in many war. 3. But the most powerful, perhaps, of all her motives, is her batred and fear of the republican example of our governments. The others are motives of national intereft only; this is enlivened by the strong feeling, alfo, of a governmental and personal intereft. This feeling fhowed itfelf features of the revolutionary It fhowed itfelf in the indig nant treatment of the first minifter from the United States, and in the diftance and diflike difplayed for a long period thereafter: It fhowed itfelf by the ftrongest marks, in the undisguised wishes and hopes, that our union would be fpeedily diffolv. ed, that our popular governments would tumble into anarchy and convulfions; and that the general wreck would exhibit a fpectacle of mifery and horror, that would forever difgrace the republican principle, and add new braces to the monarchical fabric. The fame acute and predominant feeling has showed itself in an increased averfion to the smallest improvement of the British government in its representative branch; and has difplayed itself, with all its force, in its inftant alarm at the propagation of republican principles in France, and the unparalleled rage and inveteracy of the war purfued against them; a war in which every calculation of national advantage was facrificed to the monarchal policy and paffions of the government. ger of a fermentation and expanfion, fills her with diftreffing apprehenfions, must view with a malignant eye the United States, as the real fource of the prefent revolutionary state of the world, and as an example of republicanifm more likely than any other, for very obvious reafons, to convey its contagion to her. In a word, the British monarchy muft, as it affuredly does, hate the American republic; and this hatred must be in proportion to its fear; and this fear must be in proportion to the practical fuccefs of the republican theory. It will confequently fpare no pains to defeat this fuccefs, by drawing our republic into foreign wars, by dividing the people among themselves, by separating the government from the people, by establishing a faction of its own in the country, by magnifying the importance of characters among us known to think more highly of the British government, than of their own, or of fuch as are ready to play any part that it may dictate to them with a fyftematic view, on one hand, of difgracing the republican principle, and on the other, of fwelling and fhaping our government towards the pattern of its own. This purfuit of the British government is highly criminal, becaufe at variance with right principles; yet it is fo congenial with its fituation and its intereft, that it excites lefs indignation than the conduct of those who clandeftinely favour the plan, or wilfully fhut their own eyes, and endeavour to fhut the eyes of others to it. For it is not poffible, that a government in which a few are cloth Whilft the abhorrence of the British government to republicanism in Europe is thus implacable, it must be proportionably fo to the danger of the example elsewhere. If she has changed her courfe, therefore, towed with prerogatives and dignities ards this country, it is not that fhe has changed her fentiments, or is better reconciled to our political principles and inftitutions; but that the now hopes to attain her ends better in another way. The truth is, Great Britain, as a monarchy, containing a republican ingredient, of which (at all times, but in the present state of the world more particularly) the dan almost divine, whilft the many are fuppreffed to a condition fcarcely human; and where a civil list, a military and naval establishment, and a hierarchy (paffing by the frightful mafs of debts incurred by unneceffary wars) load the people with an annual burden of more than a hundred millions of dollars-and where, befides, corruption is confeffedly the vital principle that pervades the whole fyftem; it is not poffible, that fuch a government can fee another, founded on the just rights of mankind, virtuoully adminiftered, at the small expenfe of a few hundred thousand dolfars, and enjoying peace, order, tranquillity, and happinefs, without comparifons and reflections, leading to the idea that the example of the latter government must be dangerous to the former, if the influence of the former cannot in fome way deftroy the force of the example. The Means fifty or fixty thousand native fubjects of the British empire. Striking out the very respectable proportion of them who are Americans not only in allegiance, but in principles and attachment, the numher remaining who are truly British, in one or all their characteristics, conftitutes a fund of foreign influence, that merits very ferious attention, in the prefent eftimate. The influence from this clafs of perfons is the greater, as they are in no fmall degree scattered over the whole face of the country, and mingled (in fome parts of America more than in others) in almost every neigh Of this influence are as obvious as bourhood, fome of them poffeffed of the motives. The British government has a more ready and ample command of money than any other government in the world. Being an absolute monarchy in its executive department, it can distribute its money for secret fervices, with every advantage of fafety and fuccefs. It is in the long and fyftematic practice of effectuating its purposes hoth at home and abroad by means of money. The fum for secret services has beenvaftly augmented of late years. Great Britain expends more money annually, under that head, than is appropriated to fupport the government of the United States. A British ambaffador and his fuite, having the peculiar advantage of the fame language, the fame ufages, and the fame manners, with our citizens, can more eafily than any other for eigners, affociate intimately and extenfively with them; can write, with lefs danger of detection, for our newspapers; and can intrigue, with lefs difficulty, with our government, if unhappily any department fhould ever become fufceptible of it. Nor is it to be overlooked, that there is not a state or district in the union, that does not prefent to them countrymen ready to fecond their views, if not execute their inftructions. There are among us not