A NATIONAL PAPER, PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS Av ■, '
ND s ATM. DAYS - ; JOHN FENNO, No. 6g, HIGH-STREET, PHILADELPHIA
[No. 44, oi \ 01. IV.] Wednesday, October -1
'
ON THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.
Or*"**, id\V:Tfd by M/. Jefepk 'Res J, cj tha ( Uy,
at tne Ute annivetfury Comoii/uemat held -at Prince
tony Kew-Jerfey.
(concluded.)
IT is the glory of* Columbus that this great
discovery C3ii in no degree be a fen bed to ac
cident. In contemplating the origin of the art':
and faiences, and those firll dilcoveries which
have extended the knowledge, the power, 01
the happine'fs of mankind, we find that most of
them were the result of some fortunate acci
dent, and, as it were, the unsought gift of hea
ven. Few of them were forefeen, and few of
them systematically pnrfued. The discovery of
Columbus was ail his own. It was the etfeft of
rational deduction, the offspring of a profound
and penetrating nlind. But geniqs, like his, is
a flower rare to be seen, and blows, like the
aloe, but once in an hundred years.
Jt is not mv intention to detail the future
tonduft of this great man : his persevering ex
ertions to extend the work he had begun—the
wifdorn of his eftabli foments—his dignity under
persecution, or the numerous virtues of his
private life—in all-, he was himfelf—great, ori
ginal and fpbtime ! yet Europe <aw him disho
nored and m chains, and meahjv folfc »■);»$ a.F'" v
rentine adventurer to bestow his name on the
world discovered bv Columbus.
The beneficial effe&s of the discovery of
America are viable and striking. To trace
and illustrate these would be a grateful task; but
the day, which hastens to its close, and the li
mits assigned me, prohibit a particular detail.
Suffice it, therefore, to observe, that this great
■event enlarged the bounds of human knowledge,
and opened a wider field to the view of the
philosophic mind. Cosmography was impro
ved, navigation advanced, distant voyages ren
dered familiar, and the whole globe laid open
to all the beneficial eife&s of an enterprizhig
commerce. The precious metals which flowed
into Europe from the mines of Peru and Potofi,
gave a new spring to the industry, and melio
rated the manners of mankind. The native
produ&ions of America, oy augmenting the
means of subsistence, have contributed to the
cncreafe of mankind, and has given to Europe
a capacity of twice as many inha
bitants as it could subsist before. To th« sci
ence of medicine it has rendered eifential aid,
and has enriched the materia niedica with the
'OQ.t povccrfuv icbrtfuge in lKttutc ; and la it,
but not least, it has afforded an asylum to the
©pp re fled of all nations. America, hidden for
ages, is laid open to view, at the very time,
when liberty, u hunted down intheOld World,"
was panting for the asylum lhe found in the
New. Hither, she retired with our ltern fore
fathers—here Hie preserved her facrcd fires—
here she beheld her patriot sons grow bold in
Jier cause, till in the fullnefs of time, she an
nounced herfelf to the world, and eflablifhes
3ier empire forever.
Oh J If amidst the sublime contemplations of
brighter world, the happiness of America can
it'll interest the spirit of Columbus. With
■what elevation of mind must he behold the
growing greatness of this New World. He
iees that virtue and science are the broad foun
dation oh which its prosperity must reft ; and
he rejoices to behold the numerous seminaries
of learning which grace our land, and smiles on
the ilJuftrious chara&ers who patronize and
support them.
[Here followed the vafediflory addrejjef te the Trujlees,
Prejident, Faculty and Studentj of the College.]
Among these we have {he pleasure of feeing
your Excellency*, and you, Rev. and worthy
gentlemen.f—To your peculiar patronage are
committed, the important interests of yonder
seminary ; and we who have just received its
firft honors, are bound to acknowledge your
attention to its welfare. To extend the em
pire of science, and spread its bleflings 44 o'er a
fifiiling land,'' are the benevolent objects of your
disinterested labours. How fuccefsful you have
been, let the merit of our predecelfors declare !
