Portland gazette and Maine advertiser., 1807-08-10

BAL IhOEEs JULY "a.
Messrs. Zebulon Hoilingstporth, John GiLpia'
Ja'nss SezgaiE, Thomas ". Weazey.
GENTLEMEN,
find from the public papers, that on the
fourth of July, you respectively ofhclated
in the respective characters of president,
vice president and secretaries, at meeting
Of the citizens Of Cecil county, held at Elk
ton, TO celebrate the anniversary Of AmerI-
can independence and it is as persons who
othciated in those characters, and it is i'll
consequence of your conduct on this occa-
sion, that now take the liberty Of address
ing you.
On the fourth Of July, 1776, we declared
ourselves independent states, free from the
tyranny and despotim of any nation on the
earth, and proceeded to establish govern
ments for the sacred security of the proper
ty, OF the reputation, the liberty and the life
OF every person, who should be so far bleSt
as to be citizens of those governments. We
then pledged ourselves TO the God of the
universe, that the property, the reputation,
the liberty and the life Of every citizen
should be safe, should be protected against
the tyranny of the one or the 7ndny-and
should only be taken from them by the laws
Of their country, faithfully, honesty and i'm
partially dispensed, by an open, fair, ianpar-
nal trial, decided upon legal evidence, in which
every benefit to be had from counsel, is Sc
cured by The constitution TO the citizen,
who is as TO either assalled.
Let me now ask you, gentlemen, TO what
use, or more properly, abuse, did you turn
the anniversary Of that day !? Was your con-
duct calculated to preserve and secure those
blessings for the enjoyment of which the
people Of America heretofore hazarded all
that was dear Or was 1t calculated to rem
der them more insecure than even under
Asiatic despotism
Let me examine this question. / have
seen your list Of toasts drank OH that day as
published by yourselves.
On your volunteers l shall make no re-
marks-after seventeen bumpers had been
drank, can make great allowances for any
thing that took place but for the toasts
deliberately prepared, and agreed to be
drank on that day-myself, my fellow citi-
zens, and the world at large, do and will
hold you answerable. Three Of those toasts
will be the subject Of my animadversions.
The 9TH is in the following wCrds-The
grand JURORS lately impanneled at Rich
mond TO in6ict the traitors Of their country.
May their zeal and patriotism in the cause
Of liberty, secure them crown of imm0r-
tai glory, and the fruits Of their labour be a
death wound to all conspirators.
The 8th-Luther Martin, the ex-attorney
general Of Maryland, the mutual and highly
respected friend of convicted traitor
May his exertions to preserve the Catalina
of America, procure him humble coat Of
tar and a plumage Of feathers, that will
rival in fnery all the mummeries If Egypt.
The 9th-Aaron Burr, the man who once
received the confidence Of a free people
May his treachery to his country exalt him
to the scaffold, and hemp be his escort to
the republic Ofdust and ashes.
To any person Of common sense, who
possesses one sentiment Of candour, one
humane feeling of the heart, it would be
supposed, that none but demons from He'll
could on such an occasion, have deliberately
prepared and drank the foregoing toasts, I'M
less they had tue most perfect knowledge of
col Burr's guilt. And even in that case he
would naturally conclude the persons to be
saVdgeS or descendants of savages, who when
they kill their prisoner, feast their inhhman
souls with every cruelty of torture.
But, gentlemen, have you any knowledge
that col. Burr is guilty of treason or Of any
other offence Doth either of you know OF
one single fact to prove upon him guilt OF
any kind Why have you not come forward
and informed your government And why
had not the pleasure Of seeing you as wit
nesses at Richmond
know YOUR answer. You must confess
that you have no personal knowledge Of any
thing criminal, that has been committed by
colonel Burr but that in the Aurora, the
Argus, and many other democratic papers,
YOU have seen him charged with not only
misdemeanors, but trcaSon-Nay, you VIII
probably say, that the president OF the u
nited States in his message to congress, de
clared his guilt to be placed beyond fop0t.
And after the length of time you have
lived, length of time which has whitenei
some Of your heads-after the different pub
lac appointments which some Of You ha~e
executed, am i now to put You IN mind,
that not one shilling's worth Of your dirty
brobetry can be taken from you. without
YOUR having an opportunity Of being person
ally heard, nor without LEGAL eriAence deliy-
cred on oath il your presence, with liberty On
your part to cross exanlire, and BY other cvi-
dence 10 contradict. And yet you have tothe
utmost of your poITer, wantorly and wick
edly assaiied the good name, fame, and re
putation Of col. Burr, upon no eRlcnce You
have done what is still more wickeh--you
have, without any evidence ,cs5aiyed lis life
For, are you now, tor the first tmc, t7I
he instructed, that whenever a person is tOI
~ hob Ia
with death, he who cndeay0urs to prejudice
and il h me tie public mind against him |
he who does any act Of at'endency to pre-
vent the accused from having fair diPas |
tomato, inpai cial trial, is in tie eye Of Coz
guilty Of as murderous an intention
As if he attempted to plunge 2 dt6