PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS BY JOHN FEN NO, No. 69, HIGH-STREET, BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD STREETS, PHILADELPHIA
[No. 54, of Vol. lII.] Wednesday, August 24, 17 1.
FROM THE GENERAL ADVERTISER.
[Our Readers will be pUafed with the following Letter cf the Mayor
cf Paris, translated from a Parij Paper : Independent of the light
tt throws upon the Jituation of Paris, at the time our latcfl accounts
left that city, it cor tains fuck juji principles of rational liberty, a»d
Jack warm effu/ions ojgenuine patriot fn t as mujl interejt the jeel
i rigs oj every American.]
Letter from the Mayor of Paris to M. Le Fluv re d* Arles.
ctmmandant of the Battalion oj Penis- Auguttms.
Paris, June 5, »79 l -
THE Commander in Chief informs rne, Sir, that, on Satur
day, even before the receipt of any orders, the battalion of
Fctits-Augujtinsy which you have the honor to command, had re
ioived to meet velterday at fix in the morning in the Iheet Bourbon,
to preserve good order about the church of the Theatins, and se
cure the execution of the law which efltablifhes religious freedom.
I have learnt, Str, that their resolution was carried into execution;
and am informed that your battalion had fulfilled that duty with
zeal, and has been fortunate enough to protect from violence a
diftrefled Priest. As a citizen and as magistrate I applaud the
conduct of your battalion, and am made happy by tlie refpelt
1 hey have shewn for the laws. I view 111 their conduit the pat
riotism of citizen-soldiers. It is not enough to fight for our
country when in danger from attacks ; but it is alio neceilary to
■watch over its tranquility, and prevent its falling a villi m to in
ternal diilentions. The soldier-citizen has this double duty to
attend to, and you have performed it.
In paying attention to the croud which is atfralted towards the
Theatins, I am forty to find that the people of Paris are misled, —
1 am lorry to find in that croud, enemies to the public peace and
"welfare, drelfed in national uniforms, to appearance the mod ac
tive leaders. It can't be denied, Sir, the public weal is in dan
ger ;—our enemies wish to avail themselves of the divisions of the
clergy, and disputes of the priests to involve us in difficulties :
they wish to bring about a civil war, through the means of religi
ous contentions. Similar attempts have always succeeded, when
undertaken by the seditious of every country and in every age ;
hut it concerns our glory and iutereft,that they should fail among
the French, who, in two years, have brought about a most won
derful revolution, and have framed a molt admirable constitu
tion. Our enemies tremble to fee the edifice of this constitution
completely railed, and the last hand put to it to complete it,
theirlaft resource to oveiturn it is t > lay to the people, 44 The
cause of Re li g ion is in danger, a dreadful schism will take
place ; the ex-clergy are enemies of the contfitution, and the di
rcltory, the municipality, their chicfs, the military who protelf
them and execute their orders, are aristocratically inclined."
Arid I answer the people,— 44 That religion is in no danger ; no
thing of its eflentials s changed ; its tenets are prcferved in all
their puriiy ; the doltrine is the fame with the priests, who have
acknowledged the new constitution, and have taken the oath,
■with those, who, upon conscientious principles, or for other rea
ions, have thought pioper to refufe. This conscientious princi
ple is 111 themselves, and nothing is to be feared from it by others .
it is of no importance to the people, so tha: it breeds no disputes,*
—as disputes and diffentions only can disturb the public happi
nels, and throw an obstacle in the way, which may retard the
completion of the constitution. If the views of aristocrats have
given rife to thele disturbances, let us bury in oblivion their bad
intentions, which we re to give rife to civil wars and commotions,
their latt resource. Let us not however, by our conduit, iecond
their efforts ; let us peifevere in this important work of securing
public happincfs,by preserving peace, andof bringing about good
ordei, bv shewing fubmiilionto the laws.
