The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1809-07-26
alDisreiianp.
Mr.. yfD.dAfS'
CORRESPONDENTS Cv2TINUED.

SIas,
IN page %, Mr.. Hamilton acknowledges
that " the President had pledged himself IN
his speech, (he should have sand in his mes
sage) to send minister, If satisfactory assur-
anccs of proper reception were given"
Notwithstanding this, MIR. Hamilton, and all
his confidential friends, exered their utmost
art and most strenuous endeavors to prevail
on the President to violate this pledge. What
can any man think OF the disposition of these
men towards the personal or official character
of the Presidem But that they were secret
ly, il not svowediy, his most determined and
most vcnontus cnemicsl When the nca-
sure had been solcmny, irrevocably, deter
mined and could not be recalled nor delayed
without indeIblc dishonor, own was as
tonished, l was gricved, was afflicted, TO see
such artificial schemes employed, such delays
studied, such cnbarrassmcnts thrown in the
way, by men who were, or at least ought to
have been my bosom friends.
This was point OF honour indeed /: not
such stupid, tantastical point OF honour as
that which Mr. Hamilton maintains with so
much fanaticism, and much folly but
point of honor in which my moral character
was involved as well as the pubick faith of
the nation. Hamilton's point of honour was
such as one Of those IRISH duclist, who love
fighting better than feasting, might have
made pretext for sending chalIengc--and
however conlormable it might be TO Hamil-
tons manner Of thinking, it was altogether
inconsistent with the moral, religious and po-
.litical character Of the people of America.
II was such point OF honour Us Machia-
villain or a Jesuit might have made prctcxt
for war. 1t was such point of honour as
Roman senate, in the most corrupt days OF
that republick, might have made pretext
for involving the nation in foreign war,
when PG,rician monopoIics Of land, and Pa;ri-
clan usury at twelve per cent a month, had
excited the Plcbian debtors to the crisis Of a
civil war. But the American people were
not Roman Plebeians. They were not to be
deceived By such thin disguiscs.
Surely those who have lately ccnsurcd Mr..
Jefferson and Mr.. Madison, for insisting ON
knowing the satisfaction which was TO be gi-
ven t6r the outrage on the Chesapeake, before
thcyfevSked a certain proclamation, can ne.
ycr cy&mc me for not insisting ON . point
that was no point Of honour at all.
In page %, Mr.. Hamilton says" When
the President pledged himself in his speech
(hc should have said his message) to send 4
Minister, IL satisfactory assurances OF a proper
reception were given, he must have been un-
derstood to mean such as were direct and cf-
yfciah not such as were both informal and dcsI
d.itte Of a comhetcnf sanction"
The words |" direct and indirect,"" /" official
and inofficial," I" formal and informal" CON-
petent sanctions" sc. appear to have seized
this gentleman's mind, and to have rolled and
tumblcd in 1t, till they had produced On en-
tire confusion of his understanding.
He here supposes that / did not understand
my own message, and patriotcaIly under
takes to expc::1d it Both for me and the pub-
lick. According to his metaphysics, meant,
ces direct and offcial not such as were infor-
NAL. Let me ask, what more formal or off,
cial assurances could have been given than
Talleyrand's letters What more formal,
Official, or direct, than Mr.. Gcrry's letters
If understand Mr.. Hamilton, he must have
meant TO say that my message demanded an
ambassadour to be sent directly fromthe Dir
cctory to me, for the express purpose OF as
suring me that they would receive ministcr
plenipotcntiary from me. This, instead oi
being my meaning was directly the reverse
ofit--From first to last 4 had refused to be
taken n this snare. I had always refused to
| demand that minister should be sent here
first, though had declared explicitly enough
| in my speech, that French minister, Il sent
should be received. had always ifistet
| that both the doors Of negotiation should b
held open. And as l have already said
now repeat that preferred to send minis
ter rather than receive one not only for th'
rcasons explained ia former letter, but be
cause thought the amcnde honourable ough
| to be made at Paris where the offence wa
| given where it would be known and obscrv
| cd by all Europe-whercss il II had beef
made at Phiiadelphis, little notice wou!d hav'
been taken of II by any part Of the world.
1 ] am somewhat disappointed in not hndinl
in this pamphlet dc word " obscure" applies
TO Mr.. Pielon, because the news-papers
Boston, Network, and Philadelphia, writte1