in all liis speeches. The last is eloquent, elofe,
and pointed in all his observations. ]f this young
gentleman proceedsas he has begun, he muftone
day rife to great eminence in political life.
NEW-YORK, December 19!
On Tuesday Evening the exhibitions at the
Theatre were doled with the HEIRESS—the
MISER, and DARBY's RETURN ; after which
Mrs. Henry spoke the following farewell Epi
logue.
FOR THE GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES.
EPILOGUE.
Spoken by Mrs. Henry, at the Theatre, on Tuesday Evening
[IV ritten by the author oj " American Shandy ism."]
CjT OOD truth! that they should ever pitch on me,
The Company's Ambafladrefs to be,
J, who so oft appear with face of woe,
Am sent, their cheerful gratitude to show.
44 Now had they wilh'd to lend some mournful f)hi2,
44 To deprccate your wrath, and flop a hiss —
44 Or had some author who in doleful dumps,
44 Trembled for fear his cards should not prove trumps,
44 In Green Room quakipg, like some half-drown'd whelp,
44 In piteous tone, half dead, demanded help ;
44 Then should I, in my element have been,
44 And swept the boards like any tragic Queen —
" Have knit my brows, and told my whining ditty,
44 Such faces made, as must have mov'd your pity.
44 But now I shall not do my duty half,
14 I'm one of those who scarce know how to laugh;
• 4 Tho, for the foul of me, I can't conceive,
44 How any reason I can find to giieve :
Good benefits in spite of our demerits,
Have given us all, a mighty flow of spirits;
And tho I am not equal to my part,
'Tis not bccaufe of an ungrateful heart;
1 feel the favors we each night receive,
And shall be thankful long as I may live.—-
Not I alone—l represent them all—
And for the task, indeed I am too small,
For boundlcfs gratitude we sure must feel,
Whilst without bounds your favors thus you deal.
[In diflrefs, and lookingjor the Prompter.]
Oh dear—l'm out—what's next—speak, Mr. Gay,
Oh dear—he's gone—and I have nought to fay—
[Somebody behind the Curtain.]
Something about the Stage—
[Mrs. Henry.] Aye, aye, the stage—
That must. improve, in this improving age.
When Greece was free, and Athens 44 bore the bell,"
The Stage was Virtue's School, as authors teJl,
There from the boards, just fentimcnt and truth,
By age applauded,form'd the minds of vouth :
With Liberty, the Mufcs love to dwell—
And Liberty gains ground, Newspapers tell.
What think ye ? May not Truth flafh'd from the Stage,
Help to keep up thi? truly glorious rage ?
Perhaps some Politician there in front,
Cries, 44 Mrs. Henry, what do you think on't ?
Why troth, Sir, if I must give my opinion.
As men gain knowledge—freedom gains dominion ;
For, as I heard my dear good husband fay,
(As we were coming to rehearse to day,)
44 That man, who knows the rights which nature gave,
And is notJree, defervesto be a flavt."
Now from the may not those rights be shown,
And all Man's truly known?
They may ! and under guidance of your taste,
Each day our scenes improve, and grow more chaste;
While thus encourag'd, arduoully we'll ftnve,
And do our best to keep the flame alive :
The glorious flame ! whose firft unsteady blaze,
Will soon be fix'd as Sol's all cheering rays ;
Dart thro the wideexpanfe, illume mankind,
E'en Asia's Sons 110 longer shall be blind,
B it join the one gr-it cause o/LIBERTY ;
Winlft the world's voice cries 44 greatly dare be free."
But'midft this joy, what mean those d final groans ?
Ah ! sure, they come from Afric's fable Sons!
Oh let not truth offend! wipe out the stain !
Shall Freedom's Sons on others put the chain !
Dctcftcd thought ! soon may we hope to fee, }
Columbia, Europe, Alia, Afric, fr*ee, >
One Genius reign through all—Eternal Liberty. )
And now, alas ! wc come to taking leave—
Cheer'd with applause, we know not how to grieve;
Love, duty, sorrow, fill our hearts in turn,
But above all, with gratitude they burn ;
During our abfiMice we will strive to prove,
The worthy objects of yourfuture love.
NOTE.
The lines marked with inverted Comma's, were omitted by Mrs. Henry.
THE NATIONAL MONITOR.
No. XXXI.
The Child, whom many Fathers (hare,
Hath seldom known a Father's care.
