lii reliance on this, we cheerfully sub
mit our petition to your w.idato, which,
Fi :! J lOi.
fv. ,
1; i
■Jvl, l\uiA anv wtiici:
ru'e'phia. Dec. i 9, 1793
Sufcribed bv
Annan,
j:u). Du'kws,
Aflibel Green,
Freeborn Garrettfon,
Hcmy Helmuth,
William Marshall,
J ihn Mode.',
Jos. Pilmore,
Wm. Smith,
1 rederick Schmidt,
John F». Smith,
Wm. Rogers,
j jieph Turner,
Thomas Uitick,
Vii: : \.
THE unfriendly influence of theatric?.!
exhibitions or* the morals and facial hap
p.ncis of a community ariles, partly from
the nature oi dramatic compofuion, but
principally tvom the circumftanc.es with
which a public theatre mult always be ac
companied. L.etui» consider tach of these.
J. The nature of dramatic coinpohtion
as it actually exilts in the Englilh language.!
It is not averted here, that uo lefFon of
virtue can be conveyed in a dramatic form,
or that the taflc has not fora&imcs been
executed in fa&. I\y cOnficJering the fnb
je£t in abitraft ioeculations, and by point
ing to a few inifctn&es of innocence or ex
cellence ir dramatic perfonnane. s, the
advocates of the ih -aire uiuall
io iuppuit lilt;:' ta.iie, the ?.»•
ir.euts with which religion and morality
a-Ta!l it. But this is unfair in argument,
and inconchrfive for pra&ice. There are
in fcie.jce a thousand lpenlatiorr. which
haw all the Icmblance of plaufibilitv and
ufer'alnefs, which can never be realized in
experiment, or which the attempt to rea
lize discovers to be worthleis or pernicious.
It is the part of wisdom and found policy"
to discern not only what is pofiible, but
what is practicable; not merely what may
be ccvceived, but what, from thr? actual
ilate of thing* must be expected, or is
known t» take place. Guided by this
rule, and making,as in all reafoli we ought
the great rnafs of dramatic composition
now in the Engli/h tongue, the fubjecl of
decision, it is afierted, that the very na
ture of that composition is unfavourable
to virtue. Let tragedy and comedy be
hefe diitinctly considered.
(To be Continued.)
CONGRESS
HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES,
Thursday Jan. 9th. 1794.
( Concluded from our hji.)
The Hoiife then took into consideration
th:' amendments of the committee of the
Whole, to the loft certificate bill.
Mr. Lee proposed a long amendment to
the second lection, which provides for a
different process in the whole bufmefs—
this was in fnbftance, to direst that all
claims on account of destroyed certificates
should be registered in the Treasury, and
alhtement exhibited to the house of Re
presentatives, &c.
This motion met with considerable op-
position,
Mr. Lee at length moved that the bill
with the amendments {hould be recommit
ted to a special committee ; this motion
was agreed to.
In committee of the whole or. the esti
mate of appropriations for tiie year 1794,
Mr. Tnirobuli in the chair.
The and explanatory part
of the rllirmt-' was read by the clerk,and
then a rcfoluticn prepared by Mr. Boudi
not, in couife, that a sum amounting to
be appropriated for the
civil lift and the current services of go-
Ycr:'irc::t for the year 1794.
This refohitloii being read, it was mo
ved tiiat the committee (hould rife ; this
motion was negatived ; the chairman then
read from the eft imate, the items connec
ted with the above refolutiou. The a
mo'jnt of the eftiffate for the above pur
pcfesis, 397,201 collars and 6 cents.
Tlie refolu'iion v/v; agreed to ; the com
mittee then rose and reported progress.
The lioufe tn.k into consideration a
further report of the committee of elefti
t)!is—this report referred to an informali
ty in the certi.u-ate of the returning offi
cer, refpeclir.g the election c.f Mr. Orr,
of Kentucky, also in that of Mr. WJnf
ton of North Carolina.
A motion was made that a resolution
should pass, tin Mr. Orr iiiould keep his
1 jat, and that in the mean time he procure
a new certificate.
'e are able to de-
A motion to recommit the report was
next matir, bat a decision was precluded by
another to adjourn, which took place.
( »o>-
PHILADELPHIA,
Lateß: Foreign Advices.
By the Jhip Eliza, Copt. Hur
rifon, arrived at hew-York
on U r ednefday lajl from Liver
pool, jEnglijh papers are re
ceived to the yijl of OSlober,
1793, from which the fol
io-wing intercjling particulars
are copied
The Prince de Hohenlohe's corps ex
tended on the ift OA. from Limbeig to
Bitche. T!ic French weretr.able to pre
lcrve their poiitions oil this liae the Sarrc.
The PruffiauJ continue to maintain their
polls in the environs of Bitche. Their
patroles go into the hamlets, without any
oppofitio.i being made by the garrison of
the eaitle.
Gen. Summer, who commanded a di
vifionof the army of Italy, is put under
arrest.
leaver
Guiman, a Spaniard, who had found
meansto introduce himfelf into the revo
lutionary committee of May 31, isarref
ted.
