Portland gazette and Maine advertiser., 1817-10-07


Argus, g What we gained by the last war =
We still repeat the same question. Is II re-
piled we gained laurels We answer, were
we destitute of them before Are we tod
that the fact was decided that with an equal
or even inieriouT force we could beat an equal
number Of Englishmen, lrshmen or Scotch
men Was not this fact established by the
war Of the Revolution But where were
those laurels won BY men who had re-
|ceived every mark of s,ect and contempt
from the administration, by a navy, which
had been styled, :" the rotten system Of Old
England, The beast 1vih great teIly," and
upon which appellatons equally decent, and
elegant had been heaped The first victory
was won by the gallant Constitution, one OF
the six frigates ordered 10 be built during the
administration Of Washington, one Of those
vessels, in opposing The building of which, a
leading member Of that party thanked heaven
that the timber which was to build them, was
still growing in our forests, when finding that
Notwithstanding his rhetorick and persuasion,
the bill had passed, the foundation of navy
was laid. This gallant frigate is one of those
vessels, in the keels Of which, had The advice
of another leading democrat been taken, tor
pedos would have been placed, and they
would have been blown to atoms. Il is Ger
tainly poor compliment TO our country TO
suppose that our national character before
that period did not stand sufficiently high and
needed another war to raise il to its pitch
But what viii compensate US for the losses
we endured by embargoes, non intercourses
and their traip of evils, which effected not
| single object, for which they were created,
but as Laurence Sterne says, vanished in
smoke, something worse too, in our almost
total ruin. Is our commerce better regulated
by the treaty of Client than by that Of Mr..
Jay, signed by Washington +! The main OBJ
ljects for which the war was declared was to
compel Great Britain 10 relinquish officially
the impressment Of her subjects wherever
she found them. We were told that tie
sword should never be shealhed ill that OBJ
lect was effected. But our negotiators
al Client waved the discussion of it altogeth-
er, uaquestonahy, in conformity 10 the in
structions they had received from the cabinet
al Washington and had we gained twenty
times as many victories ii We actually did,
the affair would have still remained undoci-
ded, and The treaty of peace signed and con-
frmed by The authors oil the war, would have
been an acknowledgement also, that il was
either unnecessary or unjust.
--~1sc-
Mr.. sniRIEv.--In late Argus observed a
very Just character Of the tyrsnL Henry lhe h
Of england. under the head. believe, IF = lc-
g,tiinate sovereign" viii not, however.
youch fer be correctness Of The titie. Us i'm
OFT. however. i not sffec'ed 81 NJ misl3ke.
some }E&AS ekAtE. ! iVufaL lb ti1 E1i4St al SsS
history IF England, Which, suspected 10 have
been he property Of one Of my ancestors, who,
am pFoui TO say il, Was enc OF that venerable
! band ysh ch landed on he Il ca 81 Plymouth
am poor meehsnieks and my stock Of info' nl :
lion cannot BE supposed ,e. extensive. !. how
ever, perusea ,ais sncient f5lio in my leisure
hours and The more read il, the more my de
tuxtaiIon Increased Of qbsoil.f Of A9nted mon
arches, or ofsny government that - hereditary,
| and wbich. descends iom the father 10 The son
Whether 4 he be wise man or tool " Now,
said /, 10 my wife, one evening, who was spin
ming Ly my side, Katy, psye observed in ;
latc Argus which ] have borrowed, piece 4
b nj the English tgtan; Of whom ] reading
10 you 'tolher evening N II. old toak which i
printed in. black letter, and pFoSsAls old as
my great grea, gseat great 6. Andissher's Rauk
oil Martyrs, for the tile i ge ,orn ous,1 de-
test such wretch as rnaEh as any body, but y by
does tie Argus isy such stress lie word
iegiflrnefr Is rot e,erv tyrsnt entitled TO our
abhoIenee, Be lie iegt iinate or Aegitfglafs !
love consistency. Now oughtno. those who d.
test Harry Of England dc,est si-o the emperor
Napoleon of Essnce The latter VS. net, hides d
Ill =