of them in high trusts, the object of which was to effect by British gold and British arms the formation of an independent-to call it by no worse name-government on the Mississippi. All this is pointedly summed up by Mr. Jefferson, in a letter to Mr. Rutledge, written just ten days before the Blount disclosure." What the neutral nations think of us now, I know not; but we are low indeed with the belligerents. Their kicks and cuffs prove their contempt. If we weather the present storm, I hope we shall avail ourselves of the calm of peace, to place our foreign connections under a new and different arrangement. We must make the interest of every nation stand surety for their justice, and their own loss to follow injury to us, as effect follows its cause. As to everything except commerce, we ought to divorce ourselves from them all. But this system would require time, temper, wisdom, and occasional sacrifices of interest: and how far all these will be ours, our children may see, but we shall not." -3 Jeff. Corr., 362. But the time at last came, and so rapid was the growth of national pride and national power, that at the close of the war of 1812, Mr. Munroe, in the united voice of the whole people, proclaimed that European interference-not with our own territory, for that was no longer a thing even for contemplation-but with the concerns of the whole American continent, would be resisted by the United States by an appeal to arms.

A singular episode to this case is thus related-of course from the opposition point of vision-by the Aurora of May 5, 1800, in an article which, in connection with the sketch from Porcupine, may be looked upon as giving the two extreme views.

"The celebrated William Blount, whose intrigues with the British minister occupied the public mind for some time, who was expelled from the Senate and against whom articles of impeachment were found and presented by the House of Representatives to the Senate of the United States on that account, has lately died-may his ashes rest in peace. We only notice the circumstance to call the public recollection to a character who made some figure at the same time, and who appears to have been intimately connected with Mr. Blount, and Mr. Liston; it may be remembered that a person who had some influence with the Indian nations of Creeks and Cherokees, was found to have his passage to England paid by the agent of the British Government in this city.

"Every one who felt any interest in the safety of the country against conspiracy, will remember the name of Chisholm, or Captain Chisholm, or John D. Chisholm-this is the person to whom we now call the public recollection.

"Chisholm had his passage paid to England by a British agent. Chisholm had been an agent in France. Chisholm, it appears, had other agencies, for in a report of a Committee of the House of Representatives, laid on their table on the 22d of April, 1800, we find a correspondence between the aforesaid Chisholm and a person whom this agent learnedly and literally thus addresses.-'Timothy Pickaron, Esq., Secretary at War in the United States;' we presume that this title is to be explained differently from its import, that it was a serious mistake and that it was meant for the Secretary of State.

"We shall give a literal copy of the letter of this able agent of the British Minister as we find it, and leave our readers to estimate the end which could be contemplated by such means.

SIR:

(LITERAL COPY.)

Portsmouth, August 15th 1798.

AGREEABLE to my promise to Mr. King, I think it my duty to inform you—that I am this far on my way to America with the convoy of American ships, I am on board the ship sisters, of Charlestoun, South Carolina. I stipulated with Mr. King to Return to the united states, and for to render the government Every Effort in my power-and that I would attend to any Instructions or Reqest that you should Reqire of me-I Kned not Recapitulate to you Sir the Rock that I spit on to you it is Known however Sir this much You may Be assured off that it is my full determination to be useful to the U. S-if you reqire my service in any respect-you may depend on my punctuality and Entegrity-as their is a probability of a war between france and spain, if it should be so I shall be thankful to be Imployed in your service-I flatter myself that my service will be such that will make Every Satisfaction in the U. S-I shall make some small stay at Charlestoun-and when I leave I shall proceed to the Indian Nation I shall be thankful for a permit from you I have taken a passport and permit from Mr. King will you please to let me Kno your pleasure on the subject-I can be found by directing to Charlestoun to the care Mesures H. Grant & Lea Merchants-I wright this letter in conformity to my Engagement to Mr. King-please to pardon this scrole as it is wrote in haste by the faver of Captain Gedess-in hopes of hearing from you and Knoing your pleasure-I beg leave to Subscribe myself your most obedient Humble servant. JOHN D. CHISHOLM. Timothy Pickaron, Esq., Secretary at War in the United States.

Subjoined to this is the reply of Mr. Pickering, of which the following is a copy.

(COPY.)

Department of State,

SIR:

Trenton, October 29, 1798.

I HAVE received your letter of August 15th, from Portsmouth in England. As you propose to go to the Indian country, I should advise you, sir, to see Col. Benjamin Hawkins, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southern Department. He is probably somewhere in the Creek Nation, and with the passport, &c., you have from Mr. King, you will find an introduction to Colonel Hawkins; though I presume you already know him. I have no doubt, that in the event of a war with France, you can be very useful in the Indian Depart. ment and otherwise; and your late experience will have convinced you of the propriety and duty of every good citizen, to engage in no enterprise of a public nature, without the knowledge and approbation of his government.

