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GENERAL 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 TO THE 
 
 FREEMEN OF NEW-HAMPS IB? 
 
 OR, 
 
 The General Government and the a uder$ 
 of the New-England Opposition con- 
 trasted. 
 
 THERE are periods in the affairs of every 
 when the test of experience should be appl 
 and measures. With a free people, where li 
 perky, and happiness, depend upon the correct exercise 
 of opinion, this privilege of appealing to invc 
 to the last degree, sacred and invaluable. In 
 well as in morals, there is an infallible stands'- ! by whidh 
 we can decide on the wisdom of constitutions, on 
 policy of their administration, and the integ 
 signs of political parties. If a government Is badly con- 
 stituted, no specious covering can long cor ts de- 
 fects ; if rulers are weak or wicked, no fraud or cMcan 
 r/ can long hide the true features of their character ; if a 
 party is bent on the execution of despera 
 projects, by a course of criminal violence, nC plai 
 profession, no cant of hypocrisy, can long blind es 
 •f justice. 
 

 E>si 
 
 )312 
 
 t, 
 
 s 
 
 s^ 
 
 If ever there was a time when deep and temperate 
 reflection should be exercised on political subjects, the 
 present period imperiously demands it. It is not in sea- 
 sons of war and commotion, when the public mind is 
 agitated by the angry bickerings of party zeal, and popu- 
 lar passions are inflamed by falsehood and recrimination, 
 that we can expect to find the cool decisions of truth and 
 reason : — they can only be found in those tranquil mo- 
 ments which succeed the wild uproar of the political 
 element 
 
 The eventful war, in which we have been recently en- 
 gaged, hvis left us to the calm pursuits of peace. Now 
 is the time to scan men and their actions. If we would 
 • pur domestic dissentions ; if we would plant new 
 rampart- around our national constitutions ; if we would 
 preserve the union of the states ; if we would establish 
 the credit of the nation on a solid basis ; if, what is no 
 less important, we would maintain the exalted and im- 
 posing rank in the scale of empires, which we have re- 
 cently assumed ; let us inquire what course will effect 
 I at and important ends. 
 
 War, while it brings many domestic evils, inherent in 
 its nature, also frequently produces many benefits separa- 
 ble from the attainment of those specific objects for which 
 it was declared. It is an ordeal that tries the attachment 
 
 men to their government and their country. It proves 
 or us, and who are against us. It sets a mark 
 upon names and professions which will determine their 
 currency and value. Such have been some of the pre- 
 cious consequences resulting to ourselves from the strug- 
 gle wlii h we have lately closed. 
 
 .11 . the commencement to the close of our difficulties 
 v lth foreign nations, the administration of the general 
 government has experienced a steady, undeviating and 
 powerful opposition, in the New-England States. In 
 other parts of the country there have indeed been differ- 
 ent i S as entertained concerning the course of measures 
 pursued by our national rulers ; but in the eastern section 
 of the nion, this opposition has been characterised by 
 features of uniformity and perseverance which have been 
 no where else displayed. It is impossible that the ad- 
 wunk> ition cf a government, and minority of the people, 
 
 ■*. 
 
should diametrically differ as to their views and proceed- 
 ings through a long series of the most important meas- 
 ures, involving the interest, respectability, and independ- 
 ence of a great nation, and both be right. Under popular 
 constitutions, that different opinions should be cherished 
 concerning some particular acts of government, excites 
 no surprise ; neither does it suppose any degree of crimi- 
 nality ; but when a difference subsists for years, which 
 has brought a people to the verge of destruction ; we ssiy 
 there must be guilt somewhere — not only in a political, 
 but in a moral point of consideration. Either the gov- 
 ernment or the New-England opposition, then, have been 
 grossly in the wrong. Where this wrong lies, can alone 
 be determined by comparison If by examination it shall 
 be found that our rulers have betrayed their trust ; that 
 their policy has been imbecile or wicked ; they no longer 
 deserve confidence. If the leaders of the opposition have 
 been guilty of conduct in the highest degree reprehensi- 
 ble ; if they have been the means of bringing on the late 
 war, and prolonging its duration ; if they have attempted 
 a division of the union, and endeavored to change the form 
 of our national constitution ; if they have brought us to 
 the brink of ruin— they ought no longer to be followed 
 ©r trusted by the people. 
 
 Uader these impressive considerations, we give this 
 Address to the public. In the first place we shall 
 examine 
 
 The Policy of the General Government. 
 2c l — The Measures @fthe A ew- England Ofifiosition. And, 
 3d — The Duties which such Examination shall dictate. 
 
 Previous to going into the subject, we would make 
 ens preliminary remark, which, it is seriously hoped, will 
 be kept in continual remembrance. We would make a 
 wide difference between the leaders of the JVc-ju- 
 E norland ^ Ofifiosition, and those who have temperately 
 and constitutionally disapproved of the acts of the adminis- 
 tration. We believe and know, that the great mass of the 
 people are devoted to the union of the states, the constitu- 
 tion, and to the liberty and independence of the country. 
 
 Policy of the General Government. 
 
 ^ It is not here intended to go into an elaborate examina- 
 tion of the events which preceded the declaration of war. 
 
4 
 
 The paper blockades, the piratical orders in council of 
 England, and the plundering decrees of France, have 
 been handled and expounded from one end of the con- 
 tinent to the other, until any thing which could now be 
 offered, would have but little influence in altering those 
 opinions and conclusions which have been drawn from 
 their exposition. It is sufficient in this place to remark, 
 that the measures* of the general government were 
 pacific and rigidly impartial, from the commencement of 
 our difficulties, to the opening of hostilities against Eng- 
 land. To both belligerent powers, equal inducements 
 v/eie held forth to produce a relinquishment of their hos- 
 tile edicts. England at length chose to be our enemy by 
 persevering in her course of aggression, after the word 
 and honor of the French government were pledged for 
 the repeal of those decrees upon which the system of 
 British usurpation was professedly founded. Can any 
 one still have the hardihood to say, that the late war was 
 declared without cause ? Let it here be remembered, 
 that its declaration was not made, until England had in- 
 sulted and abused us, with little intermission, for more 
 than fifteen years ; until more than six thousand of our 
 seamen had been enslaved ; until more than one thousand 
 of our vessels had been captured, and condemned in Brit- 
 ish pri^e courts ; until our very shores were blockaded 
 and walled in by the mouths of her canncn ; until she 
 bribed the cannibal savage of the -wilderness to commit 
 massacre and desolation upon our frontier settlements ; 
 until . at least one authorised spy was sent among us to 
 concert measures of treason and rebellion, in the very 
 bosom of our country ; no — it was not waged, until every 
 hope of redress was extinguished — until a peaceful atti- 
 tude became a state of humility and degradation. Shall 
 we now be told, that our government could have avoided 
 war by negodation ? Look back and examine our diplo- 
 matic history from the year 1806, to the Treaty of Ghent* 
 Examine the imperious,- insulting demands of Rose, the 
 treachery of Erskine, the unblushing effrontery of Jack* 
 «on, the supercilious arrogance of Canning, the taunting 
 insolence of Wcllesley, and the petty shifts and evasions 
 
 *Viz. Nonimportation, Embargo, and Non intercourse.- 
 

 
 of Foster and then ask about negociation. Whoever 
 shall candidly examine the notes and correspondence of 
 the British official agents with our government, for the 
 last six years, will find the most stupendous system of 
 duplicity, hypocrisy and insult, that ever marked the 
 diplomatic character of a nation. Did the American gov- 
 ernment, as it has repeatedly been alledged, seek a war 
 with Great Britain ? Had we been desirous of a war with 
 her, we might have had it long before its declaration was 
 promulgated, and have found it sanctioned by justice, 
 humanity, and every principle of universal law. Our 
 government might have found cause of war in the im- 
 mense capture and condemnation of our property in 
 1805 — 6, by the revival of the memorable rule of war o , 
 175 6 ; in the wanton murder of John Pierce, in the harbor, 
 of New-York ; in the cruel and cowardly attack on the 
 Chesapeake ; in the orders in council of 1807, five years 
 before war was declared. We challenge any man, n® 
 matter what may be his party or his principles — we will. 
 ask him to shew us a time from the administration of 
 Washington, in 1789, to the year 1812, when the impress- 
 ment of our seamen would not have constituted the broad- 
 est basis of war. As long ago as 1796,* when Timothy- 
 Pickering was Secretary of State, and Rufus King,f Min- 
 ister at the Court of Great Britian, the practice of im- 
 pressment was a subject of complaint and remonstrance. 
 It was then stated by these men, that unless speedily 
 abandoned, it would lead to war. The same language 
 was heard from Chief Justice Marshall,^ when Secretary 
 ©f State, in 1 800. Under the administrations of Washing- 
 ton, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison, this abominable 
 kidnapping of our citizens has ever been deemed an ag- 
 gression of the most intolerable nature. There was no 
 relaxation of the practice until the cessation of the late 
 wars in Europe. If it was ground of war, then, in 1796, 
 was it less so in 1812, after it had been enforced with 
 rigor and barbarity for sixteen years ? If it was ground 
 
