Newspapers / Newbern Sentinel (New Bern, … / Nov. 10, 1821, edition 1 / Page 1
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; i - i' ' '. . -!,. ' . - -v ' i 1 l ' ' ' ' " ' ' ' ' ' ' '' 1 ' ' ' lLjL VOLUME I V. NEWBERN, N. C. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, J 821. NUMBER 190. BT PASTEUR 4- WATSON, j At $ 3 per annum half in advance. American Restrictive System. For the Carolina Cent inch Jlessrs. Editors, The enclosed is a copy of a reply T received in answer to some queries on the subject of our restrictive system. Its pub lication in your paper will confer a favor on yours, F. " Dear Sir, " In reply to your enquiries as to our present restrictive system, it is my opin ion, that the United Mates restrictions on our trade to the British Free Ports, are likely to prove ineffectual, and inop erative, and they are certainly very inju rious to the mercantile, agricultural and shipping interests of the country, and I cannot but hope will be repealed the ensu j.t session of Congress. The worst fea ture in this system, is the enoumous and prohibitory duty on West India produce, especially Rum, (being the only article equivalent which the British Islands have to siive in return for our produce.) The hi:li duty lias materially checked the consumption of this article, snd so far has had precisely the effect of checking the exportation of just so much produce of the soil, (or labor) to pay for it. Were government t reduce the duty on rum b 1 ir .1 "... I.I U 5 one-nair, uiey uum uuiain a. greater would .Kfoniif :iiul ifl mv onininn. r?r mrr fr n i rWrf fr.idt- to rhp Rriflh Telanrl.! I than couM be done under the present ab surd sy stem, if maintained ten years be cause, the liritish .Planters finding so larse a market for their produce, would vjuuld never cense to urge their own gov ernment to open their ports toAmerican vessels. But if such should not .be the enect, our vessels which now return in ballast from the British free ports, would at least have return freights. The dutv onSuar, is I think too high, ftho' not sa extravagantly so as that on rum) for as it now stands, the paying a bounty to atlantic states are the New-' Means planters, of 3. 36 per cent, on Molasses, is perhaps, not The duty much out of the way, but yet it is high enough, being 33 1-3 to 50 per cent, on first cost. My theory is, that our corn, flour, rice, lumber, fish, &c. will all be .exported, (thitisthe surplus) if we take in exchange at moderate duties such articles 3 for eign consumers have To give Trade is but an exchange ofequivalents, and where weprobibit foieign equivalents, we virtu ally prohibit the exportation of home pro duce. There can be no reasonable doubt, that the very low price of domestic pro duce, especially bread stufs, has arisen fnm the enormous duty on equivalents fu'rnishe-J by foreign consumers viz. Mideira and Canary Islands Wines, West India Hum, French Brandy, Dutch j (tin, &c. owing to which, we absolutely force foreign nations to do without us. Take this instance, and many others may be adduced France produced, In 131 S, about 15000 hhds. tobacco, In 1S19, 21000 I IS20, 26000, (this is equal t the full quantify exported in 1312) and, as I understand by an intelligent German, the culture of that article is encreasing continually in various parts of Germany. h regard to tobacco, this no doubt arises f'Oiti the undue and impolitic encourage ment to manufactures, owing to which, f-rei;n consume! s not being able to sell equivalents they have to give in ex y.anee for our produce, are obliged to without it, or adopt other substitutes, ihis encouragement to manufactures, ' the expence of the agricultural class, t a branch of the restrictive system J'hich the prohibition to import any ''gn produce fiom the British free P'S is another important sprout. I hope some vigorous communications le(tnade from the Southern States, ajy by the agricultural class, to 0asrs the ensuing session. It is im Jfeni that the subject of a Free Trade Ja1Jbe supported by that class, for a, are more deeply interested in it, .none suffer more by the present res- th t' ie S'-Slem Should the farmers think j.' ,h ,rec importations of foreign spir r ' !, , reduce the demand and conse- surM u Pnce of,era,n let them be n l 7 U) bb,s-of corn or flour so,d 'onim, i reisn sumers, will always at lh; tf ore gallons of foreign spirits kVc than the same 100 f3 hom mmand at the home market, 'Hide Spirits rniKnn.nil., ,uZ TSe,ChtCan alwa-vs afford to Pr,c (if he can bring home in exchange) than j ant fftjNTKO AND PUBLISHED WEEKLY, i 'I i the distiller can afford to pay to convert tne grain into aomesnc spirits. j i The present tariff bears very hard on the agricultural interests, and what is sin gular, with probably less benefit ito. the revenue, than if the duties were lower.