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Festinare nocet, nocet ct Cunctatio sapc ; Tempore qnccqiie suo (lui facit, ille sapit. n PREFACE. %^UDi alteram partem is a maxim of some anti- quity, and of such universality that, from the sage to the schoolboy, it is uniformly allowed that no cause can be fairly decided without it. Qui statuit aliquid, parte inauditd altera, JEquum licet statUerit, hand aquus est. It i§ to be regretted that the great affairs of Na- tions cannot be brought within tlie compass of this rule, and, considering the importance of the Ameri- can Question, I confess, I should prefer waiting for the remarks of the Government of the United States, on the Declaration of the 9th ultimo, to discussing it this day. As these cannot be had, however, I have endea- voured to provide a substitute in the shape of an American Newspaper Comment on that act. 489 It supposes a Commentator of some candor, and moderation ; not violently in love with our measures, but desirous of Peace with us; no statesman, nor partizan of the Government; but a culler of authentic papers ; — affecting to contradict nothing that can, and to assert nothing that cannot, be proved. February 18th, 1813. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. Xn consenting to the publication of a second edition of this work in the Pamphleteer, the author is influenced by the two-fold consideration, of the ephemeral nature of the work j and the utility that may possibly be derived from its preservation. It certainly controverts very gene- ral opinions ; not to say matters of fact, asserted under very grave authority. Yet a re-consideration of the sub- ject, with leisure to inspect the documents hastily re- ferred to from memory, has produced no wish to amend, and very little to explain or embellish, either the asser- tions or the sentiments contained in it. With an honest desire to have the important subjects it treats of fairly before the public ; a conviction of the truth it pourtrays ; and a humble assurance of a readiness to abandon any position, that may be shown to have i/ecn, 490 erroneously taken up •, the author commits it to a more durable form than it at first assumed. If it be too much to hope that it will do any thing towards checking the strong current of what he conceives an erroneous opinion ; it is very possible a recurrence to it on a future day may show the necessity of a more critical investigation of ministerial pretensions, in time to prevent the mischief that must ensue from allowing them to pass current upon the world. If there be nothing in a revision of the premises to excite a desire to alter them ; so neither has the author found a motive for such desire in any thing that has since occurred.—In the Times of the 22nd of February, a miserable "If" of Buonaparte, (the strongest evidence that he cannot cheer his Myrmidons with the least hope of a connexion with America in the war,) is distorted into an alliance with that country. And, in the same paper of the 6th instant, the epithets of forgery and per- jury, that have been used again and again in our own Senate, not only against American certificates of citizen- ship, but, unfortunately with too much truth, against the very measure to which the President of the United States applies them, have stamped his Mes- sage with the character of a document of the most violent and infuriated description.— So cruelly have the public been deceived in respect to the question of the wanton impressment of American seamen, that a man shall walk from Hyde Park corner to Charing Cross, and from Charing Cross to-the Exchange, without meeting a subject that does not believe that the cause of complaint is on the sideof Great Britain. Nay, the capture of our frigates is unblushingly, and very generally, ascribed to the c^s- affection oi our own seamen fighting for America, with a rope round their necks. Whereas it is notorious ail over America, and has been officially communicated to 491 this Government more than four years ago, *' that already the ships of war of the United States had been ordered not to receive any of them, and to discharge such as were at that time on board ;" ' akhough we have seen no reports of any such being found on board the Nauti- lus that fell without resistance into the hands of our men of war ; nor on board the Wasp, whose crew, after the capture of the Frolic, cannot be rated inferior to any j nor on board the United States, where, on the contrary, the officers of the Macedonian are said to have made diligent scrutiny without finding a single Englishman or English boy, save one solitary lad of sixteen.~lf this report be untrue ; the Purser, who is in England, can contradict it. But the obvious cause of those disasters that have low- ered that Pavilion that has hitherto rode proud Autocrat of the mountain wave, is the last to be taken into the account.— We look not to the numbers of those men who have been drilled to the trade of death, on board our own Men of War, by a discipline that taught their arm to fight, while it filled their bosoms with that deliberate vengeance that renders discipline invincible. And yet to understand this, we are only to consider what we should expect from our own men, dragooned and scourged, in the same manner, on board the ships of any foreign nation in the world.— If we believe that an honest English Tar would fight on his stumps in such a case, when his legs were shot away ; why should we doubt the American doing the same ? One would suppose there could hardly be a want of physical strength, or moral valor, in such a man, while a vein of his body was undrained. 492 Time was, when so direct a consequence of such a cry- ing sin would have been considered a visitation of provi- dence. So evident a concatenation of the crime and the penalty rarely occurs j but we will not see it. Ten minutes is ample time to perceive it ; but it will take ten years to comprehend it. — In about that time, perhaps, all the world will be of one opinion on the subject ; as now, on the long contested question of the American revolu- tion. — ^I'his is the usual course of things — Labttur et lahetur — In about that time too, we shall discover that the American propositions on this subject did not exact the surrender of any one of our Maritime Rights, but only such wholesome (it may be said profitable) modifi- cation of the practice as would remove a question in- volving every thing valuable in life, and life itself, from a party tribunal. — We need not look forward indeed for the evidence of this ; we may find it in the letter of in- structions of Mr. Madison to Messrs. Monroe and Pink- ney of so old a date as the seventeenth of May, 1 806 ; where the proposition is not only reduced to a stipulatory form, which leaves the British principle untouched ; but is made in the very words that were agreed to by Lord St. Vincent, with the acquiescence of Lord Hawkesbury and Mr. Addington, in the project of a convention with Mr. King on the approaching renewal of the war ; and then only frustrated by an exception on the obsolete ground of peculiar privilege in the narrow seas. — But we mil look forward ; and we mil not believe a thing that happened seven years ago till ten years hence. — ^About that time too, we shall discover that the Commissioners, appointed in the Fox administration, to treat with the American Commissioners, waited only for the subsi- ding of a popular prejudice (most artfully raised by their opponents in politics) to accommodate and ad- 493 just this matter to the satisfaction of all concerned. This may be easily perceived now, in their subsequent corre- spondence with Mr. Canning ; but we mU not see it m less than ten years, unless, (which God grant) we should agree onsimilar terms with some httle techmcal dif- ference ; and then it will be all fair enough to say they would have done it. , r-j* c The subjoined correspondence* with the Editor ot the Times, part of which has been printed in that paper and part refused insertion, is added with an equal view to exhibit these subjects in the light which the author con- ceives to be the true one; with equal apprehension of the small chance of their meeting attention at present, and with equal confidence that time will develope the truths they contain ;-the truths ;— for, be it remembered, they pretend to no prophetic character j nor will the author vouch for the correctness of any conjecture that these publications may contain.— There is an opinion hazarded, for example, in the letter of the 24th of October last to the Editor of the Times, that Marquis Wellesley dif- fered pretty stoutly from his colleagues on the Amencan subject ; yet his Lordship is reported tq have said since, in the House of Loi:ds, that the American government had been affected with a deadly hatred towards this country, and a deadly affection towards France. This tended to invalidate the former opinion; and now Vetus, who is supposed to know the noble Marquis's sentiments as well as his own, comes forward to say that he would have proposed more conciliatory measures to America (an idea that his intercourse with the American legation does not discourage ;) * and that, had he failed here, he * These will be given in our next No. Ed. * Vide Letters from a Cosmopolite to a Clergyman, p. 21, 31, and 46. 494 would have taken more vigorous measures against them. , ^^^he heart of a statesman is a bottomless pit. — If we can suppose, with Vetus, that his Lordship contemplated, or proposed to his late colleagues, measures of greater conciliation with America, than they were willing to adopt ; we may take him with us beyond a satisfactory arrangement of the question of impressments, (which he knew to be the sine qua nmj to the restoration of the ships taken under the Orders in Council ; which is clearly to be inferred by what he said on the subject to Mr. Smith ; (the American Charge d' Affaires ;') nor is it improbable that this is one of the cases on which he differed from his colleagues. If this were the view of the Noble Marquis, the prosecution of it would evi- dently have saved him the trouble of trying his second alternative ; and on the contrar)^ the troops in Canada and Nova Scotia might have formed the garrison of Santona, or have been employed in a flying squadron in the Bay of Biscay, to land occasionally under some one of the heroes of the Peninsula, to the great annoyance of Marmont, and the completion of that destruction of his army, which his noble brother had so well begun at Salamanca. What can have led the noble Marquis to think that his conciliatory measures would not have produced this effect, it is difficult to imagine. And one must suppose that he has that idea when he charges the Government of the United States with a deadly hatred to England, and a deadly affection for France. " U n* appar- tient qu' aux grands hommes d'avoir des grands de feuts." Perhaps his serene highness is thrown into a passion whenever the language of Mr. Pinkney's letter 1 * Cosmopolite, uhi supra. ■< 493 of the fourteenth of January, 1811, occurs to his mind* It is a document, however, that every teacher of statis- tics ought to put into the hands of his pupil. It is grateful to see with all this, that the lofty mind of the noble Marquis is not inflexible. And his man- ners, we all know, are those of a perfect gentleman. — la the Times of the seventeenth ult. he is reported to nave said, (on an India subject too where he is so paramount) that " though he had been anxious to extend the mea- sure in question without delay ; he now believed tha* the sentiments which prevailed in other quarters, among persons with whom he had often differed, were a proper correction of his opinions."