Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1824-04-15
From he Richmoad Enquirer Of Aprii 8.
Mr. GILES.

From hs Richmoad Enquirer Of .aprii 8.
Mr.. GILES.
In publishing the following letter, we
can scarcely torbear The expression ofour
wish that SIR. Giles bad modified bis stric
tcres upon the President and Mr. Clay
For ourselves, we do not relish Tins aspe,
Ji,y ut amnadyersion, but the press is tree;
aud as Mr.. Giles has chosen to write un-
der his owu name, we feel less scruple IN
publishing bis letters We DO not how
ever exercise the privilege, which he al
low Us 10 private letter OF om,ltIng, Il
we wish 1t "lbe iB,imatioD IN relation TO
the press" We shall scarcely be so fas.
tidious as to attempt 10 screen, ourselves
ircn the Incidental etfec, of such remarks,
when We leave him at iuii liberty TO pour
in his whole CULVER OF arrows upon The Pre-
sidenl and ne Spsaker:
To The Editors of The Enquirer.
GESTLgMEs: IL is now about nine years
since retired frotn public Lille. For near
ly twenty. Ave years before that time, 1
&C ed 10 some representative character IN
the publi, councils. During the whole OF
thai period, devoted the best reflections,
and exer,ed the best energies OF my mind,
in promoting the public interests. then
fondly cherished the hope that the consti-
tu;,an, ani practical government OF the U
s., we're destined to afford some resting
place ~ the lost rights and liberties Ut
man, at least on one spot of this globe. |
fon,:Iy INDUCED the further hope, that The
sane constitution, aDG PRACTICAL govern
neat, might 10 time become the means vi
trans.using these lost blessings throughout
the world. Before my retirement, saw,
or ,eared saw, some indications 10 the
practical standardization OF the government,
OF evil orebodIugs 10 these best hopes -
These consisted principally. in the Impa
thence manifested by the administrators OF
the government, legislative executive aud
JUDICIAL, OF the wholesome restraints im.
posed upon them by the prov tsions OF the
constitution; 10 a rapid succession OF poll
ticsl schemes, calculated 10 free them
selves from these restraints; anu IN the ia
tsl success of too many Of them. Since
my retirement, there has been much
more rapid suceession,0i such schemes,
and such an increased multitude OF adveu-
turous schemes, as TO have ripened these
fore bodings into the most serious alarms
for the safety OF all our fundamental InstI-
tutious. Under the influence OF these ear
" fears AM a. orebensioGs, had deter.
mined in my reufe.ntnt, 10 devote all the
interval Of leisure from attention to my
private affairs, IA presenting In the cOnsI-
Iteration oi NY fellow cluzens the most
pro n,nent causes OF these Tears and APP
predensons; the more especially, as they
related TO subject involving the dearest,
and deepest interests Of the people.
1 believe the time has now arrived.
when almost every rejecting man 10 tbs
community. of all parties. is sensible. that
there IS something wrong in our public
councils, and that II is time Tor these tana-
ticsi scbemers TO pause and TO look back
upon the ID schiets they have done, before
they proceed fur'ber 10 the destructive
schemes hey have before them. The
'hard times" universally aud Justly com
plsiped OF, ought to admon,sh The people 10
insisi, that the public authorities should
most seriously revise shat they hsve done,
beiUr. they 60 further in thelr uBbridled,
ma career OF political scberning. think
ii can be demonstrated, that the past as
well as the present sufferings OF the great
mass OF mank md. OF ~ other words, the
pas and present hard tunes" have been
produced by political schemers. In this
country the great source OF This alarming
evil will be found in the electioneeE,n
spirit, which pervaies the whole commu-
nifty from the pretender TO the Office VI
constsble, 10 the prelenter to the Office OF
President My great tear upon this point
is, that this spirit IS the necessary result
OF some fatally mistaken principles, intro
duCed into some OF our iundame ntal insti-
tu,lons, in their original tormstion.
This restless, aspiring spirit, SCENE to
have luver.ed the order OF human morals.
In seeking popularity, the elsctioneer
makes his couit 10 the vicious as well as
TO the virtuous, and so tar destroys all dis
iinclion in the moral sentiment of The
country between virtue and vice. Indeed,
this meretricIous courtsbipi is addressed
more 70 tue vi.iouss than TO the vlr;uous,
for two re a,oas. The one is, that the vi
cious are generally more ready than The
vir,uous TO compromise their preferences
TIE other ~, that th- vicious, for the most
part, &C bv synpatbies and combinations
They are drawn into this concert, as a
protection, against the Influence OF the
moral sentiment vi the virluous. Whereas
the virluous have no need Of such concert.
When the eleciioneerer, therefore, sue
ceeds 10 making himself The lavori,e of
the vicious, be generally gets their suiira-
ges in hocks; when he becomes The choice
of the virtuous, he gets their suffIages sin-
ely from individual and not from sympa-
thetie inducements. / bis spirit too, chan
ges the objects OF the human intellect -
Instead Of the enquiry; is The proposition
presented tor confederation true or false
will it be productive OF good or evil? is 1t
constitutional or unconstitutional? The
enquiry OF this eIectioneerer. lis he
proposition popular, or unpopular? On
which side OF it shall | get most vutes2 This
snirit nafies all constitutional rpsfraInis. A,