Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-08-19

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much larger one, whenever 1t m'eh'
suit their purposes? Isthe nat'onai tre1-
sury, accumulated for national uses, 70 oe
drained in order to enrich particular Ia
yoritcs9 Was it for this our government
was established, or was it for the promo
ton of the public welfare3 -.
A great deal has been said, Fellow ~
tizens, about the tyranny Of the Britisl,
government; and we have been often toid
that if England was annihilatcd, all would
90 we'll. / acknowledge that there was
time when the British government cndea'
vored to Cypress us. We resisted her
naughty pretensions, and the result was
glorious. But since that time we have
entered into friendly negotiations with
her, and agreed to settle all former dill
fercnces. BY whom was this negotiation
sanctioned? BY the illustrious Washing
ton by the very patriot and statesman
who successfully led our armies through
long and trying struggle for Indepen-
dence. We all can recollect how he was
illuminated for his conduct on that occa-
sion, by some who pretended to be the
peoples exclusive friends but he was not
to be deferred from his duty by the clamor
of few demagogues, or for the sake of
little fleeting popularity; he looked
solely to his country's good, and justly
considered that because a nation was once
our enemy, it was no reason she should
be al7cayS so.
At the same time, 1 confess that we
have of late years received very serious
injuries from Great Britain, in com
mercial point of view in particular, for
which We ought to have redress. But
how is redress to be obtained Is it by
weeping, or wailing. or snashins Of teeth?
put it TO you, Fellow Citizens, whether
it is not highly probable that We should
at this day have been on the most friendly
terms with &. Britain, if our rulers had
shewn fair impartial disposition to be
so3 Look at her situation now, and COM
pare it with her standing in '9t, when the
treaty was negotiated with her by Gen.
Washington, which he Of course believed
to be honorable and beneficial to his own
beloved country. At that time, she was
engaged in war against France, it is
true /; but this war was popular, and she
had some prospect Of success, being in al
lance with several ofthe great powers OF
Europe. In such crisis we formed
treaty with her, under which our CON-
MERGE fiourished to an unprecedented de-
gree. How stands the case now I Great
Britain has almost the whole of Europe
against her, and has to maintain war Of
self preservation against the colossal pow
er of France, swayed as it is by great
military genius, with unexampled re.
sources at his disposal? Under such cir
cumstances, can it be believed that the
British ministry would hesitate mo
ment to accommodate matters with this
country, if it could be done upon honora-
bic terms, especially when it is considered
that they have scarcely any other vent
for their manufactures, than what our
market affords? Is it possible that they
would willingly be excluded from such a
market for their commodities, unless con-
ditions had been proposed too humiliating
to be submitted to?
On the other hand we have heard a
great deal about the friendship of France.
Let us consider for moment who it is
that now rules the destinies of that great
empire. 1t is Napoleon Bonapartc, a
name with which every crime is familiar,
and from which Innocence recoils with in
tuitive horror. This man, after having
prored himselfby the cold -bIooded murder
of numerous unhappy victims, obtained,
by trucking intrigue the command of
the army ofItaly, whittier he repaired to |
be the boosted leader of Republicans, of
whom he professed to be one. After de-
solating the fair plains of that devoted |
country. after plundcring the churches Of
their sacred utensils, he set out on his ia
nous expedition to Egypt. Being de-
feated in that undertaking by the sallan-
try of British troops, he, after perpetrat-
ing many we'll known enormities, returned
to France; and, with the aid Of coed Tor
tune, contrived to overturn the very 60