The Rhode Island Republican

We insert the following to oblige an old and highly respectable subscriber to our paper.

"The memory of things past, ought not to be forgotten by length of time."

When an individual by his literary merit or by having filled some office of high and important trust, has thereby attained a distinguished reputation among men, and it afterwards becomes apparent that he is not unwilling to use that influence in supporting the pretensions of a bad man to be a ruler over us, the mind is naturally desirous of enquiring into the motives of such conduct. These reflections have occurred upon seeing it stated in the public journals, that Timothy Pickering has declared himself the friend of General Jackson—or in other words, an advocate for his becoming President. Passing by the conduct of colonel Pickering when reclining at his ease with his regiment, in the neighborhood of the fugitive British on their return from Lexington, another prominent trait in his character seems that of keeping the dispatches received from France, some three weeks from the knowledge of the President, at a very critical time with respect to that nation; with whom, it is said, he manifested a very earnest desire to involve the United States in War, which was met by an absolute negative by the then President, with whom and on which account, he fell out, if we may believe report, by using very indecent language. Is it possible that the human heart can be capable of so great a degree of rancor as to manifest toward the son that feeling prejudice which existed towards the father and place himself in the attitude of an adversary, for the sole purpose of satisfying such resentment? Are not such feelings a direct contradiction to the sincerity of the religious professions of Mr. Pickering? Are the days of ancient barbarism to be acted over again—like the monster Hannibal, imposing on his child of nine years, an oath in the temple "never to make peace with the Romans!"