 * Vide Timothy Pickering's Bote to Rufus King, and 
 report to Congress as Secretary, 1797 — 9. 
 
 f Letter of Rufus King to Timothy Pickering, 1799.. 
 + Letter to Rufus King, 1800, 
 
6 
 
 for a resort to arms, when but a few hundreds of our 
 seamen were taken, did it lose its enormity when many 
 thousands were groaning in bondage ? But notwithstand- 
 ing ail these circumstances ; notwithstanding fCp* all the 
 fiublic communications of our Presidents to Congress, for 
 eighteen years /ircvie'us to the declaration o+' war, bore 
 some testimony of British insult or outrage ; we are told 
 by the Prince Regent, we are told by the British Minis- 
 fry, and, what is worse, we are told by men in this coun» 
 try, whose blood is kindred to our own, that the war was 
 a war of aggression on our part ; that it was declared 
 without sufficient cause, and might have been prevented 
 by negotiation ! ! Where can we find a nation in the 
 whole range of history, possessing our means of punish- 
 ing insult and encroachment, that ever delayed a re- 
 course to war so long as" the United States, through a 
 love g£' peace ? With what an ill grace does the asser- 
 tion come from the British government, that America 
 declared war without just cause, when we reflect upon 
 what pretences she has sometimes waged the most bloody 
 and destructive contests. How does such language 
 accord with consistency, when wc recollect, that but a 
 few years ago, England considered a disputed claim to 
 a barren clump of islands in the Pacific ocean, called the 
 Falkland IsleS,of no value to any nation, a sufficient sub- 
 ject of national war against Spain ? Does she forget that 
 she once declared war in support of a contested demand 
 to cut logwood in the bay of Campeachy ? Has she for- 
 gotten that she appealed to the sword to assert her privi- 
 lege of collecting a trifling quantity of salt annually in the 
 island of Tortugas ? Did she not wage war against 
 Spain, because the Spanish court refused her request to 
 see a treaty which had been concluded between Spain 
 and France, in which she had no interest, and to which 
 compact she had no right of access ? We would refer 
 the reader to one more instance. Daring all those tre- 
 mendous W'irs which had shaken Europe to its centre, 
 from the French revolution, Denmark had remained a 
 neutral power. W T ith Great Britain she had been on the 
 moat amicable and friendly terms. Her fleet was respec- 
 table, and constituted the great means of her defence. 
 Ira 1808j England directed a strong military and naval 
 
force to proceed to the Baltic, and demand a surrender 
 of the Danish Navy ! And why ? Because Denmark 
 might (mark the principle here displayed) —because Den- 
 mark might possibly, in the opinion of the British Cabi- 
 net, form an alliance with France ! And what thea I 
 Was not Denmark a sovereign power, as well as England, 
 or Prussia, or any other kingdom in Europe ? Had she 
 not a right to choose her allies ? The King of Denmark, 
 indignaat at such an unparalleled aid base request, gave 
 a prompt refusal. The Danish fleet was seized, Copen- 
 hagen bombarded, involved in flames, and left a heap of 
 ruins and wretchedness — an eternal monument of British 
 usurpation and cruelty.* 
 
 For such reasons does Britain declare war ; such is 
 the character of her policy. And yet, we are told, that 
 ©ur recent war with her was a war of aggression and 
 conquest, and commenced without cause ! 
 
 If our government wanted a war with England ; if it 
 was a contest for ambition and vain glory ; if it was en- 
 tered upon without provocation, and prosecuted without 
 necessity ; why did our rulers use every endeavor to re- 
 store the blessings of peace, immediately after it was 
 commenced, and before any defeat or embarrassment had 
 been experienced ? A short examination of facts will ex- 
 culpate the government from the foul implications 
 which have been preferred against it on this point, and 
 display the disposition of the British cabinet. The declar- 
 ation of war was made June 18th, 1812. Immediately af- 
 ter it transpired, our government instructed Mr. Russell, 
 ©ur official agent at London, to make overtures of an 
 honorable and just accommodation oi our difficulties to 
 the British Court. § Accordingly Mr. Russell on the 
 24th of August following, communicated a note to Lord 
 Castlereagh, stating the earnest desire of our govern- 
 ment to close the breach between the two nations and a- 
 vertthe impending calamities of war. Mr. Russell made 
 
 * For a full account of this barbarous transaction, see 
 Mr. Roscoe's pamphlet, entitled " Considerations on the 
 War in Europe." Mr. R. was a member of parliament 
 from Liverpool, when it was written, 
 
 § See Mr. Russell's letter to Lord Castleresgh, August 
 *4, 1812> 
 
s 
 
 known the disposition of our government to enter into 
 permanent regulations which should contain an entire 
 prohibition of British r.eamen from our merchant ser- 
 vice and thus remove one of the most formidable barriers 
 to a reconciliation. Lord Castlereagh flatly refused to 
 accept of our propositions. However, for motives best 
 known to the British cabinet and inexplicable to the world, 
 notwithstanding our overtures for an armistice were so 
 promptly expelled, the British government in Septem- 
 ber following the declaration of war, proposed an armis- 
 tice thro* the agency of Admiral Warren,then command- 
 ing on the American coasts. It is true his propositions 
 were rejected : but without looking at their nature, the 
 administration has been shamefully abused. By many, 
 it has been taken as evidence of settled hostility to peace 
 ©n the part of our rulers* and an incontrovertible evidence 
 of a pacific spirit in the English cabinet. — But let us en- 
 quire why the proposals of Admiral Warren were not 
 accepted. One of the greatest sources of complaint 
 which brought on the war was the practice of impress- 
 ment. At the time the armistice was offered, the great 
 contest of the European world was raging with all its 
 characteristics of violence. The evil of impressment 
 was daily assuming a more alarming magnitude. The 
 armistice proposed by the British Admiral, like 
 every other, was intended as a prelude to negocia- 
 tion. As we had tried negociation on this 
 subject for about twenty years, without avail, and perma- 
 nent reconciliation could not be expected without its re- 
 newal of the practice, Mr. Madison informed Admiral 
 Warren through the Secretary of State, that no cessation 
 of hostilities could take place, that no negociation could 
 stop the prosecution of the war, unless the practice of 
 taking our seamen should be suspended during its exist- 
 ence. Nothing was said about rights ; it was a simple 
 requisition, that a practice should cease until an amicable 
 settlement between the two nations could be concluded. 
 Was there any thing unreasonable in this ? If it is true, 
 
 * See Gov. Strong's speech to the Massachusetts Legis- 
 lature, Dec. 1814, and the answer to ft. 
 
as we have been informed,* that Great-Britain but seldom 
 takes our seamen, and that impressment has been mon- 
 strously exaggerated, where was the great danger of sus- 
 pending it during a negociation which we are told would 
 have been short, and terminated in peace, if our govern- 
 ment had been rightly disposed ? — As the practice had 
 been the great cause of the war, and had been borne dur- 
 ing all the troubles in Europe, with every circumstance 
 of insult and outrage, it would have been weak and cow- 
 ardly in our government at the end of three months, to a- 
 bandon our warlike attitude, without any provision against 
 its enforcement, while it was still maintained with all its 
 horrors. It is rather singular, that Lord Wellesley, one 
 of the very ministers who brought on the American war, 
 should have the justice to vindicate the conduct of oar 
 government, in the rejection of the armistice, while the 
 opposition to our administration, condemn it with re- 
 proach and bitterness.-— Neither was there any valid re- 
 peal of the British orders in council. Their removal had 
 been announced ; but on what condition ? that they should 
 be renewed whenever, in the opinion of the British gov- 
 ernment, circumstances should require it. This was no 
 repeal at all. It was a mere piece of juggling so pecu- 
 liar to the British cabinet. When these circumstances 
 are duly weighed — when we consider that Admiral War- 
 ren refused to admit the basis proposed by our govern- 
 ment for the armistice, no candid man can condemn the 
 administration in this proceeding. Soon after these pro- 
 ceedings, Alexander, Emperor of Russia, offered his 
 mediation. It was promptly embraced by our govern- 
 ment as the harbinger of peace, and ministers were im- 
 mediately dispatched to open the negociation. Great- 
 Britain refused to accept of the Russian Emperor as a 
 mediator. Why they should reject his mediation, in this 
 case, and choose him an arbitrator to settle some disputa- 
 ble claims in the treaty of Ghent, can only be reconciled 
 to a crooked, juggling policy. It was then proposed to 
 ©pen negociations at Gottenburgh. True to our pacific 
 
 * See Timothy Pickering's letter to Gov. Sullivan, 1SG3; 
 and the address of the minority of Congress to their coiv» 
 stituents qb the declaration of war, 1812. 
 
i© 
 
 system, ministers were immediately ordered to close in 
 compliance with the offer of the Prince Regent. From 
 thence, the seat of negociation was removed to Ghent ; 
 and peace was at last the result. That it did not sooner 
 come, was owing exclusively to the novel and unparallel- 
 ed demands of the British commissioners. From this 
 slight review, it may be seen that our government declai- 
 ed war with reluctance, and sought every honorable means 
 cf bringing it to a speedy termination. The same anxie- 
 ty to restore the blessings of peace, was manifested in the 
 height of victory and in the depression of defeat. 
 