-. It behoves then, the agricultural interest, to stand forth and express their senti ments. Party here, has, or should have np voice I mean neither political nor sectional party ; the former is not inter ested;, and as to the latter, tho' the south ern states; evidently are the greatest suf ferers, ye are not the northern' states benefited in the same proportion. IjwouMask this question : In what res pect has the country been benefited by the present system ? Has our revenue (arising from this branch of commerce, artd I now. allude particularly to our West lndii trade) encreased ? The Secretary of the Treasury, I think, savs no has our commerce, our tonnage encreased, and are our merchants benefited thereby? Ajhost of unfortunate bankruptSj from .Norfolk to St. Mary's, answer, no.. Pre vious to this restrictive system, our sea-j nnrfs wprp all Iita huctlo anri f - " w- m m j VU HVll W J Jf y the merchant, the mechanic, and the la boring class, w ere all profitably occupied. The farmer obtained from 3 to 5 dollars for his corn, and in proportion for his other articles of produce : and he pave less than he now does, for his sugar and j coffee. Lumber was then 13 to 18 ner ' thousand $ staves, 20 to 30 and $ 50 1 was given in 1816, for W. O hhd.staves,' ; and $ 4 for shingles The very dis- . bursements of British vessels in the ports . where they did business, was an impor- 1 tanfjnd vantage to the place added to this, . . tney urOUght a considerable amount of country: and I would i specie into the ; asK, now or in wnat manner are wecom j pensated for this sad reverse ? Are we j one step advanced in eflecting the pur ! pose for which these measures were pro- the British to open their West India ports to our ves-i ! sels ? Have our restrictions made them1 j suffer as much as ourselves ? Isav, with-! i out hesitation, that the British govern- L ment are less inclined than thev were two! 'years since, to open their ports, and that I. a z r t i . v ineir colonies uo not sutler in tne same j pioportion as the people in the southern j states do. The people of the southern states have sprung forward to offer up their interests on the altar of patriotism, in the hope of advancing their country's go'od. They have patiently borne, : and silently waited the result of'' the experi ment : time enough has been given it is found not to answer, and theynow say- give us tree trade, give us leave to. sell the produce of our country to whosoever, will come and purchase it. In the commencement of this, I de signed only to allude to the British free ports, but as I advanced, the effect of the whole restrictive system pressed on mev so that I have almost unawares to myself, gone further, being clearly of opinion that the whole system is founded in error. Let it be rescinded, and those who now attribute the distresses of the country to the operation of the Banks, will soon find by a return of more pros perous times, the true source from whence all bur evils flow " Yours, &c. " October 10th, 1821." MISCELLANEOUS. From the Evangelical Magazine i .i REFLECTIONS ON A TRIAL FOR MURDER. 'Behold thy fellow culprit trembling there, 'And in his trial see a type of thine.' n. ; I had often heard that there was some thing very7 solemn and interesting', in the form of a judicial trial in a capital case, and feltsome curiosity to witness the effect. , Accordingly, understanding the other day, that a man was about to be tried before the Superior Court of Law for the County, upon a charge of mur der, I resolved to attend the Court, and went over to; the house at once. On en tering in, I found the room already thronged with the numerous spectators, who had been drawn together by the ex citement of the occasion. Making my way through them 'with some difficulty, I obtained a seat among the lawyers, and other gentlemen within the bar. The Judge was in his seat before me, the Clerk in his seat below, and the Attor ney for the Commonwealth at a small table in front of him. The Sheriff was in his box at! my left, and his Deputy in the other at the'opposite side of the room. The Prisoner was in his place in the rear, guarded by the Jailer at his side And here,; after a little while, upon a motion from the Judge, the Clerk rose, w1 a trembling voice, proceeded ' ' ' f j to arraign the prisoner, callingnpon him . io nom up nis uauu, sign aumission that he was the person charged :V and then went on to read the indictment, which was in the usual form, and, as I thought, highly solemn. I was indeed particularly pleased to notice the recog nition it contained of some of the most serious, and affecting