The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1810-04-25

He tells us that Mr. Ames was emphaticaly
a refu6hcan--but that he considered retub-
lick and !. democracy as essentially distinct and
opposite. Probably this was the state of his
opinions at one period of his li(e--but in his
liter days, when the English destinations and
the French antipathies had obtained their un-
controlled ascendancy over his mind, he APP
pears to have had as little esteem for Re-
publican go vernment as for the American
people. 1t is not to democracy, but TO arT-
falbick, that he compares the essential rotten
ness Of the white birch stakes, in one of the
above extracts. In short, he was too tho
roughly Britonized to preserve relish for
any thing republican and in the paper last
published before his deceasc, contained in this
volume, he says in express terms, that " the
immortal spirit of the wood-nymph liberty,
dwels oNLYin the British oak"
The proposition once made in Congress,to
declare the American nation the most en-
lightenca people upon the GLOBE" has been
ridicued quite as much AS it deserved. If
by the term enlightened, were TO be under
stood merely the degree of proficiency attain
ed by d few individuals in the arts and scien-
ces, we certainly can have no pretentions to a
competition with most of the European ma
~
the amount Of mental cultivation generally
possessed by the body of the people, l be-
lieve it was strictly true. 1t would be difficult
at least to name the people in Europe, the
great mass of whom possess so much OF that
knowledge, which is power, as the people of
the Unitel States. If, however, there was
something of national vanity manifested in
the sentiment, it was at least an innocent er-
rour But ] could never perceive either the
wisdom or the virtue of proclaiming the as
surcd,y false doctrine, that the people of A
| merica are the bascst and most degraded o.
Nbe human species. /, is one Of those scand-
al6Sus caumnies which lumber of starveling
vagANqo in England, with Cobbett's Regis
ter, am Moors, the minstrel of the brothels,
have b len or SON. years administering to the
m lig ,alt passion, Of that country but from
the lips bf an American, it is as little the
voice oy patriotism as of truth. the lam
guAsc Pf insult and outrage applied to the
propel is no better than the language Of adj
ultionj If "a tenth part of those horrible re-
prolchSss uoon the whole people poured forth
in ne extracts have here given, and repeat
ed undcr thousand shapes in this volume,
were true the country would not be fit for the
residence OF man who hol spark OF hon.
Il Is from a llns lof Yahoos--the very pre-
tence Of anxiety ,r the fate of such a country
is worse thiA absurd.-A man, who on the
1aavKsSrYfSS evening of the year 1905,
could lsi6crMcIy sit down and write that our
liberty .ois goae, never to return, and that to
midrite tyranny was all that was left for
our hopes nan who could believe that our
csuntry w,s too sordid for patriotism--that
we had nothing but the sacred shield OF cow
ar,lice to protect us--shat VIC were OF all men
on earth the htte5t To DC slaves comes with
avery i'll grace, when ne tells US how much
he loves anl respects that very country--and
how mis- aear is bursting With anxiety for
the welfare of these dregS Of creation. re-
verence the virtues AM the genius of M. A.
hut | KNOW that III psnning those blllingsgate
ig.ct'yos agnnst ms country, he could not
be in pos,cssion ot a sound mind and l SUBJ
init it to the feelings Of every generous spir-
1t. whether genuine friendship should not
rather have been solicitous to shroud these
iai'niies from the publick eye, than with
su;h remorseless hand to drag them into day