 We will now examine the ability of the government in 
 prosecuting the war. Never was a government more un- 
 justly abused than o^irs has been in relation to this sub- 
 ject ; never had a government to struggle with difficul- 
 ties and discouragements of greater magnitude ; and we 
 may add with a triumphant assurance, that few govern- 
 ments ever conducted a war to a more honorable and glo- 
 rious termination. That, in a long course of hostilities, 
 some oversights should be committed, can excite no sur- 
 prise. Such incidents occur in every war of any consid- 
 erable length. How many fruitless campaigns have the 
 best appointed armies in Europe often passed, when con- 
 ducted by the ablest generals, and aided by the wisdom of 
 the most celebrated ministers. Look to our revolution- 
 ary war. What perplexities, what embarrassments, 
 what soul-chilling defeats, marked the first years of its 
 progress. But we must examine all wars In their aggre- 
 gate to determine correctly on the sagacity and prudence 
 €>f those who direct them. In order to give a just opin- 
 ion of the manner in which the late war was conducted, 
 we must look at the difficulties under which it was declar- 
 ed and maintained, in connection with its final issue. 
 
 An intimate acquaintance with the exigencies of war, 
 can alone enable a people suddenly to apply their whole 
 strength to its vigorous and effectual prosecution. The 
 condition of our nation at the time war was declared, must 
 be considered peculiarly unfavorable on various accounts. 
 More than thirty years of tranquillity had moulded our 
 sentiments and habits to peace, and extinguished the fire 
 of martial enterprise. Our attention was devoted to com- 
 merce, agriculture and manufactures, la despotic govern- 
 
11 
 
 ments, where the will of the prince is the law of the 
 land ; where immense standing armies are continually 
 kept up; war can be declared, the blow strusk, and the 
 contest is decided. But we must recollect, that military 
 establishments, being inconsistent with the nature of our 
 government, it is impossible to bring effective armies into 
 the field immediately upon the declaration of war. The 
 first great duty, then, which devolved upon our govern- 
 ment, was to raise a military force. We could not, like 
 France and England, call home veterans from distant ex- 
 peditions; but an army was to be raised by the slow meth- 
 od of recruiting. After being thus raised, it was to be 
 organized, disciplined and inured to the customs of the 
 camp, and the rigors of service. The erection of a navy 
 was the next arduous task. A new theatre for naval ac- 
 tion arose from the local nature of the war. On the great 
 lakes, hitherto exempted from the reach of war and ri- 
 valship, it became necessary to create a strong and for- 
 midable navy. At the commencement of hostilities, the 
 navy and war departments could not, but in a great meas- 
 ure, be unadapted to a state so new and perplexing. Ex- 
 perience can alone acquire that knowledge, which in this 
 respect, facilitates the prompt and judicious application of 
 means to ends. — It was also necessary to put our finances 
 in a new and tried condition. It ought not to be forgot- 
 ten, that the surplus of our revenue during the long peri- 
 od of peace, went to extinguish our national debt. We 
 were driven from the ocean, and the ordinary, sources of 
 revenue dried up. A new method of meeting the extra- 
 ordinary expenses of government became necessary. Will 
 any man sit down and seriously assert, that this new and 
 formidable state of things required no ability — that it de- 
 manded no unusual display of penetration and wisdom, to 
 overcome the obstacles which it raised up ? Under any 
 consideration, the duties of our rulers must have beea 
 weighty and trying. But when we consider, fe^at in the 
 adoption and execution of every single measure which it 
 became necessary for government to pursue, an oppositioB 
 was experienced, unparalleled in its violence and formi- 
 dable in its numbers and influence, we must view the 
 subject in a new light. No sooner was Hie declaration cf 
 war made, than a minority in congress issued an address 
 
to destroy the confidence ef the people in their govern- 
 ment and deaden the energies of the nation. Not a vote 
 was carried to raise a single man without meeting the 
 clamors of the opposition party, from one end of the union 
 to the other. N« stigma,* however foul, was deemed too 
 severe against those who entered the army to fight the 
 battles of an injured country. Recruiting was discour- 
 aged — loans were discouraged — combinations were form- 
 ed to monopolize the specie of the nation — and national 
 credit was declared as irretrievably ruined. 
 
 Let us reverse the picture. Against whom did our 
 government contend ? Against a nation of Helots? A- 
 gainst a race of Gentoos? Against hordes of naked and 
 undisciplined savages, like those butchered in the East 
 Indies by the English armies ? NO : — Against one of the 
 most warlike, and in some respects the most powerful na- 
 tion on earth : — against a nation whose very existence de- 
 pends upon war ; who has waded through seas of blood 
 to grandeur and dominion. Great Britain had no army to 
 raise from raw recruits ; no navy to build ; no extensive 
 seaboard to defend. The moment war was declared, her 
 forces were ready to act. The downfall of Napoleon, too, 
 was peculiarly fortunate to England. It gave her the dis- 
 posal of a large veteran force, which had fought the bat- 
 tles of Spain, and enabled her to make great and unex- 
 pected reinforcements to her North-American army. Be- 
 sides, in every stage of the war, she was strengthened by 
 the ?.id of a large Indian force, and she allied herself to 
 the slaves of the southern states. Never was there a 
 time since our national existence, and probably the time 
 will never again occur, when England ever had, or ever 
 can have, so entire a command of her physical and moral 
 resources. To our government it was an awful and tre- 
 mendous crisis. But, thank Heaven, there w?s firmness 
 and strength, and energy sufficient to surmount every ob- 
 stacle, t go through every danger with triumph 
 and glory. " It is true that there are those who 
 
 * The consistent Mr. Randolph, recently so much eulo- 
 gized by the opposition party, called our army, on the floor 
 of Congress, " the blood hounds of hell /" See his secoad 
 speech en the army bill, 1812. 
 
13 
 
 still tell us, that the war marie no impression 
 upon Great-Britain ; that granting us a peace wssanact 
 of grace and mercy. From men who exult in the mis- 
 fortunes of their country, if through these meatus they can 
 strengthen their party ; from men who pour forth indi- 
 scriminate abuse upon every measure ot the government, 
 without regard to right or wrong, we might expect such 
 assertions. But let us examine facts, The war was 
 forced upon us by England. vShe was determined in it 
 long before it was declared. What were its objects on 
 her part ? The destruction of our commercial prosperi- 
 ty, and the annihilation of our infant navy. Our resourc- 
 es were to be crippled for half a century ;* nor can we 
 believe that the British ministry did not cast a wishful eye 
 on the division of our Union, and some close connection 
 between her North-American colonies and the New-Eng- 
 land States. After the downfal of Napoleon, nothing was 
 heard of but denunciations of vengeance. f "Uncondi- 
 tional submission" was alone to give us peace. These 
 are not empty assertions. The pride, the vanity, and the 
 fatal infatuation of the British ministry were displayed at 
 the opening of the negociations at Ghent. The terms re- 
 quired at the commencement of the negociation, as the 
 basis of a treaty, were arrogant/ degrading and infamous. :j: 
 Why were these terms renounced ? Why did the British 
 commissioners recede from their preposterous demands 
 with regard to our intercourse and relations with the In- 
 dians, our command upon the Lakes, and the surrender 
 of a great portion of our territory ? Nothing of an alarm- 
 ing nature had yet transpired in Europe. All was yet 
 tranquil. Napoleon had not yet escaped from Elba. No 
 —he was still safe on the " sea-girt Isle." It was the 
 high and unconquerable spirit displayed in the measures 
 of our government ; it was the prowess of our arms ; it was 
 the triumphs of our heroes, that humbled the mistress of 
 the seas, and the scourge of mankind ; that taught her to 
 renounce her insulting, imperious requisitions) and give 
 
 * See Cockburn's famous letter. 
 
 "j" Such was the language of the Courier and the Times, 
 and other ministerial pape s in Great- Britain. 
 X See the letters of the British commissioners. 
 
 B 
 
14 
 
 us an honorable peace. After waging a three years war ; 
 alter leaguing* herself with the " Scythian and barbarian," 
 black and while, bond and free; after iosing eighteen hun- 
 dred gf her mei chant vessels,§ and seeing her naval glory 
 darkened to eternity, and her maratime tyranny shaken to 
 its basis ; after devoting 30,000 of her soldiers to the 
 sword • after adding more than two hundred millions of 
 dollars to her national debt, in consequence of her Amer- 
 ican war ; — England was glad to acknowledge our sover- 
 eignty and independence, open the ocean to our commerce, 
 and pledge her faith and honor for the sacred respect of 
 oiir rights. Let us then spurn the despicable assertions, 
 that the war made no impression upon her. 
 
