The Litchfield County post. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1826-1829, 1827-02-02
From the NeiO- York ENQUIRER.

the brilliant retrospect, it would be ungener-
! Gus to forget that venerable band by whose
patriotism and valour the foundations of our
prosperity were laid. 1t is difficult for US,
who have been born to this bright inheritance,
| duly to estimate the doubts and fears, the
| tolls and sacrifices, by which it was pnrcha-
! sed. Great as the price is, it was freely paid.
But where are now the statesman who decla-
red our Independence, and the heroes who a.
| chleved it! With few exceptions they rest
from their labors in the tomb. Here and
there, over the wide surface of our country. a
| solitary individual, bending under the weight
| of years, mournful relic of generation that
is past, lives to tell, from his own experience,
the interesting tale of Colonial sufftrings, and
Revolutionary triumph. But alas! he has
also to tell of his country's ngratitude, and
even of her injustice. At this very period, the
scanty remnant of those men who command
ed our brave troops at Brandywine, at Mon
mouth, and at Yorktown, and whose services
ended only with the war, are petitioning the
representatives Of ten millions of freemen, e.
mancipated by their exertions, for the fulfil
mcnt OF solemn engagement, entered into
upon the faith Of the nation, by the Congress
of the states. during the darkest period of the
Revo!ution.-and an engagement which sup
| ported them through unparalleled sacrifices
and sufferings, and kept alive in their breasts
that noble spirit which not only defed ma
kedness, and hunger, and privations of every
sort, but bore them on to victory and eventu-
| al triumph over the disciplined and well fur
nishsd soldiery of Britain. Their appeal is
not to the generosity, but the justice of their
country. They exhibit claim founded up
on the strictest legal and equitable principles.
They call for the satisfaction of debt, the
ed by Washington, as the only hope for an
almost desperate cause--a debt which was
guaranteed to them by the supreme authority
ofthe republic, and which, at the close of the
war, was confirmed to them by the parting
assurance Of their beloved chief. Why is
Justice denied to those to whom unbounded
generosity is due! Why is sickening delay
made use of, when those who solicit it must
! receive it soon or never? Why those cruel
attempts at amendment, by Introducing the
claims of Others, resting upon entirely differ
ent principles, thus assuming the guise of hui
mainly and extended benevolence only to
conceal the deadly blow which is aimed at the
application, and intended for its destruction?
| These questions let our representatives an
swer. Those veteran servents in the cause Of
freedom are favorites with the people, and
wherever popular sentiment has been expires
sed, from one end of the union to The other,
it has been for granting them relief. Many
of them are in pressing need. The natural
infirmities and suf1erings of age are rendered
doubly bitter by the ills of penury. TO whom
should they look for succOur but to the coun-
try they have saved to whose interests they
devoted the >igor and fortunes oftheir youth;
to the country which, by their blood and
treasure, was redeemed from bondage to be-
come the glory and envy Of the world? We
owe them debt which we never can fully
repay. They are the fathers of the nation, of
whom she should be proud and, like the
SYPHILIS books of old, they should become
more and more precious as their number de-
creases. Let them not he coldly repused,
without the assistance they crave. Let them
not be driven with bleeding hearts to utter
reprOaches in their age, against the ingrat-
tude of that country which is indebted to their
youthful efforts, not only for her power and
wealth, but even for her very existence as a
land Of liberty. If they should be turned a.
way empty, the small remnant oflife will, to
most of them, present dreary scene. Their
long cherished and only hope annihilated,
naught will remain for them in earthly
prospect, but poverty, affection, and the
grave. -
In Massachusetts, there are 1876 incorpora-
ted manufacturing companies, with an aggre-
gate capital of S29,765,0OO. There are Sd
banks, with a capital of &c. 900, of which
IS, with capital of S10,O5O,0OO, are in Bos-
ton. There are also in the state 81 insurance
offices, with capital of SO, 20O, 900, of which
90. with capital of Sc, 800, 900 are in Boston.
There are los turnpike corporations. There
are 60 persons employed in the custom house
in Boston. -
On sabbath evening" the 9TH inst. phe-
nomenon was observed in this place which
cannot be accounted for, otherwise than by
supposing it the shock of a distant earth
quake. A rumbling noise was heard, re-
sembling the sound of remote thunder ac-
compapied with a tremulous motion of the
earth, so violent as in one house, to throw
down teapot from off cooking stove.
We have as yet received no accounts, from
which we can, with certainty determine the
cause.- Whitehall paper.
An earthquake was experienced in this
county on the evening of the 7th inst. 1t
was noticed by several persons in this town,
in Greenfield and Corinth. The ground
was deeply covered with snow, and the
noise, which continued for one or two min