Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1812-11-02

=
ed, \ am stripped Of my revenues.
must have money from any hand, from
any quarter, and BY any means" -
COMMUNICATION.
10 al Piaremrn, Candidates for, and
Esheetants Of Office, their Reiativcs,
Connexions and Friends, in these u
niled States.
/ address you, as constituting great
portion of the American people. An
important election is at hand that OF
TIC chief magistrate Of our country. !
am sure you will agree with me, in The
arg, however you may act on the sub.
lec,, that, for any Presidents election to
be hanora6le, it ought to be carried by
the un6iassed votes Of his countrymen
Let me appeal to your canoour to say
whether you arc in situation to give
votes of that character? II Won be not,
does not dclicscy require every enc, and
all of you, to absent yourselves from the
polls 1t is we'll known, that Judge
will not sit in a Cause, either III which
he is himself personally interested, Or III
which any OF his relatives are so. You
will, perhaps, think ne visionary s1tn;
out it does appear to me t.iat the bf5:
President Will never be obtained til the
constitution is amended SO as to require
every man, Offering to vote, 10 be sworn
upon the pcire dire, as is done in court
H. the case Of witness suspected to be
interested in the issue Of the suit. The
approaching election may be considered
IS a suit, in Which Eezvit Clinton is plain
tiff, ard James Madison, Defendant
How many of you could stand the test
q the vcirs dire, viz. "I make oath, &c.
that, in the cause now depending, | am
not, either directly or indirectly, persen-
ally. Or through my relatives. friends or
connexions, interested. So help me,&c."
If you cannot take the oath, rely on it
that Won are not competent Witnesses, Ia
tie eve Of conscience and reason, tho
you are SO in law. You perceive that
my doctrine goes to exclude equally the
Interested or mercenary partizans both
Of the Plaintiff and Defendant, would
to Heaven! that the constitution were
at this moment altered agreeably to my
idea; and that the Judges oflhe election
possessed, every one, a spear, gifted Ike
that of Ithurial, the application OF which
to every voter would supercede the ne
ccssitv of an oath. How many noisy
Patriots should we then see assume their
true form of sycsphants and eXpe Giants!
If YOU say that my scheme would dlml-
nish the number of voters by ore halt, /
answer that the votes received, being
! the unbiased EXPIRE ssion OF the sense OF
the country, would be at once more no.
| norable to the candieStes, and more al
vantaeeous to the nation. Should you
| be DESTROYS of knowing whether he who
| proposes the above difficult test to others.
could himself stand it, answer in the
affirmative. And, still further to graft
fy your curiosity, you may know that,
when the trial comes on, my testimony
will be in favor of the Plaintiff, Dealt
Clinton and, Of course, for busting the
| present Incumbent, James Madison.
conclude with an anecdote, related
to me by friend. Being in the stage
coach on its way to Washington, some
political conversation, of an animated ma
ture, took place between fellow pas
senger and himself, on the respective
merits of Madison and Clinton. The ar
gumcnt was warm, but not angry. Il
had commenced during the morning
twilight. As soon as it was light e
nough to distinguish the dress OF each