— This is really very pretty r one step further, in the acknowledgment that he had been chastised into conviction, (the pas chretienj would place the noble Marquis on the pinnacle of magnani- mity. There is another great man, — a very great man, — on whom the following sheets have not been sparing o£, animadversion. Yet the man is hardly to be found that has more strenuously defended Sir William Scott, than the author, according to the measure of his influence and ability.— If, therefore, he can defend him no longer, it is, because, against all the bias of prejudice, and all the pride of consistency, he finds the late decisions of the learned Judge, not less incompatible with his former doctrines, than with those of the original fountain of equity, tkat flows in the heart of man. — ^In this secession^ the Author is countenanced by a very excellent discus- sion of the subject, in an unparallelled periodical publi- cation, the Edinburgh Review, of February, 1812, No2 XXXVIII. Although, in that critique, the writer has put a construction on the words of the learned Judge which he has since denied, and surely had right to deny, fojc Vol. I. No. II. 2 1 496 ao one can so well interpret his words as the speaker ; yet A«r ambiguity has been sufficient to create a deal of very grave discussion in the court itself, on a subject of no less magnitude than whether the court is, or is not, bound by an order of the privy council, which it should find contravening the law of nauons. Why should the court hesitate to pronounce boldly on this question at once?— it was incidentally, if not pointedly, before it in the case of the Fox ; and we all know, that if sn irrelevant point is raised in argument ; to settle that poia^, is one of those valuable practices of the learned Judge, that give to his decisions the character of lectures on Maritime law, and create an useful addition to the csialogae of cases that may on a future day be referred to his authority.--«uch pronunciation would not of necesaty decide the question, whether the orders in council were of this description ; though it is worthy of particular remark, that if the same indulgence of inter- preting their own meaning were allowed to the admimsu tration that issued the orders of May, 1806, and Janua- ry, 1807 ; the pernicious effects of the subsequent or- ders would have found no excuse in those It is worthy of particular remark, and fairly to be inferred from the debates on the subject, that not a man of that adminis- tration, on whom the sin of the initiative has been art- fully thrown, would have allowed of the condemnation of any one of those ships, or have admitted a Heiorsh versus communem amicum, Qui injuriam non fecit, to sanction a measure which, to be justified by the law of retaliation, should be exercised only against the perpe- trator of the injury. It is not intended, however, to bring any party question into discussion. The political sectary will look in vain m, these pages ' yho shall from, and after the said twenty-fifth day of April, have faithfully served on board any of her Majesty's ships of \i?ar, or any privateer, or merchant, or trading ship or ships, vessel or vessels, which at the time of such service shall belong to any of her Majesty's subjects of Great Britain, for th^ space of two years, shall, to all intents and pur- poses, be deemed and taken to be a natural-bom subject of. her Majesty's Kingdom of Great Britain, and have, and enjoy, all the privileges, powers, rights, and capaci- ties which such foreign mariner, or seaman could, should, or ought to have had and enjoyed, in case he had been a natural-bom subject of her Majesty, and actually a native within the Kingdom of Great Britain." (6. Anne. c. 37. sec. 20.) The same privilege is re-enacted 13. Geo. II. c. 3. with the exception required by the intermediary statute of 1. Geo. 1, c. 4. of all naturalised subjects from becoming members of parliament, or of the privy council. — ^It !8 twice mentioned bv RlarkstnnA with flip pmnh^tiral 501 words that such foreign seaman is ipso facto natura- lised • and referred to in a treatise published in the present century by Mr. Abbott, on the law relative to merchant ships and seamen. Let this be compared to the tedious process of five years' residence under record, and all the formalities of the American law, which a seaman must encounter like every other man ; and it wiU hardly be asserted, by an assertor of our own rectitude, that undue encourage. ment is held out by the American govisrmnent, to entice our seamen into their service. AprU 19, 181S. ANTICIPATION OF MARGINAL NOTES, &c. i / Paragraph 1. — " The earnest endeavours of the Prince Regent to preserre the relations of peace and amity with the United States of America having unfortunately failed, his Royal Highness, acting in the name and on the behalf of his Majesty, deems it proper publicly to decUire tlte causes and origin of the war, in which the Government of the United States has com- pelled him to engage." Hare any such been shown? — Your Government has adopted no measure at all calculated ta avoid the long threatened War ; but such as it was reluctantly compelled to adopt by the cries of the Nation; and this in two cases liable to objection; 1st, as not ex* plicitly renouncing the illegal Blockades ; and 2dly, in reserving the right of restoring the Orders in Council on a contingency depending not on America, but on France, Par, 2. — " No desire of conquest or other ordinary motives of aggression, has been, or can be with any color of reason, in this case, imputed to Great Britain ; that her commercial interests were on the side of peace, (if war could have been avoided, without the sacrifice of her maritime rights, or without an injurious submission to France,) is a truth which the American Government yrill not deny." Take away this parenthesis, and the fact asserted here, that the com- mercial interests of Great Britain were on the side of Peace, is » ^"■^^^^ u -"!**■*»■ 503 truth which the American Government will not deny.— Neither is it probable that any Government can be mad enough to contemplate 'conquests in America, three times as populous, and ten times as power- ful, as she was when you made the attempt to keep her in a state of subjugation. ' Par. 3.—" His Royal Highness does not, however, mean to rest on tht favorable presumption, to which he is entitled. He is prepared by an exposi- tion of the circumstances which have led to the present war, to show that Great Britain has throughout acted towards tlie United States of America with ^spirit of amity, forbearance, and conciliation ; and to demonstrate the inad- missible nature of those pretensiocs which have at length unliappily involved the two countries in war." ; The spirit of amity, forbearance, and conciliation, here generally asserted, and the inadmissible nature of the American pretensions, will be adverted to as they present themselves in the sequel. Par. 4.—" It is well known to the world, that it has been the invariable object of the Ruler of France to destroy the power and independence of the British Empire, as the chief obstacle to the accomplishment of his ambitious Resigns." What has America to do with that? just so much and no mor« than with the equally well known object of the ruler of Great Britain to destroy the power and independence of the French Empire j i. «. nothing a;t all. Par. S.— " He first contemplated the possibility of assembling such a naval force in the Channel as, combined with a numerous flotilhi, should enable him to disembark in England an army sufficient, in his conception, to subjugate this country ; and through the conquest of Great Britain he hoped to realize his project of universal empire." Par. 6.—" By the adoption of an enlarged and provident system df in- ternal defence, and by the valor of His Majesty's fleets and armies, this design was entirely frustrated j and tlie naval force of France, after the most signal defeats, was compelled to retire from the ocean." Par. 7.—" An attempt was then made to effectuate the same purpose by other means: a system was brought forward, by which the Ruler of France hoped to annihilate the commerce of Great Britain, to shake her public^ credit, and to destroy her revenue ; to render useless her maritime superio- rity, and so to avail himself of his continental ascendancy, as to constitut* himself in a great measure the arbiter of the ocean, notwithstanding the de- struction of his fleets." Answered in the 4th Paragraph. Par. 8. — " With this view, by the Decree of Benin, followed by that of Milan, he declared the British territories to be in a state of blockade ; and S04f thatritcommeroe, or even correspondence, with Great Britaio was preb}> Kted. He decreed tliat every vessel and cargo, which bad entered, ta wai found proceeding to a British port, or which, under any circamitances, ha4 been visited by a British Aiipofwar, should be lawful prize: he declared all British goods and produce, wherever found, and however acquired, whether coming from the Mother Country or from her colonies, subject to confisca- tioo J he further declared to be denationalized, tlie flag of all neutial sUps that should be found ofFendiug against these his Decrees; and he gave to tbif project . sequence of the latter. Our Government indeed have not allowed th« invasion of their rights by one Belligerent to justify that by the other; and have therefore, in the resistance they have made to them mutu- ally, and their proposals to each for accommodation, fortunately fpt yonr Ministers, sua si bona mrint, put tl»e priority 'of aggression out of the question. The Blockade of May, 1806, was not, accompanied by that adequate and stationary force, which every writer on the sub- ject in the law of Nations, and none move than the very profouno«ld confiscate every vessel which should tonch in Great Britain, or be visited by British ships of war, his Majesty, having previously issued the Order of January, 1807, as an act of mitigated retaliation, was at length compelled, by tbe persevering violence of the enemy, and the continued ac- ^eseence of rteutrat powers, to revisit, upon France, in, a more effectnal aiMiner, the: Measure ^ of her own injustice ; by declaring in an Order in Council, bearing date the 11th of November, 1807, that no neutral vessel riiould proceed to France, or to any of the countries, from which, in obedience to the dictates of France, British commerce was excluded, without first torching at a port in Great Britnfb, or her dependencies. At tlie same time, bis Majesty intimated his readiness to repeal the Orders in Council, whenever France slieuld rescind her decrees, and return to tlie accustomed principles of maritime- warfare ; and at a subsequent period, as a proof of his Majesty "a sincere desire to accomir.odate, as far as possible, his defensive measures to the convenience of neutral powers, the operation of the Orders in Council Vi. 1 »WB.--i !j.. » !1 ^nnn ■ " — — louy. of the countries subjected to her imnlediate dominion.* 11 :».J A- - Ki^-i 1- -C 17 ~ ^w%,* i:2::iicu lu a uiucr^auc »l i'tauvc, cav\n .507 Hi. Maiesty ha h« p,e"t« L French Decrees a. the French had to pro^. ^.i„.t hi' Decrees -.but he had no right nor certa.nly any occasion^ to call on the United State, to assert the.r os,n "S*"'-'- '"^y ^J° never been invaded by either Belligerent, without -«"« "■ ff J^* resistance, save in the Case of the Eng „h Blockade »"'ay '«^' of which we shall have occasion to speak agau. under pa agraph 17. -And here we see the reason why the course of the d.fferen Or- dc« in Council and Decrees is deranged. " A, France had decla^l .hit she would confiscate every Vessel that should touch m Great Bri'-t. or *e MM hy BvUish Mp. 0/ «r. his Majesty was com- piled at length to declare on ,he Utk of Xo.en,hr 1807, that no Ca Ve^l should proceed to France.-Now n,ark g». e "eader. that this threat of confiscation, in consequence of what tha F^ch call a visit by British ships, this " persevermg violence of the !Zy." in ^llh the neutral nations of Lillipu. Brobd.ngnag. and i:puacquicsced.Cforthesewere.heanly neutral nat,„.