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ADDRESS 
 
 OF THK 
 
 COMMITTEE 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 Grafton Gmiittp Contention, 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Independent Electors 
 
 OF THE 
 
 COUNTY OF GRAFTON, 
 
 AND 
 
 STATE OF NEW-HAMPSHIRF- 
 
 V 
 
 \ 
 
 
 . 
 
 \ 
 
 CONCORD : 
 
 TR1STED BY GEORGE IIOUGK* 
 
 October, 1812. 
 
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 Grafton County Convention. 
 
 AGREEABLY to previous notification, about three thou- 
 sand of the friends of peace and got d order, assembled at Or ford 
 October 15, 1812. It is presumed Uiat no former occasion has 
 culled forth so large, and so respectable a collection of friends of 
 peace, in the State of New- Hampshire. 'I he assembly being 
 so numerous that thty could not be accommodated in the Meeting 
 House, a Stage xvas erected on the Common. On motion of the 
 Hon. Benjamin J. Gilbert, of Hanover, Col. Williairi Webster, 
 of Plymouth, xvas appointed Chairman, and Ephrain. Kings- 
 bury, Esq. of Haverhill, Secretary. The throne cf Grace xvas 
 then addressed in an appropriate and impressive manner, by 
 the Rev. Sylvester Dana, oj'Orford. The Hon. Moses P. Pay- 
 son, explained the objects of the meeting, in a handsome and 
 comprehensive jnanner. The assembly xvas then addressed by 
 John Nelson, Esa. and Col. Amos A. Brexvster, in a candid, 
 spirited, and able tanner. On motion that the Chairman should 
 nominate a Committee of ten, to draft an address to the Citizens 
 cf Grafton County, the following Gentleme.i xvere nominated 
 and appointed : * 
 
 Benjamin J. Gilbert, of Hanover, 
 
 A. G. Britton, of Orford, 
 
 John Rogers, of Ply?nouth, 
 
 Jabez H. Weld, of Plymouth, 
 
 Daniel Blaisde'l, of Canaan, 
 
 Joseph Bell, of 'Haverhill ', 
 
 David Smith, of Bath, 
 
 John Nelson, of Haverhil! i 
 
 Thomas Waterman, of Lebanon, 
 
 Mills- Olcott, of Hanover. 
 On motion that a Committee often, be nominated by the Chair- 
 man to draft and report Resolutions, expressing the sense of 
 Che meeting, the follozving Gentlemen xvere nominated and ap- 
 pointed: 
 
 William H. Woodward, of Hanover, 
 Phinehas Walker, of Plymouth, 
 Enoch Colby, of Thornton, 
 Amos A. Brewster, of Hanover*, 
 John Fairfield, of Lyme, 
 
4 
 
 Samuel Morey, of Or ford, 
 Moor Russell, of Plymouth, 
 Moses P. Payson, of Bath, 
 Ephraim Kingsbury, of Haverhill \ 
 Samuel Holmes, of Campion. 
 
 The Convention adjourned for one hour. On tnceti/ig arier 
 adjournment, the Hon. Benjamin J. Gilbert.fr the Committee 
 tv/io were appointed to prepare an address, reported tkefaliou - 
 tyg% which ivas read by Joseph Bell, Esq. and ukis unani- 
 mously adopted. 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 FELLOW CITIZENS, 
 
 T. HE periodical accountability of rulers to their Constit- 
 uents is the distinguishing characteristic of our Republican 
 Government — It is the " redeeming principle'* which the 
 "Wisdom of our Constitution has provided *,. remove, when 
 necessary from the Councils of the nation, corrupt or incom- 
 petent Kulers — to counteract the effects of rash, precipitate, 
 and impolitic measures — to check the presumptuous and un- 
 hallowed aspirings of unprincipled ambition, anc* to preserve 
 and perpetuate to the American people an administration of 
 the General Government all the unadulterated principles of 
 its original establishment. 
 