 We shall now shew what w T e have gained by the war. 
 
 In the first place, we have acquired a national charac- 
 ter, which is worth more than all the lives, than all the 
 treasures which would have been expended in a war of 
 ten years. If this assertion is deemed extravagant, I 
 would appeal to history and common sense. Every na- 
 tion must sooner or later act out her character. There is 
 no middle course : it will be exalted or degraded — hon- 
 orable or infamous. There is no other way to enjoy 
 national rights but to manifest a disposition to defend 
 them — not by ineffectual negeciation — not by raving and 
 threatening ; but by the sword. An over-ardent love 
 for peace has too often rendered nations insignificant in 
 the eyes of the world. Need Ave appeal to the estimation 
 in which our own national character was holden previous 
 to the declaration of war, to prove our observation. To 
 every one it must be apparent, that our reluctance to enter 
 upon hostilities, was considered as the effect of weakness 
 and pusillanimity. We were considered a sordid, avari- 
 cious trading people, as unfit for the struggle of war as a 
 nation of Chinese priests. Our patience and forbearance 
 under the insults and aggressions of England had favored 
 this opinion ; and had we concluded a peace without a 
 resort to arms, such might still have been the opinion of 
 foreign nations. But the day of redemption, the period 
 of our sufferings, the hour of retribution came. We drew 
 the sword ; we cast away the scabbard ; and an astonish- 
 
 § See an article in the " Edinburgh Review" on "Impress- 
 meat." 
 
15 
 
 ed world saw our character regenerated. Where now 
 does it stand ? On an eminence from which it commands 
 admiration and inspires fear and respect. Shall we be 
 toidthat this is of no consequence ? Shew us the nation 
 that will hereafter think of invading our rights with im- 
 punity. Will France, will Spain, or any other power, 
 dream of a bloodless triumph by encountering America i 
 Will England, after the awful lesson we have taught her, 
 seek another war by outrages and insults ? Let her re* 
 member the plains ofChippawa, Bridgewater, Piatts- 
 burgh, and Orleans. Let her look at the fall of her naval 
 invincibility. Let her remember the vast resources 
 which our love of national glory, and our value of national 
 honor, will hereafter prompt us to display when her ar- 
 rogance shall demand chastisement. This, and not sub- 
 mission and tribute, will plant the rampart and watch- 
 tower around our shores. 
 
 The war has made us a naval power. This important 
 acquisition to our national strength is of immense impor- 
 tance. It is only during periods of trial and danger, that 
 a nation displays the extent of her resources. Our naval 
 skill had slept until the formidable crisis through which 
 we have passed waked it from slumber, and called it to 
 scenes of brilliant and successful atchievement. The 
 foundation of our naval power is laid, and combined Eu- 
 rope cannot destroy it. A spirit has been infused into the 
 nation which nothing can extinguish. The benefits aris- 
 ing from the war, in this respect, will be solid and lasting. 
 Our navy is already respectable, and the attention of our 
 government will be directed to its gradual increase. Ere 
 long England alone will be able to contend with us on the 
 ocean. 
 
 Before the war we had bravery, but no experience. 
 We had but the shadow of a military establishment. Our 
 condition has beera changed. We are now respected and 
 feared as a military power. Ten thousand brave men 
 are retained on the peace establishment ; and those who 
 have retired to the walks of private life, have carried to 
 their firesides their scars and their experience, ready to 
 rally round the standard of the nation at the call of dan- 
 ger and necessity. Our militia too have acquired a mar- 
 tial spirit, a confidence in themselves, and an acquaintance 
 
16 
 
 with the duties of adive service, which will render them: 
 still more formidable as the bulwark of our defence and 
 security. 
 
 The merited chastisement which has been extended to 
 the Indian tribes, will prove a restraint upon their hostile 5 
 disposition. They ha»ve seen the bitter consequences of 
 Yielding to British bribery, violating treaties, and provok- 
 ing the vengeance ©f a brave, powerful, but friendly peo- 
 ple. The baseness of the British government must stare 
 them in the face, while the humanity and justice of our 
 own, will unite their confidence and friendship. The 
 Creeks, the most powerful and warlike of the savage na- 
 tions, have been so far subdued and humbled by the im- 
 mortal Jackson, that they will no longer disturb our 
 southern frontier. These considerations may exert but 
 a cold influence over those who are safe from the scalp- 
 ing knife ; but to the brave and hardy settlers on the front- 
 iers, they must be to the last degree interesting. 
 
 We have boasted of our independence ; but can we do 
 this with consistency while we cherish a degrading and 
 unnecessary dependance on foreign powers ? Is a reli- 
 ance which almost places a nation's existence in the hands 
 of another, compatible with such a tone? Ever since the 
 acknowledgement of our sovereignty, British manufac- 
 tures have been a curse to the nation. They have turned 
 an immense balance cf trade against us ; drained off our 
 
 i lth ; opened an inlet to British influence and British 
 agents ; and enriched another nation and encoursged the 
 industry o£ foreign subjects to the great injury of our- 
 selves. But the war has made us a manufacturing peo- 
 ple. We no longer depend on England, our sworn and 
 mortal enemy. Half a century of peace would not have 
 advanced our manufacturing interests to their present ex- 
 tent. A sew source of opulence is opened. A new thc- 
 : tre of enterprise has arisen. England sees and trembles 
 it the unexpected dcvelopement of our resources. On 
 tne iloor of her Parliament, in her Court Gazettes, it has 
 become a subject of lamentation. We shall not only sup- 
 ply ourselves, but ere long be enabled to rival and sup- 
 plant Great-Britain in the great markets of the European 
 continent. England must always import her raw materi- 
 als: cur own soil produces ours. 
 
17 
 
 Ardently as we desire peace, the situation of the world, 
 our wide spread interest, and our extensive commercial 
 relations, forbid us to expect its permanent enjoyment. 
 We might regret tiie crisis that should again summon us 
 to the contest for independence and existence, but we 
 should not fear it. Against another war we now stand 
 prepared. The fortifications upon our frontiers are in- 
 creased ; the towns and cities upon our seaboard have ac- 
 quired new means for defence ; our country is filled with 
 brave and veteran military characters yet in the prime 
 and vigor of life ; our militia in many parts of the union 
 have acquired the habits of regular troops ; we shall re- 
 tain a sufficient force on the Lakes to act with effect on 
 the slightest emergency ; our navy on the ocean will be 
 increased ; our manufactures will prevent the privations 
 hitherto endured from necessary commercial restrictions ; 
 and our privateers, which have so recently carried terror 
 wid alarm to the coasts of England, and cut up her trade 
 by the roots, will again be ready to cover the waves and 
 scour the seas. " But admitting these considerations to be 
 weighty, say the opposers of government, they prove no- 
 thing with regard to the success of the war. It was de- 
 clared for certain specific objects; these objects have 
 been renounced by the treaty of Ghent." We consider 
 this charge to be fallacious. 
 
 The war was declared to vindicate our national char- 
 acter ; it has been vindicated. It was declared to open 
 the ocean to our commerce; the great highway of na- 
 tions is open aud free from any obstruction. It was de- 
 clared to put an end to the practice of impressment ; the 
 practice lias ceased. England has pledged her word, her 
 honor, and her faith before God and man, that she will re- 
 frain from aggressions, and respect our rights on the wa- 
 ter and on the land. But we have no stipulations, it is 
 loudly repeated, with regard to impressment and block- 
 ades. In a few words we can dispatch these points. 
 
 The practice of impressment arose from the wars in 
 Europe which have raged for the last twenty years. Ac- 
 cording to all the proclamations of the King of England 
 onthis subject, it was founded on a necessity resulting 
 from this warfare, or as Mr. Canning has termed it, this 
 " forced state of Europe." The right of England to her 
 B3 
 
18 
 
 own subjects, when they were proved to be such, our gov- 
 ernment never disputed, it was the manner of exercis- 
 ing this right — it was its horrible abuse that we deemed 
 outrageous and intolerable. Two causes have conspired 
 to do away the practice. 
 
 First. It originated in the war of Europe, and was 
 grounded on an alledged necessity resulting therefrom. 
 When the war ceased, of course the necessity was extin- 
 guished and the prat lice of impressment founded upon it 
 completely annihilated. 
 
 Second. Great-Britain has allowed her officers to enter 
 on board our merchant vessels to search for British sea- 
 men because we sometimes employed them in our service, 
 and instead of finding British sailors, they have taken our 
 own. This pretence can no longer exist. We no longer 
 employ English seamen. A law has been enacted by 
 congress that no British seamen shall be employed in our 
 merchant service'or elsewhere, either naturalized or un- 
 naturalized; and that our masters of vessels shall pay 
 the sum of one thousand dollars for everyone which 
 they shall receive into employment hereafter. No A- 
 merican merchant or captain will have their vessels man- 
 ned with foreign sailors under the risque of incurring this 
 penalty. British seamen are therefore forever excluded 
 from our service. 
 
