1801 Examination 18 · Founding Made Plain

1THE EXAMINATION.

2(concluded)

3Number XVIII.

4[New York, April 8, 1802]

5In order to cajole the people,

6 the Message abounds with all

7 the common-place of popular harrangue,

8 and prefers claims of merit,

9 for circumstances

10 of equivocal or of trivial value.

11With pompous absurdity

12 are we told of the

13 "multiplication of men,

14 susceptible of happiness,"

15 (as if this susceptibility were a privilege

16 peculiar to our climate)

17 "habituated to self-government,

18 and valuing its blessings

19 above all price."

20Fortunate will it be,

21 if the present favorites of the people

22 do not, before their reign is at an end,

23 transform those blessings into curses,

24 so serious and heavy,

25 as to make even Despotism

26 a desirable refuge

27 from the Elysium of Democracy.

28In a country,

29 the propensities of which

30 are opposed even to necessary burdens,

31 an alarm is attempted to be excited

32 about the general tendency of Government,

33 "to leave to labor

34 the smallest portion of its earnings,

35 on which it can subsist,

36 and to consume the residue

37 of what it was instituted to guard."

38It might have been well,

39 to have explained

40 whether it is the whole

41 of the earnings of labor,

42 which government is instituted to guard,

43 or only the residue

44 after deducting what is necessary

45 to enable it to fulfil

46 the duty of protection.

47Representatives

48 who share with their constituents

49 in an excessive jealousy

50 of Executive abuses,

51 are cantingly admonished

52 to "circumscribe discretionary powers

53 over money,"

54 though they are known

55 to be already so limited,

56 as that the Executive,

57 even on the prospect of a rupture

58 with a foreign power,

59 would not possess the means

60 of obtaining intelligence

61 the most necessary

62 for the proper direction

63 of its measures.

64That the new administration

65 has not boldly invaded the laws

66 and withheld the funds

67 applicable to the payment

68 of the principal and interest

69 of the public debt,

70 is fastidiously proclaimed

71 as evidence

72 that "the public faith

73 has been exactly maintained."

74The praise of a spirit of economy

75 is attempted to be gained,

76 by the suppression

77 of a trifling number of officers,

78 (a majority of whom

79 had become unnecessary

80 by the mere change of circumstances,)

81 and by declaiming, with affectation,

82 against "the multiplication of officers

83 and the increase of expense."

84The proposition

85 to reduce our insignificant

86 military establishment

87 (the actual number of troops

88 probably not exceeding

89 that which is intended to be retained)

90 cannot be suggested,

91 without tickling our ears

92 with the trite but favorite maxim,

93 that "a standing army

94 ought not to be kept up

95 in time of peace."

96To make a display

97 of concern for their prosperity—

98 agriculture, manufactures,

99 commerce, and navigation,

100 are introduced

101 among the pageants of the piece;

102 but, except as "to protection

103 from casual embarrassments,"

104 we are sagaciously informed

105 that these

106 "GREAT PILLARS of our prosperity,

107 ought to be left

108 to take care of themselves."

109The carrying trade, however,

110 seems to engage more solicitude;

111 no doubt that we may be terrified

112 by the expectation of future evils,

113 from a much traduced instrument,*

114 which in time past,

115 has done nothing but good,

116 in spite of the gloomy predictions

117 of patriotic seers.

118Such are the minor features

119 of this curious performance.

120Had these been its only blemishes,

121 a regard to national reputation

122 would have forbidden a comment;

123 but connected as they are

124 with schemes of innovation

125 replete with great present mischief,

126 and still greater future danger;

127 designed as they are

128 to varnish over projects

129 which threaten to precipitate our nation

130 from an enviable height of prosperity

131 to that low and abject state,

132 from which it was raised

133 by the establishment

134 and wise administration

135 of our present government—

136 they become entitled to notice

137 as additional indications

138 of character and disposition.

139The merits of the Message

140 have now been pretty fully discussed;

141 but before it is dismissed,

142 it may be useful

143 to take a view of it

144 in another and a different light;

145 as one link in a chain of testimony,

146 which the force of circumstances,

147 at every step

148 of the new administration,

149 extorts from them,

150 in favor of their predecessors.

151The President,

152 on the threshold of office,

153 at the first opportunity

154 of speaking to his constituents,

155 in his very inaugural speech;

156 full of a truth,

157 which the most rancorous prejudice

158 cannot obscure,

159 and not sufficiently reflecting

160 on the inferences which would be drawn,

161 proclaims aloud to the world,

162 that a government,

163 which he had disapproved

164 in its institution

165 and virulently opposed

166 in its progress,

167 was in THE FULL TIDE

168 OF SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT.

169In the last address

170 he again unconsciously becomes

171 the panegyrist of those

172 whom he seeks to depreciate.

173The situation

174 in which (humanly speaking)

175 we have been preserved

176 by the prudent and firm councils

177 of the preceding administrations,

178 amidst the revolutionary

179 and convulsive throes,

180 amidst the desolating conflicts

181 of Europe,

182 is there a theme

183 of emphatic gratulation.