«^^^^^^^^^^ United States, whose acquiescence we mean to -P""' '"'"j,";;*; the first time in the Milan decree bearmg date the irM of f «"»"' of that y ar.-No doubt it did operate m the producuon of the,r - :L orderofthe...h„fNovember.whichtheFrenchT,gerpre«n^^^^^^^ Lve caused it , but thi, was by a sort of antic.pat.on wind fr quently occurs in the disputes between great Belligerents,' wh.ch ,t . d.fft- cut7o sirfplc and peace-seeking neutrals to understand ■, and w.th cult 101 simple am 1 ;„ I „„,„., aforesaid choose to amuse which, if the Mathematicians in Uputa alo.isam thems;.,es,the United States. «''-'• '•''™ 7.7" "-.i^llTo^" any acquiescence in it when it did appear, which was n'"^ «'r™ asLulitedStatesknew any thing abouti^^wea.^^^^^^^^^^ contradiction to the assertion, tluit to this anu au ^f France, the most prompt and spirited --'-«. 7' ^'•^;^,°^ correspondence with France on this -l-f V.'. TGlmlAm- The instructions of Mr. Madison, and the letters "/ G«J^^";^^™. strong, cannot be inspected without f "™-"V:' ^;,7~. quirerof this fact,-Is not Bonaparte charge M' f- "^ ™';3 lotulen. .crlis, with a breach of hrs own ^^^^f^l^'H^,^^ nations, and told, that, " to appeal to them therefore, . Cdore (t.th February ..-0) exe,.s.d^s ^rrr.UV™™^ a™.,™, for the U,ue of the Deaoe of B.U. dated _^_^^ ^^ __^ „ .8P6, as well as «»' "^I'^'rtS tt, aer^'* Coimeil, and above ..., of ^^Noven^ l«07." Famous logiciau. I l>«r n..u. .^ ^ , son flfy ^p^mg to the *lead ? " and do<*s not the publication of such • letter to the world, sho«.. that tho«. ca« 6. ;,o connivance or good unde«tand,ng between the two Governments? Please to show ufc something as spirited as this, in the letters of any other Minister at spondencc of tlic American Minister, at the Co.irt of St. James's. ...J?''* "r" '^•**"" "^ *'"'«•«»» oppression, and tyranny, can never bi werciscd. be debarred from the riglu of fUll .nd adequate retaliation • or If fl.e measure, of the retaliating power are to be considered a, mat e^'oJ^J •ffence to neutral nation., whil,t the measures of original arrc!"oo 'd violence are to be toIe«ted with iudiiTercuce, »ubmi.«io„' or cou^^acenc^^^^^^ Retaliate as much as you please upon your en.my.-Cut each v.ty which creates so much distress to our Allow „.en of oL now iTl ' n n" "^"^^'^'^^-^^'^ »'«- --»> "o concern in them burdl ,! r "^"'-^^^■"^— ^Vc cannot %hl you both at a time ; but do us jusMce, and you will soon see that our arms will be turned "gainst your encmy.-We can beat his frigates, as well as you^ the war of ms ccn testify, though they cannot pretend to a disp": " w th'tl^'t .7 ' '" "'" "^ °"^ ^"""" *« "'^ '-<•-' against th^m i^'.th the tenfold vengeance that your impressments have excited. U)ok to your own construction of the Blockade of May 1805, we mean the construction of the present administration, a question twill nTf ''"''"' '"' ^">--disn.lvHntage, and Which we fcrc willing to forego, as we have told yoi,, discussion upon. t^ otr?tTu.d' r^v .:;7;e'd' ^r"«" ''-' ^-^^ *"•* •iOBOd them w^r« . fj . ' ^ *''*'''*'^' *** ^™""'' w'"<^'' ''«d occt- clJuct of b«.K n ., '^'' '*'' .*'"y •''"'"'^'='* ^* ^'•'^^ ««'"« '""'"'^"t to resist the to^inSherlo'T^ '"'''"' •'' '•^"'"'""« ^-"^"^^ '" «'« «rst i„,t«,e. l^nurthe!lfr''''~^P^'^ '"« •""** ""•^•""y '"^ ««'»«= -^'^^"••e of resent- core:cfa s:::j«tirttr: '^?'"i' "•^^«<>"-^'— or «-:» I ■ .1 """"^^ a^'ainsi both— a system ot rrs stance, which how(>vi>v Sl'eTd::.:;'" ^^r«*;^^'>-S»' No„.I„terco,.rse or No.:;r- «e superior commerre and maritime power of Great Britain." tbfhe h!r '' ^r ''i*^ "'" '■'^^""'^ '" "" ^^•••'°^^ «f future histoiy tf I'ril!!^^^^^^^^^ f ^; ^J^^^^'^ S— 'i'^e exact e^uipoi^J inavZl'Jr 'T"'T'"' """"^ ^'""'^^ ^^' ^^^"^i«g »hem of favor- »»g England, and England of favoring France, un satisfy any impartial inquirer of this, fiom the most careless to th« most inquisitive, than a simple inspcciion of the terms proposed equally to each.— They arc in fact a circular letter requiring of each Belligerent the simple removal of those existing edicts, wiiich violated the Neutral rights of the United Stati s, or such modification of them that they should no longer violate those rights ; and promising to each the precise consequences of such revocation that were promised to the other. Par. 17.— « Of France was required a revocation only of the Berlin and Milan Decrees, although many other edicts, grossly violating tlw newtwl commerce of the United States, had been promulgated by that power. No security was demanded, that the Berlin and Milan Decrees, even if revoked, should not under some other form be re-established; and a direct engage- ment was offered, Hiat npon such revocation, the American Government would take part in the war against Great Britain, if Great Britain did not inunediately rescind her Ordere ; whereas no corresponding engagement was offered to Great Britain, of whom it was required, not only thut the Orders in Council should be repealed, but that no others of a similar nature should be issued, and that the blockade of May, 1806, should be also aban- doned. This blockade, established and enforced according to accustomed practice, had not been objected to by the United States at the time it wa» issued. Its provisions were, on tlie contrary, represented by the American Minuter resident in London at the time, to have been so framed, as to afford, in his judgment, a proof of the frieudly disposition of the Brilisii Ca- binet towards the United States." iW I \h I ! 510 "What has England to do with what violates the Neutral Com-» merce of the United States, unless it be their own proper commerce with England? If any such violation exist, Amnica is fully com- petent to adjust the matter herself. She never found fault with the immense tax that England has always gathered upon her chief staple Tobacco, nor with her shutting out the manufactures of her Enemies or even of her Friends, from her ports. And it is not more impossible, than unreasonable, that America should force the Irench to wear English coats and waistcoats. But we cannot help remarkinr here that in the resolution to maintain the most rigid impartiality in respect to the restoration cf intercourse with the Belligerent who should first revoke what each called his retaliatory edicts upon the other, and in confining the proffer to this object, we did not cvca stipulate the restoration of our impressed seamen, whose fate na mortal man can behold without shuddering with horror; yet if France should upbraid us with this forbearance, we would answer her ai on a former occasion, « That the United States have a right to elecj their own policy with regard to England, as they have with regard to France; and that it is only while they continue to exercise this right, without suffering any degree of restraint from either power, that they can maintain the independent relation in which they stand to both." It may be added indeed, that we could not anticipate the new injuries of France, but we knew those that England had already inflicted ; yet we did not mix them with this new question of mutual recrimination and pretended retaliation of each Bellige- rent on the other, and if " no security was asked, that the Berlin and Milan decrees, even if revoked, should not be re-established under some other form," neither was any such security demanded of Eng- land in the revocation of her obnoxious Orders in Council.— It is utterly impossible to discover any symptom of difference between the proposals made to the different Belligerents. « And a direct engagement was offered that upon such revoca- tion the American Govermuent would take part in the waf against Great Britain, if Great Britain did not rescind her Orders, whereas, no corresponding engagement was offered to Great Britain."— Now in the first place, we deny, and cluiilenge the British ISIinistry to show, that any direct engagement was offered to either Belligerent to take part in the war against the other. We might show indeed that no such engagement could be offered without a previous act of Congress ; for the constitution does not leave it in the power of the executive Government of the United States. In the next place wc aver that -every proposition \eading to such a conscciuencc,, was 511 made cquaUy to either, with the single exception in favor of Great Britain, ** That on her rescinding her Orders in favor of the United States, their Trade should be opened with hor, and remain shut to her enemy in case of his failure to rescind his Decrees also ;" whereas, to France, the oflfer was made subject to the contingency of the previous consent of England. How far the propositions menacing war can be said to have favored France to the prejudice of Gnat Britain will be seen by the follow- ing extracts from Mr. Madison's instructions, viz. To Mr. Pinkney, 30th April, 1808. The relation in which the revoca- timi of its unjust decrees by either, (Belligerent) will place the United States to the other, is obvious, aid ought to be a motive to the measure proportioned to the desire which has been manifested by each, to produce collision between the United States and its adversary, and which must he equally felt by each, to avoid oue with itself. Should France revoke, " it will be impossible to view the perseverance «f Great Britain in her retaliating Orders, in any other light than that of war, without even the pretext now assumed by her." To General Armstrong, 2d May, 1808. The relation in which a recal of its retaliating decrees, by either power, will place the United States to the other, is obvious, and ought to be a motive to the measure, pro- portioned to the desire which has been manifested by each, to produce collisions between the United States and its adversary, and which must b© equally felt by each, to avoid one with itself. Should Great Britain revoke, France could not persist in the ille- gal part of her decrees, if she does not mean to force a contest with the United States. To Gen. Armstrong, 22d July, 1808. «« If France does not wish to throw tlie United States into the WAR against her, for which it is impossible to find a rational or plausible induce- ment, she ought not to hesitate a moment in reyoking, at least, so much of her decrees as violate the rights of the sea, and furnish to her adversary the pretext for his retaliat- irig measures." Your I^linist -jL • '^- ^-:- "riiT t-!'"*!''" nf thn wovda. the War aaainst VOL. I. No. II. 2K 512 Franco; ^vhcrcas, in the contrary event, no conjunction with Imnce is inf mated, neither has any such taken place; but cm the con-- trary, to the last document that vva before the British Govornment u-hon this declaration was issued, to wit, the President's Message of the fourth of November, such conjunction was still deprecated.--' God forbid that we should take sides with either of you ; but .f . the events of war should require a combination; you have only to - do us justice, and there can be no doubt on which side we should ^''1n this important Paragraph, too. we find the uncandid a.lvan- tac'C that has been so often taken of the liberal construction, that the pleasing anticipation of an adjustment of uU the diflerences between the two nations, had induced Mr. Monroe to affix to the notU.cat.on Blockade of May 1806.