X|e jj
Thursday £VP.ning, S?pti mheh rt. f cv
~—~ " ' nal
To the Seti.iTF atid HoOse of Re-pr'Sei/- ju
TAftl'Ri of the Commonwealth of Penn
sylvania. mv
Gesi\leMeN, / a j
I HAVE considered, with great atten- tli<
tioo, the bill, entitled, " An aft to fegu- mc
late the general eleftions held within this by
Commonwealth and I now return it (hav- fw
ing been prevented from returning it at the rat
last ftffiioh, by an adjournment of the ge- re<
neral assembly, on the day when it was pre- an
fented to me) with a declaration, that Ido m;
not appr6ve thereof; and with the follow- mc
ing obje&ions, as the groutjd of my difap- fir
probation. ' • or
I. Because the bill not only operates, in foi
some of its provisions, expo/1 facto, enafting rej
a species of evidence to pro?e the eleftlve bu
rights of a certain class of citizens, which fu!
was not Contemplated at the time when re<
thofc rights were acquired ; but from the mi
extraordinary, and, in many instanCes, im- fh;
practicable, nature of the evidence itfelf, cv
such citizens may often be deprived of their to
constitutional privileges, though they have op
never incurred a forfeiture, and are not fu
chargeable with any negligence. tai
Thus, it is provided in the firft feftion he
of the bill, " That no person, who accord- an
ing to the laws of the United States, is
deemed an alien, shall be admitted to vote di
at any eleftion within this commonwealth, re
unless he ha* been previously naturalized ac- ra
cording to the direftion of a law of the U- pi
nited States, passed the twenty-ninth day of to
January one thousand seven hundred and cc
ninety-five; or (hall have been othcrwife an
naturalized previous to that time, and shall p(
produce a certification thereof, under the ve
seal of the court, wherein he has been na- bl
tnralized, or if othcrwife naturalized before pi
that time, then such certification, or so
OTHER WRITTEN EVIDENCE THEREOF, as fe
from the nature of such naturalization, such di
person may reafSnabh be required to produce by d<
any judge, or infp> or, or by any two eh Bars ar
qualified to vote at any such eledion 11" Now hi
in order to shew that the objeftion, which tl;
1 have stated, is well founded, it willb? b<
proper to take a retrofpeftive view of the C 1
evidence of naturalization, which was ori- ui
ginally established, for those cases that oc- fr
curredj before the fubjeft had been regulat- h:
*d by any exercise of the federal authority, a-
The 42d feftion r.f the Frame of Go- it
vernment, established in the year one thou- tl
farid seven hundred and seventy-six, declared el
« that every foreigner of good charafter y
who comes to fettle in this state, having al
firft taken an oath or affirmation of allegi- fc
ance to the fame, may purchase, or by o
ther just means acquire, hold and transfer u
lands or other real estate; and after one ri
year's residence, shall be deemed a free citi- tl
zen thereof, and entitled to all the rights e
of a natural born fubjeft of this state, ex
cept that he shall not be capable of being i«
eleftcd a representative until after two years si
residence."
On the thirteenth of January one thou- n
sand seven hundred and seventy-seven, an p
aft paflcd obliging the male white inha- e
bitants of this state to give assurances of o
allegiance; the form of an oath or affirma- d
tini"was prescribed ; and the justices were e
direfted to keep registers of the persons so «
sworn or affirmed, and to transmit the fame c
to the recorders of .deeds of the counties i:
refpeftively, who were direfted to record a
them. 1
In the years one thousand seven hundred {
and seventy-eight, and one thousand seven t
hundred and seventy-nine, other afts of a c
similar import were passed ; but effefting j
no material alteration in the point of view t
iu which the fubjeft now offers for confide- t
ration. '
But, on the thirteenth of March one thou- 1
sand seven hundred and eighty-nine, an aft i
was passed to repeal all the laws of the com- 1
monwealth, requiring an oath o.r affirmation i
of allegiance from the inhabitants ; and by ;
the fourth feftion it was provided, that noth
ing in this aft contained shall be deemed to ,
extend to, alter, or affeft, the forty-fecond
feftion of the frame of government of this
commonwealth, but that every fueh foreign
er as in the said feftion mentioned, who shall
come to fettle in this state, shall, after t one (
years residence therein, be entitled to the
full enjoyment of the right* and privileges
therein fpecified, upon taking and fubferik
ing an oath, or affirmation, such as in the
aft is set forth. The mayor, recorder,
each and every alderman and justice of the
peace, before whom fueh oath or affirmation
(hould be taken or fubferibed, was direfted
by the aft to keep a fair register of the
names and addition of the persons so sworn
or affirmed, and to transmit to the recorders
of deeds of. the counties refpeftively, lifts of
the names of the persons so sworn and
affirmed, which lifts were threupon to be re
corded."