The squadron of the Republic, lately
ftationcd under Be'lifle,is returned to Brest
where the commissioners are disembarking
thefick, and imprisoning the fufpe&ed.
The reft are allowed to have no commu
nication with the people on shore.
The camp at St. Vcnant is broke up,
and the troops put into quarters in Brest
and its neighborhood.
Two gunners, Mifvedi, a member of
the felf-ele&ed popular tribunal and a bom
bardier, were lately executed; 400
chants are imprisoned ; the pofi is sur
rounded and all ships ftridlly searched.
* Le Gard is risen to deliver Perpignan,
and complete the deftru&ion of the Spa
nish bands. All the departments are do
ing the fame, and making the rocks re
sound with the clamour of their arms.
Ardecks already fees 4 battalions ad
vancing against Tonlon.
Our lail letters from Vienna are dated
the 2d Oct. They confirm the report of
the traitorous conduct of the Prime Mi
niiler Cobenzi, and inform us, that ano
ther person of rank has been detested in
a treasonable correspondence with the
French. The Count de Cobenzi was car
ried in irons to the fortrefsof Kuflrein
and the latter nobleman is also in confine
ment ; 14 other persons have been taken
up. Tiie prison of Speilberg has been
ordered to be prepared for the reception
of many prisoners, which seems to indi
cate that the number implicated in the
treason of the Prime Miniiler is not small.
The Emperor and Empress leave Vien
na on the 14th init. in order to avoid the
petitions of the family of Cobenzi. The
trial of the miniiler is to commence imme
diately. The fcizure of Semonville's pa
persled to the dil'covery of this treasonable
project.
From Hombourgh we have bsen in
formed, that the bombardment of Saar
Louis, on the lear, commenced on the
2d. inft.
The Auftnans have obtained the poflef
fion of the little fortrefs of Siei k upon the
frontiers of Lorraine, and have made a
movement towards Thionvil'e.
The advanced posts of the Prussians ex
tend almost to the gate of Bitche.
Gen. Kalreuth's detachment is station
ed on this fide Saaibruck, and the French
are poftcd on the othei fide. A continu
al bombardment has taken place Cnce the
29th ult. but the French lliil maintain
their ground, and their entrenchments on
the mountain.
NUARY 10.
DEUX-PONTS, Oa. 5,
PARIS, O&. 13.
MARSEILLES, O&. 1
COLOGNE, Oft. 10.
They cjr.not be attacked in front with-
out great rilk,
On thisaccount Gen. Ingelfdorf is en
deavouring to cross the valley of Keller,
for the purpose of attacking them in the
rear.
The account of an attack meditated on
the lines of Weifiembourg by the Duke
of Brunfwick has been confirmed. The
profiled of iuccefs is not very great, for
the lines are almoit impenetrable.
They are defended in front by strong
abattis, behind these runs the river Lau
ter. On the other fide of the river runs a
ditch with douhle pallifades. behind which
are lines with baiftions. In the rear of the
bastions is an entrenched camp, on the
right of which is Lauterbourg, and on
the left Weiffembourg.
The lines are defended by 170 pieces
of cannon, from 16 to 24. pounders.
TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF
THE QUEEN OF FRANCE.
PARIS, October 16,
Yeileniay morning the once all-power
ful and beautiful Marie Antoniette,
consort of the unfortunate Louis, King
of France, the daughter, fifUr and aunt,
of Emperors, was brought like the mean
est malefa&or from the prison of the Con
eiergerie, and placed at the criminal bar
of the Revolutionary Tribunal.
The act of accusation, as prepared bv
the public accuser, was to the following
purport:
Marie Antoniette Hands charged—ill,
With having dilapidated and lavished the
finances of the nation, in concert with
the execrable Calonne, by earning to be
transmitted to the Emperor several mil
lions, which still serve to carry on the war
againlt France.—2diy, With having, in
imitation of Brunehaud, and De Medi
cis, who also called themselves Queens of
France, consulted against the Liberty of
the French Nation.—jdly, With having
fought to starve the people in 1789. —
4thly, With having excited the murders,
of O&ober 5 and 6.—sthly, With hav
ing in concert with Bailly and La Fay
ette, caused the patriots to be butchered in
the Champ de Mars.—6thly,With having
prevailed upon the Swiss to fire on the
people on the 10th of August 7thly,
Witii having like another Agrippina, for
gotten (he was a mother, in order to com
mit incest with her son.
Shocked, as this unhappy Queen must
have been at feme of the articles of her
accusation, and particularly at the last,
which seems to have been designed to load
her memory with infamy, {he heard them
with magnanimous fortitude and cornpo
fure, and replied without confufion, and
with dignity to the interrogatory, which
began as follows :
President—" What is your name?"—
Queen —" Marie Antoniette, of Lorrain
and Austria."
Prrfident—" Your Quality r"—Queen
—" I am the widow of Louis Capet,
King of the French."
[Here the witnesses were called in.]
Laurent Lecointrc, the firft witness
formerly Chief of a Division of the Na
tional Guard of Versailles, and at present
a Member of the National Convention,
related the historical occurrences of the
sth, and 6th of October ; and from his
relation it appeared, that the ci-devant
Gardes de Corps or Life Guards, were
the fiift aggrefl'ors.
