The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1813-10-12
[Vol: 1O.----No. AZ.

gainst US. And, on the ether hand, If found
in our army. fighting against Ametica, is
liable to be hanged as traitor TO hsr. How
many hundreds, how many thousands, how
many hundreds of thousands, CT men and
| boys, are in this precise predicaruent! I
could name hundreds that myself person
ally know, nay, (and surely it is enough TO
make me speak ieelingly y the very youth,
who. from my dictation, is putting this iden-
ricai article upon the paper, would, If &c
were made prisoner, in fighting against the
A Americans, be liable to be considered a
II aitor to the country in which he was born
and to eXpiate his crime en- a gibbet We
riiv, then, we shall do well to pause and
reject before we give in to these savage and
bloody notions, the offspring, not of patri, tic
/ feeling, not of zeal for the honor of the cuun-
| try but OF low, base, disappointed ma
| lice, coupled with>a hatred of every human
being that is in the pursuit or the enjoy
ment OF freedom. l DO not know what is
the real state of the fa-ts; do not know
what number OF naturaiized Americf it,
zens, natives OF this country, We may have
taken i'll arms--nor do know, that our ge-
nerals have expressed an intention IF consi-
6ering them traiiors-bu f they have
taken any such persons, and have cXpr S.
sed any such intention, the gumente WITCH
have offered, are, think, quite suff lent
TO inouce our ministers 10 MAKE tn Sc gene
| rails hold their hind by no means sp.
prove of that Lose way of thinking, ith re-
gard 20 the duties &c subject or a citizen,
which would dissolve al the ties of aleri-
ance, and justify men, at their mere Will
and pleasure, To J IN TIE enemies Of heir
country and make war aeais her: I ap-
prove of no such wild MOTORS, wh or must.
in the end, lead to the most miserabie IF
consequences, eradic atir e frcra the J'iRd IF
man, every sent ment connected with the
love OF cOurtry-Gut. in Il is particular case.
this case, Of which the history Of The wo Id
| presents us no pIecedf mt, and under all he
circumstances. so"'e # which have mem
toned above. OF the organization OF our own
army, aIn decidedly CT opinion, that 10 at
tempt TO act towards persons taken in the
American army, rigidly uoon the doctrine OF
unalienable allegiance. would be q sep OF
which we should. in short time, most sore
| ly repent. All the world must see. at the
! first blush OF the question that the English
men taken in the American army, s. and up
on very different footing from Englishmen
who should be taken in French erWy- It
is 7 OF que stiCn that waits for onlr git
is ore that rushes TT once to the heart
which tells every man. that .hese pc sons,
though we may lament that they are there,
are not deliberate traitors. The far greater
part Ct them must, according to all probsbi!i-
ty, be of nearly the same description a. to
degree of information, as the soldiers of QUE
own army-and / put it to the readers
candour 10 say, whether, if any of the men
Il mean the common soldiers) who have So
gallamtly fought for their country in Spain
had been lin America, they would have
thought IT treason to enter the American
enthusiastically after residing mary
wears in that country, having frmrd entre-
ly new connexions, and, perhape, h. rdly
lrecollecting the place where ttev were born
in England. Scotland, or Ireland! To APP
ply the maSims of the law OF treason,
grounded on the doctrine of rnaienable all
ieSiance, to men so circumstanced, IS, am
very sure, To stretch it farther than the
common sense of mankind will approve offs
and therefore, cannot refrain from again
expressing az anxious wish, that cur minis
ttrs will interpose their authority TO put a
stop to any further pr secution Of any such
attempt. Ii is not Impossible, though I
don't think II very iik ely, that some few OF
those persons, who have gone from this
country, or, who may be said To have fed
from this Country, on account of their f1olf-
ttcaL oftniO1!s, may have been taken in
arms against their native country. On their
part, there would be no excuse on the score
otsuGnt Of Information, but surely, after ha-
wing 81 frequently been told by the hire
lings os The day, that it world be a good
tung it they would leave Bhgland-after
hearing, for years, amongst the loyal elect,
the toast of, ." Old Engiand--G' MoSe who
donf ike it. Ter Them ieaven !" after bear
ing a member of parliament, in his place,
eXclaiT, "Those who 60 not like the coun-
! try, damn them, let them leave it"--after
having so long heard them elves thus abu-
sed, and thus hidden TO go out e the coun-
try, surely, even these men must be very
much surprised, at least, 10 find themselves
accused Of failure in their dltfiss Of GHegi-
once. There appears to m too, TO be
good deal ofimnokcy in maf,rg all this fuss
| about traitors tound IN tie .American army
or navy. II the facts be true, TO the extent
| IN which they have been stated in the news
papers, and which ] really do not believe,
| it seems 20 me that there is no great wis
dom discovered 10 the divuiging Of them -
] think, that if ] were a ministtr,I shruld
do every thing in my power to keep such
facts from being pro5nulgsted--iOr after
all. what can possibly be gained J, II ?
If twenty or thirty Of the men thus taken
were put to death, and if no retaliation were
/ to take piace Gas hope it would not,) Wat
| should We gain We might prevent Sonoe
few British born subjects from ente ring La
! American service--tut America has quite
men enough without them, q men, too. nnrn
whom she can as safety rely. Ard We
should only blazop through the whole ,yorlJ
81. - -.