IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^ A ^ ^ 1.0 I.I li£12.8 ■50 ^** mm u 114 125 HI HI 14.0 IL25 nil 1.4 12.0 11.6 HK)togr^)liic Sdeaices Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STRKT WIBSTER.N.Y. 14S80 (716)872-4503 .ss 1^ ?v v> ^ ^(^.•^ Q> n,^- '4^ 4% CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historicai IMicroreprodurtions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques ^ Tschnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notaa taohniquaa at bibliographiquaa Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy avaiiabia for filming. Faaturaa of ttiia copy which may ba bib(iograp^.ieally uniqua. which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction. or which may significantly changa tha uauai mathod of filming, ara chaokad balow. □ Cdourad covara/ Couvarturo da coulaur r~| Covara damagad/ Couvartura andommag^a □ Covara raatorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartura raataurte at/ou palliculAa □ Covar titia miaaing/ La titra da co'^vartura manqua □ Colourad mapa/ Cartaa gAographiquaa 1% coulaur D D D D Colo'irad inic (i.a. othar than blua or blacic)/ Encra da coulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua <>•: noira) r~n Colourad plataa and/or illuatrationa/ Planchaa at/ou illuatrationa 1% coulaur Bound with othar matarial/ RalM avae d'autraa doeumanta Tight binding may cauaa ahkHiowa or diatortion along intarior margin/ Larcliura sarria paut cauaar da I'ombra ou da la diatoraion ■• long da la marga intiriaura Blanic laavaa addad during rastoration may appaar within tha taxt. Whanavar possibia, thaaa hava baan omittad from filming/ II so paut qua cartainaa pagoa blanches ajoutias lors d'una raatauratlon apparaiaaant dana la taxta. maia, lorsqua cala Atait poasibia, caa pagaa n'ont paa «tA filmiaa. L'Inatitut a microfilm* la maillaur axampiaira qu'il lui a it* poasibia da sa procurer. Los details da cat axamplaira qui sont paut-*tra uniquas du point da vua bibliographiqua, qui pauvant modif iar una imaga raproduita. ou qui pauvant axigar una modification dana la mithoda normala da fiimaga aont indiquAa ci*daaaous. Tha to til pn Colourad pagaa/ Pagaa da coulaur Pagaa damagad/ Pagaa andommagias Pcgaa raatorad and/01 Pagaa raataurtas at/ou paiiiculAas Pagaa discoiourad. stsinad or foxai Pagaa dAcolorAas, tachatias ou piquios Pagaa datachad/ Pagaa dAtach*as Showthrough> Tranaparanca Quality of prir Qualit* in4gal* da I'imprassion Inciudaa supplamantary matarii Comprand du material suppiimantaira Only adition avaiiabia/ Saulo Mition disponibia rn Pagaa damagad/ r~~| Pcgaa raatorad and/or laminatad/ r~7\ Pagaa discoiourad. stsinad or foxad/ r*n Pagaa datachad/ r~J| Showthrough/ r~l Quality of print variaa/ j~n Inciudaa supplamantary matarial/ rn Only adition avaiiabia/ Tho oftt mmi Grig b««i tha aion, otho first aion, or ill Tho shall TINi whic Map diffa antir bogii right raqui matt D Pagaa wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissuaa. etc.. have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Lea pagaa totalement ou partiellement obacurclas par un fauillet d'errata. una pelure. etc.. ont *ti filmies i nouveau da fapon A obtanir la mailleure imaga possible. Additional comments:/ Commentairea supplimentairaa: Irrsgular pagination : [1]- 4. 7 -18. 5 -6, 19 -20 p. This item is filmed st the reduction ratio checlced below/ Ce document est film* au taux da rAduction indiqu* ci*de8sous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 28X SOX y 12X 16X 20X a4x 2iX 32X rails Th« copy filmtd h«r« has b««n raproiluoMl thanks to th« ganaroslty of: Brock Unhrtnity StCatharinM L'Momplairo film* fut raproduit griea A la a«n«rositi da: Brock University St CctliarinM Tha Imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poaalbia ^onaidaring tha condition and lagibliity of tha original copy »nd in kaaping with tha filming contract spscif Icationa. Original copiaa in printad papar covara ara fUnMd iMginnlng with tha front covar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illuatratad impraa- •ton. or tha back covar whan appropriata. AN othar original copiaa ara tilmad baginning on tha first paga wHih a printad or illuatratad Impraa* slon, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or Illuatratad impraaaton. Tha laat racordad frama on aach microflcha shaH contain tha symbol -n^ (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol V (moaning "END"), whichavar applias. Mapa. platas, charts, ate., may ba fHmad at diffarant