The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1840-03-24
PROGRESS OF CALUMNY.

"h is a mastery essay. But what shall
,,e think of Mr.. Rives II is melancholy TO
see any man who once occupied so dlsin-
pushed station, unblushingly descending TO
such Justification of history
The passage in the communication refer
red to upon which Mr.. Richie has hazarded
such gross and heavy charge against Mr..
Riyes, is as follows. The paragraph, which
opens with the pomp and solemnty of cri-
mnal sentence, and winds up with an imper-
tinent Islander, we quote entire:
Butwe are now to convict Mr.. Rives, and that
upon evidence the most rreiragable, of deliberate
peryerSon Of The solemn testimony OF history II
Is contained in the following extract from his euer
~ know Of but one precedent for profound con-
triyance: and that was IN the days OF the English
Commonwealth so called. when that willy statesman,
Oliver Cromwell divided the kingdom into twelve mi
,ary Jurisdictions, Just the Secretary proposes
10 divide the Unied States into eight military dis
trcts and under OF organizing the militia caused
them TO be enlisted, recruited, under proper officers,
and regular pay TO be distributed among Them which
the historian says, the Lord Protector found to be
most effectual resource for REFRESHING his political en-
emies, but which all reasonable considered as
throwing aside the mask Of liberty and paceng out
the people into many Subdivisions Of slavery
Secretary hy nslnuating that he may have derived the
hint of his plan from celebrated an authority"
We i'm nediately snboin for the purpose Of COM
parson or contrast, The passage from Hume here al
luded 10, and partially quoted. "ln order 10 raise
MtS imposition, which commonly passed BY the name
Of decnalion," Ca fine of one-tenh of the properly
of the Cavaliers or Royalists) 'the Protector ins
tued twelve Major Generals and divided the whole
kingdom of England into so many military juris
dtttioas. These men, assisted by commissioners,
b,J IN
tohrv all the tares imposed By The Protector and his
cruacit, and 10 tmprsoh any person uh0 should be
p0Sed TO their jealousy or suspicion nor there
any appeal from them bnt 10 the Protector himself or
his council Under color Of these powers which
were sufficiently exc bitant the Major Generals ex-
erciSed an authority still arbitrarv and acted
as if absolute masters Of the property and person of
erery SUBJECT All reasonable men now concluded
that the very mask of liberty was thrown aside and
that the nation was forever subjected TO military and
deSpotic government exercised not in the legal man
ner Of European nations, but according 10 The max
inns of Eastern tyranny Not only the supreme ma
gidrate ored has authority 10 illegal foree and usur-
patton Hs had parcelkd out The people into 50 plaav
Subdivisions Of slapery and had delegated 10 his
inferior ministers he same unlimited pocer which he
himself had so rioLently assumed" The mutation
the misquotatlon, the perversion Of this passage Of
the celebrated historian are astounding Setting
aside The important difference between military
districts" and military jurisdictions" where does
MIR Rives find the slightest color in the historian
for the parallel which he has soinsiduously drawn
Where does he find any thing about organi-,np en-
listing or recruiting the militia and Distributing re-
gnlar pay among them" &c, which all reasonable
men considered as Throwing aside the mask of IL
perry, and parceling out the people into SO many
SUBDIVISIONS OF slavery" Does The historian say
one word alb ut the organising enlistinc recruifng
paying the mtiHia or does he by the most remote al.
fusion a>crlbe the apprehensions and the suerines
OF me people 10 these causes? Was il not the lie.
GAL usnPattoa, the arbitrary powcr of these militia
a LOG nrar
m 'de all reasonable men conclude, that the very
mask Of liberty was thrown off and that the nation
was forever subjected u military and despotic 90.
vernmentl Was il not because the Protector "had
Pafcelled out me people into so many subdivisions
OF slavery, and had delegated to his inferior minis
teIs The same unlimited authority which he himself
had so violently assumed1 Let any man compare
the passage Of the historian with the mulilated
perverted version of Mr.. Rives and he will be filled
with surprise, with INDIGNATION with contempt with
pity. What had the organization or training Of the
militia TO do with the nature, means or object OF this
dreadful tyranny-a tyranny, al which Virginian
VIII not shudder the less, because il was directed
against the unfortunate cavaliers, whose Loyalty,
though perhaps weakness before, was then emo
bed and dignihed by adversity7 In the petty
hcts OF our fleeing day and generation, we may de-
ceive, we may misrepresent, we may libel each
other but let the solemn testimony OF the past, on
which Death and Time have set their SEAL be held
sacred; let not that record, at least be expunged
History is said to be philosophy teaching by exam
pie Mr. Rives' philosophy is false, and his exam
pies are spurious.
Thus is Mr.. Riyes charged in the grossest
terms, both by Mr.. Richie, and his insolent
correspondent, with the Justification of Hume.
A particular passage is copied from that his
torian, not containing all that Mr.. Rves quot
ed, and then it being assumed, the writer be-
ing doubtless as ignorant of Hume, as he is
superficial in all that he affects, that there is
no other passage on the subject, boldly charges
MIR. Rives with Interpolation and Justification.
Where, says this caumnious scribbler, g. does
Mr.. r. find any thing about organizing, en-
listing or recruiting the militia, and distri-
bnt'ng regulas pay among them 2" &c
/" Does the historian say one ,cord about the
organizing, enfisiing, recruiting, or paying the
militia :" DC. We can tell this impudent
wiseacre, and his endorser, who is seized with
such fit Of " melancholy on the occasion,
where he will find an answer to his profound
inquiries. Not believing ii possible that Mr.
Klves could be guilty of the charge, we took
from the Congress Library, the 9TH volume of
Hume's England containing the chapter
upon - the Commonwealth" edition printed
by |. Cadill, London, 1917 and as we fully
expected, we find that, instead of Mr.. Rives
having "unbushingy descended to falsifica-
ton OF history" the Richmond Enquirer, and
It's pitiul correspondent, have ''unblushingiy"
illuminated MIR. Rives. If the sinecure clerk
mad been patient enough to read The chapter
rom which he quotes, little more than half
way through, he would have obtained the fol-