Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1806-03-04

ings Could have bsen CHEF ked aud PIE
vented as the true causes of their n,isior-
tunes?
these questions are made By every
body, and we must corf:ss that daily CIR.
cumstances occur which in our opi,.ion
render satisfactory answer more and
more difficult We submit ,ns,a to the
public as immediately Interested in Inc
clearing up OF ii mystery which appears
TO hang ever this AFFAIR, and which seyi.
ousiy threatens the interest Of our Eel.
Iow-citizens."
The first impression made on the
reader by perusal Of these questions
is that they are the offspring OF some
man, who hacknied in the vices of
European governments, has under
taken, through ignorance or malevo-
lence, to ascribe to those who admi-
mister our system the like atrocities
with those committed by transa;lan-
tic administrations in short, that
they are the production of some TO-
reigner, who, from causes easily as
slgnable by every man ecoaversant
with some recent occurrences, or from,
those OF an inexplicable nature, is thus
UNANIMOUSLY employed in despoilinp
one of the purest characters in the ma
ton of his fair fame, and aiming a
deadly blow at the character of the
whole government. The charges as.
crihed to the President and MIR. Ma,
olson cannot have emanated from an
American heart or an American head.
hey are too absurd and too malie-
nant to be cherished by any one, whose
interests are embarked in our COM
mon destiny. How they received adj.
mission into an American print, un-
less it was to expose hereafter the dis
graceful motives from which thew
sprung, Is not easily to be accounted
for.
To enter into serious refutation
't such charges, preferred under the
mask OF an anonymous signature.
we're worse than useless. 1t were to
imagine it possible that part of the
American people were made of such
Materials as to be the dupes of sucl,
;alumnies. If they were composed
't such materials, it would be oflittle
what opinions they en-
ertained. For their esteem could
:onter no honor, and their censure be
10 disgrace.
1t may not, however, be amiss to
lotice one source of apprehension,
Which goes On the ground that the
government must have been appraised
u the expedition of Miranda, before
took place. 1t is alledged that eve
y body knew it, and, of'consequence,
hat the administration could not have
cen Ignorant of it. If this is a face
ow comes it that the Spanish Minister
new nothing of it? If he hid been
Pprised OF 1t, he surely would nor
ave been silent. How comes it that
ne Spanish consul was ignorant oft?
low comes itthat the agents of France
'ere Ignorant of 1t? And how comes
that 1t was unknown to the mer-
hants of New-York, that very class
men whose interests are said to be
compromised by it, and who. If
hey had known it, would not have
cen backward in using decisive means
defeat 1t! How comes it that it re-
,ained unnoticed in all the newspa-
ers /?
The facts, as We have had them re-
resented to us are these:
The Leander was stationed 1T n.
'nsiderable distance from the city of
'ew-York.
The supplies with which she was
were sent from time to time
: lighters, in detail.
And Miranda, all this time, wa, alb.
mt from the city.
That he had his con6dents is al.
oss certain; but it is equally certain
at they did not betray the trust re-
'sed in them.
Under these circumstances, it NAV
ell comPort with a foreigner, the
DJect OF government, whose lea
us eye is fixed upon the actions of
Its subjects, to infer that our 90.
rnment manifests like vigilance
ID exercises like restraint over the
tons OF its citizens; but we know
tier we know that the government