"No argument can I discern, "Against poor weeds for force employing. The darnel, cockle weed, and fern Henceforth, good Ralph, forbear destroying. "Free let them rise midst rival grain, "And taste the blessings of the plain !" Ralph scratched his head, and gaped with wonder, "Alack-a-day! Sir, why this change? Fool," cries his Lord, with voice of thunder, "Why should your numscull think it strange? To root up weeds their is no reason, "Against the rights of plants 'tis treason. Diversity. A GOOD JOKE. IN good King Charles's jovial days, when the most extravagant wit, had, like the loyalty of the time, no harm in it, it is recorded, that when a gentleman drank a lady's health as a toaft, by doing her fill more honor, he frequently threw fome part of his drefs into the flames. In this proof of veneration to the ladies, his companions were obliged to follow him, by confuming the fame article, whatever it might be. One of the friends of Sir Charles Sedley, after dinner at a tavern, perceiving he had a very rich lace cravat on, when he named the lady to whom honor was due, made a facrifice of his cravat, and Sir Charles and the rest of the company were all obliged to follow his example. Sir Charles bore his lofs with great compofure, obferving that it was a good joke, but that he would have as good a frolic fome other time. On a fubfequent day the fame party being affembled, when Sedley had drank a bumper to the health of fome beauty of the day, he called the waiter, and ordering a tooth drawer into the room, whom he had previously stationed for the purpose, made birn draw a decayed tooth, which had long plagued him. The rules of good fellowship clearly required that every one of the company fhould loose a tooth alfo; but they hoped he would not be fo unmerciful as rigidly to enforce the law. All their remonstrances however were vain, and each of his companions fucceffively, multa gemens, was obliged to put himself into the hands of the ope rator. THE BITER BIT. A WIDOW, who had been induced by the declarations of her husband to believe that he would be well provided for by his legacy, found after his death, on perufing his will, that he had acted very differently, and excluded her from the property fhe expected to poffels. She made known her difappointment to her female fervant, who cheered her fpirits by affuring her, that the effect of the wil might be avoided, and a new one easily framed. The mistress defired to know by what means. The maid answered, that there was a poor fellow, called Tom the Barber, in the neighbourhood, who much refembled her late mafter; and that for a small fum he would feign himself a dying man. If, therefore, an attorney was provided, and proper witneffes, a will of a date fub. fequent to the true one might be made, which would confequently fuperfede it.Tom was feat for immediately, and agreed to play his part. The parties were fummoned the attorney attended, and the fuppofed expiring husband dictated his last tellament to be framed according to the wifhes and interest of his imagined wife, for fome time; but at length he proposed, that as he had until then complied with her defires, he might leave one legacy ac cording to his own-which was five hun. dred pounds to Tom the Barber ;-and, to prevent a discovery of the fraud, the lady was obliged to confent to the propo fal, and faithfully to pay the money to the propofer, to insure his fecrecy. I will not present you with the unmeaning compliments of the feafon, but I will fend you my warmest wishes, and most ardent prayers, that Fortune may never throw your fubfiftance on the mercy of a knave, or fet your character on the judgment of a fool; but that UPRIGHT AND ERECT, YOU may walk to an honeft grave, where men of letters fhall fay here lies one, who did honor to Science, and men of worth fhall fay, here lies one, who did honor to hu [Port Folio.] man nature. The COLUMBIAN AND Balance, REPOSITORY. Editorial. "HAIL SACRED POLITY, BY FREEDOM REAR'D! "HAIL SACRED FREEDOM, WHEN BY LAW RESTRAIN'D !" BEATTIE. HUDSON, (NEW-YORK) TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1804. Is our Commerce worth protecting? THIS HIS is an important queftion, and ought to be decided, before we can with propriety, proceed to animadvert on certain recent events which have taken place in this country. For my part, I have never hesitated to maintain the affirmative; and taking it as a fimple queftion, abstracted from all party motives and prejudices, I prefume