turer to deprive him of the honour of giving name, as he had birth, to half the globe. But the Florentine explorer of the fouthern continent, Americus Vefputius, with all his addrefs, might not have fucceeded, had not his christian name eafily admitted a termination fimilar to that of two other quarters of the earth, and furnished a correfponding found with that of the oppofite continent of Africa. With a view of rendering a partial retribution to the memory of the illuftrious difcoverer of the western world; in fome degree to vindicate public gratitude, as well as to affign a name to the new nation, which our revolutionary war had created, reiterated, private attempts were made to denominate the extenfive country which compofes the dominions of the United States, COLUMBIA; but hitherto without fuccefs. And the term Columbians feems confined to orators, and poets, who retain it for the purpose of aiding a fonorous fentence, or rounding a mufical period. So difficult is it to produce an alteration in any popular ufage, which has obtained the fanction of time; unless the amendment is juftified by public authority, and becomes the language of the laws. The philofophic hiftorian of the two Indies, puzzled for a more fuitable diftinction, denotes us Anglo-Americans. An amphibolous compound, in the affumption of which, the Abbe Raynal has been followed by moft of the foreign geographers. And it is not uncommon to find the inhabitants of the United States ftyled by British writers, the ci-devant colonists; and fometimes the people of the revolted colonies. Nor ought we to complain at being fubjected to fuch a mongrel defcription, fo long as we continue unclaffed among other nations, by the public neglect of granting to the people of the United States the right of affuming a specific name. There is a pride of country inherent to the human character. A Swifs would refent being called a Neapolitan; and fo would a Creek Indian, if miftaken for a Tufcarora. A national diverfity marks the phyfical, as well as geographical and political boundaries of different regions, in a barbarous, equally with a cultivated state of ciety. Hence a natural, if not ftrong reafon, given by negroes negroes for their diflike of mulattoes; becaufe, fay the blacks, Mulatto be no gotee no country. Aware how much easier it is to fubvert than to fupply, I would not wifh to efcape from the task of furnishing a name in fome meafure appropriate, if I dared to hazard the ridicule that muft attach to fo prefumptuous an attempt by an obfcure individual. Permit me then, fir, only to fuggeft, that the vast territory included within the limits of the United States, exhibits a fcale of production on which nature has ftamped her boldeft features. Her lakes and mountains, forests and rivers, aftonish, while they diftinguish this from all other countries, and might juftify a title of the proudeft import. But the obftacles which prefent themfelves against affixing an appellation, thus geographically defcriptive, and at the fame time applicable to the inhabitants, are various, if not infuperable; whereas the recollection that the national diftrict of Co LUMBIA will very foon contain the capital of the empire, irrefiftably forces upon the mind a term which fuperfedes the difficulty; has long been familiar to our cars, and would therefore, moft probably, be cheerfully acquiefced in by a majority of the citizens of the United States; and its adoption be fpeedily, and effectually, communicated to all foreign countries through the medium of the cuftomhoufe, by an infertion in the regifter of every veffel, and other official fifcal certificates. Why Columbian is not equal, in found and meaning, to that of Hibernian, or Caledonian, is left to the difcovery of thofe who prefer the terms Scotch and Irish only becaufe they contain fewer fyl lables, and are beft understood in vulgar parlance. The ancient and modern hiftory, both of civilized, and barbarous nations, afford many examples of a whole people deriving a name from the metropolis of their refpective countries; and a few, adopting that of their particular founders, or primary legiflators; but in neither do we find any nation, the citizens of the United States excepted, who were not diftinguished by a peculiar appellation, differing from that of their government. Although there may not at prefent be any grounds for apprehenfion that our inhabitants, like thofe of one of the fates of Greece, may be fubjected to a nick-name; under W [Vol. vi.] which which hiftory has preferved their records, and which, even at this diftant period, continues proverbial; yet it is not impoffible, without fome public provifion against it, that they may be faddled with one, founded on accident, whim, caprice, refentment or ridicule, and which may obtain a foreign currency, from a concurrence of circumftances, in defpite of every effort to control it. The youth and fair fame of our nation, the compara tive paucity of our population, the innovations, and reforms, which mark the prefent eventful æra, all confpire to facilitate the adoption of a name fuited to our circumftances as an independent people; and which, there can Tan be little doubt, that the reft of the world would acquiefce in, after the fame fhall have received a governmental fanction, and have