The National AHembly has decreed that no restraint should be
laid on lib rty of conscience, and that religious worfnip of every
kind Ihould be permitted. If the tenets and worfhipof the ex
clergy arc the fame as those profeffed nnd that praltifcd by the
clergy paid by the nation, they are our's, and we ought to refpelt
them. If it differed from our's we ought to bear with it, just as
we permit other forms of worlhip totally different from that we
profeis. liut, then, the pee>ple aie told, if ihefe priests are per
mitted to fay ma<*s, they should not be fuffered to preach, or con
fels!—Why not ? I would ask—Where then would be their li
berty if you lay restraints on their tenets and mode of woifhip ?
Where is the freedom of citizens, if on account of these tenets
and mode of worship they are not matters of chufing their own
Spiritual guides ? More has been laid—it has been aliened that
some peifons have been seen at the communion table two arid
three times a day. The report is certainly [faWe ; but if it was
n ue, if it were one of their religious principles, that principle
15 free by the decree of the National Aflembly.
Frenchmen under (land tli nature of liberty ; it ought to be
complete and common to all ; by granting it to one set don't de
prive others of it-—The National Guards are yet told, take care
to w hat use your patriotism and courage are put ; —examine the
orders givt n you, ana only obey those which appear to you just
and of a ufeful tendency : And, who is it, that thus pretends to
lubjclt the law, wbich is the reason of ail, exprellcd. to the rcafon
of a few ; the law, that is the general will, to private will ( Soldi
*rs, Citizens, and even Magiflrates, are not to deliberate when
the law has pronounced, when it is exprcft'ed by the organschofen
and appointed by vourfelvo—obedience is then necefTary, it is a
duly or abioluie nec< fftiy, and to oppose, or even evade it, is a
l»reach ot iheconftitution, it is d ftrultive of the order of civil fo
cety, it is fnbftituting all the evils, which depend on anarchy, in
the room of national order, which it !S ourgloiyand interest to
preserve.
li mv voicc could be heard bv all my fellow-citizciu, if I could
h ve deft rvtd their confidence lo far aj lo hope that they would
I'ften to the exprt llious of my councils, I could tell them : Don't
jutier y»»ui lelvcs to be m'Qi d ; your happincfs is at hand, it is al
rcady in your poflTeflion ; the cmititution is neatly compleaied.
you are ab<nt enjoying the blcifings you have a right to expiit
♦ ">in its influence, uul<\t> you overset th work ot your hands.
1 herr i're a number of seditious aud ill-intentioned persons, ac
tuait d by the hope of enriching thcinfelvcs bv if coniufion
cau be pioductd. In Par is you are surrounded with a prodigious
Dumber of people ol this (lamp. enemies of the public good, and
active in (ftoits to deiiroy :t ; fomc ©f ihefe speak, and profanr
the language of liberty, and the cxpredions ot patriotism by thei»
nfc of them, others a£}, and commii cxctlTcj in the violation of
the rictus ol pt ifon and properly. To you foremoft it belongs to
oi>p«>f« their aiit mpts. When the duty of our magistrates and or
our citizi'ti-ioldiers nrompt them to purlue these pcrturbatois ot
public pea< <, ihe pcorie, who arc not performing military dutv
lo unite their eilorts with tltofe of the ftratts and Nan-
rtnal Guard. In ta& those very Magistrates and that National
Guard are the people themlelves ; it is their cause they defend, ii
s in defence of liberty they a&, desirous to secure it on the firm ba
is of public tranquility,
You are told that your Magistrates deceive you; you are told
leir orders are tyrannical ; and it is undoubtedly the interest of
hose who tell you so to repeat it again and again—all they want
s the return of anarchy and confufion, and the boldeit step to this
s disobedience to legitimate authority. You have every calami
y to dread, if your magistrates are deprived of our confidence,
md if legal authority is diverted of its influence. I certainly am
lot deceived, and it is impoflible that I could wish to deceive you.
