357 
 .C£7 
 
aassi_£L2)5j_ 
 Book__' 
 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 TO 
 
 THE EIGHTH EDITION 
 
 OF 
 
 THE OLIVE BRANCH: 
 
 OR, 
 
 FAULTS ON BOTH SIDES, 
 
 FEDEBJL A.YD DEMOCRATIC. 
 
 A SERIOUS APPEAL ON THE NECESSITY 
 
 OF 
 
 MUTUAL FORGIVENESS AND HARMONY. 
 
 BY M. CAREY. 
 
 " Faction is Uie madness of the many for the benefit of the few." 
 
 " Frenzied be tlie head — palsied be the hand — that attempts to destroy the 
 union." Geii. Eaton. 
 
 " Truths would you teach — or save a sinking land : 
 
 " All fear — none aid you — and few understand." Pope. 
 
 " Every kingdom divided against itself, is brought to DESOLATION." 
 
 Matt. xii. 25- 
 " In dissensione nulla sains conspicitur." Cxsar. 
 
 " If we pay a proper regard to truth, wc shall find it necessary not only to 
 condemn our friends ujjon some occa.sions, and commend our enemies, but idso 
 to commend and condemn the same persons, as diiicrent circumstances may re- 
 quire ; for as it is not to be imagined, that those who are engaged in great 
 aHairs, .should always be pursuing false or mistaken measures ; so neither is it 
 probable tliat their conduct can be at all times exempt from eri'or." Polubius 
 
 PIUL.UIELPHIA : 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY M. CAREY AND SON, 
 
 JV'o. 126 Chesnut Street. 
 
 iO^l 
 
 July 4, 1817. 
 
ir 357 
 /r/6 A^ 
 
 
Philadelphia, Jul y i, 1817. 
 
 PRESUMING that some of the possessors of 
 former editions of the OUve Branch, may be unwil- 
 ling to pmxhase the eighth, and yet desirous of 
 perusing the original matter it contains, the writer 
 has judged it proper, for their accommodation, to 
 pubhsh separately some copies of the Appendix 
 to the latter. 
 
 He dares not indulge the hope, that a work em- 
 bracing so wide a range of history and political 
 speculation, published by a man immersed in bu- 
 siness, and labouring under pecuUar disadvanta- 
 ges, from deficiencies of materials, exclusive of 
 those to which all writers who treat on cotempo- 
 raneous history and politics, are exposed, is free 
 from error. But he fondly hopes the errors are 
 neither numerous nor important — and that they 
 will experience that lenity and indulgence, to 
 which the obviously impartial tenor of the work 
 affords a fair claim. 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 Fli Ucuk'lph ui^ JiilLf 1,1817. 
 
 The very ^-eat public favour and indulgence extended 
 to the Olive Branch, enables me to lay it for the eighth time 
 before mv fellow citizens, in a little more than two years 
 and a half from its first appearance. 
 
 The contemplation of this work aifords me three sources 
 of as high gratification as can be enjoyed by a rational 
 being, actuated by liberal or public-spirited motives: — the 
 satisfaction, whereof nothing can deprive me, of having 
 emploved the slender talents I |X)ssess, in the most sincere 
 and ardent efforts to serve this country ; — the belief, 
 founded on the concurring opinions of numbers of our 
 best citizens, that those efforts have not been wholly un- 
 successful ; and, finally, the general appreciation of those 
 efforts and their results, to their utmost extent — and pro- 
 bably far beyond it. Greater good fortune cannot attend 
 any intellectual production. It is a truly rich reward, and 
 far exceeds all tlie calculations, that could have been pre- 
 viously formed by the most extravagantly sanguine temper. 
 
 To this Edition \arious additions have been made. 
 They are written in the same independent style as the for- 
 mer part of the work. I feel as little disposed as ever to sa- 
 crifice the cause of truth at the shrine of party or faction. 
 
 A respectable gentleman, of federal politics, has given 
 as his opinion, that though I struck both parties severely, 
 yet I struck the federalists w ith the right hand, and the 
 democrats with the left — and, as a man can strike harder 
 with the right hand than with the left, that I was more se- 
 vere upon the former than the latter. 
 
 If this be true, as it probably is, a satisfactory reason 
 can be given for it, wholly free from any sinister intention. 
 Recent or passing events, whether pleasurable or distress- 
 59 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 mo:, make far more impression than those of remote date, 
 ahhoup;h greater in magnitude. This is a trait in the hu- 
 man character, that cannot have escaped the observation 
 of the most superficial. It is therefore perfecdy natural, 
 that, the great sin of federalism — a seditious and dangerous 
 opposition to goAernment, which occupies so much of this 
 Book — being in actual operation ^hile I was \\Titing, it 
 should have been the subject of more severe animadver- 
 sion, than the sins of the democrats, which, though very 
 great, ^vere, in general, inferior in magnitude, and more 
 remote in point of time. 
 
 Moreover. I was strongly impressed \\ ith the opinion, 
 and acted under its influence, that the course pursued by 
 tlie leaders of tlie federalists, in which they were blindly 
 and submissively followed by the mass of the part)-, led 
 directly to anarchy, insuirection, and ci\ il war, with all 
 their horrors. This opinion remains unchanged. It has 
 been die subject of serious and deliberate reflexion. And 
 the more I reflect on it, the more thorough is my convic- 
 tion. I am far from believing that such m as the intention of 
 the party generally, or even of tlieir leaders. But I repeat, 
 what I ha\'e more than once stated in this Book, that 
 when popular violence is once loosed from the restraints 
 of law and constitution, Omniscience alone can foretell 
 the event, and Omnipotence alone set boimds to the de- 
 vastation. Thousands of hon-ible pages of die dreary 
 and sickening history of mankind, bear the most over- 
 i\helming testimony to this all-important Xruth. 
 
 M. CAREY. 
 
 P. S. It may not be imsatisfactoiy to tlie reader, to state, 
 that there is at j^resent in the press of Jonadian Foster, of 
 A\'inchester, (\'a.). a ninth Edition of diis work, the pri- 
 \ ilege of printing gratuitously granted, as was the case 
 in Boston and Aliddlebury ; and offered in Raleigh, 
 Charleston, Hartford, Pittsburg, and elsewhere. From 
 present appearances, there is every reason to believe, that 
 a tenth edition will be published before tlie end of the 
 year. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 TO THE EIGHTH EDITION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Western Insurrection. Viervs of the rvar. John Henry. 
 
 Among the sins of the democratic party, the western insur- 
 rection claims a proud pre-eminence. Had it not been met with 
 the energ\' and decision which General Washington displa)'ed 
 on the occasion, its obvious tendency was, and the probable re- 
 sult would have been, to destroy the recently raised fabric of the 
 federal government — the pride of the new, the admiration of the 
 old, world. The wise and the good of this country, and of Europe, 
 regarded the crisis with the deepest awe and solicitude. The pro- 
 spect was calculated to appal persons of no mean degree of forti- 
 tude. The fate of unborn millions hung for a season in suspense 
 ■ftnd doubt. Heaven smiled propitiously on us. It interposed for 
 our salvation. Our executive magistrate wisely called forth an 
 overwhelming force, which frowned down treason and rebellion. 
 They shrunk, shuddering with terror, into their dens, and called 
 on the mountains to cover them. 
 
 This heinous sin, hideous enough under any possible form, is 
 gi-eatly aggravated by a consideration of the subject that led to 
 it. It was the excise on spirituous liquors.* Never can the 
 ministers of taxation come in a less exceptionable form, than 
 when thev derive means of defraving the expenses of govern- 
 ment, by limiting the horrible ravages of the destroyer, drunk- 
 enness, which, by profound observers, is believed to devour 
 more human victims than the sword. 
 
 The deluded men, whose crimes forfeited their lives, to the 
 offended justice of their country, and some of whom actually 
 lost them in the insurrection,! were guilty of most atrocious out- 
 
 ■^ ' In chapter 74, there arc some severe stricturos against the contimuince of 
 the excise system, which to superficial readcis u ill appear inconsistent with 
 these remarks. But this will be the case with tliat class of readers only. The 
 excise there reprobated extended to various objects of useful industry, and on 
 some of them had a most oppressive effect. 
 
 t 'I'here were some of the rioters killed in the attack upon the inspector's 
 house in Pittsburg. 
 
4 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 1. 
 
 rages. They seized a person of the name of Wilson, \vhom 
 they presumed to be, Init w ho really was not, a collector of the 
 revenue — stripped him of his clothes, which thev burned — tarred 
 and feathered him — burned him on sevenil parts of the body 
 with a healed iron — iuid dismissed him naked, wounded, and 
 otherwise in a suffering condition.* They tarred and feathered 
 other persons. And they seized and carried off witnesses, in 
 order to prevent their giving testimony of the outrages.! 
 
 They likewise burned the bams, with their contents, of per- 
 sons who had given information against the insurgents ; and not 
 sstisfied with this outrage, they perpetrated the same even on 
 those who had merely complied with the law.]: 
 
 The marshal and inspector of the revenue were beset on 
 the road by from thirty to forty armed men, and finally fired 
 upon.§ 
 
 A meeting was held at Pittsburg, of a large number of in- 
 habitants of the western counties of Pennsylvania, which passed 
 a number of inflammatory and seditious resolutions, — among 
 the rest they declared '' that they would in future regard 
 those who held offices for the collection of the duty a* iinxvort/iy 
 cf their friendship ; that they would have no intercourse nor 
 dealings with them; that they would withdraw from them eveiy 
 assistance; xvithhold all the comforts of life irhich os }fien and 
 fellow citizens they oxved each other ; and on all occasions treat 
 thefii xvith contempt ; earnestly recommending to their fellow- 
 citizens at large, to follow the same line of conduct towards 
 them. II 
 
 Every attempt was made to ap])ease tliem, but all in vain. 
 They proceeded, step by step, to the last extremity. On the 
 l7th of July, 1794, an armed party of insurgents, amounting to 
 about 500 men, attacked the house of the inspector in Pitts- 
 burg, in which was a small but gallant band of soldiers, amount- 
 ing to about a dozen men, under IVIajor Kirkpatrick. A brisk 
 firing took place, which continued for an hour — and at length, 
 having set fire to the adjacent buildings, eight in number, the 
 intenseness of the heat obliged the major and his small party to 
 surrender; when the assailants burned the insjiector's house and 
 all its furniture. They took the marshal and inspector ])rison- 
 ers, and only released them on a solemn pledge, that tliey would 
 serve no other process west of the mountains.^ 
 
 They likewise stopped the mail, cut it open, and took out all 
 the letters except those contained in one packet.** 
 
 • Proceedings of the executive of tlic United States, respecting the insur- 
 gent. Anno 1794. p. 104. 
 
 t Idem, 1U5. } Idem, 115, 116. % Idem, 119. 
 
 't Idem, 108. 1 Idem, 121. •• Idem, 123. 
 
CHAP. 1.] VIEWS OF THE WAR. 5 
 
 Here ended their short-lived triumphs. The president, as 
 stated, sagaciously embodied a ioree that rendered lurihcr oppo- 
 sition hopeless. 
 
 The leaders of the insurrection fled in various directions — and 
 of course escaped danger. Numbers ol their deluded tblUnv- 
 ers were unresistingly seized — thrown into prison — tried — 
 found guilty — and all experienced the lenity of the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 This unsuccessful insurrection operated, as all others of this 
 description have ever done. It wonderfully strengthened the 
 hands of the government. It paralized thousands of the demo- 
 crats, who had been terrifying themselves with the apprehen- 
 sions of the Scylla of despotism — and found themselves on the 
 verge of a shipwreck on the Charybdis of anarch)'. Vast num- 
 bers of them abandoned the ranks of democracy — and enrolled 
 themselves beneath the banners of federalism, under which they 
 have kept the field ever since. 
 
 Further viexvs of the ivar. 
 
 The late war may be regarded under a variet)^ of views, fur- 
 nishing ample subjects for exultation, astonishment, and grati- 
 tude. I submit two, by no means the least remarkable. 
 
 It continued for about two years and a half. For nearly two 
 years of that time Great Britain was engaged in a desperate 
 and doubtful war with France and her dependencies ; and, of 
 course, her attention was distracted from our war to more press- 
 ing affairs nearer home. 
 
 During this time, we met with a long series of disasters on 
 land, which in rapid succession, trod on the heels of each 
 other. But from the period of the subjugation of France 
 and the fmal triumph of Great Britain, when we had to engage 
 this mighty power single-handed, we were almost unceasingly 
 prosperous, with the exception of the disgraceful and never- 
 enough-to-be-regretted disaster at Washington. 
 
 The other view of the Mar is as interesting. It was, with 
 few exceptions, conducted by the ministry of Great Britain with 
 great imbecility. Yet where the means were least proportion- 
 ed to the ends, they succeeded best. Of this their success at 
 Washington affords a most complete illustration. \\'ith the force 
 the British had on that occasion, it was a most extravagant and 
 wild undertaking, to venture so f:ir from their shipping in such 
 a country. But where thev planned with the most prudence 
 and sagacity, there they were most signalh,- defeated. The 
 ablest statesman that ever lived, could hardl)- have made more 
 judicious arrangements — or better proportioned the means to 
 the object in view, than was done at Plattsburg iind New Or- 
 leans : and never >vas there a more complete prospect of sue- 
 
6 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. l. 
 
 cess. But never were arrangements more completely baffled 
 
 never were defeats more signal — than in those two cases. The 
 disproportion of forces was immensely great ; but the dispro- 
 portion of destruction was far greater. There is probably no 
 example of the kind in history equal to that at New Orleans. 
 
 These two cases afford the most complete conoboration of the 
 scripture maxim — " the race is not always to the swift— nor the 
 battle to the strong." 
 
 "John Henry. 
 
 The employment of this British agent by sir John Craig, to 
 sound the views of the leaders of the federal party in the east- 
 em states, and to ascertain how far they would " exert their in- 
 fluence to bring about a separation from the general union ;" and 
 "" how far, in such an event, they would look to England for 
 assistance, or be disposerl to enter into a connexion" with her, 
 has been stated in the 27th chapter, in which the correspondence 
 between the employer and the agent has been given. 
 
 He was not only ungenerously but unjustly treated by the 
 British government. He had been emploved by one of their 
 highest public functionaries on an important service, attended 
 with considerable trouble, difficulty, and expense — and requiring 
 a respectable grade of talents. In the performance of this ser- 
 vice, he displayed ability and industry. He fairly earned a 
 handsome reward : and it was discreditable to Great Britain 
 not to compensate him. 
 
 In-itated to revenge by this treatment — and probably pressed 
 by want, he came to this countr)- to sell his secret to the best 
 advantage. Our administration gave him the enormous and 
 most extravagant bonus of 50,0(X) dollars for his discoveries and 
 his breach of faith to his original emplovers.* 
 
 It was most immoderately beyond the value of the article. 
 They doubtless calculated that it would excite a general resent- 
 ment against the British nation and the partizans of that nation, 
 which would produce a great degree of unanimitv in favour of 
 the war. And had Alexander Hamilton been at the head of the 
 go\emment, and possessed such an instrument against his po- 
 litical opponents, he would have crushed them, as the forked 
 lightning crushes whate\er stands in its wa\-. But, as it was 
 managed, it became a mere pop gun, whollv inoperative as to 
 the end proposed. Indeed, it may be fairly doubted whether 
 it did not actually recoil upon and injure the administration. 
 
 * Xcver was money more wretchedly bestowed. One Iiulf the interest of it, 
 employed in piil)rK:itif)ns, to di fend tlie measures of tlie ijoveniment from 
 ihc gross misrepresentations wliich they underwent, woidd jMohubly liave pre- 
 vented the war, and saved miUions of dollars and tliousands of valuable lives. 
 
CHAP. 2.] BLUE LIGHTS. 7 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 Blue Lights. Congress. 
 
 At an early period of the war, Captain Decatur, in the United 
 States, accompanied by the Macedonian and Hornet, sailed 
 from New-York, into the Sound, hoping to elude the vigi- 
 lance of the enemy's squadron cruising oft" that harbour. He 
 was disappointed in this calculation, and obliged to take refuge 
 in the port of New London, where he was blockaded by a su- 
 perior force. 
 
 On two occasions, the weather appeared to afford him a fair 
 chance of escape, of which he was anxiously desirous to avail 
 himself. But in both instances he was defeated by traitors, who, 
 by means of blue lights., announced his intentions to the enemy, 
 so as to render the attempt a certain prelude to destruction. 
 
 This is a most melancholy consideration. It evinces the aw- 
 ful extent to which disaffection and the treasonable spirit has 
 been carried, and affords a most admonitory warning against 
 the curses with which faction is pregnant. 
 
