Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1803-01-06

lom, periodical publication, that I met
with, nearly twenty years ago.
The name Of Republican IS as general
and indefinite as tina. Of Amsrieaa. Bri-
tain was called a republic, when ou'er tie
aefpo,ifn Of Cromwell. France is It'll!
denon,nated republic. There are elai-
tiers Of republics in Europe, which are the
offspring of the French revolution. Theie
all differ from each other, in their manners
and in thar forms of government /; and
they differ ltillmpr from the manners and
government of the United States. There-
tore the. nam- Of rrpub'iean does not DIFF
tingalHa our nation from the nations Of
Europe, whole governments are as diaer
ent from ours, as their people are locally
diaant. 1t is a general denomination,
that isin no meafure defcriptiye Of The Pc
culiar kind of republican government I'M
der which We live.
The name Of FeasraljR, IN IFS aPplica-
ton 70 the republican inhabitants OF the y
nitel States, is definite and appropriate,
aud hoail never be loft becaale It ex-
preiT.s peculiar trait in our government,
which diainguiihes Us fromthe republicans
Of Europe. Aman cannot be true tede-
-alif, unefs he be a real republican but
men may be republicans, who are antifede-
ralias OF oppoiers TO our form Of govern
ment. The great MATS of French repu5li-
cans were oppoGed to a tsderafe iyltem OF
government (; for advocating which, Bril-.
fo, and his party were bro't to the guillo-
tine. Our contribution is ariefly repub-
lican; ana i;has properly obtained the
diainaive epithet Of tsderal; inailnnch as
it confederates the leveral States, or links
them all together. The fedefalifes took
their name from their adherence to cui na-
tional conGitution ara the name implies
a protection Of fuch fvitcm Of republican
principles as that contribution marks out;
ia contradi9inttion to the various repuoli-
can forms of government, In the other
parts of the world.
THOMAS PAINE, in his fecond letter
TO the citizens Of the United States, amid
feveral columns OF favings, calls the fede-
ralif2s {" non. defc-ipt race, ana Of eqni-
vocal eel.era,ion;'' and Jays, The
name Of Feasra!je contains no defined
idea"-" defcribss no character OF princi-
pie, good or bad II the man, inf}ead
of coming from France, had been Dropped
but lat month, from the moon or feom the
planet-of fEerfchel, he could lcarcely have
difcovered, on this fabjeet greater
degree of grofs ignorance, than he has
done.
It is an incontrovertible truth, that the
name Of republican 50 contains no defaea
idsa - becaafe there are known, at this
dly, to be various nations and clailes of
republicans, of different and oppofite po-
lifical principles. Onthe other hand, she
name Of federakf doss 6 contain a 9etfued
idea lie doss g defcribe a character"
of repuniicanifm Of that peculiar form,
which our national conititurion acknow-
lodges and Ganttions. It's, in fat, the
only political name, In this country, that
has diaingoilhed and appropriate mean.
ing: and If the name Of feaeral5G were
10 be lott, there would be none remaining
TO difilngn;lh ,he people of the y. States
from the +" non-defcript, race" Of French
and ofher European republicans, democrats
and jacobins.
NOMENCLATOR.