crKN) fOTCS TTT(3r3
HALIFAX, JV. C. FRIDAY, JULY 2, 1324.
F0. J.
THE "FREE PRESS,"
By George Howard,
Is published every Friday, at
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COMMUNICATIONS
3'OR THE FREE TRUSS.
"Hear now my reasonings,"
To detect and oppose bad
men or bad measures, Mr. Edi
tor, is laudable; it is the duty as
well as the interest of every in
dividual that has it in his power.
Hut it is as much incumbent on
the members of society to unite
in supporting good men and
o-ood measures, when they are
attacked by writers, who con
found right and wrong, good
and evil, and promiscuously de
cry and misrepresent every ac
tion or sentiment which is not
on a level with their capacities.
Under this impression I would,
sir, with your permission, ad
dress a few words to my fellow-citizens,
on the following
remarksjwhich appeared in your
paper of the 18th (ult.) under
the signature of Calimachus.
After "asserting" that Mr.
CRAWFORD has "been more
consistent m uuuuwi uucui
j i- 1:- 1 r,
. i:,i4 fnu
office of President," he with-?
draws a previous exception 0fau iue IUL . LU"
Gen. JACKSON, on account nice" "for the comprehension"
i I rvf !-- nnnmp
of a recent discovery of his
real sentiments, and concludes
as follows:
"And what was so much dread
ed by the honest Republicans of '93,
:.s coming thicK upon us; anu we
v,n nf loct finrl ourselves but a I
contemptible atom in the huge mass.
...f a consolidated government. Is I
a man who advocates principles of
such a tendency a tit person to De
President of the United States?
(Jen. Jackson does!!!"
That this, fellow-citizens, is
another evidence of the melan-;
choly fact, that no expression!
can be so perfect but it is capa
ble of misrepresentation, will
readily be admitted on a peru
sal of "the following paragraph;
from which, it is presumed, the
above logical deductions were
drawn:
"Now is the time to exterminate
that monster, called party spirit;
By selecting characters most con
spicuous for their probity, virtue,
rapacity, and firmness, without any
regard to party, you will go far to,
"f not entirely, eradicate those feel
ings which, on former occasions,
threw so many obstacles in the way
nf government; and perhaps have
the pleasure and honor of uniting a
people heretofore politically divi
ded." Will Callimachus ask for
proofs when "I assert" that the
adoption of these principles
were strongly urged by the il
lustrious Washington: and that
they have not only been advo
cated but practised, in a greater
or less degree, by each succeed
ing administration since the
formation of our government?
Will he require proofs when "I
assert" that republicans were
appointed to office under the fe
deral administration of John
Aflims nnd that fprf.prn lints
have held distinguished civil
and military omces under the
.republican administrations of
Jeiterson, iviauison, ana Mon
roe? Unquestionably not. Pie
cannot have been such an inat
tentive observer of recent e-
vents, or so totally regardless of
the history ot ins country as to
doubt the fact.
But let us proceed to an in
vesication of the consistency
of Mr. Crawford: and here I
would remark, that in thus ana
lyzing his nolitical career. I will
Cl 1 7
equally avoid those assertions,
that are so obnoxious to Lai
limachus, and those arguments
in which ho appears to be
wholly enveloped; and confine
myself solely to a statement of
a few facts, which the friends
of 3Vr. Crawford, with all their
double interpretations and illu
sory distinctions, have not been
enabled to disguise irom the
people. And which will exhi
bit such proofs, such "damning
proofs," of his inconsistency.
that even the arguments of
Callimachus shall not efface this
foul blot on the political escut
cheon ot JUr. U.
In July 1798, under the ad
ministration of John Adams,
and after the passage of the
Alien and bedition laws, Mr.
Crawford stands convicted of
having drafted and sanctioned
an Address, expressing, "the
most unlimited confidence m
the firmness, justice, and wis
dom of that administration." I
do not "assert" that the Ad
dress had direct reference to
the Alien and Sedition laws, nor j
to anv "particular nart ot his
administration: ' there are the
, In the session of 1S07-8, Mr.
'Crawford made his first appear-
, 1 ! ft'
ance in tne councils oi nis coun
try, as Senator in Congress.
During that session, Mr. Jeffcr-
enn thpn Prpsidnnt nf thft TTni-'
tej States, recommended to
r, f1 , f
J Lil -J- vnv A
bargo, to save our immense mer
cantile capital from French and
British spoliation: Mr. Craw
ford voted against this measure,
in a small minority, with all
the federalists.
