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An honest developement of their causes and consequences is likely to be received with distrust or impatience ; — to be resisted or evaded by the feelings of present interest, by self-love, by va- nity, by groundless hopes, and idle wishes. Anxiety and fear are troublesome companions — if they cannot be put to silence, they must be dismissed. As I can- not minister to the appetite for incredible rumours, I feel that I am an unwelcome messenger; for I am as utterly ignorant of the progress of negotiation at Washington, as I am sure of its fruitless termination. I am fully aware, that there is a reluctance in the human mind, to admit truths which interfere with pre- sent pursuits or interests, which perplex the calcula- tions of prudence, and demand exertion to prevent or mitigate calamity. Men borrow confidence from their hopes, and resist conviction as they would an enemy. He then who disturbs their treacherous repose, their delusive dreams of safety, by shewing them the giant form of danger, is regarded as an intruder, if lie is not assailed as a foe. 176011 These considerations, so inauspicious to my hopes, shall not deter me from the honest discharge of what I deem to be a duty. And could I discern in the pub- lie mind, a willingness to iix its attention upon the causes which have brought the country to its present critical state, I should not altogether despair of its fortunes. A general conviction of the dangers which threaten its peace and liberties, would give energy enough to public opinion to prevent the shock of a Bri- tish war. But unless more just opinions prevail among the soundest portion of the community, upon the cau- ses and consequences of such a war ; unless the pub- lic mind, f^enerally, can be touched with fear, and kin- died into activity, war, at no distant period, with its long train of evils, must come. I do not undertake to prophesy the exact time of this event; it is enough to know that the temper and policy of the administration will one day bring it to pass : And it is chiefly owing to a spirit of forbearance, growing out of the unexam- pled situation of Great Britain, that we are not now at war with her, and fast bound to the destinies of France. That spirit of hostility in the administration towards Great Britain, one great source of their power, as well as its aliment, which gains strength by an association with the honest prejudices of federalists ; and above all, the appaling demands of France, which cannot be resisted without the sacrifice of the feelings, interests, and power of a party ; must issue in a British war — an unhallowed war to us — without the sanction of jus- tice or necessity ; which Can bring no glory or secu- rity with it ; but which must involve the safety of the public liberties in its progress, and close with the loss of our name as an independent nation. I ' i Deeply impressed with the justness of these senti- ments, and indulging a faint hope that I may find ** fit audience, though few," I propose to examine the pre- sent popular grounds of complaint against Great Bri- tain. These I shall comprise under the following heads : — 1. I'he impressment of our seamen. 2. The orders in council. These embrace the principal topics of complaint which are now urged by the administration, and seem to limit the angry declamations of its supporters. For since France has settled the question of the colonial trade, it is no longer claimed as a right ; since the traffic in imperial licences is publicly driven in our great cities, little is heard of the late British transit du- ty ; and since the brilliant achievement of the frigate President, the affair of the Chesapeake has ceased to in- terest the public feeling. It is often repeated, that the impressment of our seamen is justifiable cause of war. It is a theme full of irritation, and leading to every kind of misrepresen- tation. The passions of men are so easily excited on this subject, that there is little chance for candour or argument to gain a hearing. Indeed there is little ground for reasoning on either side, for the question of right is unusually clear of doubt. The difficulties are of a practical, rather than of an abstract sort, arising partly from intrinsic, and paitly from artificial causes. Mutual good temper, liberal and enlightened views only are necessary to dry up this ever-flowing fountain of bitter waters. -^ In all treaties between nations, as there are conflict- ing rights and interests, there must necessarily be mu- tual concessions. A preponderance of advantage must 6 decide the utility of such compacts. If this can be gained, the exercise of doubtful or disputed rights may be suspended for future discussion and arrangement ; uiformal agreements may be substituted for permanent stipulations, and points of minor importance absolute- ly yielded. An enlarged view of national interests must exist in the government, or no treaty could ever be made ; for if a nation were to exact the full measure of its preconceived rights or interests, no other nation could treat with it on a footing of equality. Great Britain claims a right to the services of its own subjects. \Ve cannot deny the justice of this, for