Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1816-03-20
which plan will hereafter be fully laid be-

which plan will hereafter be fully laid be-
fore the world.
But. even in this stage ofthe project, I
cannot refrain from stating, for myself,
that, those who may look upon this as a
scheme for the disseminating of venom, of
talsehOOd, of ~scandalous anecdote, will find
themselves disappointed. For many years
! have not dealt in any thing but dry poll
tics, and matters closely connected with
politics. No false statement has ever
knowingly been made by me ; and, in any
thing may write, or recommend to be
written for publication abroad, l shall be
doubly scrupulous in sticking to the truth.
Let no man say, that this resort to the A
merican press is taking an unfair advan-
tage. My adversaries will have the same
channel of PRONUNCIATION at their com
mand and they will have a thousand times
as much e%xtraneous weight aud influence
as ! can possibly have.
The communication between England
and America is now, and always has been.
carried on by the merchants and by manu-
facturers and their agents. Such newspa-
pers and other periodical publications, i'm
both countries, as favored the views of
these persons, and accorded with their
i%eelInSs, have, except i'll casual instances,
0een sent from one country to the other.
hence both countries have been kent in
the dark. Ii is my firm conviction, that
the late bloody and devastating war was
produced by this cause.-From the count
tngS houses IN .dmerica were poured into
England none but those Newspapers which
represented the country as resolved tn de-
pose the president rather than prosecute a
war against England. Those aaper, were
regarded by our ministers and by the ma
ton, as truly describing the state of the
Pubhc mind IN America and, as it is we'll
known TO every man in England, the uni
versal expectation was, that the people of
America were ready to pull down their 70
vernment, and to throw themselves in our
arms. Nay, it is notorious, that lord III
verpool, in the house oflords, so late as in
the fall o. 1914, said, that the people of the
United States seemed, by their kind treat
ment OF our officers who were prisoners of
war, " to be disposed to mt Themselves
" nnder the protection of has majesty's
government" Even the battles nj Con
and on the Chippeaoa, had not removed the
false impression. When, indeed, the de.
structive thunder of the .americau arms
was heard from lake Gamplain and Nslo
OTIsdhS, the ministers were uudecei,,ad T.
put the nation was not, and has not been to
this hour. %
is 1t not then, of vast Importance, that
the two nations should kno,v one another !?
10 TO the commercial coffee houses i'm Lon.
don, where files of AmericanAewspepers
are kept, and you see there ONLY such ma
pers as are under the influence of CONNER.
clai men. To read those files one would
suppose the United States TO be st;Il . I'm.
l0py of England. The yeen,.,r..
form the strength, and who really sneaS
the voice Of America, being under the beak
or neither government nor landlords. have
no correspondents an England, have no
Engitsh agents to truckie to, for trust or
torbearance, have not the praises of aristo-
crazy eternally dinned in their ears, and.
therefore, have fair play for their good
sense and integrity. But, they send no
newspapers and pamphlets to England
They perform no part of the work of com
mumcation. This is wholly left to the
most powerful of the sons of trade AMI
commerce /; and, though there are, without
doubt, may of these who are true fo the
interests of their country, still the great
majority must, and they VIGOROUSLY do.
act under the bias of an opposite tendency
This evil, which is really a great evil to
the whole world, would be, in a great mea
sure, checked by the plan now proposed
For a regular and speedy communication
between the editor Of the Register, and an
intelligent and active person in .americn. /,
communication which would enable that
editor to- keep the state of public opinion
III America constantly before the ewes o.
the English, and to make the American,
acquainted with all that is passing here
would, and must, defeat in a short time. al
the endeavors of those whose object i
might be to give false Impressions. TIL,
interests of mankind demand, that tbs
truth, and the UhOLe truth, and nothino
o"t the truth, with regard to both govern
ments, should be known to the people in
D0th countries; aud, if there be a man. yhu
haslt IN his power to make it known. and
who does not do 1T, he D~eglects the Der.
formance ofhis duty.
Its with these impressions on nv mind.
that have suggested the PLAN, and that
l shall lend the utmost of my attention TO
the carrying Of it into effect. The person.
or persons going out, will hereafter be
named land the mode of communicating
with the Register through him, or them,
will be pointed out. Nothing appears to
me to be more easy of execution, and, for
my own part, shall think a dozen years
wei spent in aiding the undertaking.