I am, sir, &c. &c.,

TIMOTHY PICKERING.

Mr. John Chisholm.

"These two letters, taken as they appear, alone, would be of no importance whatever but to show what creatures men in power employ for purposes of mischief.

66

By adverting to the period when Chisholm sailed for England at the British Minister's expense, and as appeared by his own acknowledgement at that time upon the British business with the Indians on our frontier, where Boules has lately been so conspicuous, it will be found that the discovery of Blount's plot here blew up the whole chain of conspirators, of which Chisholm appears to have been a very important link.

"From the tenor of these letters, and upon the promises and stipulations made to our ambassador in England, it would seem that Mr. King was very speedily advised of the detection of the conspiracy to stir up a war on our frontiers by British agency, and of various other citizens who were engaged in that project, which, as Mr. Harper explained it, was to make out the road to Mexico.

"It should seem that Mr. King was instructed to prevail on Chisholm to return to the United States without delay, and that he was under an expectation of a war between the United States, and France and Spain, in which he had stipulated to render every service in his power, and that he did return under that impression. It will be seen that on a comparison of dates that Chisholm must have received his directions in England in consequence of advice given during the extraordinary session of the summer of 1798, when war and proscription echoed from every side.

"From the expressions of Chisholm he seemed to have been made acquainted with some of the transactions of that period in this city, for he says in his finished style of diplomacy“I kned not recapitulate to you, sir, the rock I spit upon "-meaning, no doubt, the rock he split upon, which, it is to be presumed, was his own concessions in this city of the errand upon which he was proceeding to England, and of his expenses being paid, and letters of introduction given him by Mr. Liston; this, we may fairly infer, was the rock he split upon, and he tells Mr. Pickering he need not recapitulate the effects of this indiscretion, because it is to be presumed it was already known to him.

"It is impossible not to feel, on perusing this letter of Chisholm, a sentiment of disgust and contempt for men vested with the ministerial representation of a nation, who could descend to employ agents so despicable as the writer of this despicable letter; and such characters as Sweezy.

"There is, however, another consideration which arises from the letter of Mr. Pickering. It appears that Chisholm's mission to England was publicly known in Philadelphia long before the 15th of August, 1798. Yet on the 29th of October, Mr. Pickering writes to this agent, and instead of bringing him to public account for his concerns with a foreign power, but that he has never been brought to judgment for entering into the views and counsel of a foreign power to involve his country in a war.

"It appears, however, from the report of the Secretary at War, that as soon as the list con taining his name as a trader was received at the war office, the Secretary, "believing him from obvious reasons an improper person to have a license, he was ordered to be deprived of the same, and recalled from the Indian territory."

"From the whole of these facts these deductions are to be made:

"That the undertaking of Chisholm in his trip to England was known to our government. "That after being allowed a license, the knowledge of that obvious criminality occasioned his being deprived of the license and recalled out of the territory; but then he has never been brought to justice for entering into the views and counsels of a foreign power to involve his country in a war.

"Let us contrast this passive conduct, this lenient and gentle policy, with the conduct of men of the same party, with that of Mr. Pickering himself, to a man of the first character in this country-to a man of the fairest reputation and the amplest fortune.-When Dr. Logan, at his personal expense and at great risk, tore himself from the bosom of an enviably

happy family, and passed to Europe in order to rescue his country from a war, ruinous under all forms and advantageous in none,-when he succeeded in this act of wisdom and virtue, and not only saved his country from a war, but procured the instant release of half a million of American property; and laid thereby the foundation of that peace which we now enjoy, and which by negotiation promises us a remuneration for all the unjust seizures of American property, which in the event of a war would never have been obtained."

Of Mr. Blount personally I have been able to collect but little information. Of attractive manners, and remarkable business tact, he obtained a wonderful ascendancy over the leading men of the South-Western Territory, of which he, for some years, had been Governor. His religions and moral principles were of equal looseness with his political; and his efficiency in disseminating each became painfully illustrated by the religious and political disaffection of those whom his example or his allurements reached. His first appearance in politics was in the State of North Carolina, of which the South-Western Territory was then part, he having been elected a delegate to the Constitutional Convention from that State, in connection with Mr. Richard D. Spaight, afterwards Governor, Mr. Davie, who was subsequently sent to France on a joint commission with Chief Justice Ellsworth, and Dr. Williamson, the historian of North Carolina. See Life of Davie, 25 Sparks' Biog., N. S., 93. The Constitution Mr. Blount appears to have opposed, silently, though systematically, in all its leading features; and he signed it only on the ground that, by so doing, he merely attested the fact that a majority of the delegates had given it their approval.-Ibid. In 1790, he was appointed by Washington Governor of the South-Western Territory, where he remained until the admission of Tennessee into the Union.-10 Sparks' Wash., 261; 12 Ibid., 117, 419. In the new State thus constructed his influence was overwhelming. Preferring a seat in the Senate to any other post its suffrages could give him, he was the first Federal Senator elected; and he continued in his seat during a second term, until the disclosure of the Carey letter led to his expulsion. On his return to Tennessee, so far from being shunned as a disgraced man, he was received in triumph, was elected to the State Senate, it is said, and made speaker thereof, and was only prevented by his sudden death from mounting, as if in defiance of the Federal Government, the gubernatorial chair. To those who doubt whe ther attachment to the Federal Union has not declined since 1800, the inquiry may be ad. dressed, whether now a man who conspires with a foreign State to establish foreign authority in North America would be thus received, even in the newest State?

