Daily National Intelligencer

From the Boston Yankee,

LIBELS! LIBELS!

The public no doubt will expect of us some remarks on Mr. Lyman's motion "Forthwith to institute a Prosecution against the Printers and Publishers of THE YANKEE, a public newspaper printed in the town of Boston, for a gross and indecent libel upon this [Massachusetts] Legislature, contained in said paper, which was published on Friday the 20th instant."

We shall do this duty with calmness with temper, and a due respect for the august body that has directed this Prosecution.

The mover of said prosecution, as recorded in the Legislative proceedings in a preceding column, is Mr. LYMAN, Northampton, a pettifogging lawyer, and not Mr. Low of LYMAN, the gentleman who moved to send on an embassy to Washington to request Mr. Madison to resign his office? This we wish the public to understand correctly. After Mr. Lyman's motion was disposed of, the Solicitor General immediately called the Grand Jury together (all federalists to a man) and shortly after they brought in a bill against the Editors of the Yankee, for a Libel against the Legislature of Massachusetts.

To shew the nature of the supposed libel, we here give a true copy of the Indictment filed against us by the Solicitor General.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

SUFFOLK, ss. At the Supreme Judicial Court, begun and holden at Boston, within the said County of Suffolk, and for the said Counties of Suffolk and Nantucket, on the fourth Tuesday of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fourteen, and continued in session from that day until the 24th day of January in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and fifteen.

THE Jurors for said Commonwealth of Massachusetts upon their oath present, that THOMAS Rowe of Boston, in the said County of Suffolk, Printer, and JOSHUA HOOPER, of Boston, in said County of Suffolk, Printer, being malicious, turbulent, ill-disposed and seditious persons, and being greatly disaffected and inimical to the Legislature of the said Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and to the government and administration thereof, and wickedly, maliciously and seditiously by contriving, devising and intending to stir up and excite discontents, divisions and seditions among the citizens of said Commonwealth, and to alienate and withdraw the affection, fidelity, confidence and allegiance of said citizens of said Commonwealth from the Legislature and Government thereof, and to insinuate and cause it to be believed that the Legislature of said Commonwealth was a factious body, and that the members thereof had wickedly and unlawfully, and in violation of their oaths to support the Constitution of the United States, endeavoured to destroy the Government and Constitution of the United States, endeavored to destroy the Government and to divide and separate themselves and the people of this Commonwealth from the Constitutional Government of the said United States, on the twentieth day of January now current, with force and arms at Boston aforesaid, in the County of Suffolk aforesaid, wickedly, maliciously and seditiously did print and publish and cause and procure to be printed and published in a certain newspaper called the "Yankee," (of which said newspaper they the said Rowe and Hooper were then and there the publishers) a certain false, scandalous, malicious and seditious Libel of and concerning the said Legislature of said Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which said false, scandalous, malicious and seditious libel is of the following purport and effect, that is to say:

"MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE."

The wise men of the Massachusetts Legislature (meaning the members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives of the said Commonwealth of Massachusetts who then belonged to and did compose the Legislature of said Commonwealth) met on Wednesday (meaning Wednesday the eighteenth day of January now current) we (meaning them, the said Rowe and Hooper) never have witnessed within our (meaning their, the said Rowe and Hooper's) recollection, so little notice taken of this body (meaning the said Legislature of said Commonwealth), as appears to be of the present. (meaning the body of which the said Legislature then was and now is composed.) It is not ascertained to be a fact that they (meaning the members of said Legislature of said Massachusetts) are a factious but lifeless body, that is, they (meaning again the members of said Legislature of Massachusetts) have shewn all possible disposition to PROSTRATE THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT (meaning the Constitution and Government of the United States) and SEVER THEMSELVES (meaning again the said members of said Legislature of Massachusetts) FROM THE UNION, (meaning the Constitution, Government and people of the said United States,) but they (meaning the said members of the said Legislature of Massachusetts) have neither the nerve nor the courage to do it. And they (meaning said members of said Legislature) frankly acknowledge it. No body of men now look towards them (meaning again the said members of the said Legislature of Massachusetts) for any great effort either against the National Government (meaning the said Government of the U. States) or even against the enemy (meaning the fleets and armies of the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with whom the said United States then were and now are at open war who (meaning the aforesaid fleets and armies) are now in quiet possession of ONE THIRD of the Territory of Massachusetts, (meaning that the members of said Legislature of Massachusetts possessed the will but not the power to destroy the Constitution and Government of the said United States, and to separate and sever themselves and the people of this Commonwealth from the said Government of said United States: and meaning also, that the people of this Commonwealth and the constituents of them, the said members of said Legislature of said Commonwealth had no confidence in the said members and in the said Legislature, and that they did not expect, and did not look to them, the said members, and to the said Legislature, for any great effort to provide for them the means of protection and defence against the invasions and depredations of the fleets and armies of the enemy aforesaid,)-To the evil and pernicious example of others in like case to offend, and against the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth aforesaid.

DANIEL DAVIS, Solicitor General.

A true Bill,

ANDREW CUNNINGHAM, Foreman.

Attest-A true Copy.

WM. TUDOR, Clerk.