Gay.
r T*HE afliimptionof the State'Dcbts, by thcGe
neral Government, appears inore and more
interesting: Ic is hardly polfible to conceive how
the peace and tranquility of the Union can be
preserved, and justice done to every denomina
tion of our domestic creditors, npon any other
plan. The idea of the individual governments'
making adequate provilion to pay the interell of
their particular debts, m ufl: prove illufory—ior if,
when they were in poflellion of all their refpe<ftive
funds, it was considered as an oppressive meafnre,
to make competent aflfeflments and appropriations
for this purpose, the. plea of incapacity applies
with additional force, as things are now circurn
ftanced.
It may be expe<sled that this just, and politic
measure, will meet with opposition—and it is to
be feared,that those who have been advocates for
this aifutnption, may have impreflions made upon
their minds, different from thofethat liave hither
to actuated them, upon a prefuinption that the
States will fund their debts 011 Excises and dry
Taxes. A few reflections will serve, however, to
fliew, that this dependence must fail them : From
long experience, the creditors of the State Go
vernments must be convinced, that their hopes
of future justice in the line they have been in,
reft on a very (lender basis—They must suppose
that the willingness of the States to pay in future,
will receive ftrengtli from the diminution of their
ability—and that their desire to give fatisfacTion
to their creditors will call forth resources super
ior to those now vcfted in the General Govern
ment. This is so improbable, that it requires a
ltretch of credulity to countenance thefuppofition.
Butif it fliould be granted, that through the in
fluence of a temporary jealousy of the General
Government, fo-ne of the States may make extra
exertions to fund their debts, it is evident that the
complex system which would grow out of the
measure, must occasion prodigious loss both to the
Stat°s' and Continental treasuries—and in a very
short time the people would consider themselves
as ground between the upper and nether mill
stone :—Such a situation would iflue in the total
defeat of the hopes founded on State-Financier
ing. The fame funds placed under one set of di
rectors, would probably pay much more, than if
divided under two—butif in the hands of twelve
or thirteen different bodies, all atfting indepen
dently of each other—the lofles and deficiencies
will not be perhaps less than jopr. cent. In short
the State creditors, by diverting their hopes from
the Stategovernment,will eventually realize their
demands; they may fufFer a temporary suspension
in their receipts, and that is all.—On the other
hand, they may be amused by a profpeiS: nearer
home, but it will vaniih at last, and leave them
no other resort, than that which now presents,
and which they will then fee, they might have
availed themselves of much sooner, with greater
facility, and more to their advantage* The ope
ration of one general plan of taxation, in conjunc
tion with twelve or thirteen rival systems, must
be attended with inexplicable difficulties.—The
expcnce of diftincl sets of officers—the tempta
tions to frauds by different rates of duties—the
difficulty of securing the collecftion upon several
thousand miles of frontier, the incapacitj of the
States to meddle with goods when imported;
and so to check frauds, that power being now in
Congress, and many other reasons, all combine
to (new the absurdity of different and clashing
powers being exerted to effetft that, which ought
to be one bufineft.
NEW-YORK, DECEMBER 19.
We are still in the dark as to the iflue of the
late commotions at Versailles ; and this uncer
tainty is further increased by the contradictory
accounts of the origin of these commotions. If
the King seriously meditated a design of quitting
Versailles and the National Aflembly in order to
join his army,it is probable some system was form
ed, and that,movements among the exiled Princes
may be the consequence, of which it remains that
accounts be received. If the whole affair arose
from a bacchanalian faux pas, it may serve to fug
ged a ufeful hint to the National AHembly: viz.
?o quicken their diligence in perfecting the new
Constitution, since there is no calculating the va
riableness of the popular opinion.
Extrall of a letter from North-Carolina,Dec. 2,1 7°9-
The only news I have to write you is that the
Convention of this State, contrary to general
expectation has ratified the Constitution—and
that our Grand Master, the late Governor Cas
well is dead.
On Tuesday the firft inft. the Judicial Court
for the diftrid: of Maine, was
opened in the town of Portland, before the Ho
norable Judge Sewell. The Oaths where then
adminiftered° to the Attorney-General, Marshal,
and Clerk, and the Court adjourned.
Bv late accounts from Charleston, S. C. it ap
pears, that all the public offices in that city have
been removed to Colunibia, the new feat of govern
ment. This measure may poffibty be produdivc of
advantage to the State ; but in the infancy of our
countryT it certainly appears hostile to the great
interest of the whole, to discourage tne_ capital set
tlements upon the lea coast. In thisviewthe/ro
bability is, that after incurring very great expence,
the landed isitereft: will feci tlie necessity ofagti'ni
removing the.feat of government, and fixing it
in its original lituation. The spirit of freedom
firtt appeared in our capital sea ports ; from thence
fpreaa into the interior country. Our capitals are
the feats of the arts, the Emporiums of trade,
the deposits, and refourccs of our wealth ; and
every meal'ure that contributes to their increale
and molt ellentially contribute tothe
general interelt.
