Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-05-11

made by Others stA JUICY A1ieHl u r
duct and their actions. 1t see man SD,
percihous and naughty in private lite, and
the supporter and advocate Of the .Aost ne g:
far;ons doctrines and measures IN his public
canacity. determine that ne is an arlsto-
craft that his object is to destroy public IL
bertv and to keep himself uppermost at all
hazard. and if he should be person VINO
nrofesses himself the friend to freedom, !
should consider him still worse ne is like
the assassin who approaches me with a sralle
to gan ~ confidence, and plunge dagger
in my bosom.
AS Judge others by their conduct, SO 1
wish to be Judged myself. This is the test
on which / stand or fall before my country
land am sure my fellow-citizens are not
lndisposed to ascertain my principles by my
actions. think have the same devotion to
true genuine and rational liberty which |
ever had in my public conduct | cannot
discover any thing in hostility to those OPT
Mons, or a departure from sincere at
tachment to my eountry's interest--of this,
HOY ever, I am not the proper Judge; !
will therefore refer to such acts as have
been stated as evidence of my derihction,
and let others decide.
In the session OF one Thousand eight hun
.dred and three was Rlember of the house
of delegates, and placed at the head of the
committee of finance. In the course of the In
vestigation Of the various subjects con6ded
TO that committee, / discovered Cor thought
/ discovered various misapplications of
public money by the executive department,
In violation of the law, amounting to consi-
derable sums. deemed it my duty to no.
tice it, and with the concurrence of a ma
iority of the committee stated it in the re-
port made on the subject. 1t excited great
sensibility on the part of the executive coun-
Gil, and small majority was procured in
the house to disagree 20 the report. | was
stigmatized as federalist, because would
not sanction the improperly Gas deemed
it, of the executive, and the alarming doc
trine was held out that every iniquity must
be sanctioned in men merely because they
stile themselves republicans, on pain OF be-
ing considered a deserter from the party.
The result of the various inquiries institut-
ed in the house Of delegates during the last
session into subjects in which the executive
department was concerned, proves the pro-
priety Of the principles then contended tor
by me, and that many thousands OF the pub
lie money would have been saved, had a
different decision taken place in 1803-and
it further proves that men who pretend to
be republicans, may be the patrons Of fraud,
injustice and profusion, in short that they
may be any thing except the friends of the
people.
About the same time another part OF my
conduct was considered as evidence OF te-
deralism. had been impressed under the
administration of Mr.. Adams, that his con-
duct in excluding from Office, persons adj
mitted to be capable and honest, where the
duty required to be performed, was merely
ministerial, and where there was no polltl-
cal influence attached thereto, because they
differed with him in opinion, as highly ty-
rannical and ntolerant; my own impress
sions were the impressions of all the repub-
licans of that day. When they afterwards
came into power, disposition was mani
tested TO pursue the same course hichthey
had so much deprecated in the federalists.
l on several occasions opposed this palpable
dereliction of principle, and hence, | be
came the object OF suspicion. have hi
therto had no reason to change the opinion
which l then gave, and which lad long
entertained. | still maintain that, that
which is improper in federalists, is SO, when
done by republicans, that no man ought to Z
be excluded from a ministerial office on &C
count Of his political opinions, and that
spirit of liberality ought to be substituted
for that spirit of intolerance, rancor and
persecution, which has too much disgraced