184It shall not be forgotten,

185 as the solitary merit of the address,

186 that we are reminded

187 of the gratitude due to Heaven

188 for the blessings of this situation.

189Amidst the spurious symptoms

190 of a spirit of reform,

191 it is consoling to observe one,

192 which, in charity,

193 ought to be supposed genuine.

194But it would not have diminished

195 our conviction of its sincerity,

196 if the instruments of Providence

197 in the accomplishment

198 of the happy work,

199 had not been entirely overlooked;

200 since this would have been evidence

201 of a willingness

202 to acknowledge and retract error—

203 to make reparation for injury.

204But though they have been overlooked

205 by the Message,

206 the American people

207 ought never for a moment

208 to forget them.

209Their efforts and their struggles,

210 their moderation and their energy,

211 their care and their foresight;

212 the mad and malignant opposition

213 of their political adversaries;

214 the charges of pusillanimity and perfidy

215 lavished on the declaration

216 of neutrality;

217 the resistance to measures

218 for avoiding a rupture

219 with Great Britain;

220 the attempt to rush at once

221 into reprisals;

222 the cry for war

223 with the enemies of France,

224 as the enemies of republican liberty;

225 all these things should be for ever

226 imprinted on the memory

227 of a just and vigilant nation.

228And in recollecting them,

229 they should equally recollect

230 that the opposers

231 of the salutary plans

232 to which they are so much indebted,

233 were and are the zealous partisans

234 of the present head

235 of our government;

236 who have at all times

237 submitted to his influence

238 and implicitly obeyed his nod;

239 who never would have pursued

240 with so much vehemence

241 the course they did,

242 had they known it to be contrary

243 to the views of their chief:

244 nor should it be forgotten

245 that this chief,

246 in the negotiation

247 with the British minister,

248 conducted by him

249 as Secretary of State,

250 acted precisely as if it had been

251 his design to widen,

252 not to heal the breach

253 between the two countries;

254 that he at first objected

255 to the declaration of neutrality;

256 was afterwards reluctantly dragged

257 into the measures connected with it;

258 was believed by his friends

259 not to approve the system of conduct,

260 of which he was the official organ;

261 was publicly and openly accused

262 by the then agent

263 of the French republic

264 with duplicity and deception,

265 with having been the first

266 to inflame his mind

267 with ill impressions

268 of the principles and views

269 of leading characters

270 in our government,

271 not excepting the revered WASHINGTON;

272 that this chief,

273 at a very critical period of our affairs

274 in reference to the war of Europe,

275 withdrew from the direction

276 of that department

277 peculiarly charged

278 with the management

279 of our foreign relations,

280 evidently to avoid being more deeply

281 implicated in the consequences

282 of the position,

283 which had been assumed

284 by the administration;

285 but on the hollow pretence

286 of a dislike to public life

287 and a love of philosophic retirement.

288Citizens of America,

289 mark the sequel

290 and learn from it instruction!

291You have been since agitated

292 to the centre,

293 to raise to the first station

294 in your government

295 the very man who,

296 at a conjuncture

297 when your safety and your welfare

298 demanded his stay,

299 early relinquished a subordinate,

300 but exalted and very influential post,

301 on a pretence as frivolous

302 as it has proved to be insincere!

303Was he, like the virtuous Washington,

304 forced from a beloved retreat,

305 by the unanimous and urgent call

306 of his country?

307No;

308 he stalked forth

309 the champion of faction—

310 having never ceased

311 in the shade of his retreat,

312 by all the arts of intrigue,

313 to prepare the way

314 to that elevation,

315 for which a restless ambition

316 impatiently panted.

317The undesigned eulogy

318 of the men who have been slandered

319 out of the confidence

320 of their fellow-citizens,

321 has not been confined

322 to the situation of the country

323 as connected with the war of Europe.

324In the view given

325 of the very flourishing state

326 of our finances,

327 the worst of the calumnies

328 against those men is refuted,

329 and it is admitted,

330 that in this article

331 of vital importance

332 to the public welfare,

333 their measures have been provident

334 and effectual beyond example.

335To the charge

336 of a design to saddle the nation

337 with a perpetual debt,

338 a plain contradiction is given

339 by the concession,

340 that the provisions

341 which have been made for it

342 are so ample,

343 as even to justify the relinquishment

344 of a part no less considerable

345 than the whole

346 of the internal revenue.

347The same proposal testifies

348 the brilliant success

349 of our fiscal system generally;

350 and that it is more than equal

351 to all that has been undertaken,

352 to all that has been promised

353 to the nation.

354The report of the Secretary of the Treasury,

355 as published,

356 confirms this high commendation

357 of the conduct

358 of the former administrations.

