Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1812-05-13

the pressure produced by their own govern
ment--like that produced by the secltion act,
the alien act and the eight per cent. loans OF
MIR Adams's administration, the exctenleEt
is among those who areopposcd to them. 10 TO
war, without money, without men, without a
nayy!s Go to war when you have not the
courage, whilst your lips utter " wal, to 10y
wartaxes! When your whole courage IS ex-.
hibited in passing resolutions ! he people
Will not believe il. The gentleman from n.
York has well said that it's not the conduct
of the minority, but Of the house itself and Of
government--and ! might SO or and add OF
the government prints--ot the most violent
government prints, which have impressed the
people with an idea that there was to be 10
war. l said on late occasion on this floor
with much dithdence of the state OF my m
formation when Idiffered from the very eH-
traortlinary man at the head OF the Treasury,
that could not be brought to believe that ne
could obtain money at the legal laterest; and
experience bears NE out In that OPINION
The first loan, only for eleven millions, has
failed, and in so far as it has failed has cast
DISGRACE on the credit Of the country. Ii the
first loan at the commencement OF your war,
when trade is embarrassed, and monled men
rot knowing what to do with their money,
cannot be filled, how Will you obtain the sue
ceeding loans The reason why the pubic
mind is impressed with an opinion that there
will be no war, is, because the pubic are to-
tally unaware of the high price at which this
house holds its own consistency--that the Fu-
in of the nation weighs nothing in the scale a.
eainst it, The reason why the public mind
has been impressed with al idea that there
would be no war is not the breaking up or
down of this or that system of restriction, but
they must have been blind and deal not to have
seen that there has not been, from the begin
ming Of the session TO this day, any system at
all. It's notorious and is as well known to the
well informed gentlemen In this house as to
any gentleman in this nation. There has been
nothing like system; and the bill passed
this house few days ago IN relation to the
War Department proves there has been no
system. Passing resolutions to lay taxes by
Overwhelming maiorities, and letting them lie
on the table and relying on the scanty resource
of borrowing, which has failed, proves that
YOU have no system-and yet, SIT: do not
mean to say that YOU Will not have war; but
with the gentleman from New York VIII
say, because know 1t, that you have neither
army, ships, seamen nor system Under
these circumstances, sir, you may have war
That one Of the two great beiigerentS with
whom we are about to come into contact, can
have no objection to see all our ships and sea
men driven by the operation OF this law within
ner grasp; forsailors who have received hity-
four dollars month to go to sea, viii not re-
ceiye hfty.fo dollars month to come back
and there will be very little need oil hot press
on the river Thames OF the river Lilly 70 inah
the British navy. She can have no obJecton
to see our property all driven by our own act
into her grasp IS precursor to war; nor can
she, if her orders in council were dictated by
fear of rivalry in trade from our CONNER
cial spirit, have any objection to see that spi-
rit laid, not in the Red Sea, but ii the Fresh
River, Of Embargo
My own opinion decidedlyis, said Mr. K that
if we mean to go to war, we should have re-
fused leave of absence to the honorable and
worthy chairman Of the committee OF finance
to have gone home. We should have gone
into committee of supply, granted the supply
wanted by government, and taken them Out ct
the disrraceful situation in which they are now
placed in endeavoring to borrow money and
not being able to obtainit. The laying Of tax
es should have been preparatory to the ioan--
the first measure taken after we met here, if
our intention be really 10 wage active war
which shall not recoil on the heads of our own
people and government, and involve the latter
in disgrace. But, Mr.. K said, 1t seemed that
after laying out all their money to make Prepa-
ration for war by land, after refusing almost
TO take any measure for the protection Of The
sea coast, and adding nothing to our navy UNI
der these circumstances they were about to
wage war of predatory rapihe, and all the
military preparations for the ensuingyear were
to eventuate in nothing. After this, said he,
shall not be surprised if when we receive
news Of inroads from the savages, we were
forthwith to build Acct to repel them. We