportunity Of informing youoflt. can
not undeyaand your flence upon this iuo.
jea upon any other ground, than as conn!-
vance at my imprisonment and this IS
the manner it is undeTitood here, AID Will
be undcrAood ia America, un!eis you can
give ne authority for contradltting IT.
| therefore write you this letter, TO PRO
pole to you to lend me copies Of any letters
you have written that may remove that
fufpicion. In the preface TO the ieeond
part Of the Age OF Realon, have given
a memorandum from the hand writing OF
Robe(pierre, 10 which he propolad decree
of accuiation againa ne, "tor the mfe,ef
sfAmeyiea as qyeN as # Fyanre.' he
could have no caute for putting America
into the cafe, but by interpreting the II
lence of the American government into
connivance and content. was imprion-
ed on the ground Of being born in Eng.
land and your flence in not enqu'ring
into the cauie Of that imprisonment aud re-
claiming me againf II, was tacl'ly giving
me up. | ought not TO have iaPetted
you Of treachery bur whether | recover
from the ilInefs Inow fufer, or not, fhall
continue to think you treacherous, t:Il you
give me cauie to think o,terwilc. | am
iure you would have found yourlef more
at your cafe, had you acted as you ought;
for whether your dsiertion OF NE was In
tended to crafty the Engliih government,
or let me fall into dettru9ion in France,
that you might exclaim the louder agalnlt
the French revolution, or whether you
hoped by my extinction to meet with lelS
oppofition in mounting up the American
government either OF theie will involve
you in reproach, you will not eahly lhske
of.
THOMAS PAINE.
Here follows The letter above alluded
TO, which l had topped in complaiance
to Mr.. Monroe.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, Prsfderf
oftbs United STATES.
PARIS, October AID, 1895.
Asi; is always painful to reproach thofe
one would with to refpetf, it is not with
out fome difficulty that | have taken The
reloIution TO write to you. The dangers
TO which have been expofed cannot have
been unknown to you, and the guarded
lilence you have obfervel upon that cir
cumaance is what ought not to have ex-
petted from you, either as friend or pre-
lident of the United States.
You know enough of my character to
be a.Gured, thar could not have deleryed
imprisonment in France, and without
knowing any thing more than this, you
had fofacient ground to have taken fome
intere.t for my fafety. Every motive
ariGag from recollection of times paa,
ought TO have iugsefed to you the pro-
priety Of fuch mealure. But | cannot
fad that you have 70 mach as directed any
enquiry to be made, whether was In
prifon or at liberty, dead or alive ; wha,
the caufe of that imprisonment was, or
whether there was any ferYicc or aGfance
you could render. Is this what | ought
to have expected from America, atserl the
part have acted towards her, Or will il
rebound TO her honour or to ours, that |
tell the tory ] DO not heGtate to fay,
that you have not ferved America with
more dinntereAedne{s or greater zeal, or
more fidelity than m elf, and | know not
if will, better efe5f. After the revolution
of America wa, efablifhed, ! ventured in
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