 Attempts were made to destroy the belief of this atrocious 
 fact. It was flatly contradicted in various newspapers in the 
 eastern states. The following is the form in which the contra- 
 diction appeared in the Rhode Island American : 
 
 "In our paper of Friday last [December 17, 1813,] we republished' from the 
 New London Gazette, an account respecting the exhibition of blue liglUs, on 
 the heights near that place, designed as sign;ds to tlie enemy's fleet. Wc 
 were unwilling to believe that any of our citizens could be guilty of so gross 
 an outrage on tiie laws of their country ; and are happy now to have it in our 
 power to state, on the authority of a respectable paper pubhshed at Norwich, 
 tluit tlie statement was totally incorrect. It appears, that on the night of Sun- 
 day tlie 12th inst. blue lights from the enemy's ships were discernible from our 
 guard boats. But none were seen proceeding from the land." 
 
 It would be highly grateful, for the honour of our country", to 
 fmd these confident assertions coincide with the fact. Unior- 
 timately they are in direct hostility with it, as will appear fi'om 
 the following 
 
 Extract of a letter from Commodore Decatur to the Secretary of the Js'avy. 
 
 jSTeiu London, Dec. 20, 1813. _ 
 " Some few nights since, the weather promised an opportunity for tiiis 
 squadron to get to sea : and it was said on shore, that we intended to make 
 tlir attempt. In tlie course of tiie evening, two blite lijr/tts were burned on 
 botU the points at the liarbour's moutli, as signals to the enemy. And tlurc 
 is not a doubt, but that they have, by signals and otherwise, instantaneous in- 
 formation of our movements. Great, but unsuccessful exertions have been 
 niade to detect those who communicate with the cnemv by signal. The edi- 
 tor of tlie \cw London Gazette, to alarm tlu-m, and In the liopc to prevent 
 the repetition of these signals, stated in that newspaper, that they had been 
 observed, and ventured to denounce those who had made them in the most in- 
 dignant terms. The consequence is, that he /uix incurred the express cennire of 
 some of his neighbours. Notwithstanding these signals Iiave been repeated, and 
 
8 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 2. 
 
 liave been seen by twenty persons at least in this squadron, there arc men in 
 New London -who have the hardihood to ufftct to disbe/itn-e it, and thr fj;) onterti to 
 avoiu their disbelifj: I urn, &.c. STEPHEN DECATLK" 
 
 Hoiu H'm. Jones, Sec. of tlieJ^'avy. 
 
 It may not be unsatisfactory to the reader, to see the state- 
 ment from the New London Gazette to which Commodore De- 
 catur refers, and which excited the indignation of the printer's 
 patriotic neighbours ! 
 
 .A'tTu London, Dec 15. 
 " It will astonish every American who has one spark to kindle into a flame 
 the love of his country, when we state as a fact, for which we voucii, that on 
 Sunday evening last, w lien the repoil was current, that our squadron would 
 put to sea before the next morning, in the course of the niglit, bhic tights were 
 raised on tue heights botli at tiroton and on this side of the entrance of our 
 harbour; evidently designed as signals to the British fleet. This has excited 
 the highest indignation : and the most decisive measures have been taken to 
 detect and to bring to condign punishment the traitorous wretches who dare 
 thus to give the enemy every advantage over those great and gallant men, 
 who, in the w;u' witJi 'I'ripoh, and in tiie present contest, have honoured the 
 American stars with a lustre which cannot be eclipsed." 
 
 Congress. 
 
 It is impossible for any man who has the honour or interest 
 of this country at heart, to review the proceedings of congress, 
 without mixed emotions of astonishment, and deep regret. 
 
 The mind eagerly searches in those proceedings lor .symptoms 
 of that public spirit, those enlarged views, that regard for the per- 
 manent honour or interest of the nation, which their country has 
 a right to demand. The search is too frtquenth' in vain. There 
 are verv few traces of them to be found. 
 
 Congress liave been steadily fifty years behind the mass of the 
 nation, whose voice has loudlv, but ineffectuallv called for a va- 
 riety of meastires of great pul)Uc utilit\-, becoming a nation which 
 has started into independent existence with advantages hardly ever 
 equalled, never surpassed. What blessings would they ha\e de- 
 served, had they enacted a comprehensive and judicious bankrupt 
 law, to stem the tide of fraud which is invited by the want of a 
 suitable legal provision on the subject — a noble and enlightened 
 scheme of n^ilitia defence — a general plan for extending the in- 
 tercourse between the states by magnificent canals and roads, 
 on a scale commensurate with the magnitude of the country — a 
 sound and efTecttial tariff for the protection of domestic indus- 
 try — and had they made that provision for the brave defenders 
 of their country, Vvhich pubfic giatitude demanded ! And how 
 great and how just is the condemnation they richly deserve, and 
 will indubitably receive from history, for their utter neglect 
 of these grand and magnificent objects! 
 
 To the loud c-.iU of the nation, for these and \arious other great 
 measures, has been added the strong recommendation, often re- 
 
CHAP. 2.] CAUCUS. 9 
 
 pcated, of the various executives. But the call and the recom- 
 mendation have been e(iually unavaihng. 
 
 The nation must sailer, ni the eyes ot" the world, hy its repre- 
 sentatives. Almost wholly unaided b) those representatives, 
 and, in some respects, in spite oi them, it breasted the storni ot" 
 foreign warfare ; emerged tlirough all its difficulties ; and 
 ascended the highest pinnacle of glory. 
 
 It was fondly hoped that the odious imbecility of the ftiajority, 
 and the factious violence of the minority, which, during the 
 war, menaced the country witli destruction, would have been of- 
 fered up as a sacrifice at the restoration ot peace, on the altar of 
 patriotism, and that the future contest woukl be, who should 
 labour most for the public prosperity. The hope was perfectly 
 natural. Would to heaven it had been realized ! Such conduct 
 might, in a great degree, have expiated the sins, manifold and 
 lieavy as they were, of the period of warfare. The nation would 
 have buried them in oblivion ; as the return to virtue, entitles 
 a repentant sinner to a reception in the fold. But the fatigued 
 eye seeks in \ain among the barren pages of what are pomp- 
 ously stiled the journals of congress, for any thing that as- 
 sumes the form of atonement Ever)' page exhibits the same 
 miserable waste of time in speechifying — the same utter neg- 
 lect of those mighty objects that are so loudly called for by pa- 
 triotism, the unanimous voice of all the good and the wise of the 
 nation, and the strong and imequivocal dictates of duty. 
 
 CAUCUS. 
 
 This subject presents itself to the mind in a point of view, 
 highly interesting, and almost entirely novel. 
 
 Throughout the United States, too much importance is at- 
 tached to the men who are to administer our state and general 
 governments. It would appear, when we are called upon to 
 elect a president or governor, that we believe there is but one 
 man in the countiy fit for the presidency, and but one in a state 
 suitable for governor ; and that if we fail of electing them, our 
 affairs are doomed to destruction. This is an absurdity dis- 
 graceful to the nation. Heaven has not been so parsimonious 
 of its endowments as to furnish but one or two men fit tor the 
 reins of government, as president, in a population ot 8,0(X),(XX) 
 — or, as governor, in a population of 50(),CX)(), 700,(XX), or 
 1,000,000. 
 
 Let us boldly examine the subject, and ascertain the real state, 
 of it, regai-dless of the censure of those to whom ever}' thing is 
 wrong that militates against ancient usage; 
 
 We will take a retrospect of a few yeai-s ; as the mind's eye 
 can view objects at a moderate distance, in point of time, more 
 'go 
 
10 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 2. 
 
 correctly, than those of a similar description that are passing 
 around us. 
 
 When Mr. Jefferson retired from public life, three citizens of 
 hiyh standing were contenijilated by different portions of the 
 nation to fill the vacant seat : George Clinton, venerable for his 
 undeviating patriotism and his valuable revolutionar}- services — 
 James Madison, an able defender of the federal constitution, 
 distinguished as an enlightened and independent representa- 
 tive in congress, and as secrttary of state, which stations he 
 fdled with great credit — and James Monroe, -vvho had long serv- 
 ed in a diplomatic capacity in France and England, in periods 
 of considtrahlc diflicuhy and embarrassment. No others were 
 iirought forward or contemplated by the democratic party. — 
 Yet it is not improbable that ihcre might have been found in that 
 partv twent\-, perhaps one hundred, other citizens, in the United 
 States, with high claims on public favour, and with talents and 
 merits equal to anv oftht-se. To the mass of the nation it was 
 a matter of supreme inditYcrence, which of the three was chosen 
 — as they were all men suitable for the station, possessed of 
 pure characters, great experience, and of sound republican prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 To the particular friends of each candidate, indeed, the choice 
 was a matter of immense importance. On the issue of that 
 question depended, whether they were to continue in private lite^ 
 or to fill the high public stations in the presidential gift. It is 
 not wonderful, therefore, that they struggled hard to effect the 
 nomination of their friends respectively. This affords a com- 
 plete clue to the factious violence generated by our elections, 
 whereby neighbours, friends, and relations are embittered 
 against each other — and whereby, at a future day, the peace and 
 libertv of the country maybe sacrificed. 
 
 Had the unbiassed voice of the nation prevailed, it is almost 
 certain that Mr. Clinton would have been the successful can- 
 didate. His career, iis a politician, had been undeviatingly pure 
 and unsullied. His reputation was deservedly veiy high. He 
 filled a large space in the history of the revolution : and in can- 
 vassing the claims of candidates for honours or emoluments in 
 the gift of the people, or that of the governments, either state 
 or federal, rt-volutionaiy services are entitled to great and de- 
 cisive weight. 
 
 The congressional caucus, a manifest and most flagrant viola- 
 tion of the Ctmstitution, prevailed. .Mr. Madison, nominated 
 by that caucus, was electeil by the democratic party. His ad- 
 ministration affords much food for censure — much for praise. 
 He was an excellent peace president, except on one point. This 
 respects the insurrectional proceedings in the eastern states. 
 The hydra of faction and insurrection ought to have been 
 
<;nAP.2.] FACTION. 11 
 
 strangled in the cradle. Had the strong arm of" government 
 been employed, as it ought to have been, the struggle would 
 have been short and decisive. Incipient treason would have 
 expired in agonies. During the war, none but a sorry parasite 
 can deny, that Mr. Madison committed errors, and was guiily 
 of omissions, some of them of great magnitude. Yet on a lair 
 review of his whole administration — taking into consideration 
 the immense difficulties and embarrassments, external and inter- 
 nal, with which he had to contend, the impartial voice of history, 
 when he and his cotemporaneous eulogists and calumniators are 
 consigned to tlie peaceful grave, will pronounce a favourable 
 sentence on his presidency. His communications to congress 
 were just, luminous, profound, and contained full details of the 
 soundest policy: and a large proportion of his appointments 
 were eminentlv wise and judicious. These are the principal 
 points on which a president of the United States has to act. 
 And of those who have lavished so much abuse on the late pre- 
 sident, for his errors, may we not ask. — Do not all human af- 
 fairs exhibit a mixture of good and ill, of wisdom and folly ? 
 And what peculiar merit in the eye of heaven has America, 
 diat her rulers are to be invested with infallibility? 
 
 But is it possible for a rational miui to believe, that, had either 
 governor Clinton or ]Mr. Monroe, or any one of a dozen or 
 perhaps twenty citizens, who might be named, fdled the station, 
 its duties would not have been as well performed as they have 
 been by Mr. Madison, in peace or in war? Surely not. 
 
 I may be arrested here with the question, on the subject of 
 these discussions — Cui bono ? The answer is plain. If these 
 views be correct, the inference is clear, that the factious violence 
 with which men of the same principles, who merely differ on the 
 question of the comparative merits of two citizens, either of 
 whom is perfectly adequate and w'orthy to fill an office about to 
 be vacated, engage in hostility, is absurd, improper, and unjust. 
 
 Since the chapter on caucuses, page 439, was written, an im- 
 portant event has occurred in the state of Pennsylvania, which 
 forms an era in the political history of this country. The pub- 
 lic attention liad been directed to the subject of legislative cau- 
 cuses, of wliich the gross and manifest ini]Mopriety had forced 
 itself on the mind of the community. That they were pregnant 
 with corruption, that they subjected the president or go^■el•nor, 
 as the case miglit be, who might be anxious for a re-election, to 
 the caprice of influential men in the legislatur;^ of the United 
 States or of the individual states, was so plain and palj^able as to 
 force conviction on the most superficial observer. Prescription, 
 however, was in their favour. They had been sanctioned by 
 early and uniform custom, in w'nich the nation had acquiesced — 
 and^ though offering violence to the fundamental i)rinci])les of 
 liberty, it was thought impracticable to apply any remedy. 
 
12 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH, [chap. 2. 
 
 At length the good sense of the state aroused itself. And a 
 deteraiiiiation was formed, to apply a remedy to the evil. This 
 reniedy was suggested by the Board of Electors of presi- 
 dent, which met at Harrisburg on the 5th of December. They 
 published a recommendation to the citizens of the state, to ap- 
 point delegates to attend a convention to be held at the same 
 place on the 4th of the then ensuing March, for the sole pur- 
 pose of nominating a candidate for the office of governor. 
 
 To the honour of the state, this plan was, without any diffi- 
 culty, generally adopted, and carried into effect, although pro- 
 posed only three months before the time of its operation, and 
 although in opposition to an inveterate practice. 
 
 All the counties in the state were represented, except tMo or 
 three of the most remote ones. Several of the counties authori- 
 sed their representatives in the state legislature to act for them 
 on the occasion — the others elected delegates for this express ob- 
 ject. 
 
 The whole number of members in the convention Avas 113, of 
 whom 44 were senators and repi'eseiitatives, and 69 delegates, 
 specially chosen for this particular purpose. 
 
 Thus is a great object attained. It cuts off a fertile source of 
 intrigue and management. And it cannot be doubted, that it will 
 be found advisable on future occasions to exclude from nomina- 
 ting conventions the meml)ers of legislatures universally. 
 
 The objections to the congress caucuses are infinitely more pow- 
 erful than against those of state legislatures. Besides the vile 
 spirit of domestic faction, intrigue, management, and corruption, 
 which they engender in common, the former have the additional 
 disadvantage, that they open a door to foreign intrigue and cor- 
 ruption, far more deleterious. The voice of the nation oughc 
 to be elevated in one common concert, to consign them to obli- 
 vion. 
 
 The present period is auspicious to such a deteiTnination. 
 Three years and upwards will elapse before another presidential 
 election takes place, an interval amply adequate to devise a plan 
 calculated to obviate all the plausii)le reasons in favour of con- 
 gressional caucuses, and all the objections that mav be made to 
 an innovation upon the usurped power of congress. 
 
 Almost the only reason that has e\ er been assigned in favour 
 of this usurpation is, that in any other mode it is impossible to 
 concentrate the force of the party, or to secure the election of 
 their candidate. 
 
 Were this objection founded in truth, which is not the case, 
 it has not sufficient weight to influence the minds of men of 
 und' rstanding. The e\ il M'hich we are called ujion to remove 
 b\' congressional caucuses, is far less than that which is insepa- 
 rable from them. 
 
CHAP. 3.] FACTION. is 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Faction. A most tremendous scourge. Corrupts the heart and 
 berui/ders (he head. 
 
 Of all the curses disgorged on mankind from Pandora's Box, 
 there is hardly anv worse in its consequences, than " faction." 
 It is the fruitful parent of " h-g-hns'" of calamities. Civil wai', 
 with all its horrors, marches in its train, and is its lineal and le- 
 gitimate descendant. 
 
 Faction is vitally destructive to purity of heart — to benevo- 
 lence — to beneficence — to integrity — to human happiness. And 
 the most lamentable feature in its character, is, that there are 
 few, alas ! very few, who in times of fermentation are capable of 
 withstanding its allurements. During the prevalence of faction, 
 men in other points of sound minds and good hearts, become, 
 in this respect, as stupid, as blind, as infatuated, and as sottish 
 — as the tenants of bedlam — and likewise, frequently as hard- 
 hearted and unfeeling as tigers. They yield themselves up as 
 pliant and submissive victims to the will and pleasure of violent 
 and wicked leaders. 
 
 Its effects on the head are as deleterious as on the heart. A 
 faction, headed by a few turbulent demagogues, although com- 
 posed generally of men of integrity in private life, will frequent- 
 ly perpetrate wickedness in company, which they would indi- 
 viduallv shudder at with horror, and fly from with affright. 
 
 It requires a slight knowledge of history, to produce numer- 
 ous and striking cases in point. Short as is that of our nation, it 
 affords us strong and admonitory examples. I shall therefore 
 not travel from home, but shall sketch a few instances wherein 
 both of the parties, federal and democratic, have been subdued 
 by the force of faction — that complication of folly and wicked- 
 ness — that canker-worm, destructi\'e equally to human virtue 
 and human happiness. 
 
