Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume], February 03, 1801, Image 2

About Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
__ amount.
Let unfthea, Mr. Chairman, examine
sithe cases which have been addqced asctin:
stande;- afctthis sso preflion. Lefljz'fenquire ,
"si-wsihethdr- ihey—a any foundzitioh for the
- siiaputaiions which have been made on the
: conduct of the courts.
The first case-ss'u that which occurred in.
Thiladeiphia last year.. "In this case, we
are told, the party was denied the means_
;? making his defence ; was prevmted from
Mucing the testimony by which the truth
"'sios the publication for whiehsihe was indictsi
ed, might have been, proved. "Fortunateky
'sir, there are many now present, many ho
- norabie Members of this house, who were
si present "at the 'trsiial, and' can bear testimony
to the manner in Which it war conducted.
They can teflisy that the'pnrty was allow
ed'uil' the indul genoe that-heafked'for, was
opermitted to carry before the jury all the
testimony which he chose to adduce.
'WIri-the first place he summoned several
members of congress to attend as witnesses
siinsihil behalf. I myself was summoned.
An honorable member from, Pennsylvania
wrho fit: near me, ( Mr. Gallatin) was also
ssctfummoned; and I see several other honor.
' , Bible members in their places who were in
.cluded in the summons. It happened that
we were prevented from going into court
as soon as we had intended,- but we did so,
and when we entered the court, we found
the" party preparing an affldav it, or prepar
ed with one and holding it in his hand, in
which our tefiimony was stated to be ma
si-torial to his defence, and our absence was
ctalledged as : ground for post ning the
trial. But our appearance isconcertcd
this scheme, and the trial went on._ Why
siwdte we summoned, sir? Nobody present
was ignorant of the purpose. It was ::
ancre trick to stpone the tria], and so
siuniversally un erstood. We were summon
ed in the eXpectation and belief that we
would not attend. In that case siour ab
rsence would have been alledged as a cause
of postponement, and there Was no diffi
,cul'ty about swearing that our testimony
.-was-matetial. Is the trial had been post
I::n on this ground , the point would have
gained and justice eluded ; and is the
court had :efused to postpone it, the Op
,p'ortunityf which was sought, of abusing
' the court, and raising an outcry about the
ssdenisin'l ossusiice, would have been afforded.
Will anybody deny this statement ? No,
.fir, nobody will presume to deny it. The
truth flashed on all who were within the
sivergeof the court. None were so blind
.as not to see the artifice; none were so ss
.shnmeleso as not to blash at it. Evenss
. the spirit of tty was reduced to silence, ss
and the hardened vocariee of sacti
on hun down their head, and were
--confo at the detection. How, sir,
did the detection take place? How was
the defign mxdered thus apparent? The
witnesse- thm summoned with rude;
that called from their seat: in 't nati.
one] ] 'flature to give evidencsi on the
trip]; witnesses whose absence, when
'si inns qued und believed that they had
declined attending, wan about to be made
( zhgpowd of an: liegtion on oath for
a
t of case, whose testi
— my um nbont to be finden oath tobe
si- manie] to the defence; these witnesses,
then they did come, were not examined.
?"
asse
:. __ si ctrss )si .. —- si
5.- WMJC-qwr.
W in court during the whole
"th mssnl. The plrty was mformed of
. ' shall:] whenhehnd'goness
.ss
A,!. ly. -
,, ..rlctl, )- r \
!
75, -
ss dctsi'ct'
A
:
.
piessly' alkedsi by the court whether he
wished to e'xamine them, and'cthesi said no.
They were not examined. Lestsi it-sslhould
be saidstþsisstt thropgh—fatigue arisin'g from
the length os-the trialg-sshe had become us.
able to examine them, the court informed
him that if -he wished for time to refrelh
himself, there should be an adjournnzent of
an hour or two for that purpose, bu't-f this
indulgcnce he rejected, and still declined
t-ct) examine these witnesses. Thus the pur
sipose for which they had been summoned
was discio'sed, and it became man fsst to
all, even those most unwilling to see, that
there being called on was a mere trick,
which their unexpected appearance had
desca ted.
But we are told, sir, that this person
was refused the opportunity of producing
other testimony. What testimony ? That
of the president of the United States.