 The blockades of England were but a constituent part 
 of that tremendous system of warfare which had its exist- 
 ence 'iYom her sanguinaij collisions with France. When 
 the twenty-five years war were ended, the system fell. It 
 was founded on a state ©f things which never before oc- 
 curred in the history of mankind and probably never will 
 a.^ain. We might as well have required stipulations that 
 the crisis whicli preceded the treaty of Paris should not 
 again alarm the world with its terrific aspect, as that the 
 aggressions which it produced, should never again be com- 
 mitted. 
 
 Since the ratification of the late treaty, it has been re- 
 peatedly asserted in the opposition Gazettes, that our 
 right to the fisheries was lost by the war. The assertions 
 are false, and the notion is idle. Our right to the fisher- 
 ies is not abandoned, nor can it be unless specially relin- 
 quished by consent of our government. It depends on 
 
19 
 
 the expiration of no treaty. When our independence was 
 acknowledged by Great-Britain in 1783, our boundaries 
 were fiKed, and our rights settled. Our perpetual right 
 to take fish on the Grand-bank, on all other banks of New- 
 foundland, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and elsewhere, 
 was then established. It was not a temporary privilege j 
 it was not limited to five or ten years ; but it was to be as 
 permanent as our sovereignty — unlimited as our national 
 existence. Does the treaty of Ghent contain any renun- 
 ciation of this right ? Has our government ever renounc- 
 ed it by any convention ? Certainly not. Our right re- 
 mains unquestionable. There is no more ground for tak- 
 ing it from us, than there is for taking the whole of the 
 teiritory of New-England. The vast quantities of fish 
 which have been taken on the banks and brought to the 
 ports of the northern states since the conclusion of the 
 war, is the best commentary upon our remarks. 
 
 All wars, whether necessary or unnecessary, must be at- 
 tended with great expense . This expense will ever be a 
 subject for popular declamation. Taxation and poverty- 
 have long been the watchwords of faction. Should a for- 
 eigner read some of our newspapers, listen to some of our 
 speeches in Congress or in the state Legislatures ; or hear 
 the turgid rantings of our caucus orators in New- England, 
 he would suppose that our country was the most beggarly, 
 oppressed spot on earth. England has a national debt of 
 more than FOUR THOUSAND MILLIONS OF DOL- 
 LARS, the annual interest on which is more than TWICE 
 THE AMOUNT OF OUR WHOLE PUBLIC 
 DEBT. One fifth of her whole population is composed of pau- 
 pers ; her public expenses for 1ST S.during one year of the 
 American war, amounted to 455 millions cf dollars; near- 
 ly Jive times as much as our whole expense for the last 
 three years ! Yet the same consisted men who are so loud 
 and boisterous upon the subject of taxes in this country, de- 
 clare that England is free, happy and exempted from op- 
 pression ! 
 
 It has been currently asserted in our public papers and by 
 men who we fear cannot plead the excuse which ignorance 
 may sometimes tender, that the war had increased our 
 debt 175 millions ; and even in some of our electioneering 
 addresses it was estimated at 200 millions ! A simple re- 
 currence to facts will put this subject to rest. 
 
 At the commencement of President Washington's ad- 
 ministration cur national debt was JS 72,23r,3QI 
 
so 
 
 It is well known that during the federal ad- 
 nHr.iatration, though in a time of '•react, 
 the most abandoned waste of our public 
 property was eveiy where visible, and 
 trr-'.a loan of eight millions was actu- 
 ally contracted,at eight per cent interest. 
 Owing to this flagrant v/ant of economy, 
 the national debt at Mr. Jefferson's acces- 
 sion to office was 88,000,167 09 
 During Mr. Jcffcrscn's administration nearly 
 t h I k t y m I l li o n s ot the debt were paid, 
 and at the commencement of Mr. Madi- 
 son's presidency it was 53,782,200 00 
 During Mr. Madison's administration more 
 than thirteen milligns mere have 
 been p&id towards extinguishing it, which 
 makes the old debt 39,125,184 96 
 The expense of the three years war, as as- 
 certained on the 30th St-pt. IS 15, was 80,500,073 50 
 Thus it appears that the addition to our national debt is 
 not half nor little more than one third so large as has been 
 currently estimated — and that the whole amount of this debt, 
 which we were told, would impose** insupportable burdens 
 en the present generation and impoverish posterity," isno.! 
 half so large as the annual into est on the British national 
 debt ! 
 
 Let us pursue our examination further. During the short 
 term which our national treasury was in federal hands, 
 our national debt was increased nearly ten millions, 
 without a war, or suspension of commerce like that which 
 has recently happened. The republican adn frustration 
 has continued fifteen year's., and our public debt is now 
 augmented from kuftt&t it was at the end of the federal 
 administration, 37,635,091 46 
 
 From this deduct the expense of purchas- 
 ing Louisiana which would have cost us 
 a war more burdensome than the 
 last 15,000,000 
 
 The expense of the war with 
 Algiers, by which we have 
 been relieved from an annual 
 tribute and degradation and 
 vexation worth at least ten 
 millions— say 4,000,000 
 
 And the expense of constructing 
 fortifications and other perma- 
 nent works, the purchase of 
 ordnance and military stores, 
 
21 
 
 the building 74's, frigates and 
 Sloops of war, &c. during the 
 war — the benefit of all which 
 we are to receive hereafter, 
 say 10,000,809 
 
 29,000,00© 
 Calculate still further tkat other 
 demands for expenses during 
 the war, not yet presented at 
 the Treasury, will amount to 2,000,000 
 
 -<■ 27.000,000 00 
 
 And we shall find that it diminish- 
 es the addition to our debt to S10,635,091 45 
 In the times of Adams' administration, Hamilton, and the 
 present opposers of government called a " Jwblic debt a/iiid- 
 tic blessing." What mighty revolution has taken place in 
 the political world, to render a public debt a public curse ? 
 Is our national debt larger now in proportion to our popula- 
 tion, than it was at the end of the revolution? Is it so large 
 now, making the same allowance, as it was at the com- 
 mencement of the republican administration * We an- 
 swer---NO. Nor should it be forgotten that our country 
 is far more wealthy now, in. proportion to its population, 
 than it was at either of those periods. But what has caused 
 this increase cf our debt, and why has not a republican ad- 
 ministration p«tid off more towards its final extinguishment ? 
 Let facts answer. Since Mr. Jefferson's accession to office, 
 W3 have carried on two wars ; one with the Barbary pow- 
 ers, and one with Great Britain, for our independence and 
 existence. We have had a necessary and unavoidable sus- 
 pension of commerce for seven years. We ha\ e purchas- 
 ed Louisiana ; we have built strong fortifications on our mar- 
 itime and land frontiers. We have supplied our arsenals 
 with arms and implements of war : and mere than all 
 this, built a navy of sixty ©ne ships. To conclude the 
 subject, we would mention, that a sinking fund* has been 
 appropriated to the payment of our national debt, which in 
 a few years will produce its total extinction. 
 
 These are our views of the policy of the general govern- 
 ment. In going over a field so vast as we have traversed, 
 we have only been able to seize upon leading facts ; yet we 
 have seized upon enough to convince the unprejudiced 
 
 *See Mr. Dallas' report from the treasury department* 
 
%2 
 
 mind. For ourselves, we are happy to say, that we can 
 look back upon the measures which have been pursued 
 with an elevated pride and a heartfelt satisfaction. We 
 find nothing in the character of our rulers which can im- 
 peach their integrity or abuity. At al 1 times they have 
 been equal to the crisis which has demanded their exertions. 
 When we look back and consider the magnitude and nature 
 of our past difficulties ; when we view the untried scenes 
 of trial which ikey have passed through with triumph ; in- 
 stead of wondering thac they have not done better ; our ad- 
 miration and gratitude are excited that they have done so 
 well. 
 
 Measures of the New- England Opposition. 
 
 The first position which we lay down, is, that the leaders 
 of the Aew /England o/>fiOiition at the commencement of 
 our difficulties with for rig ' nation*, demanded resistance 
 to the encroachments of Kn gland, by restrictive measures 
 or by war ; and that when their own demands were com- 
 plied withy basely deserted the government which they had 
 pledged themselves to su/ifiort, and defeated its measiircs. 
 
 In 1805. Great Britain renewed what she terms her 
 ** l<ule of the war of 1756. " It gave a death blow to our 
 neutral trade, and subjected our wide spread commerce to 
 a licensed plunder. Our foreign carrying (race was cut up 
 by the roots, and our national flag hunted on every sea. 
 The capcures and condemnations of England were immense, 
 and bore hard upon the commercial interest of New Ivg- 
 iand. But one voice was heard throughout the eastern sec- 
 tion of the union. From Salem, Newburyport. Portsmouth, 
 Newport, New Haven, and Boston.* spirited memorials 
 were forwarded to Congress, cieairndmg of our government 
 to seek immediate redress of England for her spoliations 
 on our commerce ; and in case sae denied us redress, and 
 persevered in her violations, a .resistance to her aggres- 
 sions was promptly required. The most solemn pledges 
 of united and vigorous support were gi^en to aid in any 
 measures to effect these ends. On the Host on memorial 
 we find the names of George Cabot, President of the Hart- 
 ford Convention, andJames Lloyd, jun. — Christopher Gore, \ 
 then one of our commissioners at. London, and Timothy 
 Pickering and James Hilihouse,^: in the Senate of the U, 
 
 * S^e a collection ofthe63 mennorialsin Niics' Weekly 
 Repi.iter. 
 
 f See Mr. Gore's letter to Mr. Madison, while the former 
 was in London. 
 