In IS09, when the "Republi
cans" had determined to repeal
the embargo, and pursue more
active and energetic measures,
we find Mr. Crawford again on
the "opposite" side, voting a
gainst the repeal of that act.
In 1811, under the adminis
tration of Mr. Madison, on the
motion to renew the Charter of
the United States' Bank, which
was so obnoxious to the repub
licans of that day, Mr. Craw
ford voted with all the fede
ralists. At a subsequent period, Mr.
Madison transmitted a message
to Congress, detailing the inju
ries inflicted on us by Great
Britain, and recommending
measures suitable to the emer
gency. Mr. Crawford charac
terised this message as having
all the ambiguity of a response
from the Delphic Oracle; and
solemnly admonished the Sen
ate against preparation for war.
At a later period, when,the war
became obviously inevitable,
Mr. C. opposed the creation of
a navy, pronouncing it "worse
than ridiculous to think of de
fnnrh'nor our commerce by a
Miavy."
Fellow-citizens! I have con
fined my remarks solely to the
political consistency of. Mr. C.
and have endeavored to illus
rate it by an exhibition of some
of his public acts and opinions.
Facts are stubborn things; no
art nor power can change their
nature, and they will always
prevail over the most plausible
colorings. We have seen this
"honest republican of '98,"
complimenting the federal ad
ministration of John Adams;
and this "coitsiste)it" republi
can, opposing some of the prin
cipal features in the republican
adminstrations of Mr. Jefferson
and Mr. Madison. I have not
noticed Mr. Crawford's opposi
tion to the administration of Mr.
Monroe, presuming that no!
"proofs" will be required on
this head, since his friends have
openly assumed the name of
"Radicals,17 and hold him up
as the great reformer of abuses.
Will Callimachus still "assert"
that Mr. Crawford has been
more consistent in his political
career than Gen. Jackson? If
so, I humbly ask for "the proof!
the proof!" If he can point to
a single instance wherein Gen.
J. acted with the federalists in
opposition to a republican mea
sure if he can produce an en
tire sentence that directly ad
vocates federal principles, or
has a tendency to a consolida
ted goverment if, fellow-citizens
he can produce "proofs"
of such dereliction, on the part
of Gen. J. from those principles
for which he fought in "times
that tried men's souls," and
which he has always professed to
maintain, in the closet and in the
field, I will acknowledge that;
Callimachus has a better know-
ledge of his political career than j
he who now addresses you; and
should he furnish "proofs" to
counterbalance the aberrations
of Mr. Crawford, I will cheer
fully acquiesce in his opinion,
and yield the palm of political
consistency to Mr. C.
Halifax.
i
FOR THE FREE TRESS.
NO I.
My Fellow-citizens:
The time has come when it
behooves every patriot of Ame
rica to step forward in the de
fence of the liberties of his coun
try: a defence, however, not
called for to be made on. the
field of battle, to repel an exter
nal foe; but to protect us from
the clouds of ignorance and fa
naticism, which seem to thicken
and lower over our political ho
rizon. It is to defend inno
cence, virtue, and liberty itself,
that our country calls upon us
to step forward, and oppose the
rapid strides which prejudice is
making upon ignorance, and de
sign upon prejudice. In carry
ing on this opposition, it will
become necessary to speak can
didly, and to call things by their
proper names; however poig
nant and acrid it may be to the
taste of some, or stinging to the
conscience of others. Our maxim
is, "that truth should prevail,
tho' the heavens and the earth
be shaken;" but even truth,
by those who have an indisposi
tion to receive it, is attended to
with an adder's ear; and is per
verted and ridiculed by others,
whose designs, intrigues, and
ignorance it exposes. That such
should continue to shoot at it
while there is an arrow in their
quiver of detraction, is not oth
erwise to be expected: but truth,
immortal in its nature, will
stand the durability of ages,
though often obscured by the
ephemeral triumphs of false
hood, ignorance, superstition
and error. Our country has hi
therto been blessed with the tri
umph of truth and liberty; un
der the auspices of these, the
land of, our fathers has flourish
ed, and r we have been a happy
people. But lo! our national
policy is now changed! and we,
who by the whole face of the
earth have been acknowledged
to be an agricultural people,
have by an act of the last Con
gress been declared to have been
a manufa. turing one. A dis
covery which has been made
entirely by the sagacity of our
new-fangled politicians, or
would-be political soothsayers:
for they do not pretend, that the
sacrifice, which must be made
by the farming and agricultural
interest of the country, will at
all result to the benefit of the
present age; but that future ge
nerations, who, (for aught we
know) may never make their
appearance upon the face of the
earth, are to receive its immor
tal blessings.
