Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1803-09-29

'orfal Amff5 4gthe parslafe # eiib<r - IN.
LOUISIANA o. The FLoRIDAs
Not to efeHage the treaty, that !.
coming before the Senate Of the rs = S0o
States; not to impeach the motiv oaitd
views of the executive, or the conf AID
the diplomatic agents; not to exc;t.
and irritation in the public mind H., %'1rN
writer undertaken these ESSAYS; HE ~, -. ne
are to point out the injuricis efeo, .I'u'
Pecially in a young and thinly-settlsdS =, s.
try, Of draining away from it vast sns
cash; and also TO check the currenas
misrepresentation and efface erroneon9
pressions, by proving that an acquisi,;oa alI
Western territory, more or less car
conducive to the interests of the II St..
no farther than as it should tend 70 ss ess'
the free and uninterrupted navigation of.l
Western waters. Boundlcss applause H..
been bestowed on the wisdom Of The -. :"
cutive, manifested in the recent insta,on =
the purchase OF Louisiana. The cbeannn.
Of the purchase has becnnoticed with ssen, '
ing wonder and astunishment. P;f,os
million of dollars have been considered :,
a trihing sum, compared with the immers'
magnitude of the worth OF the object fr
which it has been pledged. The vast e..
tent Of Louisiana and the extreme fertility
Gifts soil have been expayiated upon in b,
guage of rapture. Such representation,
might induce a belief IN he public mind
that Louisiana, annexed to the Union
would difuse streams Of wealth througbut
the whole nation. Nothing can be more
erroneous than such an opinion.
1t has, | conceive, been clearly shown
in the course of these essays, that the Uni.
TED States already posses vastly too much
territory for their breseiu interest; that The
annexation and SPEEDY settlement of Louis.
ana would tend to impoverish and weaken
our nation, by Dispensing its population and
dissipating its capitals; and would be ex.
tremely injurious, particularly TO the East.
ern and Middle States, drawing from them
a considerable portion Of their money and
OF their enterprizing and industrious inha-
bitants, who are greatly needed at home
Hence it plainly follows, that arguments
drawn from the consideration Of the vast
extent and supposed fertility Of Louisiana,
are totally inapplicable: because, on the
supposition that Louisiana were as extern
Sive even as all Europe, the possession of
1t for the mere purpose OF forming settle
ments, could be no valuable object 70 NJ
ton that has not attained TO the twentieth
part ola full population, withints doncs-
tic territory. By the government Of the
Uni,ed States, andby the individual States,
there are now owned waste lands more than
enough, it is believed, to cover all the do
nestle territory of France immense tracts
Of uncultivated lands, within the limits Of
the Union, are also owned as private pro.
perry. In the name of wonder, what need
is there Of more land, far the bnrboSc2fcu-
tvatiop2
Suppose the fertility of the soil Of Lou.
siana equals or even SURPRISES the ford de-
8crlptions which have been given OF it; that
it is capable of producing sugar, coffee,
cocoa, pimenro, molasses, canejulce, sPi-
rit or rum, cotton, indigo, gums, saffron,
raubarb, and in general most Of the PrecI-
ous articles ofproduce, which the West
india Islands do or can Yield '-what avals
all this to nation that has neither rnoney
to spare for the purchase OF slaves, nor Ia
bourers for the cultivation of the newly &C.
quired soil. "The cultivation OF LOUISE
siana, Mr.. Livingston observes, (and his
remarks are indisputably accurate, respect,
ing that part Of it which can be expected
to yield the aforementioned articles OF pro-
duce), is to be carried on, as in all warm
by slaves" On their arrival Z. Z,
Louisiana, Che further SAYS the slaves wiz
De employed in the barren occupations o.
telling the large forests with which this M
menses country is covered, labour but Ut