Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1811-09-20

1
acter was tradueed aud foreign nations e.
cited TO make war upon US.
Deaf to our demonstrates, without sub
| hitting our reasons to the impartial judg
| ment Of mankind, and deprived OF every o.
| ther arbitrsment but that Of our cne mics, We
we're prohibited from all intercourse with
our brethren, and adding contempt to Ca
Iumny, they undertook to appoint delegates
for us, and without our consent, who were
to assist at their ccrtes, the more eheetuslly
to dispose of our persons and property
| and render as subject to the power OF ou'
| enc mics.
In order to defeat the wholesome mea
sures of our national representation, wher
obliged to recognize it, they undertook Il
educe the ration ct our population, sub
hitting the forms OF election TO serviie com
mittees acting at the disposal OF arbitrar,
rulers: thus insulting our inexPerience anc
good iath, and utterly regardless of ouI
political importance Oh our welfare.
The Spanish government, ever deaf tc
the demands OF Justice, undertook to frus
trate all our leg,umate rights, by condemn
| iog AS criminals and devo,ing to rho imam,
Of the gibbet, or To con6scatlon and bsnish
nrnt, those Americans who at differen
periods had employ ed their talents and ser
vices for the happiness OF ihelI country.
Sach were the Causes which at length
have impt Tx d US to look to our own secu
ri,y. and to avert those disorders and horri
BILE calanoi,ies which we could perceive were
otherwise inevitable, and from which we
shall keep alooi; By their fell policy they
have rendered our b ethern inse nsible tc
our misfortunes aud haze armed them a.
gainst US: they have ,ffsced from their
heart the tender imprss>i .ps Of love ard
consequently, and converted into ensmie.
many members of our great family.
When, Eitbiol to our promises, we were
sacrificing our peace and dignity to supper,
the cause of Ferdinand Of bourbon, we saw
that to the bonds Of power by which he unit.
ed his fate to that of the Emperor of the
French, he added the sacrifice Of kindred
aud friends, and that en- his account the ex.
listing Spanish rulers the mselves have alrea-
dy It solved to acknowlt dge him only con-
dltionally. 10 this painful state Of perple XII.
~, three years have elapsed in political ir.
resolution, SO dangerous, SO fraueht with
evil, that this alone would have authorised
the determination which the faith we had
pledged and other fraternal atat hments had
caused US to defer, till imperious necessity
compels Us to proceed further than We had
at first contemplated +; but, pressed bv the
hostile and unnatural conduct of the Span.
ish rulers, we are at length absolved from
the conditional oath which we had taken,
and DOW rake upon US the august sovereign
~ which we are called here 10 exercise.
But as our glor, consists in establishing
principles consistent with human happiness,
and not erecting partial felicity CD the mis-
fortunes of our f~llow-mortals, we hereby
proclaim and declare, that we shall regard
a, friends and companions 10 our destin,
and pa'ticipators OF our happiness, all those,
who united by relations OF b God, language
and religion, have suffered oppression un.
der the ancient est -blishments, and who
shall assert their ,ndepende nee thereof, and
# any Foreign power whatsoever, engaging
that all who shall CO operate with us shall
partske in life, fortune and opinion, de
clarlng and recognizing not only these. bu,
those If every nation, in war enemies, 10
peace friends, brethren, and fellow. citizens
In consideration, there fore, of these So
lid public and incontestible motives, which
force upon us the niece ss'ty of re- assuming
our natural rights, thus restored to as b,
The revolution Of human affairs, and in W..
tue Of the imprescripsihle righs of every
people, to dissolve every ag, cement. con-
venuon, or social compact, which doth no,
establish the purposes Tor which alone all
governments are instituted. we are con.
vinced that we cannot aud ought not any
longer to endure the chains bv which we are
connected with the government OF Spain ;
and we do declare, like every other inde.
pendrnt people, that we are free and deter
mined to hold no dependence on any poten.
tate, power or government, than we our.
selves establish and that we now take a.