 But this constitutional privilege, fellow-citizens, to be as 
 inestimable in its practical operation, as it is unrivalled in 
 theoretical excellence, must be exercised with candor and in- 
 telligence, and maintained in its original purity with firmness 
 and independence. Let it but once become the passive instru- 
 ment of unprincipled ambitioH, or the prostituted organ of in- 
 furiated faction, and the boasted excellence of our civil insti- 
 tutions, is nothing but a name — our liberties are gene — our 
 Government is dissolved. 
 
 It requires no spirit of prophecy to predict, that if our Gov- 
 ernment is destined to add one more to the long listed obitu- 
 ary of Republics, the corruption and abuse of our electoral 
 rights will be the instrument «f its destitution — Our liber- 
 ties will only be commensurate wiih the jreedom and purity 
 of our elections. Our dangers are always the greatest when 
 our watchfulness is the least. From the perversion of our 
 rights we fondly imagine we have nothing to fear. But the. 
 tempter is not the less dangerous by appearing in the garb of 
 an angel of light, nor the' dingers to American liberty the 
 less to be dreaded by arising from its natural guardians and 
 protectors. 
 
It is an unquestionable truth that a great and enlightened 
 people can never be enslaved without their own consent : but 
 the uniform language of historv is, that the liberties and in- 
 dependence of nations have, in all ages, been sacrificed to the 
 gratification and advancement of ambitious and unprincipled 
 favorites. The people have first been flattered, then com- 
 manded ; — they have first been corrupted — slavery is then 
 their natural state. 
 
 But a single instance, fellow-citizens, within the recollec- 
 tion of us ail, still speaks to every intelligent friend to his 
 country in a language which cannot be miisunderstood„ and 
 ought not to be disregarded — Republican France is a name 
 still dear to the sympathies and recollections of many — Re- 
 publican France, a land that but lately rung with the songs oi 
 liberty, and resounded from the mouths of infatuated mill- 
 ions, with the shouts of equalitv, is now bending beneath the 
 insupportable weight of a Military Despotism. The songs 
 of liberty are hushed f u-ever— the shouts of equality are 
 drowned and lost amid the clangor of arms, the cries of suf- 
 fering innocence, and the resistless mandates of a ferocious 
 and inexorable Tyrant— And yet, fellow-citizens, it was a 
 prostitution of the sacred rights of Freemen — it was a corrupt 
 lion of the inestimable privilege on which our Republic is 
 founded — it was a mere mockery of the elective franchise thai 
 placed the Coroican Usurper on the throne of the Bourbons. 
 
 In the formation of a Government on the unalterable basis 
 of an originnl equality of rights and of persons, it was easy to 
 foresee diat a long continued and uninterrupted exercise oi 
 power Would sometimes corrupt the best, and that the low acts 
 of cunning, duplicity, and intrigue would sometimes elevate, 
 to dignified and responsible stations, the worst men in socie- 
 ty. It was, therefore, wisely left to the returning good sense 
 of 'the people, when thus misled and abused ; and when the 
 errors in policv, and the aberrations in practice of their Ru- 
 lers threatened the prostration of their dearest nights and the 
 annihilation of their most important interests, to apply an 
 efficient and salutary corrective to the evil, in tthe free, un- 
 biassed, and intelligent exercise' of their electoral privileges. 
 
 The important responsibility, fellow-citizens, has devolved 
 upon us, in common with our fellow electors throughout the 
 Union, of applying this sovereign aad salutary remedy to the 
 existing evils, the wounded honejr, and injured interests of 
 our common country. 
 