Those who have shone in the Senate and in the
field— those whose eloquence blazes at the bar,
or beams from the sacred desk—whole talents
adorn a public, and whose virtues endear a pri
vate life.—Thofe—thofe are your eulogiums,
and leave the feeblenefs of language far be
hind them. Oh ! may we, while we read the
d'ftinguifhed names that adorn the records of
Naflau-hall, f; om thpt of her earliest child, the '
eloquent, the illustrious Stockton, whose memo
ry is still dear within these walls, down to those
of the youngest of her sons. Ma y we, whose
names shall be recorded with theirs, like them,
do honor to your care. Say, ra> beloved friends,
while we recoiled the virtues of those who have
£one before us, do not our hearts burn within
to emulate their worth ? Yes, Reverend i
and worthy (gentlemen, we feel a generous \
ambition to repay your care, by a life of ufe
fulnefs ; and deeply imprelTed with a sense of
°ur obligation, we bid you refpeftfully
Farewell.
* The Governor of the State.
The Truflees of the College.
[The foregoing elegant Address, is re-pub
lished, by requeifc, from the American Daily
Advertiser"!
FOR THE GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STAFF
THE REPUBLICAN.—No. VI
T HE people nt tins country certainly . bad f,.-
great objects in view., which they noped
to attain lhe more eafilyby adopting, the new con
ftitutum. What weie those objc£U ? EftaUlifhii;,;
public credit w s certainly one, and a prmo-.J
one. To f»y notbintr about the juil:ce d.,c 10 in
dividuals and ibe wife policy i.i the long run,
(or a nation to perform us promifea, u is j>laii:
that there is nothing to be got nor fined even a*
I prt sent by the fouJefttricka governmerucoukl p'ay,
Ihort of 4)loilfng out the public debt at once. Foi
good crednt has proved already of more value ihar,
any saving t idt could have been made
By means of it the rate of interest is reduced bo in
at home and abroad.—One percent, interest fnvtd
is equal to a sixth part of tire pubitc debt forgiven
or released tp the people of the Uiijted Staui.—
Wc pay leiV than five per cent, now ; formerly wt
paid fix or even more. So far then the constitu
tion and the revival of credit have answered ;h
---expeditions of the people when they ratified it.
It hasldLned their burdens at least a sixth.—l h..,
!S ~ot —wc can borrow even at home nr*w at
five per cent. The United States Bank has a&:wlly
fcnt togovcrliment at that rate and a large Cipn ton ;
TX.* is njclui every way* to ru.» :•
paying off our debt, and to provide for pref nc
and future emergencies. This power to borrow
cafily and on good terms is no light matter, and
will not be thought so by those who remember the
diftrefles of the late war. America had need ol
all its faculties to fufiain it; every nervous cor<.
was drained and overstrained till it had loft its
spring— yet all was want, confufion and difbefs ;
the army had neither bread ncr shirts norfhoe-.—
What would not such a government and such a
state of credit as we now pofltfs have been deemed
worth could wethen have enjoyed them ? Would
not such a weight rhiown into our scale whileuhe
f-alance hung doubtful have been expefled to turn
it in our favor.—Much of the expences of the war
might have been prevented by an orderly govern
ment telying for fuppbes on readv money. A Na
lional Bank at such a time operating like that of
the United States would have been ineltimable—
1 hat of North-,America, under tvciy aifadvan
tage was found very beneficial.
Our liberty may be put a second time at rijfk,
and a wife nation, ptirfuing the principle of felf
prefeivation, ought to prepare every means of se
curity. It was the faying of a good Prince that
he chose his fubjedh fliould ke*p their iv
tbeir own pockets, for he would so govern them
according to their affe&ions that he could, com
mand it all when uecrffary for the exigencies of
the nation. Congrcfs by putfuing houeft meafurt s
tor the fuppoit or credit bring every dollar in a
condition to be called for when wauled to fecutt
the liberty and fafety of the counuy.
