The Wilmington Centinel

              vol.1 " t h r £ ~ numb 3 i ; wilminston clftntinei and g e n e r a l a d v ertple r w e d n e s d a y december io 1788 ■ * for the c e n t i n e l continued from our hft to the members who compofed the majority in the late convention gentle men ) . having fully come up to my undertaking under the firft point i hall now enter upon the ie cond which you know was to exa mine into the rcafons and evidences upon which you have complimented yourfelves in fo extraordinary a man ner the only moral certainty we can - have for the faithful and judicious diichargc of delegated trufts is by fix ing our choice upon men of under standing and experience and whofe moral characters generally comport with the firft and acknowledged prin ctprftrs jf guvci umenn thb dcicrip tion will neceftarily take in the moft dignih*ed;charac1:ers,and thofe who hold the moft cenfpicuous and weighty charges in the fevtral departments of government italfoftill further fup pofes them to be generally paft that period of life in which the unruly paf fions but too frequently interfere and to have arrived more immediately un der the guidance of reafon if i am right thus far i think i may clearly af fert that the philadelphia convention comes tally under the defcription in every particular ; at leaft there is eve ry moral evidence which things of fuch a nature can poffibly admit to induce the belief a majority held the firft places of truft in the late war which effected a revolution that attracted the notice and admiration of the earth 3 and not a few have acquired charac ters both in the cabinet and field equal to any of the moft exalted nations of europe crn produce their impor tance was not the work of a day — was not the fortuitous production of tu multuous war j a goodly number were confpicuous characters for a feries of years prior to the revolution — they were the virtual choice of the freemen of america through the mediation of their feveral ftatc reprefentatives in whom there always exifts a prc fumption of judgment fuperior to the people at large if the above prerftfes < arc true i may fairly conclude ifcnuift have been a truly augoft and fnportant aflem bly~auguft from lie refpcctability of its mcmbcrs^itnp>rtaii r from the weighty objeft of its liberations and confequently the reftjt of their united councils claimed wlhotjt exception the higheft efteem the prof oundeft veneration | now gentlemen ifter having taken a fummary view of ttic gran conven tion i fhaif turn to jott,-an^i«e whe j ther you will rife in he fqaie o cornel parifon(as you ought after having made a virtual aaaupciation of your fuperiority have you gentlemen or a majority of you hewn in the elevated truits of fociety •?.. have youjgiven equal prdofs of your abilities i and have your op portunities been tqpal to thofc wi 1 whom you are coni&ftcd ? have yo u ■ approached to them with refpeel to mi litary fame during the war and where isyour name has your patriot iim as members bf the republic ab ftraftedly confidered been a matter of acknowledged notoriety ? or ever has any of your profeffionai abilities been extenfively confeffed ? no ! no ! is the reply of general knowledge to each of thofe folemn interrogatories i acknowledge a number have filled and continue to fill rcfpechblc ftati ons enough but entirely ofafeconda ry nature with refpe6r to thofe with whom you are compared a number alfo have acquitted ycurfclvcs worthy of y«ur rcfpeclive trufts and a num ber of you indifferently enough god knows and a circumftance well wor thy of obfervation and which is ftrikingly againft you is that by far the mod refpectable charafters of the convention were of tfil minority upon the whole it fufficiemly ap pears that you ftand entirely deftitute of any grounds or colour of rcafon for complimenting your abilities in the manner before fpecified ; but on the other hand there appears to have been an infinite propriety of evidences for paffing a compliment in its nature the very reverfe without you mean to fay that knowledge and integrity are not always found in the confpicuous chara&ers but rather in the more humble and private walk of life such a mode of reafoning will then lead from one defcent to another til ultimately thofe endowments are only to be procured in the very fcum of god's creation to be continued commodious dwell klr ing-house kitchen gar c k c * fltuat m marktf-ftreet late ly wupied by mrs margaret hill alfo by the month or week three good house for terms apply to john hill and , w h hill december 3 1788 to the public the fubferiber propofes opening a scheot in this town for the purpofe of teaching rtading writ arithmetic engltjh grammar and ceogrjby :— alit wifli to have thc.r ch^dren inftruttcd as above may l^nd that thegrcateft care flxall be taken to give fetisslion jfaac sejions tayeth-vilk n.v 15 1788 3 s _ 3g bowen & howard have for sale at their office near the market writing paper by the ream or fingle quire blank account books the chorifter's companion contain ing the neceffary rules of pfalmody a choice collection of pfalm tunes hymns and anthems alfb the american singing-book contain ing the rules of pfalmody and a large number of excellent pfalm tunes wrapping paper , pafte board for bonnets sealing wax ] ink-powder : ink-stands and i blanks of all kinds an excellent guittar for s a l e - : . . » . enquire of the printer