It appears then, that from the seventeenth
of June one thousand seven hundred and
seventy-seven, to the twenty-sixth of March
one thousand seven hundred and ninety,
(when congress exercised the power of natu
ralization granted by the eighth feftion of
the firft article of the constitution of the
United States) the rights of cicizenfhip
were to be acquired, and the fact of natural
ization was to be recorded, in the mode thus
designated by the forty-fecond feftion of the
frame of government and the laws to which
I-iave referred ; but neither the frame of
government, nor any of those laws will be
found to contain a positive provision, as to
the mode of establishing the faft of naturali
zation, in cafe the register of the magistrates
and the records of the recorders should be
loft. By t^e till under cor.fideration, it is
indeed, contemplated, that every naturalized
freeman aftually resident within the limits of
the United States, on the third of Septem
be one thousand fevea hundred aud eighty
tiiree,jhould (land 6n the fame footing \Vitk ( rai
natives, in the exercise of the elective right ; ' ex
but between the third of September one fei
thousand fevjn hundred and eighty-three, va
and the twenty-sixth of March one thoufrfnd tic
seven hundred and ninety, many alicn6 were l>e
naturalized, according to the laws in force in
during that period. m '
Under thtfe circtfm (lances, a recurrence de
must be had to general principles ; and it is to
a general principle, that if a record is loft, be
the fafts, of which it was intended to be the tic
memorial, may be proved by oral as well as of
by written evidence. No citizen can an- ce
fwer for the care and fidelity of the magift- w
rate or recorder ; nor can, the magistrate or la
recorder guard against acts of Providence ar
and the various casualties by which all hu- tli
man precaution may be defeated, and every th
monument of human art is liable \o be d"- lii
flfoyed. If exemplifications of the register fr
or record are not produced, proef might rea- ' p<
fonably, perhaps, be demanded, that the ,le
register or record is itfelf loft or decayed ; tc
but still it is a great rule of law upon this pi
fubjeft, that the best evidence only shall be b;
required, which the nature of the cafe ad- re
mits ; or, in other words, that no evidence pi
(hall he received which supposes that higher ci
, evidence remains in the power of the party ; i vc
to extend the rule further would tead, in my c<
opinion, to create endless perplexity, and to ■ in
subvert jullice, when nothing could be at- j in
tained but the gratification of a speculative ol
i hope, to guard against a possibility cf deceit di
■ and imposition. m
i As, therefore, the only mode prescribed, ei
: during the period to which I immediately ift
i refer, for perpetuating the evidence of natu- jn<
■ ralization, was the register or record of the a<
• public officers ; as the individual who seeks h
f to exercise the rights of naturalization, tl
I could have no controul fiver those officers ; tl
: and as the officers themselves cannot be ref
-1 ponfible for accidents or outrages ; t have
: ventured to question, whether it is reasona
ble or confident w f ith the principles of juris- 1
r prudence, that at the distance possibly of .