raduction ratios. Thosa too larga to ba antiraly included in ona axpoaura aro fiimad baginning in tha uppar iaft hand comar. iaft to right and top to bottom, as many framaa as raquirad. Tha following diagrams iilustrata tha mathod: 1 2 3 La* imagas suivantas ont AtA raproduitas avac la plus grand soin. compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da i'axamplaira film*, at an conf ormK* avac las conditions du contrat da filmaga. I.aa axampiairas originaux dont la couvartura an papiar aat ImprimAa sont filmte m* comman9ant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una ampralnta d'impraasion ou d'illustration, soit par la sacond pkit, salon la cas. Tous las sutras axampiairas originaux sont filmAs it comman9ant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una ampralnta d'impraasion ou d'illustration at an tarminant par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una taila ampralnta. Un das symbolaa suivants spparattra sur ia darniira imaga da chaqua microfiche, salon ia cas: la symbols -^> signifia "A SUIVRE". la symbolo ▼ signifia "FIN". Las cartas, planchas, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmis A dee taux da reduction diff Arents. Lorsque ie document eet trop grend pour Atre reproduit en un soul clichA, il eet f limA A pertir do I'engto supArieur gauche, do gauche A droite. et de haut en baa, en prenant la nombre d'imegee nAceeeaire. Lee diegrammes suivants illustrant la mAtiwda. 1 2 3 4 5 6 *>'*; ,.^CiM ■^yrr^ gpy^ W .^ """N'SHi^wy^. SOLEMN PROTEST 8T THE LATB D3^C" ttseo ^«;fe* ■-♦, V •<■ V € 'I .,.r ll-KIHL-i-r' ■: m; ■ f-: ^ '**• *V 1?^-^v 'si^,?- .;, J* ^■itr p\s > v^'.'V. n^' SOLEMN PROTEST. ifc^^^ts^-i , ■ n €HRON. lUi. 12. ,,., ;,:^-.. .i;^,^, ,,.„ 4p c/^i2 M^ *-•• rvj*!'. ■i^\! , |j|r...*. ftuencefk on this abode of mortals — prostrating my soul before their great author and regulator, my heart prompted me to pray, " O thou God of order and of peace, send down, I beseech thee, from thy eternal throne, a portion of the celestial harmony to guide the counsels and pursuits of thy lational offspring here on earth. In giving them existence, thou hast deigned ' from thine infinite understanding to impart to them some rays of intelligence* Crown, O crown thy gift of reason to them by ])enetrating their hearts with a portion of thy love. Give them to know and to feel how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell to- gether in unity." Thus daily lamenting, and pray- ing against, the miseries of war, I passed through that most gloomy portion of my past life from 1775 till the Unsporting sound of peace in 1783*^ * a r -' ^u ..»'^ Abhorrent as my nature and all my feelings then were from war, I entertained the sentiment ia whic^'^' my fellow-citizois universally, almost to a man,lvere agreed, that, on our part, it was necessary, and from this conviction I couiijosed and preached frequent dis- courses to animate and encourage its prosecution. Our oppressors had explicitly avowed their purpose to wrest from us our dearest privileges, to bind us in I all cases whatever, subjecting us to tlieir will and to whatever burdens they might see fitto impose. They vacated our charters, changed the forms of our gov- ernments, and answered our humble petitions and re- '. monstrances at the mouths of tlieir cannon. Their fleets and armies invaded our country, srized our" property, wantonly shed the blood of our people, and o* themselves commenced the war with every mark of! ,. 'V. f %it' .-^/v ::: i«^rocity and outrage. Thus circumstanced, like the children of Judah in the context, we cried unto the Lord, to Him committed our cause, and in a humble reliance upon him girded on the harness in our own defence. . . In the motives for the present war, who can dis- cern the least shade of resemblance to those for the former ? And what christian, under the influence of christian principles, can dare pray for success ? In order to the least hope from God, we must have a clear and perfect conviction that the war is just and necessary ; I say, necessary, for if it be not such as is forced upon us by absolute and dire necessity, it can- not be just. Its very nature is violence against the lives and properties of our fellow-beings, our brethren, the children of our common progenitor on earth and common Father in heaven. On this account it 'is de- nounced, even when most just and necessary, by M, de Fattel in his law of nations, as " but a wretched ex- pedient against those who spurn at justice and refuse the remonstrances of reason. It is (he goes on) in extremities only that a just and wise nation or a good prince has recourse to it.