truths of our reli gion. Thusy-among other things, I ob served that it charged the prisoner with having committed the crime, . not hav ing the fear of God before his eyes." And here, I saw, was a direct acknowl- edgment of that 'great scriptural lesson, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the want of it the natural source of all iniquity. It was, in fact, in exact unison with the sentiment of the Psalmist, the transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, there is no fear of God before heir eyes. But the in dictment further charged the man with " being moved, and seduced; by the insti gation of the devil." And here too, I saw was another solemn truth of religion, often ridiculed indeed, and at the very moment perhaps when it is . verified by the profane. The Clerk having now finished read ing the indictment, asked the prisoner what he had to say, u Guilty, or not Guiltv !" " Aot Guilty," replied the poor culprit, with a voice that belied his words. " And how will you be tried?" " By God and my country," said he, in the form appointed, whispered to him by the Jailer. By the country," I under- .stood was meant the Jury, the twelve " free and legal men" who were to try the cause. And for the phrase " by God," it was evidently a public and solemn re . cognition, ol the existence and govern ment of that awful Being, who is the ; Judge of quick and dead, and is suppo- sed to preside unseen in every court of ! law. It was also a declaration, that all human tribunals derive their rights to punish offenders, especially in capital cases, not from any imaginary "social contract," but only from Him, the saered source of all judicial power upon eath. Ad it was besides, perhaps, a virtual appeal to tne omniscience oi me searcner of hearts, for the truth of the prisoner's plea. It seemed, I thought, to say, so may God judge me on that day, as my defence is true on this; and strongly doubting his innocence as I did, it fell with evil omen on my ear. But Iwas re lieved, at the instant, by the humane and pious supplication of the cleik, "God send thee a good deliverance.'" May the God to whom thou hast appealed, enable thee to establish thy innocenc on this trial, that so tiiou tnayest be acquited by thy peers, and escape the fearful sentence of the law? Thus understood, any heart said amen to the prayer. Indeed, I could not sufficiently admire the tenderness of the law which had thus hallowed the prin ciple, " that every man shall be presumed to be innocent, until his guilt is proved." The Jurbrs.who had" been returned by the Sheriff, and from the vicinage, were now severally called into court, and, uuc uy win- one, directed to . look up- on the prisoner. while the cleik asked him, " Are you willing to be tried by that man?" For it seems he had a rieht of peremptory challenge," as it is called, that is, of refusing his .peers, (to the number of twenty at least,) without as signing his reasons, and this in favor of life. The Jurors received were called to the book, by fours, and the words of their oath, as I caught them, were, you shall well and truly try the issue between the Commonwealth and the prisoner at the bar, and a true verdict render according to the evidence so help you God." And here again, I was led to reflect upon the importance of religion in all the dearest concerns of life. For what, would be the worth of such an oath if there were no God to hear it, or to punish its infraction? But as it is, how great is the virtue of those little words--" So help you God!" And what a sacred security do thev give to an innocent man, for the safety of his life and liberty 1 TThe whole pannel be- ing tnus sworn, the clerk informed them that the prisoner was thereto answer the charge in the indictment, which be now read to them, that he had pleaded " not guilty." and put himself upon his country; he added some words which I do not dis tinctly retain, concluding with, " look upon him, gentlemen and hearken to bis cause." The witnesses for the Commonwealth , were now sworn, and examined by the attorney, then cross-examined by the counsel for the prisoner, and re-examined by the attorney. I hen the witnesses for the prisoner were sworn, and questioned k B wur M A HUT mm M Wm .c wc.c nu, auu qucuuiicu by his coun insei, y-ipe MiOTey, ana then by bis counsel again. This long and rather tedious proceeding wore put he day candles were brought in and he pleadings began. And here cry at- tentipn was roused anq gratified by the plain bid able speech of the good old Prosecutor, who stated the evidence and the law with great force, and clearness, and called for the conviction of the pris oner, with a mixture of firmness and ten derness that was truly