Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-07-22
EXTRACTS
From the National 'ntelligencer's
REVIEW
of Robert Smiths Pamphlet.

world unless It be to Mr.. Smith; anu TO
him thew can be no otherwise detrimental,
than as proof of his imbccility in publish
inc them; for of his laxity OF principle in
betrayins confidence, both public and prl-
yate, we could not want this additional
proof :,
lie is now a servant out of place. And
while he is Offering himself for further
service with the usual cry of 7oho wants
me, he naturally concludes that we shall
require a character from his last place.
UnluckiIy Mr.. Smith, by this confession
that he stood in need of a character, and
this mode of rakiug one together, has
taken lower stand in public estimation
than we should have assigned him. We
knew indeed his want of capacity; but
did not suppose the fact would be put by
himself in SO gIaring point Of light
What a pity that during his eight or ten
years ofpublic service he could not have
done some useful thing: some one act
that would mark him as noun substan-
tive, and enable him to stand alone.-Ask
Mr.. Jefferson whether, on his retiring
from the same department of state some
years ago, he thought it necessary TO
print himself into our good opinion as
man ortalents in business, by publishing
scraps Of old letters from his correspon-
dents; And ifhe says yes, ask him ifthey
were private and confidential letters not
intended for the public eye.
There is one little trick of deception
that Mr.. Smith attempts to play OFT up
ON us in this very act of hunting up a
character. The mangled extract OF MIR.
Jelferson's letter Of September, 1910, is
Given us to create the belief that the
letter was accompanied by the manu-
script of literary work to be correct
ed and intended for the press. Ro-
bert Smith correct the writings of Tho
mas Jefferson. No, gentle reader the
work in question was an official document
intended for publication. to be supported
and calculated. probably corrected, by
facts deposited in the department ofstate,
of which Mr.. Smith was then the official
and only dePositary. He is called upon
therefore, as public officer, and not,
Ilank uOus DIS d ufdii VI ISttCiS'
We intended here to terminate onr re-
view of the pamphlet before us. But the
accidental naming ofMr. S. in connection
with literature, recalls a remark we had
noticed on two or three phrases which be-
tray want OF acquaintance with the Eng
lish language. He uses this expression
more than once since my accession to
the Department of State."-The word
accession in this sense is only used in the
regal stile, and signifies to come to the
throne by hereditary succession. But
when a man comes eren to q throne by
election or appointment Of other men, or
even by conquest, it would not be acces-
sion. We blame not MIR. Smith for any
thing anti-republican in the phrase. His
ignorance Of language will excuse him
from this it is mere grammatical blum
der.
Another little error oflanguage we will
notice in this place, that some of our
newspaper editors as we'll as MIR. Smith
may take warning it is the error
of using the auxiliary 1cil!, instead
Of shall, in forming the first person Of
verbs i'm the future tense; as in these
phrases, 81 trust ever 7cilt retain a just
sense.'-.. Then 1ciU we have to look for
the fact We should like next to hear
Of Mr.. SIS accession to bench in gram
mer school in which case the word
might apply, as he would come to that
throne in his own right.
Postscript.
The public is generally amused from
time to time with certain ideas that get
anoat. and pass current without much ex.
animation. Among these we have long
noticed the erroneous suppositien that the
country is unprepared for defence and that
the conduct of the executive in this res
pect is feeble and insufficient.
On the first of these heads we will just
observe that the United States in time of
peace were never SO well prepared for de-
fence as now though it is confessed that
tl,o,r MN not ca xyaIl nc thew miuht ha