And do gentlemen seriously contend that4
the president of the United States is liable
to be called from the seat of' government,
where his high and important functions al
ways require him to be, in order to travel
up and down the United State: as a wit
ncss on trials ? If he may be summoned to
attend one court, he may be summoned to
attend another. If he must go as & wit
ness into the court: of Pcnnsylvania, he
must, on the same principle, go as a wit
ncss into those of New-Hampshire or
Georgia. Can gentlemen be serious in
contending for such a principle ? No, sir,
they are not serious : they cannot be seri
ons, and I am firmly persuadcd that the
honorable gentlEman from Maryland (Mr.
Nicholson) who has expressly contendcd
for it, would , mutatis mutandis, be one of
thefirst to discern and expose its absurdi
w officqcemmosiy, m.. zfctsi-ct
(
]
t .
7 The president, moreover, was called on
in this case to criminate himself, which
the best eflablished rules of law protect ss
every person from being compelled to do. '
T he party was indictcd for a false, scanda
lous and malicious libcl on the president,
whom he had accused of many attrocious
acts. He plead the truth of the matter in
justification, and wished to bring the presi
ssdent as a witness to criminate himself by
provin their truth. This is forbidden by
thcpo uive rule of law, revived and ad
mitted in every days practice. What
would be the consequence of admittin
it with respect to the rcsident ? A pro.
fligate fellow would ave nothing to do
but to accuse him in print of & crime, and
when indicted for it, harrass _ his person
and degrade his office and character, by
examimn him in : court of justice, as to
the commlsiion'of that crime, and thus com-ss
pelling him to give an account of his whole
private conduct and public admimsh'ation.
This is the principle for which gentlemen
- - "
contend !
But there was other testimony, we
are told by gentlemen, which this per
son was denied permifflon to :dduce.
What other testimony ? Certain publi
catiom extracted from Newspapers, and
purporting to be answers of the president
to various addressec. Was he prevented
from adducing them? No. He was, on
the contrary, permitted to adduce them,
and did ib fact adduce them. He was in.
deed told by the court, and most truly
told, that these extract: from newspapcrs
were not] al evidence, but that under
the rticu :: accusations of the case, he
sh be allowed to ive them insi evi
dence. He wu told Sat he mighdssssread
in "Woe whatever be thought pkoper.
! He nailed himself of this permisi'ton in;
? its snflsiextent. He read those extract: in;
'eiidenCd, Indeed, for the greater part;
ctof his- defence, which lasted for nearly]
iht'eehb'nn, constfiissed in reading and corn};
men; ', " eon thesi presideisize'i answer: to ad- -
,dcefkksssi'si.) '- 'si' '
Will any one deny this fact, Sir ? No ;
sssisi-it win nOtbedenied. ssctIt cannot be denied.T
si It sitook place in [the" presence of many
'WZ'tnesses; of many who now hear me.
And it pmves incontestibly, that greater
laiitnde of indulgenee could not polsibly
be given in making a defence, than was
given to the person. And yet, Sir this
is one of the instances adduced, of oppres
sion, of denial of justice, under the sedi
tion act. _
The next instance is brought from Bos.
ton. We are told a melancholy story, de
corated with all the graces of the pathctic,
ahodfla poor innocent printer in Boston,
who was indicted under this law for a libel
on the sederal government, convicted, im
prisoned, and at length sunk under the
cold and dreary dampness of a dungeon,
and yelded up his life a victim to the ty
ranny of the sedition act. This dism ]
tale, sir, thus pitioufly told, is found to be
completely destitnte ostruth in all'i'ts parts.
This. poor wretch whose life fell a sacrifice
to the rigors of impriscnment under the
scditionact, turns not to be still alive and
in health. He is found to have been in
gicted in a state court, under the state law,
And f*t a libel on the state government.
By a most singular infelicity of exactncss,
\ che fact appears, in every point, to be pre
T cisely the reverse of the story.
{To be contixued.}
MONDAY, February 2.
General Mattoon, returned in the placc ]
of Mr. Lyman from Massachusetts ap- ;
peared, and after qualisication, took hisss
seat in the house. ' si
An engrossed bill making the ports of
Bcdford, &c. ports of entry for vessels ar
riving from the Cape of Good H0pe and
beyond the same, was read and pasibd.
Mr. S. Smith from the Committee of
Commerce and Manusactures, reported on
the petition: of several persons m New
York, Providence, Philadelpbia and A
lexandria, who prayed encouragement to
certain discoveries and improvements in
the art:, by additional dutics being laid
or. certain articles. The report wassi that
it would be inexpedient at this time to in
sscrease the duties on imported articles.-——
The house concurred.