 X See resolution in Senate U. S. Feb. 10, 1806. 
 
SB 
 
 States, spoke in a tone congenial to these memorials. Here, 
 then* was the ground taken ay tue opposition leaders in 1806. 
 They requested government to seek redress of England ; 
 it she reiused redress, to resist her encroachment:'.. 
 
 Our government listened to their demands. To seek 
 redress was first required. Plow was it to be sought ? 
 It was alone to be attempted by negociation. According- 
 ly Mr. Wm. Pinkney, then a federalist, was sent Minister 
 Extraordinary to the court of London. Negociation fail- 
 ed of redressing our grievances, and the depredations of 
 Britain were continued with fresh instances of insult and 
 cruelty. What then remained but resistance : the ve- 
 ry resistance demanded by the Boston memorial, by the 
 Cabots.and the Lloyds ? But two methods of resistance 
 were .practicable, viz. restrictive measures^ or noar. We 
 were not prepared for war : not a man in the nation would 
 have said it. Restrictive measures were therefore re- 
 sorted to as the most expedient policy to affect the inter- 
 ests of Great- Britain, and stay her encroachments. The 
 first step was the non-hnportation act of 1806. It was a 
 powerful appeal to her forbearance, by excluding many 
 of her manufactures from our market. England, how- 
 ever, was deaf to every thing but injustice. The paper 
 blockade of 1806, was immediately issued, and soon after 
 the far-famed orders in council pounced upon our heads 
 with a lawless vengeance. These, with the French de- 
 crees, excluded us from the ocean. Sweden was alone 
 left with open ports; and to trade with her, Great-Britain 
 required that we should first enter her harbors, and pay 
 IG-TRIBUTE ! !§ These hostile edicts demanded 
 something more effective than the non-importation. The 
 embargo was adopted. It rescued one hundred millions 
 of our property, and fifty thousand of our seamen, from 
 the ocean. It was succeeded by the non-intercourse, un- 
 der which England made a treaty through Mr. Erskine, 
 and basely refused to ratify it. Here was the end of the 
 
 § The amount of tribute, on a common cargo of cotton, 
 would have been g.50.000 --six thousand dollars mork than 
 the original cost at New Orleans ! Tribute on a common 
 cargo of tobacco, of 400 hhds. w-. uld have been §12,000— 
 on a cargo of flour, of 3000 bbls. SS000. See Niles' Register, 
 vol. 3, p. 79. 
 
24 
 
 restrictive system. The Opposition have insulted gov- 
 ernment with its failure. It failed from causes which we 
 shall mention, and was succeeded by the last course of 
 resistance demanded by the leaders of the opposition — 
 War. 
 
 Now let us enquire why the restrictive system failed 
 of constraining England to repeal her orders in council ? 
 Because the very men, the very Boston memorialists who 
 demanded it, defeated its operation by their rebellious pro- 
 ceedings. No sooner did England begin to groan under 
 its effects, and awaken to a sense of justice, than she re- 
 ceived information that it must soon be repealed ; that 
 government could not enforce it ;, that it would, if con- 
 tinued, produce a civil war, a separation of the states, and 
 a separate government in New-England. It was the dis- 
 graceful, factious measures of the Gores and the Otises 
 in the Massachusetts legislature ; it was the insurgent 
 resolutions of Boston and Jsewbury/wrt, and other sea- 
 ports, under the influence of opposition leaders ; it was 
 "the declaration of Hillhouse* and others in congress, 
 that the " fiecfite were not bound to obey the embargo ;*' 
 it was the assertion of Pickering, that " England had done 
 our commerce no essential injury ;" — these were the 
 causes that induced England to persevere in her piratical 
 orders in council. These were the considerations which 
 induced her to seal her ears to the cries of her starving man- 
 ufactures o{ Manchester, Birmingham, and ShefficM,drixcn 
 to despair by our restrictions ; these, which destroyed 
 the effects of those petitions which poured into her cabi- 
 net from Liverpool, Glasgow, and other parts of the king- 
 dom, demanding the restoration of American commerce,! 
 and shut her eyes to the sufferings of her West-India 
 trade. Such is the consistency of the New-England op- 
 position leaders, that in 1.S06 they can call for" resist- 
 ance" to British encroachments, and when the most 
 politic measures are pursued, justify the English govern- 
 ment and foment rebellion against their own, which they 
 had pledged themselves to support. 
 
 * See Mr. H's speech in Cengress on embargo, winter 
 session, 2S09. 
 
 f See Mr. Giles' speech in Senate of the United S f .ates, 
 and Lord Grcnville's and Mr. Wi.ilbread's in the British 
 parliament, during cur embargo. 
 
S3 
 
 We bad resisted England by restriction, the next meas- 
 ure was war. In 1806, the New England opposition de 
 manded it in their memorials to congress, provided other 
 steps failed of bringing us justice. But no sooner was it 
 declared, than they were transformed to a " peace party.'* 
 In 179 3, the same men and others of similar principles, 
 demanded war against France for insulting our ambassa- 
 dors and interrupting our commerce. In 1803, against 
 Spain, for prohibiting our right of deposit at New-Or- 
 leans. In 1806, they pledged themselves* to support 
 government in a war against England, if she did not de- 
 list from her invasions on our rights. In 1B07, they vil- 
 ified government for not going to war on account of the 
 attack on the Chesapeake. But in 1812, when G. Britain 
 had continued her robberies on the high seas for six years, 
 taken nearly one thousand of our vessels and $22,000,000 
 of our property]- When we were excluded from any trade 
 with fifty millions of the people of Europe ; when more 
 than six thousand of our beam en had been impressed ; 
 when our government had been insulted, our shores 
 blockaded, savages hired to scalp and butcher us, and re- 
 dress peremptorily refused ; under these circumstances, 
 the same leaders of the New-England opposition, who 
 had formerly clamored for war, assuming the alluring 
 name of the "peace part y" denounced the contest with 
 Great Britain to be ICT 5 * wanton, unnecessary and un- 
 just :-—A war without cause, a war o f ambition, and a war 
 ef conquest J ! Search the pages of civil history ; trace 
 the windings and analyze the depravity of parties, and 
 a greater consummation of political turpitude cannot be 
 found. 
 
 The leaders of the New England Opposition firsfong- 
 ed the war with Great Britain. 
 
 They were guilty of this charge, firstly, by weakening 
 the energies of our own government: and secondly, by 
 holditeg out prospects which induced the British govern- 
 ment to prosecute the war. We need but appeal to gen- 
 eral observation to prove the discouragements which 
 
 *See a collection of their memorials in 'files' Weekly 
 Register." 
 f See "Olive Branch," p, 285, second ed. 
 G 
 
S6 
 
 were presented to the success of the recruiting service. 
 We need but appeal to facts already sufficiently known, 
 to remind the people of the manner in which Governor 
 Strong refused to call out the militia of Massachusetts. 
 It is too well known, that he suffered his own state to be 
 invaded and part of it taken possession of by a small Brit- 
 ish force while he had 100,000 men at his command ; and 
 this too, without a single effoit to expel the enemy, al- 
 though expressly ordered to do it by the Secretary of 
 War ! The conduct of Gov. Gilman and that of 
 of Gov. Chittenden of Vermont, when he issued his fa- 
 mous proclamation,and gathered his laurels at Plattsburg, 
 well accorded with Governor Strong's warlike attitude. 
 The leaders t)f the opposition put contructions upon the 
 constitution, which absolved the militia from obedience 
 to the culls of the general government ; thus attempting to 
 cutoff any aid to the administration from this great source 
 of our physical strength. Combinations were formed by 
 certain men in Boston to unite their influence, and pre- 
 vent people from loaning money to government. How 
 far they were successful we cannot say ; but we do say 
 that it was one of the most atrocious designs that ever 
 disgraced a party. And can we doubt, for a moment, 
 that the opposition party induced England to hold out in 
 the war ? Look at the declarations of Lord Liverpool 
 and other British ministers on the floor of Parliament. 
 ** Their party in dmerica" has been unblushingly talked 
 of in their debates. In the papers printed in Quebec, 
 Halifax, Liverpool and London, the speeches, essays and 
 1 pamphlets, of our Quinceys, Pickerings and Lowells have 
 been faithfully republished. In the " Courier" and the 
 « Times" calculations were coolly made on the project* 
 of the New England Opposition. And what was the 
 language of the party thus calculated upon? what was 
 the voice of men whose sentiments were thus copied, 
 during the war ? Plainly and plumply, that our gov- 
 ernment could not prosecute the war with effect ; that 
 peace must be made ; and that if England held out but 
 little longer, our country would be ruined, and New-Eng- 
 land be driven to take care of herself. Could greater in- 
 
S7 
 
 ducements be held out to England to continue an unre- 
 lenting war against us ? 
 
