Gazette Of The United States, & Philadelphia Daily Advertiser

MR. FENNO,
A place in your Paper is requested for the following remarks.

We have long heard of the falsehoods of the Aurora : we have long been persuaded that the Editor has been in the pay of the French, either immediately from their Ambassador or Consuls, or now through their friends. We have, to the shame of our laws, heard him abuse and traduce the best characters of the nation: we have heard him assert untruths to the prejudice of the administration and officers of Government which tend, and their evident purpose is, to sow the seeds of discord, and raise, if they could, disturbance? then would they have their wish, and would no doubt justly exclaim, "Confusion is our gain." Then might they hope for a Directory, and their promised rewards in printing for them ; and to their great joy, get some 30 or 40 of their present opponent printers sent to Cayenne. This is the Liberty and Equality they wish for-and all that, either from disappointment in place hunting, themselves or their friends, have resolved to disturb the present worthy administration.

That such printers ought to be considered as enemies, no one can doubt who knows any thing of the spirit of party in our state; which is kept up by a Retailer from the Aurora, called the Genius of Liberty. Every friend of Government this way knows that John Mercer, Esq. is the supporter of this press-and among the ignorant and misled, the ill consequence of publishing malicious untruths to the prejudice of the rulers of the land

There are numbers who from the time that Mr. Jefferson was disappointed of the President's chair, have never ceased to infuse evil reports of the President and officers of Government into the minds of their friends and dependants, many of whom never have any other information than from the polluted fountain of the Aurora or Genius of Liberty.-That this last paper has kept up the opposition to the present Government cannot be doubted ; and that this has been great may be known from the opposition to the address to the President; the riot in the play-house ; the attempted assassination of Capt. Harris, who, at this time has not recovered his eye sight, either from a stab or, some other way, when he was left half dead. Yet the assassins were bailed-but for the truth and candor of the Genius of Liberty, printed in Fredericksburg, Virginia see that paper 23d July. However, I know the vexation of the party arises from their being neglected by the President, who has not known what I know, that a place would make them good government-men. But wicked Will. Truxtun says, Devil trust them. Whether Will means any more than meets the eye I cannot say. But this I can say, that if poor Will may be punished for returning abuse to a demo, surely it is not consistent with common sense that infidel printers should be permitted to keep up enmity against the general Government by false suggestions and malicious tales among a people as ignorant as Will, very ignorant indeed; but he says truth, willing to do right if not misled by the friends of Mr. Jefferson and the French, made up of the enemies of the Government and of Christianity. A printed lie may do ten thousand times more mischief than an unprinted one. The laws can reach the one but for want of defining and confining the liberty of the press within the same bounds as the liberty of the tongue, the nation is plagued with such presses as the aforesaid ; who with others of the same stamp, would take any side of any cause, provided you will support them in extravagance during their continuance in the place of a turncoat. In our parts some of the most violent anti's have said they would turn for a place. I hope the Congress will at their next meeting take some order with the licentious and Frenchified printers through the United States.

Yours,
VERITAS.

Virginia, August 12th, '99.