North Carolina Newspapers

T 1 Thursday Diciiik 24, No. 43lv " V v . . v f A-.Hr 4'.w': -file- - ! . -j.. r .tf -and t ' . ( -r -v f 5 -- - v-. ' DEBATE . . rs3J0t ft State's. on yidresstng trie i Friday, Dec 11. irhe following Address to: the President fhe 1 0 ff.jt Mr Hamilton, trora 1'as- .l.nk. as. a substitute for one he had Uid on the table some days ago: TO THOMAS JEFFERSON President ot the Uniucl States of xvmenca. c o The Gctaeral Assembi ox the State oi North Carolina, con- ot d at a moment vvnen ujc ptedebee of thcirCountry,m wftosc it:-' fnJ- nnd nrc on all oc- ,fll;,,nS readv to manliest the nvc- liest sobcuudc, is attacked ; when tbfir rights arc invaded, their citi zens seized, their property ,plun- drred, and their remonstrants uw-rt-irardttd. by a nadon uniformly & Variously hostile, & who appcab 0Dlv to power to justity ner con duct: When the Union of these States whicn they sincerely desire may be perpetual, is endangered by the machinations of a disappointed (party J man & his adherents, h h vesoufehUosubvert,be('auseu.e could not direct the mea -ures oi government; they feel it their dues to assure vau, Sir,of their entire ap brobition of those measures which have been pursued for the dtiencc and interest of their common countrs . : Wc will hot, Sir, recount the' Biiny benefits which you have borne to your country from foreign courts, whilst engaged in the cause of Freedom : We w ul not review the eminent advant ges derived from your talents & virtues, whilst employed in high and responsible o3kes at home nor will the limits of an address permit us to tnume- . Tate the blessings which have How j ed from the ad.nirtistration of our j public affairs since theTnemcrabk- p-riod of 1801. W e will only sa , j th t in whatever point of view w'c j rce. rd vou, whether in privatb or j pub i. life, we perceive: such uni i'ovmity of condu t, such firmness of character, su -h an entire sesig nation on the one hand, & bo greut ability to act on the other, that we .have '.abundant reas n to rt-joice, that in a person called to preside i -i . c '-. m tne councus oi ins cuuu, Statesman, Philosopher & Patri-. are so happily and conspicuoul United. . Although we are sensible that to you, Sir, whose time and talent lhavc been entirely devoted toyour eouiurv5s good, the pleasures of domestic ease and retirement from the bus scenes of life, vvoujd now iber particularly inviting ; yet when ve refiect that the period is proba bly near at hand, when the exercise of your patrio tic virtues twiil be par ticularly important to your coun try, pel haps essential to its preser- vation, we cannot forbear most j earnest y to solicit, that, at the next presidential election, you jwill not dtn our country men the pleasure of acaiii selectincr ou for the dis-, charge of those important duties, ! for the performance of which you j spprar so '(eminently qualified. J And m- y that Being who regulates the aff irs of men below, when the J period of our final separation shall arrive, receive vou into those m m ..ons of bliss, reserved for those ivho have deserved well. When the Editor f the Register entered the gallery of the House of Commons, Mr. E. Mauris was speaking in support of die following address, which he had moved as an amendment to (or substitute for) Mr. Hamilton's : , 'TheGeneral Assembly of the State cf North-Carolina j deeply impressed vr.h a sense of your long.ancl useful labours in the service of your coun fry, Uke'this opvoftunity of express thir approbation of your aclmi. lustration as President of the United oiiites of America, , and pariicuiarly duct in relation to our late unhappy j misunderstandrng with the govern ment of Greai-B itain. We ft 1 con fident that your best exertions to Ja vtrt the calamities of war from pur hignly favoured country, will be' tin remitingly ued. During the hos tilities which have harrased the fair est portion of Europe, the U States by observing an honest neutrality, htve flourished in ah unexampl-i! manner. We