Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1827-09-26

| unnotlccd, ana III Dchali OF the citizens OF thi
State, small proportion of whom we have th,
honor Of representing in newspaper, we re-
turn It to him who gave il and on his slou
dcrs II shall rest. And for his especial benefit
and bohoof, VIC do avow, that the great body
of tire citizens Of Rhode. Island arc as in,elli.
gent as any others, and that we have none
among MS, who arc so profoundly ignorant OF
the geography of the United States, ns to be
led to believe, that there is no State in the
Union, larger than Rbode-Is!ond. five have
not enjoyed the benefits of the Free School
system. so generally and extensively, as have
the inhabitants Of New-York, Connecticut and
Massachusetts, we have paid proper regard
to the diffusion of learning; and cur citizens
are not vcled by the dark and dense cloud of
| ignorance which the Editor Of the New York
-Commogcia. Advertiser, in his wisdom, sup
poses envclop their minds.
The people of this "lttle, yet heroic State,'
| as Rhodc-Island was once denominated by one
OF the first Of American Statesmen, have furnish
ed their share of tho great men that have flour
| ishcd since the days of the Revolution and be-
| fore that period, and have sent to the field 10
the Halls Of Legislation, 10 the Pulpit and tho
| Bar, 10 tho halls Of the arts and sciences, and
to the workshops OF the Mechanic, men, who
| have ranked among the wiscst and best Of the
| agc--ncn WIN would not shrink from a COM
| parison, with any that the arrogant State Of
New-Yorl have furnished.-And If we were as
| ignorant as Mr. Stone would make US, is il
probable, that We should have made the dis
hat yo Iu h,v hnlI th.t .,l
in the scales of the confedcracy, which we
have always sustained!
As citizens Of Rhodc-Island, We will not look
quietly on, and see such unjust and ungcncr-
Gus imputations cast upon us; and VIC do, with
Out periphrasis, declare, that the assertion of
Mr.. Stone, that some Of the citizens Of this
state migrate alone, because they do not know
that any State is larger, is not consistent with
tho fact, is unfoundcd is q libel on the char
actor of the State, and is untrue. But be they
as ignorant as they may be, we doubt if their
minds can be at all enlightened by the sage
counscls Of Colcnol William l.. Stone, the Ed
itor of the New-York Commercial idvcrtiscr
We shall not undertake to conjecture the
source from whence Mr. Stone obtained his
information, in relation 10 our State poIity.
judiciary system, and mode Of lcgislating; but
from tho strange and absurd accounts he re-
cords OF us, We are very much disposed to be-
lcve, that ho unfortunately fell in company
with tho same good-natured wag, who, with
all that address and knowledge he possesses,
gullcd Cody Royal, whilst she soiourned
in this place, in the year 1924. No man of
candor, would have imposed upon him in the
manner he has been imposed upon; and thus
laboring under the misinformation of wag, he
gives very strange account Of our courts of
justice, and at the same moment renders him
self supremcy ridiculous. Speaking of our
laws and courts Of Justice; he remarks:
"Queer laUs Merc-always 90 back to
Adam and Eve in trying Justices court suit.
because they won't suffer books to be read as
authority
AS for our laws, they arc very similar to
those Of New-York, If We except those statutes
which regulate the right Of suffrage, and our
| Militia System; and is received as in every
other Statc,thc common law Of England, and is
the law ofthe Land. This being the case, We
know not with what propricty our laws can bo
denominated "queer" ones; they certainly are
not more "Quecr" than those Of Ncw-York =,
or those which exist in sister Republics. As
tor our always going back to Adam and Eve,
III trying Justices court suit because we won't
su1fsr books to be read us authority" the in
situation is ridiculous, and is hardly worth no.
ticing; and We should pass it, were it not, that
OF the peace, and members Of the bar, arc TO-
tally ignorant Of the laws Of their country. In
our courts of justice, books arc admitted as
authority, and many Of them arc generally
adduced as are necessary, and those who read
them, arc as familiar with their contents, las are
tho gentlemen who flourish during " sessions
term, at the City Hail." Although it is not TO
| be denied, that there was time, when our
Judiciary System was defective, and that the
| benches or our courts wcro not occupied by
| "men learned in tho law" it is not admitted
that there ever was time, when books were
| rejected as authority, or that our laws wero
| they may, when it is necessary to re-mould
them, we are abundanty capable Of making
the necessary reformation, without waiting for
the counsel or advice, of so sage and learn
ed Theban" as Colonel William l.. Stone.
whist MIR. Stone was among us, searching
| for our faults, and seeking for materials to en-
able him to write caricaturc OF the town, he
made wonderful discovery, which VIC shall
present to our readers, that they may be as
well instructed in the local affairs of the town
as he is. Speaking Of tho cdiiicc now erecting
on the lands owned by the Dorrancc-strcct
Association, for the manufacture Of cotton fab
rlcks, he thus delivers himself:
ga large brick mandatory is building in
Providence, TO be driven by steam; one main
design of which is the employment Of the poor
of that rapidly increasing city,
Now, whether tho establishment, to which
the journalist alludes, is u brick manufac-
tory;" that is, an establishment for the manu-
| factnrc of" bricks" or for the manufacture
OF grindstoncs, hemp, or iron, cotton or WOOL
len goods, VIC arc not enabled to discover from
any thing he has said; but if his language is
to be taken as it stands, be means to say, that
tho manufactory is to bc driven by steam, for
the manufacture of brick; and il such is the
object Of the proprietors of the establishment,