Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1812-01-15


to spare? Does he want to purchase all dc
lev, frozen region, far as Baffin bay, whlsh IS
good for nutting but to breed de glaciers e.
ternellement? Or can he believe dat by stitch
a stupid patch-up bargain to secure to HIM.
self good warm place for future )? Parbleau'
II hope de Congress is to good republicans
to never agree to it!
| have de honneur to be, Sair, ~.
Wild de highest consideration,
(Signed) NICHOLAS PEDROSA,
Hair Dresser.
FROM THE CONNECTICUT coURANr.
On subvertirg free governments by. means o.
eonsohdatiag their distinct g se1larate fo7v-
erS.
AS no portion of civil history IS ct SO much
importance to freemen as that which informs
us by what means free states bave lost theif
freedom, SO, / would fam hope, a short hlSto-
| rio lesson now and then on this subject, VIII
meet with some attention One successful
way Of destroying civil liberty, and that to
which shall confine my remarks Tor the pre-
sent, is by consolidating the dinerent powSrs
| Of government, in fact, though not In name.
| This. in modern times was ilrStdoae lnfrance
| A few aces back, France was :. free nation
Its monarchy was limited by law and IT had
free and independent parliament, chosen
| from time to time by the people. Tins happy
state of things was changed, not by force, IN
the first instance, but by craft, and rather III
reality than appearance and France became
an absolute monarchy, through SIX successive
reipns, ending with the death of Louis the
sixteenth.
The following short extract from Robert
sons history of Charles the fifth, gives ge-
neral view Of the manner how this deporaole
change was brought about
Z" That gloomy tyrant, Louis the eleventh,
was the FIST monarch in EuEepe who disco
yered the method Of managing those great as
semblies, lin which the feudal patrlcians OBJ
aimed the power of granting subsidies and OF
imposing taxes. He first taught other princes
tile fatal art of beginning their attack upon
public liberty, by corlpptlng the source from
which it should flow. By exertIng all his
mower and address in Influencing the elect on
of representatives by bribing or overaWlng
the members, and by various changes which
he artfully made in the form OF then ae!lbera-
tons, Louis acquired such entire direction OF
fheir assemblies, that, from being the ylgl-
liant guardians of the privileges and property
of The people, he rendered them tamely sub
seryient to promoting the most odlous mca-
sures of his reign
Louis the eleventh, be it here remember
ed, did by no means attempt to abolish the
parliament of France, or to break down the
pisible constitution of the kingdom Had ne
done that, it might have cost him both his
throne and his head. He arrived to absolute
power by easier and safer steps by enslaving
the parliament itself, and making 1t the IN
strument Of his own tyranny Hence, under
the most oppressive and cruel laws, the igno-
rantmultitudes were still enjoying their dreams
of liberty, and were passive and quiet from
the consoiing reflection that these laws were
enacted by legislative bodies OF their own
choosing.
So also the Cortes of Spain originally we're
free pariiaments, and were brought to insig-
ni6cance by the policy of the Spanish mo-
narchs, who Cunningiy followed the footsteps
of the aforesaid Louis the eleventh.. 1t is
more oyer notorious that several of the British
monarchs had for time, nearly enslayed the
nation by the very means that had been en-
ployed by Louis. I shall now mel.tion only
two, Henry the eighth, and Charles the Sc
cond.
With respect to the first ofthese celebrated
speaker in the British house of commons ex-
prest himself as follows " The single reign
of Henry the eighth will serve to shew, that
no tyranny can be more severe than that whl.h
is experienced by concert with parliament,
that arbitrary will may be made the sole rule
of government, even while the names and
forms of free constitution are preserved
that for prince, or his minister to become