Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1810-08-20
From the Freeman's surnal.
Letters upon French Influence.
No. X.
TO the People ef the United States.


THE National Intelligencer, the great
political organ of the administration OF JET
frrson and Madison, has manifested great
appre hension in conse quence Of the pubica-
ton Of No. VII. Of these letters, and has
attempted a formal refutation of it. In
point of style too pure for the pen OF JET
ferson, too eleva,edto have been writtenby
the common paragraphis,s of Washington
City, and Indicating, when il is considered
s,hat It is an answer 10 All attack which we
confess was very severe one, much more
of the manner which naturally results from
the spirit Of gentleman, than any other
ds me crat in the U.tStates would be likely
to display, it is natural TO ascribe this per-
formance to The present President Ct the L.
States. But whether it be the production
of MIR. Jefferson, of~Alr. Madison, of Mr..
Secretary Smith, Of Mr.. Granger, or Of
Mr.. Smith, the editor of the In,elIigencer,
is quite immateriaI, as it is presented to the
public with all the 6 form and pressure" of
an Official vindicaton OF the last aud pre-
sent administrations, now well known to be
completely amagsmated and identified, in
respect to our foreign relations, against the
charge Of French influence. Although the
writer of these letters can never descend TO
notice the miserable insects which some
times buzz about nis'cafs, yet he can with
credit enter into an argument with The
ADMINISTRATION, and will at once take Up
the gauntlet which it has thrown to him.
Admitting, with much candor, the per
feet correctness of every fact which WAS
stated in No. VII, administrator contends
that it could only be eliminated BY che Of
those facts, and that one it attempts 70 ex-
plain away. This>explana,ion is attempted
in the following manner.
Who is there so ignorant as NOT to know
that in the treaty of alliance between France
and Spain, then existing, there was
contained an article, precisely appllca,
bic to this case? The whole world knew
that in that treaty; after speaking Of there
latve good Offices to be performed byeach
nation to the other, there was the following
article:
"The required power shall likewise fur.
nish, on the demand Of the requiring pow
er, within the term of three months Fl ON
the requistion, eighteen thousand infantry
and six thousand cavalry, with propol-
tionable train of artillery, to be employed
solely in Europe, or in defence q The coLo-
nies zvuich the contracting bozve1S FoSseSs
IN The GnT Of Mr"ic0."
This is an extract from the treaty. I'm
der the circumstances, the question said to
have been asked by general Armstrong was
eff asked a superAuous one but, having
been asked, no other answer could have
been returned by Taleyrand consistently
with truth, but that if we went TO war villa
Spain, France (agreeaby to her treaty.
" could neither doubt nor hesitate" She
could nos bur have taken part wieh Spain,
or have violated most solemn treaty"
What does administration mean by THE
WHOLE WORLD! VIII it say that five hun.
drcd persons in the United States knew
that such an article existed, as it is here
Undoubtedly } extracted from copy which
has long been locked up in one of his Own
secret 6ureaux? The writer Of these ittels
certainly knew of this treaty, and contem-
plated it as proper subject of remark in
the course of his labors. And he is by no
means sorry that administration has drawn
his attention TO 1t thus early.
Administration must have learned from
Vattel, whose work, in reference to the
profound learning of our present secretary
ofssa,e, rs displayed in his correspondence
with Mr.. Jackson, a representative from
Connecticut. (Mr. Pitkin) sarcastica!Iy call
ed " sort of text book" for our govern
ment, that it is one thing for a nation to
be obliged by treaty to furnish certain aux
iIiaries to another nation, and quite differ
ent thing for nation to make common
cause" with another, and enter into soci-