that I am fupported in my opinion by at least nine tenths of the citizens of the United States. It is unneceffary here to defcant on the advantages of commerce: They are feen-they are felt-they are acknowledged. Our nation owes, in a great measure, its profperitythe metropolis of this state, its greatnefs; and thousands of our citizens, their auence, to the benefits of commerce. Commerce draws wealth from abroad-from the moft diftant countries-from the very bo fom of the ocean; and pours it, with a lavish hand, into the pocket of the farmer, the mechanic and the merchant. It contributes, at the fame time, more than . any thing else, to the maintenance of our revenue and the fupport of our govern ment. Commerce, then, I contend, is worth protecting; and I alfo contend, that a wife, prudent and upright government, will never permit it to go unprotected. It is now, and ever has been, my opinion, that fufficient attention has not been paid to this fubject, fince the organization of our government. The federalifts undoubted ly deferve grea: credit for their exertions, as far as they went. Perhaps they did as much as could be done with fafety. Perhaps the public fentiment was too strong to be refifted. I very well recollect that the rearing of a very small navy, raised a very great clamor; and had confiderable influence in bringing about the change in the adminiftration. But, if the honeft and well-meaning portion of the democratic party, were then made to believe, that a Navy is of no ufe, they are, before this time, convinced of their error. The little navy, reared by the federal adminiftration, proved to be of the utmost importance to our commerce. It fcoured from ever, to fuppofe that this was his belief, than to fuppofe that he is unfriendly to commerce, and has no defire to afford it protection": But various facts and circumftances, might be adduced to fhew, that the latter is the most probable. Whatever might have been Mr. Jefferfon's belief or motives, we do find that, for the want of our little navy, infults and aggreffions are daily heaped upon us ; but we do not find, that Mr. Jefferson has as yet taken any proper fteps to prevent the repetition of them. Scarcely a fouthern mail arrives, that does not bring an account of fome new inour coaft, a gang of lawless priva-fult offered to our commerce by the British teers and free-booters, that had been prey-frigates which have, for fome time, been ing upon our commerce, plundering our lying off the harbor of New-York. They merchants, and abufing (and, in fome in- fire at, and bring to, American veffels ftances, maffacrcing) our feamen. It af bound in or out-overhaul their papers, forded an efficient convoy to whole fleets imprefs their men, and, in fome inftances, of merchant veffels, and kept even the pi- put a prize-mafler on board, and order rates of the Mediterranean at bay.. them for Halifax. The following fpirited remarks on this fubjeft, are from the Evening Poft :— It is to be regretted that this little navy, now so much wanted, has been principally facrificed at the fhrine of popularity. A navy, that was the means of faving to the revenue more money than the whole expence of fupporting it, has been fold by the fucceffors of the federal adminiftration, and the pitiful fum which it brought at auction, put into the treafury, to make a fhew on the credit fide of the Secretary's report, and to fwell Theodorus Bailey's miferly lift of favings. Whether Mr. Jefferson really thought, that, under his mild reign, foreign powers would ceafe to injure us-whether he tho't that reafon and philofophy would be a more efficient protection than force and energy, I cannot tell. It is more charitable, how "A difpute has been carrying on in fome of our morning papers about the precife distance from the shore that these outrages have been committed, one fide contending it was within a league, the other that it was not: This difpute feems to have arifen from a fuppofition that it depended on the distance from the fhore whether the proceedings on the part of the British were correct or not; a fuppofition altogether foreign to the queflion. We hold the law of nations, ftrictly to be "First. That no fhips or veffels of war may lie in wait for, nor take means to learn what enemy's veffels are expected to arrive; and in cafe they fhould difcove ; to naval establishments on a great scale "Such are the principles of maritime law now recognized throughout Europe. "That our commercial friends