I his then was the point to be gained : It was
the great immediate interest of the p-ople to gain
it. Theie is nothing fanciful, no round about dif
lant conj« $ure to be made much of in order to
prove what has been afTerted. For want of a good
government and good ciedit, our debt was going
on rvt n in lime of peace, heaping interest on
princi pal—till the interest only amounted to no lef»
than thirteen millions of dollars. Congrcls has
caused the growing interest to be paid legulary,
and already the sum of two millions tour hundred
thouf<*nd dollars of the debt is funk. As our im
ports are increafinp to a tuiprifing degree, there
venue w ill become in a few years equal *0 paying
off immense sums of the debt. It may fafely be
afTerted that no nation in the world is more able
to pay off its debt, or has manifefted a stronger
disposition to do it ; perhaps considering what is
due and how much is actually paid ofF,no natifcn his
made greater progress. When it is considered thai
the government is new and the revenue of very re
cent operation, the people judging from what has
been done have no final 1 cause to confide in the
power and intentions of Cungrefs to free them
from debt.
It is strange Co hear men talk of tlie debt as they
do—as if Congress had made it, for the conven
ience'of having one :as if the fitft duty of Con
gress and the principal expeftauon of the people
weie a trick of State. Neithe' the debt nor the
occasion of it are yet forgotten. Therefore this
suggestion again ft the good intention* of Congress
in providing for it tnny be difregardcd.
When we framed the new government we ex
pelled to fee the trade and manufactures of our
own countiv protedfed and encouraged. The du
ty on imported fabrics has eminently advanced
our manufa£ture« ; so far the expectation of the
people has been realized ; by this means we are
iafer than formerly. In cafe of a war, an army
might be cloathed, and fnrntfhed with gun-pow
der and militar\ ftorrs chiefly from our own work
shops and mills. To those who remember how
I wretchedly we began and indeed carried on the
J war, tnefc considerations w.ill fcem weighty. Our
. trade ana navigation have risen in conlequence of
national protection to a pitch that was never bc
j fore attained.
A small force is kept up to defend the frontiers
a gain it the Indians.—To provide for the common
defence and pretention is one of the duties which
the people have enjoined upon Congress by the
constitution ; yet this little 31 my, not halt a mntch,
fays experience, tor the Indians, is an overmatch,
lays cowardice or folly, for the freemen of the
country, tfaofe fretmen who laughed at Britiih
and hireling German armies.
Theft- were the duties of the government. Ame
itca had a light to exa&vftom their rulers a per
formance of them. The public expelled, and im
patiently too, to fee them performed. They are
173
'•frrnit-d, furcc
Ihc -nut.tiy. On'tne coru>«:tv, l
growing' in wealth and people Ufter ever
v/as known at any former period.
Certain perions however write, not very calmly,
gain ft all thele measures, and those who fupport
td them, and those who exccute them.—They
that they are aiuircpubltcan measures and
founded in ill designs againlt 1 certy. They arc
(old that their arguments conclude aganlk the
coiftittHton, as they accuse Congress of the crime
of doing What the constitution made their fpecifie
duty, ai d what all America cxpefted. They com
plain of this anfwe» as severe and not juiT. They
Ly they arc friends.to the constitution, butoppo
fed to the measures alluded to. It will not be ea
sy IroWever, to persuade us that men arc in their
he; rts friendly to the constitution, and yet ene
mi s to ;he measures conforming to it, aud to the
fenie ot America when it was adopted. —Be that
as if may, the people have the happiness to lee
their hopes realized and their condition every day
improving.
FROM THE MARYLAND JOURNAL,
To the PEOPLE of MARYLAND.
A PUBLICATION, in the Maryland Jour
/"V «•' -. ' Calrwiioi-e Adrei tifei, ofi'dft Tucf
OAy, signed u A Citizen," contains the following
paragraph : 4< We all, as men oj gratitude, are, I
ioubt not, interested in the re-appointment of
:he present worthy Prtfidenti but as men, who
iave a sense of equality and a disgust of iuper
"ilions superiority, are, I am in hopes, linked as
7 st ron g chain againji the Vice-Prefidcnt. —In fart,
caking such for granted, permit me to recom
mend Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, Esq. as
.meriting the appointment of Vice-Preiident."
To a recommendation so pointed and unex
pe&ed, in Maryland, as that to turn out the Vice-
President, it may not be thought unseasonable to
pffer a few remarks for consideration.