 The periodical return of our Representative and Pivesiden- 
 tial election, in the present embarrassed situation of cur na- 
 tional affairs, presents the most important question which 
 has been, submitted to our consideration and decision since 
 
the adoption of the Federal Constitution. We $re called up- 
 on to offer, by our suffrages, the seal of approbation ; or to 
 stamp reprobation and reproach upon the measures adopted 
 and the policy pursu.d by the present administration of" our 
 rational Government. This is an event peculiarly calculated 
 to awaken, in the minds of freemen, serious recollections of 
 the past, and anxious anticipations for the future. Undei 
 such circumstances, a review of the policy of our national 
 administration, conducted in the spirit of candor and concilia? 
 tion, and not for the purpose of recrimination and abuse, is 
 indispensable to the formation of rational a^d consistent opin- 
 ions of public men and public measures. While a disastrous 
 war is raging -without, and domestic dessentinns -v-thin— 
 while the armies of our enemy are spreading devastat on on 
 our borders, and her fleets sweeping our c< mmerce from the 
 ocean ; it is no time to awaken the remembrance of remedi- 
 less wrongs, or to inflame the animosities and sharpen the 
 bickerings of exasperated parties. The calamities which 
 threaten our country are great ; the spirit of unanimity, 
 moderation, and forbearance, should be great in proportion. 
 
 But while we thus bury in oblivion all subjects oi minor 
 complaints, and consider them as merged in the overwhelm- 
 ing calamities which, in a country like ours, must ever be the 
 concomitants of war ; we can never cfcase, but with the je- 
 moval of the cause, to raise the voice oi loud and deep remon- 
 strance against that imbecility and partiality in our councils, 
 which have already disgraced us abroad, and that rashness^ 
 improvidence, and precipitancy which now threaten the in- 
 discriminate ruin of all classes of our citizens at home. We 
 can never cease to depn cate that unfortunate system of 
 measures which has, to such an alarming and unprecedented 
 degree, demoralized our citizens — frittered down our nation- 
 al resources — paralized our national spirit of enterprise — 
 destroyed our once flourishing commerce — annihilated our 
 fisheries — impaired the energies and the resources of the 
 mechanic and the agriculturest ; and, in the commencement 
 of our hopes, cheek<. d the swelling buds and opening blossoms 
 of American prosperitv. 
 
 But the voice oi suffering and remonstrance alone will nev- 
 er replace our country on the proud eminence she has aban- 
 doned, nor restore to our citizens that unexampled prosperi- 
 ty which has been so wantonly sacrificed. We must raise 
 our voices and our exertions together — We must fullv ex- 
 amine the causes of our complaint — We must then fearlessly 
 apply the Corsiitutional remedy. We must cherish the vir- 
 tues, encourage the spirit, and imitate the examples of the 
 early ancestors of our liberties. Kad the Patriots of our 
 
Revolution but tamely yielded to the unwarrantable claims 
 and quietly submitted to the arbitrary impositions of an in- 
 fatuated ministry ; we should now have been subject to the 
 grasp of foreign domination, and locking up, with mingled 
 anxiety and gratitude, to the pampered minions of Royalty , 
 for the tardy distribution of the miserable fragments of our 
 ' Rights, to be dispersed as the caprice of power might dictate, 
 or pur Q\vn servility merit. 
 
 But thanks to the enlightened and discriminating minds of 
 the S kgesj and the invincible courage, constancy, and persever- 
 ance of the Heroes of our Revolution, our better destiny pre- 
 vailed. They saw, in the helpless youngling of oppression, the 
 future claws of the full grown monster. While tyranny was 
 but yet in the blossom — fair, attractive, and alluring, they fore- 
 saw the very gall and bitterness of its ripened fruit. They no 
 sooner saw this, than they wisely determined to resist the first 
 f:n<:roachments of arbitrary power, and " to pledge their liveSj 
 their fortunes, and their sacred honors'"' in defence of the rights 
 and iibet ties of their Country. They did resist and National 
 Independence, and the Federal Constitution, are the glorious re- 
 sults of their firmness and perseverance. 
 
 The history of our Country, during the short but eventful 
 period since the declaration of our independence, has displayed 
 all the varieties of fortune which have ever distinguished the 
 most favored and the most unfortunate of nations. We be- 
 hold it, at one time, illuminated with the brightest lights oi 
 prosperity ; and again shrouded in the darkest hues of adver- 
 sity. The different political systems for the administration oi 
 our national Government which have been matured, approved, 
 and supported by the partisans of the different political schools 
 which have divided the opinions of our country, have apparent- 
 ly been the instruments iu the production of these opposite and 
 successive effects. 
 