we claim and exercise as a sovereign state the same right ; so does France ; and so did everv civilized nation of Europe. It has long been recognized as a principle of public law ; and the decisions of the proper tribu- nals, touching particular cases, have always been go- verned by it. It is as much the law in the United States, and the Supreme Court have so decided, as it is in England, that a man cannot divest himself of his allegiance. It is not then so much the abstract right, as it is the abuses connected with its exercise, which furnishes the ground of complaint. On this point, Great Britain has more than once discovered a willing- ness to provide against future abuses, by such conces- sions and informal stipulations, as would have given us all the securitv which the nature of the case admits. The British government proposed first to Mr. King, and afterwards to his successors, to limit the exercise of this right to the narrow seas, over ^vhich the right of dominion has been claimed for centuries. And can it be expected that Great Britain, under any circum- stances, will ever formally abandon the mere right to reclaim her own subjects, while her navy continues to go- b^ the guardian of her independence ? When the king of Great Britain, with the consent of his people, does homage for his crown, and consents to hold his empire as a fief of the United States, this right may be yielded. There are intrinsic difficulties in the case, for which neither peace nor war, treaty or no treaty, can provide a remedy. Identity of language, the resemblance of persons and manners, between the subjects of the two countries, will occasionally originate mistakes with the best intentions in those who commit them. Na- tive Americans will sometimes be impressed, either through mistake or caprice. These impediments to a good understanding necessarily exist, but so long as they cannot justly be imputed to the government, they ought not to stand in the way of accommodation. During the administration of Washington they did not ; for he made a treaty with Great Britain, containing no express provisions against the abuses complained of, although they then existed. He did not deem it ex- pedient to reject a treaty because it did not provide for impossibilities. The high wages which our late flourishing com- merce enabled our merchants to give, allured British seamen to desert ; and it is notorious that thousands of Scotch, Irish, and British sailors, with American pro- tections in their pockets, have found profitable em- ployment in our service. Yet the reclamation of one of these has been recorded as the impressment of a na- tive American, and made the subject of much angry declamation. When it is added to this, that our com- merce, for more than ten yeai's, came in contact with the British naval power in every sea, it is extraordina- ry that so few bona fide Americans have been impress- ed. Of this number Great Britain has never refused V' to restore one on application accompanied with the usual evidence. If the injustice so often charged upon the government had in fact existed, our vessels would have been stripped of their crews, and our commerce have languished for want of seamen. But let the administration with its partizans exagge- rate these evils ; let them be represented as so intolc- rable or disgraceful as to justify a war ; a reply is not wanting which, if honour or shame had not bst their power, would silence them forever. Mr. Munroe ac- tually provided for the security of our seamen, as far as it is practicable, by an informal but honorary arrange- ment in the year 1806 ; but as this did not, in point of form, constitute a part of the treaty, it was, chiefly for this cause, indignantly rejected by Mr. Jefferson, with- out submitting it to the constitutional tribunal of the country. Yet the same administration instructed the same minister, by the very letter which gave him no- tice of the rejection of the treaty, to enter into informal stipulations on this subject, as well as all others confid- ed to his management. This strange inconsistency, this captious trifling with the interests of the nation, this irritating and perverse temper, are all chargeable to the same administration which, from that day to this, have not failed to make the subject of impressment the bitter ingredient in all their attempts at amicable ad- justment. Mr. Pinkney was especially instructed to connect it with the atfair of the Chesapeake ; and as often as other grounds of complaint have been in dan- ger of being removed, this has been inserted into the discussion to make defeat certain. It is a subject so impenetrable, by reason or argument ; it is so much connected with, our impulses and passions ; it gives a hostile adirinistration so strong a hold upon the public feeling ; that for them to adjust it, on any terms, would be like stripping the combatant of his armour before the battle was finished. No ; so long as the reclama- tion of an English deserter, or the taking of an Irish, man with or without a protection, can arouse the pas- sions of the multitude ; so long as the mistake, or wan- ton aggression of a single officer, in the impressment of an American citizen, can, without inquiry, or appeal