-— Those who run to arms without necessity are the scourges of the human race, barbarians, enemies to society, and rebels to the law of nature, or rather to the common Father of mankind.—* Humanity is shocked at a sovereign who lavishes the lives of his subjects, who exposes his people to the havoc and miseries of war, when they might enjoy an honorable and salutary peace. — Besides the misfor- tunes drawn on his subjects, for which he is account- 4bk» he b guilty also of those he carries amidst an in* •t' i V !'4Jsf ( 1 «.♦ ::i tiocetit people. The slaughter of men, the pillage d cities, the devastation of provinces, are his crimes* He b responsible to God, and accountable to man, ibr every person that is killed. The violences, the crimes^ the various disorders attendant on the licentious tii* mult of arms, pollute his conscience and blacken his account, as he is the original author of them all.^* Such being, in the judgment of this wise and goodf Frenchman, the horrible guilt of those who engage in an unnecessary war, is it not the incumbent, the indisi^'o pensable duty of every subject of these States, capable of the exercise of reason, in the fear t)f God, solemnly to inquire, whether the present war be necessaryjf whether the pretences for it be founded, and in that case, whether they be of such magnitude, so imkiieij|(lv ately urgent and important, as to justify the adbpdbnl^* ofso awful an expedient? This question b forced upon our immediate consideration. Our consciences, if we have any, compel us to the discussion. Its late decision by our rulers does not exempt us from tl^ obligation of giving it our most serious and impar^ examination. Our rulers are men, and as such, are^lia*; ble to err through misconception. To them applies the interrogatory, who can understand his ertvrs ? They . partake of the common depravity of our apostate na- ture, and, of course, are liable to corrupt prejudices and passions, and from such depraved principles may Jbnu wicked decrees and establish iniquity by law. It is the glory of a free government, its chief and mai^» excellence for which it ought to be desired and sought^ comprising all that is meant or that is valuable in lib. 4nw it^l^ that it constitutes the people a check upoft 'V,-V. * %;. ■*^t^ ?'^»^S-,ife" 1- :4^ ■'^^ <; JlfiC lni:- •• *:^, (heir public servants, and, in the last resort, gives thens the power of correcting the mistakes and of remedy- ing the evil and mischief,, winch the weakness or the wickedness of their rulers may have produced. They may displace such rulers and commit the management of their affairs to better characters. If through their own weakness and wickedness they fail of doing this, they forfeit all their privileges, offend against God, the giver of them, and expose themselves to his heaviest judgpnents, not only to the calamities of the present life as a community, but individually, to the danger of ev- erlasting punishment hereafter. If at the command of weak or wicked rulers, they undertake an unjust war» each man who volunteers his services in such a cause, or loans his money for its support, or by his conversa* tion, his writings, or any other mode of influence, en- courages its prosecution, that man is an accomplice in the wickedness, loads his conscience with the blackest ctimesv brings the guilt of blood upon his soul, and, in the sight of God anB his law, b a murderer. War i» hfitred in its fullest and highest expression, and St. John explicidy affirms, that whosoever hateth his broth" erisa murderer ^ and tliat no murderer hath eternal life* At the last day we shall be judged, not by the laws of Congress, but by the law of God now mentioned, ^and Him we must obey, to the ne^ect of all opposing hu- man laws, and even at the risk of our lives. Whether to obey God or man, is the question upon which we afe to make up our ininds. In this awful dilemma, my brethren, you and I, all the men and all the women iin these United States, are now placed* Each indi- ^ual^ after consulting his conscience and availing < h- -^ /.X- .Si. .:^ _. f 1 •^ < n liimself of all the information within his reach, must, determine for himself, and according to his own idea» df responsibility to God, at whose tribunal he must give an account. Nor has he much time for de- liberation. In obedience to the hw of God, that law, the fulfilment of which