Jenks's Portland gazette. [volume], January 06, 1800, Image 1

About Jenks's Portland gazette. [volume] (Portland [Me.]) 1799-1802

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4 7jcell any.
From the Gazette of the Uaitod State*.
“ Who it left among you that favt flit loufe in her
"Ji'jl glory ? and how do ye fee it now ? it d
11 not in your ryot, in comparifon oj it, as noth'
“ ing f"
TT is an occurrence notlef* interefting»thin
*• extraordinary, that the dep*rture of a 11 g e
man fiiould command the ur.affec'ed and in
di'ciinvaate lamentation of five millions cf
people. It is an event, the like cf which the
world ha* never w’.treffed, that the death of an
individual fiiould fo touch a whole nation, that
‘‘ the joy of the heait fiiould ceafe, and the
d..nce be turned into mourning.”
The mighty monarch, whofe throne is fur*
rounded by armies as numerous as tne locuiis
of fummtr, and rcfilllefs as the blafts of pefti'
lenre, goes down to the tomb, amid the exe
crations of oppefled fubjcCts ; or fleeps in the
grave as unheeded as when numbering on his
bed of down. Thf ptincc, whofe berificence
h is whitened the plains of his country, “ walks
the way of nature ; and his fubjeCts “ mourn in
black,” but “ not in blood,” becaufe they fear
“an Amurath fucceeds.” The pomp and
power of royalty may caufe “ mourners to go
about the ftreets,” and forrow may fo “ royally
appear,” that thoufands will “ put the fafhion
ou,” and yet none “ wear it in the heart.”
Moft eminently hath the “ crown fallen from
our head.” Mold emphatically, are “the tears
cf Cufli-nin affliction.” “The father to his
children wid make known” the mournful ftory.
The veteran, who wrought by his fide * in the
heat and burden cf the day” of our deliverance,
will know, that “for this the heart is faint,”
that for thefc^hings^hc eyes arc dim.” The
extenftve nation which h is received libcityfrom
the valor, and happinefs from the eounfcl, of
him who has fallen, will feel that this is “ the
rod of anger and the ftaftf of indignation ”
*• His deeds exceed all fpeech.” His fame is
“ wiiiten with a pen of iron with the poinf ot a
diamond.” His counftl is “ graven upon the
table of our heart.” His deeds, his fame, and
hi" ccunlU will endure, till “ the great gl'-be
itfeif; yea, all which inheiit it lhall dilTolve.”
7he Lay Preacher of Pcnnflvania.
Itvj [At a time when every ftiend to cur country it paying
j£j refpedi to the memory of WASHINGTON,
£** it will douht’.efi be acceptable to my readers to h»ve
'•£j recorded the following notice of his character, in a
fpctch delivered to the Biitiflt lloufc of Common*, in
\*X *794* by the Hon J. C. fox]
M =“a
PS “ ILLUSTRIOUS man ! deriving honor
fljjji Ufs from the fplendor of hi* fituation tit tn from
;Vi the dignity of hs mind ; before whom a 1 bor.
»>.J rowed greatnefs finks into infignificance. 1
cannot indeed (added Mr- Fox) help admiring
the wifdom and the foitune of this grr.it mm ;
Eg not that hy the phrafe fortune, I mean to dero
gate from his merit ; but notwlthfianding his
Vo extraordinary talents and exalted integrity, it
mull be confidered as fingularly flrtunate, that
jr^ he firould have experienced a lot, which fb fd
» ‘ J dom falls to the portion of humanity ; and
v\-l
*’ si have paifed through filch a variety of fccncs,
without fitfin and without reproach. It mull
hS indeed create aftot-.iihmer.t, that placed in cir
!’■'*§ cu*ntb»ncci fo critical, and filling lbr a foiics of
id?j unQe * Ration fo confpicuous, his character.