359After relieving each State

360 from the burden of its particular debt,

361 by assuming the payment of it

362 on account of the United States,

363 in addition to the general debt

364 of the nation;

365 after settling the accounts

366 between the States

367 relatively to their exertions

368 for the common defence

369 in our revolutionary war,

370 and providing for the balances

371 found due to such of them

372 as were creditors;

373 after maintaining, with complete success,

374 an obstinate and expensive war

375 with the Indian tribes;

376 after making large disbursements

377 for the suppression

378 of two insurrections

379 against the government;

380 after liberal contributions

381 to the Barbary powers,

382 to induce them to open

383 to our merchants

384 the trade of the Mediterranean;

385 after incurring a responsibility

386 for indemnities to a large amount,

387 due to British merchants,

388 in consequence of infractions

389 of the treaty of peace

390 by some of the States;

391 after heavy expenditures

392 for creating and supporting a navy,

393 and for other preparations,

394 to guard our independence and territory

395 against the hostilities

396 of a foreign nation;

397 after the accomplishment

398 of all these very important objects,

399 it is now declared to the United States,

400 by the present head of the Treasury,

401 by the confidential minister

402 of the present Chief Magistrate,

403 by the most subtle and implacable

404 of the enemies

405 of the former administrations,

406 "That the actual revenues of the Union

407 are sufficient to defray

408 all the expenses,

409 civil and military, of government,

410 to the extent authorized

411 by existing laws,

412 to meet ALL THE ENGAGEMENTS

413 OF THE UNITED STATES;

414 and to discharge

415 in fifteen years and a half,

416 THE WHOLE OF OUR PUBLIC DEBT"—

417 foreign as well as domestic,

418 new as well as old.

419Let it be understood,

420 that the revenues spoken of

421 were all provided

422 under the two first administrations;

423 and that the "existing laws" alluded to,

424 were all passed

425 under the same administrations;

426 consequently,

427 that the revenues had not been increased,

428 nor the expenses diminished,

429 by the men who now hold the reins:

430 and then let it be asked,

431 whether so splendid a result

432 does not reflect the highest credit

433 on those who in time past

434 have managed the affairs

435 of the nation?

436Does not the picture furnish matter

437 not only for consolation,

438 but even for exultation,

439 to every true friend of his country?

440And amidst the joy

441 which he must feel

442 in the contemplation,

443 can he be so unjust

444 as to refuse the tribute of commendation

445 to those, by whose labors

446 his country has been placed

447 on so fair an eminence?

448Will he endure to see

449 any part of the fruits of those labors

450 blasted or hazarded,

451 by a voluntary surrender

452 of any portion of the means

453 which are to insure the advantages

454 of so bright a prospect?

455In vain will envy or malevolence reply,

456 "The happy situation

457 in which we are placed

458 is to be attributed,

459 not to the labors of those

460 who have heretofore

461 conducted our affairs,

462 but to an unforeseen

463 and unexpected progress

464 of our country."

465Candor and truth will answer—

466 Praise is always due to public men

467 who take their measures

468 in such a manner

469 as to derive to the nation

470 the benefit of favorable circumstances

471 which are possible,

472 as well as of those

473 which are foreseen.

474If proportionate provision had not

475 been made,

476 concurrently with the progress

477 of our national resources,

478 the effect of them

479 would not have been felt as to the past,

480 and would not have been matured

481 as to the future.

482But why should it be pretended

483 that this progress was not anticipated?

484In past experience,

485 there were many data for calculation.

486The ratio of the increase

487 of our population

488 had been observed and stated;

489 the extent and riches of our soil

490 were known;

491 the materials

492 for commercial enterprise

493 were no secret;

494 the probable effect

495 of the measures of the government,

496 to foster and encourage

497 navigation, trade, and industry,

498 was well understood;

499 and especially,

500 the influence of the means

501 which were adapted

502 to augment our active capital,

503 and to supply a fit

504 and adequate medium of circulation,

505 towards the increase

506 of national wealth,

507 was declared and insisted upon,

508 in official reports.

509Though adventitious circumstances

510 may have aided the result,

511 it is certain,

512 that a penetrating

513 and comprehensive mind

514 could be at no loss to foresee

515 a progress of our affairs,

516 similar to what has been experienced.

517Upon this anticipation,

518 the assumption of the State debts,

519 and other apparently bold measures

520 of the government,

521 were avowedly predicated,

522 in opposition

523 to the feeble and contracted views

524 of the LITTLE POLITICIANS,

525 who now triumph

526 in the success of their arts,

527 and enjoy the benefits of a policy,

528 which they had neither the wisdom

529 to plan nor the spirit to adopt;

530 idly imagining

531 that the cunning of a demagogue

532 and the talents of a statesman

533 are synonymous.

534Consummate

535 in the paltry science

536 of courting and winning popular favor,

537 they falsely infer

538 that they have the capacity to govern,

539 and they will be the last

540 to discover their error.

541But let them be assured

542 that the people

543 will not long continue the dupes

544 of their pernicious sorceries.

545Already the cause of truth

546 has derived this advantage

547 from the crude essays of their chief,

548 that the film has been removed

549 from many an eye.

550The credit of great abilities

551 was allowed him

552 by a considerable portion

553 of those who disapproved

554 his principles;

555 but the short space of nine months

556 has been amply sufficient

557 to dispel that illusion;

558 and even some of his most partial votaries

559 begin to suspect

560 that they have been mistaken

561 in the OBJECT OF

562 THEIR IDOLATRY.

563Lucius Crassus.

564New-York Evening Post, April 8, 1802.

565* The treaty with Great Britain.