The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1810-04-25
AMERICAN PRINCIPLES.
FROM THE RosroS pATRlor.
==
A RENEW
OF UORXS or FISHER .9.,fES.
NuMBER--I.


xess ct reason and do,age oi benevolenes
and rancour of ardent spirit and childish
terrour. which has Just been published unde,
the title Of " Works If Fisher .fmes, comfHed
6y a number Of his feiends," ,"--they have treat
ed his ,emory as they did his body.
For the purpose of little brief impress
sion upon popular sentiment, which they fam
cied would be produced by the authority OF
bis name, in favour OF their darling tollies,
they have mixed up together with some val
liable performances, really worthy OF repub- \
lication, multitude of old newspaper essays \
which he never could have expected TO SUR
,ive the nome MT or occasion Tor which they
we're produced. and q number ot private let
ters, certainly not intended by him for the
publick eye, and which nothing but the
neschery of pretended friendship ever world
nave exposed.
Mr.. Ames was man Of genius and OF vir- <
ue--he meant well to his country, and SER
'eo Ter with hdeii,y according TO his best
luGgment. But at a very early period OF his
|. pub.ick life, hc connected himself with Ham
| i.;on, his b,na and hls iunding system, in a
msnne, whiIh warped his judgment and
tram me,ied Tic freedom OF his mind for the
remainder of his days. The reproaches,
which at that time, his political enemies cast
| upon him, as having contracted a personal i,-
/ ft,esf, in the est; blishment of the system,
which, partly by the influence ofhis excrtons
was made to prevail, infused a tincture OF
| bitterness in his subsequent political senii-
Sh,ents, not congenial to his natural temper,
| he became welded to his doctrines, not by
| the sordid sclhshncss of avarice, to which he
was always superiour, but by the concern fpr
his own fame, and by the ,irulcncc oil his
| antsgorists.s
Mr. Ames was not among the first who
6isccrncd the real charcter and tendencies OF
tire French revolution-and when he did dis
cover that il was not the introductory avenue
To the millennium, he still continued 10 view
il through partial medium. He changed
his glass, but still saw through it darkly
From that time he become on this subject a
convert 10 the English school,and with all the
opinions of the ant-rcyolu,ionist, mingled al
tie ic..r.engendcred iancies Of the anti-galli.
cdn. He adopted the widest exlravagnncies
which the ministerial pamph!ctecrs in Eng.
land disseminate among the popua1e, to re-
conciIe them TO the burdens Of eternal wal
| with France, and transferring 10 his own coun.
t;y the real dangers OF England, from the
! prospect Of French invasion, he lived in
perpetual panick, that America would finally
be only the last morsel Tor tho yoracious NAV
| oi the monster Buonaparte. ..a .t. A
During the last ten years of his life, Mr.
A:nes's health was always in precarious,ant
often in an alarming condition. His spirits
| partook OF his iiihrmitics. The most distin
| gushing feature in his character was the vi
vaci,y Of his Imagination. The disease which
was undermining his constitution, without i'm
| pairing the spIend' Of his fancy, affected
the tone Of his ne,.-s. Every thing that ht
saw became colourcd by lis fears. He wa.
continually, but Intellectually, labouring TO i'm
part his terrours to his countrymen the,
grew stronger upon him in proportion as the,
| proved incfficacious upon others,uBti he work
ed himself up into sort Of reasoning 'rcnz,
compounded Of alteration of British power
adherence OF France, and eontemht for hi
own countrymen. In such state OF mind
he committed sometimes to the press senii
ments which will not bear the test ri COO
cxamnation-but in his private letters he in
duiged his morbid humonrs more freely: ant
now, those sentiments which the hand of sin
| ccre affection ought to have covered with I'll,
thickest veil, are brought forth in all thei
nakodness to the world, because they happen
to suit the purposes OF faction.
; The following are very few out of grca
number Of such sentiments. If any Of Nj
Alnes's Number V friends, arc prepared &
defend them, let them be heard. If the
are such as no man living dare to dcfend,wh
were they not kept in the sacred deposit o
private friendship, to which they were com
mitted [!
"Our country is too big fsr mion too sordid Ji
patriotism too demoerafiek for hberfy."
Letter Of the 26fh Of Oct. l803-pagc, 453.
"Yet see, that the multitude are told, and it j
plain they told, 6eeayse they wiN teGeve IL. tina
liberty will be gamer by the purchase of Lousia
ma. They deceived their weak side the
think the purchase great bargain.--we are to b
rich by selling lands II the multitude were not blin,
before, their sordsd auarice, thus addressed wou.
blind them." 3la Oct 1So3-psge, +8s.
"Louisiana eicites less interest than our thanks