. ; .i . ' , . . . i .
Oar are the bIim of fair, delightful Peace.
Urerp'd by pvtf rfett livclikt rot)ierK
-. J - -
m . - , -
ii , . i , i i i j ii i . , i i M a
I
,1
' '
In lookimr OTtr th file of ncwiptpert .of a
- .o. - a . 1 ,J Vi a
few ttt baCK, We IU1 our uauu. ujau v.
following ikeid, oT, the character of the prc
icnt Preiidcat of he United Sutes, . the re
publication of, which will not. we tnut, be
unacccouUeto our redert. It appeared.
we beliere, oripnUy, in the Aurora at Phi
Udelphia, a few days after, the inauguration,
and is taken from hat paper of March the
7th, 1309.
Mr. madison;
Tt is one of the great adf antaes of
the equal laws and the etjua! govern
ment of a republic that its highest offi
ces are opento eterjr citizen. Under
the monarchies of Europe jt must be a
rare concurrence of fortuitous events
that can raise' to conspicuous situations
men whos". claims rest 'only upon ier
aonal merit Wealth, birth, family al
liance, ?he f vor :of a ministtri or the
later of a prince, so ofien capriciously
txstowtd, are among 'he causes which,
in those countries, procure elevation to
distinguished posts. The American
government, in a spirit of jus equality,
offers its highest statieos. holds out its
first rewards, to genius, to enterpriei
mnd to virtue.
The present President of the United
States has risen, by the hizh merits of
his own character, to the post he now
fills. He has obtained, by deserving,
the honors that surround him. The
time ba, "alas ! nearly gone by, when
our countnr can bestow its first office
.upon any more of the patriots and sa
ges who led us through the revolution.
This period of out: history found Mr.
Madison a vouth. at the colleee of
' g
Princeton, engaged in the diligent col
ti?ation of the faculties of his mind.
It found him engaged in the noble work
of laying the foundations of his future
"usefulness. But although too young to
have been a prominent sharer in the
peril and the glory of that day, he
was not obscure. As a youth, he
was , advantageously known to his fellow-citizens,
and had, already afforded
those proofs of early ability, which were
remarked as the presage of his distin
guished career. In the interval that
passed between his leaving college and
the close of the revolaiionary contest,
the tendency of his political course and
the commencement of his fame, were
seen in his enlightened and glowing at
tachment to the cause of his country,
and in'emulously dedicating to her ser
vice the exercises of an accomplished
though juvenile pen. . He was soon
chosen a member of the legislature of
Virginia, his native state. Htre he first
brgan conspicuously to unfold that com
prehensive knqwledge, and thosr pow
ers as a speaker, as a mrmber of deli
berate bodies,-' he, has throughout- his
life io signally displayed. i
Since the war, Mr. Madison his been,
with scarcely any imcrmusion, in pub
lic Jife"; discharging a train of succes
sive trusts with uniform superiority of
talents and uniform purity of character.
Ho has been to most of the situa'ions
of his country calculated to fix upon
him the public eye and afford scope for
the display of political ability- He was
among the earliest movers ir the great
plan of a confederated government, dif
ferently modelled from that "under
which the nation languished, and bad
a zealous and leading' participation in
the formation of tht present . conv.it u
lion of tbe.United States. Xhe part he
took in the general convention' at Phi
laaeipnta, wnen tms instrument was
under deliberation, placed him, altho'
surrounded by o many able men, in
the first rank of his country, as a dig
nified orator f and deeply versed states
man. Alter trU adoption of tht con
stilmionby the convention, id the draft
ing of which he had so large a share,
his pen became actively and powerfully
employed in its defedce. 'With mas
terly skill he analised.and expounded
its protisiens, viewing thcrnwuh a com
prthensiveness and a detailwh!eb shew
ed the depth and discriminations of his
n.utiiimi survey,, uuu iicaitu- uis
claims to the name of a fine clissic, as
well as a close and successful reasonrr.
He next became a member of the con
tention in Virginia. - On this new stage
of his labors for the establishment of
the constitution,1 be displayed, with un
abated enterprise and,, increasing anxi
ousocss of .disposition,, the fertility of
his knowledge, the diligence of bis pa
triotisin, ind the copiousness of his elo
quence. The figure he made in this
bodyjnterestcd the' pride of his 'own
state, and helped, by-ita benefits, the
Kroat work ol nmoo: - . i
V A
4.