-\Yhen it is asserted that " he represented it to have been so framed af to artord in his judgment a pnmt o the friendly disposition of the British Cabinet towards the United States ;" it should have been added, for it appeared in the same letter, that he made up that judgment hastily : " 1 have been too short a time in possession of thi. paper to trace it in all its conse- quences." And the public should also have been informed of the still hicrher evidence, that he had misconceived its purport, in the non-admission of his inference by Mr. Fox, printed in the same cor- respondence. " He did not seem willing tu give his sanction to the inference I had drawn:" but it is less the Blockade that INIr. Fox promulgated, and less still the acts of the Government under it, during the discussion of a treaty which was daily expected to put an end to all the disputes between the two countries, than the dis- torted construction given to it by his successors in ofiice, and the pretensions that they have derived from it, that have disgusted and dissatistied us:— a construction which was denied by every member of the administration that issued the decree; and accordingly we find Mr. T^Ionroe saying to Mr. Foster (Oct. 1st, 1811.) " that as now expounded it is inconsistent with the sense of his Government when the order was issued." Par. 18.-« Great Brituia was thus called upon to abandon one of her most important n.aritimc rights, by acknowledging the Order of Blockade .n qucs. tion to be one of the ediets whieli violated the commerce ot the United States although it had never been so considered in the previous negoc.at.ons; anrt although the PiesidentVthe United States had recently consente.1 to abrogate the Non-Intercourse Act on the sole condition of the Orders in Council being revoked; thereby distinctly admitting these orders la be the only edicts v, !»€.-• fell within the contemplation of the law iindfr which he acted." 513 The Older of Blockade in question was supposed at this time to be merged in the Orders in Council, and it is in the face of all fair infer- cnce, therefore, that it is here asserted that it had never before been- considered as violating the commerce of the United States. It was not suftered in the Fox administration to operate any actual injury to the United States. Ane pretensions of the cnmy ; as by thus, aneging that tlie bLkadc S May, 1806, was illegal, the American Government vir- tually justified, so far as depended on then,, the French Decrees. Wc care not a pin whether your enemy were pleased or displeased xvith our measures, as long as our only motive was our own redress.-- God knows that we have no special desire to please either of you, until we sec better occasion in your conduct towards us. Par 20 and 21.-« After this proposition had been made, the French Minis- terf" Foreign Atfairs, if not in concert with that Govenjment, at leas in con. Lmity witlUts,iews,in a dispatch, dated th, 5th of August ^^^ addreid to the American Minister resident at Pans, stated that the ^oilm and Milan Decrees were revoked, and that their operation would cease from ho istday of November following, provided «-, ^^^ ^df o^tat tt Orders in Council, and rcnonnce the new prmc.ples of blockade or at tne uJiit'd States would canse their rights to be respected ; meaning thereby that they would resist the retaliatory measures of Great Britain. "Although the repeal of the French Decrees, thus announced, was ev dent y contingent: either on concessions to be made by Great Britain, ««"«« ions to ^vhichlt wLs obvious Great Britain could not submit, or on "«« to be adopted by the United States of America, the Amer.can ^^^^'^f^^'^^ considered the repeal as absolute. Under that P-*--' «^^^!'"-',;7:;7^S Act was strictly enforced against Great Britain, wluls the «l»P;«f J"',.^'* merchant ships of the enemy were received into the harbours of Amenca. This document of the 5th of August revoked the Berlin and Milan Decrees from the 1st of the following November. Its prospective operation gave to England the opportunity' of adopting similar mea- sures,or,touseher own words, of proceed ing7)an>a5*« with her enemy, so as to have the intercourse restored to her at the same time as to France.-The contingency of its looking forward for three mon>Ji3 was so far advantageous to England, ^s it gave her all that time to con- .iuor of the proposition fox. ^^m"^ tlie Uke measure. And the Pre 514 Si sident, by a liberal construction of the law, .^texM the ccntniunnce •of the intercourse for three months from and after the penod when the French engagement took effect; and admitted not only the goods that arrived, but all those that were shipped in England xvilhm three taonths after such period. ,.,,.. ^u. The conditions were precisely tiosc, that made it obligatory on the President to restore the intercourse on the terms on >*hich it was restored: that similar conditions on your part would have prodiiccd similar effects against your enemy, wc are not left to conjecture. The adjustment actually made with Mr. Erskine (of which we shall have occasion to take further notice) has placed that question beyond all doubt. Par 22 23, 24. 25.-" The American Government, assuming the repeal of the F«nch ieerees to be absolute and effectual, most unjuMly reqn.red Great Britain, in conformity to her declaraUons, to revoke her Orders .n Council. The British Government denied that tl.e repeal, which was an- nonneedin thcletterof the French Minister for Foreign Affeirs, was such as «u*ht to satisfy Great Britain ; and in order to ascertain the true character of S^^lrrladopted by France, the Government of the United States wa. called upon to prodnce the instrument by which the alleged repeaUf the French Decrees had been effected. If these decrees were really revoked, ,uch an instrument must exist, and no satisfactory reason ctould be given for withholding it. At length, on May 21, 1812, and not before, the American Minister in London did produce a copy,or at least what pnrporteil to be a copy, of such a.i instrmnent. Itprofessed to bear date the iJSthofApnl, 1811, long .ubsequent to the dispatch of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uie 6fh of August 1810, or even the day named therein, viz. the 1st of November following, when the operation of the French Decrees was to cease. This in- strument expressly declared that these French Decrees were repealed in eon- .equence of the American Legislature having, by their Act of the 1st of March, 1811 provided, that British ships and merchandise slwuld be excluded from the iorts and harbours of the United States. By this instrument, the only document produced by Ameriea as a repeal of the French Decrees, it appears, bevond a possibility of doubt or cavil, that the alltgc.l repeal of the h reuch Decrees was conditional, as Great Britain had asserted, and not absolute or final, as had been maiotained by America; that they were not repealed at the time they were stated to be repealed by the American Government ; that they -were not repealed in conformity with a proposition, simultaneously made to botli Belligerents, but that in .jonsequencc of a previous act on the part of the American Govenmient, they were repealed in favor of one Belligerent to the l>reiudice of the other; tliat the Ame»ican Government, having adopted mea- »urr^ restrictive upon the commerce of both Belligerents, in consequence of •diets iMued by both, rescinded these meaiures, as they affected that power vnlch was the aggressor, whilst they put them in full operation agauist the .... I. ^i i;»*. ^eu4>*u nAuturK <>nntiniif>fl in furce *. and. party aggiievea, aunougu luc cuivi^ «« wv>.. r- ■—- - ~* hitly, that they excluded the ships of war bdongiiig to one Belligerent. whilst sii \- r » I r n y 9 e le 1- of cr le «t tb«y admUted into their port, and harbours the dups of war belonging to th. ort.er'in violation of one of the plainest and met essential duties of a Neutral Nattou." The United States did proJuce the instraraei.t which satisfied them —the letter of the Minister of Fo.eig.1 Aflairs to tho.r own ac credited Minister ;-the usual instrument in such cases. And it was on this document, and the subsequent evidence of its oiK-rafon as tesoected the United States, that they requiti^d a jimilar abrogation, L no othej on your part. The miserable juggle that you thought fit to adopt, when the cries of your manufacturers, and the argument, thatyou'c^uldnolonger resist, obliged you to retreat, would have been spurned at by a niore dignified Admm.strat.on -. and the only ^cJlor our Minister's stare in it is. that it was su.ted to the cap^ citi« of those he had to deal with.-Our President gtves no credit to ,t you see in his comment upon it.-In all your oUter measure. y;u have fallen into the snares of your enemy, etthcr b, .mltatmg or 'opposing him, as his policy required ; and in tins, as .t J" •">V°»''''« ."evise a more wretched Stat, trick, yon have adopted h'"*"- It tells but Utile, however, in favor of the mtegnty of your .Govern- ment, that this instrument, which must be either genume or not luine. should be held good by you as a pretext for ,,eld„,g o the Sies of your manufacturers in revoking you, Orders tn CouircU anJ Lt good to prevent th. confiscation of our property. On th« sub- Lt and the preceding condition of thU jugglmg .Mtrument, »e W have something further to say in what follows; but ,ye must I^^lthere. .hat it wl not, as you assert, the only J""™-'!-"^;"^ bv America, as a repeal of the French IKctees. The letter of th« p'uc de Caiorcof the 5th of August. IS.O.asscrting that the French .d"ct, mr, repealed, ^vas also produced.-Th.s ,s the ordmary mode of rlcationf it is your own mode; and the plan of a prospecUve operation had also been anticipated in your urstrucUons to Mr. J. rskine. Neither was there, properly speaking, any contmgency o pre- ';„ their operatio..-The opening left for England to come .nto the sime measure, was provided for i,. the law of the UnUed^Sta es.-The nTnch no do'ubt /greed to it with reluctance; but rherself of it.-m „» co»rfi/— not vi ct amis,— xvoi pugnis et calabus,— not ungmbui et rostro • (which is uncommonly modest on her part, considermg that we had offered her war against you, without offering you war against her;) but by putting in force that very Act which youwero equally engaged to put in force against me in the contrary case. - The word conformity is unhappily chosen here. It reminds one of the very words of the French revocation; and of those words which vou have on many occasions, and among others in the paper under consideration, most unrighteously withheld. '* Or that the United States, in conformity with the Jet which you have just communicated, shall cause their rights to be respected by the English."-Why were the words, here italicised, left out in this paper? (Paragraph 20.) why have they been suppressed on all occasions ? and why, more especially, have they been omitted in the quotation of the surrounding words by Sir William Scott in his judgment on the Snipe? they would have furnished a solution of his parenthesis,' and changed all the doubts, that follow the construction of the words as he has given them, into the precision that he affects to be seeking.-" It being well under- stood (it is not said by whom or on what ground) that the English shall revoke their Orders in Council, and renounce their new prmci- r Tji -I- J- -.- .V...* ♦!,« iTriWn/i ^tatos Will causc thcir rights to pies 01 biUCRUUC, Ul mat. nlv, .^ .!.» be respected by the English." After the quotation, he continues- 611' «* how is this clause to be construed ?" (Edwards, p. 10.)— why, truly of little consc(iUcnce how this clause is to be construed ; but Or that the United States, in confornnUj mtfi r^ la ZteJ,:* ..o«,««»» U is notorious (for the correspondence is before the world) that he ^st 1 beral use was made by the President of th.s au.hon.y .0 .he Tas. hour --.hat i..stead of the e^pi^ation of .hree months, at wh,ch War mSt have been justly declared, three times s,x .nonths tverc Led'to elapse before that measure was «- J^p-d ^17^^^^^^ every hazard was taken in the hope to avo.d t; and *at even the Sceptre of England had changed hands, not only w.thout the hop d. for change of men or measures ; but with an increased ^m t.on :i llt'us. as contbining with France in ^-tnnos wh.ch d d n„ .,„„lvto ul and which we had distinctly disavowed ;-«.lh a re- : veVreso ul to maintain the invasion of our Rights as an .