t fourteen years, certainly at the distance of
f seven years, -written evidence, and 'written evi- e
b dince exclusively, (hould for the firft time be a
c demanded (and that too, at the iuftance of r
f any two eleftors) from the citizens who *
' have derived their title of citizenship, under j
1 the very different circumstances which have f
? been dated, ? This rigor would at once ex- s
e elude all evidence arising from the previous c
- uniform exercise of the right of voting : 1
- from the oath or affirmation of the paity J
- himfelf; and from the oral testimony of ,
any number of the most credible witnefles ; t
- it would disfraochife some citizens, without t
- the flighted imputation of blame ; and, in *
i effeft, it would reduce many who have for J
r years performed all the duties, and enjoyed ,
y all the advantages of citizenship, to the ab- ,
- solute condition of aliens. <
>• 11. Because the bill will, in its,operation, 1
r unnecessarily embarrass the exercise of the '
e rights of fuffrage ; and may deprive some of ,
- the most meritorious citizens of th« privileg- 1
s es of eleftion. 1
:- Thus, by the ninth feftion of the bill it •
g is declared, that the alphabetical lift to be '
■s furiiifhed by the cotmty commissioners to ,
the infpeftors of eleftion, shall contain " the i
i- names and surnames of all the male taxable 1
n persons, inhabiting within the refpeftive j
i- counties, who have been affefTed for a state
>f or county tax at least fix months before that
i- day, and not exonerated And by the elev
-e enth feftion of the bill it 1 is declared that
"o <« no person of more than twenty-two years
ie of age fliall be admitted to vote, whose name
-s is not inserted in the lift of taxable inhabit
d ants, furnifhed by the commissioners, unless
two reputable eleftors well known to be in
d fpeftors, shall depose that from his possessing
n taxable property, keepingta house, or other
a circumstances, they firmly believe the said
ig person hath paid a state or county tax affeff
w ed agreeably to the provisions in the confti
e- tution, and this aft, and that he resides and
hath resided at least feven|months in thetown
u- ship, ward or diftrift, in which he offers to
ft vote ; and the said person shall also depose to
n- the truth of tie fame, or produce a receipt
jn from the proper collcftor of the payment of
>y a state or county tax, assessed as aforefaid.
h- N«w, the effeft* of these regulations are
to objeftionable in a two-fold point of view:—
id i ft. Inafmuchas the accidental, or negli
iis gent omission, to insert »ny citisen'-s name
n- in the commissioners alphabetical lift (a cir
all cumftance that has too often occurred) will
ne condemn such citizen to the necessity of
he making proof of his right to vote, at the ve
;es ry moment when he tenders hts vote, by two
W- reputable tleSors ; though in every other cafe,
he except treason, one reputable witness is com
er, petent to afcertaiu a fadl, and tho' the fact
he may be known only to women, to persons
on who are not eleftors, or to citizens who are
:ed exonerated from the payment of taxes,
he These witnesses, moreover, must be well
irn known io the infpeftors, must know from
er» the state of the party's property, or other
of eiicumftances, his capacity to pay a tax
.nd (tho' in addition to this, his own oath, or
re- the produftion of a collector's receipt is im
posed) and must attest his previous residence
ith for fevea months within the diftrift, in which
md he offers to vote, though aftual residence at
rch the time of voting would alone be required,
ty, if his name had not been omitted in the com
tu- miffioners alphabetical lift,
iof 2d. Aud, m the second place, inasmuch
the as it excludes from enjoying the rights of
hip fuffrage, all persons, who shall be exonera
ral- ted, for any cause, from the payment of tax
hus es. It is true, that the eonftitntion of the
the j state contains a declaratory article, that,
lich ! " in eleftions by the citizens, every free
:of man of the age of twenty-one years, having
Ibe resided in the state two years next before the
to eleftion, and within that time said ajlate or
"ali- county tax, which Jhall have been ajfejfed, at
ates least fix months before the elediofi, Jhall enjoy
Ibe the rights of an electorßut this is mani
it is feftly an affirmative, and not a negative pro
ized vision ; —lt restrains the legislature from de
ts of nying to a person, so qualified, the right of
;em- voting ; but it does not preclude the legifla
thty tnre from exercising the power an an cxonc-
