The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1808-03-24

ing tnis mysterious iHSinuation with the very
dark illusions, which so many of Mr. Mon
| roes seemingly most confidential friends in
| this city have been accustomed to circulate
about the administration that he was pre-
vented, by certain arrangements of on,
cabinet, from concluding an advantageous
| treaty with the Court of ST. Jamcs's Do
| YOU mean, that it was this conduct of Mr..
| Madison, which has been the cause of the
present critical situation of the U States
Am to understand you, that the conduct of
! Mr. Monroe in attempting to negotiate our
| differences with t-Britain, has but ele-
| waited him in your estimation-whilst the
conduct of Mr. Madison has demonstrated
! his incapacity to guide the Helm of State /.
cannot understand you, in any other posi-
Ole point of view.
| And now, sirs, will you be pleased to at
| tend to few very plain facts ? James Ma
dtson is the Secretary of State the highest
| cabinet minister of the President of the u
| nited States. Ourprescnt contests with En-
gland are among the most important foreign
| relations, which have ever engaged the at
| tention of this government You will not
| dare to insinuate, that Mr.. Jefferson has been
rcmlss enough TO trust the care of these ne
gociations TO the diplomatic genius of Madi-
son alone. You are compelled to concede.
| that on these points at least, Mr.. jefferson
and MIR. Madison are concurrent IN their
views and designs, that they are completely
identified with each other and that Mr..
! Jefferson is responsible for the conduct of his
| secretary, and the course of the negotiation
| And now, gentlemen, perhaps we under
stand each other. You must blend the admi-
nistraticn with MIR. Madison in all YOUR CEN
| sures You must assert, that not only the
Secretary Of State; but the administra-
ton has been the cause of our present "cri-
tea! situation" You must place the minis
| ter, Nir. Monroe, on one side-and the admi-
| nlstration Oh the other and leave the sPeo-
Pile of Virginia" to decide between them.
For my own part, gentlemen, whatever be
your own private predictions on this COM
panson--l must confess, that should not
long hesitate in deciding between them.
But returning from this review of Col
Monroe's qualifications, to the "real mo-
tive" which SO long and SO cruelty led you to
siumoer in inactivity; will you permit me to
say, you had better have languished in
this harmless inactivity, than have expo
sed yourself to the ridicule of awakening
under such inauspicious circumstances
he same "motive," gentlemen, which put
you TO sleep, should have quietly bound you
to your siumbers. g The aspect of this m e.
sidential contest has" not "experienced"
such "a material change as would have
Justified your change of system-and most
| tudfcrous totcll, the very newspaper, which
Dreamed your first prisons, contained also
| the magic information which should have
Kept You inactive and 'supine.'' 1t proved
that the grand fact, on which you relied for
your change OF system, did nor really exist;
that the popular excitement and deluson''
In IaVor or Mr.. Madison, which had caused
your inactivity, was not likely to dissipate,
but mad tflckened around you and'vour hopes.
-lhis paper served only to prove the ex-
tent OF your delusion and the dangerous ex-
cesses into when your own excitement had
aAured you.-Let us prove these positions
According toyou, gentlemen, a sentiment
nao early enSrafted itself on the MINDS OF
the Republicans, extremely unfavourable to
the pretensons of Col. Monroe that g it
was very generally believed" that "the c
lection of Mr.. Madison was rendered indis-
| putaby Certain by the almost unanimous
vote OF the Republicans throughout the u
.. and that upon this ground, and on this
only, numbers who really preferred MIR.
Monroe, joined the friends of Mr. Madison
L ms position is incorrect i'll two respects -
| IN the hIst place, 1t never was believed that
Mr. Madison would be elected .sbv the al
most unanimous vote of the Republicans
throughout the U. So They. did believe,
that he would have large, decided maiori-
ty OF the Republicans throughout the Union
and every day confirms this belief. Nothing
shat you have said or conjectnre1. has de-
| N'' .SiN TiSbaOi'itN VI lhlo SNGUI.--
the second place, gentlemen, how came
you to know that "aum6ers" had Joined the
friends of Mr.. Madison on this principle p
was at the Bell, on the night OF the eau
Gus l have mixed much with nv coun-
tryrnen since that event; and my expert
ence Is in direct opposition to your own
Not one man in fifty perhaps is actuated by
! this consideration
But {" in the notes to the Editor of this Ga
zette, sent by those who declined serving as
committee men for Mr.. Monroe, il is mani
test, that the great majority, if not all of
them, were influenced frincihdlLy BY that
consideration" Strong language indeed,
oirs-But unfortunately the facts are Just as
Few and feeble as your assertions are strong.
have taken the trouble to inspect the tiles
OF this Gazette; and on my honour, have
found but one solitary note, which conntenan-
| ces your doctrine--
But you knew, gentlemen, "that it would
be impossible for" you ''to counteract this
sentiment, BY any coyectur0t statements 20
You knew, that ''thcre are moments of DO
pular excitement and delusion, when the
voice OF reason is" not " heard'-and YOU de-
tcrmined TO wait until this "excitement''
| which from it's nature cannot last long. &
| that delusion" which must Weld to evil
dence, whenever it appeared should both
pass away. But, how could they be expected 70
/ pass away, until this evidence was produced ;
/ According to YOU. however this evidence ba C