to the proper authority, excite a spirit of resentment or revenge, against the British nation, so long will this subject be kept in reserve by the present administra- tion. 2. The orders in council. Great Britain justifies these orders on the ground of retaliation, and has pledged her word to repeal them, whenever the Jet ct of the repeal of the French decrees shall occur. The administration at first contended that though a belligerent had a right to retaliate the injuries of its enemy ; yet neither could lawfully exercise this right to the injury of an unoffending neutral. The United States, as a neutral nation, had a right to pro- secute a lawful commerce with either or both of the parties, so long as it preserved its neutral character ; and in order to satisfy Great Britain that this character had not been violated, by submitting to the Berlin de- cree, Mr. Madison, then secretary of state, urged that it was merely a municipal regulation, not intended to operate upon the citizens of this country, and as such afforded no justification of the orders. The principle was admitted, though the case it was contended had not occurred which would justify its application. But in this instance the administration were egregiously mistaken in their facts. They gratuitously assumed a falsehood, for the purpose of palliating the unexam- il' 1(5 pled injuries of France. The Berlin decree did ope- rate upon us, in the seizure of innocent property be- longing to the citizens of the United States, in the then neutral states of Hamburgh, Bremen, Leghorn, and the papal territory. It was executed wherever the power or influence of France was felt. It was also executed on the high seas ; for Mr. Madison himself, in a letter to General Armstrong of the 22d May, 1807, six months before the issuing of the British orders, declar- ed that the " French cruisers were enforcing the Ber- lin decree, in a manner that would constitute just claims for redress :" And in the September following, the emperor himself declared, " that the decree had no exception in its terms, and ough^ to have none in its application." All this, and much more, was known and done before the orders in council issued. With- out spending an indignant word upon the justification of such municipal regulations, as violated the most im- portant stipulations of the treaty of 1800, and became another name for sequestration, while they virtually made us, by our acquiescence, accessary to the decree itself, I would merely remark, that the ground assum- ed by the administration altogether failing them, the question took an entire new form. As the adminis- tration, instead of vindicating the neutral rights of the country, became the passive instrument of injury, an unresisting medium through which France could reach her enemy. Great Britain claimed the right of return- ing the blow. One year before this was done, how- ever, she gave a formal notice, appended to the treaty, that she reserved this right of retaliation, to be put in force only in the event of our submission to the Berlin decree. We did submit, and retaliation followed. i 11 If the rights of war do not give to a belligerent, under sucii circumstances, the right of retaliation, it may be deprived of its most important means of an- noyance or defence, by this partial interference of the neutral. It would be better for the belligerent at once to make an enemv of such neutral, than to suffer it- self to be handcuffed under the pretence of neutrality. And if a belligerent should be compelled, by a regard to the rights and interests of the war, to resort to such a measure against the pretended neutral, it would be strictly a war of defence : For, before this could hap- pen, the neutral must have made it for the interest of the belligerent to give the shape of war to a contest in which all the gain had been on one side, and all the loss on the other. But such a crisis could never occur, unless the neutral had first forfeited, by its indirect hostility, the immunities of neutrality. I have chosen thus far briejy to consider the ques- tion stricti juris, without resorting to the argument, which is by itself conclusive, arising from the charac- ter of the enemy, and the peculiar conduct of the war ; the necessities which these impose, and the measures which they justify. It was about this time, that the administration took what was then called its dignified stand. Disdaining to count the number of their enemies, or to make any discriminations of character, the government mehcd them all down into one mass, and proposed to main- tain what was then denominated the neutral position of the country, by a species of armed neutrality. All this ended in some abstract resolutions, and a non- in- tercourse law against Great Britain and France, in place of the embargo, which a suffering people would no longer endure. This measure did not succeed in con- 12 vincing the nation that the policy of the administration was either dignified or impartial, and was soon follow- ed by the deceitful arrangement with Mr. Erskine. ' Great Britain refused to ratify this adjustment, chiefly in consequence of the insult to the British go- vernment inserted in the correspondence by Mr. Ma- dison himself. This