Portland gazette and Maine advertiser., 1808-05-16
Mr.. Pickering'S Letter.
TcoNcLuDED FROM CUR LAAsT
Col. P1cKEn1Ne to Coz. SULLIVAN.

THE last topic il your letter which shall
Yotice, is IN the following passage.
" We are wrong, If We quarrctwith our
avn Dohtical existence. We are nation
and though there were nat a Joss, 7vh0 7gere
ted daiEy 81 fhe Public rztiots, that ram fsil-
fFty. on sol.s ,fhsy caase, "a tJte7 III frebyisr
Sftke declaration Of independence, vet we snail
SOW be wrotched beyond description or ex-
ample. If we divide ourselves among the
European nations.
Your Excellency's meaning here is obvi-
Gus You intended to have il understood
that I. from tinridltr, or 1aD1e other cause
meaning. probably, attachment to the British
-" doubted the proyriety Of the declaration
Of INDEPENDENCE :" 4 charge utterly IN.
founded, and known 10 be 50, bY every man
IN Massachusetts acquainted with my life
have hitherto treated the various calum-
MES invented & diligently published against
me. with silent contempt. In one instance,
indeed. some Of nv friends solicited my con-
sent to pubIick prosecution. / Welded to
stheir request III my absence, the libeller
was indicted. convicted, and punished
And what can your EHcellency imagine to
have been one ground taken by his counsel,
IN defence, or TO mitigate the punishment of
the libeIler ,-Wantonly and cruelty sssail-
cd as have been IN newspapers devoted 70
the West sIarders-sIanders at this time
rene wed with increased virulence, shall |
be CHARGED with VANITY If | mention il II
v-as q this effect, As stated to me, soon af-
ser, By one Of the counsel for the prOsecU-
ION that the counsel for the libeller urged
before the court, tkatshe fairness Of nv char
Srter rsas so zyeH tzoyyn, and M reputation 50
1sr,rly established, the libel could haze done me
no f7;RrY. But, Sir, that trial wa local and
perhaps the knowledge Of the proceedings
mas reached but very few persons while
I have beer slandered before the nation.
Perhaps l have TOO long silently despised
the SANDERS and their authors. But at the
present time a governour of the common
wealth Of Massachusetts, has lent himself 20
Aheir aid.
am now, Sir, far advanced ia life, I have
children and grandchildren who, when |
am gone, may hear these SANDERS repeated,
and not have the means Of repelling them.
I have, too, some invaluable friends IN most
ct the states, and .naay I'D tliss which gave
ppe birth men who are the ornaments of
society and Of their.country IN these, if
not nv country itself, interested az il is in
the puslick concerns on which | first ad-
stressed you-have claims which I ought
not to leave unsatisGed. Thus called upon
30 vindicate my character, am constrained
- give concise narrative OF my publlck
life
The disputes between Great-Britain ard
her American colonies (Which now form the
United States) commencing with the stamp
act, in 1865, and revived IN I767, BY the act
Of parla lament for raising a revenue il the
'soionies-gave rise to two parties, which At
length were distinguished BY the name OF
wing and tory; the latter acquescing IN
British claims Of taxation the former re-
sistinE them.-In 1867, the assembly Of
Massachusetts sent a circulas letter TO the
speakers of the other Assemblies, for the
purpose Of promoting the adoption oil uniform
measures, (by petitions and renonstrances)
O. obtain a redress Of grievances. Most Of
those assemblies concurFed with that Of
Hfassaehusetts.-In 1903, letter from Lord
HIllsborough required the assembly Of Mas
"sachusetts-t0 rescind the vote Of their pre-
decessors for sending that circular letter.
This was peremptorily refused, bv a MAJOR
ity of 90 to IL. The representatives Of Sa-
lem, nv native town, were among tie IL.
At the next election, they were neglected,
and wings chosen IN their stead. This was
the crisis Of the political revolution " that
town. | was then four-and twenty wears
old. My elder and only brother was cho
sen one of the representatives and from
that time was myself actively engaged
IN all the wing measures which were
preliminary 10 the final revolution and
independence Of the colonies. Always
member Of the committees Of inspection and
correspondence, the burthen Of writing rest
ed upon ne. Those writings, ia their ma
t,tre temporary, persisted with the occasion
The memory OF one Of them, however, is
preserved BY DF. Ramsay, in his elegant
= History of toe American Revolution"
When IN IVA, the British parliament, by
an act usually called the Boston Pyyt-RiH,
shut up the capital Of Massachusetts from
the sea, thereby prostrating its active and
extensive commercials it is now prostra-
ted by the acts Of our own government, i'm
posing the erlbargo-the seat Of the proYin-
cial government was removed from Boston
TO Salem. Sympatllizing with the sufferers
OF Boston, the inhabitants of Salem II think
an full tswn-meeting) voted an address to
The new governour, General Gage the
great object of Which WAS, so far as an ex-
preston OF their sentiments would 60, 10
procure relief for their brethren in Boston.
Thar address s7as written b. me. Its conclu.
sion DR.. Ramsay has thought worth tran
scribiHg on the page Of history. II here fol-
lows, with his introductory observation
The inhabitants of Salem, in an address
10 CoYernour Gage, concludes with these
remarkable words" By shutting up the
port Of Boston, some imagine that the course
Of trade might be turned hitler, and to our
benefit But Nature, in the formation Of our
harbour, forbid our becoming rivals in com
Tnerce with that convenient mart and were
It otherwise, we must be dead 10 every
x5ea Sfiustice, lost to all teelingsOf human