„de. ^Leut Nation; and reite.a.cd assurances fi-on, your Muuster that there was not the shadow of chance for a change. . ' ,, „ lorleartily should we rejoice ,0 see an explanation from the uined Jud.e, that would acquit him of his share o the censure at- .X ol^, concealment of these words. It would not be the rs^ ime indeed, that we have found him right where we had s»PP°-dh>m 1™ ; W would thank him at the same time .0 inform us who he oh r^NeutraU are, for whose rights we ought .0 have contended •. i wltrhe has yet discovered that .he French co*™-"- ':,he Conservative Senate related to Europe °"'y. ff ^^.^^''^'^ nentofEtuop,, and the Continental System, and '^e ConUne"^! Pons, which are mentioned thrice three t.mes m the ,nstrumc»t. ! See end— Note B. \ SIS without aword of America, or a word that can be applied to hcf. But from the continual omission of the words here restored, to say nothing of the anachronisms, the distortions, the misconstruction and misapplication of other documents, some latent object must be presumed. And if it were even allowed that such were not the inten- tion, it is not the less clear that the want of these words prevents the reader from that natural recurrence to the act itself, which would de- monstrate the impartiality of the American government, which is here denied, as well as the fallacy of the reasoning drawn from the recital in the mutilated state in which it is presented. But when we find the same plan of suppressing the same words, in repeated instances of the diplomatic correspondence, state papers-, and solemn judgments, v/c arc vconstraincd to pronounce upon it, as the spurious progeny of that incestuous intercourse between the executive and the judiciary, which it has been the pride and the boast of the present reign to divorce ; and which cannot surely be less objectionable for being carried on behind the curtain. It is paying but little compliment to the discernment of the English Nation, to suppose that deceit so palpable can have currency with it; and though it may be hoped that such deception will not last : yet the truth is, that the confiding Englishman is often deceived in this ^vay ; his integrity is easily imposed upon; his pursuits of a laudable industry prevent him from a critical investigation of the subject ; but when he shall be roused to a personal inspection of the case, it is to be hoped that he will see as well the injustice as the impolicy of the imposition, by which he has been prevailed on to believe that ^e have an unnatural partiality to France, the only imputation un- der which he can be prevailed upon to consider us his enemy ; and therefore most artfully insinuated, in equal contradiction of the evi- dence of our most essential interests, as of every document that has ever appeared, or ever can appear upon the subject ; and the manu- facturers at least, in reverting to their testimony on the relief that Mr. Erskine's treaty gave them, will hardly forget that we did ac- tually maintain against France, on that occasion, the exclusion from intercourse which we opened to you. Par.>26.-"Mthough the instrument thus produced was by no means that general and unqualified revocation of the Berlin and Milan Decrees which Great Britain had continuaUy demanded, and had a full nght to cla.m ; and although this iustrnment, under all the circumstances of its appearance at that moment, for the first time, was open to the strongest »uspu:,on» ot >ta anthenticity; yetastiie rviiuistev oi me uniscu o«t« y.^.^.^ , - ^ porting to be a copy of the instrument of revocation, the Oovermnent of 519 « . • j«5rn,„ of revcitinc. if possible, to the ancient and accm. Great Bruamdesjousoevcug^ , ^^^^^.^^ eonditionally tomcd P""-^^«;° ^;7"^;";,Va-„l„iy in the month of June last, his Royal ir TTZ S e Repen vl ;,eased to declare in Council, in the name H.shnes '^'^ ^'^'J .^'If"' ^.^t .he Orders in Council should be re- and on the behalf of his Majtsty, Hrai "«= „**»,« iTn5tn- «a» produced thourh he aftcr-vards preferred retreating by .t to acknouledgmg the UuefaC that ho wJ beaten f^m the ground that he had almos "vorl o n,aintain;-it will he seen, wo say that t^o "!^">™ here referred to, could in no shape be considered any thmg more thn a corroboration of the French Decr^s having been repealed Tm the ist of November preceding, to which date as the penod of .rrevocation, it literally refers. It could, if genuine, only be com.- deredrcertif^ug that the preceding condition of the revoc...- "^ been carried into effect by the United States. "/•'')^'> »« » m. .0 the matter of fact, neither doe. it even pretend to bo the art o revocation, but merely . certificate of '-'» P;!^-«". ; Sir William Scott is content with the revocation of the 5 h of August ,8,0, to a certain point-" I am authorized to declare hat ho Berlin and Milan Decrees .re r«»W,"-(»ot ' will be r-oked - ..and will cease to have their effect from the Ist of November. (Edwards, p. 9.) And it i, only by the following word,, ... the mu- tilated state in which he has given them, confoundmg, as we hav. hown, the true meaning, that he finds any thing to remove or .U-- . -vi-f--ior •!•"' *"• "onld ethcfwise have derived from tho 320 words here quoted. Wc have souj;lit, but in vain, for some crpcmcous translation of Ciulorc's letter to Armstrong, to n|)0- logize for this mutilation, as well in t!>e letters of the British Secre- tary of State to Mr. Pinkney, as in the judgments on the Fox, and on ,the Snipe, and in tl;c ])aper before us ; find we may truly say, that wc should have been glad to find it, but we have never seen any soch, and in the Appendix referred to in tJie margin of this passage in the report, the words are stated at length ; and they are substan- tially repeated in another document in this Appendix, equally before, the court, " conformably to the act communicated." . But we have in this paragraph a distinct avowal that the condition required of us to insure our emancipation from the eflects of your orders, was, that wc should obtain of France a general and unquali- fied revocation of the Berlin and Milan Decrees, as well in respect to other nations as to ourselves. And this is the termination of all the zig-zaggery and equivocation that were used in approaching our Government on the subject.— It was rather too much to demand of us iit any rate, since we never belonged to the neutral family that armed, to defend their mutual rights against your incroachmcnts; we never interfered with your invasions of those rights, either in the attack on the Spajiish frigates, or the bombardment of Copenhagen ; though, by the way, had we sought a cause of quarrel, we might have found it as crc- ditors of Spain in this diminution of her means of payment ;— wc eould but deplore these indelible stains on the land of our Ancestors :— but after your instructions to Mr. Frskine to confme the invocation of your decrees to its operations as far as respected America; a modest Minister might well be backward in propounding such an absurdity as that of the United States of America legislating for the states of Europe. It is matter of regret that tliis inconsistency escaped the researches of the profound civilian ; (who, playing Grumio, in his judgment on the Snipe, has given us a lecture on family duty ;) as he must have concluded that" the rule could have no locality ;" and that what the United States had a right to agree to with ISlr. Canning, they had unequal right to agree to ,with the Due de Cadorc. Par ''T.— " In order toprovide for the contingency of a Declaration of War on the part of the United States, previous to'.the arrival in America, of the said Order of Revocation, instrnciions were sent tp his Majesty's Miwsttr Plenipotentiary accredited to the United States (the execution of wh.ch in- structions, in consequence of the discontinuance of Mr. Foster's functions, were at a subsequent period tiitiusiea to Aamirai en u"»»t z^.^,... - directing Uim to propose a ccssatif^n of hostilities, should they have com. 1 nn.l furtbcr to offer a simultaneous repeal of the Orders in Council :;r; o^rifraua Jl- tUe Restrictive I..s ou British .hips and co,„me.« on the otljcr." • . Not cVisnuted. i „ r on <« They were also respectively empoNvcred to acquamt the Ame- Par. 20.- ^''^y ^; t„ „\ in „5,ios with respect to the Wockade rican Governmen tn 2*»^^*" * ^ ^^;,,,„,„t must contim.e to niaintaii. its of May, 18Q0 «'"!^^ *f.^'^, ^'.^ticulur blockade had been discontinued legality, Mhatmpomt of ^ctthip^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^.^^ ^^^^^.^^^ for a length of tnuc, '• ""^ ''J^^^^^^^^^^^^^ in Council, and that his Majesty'. of m enmy's port. ""; " f //; ::^^..,,, to this or to any other rf the, Government had no '" "^ / ,«; j upon the ordinary and accustomed blockades of the ^"'^-y^P**'*^;,{;;",,r in force previous to the Orders ia TIcrc is a distinct avowal that the blockade of May, I8O6, Avas t i tie uUquent Orde.. in Council. We bog a recurrenco ergcd ' Y^^^f "';"rbocn said under Varngraph 18. The construe therefore to ^^^^^^^ ims b on J Government is here dh- tion given to the subse n^ oukr by ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ''''''St:t:iT^^^^^^ the Revocation of this deed in imaguicd that we wcr ^^^^.^..^ors, but that we magineJ. "^"h :r:r; ^I^CP-UpU 1B.) thatUdsorde. nghtl!/. "°^\^;; '^ ^^ „„, of the edicts which violated the ^a^ never considered b> s,,', The truth is. and it will so clearly ccnmerceof '^^"^'-''l'^^^^^^^^ appearby arecurrencetoth corre^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^_^^^^ was only on finding that ^laiquis >\tnc y asserted, that he «i 1 • f„,i" tlin ia of incorporation here rt-assetieuy L\taTrou:c';rtVouna.' (PinUcy to WcUCe,. ..stSepU '%ho offer made by Mv. Foster, in this case, ^v„s no->e.ly .^^^^^^^^^ 'rn»et should be ace„»pa,ned by a sufficient iurcc to make H Ug.l. p„. „._" TUe America Governn-e,,.. before tb^reecWed mUmaUo. ef Jccarse adopted b, «.e British Oo;e™™en.,j^-':/^f-^/„f ,,„,„,,. the extreme ».«,s"re of deelanng «'' ""^ f 2„ of the report of the „„t.i.bs,aadi.g they vere prev.o"sly " »»«;f ;,„„, ,5,,^ p,„„u,ga. French Minister for Foreign Affairs, of «k"J2l an, I ta«s of the Freneb .in. wew the Berlin and Milan Deerees, « f""'^™"'';^; „„, prfnci- Empire, under the tidse and extravagant preie:v., tout the mom.- !f 522 .U, therein contained were to bo found in the Treaty of Utrecht, and Mrere ?Um t XdZ "pon all State. Fro.n the pena.tie, of thi, code, «o nut.oa iTirbe exempt. wUici. did not accept it. not only a. the rule of .ts owa Tond^ct. but a, a law, the observance of which it was aho required to enforce upon Great Britain." ItUnotoriom on the face of tl,c ImccI, document l'""'^'"* to that it .lid not contemplate America at all.-Not only « thcr. 2 melon made of America in it, bnt F.urope. the con..«n.al sv.tem, and tl,e po,B of the continent, are, a, we before observed, C "ontinual b'nrdcn of the sonR.-l'rance and "- '7'"« "' rflianco with, or in ™bj„se.tion to her, a, the paper before us ex- messes it, (and to »l.ich, whether incorporated or com|uered, vr. TuTd h^e no access without the consent of the ruhng po»ers,) ,crc.lone parties t. this ins.ru.nent, which announce, the contnm- ance of the Berlin and Milan Decrees agaimt those powers only who ariow their fla,s to be denationalized. It is not true then tha no nation was to be oxen.pt front the P™""'- "f "."."f ' "^'^ from this character of Denationalisation the flag of the Un.ted State. „„ .heady exempted by the operation of the law »8"-' ^""^ vrhich had been offered to you aea.nst your enemy. Ai>d.t«as .till in your power, by revoking yonr hostile edicts, as they affected „s. and us only if you please, to liberate your <=""'";""• ""''j?"; marine from every restraint that was imposed upon ,t.