I'he funding of the State debts by the respec
tive governments will be a measure fraught with
niifchievous consequences. There will be excilt-.-J
upon the impolt, and perhaps excise againlt ex
cil'e, confufion on confulion—trade will be em
barraded; manufactures, protected by the iin
poft, will be saddled in the consuming States with
excises ; a contest for power and revenue will en
sue, tothe reviving of bitter animosities, and the
deltruction of public credit. These ideas strong
ly suggest the propriety of placing the National
and State debts upon one and the fame footing :
The fame principle of justice pleads for the for
mer that does for the latter.
The State creditors,provided they are left to de
pend on the particular governments,will become
interested to diminilh the National revenue, in
'»rder to brighten their own prospects. But it must
be remembered, that they will, at the fame time,
be divided into twelve or thirteen different bodies,
that never did, and never can ad: conjointly in a
business of this kind; while the general Govern
ment, having one system pervading the whole Uni
on, mutt aCt to more certain eff,*Ct. The State
creditors, therefore, detached from the conti
nental, mult be fnlferers; but united with them,
and having the concentered fnnds of the United
States to depend on, their fate is involved, not in.
the fluctuating councils of a particular State, but
in the fate of the whole Continent.
Provided our national credit was established ill
such manner as to bring the public securities to
a fixed and certain value, what relief would trade,
manufactures, and agriculture derive from a per
manent influx of circulating medium ! This
desirable event doesjnotinaterially depend on the
rate of interelt, but on the certainty of the quan
tum which government can, and will pay. This
point fettled, the value of public paper will be
ascertained, and no future fluctuations of any
consequence will ensue. This conlideration, a
mong thousands of others that might be mention
ed, points out the absolute neceflity that fumething
lliould be done immediately.
The inequality of circumstances which prevails
among mankind, may be traced to a variety of
causes. Accident has no fmallfhare in producing
this disparity. But of all the causes that maybe
adduced, there is none to be compared to thole
which arifefroin the means of education : For tho
we often fee the foils of genius and learning, in.
wantandindigence ; yet in afree country, where
the avenues to honor and emolument are open to
all, we (hall find that by far the majority, owe
their eligible circumstances totheir early advan
tages of education - So that one capital source ot"
envy,which is agreater difturberof human happi
nels than manyare apt to imagine, may very ea
sily be removed by making suitable public provi
sion for ditleminating knowledge among all clafles
of the people.
There is a natural propensity in mankiud to re
duce all to one common level. Dean Swift's ob
servation is therefore founded on a just acquaint'
ance with humaa nature, when he fays,
Your altitude offends the eyes
Of those who want the pow'r to rife.
For tho it must be acknowledged, that elevated
circumstances often induce and are conneifted
with adomineering disposition, yet the desire to
rife, is asuniverfal asexiltence ; and the preferv
ationof personal poflefHons is a right that cannot
be monopolized or usurped, without violating,
theprinciples ot liberty. As the wheel of huinaa
affairs is in perpetual rotation, the poor (hould
remember that tliey, or their posterity, may be
come interelled in a sacred regard to the rights
of property and its consequent diftinCtions.
The study of geography isuniverfally approv
ed, and very generally introduced into our se
minaries of learning ; with this branch of edu
cation, liiftory appears to be very naturally con
nected ; and if added to the circle of studies, as
it might be with great ease, even in our molt in
ferior i'chools, it would prove a source of very va
luable improvement.
ARRIVALS.—NEW-YORK.
Wedntfday, Ship Willfon, M'Evers, Liverpool, 67 day?.
Brig Olive Branch, Lawrance, St. Martins, 20 days.
Brig Lively, Williamfon, Cayenne, 24 days.
Brig Amboy, Dykes, Cape-Francois.
Brig Loverretta, Siflare, St. Domingo, 36 days.
Sloop Nancy, Price, Philadelphia, 5 days.
Sloop Sally, Miller, Trinadada, 28 days.
Sloop Aurora, Cahoon, Rhode-Island, 3 davs.
Sloop Lady Green, Godfrey, Rhode-Island, 3 days.
Thurfiay, Ship Betsy, Denton, St. Thomas, 28 days.
BrigSnccels, Burke, Nevis.
Schooner Rebecca, Ryan, Wilmington, 6 davs.
Schooner Lively, Major, Kingston, Jam. 26 days.
Schooner Rover, Gardner, Shelburne, 17 days.
Friday, Sloop Three Friends, Clafon, St. Johns, 21 days.
Sleop Brandy, Mansfield, Cape Francois, 13 days;