It will be seen that the whole crime we have been charged with, is, having declared the Legislature of Massachusetts to have been a factious body. In turning to a critical dictionary, of the English language, we find that the word factious, means- "given to faction—loud and violent in a party-proceeding from public dissentions." This appears to be the correct definition of the word factious-and we repeat, this is the obnoxious word that contains the great crime we are charged with in the Indictment.

It will readily be observed, if ever this charge has been made against the Legislature of this State, it could only apply to a party; and that party, those who govern the State--those who are the majority. The minority are certainly not implicated in this charge--neither could it ever be meant as applying to them, by implication, or otherwise -

Whether the majority have been a factious body, against the National Government, will be the real question to be tried-and on this we are at issue with a party in Massachusetts, as appears by the charge in the Indictment.

Perhaps it would be deemed improper to offer any further remarks on this subject, in the present juncture. But, we have a document before us, which will shew what latitude the Federal printers took in their remarks against the state authorities, when the late Vice-President Gerry was Chief Magistrate of this Commonwealth--and it will be distinctly observed, it is signed by DANIEL DAVIS, Esq. the present Solicitor General, who has filed the indictment against the Editors of the Yankee.

Report of the Attorney and Solicitor General to His Excellency Elbridge Gerry.

SIR--In obedience to your request of the 8th instant, we have carefully examined all the Newspapers, printed in the Town of Boston since the first of June, which were submitted to us, and which we found deposited in the Secretary's Office, and the result of that examination is herein submitted. We found in examining the Centinel that it contained matters, in our opinion libellous, in the following instances.

CENTINEL

In June, 1811, 12 Libels,

July, 10

August, 10

September, 3

October, 5

November, 6

December, 1

Jan. 1812, 2

February, 2

FIFTY-ONE,

REPERTORY

In June, 1811, 13

September, 6

October

November

Jan. 1812,

February, 2

THIRTY-FOUR.

BOSTON GAZETTE.

In June, 1811, 13

July, 12

September, 4

October, 1

November, 2

Jan. 1812, 1

THIRTY-THREE.

NEW-ENGLAND PALLADIUM.

In June, 1811, 13

July, 1

August, 2

Jan, 1812, 2

EIGHTEEN.

SCOURGE

NINETY-NINE

in all

WEEKLY MESSENGER, ONE.

Total Federal Libels--236.

CHRONICLE, from June 1811, to Nov. 25, EIGHT

PATRIOT, from June 1811; to December, NINE.

YANKEE--NONE.

Total Republican Libels 17.

In the foregoing statement, we have taken no notice of any scandal, or calumnious publications against any foreign government or distinguished foreigners, although according to the strict rules of the law of libels, such publications might be considered libellous, while the United States are in a state of amity with such foreign nations.-We have also forborne to notice any aspersions from the Editors of the different papers, upon their brethren of the type.

Where we have marked any part of a publication as libellous, the whole of the paragraph or publication is to be considered a part of this report, although the grosser sentences of them only are marked.

It may be worthy your Excellency's notice, that the Grand Jury of the County of Suffolk were dismissed about the first of Jan. ult. ; and that of the two hundred and fifty three libellous publications stated in this report, only fifteen of them bear date subsequent to that period. All which is respectfully submitted by your Excellency's most obedient and very humble servants,

PEREZ MORTON, Attorney General.

DANIEL DAVIS, Solicitor General.

Boston, February 20, 1812.

Governor Gerry made a communication to the Massachusetts Legislature, dated 28th February, 1812-uncovering the Report of the Attorney and Solicitor General, on the subject of Libels, of which the above is a condensed statement-shewing the number of Libels published in the several public papers printed in Boston. It also shows how impartial the Boston Grand Jury, was, at that time, towards the Republican printers, and their total abstinence from finding Bills and presenting the Federal printers. It will clearly develope the moral, and the party feelings, and the party purposes of those times-that while the Centinel contained FIFTY-ONE Libels-the Repertory THIRTY-FOUR-the Boston Gazette THIRTY-THREE & the Palladium EIGHTEEN —in all, two hundred and thirty-six LIBELs; the Chronicle and Patriot, during the same period of time, contained only seventeen-and the Yankee NOT ONE libel. Yet the Editors of the Chronicle were prosecuted on two indictments. and not one of the federal papers were presented. It is further to be remarked, that one of the Grand Jury at that time actually went into the office of the Chronicle and bought a paper so that they might make their conviction doubly sure-and the very man who bought the paper swore that he purchased it from an individual in the Chronicle office-when it afterwards appeared, that the person he said he bought it of, had not sold a paper in said office for many years, and was willing to make oath he never sold it to him. The Jury however found the Editors guilty, and they were imprisoned accordingly.

We really do not know how many Libels we may have published within the two last years, provided the British doctrine on Libels is established in our Boston Courts-"the greater the truth, the greater the libel." If this doctrine is established, we must plead guilty to many-for in defence of the National Government we have again and again asserted their prerogative, and their paramount power over the individual states-and more--we have maintained that any state that organized a party opposition against the National Government, published declarations that the war was unjust and unnecessary--that organized Conventions to controul their operations, protract the war, and dissolve the Union, are in fact, in relation to the National Government, a FACTIOUS BODY, so far as the conduct of a party in any state tends to paralize the energies of the Union, by an illegal interference in our national concerns. From this doctrine, and from these principles we will never recede--let the consequence be what it may

EDITORS OF THE YANKEE.