' " ' " ' , - '- ,)?... i ' i - ' si-'. ' - : 'J ' -'-i s'
1
On the organization of the general go-
vemmcnl, the panialtty'and confidence
oi nis leiiow-ciuzensin v lrgtnia eager
ly allot'ed hi no. a seat in the H-usc of
Representatives of the U. States. On
this theatre, perhaps the most expanded
which'lhe worjd presents to the views
of a great and liberal statesman, Mr.
iHaaison at once stooa upon tnat nign
ground which his character, and h pre
vious exertions,' fitted him to occupy-
In the novel questions of policy and go
vernment, which- engaged he attention
and fixed the most anxious deliberations
of a new people, his conduct was mark
ed by, a capacious discernment and in
flexible pursuit of the soundest interests
of his country, and was followed by
praise correspondent to the high sense
of duty which dictated, and the wisdom
which enforced exertions so able and
patriotic.' Educated in the precepts of
republicanism, confirmed in their truth
by tne happiest examples, the reflections
of his own mind, nd the experience of
his own life, equally tended to fix his
judgment and his feeling in an unquali
fied attachment to our systems, on their
freest and most republican scale. It
was, hence, his object to impart to the
first operations of the government a tone
in unison with its republican genius.
His counsels were always those of a dis
cerning statesman, Unfolding his con-
crp'iohs with an oratory prompt, digni
fied and nervous. Punctual in the ex
ercise of all his duties; foremost in de
bate, he maintained, while in Congress,
that weight of character, and acquired
that solidity of fame, which were the
just result of acknowledged probity and
abilities so extensive. But the highest
evidence of Mr. Madison's endowments
rests on the manner in which, for the
ast eight years, he has filled the office
of secretary of state. The superintend
ance of the foreign department of our
government is, at any time, a task ot
moment. During the last eight years
it has been ohe of peculiar magnitude
and difficulty. The public systems of
Europe have presented aspects equally
novel, intricate and fierce. The ancient
Mat ons of policy and power have been
broken up ; the governments of coun
tries, their limits, their very names been
in a state of constant change. France
and England, like two mighty and des
perate ghdiators, have dralt destruction
all around, leaving scarcely any thing
but wrecks, within the Wide range of
their blows. The world has seen by
one ferocious power upon the ocean, and
but one ferocious power upon land. The
valid prescriptions of immemorialusage,
the more' binding authority of Jong es
tablished law, heretofore the safety (the
frequent safety at least) of states, the
praise and '.be boast of christian Europe,
have been denied, have been prostrated ;
nvjre, have been sarcastically scouted
in i heir fall and rapacity and force,
those only umpires of feudal or of pagan
contentions, been the avowed resort, of
the promulgated code, of national rage !
In the situation of our foreign. affairs
thus hazardous and embarrassing, has
the American secretary of state been
looked to for a proper execution of his
responsible trust He has had to watch
the turns of fortune abroad ; to detect
the disguises of diplomacy ; to expose
the crookedness of injustice ; to trace
out the wiles of duplicity ; to hold up
the falsities of contradiction; The claims
of arrogance and strides of power have
alternately exercised the criticism and
demanded the remonstrance of his pen.
Engaged in repelling one trespass up
on richt. new irespases, bolder in
roads, have instantly succeeded ; the is
sues of corrupt power and ambition havg
been opened, and their baleful floods
seen to encompass their functionary.
from the overwhelming effects of which,
nothing but the possession end the ex
ercise of the highest attributes of mind
and . unwearied powers of application,
could have been the instrument of res
cue.' But rescue and triumph have been
eminently witnessed. In his instruc
tions to our minis-era abroad, in his cor
respondence with the agents of foreign
governments at home, he has manifest
ed a profundity and readiness of re-.
search, and a cogency and conclusive
ness id argument, at which his country
men have. looked with the proudest ap
probation. In recounting the abuses of
commercial usage, in fixing the bounda
ries of maritime right, the close and lu
cid deducUonsof htsownmind have been
brtiSed by the b st allusions to histori
cal and jurisprudential truth. The vi-
ilant observer ot hU country 'a wrongsv
the-profound ' fiadicator of her rights,
few ministers of state have stood in si
tuations of severer trial. Called on at a
portentous crisis, this officer has com-
batted, almost singly, and with an inej
fectual thbuzh sublime moral force, for
principles, whose permanent, and to the
civilized World necessary truth, the tem
porary sway of riijastice cannot shake.
