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r;ame , ; ' AND Gazette. Oon are tbe plan, of fair delightful peace. Unwarp'd by pattj rage, t.liv like brother. Monday, Juxt 15, 18051 Vot. vr. Hrth-CSctr olma State, k PENNSYLVANIA POLITICS. The Addrtss of tae Constitutional Society ( Concluded. J 1 These, then, Fellow-Citizens, are the pretexts for raising an artificial tv.iiervMn a season of calm and j fruitjid prosperity. With these pre- texts, men deranged by Utopian the ories or corrupted by toreign arts; men formed turbulent by nature, or become so from necessity, men, who t tight in confusion, and subsist up on defamation, idlers without social attacKinents, and politicians by trade, ctthcrfrS their scanty numbers into ,aiip-nant circle, have scattered en- malice, fear and suspicion, y w . ..... , ... Knt' indiilcine" a more than Gothic fur for lhc demolition mihlic instituons, the mal contents would permit the venerable M'Kean (who had long labourefl lor iheirestablUhment and preservation), to tlose his patriotic life in peace. Hia services and his renown are, in deed, coeval with the dawn of Ameri can independence ; for he is among the few (the lamentable few) sur viving members of the illustrious Congresvof 1765; and in every vi cissitude of the war of 1776, he Was the firm -and efficient servant of his country. But neither these testimo nials, nor all thr assiduity since dis played by an enlightened mind, 'for the ;pub!ic good, nor the courtesy which age might attract, Inor the gratitude which bounty shdu 'coxi mand ; hive furnished a shield to protect him; from obloquy the most unjust ; or from insult the most cru el 1 A aew order of things required & new character of men. Those who had contributed to rear th& .fa bric of civil government, could never sincerely fct bclovtd, by those who aeek to undermine and destroy it The firstlcction of Governor M'Kean was espoused with u zeal that graced the Wolest motives ; and the second election was distinguished by an un precedented majority of the Suffra-f . ges of a free pele. In these move ments however, the malcontents (as far as their co-operanon extended) contemplated their own interests, and not the interests of the commu nity. The well-known name of the Patriot, gave assurance of success on the day of election; and it was imagined, the unsuspecting nature cf the man, would render him an easy victim to the arts of solicitation and intrigue. For a while, too, the malcontents ssemed to reap the fruits of their speculation. Much was obtained for personal gratifica tion; but more to indulge the vanity of a reflected patronage. To prove the first part of our assertion, we refer to the evidence of Commissions and Contracts, of Petitions and Tes timonials, on the public files of the Secretary's office ; and as to the se cond part, the lapse of time is too a'.iort, to have impaired. the recollec tion cf the pains which were taken to create a popular opinion, that the recommendation of the leading mal contents, was a curtain, but an in dispensable -passport to Executive favor. During that pevicrlr- vers' act that the Governor performed, avery sentiment that he uttered, i'ur jiished a theme for adulation and ap plause. But the pressure of inccs fcfthi importunity, th5 insatiable thirst lor pUce and valronage, could not he i'.irevrr tolerated or supplied. The biding malcontent werer often here, as at Washington, solicitous for the s'ime iice ; or advocates for oifierent Candidates : All could not succeed, and all, by alternate dis appointment, became discontented and hoslHe. Under? these "impres sions, the design against the fun damental instjlutiarvs of our country were conceived ; and at length the Governor had no other alternative, but openly to renounce the favor ot the malcontents, or tacitly to permit the Constitution to be violated and ;supplanUd, by "successive acts of un authorised legislation. The deci jyH, prompt and unequivocal, was ; vo,thy of the Chief Magistrate of Pennsylvania ; but from that mo meniiiis downfel Avas deemed by the malcwpjents, to be a necessary con comitar of the downfal of our go vernment. ; Th proper instruments for so ungr&jus an undertaking, yere spciy put int operation. RBecauss Bills have sortimes teen presented for his approbati6nvVWch he could not in his cojiscienccj, ap prove ; they have endeavourtd to provoke an unwarrantable rupture, between the Legislative and Execu tive departments. Because the exe cution of the laws has been spme times dtmcult,iand tke administra tion of justice hasng been obstruc ted they -have iieavoured to in volve him in the odium of such de ftctsv concealing-, that the Legisla ture alone can supply an adequate remedy. Those wnp feeire cxmuea him, are now industrius to debase him v. and without enjoying th me rit of invention, or feeling the shame of inconsistency, they assail him with a repetition of the very slanders which on a former occasion,) they had themselves refuted and condemn ed. He haa been surroundecj with csnlM-and informers, who crossing i l:. ..tallre rF r-rerr.ise or ob-1 mm in y r 7 1 truding upon his hours of domestic j oil Vile 'a'rlf ?rrK: H i r i;r ti his words. In this