important fact has recently been disclosed ; and would of itself have ensured the rejec- tion of the treaty, independently of its having been concluded by Mr. Erskine, not only without autho- ritv, but in violation of his instructions. Bv this time it was discovered that Great Britain had been the first aggressor upon our rights ; and the evidence of this w^as found in the rule of the war of 1756. This was declared bv Mr. Adams, then a se- nator of the United States, to be the "root" of ail the infringements of our neutral rights. In the progress of this discussion,* however, it was made to appear, that, even admitting the rule of the war of 1756 to be indefensible upon the strict principles of public law, which I do not, France, as early as the year 1704 and 1744, by various ordinances, had adopted principles of greater extent and rigour, and more injurious to tlie rights of neutrals. It appeared also that Holland had adopted the same course of policy, and that all mari- time states, whenever the interests of war should ren- der it necessary, would adopt similar principles. * 1 allude particularly to the examination of this question by the writer of the " Analysis of the correspondence between our administration and Great Britain and France ;" a production of singular merit, elucidating' with preat force and precision a subject but imperfectly understood before There have since, a number of political pamphlets issued from the press, which I am satisfied, from internal evidence, are from the same pen. There is great power in them all, a>.u what must be gratifying to a disir- terestcd mind, they have had a most extensive and decisive influence upon public opinion. This topic too has been abandoned, and the original aggression has been found in the famous British order of Mav, 1806. As this had become the last resort of the administration and its supporters, I had propos'^d to enter into a minute examination of its origin and ef- fects ;* and I am deterred only by an intimation in the cabinet paper, that this order is no longer an obstacle to accommodation ; though I have no doubt other ob- stacles will be found, to prevent it. I cannot quit this topic, however, though it is now dead, without a re- mark upon the use which the administration have made of it. This order was intended, and did in fact, remove the ground of complaint urged by the administration against the rule adopted by Great Britain in relation to the colonial trade. It was in substance a relaxation of the rule in our favour, permitting all but the direct trade with the enemies colonies ; an indirect mode re- sorted to by Mr. Fox, to avoid a formal abandonment of the principle, and yet to give to the United States all the advantages of such a concession. Mr. Mun- roe declares in his correspondence that he understood it in this light, and that Mr. Fox admitted, that such would be its operation, though he was unwilling to admit that this was its particular object. The admi- nistration were satisfied with this mode of quieting their claims, and our citizens for some time enjoyed its benefits. Mr. Madison continued to entertain the same opinion of this order so late as the spring of 1809, when he made his treacherous arrangement with Mr. * This has been done in a very able and perspicuous manner in a pam- phlet, entitled, "An Inquiry into the origin, nature, and object of the British Order in Council of May 16th, 1806; by Enos Bronson, Esq- ol" J'hiludelphia," the well known editor of tlie Gazette of the United Slalcp 14 Erskine. He then required the repeal of the British orders of 1807, as the only orders violating our neutral rights. His authority, derived from the law of Con- gress, required this ; with this he was satisfied, and in his proclamation declared that all the orders in council, violating tlie rights of neutral commerce, were abro- gated. Mark well ! In one year after, this same order of 1806, which had satisfied all our complaints on the subject of the colonial trade, which had been past over in silence in the negotiation with Mr. Erskine, was suddenly brought to life ; and from that time forward made a conspicuous figure in all the discussions of our foreign relations. It was represented as an infringe- ment of national law, of so malignant a nature as al- most to justify a crusade against Great Britain, by the civilized portion of the world. It was declared to be an unexampled violation of neutral rights, the first in the series of aggressions, the origin of the Berlin and Milan decrees, and the only obstacle in the way of their repeal. It was a cruel invention in the business of war, calculated to extend its calamities to such as were not parties to the contest. It frustrated the ar- dent desire of his imperial majesty to do us justice, by the solemn injunction, which his honour imposed, not to repeal his decrees, which were retaliatory, so long as the cause of them existed. There was a wonder- ful concert in the language of the American and French cabinets on the subject of this order. After lying in *' oblivious night" for years, it was suddenly recalled to a new service, and the communications of both cabi- nets cotemporaneously became vocal with it. Appli- cation was forthwith