-And ha-"''-J'»" *'•• I yLf declaration of the 21st of April, to lead the »oH-i, and „„n« more than your own people, into the erroneous behef "f F''"''""- fluence on our councils, by blending us with France, as the supp rt- er. of those doctrines, with this evidence before your eyes l.a Il^cady been treated by our Pt^siden. as an insult, and ch.st.scd as tt ■"^aTi' "In a Manifesto, accompanytoe thoi' deelaration of hostilitta, ia liU»7to the trier complaint against «.. Ord.« in C«..e.., a l.n, . see letter from a Calm Observer to a Noble l^rd. (G-e and Carli.. ~ •"-•> ^ .. ... .».,. _.. laMnrinUdin theTtawi, * Presideut'v Biessagc, isi juiic, tots, i— — , — . - ** .\nd w an additional insult, &c." , £23 t e » e I- L- is it is, rut of grlcvancM was bronght forward ; lomc trivial io tlieniiHvci, otUert which had been mutually adjiuted, but nouo of them lucb oa were ever before alleged by the Amiricaii Govtriimeut to be grouudt for war." ^ la this Paragnipl), there is the highest evidence of the anxiety of the United States to maintain to the last extremity the relations o! Peace ; of their forbearance under multiplied injuries;— of their efforts to avert the storm whicfi must be piejudicial to the mutual interest* of two countries, whose interest must ever be mutual in, the eyes of every enlightened btiitebman.— Wc know not whether wc can take credit for what is here said, tliat none of our griefancc* were ever tefore alleged by our government to be grounds for War.— Certainly, we have given some broad hints thlit they were so ; though to us« •the words of Mr. Madison," it is no less true that we are warmly dispo- acd to cherish all the friendly relations subsisting with Great Britain." * if in this temper, and with this view, wc have forborne to allege those grievances as grounds for war, can any oiks look at them for a moment without seeing that they are such, and that such forbearance is the best evidence of patience and long suffering on our part ? Can any one look at them without seeing that while the cup of bitter- ness was swelling to the brim, wc were draining the cup of concilia^ tion to the dregs.— 'i'he catalogue is top copious, and would indeed be too humiliating, to be recapitulated without some feelings of indignation, that our government had borne them so long, were it not for the hostile feelings excited by thn misconduct of your enemy, and our aversion from indulging, at your expense as well as. our^wn, the rapacity of your cruisers. — We will select but one of them ; look at the American seaman impressed on board a British man of wa^ ; chctiufd to the gun of his oppressor to deal out death. to a brother of mankind, perhaps his own brother, and in every case no enemy of his : — sec him brought to the gangway for disobedience to an officer who has no right to command him, and even for an effort to advise the officers of his own Government of liis situation ; —sec him wounded in such a cause, and dying by the side of a brave English messmate ; and hoar their mutual groans ;~lhe one soothed by the reflection that can sweeten death—" 1 die for my country ;"— the other, turning iiis eyes to the forger of his chains—" I am mur. dercd and unrevcnged."'— And is it to be imputed to us as a fault that we arc at length at war for such, among other causes ; because, in the hope of redress, wc have worn out years in seeking the abolition of this . . » Sec this quotation more at large in Letters from a Cosmopolite to a Cfer« gymuHf page ira, or mc ffjumifiiy xvrttta' xv« /iv^w.71 \^^\n 624, .Dtactlcc by just ami prudent arrangement, between thetwo gomn^ ■rnts--You would make war with all the world for treatmg a s.ngle sailor" of yours, as you have treated many thousand* of ours ■-- nL you would not spare a precious subject of your own. that fhoud commit the comparatively venial crime of l-tt^ng one of them on shore on a desert Island, where at worst he could only starve-.' and this multiplied and continual aggression on your par Lnot lo be considered I ground for War. because we have borne U so long without alleging it as such. ^ _ You ought to know, for it is no secret ,n your Navy, that many of your officers make no scruple to impress an American seaman .^h rever they can find him; a«d even boastof ,t.-Perhap,too i you ^rutinize, you will iind that your own orders to restore such Imc rrwayslen obeyed.-We do not acquit you of any share m^h. iniquity Ithe shoals of our seamen sent ashore in the lox adm.- .isLi';, and only then, furnish pretty ^^^^^"^ :^^2^^^^;Z dcnce of conrivance in their successors as well as m tho c that pre- Cdedthem: but we believe you are sometimes deceived and clear St is that the best intentions of an administration must fail, while officers, not immediately under their eye, and wanting men. are 'Ucenscd judges in their own cause.-We would do every thing m the world,-would even help to procure for you every man to whom you are entitled, according to your own principles and acknow- lied practice; but as long as you will not sufler the officer of any natfon under the sun to visit your ships, and take out w^^ms - ever he may please to call subjects of his own; you -^^^ /^ok m va^fol-an/acquiescence on our part in a measure fraught with such distressing injury to our citizens. ' ,i.t Par -« As if to throw additional obstacles in the ^vay of peace tlie SlstPar.-- AS It 10 prohibiting all inter- American Congress at the ^^^^ '•"*^ ^ '^^ the Executive Go- course with Great Bnta^^^^^^^^^^^^^ of that Act, of vcrnracnt, according to ^'''^ / .' ^''"7 . .^,,dlv intercourse betweenlhc two Congress should reassemble." The Uw her. rofcrrc.l .o put an cn.l to those po^er. for rostormg the intercourse »hich the Presi.lcnt had in va,n exerted for yca^. f:, which .ere incon,p.,tih.e with a state of «r. K„ ~g<> „ent could be entortainea in America, at that fmo, to hope for a ..vocation of the Orders in Councii.^ 1. «™.«™„ J^! ; t declaration of «ar in America that tnosu o.d.r=™,.. - » Sec the ease of Captain Ijake, 525 r.nyTLLislature^f the United States, to prevent such seamen ftTnf entering into\heir .erviee. But independent of the objection to an exclsTyf ebance on a foreign state, for the conservation of so vital an nteret no explanation was,^>r coidd be, afforded by the agent who was charged w"th this overture, either as to the main principles upon which «uchlwrwere to be founded, or as to the provision which it was proposed they should contain." In reply to para^^raph 30, we have shown some of the precious effects of the praclice which it is here attempted to defend. It re- «,ains only to a J<1 the propositions that were made by us many yea,-s a.ro when Mr. Monroe was our Minister in England, and which have never yet been withdrawn.-We then offered to enter into en- ga..emehts to allow of no protection to British seamen ; but on the contrary, to deliver thorn up, whenever they sought refuge among us. -To aid in searching for, seizing, and restoring them ; and to enact laws for this purpose ; to keep them in our prisons, wher thereunto required, and to probibit our citizens, under adequate penal les. from carrying them oft' or employing them. All this was proffered by • our Govermnont for an exemption from that seizure upon the ugh seas of all persons not liable thereto by the laws of Nations, which could not, in the case supposed, attach ou any British sailor For our naturalised citizens, comprising few. if any, of this class of men, and none that have not become so by three years' U,nger residence among us than is required for the same privilege with you, we ask onlv tlic protection which you extend to your own. - VVho the agent charged with the reiteration of the overture was. or how instructed, we pretend not to know; but we cannot doubt < I 2 I i 52,6 , • w« «lnrl(TP ill the power of the executive Go- "■" ':::: ;t:;l c — «" a.l,„«e ,c„aUK, .o prevc. .ernmcnt '» P™;"" ' „„j„„„„vor »■<= are com iuccd that, under . breach of the <:»""«'^'; "™ ,|,^. American Merchant and - amicable -™J--;„ tut J u,., of his brethren. »ould be adopted. „d Par.-- Thi. propositi^ bavin, been °.^«"^'»4 -"^^iX™! „„ made, again offering «. «-,,...«, r'^'^^JZ^T'^^ „«.„rf „«I4 MrreUy .tipalate to renounce the «««.«<>« *» "^. ' ^ ,?„(. „ar, to . ccssauon of hosliHtK », "" "'°' ^-^^ .^ ^^ behalf of His Ma- X""" ---- -^^^^^^ "^ ""'°'" " "" 'irr- T^ n.0,. ..fen.i.e ^'^^Z:^ l^^t^^ .ceoBpanied, a. the former had been by .<»l>" "^"'^^^^^^ „.seU de- ceptio^le natnr.. and especially »' "f ""^^"'J , "^^Zu wbut were Jned ««. eondeoned under the Orders m l.«»"-^^»; J^ ^^^,„,i„ „f termed illegal bloeliadcs-a eomphanee mth "''''^ ™""" ' „aer of the .11 other objections, woald hare amonnted to an absolve "nrrender 'ighU 0. «hieb those Orders and bloclcad» »ere founded. We cannot conttncnt on these pro,«.,itiom without ^^^''''i^'l .U= discussion of rights which »e have never for a ■"°™^" » doned, and rejected, because « -•'''' "-7;^/ rli- perty, ii. innocent merchandj.c, M. ^'J^lJ^^^^ ^^^ L«»<(;-vhich no other naUon "'f ^^v" l.c-rV -titled, any right to ; and to the restorat.o,. of f "d-o -. ^^^^^^^^^^ „. by your ov.n construction of ,^ aw o^- Is »» ». H, „J, Ld .„u.g,ted; •'•-/-,'>!."•;/ ".'^^:;:\,:,H, ,heca.an,iti« of to posterity, as to winch of us is cnaige.i a. iUeanl : ' and whatever the law located ,n Lngland may .ay, the . sJon tbU subject « lett.v.fron, . Cosu,opoUte to a Clergyman, «d »aa 3d letter.' 527 true law, diffusa in omnes, constans, sempiterna, which has no lo- cality, and pronounced in any other part of the world, acquits us. — Moreover you paid us for similar spoliations in the administratJoa of Mr. Pitt: so did your allies in the invasion of neutral rights. — Perhaps in discussing the question we might agree to a simibr re- ference; perhaps our mutual friend Russia might give us a casting vote ; or lend us an umpire. You must not expect to be «.%«y5 judge in your own cause; were it enemy's property there could be no other, tribunal, but this is not even pretended. 35th Par.—" Had the American Government been sincere in representing the Oracis in Council, as llie only subject of ditfereiice between Great Bri- tain and tiie United States, calculated to leail to hostilities; it might have been expected, so soon as the revocation of those Orders had been officially made known to them, that they would have spontaneously recalled their 'letters of marque,' and manifested a disposition immediately to restore the , relations of peace and amity between the two powers. 3<)th Par.—" liut the conduct of the Government of the United States by no means corresponds with such reasonable expectations. 37th Par.—" The Order in Coinicil of the 23rd of June being officially conir municatcil in America, the Government of the United States saw nothing in the Repeal of the Orders in Council, which should of itself restore peace, unless Great Britain were prepared, in the first instance, substantially to relinquish the right of impressing her own seamen, when found on board Ame- rican merchant ships." Here again we must refer to paragraph 30. Once for all, we never did represent the Orders in Council as the onlt; subject calculated to lead to hostilities. And if we have shown, as we have abundantly sliown, that we had other most irritating and most cruel causes of hostility; how can you have the conscience to turn our forbearance to commence it, into a Jesuitical pretence of insincerity on our part ? 38th Par.