ardently hope hat this hapi y state will continue j hut if peace cannot be preserved on just . honourable terms, we declare, f -i our3cvcs, and the freemen whom we ri present, that we will exhaust our blood iP.d Measure in support Sc defence of our rights and liberties. It is- our sincere wish that Provi dence m y spare your life many years, mat -your country may nave the benv fit of your illustrious talents on ail occasions which may call foi the exercise of them." ' Mr Harris objected to the ad dress proposed by the gentleman from Pasquotank, principally b. cause it contained a request to the Pi esi dent that he would not deny to his countrymen the pleasure of again se lecting him, at the apr-roachih e iection, lo fill the Presidential chair He said, that tins w -s assuming a riht which was not delegated to them as legislators, and it would be et ing a precedent whicl might heredur be abused. He insisted th A he people at Ucgt only had the right to designate who is proper to fil- that high and important office ; I and though he had the highest opt ion ol the prtSTtit Chief Magij'ra e, ani was vvilling lopay all due homage to htm as such, he could not agree to addr-. ss hiin in the venal and ad-i latory style of the address of the gentleman from Pasquotank, nor to request him again to offwr for th P-esiden y. Mr. Hamilton did not approve nf th aVutnd nent propejsed by th gendeman fr;m Craven. He tho t tt too vapid & insipid a compositi-Ui to be addressed to s illustrious a character as l'liomas Jeff rson. He disliked als the quar erfrom wheiu-v it came ; for the gendem jn had hSvi sed.totd him that a Federalist hau ;$ssis'.ed him in drafting tt- He wa-v at all timts friendly o accomtnoda- tion ; he wished to hear the opinions oi gentlemen on politicj subject-. The government under which vt live, is! a government of expenm ni and opinion ; but he could not agree to accept of die proposed amend- m -nt. it eneakss :naeed, wttn ap- pnjfljitjon of the government of the U. S'ivte-, but contains nothing t I '. 1 1 1 . I A. I shew tnat we are pieassa wnn in conduct of Thomas Jeffeison. In deed the jgentleman sys he disap proves of any address of tle kino. 11 so tne argument is at an eno For his part, Mr. H. suid he coun see no objection to the address hi t he had proposed. It is muvh in th same Style with the addresses which mf have betji sent to the President fron every part of the Unioii. . Counties t;jwns;. companies of horse and foot. have all united in pouring forth their sentiments of approbation of ihe co i tiuct of the President, and their (k -Urn.hion to support the govern mei.tj at this impor ant crisis of our affari ; and he could see no reason why this General Assembly sh ul : not do so too. He thought these ad dresses, when couched in temperate and decent language, were calcula ted to convince the British nation, that the people of this country feel the indignity which they have offer- ed, ,to our tlag and nation, ana inai they are dete. mined to support their government in resisting it. He tho' vvlirii the gentleman termed the ari Iress which he proposes to amend, venaljand adulatory, and that it con tains pany refictions, .he could not have attended to the reading of it with his usual accuracy. Mr. H. denied that it was exceptionable in shis fespect. It cast no reflection uponjany party but upon Burr, and his ajdherents, who had endeavoured io overturn the government and pra luce a civil war in the country. Nt -ue in that Assembly couhl surely abject to this. And i it not right, said Mr. H; to express our opinion js tci tlje outrage commiited-by the Leonard em the Chesapeake, and as part of the President on this occa &ion ) He trusted it was. But the- gentleman from Craven is averse to that part of th& addresc which solicit 4; Thos. Jeffei son "again to hold up his riame, for the Presi dency, For hirnself, he looked up on this as the best n rt of the ad dress. .Shoul4;ihe President turn a avurable ear to thi9 and