consists in love, benevolence, and universal goodness — we are now immediately to act and to suffer either in supporting, or, by all consti- tutional means, resisting that law of our rulers, which proclaims liberty to the sword, which calls us to rob and slaughter our fellow-men, our brethren, with ivhom we have ties of blood, of interest, of manners, of speech, of opinion, and of religion, incomparably more near than \iith the men of any other nation on earth : Against this nation we are commanded to wage war, doing them all possible harm and mischief, while they do all possible harm and mischief to us. Into this most horrible state of things our rulers have brought us: In these dreadful circumstances they have placed us by their declaration of war, , % Their pretences for this, as stated in their manifesto," after being stript of much false colouring, many an-- proved assertions, and^n Abundance of verbal exagge-' ration, may be chiefly comprised under three heads. They pretend that, in a war of almost twenty years' duration, and of a nature and character different from any other that has ever happened in modern ttmes,^ some of our seamen have been pressed on board British ships — that British eruisers have sometimes ^ insulted our coast ; but that the main provocation is, that the British Orders in Council were not repealed, ,j|Rer our President had proclaimed the repeal of the mfifi" Ifi % w Berlin and Milan Decrees of France.— ^ With respect to the two first of these provocatioas — ^the impress* ment occasionally of some of our sailors, and an in<« stance or two of outrage in our harbours — it has nev« er been pretended that either of these was authorised by the British government. In every instance, they were the irregular, unwarranted acts of individuals* subordinate officers, whose rashness and folly no gov- ernment can at all times and every where restrain^^ The redress of these grievances however, and com- pensation for such injuries, after proof of them has been fairly and fully exhibited, have never been refus- ed. Our great ai\d alinost only controversy with England, respects her Orders in Council restricting our trade with France, because France had first pro-, hibited our trade with England by her Berlin and Milan Decrees. As the British Orders were profess- edly occasioned by the French Decrees, it was expect- ed that they would be revoked on the repeal of thosei Decrees* Our government, having proclaimed that repeal, demanded the revocation of the British Orders^ England replied that we were mastaken in our asser- tion of the repeal of the French Decrees, and, in proof of our mistake, produced official documents of the French government explicidy contradicting our proc- lamation, and affirming that those decrees, so far fromr bekg repealed^ were the fundamental laws of the French empire, and therefore were not and never could be repealed. She urged further, that ourselves knew that they^ Were not repealed, by the almost daily loss of our ships and cargoes in consequence of their continued execution ; as since the period of their pre% •lS'^,4 r \ ^ ■f^^ 15 * I r t 7 tended repeal, scores, if not hundreds of our vessels had been seized in French ports, or burnt at sea by French cruisers, while many of their unoiTending crews were manacled like slaves, confined in French prisons, or forced on board French ships, to fight against England. In opposition however to all these proofs, our government, with an hardihood and efiron*. tery at which demons might have blushed, persisted in asserting the repeal, and, in revenge against England for not believing them^ passed their non-intercourso law, laid their embargo, and now have declared war* ~; My brethren, if we have any regard for truth and righteousness, what must we think of such pretences for war? The apathy and indifference, with which some persons among us seem to receive the annuncisi?