 Washington, the Father of his .Country, stands deservedly al 
 the head of the first system — Jefferson, the Author of our divi- 
 sions, and the idol of his party, as deservedly stands at the head 
 of the second. T he system of Washington was founded on tht 
 actual Constitution of human nature, the existing constitutions 
 of civil societies — it was a system of adequate defence, addressed 
 -co the fears and the interests of nations. The system of Jeffer- 
 son was professedly founded on what human nature shsuld be— 
 it was a speculative system of philosophical moderation, addressed 
 to an assumed and imaginary sense of national justice and forbear- 
 ance. The one was calculated to. defend our rights by force— 
 the other by remonstrance — The Soldier and Statesman of Monl 
 Vernon presented the olive branch in one hand, and the sword 
 of defence in the other. The Philosopher of Monticelio, with 
 one hand brandished his quill, and with the other unfurled hi; 
 parchment. 
 
Systems so radically different in their principles, must natur- 
 ally be expected to have produced as radical a difference in their 
 effects. Preparation and impartiality characterized the first— - 
 unprecedented prosperity was the natural results. Imbecility and 
 National Favoritism characterized the second— -individual miser? 
 and national degradation are the melancholy consequence'". 
 
 Contrast for a moment, fellow-citizens, the commencement 
 with the termination of the Federal adminis'iation. When our 
 national Government first went into operation the prospects of 
 our Country were dark, gloomy, and threatening — The spirit of 
 disorganization had already gone abroad, infused its poison into 
 all raiaks and descriptions of our citizens, and manifested strong 
 indications of the impending approach of some great national 
 convulsion. Revolutionary licentiousness had taken place of 
 the settled habits and well defined notioNis of "he early asserters 
 of liberty, and the principles of moral r'-ght and civil responsibil- 
 ity had to an alarming and unprecedented degree lost their 
 influence over society. The standard ol insurrection had been 
 openly unfurled in opposition to all settled law, and all regulat- 
 ed Government --public confidence, private credit and the re- 
 venues of the country were reduced to the lowest ebb. The 
 nervelts;? and palsied arms of Government was incompetent to 
 the enforcement of its own requisitions, and the disjointed and 
 Tuinous fabric of the Confederation v/as tottering to its fall and 
 tumbling into ruins. 
 
 At such a time and under such circumstances Washing: 
 was a second time entrusted with the preservation of his Coun- 
 try. The changes almost instantaneously produced, marked the 
 wisdom of the Statesman and the magnanimity of the Soldier. 
 Order arose out of the political chaos-— regularity, consistency, 
 and energy were introduced into every department of the Gov- 
 ernment. Systems of laws were established — Systems of rev- 
 enue organized, and the consequent re-establishment of public- 
 confidence and private credit cheered the droopings of dispon- 
 dency, and encouraged rational expectation. The vild fervor 
 of revolutionary frenzy was repressed or extinguished ; faction 
 for a time slumbered or slept. Agriculture flourished, the me- 
 chanic arts were encouraged, and the renovated spirit of com- 
 mercial enterprise whitened every sea with American canv. 
 and wafted into port the various productions of every clime. 
 
 Such were the consequences which naturally flowed from 
 the principles adopted and the policy pursued by the Washing- 
 ton administration. The history of this period will ever be re- 
 garded as tte minor of American Patriotism. The dispondin 
 mind even now rouses into activity, and the languid eve jleam ' 
 and sparkles at the recollection of those literally gulden day. 
 departed American prosperity. 
 