21

TRIAL

OF

WILLIAM COBBETT,

FOR LIBEL.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA.

NOVEMBER, 1797.

Charge by Hon. THOMAS MCKEAN, LL. D., to the Grand Jury; Nov. 1797.

[After touching generally on the nature of a Grand Jury, the chief justice proceeded.]

Before I conclude I am sorry to have occasion to mention that there is another crime that peculiarly concerns the judges of the Supreme Court to endeavour to correct: it is that of libelling. I will describe it at large.

Libels, or libelli famosi, taken in the most extensive sense, signify any writings, pictures or the like, of an immoral or illegal tendency; but in the sense we are now to consider them, are malicious defamations of any person, and especially of a magistrate, made public either by writing, printing, signs or pictures, in order to provoke him to wrath, or to expose him to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule.

The direct tendency of these libels is the breach of the public peace, by stirring up the objects of them, their families and friends, to acts of revenge, and perhaps of bloodshed; which it would be impossible to restrain by the severest laws, were there no redress from public justice for injuries of this kind, which, of all others, are most sensibly felt; and which, being entered upon with coolness and deliberation, receive a greater aggravation than any other scandal or defamation, continue longer and are propagated wider and farther. And where libels are printed against persons employed in a public capacity, they receive an aggravation as they tend to scandalize the government, by reflecting on those who are intrusted with the administration of public affairs, and thereby not only endanger the public peace, as all others do by stirring up the parties immediately concerned to acts of revenge, but have also a direct tendency to breed in the people a dislike of their governors, and incline them to faction and sedition.

Not only charges of a heinous nature, and which reflect a moral

turpitude on the party are libellous, but also such as set him in a scurrilous, ignominious light; for every person desires to appear agreeable in life, and must be highly provoked by such ridiculous representations of him as tend to lessen him in the esteem of the world, and take away his reputation, which to some men is more dear than life itself; for these equally create ill blood, and provoke the parties to acts of revenge and breaches of the peace.

A defamatory writing expressing only one or two letters of a name, or using such descriptions and circumstances, feigned names or circumstances, in such a manner, that from what goes before and follows after it must needs be understood to signify such a person in the plain, obvious, and natural construction of the whole, is as properly a libel as if it had expressed the whole name at large, for it brings the utmost contempt on the law to suffer its justice to be eluded by such trifling evasions; and it is a ridiculous absurdity to say, that a writing, which is understood by the very meanest capacity, cannot possibly be understood by courts and juries.

It is equally ridiculous and absurd to suppose, that if a man speaks slanderous or defamatory words of another he may be sued and ample damages recovered for the injury; but if the same words are put in writing or printed, no punishment can be inflicted. Such a doctrine. may gratify the wishes of envious and malicious cowards and assassins, but must be detested by all sensible and good men.

These offences are punishable, either by indictment, information, or civil action: but there are some instances, where they can be punished by a criminal prosecution only; as where the United States in Congress assembled, the legislature, judges of the Supreme Court, or civil magistrates in general, are charged with corruption, moral turpitude, base partiality, and the like, when no one in particular is named.

By the law of the Twelve Tables at Rome, libels which affected the reputation of another, were made capital offences, but before the reign of Augustus, the punishment became corporeal only. Under the Emperor Valentinian, it was again made capital, not only to write, but to publish them, or even to omit destroying them. But by the laws of Pennsylvania, the authors, printers and publishers of a libel, are punishable by fine, and also, a limited imprisonment at hard labour and solitary confinement in jail, or imprisonment only, or one of them, as to the court in discretion shall seem proper, according to the heinousness of the crime, and the quality and circumstances of the offender.

Any libeller, or person even speaking words of contempt against an inferior magistrate, as a justice of the peace or mayor, personally, though he be not in the actual execution of his office, or of an inferior officer of justice, as a constable, and such like, being in the actual execution of his office, may be bound to his good behaviour by a single justice of the peace.

By this law and these punishments, the liberty of the press (a phrase much used, but little understood) is by no means infringed or violated. The liberty of the press is, indeed, essential to the nature of a free State, but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publications, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matter, when published. Every freeman has an undoubted right to lay what sentiments