ration ; nor does it *(fent,or imply, that the j
1 exoneration from taxes, shall work a for- in
feiture of the rights of fuffrage, the mod E;
' valuable rights of citizenship. An exonera- |im
tion, by the party entitled to receive, must ;co
be in this cases (as in many cafe that occur wl
in private tranfaftions) tantamount to a pay- > fill
ment, by the party liable to pay. If, in- '
deed, a difftrent interpretation were given 1 th
to the constitution how could ele&ions have
been held, qr the advantages of reprefenta- 'an
tion have been enjoyed, by the inhabitants an
of those town{hips (forming in some inftan- va
ces a considerable portion of a county)— of
which have occasionally been exonerated; by yc
law, from any pecuniary contribution tow- ti<
ards sustaining the public burthens ? Since,
therefore, the constitution does not render N
the payment of taxes an indispensable pre- A
liminary to the exercise of the rights of fuf
frage, the principles of public gratitude and fe
political justice, seem to require, that, at fil
, lead, some discrimination (hould be made, as as
to the objefts, whose exoneration from a tl
pecuniary duty, (hall be thus accompanied | th
by the deprivation of a civil franchife. The J yi
remembrance of those scenes, in which the y<
patriotism of many of the original public tl
creditors, and the heroism of many of the k
; veterans in our revolutionary war, were the fc
causes of such penury, or infirmity,'as'muft
] incapacitate them, at this momfln, for yield- h;
! iifg a pecuniary aid to the state, can never be a
obliterated : nor will it, I am confident, be '
deemed politic, or just, upon refleAion, that tl
men, whose ferviceaand affliftions honorably F
entitle them totheexoneration contemplated, tl
i (hould, merely from that reason, be de- w
nounced, as unworthy of partaking irt the tl
administration of government, whichr they e<
have aflifted to establish, at the hazard of lj
their Uvea, or by the facrifice of their for- • nr
tunes. THOMAS MIFFLIN. o
Philadelphia, 28th Augull, 1797. F
o
A CAUTION b
To Seamsh and other Citizens of America. r<
, AT the till f,ft,in of congnfs, a proposition
Was brought (WwaM, whether a citizen of the
United States hiiirht expatriate himfelf, or, in oth- •
er words, forfeit his allegiance to hit own country, v
and becocia a citizen or fubjeit of another ? It was )'
F proposed to pafsa law for tkat purpose ; but, on'
, further confulerati«n, it was agreed that the quef
f tion {hould lie over tiil the snfuinj m-tting of the t ,
house of reprefenta! ives. The probability is,there- n
: fore, that it will ajain be introduced when con
gress meets. Every seaman and citizen of Ameri- 1
i ca, who poflcffcs genuine attachment to his coun- u
. try. fholild avoid entering into any foreign service, h
whatever Mattering encouragement might be held {
- out for him to abandon his own country ; for, if
' the law takes place, which is likely, it is c-xpeoted
; to be so modified, that if a citizen of out country 1
t take the benefit of it, and surrender his allegiance r
j to his own, and take it to a foreign nation, that he {
will never have it in hl» power to restore what he [
has voluntarily giten up, and consequently never
* afterwards enjoy the privileges and benefits of an »
- American citizen. Hence it ought to be a fettled
determination with him, to consider any one who t
is daring enoijgh to hold out temptation to him to 1
' accept i>f foreign employment, as his greatest ene- |
my. Many advantages may be painted to our ci- (
tizens in glowing colors, tofeduce their afFe&ions ;
- but it will he Tound, if experiment fliould unfortu- '
nately be made, that it is mer« delulion, and the
advantages held out will be as unsubstantial as the
visionary phantoms of a dream. No nation under (
C Heaven a(Fo»<K fwh advantages to the induArioas
3 citiaens as our own country. Let us therefore cen
e tinue attached to it, as a part of ourselves, and
e ntt give up the rights American citizenfliip, by
e taking allegiance |o any other country, which can
never again be recalled, tird to be deplorable exim
e pits of oar own folly.
t AM AMERICAN ciTiaix.
Baltimore, Sept .13.
.t ■" 1
•g FROM X LATI LONDON PAPER
e
t- Lord Malmfbury and Letourneur.
fs The following ludicrous account of the
1- interview between Lord Malmfbury and
g Letourneur, is extra&ed from L'lmpartial
■r Europ'ecn, of the 9th inft. It serves to (hew
d the high opinion entertained of the talents
f. of th* English Negociator, as opposed to
i. those of the President of the Negociation ou
d tbt part of France.
