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THE "FREE PRESS,"
Bu Geo. Howard,
U published we?kk, (every Friday,') a
o , vcvumue Lonnttjj js. L. Znday, August 8, 1828.
To. Zr.JVb. 51.
yl'O DOLLARS per year, (or 52 'nunr m' political principles were first
bcrs,) if paid within one month after Sub
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sible reference in this vicinity. No subscrip
tion discontinued unless a notification to that
ciToct is given.
Advertisements not exceeding 16 lines will
r; inserted at 50 cents the first insertion, and
25 cents each continuance. Longer ones at
that rate for every 16 lines.
Letters addressed to the Editor must be
fiost JiciJ.
lyr!! ? ra'l extricate us from our.difficl-
crisis 01 vii, tics. Let US Wit. nnr slinl,M,.
I " - . vuvuiiiVl O I J
the wheel, and resolve this day,
"to do or die:" not my neighbors,
by assuming a hostile attitude;
not with arms in our hands; but
by a vigorous use of such means,
as the Constitution and laws will
nnrtnif Ac t i .1
i , : r""""" -f iu luu uaiiKs, me
Z IT!'?' s Pnciplcs Avhich vil must soon correct itself, or
else djclo de sc w ill be the inevi-
logibly inscribed on the tablet of
my niintl, as some of you may
doubtless recollect. By those
landmarks I have moved on since,
"in the even tenor of mv wav "
sustaining thro1 good, and thVo'
we have this day convened to ce
lebratc.
The war of 1312, and the diffi
culties preceding it, involved us,
as individuals, and as a nation, in
heavy debts. The constant drain
on the South, and the liberal, not
to say prodigal expenditure of the
public monies, in other parts more
exposed, .produced a oecuniarv
i 1 j
Celebration of the 4th Jul,, nfA":T 'ul ,a.li "ul u"s
'pi "r ii -iouuuiM. mo ucffislnturc was
Communications.
FOR THE FREE PRESS.
Sltaenmn- M .t0 arrest 1 P""" J brdc... imposed
, '.r u.. r. J" 7''u iu suspend ineexccu-
lemarks elicited bv tliem from
Messrs. Branch and Alston, at
the recent Anniversary Dinner in
Halifax.
By J. y:w:n, Esq. Our cstr.em
rc! guest and distinguished fellow citi
zen, the Hon. John Branch: wc most
highly appreciate the devotion of his
time and talents in the service of his
country. Xinc Cheers.
Mr. Branch arose and addressed the
company as follows:
Gektlemex: The generous sen
timent which you have just ex
pressed, the day, the place, and
the manner, all combine to over
whelm me with a deep conviction
of my inability to make you an
adequate return; and 1 can assure
you, that nothing but a thorough
conviction of having served you
with fidelity, connected with a
well founded belief that you do
me the justice to think' so, could
for a moment sustain me. The
approbation of the virtuous and
the enlightened, has ever been
considered the richest reward that
a public servant can receive; and
coming as yours does, from those
who have known me in all the re
lations of life; who, with more
than parental or filial indulgence,
have thrown the mantle of obli
vion over my many errors, it fills
me with indescribable sensations.
Under such circumstances, how
ever, it is very natural, and may
not be without its use to take a
retrospect, to see what errors may,
and should be corrected; and what
remains that is worthy of approval.
With your permission, then, I will
briefly pass in review before you,
some of the leading measures, in
which it has been my lot to act a
very humble part, in doing this,
1 cannot forget, nor can I fail to
recur to some of the early inci
dents of my first political connex
ion with the citizens of Halifax
county, the land of my ancestors,
the place of my nativity. When
first called into the public service
by their suffrages, in 1811, I felt
deeply the responsibility of my
station, and I never have for a mo
ment lost sight of the weighty ob
ligations imposed on me by their
tion of the law; and although mv
heart bled for my countrymen, I! dance. Wc have the corrective
table consequence. Let us nlcdo-e
to each other "our. lives, our for
tunes, and our sacred honors,"
not to buy the manufactures which
it is the object of the manufactu
rers 'to compel us to buy of them
at enhanced prices. Let . us ma
nufacture for ourselves. We have
water power sufficient, and to
spare; we have a population a
property which is rendered un
on agriculture; we have the raw
material in the .7rontsit nhim.
felt bound to obey the paramount
obligations of the Constitution. I
thought then as 1 think now Fiat
justitia, mat calam. Having
thus firmly, and at some risk
maintained this fundamental prin
ciple, when severely operating
on my friends, my neighbors, and
my fellow-citizens literally bleed
ing at every pore, could 1 do less,
than to insist on an impartial ap
plication of the same stern prin
ciples of justice, in a different
form, when operating on an asso
ciation of individuals clothed with
corporate powers, who, to all in
tents and purposes, had set your
laws at defiance, and who were
laying the ground work of incal
in our own hands, let us, then.
"smile at the drawn dagger, and
defy its point." As my votes on
this subject, (in connexion with
the votes of my venerable col
league,) in the 'Senate of the U.
States, have recently been ar
raigned l)V a Snnntnr frnm Mno.
vyards (as I was informed by a
Senator) that he should have vo
ted against the bill at last, if we
had not made him mad! How
dreadful ! how horrid to incur his
displeasure ! !
