Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1815-05-20
ALEXANDRIA.
SATURDAY, NAY 90.

lk1HC Was WiiSH tite FicOUle were ledi0G
,vermpchi in behalf of tbeir state sore
seignties. They efuseo, to grant to tie
congress- Of the old confederation tie pow
er OF laying a five per cent cent. iinpos1
on foreign trade. Although that gran1
vas repaired by TIE most ilnperious he.
cessity, they refused it on tie ground thai
it might haply give congress a dangerous
influence over the states. So also, dur.
iug tie considerably long time that inter.
rened between the publication and tie a.
dortion CT TIE constitution ot' our federal
government, those. nen who have since
taken to themselves e clusive'y the dis
tinct appellation of republicans were
" tremblins'y alive" With fears, lest the
general government should absorb the
sovereign powers Of the state govern
ments. These fears Continued to har-
rass and distress tisem for tie srace of
twelve full years when they all vanis''-
ed away. Not that their zeal sunk into
,saat,.y: no, it continued hot and fierce
as ever, bit in an exactly opposite direc-
ton. For the. last fourteen years tie ge-
2ecai government has been reckoneI by
ten as every thing, and state 90
We IA nelts as nothing; and for tie last
s rec or four years the governors ADD le-
is arlres OF most ofthe states, like some
# tie little Boroaghs in cid ENGLAND,
ave wed with eac other which of item
shoa,d be loudeatin praise, mea est in
ad2iat.5G. and foremost in Ma q sacr-
ice af rights to tie dread s5eereign.-
ieanwhile those few governors and le-
.islati~e bodies who stood fast in ,ipci-
eating the obvious and essential rig11ts of
saeir respective states, haze been coAsi-
jered as little better than downright
traitors.
Again. time was when among al ranks
and conditions o. TIE aforementioned des-
criptien Of men, there prevailed an over
weening .lealou-y of the power and iaau-
eAce Of tie executive of the Union. We
might give NUMBER of striking instances
Of that extreme Jealousy, as well in the
administration Of Wassing.nn as of A.
dams. WITH Argls-eyas. IT watched e.
yeathe tnrner, notwithstanding his pre-
eminent character fr wisdom, nrobit, &.
patriotism. However unon TIE com
nenceaeat of the new dynasty, this ica-
lousy utterly VANISHED. or rather it set in
with equal violence, i'll tie directly nDpo-
site course. These self Same men were
still jealous. mig ty jealous: but tie
whole nth Of their jea'ou y has been,
lest tie will Of the executive should in a.
" instance be contraveled or disputed.
'.ence for aunher OF years togetAer. as
It was once said in debate, and We truly
all, " tie will OF the e ecptiEe is the aw
of ha land"
WAocver disputed that vii, he was nc
'itical'y s;eaSiRs dead n,en, however
high his standing o. ,asequence with his
patty had previously been. We might
instance t!e.truth ofthis assertion in Mr..
Robot Smith, Mr.. John Raadclph, Mr..
Dewitt CliAton, Gen. Ger@an of =. Y.
and in divers CT e"s of less note. They
ve'tared to scrurle some of the measures
of tie executive, and they fell sgddenl. as
In tie twinkiing OF an eve; & t'.eir rarty
lors0ok them as men tainted with treason.
Nor was it till quite Lately that a.;y
considerable number of that rarty in Coz
gress, burst contravene the declared will
of tie executive In single iYta or ttat
any one Of item could do It, without a
Certainty OF losing, not indeed lis keaj,
cut all his political influence, and of suf-
fering withal tie virulent reproaches and
calunDiss, consequent to the ba't of e.
communication and proscri' ton.
1t is truly matter OF ~ and OF hope
that this last mentioned GisE lay of La
tional phrenzy begins to abate of its
worstpsymrtoms, and that so mary, once
its victims, discover signs of returnins
sanity. In the course of tie ten rey
coming years, if tie pendulum were t
vibrate back to the opposite extreme, i
would be thing not very undesirable
It would not be very strange, because i
| is what will assureoy happen wheneve
the executive shal break loose from t.
! tetters o. thejuEto that has leld it so lon
| in keeping. if that tine Should cone
tfat very same aristocracy would do it
best to dlsfoil tie executive OF even it
constitutional powers, thing undesira
bic and pernicious, because tie interest
OF tie Lation require tlat the e@ecutiv
possess and exercise | tat weight ,
authority given it by tie constitution
lie Office is highly necessary and impol
taat, as we'll as a highly dlgnitted one
nor should tie foul abuse it Las sufere
OF late years, bring it. (tat is, the of.e
tseIf) at all into dlsrelute. In goo
.ands, it nay again be tie Instrument