When the dizziness of ambition and the
fury of power shall a little subside ;
when nations, for mutual safety, shall
lapse again to their more common base,
the sober historian will say, that the un
yielding and comprehensive protests
made by this organ of the American go
vernment against the invasions of pub
lie law, haveJbeen honorable to the age,
as, it is hoped, they will prove Useful to
posterity. ,
Mr. Madison now stands pre-eminen
in Fame s temple, adorned with all the
virtues of the man, gifted with all the:
talents of the statesman. Practised in
affairs, full of experienccas of wisdom,
always in the confidence of his illustn
ous predecessor; wih a peruct know
ledge of our inward and the best views
of our foreign policy, he enters upon the
administration with every qualification
to advance th? happiness of his country
Aiay'the auspices of that beloved coun
try brighten, and Proviclence. so guHe
us councils, as to light up. with an et-
fulgence of true lory, the American
. mm m r
name ? CUIUTUS.
In the exalted postof President of the
United States, Mr. Madison has largely
ncreased his claims to the approbation
of his country. With a scrupulous and
unshaken fidelity to all the obligations of
his high station, he has gone along in a
still broader path of wisdom, opening,
we trust, to nis country one ot satcty ana
of glory. The time is not yet ripe, nof
does. the occasion require a whole re
view of the effects that naturally belong
to the just principles and impartial dig
nity by which his administration of the
government has, thus far, been guided
Disappointed by European falthlessnos,
in the beneficent intentions and the bene
ficent acts which marked the first stages
of hi presiden ial career, he has ceased
with the offerings of amity and reconcilia
tion, only because they have been spurn
ed at his hands; The nation has hailed,
ht nation will hail his firm reprobation
of her wrongs. With the ampltst knpw
lege, with the purest patriotism,-under
tacred responsibilities, he has pointed
out the course due to her sovereignty,
due to her honor, therefore' due to her
essential welfare. The nation is willing,
is eager, to tread it. The attributes of
independence, of freedom and of valor
which illustrate the annals of such a na
tion,wi!l applaud, with loud and increLs
ing acclamations, the chief who scorned
to gve up the rights he wis solemnly
delegated to maintain, while the sword
was left for their protection; With
manly virtue he has recommended this
last appeal, and the hearts of all Arheri
cans see in it a new pledge of his own
greatness, and a new cljim upon their
confidence, love and support
The British Plot.
From the National Intelligencer. , r
The report of the committee of For
eign Relations on this subject is n6w
before our readers, together with the
testimony of the gentleman whom we
have heretofore stated to have been ex
amined before that committee, , It ap
pears that Mr. Henry's character, to
which objections have been offered by
Mr. Foster and others, was not taken
into consideration by the committee,
who copceived the documents to bear on
their face such marks of authenticity as
could not be resisted. - j U
It will be seen also, if such confirma
tion be needed, that strong circumstan
tial proof is afforded by Count Crillon's
testimony in support of the statements
of Mr. Henry, who appears to have
stood as high in England as in. this
country, and was equally distinguished
in London as in Boston, in both of which
he frequented the best society. - 'y
We have seen it intimated, in certain
prints, that Henry's disclosures are un
important, because no names are given
of those with whom he held correspon
dence during hU mission in this coun
try ; and we should not be surprised, to
find this report' adduced to prove that
ncrc oas-Dcen no sucn -.intercourse.
The; 'committee, - it will : be observed,
have not taken : any -steps to i triplicate : a-
. ' ' ' m
ny persons in mis country, woo may oe
f upposed to have been concerned in this
plot but as they have rnt implicated,
neither, have thev; exonerated, ariyw'
and perhaps it was not within the strict
line of their duty to have done either
the one or the other, ' In relation to
this point we may be permitted to, re
mark, that we have beep disposed to, at
tach importance to this disclosure; not
at all because it may incidentally im
plicate some of our own citizens, but
as exposig;, the treacherous'conduct of
a nation covertly seeking the destruc-
tipn ov the only; hee government on
earji; as elucidating the real cailse an4
- c i li? i 'j - "
mouves oi iRe policy ooservea py Ij.