similar in vitaiions, h4Jould consider it a reat blessingtp$tained for the coun try at the present cr.isis, as, if he Sid not, he (Mr. H.) dreaded the 'anger that might anse to the coun iry from the c infliction of party spi it. There is, said he, no other can didate who would be able t keep d vvn the turbulence of p-.rty at such period. Suppose Rufus King were o be the candidate. He is a high jned Federalist, if not a Roy a ist ie Was of the same school with Gen. dam Hon. His offering would pro iuce the "greatest conflicts of paity violence. If yhu take Gov. Cli. ton, tie doubtless deserves well of hi country, but he is the champion of pary, and comes from a Suite- which, perhaps, nice; than any -her, is divided by paity con enuons nd th se would all be brought into view on such an vent. It would he. n some degree, the same, if O n Smith, Mr. Mon.oe oi Mr. Madison were brought forward ; and if w pjssed over to S-Carolina, and nc ninated Gen. Pinckney, similat ob j -ctiohs would arise. He wished not to throw out any thing prejudicial t. the char acter of any of these gcntlt nen. He had no doubi they all de served well of the p r v to w del; hey are aUa hed But he did no i.hink any of them so well calculated i fill the Presidential Chair, at the. present important cnsis, as 1 nomas Jefferson, and therefore he was m fa vour of 'onciting him again to seivt Mr. E. Harris wished to set the gentleman from Pasquotank right as to a fact which he had stated. tk 1 did not (said Mr- 11.) ell that gen tleman tha a Fedeialist assisted m m drawing the amendment which I have nrcnosed. I mentioned 'othat gendeman that I had been assU'tio 1 y a member m drawing the amend nent ; th.ir I supposed it would ob am a general vote, cnd wished th ientlemaa to introdu.:e "a insteati il nis own." Mr, H. added, that he iiid not expect that this innocent ani private conversation would have beet, ih'is perverted, and then sat down for a few moments. Rising aga'ui, he s dd he had taken iiis seat to give the gentleman an jpportunity of correcting what he lad stated ; but as he did noi think proper to do so, he would proceed Is it come tothis,(aid Mr. H.) arc i ve to nominate a candidate for th 'residency, and are the People im ,dicMy to follow our choice? Th gentleman from Pasquotank' claims nis as a riidii which the Genera ssembly possesses. This he did not expert. He had supposed th.it this doctrine migh have been se; ip some 15 or 20 years hence; bu' hat at present gentlemen would ik. iave gone further than to establish prt cedent on which the docirim might hereafter have been founded. Mr. H. would not dispute with tin gentleman as to. what constimet. Republicanism or Aristocracy. Whenever a party of men as unit ;o themselves rights not derivec' iom any proper source, they be come dangerous to the Peace and Liberty of a countrv. We can d- ermine what rights belong-.to us a- Legislators, only by a reference l the constitution under which we act for no gentleman will say, we have a right," in that capacity, to do what we please The gentleman from Pasquotank ohseives, I'hat whenever a man is placed in the Presidency, he im mediately draws a faction arounc1 him. This "may be so. But if fac ions necessarily exist after a man gets into office, let us not raise a factious spirit around him before hand. The- evil is bad enough af terwards, let us not give it existence amongst the people by any act ol Jqvrs. .. ;. -; rir, Hv was ready to agree witl, ithe gentleman, that the illustrious charaqtcr, who now fills the Presi- f dential Chair fs as 'frie from prju- dice as any man. 1 would be well for us to follow his example to mind our-, own businessV-attend to the concerns which f come properly within our nravince-i-and not inter- fere with rights which are. inherent in the people at large. . : - Mr. Toole proposed that as the amendment, in his opinion, went to sti'keout the most valuable part if the Addrels, the question should be Gecif by Yeas and Nays. A greed. ! 