i nrnorisiive Course the malcontent a. I finally reached the ground of action ; and the borough of Lancaster w it nessed in the same week, the invo cation for a Convention, to abohsh our Constitution, and the cabal of a ballot, to degrade our Governor ! It most be remembered that before the re-election of Governor M'Kean, in 1802, the malcontents baq anx iously calculated the chances j in fa vour of another candidate: butj how ever saaguine and bold they are in their political temperament, ndthing, at that time, had occurred, which could tffurd the slightest encourage ment for the attempt. Nor can it be precisely stated, when their con fidence had so encreased, as jto pro dace a determination, to make an experiment at the ensuing election ; since, in the very petition for calling a convention, they accompany their general objections to the Executive psivcr, with these remarki-ble decla rations: . We wish not to bej under stood, as insinuating, in the tyoit re mote atgrccs tkit this power as beer, abused by the present Executive Ma gistrate, c. All we mean, jis, that this dangerous power does eiiist, and may be exercised, whenever a less upright and virtuous Govern- is in tcey tit." It was mamiest, how ever, as soon as the malcontents Were defeated in the scheme for an immediate call for a conTentijon, that their leaders, in a conclave at Lan caster, had resolved upon the op position to Governor M'Kean. Af ter the resolution was t?ken, the members of the Legislature who were also members of the cabal, ap peared, more than usually solicitous to procure Justices commissions for their friends and partizans ; and it may be fairly presumed thijt the vi sits of Messrs. M'Kenney, (Montgo mery, Steele, 8cc. of the 21st of March (to which " the public are in debted for the exploded Tale of the Clod-hoppers) was conneqtea witn the secret rlt, to supersede the Executive Mag'istratc But the first open display of hostility ist0 be found iii the extraordinary spectacle which almost instantaneously followed the adjournment of the General Assem bly. The Legislature had acquired a habit of electing some of its own body to the offices of Federal Senator, State Treasurer, and Bank Director ; and now, ths member who had con spired with the malcontents, on the present occasion (being repulsed in their repeated application tj use the respectable name of Muhlenberg or j of Hester boldly determined, like wise, to make one of themselves a Governor ! an example; more dan jje.ous to the rights of the People, more destructive to the j purity and independence of the Legislature, than all the imputed iniperlections of the Constitution 1 A meeting of the ilepublican member generally, was accordingly called, j Several of the friends of Governor M'Kean had previously left Lancastef, but many of them attended the meeting. A request was urged, on their part, for information of the cause and design of the meeting; but none was com municated, ylt was suggested, that an opw nomination f candidates snouiCl De matte om inrsujgcsuon was disrc carded.' It was proposed that the vote hould b. lak.cn viv vtee , and hot by ballot ; but the pro position was over-ruled. The truth is that the members who were par tiei & the conspiracy! -went to the meeting with their tickets prepared ; anl although they intended to git to the proceeding, the influence of their legislative character, they were s ashamed of the act, Or so fearful oF its consequences, that they could not be induced to add to it, the pledge of their legislative responsi bility. The body of Governor M'Kean 's friends retired in disgust, from this mockery and usurpation ; this premeditated outrage upon le gislative decorum, and the freedom of election iThough reason, as well as constitutional authority re quires, that every vote given in a re presentative capacity, should be O penly given ; and though the vote on this occasion is described, as the vote f 42 representatives of the people, the members who remained, deliver ed a prepared and secret ballot, for a new candidate to fill the Executive criair; leaving their Constituents lit tle more than a conjecture, to desig nate by whom the injury and the in sult have been inflicted. Having furnished this insiduous instrument forprotnoting the designs of the Malcontents, the Members dispersed ; but the sanction of the legislative character was stm neces sary, to compleat the spell for rum and detraction. A libel was prepared under the specious title of " An Ad dress of the Members of the General Assembly," and circulated in the form of a pamphlet, ' subscribed only by John Steele and Jacob Mitchell. It was accompanied too with ccrtih cates or a conversation, noted me very day that it occurred with a view to- the present use; but both of the certificates 'are inaccurate, and one of .them is of doubtful authenticity, as it purports to be written and signed by n member of the House of Re presentatives, though it contains a material variance from another re presentation of that member (assert ing here that the Governor saidj he would consult "his own convenience" while it is asserted elsewhere, that the Governor 6aid. " he would con suit his own conscienc ) ana