Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1808-11-08
Aexandria Dasy Gdzette,
COMMERCIAL IND POLITICAL.
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY
SA nj UEL S N Q WgD + IN,
Royat-street, Ilera14s7c.
Da;h Gazette, s Dollars per annus'.
.Countrg Gazette, $ Dollars.
To the Editor Of tie Daily Gazette.
I'm CONTINUATION

=,
trary to the spirit and laws of a free PecPls,
has not evinced any determined scheme Tor
the perversion and Prossratiof Of the essen
tials of t.leir existence, there is 4 series OF
acts demonstrative of a disposition TO de-
stroy one essential, which requires a more
serious attention aad more direct demon
stration of Misrepresentation. A community,
whose most valuable privileges were snatch
ed from their possession, would naturally
risein ornosition to those who had caused
the depris alton. A nation whose employ
ment was traffic, whose wealth, strength
and importance depended thereepon, would
naturally behold It restrained, diminished,
and destroyed, with marked and uaeqpIvo-
cal displeasure, i we, then, have beheid
every successive measure Of CUR adainis-
tration tending directly, under Pretence Of
Improvement, TO take away from us the
prop upon winch we lean Cor Support, it IS
not only natural, but just, that we should
rise up to oppose, with steady and i,npor-
tunate opposition, their progress and sue
cess. Unhappiiy Tor the nation there is too
much need Of taking such stand at the
present.
1t nay indeed be foretoid, without the
profoundest reach of political discernment,
that if our. government persevere in 4 sys-
tern SO pointedly opposed to one of the
clearest interests of the nation, either that
some violent CONFUSION viii evcntuate, or
we shall sink from depression to the extre-
nifty of national ;gnominy ard misery
The pseudo political Improvement OF these
states from an extensive trading community
to an empire which Stall be in itself 6 sotus
atgue r9titaasts, !" which sha,l DC independent
upon Others fer support, and which shall
derive its necessaries, conyeuienccs md lux
uries from It's own natural productions and
manufactures, is.a scheme, which, however
plausible in theory, and when viewed indie
pendent of the circumstances which might
impede lis operation, when appliedin prac-
tice to people like ourselves, is not only
ridiculous bur rrinous. Yet has the expe-
riment been tried upon us By = succession OF
measures, the inlpolicy and rui1ous t@nden-
Soy of which have been Justly subjects Of
complaint. We have first, as introductory
of this design, been initiated into novel
principle of Foiitical wisdom, which, teach
ing TO prefer the means to tie actual posses
son OF safety, has, under that shallow
and raluy pretcnce, DESTROYED that safe
guard without which the existence Of a
commercial nation is impossible. Wild, our
mountains loaded with timber and tie whole
extent of our country intersected by veins
OF iron ore,a soil whose nature is well suited
to the production of hemp & every Other re-
quisite for the establishment OF such a pro-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS streams FOR the conve-
nient carriage of those produciic4.s to our
sea-board,an invited TO the building OF re-
spectacle and formidable navy. As long as
rightmeasurssw Were pursued, these advantsg-
es were not neglected. Butt was unsxpect-
cdly discovered by our philosophical execu-
tive, that navy was an useless and expeh-
sive circumference, and after we had first
been amused with the contemplate gun
boat system, we are hnally left without even
that paltry defence. Here we find the first
advance in the scheme OF non-lntercourse.
1t could well be foreseen by the polite pro-
iectors thereof, that the defence once de-
stroyed. that which it was its object to pro-
tect could never survive the first attack OF
foreign enemy. The means were indeed
more admirably adapted to the end, than We
are accustomed to discover in the 7;ise and
beneficial objects to which the attention of
our present rulers has been casually direct
ed. We are left without any effective pro-
lection against the encroachments of an hos
tile power, and, with singular concordance
with the views of our rulers, are left only
TO the resource of appeals and protestations,
or to the alternative Of asmeasureincalcula-
bly, hostile to our commercial interests. In
the mean while, the revenue which is saved
by this political legerdemain, is expended
an aco,,r,x,cr new CO., +l ant