, uiould never once have been called in quefiion ;
Lij 'h'-tthe fliou’il intro one infiance have been ac*
;• ^ ctl;4^ cither of improper itifolence, or of mean
j -aj I'uhmiflion in his tranfidlians with tureign n »
• \4 l‘ors‘ ^ llas been reftrve ! for him to run the
''-ij T*ca without experiencing the f.nallefi
] '* interruption to the brill an y of h;s career. The
! j| breath of cerTure has not dared to hnpeah the
: "■ purity of his condufl ; n r ihe eye of envy to
' ; J raife its malignant glance to the elevation 'of h
•-*« vicucs. Such has been the tranfcen.fant merit
btf and the in parallcd Lite of 'his illufirions man.”
j k KWtmrniBmmHiMamKii
From l!/t Commercial Gazelle.
Judge Shippers excellent Charge on
Libels.
£As mod of our readers are unacquainted with
the caufes of adlion which Dr. Rufh had a
gain ft Win. Cob'-ett, we inlett Judge Slop
pen’s elegant charge to the jury of trial. We
rec< mraend it to the easeful perufal of every
friend to domeltie peace, and indi idttal repu
tr.t'on. It fits in a tiue light, tlic efTcAr of
11 mJcr and defamation upon public and pri
vate honor and happinefs, and we think, mull
conduce to check that current ot party abuie,
which has fo long involved decency and
truth in its baneful courfe and fwept them
far away from our view.J
Ci NTLKMBN,
THIS is an nfVon brought by the plaintiff
X againd the defendant for writing, piinting
anti ptiblifhing divers fcandalous libels, to de
fame and vilify him. The defendant has plead
ed that he is not guiltv ; his counfel however*
have acknowledged the publication tf his pa
pers, which, otherwife it would have been in
cumbent on the plaintiff to prove.—The quel
tion, therefore, will be, whether they amount in
law to defamatory libels or not ?
By the law and practice in England, in the
calc of libels, the only talk of the jury is, to
judge of the fart of publication, and the truth
and fair application of the inueudoes ; the court,
as judges < f the law, referring to themfelves
the foie power of deciding whether the paper
amounts to a libel or not But in tins date, by
the lpecial dirertions < f cur condilution, the
jury poflefs the power of judging both oi the law
and 1 art, under the dbertion ot the court.
A libel is defined by the law. to be the ma
licious defamation, expreffeu either in printing
ar writing, or by ligris or pirtures, tending to
blacken either the memory of one who is dead,
:rr the reputation of cne who is a ive, or to ex
pnfe him to public hatred, contempt or ridicule.
This offence m iy be punilhc 1, either by indirt
ment at the fuit of the comncM nwealth, or by a
civil artion at the fuit of the paity injured—
Where the profecution is by indirtment, the
court only are to dirert the punifhment : but in
a civil fuit, the images are to be aiiclfed fold)
by the jury.
The charges laid againd the defendant in the
declaration, are various ; but they may be re
duced in fubdance to the following—ThH he
repeatedly calls the plamiff a quack, an cm
phyric ; charges him with intemperate bleeding,
injudicioufly adminillering mercuiy in Wge
d( fes in the yellow fever ; puffing himfelf off ;
writing letters and anfwcring them himfelf.
Ailing him the Sampfon in medicine ; charging
him with murdering his patients, and flayuig
his thoufands and tens of thoufands. The
counts laid in ti e decimation are fully proved
by the publications, which are ccrtai ly libel
lous. In what manner do ihc defendant’s coun
fel repel thefe prods ? not by juflifying the truth
of the matters charged avymlt Dortor Rulh,
which on the contrary they have repeatedly
acknowledged to be falfe, but by analyzing the
Ieveral allegations in the newfpapers, and from
thence drawing a conclulion that no intentional
pcrfonal malice appear!, Ivhich they fay is the
effencc of the offence. Ma'ice reds in the heart,
and is only to be j idged of by the words and
artiens of the party ; the words themfelves
import malice and in that cafe the proof lies on
the defendant to ihew the innocence of his in
tentions ; if he his done that to yi ur fati.fac
tion, you will acquit him ; but as this is chiefly
founded on the allegation that the attack was
mean: to be made on dortor Ruddsfxfltm and
not on the nun ; it u- foitunately appears that
not the lead attempt is made to combat the
dortoi’s arguments with regard to the fyftem
itfelf, but the attack is made merely by grois
fcurnlous abufe of the dortor himfelf; added
to this, one of the w tneffe1 prove a declaration
made by the defendant, that if dortor Rulh had
not been the man he Ihould never have meddled
with the fvfltm.
