Gazette Of The United States And Daily Evening Advertiser

For the Gazette of the United States.

MORE ADVICE TO A PARTY.

Whatever is popular, you must pretend to be for—whatever is unpopular, you must be against: but you must not stop there for you will not fail to raise a hue and cry against the other party, as if they were against all popular measures, and advocates of all such as are obnoxious. Cases will arise too which will call for a relaxation of this rule of courting popularity. The people were steadily bent on peace, and on peace measures—They approved the proclamation of neutrality; and the fitting out privateers in our sea-ports was abhorred by all, except some gangs of cut-throats. Yet you were obliged to make a seeming popularity in favour of Genet and privateering. What was done then might, on other urgent occasions, be done again. Your lying newspapers will call you the People—your clubs, if they should not become too infamous to help your cause, will swear to it, and will proceed to vote the officers of government out-laws—you can keep up a clamour that will drown the still, small voice of conscience, and the remonstrances of real patriots. One newspaper can make as much noise as a bell; and every one knows that if the bell-ringer takes it into his head to ring for fire, nobody can prevent an alarm.

When you get into scrapes, and the law snaps hold of you, nothing is easier than to club and pack a jury to let you off. Only remember, that such elect remedies should not be made too common.

Nothing could be better conducted than your system, since the arrival of Genet, except in one point, and then you missed it. You hurried matters too fast: you mistook your own noise for the voice of the people—and so you failed for that time.

Take better care another time; make haste slowly, and let mischief ripen on the tree, before you gather it. One false step of the party, especially that of the whisky insurrection, should make you prudent and wary; and then your final success is almost beyond the risk of accidents. You will be most terrible after your defeat.

Hamper and obstruct every salutary proposition with constitutional doubts. All the half-wits will believe, and all the knaves will proclaim, that your quibbles are profound principles, and your hints of possible inconvenience, inspired foretellings of certain ruin and despotism. It will grow into a habit that every good thing is unconstitutional. All measures of energy, of system, and order, fall, naturally, under these objections. Order in our finances is an encroachment on the constitution; therefore, in a short time, you may abolish the treasury department, and appoint a committee of fifteen to be sole financier and secretary. In the progress of things, you may disband the army, and instead of regular troops, employ militia at a three-fold expense.

This will display the glory of your economy—it will swell your praises at the next election, as haters of a standing army—it will glorify you also as the champions and trumpeters of the militia. You will find even a militia army the object of jealousy—and, therefore, you should democratize it, and vest the command in a committee of fifteen; or in the town-meeting of the state-house yard. In that case no Cromwell leader, no conquering Caesar could rise from a general to a monarch.

Make a motion to reduce the exorbitant compensations; but, mind, let your zeal in pressing it be active or forbearing, according to circumstances—for, tho' it is a good thing to move, it would be a bad one to carry. It would be self murder for the party to reduce salaries, or the public debt, because you want all subjects of complaint to be kept in full force, power, and virtue; and you will be reduced, by reducing the public debt—therefore, as you regard your life and being, keep that debt up as high as you can, all the time cursing it, and cursing those who are in earnest to pay it off, because they deem it a public blessing. It is true, they neither say any such thing, nor do they omit any occasion to prove the contrary by their votes: But stand to it that they are the political heretics, whose faith is pinn'd on the public debt. Forbid foreign noblemen to settle here; but make the rabble of Paris welcome. You may have occasion for them to superintend your lamp-posts, and to assist at the celebration of your tenth of August and second of September.

Thus while the times are prosperous and quiet, good men will be supine and negligent—the voice of the real people will not be raised; you may then act almost unresisted. Your laws of suspicion, jealousy, and accusation, will be heard; you may sow the seeds of clubs, insurrections, and tumult, in every soil—as the devouring insects are employed in the first warm weather of the spring to lay their eggs under the moss and bark of the trees; in due time they hatch out, and become caterpillars and cankerworms.

In times of danger and trouble, the passions of the multitude will be up, and you will have the direction of them; no matter what sets passion up, and pulls reason down, you will rise by it into power and consequence. Good times will increase your strength—bad times will call it forth.

Public prosperity is not the time for you to execute your schemes; it is, however, the time to prepare them. But prosperity has, in all countries, its ebbs and flows. America will have, again, days of sorrow and alarm—that will be your time. The heroes, the statesmen, the patriots who now oppose you, and hold up the government, will wear out, or become weary and disgusted, and retire from office. Men, after my own heart will, one by one, in time of peace, or a host at once, in case of confusion, succeed to the helm. The ship of state will then be your prize, and the cargo will belong to the captors: Therefore, if you love power, wait for it—be low, and cautious in your measures, and remember, that the power of party, which never ceases to act—which is changed, but not impaired by defeat—which is proof against shame, against principle, and against force, will prevail at last.

Your imprudence may delay your success, but cannot finally prevent it.

ANARCH.