 1 he cause of France, in her late contest, was assui'edly at the 
 commencement one of the most noble that ever attracted the at- 
 tention, or excited the sympathy of mankind. Heaven never 
 smiled on a more glorious struggle. It was the cause of a 
 mighty nation, ground to the earth by a most complicated and 
 vexatious tyranny — a nation wherein 25,(XX),000 of human be- 
 ings, were literally " hewers of wood and drawers of water," to 
 3, or 400,000 of the privileged orders. 
 
 It were to compare the ravages of an otter or a fox with the de- 
 solation of a ruthless lion, or tiger, or panther — the southern 
 breeze with the West India hurricane — or the agitations of the 
 Delaware with the overwhelming violence of the Mahlstrom 
 — to compare the grievances of England in 1688, when she ex- 
 pelled the Stuart Race, and called in the House of Brunswick— 
 
14 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 3. 
 
 or the oppression of the American Provinces in 1775-6, when 
 thc-v threw off the yoke of Great Britain — to compare, I say, 
 eltlier of these with the awful state of France in 1789. 
 
 Not to feel a deep, a lively interest in such a glorious cause, 
 were to be grossly stupid, or greatly depraved. Well might 
 Cien. Washington say with solemnity, when he received the 
 French standard, from the minister of that nation, M. Adet, in 
 the year 1796 ; — 
 
 " Born, sir, in a land of libei'ty ; liaving early learned its value ; having en- 
 S^aged in a ])eriloiis confiict to dtfend it ; liaving, in a word, de\oted tlie best 
 years of my life to secure its permanent establislimeut in our own country — 
 my anxious recollections, my sympathetic fi.-elin,ijs, and my best wishes, arc 
 irresistibly excited, whensoever, in any country, I see an oppressed nation un- 
 furl tlie banners of freedom. Rut, above ad, the event.^ of the French revolution 
 have prodiict'd the (U'r-pest solicitiiile, as -well a.s the lii^Itest admiration. To call 
 your nation brave were to pronounce but common praise — H'ojiderfv I people/ 
 Ages to come will read witli astonisluneiit the liistorj- of } our brilliant ex- 
 ploits. 
 
 " I rejoice that the period of your toils and of your immense sacrifices is 
 approaching ; I rejoice tliat the interesting revolutionaru movements of so many 
 years have issued in the formation of a constitution designed to give perma- 
 nency to the great object for which you have contended ; I rejoice that liberty, 
 which you have so long embraced w'itli enthusiiism ; liberty, of which you have 
 been the invincible djenders, now finds an asylum in the bosom of a reg\dariy 
 organized governmeiit — a government, which, being fonned to secure the 
 happiness of the French people, corresponds with the ardent wishes of my 
 heart, wliilst it gratifies the pride of ever}- citizen of tlie United States, by its 
 resemblance to their own. On tliese glorious events, accept, sir, my sincere 
 congratulations. 
 
 " In dehvering to you these sentiments, I express }iot my oian feelings only, 
 hut those ofnv; felloio citizens, in relation to the commencement, the progi-ess, and the 
 ts:me of the French revolution ; and they will cordially Join with me in purest 
 wishes to the Snjireme Bein^, that the citizens of onr sister republic, our marnti- 
 mnous allies, may soon enjoy in peace, that liberty which they have pim:iiased 
 at so great a price, and all tlie liappiness which libei'ty can bestow. 
 
 " I receive, sir, with lively sensibility, the symbol of the triumphs and of the 
 enfranchisement of your nation, t!ie colours of France, whicli you have now pre- 
 sented to the United Stites.— The transaction will be announced to Congress ; 
 and the colours will be dei)oslted with those of the United States, which are at 
 once the evidences and the memorials of tlu-ir freedom and independence : 
 May these be perpetual, and may tlie fnendsliip of the two rcpubhcs be com- 
 mensurate witli their existence." 
 
 With few exceptions, the American nation ftlt a profound in- 
 terest in the holv struggle. She had freed herself from mana- 
 cles. And she rejoiced that France was following the example, 
 and shaking off her ponderous and galling fetters. Our hopes 
 and our fears were as highly excited as if our own battles were 
 fighting— as if our fate was about to be decided. This was per- 
 fectly natural. It was highly honourable. 
 
 But soon the prospect changed. The horizon was darkened. 
 And over the fair scene which angels and archangels must have 
 reg-irded with complaisance, were spread all the horrors that 
 the furies and gorgons tliemselves could engender. To Fayette, 
 Claviere, Roland, Vergniaud, Biissot,Condorcet, and Gensonnei,. 
 
OHAP. 3.] FACTION. 15 
 
 succeeded Legendre, Danton, St. Just, Couthon, Marat, and 
 finally Robespiere, demons incarnate, who ap}jear to have had no 
 delight but in human misery, and to have ravenously thirsted 
 alter blood and slaughter. 
 
 The Goddess of liberty when she first appeared on the shores 
 of France, was pure and immaculate as an angel. She was then 
 fairlv entided to the utmost veneration we bestowed on her. 
 But her hands were early stained with blood. We overlooked 
 her guilt in the magnitude of the object in view. Soon, howev- 
 er, she literally swam in blood. We nevertheless extenuated or 
 defended these atrocious crimes — and almost appear to have 
 adopted the vile maxim, that " the end sonctijies the means.'''' 
 
 While the succession of monsters preserved the name of 
 " French republic, one and indivisible," the democrats clung to 
 the cause most stedfastly. Faction blinded us to the mass ot 
 wretchedness that overspread the face of France. We palliated 
 the noyades, the unprecedented fusillades, the slaughters at Ly- 
 ons and elsewhere. It was a republic in name. That single word 
 was enough to lull us asleep — to render us blind, and deaf, and 
 dumb to the mountains of misery endured under the pretended 
 republic — which " exceeded in one year all that France had en- 
 dured under the Bourbons in tw^enty." We lauded, and toasted, 
 ;uid belaurelled the murderous leaders, w hose deeds spoke more 
 of the hvaifua, the panther, or the tiger, than of the human be- 
 ing. Our attachment remained, when the cause of the rulers ot 
 France — it was no longer the cause of the nation — had become 
 "• a ste?ich hi the nostrils of heaven.'''' And every man w ho dared 
 to doubt the justice and propriety of the murderous scenes ex- 
 hibited in France, was denounced as a tory, or a monarchist. 
 
 To these monsters succeeded Bonaparte. Ambitious, and 
 unfeeling, and delighting in war, he was nevertheless not blood- 
 thirsty. He did not slaughter his fellow men wantonly and for 
 sport, as manv of his predecessors had done. Compared with 
 Danton, Marat, or Robespiere, he was an angel of light. But 
 as he scorned to deceive the world by pretending to the form oi 
 a republic — as he assumed the style of a sovereign, we general- 
 ly abandoned his cause. 
 
 Again. When Jav's treatv was presented for ratification to 
 General Washington, he was greatlv embarrassed as to the 
 course to be pursued. It was by no means perfectly satisfacto- 
 rv to him. He had weightv objections to manv of its clauses. 
 But an apprehension of war and its horrors, inducetl him, after 
 the most solemn consideration, to adopt the measure of ratifica- 
 tion. 
 
 All the long and disinterested services of this patriotic 
 and illustrious citizen were, with the mass of the democrats, ef-. 
 
16 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 3, 
 
 faced by this act, wliicli, even if incorrect, could not, without 
 
 gross and manifest injustice, be ascribed to sinister motives 
 
 but must have arisen from error in judgment. The thunderbolts 
 of the press were hurled at his ianie : and all the merits of a se- 
 ven years warfare — were obliterated. IManv of the democrat' 
 have not recovered from the delusion to this da\ . 
 
 The federalists have no reason to triumph over us for this 
 foil}' and madness. They have dispki) ed insanitv, equal in de- 
 gree, and still more pernicious in its consequences. 
 
 While the ministers of Great Britain, with an odious mixture 
 of injustice and folly, were harassing our commerce, and en- 
 slaving our seafaring citizens, with every aggravation of violence 
 and outrage, faction blinded and deluded many of the federalists, 
 as I have already fully detailed, to embarrass and cripple their 
 own government, struggling not merely for the national rights, 
 but for the most vitid interests of those ver\- federalists them- 
 selves. They scouted the idea of resisting the most abominable 
 practice of impressment — the greatest degradation and the most 
 detestable outrage ever perpetrated bv anv civilized nation. 
 
 Again. During the pressure of the late war, waged in defence 
 of the most sacred rights of the nation, faction predominated 
 over a large portion of the federalists, particularh in the eastern 
 states, to such a degree, that the}' were, as I have alreadv sta- 
 ted, incomparably more formidable to the government, than the 
 embattled legions of the enemy. I could mention individuals in 
 Boston, who were more serviceable to Cireat Britain, than (Ge- 
 neral Ross, General Packenham, General Prevost, Admiral 
 Warren, or Admiral Cockburn. Were I called upon to pro- 
 nounce their names, I should unhesitatinglv place in the foi-e- 
 most ranks some of the apostles whose ]Hil]Mts resounded with 
 loud invocations of'' IVIoses and Aaron" — and w ho violated evei") 
 sentiment of Jesus Christ and his apostles, on the subject of gov- 
 ernment, to be found in the New Testament, in which there is 
 not a single sentence, line, or word, to warrant the course they 
 steered. 
 
 The evils of faction are numberless. I shall, for the present, 
 confine myself to one. 
 
 It circumscribes the range of selection of candiilatts for 
 public life to one portion of the communitv — and of course ex- 
 chides all the rest, however meritorious and useful thev mav be. 
 Within the pale of the dominant party they must be selected. 
 No degree of virtue or talents can afford the least chance of suc- 
 cess out of that ]5ale. Were a choir of angels and archangels 
 to have assumed human form, and settled in Connecticut, the\ 
 would not have bi-in able, a few vears since, to procure seats 
 in congress, if they believed in democracy. Candidates profess- 
 
ciiAP. 3.] FACTION. 17 
 
 ing "the pure principles of fidrralism," with vciy moderate en- 
 dowments of head and heart, would triumph over tlicm in an 
 election contest. 
 
 This foUv is not peculiar to Connecticut or to federalism. 
 Penns^■l\•ania and democracy are sul)iect to the same censure. 
 In parts of this state, angels or archangels, professing, or sus- 
 pected of federalism, would be equally proscribed from all chance 
 of public employment. 
 
 The evil is not confined to candidates for public employment. 
 As the number of these bears a small proportion to the mass of 
 the community, if the influence of faction were limited to them, 
 the evil would be of much less importance than it is at present. 
 But it pervades every ramification of society, and sheds its 
 blasting poison on most of the comforts and enjoyments ot life. 
 And it too frequently happens that a conformit)- to the creed of 
 the dominant party in any particular place, not virtue, nor ho- 
 nour, nor talents, decides the standing or influence of individu- 
 als. There are numberless instances of men of weak heads and 
 bad hearts, as well as tarnished reputations, who are caressed 
 and idolized by parties and factions, merely on the ground of 
 their political opinions, while men as superior to them as 
 Aristides was to Cleon, are put into Coventry. 
 
 Libels a^^ainst General Washington. 
 
 During the effervescence of the public mind in the United 
 States, on the subject of Jay's treaty, great importance was at- 
 tached to the circumstance of its having received the sanction of 
 general Washington, then president of the United States. This 
 was regarded by vast numbers as a decisive reason for pul)lic 
 acquiescence ; for such was their boundless confidence in the 
 soundness of his judgment and in his political integrity, that 
 they were satisfied he would not ratif)' any measure either un- 
 just or pernicious. 
 
 Under these circumstances a small club of ardent democrats 
 in the city of Philadelphia, after a long debate on the subject, 
 decided, to canvass the conduct and attack the character of the 
 general, in order to destroy, or at least to impair the effect of his 
 support of that instrument. On this decision they steadily acted. 
 Unceasing abuse was heaped on him. All his merits and ser- 
 vices — all his disinterestedness — were entirely buried in obli- 
 vion. 
 
 This ill-advised measure was highly pernicious, and for a 
 time ruinous to the party, and incalculably advantageous to their 
 political opponents. 
 
 The most violent and malignant cnemv of the democrats 
 could not have done them a more serious injury. It disgusted 
 Gl 
 
18 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 3. 
 
 and alienated from thrm vast numbers of their most zealous 
 friends ; who duly appreciated the distinguished merits of gene- 
 ral Washington. In a certain degree it threw him into the arms 
 of the federalists — and completely identified him with them. It 
 operated as fatally on the democratic part\", as the Hartford con- 
 vention has recently done on the federalists. 
 
 On the 5th of March, 1797, the day after the inauguration of 
 Mr. Adams as president, in consequence of General Washing- 
 ton declining to be a candidate, Benjamin Franklin Bache, edi- 
 tor of the Aurora, published the following shameful and impoli- 
 tic attack on the president, which fairly capped the climax of the 
 long tissue of abusive publications against that great and good 
 man. Dearly did the unfortunate editor pay for his folly. The 
 patronage of his paper was reduced within the narrowest limits. 
 His subscribers withdrew by dozens — and he closed his career 
 in considerable embarrassment — a career commenced under the 
 most favourable auspices. On few men of his age did the 
 sun ever rise more benignantly — but the setting, alas ! was over- 
 cast with deep gloom. 
 
 Having said thus much, it would be extreme injustice did I 
 not add, that few natives of Philadelphia ever excelled this 
 amiable young man in all the qualities of head or heart that can 
 excite or repaj^ esteem or regard. It was impossible to know 
 him without admiring and esteeming him. He was a member 
 of the club above menticmt d, among whom were some men of 
 excessive violence. I am convinced, thev overruled INIr. Bache. 
 whose native mildness and urbanitv, had they been allowed free 
 scope, would have shut the Aurora against such rancorous and 
 unfounded abuse. — Enough of Preface. 
 
 rnoM A counEsro.vDF.NT. 
 
 "Lord, now Icttcst thou tliy servant depart in peace," was the pious ejacu- 
 lation of a man who beheld a flood of happiness nishins^ in upon mankind. If 
 ever there was a time that would license tlie reiteration of tlie exclamation, 
 that time is now amved ; for the man who is the source of all the misfortunes 
 of ovu- country, is this day reduced to a level witli his fellow citizens, and is no 
 lons^'cr possessed of power to multijily evils upon the Fnitcd States. If c\cr 
 tlicre was a ])criod for rejoicing-, tliis is the moment. Every hciwX in imison w itli 
 the freedom anil liappiness of llie people, ou.ght to beat hi.E^li witlj exultation, 
 that tiic name of Wasliinf^on ceases to .e^ivc a currency to political iniquity, and 
 legalize coiTuption. A new era is now opening upon us, an era wliich promises 
 much to the pcojile ; for public measures must now stand upon their own me- 
 rits, and nefarious projects can no longer lie supported Ijy a name. When a rc- 
 trospt'ct is taken of the Washington administration for eight years, it is a 
 subject of the gri'atest astonishment, that a single intli\i(lual should have can- 
 kered the prlnci]5les of rep\iblicanism in an enlightened people, just emerged 
 from the j, ilpii of despotism, and should have carried his designs against the 
 public liberty so far as to have put in jeopardy its voiy existence. Such, how- 
 ever, are the facts : and witli these staring us in the face, tliis day ought to be 
 a jubilee in the United States. 
 
 ".Marcli 5, 1797. 
 
CHAP. 4.] REJECTION OF MONROE'S TREATY. 19 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Rejection of the Treaty nc^q-odated by Messrs. Monroe and 
 Pinkncy. Bankruptcy of the Banks. 
 
 There is no part of this work that has been so much censured 
 by the demoeratic party, as the unqualified disapprobation ol 
 Mr. JefTerson's rejection, without consuhing the senate, of the 
 treaty negociated by Messrs. Monroe and Pinkney with the Bri- 
 tish government. Many enlightened men among them regard 
 this denunciation as highly improper and unjust. I ha\ e re- 
 ceived from Mr. Jefferson a letter on the subject, in which he 
 endeavours to convince me of my error. And It is but justice 
 to this illustrious, estimable, and much-al^used citizen, to com- 
 municate his view of the subject to the public, that if I be 
 wrong, he may have an opportunity of vindicating himself. 
 
 Poplar Forest, near Li/nrhlnir^, A'ov. 11, 1816. 
 
