Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1829-09-18

punctuation: Ills letter about lhe Indians,
however, has fused him up" we have no.
ticed already some of he most g'aring viola
lions Of correc, writing in this letter; but IN the
following article, from the pen of a correspond
emit If the Lynchburg Virginian, our readers
will find /, dissected, and its errors farther ex-
posed:
Mr. EATON'S LETTER.
The communic a,ion OF The how. 'onn II.
Eaton, from he Rip 3aps, To the inG'an hoaf'
in New York, is one of the most eXcepNont-
bic pieces Of composition ! have ever seen IS
~pecially as coming from one who mas "'i'teh
BooK-amongst lis errors, which are i"os' gar
ing, punctuation, expletves, taise
syntaX, and obscurity.
In the eleventh line Of The frs, paragraph.
Constitutional IVhig) We thus read con-
strained him as a matter Of conce'oed GUY 10
adop'." In this phrase, The word coatet0ed'
is not only an exple,ivr, but makes Inc SEN
,ence exceedingly ciamsy.> .
BIZ, again, in The fourteenth and fifteenth
lines, we find he following compound sentence:
"cvidrn,Iy misrepresenung and calculated TO
produce incorrect Impressions -" evidently
misrepreseniing' ,chni2 why, INCORRECT I'M
PREssloNS."
In The sixteenth line (same ~paragraph) it
reads thus: ",he erea, consolation entertained
by him though. is."-,he word I" THOUGH" is
here e~rpieiire md awkwo rd in the extreme; the
punclu ZION is also wrong there should be no
point between The prononu and the verb.
In thu beginning Of The next paragraph, we
read as follows: beg leave 10 assure You,
that nothing o( a compulsory course, To effect
the removal Of this unfnrtuna'e race OF people,
has euer BEEN though, OF by The President" &c.
[, ought TO nave read, =" beg leave To assure
you, thai a compulsory course, 10 eft CT The re
nova! Of this unfortuHa'e race OF people, has
neucr been, &c.
In the very mex, sentence, same paragraph,
there re gross errors IN svntax Ii re DIS thus (;
The considerations ,ohich controlled. in the
course pursued, uere such. as he really dnd tn
fact believed, were required. as well by n regard
for the Just rights. whi,h the Stair OF Georgia
was authorised TO asser'. a. from a consciPn-
,ious cnHvio ION THAT IVY IL humanity towards
the Indians would, Sc"
In the first place. The verb " controller is
active. and should have an objecr; b. " ron
froHed" whsr? Whv | suppose hun, Me PreS'
deni,-again, The point af'er The word : such -
brfore "as," is improper; IN this connection
hey nerer should be s, para cd by a point.
But again. the phrase, " ne really and in fac'
believed" is alsuIdiogv unwnrihy he v~rrifs'
Tyro. " lie realty RELIEVED. and IA fact beheU'
ed" and where is tie diRe,e1ce2
Bui lastly. wo regd, {" that by IT hHDlan'ty,'
N =, is { coaSids aiioaS,'' for this word i, clearly
RI cntecedsH. HIRE is a via!a;!o4 OF ""t OF
the plainrst rules Of synrax and d b'und'r
which argues a great wan; # perspicarity.
In the same paragraph again. il he eleventh
and twelfth lines. we resd, of ,hi> hey have
been assured, ard in tina, assurance NJ other
disposition Wns had than 10 explain fully 10
them" &c. The FIRST word here noticeable is
"Msy.'' " Of his they; that is, The State Of
Georgia, or The hd,aas-bu: il manifs,Ily NUS
mean the {alans. Iosiead of the prononn, il
ough, to have been The noun; and oughI to have
been written, Of this The Indians, Sc. Again,
" no other disposition ,cds had." Now had IS
one of those active verbs which never ran be
used with propTieiy, in The passire voice. Mem
berS of Congress, To be- sure. frequently maxi
use of the compound HAD HAVE and GROWING
COTTON, and the ship is BEING BUILT, Sc. &c.
but Members Of Congress are not get good au
,horily, ei'her in phihaogy or phrnseoiogy
Although almost every line Of this letter OF
the Secretary, is obnoxious TO criticism, we will
pass on to the sixth paragraph, in which we
will point OUT some Of The mos, glazing blum
ders. In the first line, il thus reads: Frpm
the conversations had with the President" Sc.
Here he word had" is again used with a neu
ter signi6ca ion. 1t is used as a parIciple, in
stead Of be ing used as a verb; il ought, in or
der 10 make the sentence perspits"us, To have
read thus: " From the conversations aChich I
hare had, &c" In this construction the reiai,Ue
is The object Of the nciive ve,b
One more remark upon the concluding lines
Of this sixth paragraph OF this moss extraordi
nary composition. 1t reads, &c -" for your
efforts, and those associated with you in con-
vrn,ion, Jrihe,ins this liberal and only practi'
cal scheme, &c first, the word those, in he
mind of the Wriier, must have referred ,o per-
sons Z" associated" but in the composition, il
grammaticady refers TO the word EFFORTS A.
gam, "furfheriag," &C.: il ought 10 have read.
IN lurtherins. Sc. Just as we would say, our
design in promoting &c. T"e word practical, Is
90, The best word 1" be used in this-piace--i,
ought 10 have been practicable.
Nn nEETCE cEErED |