Another ground of defence is of a more
ferious nature, as it lead* to an important queft
ion on onr conllitution—it is faid that the fub
jedt of difptite between the plantifF and defend
ant was a matter of public concern, as it related
to the health and lives of onr fellow citizens—
ami that by the words of our conftitution every
man has a tight to dll' ufs fuch fubjedh in print.
The liberty rat the prefs, gentlemen, is a valua
ble tight in every free count!y, and ought never
to lie unduly reli.ained ; but when it is perver
ted to the purposes of private flanJer, it then
becomes a molt dtftrutflive engine in the hands
of unprincipled men: the utmoft purity and
integrity r i heart, is no lhield againd the ftiafts
and arrows of m.V ice, conveyed to the world by
printed publications. Verhil fltr.ihr may be
frequently very injurious, but Hander in writing
or print being mire generally diHvminated, and
m re durable in its clFefts, is conf quently infi
nitely m >re pernicious and provoking.
Oar ftate conllitution of i 790. cont 'ins cer
tainly vcy geuei'al words with relation to the
i. ht of a citl/cn t > ptint hit thoughts and
1 iFer them to the confideiatmn of the public,
but it at the fame time guards again ft the
generality of the privilege, by erprefslv declar
ing, that every perfon 'availing himfelf of ilie
liberty of the prefs, iltould be retponfible for thr
abufe of that liberty ; thus fecuring to our
citizens the invaluable right ot reputation
again!! every malicious invader of it.
Printed publiatioas attacking privafe cha
rade, is oonfidered with great rcafnn by tbe
law as a very attrocious off.-nce, Irom its evi
dent tendency to dilhirb the public peace—if
men find thev can have no redrefs in cur
courts of judice for fmh injutics, they will
naturally take fatisfadiori in their own way, in
volving perhaps their f. iends and families in
the conted, and leading evidently to duels,
murders, and perhaps afl'iffinaficn.
The principal fubjeit of confiJeration with the
jury will be. what damages they are to afiefs
On this fubjeft you are the aimed uncontrnula.
Lie judges—it is your peculiar province. . Th'
court have indeed the power to order a nevr tri
al where the damages ate cjeceflive; but in
cafes of torts and injuries of this kini, the law
books fay the dam ig-** mud be fo outragcoofly
difproportionate to the off.-nce, as at fit If biulh.
to fhock every perfon who heats of it, before the
court wifi order a new trial.
Every one mud know that offences of this
kind have tor fome time prfl too much aboun
ded in our city ; it fesms high time to redrain
them—that talk is with you gentleman. To
fuppref. fo great an evil, it will not only be
proper to giv* compenfatorv but exemplary
damages s thus dapping the giowi. g progrei's
of this daring crime—at the f me time the
damages fhould not ; e fo enormous a» abso
lutely to ruin the offender.
I hope no party confidcrations will.ever have
place in this court in the adminiftration cf
judice—and I entreat you, gentlemen, to baoifli
them, in coniidering this fubjed, entirely from
your breads.
. j.s. jiL. !-J=g-=Li-saj—
Late Foreign
; -
LONDON, OCT. 1 J.
THE Hamburgh mail due on Sunday lad.
Arrived this morning. It brings accounts ot
the events which took place in Switzerland in
the latter end of September, 6xcept only thole
which relate to M ttfhal Suwarrow, of which we
have not pr fi.ivc information. The Archduke,
it appeals, was rapidly advancing to repair the
evils which had been occalioned by his abfurce.
His force we know by private lettcis to confitl
of 26,000 men, with which he was at Schaff
haufen on the 2J. The army of Conde, con
fiding of about 6oeo, was on the fame day at
Stokaeh.