Britain to us, taking into view her con
temporaneous proclamation, during the
embargo, ad mi (ting into her ports A'
merican vessels withouVclearanccs, Sec
Canning's official sneers in his, inter
course with our minister in London ;
Erskine s assurance of the sincerity of
his master's inclination to fivor the in
terests of this country add maintain with
us unceasing amity ; , the appeal from
our government, addressed particularly
to the people of the Eastern section of
the Union, by the publication of Can
ning's letters in Boston ; and other cir
cumstances Which the j recollection of
our readers will supply ..more readily
than our pen. "When we review this
'issue of deception j when we reflect on
the conduct of Britain, tendering; in one
hand the calumet of peace whilst the o
ther held the poisoned chalice to our
lips, we emphatically feel that a nation,
like a man, .
' May smile and smile and be a villain.
The disclosures m-de by Mi. Henry
have b-en held up to ridicule as unim
portant, and, with the same grace as a
Troward child break out into a hysteri
cal laujrh to conceal the sorrow its little
heart is too stubborn to & vow, we have
seen some Who have affected to laugh
at their contents. If this merriment bt
affected, it is childish and unworthy of
men U sense and cnaracter ; it not, u
is worse, in ine same spirit in wmc
Nero fiddled when Rome was in flames.
thoughtless men may shule at the ap
proach of the hydra of foreign influence
which threatens to devour them ; as far
be it from us to envy them, as to parti
cipatein their amusement. This is not
the first time that ridicule has been re
sorted to where the recoil of weightier
weapons has been dreaded. But in this
case, the arrow is so light and ill sped
that it glances from the object at which
it is 3i mcd, rebounding on those who
use it for what can be more ridiculous
than to manifest hatred for the agent in
his plot, in he same breath that the
principal is defended, or what more ah
surd than the declaration that these do
cuments are forgeries, and Henry him
self unworthy of credit at the same time
that his whole budget is ransacked, and
this man's private letters exposed to
view, to exculpate from participation in
his views those whom no pnehas censur
ed as 'concerned ?
A fuiile attempt is made to stifle the
force of Henry's evidence, toscreen from
the public eye the damning facts he ex
poses to view, by magnifying the a
mount of the compensation said to have
been made by our. government to Mr.
Henry for his disclosure.! Supposing all
that is said to be true, how can that pos.
sibly detract from the atrpcity of the act
disclosed, and which is tacitly confessed
even by the British minister? JVVhen
a mart Is convicted of house -breaking or
murder, is his con victiort' less important
to society because a reward was paid for
his detection or apprehension ( On the
same principle it is that services nuchas
Henry has rendered us are rewarded by
governments. : What honest industrious
man, that in the silent dead of night has
found his house in flames, his ptoperty
menaced with instant destruction and
i
only saved by the interposiuon -of Pro
vidence, but would freelylgive a tithe of
his weekly earnings for .the discovery of
the.irtcendiary ? ,We kpow not what
Henrv hai received for reveal: ne to our
government the incendiary agency for
separating mis union, uui uin wc wiww i
mat tnose wno noiu uiij y uiuu ucap
wili think the secret purchased at a price'
too dear. Of onejfact yrenture con
fidently to assure our readers r that
whatever compensation r. tteory may
have demanded from :oujr 'gtrernment
for the communication of nis credentials',
he might, from anioiher Iquarter, have
commanded five times as much foMheir
suppression rf-.tr 'St'
Although many may 6ay, with the ho
norable Mr Quindy, Ihatj the President
has done worthily iff laying the affair, be
fore Congfessi in our view he. has pnjy;
per tormea an acioi odtiousruo imper
v ::- ?'' j - . i
fatlve
Jty, impdsed bvthe awful sole
w w nipatn try support he consututictt
of the UniteiateS:lf thersicleiJt V
knew of the. existence ofvevibce of a
constitution fie had isworUt(uppi)n- ;
ohtained, C iuif hehaye-taUhiulIyis;
ihargedtheutynfiediioiixC
had refrained from layirjg it rfe Cbri-
grwaIfhotughte.to
tromso aomg, front an apprehension pf
offending . those whc ch usej , t$ consider 5
themselves a$ implicated 'ips :.jf v.ijh'ad.;' '.'
concealed it; lie had beconje W acconi t
pjice in the crime 5 hy disclpkin lig iUs
no fault of the President, hbeveftrnay
be a cause of regret, that the feelings of ; .
some respectable lindiifidualStlf keen "
acuMuiiHics. appca.r to nave oecn t unm-
' L mt i- ' 1 " ' -' . ' i . 'IX'- ':
tenuonauy woundeu.