may anIt is altogether immaterial, therefore, ticipate with a proper degree of confidence whether thefe fhips lie at one, two, or three the fuccour that will probably be ordered, leagues diftar.ce from the fhore; for them. it may not be amifs to let them know a little to lie upon the coaft at all, for the purpofe what kind of machines thefe philofopical of annoying our commerce, under what- Gun Boats are. They are informed then, ever pretext, or of diflurbing the free and that according to the most accurate defcripfecure approach of any veffe's whatever to tion we have been able to obtain, "Gunour port, is a flagrant infringement upon Boat No. 1," is faid to be a machine of our national fovereignty, and a grofs vio- wonderful powers and ingenuity, which has -lation of the acknowledged law of na- been conftructed under Mr. Jefferson's tions. For this attack upon the rights of eye, and according to a model prefented by our citizens, this indignity to the ftate and imfelf. Though the accommodations for country, we have a claim on those to failors are not the beft, yet this is a trifling whom the national adminiftration is com- objection-A fingle gun is mounted on a mitted. It is a high handed' wrong, de- fort of whirligig chair," fuch as that manding fpeedy and adequate redrefs. from which our philofoher difcharges the Next to the late affair of the Cambrian, battery of his own genius. The manner) this tranfaction is the most difrefpectful, in which the Gun Boat is brought into ac and contemptuous that we have yet witnef- tion, is fomewhat novel :-She runs down fed, and, in point of actual injury, is far upon the enemy, until fhe has approached beyond it. And now the only queftion is, within ftriking diftance-fhe then turns tail what will be the conduct of our govern. to, hoifts her boom, and lets fly a heavy ment? Judging from what has lately hap-fhot, which is expected to end the conflict fhot, which is expected to end the conflict pened in another quarter, we may easily -If not the Gun Boat is in a fituation to predict what it will be. at, "A French privateer, tempted by our imbecile fituation, as thefe English fhips are tempted, had been for a long time. blockading the harbour of Charleflon, and capturing or rifling under fome pretence or other, every American veffel that attempted to enter the port. Even the fishing fmacks were chafed and fired, brought to and examined and laughed at, juft as is now practifed here. The federal papers fpoke of the outrage in a high tone of complaint, and called repeatedly on the government of the United States for protection-After waiting till property had been captured enough to build and equip a fhip of the line, and maintain her for years, and after incuring difgrace enough to fatisfy the humbleft and most pacific philofopher on the globe, lo! we learn from a fouthern paper, that " Gun-Boat ́No. 1," has failed for Charleston to correct the procedure.”. But fince this is the plan adopted to enforce a proper refped from belligerents towards the Americans; fince, as Smith tells us in the governmental paper, men now in power never were friendly "the " vinced by the former adminiftration. But, putting every idea of repelling by force out of the question, we cannot learn that any thing has been done by our prefident. Indeed, if we are correctly informed, there is fcarcely an executive officer at prefent at the feat of government. All are abfent from duty, while our laws and the laws of nations are openly violated, our flag infulted, our property captured, our feamen impreffed, and our whole nation mocked at and derided. (SUBJECT TO BE CONTINUED.) Editor's Closet. Correspondence." Liar," next week. Canto second expected. We can require no ftronger proof of the felfish and ambitious views of the democratic party, than the various diffentions into which they have lately fallen. They act "Like dogs, that fight about a bone prey "And play together when they've none." Since they feel themfelves completely poffeffed of power,—having secured the which they all fcrambled for alike, they begin to wrangle about the divifion of it. Some are fo greedy that they want to grasp every thing. All claim a little; but ma run away-and thereby prevent the "ef-ny an unluckily wight, is obliged to go fufion of human blood," - "Tom Trunrion," a writer in the Charleston Courier, fpeaking of this new naval invention of our prefident, fays, 66 Gun-boats, indeed! Why they might as well fend fishing canoes, with elder