Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1811-08-23
Whole No. 6S8.

revolution. The official documents of our own
government, under tho hands of our envoys
Pinkney, Marshall and Gerry, attest that
proAigacy. Doubtless there are some persons
who, to gain an important point, would offer
bride, who would disdain to receice one
The government of France had no scruples Of
this sort. The Directory, by their minister Of
corruption, Taleyrand, had the consummate
baseness and impudence to dem and of our en-
voys douceur lin English bribe) of fifty
thousand pounds sterling, upwards of two
hundred and twenty thousand dolIars) for the
pockets Of four of them: the ffh Director
Merlin, who had held the Office of Minister
OF Justice, being paid by the owners of priva-
teers--ifor being the minister of iaiquitv in
directing the decisions Of the prize courts.
| condemning American vessels and their car
| goes.I And tins bride they were informed
was only the customary tribute in diplomatic
| affairs And even this douceur was not to
procure the acknowledgment of our envovs IN
| the character of public mnisters-but only
permission for them to stay in Paris, where
those insolent tyrants kept their court.
e. The confidential friend and agent of Tai
leyrand in this business whose information
Talleyrand told MIR. Gerry was just and
| might always be relied on) in addition to the
douceur Of fifty thousand pounds, earnestly
many millions of dolars-to have made which
would have been violation OF our duty as a
neutral nation-arid urged various other IN
warrantable and insolent demands of tho
French government, enforcing them by threats
OF its vengeance on failure of their compliance.
Our ENJOYS remaining firm and nvncible, the
confidential agent said to them" Perhaps
you believe that in returning and exposing to
your countrymen the unreasonableness of the
demands, of this government, you will unite
: them in resistance to those demands: YOU
are mistaken: you ought to know that the
diplomatic skill Of France, and the means
she possesses IN your country, are sufficient
to enable her, nth the aid Of the French
/ party in america, to throw the blame
which will attend the rupture of the negpcia-
tons on the Federalists, as you term YOUR
selves, but on the British party, as France
terms you; and you may assure yourselves
this will be doneD
ii 5. The testimony of Fauchet, the minister
, of France to the United States, in his famous
letter of October 81, 1874 the time of the
great Instruction in the western part of Penn
sylvania, familiarly known by the name of
the Whiskey Insurrection. Referring to GER
tain overtures which had been made to him
by one of the erciuSiUe patriots, (yvhom he
named) and which he had before communica-
ted to his government, Fauchet says" Thus
with some thousands Of dollars the Republic
could have decided on civil war or peace
Thus the consciences Of the pretended pa
triots Of America hare already their
| prices in*
4. Notorious treachery of many officers eli
vii and military, of the countries which have
been over-run by the arms of France; and
| whose treason can be ascribed to no cause but
the distribution of French gold, or the delu-
sive promises of elevation to higher employ
4 ments and dignities, in the case OF Godoy
the Prince of Peace, who betrayed Spain into
| the hands Of Bonapartc or to both these
causes. Accordingly the opinion is general,
that this sort of corruption has been the eff
| Gent pioneer to the French armies, and OPEN
ed their way to conquest
5. The open avowai of the fact bya French
| agent, at the time that Adet (the successor of
Faucuet was the French minister in Phila-
delphia This agent was Mr.. Letombe, the
consul general of the French Republic, a per-
son well known to great numbers of my fell
| low-citizens as well az to me- Letombe had
| previously been French consul at Boston had
| lived some years in the United States and
was doubtless much better informed concern
ing them than the minister Adet Washing
ton was then President of the United States;
and probably Letombe perceived that the time
had not arrived for France, by her intrigues
and bribery TO gain an efectual ascendancyin
the councils Of our nation. Letombc ac-
cordngly mentioned the fact in a tone ofcom-
plant and vexation 1t was to very intelli-
gent and respectable gentleman of my ac-
guaintance, towhom Letombe said, e that Dir
Adet had foolishly thrown away great deal
of money, in bribing members of congress;
although they tLetombe and the minister)
were put to much difficulty in raising it and
that theu had OF great Loss 10 tho L,.o.,aa.