— "The proposal of an armistice, and of a simultaneous repeal of the restrictive measures on both sides, subsequently made by the com- manding officijr of His Majesty's naval forces on the American coast, were received in the same hpstile spirit by the Government of the United States. The suspension of the practice of impressment was insisted upon, in the correspondence which passed on that occasion, asanecessary preliminary to a cessation of hostilities : negociation, it was stated, might take place witliout any suspension of the exercise of this right, and also without any armistice being concluded ; but Great Britain was required previously to agree, without any knowledge of the adequacy of the system which could be substituted, to negociate upon the basis of accepting the legislative regula- tiftos of a foreign state, as the sole equivalent for tlie exercise of a right, whieltihe has felt to be essential to the support of her maritime power." Vol. I. Pam. No. II. 2 L ; 528 sqthPar-" If America, by demanding this preliminary concessioli, in- tend deny the validity of that right ; in that denial, Great BrUa.n cannot rnuiesce nor ^vill die give countenance to such a pretension, by acceding :« s ^^^^^^^^^^^ as a basis on which to treat. If the American Government has devised, or conceives ,t can devise regtda- t ions which may safely be accepted by Great Britain, as a substitute for he exerc^ ^ the right in question, it is for them to bring forward such a plan for consideration. Tlie British Government has never attempted to exclude ?h s Z on fLi amongst those on which the two States might have to ne- lo ciaT bus,, on the contrary, uniformly professed it. readiness to receive an! dlnss an; proposition OTi this subject coming from the American Go. veUent ; ithL neJer asserted any exclusive right, as to the impressment of British seamen from American vessel., which it was not prepared to acknow- fedge, as appertaining equally to the Government of the United States, with respet to American seamen when found on board British merchant ships : but cannot, by acceding to such a basis in the first instance, either assume or a nit that'to be practicable, which, when attempted on former occasion^, has always been found to be attended with great difficulties ; such d.fficnlt es Tth^Br tish Comniissioners, in 1806, expressly declared, after an attentive consideration of the suggestions brought forward by the Commissioners on the part of America, they were unable to surmomit."" We shall only add to our former observations on this subject,- that the regulations of a foreign, state here referred to, were the regula- tionsof the undoubted maritime rights of her own merchant shvps ; such regulations, as you neither will, nor ever have suffered to be invaded iu your own case, recommended moreover by the contmua abuse of the power for wlvich you are contending agamst all right, and infinitely better calculated to give you all that you pretend to want. And what is this pretence of a readiness to receive and discuss any proposition that may come from the American Government on thi. subk-ct?-discuss the propositions already made, and recapitulated above, and, which, but for a change of administration, we have httle doubt would have been agreed to as soon as the popular deceptions on this subject, which it required time to surmount, could have beeix removcd.-Let us hear your objections to them at once, if you have any to make. We want nr ne of your sailors, nor any of your sub. jects. We cannot deny them the rights of hospitality, Et cunetis undamque auramque patentem. Quod genus hoc homnum, quav€ hum tambarbara morein Fermittit yutria f but you may be assured we covet them not :— they graft not to advan- tage on our stock -—there are few of them that we would not wiUing- ly^be rid of >-»nd if you were to take them back one with the others SSiO ^^ you would find that you had only acquired the addition of minus. We are not so uncharitable as to judge of you by no better sample. Moreover wc have no desire to diminish your means of defence against your enemy, with whom we have also a reckoning to settle if we can get you off our hands. But if you will be seven years in dis- cussing the plan, and can produce no better, do not keep our poor fellows imprisoned all the time ; nor cajole, nor humbug us, (to use a suitable phrase,) with a pretence, now for the first time set up, that we may exercise a right which you never before allowed to any nation on earth ; to impress cur seamen, whom we never impress any where, from on board your Merchant ships where they ar,e never to be found. The only persons that the law allows the ships of a Belligerent nation to take out of neutral ships at sea, are military persons serv- ing in the war. And were it otherwise, and were the rule which you now find it convenient to proffer, the universal rule, and applied in your own case, what would be your language ? " Then take thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh; But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed One drop of English blood ; thy ship and goods Are, by the law^ of England, confiscate, Aye, and thy life is forfeit to the State." Par. 40.—" Whilst this proposition, transmitted through the British Admi* ral, was pending in America, another communication, on the subject of an armistice, was unofficially made to the British Government in this country* The agent, from whom this proposition was received, acknowledged fiiat he did not consider that he had any authority himself to sign an agreement on th^ part of his Government. It was obvious that any stipulations entered into^ in consequence of this overture, would have been binding on the British Govermnent, whilst the Government of the United States would have been free to refuse or accept them, according to the circumstances of the moment: this proposition was therefore necessarily declined." We don't much wonder at your declining a proposition in this form ; though it would have been but civil in you to let the public know what it was.— Perhaps it was of a nature to which you might have committed yourselves without any disadvantage from the United States rejecting or accepting your terras. And at all events, as Mr. Foster and Mr. Baker will tell you that we don't stand upon form, we should like to see a counter project sent hither. Par. 41. — " After tliis exposition of the circnmstances which preceded and which have followed the declaration of war by the United States, hia Royal Highness the Frin«« Il*g«nt, acting in the name and on the behalf of hit 530 Maiesty.feeU himself called upon to declare the leading principle, by wfaiclj the conduct of Great Britain ha. been regulated in the transactions connecfd ^'^^S't:Zy^^ Hi,hnc. can never acknowledge any blockade .hite'er to be illcgal.Uich has been duly notified, and i, -PP<>««f Jy a. Tdequate force, merely npon the ground of its extent, or because the porU or coasts blockadedare nqt atthesame time '"^^^^f .'jy ^f" ^ . . , .^ „..,, Par 43 -« His Royal Highness can never admit that neutral trade with Gr^atB^tain can be cLtitutedapublic crime ti.ecommiss.on of which can - ♦»,« chJnsnf anv DOwer whatever to be denationahzed. 'Tar .:!?'Hif royal Highne., can never admit that Great Britain can be debased of its right of just and necessary retaliation, through the fear of eventually affecting the interest of a neutral. ....... exercise of Par 45 -" His Royal Highness can never adnnt, that m the exercise ot the u Idoubted and hUherto undisputed ri.ht of searching neutral merchant vlsseT in time of war. the impressment of British seamen, ^h^^^^^^f Jem" can be ieemed any v olation of a neutral flag. Neither can headm.t that the Ukingsuchse'jlen from on board such vessels, can be considered by any neutral state as a hostile measure, or a justifiable c»«««/j^'; ^^.^^ Par 46 -« There is no right more cleariy established than the rigbt wUicJi nSove;gnha?^totheallcgia;cecfhissubjects,moreespem^^^ Their allegiance is«o optional duty, which they can dcchne and resum^ a pleasure. It is a call whkh they are bound to obey: it began with their birth, and can only tenninate with their existence. Par. 47.-" If a similarity of language and manners may make the exer cise Jf th 8 right more liable to partial mistakes, and occasional abuse, when practYsed tovfards vessels of the United States, the same circumstances make ralsH righTvvith U.C exercise of which, in regard to such vessels, it is more diffi^uU to «Hspe„s^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ,^ '-fr^ seamed, be added their assumed right to transfer the allegiance of British sub- e"thus to cancel the jurisdiction of their legitimate Sove-gn, by ac ofm^turalization and certificates of citizenship, -^'^^ ^''^.^ P^;^;^^^^^^^^^ valid out of their own territory as wiUiin it, it is obvious that to abandon th« Indent ril of Great Britain, and to admit these novel pretensions of the Unhed Sttes, would be to expose to danger the very foundation of our mar. ''pVr?-" Without entering minutely into Uie other topics, which have bernbYtughtforwardbytheGovernmentoftheUnited^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ „.,. tn romark that whatever the Declaratioo of the United Stttes may nave ' .!.^r oTit Sritrilever did dem«.d that they should force BritW. manu- LC'SCTI".' formaUy declared her wilUngne^ entirely .. rrr«r™dify.i„eo„.^^^^^^^^ ^^^"pTo^Lru' UeS. would act toward, her «,d toward. F™uoevjitl^rea.imp»Ua^^^^^^ ._.^";.^!:7„1h,. h..Tl,ttle n^ht .. »otiee th. affair of the Chcapealt.. 531 ledged, his conduct was disapproved, and a reparation was regularly tenderer! by Mr. Foster on the part of his Majesty, and accepted by the Government of the United States. Par. 51.—*' It is not less unwarranted in its allusion to the mission of Mr. Henry ; a mission undertaken without the autliority oi even knowledge of his Majesty's Government, and which Mr. Foster was authorised foi-mally and officially to disavow. Par. 32. — " The charge of exciting the Indians to offensive measures against the United States is equally void of foundation. Before tlie war began, a policy the most opposite had been uniformly pursued, and proof of this was tendered by Mr. Foster to the American Government. Par. 53. — " Such are the causes of war which have been put forward by the Government of the United States. But the real origin of the present contest will be found in that spirit which has long unhappily actuated the Councils of the United States : their marked partiality in palliating and assisting the aggressive tyranny of France ; their systematic endeavours to inflame their people against the defensive measures of Great Britain ; their ungenerous conduct towards Spain, the intimate ally of Great Britain ; and their unwor- thy desertion of the cause of other neutral nations. It is through the preva- lence of such councils, that America has been associated in policy with France, and committed in %var against Great Britain. Par. 54. — " And under what conduct on the part of France has tlie Go- vernment of the United States thus lent itself to the enemy? The contemp- tuons violation of the Commercial Treaty of the year 1800, between France and the United States; the treacherous seizure of all American vessels and cargoes in every harbour subject to the control of the French arms ; the tyrannical principles of the Berlin and Milan Decrees, and the confiscations under them : the subsequent condemnations under the Rambouillet Decree, antedated or concealed, to render it the more effectual ; the French commer- cial rej,ulation8, which render the traffic of the United Stat i with France almost illusory ; the burning of tlieir merchant ships at sea, long after the alleged repeal of the French Decrees-rail these acts of violence, on the part of France, produce from the Government of the United States, only such com- plaints as end in acquiescence and submission, or are accompanied by sugges- tions for enabling France to give the semblance of a legal form to her usur- pations, by converting them into municipal regulations. Par. 65.— " This disposition of the Government of the United States— this complete subserviency to the Ruler of France— tliis hostile temper to- wards Great Britain — are evident in almost every page of the official corres- pondence of the American with the French Government. Par. 56.