Newspapers / The Raleigh Minerva (Raleigh, … / Sept. 17, 1804, edition 1 / Page 1
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V V.T... "-v'':i". ''!, -7 7777" .-,.' ' 77 777iv '77 ..;7;' .; '.-" ,:. : ;7':7;-: , '''fc-v-:"-'' -5 v . -- .w- . - y v J mi. -V - : ,Tfe AH Alt DOLt. p 6'b lishe p i ; (we e k lyY by wiiU amSbqyj-a V - D," O l 1 1 A i ., P - ;.' Akir. tmpMyW Xeariy. J !-V"r ' ...fa'juUt in Advance. RALEIGfl, (n-. c.) imNDX,M VOi 9-3 . No. 440.. .- ' v-. IS 77-:. 7.7. .-v7t-; 7 sr77'- '7-'.i7l v : , .' X LOUISIANA RZtiQNSTRAXCZk ui. : - . ' ' -.-', - J, ..." .-- .-. , CONGRESS oTMi, UNITED STATES in SENATE? an Pi. HOUSE or REPRE- tV'-J':- SENTA ri VS coMvistD. "We tlvi Subscribcf-f v PlaDtcrs, JMerchants or that Cpngre$ cpvilrl so little regard thim, and we waited the result . with.aa anxiety which distance ocjy prevented hif express thg before the passage of the bill, fcr sits pence which continued to the last mument oC.the,' session, after, debates which only tended to shew.how little our true suuation was known j afur the rejection of every araenqment ueclaratory ot our rights, it. lengtn became a law, .ana peiore this nett lion can oepresenlea viu taite tnteun our country. , Disavowing any languaseinit that of re- rempnstrance j disdaining any other our rights, we pray leave to examine law "verectiiirouisiana into two territories & providlnjfor the temporary government thereof to compare Its provisions with our rrc&--ancLitS- whole scope with the letter K spirit of the treaty which binds "us to the United States.'' y. , t v " The first section erects the country south : of the 33d degree, into a. Territory of the United States, by tlic name of the Territory of Orleans: ,,, ' ;i.v y"i: ';' ,;. The second gives us a Governor appoint ed, for three years ..by thePrcsident pLthe United States, toe taurth vests in him and in a council- also chosen by the President, all Legisutive power subject to the revision oj Congress -pecidly guarding against any interference with public property either by taxaiioh or saVp." ., And the fifth establishes, a judiciary to consi ft of a Supreme Court having exclusive, criminal asd original ju rissiction without appeal for all causes above the value of 100 dollars ; and 'Mien inferior Courts as the Legislature of the , Territory mav establish the Judges of the Superior fHCourt;' re ;ap(6inted;c:hyrthe ...Presidcnt-to conjueiaofliceyour tfar. TIiis n the summary of our -CQhstitution.i' .This is the; accomplishment of a treaty engagement td incorporate lis into the Union, and admit us t6 all the rclns, advantaces, and immu cities of American 'Ciuzens." , And thus and oherl inhabitants of Louisiana, respect fully approach the.LegisUtureof jhe United 5.Utes,rWiin mciujridioi oar rigius, a re jnonstrance against certain laws which con travene them, ; and a petition for that redress to which the laws' of nature, sanctioned by positive stipulations, have entitled us. ; vlVithnut anv atrenev ia the events which Sutes,we yet considered them as fortunate, and thought our liberties secured, even he fors w knew, the. terms of the cession.-. Persiiilcd that a free people would acq lire ' territory ouly-to extend the blessings pf tree- dom;hat an enhghtenedii-itrpa w?u!cl ne ver destroy those principles-on' which us verntnent wal toundedfind'tnat their re presetr5atives would disdaia to bejxmu the instatnn,ts of oppression, weKca'lcuU'ted wit certainty that their firipfof sovereign, ty would bf a communication of all the bles sins the enjoyed, ny were the less anxi-ou-, to knowoa whati particular terms we were, recei ved It -waa early-understooi-that W2 weto be American citizens ; this satiifiecyoui? wishes, it implied every thing cauia aesire, ana uuea us wun mat nap- ess which arise: from the anticipated en joyment of a ricrht lonx withheld. We knew that.it was impossible to be citizens of the United States,' without .enjoying personal freedom, protection of property, and, abdve all, the privileges of afree representative ga- .. "veramsnt. tud did not therefore imagine that we could" be deprived of these rights," even ifthere should have existed no promise to impart them ; yet it was with some satis- l fiction-we found these . objepts'f secured to us by the stipulation of a treaty and the faith of Congress pledged to us for their un- , interrupted enjoy merit il weixpected them froui your magnimityv but were hot displeas ed to see the rri secured to us as a right, and guaranteed by sOlston etigagenients. C ' With a firm persuasion that these engage ments would bp sacredly- ful filled,- wf passed under your jurisdiction, with a joy border- " ing on'enthiKiasnisubmjtted to theiacon veniences pf an intermediate dominion with- . oat a'murmeri and saw the last tie that at- tachedtu to our . mother-country, severed without