1- " The French Plenipotentiaries were no
o sooner informed of the arrival of Lord
o Malmfbury at Lijle, than Letourneur sent
jt to ask permiflion to wait pn him. He had
3 f repeated his little lesson in the morning with
some fuccefn, and flattered with the indul
re genet of his jnafler, he longed to enter the
_ lifts with the English Ambassador.—The in
i- terview took place on the 6th inft. Lord
ie Malmfbury was in his Study, when his Ex-,
r- cellcncy Letourneur was announced. The
ill Lords who were with him as Secretaries,
of immediately arose ; the folding doors were
e- thrown open by the servants, and Lord
uo Malmfbury, advancing towards the French
e, Minister, took him affectionately by the
a- hand, led him to a feat, and said, that he
Ct was ashamed to have been anticipated in
ns paying his refpe&s where they were due,
re Lctourn, —My Lord—Your Excellency !
;s. You are very kind.
ell Lord M. (to the Lords of the Embajfy.)
nn Gentlemen, partake with me in the inter
er , view which I have now the honour to en
ax joy. You are the Envoys of Philip, and
or here {pointing to Letourneur) is the Demoft
m- henes of France,
ee Lctourn. You are very kind,
ch Lord M.—You know the pacific intenti
at ons of the King my mailer. As th£ Agent
.(J, of his will, and in veiled with unlimited pow
m- ers, I hope to find your Excellency dispos
ed to return the amicable sentiments 1 which
eh lam commifiioned to express. The repu
of tation for probity and candour which you
ra- justly enjoy, convinces me that this will be
the cafe.
; he Letourn.—You are very kind,
at, Lord M.~Reftitution, Compensation,
ee- and Indemnity; such are bases on which the
!ng ftrufture of Peace and of happiness for the
the two Nations, which we represent, is to be
or raised.
at Lctourn That is a great deal.
rjoy Lord M— In the War which has deftroy
ini- ed the connexion of the two Countries, for
ro- tune has distributed its favours so unequally,
de- that the advantages, you must, from a con
: of fideratiou/ of fadls, admit, remain, entirely
fla- on our fide,
me- Z.£/4>wr«.-—T rue.
Lord M.—ln possession of your Colonies 3
in the Antilles, of your Faftories in the
East-Indies, Masters of the Sea, and of an
immense Navy, with which no power can
cope, and that too derived from almost the
whole of your Navy, our interest has been
silent at the voice of humanity.
Lctourn. (rubbing his hands) — And from
the fear of an invasion, Ay ? .
Lord M.—Ridiculous apprehensions in
any one who knows the state of your Ports
and Dockyards. The regiftef of your na
val force makes it amount to twenty Ships
of the Line and some Frigates, confined to
your pQrts, and incapable of making a junc
tion .
| Letourn.—To which are to be added the
Navies of Holland, Spain, and Venice.
Are they nothing too ?
Lord M.—lt is not the number of Ves
sels that confers superiority. A Navy con
sists of two parts, the more substantial part, n
as the Ships, and the essential part, that is t(
the Crews and Commanders. Admitting
; that with the addition of the Venetian force '
■ you had established the substantial part of ~
your Navy, you would yet be deficient in
the essential part, and your Fleet would be '
kept in port by the third part of the naval
fore? of England.
Letourn.—While we have wood we can a
have (hips ; and the reft may be supplied by 1
a requisition. "
Lord M.—Your Excelle»cy recollefts,
that at the Treaty of Peace of 1763, the 1
French navy was in a deplorable state ; that c
that Treaty stipulated the number of (hips a
which France should build annually ; that
the observance of it was particularly watch-
ed by our commissaries, and that France on
ly got over it in the American war. How c
• many years are neceffarv to the restoration 1
of a navy ? Supposing all the Dockyards in 1
Europe employed in the service, they could
only have produced her forty (hips per year, 1
because the collection of materials must be 1
regulated by the produce of nature.
Lctourn.—Hold'.
Lord M.—But while your commerce is l
interrupted by our cruizers, where'would 2
you procure wood, hemp, fail cloth, &c. c .
Letourn.—Hold. 1
Lord M. —But supposing France
to furni(h every material, you could
never build more than 12 (hips a '
year ; and as to sailors, since the entire ru- (
in of your commerce, of your fi(heries, you J
have neither naval schools nor pupils, and '
soldiers compose but a very bad crew.
Letourn.—My Lord, you must agree,
that beforethe Quiberon expedition it would |
not have been impofiible for us to have pro
duced excellent officers ; and you cannot
Contend that the best of your naval officers
peri(hed in that expedition.