I observe, my fellow-citizens, in the firft place,
that those men in the several states, who have
jeen oppoled to our constitution, have, ever
lince itseflablHhment, incessantly applied them-
Pelves to depreciate the chara&er of Mr. Adams;
hecaufe his abilities and principles were formi-
Jable to their views and ambition ; and because
to prevent his re-eleclion would be a point gain
ed over the constitution i tie If. Little sagacity
is requilite to perceive, that every man ot'abi
lity. who can be turned out of the adminiftrs
tion, or kept out of Congress, adds strength to
their cause and vigour to their hopes; and that
against the most eminent of those their heaviest
batteries have been raised, and their principal
sprung. To piove the justness of thjs
I charge, I appeal to your recollection for the
j mifcelJaneous publications you have read, and
travelling whispers you have heard, calculated
to destroy the well-earned fame of Mr. Adams,
Some of you are a'fo acquainted with what vi
rulence an anti-government faction have treat
ed a Hamilton, whose attachment to the con
i ftitution is unquestionable, and whose virtue and
integrity are equalled only by his great capacity
and extraordinary powers. From the mafter
workman in this craft, down to the meaneU of
his laborers, each in his way, or in his diftriA,
has something to obje<st:, to surmise, to insinu
ate, that may irritate sensibility, and lead to
relignation ; or that, floating on the popular
gale, may infect that general esteem and confi
dence he poiTefTes, which no patriot has ever ac
quired with greater purity of conduct, or held
by a more unexceptionable title. From the
; fame quarter also you fee sometimes to descend,
Upon the Preiident himfelf, a thjn and subtile
mist, which would soon increase to the solidity
of absolute censure, was not the radiance of the
char after too powerful to be o'ofcured, and the
veneration of the people too strong to bear an
open attack with impunity. These circum
stances are notorious; they are to be found in
print; tiiey are in the mouth of ahnoft every
antifederal from New-Hampshire to Georgia ;
they are the ingredients of their incantations,
and the spells by which they would transform
our best patriots into our greatell enemies! —
Tliefe circuinftance*, taken together, prove,
beyond a poflibility of doubt, a systematic and
organized plan to drive from the adminijlration oj
our affair* all those who have rescued us from
anarchy, and restored us to the dignity of men,
and the various advantages of an efficient go
vernment. It will not be said, that known
friends to the constitution and the laws are en
gaged in the combination againit Mr. Adams.
I deny that any such are engaged, and call upon
the opposition to name a (ingle individual of that
description, save, perhaps, a few who know
Mr. Adams through the medium oply of the
milrepre'entations of his enemies j a dejufioa
which, in men of candour, must yield to better
information.
I observe, in the second place, that Mr.
Ad\ms has been as firm and uniform a patriot
as America can boast to Have reared in her bo
som. In the firft years of our revolution, when
the colonies flood alone against Great Britain,
he a&ed a bold and diltinguilhed part in favor
of the liberties of the people. Congress, sensi
ble of his merit as a politician and patriot,
created him Minister to the United Nether
lands. His celebrated memorial to their High
Mightinefles, the large loans of money he pro
cured Under the eye of a Britiih A'ubaUador,
179 2.