What am I ? One raised by your own hands, after 50 years of
fcnown probity, and about to return to the obfeure retreat from
which you have taken me, there to carry nothing besides a confid
ence, which docs not reproach me with having done any evil, if I
have not the fatisfathon of having done much good. I cannot wish
lor any thing more than your interest and prosperity. You have
evinced your esteem tor me ; I refpeft and love you. You raised
me, and I watched foryour fafety. I have not had a thought for
these two years, but for you ; I beg you will be convinced of the
security of my intentions, and the fmcenty of my exhortations.
Yon are free, and you wish to be happy ; you can only be hap
py and free by your fubmiftion to the laws ; every breach of the
law is an encroachment on your liberty. You are reminded of
despotism; it is done away. You have a beloved King, his
right to rule is granted to him by the constitution ; —he toremoft
obeys the law when he executes it. You have magistrates chosen
by yourselves ; —they arc chosen but for a time, and are refponfi
b'e. You have adminiitrative bodies who watch over the pro
ceedings of each other, and over those of the legislature, the organ
of the law, the focus from which the rays of justice diverge. Op
preilors have no longer means to oppress ; the opprefled shall al
ways be heard, or rather oppreflion can no longer exist. Let us
then banish distrust ; suppress the difturbanccs which afTemblies
and mobs of motion-makers* occasion ; all these irregularities strike
the minds of peaceable citizens with terror, they drive away the
opulent, depopulate the capital, encreale the misery : And by re
storing peace and good order, let us by wifdorn ftnifti a revolution
begun with courage.
This, .Sir, is what I (hould wilh to fay to my fellow-citizens :
These are the truths and principlesby which you and the battalion
you command have been led. You are at liberty to publilh this
letter in any manner you may think proper.
Mayor ot Paris,
(Signed;
[ * The fie are men from the party called Enrages, or mad Demo
crats, who would be better pleased with no government at all than any—
who have nothing to lofc y and may gain much, if the kingdom could be
thrown into a Jlute oj anarchy. These men, chiefly paid by the Enrages,
harrangue the people in the jlreets and public squares, and then make
motions oj a nature to create disorder and dijlurbance, which they always
cart y. b\ acclamation from the mob, and these seditious opinions, collided
in this vague and tumultuous mannei, they then Jpread abroad as the
sentiments of the body oj the people.]
A Letter from the Provincial Afoubly of the North
of St. Domingo, to the King of the French.
" SIRE,
" \7"OUR children, your faithful colonics of
-1 St. Domingo, offer at the foot of the
throne, their just complaints, and deposit in your
paternal brealt, their fears and their alarms.
I'he province of the North of St. Domingo lias,
until this moment, difcovercd the molt refpetftful
fubinifiion to the decrees concerning the colonies,
made by the legiil.ttive body, and /auctioned by
your Majeily ; and this fubmiflion has entitled
them to the molt flattering applause from the
narion in general. We have relied on the reite
rated promises comprehended in the decrees of
the Bth and 28th of March, and 12th of October,
1790, to pass no decree upon the fubje*st of qua
lification of persons, but what lliould be precise
ly and formally represented by the colonies; but
a new decree of i!ie 15th of May, which (.an be
but the result of surprise, of cabal and intrigue,
causes all our hopes to vanish, and plunges us in
the greatest confiernation. This decree, which
is absolutely contradiiHory to those which have
preceded ic fays, " 1 he National Assembly de
" crees, that it will never deliberate upon the
" qualities of the colored people who are not
" born of free parents, without the previous,
" free and fpomaneous wish and desire of the
" colonies: that the Colonial Allemblies now
" exiiling fliall be continued ; but that the co
" lored people born of free parents lliall be ad
" mitted into the Parifhional and Colonial As
" femblies ; provided always, that they poflefs
" the other requisite qualifications."*
We fliall not attempt to paint to your Majelly
the shocking sensations the news this impolitic
decree has caused in this town ; and the misfor
tunes that will follow its promulgation are un
accountable ; they will be such as will draw af
ter them the total annihilation of this flourishing
colony
The profpenry of your kingdom, Sire, is eflen
rial'y connected with that of the colonies which
form a part of it, and these cannot flourish ex
cept they maintain the ltritftelt subordination
among those employed in the different kinds of
* A> u» nioprrtv. coin! loihc pavrrifnt of thue '.ivies for %J\)
taxe;
133
BAILLY.
