Alexandria Gazette, Commercial And Political

COMMUNICATED.
AN APT COMPARISON.

The Hon. Mr. Royd from New-Jersey, in laboring to excuse the vote which he means to give for appropriating the property of the merchants to the public use, remarked, that commerce was a risking business, and if the merchants lost their property by running into the penalties of the law, they had no more right to look to Congress for relief than the farmer would who had lost his crop by the ravages of the Hessian fly—Therein comparing the operations of our government upon commerce to the devastations of the Hessian fly in the farmers wheat fields.—An apt illustration by accident.

"Their various uses meaner toils commend,
And commerce finds in every want a friend."

That I deny—The administration has caught the American merchants in a trap, and if commerce could find as many friends in Washington as there are wants, the bonds would soon be cancelled. Amongst other wants Mr. Gallatin wants money and must have it, and in this want the merchant finds no friend. The western members of Congress who, at the last session of Congress, wanted a war so badly, now want to be secure in the means of paying for the valuable services of their volunteer armies in Tupper's and Hopkins' expeditions—and in this want commerce can find no friend.
The good republicans want to continue in office, to be secure of which, they must continue to drag on the sluggish wheels of government without taxes. and then we find another want to commerce not a friend.
—Finally there is a great want of candor and good sense in the President and his immediate followers in Congress in persisting to support the miserable restrictive system, under which the nation has been so long groaning. Another want this in which commerce subservedly has not found a friend.
It is conceived that the text might therefore be better render'd.
Their various uses meaner toils forgo
To prey on Commerce as a vanquish'd foe.