The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1828-02-28

trymen; agent, for certain colonies, TO this
government; an author Of celebrity;--a
philosopher, whose reputation has gone O.
yer the whole Of the learned world; very
able negociator;--a statesman;--a minis
ter plenipotentary to France, Of whose
king he obtained, while the Bourbons were
in their glory, by his great moderation,
wisdom and republican address, treaty,
which enabled our thirteen colonies OF N.
America to laugh all the power of Great
Britain, year after year, to scorn;--yes--
and all these things, did Benjamin Frank
lin, by virtue alone, Of his good common
sense.
He died in 1890, "full of years and hon
ors," the pride and glory Of that empire.
the very foundations of which he assisted
in laying--the very corner stone OF which
he had helped in the appointed place, with
his own powerful hands. He was one Of
the few--the priesthood Of liberty
stood up, undlsmayed, unmoyed, while the
ark VI their salvation thundered and shook
and lightened in their faces; putting all Of
them, their venerable hands upon II, never.
theess; and abiding the issue while the
"Declarati0n Of independence" went forth,
like the noise of trumpets, 10 the four cor
ners Of the earth. lie lived until he
heard the warlike flourish echoing through
all the great solitudcs Of AmeEica-the
roar of battle on every side OF hlm-all
| Europe in commotion--her oyerpeopled
empires rlotous with new spirit has
country quietly taking her place among the
nations. What more could he wIsl;-
Nothing. II was lime TO give up The
| ghost.
lie was q great--ahd Of course-a good
man. We have but few things to lay, Sc
riously to his charge-very few; and after
all, when we look about US, recollectlng,
as we do the great good which he las
done, every where; the little mischief that
! he has done--the less than little, that he
ever meditated any wherein all his life
to the cause of humanity-we have no
heait-wc confess it-again 10 speak un-
kindly OF him. The evil that BeDjumin
| Franklin did, in the whole of his toursrore
years, and upwards, Of life--was, IN CON
parlson with his good works, bu; as dust
N Tie balance. Blackwood's Id. Mag.
-..e9s~.-
II is amusing to observe the manner in
which the "John Bull" comments on mat.
ters and things. The following article on
the doubtful intelligence of the destruc.
ion Of the Greek fleet by De Rigny, is in
John Bulls particular strain. 1t cannot
but amuse Our reeders.-[N. Y. M. Cour. |
WONDERS will never ccase--our read. !
els cannot, we think, believe what we have |
to announce;--il battles oil calcuation it |
deties all argument, II, IN short, beats ev-
| cry thing that has preceded it.
What Will the country say when they |
hear, that in the midst Of our specuations |
about Navarno aud its results, Admiral
De RIGNy, Tire colleague Of CopRINGroN,
| The champion of liberty, and the annihila
tor of the Tmkc, has taken upon himself
to destroy he ieaote cfhe Greek Fleet!
The Intelligence Is authentic and oifc ial,
and here, gentle reader, is the commence.
ment--if it were not made bsfore-of thai !
nterminable war, in which we are 50
pleasantly plunged We--tliat is--nol |
ourselves, but our Ministers, having, as we
have said in another part Of this days pa
per; entered into an alliance with France
and Russia for the appare,uty sole benefit
of the latter power, TO espouse the cause
! of the Greeks against the Turks--giye eli
ther such instructions, or such p0,CerS 10
our Admiral COdrington, as induce him to
sail into tho peaceful harbor Of Navarino
assisted by oar friends the Russian and
French, and batter. burn, shrk, and destroy
all the ships Of our ally the Turk. which
we find there peaceably AZ anchor; having
been permitted TO approach them as friends
by batteries which could have annihilatcd
| the brave Codrington and his colleagues
III half an hour, II they had suspected his
! patriotic intentions.
No matter, the jolly Codrington having
utterly defeated our old friend and ally,
receives the ribband of this thing and the
order Of that thing; compliments from Rus.
sia and decorations from France; and Eng
| land is expected to be very happy and very
triumphant, and all that--whch she is not
But the best Of the joke is TO come Ad.
nit al De Rigny, present at all the sqaib.
berry aud bu,chery Of the devoted high and
dry Turks, feels himself animated with The
desire TO do something in the same way
himself; and as Codrington has settled the
Turco Egyptians, what does he do, in pur.
suance either of orders from home, or on
his own responsibility, but play the same
game with the Greeks and burn their
feet offScio-true, reader. true to the let.
ier--in the midst of the triumph of liberty,
the glory Of the Greek cause and the glo
ry Of victory, De Rigny, like the master Of
Harry Carey's apprentice