Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1807-04-28


pressed TO know what reasons Mr.. King
could nave for preventing rs, who were a
vowed republicans, from 1igr2r NJ to A.
merica, he significantly answered., perhaps !
Mr. King does TO, desire 70 have repub l. +
cans in America" Your interference was ,
then, sir, made the preteXt of detaining us !,
fer four years in custody, by which very
extensive & useful plans ofsettiement with !
in these states were broken up--'rhe mis- |
fortunes which you brought upon the objects
of your persecution were incalculabe
Almost all otus WAS cd Fur 1.-THE best years
of cur lives in prison. As to me, l should
have brought along with me my father and
his family including brother, whose name
perhaps even you will not read without G.
motions Of SYMPATHY and respect. Others,
nearly connected with nc, would have
come partners in ny emigration. But all
of them have been torn from me. have
been prevented from saving Il brother
from receiving the diving blessings OF fat
Ther, mother and sister, & from soothing
their last agonies by my cares and this,
sir, bv your unwarrantalyle and uniCei.ng
interference.
Nour friends, when they accuse me or
want of moderation i'll my conduct towards
| you, arc wonderfully mistaken. I hey do
not reflect, or know, that / have never spo-
ken OF YOU without supprcsSng (as ! do
now personal feelings that rise up wiz
! me, and swell my heart with indignation
and resentment. But | mean to coufnc
myself To AN examination OF yoar conduct,
as tar-as il is Of public Importance.
The step YOU took was unauthorized by
your own government Our agreement
with that OF Ireland was entered into on
ihe 29th Of July--your prohibition was no.
I'm II, ,,rC Il
duct days for two communications be-
tween Dublin and London, and YOU had
precisely ~ days, in the Gains of summer,
for tranNmitting your INTEL gence to Anne
rIca and receiving an answer. AS you had
no order then, what WAS the motive of your
unauthorized act | cannot positively say,
bur VIII tell YOU my conviction. The British
ministry had resolved To detain us prison
ers contrary to their piightcd honor and
Iyou, sir, fear, lent Your ministerial cha
racteT- 10 Cnab c them 10 commit an act of
ipertidy, which they would not otherwise
nave dared TO crpctrate-whethcr our
conduct III ireland was right or wrong, you
have no justification tor yours. The con-
stitution and laws OF ths-countIy rave YOU
no power to require Of the British govern
ment that il should violate its faith and
withdraw from us its consent to tie place
grafton. Neither the president nor YOU
were warranted to prevent our touching
these shores though the former might,
under the alien act, have afterwards sent
us away If he had reason to think we
were plotting any thing against the United
states. have heard something about the
law OF nations but you, presume, arc too
well acquainted with that law not to knew
that IT HIS no bearing on this subject. Our
emigration was voluntary, and the English
government had in point of justice 10 mere
to 90 with it than TO signify that there was
no objection 70 the place of residence we
had chosen.
Anofhcr circumstance which cOmpcls ne
to believe collusive league between vou.
in your capacity OF resident minister from
America, and the cabinet of ST. Jamcs's, IS
the very cNtravagart s understandable na-
ture o. your remonstrance, which had the
ministry been sincere towards us, they could
not bly, have overlooked. If they had
intended to observe their compact. YOU, sir.
would have been very quickly made to feel
INC iuti'Iiy OF your ill-timed application
You would have been taught that il vas E,
matter OF mere private arrangement be-
tween GOV eminent & Us, with which YOU had
no more to do than the minis e. OF Denmark.
Sweden, Portugal, or any other neutral pow
er. What inference ought fairly to be made
RON the facts ! have stated, every man
must decide for himself-On me they have
forced conviction, which, if you can shake
1t, shall more gladly forego than state il
here, that in the instance alluded to, Won
degraded the dignity and independence of
the country you represented, YOU aban-
doled the principles Of its covernmt mt
and its policy, and you became the
tool OF foreign state, to give it CO.
lorable preteXt for the commission Of n
! crime. II so, is it fit that you should here
after be entrusted with any kind Of delerat-
ed authority : What motives you may have
had for that conduct, if in truth it was
| yours, | cannot undertake to say. Mr..
! MarSden seemed to doubt whether Won
wished for republicans in America-and |
! shrewdIy suspect he spoke what the Brit
ish ministry thought of your politics.
| Perhaps 1t may be said that you were
! yourself deceived by those very calumnies
OF which / have complained. / sincerely
I wish could believe that such were the
| tact-but observe this argument. We con-
! tradiCt the WistatemCnts Of the commit
tees OF the lords and commons Of ireland,
by an advertisement written in prison,
signed by our names, and published OF the
third of September lit must have reached
| London on the seventh or eigAth-your re-
monstraDce must have been made on or be-
fore the 18th for it was communicated 90 us
on the 10th. The effect produced by our
advertisement was electrical, and the de-