The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-10-10


respecting the early proceedings of many of the
United States were before the publick.-
1t any whcretheie documents, are to be found,
1t mutt be IN the archives and regiters of the fe-
veral provinces. And if to any perions accefs
To thcte be open, it might naturally be fupposed
to be to the fon of General Waihington,+ for
the purpofe of completing an account OF the
life of his father, and TO the Chief Juitice of the
United States employed in drawing up that life.
Yet this account of the early proceedings of the
States is drawn up entirely from the vulgar and
fcanty documents already before the public !;
and not even an attempt has been made TO pre-
TENT us with any thing more perfect. The au-
thor candidly acknowledges that this is the cafe {;
and that the collection of the requiite materials
" would require a length of time, and labour
OF reiearch which neither the impotence of the
public, nor the fituation Of the author would en-
able him TO betow on the fubjett.' He applies
the terms "crude efiay," " Imperfect iketch,''
to his own performance. This may be very
good falvo for the authors reputation but it is
poor fatisfattion to the public, who have a
large, expenhve book impoted upon them, which
IS good for little or nothing.
In the management of the common materials
for which we are under no obligation to Mr..
Buihrod Warrington, or Chief Jufice Marihall,
we cannot fay that they have efabliihed very
itrong claims upon our gratitude admiration.
There is no order in the relation of the facts {;
they follow one another according to no plan |;
there is no enlightened view of the caufes and
origin of events; there is no exhibition of their
chain and connection /; Of any of the fchemes of
policy by which the affairs of the United States
were influenced, there is fcarcely any notice {;
not even difin6 outline of them is exhibited |;
much lefs is there any satisfactory account of
their nature, and tendency. And any one who
has no knowlede of the fpecies of government
under which the Britifh Colonies fubiifted in A
merica, previous to the interruption of their
connection with the mother country, will not
find himfelf much inftruded in the fubjeet by a
perufal of the volume before us.
The hifory of the North American Colonies,
from the place where MIR. Marihall may be faid
to have taken it up, that is, where it is laid
down by DIR. Robertion, till the commence
ment of tine dhputes with the mother country,
is naturally divided into two ditind portions,
of which, however, Mr.. Marfhall feems not to
have been at all aware: frft, that period during
which the feveral colonies were ttruggling indi-
vidually with the difficulties of an infant eftab-
lilhment, fcarcely in any degree connected with
one another, or contending about their bounda-
ries, and other interfering interefs and fe-
condly, after they had now attained fate near
ly of equal firmnefs and PROPERTY, that period
during which their efforts were united together
againit common enemy, the French in Canada,
and when advancing all by limar feps, they'ex-
hibit the appearance of one nation. 1t is evident
that the mode of treating thcfe two portions of
the hiitory Oh America ought to be very differ
ent. In the hrit part each province or COLONY
requires feparate and diftinf attention and
no plan can be more judicious than that pointed
out by DR.. Robertfon, to relate the hifory of
the two mott ancient and important eftablifh-
ments In detail and with regard to the Others
to fate only the more important dates and ge-
neral circumstances; and any difference which
was found between thefe and the fates more
fully defcribed. Much care and art was necef
larry in arranging multitude of contemporary
particulars TO prevent the need of difgufing re-
petition. Thole parts or the fubieSt ihould
have been carefully thrown together which were
mott connected, or which tended mott to illuf-
trate each other.-General obfervations, or ee
neral facts ihould have been placed in that fitu-
alton where their connection with all the parts
of the fubjeGt to which they relate might have
been fecn at once; and there fhould be no oc
CATION to repeat them over and over as often AS
any particular occurs to which they refer. The
author of this volume has little claim to ap-
plaufe on this important account. He takes ND
his fubjeGts in great meafure by chance, or
according to any cafual afiociation; and feems
not to have been 70 much matter of his fubiecf
do 10 ice Clearly IN Wndt MUTATION each partICu-
lar would be mott advantageou1y placed; where
it would be belt llufrated by what had gone
before, and where it would ferye mott to af
trate what fhould follow.
In the next portion, which is little more than
hlltory ofthe wars in Canada, it was hardly
poiiible for the author to produce 70 much con-
fulton. The fubje6t was abundanty iimple
and he had the benefit of the labours of all the
Engliih hiftorians, of whole works the hiftorv of
the wars in Canada made neceiTary part. It is
to be obferved, however, that the hitory of thefe
wars, like all the reft of the more recent part of
the Engliih hi(fory, has never yet been iuttrated
with any ability: and not little remained TO be
done to fet it in brilliant light. In particular
the internal operations which were produced
within the different nates of America by thefe
wars were very inperfe6tly known to the Eng
liih hitorians, and defcrved to be accurately in
veitigated and recorded by the protected hiftori-
an OF the States. 1t was during thefe wars that
the States frft began to act in concert. BY this
union, and by the efforts they found themfelves
enabled to make, their views were changed.
They began TO think themfelves of too much i'm
portance to be commanded and conftrained by
the mother country: and as fhe inlited mott
ultimately on the right of CONFIRMING them,
the dnpute between them foon came to extre-
nifty. The origin and progrefs of this fpirit a.
mong the North American colonifs and the
effect which the proceedings relative to the wars
in Canada had in producing it, was the mott GU
rious and nterelting inquiry connected with this