| Title: | T. A. Emmett, New York to Robert Simms, Belfast. |
|---|---|
| ID | 1009 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Emmet, Thomas Addis/25 |
| Year | 1805 |
| Sender | Emmett, Thomas Addis |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | New York, USA |
| Destination | Belfast, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Simms, Robert |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | friends |
| Source | T 1815/4: Copied by Permission of the Presbyterian Historical Society, Church House, Fisherwick Place, Belfast. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 8809103 |
| Date | 01/06/1805 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by JM 01:11:1993. |
| Word Count | 1471 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | To Robt Simms Esq Belfast From T.A. Emmett New York June 1st 1805 My Dear Friend With very great pleasure indeed I received yours from Belfast, & I am gratified that I continue to [preserve] that place in your esteem & friendship, for which I shall be even solicitous. You judge rightly as to the motives which induced me to leave [france?]. I there saw enough to comfirm me in the opinion I always maintained, that a permanent & useful union between virtue & vice is impossible that the virtuous & honest will always be deceived & injured by permitting any attempt at each a Union to be made. France is the Head Quarters of fraud, deceit & despotism, and under its present Rulers, no Nation or People that love Liberty need look for its honest cooperation. Wishing to doubt this truth, I remained there as long & went as far as my principles would permit, but when the opportunities I enjoyed both of observation & information, convinced me that if a french force even landed in Ireland its influence & strength would be employed to eradicate every vestige of republicanism, to pervert & corrupt the public mind, & then by a mixture of force, fraud & delusion but always under [colour?] & pretext of the public will, to establish a Government which should be modelled after that of the protecting Country. I use language that had been used to myself & in order the better to support that fabric, to profit by a Catholic Establishment, which the arrogant & self opiniated [self-opinionated?] destpot & his minions, obstinately & in the teeth of every evidence that could be produced, supposed would be highly gratifying to the Irish Catholics at large when I became satisfied that these views were entertained, if even it should become physically possible for the french to land a force in Ireland & that men or rather a man would be found who had laid the first foundation of a very unjustly acquired reputation by asserting the impolicy of any religious establishment, but who would now (to adopt the expression respecting him, of one who ought to know his secret compacts) make terms; & who after having disavowed his even having been Republican, in a pamphlet & which appeared with his name, at the very crisis that Bonaparte was declaring himself Emperor would I am convinced be selected under the Auspices of the Protecting Country, to be a greater man than Schimmelpennick is likely to be in Holland & to revive the ancient title of O Connor King of Ireland when I perceived all this I determined to fly from the Sanctuary of [Crimes?] & as I am incapable of compromising with the English Government, the constant & bloody [oppression?] of my Native Land, to retire to this happy Country, where Liberty is triumphant & cherished & where the principles to which I have sacrificed so much, would be a kind of portion to my Children. I write to you what are my own sentiments of England, france & Ireland, without adverting to what yours may be - because I should do the same thing to any friend or to any enemy, #PAGE 2 were he even a member of the English or Irish administrations, if I did not dread that he might pervert the terms of abhorrence in which I speak of france to something like [soliciting?] an amnesty or reconciliation, & from my soul I detest the English tyranny - but in truth I wish my sentiments to be known to my Countrymen at large, & I should long since have given them greater publicity, but for fear of the imputation I have mentioned, & of its being supposed that I wished to support the Dominion of England in Ireland. What your political sentiments may be I do not presume to know. I only write for the purpose of expressing my own, & I write them to one, of whom private friendship, abstracted from all political considerations I am confident. From my coming to this Country unaccompanied by any of my political friends, you might suppose that the opinions I have stated, are not entertained by them, & if you think me right, you would be inclined to censure them but would do them very great wrong. Many of them were entangled with situations they has entered into under the expectation of being useful & could not pursue any line of conduct as promptly as I have done I can say however that those, whom I have been in the habit of esteeming & loving coincided with me in every particular. That when the idea of a catholic establishment for Ireland was first broached in france, the Irish Catholics there of any consideration reprobated it in the most marked & decided manner & that my resolution of [quitting?] that Country, was approached on principle, by those who were so circumstanced as not to be able immediately to adopt the same conduct. I have the pleasure further to add that many of them have withdrawn from a military life, from the same motives, and devoted themselves to other pursuits - James Joseph McDonnell (whose name you must unquestionably heve heard of) arrived from Bordeaux on the 26th of May & he informs me that Mc Neven & Swiney were there, preparing to come here, & that Mc N's new stores were ready. I expect that others will follow them - & even of those who may remain behind, do not suppose that they all approve of or will endeavour to effectuate the views of france respecting Ireland. Some men there undoubtedly are, for whom I would not say so much, but (with the one exception) They are very little known or thought of at home. I rejoice My Dear Friend to think that the resolution you have taken of setting yourself & family here will withdraw you from scenes which I cannot but suppose must be extremely irksome, & from a Country, the future prospects of which appear to me extremely gloomy - believe me it is with pain I find that you are determined to defer your voyage for one year now. The determination to quit one's native home, natural connexions & ancient friends is so serious and important, that I would scarcely venture to advise it to any man, but you have taken the resolution & as your choice is made, I may say I do not believe you will even repent it - & I may [urge?] that every moment which you unnecessarily delay the execution of your [?] is so much thrown away out of your happiness in this country. As for myself, you will I am sure rejoice to learn that my good fortune here has been so complete - The exertions of my friends have procured me the permission of following my profession here, tho' [though?] an Alien, & not qualified by performing the usual preliminaries studies within the State. And my prospects in business are to the full as good as my most sanguine expectation even conceived. Within #PAGE 3 this fortnight or three weeks I have received a very large & troublesome addition to my family by the arrival of my three youngest boys from Dublin. They are in perfect health, & so much the harder to manage. I am now surrounded by eight children, equally divided as to sex. The three eldest, [your?] old fellow prisoners, are extremely well & very fine children your favourite Margaret tho' [though?] [inferior?] in beauty is perhaps the best & most valuable. They all remember you with very lively affection. The little Scotch lassie is a great beauty & a greater pet & the eighth is a brave American girl of only [two months?] old. I had another lovely little [Girl?] who died of the Chin Cough shortly [after?] we left France so much for my children - Mrs [Emmett?] who is as eager as I can be to see you, & desires the most affectionate remembrance to you would be very [tolerably?] if she did not perseverve in nursing, which never agreed with her but we are at this moment also labouring under the most crying grievance of America - the badness of Servants of which & the enormity of their wages you can scarcely form an idea. This in addition to [nursing?] has [?] & [?] was here When you come out, if there be any servant really attached to you & your family, that would accompany you from affection & not from speculation. [Jump?] at the proposal. Be so good to present my respects to Mrs Simms tho' [though?] I do not enjoy the pleasure of her acquaintance personally & to your Brother, who I hope has not forgotten me & believe me My Dear friend very sincerely yours T. A. Emmett |