.What think you now, my fellow-citizens,
of a man exalted as
Mr. Webster is, yet capable of
acting so disingenuously? Does
it appear, while acting in the cha
racter of an informer, that he was
disposed to tell the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the
truth? There surely can be but
one opinion. This he has done,
too, after having assured me icith
apparent sincerity that he did not
intend to publish ami vari of Ms
speech bearing on my votes. By
mis assurance l was induced to
withhold from the press, the re
marks I made in answer to him.
ana to suppress some others which
I intended to make. Has it how
ever come to this, that public men
are to be censured for refusing tn
aid their oppressors in polishing
the chains to be riveted on them?
Are they to be upbraided for re-
iusing io kiss the rod uplifted to
chastise them! and are thev tn
be answerable for any incidental
evil incurred in making what they
, - I & " "v i.i.jr
sacnusetts, 1 hope, gentlemen, vou; believed to be the mnt offim
... . - , ' I -"Vwfc VylllUlUUb
will pardon me for trespassing on J resistance? I cannot, I will not
your patience while 1 make a-believe that this miserable stuff
brief explanation. Mr. Webster j will be for a moment heeded, by
says that but for the vote of North an enlightened community. Thus
Carolina, or in other words, but, far 1 have acted on the defensive,
for the votes of Mr. Macon andjl might justifiably carry the war
iiijauii, me ue cenis additional . into the enemy's countrv hnf T
1 . . I. r 3 v. jk
duty on the gallon of molasses j forbear. It is not my purpose to
might have been avoided: and that j become the assailant. My only
consequently wc are iustlv an- object is. to vindinntP mvcif a.
culable woe? No, gentlemen, swerable to our constituents, for unmerited asnnrsinn.
with the best feelings personally , having imposed on them anannu- 'you, and to the world that I havr
for those who ruled and directed
the operations of the Banks, I
proclaimed, when your chief ma
gistrate, ten years ago, the mad
dening truths to the world, and
exerted every nerve to stay them
in their wild and destructive ca
reer; but all to no purpose. They
contemned your authority, and
rode rough-shod over your laws
and their charters. To this
cause, in connexion with the ini
quitous policy pursued by the Ge
neral Government, may be justly
attributed the misery, ruin and
desolation hat pervade our once
happy land. In these our difficul
ties, we have asked for bread, and
.they have given us a stone.
The manufacturers have again,
as you know, and must soon feci,
laid their leaden yoke on a com
munity gasping for existence.
What will be the result Heaven
only knows. That the liberties
of this people may be perpetual:
that the Union of these States, on
which those liberties depend, may
be as lasting as time, is my most
ardent desire. But that the pre
sent condition of our people may
be ameliorated, is my fervent
prayer. It is idle however to ex
pect that these things will be ac-
i i ii c . i .1 :
compusnea oy ioiumg our arms
al tax of 50 or SC0.000.
I know, gentlemen, that most
of those to whom I am responsi
ble, understand the reason that
influenced my votes, and not on
ly my votes, but that of almost ev
ery Southern Senator, and prop
erly appreciate them. Lest, how
ever, there should be a single in
dividual who may be misled by
the sophistry, by the Yankee
tricc ot this distinguished xan
kee, 1 will briefly say what I
frankly said in the Senate of the
U. States that I was as much
averse, on principle, to the duty
on molasses, as I was to any other
item in the Tariff bill; and while
1 voted against striking it out, my
reasons were avowed; which were
to distribute the burdens equally,
to make the gentleman feel for
his constituents what he seemed
to be incapable of feeling for
mine: and thus to induce him to
go with us in rejecting the whole
bill; every item of which I consi
dered onerous and ruinous to the
Southern country. The result
proved that I was right; for by re
taining the five cents on the gal
lon of molasses, many of those
who would otherwise have vo
tedor the bill, were constrained
to vote against it: and even Mr.
UllOllS IllipUM-l UU UIO JJ hivii w"j TT 1 ! .v.j i.ji. iuw uuiiivv uuviiiu iu UC lllUOl m-
ibcral confidence, in advance of; and calling upon Hercules to aid! Webster himself declared after-1 terested in the contemplated im-
been vigilant of your rights and
interests, and faithful to the trust
you have reposed in me.
Permit me further to avail my
self of this opportunity to call your
attention to another subject of
deep national concern. 1 mean,
gentlemen, the commercial, the
navigating improvement of our
State. My conduct on this sub
ject has been misapprehended by
nuuiu. it iius ueen said mat while
I was ostensibly the patron of the
act passed by the Legislature of
North-Carolina, incorporating the
Occacock Navigation Company,
that I was in fact opposed to the
assent of Congress being given
This is not so. When I present
ed the act to the Senate of the U.
States, I moved its reference to
the appropriate committee the
committee of Finance, of which I
was a member, and before that
committee supported it with zeal
and success; and was myself in
structed to report a bill yielding
the assent of Congress. When
called tip in the Senate, I again
advocated its passage, although
opposed by the gentleman above
mentioned, (Mr. Webster.) Sub
sequently, however, in a confer
ence with the representative from
the district deemed to be most in-