^^ tion of it is, to me, matjter of amazement. Consider<«f ing that we are the subjects of the Prince of peace^'' the professors of that religion which breathes peace oa , earth and good will towards I'^en, the disciples of th^> meek and lowly Jesus, who have taken his yoke uponl us, and entered into the most solemn engagements ta^ imitate and obey him, having in us the same mind that was in him, I am amazed th^t a general shriek of hor-^ ror at this deed of our rukrs has not been hearJ from, one extremity of our country to the other. For my- self, from the moment my ears received the tidings^ /. my mind has been in a constant agony, not so mud;^ at the inevitable loss of our temporal prosperity aa^i^. happiness, and the complicated miseries of war, as at its guilt, its outrage pg^nst Heaven, against all truth, honesty, justice^ goodness*^— against all the principles o{: social happmess* As a teacher of righteousness, as a > i>j*^ X. ■f: 14 minister of Christ, I feel myself under obligations in- finitely superior to all human laws, most solemnly to testify, both in public and in private, every where, in the hearing of all persons, rulers and subjects, against this atrocious wickedness, and to lay down my life, rather than cease this testimony. To you, my breth- ren, aiid to all my fellow citizens I say, in the language of the text, ** FIGHT YE NOT AGAINST THE LORD GOD OF YOUR FATHERS ; FOR YE SHALL NOT PROSPER." No recent injury has been done us, no new provo- cation has been offered ; nothing has happened of a nature to inflame the passions, and to bring oa the present phrenzy. It is therefore the more wonderful, andean be accounted for on no other principle, but the imperceptible influence which the author of alt evil, the spirit that workethinthe children of disobedience^ has been permitted to exert in the hearts of dark-mind- ed, cool, deliberately wicked rulers. They have ac- knowledged themselves caught and entangled in the toils of Bonaparte, that rival of satan himself in guile and mischief, and his most conspicuous agent here on earth. He twisted and prepared the slip-noose which our rulers, in fulfilment of prior engagements to him, have put about the neck of their countr}'. Thus strangling us, snug in their lucrative places, with the calmness trf French philosophers, they enjoy our ago- nies. " The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city Shushan was perplexed." ' ' >5^^^^*. » "' Were not the authors of this war in character nearly akin to the deists and atheists of France ; were Hhey nut men of hardened hearts, seared conscience&ii r \ m. 15 reprobate minds, and desperate in wickedness; k seems utterly inconceivable that they should have made the declaration. Their pretensions, in my . judgment, are either glaring, unblushing falsehoods^ or for tilings so trifling and unimportant that it may be queried whether they would not be wickedly ob- tained at the hazard of a single life. The trade of France is confessedly the main object That trade in its very best state, before the restrictions on either side, it has been abundantly proved, amounted not to the tenth part of our trade to England which France first prohibited.; yet we go to war against England in favor of France, and this too at a time when France has so encumbered our trade with her by duties and restrictions as to render it worse than nothing, and its prohibition by England no grievance. What object then is there for the war, which is the destruction of all trade and of all the persons who depend upon it for their support? How black must be the motives to such a war ; a war in reality against ourselves, our interest and happiness* Is there not room to fear that its authprs may have secretly formed their plan after the model of the French revolutionists? t Circumstanced as the country now is, divided in- to two great parties, the present rulers cannot feci themselves secure in their places, before such a phal- anx of opposers as their past proyoking conduct has embodied against them in all the mercantile States. Conscious of their guilt and danger, but destitute, as &llen angels, of any heart to repent, party spirit and i^ge have so worked them up that tliey have at length become desperate, and in a fit of desperation have .rt*?S- f 1!^ '*^f »: ST, .ft ■ u proclaimed war* They well know that in a free goi)"' eminent like ours, war cannot be carried on without the general and almost unanimous consent of the peo- ple, and that a great body of opponents must occa- sion a civil war. Situated as the country now is, this they must expect ; but as they have the power in their hands and count upon being on the strongest side, hav> ing the great Bonaparte for their ally, assisted by him, do they not mean to rush on to the war against Eng- land over the dead bodies of its vanquished opposers 7 Is there not, at least, room to fear this? i* 1/ tiwt« "* If at the present moment, no symptoms of civil war appear, they certainly will soon, unless the cour- 9^ pi the war party should fail them. The opposi- don'^^mprises all the best men in the nation, men of