lefs than wealth, others of friendly difpofitions, and engaging manners; but all not the lefs foreigners in their principles and affections, and ufing all the influence of their conciliating qualities on the fide of their native country, in every queftion which puts her interefts in competition with ours. univerfal and uniform ardour of this defcription of perfons for war, in preference to peace, with France, ftands for a thonfand proofs of the fact, that they are Britons, not Americans, in their hearts. The In elections, the means of British influence are often no lefs vifible, mixing among the people without any badge of their alienism in their language, drefs, or appearance; British foreigners are frequently among the bufieft canvaffers, and moft fuccefsful retailers of tickets. In other meetings of the people, the fame circumftances open the way for the fame influence. How many British fubjects, or natives, of Britifl principles, were there among the petitioners of this city in favour of the British treaty? How many in the chamber of commerce of New York? How many, indeed, every where among the eager partizans of that illomened measure? This leads us to the great floodgate of British influence, British com merce. The capital in the American trade, amounts to thirty or forty mil lions of dollars. Three-fourths of this are British capital; of this proportion three-fourths are in British hands. The refidue, in the hands of Americans, has more effect in Anglicizing them, than in Americanizing the influence it gives. Individual exceptions are admitted, and might be named. But it is of equal certainty, that the American merchants, generally, who value on British capital and credit, are thofe who feel moft powerfully the captivating influ ence. More than one volume would be neceffary to trace in its details this fpecies of British influence. The copious fountain is in Britain, principally in London. Every fhipment, every confignment, every commiffion, is a channel in which a portion of it flows. It be faid to make a may part of every cargo. Our fea-port towns are the refervoirs into which it is collected. From thefe, iffue a thousand streams to the inland towns, and country ftores; which, in aid of the influence inherent in British trade and British credit, not unfrequently receive from the political zeal of the importing merchants, a flock of Britifh ideas and fentiments proper to be retailed to the people. Thus it is, that our country is penetrated to its remoteft corners with a foreign poifon vitiating the American fentiment, recolonizing the American character, and duping us into the politics of a foreign nation. And thus it is, that the more the injuries and infults of Britain thicken upon us, the greater the apathy and filence refpecting them. Her arbitrary edicts against our neutral rights-her daring perfeverance in impreffing our feamen, (even from our public armed fhips) by which the levies on us a tribute of men, and equally tramples on our national independence and our neutrality-the intrigues of her ambassador to draw us into a war with a friendly power, at the rifk perhaps of a part of our union-the establishment under the eyes of our government of a foreign newspaper, conducted by a British fubject, avowing his allegi ance to his king, glorying in his foreign attachments and monarchal principles, and vilifying, with the moft unparalleled audacity, the revolution which obtained our independence, and the republican principles which are the bafis of our conftitution-not to repeat the deadly blow which she has levelled at our navigation. Why has fo little been heard on all these topics? Becaufe a fpell has in this cafe been laid on the trumpet, which has blown unceafing alarms against the injuries and infults offered us from another foreign quarter. Money in all its fhapes is influ ence; our monied inftitutions confequently form another great engine of British influence. Our bank is a pow erful one. Their capital belongs in great part to Britons, or to proprie tors interested in British connexions. The proprietors choose the directors. The directors difpenfe the credits and fayours of the banks. Every dependent on these therefore is a kind of vaffal, owing homage to his pecuniaary fuperiors, on pain of bankruptcy and ruin. Say, ye citizens of Philadelphia, have ye not all felt or feen this influence, whenever bank-directors have been canvaffers for votes or fubfcriptions? and has this influence ever been exerted but on the fide efpoufed by the agents of Britain in this country ? As a vehicle of influence, the prefs, though the last to be named, must be allowed all its importance. How deplorable, that this guardian of public rights, this organ of neceffary truths, fhould be tainted with partiality at all. How bitter the reflection, that it fhould be fubject to a foreign taint! So however is the fact. It cannot be denied. It hardly needs to be explained. The inland papers, it is well known, copy from the city papers; this city more particularly, as the centre of politics and news. The city papers are fupported by advertisements. The advertisements, for the moft part, relate to articles of trade, and are furnished by merchants and traders. In this manner Britifh influence fteals into our newfpapers, and circulates under their paffport. Every printer, whether an exception to the remark or not, knows the fact to be as here stated. There are preff es whofe original independence, fubfequent apoftacies, occafional converfions, fpeedy relapfes, and final proftration to advertising cuftomers, point them out as confpicuous examples. To conclude: Great Britain feels every motive that a foreign power can feel to pinch our growth, and undermine our government; and enjoys greater means of influence for thefe purpofes than ever were poffeffed by one nation towards another. On Great Britain then an eye will be constantly fixed, at least, by every real ENEMY TO FOREIGN INFLUENCE. A British Influence. MEMBER of congrefs, from South Carolina, has fo often amufed the public with the promised developement of clues to confpiracies, that the term clue is now ufed only in a burlesque fignification. Lefs fortunate than the poffeffor of the golden threads of