 But the political system of Washington passed away, UlA 
 wi'.h it the brilliant prospects, the prcud hopes, and elevated 
 
expectations of our rising country. The peaceful and econom* 
 zeal system of Jefferson, succeeded. — It was ushered into no- 
 tice with all the pomp of declamation, and all the parade o£ 
 profession. The destinies of a great and populous country, 
 abounding in wealth, and flourishing in commerce, happy at 
 home, and respected abroad, were committed to the untried 
 operation of a new and speculative system of measures. We 
 were exultingly told, that a new and splendid era was about to 
 commence — that domestic divisions, and party dissentions, 
 should be done away — that "political intolerance, as despotic 
 as n icked," should be banished from our councils forever^ 
 We were taught to expect, that under so wise, so just, and so 
 philosophic an administration, our rights would be respected, 
 without the trouble of defence— that peace would universally 
 prevail, and the "nations learn war no more." — But, fellow 
 citizens, how have these professions been fulfilled ? How 
 have these expectations been realized ? — Let the universal 
 proscription of all the friends to the former administrations, 
 who preferred removal from office, to the passive surrender 
 of the rights of Freemen, the liberty of Speech, and the inde- 
 pendence of opinion — Let our once flourishing country, now 
 3'inking under the pressure of commercial embarrassments, 
 and the burdens, the privations and the calamities of a war, 
 from whose premature commencement we had nothing to 
 hope — from whose weak and improvident prosecution we have 
 nothing to gain, declare to the American people, how these 
 professions were fulfilled, and how these expectations have 
 been realizrd. 
 
 The system of Jefferson was adopted to the. temporary feelings^ 
 not the permanent interests of the people. The tone cf our nation- 
 al feelings and sentiments, was artfully let down to accommodate 
 measures which nothing but the consistency of party had made 
 necessary, and to suit the speculative schemes of a visionary 
 theorist ; preparations for defence were systimatically abandon- 
 ed, as if human nature had undergone a miraculous change, and 
 a political millenium already commenced. This was a radical 
 error in policy- 1 - — while nations were literally rising up against 
 nation, and kingdom against kingdom, it was apparent to all men 
 of practical views, and unprtjudictd minds, that a nation ivithtut de* 
 fence, would soon be a nation without rights. But the experi- 
 ment has already been made, and experience has already given 
 judgment against it ; and now proclaims in language which can- 
 not be misunderstood, that if unprepared to repel aggressions 
 on our rights, and effectually to punish the aggressors, w r e have 
 nothing to expect from the pretended justice, moderation and 
 forbearance of natiens, but repetitions of insult and reiterations 
 of injury. 
 
 Q 
 
10 
 
 But this radical error in policy, fellow citizens, has eventu- 
 ally been productive of the most disastrous consequences to our 
 Country. From this culpable neglect of the fundamental max- 
 im of national policy, "in peace, prepare for war," has resulted, 
 that wavering, inefficient and contradictory system of measures, 
 which have reduced our country from a state of unexampled 
 prosperity, to national wretchedness and degradation. The 
 want of adequate preparation for defence, combined with the local 
 interests, attachments, and the foreign antipathies and partialities of 
 our Rulers, has led to the adoption of a system of commercial 
 restrictions, a species of commercial warfare, as abhorrent to the 
 feelings, as it is destructive to the interests of the American peo- 
 ple. These causes, combined, have led to the adoption of the 
 the Continental System of France , they hare chained our coun- 
 try to the car of the Conquerer of Europe ; they have plunged 
 us into a war, avowedly for conquest, in which there is no as- 
 signable object that war can effect, which Patriotism can ap- 
 prove.— It is a fact, fellow citizens, as disgraceful to the Amer- 
 ican name, as it is unnerving to the energies, and appalling to the 
 spirit of American Patriotism that we are now virtually righting 
 the Battles of France. The'disgraee, and the disasters of the 
 vanquished may be ours ; but the advantages of victory will be 
 exclusively hers. The cause of the only Republic on earth, is 
 identified in fact, if not inform, with the cause of the Destroyer 
 of all the Republics of Europe. On what other system, fellow 
 citizens, can we account for the whole system of our Commer- 
 cial Restrictions, our Non-Importations, Non- Intercourse and 
 Embargoes, so injurious to ourselves and so exactly corresponding, 
 in time and principle, with the views and .interests of France ? 
 How else shall we account, for our premature declaration of war, 
 with comparatively no preparations for attack or defence, by 
 sea or by land ? How tkt shall we account for an inter- 
 course apparently so friendly between the Cabinets of the 
 two Countries, after we had once been made the dupes of the 
 most infamous political manoeuvre which ever disgraced the 
 diplomatic intercourse of civilized nations ? But, especial- 
 ly, fellow-citizens, how eke shall lie account for the rejec- 
 tion of the armistick, the precursor of peace ^ and the con- 
 tinuance of the horrors and the calamities of war, alter the 
 ■notorious removal oj its principal cause, in the revocation of 
 the British Orders in Council I 
 
