Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-01-27

pi0Sf0n mlbIit LdkC PitaSS .t'lS.S-A - 80 -
tain portion of the country. Gentlemen
said an extra session was therefore ne
cessarv to save the nation. Mr.. Dureli
asked, if the nation was to be saved by
long speeches He had seen almost two
whole sessions of Congress pass away, the
one Of six months the other of three, and the
nation in the same situation still and still
told in long stories from day to day that 1t
was in a critical situation. He had no idea
that the nation was to be saved by speaking.
He did firmly believe that more than forty
EIGHT hours would not be necessary to pass
ali laws to meet the impending crisis. liza
declaration of war was thought proper, this
would be sufficient time for it; ltan extra
ordinary mission, as recommended by the
gentleman from S. Carolina, 48 hours would
be time enough for the house TO decide on
recommending it. The present was state
| of suspense from which the nation ought to
| be removed and he was unwilling to pro-
long this state by the passage OF the bill
Mr.. D. X. WILLIAMS said that the OBJ
| servations of gentlemen themselves were
| landm arks by which he would steer. Cen
tlemen had said that they would wait under
all these accumulated injuries, the weight OF
/ which Mr.. Williams acknowledged, till the
fourth Monday in May. Now, he said, he
wished to wait little longer, that the exc
cutiye might, if he chose, t.ke advantage Of
the interval. He said he had alluded to the
case of the Chesapeake as an eminent illus
1 tration Of the desire of the executive for
peace though he should not uespass upon
truth if he said that the affair OF the Chesa-
I peake rested not now as it bad done. Ad-
hitting that we had ample cause for war,
what did gentlemen propose to gain BY post
poning it? The gentleman from Virginia
! (Mr. Iackson) had said that the nation was
/ pushing them to war. MIR. Williams asked
If there was petition on the table to that
/ purport from any portion Of the Y. States
No, really; whilst large portion OF the
people, the South almost unanimously, had
expressed wish that the government should
adhere to the embargo, till it produced an
effect, or its capacity to produce the effect
! was disproved. Areyou Ike to be driven
out Of the embargo by war? Asked Mr.W.
WHY, sir, Jock at the sensation in n. Eng
land and n. York, and talk about going to
/ war, W hen YOU cannot maintain an embargo.
There is a large portion Of the people OF N.
! England, who, through Misrepresentation
and the efforts of your enemies have been
taughtto believe that your administration
has not sought for peace. Could any man
[ have the hard;hood to say SO, after another
special mission had failed I? Certainly not ;
and it is no treason 70 mention it, although
gentlemen should not like it. ifyou. do not
= .5y,U17t war before the fourth Monday IN May
I will the nation be ruined if you postpone it
still further How could gentlemen de
nounce the course which he recommended,
when it was now pursued For vessel was
NOW advertised, he observed, to go On pub
lie business to G. Britain and France, and
new dispatches were going, he supposed.
Even if war was determined On, would
there be any thing inconsistent, any thing
! degrading, in giving 70 foreign nations yet
another chance to Go us Justice? MIR. w.
| said he would do every thing he could, in
! an honorable manner, to prevent war. lie
believed that the men who wished 10 pre-
vent war, were quite as patriotic as those
who appeared DESTROYS ofpromoting 1t. he
felt more satisfaction in seeing the poor G
migrant or exile from the troubles OF Eu-
rope sitting peacefully and incomfort at his
fire side or cabin door, than in hearing or
the most splendid victories. When the
last step to preserve peace had failed, then
! would he be willing to rouse the people, to
mount the capital and sound the tocsln-but
/ not till then. He was for giving far OPP
portunity 70 hear from Europe for it con-
gress met in May, there would yet be q TO-
reign messenger abroad; and waiting his