affecting. On the other hand, I admired the fine and elo quent defence of the advocate, whoexer ted all- the power of his renius. blending fact and fancy, argument and pathos to- geiiier, to convince and persuade the Jury of his clientVinnocencei or at least to insinuate a doubt of his guilt.. All this time, Is marked with interest the coun tenances of the Jurors, who seemed to hang upon Ytfe speakers i lips, suspended between conviction and inclination, and anxious, Iahought, to catcli some good excuse4; for saving the culprit's life. I marked too the face of the poor wretch himseM, bent with earnest and eager anxiety upon , his counsel, as if he would aid his words by his own unutterable looks J and I remembered, with a new impression, that saying of the Apostle, And if any man sin, we have an advo cate with: the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. But the case was now finish ed. The Judge said a few words upon the law, referring the whole to the Jury and tWe Sheriff led them away to their room. , There was here a short time for re "a flection, whilst We all waited for the ver dict, and I was well disposed to improve it.. After all that had passed indeed, I could not help feeling a human concern for the fate of the prisoner, whose life was now hanging by a hair. Add to this the whole form of the trial, from that air of religion which it breathed, very naturally inspired devout reflection. I felt myself, as it were, carried out from the scene before me ; and my spirit was wrapt away beyond the world. I remembered that the Scripture spoke of another day, and another trial in which I should have to bear a part myself. A few more suns and moons thought I, and the distinctions of this house will be forgotten, and we shall all stand together, as fellow culprits, jat the bar of God. Yes, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and give account of the deeds' done in the body, j And what have they been ? And when we are called upon to answer the charges of the la w against us, what shall be our plea ? Can we say 'Jnot guilty?'' Can we say "not guilty," when we know that they are to be tried by God and our country. By God, the searcher of hearts, in the person of Jesus Christ, and our country, the saints in glory, our peers shall we dare to call them ? j Alas I there will be no right, no power of challenge here.' And what need of swearing witnesses against tis, when our own hearts shall condemn us. and God who is greater than our hearts,', and Jcnoweth all things? Ah f there is i no doubt about the law, no doubt about the fact ; and all the eloouence of aneels 1 cannot blanch our cause. Guilty, and ot self-convicted. At this moment, was life. roused from my reverie by the voice ofj A proper conception of the nature of the Sheriff, calling out to the crowd, fortune, would aid us greatly in forming a " make! way for the Jury;" and they stood just estimate of humancharacters and ac- ; before the Clerk there was silence as in tions. It is fiow very common with us to the chamber of death. " Haveyou agreed 'attribute success or failure in any enter- upon your verdict?" " We have," said prize, to personal ratrit or demerit. If an a faltering voice. And who shall speak army gains ar battle, the. victory is ascri for you?" The foreman presented him- bed to its valour; if it sustains a defeat, self in fjront before them. " Gentlemen, the disaster is attributed to its cow ardice. look upon the prisoner" all eyes were . If an individual prospers in his affairs', suc- turned upon tne unnappv man; wno reaa his dooni in the pale laces of his peers ; and I saw that bis hope was giving up the ghost. How say you, said the clejk, IS he guiltv i of the murder of which he stands indicted, or not 1 guilty?"! " Guilty," said the foreman, with a low voice, drawing his breath af- i ter the word, with a deep sigh. ".And so you say all?" " Ail, all." A murmur ! of annrobation ran through the assembly. I " Sheriff, look to the prisoner," cried the clerk and the crowd retired, j For myself, I did not feel disposed to mingle with the throng; but rather stole away alone to mv home and bed. And here, for some time at least, it was in vain that 1 wooed sleep to my pillow. The vision of the unhappy roan, now un der sentence of death for his crime, was before my eyes, and I could not chase it away. Guilty indeed as I believed him to be, I still felt that he was a man, my fellow-creature, my fellow-sinner, per haps less criminal in the sight of God than myself,1 (for who can fathom the depth of tit nan inJnuitv?") and the words of his nnnc0 "if he is unfit to live, he is I more unfit to die," were still trembUng m1 mVMr Aeain mv spirit stole away to T 0 i . -l the dav of