 These, and similar fact3, fellow-citizens, so consistent with 
 the interests of FRANCE, and so inconsistent with any other 
 interest, produce in our minds a conviction as strong, ik as 
 if a voice from Heaven should declare it — that there is a se- 
 cret understanding— that there is a fatal foreign influence 
 grating in our Councils, which) without the timely efforts of 
 
II 
 
 the people to counteract It by a change of Rulers, will lay our 
 Freedom in the dust."* , 
 
 Let our exertions then, fellow-citizens, correspond with 
 our belief. Let our efforts to counteract u this fatal foreign 
 influence" be prompt, be vigorous, be unanimous. Let party 
 dissentions and animosities be sacrificed on the altar of the 
 public Good. Let us not be prevented by sinister views and 
 local or temporary interests, from making one great and 
 strenuous effort to save our common country from the inex- 
 tricable abyss before us. Let us, by a firm, united, and in- 
 telligent exercise of our electoral rights, restore, once more, 
 to the Councils of the Nation that well regulated and con- 
 siderate energy, wisdom, and impartiality which distin- 
 guished the administration of the Father of his Country. 
 
 WILLIAM WEBSTER, Chairman. 
 
 Ephraim Kisgslury Secretary, 
 
 * Speech of the Hon. George Sullivan, to the Rockinglutm 
 
 ^Convention* 
 
Resolutions. 
 
 William II. Woodward, Esq. for the Committee to prepare 
 Resolutions, reported the following, winch were read by the 
 Secretary, and unanimously adopted. 
 
 Refohect\ That we claim the right to aflemblc 
 in an orderly and peaceable manner to confult on 
 the common good as guaranteed by the Conftitu- 
 tion of this State, and recognized by the Conftitu- 
 tion of the United States ; and vtzfolemnly protejl 
 againft the recent defpotic dogmas of thofe who 
 denounce the exercife of this right. 
 
 Refolved^ That we confider the Conftitution of 
 the United States, which was the Ark of our po- 
 litical Salvation, as wifely calculated, when well 
 adminiftered, to advance the profperity of our 
 country, and confequently to promote individual 
 happinefs ; and that we had fondly anticipated a 
 courfe of falutary meafures, an uninterrupted fcene 
 of profperity ; but it is with deep regret we fo foon 
 witnefs a reverfe which threatens the deftrucYion of 
 our falrejl hopes. 
 
 Refolved, That the common good of a people 
 cfTentially depends on the honed and faithful ad- 
 ministration of the government, and civil inftitu- 
 tions ordained by thewfelvcs for the prefervation of 
 all their rights ; and we are decidedly of opinion 
 that this common good has been much impaired 
 by the prefent and late administration of our Gov- 
 ernment, in the adoption of many meafures of anti- 
 republican tendency — Vaft acceflions have been 
 made to our territory at an enormous expenfe. 
 New States are created without the limits of the 
 original compact, and united to the body ; — oui 
 
*3 
 
 frontiers, which were at ft/ft extenfive, are now 
 immenfe, and not defenfible." A navy, which had 
 begun to be refpe&ed and promiied great advan- 
 tages, is nearly annihilated. Commerce and agri- 
 culture proftrated, an overflowing treafury reduc- 
 ed to beggary. The lacred right of debate in our 
 national councils grofsly violated under the bane- 
 ful influences of a hateful foreign defpot ; the ener- 
 gies of the nation have been impaired by futile 
 fyfterns of coercion, and its fpirit and refources are 
 wafted by ill-timed and imbecile efforts to profe- 
 cute a war for the conqueft of a petty colony of 
 Great-Britain — a war which we confider prema- 
 ture y impolitic y mexpedient \ unjujl, and ruinous to 
 our Country — 2. war of conqueft \ inconfiftent with 
 the genius of our Government, for the profecution 
 of which, attempts are made to detach the Militia 
 of the refpeclive States on expeditions never con- 
 templated by the framers of our National compact. 
 