made to the British government ; and when it was ascertained that this order was consi- dered as merged in a subsequent one, and would not f 15 be formally repealed, it then became the theme of fresh declamation, the only impediment to the freedom of the seas ! But these topics which I have briefly examined are nothing more than the pretences for hostility. If the pith of our controversy with Great Britain lay only in these causes, all irritation would soon subside, and a just policy would bring again the days of prosperity. And this I am persuaded would be accomplished in spite of an administration, whose power is compound- ed of French attachment and British hatred, if it was not at the same time supported by the quick jealousies, sudden resentments, unreasonable expectations, and deeply rooted prejudices of the great body of honest Americans, in relation to the people and government of Great Britain. The spirit of lofty pretension, of rigid exaction, and of rival animosity, which imper- ceptibly influences the opinions even of such men, has been enlisted into the service of the party now in pow- er, under the various pretexts which the purposely un- settled state of our relations with Great Britain, has supplied. Had it not been for the operation of such causes, the present administration could never have jeopardized the safety of the country by their slavish attachment to one nation, and their hatred of another. Public opinion would have compelled them to make an honourable adjustment with Great Britain, which might have been efiected at any time ; or it would have driven them from power, and filled their places with men of other views and better principles. A sounder policy would have prevailed, which would have been felt in again opening the true sources of prosperity. Our national character would not have 16 become the scorn of slaves, nor our citizens the victims of perfidious rapacity. I do not here address the apologists and abettors of French despotism, the revilers of Great Britain, the ad- vocates of war, the traitors to the independence of the country. With such men I will neither reason nor expostulate. But with men who have an interest in the last great question of peace or war ; who are wil- ling to examine temperately our own unquestionable as well as doubtful rights ; who can contemplate, with some just feeling, the present war against the liberties and virtues of mankind ; who can keep down their re- sentments, while they consider the pretensions of Great Britain, her motives, her interests, and her dangers ; and who can discern in the policy of Bonaparte, the steady pursuit of universal conquest, by the diabolical union of fraud and force, of all that is detestable with all that is terrible....! would both reason and expostu- late. Of such men I would inquire what, but the opera- tion of causes already indicated, has enabled Mr. Jef- ferson and Mr. Madison to persevere for years in a de- ceptive, irritating, and hostile course of policy towards Great Britain ? To avoid the proffered renewal of a treaty which the best interest of the country demand- ed ; — to reject the one afterwards concluded, by our ministers in London, embracing all the points in dis- pute between the two nations ; — to refuse to deliver up British deserters, when demanded, claiming them as native Americans ; — to defeat the solemn mission of Mr. Rose, sent to this country for the sole purpose of making honorable reparation for the unauthorized attack on the Chesapeake, by a scrupulous adherence to a mere punctilio, against reason and usage ; — to ca- 17 jole Mr. Erskine into a delusive treaty, knowingly made without authority, and carrying with it an insult inserted by Mr. Madison himself, to ensure its rejec- tion ; to charge Mr. Jackson, another minister of peace and reconciliation, falsely, with offering an insult to the government, and by virtue of that falsehood, to dismiss him in an unprecedented manner ; — to lay an embargo, by sea and land, under false pretences, in- tended to cripple her commerce, and to prostrate her independence at the foot of her implacable enemy ; — and, to hasten to the last most atrocious act of the ad- ministration, to renew the non- intercourse law against her, without previous authority, assuming, for its basis, an experienced falsehood, and then requiring of Great Britain to believe it, and forthwith to repeal her orders, or prepare to meet the consecjuenees of our just re- sentment ! ! The same causes which have enabled tlie admini- stration to prevent a peace with Great Britain, have also aided them in preventing a war with France. The current of our resentments has been diverted from its true course, and turned against the nation, from whose character we expect to receive the full measure of our rights, and whose immense naval power keeps all our jealousies alive, because its abuse would be followed by much greater evils than we apprehend from France. On the other hand, as the sentiment is generally felt, that neither honour, justice, nor good faith, belongs to the character of the emperor, a devoted administration, by suppressing or eviscerating such parts of the des- patches from France as were calculated to rouse the feelings