as tne certificate of itself presents no cha racter of similitude with the signature or style of a genuine letter from tbe saint member, how in the possession of the public. On the 20th of May, 1805 this libel was usherei into public notice by a Philadelphia news paper, with a preface, declaring " that it had been reported, and ttnz nimotisij agreed to, on Thursday e vening the 4th of Ap. il last ;" and plainly intending to convey the idea, that it had been so unanimously a greed to, at second meeting of th persons assembled the preceding day when General John Steele was appointed Chairman, and Pres ley Carr Lane (who, a a Senator, voting for the acquittal of the im peached Judges, is, himseli. an ob ject of the very slander, which, it is alledged, he approved) and Jacob Mitchell were appointed Tellers. But we beseech you, fellow-citize s, to peruse this extraordinary compo. sition with attention, in order tobe convinced, from the profligacy of its principles and the scurrillity of its language (as well as from the noto riety of other opposing factsythat it ought not to be deemed the work of any association of your representa tives. In the face of the recent de claration of the Malcontent Petition, that there was no fault to be found with the official conduct of the Go vernor, the jaundiced author has re presented his whole administration as a tissue of tyranny, favouritism and error. In contempt of a majority of 30,000 free suffrages, wkich gave the stamp of merit and approbation to his first period ; nay, in immediate contradiction to the concession of the address itself, ' that the administra tion of that period promised, upou the whole, to be beneficial to the state," the Governor's transaction', from the - first to the last day, are brought into a faithless and malignant review, to decorate the black-book of the malcontents. Not only im portant facts have been suppressed, but the reasons assigned for his con duct, on particular occasions, have been garbed, perverted and miscon strued. Not only his public agency, tfbut his private honour has been im peached. Not only his distribution of public offices, but his intercourse in social life: has been invidiously scrutinized. The temper of his mind and the habit of his manners (long fixed, known and respected by his fellow-citizens) have been made topics of public discussion and re proach. Nay, epithet! have been formed and words have been selected, for the inhuman purpose of torturing his sensibility as a parent and a friend; till, in fine, the address of the malcontents has doomed the ve teran patriot to lament (and others are yt doomed to feel) that although the carcase of Callender is no more, his spirit, ungrateful and vindictive, still survives I We emphatically repeat, fellow citizens, that such a composition ought notj without an express and individual avowal, to be ascribed to any set of men who are honoured with the confidence of the people. We believe that the address was ne ver seen or read before it was pub lished,by 20 members of the legisla ture ; we believe that there never were 10 members assembled at any meeting which approved and adopted it ; and, we are confident, that there is not one member who is prepared to sub stantiate the criminal charges which it contains. We speak not here of charges, which impute to the Go vernor, las a crime, the conscientious exercise of a constitutional power. We speak not of charges, which, on the presumption, as it would I seem, that the legislature has already ab sorbed all the powers Of government, treat, as a menace against legisla tive authority, the simple declara tion, that the judgment of the Su preme court upon a point of law, would be an authoritative decision. We speak not of charges, ! which con.ert a deference far legislative 61 pinion, into a contempt of legislative dignity, where the governor has ta citly acquiesced in the enactment of a law, though he could not positively affix the signature of approbation. We speak not here of charges, which arraign the Executive! for not returning bills with his approbation or dissent, where the bills were only presented for his consideration, o; the eve of an adjournment of the le gislature. We speak not of charges which decry a wish to transmit the constitution unimpaired, to his suc cessor, as a systiem of aristocracy and despotism We speak not of charges, which clamorously con demn the distribution of offices, ma nifestly because the authors of the charge were not the persons ap pointed. We pcak not of jchargesj which (forgetting to be a Oovernon is not to lose the affections of a mam nor to be the relation of a Governor, a forfeiture of the equal rights of a citizen) stigmatize, as extravagant, the grant of three' commissions, to connexions, by blood and marriage, out of the unbounded patronage, which the executive, for another pur pose, is idly said to possess. We speak not of charges, in which Messrs. WKtnny and Montgomery, appear as arbiters of elegant matters, and polite conversation. But we speak of grofs charges of official de Unquency and corruption, lor which, we trust, the libellous authors will be compelled, at a proper time, and in a proper place, to answer to the offended laws and justice -of their country. 