 Dear Sir, — I received here (where I pass a good deal of my time) your fa- 
 vour of Oct. 22, coveriiii^ a Prospectus of anew edition of your OHve Hranch : 
 I subscribe to it with pleasure, because I bcheve it has done and will do much 
 good, in holding up the mirror to both parties, and exhibiting to both their 
 political errors. That I have had my share of them, I am not vain enough to 
 doubt : and some indeed 1 have recognised. There is one, however, which I 
 do not, although charged to my account in your book : and as that is the sub- 
 ject of this letter, and I have my pen in my hand, I will say a very few words 
 on it. It is my rejection of a British treaty without laying it before' the Senate. 
 It has never, I believe, been denied that the president may reject a treaty u/eer 
 its ratification has been advised by the senate. Then certainly he may Leibre 
 that advice : and if he has made up his mind to reject it, it is more respectful 
 to the senate to do it without, than against their advice. It nuist not he said that 
 their advice may cast new light on it. Their advice is a bald resolution of yea, 
 or nay, without assigning a single reason or motive. 
 
 You ask if I mean to publish any thing on the subject of a ktter of mine to 
 my friend Charles Thompson ? Certainly not. I write nothing for imblication : 
 and least of all things, shoidd it be on the subject of religio/i. On the dogmas of 
 religion, as distinguished from moral principles, all mankind, from the begin- 
 ning of the workl to this day, have been quarrelfnig, fighting, burning and 
 torturing one another, for abstractions unintelligifile to themselves and to all 
 others, and absolutely beyond the compreliensi(in of the human mind. Were 
 I to enter on that arena, I should only add an unit to tlie number of Bedlam- 
 ites. Accept the assurance of my great esteem and respect, 
 
 Mn. Mathew Carev. TH : JEFFERSON. 
 
 I have given this letter that due degree of consideration to 
 which every thing emanating from so respectable a source is 
 entitled. To whatever cause it may be owing ; whether to my 
 perversity or to the want of cogency in its arguments, it has not 
 altered my opinion. I still believe that the rejection of the treaty, 
 without submitting it to the co-ordinate branch of the treaty- 
 making power, was manifestly wrong. 
 
 It was treating Mr. JefTerson's own ministers very ca\alierly, 
 to use no stronger language. But this was bv no means the 
 most exceptionable feature of the transaction. It was treating 
 with slight — perhaps I might add, Mith contempt, the govern- 
 
20 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 4. 
 
 ment of a mighty nation, entitled, from its high rank among the 
 European powers, to respect and attention. But the worst tea- 
 ture remains. It indubitably quadrupled the chimces of war, 
 which ought to be studiously avoided l)y eveiy fair and honour- 
 able means ; of which the issue is at all times precarious — and 
 pr^-eminently so between two nations, so unequally matched in 
 point of nsources, as the United Stales and England. 
 
 But, Mr. Jefferson says, if a president " has made up his 
 mind to reject [a treaty] it is more respectful to the senate, to 
 do It \\'ithout than against their advice." 
 
 riiis does not appear to touch the real merits of the question. 
 If a president, indeed, be determined to reject a good treaty, 
 then perhaps it would " be more respectful to the senate, to do it 
 without than against their advice." But if the treaty be really 
 so absolutely bad as to require rejection, it is not to be supposed, 
 that the senate would advise its ratification. 
 
 We therefore put entirely out of the question, as not supposa- 
 ble, the case of a treatv wholly or principally pernicious to the 
 public interest ; and ask. What course ought a president to adopt, 
 who disapproves part of a treaty, of which the residue is satis- 
 factory ? The path is plain. It has been distinctly delineated in 
 the case of Jay's treaty. Ratif}' the part which is satisfactor}- — 
 and submit the residue to further negotiation. 
 
 I cannot doubt that this will be the sentence pronounced by 
 history on this injudicious procedure. Were all the rest of my 
 Book as correct as this, I should unhesitatingly dare the utmost 
 malignity of criticism. 
 
 Bankniptcij of the Banks. 
 
 About the close of the month of August, 1814, the banks in 
 Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, and universally 
 throughout the middk, southern, and western states, were im- 
 periously driven to adopt a resolution to suspend the payment 
 of specie. This measure, a virtual bankruptcy, had become in- 
 dispensibly necessary by the constant and enormous drains of 
 specie to Boston. 
 
 In the 53d chapter of this work, I have charged this calamitous 
 event, which has produced such ruinous consequences, to a fac- 
 tious, perhaps a treasonable coml/maiion, " to stop the wheels of 
 government." A reconsideration of the subject has convinced 
 me that I took atooconfuied view of the subject: and that the 
 ascription of tins bankruptcy exclusively to the Boston conspi- 
 racy, is the greatest error in the work. 
 
 Let me not be understood to say, that no such conspiracy ex- 
 isted, or that it was not highly influential in producing the bank- 
 ruptcy of the banks. This would Ik- a still greater error than 
 the former. A formidable conspiracy did exist in Boston and 
 
CHAP. 4.] BANKRUPTCY OF THE BANKS. 21 
 
 elsewhere. This, I trust, is fully established, beyond the ]X)\ver 
 of doubt or controversy, in the 53d chapter. 1 hose who enga- 
 ged in this conspiracy were powerful, influential, daring and ener- 
 getic. They were guilty of a heinous offence, which in many 
 countries would have subjected them to the sanctions of the 
 criminal code. But the lenity of our constitution and our laws, 
 and the imbecility of our administration, secured them from 
 molestation. The extent ot the conspiracy, and the audacity with 
 which it was carried on, may be conceived from the strong cir- 
 cumstance that those who lent money to the government were 
 obliged to do it clandestinely. (See page 289.) 
 
 But the imprudence of the banks in New York, Philadelphia, 
 Baltimore, the district of Columbia, and elsewhere, in subscrib- 
 ing so immoderately to the government loans, was the grand 
 source of an evil which has produced so much distress and ruin. 
 It required the most transcendent folly for a bank to subscribe 
 to nearly the whole amount of its capital stock, and thus increase 
 its specie responsibility, so as to subject itself to the danger, and 
 indeed almost to the absolute certainty, of bankruptcy, and to be 
 at the mercy of any four or five very wealthy men, who might 
 be disposed to make a run on it, and to drain it of its specie. 
 
 I shall single out three of the banks established in Philadel- 
 phia, and give a slight glance at the operation of the measure of 
 speculating in government stock, to the great extent to which it 
 was carried on by those institutions : 
 
 „ , ., , Government Stock oivned 
 ^"^'"' in Dec. 1815. 
 
 Bank of Pennsylvania, §2,500,000 S 1,811,028 
 
 Bank of Philadelpliia, 1,800,000 275,000 
 
 Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, 1,250,000 844,892 
 
 S 5,550,000 g 2,930,920 
 
 A friend in Baltimore has furnished me with a statement of 
 the extent to which the speculation in the government stock was 
 carried by some of the banks in that cit)', which I annex. But I 
 wish the reader to observe that it is not official, and may not be 
 as correct as the preceding one, which is taken from official do- 
 cuments. The error, if any, I have reason to believe to be trivial. 
 
 " Government Stock. 
 
 Bank of Baltimore, §1,200,000 §1,000,000 
 
 Union Bank, 2,200,000 900,000 
 
 Commcrciiil and Farmers' Bank, 750,000 450,000 
 
 Mechanics' Hank, 750,000 500,000 
 
 Marine Bank, 150,000 100,000 
 
 S 5,050,000 S 2,950,000 
 
 For every dollar of which they had been obliged to issui^ their 
 notes, and of course had rendered themselves liable to a demand 
 
22 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 4. 
 
 of specie. Could. such a thoughtless conduct lead to any other 
 goal than bankruptcy ? It may be fairly averred, that, consider- 
 ing the respectable character, and the sober, orderly demeanor 
 of the majority of the directors of those institutions, there proba- 
 bly never occurred in any monied incorporation, a more extra- 
 ordinary or inconsistent {)rocedure. 
 
 Suppose a merchant, who conducts a business in which there 
 is a due proportion between his engagements and his ways and 
 means, at once to purchase or subscribe for government stock, to 
 the full amount of one half, or two-thirds of his capital, which is 
 principally in\ested in such a way that it cannot be withdrawn 
 in season. Suppose him to issue notes tor the amount ol this 
 purchase, for which payment may be demanded at the pleasure 
 of the holder. Is there a possibility of his escaping bimkruptcy ? 
 
 Such was the conduct and the situation of some of the banks 
 in Philadelphia. Those in Biiltimore, the district of Columbia, 
 and New York, pursued the same system, and u-ere involved in 
 the same difficulties. It may therefore be averred, that though 
 the conduct of the persons in Boston hostile to the government, 
 who accelerated the bankruptcy of the banks, was highU- crimi- 
 nal, the culpability of the directors of those institutions was 
 thereby nowise diminished. Thev sowed the seeds of bankrupt- 
 cy in their institutions, which germinated rapidly, and produced 
 a copious harvest of ruin, which will be long deplored by the 
 numerous victims who have fallen sacrifices to this misguided 
 policy. 
 
 It can hardly be doubted, that even without the conspiracy in 
 Boston, the banks mvist have ultimately inen obliged to stop the 
 payment of specie. Such superabundant issues of paper have ne- 
 ver failed to produce this effect. 
 
 It has been said, in defence of the banks, that the loans they 
 made the government, were absolutely necessary to save the 
 country from ruin. This is an inadmissible plea. These loans 
 encouraged congress to continue the pernicious system of 
 postponing the imposition of taxes, which alone could support 
 the credit of the government, or save the country. If, therefore, 
 we could admit, that patriotic motives influenced the banks to 
 pursue this ruinous course, of overtrading in those loans, we 
 are reduced to the necessity of paying a tribute to the hearts of 
 the directors at the expense of their heads. 
 
CHAP. 5.] HARTFORD CONVENTION. 23 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Hartford Convention. 
 
 The grand ostensible object of this convention was, to devise 
 some eftectual means of protecting trade and commerce against 
 the deadly hostility displayed towards them by the anti-com- 
 mercial u e. the southern and western states. 
 
 The mass ot the people ot the eastern states had been led, as is 
 statedinaformcrpartof this work, by ascriesofthe most inflam- 
 matory and dcccptious publications, to believe, that they were al- 
 most exclusively interested in commerce ; and that a systematical 
 plan had been pursued by the southern and western majorities in 
 congress, to destroy it, for the purpose of impoverishing them : 
 and thus the most violent animosity had been excited in the east- 
 ern states against their southern and western brethren, by the un- 
 founded and often repeated accusation that the latter were hos- 
 tile to the former. 
 
 That these contemptible opinions should have ever gained 
 ground among a people so intelligent and enlightened as the 
 yeomanry of the eastern states, who are inferior to those of no 
 nation in the world, was, even cotemporaneously, a matter of as- 
 tonishment to every man of the most superficial observation. 
 Bat the astonishment must be increased a thousand fold, h\ a 
 reflexion on the relative state of the commerce of the United 
 States, as recently developed by the public documents. 
 
 The object, I repeat, was, to protect commerce from southern 
 and western hostility. Virginia was regarded as a species of po- 
 litical planet, round which the other anti-commercial states re- 
 volved as satellites, and by which their movements were regu- 
 lated. 
 
 INIarylund, South Carolina, and Georgia, were among those 
 anti-commercial states. New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode 
 Island, and Connecticut, were four of the five " great commer- 
 cial states," forming component parts of " the Nation of New- 
 England, to use the inflated, bombastic, and gasconading phrase- 
 ology of the day. 
 
 Let us calmly examine the ground on whicli tliis sublime, 
 this profound idea rested. Let us compare the exports of those 
 commercial and anti-commercial states. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Exports^ foreign and domestic^ 1816. 
 
 New Hampshire .... § 140,293 
 
 Vermoiit ...... 892.594 
 
 MassachiiscUs .... 10,1o6,4.j9 
 
 Rhode Island ..... 612.794 
 
 Connecticut - . . 593,806 
 
 12.375,228 
 
24 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 5. 
 
 Maryland - - - - - 7,338,767 
 
 Virginia ..... 8,2l2,«60 
 
 District of Columbia, .... l,6bU,811 
 
 Norlh Carolina, .... 1,328,735 
 
 Soutii Carolina, - - . . . lu,849,409 
 
 Georgia, ..... 7,j11,929 
 
 Louisiana, - • . . - . 5,6U2,948 
 
 41,525.549 
 
 It is impossible to regard this table without the most proiomid 
 amazement at the toll)', to call it by no harsher name, ot those 
 who could tor a moment be blinded by such absurd and frivo- 
 lous pretences. Histon." presents no instance of more miser;tble 
 insanity — insanity on which measures were predicated, preg- 
 nant with perdition to our union, to our peace, to our happiness — 
 insanity which had nearly bestowed on us, and bequeathed to 
 our posterity, the tremendous gift of Peloponnesian, Social, 
 Red-and-white-rose, and Guelph-and-Cihibelin wars. 
 
 Rhode Island, with a population of 76,931, and an export of 
 S 600,000, sitting in grand convention, to guard the interests of 
 commerce against the machinations of Virginia, with a population 
 of 974,622, and an export of §8,000,000, must be an object of at- 
 tention to an admiring world ! She has really acquired immor- 
 tal honour bv this grand exploit. It would not be more absurd 
 or irrational for a skipper of Boston or Philadelphia to petition 
 for the protection of commerce, the former against the machina- 
 tions of William Gray, the latter against those of Stephen Ciirard. 
 Cicero is reported to have said that it was wonderful how the 
 Roman augurs could regard each other in the face without down- 
 right laughter at the deception of the trade they carried on. — 
 And it is difficult to conceive how a Rhode Island delegate 
 could look in the face of his colleague, or of the New Hamp- 
 shire delegate, without producing a similar effect. The worth) 
 delegate from New Hampshire, which state exported Sl40,000 in 
 1816, must cast a retrospective eye on this portion of his poli- 
 tical career, with feelings venfar from comfortable. He would 
 surely wish the memorable event of the meeting of this conven- 
 tion, were buried in eternal oblivion. If he form a fair esti- 
 mate of political character, he would purchase, at an immense 
 price, were it possible, the erasure from the tablets of historj% 
 of the part he has acted in this political drama. 
 
 In the preceding table of exports I have given the whole 
 amount of foreign as well as domestic articles. This does not 
 place the argument in the strongest point of light. It must be 
 obvious, that the substantial interests of a countiT are more pro- 
 moted bv the exportation of twentv millions, of native produc- 
 tions, than bv that of thirtv millions of foreign articles. The 
 former may be said to be almost all clear g-ain to the exporting 
 nation : wliereas from the latter it derives merelv the freight 
 and profit — of which the second item is frequently very slight. 
 
CHAP. 5.] STATISTICS. 25 
 
 In order, therefore, to evince more completely the transcen- 
 dcndcnt tolly and arrogance of the pretensions of the eastern 
 states — and their comparative commercial insignificance, I sub- 
 mit a few tables, confined wholly to domestic articles : — 
 
 Domestic Exports^ 1816. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 New Hampshire, . . . - . g 119,486 
 
 Vermont, - - - . . . 892,594 
 
 M:issacluisetts, ..... 5,008,974 
 
 Rhode Island, - ..... 418,996 
 
 Connecticut, ..... 587,007 
 
 S 7,027,057 
 
 Georgia, §7,436,692 
 
 Thus it appears, that of domestic productions, which are the 
 bone and marrow of the commerce of a nation, the single state 
 of Georgia exported more than the whole of " the nation of New 
 England" — notwithstanding that this " nation," in its exports, 
 included a large amount of cotton, rice, and other southern pro- 
 ductions. 
 
 No. 3. 
 " The nation of New England," (see No. 2) . - % 7,027,057 
 
 Maryland, ..... §4,834,490 
 
 Virginia, ..... 8,115,890 
 
 District of Columbia, - - - 1,535,572 
 
 North Carolina, .... 1,328,271 
 
 South Carohna, .... 10,446,213 
 
 Georgia, - - . ... 7,436,692 
 
 Louisiana, ..... 5,251,833 
 
 38,968,961 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 The single port of New Orleans has exported fifty times as 
 much as New Hampshire ; nearly six times as much as Ver- 
 mont; twelve times as much as Rhode Island; above eight 
 times as much as Connecticut ; and somewhat more than Mas- 
 sachusetts. 
 
 New Orleans, ..... §5,251,833 
 
 New Hampshire, . . . §119,486 
 
 Vermont, .... 892,594 
 
 Massachusetts, - . . 5,008,974 
 
 Rhode Island, .... 418,996 
 
 Connecticut, - . . 587,007 
 
 7,027,057 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 The district of Columbia, often miles square, exported forty 
 per cent, more than New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Con- 
 necticut. 
 62 
 
26 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 5. 
 
 Columbia, - - . . -Si 555 572 
 
 New Hampshire, - - . S 119,486 
 
 Rhode Island, .... 418,996 
 
 Connecticut, - - - 587,007 
 
 1,125,489 
 
 No. 6. 
 South Carolina has exported twice as much as, and Georgia 
 fifty per cent, more than, jNIassachusetts. 
 