regret. -- Even the evils of a' milita ry and absolute authority Were' acquiesced in, because it indicated an "eagerness to com- p!etethe transfer, & place beyond the reach of accident the union we mutually desired. A single magistrate vested with civlPand military, with executive and judiciary pow ers, upon whose laws we had no check, over whose acts .. wehad na controul, and from' Jrhdse .decrees there . is na appeal, the sud den suspension of alf those forms,f to which we had been accustomed," the, total want of any permanent.systtin . to replace them, the introduction of a new language into the ad ministration of Justice, the perplexing ne cessity of using arr interpreter1 for every communication with the pfdeers placed pver U,1?, the involuntary errors of necessity com- j mittedjj . they are to decide, wavering between the civil and the common law, Between the forms of the French; Spanish and American juris Ience and with the best intentions un- ' - able to, expound laws, of which they are igV norant, or to, acquire them in a language . they dp not understand--these ; were not slight; incoriyeniencits, ;n"6r was this state of t&Ihgs calculated ' to give fa vo rable- i m"j " prsioas, or realise the hopes We enitrtain' cd. But we submitted witb resignation , lycause we thought it the effect of necessity, T-We b ub mi tt e d v l th pa lience though its duration was lbtiger than we had been taught to expect we su'omi Ued even with 4cer. Pfl y was employed ix reducing this choas 1 ':aiJ:der,J'and- by your legislative- fiat,'- Call in?, a system pf harmony Irom the depth of this confused tlisen.-Harit mass. liut,we uheir formauoriV-the Sndl infliience of the executive Uion legislative proceedings, and a aepenuentumeiary, tormed, we believe veiy pro'minerrt articles 'iu jtlie lfstof griev ances complained of by the United State's at the cpnmencerherjt of rheir glorious con tesoor freedom : theVppositrn to them. ven 'by force, was dec hud i ' ous aHd patriotic, and tlie rights.- ot ihatup-; position vasouride' were i, 1 funda mental, indefeasiable, self-vi.nt, ' and eternal j they formed, as yurcountr'' then unanimously aerted thepnly ration al basis on wbich. covernment could rest understood by the Weakest understandinc ; not capablc-of alienation, they might always be reclaimed Unsusceptible of change;, .they. were the same at all times, in all climates, the performance depends only sm the will of . the contracting party r.;'; H: '"'!'? ' . --r" But if capiitity ia to be the xriterion and . information the preliminiry rtquislte of oCr admissioir let us respectfully enquire what is the nature i"of this" capacity and informa tion, and where it will most probably Be found. By the distribution' of powefs be . tween the general And 3tate2govern?,'-,,ifBt the former have the exclusive superi . 5 ence 'of all external relations ';and'phthos6. internal arrangements,' weich regard the Be '' -.-veral states in .their national capacity V; the' v residuary powers, retained by the slatef ( :; theywere-0'lainf4twisaddcrasabc rw quire in their exercise a species of informa tion to be derived only from local sources. purest principles will be misapplied nawiu UC. IH UilCVlCU, I --llie the beet inter and under aH drcumsfances ; and the fairj mostrsplei- i t iforts pf gehius,rwill iro w, 72!inot conceaf. weouirhtnotto dissembiei thatthe'firsf-projecFp y vernnvem ; of this cpuivtryatehded to lessen entfauiasm-whiclK- until that period, "The ten universal present evils, while it rendered us less jangyinc.aa to the future p stilly however, e 'to persuade ouelves, that fur ther enquiry would produce better 'infornia-: t'0'; that discussion' Would establish ; our -'S'?f. and time destroy every prejudice ut might, oppose them.- We could not , far oppose Jpurielves to believe,- that We had aa tnisukcn the stipulations ia oar favour, is the promise performed which was made by our first magistrate, iayour name, that you would "receive us as brothers, and hasten to extend to us a participation in those invaluably rights, whihrd formed the ba sis of yputmexamitdprosptrityV t Ighorant"as we have been rcpiesented of jour 7iaivral rightsy shall we be called on to shew that this Government is inconsistent with every principle of civil liberty. . Uninformed as we are supposed to be of our acquired rights, it is necessary for ui to demonstrate that this act docs, not in corporate us in-the union" that it vests us with none of the i rights" gives .