of the country, by a patient endurance of per- fidv. insult, and robbery, by humble supplication and ; systematic hypocrisy in alliance gentle murmurs, 18 Ir' with all the arts of popular delusion, have been able to carry a nation, founded under the auspices of Wash- ington, to the foot of the imperial throne. I need not search far into the records of our humili- ation, to find the evidence of these criminations. With- out quoting a sentence from the dejected, spiritless,* or adulatory communications of our ministers at the imperial court, I will merely select a few sentiments from the direct correspondence of the administration. In the spring of 1807 they declared, that the indis- criminate seizure of our vessels in the West Indies, • The style of reception at the imperial court, as well as the spirit of tlie different foreign ministers, not excepting Chancellor Livingston, Gen. Armstrong, or even Mr. Barlow, are much the same as they were in 1796. Substituting Napoleon fur Carnot, the following passages from Burke's ** Letter on a Regicide Peace,'^ have nearly as much truth in their appU« cation now, as they had then. " To tliuse who do not love to contemplate the fall of human greatness, I do not know a more mortifying spectacle, than to see the assembled majesty o'* the crowned heads of Europe waiting as patient suitors in the antichamber of regicide. At the opening of these doors, what a sight it must be to behold the plenipotentiaries of royal impotence in the prece- dency which they will intrigue to obtain, and which will be granted to them according to the seniority of their degradation, sneaking into the regicide presence, and with the relics of the smile, which they had dres- sed up for the levee of their masters, still flickering on their curled lips, presenting the faded remains of their courtly graces, to meet the scorn- ful, ferocious, sarcastic grin of a bloody ruffian, who, while he is receiving their homage, is measuring them with his eye, 8tc. — These ambassadors may return as good courtiers as they went ; but can they ever return from that degrading residence loyal and faithful subjects ; or with any true af- fection to their master, or true attachment to the constitution, religion, or .laws of their country? At best, they will become totally indifierent to good and evil, to one institution or another. This species of indifference is but too generally distinguishable in those who have been much employ- ed in foreign courts ; but in the present case the evil must be aggravated without measure ; for they go from their country, not with the pride of the old character, but in a state of the lowest degradation ; and what must happen in their place of residence, can have no effect in raising them to iJie level of true dignity, or of chaste self-estimation, either as men, or as representatives/' &c. £cc. under the Berlin decree, which violated the treaty with France, and which was issued in contempt of all no- tions of national law, had a tendency to do what ? — " to thicken the cloud that hung over the amity of the two nations.''* The burning of our ships on the high seas, without even the formality of a decree, was gently complained of as ** the most distressing of all nodes by which belligerents exercised fo'^ce contrary to right. ^* The declaration of war against Great Britain, made by the emperor in our behalf, had merely ** the air of an assumed authority ;" and the treacherous surprise of millions, under the Rambouillet decree, was nothing more than a " misapplication of the law of reprisals^ combined with a misconstruction of our own law*'' The tenants of the state prison would strike a man to the ground with their chains, who should attempt to justify so perfidious a robbery under so shameless a pretence. Mr. Madison knows as well as any man living, that the Rambouillet decree has no concern with the law of reprisals, or the misconstruction of his non- intercourse law ; nor has he the least expectition that this property will ever be restored, though he has the hardihood to declare it. Well might the Due de Ca- dore declare to the world, that we were a nation with- out " any just political views, without energy, or ho- nour.'* It was an honest sentiment in the Due, and much to be commended for its frankness. And we must admit him to be a competent judge, for the evi- dence of the chiU'ge is all in his own custody. He was ordered by his master to make the experiments ; tind after having faithfully applied all the instruments of torture to the administration, the sensorium of the na- tion, he form?Uy pronounced it to be a mere caput mortuum, without sensibility or life. L^ it IS worth the remark, that in many communica^ tions of the administration, there is in fact an apology for the injury, as in the case of the Rambouillet de- cree, where it is gravely said to the people of this coun- try, that the whole evil originated in mistake : in others, it seems to be the mode or style of injustice which forms the burthen of complaint ; as in the still conti- nued practice of burning merchantmen, which has been denominated the most distressing of all modes of com- mitting injustice ; and in none is there tlie least ap- proach towards that manly spirited