Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1818-05-19
voR TIE ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE.

Mr.. Editor,
While the social and political compact,
guarantee to the citizens in general, e.
quail political, religious and civil rights,
vet. custom seems to have transferred to
the gentlemen of the bar kind cfpreroga-
tive in the latitude Of debate, which is too
often carried to an extent highly wound.
ing to the feelings Of the citizen, and to-
tally inconsistent with decency or truth.
In this dilemma the injured party has his
recourse either to tie court-tke law-or
the palladium Of his rights and his liberty,
the press. In recurring to the court, he
labors under all the difficulties and incon-
venieneies arising from diffidence-in re-
CURING to the law, its process is tedious
and can afford no adequate relief for in
iured feelings ;--ba, in recurring to the
press, he recurs TO the hearts and feelings
Of his fellow citizens, whose voice is the
voice o: justice--shose feelings are the
oE,prios Of benevolence. Hence will ac-
count tor the reasons which induce me to
resort TO ynur useful paper
|, is a generally received maxim, that
Will the body Of the peaceable CITIZEN
when in the court, is under tue protection
of the court, that bis feelings are equally
SOFT then, this axiom is well founded,
and Of which | can have but little doubt,
am necessarily led to make some re-
marks respecting the conduc. and asser-
tons Of one of the gentlemen Of the bar,
at the last term. At an early period in
the judicial proceedings Of the court, the
merits and dement's Of certain sealed
votes touching an election for Directors
in 4 bank in this city were discussed be-
fore the court, and among the number
were two made and executed by the same
per on. Ooe Of the defendants, in the
exercise Of an unalienasle right, that Of
defending himself through counsel, (be-
ing put upon hi. de'ence) did object to
oae Of these votes the lasD upon the plea
Of its being illegally executed. IL ma
king this objection, it did not require the
passe,slon OF uncommon sense or legal
Knowledge to discern, that u,de- the au.
thority which enabled the stakeholder to
make the vote, he had right to revoke
it, provided the subsequent one was le-
galiy executed but on the contrary, il
defective in its execution. while the pre-
vioas one was perfect, then, OF conse.
1uence the subsequent vote being lille.
gal, the previous one stood good.
To this objection, bottomed as l then
conceived, and still conceive, not only
upon reason and justice but upon law,
the defendant va, told By one Of the bar,
that I" no man possessed Of common sense
would urge such an objestioh"--and at
another time he declared, that the same
persoa had committed "moral fraud"
Surely il the gentleman had stated the
truth in his first declarations, charity
ought TO have sealed his lips as regards
the second; for who would irold the poor
unfortunate wretch amenable for moral
acts, who vas destitute Of common sense9
But fear his organs Of perception, like
his optics, are delusive for he was ready
to make oath that he saw gentleman at
the Judges Office on a certain day, when
at the same time, this same gentleman
was willing to depose, that SO far from
being AT the judges Office on that day, OIL
any other day, he knew not that he Kept
one! | thi...-the gentleman is in lair
way to lay the foundation Of an imperish-
able fame with the good people si Alex
andria. His moral examples-h:s cor.
rect assp-tions-h;s we'll established Ak.
ioms--a-e like the ssre aud steady eject.
Of time, humbling IN: proud, convincing
the obstinate, aud enlightening the igno.
rant. While he is psriecling our morals
aud enlightening our ainds, | trust he
will moro frequently secur to his opera