 The leaders of the JV ew- England Opposition, at the 
 darkest period of our late difficulties, attempted to bank- 
 rufit the Government, and give a deathblow 10 our na- 
 tional credit. 
 
 The flagrancy of this infamous plot, challenges the 
 *iost decided detestation. Its enormity is not sufneient- 
 ly known to the public ; and we regret that the limits of 
 our address prevent a more ample exposition than we 
 can here give it. From two r ourccs, many of the sea- 
 ports in New-England, and more particularly Boston, ob- 
 tained immense quantities of English goods during the 
 war. Firstly, they obtained them by smuggling; and 
 secondly, by the large prizes brought in by our priva- 
 teers. The southern and middle states did not engage 
 extensively in privateering ; and, to their eternal credit, 
 entertained a general abhorrence against the odious prac- 
 tice of smuggling. Boston, therefore, in a time of scarci- 
 ty, became the great market of British manufactures fri- 
 ths merchants of New-York, Philadelphia, and further 
 south. These purchases were paid in New- York bank 
 notes, and of course created an immense balance in favor 
 of Boston. It is well known, that the naonied institutions 
 in Boston are generally under the direct or indirect influ- 
 ence of the opposition. The embarrassment of our gov- 
 ernment, the universal demand for specie, and the vast 
 quantities of New-York bills in the Boston market, offer- 
 ed the means of bringing on general bankruptcy, and giv- 
 ing our national credit a fatal shock. We ought not here 
 to forget, that at this period, a great amount of British 
 government bills were transmitted through agents in Bos- 
 ton, and thrown into the New-York, Philadelphia, and 
 other southern markets. These were purchased with 
 avidity, and the purchaser became the debtor of the agents 
 it) Boston to whom they were transmitted. This gave 
 Boston another momentous advantage. Under these cir- 
 cumstances began the execution of the bankrupting plot. 
 The specie in the Boston banks was carefully hoarded 
 up ; prodigious quantities of bills were suddenly forward- 
 ed to the N,ew-York banks — millions in specie drawn out 
 
as 
 
 and brought to Boston. The New- York banks were 
 thrown into consternation, made oppressive calls on the 
 banks of Philadelphia — Philadelphia on Baltimore — and 
 the Baltimore banks were obliged to make runs still fur- 
 ther south. The banks of New-York, Philadelphia and 
 Baltimore were at length compelled to stop payment, and 
 a wide scene of distress and bankruptcy ensued. That 
 the detestable scheme did not completely succeed, was 
 owing to provident circumstances. But we cannot stop 
 here. A great quantity of this specie thus brought to 
 Boston, ivas sent beyond the lines, and reached the hands 
 of the British government in Canada, and was employed 
 to carry on a bloody and vindictive ivar against our com- 
 mon country I I J 
 
 Americans ! Federalists ! Republicans 1 contemplate 
 the picture. In a contest for our national independence 
 and existence, a plan was deliberately foimed, which was 
 calculated to bankrupt the government; to produce a 
 general downfall of monied institutions ; to bring on innu- 
 mumeraMe individual bankruptcies ; to foment mutiny in 
 our armies by cutting off the means of paying them ; to 
 force government to leave the towns 8c cities on our sea- 
 board undefended by regular troops ; and more than 
 all this, to compel us to bow down to the feet of the Brit- 
 ish King and pass under the yoke ! And this too, by men 
 who style themselves fCj^the Discifilcs of Washington ! 
 
 The Leaders of the Aew-Evgland Opposition have at- 
 tempted a Division of the Union. 
 
 Against the last counsels of Washington, his pretended 
 disciple*, the Quinceys, the Lowells, the Blakes,theOtis- 
 es and Pickerings, have endeavored to excite the most 
 bitter local prejudices and antipathies between the north 
 and the south* the east and the west. These rancorous 
 animosities tend directly to a dissolution of the union. The 
 southern states have been represented as without morals 
 and religion, and the masters and tyrants under which 
 New-England has groaned for the last seven years. The 
 southern' states have been represented as strictly agricul- 
 tural ; the eastern states as strictly commercial. Hence 
 we have been told, that the states of the south are inimic- 
 al to the commercial prosperity of New-England, and 
 
£9 
 
 have endeavored to fetter and destroy it by the nonimpor- 
 tation, embargo, non-intercourse, and war. Never was 
 there a more egregious error, a more absurd chimera. 
 The southern states, it is true, are agricultural, and fur- 
 nish the greatest part of our foreign exports. New-Eng- 
 land is a barren, sterile portion of the union, and exports 
 nothing in comparison with the other divisions of our 
 country. What, then, does the commerce of the eastern 
 states consist in ? We answer, in carrying the cotton, 
 the tobacco, the rice, and other articles of export from 
 the southern states, to the markets of Europe. ' Divide 
 the union then, and where would be the commerce of 
 New-England ? From 1791 to 1813 inclusive, the e:sten> 
 states exported to the amount 229 millions of dollars, in- 
 cluding a vast proportion of southern productions, first 
 brought coast-wise into the ports of Boston and elsewhere. 
 During the same period, the southern states exported 
 609, millions of their own productions. Here is a bp.iance 
 in favor of the southern section of the union of 2 SO mil- 
 lions ! ! Yet we are told that the New-England states 
 are the most commercial I I Much has been said of the 
 immense amount of duties paid by the eastern states. 
 From 1791 to 1812, they have paid 56 millions. Many of 
 the goods which paid these duties were sent to Philadel- 
 phia and other markets and there sold ; and the duties 
 of course came out ©f the second purchasers. The oth- 
 er states, during the same time, have paid 159* milliors 
 ~— nearly three times the amount paid by New-England ! 
 We are dependant on the southern states, and they are 
 dependant on us. But divide the union to-morrow, and 
 what would be the consequence ? They could do without 
 our sailors or our shipping. The Danes or the English 
 would be glad to carry their cotton, flour, naval stores, 
 Sec. to Europe, as we bow carry them. But where 
 would be New-England ? Sunk into insignificance : 
 without commerce, without wealth, without respectability 
 in the scale of nations. Y«t the apostate disciples o£ 
 Washington have attempted to divide the union ! 1 
 
 * See " O/ive-BrcHcA"— Chap. 34, 2d cd, 
 C2 
 
30 
 
 The jYcw- England Opposition have attempted to des- 
 fooy our Aational Constitution, and establish a Separate 
 (government in the New- England States. 
 
 It is in times of public calamity that 1 evolutions and u- 
 surpations are projected. Sentiments and designs hos- 
 tile to the union, to the constitution and the present form 
 of our government, have long been cherished among 
 men in J3oston and other parts of New-England. The 
 difficulties to which we were subjected during the late 
 war, gave free scope for their display. The constitution 
 was declared null and void — in consequence, the constitu- 
 tional acts of Congress ; and nothing was heard of from 
 the opposition papers, but some great and signal change 
 in our national government. The Hartford Convention 
 was got up to further these views. And under what cir- 
 cumstances, let us enquire, was this convention called ? 
 It was called at a time when the war had assumed a new 
 and more alarming aspect. The treaty of Paris gave 
 England the power of arraying her vast resources against 
 us, ant? in wrath she had sworn our destruction. While 
 the convention was assembling and in session, an invading 
 .army was ready to break in upon our northern frontier, 
 ;>nd open a winter campaign ; our Atlantic shores were 
 threatened with sword and desolation, and a part of New- 
 I.nglandjn actual possession of British troops ; on the 
 south, a strong naval and land force were concerting an 
 attack upon New-Orleans, worth more to the nation than 
 the whole expense of the war, and whose capture would 
 have destroyed the commerce of the western country, and 
 exposed our western territory to invasion and plunder; 
 our government was on the verge of bankruptcy, and our 
 own section of the union on the confines of a civil war. 
 At this dark crisis, a convention is called — and for what ? 
 N«t to concert measures to meet the common enemy ; but 
 according to its own declarations to alter our national con- 
 stitution. And was this a time to change the most impor- 
 tant features of our government, to tear down and build 
 up political systems ? Was the public mind in a proper 
 state for such measures, when party spirit was ready to 
 burst into a conflagration which might have con- 
 sumed us to powder; when danger approached to our 
 
a 
 
 i 
 
 fire-sides; when our wives and children were exposed to 
 the British bayonet and Indian scalping knife ? Let 
 candor answer. For ourselves, we believe, thatthe Hart- 
 ford Convention Was to commence a course of measures 
 calculated to destroy our union, destroy our constitution, 
 and consummate the views of the opposition leaders. 
 This convention was the first step. Another session was 
 to have been hoklen at Boston in June last ; but alas i 
 peace came, and Faction fell. We have heard nothing of 
 the Hartford Convention convening according to agree- 
 ment at Boston. It seems then, that a state of war and 
 tumult is the most favorable to alterations hi national con- 
 stitutions. They must not be made when deep and thor- 
 ough investigation is practicable ; but when popular pas- 
 sions are enflamed, and reason dethroned. We shall 
 at present near no more of Hartford Convcntiajns ; but 
 let our nation be involved in war and embarrassments, 
 and the council of" twenty-five nben" would again assem- 
 ble in conclave. How has the report of the convention 
 been treated by the first states in the union ? Even the 
 Federalists themselves indignantly scouted it from the 
 walls of the Pennsylvania and New-York legislatures, 
 These and other states, are not prepared to adopt a report 
 which would seal the perdition of our constitution and our 
 country. 
 