Lord M.—The event was a little adverse
to us ; but if we are reproached with not
having been very careful of spilling French
blood on that occasion, we (hall reply by
citing the law which commends the massa
cre of prisoners.
Letourn.—ln fa^.
Lord M, —Let us have done with this ex
ceflive policy, and proceed ilraight to the
objeft of our deliberations.
Letourn.—That is well said.
LordM.—On vvhatconditiondoes France
seek peace ?
Lctourn.—l will tell you in a moment,
my Lord. ( Draws, a paper out of his pocket.)
These are my direftions. She alks,
1. The restitution of her colonies.
2. The restitution of her (hips, or the va
lue of them in money.
3. The restitution of the Dutch navy.
: 4. The restitution of the conquests taken
I from Holland.
/ 5. An indemnity of so many millions for
t the benefit of the F '.nch, for reasons here
-5 after to be afligned.
) Lord M.—What would be the answer
1 of yuor excellency, if England (hould adopt
the principles on which the French Repub
j lie has treated with the House of Austria ?
1 Letourn.—l do not understand you.
t Lord M.—France requires reflitutions ;
i but has it restored Holland to the House of
1 Orange, the Low Countries to the House
- of Austria, or Savoy to the King of Sardi
: nia ? On what title would it found the pri
vilege of keeping what it has gotten ? On
d its viftories ? That would be contradictory
to itfelf. On its power ; its armies have
e not yet invaded our coasts. On the promise
i, made to its allies ? Ought England to fub
e mit to stipulations to which it has, not con
d fented. \.
h Letourn.—l think—l am of opinion—it
e may be—it is—l do not know—however
,e —for confider—(Talcs out his watch)
n Two o'clock !—Pardon me, my Lord, I
must leave you. My wife and my colleagues
! are waiting for me. I will state your Lord
ship's observations to them, and I have no
J doubt—But I must firft consult the Tele
: f° r I 030 d° nothing without the
1- Telegraph.—(TheirLord/hips rife.) —I beg
id you will not trouble yourselves—No cere-
U mony—you oppress me—How do you do ?
(in Englifh)—Goodnight (instead of good
day) : return, I beg of you.
i- As Letourneur went out, much laugh
it ter was heard, but from #hat quarter our
v- correspondent does not inform us. M. Le
f- tourneur returned to his colleagues, and
:h told them that he was enchanted with Lbrd
ix- Malmesbury ; that things had taken the
>u best turn imaginable, and that peace de
ae pended only on a thread.
Thomas Armat and Son,
OF PHILADELPHIA,
TNFORM thrir cuflomcrs and the publie, they
tie A have removed a part of their merchandize to
be Wilmington : Also, they h. ve their store open in
be the city. At either place their friends can be lup
plied, and their orders carefully attended to.
By the Cumterland, from Hull, they have re
ceived a handfeme afT«rtment of aiticles, suitable
y* to the approaching fcafon ; and cxpeit to aid to it
>r- by other fall'fbips.
y, Should the Ccknefs prevail in the central part of
)n ' the city, that branch of their bufindi will be re
, uioved to Germaatown.
■ 7 gj The communication by post ii open and re
gular as usual.
Sept. 18. thtf
By this day's Mail.
NEW-YORK, September2o.
By the Fartny, Braine, from dlafgow, itl
continuation— [From the Sun of Aug. B.]
The latejl
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.
• FRANCE.
PARIS, August 3. y
Extraft of the report of Do-mas to the
council of five hundred, in the name of
the committee charged to examine into
the resolution refpefting the Constituti
onal limits, and the one relative to the
movements of troops.
This eloquent report, which is in every
refpeft worthy of its author, ought to prove
to the little Club Machiavels, that those
dreadful divisions, which they flatterred
themselves with having created between the
Councils, exist only in their imagination.
General Dumas has {hewn himfelf at the
Tribune of the Council of Ancients, what
Pichegru has proved himfelf in that of the
Council of Five Hundred—a friend to peace,
and ready to make eyery facrifice, except
tfcat of honour, to public liberty. He had
no difficulty in proving, that these two re
solutions were in every refpeft conformable
to the text of the Constitution, and were
called for by the critical situation of public
affairs.