the g^test talents, courage and wealth, and whose Washingtonian principles will compel them to die father than stain dieir hands in the blood of an unjust war. Prudence leads them at present, to cloak their opposi^n under constitutional forms. Provoked at these obstacles, the patrons of war will have recourse to violence. Attempts will be first made to bridle the tongues and pens of the opponents. This has been done hi Congress already, while the war-question was under debate. It was by gagging the mouth of a Randolph anC wther enlightened patriots that the act passed. The mouths of the opposition abroad must be next gagged, their hands tied, and their feet made to ^ove aC the will of the war-pafty. When in the course of their progress, the enemy shall be coming as a flood, and the distresses of w^ shall press heav^^ all their losses and misfortunes will be attributed to * \ 'r »* ■*«l' ^#. u^^ v!**-. ' «•„ -f ■A J- * «. " f •^ ^m-' -'r K ^ > ■nf^'f '^^:\i. >. 'A- '0 '0. * i *. * I ■ «*• 17 their present opponents. Against these a popular clamour will be set up, a deadly hatred excited. They will be called enemies to their country, traitors, the .friends of Britain and of monarchy, opposers of a re* publican government, and insurgents against the laws. Whoever robs or murders them will think that he does God and his country service. At length they will be proclaimed rebels, and force used to sub- due them. As no considerable number of men will tamely surrender their lives, force on the one side will produce force on the other. Thus a civil war becomes as certain as the events which happen according to the known laws and established course of nature. ^ In New England, the war declared cannot heap* proved by any but here and there a furious party lead- er, a few ignorant, delrded fanatics, and a handful of desperadoesc It must be abhorred by more than nine tenths of the people ii) the mercantile states, and by every sober, good man in all the states. In the &ce ^ of an opposition so numerous and formidable, how desperate and sanguinary must have been the views of its authors ? Their chosen master, Bonaparte, how- ever, must be obeyed, at every hazard. They could not endure his reproaches, tliat '* they were without policy, without spirit, without principle, and inferior to a colony of Jamaica." ■■ *^p? -^^ ■■m*>^' ' fwri-^" y-mM -i^im ■ ^^m - a My brethren, the blood runs cold in my veins at the prospect of the heart chilling scenes before us. The thing which we greatly feared is come up- on use Standing by the bed of death, I have often exhorted the dying, as a temper suitable to their awful situation, to be thankful for the m -jt-. "t ^ 8 ■»f: '■»^»-.il^i^* ,fc'-¥-'v/'^«»-H'f^^^ In the mean while however, notwithstanding all the spoliations of the powers at war, we have been ^wing^ 6eyond aD former example, in riches and in whatever constitutes the prosperity and happiness of a people. Wealth has flown in upon our sea-port^, ev- ery foot of ground belonging to them has risen in value more lliah a thousand per cent, thd number of buildings has doubled and trebled, many of them have risen spacious and splendid palaces, and our merchants have become princes in onulence. while every class of tradesmen, mechanics, and labourers^ have had full luod constant employ, and more than double wages. -I %i '^ '^:- 4 XI ::::::::::::: > to your ears the alarming report, " that the enemy was at hand, that you must instantly leave your habitations and fl} for your lives." My ^es have witnessed and by pei^nal experience I know, and those of you who are my coevals, by the same experience also know, that the particulars in the description now given are the fruits and effects of war — were fully realized, most dreadfully exemplified in that war in which we ourselves were formerly involved, i' Look at. this picture, ye self-called true republi* €ans, contemplate its variegated features ; then go and advocate the war now proclaimed ; extol to the skies, the wisdom and patriotism of its authors ; with your accustomed zeal and vehemence electioneer afresh in their favor ; and again fill your gazettes with increased floods of abuse and slander on the few surviving fiiends of the Godlike Washington, on Strong, Pick- ering, and Jay ; in short, on all the enlightened lovers of peace and of their country : hasten a new edition of thc^ farragoes of excitements to war, and of malig- nant calumnies against its opposers, contained in the speeches and proclamations of your