 Refolvcd, That we are alarmed that our dele- 
 gates in Congrefs, forgetting their conftitutional 
 difqualifications, have, in the face of the people, 
 afTumeu to be electors of Prefident and Vice-Prefi- 
 dent of the United States. 
 
 kiefolvtd, That we deeply lament that the ar- 
 miftice which was entered into between General 
 Dearborn and the Governor of Lower Canada, was 
 not ratified by Piefident Madifon ; his rejection of 
 which, in our view, indicating not merely an in- 
 difpofition {ox peace with, but a fettied and inveter- 
 ate hojldity againft Great-Britain , and portending 
 what we hull more dread, z.fuhfcr'o'unce to the inter- 
 efts of the grand Dcftroyer of Liberty. 
 
 Refolvcd^ That we are fin cere friends of the 
 union ofthefe States, and cordially denounce every 
 meafure and deprecate every event which tends in 
 
H 
 
 the fmallcj} degree to weaken the bond of this 
 union. 
 
 Refolved, That it is the duty of every patriot to 
 learch into the myfteries which invelope our belov- 
 ed Country, and to inquire into the caufes of the 
 calamities which every portion of our land already 
 iuffers, and thofe (till more dreadful which threat- 
 en ; and with the ardor of republican freemen, 
 fhive by all jujl means, to ftay their further 
 progrcfs. 
 
 Resolved, That judging of the qualifications of 
 men by their meafures, we* are compelled to fay, 
 that the prefent rulers of our Country have forfeited 
 the confidence repofcd in them by the people, and 
 are no longer entitled to their fupport. 
 
 Refolved, That after being deprived of many 
 privileges, which constituted a part of our birth- 
 right, and threatened with the deftruction of the 
 residue, it is our indispenfable duty to adopt all hon- 
 eft and honorable meafures to replenifh our nation- 
 al councils with men of integrity, talents and infor- 
 mation, and fuch as fhall be entitled to the blcfling 
 of peace-makers. 
 
 Rcfclved, That in times of peril, like the prefent, 
 when dangers are thickening around us, and de- 
 ltrucYion (tares us in the face, it is the duty of every 
 Citizen to abandon all minor points of political 
 altercations, and we therefore highly approve the 
 nomination of the Hon. John Goddard, in the 
 Electoral Ticket of our friends, the friends of peace 
 and commerce in this State. 
 
 Refolved, That repofmg great confidence in the 
 talents, integrity, and patriotifm of the Hon. John 
 Goddard, Oliver Peabody, Samuel Hale, Nathan 
 Taylor, Timothy Farrar, Benjamin West, Caleb 
 Ellis, & Jonathan Franklin, who have been nomina- 
 
ted by our fellow citizens in other parts of the State, 
 we agree by every fair and honorable meafure in 
 our power, to promote their election as electors of 
 Prefident and Vice Prefident of the United States ; 
 and have like confidence in the qualification, of 
 Daniel Webster, Bradbury Cilley, William Hale, 
 Samuel Smith, Roger Vose, and Jeduthun Wilcox, 
 Esqrs. we engage in like manner, to fupport their 
 election as Reprefentatives to Congrefs : And re- 
 commend thefe tickets to the Citizens of this 
 
 County. 
 
 William Webster, Chairman, 
 Attest, £. Kingsbury, Secretary, 
 
 On motion of Hon. B. J. Gilbert, it was voted, that the' 
 proceedings of this meeting, together with the Address and 
 and Resolutions, be copied for publication ; and that they be 
 signed by the Chairman and countersigned by the Secretary. 
 
 The exercises were then closed with prayer, by the Rev* 
 Mr, Webber, of Campton. 
 
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