[Whole No. 242.3
culture: this subordination will cease to exist,
the instant the line marked out which separates
the whites from ihe colored people lhall be bro
ken through, and both placed upon the fame line
of equality.
The order established in the colonies, sanction
ing certain prejudices, is by no means originated
by pride, as those pretended philosophers who
call thernfelves the Apoitles of Humanity sup
pose; it is dictated by the extreme necessity
which will never admit the colored people, the
offspring of former slaves, to be entitled to the
fame privileges with the whites, and be compre
hended without di&in<ftion with them. If this
indifpenfible order of the colonies is annihilated,
the ruin of them must inevitably ensue.
This, Sire, is what the legislative bodies had in
their wisdom particularly attended to, when
forming their decrees of the Bth and 28111 of
March, and 12th of October, 1790; the colonics
according to those decrees were left to make
their formal reprefenrations concerning the qua
lifications of persons, because it was judged im
poflible to do ample justice without such repre
ientation ; the infraction and violation of these
principles of justice aud equity, the refultof the
new decree of the ijth May, become the source
of the greatest ills.
It is in calumniating us that these Philanthro
pists have propagated their dod:rine; they re
present us to those who are unacquainted with
the colonies as the murderers of our slaves and
the tyrants of the colored free people. Huma
nity and our interest induce us to preserve the
former, and the latter are upon the footing of
white citizens under the immediate protection
of the law which renders their persons and pro
perties secure.
Cart, Sire, a kind look over your colonies, and
you will fee them peopled with Frenchmen who
tenderly love you, and who are entitled by eve
ry claim to youraffetftion. CondelVend to receive
in a favorable manner their jnft complaints. If
it is not too late, prevent the calamities with
which we are threatened, and refufe your aflent
to an atft so bigwirh mifchief; and if it is alrea
dy faniftioned, interpose your authority and ltop
its promulgation.
We are, Sire, with refpe<ft for your Majesty,
the most humble and faithful French colonilts of
Sr. Domingo.
(Signed) Gremier, Prefidenr.
Petit Deschampeaux, Vice-Prefidem
Bouysson,
Poulet, > Secretaries
Francois de Chaumont, j
LISBON, May 14
WE have received an affecting account from
our squadron which failed from this port
the latter end oflafl month. Don Joseph Mello
Brayner was giving his orders to the captain of
the Minerva frigate in the bay of Lagos, on the
29th of April, when a sudden squall broke the
cordage of a yard, which fell on the breast of the
admiral, who died a few hours afterwards. By
his death our navy loses an experienced
and a man who is universally regretted.
VIENNA, June 4.
The Turks have thrown a bridge of boats over
the Danube near Siliftria, and mean to pafa th£
river, notwithilanding the representations that
have been made to them. They have already
pafied hoi f'e» once into the opposite meadows to
the number of five or fix thouland, and hare even
erecfted tents there.
This proceeding of the Turks gives cause for
reflection, and as it is by no means conformable
to the terms of the Armistice, which will expire
in a few days ; we (hall soon fee what steps they
will take when the ufc of the meadows isrefufed
them.
Our Bifliop Filaret has just received certain
advices, that the Ruffians are in motion near Si.»
liltria, with an intention, as is supposed, of de
stroying the bridge of boats which the Turks
have tonllrufted there.
Extrafl of a letter from Cofiflantinople
" Wt have been tor tliefe fix weeks pad in the
most cruel alarms—fires exist night and day, both
in the city and suburbs ; neither the strength nor
activity of the government has been able to put
a Hop to this calamity, which will destroy all the
habitations. From what we obfeive with our