We are bound to state, that within some
weeks the consoling appearance of public af
fairs has totally changed—Diftruft'has suc
ceeded to hope, agitation to calm, Revolu
tionary appearances to the tranquility which
prevailed before.
The Executive Direftory, deceived by
chimerical alarms, appear apprehensive of
the future, and fearful of relying on the sup
port of the power which has been entrusted
to them, or the exercise of its lawful means;
they endeavour to appear apprehensive of
an attack on the Constitution ; but instead
of retreating into a fortrefs, and defending
it, they have recourse to arms, which the
Constitution (hould break.
There are, doubtless, men in France who
regret the old government, and there are
others, no doubt, who have a partiab'ty to
the Revolutionary Government, so favoura
ble to their malignant passions, and their in
fatlable avarice ; but these feftaries of defpo
tiftn and anarchy form but a small party in
the Republic ; and even supposing the num
ber of them greater than it is, the Royalifls
have (hewn the feeblenefs of their policy, the
Anarchists the cruelty of their disposition,
too much to fuffer us to fear that they will
ever again be able to muster with success
against the Defenders of the Constitution.
If the Direftory would fee the objefts as
they really are, and not attempt to represent
the political horizon as charged with clouds
which have blown over us, they would-be
convinced that the great majority of the
country is devoted to them. Who then are
the persons who favour one or other of these
opinions ? Are they those who firft at
tack the power of Ministers when armed
with Letters de Cachet and arbitrary power
to aft as they pleased ? Are these the per
sons, who in different public AfTemblies
have proclaimed and developed the pritjci«
pies of Liberty and of Representative Go
vernment ; It is this incalculable number
of Administrators, of Judges, and of Public
Functionaries who have entailed upon them
selves the haired of those who only wish for
laws that they may profit by them ; or of
those who hope for advantage by the noft
ejpftence of the laws ?
Can it be from our viftorious Soldiery
who have seen the Constitution rifi cemented
by thelilood of their Brethren—who have
perished in dangers in which they have par
taken ?—lt is from them that we arc to ex
> pest measures that are incompatible with
_the fafety of the Constitution ?
Let the direftory frankly unite with the
• legislative body—Let it derive hs power
from its true source—Let them be convinced
that there is a cessation of government when
there is a cefTation of harmony between the
supreme powers. That authority, however
extensive, is not fufficient for governing, if it
is not supported by confidence, and that eon.
fidende is the prize given by public opinion
—that ministers without efteerh, are minis
ters without influence', and that they will
meet with obstacles where others woulj havfc
found afliftance
That peace, which is the common objeft
of all our wishes, can only be obtained
(whatever talents the negociator may pos
ses) by the ftrift coalition of all the firfl au
thorities, —
, That generals crowned with laurels, tint
soldiers and citizens having the most glori
ous profpeft before them, the life of Pom
r pey, and the old age of Timoleon, will ne
-1 ver consent to facrifice their brilliant defti
> nies in filch a Catilinarian attack.
1
OTI'ICE OF XHS MARINE, AUG. 4.
The privateer Le Petit Diable, captain
Salvetat, has taken, after a fight of three
- quarters of an hour, and carried into Dels-
I zil, an English packet, boat named the Dol
-1 phin, bound from Yarmouth to Cruxhaven;
* it had on board a courier, eharged with dif
- patches, and 18 pafTengers.
The privateer Intrepid, of Nantes, has
" taken a ship under American colours, from
Liverpool to Philadelphia, with a cargo of
fait, coals, tin, and copper sheathing, for
f, three frigates.
n The privateer Le Deeade, of Bourdeaux,
i- captain Lufone, has taken and carried into
Corrunna, the Portugueze ship the duke ps
" Braganca, of 600 tons, laden with cotton *
; t rice, coffee, cocoa, &c. &c. from Marag
nan to Lisbon.
>f The privateer Le Chafleur Basque, capt.
Dariban, has carried into Bayoune a. fee
English brig, called the Jean, from Quebec,
laden with planks, 'skins, pot-a(hes, &c, &c.
The privateer Le Coureur, of Rochcl'.e,