The Kentucky Gazette

Lexington, February 7.

Extract of a letter from a gentleman in Philadelphia to his friend in the country, dated December 2.

Congress and the people out of doors have been much agitated for a week or ten days past, by a violent attempt to get the House of Representatives to join in denouncing the Democratic Societies, by charging them because they have had the hardiness to blame some of the measures of government, of being the inciters or encouragers of the whiskey boys; a charge in my opinion as groundless, as the design of it is unfriendly to liberty; for it is well known that the opposition to the excise law in the western counties of Pennsylvania, has been uniform ever since the existence of the law; whereas Democratic Societies are of a much later date. It is likewise a well known fact, that most of the Democratic Societies, as soon as they heard of the violent opposition those people made to the execution of the law, entered into resolutions pointedly disapproving their conduct; and I firmly believe, were the muster rolls of the army, which has turned out against them to be printed, that more members of Democratic Societies in proportion to their numbers would be found upon the lists, than of any class of citizens; which establishes as an incontrovertible truth, that as by their former proceedings they have shewn themselves enemies to bad measures; so in this affair they have proved themselves friends to good order; and the attempt of the party to throw the odium of their own unpopular measures upon their opposers, who think that in a government like ours, some attention ought to be paid to the opinions, and even to the prejudices of the people, is too barefaced to impose upon the enlightened republicans of this country.

An address to the people, by Tyrannoctonos, was postponed, to give place to the proceedings respecting a road to Virginia, but shall appear in our next.