Thefe forces joined to the Bavarians and to
the Corps of G n. Korlakow, are, it mud be
allowed, more than faffi. ienf, to fecure that pari
of Germany from all danger. We rejoice at
feeing the conjectures which we have from the
fird inllant 1 .med refpedting the probable con
fer! ttcnccs of the victory of Malfena, thus con
(ii med.
E xirafl of a letter from Munich, dated Sept. *9.
Two thoufand tour hundred men, as a part
of the Elector's contingent, are to inarch on the
id of next month from the neighbourh od of
Donauwerth to join the aimy ol the Archduke
Clinics. The plan for forming into military
cot p> the inhabitants of the Paiaiina e, is to have
its elfe<d throughout the, ciscle ot Bavaria. It
is framed for 20,009 men, and is to be com
manded in Bavaria by Major General Ditroy,
an Officer enjoying a high military character.
It Is dated under the head, Venice Sept. 20,
that the Neapolitan troops had taken Pieu by
dorm, and marched to join General Frolich
who was advancing with a diong army from
Tufcany againd Rome. On the 15th Septem
ber General Klonau was 15 miles irom Genoa
Ancona dill held out. The French, it is faid,
are conveying their artillery from Genoa to
Nice. ... | 2
A letter from Genoa of Sept. 25, dates—
“ We hear from Rome, that Borghefe, Santa
Croce, Maiefcotti, and Bonelii, at the head ot
25,090 Romani., whom they pay and„provifion
liberally, have chafed the Neapolitans from
Frefcati to Terracina, commanded by the Duke
of Roccaromani; and that they had taken from
them 18 puces of artillery, and feveral wag.
gons.** The fame letters a.id, “ that at R n»e
the Jews have iWen in a mafs, and that capital
has declared war againd Tufcany.”
The ravages of the plague in Barbara has
this year exceeJcd nil precedent: 274,00c per.
Ions have died of that dreadful malady at Fez,
and the adjoining villages by t!*s 28th of June,
among winch number were 30,000 merchants
and other principal perfons. 1 he dif>rder
which his been nearly as fatal tti o her places
was c*mmunicateJ through the cmpiic by Mu
ley Snleman, marching an inteiiteJ army to tiie
South. The deaths at Morocco amounted to
3600 a day.
* -
t-OVDON, OCT, 19.
The filen.'e ef the Gizette on the tub'cCt of
Holland makes it probable that no very impar
a t event has happened. An attack is laid to
---■ — i 4
have been made on the port of Prince William | 1
ot Oloucefter. in v’hich that gallant youn \ f.
Prince fucceeJed in ftving a detachment ot cu ;*"
troops, confiding of upwards of 10,000. nac , ’ i
11 cm being cut off, wirh the lofs of only 18
A mefTenger from Holland arrived Ltfl eight ;
n the Fos fii'ed cutter, which left the Texel < 1 •* {
WeJnefday lad. On that day the head qu r | *
'ers of the armr remained at Scbagenburgh, »* !
’he rig!it extending to Petten, and the Overfluy . u.<]
lie ei emy we are happy to learn, had bee 1 r..
obliged to retreat to Alkmaar, in confequcnce ! i
ol the country bci g completely inundated. f -l
bl ck, with all the magazines which it j~i
contained, was burnt *r, the 1 ith by the French. [:
-—— _
By the Laft Mail. H
Latejl Efcws from Europe.
By aa arrival at Baltimore.
xm* ! '4
EVACUATION of HOLLAND. U
ft A
LONDON, OCT. 24 Ff
NO further advices from the Duke,of York .-J
have been received lince our laft j hujt as Co!. ?'
Bownrigg reached t!ie Helder on Saturday lal*. p
with the final inlirudions of Government, it i» £•:
probable a great part ot our troops ha e ,erc £
this, embarked on their rc urn to Engiaud ST?