1. It is alledged, that an election ticket " was dutributed from the Go vcrnor's coach, by two offices of executive appointment, who accom panicd him, and daily held him up as the patron ot taction. 1 he at tempt was frustrated by the force of popular suffrage, and he was driven to disavow, onlf after a defeat, what he had really taken pains to promote without success." The charge is denied. We demand the informer and the proof. j f . It is alledged that the authors and abettors of the address have seen the Governor " employing: the whole i. ft. . . ' - weignt oi nis opinion, and the in fiuence of the officers of his appoint ment, besides an interference with private citizens, to procure the ex trication of three Judges of the Su preme court from an impeachment, who had, under colour of the com- mon law, exercl-ed the imost daring tyranny, and violated (he constitution and laws of the State." The charge is denied We demand the informer and the proof. 3. It is alledged that the Governor asserted, that he would not suffer a convention to take place Acdj is is insinuated that he meant" to em ploy arms or corruption to prevent it " The charge is denied Let it be said, that the Honourable and enlightened informers, Messrs. Montgomery and M'Kinuey, seem to prove, that he reprobated (as most hnnt the call oi a coavention ; and that he said, (as every citizen has a r.o-hr to say) hefQuld firmly resist it ; but st'.ll we demand the nrnf an executive magistrate, he threat ened the use cf wms or ioiii;- 4. It it allcdaedJ that tor the removal of JnHo- t , ridge from office, was presented by more than two-thirds of each branci of the legislature ; and that the exe cutive has not even deigned to make any communication in reply." The charge is unfounded j for we answer, 1 That the extraordinary nature of the case, merited a very serious consideration. Judge Brackenridge informed the House of Representa tives, that he had concurred in the punishment of the offender (who had amplaincd to the House) for a con tempt of court ; and observed, that it might be thought an effect of ih biass of party by others, (not that he thought so himself) if his najne was not comprehended, with the names of other Judges in the medi tated impeachment. The House of Representatives considerei the letter of Judge Braekenridge, on this sub ject, as a contempt. They admitted his own acknowledgment, as suffi cient proof to involve him in the on ly punishment, which could follow a conviction on impeachment ;the removal irom office ; urt, they wpuM not admit it to be sum'cV. to giver m tne opportunity of explanatioa ' defence, which nnnn imnpirh. ment the couM not r.fnc At ih, j - - M w V V 14 very time, therefore, that the Hous: of Representatives were instituting x i lJiucv.uuou against tne judges ol tSie Supreme Couit, for punishing a pri vate individual', contempt of court , by attachment, after a full defence, uilll en-iall . 1 .11 . nihil email liner, aii anort im Drisonment. the vnfi House ofRcpresentatives concuixcd, in the design to punish Judge Braek- cm-tugc, wiinoui a notice, or a hear ing:, or a trial lv Jurv. or w 4 -49 trial by impeachment, for a con. empt ot the legislature ; degrade nir him from office : strinninor r w - ir o agrd man and his family of their subsistence ; and fining him to the amount of 2,000 dollars per annum, aurmg nis lite i Let Mr. Steele or Mr. Mitchell, or all. bp anv nf th 9 i ' j V A JJ. X authors of the address, who have called the coduct of the Supreme court, "tne most daring tyranny 8c violation oF the constitution and laws of the State," find out a precedent or a name for such an act as this ! But let us not be surprized, iellow-citi-zens, that Governor M'Kean, who had 16ns administered iustirp. nnnn 15 the maxim tk that no mali should be- condemned unheard," deliberated. before he would acquiesce in an ad dress, under such circumstances. for thejremoval of a judicial officer. 2'That the Governor possesses a constitutional discretion, whether he will comply with an address for the removal of a Judge; and is no more responsible to the legislature, for the exercise of that 'discretion, than the legislature is responsible to him, for the motives of the applica tion. : 1 4 4 ' 3 i hat the application fbr the removal of Judge Brackeoridge was not constitutionally made, and there fore, could not be lawfully .granted. It is true, that the, address Asserts the application to have ben made by two-thirds, of each .branck of the legislature; and Uis,lsp, true, that he constitution require the applica tion to be so made : but, in point of real fact, two-thirds of each branch of the legwlature did not make the application: Two-thirds of a House, and two-thirds of a branch of tho le gislature, are distinct things, iu ahe Unguage of the constitution, and in me meaning of the convention, a conveyed by their own journals. 'he is composed of vdl iu ri ui- 1' I. I I' 1 a: a. 'kJtb
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
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July 15, 1805, edition 1
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