admired Gerry. But the subject is too serious and awful for irony* I have. not forgotten, nor can I ever forget, while con- sciousness abides with me, my own mental sufferings -during the period of our former war. Through those •eight long years whose slow lingering pace, while hope was deferred and the heart sickened with pain .and anguish, seemed without end— a burden lay upon my spirits by day and by night almost too heavy for frail mortality to sustain. During the hours of repose, i^sdons of horror rose in my imagination and disturb- *., « m i''i ^i'.iii 'ji:- . %i 'I «d my rest : through the long lived day, the distresstx» 'of my country and the dangers and disasters of my friends harassed my thoughts. In the mean while, the course of nature moved on tranquil and serene, without suspension or interruption. The delightful vicissitudes of day and night, and the cheering rota- lion of the seasons, were what they had tbeen before, and what they have continued to be since ; but to my feelings they were not the same and brought not the accustomed pleasure. K in an early morning walk at the rise of the orb of day, in the splendour of his beams I behdd the vast creation around me and ex ttj^v '■ I » yj^ O' ii-C ■^ jf.... I JJ 19 l*¥ This prosperity from trade has extended and diffused Its salutary and enlivening effects over the face of the whole country, into every town and village, and to the remotest settlements in the wilderness. This full tide of prosperous and successful experiment was principally occasioned by Jat/^s treaty with Great Brit- ain ; and it continued without abatement to the expi« ration of that treaty*. Of all the nations on the globci we progressed incomparably the most happy and pros^ perous, up to the period when our own Jeffersons and, Madisons, with their adjutors, commenced their dep*t redations upon us. From that era, we have been as rapidly declining, as we were increasing before. Al« '" ready real estate, both in town and country, has lost nearly half its value in consequence of the laws against commerce. The great body of our merchants will not hesitate to declare, that they liave experienced more embarrassment in their business, and have sus^ ^ tained greater losses in consequence of non-importatioii acts, embargoes, non-intercourses, and other absun|.| laws of our own government, than all that tlicy ever ^ sustained in the same time from the nations at war. ^j^ believe it too to be a fact, that the execution dfthosiB iniquitous laws has occasioned the loss of more lives, than the country has ever I03C amidst the collisions of the wiuring powers. By the enactment of such laws^,, the vessel of state was run agroijnd, unrigged, and various hands employed in hacking it to pieces. But even these methods of destruction w^^^too tardy to satisfy the impatience of the great en^my of human felicity, the tyrant of France. At his nod, we have now in a moment been thrown into a gulf of misery, I- '^it. ■JF^ ?j! t •% m ■r^^ l:-'*-i ■# * f g^,_ .. SO :#' •••##•••••••• il^hose bounds and bottom no eye, short of omniscience, oan discern. « One hope only remains, that this last stroke of ^ perfidy may open the eyes of a besotted and most wretchedly deluded people, that they may awake, like a giant from his slumbers, and wreak their vengeance on their betrayei^ b^ driving them from their sta- tions, and placing at helm more skilful and faith- ful hands. Indignant as I feel towards the present rulers as the guilty authors of the public calamities, I ln^ them no other harm but a speedy return to that IfiyatB condit^|i^|om which they have only emerged to pour blasting^i^mUdew upon their cQUntry^ Jf thcf Mve notpiniii^yondthe i^chdfidiyii^ oy, I can still pray for them« and ttiat they may soon be pla^ in that retirement which is the most &voiir- able to c<^siderjitioft''and ««pentance4-p-JFortnyaetf, according to the course of nature, X haye but a short tim^ ^ther to mourn or rejoice in the affairs of men ; .but while it shall p}eafe God tp continue me in this ' tabernacle, by his gra<%, no^fear of maashaU letter me from discharging what in my conscience {believe to be my duty,; in testifying against wicke^to^ss/in higtl place% as weil as in low. ^-"fifi-. i \ '■£■4 liscieiice, !( siroke of ind most vake, like engeance their sta- md faith- le present [amities,! irn to that r emerged iintr}r« V iVin&me^ maty aoon »st £iYour- ortnyselfi lUt a short s of men ; le i^ t^l Wbvc to s&in ''•H "%\l '# ;■%•-•-"■■■ ;.i" "p* ;♦:;■ . ■ 1* '■*"rr