 South CaroHna, - . . g 10,446,213 
 
 Georg-ia, .... 7,436,692 
 
 Massachusetts, - . . 5,008,974 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana, have ex- 
 ported almost four hundred iuid fifty per cent more than all the 
 eastern states. 
 
 Virg-inia, ..... g 8,115,890 
 
 South Carolina, .... 10,446,213 
 
 Georgia, 7,436,692 
 
 New Orleans, .... 5,251,833 
 
 —31,250,628 
 
 Five eastern states, .... 7 (jo/ o^j 
 
 These statements fully display the transcendent superiority of 
 the commerce of the southern states over that of " the nation of 
 New England," in domestic productions. That in those articles 
 they have a superiority over all the rest of the union, was never 
 suspected. But it is, nevertheless, true. 
 
 No. 8. 
 
 " The nation of New England," (N'o. 2) . 87 027 057 
 
 New York, ... . . 14,'l68;291 
 
 New Jersey, - . . g -^g 
 
 Pennsylvania, ... . 4 486'3'^9 
 
 Delaware, .... ' ^^y^- 
 
 Eastern and middle states, - . . c 95 745 108 
 
 Southern states (No. 4) .... g 38,968,961 
 
 Thus it appears that the domestic exports of the southern 
 states are above fift>- per cent, beyond those of all the rest of the 
 union. 
 
 I shall conclude these overwhelming statements, with one still 
 more striking. The whole of the exports of '^thc nation of Eng- 
 land," of foreign and domestic articles, including cotton, rice, 
 tobacco, naval stores, &c. derived from the southern states', was,' 
 in 1816, as we have seen, (No. 1) only - 812,375,928 
 
 Whereas, of domestic articles alone,'the exports from 
 Georgia and Louisiana were, 
 
 Georgia, - - . 7,436,692 
 
 Louisiana, - - . 5,251,833 
 
 12,688,525 
 
CHAP. 6.] STATISTICS. 27 
 
 Thua^ the wonderful fact appears incontestible^ that Georgia 
 and Louiakina exported^ in the year 1816, more domestic pro- 
 ductions^ than ••' the nation of Nexv England'''' exported^ xvith'in 
 the same period^ of every description^ foreign and domestic I ! ! 
 
 Reader, ponder well on these strong facts — and then answer 
 this simple question — Has the world ever witnessed more tran- 
 scendent folly than the eastern states have displayed in assem- 
 bling a convention at Hartford, to guard the interests of com- 
 merce against the hostility of the southern states ? 
 
 Import Duties. 
 
 On the subject of the import duties paid by the different 
 states, there was a great clamour excited, and the mass of the 
 people of the eastern states were thoroughly satisfied, that they 
 bore almost the whole expense of the government, their south- 
 ern brethren contributing but little towards it. I annex two 
 tables of the duties on imports for the year 1815. 
 
 Georgia paid more duties than the four mnior eastern states. 
 
 Georgia, .... §882,453 
 
 New Hampshire, - - - 92,316 
 
 Vermont, - • • - 228,957 
 
 Rliode Island, - - - 233,024 
 
 Connecticut, ... 233,683 
 
 787,980 
 
 The southern states paid twenty-five per cent, more than the 
 eastern, exclusive of the duties really paid by them on foreign 
 goods bonded to the eastward, and consumed to the southward. 
 
 Maryland, . - . §4,050,504 
 
 Virginia, ... 1,226,404 
 
 Columbia, . . . 482,426 
 
 North Carolina, - - 345,204 
 
 South Carolina, - - 1,429,498 
 
 Georgia, - . . 882,453 
 
 Louisiana, - . . 984,909 
 
 Four minor eastern states, (No. 1) . . § 787,980 
 
 Massachusetts, .... 5,771,667 
 
 9,401,398 
 
 I 
 
 7,559,647 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Freedom of the seas. Prophets. Sedition. Oppos'it'ion to the 
 war. fury Trial. 
 
 The hallucinations of minds of respectable grade, are in many 
 cases wholly inexplicable, and excite astonishment. C. C. 
 Bro\vn-i, a writer of very considerable celebrity, published an ad- 
 dress to congress, in Philadelphia, aimo 1803, in which he 
 openly avowed the monstrous and absurd theorv, that England 
 had just the same right to exclude us from, as we had to na- 
 vigate, the ocean ; that our conduct to Great Britain and 
 France, flowed from the same source as theirs towards us ; that 
 
28 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 6. 
 
 vessels unemployed were worse than vessels captured or ship- 
 wrecked ; and that the real law of nations is, that each must en- 
 rich and agjrrandizc itself by all the means in its power. These 
 crude and absurd ideas wire delivered with as much solemnity 
 as so many responses of the Delphic Oracle. l"he\- foiTn the 
 sum and substance — the pith and marrow of a prolix pamphlet 
 oi above ninety pages. 
 
 Prophets. 
 
 In all ages, prophets have been highly gratified to have their 
 predictions fulfilled — and so far as lay in their power, have 
 generally spared no pains to effect their accomplishment. Of 
 this propensity the United States have exhibited several instan- 
 ces. I cite one. 
 
 Some of the high-toned federalists, about the time of the for- 
 mation of the federal constitution, ridiculed, as the quintessence 
 ot political absurdity — as transcendentlv l^topian — the idea of 
 its l)eing practicable to give pennanency to the republican form 
 of government in so extensive a country as the United States. 
 They pitied the folly, or detested the Avickedness of the attempt. 
 Some of these gentlemen in Boston have done all in their power 
 to secure the verification of their predictions. Thank heaven they 
 have been disappointed. 
 
 Sedition. 
 
 Although I have given numerous instances of the seditious 
 spirit that prevailed in the eastern states, during and subsecpient 
 to the embargo, yet it can hardly be unacceptable to the reader 
 to put a few more on reccnxl, in order more fullv to evince the 
 dangerous nature of the precipice from which we have escaped. 
 
 A memorial to the legislature of Massachusetts, presented by 
 the citizens of the town of Hadley, contains the following very 
 significant paragraph. 
 
 «' Resolved, that in our opinion, a perseverance in that deadlv hostihtv to rom- 
 merce, whicli, we believe, derives its orij^in and its \ icfonr from a dee'p rootid 
 jealousy of the eastern states, will inevitably lead to a l)IS.SOLlTI(3X OF 'IIIK 
 UNION. And tiiou.crh we most sincerely deprecate such an event, yet we 
 cannot suppress our feai-s, that tlie time is at hand, when A SEI'ARATlilN OF 
 TMKSK STATES will be enforced by the most irresistible of all motives— 
 SELF-PUESER\ AllON! !" 
 
 The citizens of Boston at the same period, passed the follow- 
 ing among other resoK es. 
 
 " Resolved, that wc will not voluntarily aid or assist in the execution of the 
 act passed on the i\iiuh of liiis month, for enforcin},- the several embargo laws : 
 and that all those who sliall assist in enforcinj,' upon others the arbiti"^ary and 
 unconstitutional provisions of this act, ouirht to be considered as enem"ies to 
 the Constitution of tlie I'liilcd Stales, und hostile to the hberlies of Uiis peo- 
 ple ' '" 
 
CHAP. 6] JUPY TRIAL. 29 
 
 At a meeting of the inhabitants of the County of Hampshire 
 in Massachusetts, a number of inflammatory resolutions were 
 passed, of which the tenor may be calculated from the following. 
 
 " Resolved, tliat causes arc continually occurring-, which tend to produce a 
 most calamitous event — a dissuliilioii of the nnion." 
 
 On the 5th of August, 1812, a meeting was held in Castine, at 
 which the following resolutions among others were passed :— 
 
 " Resolved, that we do not hoKl ourselves bound in honour or patriotism, vo- 
 luntarily to enlist in tiie army destmed tor foreign conquest : but that we will 
 not lag behind any of our fellow-citizens in resisting and repelling invasion of 
 our rights, our liberty, or our country. 
 
 " Resolved, that we contemplate with pleasure the patriotic spirit which an- 
 imates the friends of peace throughout the United States ; and that we hall it 
 as kindred to the spirit of 1775." 
 
 How far the pompous pledge given in the first resolution, was 
 redeemed, the uni'esisted invasion and conquest of Castine, af- 
 forded a handsome illustration. 
 
 Oppos7t'w7i to the War. 
 
 Although the late war declared against Great Britain was as 
 just as any war ever waged, yet those who opposed the declara- 
 tion to the very last stage, can offer very strong arguments in 
 their defence. The issues of wars are so totally uncertain — so 
 many nations have been utterly ruinedby them — and the divisions 
 of our citizens were so inveterate and deep rooted — that men of the 
 purest hearts and clearest heads, might well hesitate before they 
 would consent to pass the Rubicon, even though thev might be 
 well satisfied that the accumulation of injury heaped on this 
 coimtry, had warranted a recourse to the ultima ratio at a much 
 earlier stage of aggression. 
 
 But what justification can be offered for those who, after war 
 was declared by a respectable majority — after it had become the 
 law of the land — while the nation was in jeopardy of its exis- 
 tence — while deep perdition stared their countrj' in the face, 
 continued to embarrass and enfeeble, and endeavoured to stran- 
 gle that government which was the sole barrier between them 
 and anarchy, and civil war, on the one hand — and suI)jugation 
 by a foreign foe on the other ! When they cast a retrospective 
 eye on their infatuation and delusion, they must be preyed on by 
 the deepest regret and remorse. 
 
 ynrij Trial. 
 
 James Ross, an eminent lawyer of Pittsburg, was, many years 
 since, the federal candidate for governor of the state of Penn- 
 sylvania. Some of his opponents circulated a malicious and ly- 
 ing report, to ruin his character, that he had administered the 
 sacrament to a dog. This excited a deadh' hostility against him, 
 among the sober and religious part of his fellow citizens — lost 
 him many friends — and increased the ardour and the encrg)- of 
 his enemies. 
 
30 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 7. 
 
 The report Mas traced to sooie individual >vhose name I do 
 not recollect. ]\lr. Ross sued him tor damages. After idl the 
 vexatious and irritating delay that chicane can contrive, the case 
 fmally came belore a jury. A Nxrdict was given against the de- 
 fendant — with damages. And how much damages, reader, 
 would you suppose ? You might guess for a dozen years be- 
 fore you could guess the exact sum. It was, to the best of my 
 recollection, six cents. I write from memon',ha\ing mislaid the 
 account of the trial : but I am confident it was below a dollar ! 
 
 So much for our boasted trial by jury. 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 Self-created Societies. Merit unrexvarded. Compensation Lazv. 
 
 The proceedings of parties and factions, however different 
 their principles, views, and professions, bear a wonderful ana- 
 logy to each other, when placed in similar circumstances. Those 
 who possess power, strain every nerve, too often regardless of 
 right or wrong, to preserve it. Those Avho ai'e divested of it, too 
 generally use every possible means to acquire it, equally regard- 
 less of justice. 
 
 During the inflammation of the public mind, excited by the 
 then recent French revolution, and the art and address of M 
 Genet, the democratic partv, then in a minority, established de- 
 mocratic societies, which, bv their affiliations in ever}' ramifica- 
 tion f/f the United States, were intended, and expected, by co- 
 operation, to overawe the administration, to dismount their an- 
 tagonists, and to enable the leaders to vault into the vacant sad- 
 dles. This effect they would indubitablv have produced, but that 
 they were denounced by General Washington, and both houses 
 of congress, as having been implicated in encouraging the oppo- 
 sition to the general government, which, finall)-, led to the wes- 
 tern insurrection. This was a mortal stroke to them, and totally 
 enfeebled them thenceforward. 
 
 General Washington, aftir detailing the various steps that led 
 to the final explosion, states, in his address to congress, iuino 
 179-1 — 
 
 " From a belief that I)y a more formal concert, the operation of tlic excise 
 laws mif^ht be defeated, crfain st'lf-crfcitfil Socirtit's assumed the tone of con- 
 demnation. IFence, wliile the greater part of Pennsyl\ai\ia were conformine^ 
 themsclvesto tlicacts of excise, a fewcounties were resolved toprostrate them." 
 
 To this the senate replied — 
 
 " Our anxiety, ai-isinfjfrom tlie licentious and open resistance to the laws, in 
 ihe western counties of Pennsylvania, has been increased by the proceedings 
 of crrtain st'lf-viYdti-il Soriftiea, relative to the laws and administration of the 
 {government -, proceedinij^s, in our ajipreliension, founded in political error, cal- 
 culated, if not mtended, to disorf^ani/.c our povernnunt, and wiiich, bv ins]nr- 
 wvt; delusive hopes of support, have been influential in misleading our fellow 
 citizens m the scene of insurrection." 
 
CHAP. 7.] SELF-CREATED SOCIETIES. 31 
 
 The denunciation of the house oi" representatives, was not 
 quite so unequivocal. It excited an ardent debate, and was great- 
 ly softened down : 
 
 " We learn, with tlic p-eatcst concern, tliat any misrepresentations what- 
 ever, of tlie g'ovcnnntnt and its procfcdinps, citlur l)y individuals, or comhina- 
 Horn: of men, should have been made, and so far credited, as to foment the fla- 
 grant outrage which has been committed on the laws." 
 
 General Washington expressed his utter disapprobation of 
 those societies much more pointedly in his letters to his friends : 
 
 " The real people," he says, " occasionally assembled, in order to express 
 their sentiments on political subjects, ought ne\ er to be confounded with per- 
 manent, self-nppointed Societies, usurping the riglit to controul the constituted 
 authorities, and to dictate to public opinion. \Vhilc the former was entitled to 
 respect, the latter was incompatible with all govcrnmcr.t, and must either sink 
 into general disesteem, or finally overturn the established order of things."* 
 
 To Mr. Jay, then negociating in London, he wrote as follows : 
 
 "That the self-created Societies, who have spread themselves over tliis 
 fountiy, have been labouring incessantly to sow tiie seeds of distrust, jealousy, 
 and, of course, discontent, lioping thereby to effect some revolution in the go- 
 vernment, is not unknown to you. That they have been the fomenters of the 
 western disturbances, admits of no doubt in the mind of any one who will e.\- 
 aminc their conduct. But, fortunately, they have precipitated a crisis for which 
 they were not prepared; and thereby have unfolded views which will, I trust, 
 effect their annihilation much sooner than it might have happened. An occx-,lon 
 has also been afforded for the people of this country to show tlieir abhorrence 
 of the result, and their attachment to the constitution and the laws ; for I be- 
 lieve, that five times the number of mUitia that were rcquii-ed, would have 
 come forward in support of them, had it been necessaiy."t 
 
 The Washington Benevolent Societies owe their origin to the 
 same lust of power that engendered the Democratic Societies. 
 They were intended, like those democratic societies, to give an 
 undue influence to the members beyond what their numerical 
 force entitled them to. And the advantages of concert and co- 
 operation are so great, that wherever they are established, they 
 cannot fail to produce this efftct. 
 
 The time and place of their birth are considerably against 
 them. They originated in Boston, at a period when that town 
 was the grand focus of disaffection and sedition — when " Jllo.ses 
 mid Aaron'" were invoked to lead '-'the oppressed Israelites''' un- 
 der the standard of rebellion, to a '■'■ new region," to " Mount 
 Carmel." And the prime agents in all these rebellious move- 
 ments were among the leaders of the Washington Benevolent 
 Societies — leaders whose views and proceedings were as diame- 
 trically opposite to the holv admonitions of Washington, as light 
 is opposite to darkness. 
 
 That among the Wasliington Benevolent Societies are to be 
 found thousands of the best citizens in the United States 
 
 • Marshall's Life of Washington, vol. v. page 593. 
 t Idem, page 593. 
 
32 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 8. 
 
 that the objects of those citizens are perfectly pure — that they 
 Avoaid shudder ^vith horror at the idea of any illegal act, 1 most 
 unhesitatingly admit. — But there cannot be a doubt, that when- 
 ever the views of such societies embrace political operations^ 
 as they almost universally do, they are to be regarded with 
 great watchfulness and jealousy. They are liable to every pos- 
 sible objection ever made against the Democratic Societies. 
 
 3Ierit luirexuarded. 
 
 That congress, the proper organ of the gratitude and libera- 
 lity of the nation, has not discharged the debt due to many illus- 
 trious individuals, whose talents and patriotism powerfully aid- 
 ed in saving this country, is a tiiith which, however it may be 
 regretted, cannot be controverted. The instances are imfortu- 
 nately but too numerous. 
 