1 Som «> ..--el'" 1 t
-'id their tievy vifh 1'" p.nri acknowledgment
oi '.»ui "tvhich coH them this cap
ture of St. Et» feat ins and a war with England,
torm a pyramid offer vice l ? far more interesting
to mankind than tliofe built of stone by the
Kings of Egypt. View him next as joint Mi
nister to the court of France, and you fee him
lonfpicuoufly eminent for
and talent*:, especially in negociating and bring
"ig to a clofv the treaty of peace with England,
v/ hich gained from her commiftjoners a greater
extent of territory for the United States, than had
ever entered into the mind of the most sanguine
American to expect. Having finished theft
high trusts, he was appointed Minister to the
court of London, where, finding that he could
not induce them to listen to a commercial trea
ty, on terms of equal privileges, like an honest
citizen, true to the dignity and interests of his
country, he requested of Congress leave to re
turn ; previous to which, he fuggefled mea
iures, since adopted by our government, that
have drawn from England a Minister, to treat
formally here of fubrjefts she would not there
condescend to discuss. The knowledge he ac
quired, in these fevc-ral millions, of the interejls
and views aj the courts of Europe, fit him in a pecu
liar fill, to the grcateft advantage*
the station he now occupies, where these inter
ests arid news, as they refpetl the United States, come
lb often under deliberation. To these fa&s
may be added, that in his letters from England,
and on his return to America, he exprefied not
an equivocal, but decided, approbation of the
constitution of the United States j antl that iij
his writings he is liberal in praise of those ftate
conftitutions formed as ours with checks and
branches, and divisions of power; those real
barriers against encroachments upon liberty*
haftv projects, and dangerous ebullitions of po
pular bodies. Take for example his introduc
tion to Abbt de Mably's observations on the go
vernment and laws of America. <4 If human
wisdom (fays Mr. Adams) can ensure the dura
tion ot'th? only forms of government which are con
fftent with the dignity oj human nature, the Ameri
can constitutions bid fair to be lasting; nor can
any thing, except an exceflive partiality to the
ancients, prevent our discerning their irfnite
Jtiperiority to the boaf.ed republics of Sparta and Rome."
Again, u it is poflible that some few additional
regulations, arising from local arid other acci
dental cirevmftances, might be made with ad
vantage ; but of the exact propriety of these, it
is impofiible for any to judge, who are not im
mediately 011 the spot : And the principles of
these confiitutions are so ot>viouf!y excellent, that every
one who underjlands the nature, and loves the enjoy
ment oj libett•, will acknowledge them to surpass every
tiring the world has hithertofcen."
Such, my fellow-citizens and
are the fenliments of Mr. Adams refpefting.
our governments, where reign superiority of
rightswith personal equality, and diftin<flion of
office without nobility of birth. Where, thtn,
would be American gratitude, were the friends of
order and good government to be " linked as 4
chain againji him,'* whose principles, or political
creed, is no more than the expreflion or picture
of our own constitution ?
I would further remark, that to bring for
ward, at this late hour (unconfulted too) one of
the best and wprthieft of our citizens as his com
petitor, wears rather a doubtful and invidious
afpeft. Is it done, it may be asked, in order to
.deprive Mr. Adams of ten votes, and thereby de
feat hn eUflion; or from a sincere desire to have
Mr. Carroll eledted ? If the latter, u Citizen"
ought to be convinced himjcfjy and be poffeiled of
.fatts to convirce others, that a fufficient number
of ele&ors, in the dijfeient states, will vote to
place Mr. Carroll in the Vice-President's chair;
sot on no other ground could any rational Ma
rylander hazard a vote against Mr. Adams, or
venture to risque losing his eleflion without a
certainty of carrying Mr. Carroll's. But cah
any of you think it likely, or even po/Jible, that
tlae antifederalifts of New-York,
Virginia, &c. would desert, for example, Go
vernor ilimon, their favourite, to give their
votes for so ' iitinguifhed, so decided, so un
shaken and incorruptible a federalift as Mr.
Carroll? To change Mr. Adams for Mr. Car
roll, would neither promote their views nor in
crease their numbers in the Senate ; who then
among you so credulous as to imagine that they
would give a fmgle vote to accomplish it?—
Whoever can believe so, knows little cf their
temper, and still less of their tricks. No, my
feljow-citizens, Mr. Carroll or Mr. Adams suit
not their purposes, and aie not to their taste;
nor will they ever vote for either with a view to
their efeflion. It is a very different character
they mean to carry, and your esteem for Mr.
Carroll is used only as a convenient engine to
withdraw you from Mr. Adams.
To these oblervations I think I may ven'ure
to subjoin* that it is not to disgrace a worthy
and patriotic citizen that will draw Mr. Carroll
into 'he lifts of competition; and to predict,
that if* he ever becomes a candidate for conti
nental favour, his merit and high qualifications
will raise him to a more dignified fiation. But
who can look forward to that moment, when
we shall stand in need of all his merits and aH
our courage; when the United States will be
convulsed to their centre by embrio Caesars,
for empire, and ftarceJy fayed by the
[Whole No. 566'