Ariadne, all his attempts have only tended to expofe his mind, either as naturally very weak, or incorrect. The cabinet of St. James is not always unfortunate in the choice of its means or its agents in foreign countries; and this will not be deemed fo very extraordinary, when it is confidered, that the number fhe employs must be very great, fince the foreign secret service money, for several years of the prefent war, has amounted to nearly two millions of pounds fterling, or near nine millions of dollars! But exclufive of the avowed and of tenfible fum applied for foreign fecret fervices, fhe multiplies her means of corruption and influence, in every path by which the human mind is ca pable of being feduced from the bribery of a French director, to the fashion of a ribbon for the American fair; the influence is feen fparkling in a bottle of champaign on the table of an ambaffador, and is heard at midnight rolling along the pavements in the fhape of a fuperbly-finished coach. The multiplicity of these means, obviously precludes the complete expofure of them all; but it may be ufeful to go a few years back to examine her policy and the various fluctuations which it has undergone. When mr. Adams was appointed ambaffador from the United States, to the court of London, he remained for a long courfe of time undiftinguifhed from the multitude; the multitude alone looked on him with fentiments of reverence, as one of the afferters of Ainerican liberty-but by courtiers he was confidered in the fame light as he had been before the treaty of 1783 had taken place—a rebel that had been successful! After the cold formality of a public regal audience, he was treated with studied indifference; and, to outrage decency, Arnold was feen to lean with one arm, on the throne, in converfation with that tyrant fo well defcribed in the declaration of independence. American property had now dif played her wings on the ocean, under the benign influence of independence, liberty, and peace; ftretching beneath the poles, or plying with the monfoons in the eastern and great Pacific oceans; on the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and North Seas, her flag was feen with gladness and respect, by every nation on earth, but that which had fought to make us flaves. Lord Sheffield pointed out to the jealous eye of English monopoly, the formidable rival that was rifing up against her; and for a moment, laws the most outrageous, because they were at the fame time wanton and abfurd, paffed the English parliament, aimed at the very existence of the American trade. Laws calculated to realize the earl of Chatham's denunciation, that we should never "forge a bob nail" for our own ufe, were attempted, against the nature of man, to be enforced. England vainly fuppofed, that, if fhe prohibited her artificers and mechanics from emigrating, the ores must have remained in our mines, and the forefts ftood forever! She had learned fo little by the defeat of her armies, as to be perfuaded that we should not for a century produce artificers of our own. She believed, in fpite of experience, that the fame country, which during our revolutionary war spread fo many models of naval architecture and examples of nautical prowefs over the feas that divide us from Europe, must have become torpid and deftitute of genius or enterprize, after the glorious eftablishment of our republic. A fhort race of years diffipated the delufion; and it became neceffary to adopt a system which was not fraught with open and fruitless hoftility; to endeavour to throw off the frowns of jealoufy and refentment, which her features conftantly wore towards us. The neceffity of a federal conftitution had been rendered obvious by the restless and vengeful measures of England, more than by any cause whatever; and the measures taken to produce it, gave fo fenfible an alarm to the government of that country, that a fpecial council was called, of perfons the most wily in commercial and diplomatic policy, to consider what was best to be done with regard to America. The refult of this political deliberation was a report drawn up by the then lord Hawksbury, formerly mr. Jenkinson, now lord Liverpool. This report was delivered to an English bookfeller, by whom a few copies only were printed. The leading feature of the report was, that the best policy of England would be to influence America by means of a party declaredly British. The unguarded publi cation of this report, however flattering to the vanity of the author, caufed a ferious alarm. The government fuppreffed the work, excepting a few copies; and measures were taken to prevent its further publication. From this ftep, it is not difficult to perceive that England, in suppressing the book, had refolved upon pursuing the policy which it recommended. Our ambaffador was foon after received with more cordiality and apparent refpect. Some obnoxious and ufelefs parts of the laws were ameliorated, by other laws or fpecial orders of the British king in virtue of fpecial powers. It was determined to fend a minifter to the United States. A new confular fyftem was adopted, which had been several years before fuggefted by fir John Dalrymple, a celebrated Scotch writer; and the English confulates were established by the rule of territorial distribution, at which they have fince ftood with little if any variation. A meafure, calculated to produce greater effect, was now acted upon; the appointment on the one hand of as many Americans to confular offices and fubordinate agencies, as could be done without dangerous effects; and the operation by grants to American loyalifts, who continued to refide in or returned to America after the revolution, to as great an extent as would be conducive to the interefts of their policy. Accordingly, we faw sir John Temple, lately deceafed, appointed to New York; and others need not be named, who are more confpicuous for their vigilance as auxiliaries, than for perfonal talents or influence. It is not neceffary to advert largely to what was fo well displayed in a former paper, on foreign influence, the facility with which England difperfes her intriguers through these states, by the fimiliarity of language, manners, and, in a great part, of religi LI |