tone, which either justice, or the honour of the country demanded. In this last interval of repose, it may be useful to asiv whaX there is in die present condition of Great Bri- tain to justify the opinion that she is desirous of pro- voking a war with the United States. We behold her engaged u ith an enemy, who solemnly declares to the world that nothing short of her destruction shall end the conflict ; an enemy nurtured in blood, and 5ed by conquest ; whose genius is altogether military, and who has already bowed the greater part of continental ^Europe to his fell purpose. The nature of the present war is such, that peace would be to Great Britain ano- ther name for submission. There is literally no dis- cliarge in this war ; no hope, but in her ability to sus- tain it. It is a struggle for existence, requiring all her strength, resources, and fortitude. It is this convic- tion in the minds of the people of England, that enables the government to carry on the war ; and it is this, which throws into it such a spirit of fortitude and con- stancy, such deeds of courage, such perilous but bril- liant achievements, as smite the heart of the tyrant with dismay- 21 For the last five years, nothing has been said of the invasion of England. The policy of Bonaparte has been to accomplish her destruction by the ruin of her commerce. He considers her commerce as her life blood ; and seems to believe that if the channe]s of this can be stopped, death must ensue. How much truth there is in this opinion, it is not important to inquire ; it is enough to know that all his prodigious efforts arc governed by it. The continental system is nothing but diis theory reduced to practice. He seems to have conquered countries for no other puq^ose than to make them auxiliary to this scheme of destroying British commerce. The adoption of it is required as the pledge of honest neutrality ; it is exacted as the badge of submission ; and if anv nation refuses to wear it, it is deemed a good cause of war, which is never forgotten, though policy may dictate delay. Thus situated, can it be believed that Great Britain is disposed to provoke a war with the United States. Unquestionably she is impelled by powerful motives to maintain the relations of peace so long as it can be done without a stain upon her honour, or a blow at her vital interests. She cannot wish to add to the number of her enemies, while she is grappling with one that requires her whole strength. She indulges no dreams of conquest ; she has neither blood nor treasure to waste in an unnecessary war with this country"; but she has that to protect, which is more important to her than either. ^ If we turn to the representations of the war advo- cates, we shall find it often repeated, that Great Britain exists by our forbearance. We hold her destinies in our hand. With shattered finances, increasing bur- thens, disastrous expeditions, murmuring manufactu- 22 rers, and a declining commerce, it is within the com- pass of our energies to humble her pride, and eclipse her glory for ever. And yet this same nation, thus pressed on every side, thus dependent on our good will, is trampling upon our rights, and wantonly pro- voking a war, which must end in her ruin ! When na- ture and experience contradict themselves, such repre- sentations may gain credit. It is unquestionably true that the administration have made many bold experiments upon the spirit of Great Britain, in the belief that she was not in a situa- tion to notice them. Every period in the course of her affairs, of real or imaginary depression, has been the signal for rallying all our complaints, and urging them in the tone of demand. Whenever she has made advances towards reconciliation, the administration have receded in sullen affectation of dignity. If she appear- ed anxious to settle subsisting differences by negotia- tion, it was proof of her weakness, and made the occasion of some new demands : if she omitted to do this, it become the evidence of her unfriendly disposi- tion, and called for some token of resentment. The last experiment, however, has probably been made, unless satisfactory explanations are given. A gallant nation, like Great Britain, cannot be made desperate without danger. Honour is the unbought jewel of her croAvn. Unless this far-beaming ornament, the polar star of every true Englishman, can be preserved un- sullied, the war will end in her humiliation. Till this happens, unprovoked hostility will be resisted ; insult will not be endured. So long as England stands forth the champion of freedom and civilization, she must maintain all tlie honours of her station. Her interest, her policy, the success of the cause in which she is • 23 engaged, demand of her every concession or sacrifice, whici) is coubistent with her truest rights and honour. But to yield more than this to any nation, would be evidence oi her inability to sustain the conflict ; and for us to require it would be the evidence of unappeasa- ble hostility. In whatever shape then, or under what- ever popular pretences war shall come, unless the prin- ciples of human conduct change, it must come, be- cause it has been sought. What is there, let me inquire, in the general charac- ter or conduct