 And lastly, the ' J\ ew-Engla?id Opposition Leaders pub- 
 licly advocated during the <war y a Confederacy bttween 
 the Eastern States and Great-Britain ; which confederal 
 cy was to be preceded by the neutrality of \Ncw-England. 
 
 Let sophistry equivocate, and audacity deny ; we say, 
 that the truth of this position is susceptible of direct proof. 
 Look at the essays published in the Boston papers during 
 the last winter, ascribed to the Lowells^ and the Otises 
 — look at the resolutions laid ort the table of the Massa- 
 chusetts Senate^: — and ask if this charge is delusive. 
 The documents on which we found our remarks, are now 
 before us ; and we stand ready to place, and we shall 
 
 f In particular see " The Crisis" and the Letters of "E- 
 fiaminondas" to the Hartford C&nvetition. published, in 
 the " Centinel" and ascribed to John Lowell. 
 y Francis Slake* 
 
%%■ 
 
 jitace them before the eyes of the public. An Alliance 
 with England ! when she was red and smoaking with our 
 blood ; while she was hiring the savage to commit indis- 
 criminate massacre ; when her Vandal, mercenary ar- 
 mies were laying waste our country, and had just retreat- 
 ed lioin the ashes of our capital ; men in New-England, 
 calling themselves the JDisci/iles of Washington, could 
 calmly talk of a *« Confederacy with Great-Britain I /" 
 
 FREEMEN of NEW-HAMPSHIRE! Thus have 
 we presented you with a plain representation of facts. 
 We address not your passions, but appeal to your reason. 
 
 We need Fay but few words on the nature of your Du- 
 ties. Can you hesitate whereto bestow your confidence ? 
 Again g4^nce at the picture. On one side you see your 
 Government-driven to war by the insults and encroach- 
 ments of Great-Britain. Without finances, under the 
 most trying circumstances, you see your national rulers 
 build and equip fleets, raise armies, put our country in a 
 warlike attitude, contend with the most formidable nation 
 in existence, at the greatest height of her power, and 
 bring her to terms of justice. 
 
 Your navy, your manufactures, your gallant army, have 
 been raised up at their hands. Your union has been 
 threatened — they have preserved it. Your constitution 
 has been assaulted — they have guarded it from innova- 
 tion. Your free institutions have been attacked ; they 
 have formed an iron rampart around them. Your char- 
 acter as a nation has been placed on an enviable summit 
 of glory ; your Independence established firm as the 
 rock of ages. And forget not that these things have been 
 accomplished in defiance of a faction, powerful, wealthy, 
 energetic and desperate. 
 
 On the other side, you see the leaders of the opposi- 
 tion, demanding resistance to Great Britain, and pledging 
 themselves to support the government : and when resist- 
 ance is made, and war becomes necessary and unavoida- 
 ble, you behold them basely deserting their own ground, 
 opposing the government which they had agreed to sup- 
 port ; justifying the enemy ; encouraging her hostility; 
 plotting the destruction of the Union-Ahe destruction of 
 
33 
 
 the Constitution — the bankruptcy of the government; and 
 encouraging a British Alliance. 
 
 What now is the condition of our country ? Under the 
 auspices of your government, peace, commerce and pros- 
 perity have been secured; your country, unfolding her 
 mighty energies, is conducted by the wisdom of your ru- 
 lers to her exalted destiny, rising in the estimation of your- 
 selves, your enemies and the world. What must have 
 been our condition, had the opposition succeeded in their 
 designs ? Could they have called another " Hartford Con- 
 vention " put down the constituted authorities of the na- 
 tion, divided the Union, established anew government, ne- 
 gociated a commercial treaty with England, without a. 
 Civil War ? No :— there is a Republican sfiiril in New- 
 England tint will never bow to such ignominy without 
 an effort — without a brave, honorable and manly resist- 
 ance. Instead of our present prosperity, then ; instead 
 of contemplating the stupendous and sanguinary revolu- 
 tions of the old world with a careless indifference ; we 
 might have been engaged in a revolution of our own, 
 Our blood might have run down our streets, or fattened 
 our fields. All order might have been subverted, and se- 
 curity destroyed. Law, Liberty and Religion might have 
 been involved in one general wreck. We never could 
 have breathed free from these horrors, but in a condition 
 to the last extent, ignominious, and humiliating. The 
 fear of the New-England revolutionists, the firmness and 
 energy of eur government, the republican principles of 
 the people, and the peace with Great-Britain, have alone 
 saved us. 
 
 FREEMEN OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE— Fo« must 
 svfifwrt the government^ or you must sufifiert the leaders 
 of the J\ew-England ofifiosition. Be not deluded by 
 sophistry. You maybe told, that the present election in- 
 volves no question between the National Government, 
 and the Pickerings, the Cabots, the Lowells and the Otises, 
 the Blakes and the Gores of New -England. Again we 
 repeat— be not deceived. Before you are two libts of can- 
 didates. The republican candidates will support your 
 Government : the federal candidates will support the lead- 
 
34 
 
 ers of the opposition. They will coincide in their views, 
 and aid in their measures. Here, then, is the rally* 
 iNG point. The list of candidates with 
 
 at their head — the man who in 1812 did honor to your 
 State, who then gave proof of talents, patriotism and in- 
 tegrity, which raised New-Hampshire high in the estima- 
 tion of every State of the Union — will rally round the 
 STANDARD OF THE UNION, maintain the Gov- 
 ernment, the Constitution and your Liberties. The fede- 
 ral candidates, with 
 
 JAMES SHEAFE 
 
 at their head— a name which was justly odious during the 
 revolution, and which was doubly odious at the capture of 
 Little York — will uphold that Faction whose conduct we 
 have reviewed. 
 
 FEDERALISTS OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE— We 
 adjure you to peruse the foregoing in a spirit of candor ; 
 and then ask your hearts if it is not your duty — ask your 
 interests if they will not be best consulted, by adopting the 
 advice contained in a late leading federal paper of New- 
 England.* 
 
 * The following extract is copied literally from the Bos- 
 ton Gazette of January 9. 1816 : 
 
 EXTRACT. 
 M If ever Federalism wasatadeadstand.it is so at this 
 
 * moment. Satisfied with the President's Message ; not a- 
 
 * ble, or not willing to find in the report of Mr. Dallas any 
 « material errors; incapable of discerning what democrat is 
 
 * to succeed Mr. Madison in the Presidency ; they wait with, 
 t gaping mouths and fresh nibbed pens, forany subject which 
 
 * accident may furnish. J t such a mortal pause, we beg 
 4 leave to request the federalists at once to COME OVER 
 « TO THE REPUBLICANS /A A BODY, it will 
 « sa^e them a world of trouble. Let them make a confes- 
 « sion of their faults, promise to tffjnd nc more, and join in 
 ■ political communion with the patriotic part cf the nation. 
 
 * It is the only chance they have ; and it office be their ob- 
 
 * ject, which, by their struggling, it seems to be, the way we 
 
 * recommend is' the shortest cut imaginable : not that the 
 
REPUBLICANS OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE I—A- 
 rouse from your slumbers. The crisis is near at hand. 
 The Government is rising — your Country has triumphed 
 gloriously :— THE FACTION SINKS ! Let not your 
 lack of duty save it from its merited destiny. Convince 
 the nation, convince the world, on the SECOND TUES* 
 DAY OF MARCH, that New-Hampshire has not yet 
 forsaken the principles for which her heroes of the revo- 
 lution fought, bled and died ; — that she stili 8tands to a 
 Union of the States, a government ef the people, and the 
 good old tenets of Washington, Hancock, Warren, 
 Sullivan and Stark. Convince the world, that the 
 State whose sons fought gloriously at Bunker-Hill and 
 Bridgewa^eR) at Bennington and Chippewa^ and 
 whose standard waved triumphantly in 1 777 and in 1814, 
 will not tarnish her glory by throwing her weight against 
 that Government and those Republican Institutions which 
 the brave in both contests so nobly supported, 
 
 * most ambitious federalists would jump into the best places 
 ' at once ; but they might possibly succeed in fifteen or twen- 
 
 * ty years, which would be greatly gaining time, if we con- 
 f sider the vast diffsreuce between twenty years andnever." 
 
 "Baltimore Federal Gazette* 
 
PEP 21 1900 
 
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