The New Hampshire Gazette

At Portsmouth.

Tuesday, April 5, 1803.

Some of the southern papers contain a marvellous account of an attack alleged to have been made on a British ship by Lieutenant Sterret in the United States sloop of war Enterprise, in which (it is related) 60 of the English ship's crew were killed. The story is false in every particular but the following—a British merchantman being met off the Barbary coast by the Enterprise refused to hoist her colours, upon which the Enterprise threw a shot across her, and still persisting in not showing colours, a shot was thrown in such a way as to indicate a determination to make her show whether she was or was not a pirate, and with success.—The British skipper complained at Gibraltar of this act of compulsion—and received in return a severe reprimand for not showing his colours—but not a shot was fired into the ship and of course no killed were men in buckram.

The federalists appeared to have placed their greatest hopes on the effects of their clamour about Louisiana—misrepresentations on other subjects were even less glaring than on this: The judiciary bill afforded a vast field for the display of their talents at agitating, but on the question of war with Spain, the whole artillery of federalism was brought into play; the Senate resounded with the cries of exclusive patriots and unexpected officers for war, and about national honor, and republican pride—the lower house was brim full of 'sensibility'—and old tories and apostate whigs, British agents and hired emissaries, joined in the call for vengeance on—an individual!

In the address of John Rutledge, we as usual find the name of Washington called to support the Adams administration, though it ought not on any just or plausible ground. Rutledge says, that on the breaking out of the late war in Europe, President Washington discovered the true path of sound policy, by declaring the wish of America to remain neutral, and not to enter into the contest on either side. But this very assertion shows that the Washington and Adams administrations were governed by views totally at variance, for Mr. Adams had not well sat down in the Presidential chair, when all the advice of Washington was neglected, and measures taken to provoke war from one nation in order to 'throw our sword into the scale' in favor of the other.

Mr. Rutledge considers the success of the republicans to be attributed in a great measure to their clamour about the taxes, which, however, he says were necessary for the times—we agree with Mr. Rutledge that the people were displeased that enormous taxes were imposed, and are also certain that because they were unnecessary the proposers were removed.

[Aurora.]

As Mr. Adams is allowed by his friends to have been displaced for encouraging measures attended with extravagance, the federalists propose a war in order to have the same excuse for turning out Mr. Jefferson.