of Great Britain, that endangers our safety. On this subject, I am content to hear all that resentment or prejudice can allege ; and then to prove, by an examination in detail, that no other nation pos- sesses as much justice, honour, or virtue, provided her character is not to be decided bv the decree of a vice- admiralty judge, by the aggression of a naval comman- der, or by the morality of a peer of the realm. In the history of wliat other nation can there be found such various and well directed industry, such punctuality in the fulfilment of engagements, such liberality in the common business of life, so pure and perfect an administration of justice, so much respect for public law, or so much good faith in the govern- ment ? These virtues, the causes and effects of her commercial prosperity, have inspired a confidence which is felt by the whole trading world. The nation is sound at heart ; and though many affect to deny this in words, they give the best evidence of its truth by their conduct. Great Britain is the only nation that is expected to do justice, or to preserve good faith ; and it is this very expectation that excites irritation when- ever we imagine it is not fully answered. Her power on the ocean is and has been for years uncontrolled ; 24 and had it not been directed by a due regard to neutral rights, our commerce, second only to her own, would have bet n annihilated. Prejudice may rail, but there is much to admire and approve in the character and institutions of Great Bri- tain. Her liberty is not the worse for being old, nor kss likely to endure. Instead of resting jirincipally on metaphysical construction, or abstract theory, it has be- . come in a great measure a matter of fact, which every Englishman can comprehend. He need not labour to understand a speech in parliament befoi'e he can decide whether his essential rights are violated or not ; for he knows what his inheritance is, without such aids, and the best n-eans of preserving it* / ■ The naval power of Great Britain has always been ' subservient to her commerce, which never could have reached its present L^lght, if this power had been great- ly abused. Her reputation in the commercial orld . ha^ been one source of her greatness ; and this could not have been preserved unless she had been substan- tially just. She has never possessed the means or the spirit of conquest ; and she can never, while she re- mains a commercial, become a conquering nation. * •' In the famous law of tlje 3J Charles I. culled the Petition of Right, tV.e parliament says to the king, " Your subjects have inherited this free- dom," claiming their franchises not on abstract principles, " as the rigiits of men," but as the rights of Englishmen, and as a patrimony ci<:;rived from their forefathers. Selden and tlie other profoundly learned nicn,\vIio di'ew this petition of riglit, were as well acquainted at least with all the general theories concerning •' the rights of men," as any of the discoursera in our pulpits or on youi tribune ; full as well as Dr, Price, or as the Abbe Seyes. But for reasons worthy of that practical wisdom which superseded tlieir tlieoretic science, they prcfcried this positive, recorded hereditary title, to all which can be dear to the man and the citizen, to that vague speculative right, which exposed tlicir sure inheritance to be scrambled for and torn to pieces by every wild litigious spirit "—-ffj/r^'/* iicjJeciiav.e on the Revolution in Fiance. 25 I e. a c (1 •J' e a There is a deep sense of religious tniths, which per- vades the great body of the English people. The fruits of this are seen in the almost incredible number of cha- ritable institutions at home, and in that benevolent spi- rit which visits every region of the earth with the light of knowledge and the consolations of hope. The arts and sciences pay contribution to the comforts of life, while they sustain the order of society. The moral world is benefitted by those intellectual exertions, which are fostered and rewarded by the government. A more sublime or affecting spectacle has never been seen, than the present war in Portugal and Spain. It combines valour with disinterestedness ; it is full of honour and glory, giving hope to the broken spirited nations of the continent. It has already done much to dissipate their fears, by shewing them the conquering legions of France, led by their boasting generals, dis- graced and beaten by inferior numbei's. I trust in an over-ruling Providence, that the banners under which the allied armies fight, are consecrated by the cause they maintain. 'f Quitting a theme, inspiring hope in the breasts of all the friends of human happiness, I turn to the contem- plation of one replete with shame and terror — our pre- sent and probable future relations with France ; — of shame, from the nature and magnitude of the wrongs, which we have tamely endured ; and of terror, froni the consequences which must follow a British war. No nation ever yet long preserved its liberties, that had lost its honour. When the seal of infamy is once put on a nation's character, the people are either conquered or betrayed. If the people of this country are so sub- dued in spirit that they are prepared to wear the badg