pop-guns and pellets of hemp." During the late adminiftration, if it was conceived that a British fhip infringed any of our commercial rights, the government was vehemently called upon by the party then in oppofition, to declare war, without even an attempt to obtain redress by nego. ciation; and because this was not done, it was hinted, and in fome inftances openly declared, that British influence, and Britifh gold, rendered the arm of government nervelefs. The law of retaliation would justify us in throwing this charge back into the teeth of our opponents, even if they had fhewn as much fpirit in repelling the aggreflions of the English, as was e grumbling without a morfel.-They have tion to communicate) is denounced as an apoftate; and Matthew Lyon, than whom a more noily demagogue never lived, turns tail upon his party, and threatens to expofe their tricks. Pierce Butler of SouthCarolina, and Mr. Elliot of Vermont, are denounced as third-party men. In this ftate, thefe diffentions, lofe none of their fire by long continuance. In Virginia, all remains tranquil; and there is no reafon why this fhould not be the cafe; for Mr. Jefferson has taken care to provide for all the bawlers in that flate. As to the democratic printers, there are no two of them that draw together. They are all at loggerheads. While this work of def truction and flaughter is going on in the enemy's camp, the federalifts may confole themfelves with the reflection, that "when rogues fall out honeft men come by their ♦wn.". BEE FIB S. publican juftice in this ftate. ilton never fought a duel with Gen. Lee, || prifon for life, faid a moft enlightened reIt is a pity as afferted by Holt. that a fimilar punishment could not have been inflicted on thofe ufurers mentioned' " Capt. Stargazer afferts a falfhood, when he fays that a gentleman fome time last a gentleman fome time laft year attacked the Wafp printer in the ftreet and attempted to horfe- whip him, but was prevented by a fpectator's holding the whip." No gentleman or any other perfon, laft year or at any other time, ever attacked and attempted to horfe-whip the printer of the Wafp, in the street or at any other place. The printer of the Wafp once, and once only, fell into a dispute with a perfon in the street. That perfon had no whip nor any other weapon, nor was there any other perfon on the spot. "Crofwell, late partner of the parfon [Sampfon] abufes him in his paper for "the conceflion [to Spencer] and declares "that having told a lie he would have "ftuck to it to the laft !" Some weeks fince, in animadverting on Holt's falfe accounts of the late libel-fuits, I predicted that the honeft and candid of Now, after reading this, if it is not achis readers, would by degrees grow weary: knowledged that Cheetham has the best of his falfhoods and difcontinue their pata knack at fabricating lies of any fellow in ronage, &c. Soon after, having learnt the country, I will make as humble a conthat five of his fubfcribers had stopped ceffion to Spencer as he can wifh. Not a their papers the fame week that he pub-word of Cheetham's paragraph is true ;lifhed his attack on General Hamilton, but he will doubtlefs "tick to it to the I mentioned the fact as proof of my former prediction. If Holt fhould deny this fact an hundred times, it would not alter the truth of it. The names of these five gentlemen might be mentioned if there was a ny neceflity for it. How many others have withdrawn their names I cannot tel!; but prefume the number is confiderable. I am perfectly willing that Holt fhould boast of the addition" to his fubfcription lift, when I know that it is almoft daily decreafing. Amongst the duels in which the Bee fays Gen. Hamilton had engaged, it mentions" one fought in his carly youth at St. Croix." As Gen. Hamilton left St. Croix, when quite a boy, perhaps 11 or 12 years of age, it must have been in early youth indeed, that he fought this duel. The ftory is too ridiculous for belief. last!" The American Mercury calls Ambrofe Spencer" the best of men ;" and, about the fame time, I understand, the editor of the Mercury faw a white black-bird. Where Abraham Bishop refides, and is known, he is generally defpifed, even by men of his own party; but in this ftate, where he never was feen, he is called by our democrats, "the best of men." Thus it fares with demagogues. Pierpoint Edwards, I obferve, is chairman of the general committee of democrats in Connecticut, who are about manufacturing a new conflitution