Some ot the Dutch Loyoiifts are already arriv
ed. Six hundred of them were brought over r
in the Alkmaer man of war, which arrived at *
Deal on Tuefday, where three other (hips, full * j|
of people, ot the fame delcrrptinn, wee hourly * *J
erpt&ed, haviag failed from tire Texcl immedi- i!
ateiy aber the Alkmaer. - The Convent.on, by i
Vntue ot '?hi,h the Anglo Ruffian army is to A
eva uate Holland, was fign d op. the iSthinft. I
ind is to continue in force for fix week- from
that oate—a circuTftance wi ich has given rle
t° a fuppofition that th* treaty em; races m re K,
olijefli, than have been publicly exprefEd. I! H
it bears relation merely to the evicuatio ofth R
country by cur trorps, and a general exchange jjj
ot prifoneis, he bu inefs might be done in as S
many days as there are allowed weeks to ac
c mp'ifti it. The piobability therefore itha K
there are involved in ihe armift'Ce fome fu ids, :
the nature of which may require a corfid u. ble
time to adjuft ; but upon this topic we (In It for
the pr■ \nt decline any1 fpeculation, und r th •
hope, that a day or two will put us in poffeuion fe
of the fad* , 1, ..
All that is at prefent known for certain is, p
that we have agreed to evacuate Holland, with R
out inju.ing either the arfenal or New Diep u
works } that all the enemy’s guns are to be ref
tored ; that she Helder is tube left in the fame
condition in which we found it { and that the g
prifoners are re ipt oc.illy to be given up. It R
is under flood th it we are alfi to deliver up fij
8,coo or 10.000 of ihe French prilbners now >i H
England ; but relpcfting this point we have re- H
ctived no fatisfafiory information. Upon the y
whole, if we have the eonfideration of the hu- j
miliated (icuation in which the event of the tyx- ms
pedition has unfortunately placed us, we (hall uj
find but little caufc to regret (he nature of the H
terms to which we have thus been induce^ to w
agree. The acceeding to them was on our parr
duflated by the pure principle of humanity ; and a
the laudable determination cf faring our brave 53
coun.rymcn, by ncgociatiorv, from the dtrtmc M
tion which .otherwife firemrd to await them, H
muft be confidered as paramount to every other H
feeling, whether of raiftakea honour or national Yi
pride. II
Difpatclies Were ycfterJay reccifid at ti e 3
Admiralty from £apt. Young, of the Ethalior: B
frigate, giving the pleating account of his hav . R
jng, on the r6th inft. off Ferrol, captured the
Thetis Spanilh frigate, from the Havanna, with I
one million and an half of dollars ofi boar,1, El
betide? a quantity of merchandife —The Naiad 9
and Alo.mene were in company with the, ttha. * I
lion at the time, and were within gun-fhot e< ®
another Spanirtr frigate, faid to have no let’s tha • S
3 millions of money on board ; fo tha- there i 'I
no doubt of the 1'peedy ariiv.d of this fhip al
in a Brrtilli port. The Phetis is arrived n>
Plymouth with the E'balion. It is with murb B
fati.faiftion we -add, that on this occation, v. ■ \
have loft not a (ingle man. , j
, Ariived laft n:ght, his v0 y’s fhip Al p,
rnacr, from Holland, with 6o« Duth Loyalu
on board all volunteers in the lervice of t v K
Prince of Orange. p
OR. 22.-**’lhc French and Spmifl; fqutdrr ■ tjj
at Brcft, according to the Paris Journals, ar e B
under order j to hold themlclves ready to p •
o fea. The Spanifh admiral Malfaredo h i t
b.cn inveiled with the dignity of mi’iifter pie. 11
potertiary,’for the purpo'e of enabling h m r \
roncerr and deiermine with toe French direfl ^
rv on the objects to bo purfuei by the unite 1 B
fleets. • Zl
As every idea of lhe conqufft of Ho’lan•!
i’id tli- * ■ ■■■»- i*1 Hi ren.iUtetnrnt < f the St.
tholder is abandoned by government, we u
deiitand that our brave Tars are to refer
iheir full lharc of the prixe monev on ac:oi , t
>f the patch ti ct, which was originally take .
poifeili in of for the SiadtholJer.