It may be so; I am neither a
necromancer, nor a fortune-teller;
and therefore' I profess no
learning: of future events. I
should, however, have had more
confidence in the result, had
there not have been so much
difference of opinion amongst
the soothsayers themselves; as
a great number of them seemed
to have thought, that those bless
ings would have been wrought
in fifty years, while the greatest
number were very confident
that it wrould require a hundred;
some, however, were in favor of
a hundred and fifty years, and
others more, which produced at
first much division in the camps
of the gifted gentry, and at
once, seemed to have augured
their final defeat. But, unfor
tunately for this country, there
was one point on which they all
agreed, and around which they
all rallied; (that is) "that future
generations would ultimately be
blessed by it."
Whether the people will sup
port these political soothsayers
and their advocates, in carrying
into effect such a measure, or
consent to be legislated for as a
manufacturing people, instead
of an agricultural and a farming
one, it is submitted to them to
say. If so, let them go to the
polls, and vote for him who is in
favor of encouraging domestic
manufactures, by making every
farmer and agriculturist in the
commonwealth pay its cost,
without the prospect of an earth
ly benefit one hundred years to
come. And let not the rjeoole
be deceived in discriminating
those who advocated these poli
tical soothsayers and their doc
trines; for rely on it, he who
votes directly, or indirectly, for
any one who voted for that
measure, is himself a supporter
of that measure; and whether he
does this intentionally or unin
tentionally, it is the same thing
in the end to the farmerhis
interest sustains an injury, and
he becomes a sufferer by the as
sault. Having committed to the
hands of the people those poli-
"v u" j r -ieir au-
yocates, I shall now proceed tr
make some animadversions rm-
on the character of an individu
al, who is held up and support
ed for the chief magistracy of
this nation. Commenting upon
the character of any individual,
is at times disagreeable; but
doubly so, when commenting
upon the character of an indi
vidual, who we must all con
fess, has rendered many great
and meritorious services to his
country. It is a subject which
I approach' with that decree of
awe and solemnity, tht hp-
comes the occasion; and should
conceive myself totally umWi-
fiable in even doing this, were
it not the loud call, which my
country makes on every patriot
in the Republic to defend its
honor and its liberty.
Into the protection of whose
hands the liberties of this coun
try are lo be committed, is at
this time the great question
which agitates this nation to its
centre; and upon which the peo -pie
must soon , be -called to de
cide. In making this decision,
it becomes every man. who has
a regard for his property or his
Ireeuom, to ponder well in si
lent meditation on the qualifica
tions ot the different personages
who are held ud as candidates
to fill that distinguished and all-
important trust; and to make
known to his fellow-citizens,
either in private or in public,
the reasons by which he has
been led to decide.
As there is but one of the can
didates by whose elevation I am
apprehensive of any great or
immediate danger resulting to
the liberties of the nation. I
feel it a duty incumbent on me,
to state the reasons upon which,
these apprehensions have been
founded, which I shall do with
brevity and candor: and in the
first place will make this asser
tion, that should the character
of an individual afford evidence
of violence or immorality, that
there would be reason to appre
hend danger by placing into the
hands of its possessor, the liber
ties of a nation,is a proposition to
which all rational men will read
ily subscribe. That Gen. JACK
SON has, or does, possess such
a character, his warmest friends
cannot conscientiously deny:
nor do I yield in point of friend
ship for Gen. Jackson to any
man in this nation. My rea
sons for opposing his-'preten-sions
to the Presidency, at this
time, is not that I admire Gen.
Jackson the less, but that I love
the liberties of my country the
more; but for that, and indeed,
I should Jiave been amongst the
last, to have drawn aside the
vail, which concealed his de
fects, and have made apparent
those blots which must ever
darken his escutcheon, and tar
nish his brightest victories; for
the exposition of these, he is in
debted more to his pretended
friends, who have imnrnnprltr
draggedhim, (although wearied
with years,) before the public;
to answer. fear, some base and
designing; purpose: and I am
fearful, very fearful, that thev
are endeavoring to force upon,
tne Ueneral more weight than
he can conveniently carrv:
which, should he even be suc
cessful, must ultimately compel
him to sink beneath its ponder-