Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1807-05-20
excited much surprise among the friends

cretly approved by the conspirators, who
numbered him among the friends of Burr
and readily conceived that all his prepare
tons were intended for the advantage OF
their chief, and his partizan5 But nc
sooner had he publicly declared the situa-
ton of affairs, than the conspirators open
ed all their batteries on him, and in their
turn denounced his as traitor to Burr
The situation of Wilkinson at this moment
was critical, not only as it respected his
personal safety, but as it respected the
security of his country. True it is, that
he was deceived as TO the number of men
under Burr-but he was not deceived as
to the object of the conspirators, and the
( multitude of them in the heart of New-Or-
leans and its>vicinity. These circumstan-
cee served to augment the weight of his
! responsibility. He saw himself surround
ed with difficulties ;-and he also saw, that
any line OF conduct he was able to pursue,
would draw after it Il multitude of COM
plants, and expose him to censure He
therefore wisely resolved to pursue such
! measures as he deemed the most likely to
Illustrate the objects of the Conspirators,
! and OF course to save his country, regard
less OF consequences.
In the political, as in the ANNA, econo-
my, violent diseases require violent RENE
- M q CIiSiS vi puDilC danger, the or
binary course of justice is interrupted :;
inc courts otlaw are paralized: and when
the Judges o. them favor the enemies of
their country, the binding force OF the laws
and constitution is suspended the flood-
gates OF anarchy and civil war are opened
and the temple of freedom is in danger
OF destruction, unless vo!un arily defended
by Its friends and admirers | well know
the nature and Importance of the habeas
corpus act In England, it is called the
second Magma Charta and in the Uni,el
, States, 1T is justly denominated the pa!la-
dunn Of pubic liberty. Situated as Will
kinson was, he had only the choice of two
things either to submit to the writ of ha-
beas c0rpus-to surrender the conspira-
tors as fast as he arrested them under the
proclamation of the President, and the
next honr TO see them at large in the exc
cutlon of their reasonable projects or to
disobey the mandate of the law, and there
| by to pr event civil war, and pei haps a
/ Acknowledgement Of the union. In this case
| the choice was not easy serious difficult
! tres presented themselves on every side ;
though at that time the probability was,
mat not only more censure would attach
| i6selt to gen. Wilkinson from an obedience
| to the law than a temporary violation of il
but that some great public calamity
would ensue. as the consequence of legal
submission.
Ii, by the prudent maxims of a well re-
| eul 'ted government, 10 enc be permitted
to employ criminal action rs lawful
means to attain an end in Use t good, those
OF nature are paramount and arm man and
nations with the right of self preservation.
! When nation is menaced by enemies,
| whether internal or external its situation
! resembles that OF man, who is attacked
| by his neigbbor, and is in manifest danger
! of his lie. In neither of these cases can
the tardy operations of jud .cial authority
afford any relief: The nation may be at
tackled, or the man may perish, before the
sword OF criminal justice can be drawn for
/ their protection. Neither of them is oblip-
| ed to wait for an attack; the danger, f it
| be manifest, is sufficient to authOrise the
! means of security, even to the destruction
| of the aggressOr. And hence i is, that, a.
! mong all nations, the right of self-acfcnce,
! as derived from nature, and never surren-
dered to society, remains perfect in the
/ individual, and in bodies of men, and is in
no degree impaired by political or civil re-
! guldtionS. If, therefore, a man may Justly
! take the life OF his ncighbor, when his own
, cannot be saved without it, the same right
| dcvolves on nations under the like c :rcum-
| stances And if to save themselves, they
| can justly attack and destroy other nations,
with how much more propriety can rebels
and traitors be attacked, and deprived of
the means of iniuring their country co..
I tend that these principles are correct: our
{ hearts approve them: they are to be found
/ in every treatise on the laws of nature and
nations and il only remains to apply them
. TO the conduct of general Wilkinson.
( An attack was not actually made but
! it was mcdtated under circumstances cal
| cu'ated toinspre terror and dismay. There
was good reason tobeieve that large ar
! my was ON it's way to attack New-Orleans,
to seize on public and private property,
and to dismember the union. What serv-
cd to increase the danger, was the belief
/ that some foreign nation had furnished the
conspirators with the means of offensive
Z operations that many of the oonspirators
had clandestinely placed themselves a.
mong the people with design to corrupt
them; that sentiments hostile to our natl
onal interests and security, were secretly
propagated and that the judges of the
courts, designed to protect the holy sauciu-
airy of the laws, profaned Thy shielding re-
bells and traitors from their mcrited pun
/ sltmcnt.
Under these circumstances, an awful res
possibility devolved on gen. Wilkinson
and, as / before insinuated, he found him
self obliged, either Co disobcy the law, or