Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1812-06-12

disgust-For the present We iorbear more
than a single remark.
By g persons disaffected towards the 60
vernment of their country these gentry no
doubt mean the Federalists-yes they allude
to their neighbors in Jefferson and this coun-
tv, to many of the soundest heads and the
purest hearts among us. Let them beware
a state of things may arrive, God forbid ~
when men who carry so much sail and so little
ballast, may be taught repentance by expert
ence-may look back with something like
conjunction for having caused an agitation
that is more easily excited than confronted or
directed-But, for the present, enough"
To our utter surprise we discovered, on
reading the last number of the Farmers Re
p~ository published in Charles Town, that our
harmless remarks had excited the gall OF two
redoubtable champions, one OF wnom,
republican petitioner addressing himself d.
rectly to :. the Editor of the Martinsburgh Ga-
zette' pours out upon him a flood OF abuse.
Were l to estimate (says he) "the polite
g ness, candor or moderation OF the federal
g party, by the character of your animadver-
" sions upon the Jefferson petition, my pen
/" would fan from my hand in the Trembling
e of indignation and despair, and your pnny
!" m~alignity might glide undisturbed through
- the HshN CUhHncis VI Us
" the :. hand Of scornp should point its way to
&c oblivion We bcseech thee, gentle :" petit
toner" calm thy a~gitation-vieid not to dcsa
pair-nor let the & pen fall from thy hand in
the trembling of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
thou owest a debt of instruction to the people,
and thy spen'' must pay t-Well-thou art
more calm. and we will with thee.
We protest, in the first place, that we are
utterly ignorant of what is meant by the
&c fshy channels" through which our "puny
malignity" would, in a certain event, be per-
mitted to glide undisturbed." Excuse our
stupidity-we cannot comment on what we
do not understandable fear that our I" heads
are surfeited" las is very pertinently sugges-
ted in the sentence succeeding that we have
auoted) " with the fumes of oar hearts,
"The petition, sir, will admit of no other
" estimation but from what is apparent upon
" its face and | have an irresistible propen-
6 sity to suspect that if your meaning and oh
" iect were as fully and as distinctly marked
" upon your face, it would lead to an estima
" ton not very fiattering to your patriotism,
" and too unequivocal to harmonic with your
" self complacency; it might lead too, to a
" Just appreciation of the motives of some O.
" TIERS Of the same order. The upright and
" we'll meaning people who lowing to the i'm
"peuetrable hypocrisy of false pilots have
" been deluded by the most treacherous arti-
g fees, under the mask OF a common interest,
" would tear the lion skin from the ass, and
g the sleeps clothing from the wolf, and ex
" Treating their faculties from the web with
" which sophistry, Misrepresentation and false
" hood had insidiously entangled them, they
" would look back with horror and abomina-
" ton upon those whom they had been seduc-
" ed to regard as wise, sincere, and virtuous !;
:. they would wonder that they had ever been
g blind to the simple truths upon which their
g dearest rights are founded" &c.
Heaven and earth how many blessings
are lost to the people, because the Editor Of
the Martinsburgh Gazette cannot, "fully and
distinctly, mark his meaning and object on
his f~ace"-lf that most desirable event could
be ACCOMPLISHED "thc aeepie deluded by
treacherous articles wou.Iaear the lion skin
from the ass, and the sleeps clothing from
the wolf, would extricate their faculties from
the web of sophistry-would wonder that they
had ever been blind to the simple truths on
which their dearest rights are founded"-in
short, d political millennium would immediate
" commeRee-Ohi how DECENTRALIZATION
deplorable it ia, that the Editor of the Mar
tinsburgh Gazette cannot " fully and distinct
ly, mark his meaning and object on his face"
But to be serious-we have a moment of
leisure ON our hands,-and on that account,
and not because we think the " Republican
petitioner entitled to much respect, we will
make a few remarks on the petition before
alluded to, and on his statements.
We said, in our paper OF the 29th nlt. that
" estimating it, (the ~petition) by that only
which is apparent on its face. we should have
conside ed it a harmless pleasantly SC, When
we said this, we were not aware that the quo
tation contained in the following sentence of
the petition was made from a speech Of our
worthy represe NATIVE in the congress of the
United States, who discharges the trust re
posed in him with so much honor to himself,