for that state. Mr. Edwards is "the best of men." A man who commits fuicide ought to If I am correctly informed, Gen. Ham-be punished with confinement in the ftate by Rabelais, who hanged themfelves becaufe the price of wine and corn had fallen by the return of a gracious feafon. FOR THE BALANCE. "The world with calumny abounds, W E are conflrained to acknowledge the truth and applicability of the above quoted lines. They may be applied with great force to many different objects. And we think they are not wholly inapplicable to a certain printer in this city, who has, for feveral weeks, been attempting to hunt down the reputation of that great and good man General HAMILTON. It has been faid by an eloquent orator and it is not improper to be repeated here,. that nothing can be more abfurd than for a man to call in question the character of another, when he is unable to give a good account of his own." We fhall make no particular application of this to any one; but leave the reader to make it for himfelt. If the charms of facred virtue could fave the poffeffor from the torrents of calumny and flander, we fhould fuppofe that that exalted man would be permitted to flumber in peace. But "the whiteft virtue" does not, in thefe days, prote& from the envenomed fhalts of calumny. Some of our wileft and beft characters have been loaded with the most bitter reAnd by whom ?-By men proaches. whofe characters are "Stained with crimes," and whofe very names are a difgrace to the country which they inhabit. Can perions .. "In such a base employment "Feel the slightest self-enjoyment!" We truft not. Confcience will not afford them felf enjoyment after being engaged in fuch an ignoble and unrighteous work of detraction. Such perfons, poffibly, may be taught reformation by being held up to public contempt. And we think it behoves every good citizen to expose them. Q. To the Editor of the Patrit, HAVING Monitorial. To aid the cause of virtue and religion. --------- EXTRACT From the Rev. E. Nott's Sermon, on the death of 66 How OW are the mighty fall. en! And regardless as we are of vulgar deaths, fhall not the fall of the mighty "A fhort time fince, and he who is the foremoft; although evidently different as livening orb beamed with intelligence; and there, closed for ever, are thofe lips, on whose perfuafive accents we have fo often and fo lately hung with transport. his tomb there proceeds, methinks, a light in which it is clearly feen that thofe gaudy, objects which men purfue are only phan. toms. In this light how dimly fhines the fpendor of victory-how humble appears the majefty of grandeur. The bubble which feemed to have fo much folidity has burft and we again fee that all below the fun is vanity... "From the darkness which refts upon AVING heard much complaint wheat than the winter wheat. I have al-his orchard. The effect of this fpecies of worm, on wheat, is precifely, the fame as a fmall white maggot, which laft season, deftroyed my melons, particularly water melons. Obferving that the vines died in a manner not to be accounted for, from the drougth, I pulled the vines up to obferve if the black grub worm had not destroyed the roots-when to my aftonishment I found all the large roots quite eaten through and through by a white maggot or worm, which had caufed the vines to perifh as effectually as if they had been pulled up and expofed to the fun. I hope thefe hally remarks may ferve to call the attention of more experienced farmers to this fub. je&t, P. COLT. "True, the funeral eulogy has been pronounced. The fad and folemn pro ceffion has moved. The badge of mourning has already been decreed, and prefent,' ly the fculptured marble will lift up is front, proud to perpetuate the name of HAMILTON, and rehearse to the pafling traveller his virtues. Just tributes of refpect! and to the liv ing ufeful, but to him mouldering in his narrow and humble habitation, what are they?-How vain! how unavailing! "Approach and behold-while I lift from his fepulchre its covering. Ye admir ers of his greatnefs, ye emulous of his talents and his fame, approach, and behold him now. How pale! How filent! No martial bands admire the adroitnefs of his movements. No fafcinated throng weerand melt-and tremble at his eloquence! Amazing change! A fhroud! a coffin ! a narrow fubterraneous cabin ! This is all that now remains of HAMILTON! And is this all that remains of HIM ?-During a fe fo tranfilory, what lafting monument then can our fonde ft hopes erect? |