Lecointre spoke also, though not as an
occular witness, of the nocturnal riot
which was oecafioned October ift, at Ver
sailles, by the late King's Life Guards in
the hall of the Opera. " Maria Anto
niette, said he, repaired to that banquet;
(he applauded the condudt of the Guards;
(lie alio vifitedthe regiment of Nafiau and
the Chauffeurs of Trois Eveches, who
were quartered in the Orangerie of the
Gardens of Versailles."
Queen —" I repaired, 1 mull own,
wit'n my huftand and his children to the
Hail ot the Opera House ; but I did not
fee that the national cockade was trode
under foot. It is falfe that I evct spoke
to the soldiers of the Regiment of Nas
sau, or the Chalfeurs of Trois Eveches."
Pref.dent—" What did you lay to the
Life Guards when you appeared at that
orgie—Oueen—" I applauded that ban
quet, becaule it was to have produced the
union of the life guards with the national
guards."
Public Accuser—« Have you not licld
secret councils at the house of the ci-devant
Duchess of Polignac. Councils at which
the ci-devant French Prince; assisted and
in which, after having discussed the fate of
the empire, you gave yourfelf up to the
infamous pleasures of debauchery !"
Queen —" All the state affairs were dif
cuiied in council, and no where else. I
have no knowledge of the reft of this as-
fertion."
Public Accuser—" Are not Thouret,
Barentin, and De Efprcmenil, tlie autliors
of the articles of the declaration of June
23d ?" Queen —" The ministers in place
alone computed the council at that time."
Judge—" Did not your husband com
municate his defignsto you, when he in
vested the Hall of the Representatives of
the people with troops ?" Queen —" My
hufoand repcfed his confidence in me ; lie
communicated to me tlie speech which he
was to have made on that occasion. He
had, in other refpefts, no bad intentions."
Judge—" Why did troops of the line
invest Paris and Vcrfailles i" Oueen—
• For the fake of general fafety."
Judge—" What life have you made of
the immense sums which you have been
entrurted with !" Queen —" No enormous
sum has been entrusted to me ; the ac
compts of my household will provte what
use has been made of all I have received."
Judge—" How did the family of the
Polignacs, who was so poor at iirit, grow
so rich !" Queen —" That family held of
fices at court which were verv lucrative."
The Queen was then questioned ref
pe&ing the flight to Varennes. She ac
knowledged that (lie opened the door and
led the way from the Thuillerics, and that
though they saw M. La Fayette as they
eroded the square of the Carousel, he knew
nothing of their flight.
Hebert substitute of the Commons,
then gave evidence with a view of fubftau
tiating the infamous charge of ir.eeft : and
stated that it was founded upon the con
fefficn of the young Louis himlelf.
When the Tribunal put the question on
this charge. The Queen indignantly re
plied as follows :
" 1 remain, Sir, silent on that fubjeft,
because nature holds all such crimes in ab
horrence," and then turning with an ani
mated air to the people, {he exclaimed,
" I a ppeal to all mothers who aie piefeut
in this auditory—is such a crime possible ?'
After the examination had ciofcd, the
Queen was soon condemned, " its guilty
of having been acceflary to, and having
co-operated :n different manaeuvres against
the liberty of France ; of having enter
tained a correspondence with the enemies
of the Republic; of having participated
in a plot tending to kindle civil war in the
interior of the Republic, by arming citi
zens againit each other."
When the sentence was read, the Queen
cast down her eyes, and did not raise them
again. " Have you nothing to reply up
on the determination of the law ? said the
President to her, " Nothing," she replied.
He then addreiTed himfelf to her pleaders,
" and you officious defenders." Our mis
sion is fulfilled with refpeft to the Widow
Capet," said they.
This morning (the 16th) this unhappy
vi&im of democratic fury was iguominiouf
ly carried to the place of execution in a
common cart. The whole armed force of
Paris was on foot from the Palace of Jus
tice to the Place de la Revolution. The
streets were lined by two very close rows
of armed citizens. The Queen was in a
white loose dress—but they had tied her
arms behind her. As she pafled along, the,
multitude frequently cried out " bravo."
At the place of execution (he looked firm
ly round her on all fides. She was accom
panied by the ci-devant curate of St. Lan
dry, a constitutional priest, and on the
fcaffold prcferved her natural dignity of
mind.
After the execution three young per
fonsdippedtheir handkerchiefs inherblood,
They were immediately arretted.
Fronfon de Condray and Chaveau de la
Garde the pleaders for Marie Antoniette,
had been put in a state of arrest before her
execution, by order of the Committee of
General Safety. The order fays, that this
is a meafurc ef General Safety, that the
arrest (hall last twenty-four honrs, and that
every attention (hall be paid to these pri
soners.
NATIONAL CONVENTION.
October 12.
Barrcre read a letter from Chateauneuf
Randon, dated Hestfd Quarters, at Lyons
Oct. 9, which ran as follows :
4< Citizens Colleagues,
" The actions of the 25th and 29th of
have been closely followed by pro?
digics of valor, and to night the troops
of the Republic entered Lyons. The