Judgment. Again imagioa-? . . jaced me at therar, and conscience i Qrfe me to hoW up my hand, which soon fell with its own guilty weight. Called upon to answer for myself, in vain did pride whisper me to say " not guilty," he wordlngered upon my lips, and Could not utter them. The aw of Go God in all its purity & Spirituality vas brought home to my apprehension $ sin revived) ' and I died with mortal fear. Ol how precious appeared to roe then the words j of holv writ. fhrm irn rtn j ' - j , w . IM -wuianjimtun tv - them thatfire in Christ Jesus, who wall: not ofterhe flesh, but after the spirit. For Christ is the end nf the law for right cousness to every one that believeth in him. Yes indeed, cried I, and may I not add with Paul, (though with a fainter hope,) know in whom I have believed, and 1 am. persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him. until that day t The thought was divine I seized the gracious moment to breathe forth a' prayer for acceptance in my Re deemer and fell into a soft and caluiy sleep. FROM THE NATIONAL GAZETTE ESSAY ON FORTUNE. i , ' i - ( i FoRTUS'K IS THAT CONCURRENCE OP CAUSES OR CIRCUMSTANCES, BEYOND OUR CONTROL, WHICH INFLUENCES OR DETER MINES OUR FATE OR CONDITION IN LIFE. The word is also used tocdenote the state ori condition of life produced byie Con currence of circumstances either beyond, or! within, our control, or, by the union of both together. ' . If these eventuate in what men are accustomed to regard as happi ness, the resuh is called good fortune, or, sometimes, simply fortune ; if, on the con trary, in misery , it is denominated ill for? tune or misfortune. Ifthe general tenor of man's life is prosperous, he is pronoun ced fortunate; if adverse, unfortunate. Appius has said, and hundreds have repeated his saying,1 that every man makes his Own fortune; (" faber quisque su fortunae est;") but, to assert this, is to as sert, that every man is an independent, if. not ah omnipotent being. No man makes his own fortune. We, should be nearer th? truth in saying, that we make the for tunes of one another ; but, to ascribe, as is sometimes done, every thing to fortune, is,1 to make every man utterly powerless with regard to his own affairs. A great variety of conditions exist among mankind, but this does not arise so much from a diversiiy in the constitu tions of individuaIs,asfrom circumstances over which they, as individuals, have little or no immediate control. In their origi nal faculties, men are much more alike : than is commonly imagined. Difference . of character is chiefly owing to difference of external citcumstances, and of these the cardinal ones- are the accidents of birth, education, and connexions. - A man' character, indeed, influences his fortune ; but, we should not forget, that he is, in a great measure, indebted fm this character to circumstances not within his personal control, or. in other words, to fortune'. External circumstances have quite as much share as the natural disposition of - - . . - an individual in determining his lot ot cess is aurioutea 10 ins wisuom i piu- to his wisdom t dence ; if he does not prosper, we very rhnritnhlv imnnfp his misfortunes tO III folly or wickedness. Such, at the present day, is too often our manner or passing judgment : when it is, at the same time, generally acknowledged, that all that the best can do, is to deserve succes, that none can command it ; that schemes apparently the best concerted often miscarry, while seeming folly ks successful ; that no man is an inuepeiiueni or ui?nwpuicn wnj!,j and,that but few of the circumstances on which bur fate depends are wilhin our own control. Men as frequently owe their prosperity to their neighbors' folly and wickedness, as to their town wisdom or virtue. As a stimulus to individual exer tion, it may be well enough to suppose his misfortunes to be the consequences of his own faults ; but in discussing the affairs of jaur neighbours, at least, we should be jiist, and attribute a gieat part of. their misfortunes to the faults of others. So imperfect is our knowledge of the nature of many events that tfans'pireju this' 'sublunary world, and so ignorant are we of the connection exisiuig, m icmc T . - -U .er... . instances, between cause i u mrt, . somebody has said, that . for aught that we know, if Aiexanuer iiu .ui w n m h mr mm A M-k I M Mr w Cydnus, snasspeuic, u., v written. 2iigi invurawwara wntu a bias to the mind, and a :ingle evrnt iDsy Ol' I a J ftawx tftlclk stamp a w note nie wiin ie vunn prosperity or aavenny, ye wr I ! t .- i 1
Newbern Sentinel (New Bern, N.C.)
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Nov. 10, 1821, edition 1
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