Alexandria Daily Advertiser

FOR THE ALEXANDRIA ADVERTISER.

My Fellow-citizens,

A FARMER, who has hitherto concerned himself no farther with politics than to read the newspapers with a view to the country he and his posterity might have those benefits which every good government is calculated to secure, cannot but express his wonder at the apathy which seems to pervade his fellow citizens, fortunate as we are in our present establishment, and who in the next election are to declare their president choice are his countrymen we in our next who declare president choice are hi we

from the calls of ambition, and who only wish to live in a quiet way, free from party spirit and animosity, and with honest and

in minds, take into our consideration, who we should chuse to be our next pre-

sident.

Those who have spoke or have writ-

serious considera-

tion on this important subject, have been ge-

nerally those who are from interested mo-

tives the partizans of a Madison, a Monroe or

a Clinton; and they recommend these men,

not because they are best fitted to fill the im-

portant office. but from the belief they them-

selves will be personally benefited by being

promoted to some place of profit by the man

they exalt. Do you, my friends, discover in

the characters of either Mr. Madison, Mr.

Monroe or Mr. Clinton, any thing of the spi-

rit of our Washington? Are they not in all

things governed by a direct opposite spirit?

How can you for a moment think that either

of the gentlemen deserve to be placed at the

head of the nation? Did not the genius of

Washington, in the time of war, lead you to

glory and independence, and in the time of

peace, to national content and domestic felici-

ty? In no time when guided by the spirit of

Washington but what our difficulties were di-

minished and our advantages increased; -why

then, my fellow citizens, have we so long con-

sented to be ruled by those who delight most

when their actions are most unlike those of

Washington? Can we hope, or ought we to

believe, we are in the road of national pros-

perity? Does not every day of our existence

inform us that we are sinking? Do we not

feel all the difficulties of old age and poverty

at the very moment we should be most heal-

thy, most vigorous, most wealthy and most

happy? How, my friends, is it, that this is

our national situation? There is but one way

of accounting for it--our confiding in men

who are not qualified to direct the affairs of

our country: they were presented to us by

their flatterers as the very paragons of wis-

dom: how grievously have we been deceiv-

ed? Surely we must have been rendered fool-

ish, or we must have long since discovered,

that those who were so frantic as to attempt

to render mankind happy by making man per-

fect, were unfit to manage the affairs of our

nation; and such men could not be intended

by our God to be the directors and the pro-

moters of our happiness. My friends, when-

ever we struggle for more than our means can

accomplish, we bring with certainty distress

on ourselves; and whenever we make attempts

after philosophical perfectability, we destroy

our human happiness. -My friends, harken

no longer to the voice of those who have de-

stroyed the glory and joy of our country: re-

turn to the advice of our Washington, and let

us look out for some citizen who we have good

reason to think possesses most of his spirit,

and who we have cause to believe will act

most like him.

In my judgment Judge WASHINGTON

is at this time the most proper person to be

our next president: in all stations of life he

has done his duty worthy a man of sense, of

judgment, of prudence and of honor: It will

be his ambition to imitate the beneficial exa-

mple of his glorious uncle.

I may predict that under the administration

of such a president (who the genius of Wash-

ington will delight to counsel we shall be a

happy and a prosperous people.

No longer agitated by discord and factions,

generated and kept alive by designing and

wicked men, common sense and reason will

be our guides; and without aiming at too

much, we shall enjoy all we want, freedom,

wealth and national glory--happy at home &

respected abroad.

P.V.