 The defence of Baltimore, and the defeat of the British there, 
 were among the most fortunate circumstances ol the war. Had 
 the enemy succeeded, Philadelphia woidd probably have fall- 
 en the next \ictim — and the war might have been prolonged 
 for another \ear, with the most calamitous results at home and 
 abroad. To the success there, major Armistead, who command- 
 ed Fort M'Henr)', and lieutenant Webster, who commanded a 
 six gun battery, mainly contributed. The best judges of the 
 state of the case, are of opinion, that but for the noble efforts of 
 skill and braveiy displayed by lieutenant Webster, the British 
 would very probably have succeeded. With his six guns, and 
 about fortv men, he kept up such a destructive fire upon them, 
 as finallv induced them to abandon the enterprize. 
 
 It is painful to state, that neither of these citizens has receiv- 
 ed from the government of the United States any remuneration 
 for their brilliant and most useful services, of which it has hard- 
 ly taken any notice whatever. 
 
 A few public spirited individuals in Baltimore subscribed to- 
 ward the purchase of a handsome piece of plate for major Ar- 
 mistead, and a sword for lieutenant Webster — and thus ends the 
 sorry tale of gratitude for such important services ! ! 
 
 Lieutenant Webster was induced, by the advice of some of 
 his friends, to establish a grocery- store in the centre of Balti- 
 more, and calculated upon the patronage of a city to which he 
 had rendered such substantial services. He has been disappoint- 
 ed even in those moderate expectations, and a few weeks since 
 was closing his concerns after the much-to-bc-regretted failure 
 of his experiment. 
 
 Compensation Lmv. 
 
 Few circumstances have occurred of late years more discre- 
 ditable to the nation, as well as to its representatives, than the 
 proceedings respecting the compensation law. 
 
CHAP. 7.] COMPENSATION LAW. 33 
 
 The wages of congress were Hxed, on the organization of the 
 government, at six dollars per day. They remained stationary, 
 so far as respects the house of representatives, trom that period 
 till the operation of the law which forms the suljject ol this dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 A factious clamour was raised by the democrats against the 
 extravagance of the compensation, with a \iew of rendering un- 
 popular the federalists who had passed the six dollar law. The 
 clamour Mas nearly as great as that raised against the recent 
 compensation law. But as it was founded in sordid and sinister 
 motives, it gradually subsided. The public acquiesced in the 
 propriety of the wages. 
 
 Twenty-eight years have since elapsed. Money has greatly 
 depreciated in value. Some articles are advanced 20, 30, 40, 
 and 50 per cent in price. And some might be pointed out, of 
 which the price is doubled. Superfine cloths are among the 
 number. 
 
 It would be waste of time, and indeed an insult to the reader, 
 to undertake to prove the necessity, under these circumstances, 
 of increasing the compensation of the members ol congress. It 
 is self evident. 
 
 This being assumed, the only real question on the subject is, 
 whether thj increase were too great, or not. 
 
 In forming a fair estimate of the proper amount of compen- 
 sation, for any species of service, public or private, it requires 
 to be regulated by a compound ratio of the value of the time 
 bestowed — the situation of the parties — the sacrifices they make 
 — the compensation for similar or other services — and the ex- 
 pense of living. 
 
 Applying all these tests to the law in question, it can be'un- 
 answcrably defended. 
 
 There are large and important classes of citizens, embracing 
 no small proportion of the persons suitable for the situation of 
 members of congress, whom the amount of the compensation 
 which has afforded ground for so much factious clainour, or even 
 double that amount, would not adequately pay for the sacrifices 
 they would make, by accepting seats as members of congress, 
 I mean first-rate lawyers, doctors, and merchants, ^^'hat com- 
 pensation, for instance, would 1500 dollars per annum be to 
 Mr. Wirt, Mr. Pinkney, or Mr. Emmet ; to Dr. Wistar, Dr. 
 Physic, or Dr. Monges ; or to Wm. Gray, Mr. Willing, Mr. 
 Ralston, or Mr. Girard.* 
 
 • There is frequently a considerable diffionltv in prevailintj: on suitable per- 
 sons to stand candidates for confess in our capital cities. I was, some years 
 since, a member of a committee appointed to wait on sundry j2,entli-men who 
 were contemplated as candidates. We consulted four in succession, who de- 
 cl-ncd This was the year in which Mr. Clay was first elected, lie was the 
 fifth g-entk-man applied to ; af^rccd to become a candidate ; and was success- 
 ful. He was at the time a clerk in the bank of North Americ*. 
 6:? 
 
34 
 
 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. 
 
 [ClIAP. 7, 
 
 In order to enable the reader to form a correct idea on the ex- 
 ecrated compensation of the nnembers of congress, I annex a 
 statement of the compensations given to sundry officers, some un- 
 der the general government, and some in a few other situations. 
 
 Secretary of State's office. 
 
 Secretary .... ^5000 
 
 Cliiefclerk - - - 2000 
 
 Second .... 1500 
 
 Third .... 1350 
 
 Four otliers, each - - 1150 
 
 Treaiswy departmetit. 
 
 Secretarv .... S5000 
 
 Chief clerk . - - 2000 
 
 Second .... 1650 
 
 Two others, cacli - - 1500 
 
 Fiftli 1400 
 
 Sixtli .... 1300 
 
 Comptroller's office. 
 
 Comptroller . . - S 3500 
 
 Cliief'and second clerk, each, 1500 
 
 Third and fourth, each, - 1300 
 
 Fifth - . - - 1100 
 
 Sixtli and seventh, each, - 1088 
 
 Eightli and ninth, each, - 1000 
 
 Auditor s office. 
 
 Auditor .... §3000 
 
 Principal clerk - - 1600 
 
 Second .... 1300 
 
 F'our others, each, - - 1150 
 
 Three others, each, - 1100 
 
 One .... 1000 
 
 Register's office. 
 
 Register .... g 3000 
 
 Chief clerk . - - 1766 
 
 Second .... 1516 
 
 Tiiird and fourth, each, - 1450 
 
 Fifth . . « . 1400 
 
 Sixth .... 1066 
 
 Three others, each, - . 1000 
 
 Treasurer's office. 
 
 Treasurer - - . §3000 
 
 First cW-k . - . 1700 
 
 Second .... 1300 
 
 Third .... 1240 
 
 General Land office. 
 
 Commissioner ... g3000 
 
 First clerk ... 1600 
 
 Second .... 1100 
 
 Three others, each, - 1050 
 
 }f'ar department. 
 
 Secretary .... §4500 
 
 Chief clerk - - - 1600 
 
 Second .... 1430 
 
 Third and fouilh, each, - 1300 
 
 Seven others, each, . 1000 
 
 Paymaster's office. 
 
 PaxTnasteri^enei-al - . §2500 
 
 Chief clerk - . - 1840 
 
 Second .... 1495 
 
 Third .... S1250 
 
 Fourth .... 1200 
 
 Fifth - - - - 1150 
 
 Three others, each, - - 1100 
 
 Five others, each, - 1000 
 
 .itcoitntanf s office. 
 
 Two accountants, each - g 2000 
 
 Two clerks, each - 1600 
 
 Fourotliers . - - 1300 
 
 Seventh .... 1200 
 
 Fourotliers, each - • 1150 
 
 'I'welftii - - - 1050 
 
 Three others - - - lOOO 
 
 Suj>trintendant':i office. 
 
 Superintendant - - §3000 
 
 Chief clerk - - 1600 
 
 Second - - 1200 
 
 Third . - 1000 
 
 Secretary of S\'avy's office. 
 
 Secretary . . - §4500 
 
 Chief clerk - - - 2000 
 
 Second ... 1300 
 
 Third and fourth, each - . - 1200 
 
 J\ «7i/ Commi.^sioners' office. 
 
 Three commissioners, each. § 3500 
 
 Secretary - - - 2000 
 
 Three clerks, each - 1000 
 
 .Accountant ofA'avy's office. 
 
 Accountant - - ' - § 2300 
 
 First clerk . - - 1600 
 
 Second .... 1320 
 
 Tliird .... 1280 
 
 Fourth . - . . 1120 
 
 Three others, each . 1060 
 
 Five othei-s, each . . 1000 
 
 General post office. 
 
 Postmaster . {general . . §3000 
 
 First ;issistant - - - 1"00 
 
 Second do. ... 1600 
 
 Book-keeper - - 1300 
 
 Assistant . - - - 1100 
 
 Six clerks, each - - 1200 
 
 Three othei-s, each - - lOOO 
 
 Mavor of the City of Philadelphia 3000 
 President Hank of Pennsylvania 4000 
 
 Cashier do. - - - 4000 
 
 Coveriior of the State - 5jo3 
 
 Secretary ... - looo 
 Speaker' of the Senate,"^ 
 
 should he exercise the V § 3333 33 
 
 office of (iovernor j 
 
 Chief Justice Supreme Court 2666 C~ 
 
 and §4 per day, wliile on 
 
 circuit. 
 
CHAP. 7.] COMPENSATION LAW. 35 
 
 Assistant Judges - - 1600 Secretary Land office . 1333 33 
 
 . and Si pel- day, wiiilc on Kecelver general of Land ^ ^^^^ or, 
 
 circuit. Office 5 
 
 Treasurer ... 1333 33 Comptroller fJeneral - 2133 33 
 
 Surveyor General - 1333 33 Register (ieneral - - 1333 33 
 
 Let it be observed that the salaries of the above officers of 
 the state of Pennsylvania were fixed anno 1791, whe'n money 
 was from 15 to 20 per cent, more valuable than at present. 
 
 A careful examination of the above cannot fail to satisfy any 
 man whose mind is open to conviction, that the obnoxious com- 
 pensation was no more than reasonable ; and that ttie outcry 
 against it was, as I have stated, factious, or the result of a beg- 
 garly spirit of economy, discreditable to the nation, of which 
 every man who has its honour at heart, musp feel deeply 
 ashamed. 
 
 The most injurious of the consequences of the miserable 
 clamour against this law, was, that some of the most valuable 
 members of congress fell into such discredit with their constitu- 
 ents, as to be superseded In' rival candidates. Among the mem- 
 bers who shared this fate, there is probably none who ought to 
 be more regretted than Mr. Hurlbut, a federalist, of Massa- 
 chusetts, a gentleman of considerable talents, and remarkable for 
 fairness and candour, qualities of inestimable value in a public 
 character. 
 
 It may seem extraordinary, at the first glance, that while 
 the people of the United States are regarded as deserving 
 severe censure for the factious outcry excited against this 
 law, the proceedings of congress, at its last session, are deem- 
 ed equally deserving of reprobation. Nothing has occurr- 
 ed in the variegated annals of that body much more repre- 
 hensible. Never was time more wretchedlv spent — never ta- 
 lents more misemployed. It is not improbable that a third or 
 a fourth part of the session was prostituted to, I had nearly 
 said, never-ending debates on the repeal of this act. Almost 
 every member capable of making a speech, filled two, three, 
 four, or five columns of the newspapers, until the public was 
 disgusted not more with the act than with its defenders and op- 
 posers. The subject might have been compressed within the 
 compass of a nutshell. Anv man of tolerable talents might 
 have exhausted all that was worth hearing on either side of the 
 question in three hours. And, had congress possessed the firm- 
 ness that becomes such a body, it would have scouted the 
 idea of a repeal — and, had it a due sense of its own dignity, it 
 would have decided the question in two or three days. 
 
 When regard is had to the number of all-important laws 
 which might have been enacted in the time thrown away on this 
 piiltry subject, the folly displayed on it must be a s^ubject of 
 deep and lasting regret. 
 
Clerk . . . - 
 
 S3000 
 
 Second clerk 
 
 - 1800 
 
 Four other clerks (each) - 
 
 1500 
 
 Serjeant at arms - 
 
 . loOO 
 
 Doorkeeper ... 
 
 1500 
 
 Assistant doorkeeper - 
 
 - 1450 
 
 36 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH, [chap. 8. 
 
 There are some of the salaries paid by the United States' 
 government, that are still more striking cases in point than any 
 ol those I have given : 
 
 Senate. House of Hepresentatives. 
 
 Secretary . . . jgoOOO "" " 
 
 Principaiclerk ... l«u(j 
 Two ingTossingclerks(eacb) 15UU 
 Serjeant at arms . . 15\AJ 
 
 Deputy door-keeper - . 1450 
 
 What a triumph will it afford in Europe to those who hate 
 and affect to despise this countiy, to be able to state, that this 
 whole nation has for two years been kept in a state of commo- 
 tion and ttrmcnt, because the members of the legislature of 
 the union dared to fix their own salaries at the same rate as 
 those of clerks, Serjeants at arms, and doorkeepers! It is really 
 jnixprvssibly mortifying to reflect on the subject. 
 
 It is not worth while to offer on the question, anv argument 
 derived from the heavy expense of living at Washington, where 
 board and lodging are probably twice as high as at the seat of 
 government in any of the eastern or middle states. A rational 
 man need not take this point into consideration to enable him 
 to decide the question. 
 
 Seanien. 
 
 The clamour made by the British government on the subject 
 of the seduction of their seamen, has hardlv ever been exceeded 
 in point of inconsistency. To a superficial observer it might 
 appear that Great Britain Avas guiltless of enticing or receiving 
 the seamen of any other nation — and that her fleets were wholly 
 manned with her own subjects. This inference would be per- 
 fectly natural — because on no other ground could she be war- 
 ranted in the remonstrances she made against the admission of 
 her seamen on board our vessels. But the astonishing fact is, 
 that in war, she has generally more foreigners thiui natives in 
 her service. The following is a statement of the relative pro- 
 portions of each for three years. 
 
 Natives, Foreig-ners. 
 
 1807 - - - 42,000 43,000 
 
 1808 . - . 29,000 43,000 
 1810 - - - 34,000 58,000 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 Ainerkon 7nognunvmtij^ generosity^ and public spirit. 
 
 A large portion of this work cannot be perused without excit- 
 ing mixed sensations of surprise and pitv at the transcendent 
 follv, and indignation at the political sins, of both the parties 
 by which the country is divided. As a relief to the gloom this 
 
CHAP. 8.] MAGNANIMITY. 37 
 
 view of the subject naturally inspires, I had determined to devote 
 a long chapter to record various traits ot honour, generosity, 
 magnanimity and justice, which elevate the national character; 
 place it on a level in some cases with that ot" Greece or Rome ; 
 and hold out glorious examples to posterity. I regret to state, that 
 most of the materials of which it was to have been composed, 
 have been irrecoverably mislaid. It is therefore necessarily cir- 
 cumscribed within much narrower limits than 1 had proposed. 
 
 The British sloop of war. Sylph, was wrecked off the east end 
 of Long Island, and nearly the whole of her crew perished. The 
 few survivors were destitute of almost ever)' thing : and in many 
 countries would have been thrown into prison, as if they had 
 been captured in battle. But to the honour of our government, as 
 soon asthe intelligence reached Washington, orders were issued 
 not merely for their liberation, without exchange, if previously 
 confined, but tliat they should be provided with whatever was 
 " necessary for their subsistence and comfort." It was likewise 
 ordered that " they should be either sent in a cartel to Halifax, 
 or conveyed by a flag to one of the ships off New York harbour." 
 
 The captain of an American privateer, the jVIidas, having 
 landed some of his men, on Royal island, at the plantation of 
 a Mr. Barnett, gave them orders " to set fire to the buildings." 
 Accordingly, " tour handsome dwelling houses, and fourteen 
 negro huts," were consumed. 
 
 Intelligence of this outrage being conveyed to the seat of gov- 
 ernment, by the collector of the customs at Wilmington, N. C. 
 the president of the United States immediately sent orders to 
 that officer to revoke the commission of the captain of the Mi- 
 das, for "the wilful deviation from his instructions, which en- 
 " joined the strictest regard to the usages of civilized nations." 
 
 The merit of this order is greatly enhanced bv the time of its 
 occurrence. It is dated the 25th of November, 1814, when the 
 feelings of the nation were festering under the then recent Van- 
 dalic destruction of the public buildings at Washington — and the 
 abominable atrocities perpetrated at Hampton and elsewhere — 
 and when the strict laws of war might, perhaps, in retaliation, 
 have justified the infliction of a desolating vengeance on the de- 
 fenceless shores of the West Indies. The conclusion of the or- 
 der is so just and pointed, that I most cheerfully present it to 
 the reader: 
 
 " In comrrmnicating this determination of the president, it is proper to re- 
 mark, that by wliatsoeveracts of" flaijrant oiitrag'e upon dt-fencelcss towns and 
 property of unarmed and uiircsistiiii^ individuals, the British naval and military 
 ofhcoi-s on our maritime and inland trontin-s may have provoked, or mav here- 
 after provoke, severe measures of retaliation, it is for the government. aJonc to 
 prescribe the muimer and the mesuis of retaliation." 
 
58 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 8. 
 