$ no " ad vantages" and deprives us of all the v im munities" of American citizens. v - If this should be rtquircd we think bei iher task will be difficult. : v '":;:'r" 7 "T 2 On Jhe Jftrst 4oi nt we need only appe at to your dfcclaration pi Independence, to your Cohsti,utioh, to your different state govern ments, to the writings of yurj'ewlutiona ry patriots, and; statesmen,- to your own profeisions and public acts, and finally, le gislators, to your own Learts, on which the loye of civ il liberty, tlnd its principle? are we trust too deeply engraved to be ever to tally e flacetl. ' " ; , A GVverriorls tp be placed pver us, whom tr Kitr'n' Antrn Arm xvi if trt f vert Im.i. nrtwS mr li.Tifmnr!int nCniirlmiHifloi! I Vf false uninformed of cur institutions, and " who may have no connections with our. country, nor interest irt its welfare. -.'--; I'his gpverpor is vested with all execu tive and almost unlimititd legislative pow er, for the law declares, that by and with tlie advice and consent of the. legislative; bp dy, lie may chapge., modify, and repeal the laws," &c. but this advice and content will nn doubt in all cases be easily . procured, trrtpTthe majority of a council, selected by the President or Govetnoi and dependent ,6h himTorw theirrappointment and continuV ance in oflice ; or if they should prove re fractory, the power of pjorogation frees hi m Trotn any trdubeome interferencei until a . i '" ... .u. ..j vif .v.. tci his' viewsthe.ttrue: legTSUtive-power then is vested in the Governor alone, -tap council operates as a cloak to Conceal the ex- anaXcYtrxnDttteBUonlgimg rutKu.iy, w .cu . -t, , ; n 1T.A trtivit. evident the odium of aU unpopular acts to avOlrr' r ,r 7 " T'" 7. ut-.u all responsibilityivand give us the faint sem blance bf a represqntativeassembly widi so few of IfsTdistihguishing fcatOTerhat less the name were inscribed on the picture it wOuld tie difficult to discover, the object for which it was intended. - l "?':-.:-.r7;';i-.," "-' Taxation without representation, aah. ligation to obey laws, without any voicc ia est inheritance lor our posterity, they bhould never it was firmly, asserted they sliC'uld never be abandoned but with life. 1 '-:'-: - - f." - . ,,-.-';,., . -, These were the sentiments of you"r pre decessors -were they wrong? were the pa triots who composed your councils, mista ken in their political principles ? did the he roes who died in their defencer seala false creed with their blood ? No, they we're not wrong! the admiration of the world, the respect still paid to tlie living, the ve neration accorded to the memory of the dead attest the purity of fhtir principles, & prove the. truth of those maxims, - which render theiflive8a blessing to their country, and their deaths glorious in its defence are truths then so well iOunded, so universally acknowledged inapplicable ouly to us ? do poli'Tcal axioms on the Atlantic - become problems, "when transferred to the shores of the Mississippi I -nr.Bre.thc onfortunate inhabitants pf these regions the people who are excluded frcm those tqual -fights acknowledged in your declaration of Inde pendence, repeated in the different 6tate constitutions, and ratified by that of which we tiaim M he memberL Where, we: ask respectfully, wlere is the circumstranee that is to exclude us Ire ma participation in ihcsc" rights ? Is it because we have not heretofore enjoyed them L This on the con-; trary would seerh a reasoa to hasten-the communication to indcmiiify us by a futu rity "of freedom,' for the years we have been deprived of it, and t riable us experimental ly, to compare the blessings of a free go vernment with the evils of another domi nion. But the presentsituation of afiaii s forms no pleasing contrast with that lyhich is past and if we did not count with confi dence on a change ia the system you have adopted, the prospect before us Would not afford matters pff consolatory anticipation for though a period is fixvcT for, the absolute government placed of er iis ; though a. yearJ may terminate, thei ecjuauy oojcctionaue :systeniJ which succeeds it, yet what is to IoUpw ? Liberty t Self-government? Inde pendence aad a participation in the advan tages of the Unipn ? If those were Glared to qs as the reward of a certain UVm of pa tience and submission, though we could not acqi'iiescc in die "-jusi'ice of .thli procedure, we should have soineonsolation in OurTOts fortunei but no manifestation of what awaits us at the expira.tSonrpf.the law, is yet made.J We mav then aain become the victims information, of hasty remark, or prejudiced opinion ; we may thtn again be told that we are incapable of managing Our own-concerns, that the period ol emanciija tion is not vet arrived, and that when in the school of sla vcrv, we have learned how to be free, .our rights shall be restored.. iTnon the tonic to which this leads we are relu6taiit!,tq speak but misrepresented and iusuked. It cannot be deemed improper to shew hoW groundless are "the . caluinuiea which represent-us, as fn a state of degrada tion, .unfit to receive the boon ot frooom. How far anv supposed inbapacitv, to direct the affairs rf our own country, - wouU re lease