not attend exclusively to the mere affairs of the
state, with its relative duties, and leave the great world to the
legislation of its great Creator, you had better allow him to retire
to Northampton, there to study in silence how to govern his own heart,
and how to work out his own salvation, instead of continuing the tool
of a turbulent and vicious party. I still think Mr. Strong is a man of
good intentions, and an honest patriot; but that he has been deluded
by artful men, who in their scheme of governing the whole nation have
found their account in placing at the head of their party in
Massachusetts, a man of correct morals and manners, and of a reputed
religious cast of mind. But Mr. Strong should reflect; and being a
phlegmatic man, he is able to reflect calmly, and consider things
deliberately. He should reflect, I say, on the impression his
remarkable conduct must have on the minds of his countrymen, who have
risked their lives, and are now suffering a severe bondage in that
great national cause of "FREE TRADE AND NO IMPRESSMENT," which led the
American people to declare war against Britain, by the voice of their
representatives, in congress assembled. How strange, and how painful
must it appear to us, and to our friends in Europe, that the governor
of a great state should lean more towards the Prince Regent of
Britain, than to the _President_ of the _United Stales_! If,
therefore, we consider Mr. Strong as a sensible and correct man, and a
true patriot, his conduct as _governor of Massachusetts_, especially
as to _the time_ of organizing a convention, of which the English
promised themselves countenance and aid, must have appeared more than
strange to us in captivity.

If we contemplate the character of the leading men of that party which
put into office, and still support Governor Strong, and with whom he
has co-operated, we cannot clear this gentleman of reproach.
Previously to our late contest with Britain, it was the unceasing
endeavor of the leaders of the federal party to bring into discredit,
and contempt, the worthiest and best men of the nation; to ridicule
and degrade every thing American, or that reflected honor on the
American Independence. So bitter was their animosity; so insatiate
their thirst for power, and high places, that they did not hesitate to
advocate measures for the accomplishment of their grand object, which
was _to get into the places of those now in power_. How often have we
seen t