Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1823-09-12
FOR THE EN9UIRER.
TO THE PEOPLE OF VIRGINLi.-No. 4
MIR CRAWFORD

MIR. CRAWFORD.
The excuse for the Augusta address now
under examination is that the address was
voted before the alien and sedtion laws had
been sanctioned by President Adams and be-
fore their passage was known in Georgia.
The purpose of my preceding number was to
shew that even if sis were true, the Augusta
address would still stand as recorded and con.
elusive proofof MIR. Crawford's federalism in
1913, aud have no fear that To every unpreiu-
diced mind that number did successfully es-
tabllsh that position. now proceed to inquire
how tar Mr.. Crawford has right to take Shell
ter under this new pretext that Mr.. Adams
had not then actually signed Tie obnor,ous alien
and sediiion ta,cs.
For the purpose of fair examination of
this point, 1t is necessary To settle few pre-
limin1y facts. Congress then sat at Phila-
delphIa. Mr.. Crawford resided at Augusta
consequently on the great post route from
north to south at the present day, the time
required for communication between these
two points is nine or ten days. Let us sup
pose it TO have been in 1913, double the time :
say twenty days. One more fact: the feder-
aists had so decideda majority in both houses
in '93, that federal measure was considered
as virtually carried as soon as il was known TO
be proposed. Thus great part of the war
measures against France which the Augusta
address is admitted to have approved were
only before Congress, and had not passed that
body when this address was drawn by Mr..
Crawford" as shall presently shew; yet this
address is considered and justly, as embracing
those measures within its approbatory terms.
The Augusta address bears date on the I'd
July, '93; consequently the general terms of
appreciation with which it concludes may be
fairly considered as extending TO the whole
system of, measures which the federalists were
urging through Congress, so Ear as those mea
sures were made public at Philadelphia, TWEEN.
" days before the date of the Address The
addresses which poured in from every side
were in truth so many indictments to the fed
eralists, of whom Mr.. Adams was the official
chief, TO persist in the course which thew had
opened The practice of the day was this :
as soon as federal measure, obnoxious to tue
republicans, was brought before the House,
ii was Immediately and loudly denounced by
the republican members in both Houses these
were supported by the republican presses 1.-THE
Aurora at their head) throughout the Union,
and the presses again were supported by meet
ings and resolves of the people on the other
sldeIhe measure WAS as strenuously defended
by all the correspondent engines on the federal
side, and all this whIl. tn. measure was still
pending in Congress. The frdrrasts appear
ed to feel the pulse ofthe people through the
medium of these addresses and To infer from
them how far they might venture To go; and
those who forwarded these addresses were
considered as giving their sanction To the mea
surcs yet in debate, as well as giving general
aud and confidence 10 the progress of federal
power. II the parties on both sides had uni
ted in the denunciation of the alien and sedi-
ton laws, as soon as they made their appear
ance in Congress, they would never have
passed hut the voice of opposition was
drowned by those federal addresses which
came laundering from every quarter, the Au-
gusta address among them, and those measures
were passed. What pitiful excuse for this
address, IS il then, TO say that those laws had
not been actually signed nor their passage
known IN Georgia, when the address was for
warded. The man who encourages another
to commit a murder might just as well urge
IN his defence that when he gave the encou-
Ta5ement the murder was not actually COM
mitted. The just answer would be I" so much
the worse; hut for your encouragement it
might never have been committed" So, but
for these federal addresses, the alien and
seditlon laws wonld never have passed The
tederallsts would never have had the hard-
hood to push them through the House, but
for the animated support which they received
from without; the full and united chorus of
those federal addresses from every point of
the compass.
Iadmit that Mr.. Crawford's address cannot
with any fairness he considered as approving
measures of whose existence he was ignorant
butlIhe knew that these measures were before
Congress, his address ofapprobation is at least
rs culpabe IL The President had actually
signed them; think more so,-because he
becomes an accessory to the guilt of their
passage an accessory before the fact.
The question then rpcIIrs. he bf. bpIiPVPd
to have been igGorant ofthe existence Of those
measures9 And first with respect to the alien
law.
The resolution which led to this law, dis
linctlY announcing IFS purpose, was introduced
INTO the Senate on "Wednesday, 18th April
1898. On 1st May '98, Mr. Sewall made Il
reportt on the subject of aliens, in the House
Ut Representatives. On Sd May, there was
debate on this report. In The .4urOrG q
"isy nh the alien bill is published in full, and
substantially as it passed, and is there stated
10 have been reported to the Senate by
hlessrs Lirermore, HUhouSe, Laurence, Read
and SedgWick, whose names the reader is re-
quested To remember with reference to flu
lure part Of Mr.. Crawford's history. So that
on the eth or cath May, 1898, (sx weeks
before the address) il is perfectly fair TO pra.
sumo from the vgiIant and Unsuitable curiosity
with which the public attention was every
where fixed on Philadelphia, that Mr.. Craw-
iord was fully informed of the existence Of
ms measure and its precise purpose. What
vas its purpose? 1t was to give President
adams the power to send out Of this country
81 pleasure, any of the friends of liberty from
rance, or any Of the unfortunate friends OF
freedom from ireland, or any other foreigner
whom il might he his pleasure 10 suspect TO be
dangerous To this country, and this upon his
own bare SUSPICION, without even the form OI