Mr. Smith also reported on the petition
of Sylvanus Boume and Others, consuls
of the United States in soreign ports,
praying a salary to be attached to their
appointments. The nant was that the
Erayer ought not to granted. The
ouse concurred . 1
He also reported two bills which were !
referred to committces of the whole house : 4
A bill to amend the act to retain a further
sum in drawbacks for expence: incident
to the allowance of the payments thereof,
and in lien of stamps on debenturess'and
:! bill to amend the act to regulate the du- *
ties on impost and found .
Mr. Gregg laid on't e tabXe a resolu
tion that the'Secretatics of the Treasury
and ofWar should be insiructed to enquire
into the causes of the late fires, and to de
signate in : repo'rt to the house, the es.
secte of the losi of books or papers on the
, unscttled account: of the Unked State:—
The resolution, aftefsissa motion for post
poncment by Mr. Dan:, Which wu ne
'gatived, was taken Up end agreed to,
The resolution proposed by Mr. Rut.
ledge for preparatory measures to be rc.
parted by : committee, relating to the
election of' Prcsident was then calked up,
And,. after some observations in its support
by Mf. Rutledge, agreed to. He moved
its reference to five mcmhers—this \ :;
opposed, as was that of its. reference to e.
ven members. Sixtccn at last prevailed;
A motion made by Mr. Bayard was rc
"ferrcd to the same commitee."
A bin providing a government for the
Diflrict of Columbia was then caued for,
whereupon Mr. Smsiilic moved its pofl.
ponemcnt until the third-of March. This
called forth & ctdcbatc, bqt at length the
motion was withdrawn, and the house rc
solved itself into a committce thereupon....
Mr. Rutled e in the. chair—W'hen Mr.
Smilie move to strikectout the first section
of the bill. Debate ensued upon this ques.
tion, but the 'comm-ittee rose without
coming to a decision. Adjourncd.
_____siss —-——
PHILADF-LPHIA, ]anuary 29.
Cleared, Brig Venus, Stevenson, Ham.
burgh; Sloop Sallssy, Hcvcr, Baltimore.
Arri-ved at ReerZy-Z/Zarzd, on Tuesa'qy lay}.
Ship Three Sisters, Murphy, Liverpool
via New-York ; Brig Nancy, Casiin, Cape
Fraqcois. '
A topsail Schooncr below, name un.
known.
Capt. Caffin informs that he Iest-at Cape
Francois, the zoth ult.. the brig Mary,
Tarris and Schooner Activc, Spence,
both of and for this port, to sail in 10_ or
& 15 days. . "
Pen-njj-lvam'a Legistature.
H'ousz OF nernsssmznvas.
jtmuruy 13.
A motion was made by Mr. Bucchy,
seconded by Mr. iitchcl, and read as
follows, viz.
Whereas the joining osthc bays of De
lawarc and Chesapcak by a canal, has
long been deemed an object of great 'im
' portance to the agricultural and commcrcial
L interests, as well of the stake of Pcnnsyl.
vania as of her sister states of'Delawa-re and
Maryland, and to the accomplishmcnt of
that great object, much solicitude has ma.
nisested itself in these flates ; and whereas,
the legiflature of this state, deep1yxm
pressed with the importance of it to the
* citizens thereof, are very desirous to prosi
mote so bencficiasil an object—
Rqsol-ved, by thesenate andbozgse of re/sif't
seutatifuee of tbegeneralaffimbþ oftbe com
mau-wealtb of Peunsyl-vauia, That the gn
vcmor of this commonwealth be requcitcd
and he is hereby empowered, to appoirt
three commiffioners on the part of Fenn
sylvania, forthwith to attend the' general
assembly of the state OfDelaware, nowin
'seffion, with a view to obtain the permifsion
of that state upon proper princi lcs, to him
a 'canal cut between the bays agresaid uPosi
the mostjeligible ground, and that the com
misiioners aforesaid be allowed the silm of
, fourdollars per day for so long as they shall
be en aged lo the commission zsoresaid,-t0
' be patd out of the sond appropriated scs
si the support ofgovemmcnt on orders draw"
; by the governor on the treasurer. .
* [N . B.] This resolution was signed bY
I the speaken of both houses on Thussdsiff
laft, and also by the governor, that d'Y!
, and apt. Hunn, of the city, George _L0
i gan, and Pre'fley Cast Lane, were agpotflb
; ed commiflioners, who lest thi: clty 0"
Flflday morningto go to Dover_ for
Furposhintehdedij