'Mr. Gastom. I very much regret the necessity whi- h comoels. me? to address the li.ouSe.---l woujd- chcerfully have declined trespassing on their attention, if a sense of dutv did not fr-rbid me to be silent. I find myself constrained by the most imperious obligations, to submit a motion different from uny yet pro posed, ca'culated to relieve theni from the unpleasant embarassinents in which they are involved, and enti tled to a priority of decision. It will, I hopeV.be distinctly re membered, that three weeks have elapsed since the original resolution for addressing the President of the pediency and propriety: It is parti U. St ttts was firs iu roduced to ihe ; cularly incumbent bn those who pto it' ent ion of the House. At , the re-; j pose an extv ordinary mejasure; lr quest either of its author or its pa- ! irons, its consid tation has been p- st- j poned 1 om day to dayfrom week ! has already taken place,- I have Iis to week. Whenever the period ar- tened i6 the gentlemen with the most l ived which had been assigned for patient attention to discover, if pos its discussion, some opportune sick- I sib!e, the reasons on which the pro ness has ahvavs occurred, eith r of ! "nrilflv! of an at.dress is attembted tci he mover or his co-adjutors, to ren d'-r a farther oostnonement decent l ii.d necessary. Ytt this unfortunate indisposition appears not to have pre vented ttieir attention to the. other business of the session. In common viih the rest of mankind, I ha e been ccustomed to consider uniformi y a ,d t onsis'e'-cy as strong proofs of ksin, and utterly at-variance with accit'ent. L was impossible theie f.tx, forme not to suspect that this procrastin-cti n was pre me '.iiattd he result of a fixed and premedita t'd.nlan. For some tune I i chati- tably believed that the advocates of he address Ii.kI become sensibly of its improp-'etytha the s;cknss ! viuch i.h.cled them was merely a sickness of the suuject ; and 1 fond ly hoped, th t af c i p iStpomng itf om lay to day. they would at l ngthcoii sent to posipone it forever. It is unuece sary for me to say, how unfounded, hov delusive rtS his hope. It has been succeed ed by an ap prehension to which my mind, reluctantly yielded. I fear and 1 believe, that the resolution was pos'p ned bt-CuUS the temper of the"! louse was for a long tipie on favorable to its adoption. - It was petceivecl that their good; sense re volted at th? terms in which it was couched. It was necessary to pro- eure for passion the ascendent y over reason, to blow the spa ks oi factt n into a flame to awaken the dormant mimoities of party spirit ; by can- ; he has behaved Viih firmnerss and , usses c o'.her unwarrantable means ' address wi h diligence and zeal, and to get together a band of determined ' brought it to a pospeixius and ho lMlowers whoby.thc-ir blind, and vy-U ;, fHrrable cue, shalfwe not address disciplined adherence , to th'eir lea- ;him aUo? When Members of Con- tiers, should alarm the timid, dtive iway modei lotion, and eniorce a vic tory." 5Jch mear.3 have been used ; and I know they have been used. An opportunity v til now b present ed of ascertaining whether they have been used with success. I he result , f the motion which I shall now sub- mil, will enable us to judge with cer- tainly 01 the rtsult o: these artificer, I now move that the ojii- O1' nal resolution and- the amenaments proposed to it, lie on the table inde- "finitely, atul without order. Upon this mo-ion, I pi c ime it would not be regular ' xamine either of j he propositions wrh a minute scru- tioy. I shal-, ihtretore, . forbear o enlarge on the submissive tape, thfe supplicating language of thead- iress lansruan-e better calculatecn for jthe meridian of Turkey than A meiiica ; better suited to "the trem bling slave who falls prostrate at the feetiuf his despot, linn to the Legis lature of a free, sovereign. anddnde pendent State. I will notjnow animadvert op the fulsome adulation, the whining -cant of the amendment In the original address