Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1807-01-17
From tie Bait. ] Fedora! Gazrsts.

ON the subject OF LIBELs the doctrine
of the English lsw is, the greater the
truth the greater the offence. During the
| federal ADMINISTRATION, or, as /, was term
| ed, the reign Of tsrror, a law was passed,
which was aofe eonsonant with the spi7i:
! of our constitutions. By the ssdi,ion zcs
1t was provided thar the. tu.h shonId be
! given in evldsnes and be considered az
| Justification. Many who were opposed 10
this law karw thar he privilege Of pleading
| sac truth in Justification you'd be no adj.
vantage TO them. The verdict CT an inn
| parsia Jury, like the spear of ithuriei, would
| strip.them Of their false coiors, and exhi
| biz them il their native defofmity. slence
| when this sa!ulary aud coalstituioaaltam ex.
| pirrd by its eva Limitation, tie democrats
refused TO renew Il, because they dared
nos suffer their { screoe" and itnmacalstr
rulers to be arraisned a, Nir, jefsrgoo's
| famous 8 bar Ct reasoa. !"
At the pr=seG, session OF congress, Mr.
| Dana has moved that eomMfs,re be zp
poinset,o inquire wheiher pfosecu'ons Al
| com mon saw eah b. sustSiasd 10 The courts
Of the U. States for" Lbs ltous publications,
81. ard wheths: il wouid oct be proper If
such prosecutors can be SUSTAINED, TO al,
| low be party prosecuted to give the ruth
in eudeecc.
Mr.. EPpes profssses most vsl!ap.sy his
scadiacss to moVe jer the imDeechn;s,t Of
any officer op1,o sh9uM DARE 70 arosecufe Il
citizen q the Uaitea States, Etnder the eon.-
man hay.
Eais n,aa, who does NOT, or PTsleads
not 20 know that tie common law is par;
of he law of The laad. is 10 be tod that
there are We, some men of 0tsey tgmes,
.somr good and true" men remain'Dg IL
uflice, who are not to b. iaslUda:sd by shS
baws;rgs, even OF The son-jn-law OF th5
presiceus. Such shrea.s may have their
saeet apoa some worthy Judges Of dea.o
esstical crea:ioa, By, the t5gislasor may DC
ASSURED Thar there are federal os@eFs. who
have neither died mar resigned, who wlii
not be d$eerred from doing their dety even
by The serious terrors of de mocrastca i'm
peachment.
llr. Eppes perhaps is Ignorant Of the law
by which Harry Crosweil, the gallant editor
libelous truths about the president OF, per-
haps, he remembers the case OF Cooper, at
Philadelphia, WHO Yves tried for q libel upon
DIR. Adams, Re was permitted to give the
truth in evidence, but could produce none to
support his allegations. And tbs was pre-
ciseiy tie reason OF the opposition to the pro-
vision 50 the sedihou Gct.-ihey were oi
no advantage to them. Nac lila AscAry-
mar
CuRIous OccURRENc E.-Had that rsvefed
and renowned Patriarch JOB, experienced the
forbiddings and the gatherings, the hopes and
fears, the eations and depAssions, that his
less patient descendant, have otlate, he would
enc have followed the kind, yet blasphemous
advice his loving spouse gave him, or have
plunged into grist mill tif any such thing
there were ttcn) and suffered himself to be
puIverizea into consistency, capable OF en-
loving unmolested happiness. Ye who may
chance to pick I'D the bottle containing this
manuscript written on birch bark, may, perad-
venture have troubled yourselves to OBTAIN 1t,
and therefore to recompense you, VIII eiucl- !
date the tendency of the foregoing exordlum.
Thirty days long metre have now elapsed
since the writer hereof, embarked IN tie lie
want, Thomas Harding, master, from Boston,
Massachusetts, to Savannah, Georgia, and
during all that period, nought but continual
series of ill luck has attended us-cans, |
storms, gales, squalls, rains, sun, moon light,
star light, and no light, head winds, heel
winds, side winds, no Winds and all winds,
vertical, horizontal, antipodia!, and obique
waves good, bad, indifferent, curious, queer, |
nol,-descript, and UNDERSTANDABLE weather -
All, all, and a thousand other odd particulars
! and circumstances, have we been necessarily
| and successfully blessed with to this woe,
fraught day. And now as an addition to our
| i'll fate, we are be:alraedin the Gulph Stream,
in latitude 81, north, longitude IS, where, in
I'll tln. reseeI will continue to drift