Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-04-22

to maintain the doctrine, that Represen-
tative in Congress is bound by the in
structions of his constituents and he ex-
presses his surprize (" that an idea should
go forth'' to the contrary. After sandry
learned quotations, he tells us, that a pro-
posal to have I" the right Of the people to
instruct their representatives eagraftcd
on the constitution, was rejected in the
convention. Yet he insists upon it that
the doctrine is correct We might, in
turn, express s,lrprize at this. Does not
every member, on taking his seat, solemn
ly swear to support the constitution and
is he to abandon filat sacred instrument
and is oath together, for the purpose Of
obeying the dictates Of mob, nine-tenths
o.? whom. perhaps, are unable to read the
constitution, much less to understand it !?
Besides. how is representative to know
the viii! Of a majority Of his constituents,
when it is fact that resolutions are fire.
quently announced as the opinions of
thousands, which not one man i'll fifty who
attended the gathering ever heard read I
Should this doctrine be once fully esta-
biished, very few independent men would
wish to hold q seat in Congress and
Heaven knows, VIC have plentiful lack Of
that character there already.
Noystt, AtrHi7.
William c. Holt and John Hodges, esq'rs,
were elected delegates to the general assem-
bly, for Norfolk county on Monday last
Yesterday morning about o'clock, our
town WAS alarmed BY the cry of lire, which
Vas discovered 10 nave becn occasloned by
! the French priv.tecr Revuneae dc CcC, John
Jacques, master, at anchor lii the river, being
on fire. The fumes had made SUCH progress
and an alarm prevailing that she mad d eonsl-
de:ablc quantity OF powder Oh uoarc, prevent
Cd any e::ertions being mad5 save hci
aid she burnt 10 the water edge, having ovgn
! towed Oh 70 prevent her dong d.!itidgt ~ the
oIAor shipping, which lay Vciy near hst.
Il was suspected that she ny,d been set on
| ere desi;neuiy, and no douos remains lit sac
! WIS. lt,.ppe.rs from the examination o. two
boys that were on 1ost:l, that TWO coats came
along size OF the privatecf, Inalilcd villa
but fifteen armed persons, WHO. took tjlc two
bows out OF the CABIN, tied tneu hands be-
hind their backs, and then took a tub Which
lad fire in it INTO the hold and thus set fire to
the vessel.
| Ii has saot as yet been discovered who were
the authors Oh this very unjusutable deed
: which was not oily highly wrons as REGARDS
tbs destruction OF the property Itself and the
violation oi the hospitality OF our Country, but
the very imminent danger to which other YES
sells were thereby exposed particularly =
ship with 5000 barrels OF naval stores WAlch
was n,oored very near) and indeed the town
itself The two be. who have been eAarnin-
ed, say thatthey were Carried over to the nos
pitai point, and there landed, md that the
persons who came in the boats spoAe no other
language but English.
Such conduct Cannot be excused, or even
palliated, though the causes which produced
it may not be difficult to imagine indi-
vidual who commanded this priyatecr, had
rendered himself obnoxious by capture of A
merican vessels heretofore :---wlthln these
few days he was publicly recruiting men Tor
the purpose Of going, Is was supposed, on
Crlizc these circumstances were viewed with
indignation, much heightened BY the very afro
cious destruction OF American property, by
French cruizers, accounts of which are daily
detailed in the papers. The Revanche de
Cert was detained about eight or nine months
since by Commodore Rogers, and was lately
restored by an order from the admiralty court.
LATEST FROsN LISBON.
Last evening arrived The fast sailing
brig Wheeler, Capt. Roberts. from lis
bon, which place he left the sixteenth Of
March. BY this arrival we receive the
intelligence which we have long expected.
The in,incib!e sIassena, the spoiled child
of fortune, and pride of France, has been
compelled to turn his back upon an enemy
q.