been declared by the fupreme authori ty of our country, as the name and defignation, by which the free citizens of thefe United States, fhall, forever thereafter, be known and called. I am, &c. JAMES SULLIVAN, Efq. Prefident of the WILLIAM TUDOR. LETTER FROM HIS LATE EXCELLENCY JONATHAN TRUM- DEAR SIR, Lebanon, 31st August, 1779. HAVE the honour and pleasure to acknowledge the firft and triplicate letter, dated 7th December, 1778; the former came to hand the 18th inftant, the latter about three weeks ago, by Capt. Niles, from France. The duplicate came to Philadelphia; Mr. Erkelens took it, and unhappily irrecoverably loft it, in Connecticut river, to his and my grief, as it was the firf that arrived. I do fincerely thank you for the communication; and your kind offer of correfpondence is very freely embraced. The letters I fent, I feared were not received ceived, or were neglected. Col. Derks kindly offered to fee the quadruplicate delivered. That gentleman's polite and agreeable behaviour and difpofition inclined me to make another attempt, to be fure of its delivery. Before your receipt of that, fent by him, I am agreeably entertained with your's. In confequence, fhall embrace every opportunity to carry on a correfpondence, which, I truft, may be mutually acceptable, and prove beneficial to the public, especially to this fpringing in the wilds of America. The firft English emigrants, who came to fettle here, I were a fet of pious people, perfecuted in England, removed to Holland in the year 1608. They remained in Leyden, - until one hundred and one removed to New-England in 1620. They began on a bay, and built a town called Plymouth. The next adventurers, likewife for the fake of religion and liberty, came over in the fpring of 1630; with the venerable governor Winthrop at their head, they begun another fettlement, on a fmall bay, about forty miles northward of Plymouth. They built Salem, Charlef town, Bofton, and very foon a number of other towns, and planted chriftian churches in them, with a number of godly minifters. They were driven from their native land on account of their religious principles, endured great hardships, yet they beheld many admirable acts of God's providence towards them, both in their voyages to this new country, and in their fettlements, furrounded by barbarous favages, and wild beafts. In all, God was their fun and fhield; they profpered and flourished, and foon became able to raife neceffary provifions; yet, not long after their arrival, they were perfecuted by their enemies in England. The divine protector and preferver of men guarded and bleffed them in their new beginnings. E In 1640, governor Winthrop, in his Journal, inferts the following paffage, viz, "Upon the great liberty which the "king left the parliament to in England, fome of our "friends there wrote to us, advifing, to fend over fome "to folicit for us in parliament, giving us hopes we might "obtain much but confulting about it, we (the gov"ernor and affiftants, convened in council) declined the "motion for this confideration, that if we should put ourfelves under the protection of parliament, we must "be "be fubject to all fuch laws as they fhould make, or at leaft "fuch as they might impofe on us; in which courfe, "though they fhould intend our good, yet it might prove very prejudicial to us." Here obferve, that as at this time, fo it hath been ever fince, that the colonies, fo far from acknowledging the parliament to have a right to make laws binding on them in all cafes whatsoever, they have ever denied it in any cafe, vtile Ho Oc In Auguft, 1635, a number of people removed and fettled a town called Windfor, on Connecticut river. tober following, another company fettled a fecond town, about twelve miles below, on the fame river, called Weathersfield. The next month, a fort was begun at Saybrook, at the entrance of that river. Thirty-firft of March following, Mr. Hooker, paftor of the church at Newtown, in the Maffachufetts-Bay, with moft of his congregation, removed and fettled a town between Windfor and Weathersfield, which they named Hartford. It was uncertain, at that time, whether thefe towns were not within the limits and jurifdiction of the Maffachufetts. It was foon found they were not. The inhabitants in them met, formed a conftitution of government, and entered into folemn agreement thereon, dated January 14, 1638, copy of which is inclofed. Under this original charter, formed by thefe people, an independent government was eftablifhed, and adminiftered until 1662. During this time, many more towns were fettled, and chriftian churches organized. Thus a government is formed on Mr. Locke's plan, near the time of his birth, as many others had been even from early time. Our predeceffors, from apprehenfions of danger, and with views of protection, applied to the king of England, the nation we are derived from, for a charter; whereby they and their fucceffors fhould have protection, and enjoy all liberties and immunities of free and natural fub. jects within any of his dominions: which was granted, we yielding and paying therefor, to him, his heirs, and fucceffors, only the fifth part of the ore of gold and filver, in lieu of all other fervices, duties, and demands whatever copy of which is inclofed. From whence it ap ap pears |