 That the conduct of our naval heroes towards their conquered 
 eneniics has disphiycd a high degree of magnanimity, kindness, 
 and libcralitv, there is not the shadow of a doubt. *•' Proofs rise 
 on proofs, and still the last the strongest.'' It is delightful to find 
 the most dccisi\ c testimony borne on the subject, even by the 
 Britisli officers themselvc*, who must be most indisputable wit- 
 nesses. 
 
 Captain Dacres, to his honour be it said, expresses himself in 
 the most unequivocal terms on this subject, in the official letter 
 containing an account of his capture : 
 
 "I feel it my duty to state, that the conduct of Captain Hull and his officers 
 to our men, has been that of a brave enemy; the greatest care bein^ taken to 
 prevent our men losing the smallest triHe, and the greatest attention being paid 
 to the wounded." 
 
 Of the conduct of the amiable and universally-lamented Cap- 
 tain Lawrence, the following decisive testimonial was gi\ en by 
 the officers of the Peacock : 
 
 " A'e^v York, 27th. March, 1813. 
 " Sm — We, the surviving officers of his Britannic majesty's late brig Pea? 
 cock, beg leave to return you our grateful acknowledgments for the kind atten- 
 tion and hospitahty we expci-icnced during the time we remained on board the 
 United States sloop Hornet. So much was done to alleviate the distressing and 
 luicomfortable situation in which we were placed when received on board the 
 sloop you command, that we cannot better express our feelings than by saying, 
 " We ceased to consider ourselves prisoners ;" and every thing that friendship 
 could dictate, was adopted by you, and the officers of the Hornet, to remedy the 
 inconvenience we would otherwise have experienced, from the unavoidable 
 loss of the whole of our property and clothes^ by the sudden sinking of the 
 Peacock. 
 
 " Permit us, then, sir, impressed as we are, with a gratcfid sense of your 
 kindness for oursclve.^ and the other officers and sliip's company, to return you 
 and the officers of the Hornet our sincere thanks, which we shall feel obliged 
 if you will communicate in our name ; and believe us to remain, with a high 
 sense of the kind offices you have rendered us, vour humble servants, 
 
 " F. A. W1{1(;HT, 1st lieutenadt 
 
 0. LAMl'RET, 2d heuteuant. 
 
 EDWARD LOTT, master.^ 
 
 J. WIUTTAKKR, surgeon. 
 
 F. D. UXWIX, purser. 
 " James Lawrence, esq. commander U. S. sloop Hornet. 
 
 Captain Carden bore the most unequivocal testimony of the 
 chivalric liberalitv of Commodore Dei atin- and his officers. All 
 the private property of the officers and men on board the Mace- 
 donian was given up to the owners — and for some wine, and 
 other articles, which nine officers out of ten, similarly circum- 
 stanced, would have seized, without any " compimctious visit- 
 ings of conscience," the commodore paid the captain eight hun- 
 dred doU-.rs. 
 
 To the humanitv, kindness, and liberality of commodore Bain- 
 bridge towards the prisoners, captured in the JaVa, General His- 
 lop b(uc the most honourable testimony. Next to the gratifica- 
 
CHAP. 8.] MAGNANIMITY. 39 
 
 tion wliith a liberal inind feels in the ccjntemplation of the con- 
 duct ot liie \ictor, is that telt in reatlin^ the candid aclaiou- 
 ledgments of the vanquished. 
 
 Gen. /linlof) ts Commodore fiin'iil/ritl^e. 
 Dear Sir, St. Salvadore, Jannaiy 3il, 1813. 
 
 I am justly penetrated with tlie fullest sense of your very handsome and 
 kind treatment, ever since tl>e fate of war placed me in your power: and 1 
 beg; once more to renew to you my sincerest acknowlnlipnents for the same. 
 
 Your acquiescence with my request in (granting' me m\ ]):irole, with the 
 officers of my statt", added to tlie obligation I had previouslv experienced, 
 claims from me this advlitioiiiil tribute of my thanks. .May I now hnally flat- 
 ter myself, that in the further extension qi jour generous and humane feel- 
 ings, in the alleviation of the misfortvmcs of war, that you will have the "-ood- 
 ncss to fulfil the only wisli and request I am now most anxious to see com- 
 fileted, by enlarging on their parole, (on the same conditions j ou have acceded 
 to with respect to myself) ad the oflicers of tiie Java, still on board your ship 
 — a favour I sludl never cease duly to appreciate, by your acqiiiescence 
 thereto. 
 
 I have the honour to subscribe myself, dear sir, your much ohViged and very 
 humble senant, 
 
 (Signed) T. HISLOP. 
 
 Commodore Jiainbridge. 
 
 Answer of Commodore Bainbridge. 
 United States' Frigate Constitution, St. Salvador, 3d Jan. 1813. 
 Dear Sir, 
 I have received your letter of this date, conveying sentiments of your feel- 
 ings for my treatment towards you since the fate of war placed you m my 
 power. Tlie kind expressions which you have been pleased to use, are justly 
 appreciated by me, and far overbalance those common civilities shewn by 
 me, and which are always due to prisoners. I regi-et that tlie lumbered state 
 of my ship prevented me from making you as comfortable on board, as I sin- 
 cerely wished to have done. I have complied with your last request, respect- 
 ing paroling all the officers of the Java. In doing so, your desire, in addition 
 to my disposition to ameliorate, as much as possible, the situation of tliose 
 officers, considerably influenced me. 
 
 Permit me to tender you (notwithstanding our respective countries are at 
 \rar) assurances of sincere esteem and high respect, and to assure you that I 
 shall feel at all times highly gratified in hearing from you. A\itii fervent 
 wishes for the recovery of the gallant Captain Lambert, 
 
 I have the honour to subscribe myself, very respectfully, &c. 
 (Signed) ' Wm. BAIXBREDGE. 
 
 Lieiit. Gen. IJislop, of tlie British Army. 
 
 General Ilislop to Commodore Bainbndge. 
 Dear Sir, St. Salvadore, 4th .Tanuar}-, 1813. 
 
 Allow me once more to express my sincerest acknowledgments for this Ixst 
 instance of your kind attention to my w ishes, by having complied with my 
 request in behalf of the officers of the Java. 
 
 Lieutenant (Jhads delivered to me your very polite and obliging letter : and 
 be assured, that I shall feel no less gTatification at all times to hear from you, 
 than that which you are so good as to express you will derive in receiving 
 information respecting myself. 
 
 May I request now- that you will be so good as to cause to be looked for, a 
 small chest,* containing articles of plate, more valuable to me on account of 
 
 * The chest was merely mislaid. It had been restored bv ord'"-f! nf C'lnrmodo^v 
 JBuinbridge, prior to the receipt of this letter. 
 
40 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 9- 
 
 having been presented to me by tlie colony of Dcmarara, where 1 commanded 
 for several years. I have tlie honoui' to be, kc. 
 
 (5>ii,'iia(l) T. IIISLOP 
 
 Comiuodort: Bainbridge. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 I\riscellaneous articies. 
 
 The people of the eastern states, thank heaven, are recover- 
 ing fast from the parox^•sms of the malignant political fever, 
 whereby they were, during the war, driven to the utmost excess 
 of insanity and idiocv. With aching hearts, they look back on 
 their wild career. There is no point of view in which it can be 
 placed, to produce this effect more explicitly, than by a contrast 
 M'ith the heroism, patriotism, and liljeralitv of the western states, 
 which have elevated the national character to a level with those 
 of Greece and Rome, in their proudest days of glory. 
 
 The following instance of devotion to coimir\-, and of alacrity 
 in preparation for her defence, has perhaps hardly ever been ex- 
 ceeded. 
 
 Governor Meigs, at Chilicothe, received an express, requir- 
 ing aid, to support General Hull against the enemy, on Satur- 
 day the 18th of July, 1812. On Sunday the ladies of the place 
 (heaven reward them for " doing good on the Sabbath''''^ worked 
 all dav to equip their fathers, husbands, brothers, and lovers, for 
 the service. On Monday the drums beat to arms — and before 
 noon of that da\', a new and complete company of sixty men, pa- 
 raded and marched, fully equipped and uniformed. Several of 
 the most respectable men of the place were among the volun- 
 teers. It has been afRrmed that empire and science are travel- 
 ling to the westward. And certain it is, that glory and public 
 spirit follow in their train — or, to speak more correctly, lead 
 them forward on their route. 
 
 The legislature of Tennessee passed an act the 25th of Septem- 
 ber, 1813, for raising 3500 men, to march against the Creeks, and 
 authorising the banks of the state to lend, and the governor to 
 borrow, any sum of money not exceeding §300,000, for arming 
 and equipping them. 
 
 The act contained a clause directing, in the event of the ge- 
 neral government refusing to pay the debts thus contracted, 
 " that at tlie next session of the legislature of that state, a tax 
 should be laid upon tlie taxable propertv within the same, suffici- 
 ent to raise tlie sum and the interest thereon, which might be 
 borrowed by the governor." 
 
 Contrast this act, in the enaction of which presided exalted 
 liberality and the purest patriotism, with the following miserable 
 act passed in Massachusetts, about four months afterwards — an 
 
CHAP. 0.] TOOTHLESS MALIGNITY. 41 
 
 act displaying as much toothless malignity as ever entered into 
 any public document. 
 
 Commmitoeallh of JMas.iac/iUaetls. 
 An act declarator)' of the true intent and meunini^- of an act entitled, " An act to 
 provide for the safe kcepinpf of all ]jrisoiuTs loniinitteil under the authority 
 of the United Slates, in tlie several goals within this commonwealth." 
 Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives in general 
 court assembled, and by the authority of the same. That nothing contained hi 
 an act entitled, " An act to provide forthe safe keeping of all prisoners connnit- 
 ted under the authority of the United States, in the sevt.ral goals of this com- 
 monwealth," shall be so construed ;is to authorise the keejjers of said goals to 
 t;\ke custody of, and keep within said goals, any prisoners commilled by any 
 Other authority than the judicial authority of the United States. 
 
 And whereas, several prisoners of war have been committed to goals within 
 this commonwealth, under the executive authority of the United States: 
 
 Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That the keepers of the said goals are hereby 
 authorised and required to discharge from said goals all such prisonei-s of war, 
 after the expiration of thirty days from the passing of thjs act, unless they shall 
 be sooner discharged by the authority of the United States. Feb. 1814. 
 
 The same toothless malignity that the house of representa- 
 tives, senate, and governor of the very respectable and enlight- 
 ened state of Massachusetts exhibited in the above act, actuated 
 the citizens of New Bedford, in their attempt to prevent, as far 
 as lay in their power, the destruction of the enemy's commerce 
 bvour privateers, by the following resolutions : 
 
 Voted, luianimousli/. As expressive of the sense of the inhabitants of this town, 
 that inasmuch as we have uniformly disapproved of the impolitic, unnecessary, 
 and ruinous war in which the United States are engaged, we have considered 
 it to be our duty to abstain, and have scrupulously abstained from all interest 
 a.nd concern in scmWnj^ init fyrhale (irmed vessels, to harass the commerce of 
 the enemy, and from all voluntary acts which appeared to us to have a tenden- 
 cy to prolong the duration, encourage the prosecution, or increa«5e the rava- 
 ges of the " unprofitable contest;" that we have seen with disapprobation se- 
 veral private armed vessels belonging to otlier ports, taking shelter in our 
 peaceful waters; and regret that we have not authority, by law, wholly to ex- 
 clude them from our harbour, where they serve to increase our dangers, and 
 to excite tumult, disorder, not, and confusion. 
 
 Voted, laianimouali/. As expressive of the sense of the inhabitants of this town, 
 that private armed vessels, while cruising in various climates, and visiting ships 
 and vessels from every country, are extremely liable to contract and receive 
 on board infectious diseases; and that in svich cases tlierc is every reason to 
 suspect that such vessels, and the persons, baggage, and clotliing, on board, 
 may be infected with some contagious distemper — 
 
 Voted, uiuinimoiislti, As expressive of the sense of the inhabitants of this town, 
 that the safety of the inhaliitants thereof requires that any private armed vessel 
 or vessels, which sh;Ul arrive or be bound to the harbour of Xew Bedford, 
 from any port or place, shall be required to perform quarantine during a term 
 of not less than forty days ; and that the selectmen and health committee of the 
 town be requested to cause all such vessels to jjerfonn quarantine at such place 
 as they sliall appoint, and under such restrictions and regulations as they may 
 judge expedient. Jutu 21, 1814. 
 
 By these insidious resolves, a privateer, direct from New York, 
 Philadelphia, or Baltimore, would be obliged to perform qua- 
 rantine of" not less than fortv davs." Thus, so far as depend- 
 ed on the '' patriotic citizens"' of New Bedford, while tlie num- 
 64 
 
42 POLITICAL OLIVE BRAl^CH. [chap. 9. 
 
 berless government vessels and privateers of the enemv, were 
 preying on our exposed commerce, they would cut up our pri- 
 vateering bv the roots ! 
 
 To these striking examples of infatuation, I shall add one 
 more — and then close the scene. But the reader may rest assur- 
 ed, that there are enough on record to fill a handsome pocket 
 volume, and that printed not on very large type. 
 
 Some of the disaffected citizens of the state of New York 
 were in the habit of seizing British deserters, and conveving 
 them across the lines, to receive punishment for the abandon- 
 ment of their sovereign. To deter from a continuance of this 
 foul crime, the legislature of that state passed the following act : 
 
 Be it enacted bii the people of the xtute of A'exv York-, represented in senate and as, - 
 semhly. That if any person or persons within this state shall apprehend, aiTCst, 
 or detain, or assist, or aid or al)ct, in the apprehc-nsion, arrest, or detention, oi" 
 any Hritish deserter or deserters, knowing him or them to be svich, and with 
 intent to return him or them to the enemy, such person or persons, on be- 
 ing thereof convicted, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and snail be sentenced 
 to imprisonment, in the state prison, for the term of ten vears. Passed October 
 11, 1814. 
 
 The spirit of disaffection that existed during the Avar, appears 
 in no way more disgusting, than in the elaborate attempts made 
 in certain newspapers to depreciate the merits and the glorv of the 
 defenders of their coimtry. In this they ran a race with the 
 most envenomed of the ministerial papers in London. 
 
 After the defeat and capture of the army of general Proctor, 
 which, treading on the heels of the illustrious Pern's glorious 
 exploit, excited a general burst of joy among all the friends of 
 this countrv, the following comments on the subject were pub- 
 lished in two influential eastern papers : — 
 
 " At length, the handful of British troops, which, for more tlian a year, h;id 
 baffled the imuicrous armies of the United States, in the invasion of Canada, 
 deprived of the genius of the immortal Brock, have been obhged to yield to 
 superior power and numbers." Salem Gazette, Oct. 22, 1814. 
 
 •' We shall surrender all our conquests at a peace. It is indeed a hopeful 
 exploit for Harrison, with five thousand troops.who have been assembling and 
 preparing ever since July, 1812, to fight and conquer four hundred and fifty 
 worn-out, exhausted British regulars, whom the Indians had previously de- 
 serted." Boston Daily jldvcriiser, Oct. 23, 1814. 
 
 E.rtract of a letter from .ilbaivi, .Xov. 24, 1813. 
 " Every hour is fraught with doleful tidings from the north. Humanity 
 groans from the frontiers. Hampton's army is reduced to about 20U0 ; Wil- 
 kinson's cut up and famishing. C;rimination and recrimination are the order of 
 the day. Democracy lias rolled herself up in weeds, and lain down for lier 
 last wallowing in the slough of disgrace. Armstrong, tl\e cold-blooded director 
 of all tlvis military anarchv, is stiU here, but chop-fallen. No profane :illusion, 
 but 
 
 Now lift, ye saints, your heads on high, 
 
 And shout — for your redemption 's nigh." Boston Gazette- 
 
CHAP. 9.] THEORIES OF GOVERNMENT. 43 
 
 Public Spirit. 
 Shortly after the declaration ol war, a company of aged citi- 
 zens was formed in Rowan County, Nortli Carolina, of which 
 the members were from 45 to 80 years of age. They were em- 
 bodied under the title of " The Company of Silver Locks." 
 I'he following is the preamble to their articles of association. 
 
 " Tlic uiulcrsij^cd soltlicrs, luiviiig many of us fouglil for our liberty in the 
 revolution, and now from our advanced aj^e are unalile to undergo the same 
 hardsliips in tlie field as formerly ; yet our bosoms s\\ ell \\ itU imlignation, \\ lien 
 we hear of our lionour antl independence being insulted by tfjreign enemies, 
 who have not only begiin the awful workof d< ath themselves, but encoiu'aged 
 tlie savage tribes to spill tlic blood of our innocent brethren on our frontiers, 
 regarding neither sex or age : 
 
 We, therefore, are willing to aid our beloved country, in opposing the ene- 
 my and suppressing the influence of dangerous and ill-tlesigning men (as we 
 fear may exist among us) in every instance, so fur as we may be justified by 
 the laws of our comitry." 
 