was contained h":s sentence, The General Assembly -beg leave to -solicit "you to peTimt.ykAjr cc nane to b ; heii tver as a CiiTidKiaXff tfce proposed by the gentlemin from Pas quetanK nor will v I notice its . hi..!athls;to distinction, the poe- ' t i c genius wi h w hi c h i t n verts facts whichVve nb existence, the calum- hiatiher tidacitv whicri attributts to firtuoum ( villainous motiyesf, . and the pherile depraVity .of taste which mistakes bombaaW for sublrmity. Nor " will jl now1 point out all I do not'an- 'prove cf in the amt nd.ment proposed jjy my friend froiti'Craytrij'an'nnd-''"' lnent which' ftarimit t,o' beinfi- tiitely less liable - to obiectioMS ihanP ' either ot tne other propositions It shad be my part to ke(V.onistantly in view, the objects contv m lated by them ail, and to enquire whether for diese objects the Pre-idcMit ought to be addressed by die ErdslatUrel They all have in view the expres sion of, 6xv decided approba tion of Mr. J- fferson's publio conduct, and particularly of the measures he has i taken relative- to the unhappy chspute j between the U. S. and G. Brtt.a n.' It is incumbent: on those whore- commend as tvieasiife,, to srfew its. tx- suggest a sufficient cause foritsad-p- tion During the discusisioh which be 5iipportedv; " Two only have heeri y a-sined,, and it js not in my power toantkipa'e others. - It has been; said -that Mr.-J-ffersbn is an illustiipus rhara tei , and it is fit that we should declare to him the admiration wliich i we entertain of his exalted talent I arid eminent - vir ues. Tt is cer tainly true that I do no; entett-iirt the extravagant-" admiration wh-c.h one of the members had - xpres-sed-' , T --j t I l"k I -m '"00 ,rlAif T" 4 f O l C c l r. I n (am p. 1 that he is Rot without his ditues, ic J would be uncandid rn me t denyv ! But I am far, vety far from bJtev- !';mg the encomiums which had been. poured forth , with such, unspar ng1 i profusion. 1 have seen something- ; to iipprove J -during his it is not and much to censure administration. But, necessary to my nr- sen!'pur'pr33, to enter into an in-, vestigation of his. public conduct. Be it admitted, tp give the argnmenti its full force, that he is an illustrious manj that he has rendered hiscoun tvt treat services-. Is the Lejnsda- jture of NV Carolina therefore- bound to address him ? Cany -his mod.s ; of reasoning tots proper mark and i whit her does it lead us ?, ""It must tlien be our duty to address every j illustrious man Mr. Monroe is said I to be onr his return home from a ve- ; ry delicate; and important neg-ocia- j tion. How he has conducted is, an( what i- its result we as yet k iownot. : Bui if fortUnati Iv it should urove that ' ! g-43; Secretaries of StaU, Gover nors; of our Ss'er Slates gaoi the splendid ap ellation of illustrious, will they not too prefer an equally well founded claim toynrjtddrvsses I f i he p : lc'piestioptedILhlruT?? hnmblv suareest a more "csrunhmiAi y i . 'J-T . . m. mode of carrying it into execution Instead of the Legislature devoting themselves to the agreeable Onent ofroundinc-nHrases anH viHk. .. , . . 1 - - - w "1 tnir sentences, that thev mrv steal j upon the tympanum 61 the taVid p-'a'jmudcal suavity, let us at. Once. ap." .; ; poiri? a Laun at, who shall compose .j addres-es fir all our illustrious cha- ratters. Wedo-it at an eripence to the people little short of seven hun ted dollars a day. A less s.Iarv wauld induce m vny an iagtn.ou ycu ;g man, of fervid faniy and apt talents for pahegy'ri, ,to manufactura athlreses by the wholesale. . We should have them in -abundance, al ways ready forse, of every s-2e and every vsriety of coldu- ing. - In t his of conomy, I hope thispropa- ' r i "the .amennaere alluded -to, M was declared, " That rWsaiy f tecj. tion was endangered by iheaauii'xitioa4r 'oa-party, who; see w subeVv rc&usc tbey cannot d rtc' t l,e g?vtTuyr.tn t" y-F approbation of year officii eo:i- j ne::fc p'cs-d'.ui m 9 r.:. jlto die propriety of conduct en the