the United States I from " thelrpbllga tiori, to cdnfer upon us, Uc rights pf citizen- mor? prudent selection at the end of the J pon.wnacpn M ? J VT " . ... . tJmelJle'ludces-oJLthatiaa vtar. snail Cfive nim. a council oeuer suneu y.. . , - t. believe. Jairlv be questioned for we have surely not become less fit for the task, since the signature ol the lreaty than we were before that period and that no' such inca- from the terms of that instiniment, which declares that we are to be admitted as soon. as possible accordhig-to the, principles of tne constitution. ii ine unueu ot-Atc ucu may postpone the performance of this en gagement until hy their opinion it niay be Drooer to perform it? of what validity is the compact, or caa thit be called oacr of which ineffectual wLouV an intimate knowledge . of the manners, customs, pursuits, and in- tercsis, pi tne peopie, 10 wnom tney are applied, orin whose favor they are exertedi ;. Should this reasoning be just, it would ap pear to follow thatlocal information should , be preferred in "a statftlegislatori" to splendid acquirement, when they cannot be united; "and should we give the Keprrsentativts of the United States all the superiority they claim and undoubtedly merit, yet we can not be accused of presumption, in suppo- mg that we know somewhat more of our " own country, and its local interests, r than men who are acquainted witli it only from report. , J t will not, we trust, be answered that the members of the council must be se lected from the inhabitants ; we have alrea dy shewn what share this council w ill pro bably have in legislation and the residence ofbne:year ii certainly too thort to attain information, or secut any thing like a per manence ci attachment. 7-7 77 If this local knowledge is necessary to le gislate wisely, how much more so is it in or der., to' select discreetly, those on whom this task must' devolve. The : President must , necessarily 7de pend qn the ihformaiion of -his agents here ; without any personal know- ledge of the; men he must chuse, how can he delect imposition pr. counteract' prtia- dice?-Mow to defeat intrigue, r secure himself from the reproach of haying con-. ned our intrrests to men,' m whom yfc have no confidence ? We might cpntrast . these inconveniences with the evident ad vantages pf a choice made by, the people themselves, and the "conviction would be irresistable, that the latter possess, exclu sively that species of information, with re spect to character,, conduct, .circumstances xud abilities, which is necessary to a "pru dent xhdice pf their, representatives ; but we presume, enough has" been said to shew. . that 'among a people' hot7abBolutely$unk ijci i.Tnojahce the kind of knowledge indispen sable. to good government, or a selection of rulers, cafroniy be totind at home that the best abi lilies arid live purest intentious will not replace it abroad, and that without it ail legislation is" tyrannical and oppressive Convinced of this truth we find the'advo cates ior our; subjection, driven to an argu rneat atwhich wc hayehefqre hinted. To deprive us of pur righj; pf election, we have - been represented as too ignorant to tler- cise it with wisdont," and too turbulent to enjoy it with Safety. Sunk in ignorance, - effeminated bv luxury debased by opprtssi-.; oa, we were, it was said incapable of appre : elating a free-constitution, if it were given,. or feeling the deprivation., if it were'denied The sentiments whkh were excited by this " humiliating picture, may be imagined, but cannot be expressed, consisteot'with the re spect werwe to your ; hoporoble body .,.3Vc were willing,however to ascribe itto theVatit of correct infontiatibn .but we could not a- veid wondering that it should be so very detective,, as to have drawn trom the names of som districts in our country, an argu ment ;to the language spoken in Hhem, ' which proved fatal to an important imeiid Inent t6thetllZ7vye could not imaiher what had excited "the idea of our ffemina r" cy and profusion; and the laborious pUnter JitJElfru gal meal, heard, with .a smile cf. bitterness and -contempu tfie -discriptions published at Washington, of his opulence and luxury. ; . : . . ; . . .." ; '. As to the degree of information diffused through the country,; we humbly request that some, m.ore-'co'rrect evidence may be rodikid than the superficial remarks . that have been made by travellers or residents, who' neither associate with" us nor speak our language ; many.cf us' are native titi iens of the United States, who have parti cipated in that kind of knowledge which For Xf rnaainJer tee last faj i is; I ' I J i II' If m j, .'i : . il l . ....-, i-t-.- 7'7i!.i 1
The Raleigh Minerva (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 17, 1804, edition 1
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