 In the city of Richmond, soon after the declaration of war, 
 a subscription was opened for raising a sum of money for the 
 benefit of such poor persons and their families, as might leave 
 Virginia in the service of the United States ; and on the spur of 
 the occasion, the sum of 5,282 dollars was collected.* 
 
 The following resolution was agreed to by both houses of the 
 legislature of New York, on the 22d of October, 1814, without a 
 dissenting voice, notwithstanding that a considerable portion of 
 the members were high-toned federalists, and, of course, hostile 
 to the administration. 
 
 " Resolved unammousli). That the house of assembly of the state of New- 
 York, view with mingled emotions of surprise and indignation, the extravagant 
 and disgraceful terms proposed by the British commissioners at Ghent — and 
 however ardently they may desire tlie restoration of peace to their countrj', 
 they can never consent to receive it, at the sacrifice of national honour and 
 dignity — that they therefore strongly recommend to the national legislature 
 the adoption of the most vigorous and efficacious measures in the prosecution 
 of the war, as the best means of bringing the contest to an honourable termina- 
 tion, and of transmitting unimpaired to tlieir posterity their rights, liberty, and 
 independence." 
 
 Theories of Government. 
 
 We have lived through a most eventful period, a period in 
 which as many strong and important facts have been compress- 
 ed into the space of a vear, as in former times wotild have af- 
 forded ample materials for the history of half a century. 
 
 It is difficult for the mind to grasp these might)'^ events — to 
 trace effects to their causes — and to deduce lessons of instruc- 
 tion from the whole for ourselves and oiu- jiosterity. 
 
 One consequence resulting from a deep contemplation on 
 the subject — is, that it staggers our faith in some of the generally 
 
 * Compare this liberality with the paltiy conduct of Philadelphia in similar 
 circumstances, as stated, page 316. \Niiat an awfid contrast' 
 
44 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANXH. [chap. 9. 
 
 received maxims of the most celebrated ^vriters on political 
 economy. 
 
 In this superficial sketch, I confine myself to the affairs of 
 this country onlv. The French revolution is one of those poli- 
 tical phenomena, that bid defiance to all the ordinary powers of 
 calculation. 
 
 That the people of the United States, taken in mass, are more 
 geneially well informed than those of any other country with 
 which we are acquainted, can hardly be denied. And it ap- 
 pears equally true, that there is no part of this country, in which 
 information is more generally spread, than among the people of 
 the eastern states. This is the result of the most admh-able 
 system of education which has prevailed among them for so 
 long a period. 
 
 While this claim of superior mental cultivation is unhesita- 
 tingly advanced for the mass of our citizens, it would be the 
 extreme of arrogance to pretend to compare our higher orders 
 with those of France, England and Germany, among whom 
 will be found numbers of illustrious men who far excel the most 
 highly cultivated among our citizens. Compared with Europe, 
 on the ground of intellect, we stand nearly as we do with re- 
 spect to wealth. There, both are in extremes. A small number 
 immensely wealthy, and the mass of the community in penur\-. 
 Here we" have hardly any in penury — and as few immensely 
 rich. Thus it is with endowments of mind. We have no La- 
 lands, nor La Places, nor Buffons, nor Robertsons, nor Scotts, 
 nor Opies. But we have none buried in such deplorable igno. 
 ranee as prevails in various parts of Europe. 
 
 Every theory of government that has met with the approba- 
 tion of "the friends of mankind, has presumed that a people 
 circumstanced as we are, enjoying all the advantages ot a mild 
 and rational government, would duly appreciate its value, clmg 
 to it in all its difficulties, and risk", or, if necessary, sacrifice 
 fortune and life in its defence. 
 
 Is not this the fact, reader ? Is it not a beautiful and enchant- 
 ing theory ? Who, among us, has not hung delighted on the 
 pages of' Locke, Sydney, Harrington, Price, and Junius, in 
 which this captivating view is given of human nature ? 
 
 But what have we had the n^isfortune to witness ? 
 
 A most awful and till now a most incredible reverse. We 
 have seen, tliat a most enligluened i)ortion of our common coun- 
 try was in a state of delusion and insanity that could not be 
 exceeded by the most ignorant and oppressed populace in the 
 worst-governed part of Europe— that they were proceeding, 
 step by step, to anarchy and civil war— that they were on the 
 point of selling their sacred, their holy birthright for a mess 
 of pottage — and, finalh", that the wealthy and the higher orders 
 were zealously tearing down the pillars of governuuuit, while 
 
CHAP. 10.] CONSCRIPTION. 45 
 
 the middle and lower classes were as zealously puardine 
 them!!!' 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Conscription. Impressment. 
 
 It is a curious subject of investigation to trace the influence 
 and effects of faction, in different countries and in different pe- 
 riods. And it will be found, that the most violent bodil)- disor- 
 ders in different parts of the world, and at different eras, are not 
 more uniform in their symptoms and operations than are those 
 of the mind. 
 
 The lamentable and disgraceful defeat of the noble plans of de- 
 fence suggested by the secretar}^ of state, and by Mr. Giles, has 
 been fully detailed in a preceding part of this book. They were 
 falsely asserted to be of French origin : — and to this falsehood, 
 it is not improbable at least one half of the factious and senseless 
 violence with which they were opposed, may be traced. 
 
 The history of England affords a case of the most perfect 
 analogy, that can be conceived. 
 
 The atrocious practice of impressment had been long a sub- 
 ject of the loudest and most unqualified complaint and disappro- 
 bation. The nation was to the last degree tenacious of its liber- 
 ties : and yet an entire class of a most useful description was 
 put out of the protection of the law, and subjected to the most 
 enormous violence and outrage — and to what may be justly 
 termed a most galling slaver^-. 
 
 The British ministry in 1 748, attempted to apply a remedy to 
 this crying evil. A bill was submitted to parliament, whereby 
 the mariners throughout the kingdom were to be registered — a 
 certain poi;tion of them to receive some small amount of pay — 
 and to be liable, in cases of emergency, to serve in the royal na- 
 vy for a limited time. 
 
 It requires but a very superficial consideration of the subject, 
 to be convinced, that the interests of humanity, as well of the 
 seamen, would be promoted by such a bill, the provisions of 
 which were as guarded as could be conceived. 
 
 But faction defeated this wise plan. It was run down bv the 
 same senseless clamour as our conscription. It was branded with 
 the foul charge of being " Frenchified." This was enough. The 
 ministry were compelled to abandon it. 
 
 "The members in tlie opposition, aflccling to represent this measure in .ia' 
 odious light, us un imitation of the French method of registering- seamen, witii- 
 oiit their consent, Mr. Pclham dropped it as an unpopular project."' 
 
 The intrinsic merit of this plan induced an attempt to revive it 
 in 1758, with considerable improvements, one of which was, that 
 
 • SmoUet's England. Philadclpliia edition, 1810, vol. iii. p. 6S. 
 
46 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANXH. [chap. 10. 
 
 where any number of seamen were required by the go\emment, 
 they should be drawn by lot. Ihe same success attended this 
 attempt as had done the former.f It was run down by the same 
 absurd outcry. 
 
 Another cflort was made in 1759, to rescue the seamen from 
 the horrors of impressment, by improvements on the bill of 
 the preceding year. A still greater clamour was excited — 
 and the bill was rejected. 
 
 In order to shew the excessive absurdity of the objections 
 made to the plan of Mr. Pelham, on the ground of its being of 
 French original, I annex a statement of the regulations of the 
 French seamen, so lar as respects compulsorj^ service. They are 
 as far superior to those of the British navv, as the British gov- 
 ernment is superior to that of Turkey. For this statement I 
 acknowledge myself indebted to P. S. Duponceau, Esq. an emi- 
 nent French barrister of this city. 
 
 " The French law for the classification, or, as it might perhaps 
 " be called, for the conscription^ of seamen, was enacted by 
 *' Lewis XlVth., in the year 1668, under the ministry' of the 
 " great Colbert. Before the enactment of that law, the French 
 " government had no resource left, when thcv wanted seamen, 
 " but to lay a general embargo on merchant vessels in all their 
 " ports ; by which means mariners were left without emplov- 
 *' ment, and compelled bv necessity to enlist on board the king's 
 *' ships. But the classification system having been suggested 
 " by Colbert in the year 1667, was put^in force, by way of ex- 
 *' periment, in the governments of La Rochelle^ Broiiage^ and 
 '' the Isles ot Re, Oleron and Aix, where it operated so sue 
 *' cessfuUy, that the next vcar its provisions were extended to 
 *' the whole kingdom. 
 
 " This Ordonnance, which bears date the 22d of 5eptcml)er, 
 *•' 1668, provides in substance : That all persons who have been 
 " employed two years in maritime service on board of a mer- 
 *' chantman, shall be considered as seamen hij profession : and as 
 *' such shall be enrolled or registered in a public office estab- 
 " lished within each maritime district or department. In time 
 '•'- of war, the seamen so registered are divided into three classes : 
 " and each class is bound alternately to serve for one ijear on 
 " board the king's ships when required. After having thus 
 *' served one twelvemonth, they are discharged and free to en- 
 *' gage again in the merchants' service ; the next class in order 
 *' takes their place ; and so on in rotation, until the end of the 
 " war. 
 
 '' Seamen who are constantly employed on board of fishing 
 " vessels^ are exempt altogether from the operation of this law. 
 " In order to encourage the fisheries, the edict declares that 
 
 t Idem, page 531. 
 
CHAP. lO.] THE PULPIT. 47 
 
 " those who are regularly employed in that line, sluill not be 
 " classed like other mariners, and shall not be compelled to 
 " serve on board the ships of the royal navy. 
 
 "• The seamen who are classed as aho\ementioned, enjoy 
 " many important privileges, to make them amends for this 
 " compulsive service. They are exempt at all times from serv- 
 " ing in the militia. Soldiers cannot be quartered or billetted 
 " in their houses. They are exempt from all the burdensome 
 " offices of the state, such as with us that of constable, guardiim 
 " of the poor, and the like : and while in actual service, no legal 
 " process can be served upon them, and all suits actually de- 
 "■ pending, are superseded." 
 
 For further details, see 1st Valin, page 509, and following. 
 
 The Pulpit. 
 
 Chapter 56 exhibits an awful view of the deplorable infatua- 
 tion which led to the prostitution of the pulpit, in Boston, to ex- 
 cite to anarchy, rebellion, and civil war. It is delightful to con- 
 template its application in New-York, to the sacred, I had al- 
 most said the divine, purpose, of defending our fathers, our 
 mothers, our sisters, our brothers, our wives, our children, our 
 homes and our altars. The rev. Mr. M'Leod, a gentleman of 
 powerful talents, preached a set of sermons, entitled, " A Scrip- 
 tural View of the Character, Causes, and Ends of the Present 
 War ;" in which are displayed a holy zeal — a glowing spirit of 
 patriotism, a profound knowledge of scripture, and an eloquence 
 not unworthy of a INIassilon or a Bourdaloue. I intended to 
 have given copious extracts froin them, but my limits forbid 
 the indulgence of that intention, and confine me to a few para- 
 graphs — enough, however, I trust, to induce readers of taste to 
 possess themselves of the whole work. 
 
 " I affirm the justice of ilie -uar from its commencement. Our neutral trade 
 was violently opposed, and almost totally destroyed ; our property was cap- 
 tured ; our fellow-citizens were enslaved, while peaceably pursuing their proper 
 employment ; and negotiation failed, after the excilions of yeare, to procure 
 redress for the past, or inmiunity for the future. To recover and preserve pro- 
 perty, to redeem and to defend men, tiiese are lawful causes of war. These 
 are the causes of the present war. The argument requires neither art nor elo- 
 quence. It is obvious to every capacity. It is irresistible. It may be evaded, 
 but it cannot be refuted. If it fail in extorting confession, it cannot fail in 
 producing conviction. 
 
 " American property has been seized and <lestroyed : American citizens have 
 been impressed and enslaved. These arc the facts. 
 
 " War, in defence of property, of liberty, and of life, is lawful. This is 
 the prmciple. 
 
 " Apply tlic principle to the facts. The United States have declared war, in 
 order to vindicate tlie rights of property, of liberty, and of life. Therefore is 
 tlie present war, from its origin, a defensive an<' a just war. This is Lhe a^g^l- 
 UK-nt. 
 
 " You may speak about it, and write about it ; you may close your eyes upo;. 
 it; you may go round about, and fly from it ; but yon v. ill in vain ofler resis' 
 
48 POLITICAL OLIVE BRANCH. [chap. 10. 
 
 ance to its truth. The facts are notorious. The principle is confessed. The ap- 
 plication is necessan . 
 
 " I would urge the support of the war, because I earnestly long for a 
 permanent peace. You know the enemy. His claims will rise by his suc- 
 cesses : and fall, in proportion to his defeats. The more he suffers, the more 
 will he be disposed to rehnquish the contest The greater his danger, the soon- 
 er will he come to an accommodation. By consistency and unanimity, America 
 might luave finished this war as soon as it had commenced. It is only by aHect- 
 ting the fears of the foe, that he can be made to hsten to tlie voice of equity. 
 
 " I woidd recommend the support of this war, because it is just The United 
 States ask. for nothing but what they ought to have ; what it is lawful for the 
 enemy to give, what is in its very nature, moral — the protection of property, 
 and personal hberty. I pniy for success to these righteous claims. I pray for 
 courage to the warrior, and for success to the armaments by which tlie pica 
 is urged, because the cause is just — because it is necessary to the repose of the 
 world — because God has promised that this cause shall universally prevail. 
 
 " When your country is at war, in defence of her rights, it is your duty to 
 encourage, by all lawful means, her exertions in the strife. It is criminal to 
 diminish her strength, or impede her progress. To this principle I would call 
 your notice from the pulpit, while our friends and our brethren from the adja- 
 cent country are assembled round o\ir city, to defend it from attack ; while 
 those among our fellow-worshippers in this house, who are fit to bear arms, are 
 practising in the field, the ails of defensive warfare; while all ranks and classes 
 of our fellow-citizens are employing tlieir hands and their money in niising 
 bulwarks on every assailable point, to protect our homes and our places of pub- 
 lic woi-ship, let us accompany tliem with our wishes and our prayers, lest we 
 'become an enslaved people. 
 
 " Those, who withhold their support from the wur in which their country- 
 is engaged, do what tends to prolong the evil. 
 
 " When appeal is once made to the law of force, ae parties, if they do not 
 cease to reason, employ discussion only as an auxiUar-- to the sword. It then be- 
 comes a contest for victorj". The aggressor, influencct . originally by principles of 
 injustice, is not likely to be corrected by his own suet "s. The historv' of nations 
 affords no instance of claims which occasioned war, b< relinquished by the of- 
 fending party merely because theresistance of tlieotli as feeble. When apeo- 
 ple are divided, they offer themselves an easy pre) ^o . e aggressor; and even if 
 they should ultimately succeed in redressing the evil, their weakness and discord 
 certainly prolong the contest. A protracted warfare, although ultimately success- 
 ful, is a present evil ; and the friends of a speedy peace will always, in war, be 
 desirous to employ the energy which alone can deser\e and secure a peace. 
 With the work of death none should trifle. It is ruinous — it is cruel, to pro- 
 long, unnecessarily, even a war of defence. In so far as any member of the 
 community, in public or in private, distracts the councils, or impedes the pro- 
 gress of those who conduct the war, he evidently prolongs the contest, and 
 docs what he can to prevent Uie return of peace. So far the guilt of a pro- 
 tracted warfare is chargeable upon him. It is, indeed, an evidence of the 
 displeasure of the Deity, when a people, instead of unanimously co-operating 
 for punishing the aggressor, are so divided and enfeebled, as to prolong, for 
 years, a contest which might be brought to a successful issue almost imme- 
 diatelv after its commencement. The man who withhoKls his support in such 
 a case, is the enemy of peace : he loves his party more than he does his coun- 
 try, more than he docs honour and justice ; more even than humanity or his 
 own interest, connected with the return of peace, who strives, for the sake of 
 partv, to enfeeble the arm of -authority, to withhold tlie necessary resources, 
 an>1 to discourage the soldier. 
 
 " The Deity is a fiod of justice and of truth. He will have us to judge 
 righteous judgment. He comm.ands us to love the truth and tlie peace ; and 
 to prf)motc the knowledge ai|l practice of equity. Therefore he reproves 
 tliost! who do not support an equitable war, :is the cause of God, the Supreme 
 .liidgc. Judges v. 23. " Curse t/e Meroz, (said the angel of the Lord,) curse ye 
 bitterly the inliubitanta thereof; because they came not to the Mp of thi Lord, to tbe 
 
 FINTS. 
 
lii-'*