- From the ColkmSldn
v Henry's PLqT.The,loHdwing let
ter was received by the last eaisternt mail.
It is unquestionably genuinei , Ahd if a
request from j the proper authority - isi
made, the 'blanks will be Sired and tht
proper reference' giyeru
2.
Sir Observing in. the Columbian of5
the 14th instant, a; piiice-neaded
portani diicTbsu re. - I take 4he iiberty
although in haste to; state that I am well,
acquainted with the personage -atluded J
to, as a Secret agent called
ry, but fhose real name is John Henry s
The said person, John ftenfy.Cwas
captain in the federal army and was dis
continued from office in 1802 or ifeoS,
Immediately' alter he purchased aeat
in 'Windsoermonthere -hddi
a federal paper for: sometime. Bein
disappointed in his anticipated success
as an attorney -at, law, he reraoveel to
Montreal, where he' entered as a law-student,
with Mr. Stephtn(SewaU, at pre
sent solicitor-gen. Of Montreal s Here,
Lit is supposed, he was again thwartedjnc
his projects, but beuig intimate with Sir ,
James Craig, governor-general of Cana
da, Henry was no doubt employed ib
the vriefarious j jobject of dismembering A
he -United States, j,',,--;: fejjjv, 1
; Lhave to state, iiarioni projects of,
his I am acquainted wijfh,- andv like wisev
some others, which will be recited a, '
non;" indeeoy the dajiy attempts pt
the tories and adherents of Great Iriiain1
to render odious otir blessed constitutibii
and government, wiicli I witbessed thje ;
encouragernent giveW to smulihgj dur
ring the mbargd ihe tSribes offeree the
soldiers stationed on the lines atid the "
con in Ued e flort s tb eh ga ge trie; 1 n the
service of our eternal enemy,vdetermihr f
ed me to leave Canada,' where I then re- I
sided. Concerning tip$n S6hvHtrf i , .
I shalfsay no ifnore at present, but
enough to isclcstj f rietessryV t Proofs?
of my veracity'? andharacter ciihe
given, Vour humble setvantj J if '
V
i-.f!t-..:
Mr . C Hdu 1
-A
0t
: r "': If.
Henry's MisstirWh
iding federar newspapefs wince 1 and
i.
leadiner Tederal? newspapers wince land
writhe so deplorably at the exposure' of
the secretjand dark designs of hBrj-
tish govern raeht a
It is because it gives a direct contradicV;
tibn to all they have been so lobg a'nd
so. loudl repeating to us ofthe very.fa-
Vorable views i and I friehdlv disnbsitiona 1
-of that government towards the' United
states; , h-i . ;. ruoavertuerk'- .
While it has, been the iricle ofciSney
politicians to hold up, the B; i tish pation' i
as fighting for the liberties bfthe. ivbrld,
it appears she was secretly plotting "to
destroy the only free constitution of co-
vernmeni in existence ai me ume.-i0.
AFEDERAtGorERNoRWhat must
have been the language, what the ttin
UUVVf V VutvM,ll.MtUl!IJ 1TMCU
Bntisb &py could write to his empioyer
that the; Gornbrjor
dience to cwy command from the gegel-.
ral .gpvernmentjWbich can tend to. inter
rupt ihe irpod uriderstanding that- pre"
fails between the citjzehs oermon
and his lajesty's !subjec?m danida
'.: i reason against ine v rotates -snail
consist on iy iri; ievyj g waragainsi tnem , ..
:rtijtWkeriip; to entmeiygrig
now more ihan eyeiv" hbye -the JedcV ;
ratarmwheb theyeKcimen
-GAniil ttinn. that the v take eS-
peciai care ,nai incyjuy iw civ- , :n ?
fubjeeito;ttieTaus Pt
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