—" Against this course of conduct, the real cause of the present war, the Prince Regent solemnly protests. Whilst contending against France, in defence not only of the liberties of Great Britaia, but of the world, his Royal Highness was intitled to look for a far different result. From their common origin — from their common interest— from their professed principles of freedom and independence, the United States were the last power in which Great Britain could^ve expected to find a willing instrument, and abettor of French tyranny. Par. 57.—" Disappointed in this hi* just expectation, the Priace Regent SB2 ^m still pursue the policy which the Britiih Govtrnment hts to loag •nd i». variably oiainUined, in repelling iiyuatice, aqd in Bupporting the general riKhts of nations ; and, under the favor of Providence, relying on the justice of his cause, and the tried loyalty and firmness of the British nation, His Royal Highness confidently looks forward to a successful issue to the contept, in which he has thus been compelled most reluctantly to engage." We have thrown all this declamation together ; not from the least desire to shrink from a critical investigation of it, paragraph by paragraph, but because it will bo seen that much of it has no relation to us ; much has already been answered : much is employed in the empty cry by which alone the English Nation can be duped into hostility with us, that we are associated with France, which we have shown to be without a shadow of evidence, and of which we challenge a single proof from that correspondence so vainly invoked, or from any other source.— Because our doctrine of Blockade is neither that which France, or England chooses to set up, to answer shifting, and occasional purposes, but that which England has aU ways asserted, till shifting and occasional purposes led her astray from the right path ;— because our doctrine of retaliation confines it to the party committing the wrong ; and considers it " mons- trous," as Sir William Scott does or rather did, " to suppose, that because one country has been guilty of an irregularity, every other country is let loose from the Law of Nations, and is at liberty to assume as much as it think fit." (1 Rob. 142.) We do pot allow that your Officers have any excuse in the similarity of language and manners for seizing our seamen ; they are easily distin- guished. You naturalize a seaman after two years' service on board any ship: (6 Anne, c. 37.-13 Geo. xt. c. 3.) wc, after five year* residence like any other man. We neither^entice nor harbour them, but take the few that fall in our way, as we do your manufactures, because they are offered at a fair price. What the President has said of forcing your manufactures into Tr&nco after they had become neutral property, is the fair inference of the words of Mr. Foster. On the subject of the Chesapeake, you are quite right that we ought to be silent ; and considering the mis- take that one of our own officers, of considerable reputation, has since made in East Florida, we are disposed to mutual forbearance. That the plot of Henry did not originate wiih you, we don't mean to dispute; that you knew and did not discourage it, we presume, will not be denied: to say that you did not promote and encourage it indeed, to a certain point and period, would be to deny your share lu i 53S ^c correspondence; which yftu never have done, bocnuso, indeed, you cannot. And that you looked to unfavorable consequences to the Union from it, we strongly suspect;— it is impossible to refer to the Debates in the House of Lords, at the time this plot was in operation, without perceiving that such cflfect was fondly anticipated. We believe that Spain is satisfied with the measures we have adopted in respect to our claim upon her; wc are sure she ought to be ;- we mean to adjust that claim with honor and liberality ; and should have no ob. jection if at Peace, to make you the referee in any matter of di« pute with her, which however we do not anticipate. We have, it is true, some very serious demands upon France, but they do not affect you, and are not of a nature with which you have any right to interfere. We have only to regret that wc arc not strong enough to fight you both ; and hope that, after the alterna- tions of ill treatment, that you have been running a race to inflict upon us, you will give us the opportunity of repelling the calumnies so liberally bestowed upon us, without a particle of foundation, by retiring frop the field, that wo may enter the lists with your enemy. POSTSCRIPT. Since the first impression of these sheets, which were written and sent to Press as soon as the answer of Lord Castlereagh to Mr. Baring appeared in the Chronicle of Tuesday last ; and before they were ripe for the public eye ; a debate on tlie subject of them has been held in Parliament, of which It may be useful to take a brief notice. Mr. Canning is reported to have said last night, that he did not impute to tlie Americans, that they were the friends of France. For this concession, after his manifold charges of manifest partiality, we are perhaps indebted to the previous as, sertion of Mr. Foster; but reverting soon to the enmity which he cannot conceal, he refers to the contest In which Russia has been since engaged, and of which America, at the time when War was resolved on, could not have had even a prospective view, as m- fluencing her determination at that time ; and he talks of America as leagued with the Oppressor of tlie world, with the Document before his eyes In which the American Executive, (five months al- ready at War with us, and at a period when, according to all ap- pearances, in America, success was attending, and likely to con Sd4, tlnue to attend, the Arms of France igainst Russia,) had enjoined! on the Legislature, not to entangle itself in the views of that power. It is extremelf important, to a right understanding of those things, that we should remember the distance from Europe to America, and from America to Europe ; the Orator, that is, allowed to annihilate both space and time, can have no difficulty ia establishing his point. Another remark on the Debate attaches to the Speech of Mr. G. H. Rose ; who, in asserting the number of British sailors on board the A merican frigates, before the employment of foreigners was disallowed, let the house into the secret that it was the easiest ^ thing in the world to discriminate between an English and an American sailor : — " they are easily distinguished by their man- ners and habits, which are very different from ours." Meaning thereby, from those of our sailors — so says the Anticipation. But with this fact before our eyes, and ten thousand impresseH Ameri- can seamen on board our ships, can we hesitate to substitute for the practice of our officers, (wanting men, and subjecting the pro- pert?/ of a free man in himself to their rapacity,) the mode in which the American Government has proposed to join its efforts to ours to procure us all our own, but without any of our neighbour's, goods ? Another subject remains to be noticed, though last, not least Mr. Foster has informed the house that Mr. Madison is no Frenchman ; and Mr. Munroe is no Frenchman : and Mr. Canning, whatever he has done, or ina^ do, ceased for a moment to impute to the Americans that they were the friends of France. I congratulate the world on the dev;lopement of this discovery :— not on the dis- covery itself, for it is some years'old— it is to be found in the Diplo- matic ( brrespondence,and in the personal averments of all the Minis- ters that we have sent to America, including Mr. G. H. Rose, and with the single exception, it may be, of Mr. Jackson, who had little opportunity of knowing any thing about it. Hear what Mr. Erskine says on the subject to this same Mr. Canning, (who is first melted into a momentary contrition by the Speech of Mr. Foster,) in a Letter of the 25th of March, 1809. « I continue to be firmly persuaded that Mr. Madison, •voould most luillingly seize the first opportunity of recorarmending to the next Congress to assert the Neutral rights against France, should His Majesty deem it to be just or expedient to cause his Orders in Council to be withdrawn, as he has frequently, in conversation, said to me, that no hesitation yrould be felt in this Country of en- \y 535 tertng upon hostilities with France, if she did not repeal her De- crees ; but he always added th»it it was impossible the United States could take such a step, while His Majesty's Orders were in force." But, says Mr. Canning, in his melting moments, brushing the dew from his prolific brow, «< I do not say, Mr. Madison is the enemy of this Country,— no man is the enemy of a country, — but the determined enemy of its institutions, &c." Let us hear Mr. Erskine on this point, in his letter to this s;'me Mr. Canning, of December 4-, 1808 — «« He" (Mr. Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury,) "turned the conversation immediately upon the character of Mr. Madison, and said that he could not be accused of having such a bias towards France : and remarked that Mr. Madison was known to be an admirer of the British Constitution^ to be generally well disposed towards the nation, and to be intirely free from any enmity to its general prosperity. He appealed to me, whether / had not observed that he frequently spoke with approba- tion of its institutions, its energy, and spirit, and that he was thoroughly well versed in its history, literature, and arts." Now, to this appeal, the whole scope of the correspondence shows that Mr. Erskine bowed assent : — his « confident belief" in the •« unfeigned desire " of the American Government for « an Ad- justment of their difficulties, and the maintenance of amity with Great Britain," runs through the whole, and has been corroborated by the testimony of all who have had equal opportunity of judging. —Yet, strange to tell, if any thing can be strange in these times. Ministers have adopted the clamors of party, unsupported hy a single overt act, or the least appearance of a concealed onCy in preference not only to the evidence before all the World, but to that of their own legitimate correspondents. We have not time to comment upon the very pertinent and manly recognition of Mr. William Smith, who reprobated all idea of reciprocity between the state of the British Seaman employed in . America, from his own choice, (excess of freedom) and the American Seaman impressed on board our Men of War, (excess of bondage.) But we cannot forego the remark, that Mr. Whitbread, (who, if he does not stand alone, stands pre-eminent, in asserting the rectitude of the American Government,) is always greeted by his opponents on such occasions with a multitudinous erclamation of hear^ hear, hear, and thus truths, which posterity will find most clear, arc brought into that temporary discredit which cannot fail to be foil February 19, 1813. 536' NOTES OMITTED. Note A. Page 504. Mr. Cannhiff i» reported to liave " ncknowledfjed " in the debate of the 18th of February, " tliat in this blockade ihert- did arise matter tor grave innnirv and serious distrust; but when explained there appeared no cause •f dissatisfaction, for the force applied to carry Uie blockade into effect was specific and peculiarly framed for the accomplishment of the object designed." We shall not here stop to consider the construction put on tins measure, and on that of the order of the 7th of January followmg, byhw administration, when they found it convenient to predicate Hitir own snbse- quent orders upon tliem-and to assert that the latter differed from the former " by an eJitension in opei-ation only, but not in principle." The reader that wishes to see a disquisition on this subject will find it in the first and second letters of a Cosmopolite to a Clergyman. (Gale and Curtis, 1812.) It it were even pretended (and no evidence to such effect has been produced, though the production of it should certainly have preceded the condemnatioB ofany property under these orders, )-if it were even pretended that a fleet were continually cruising about the North Sea and the Channel, to intercept any ships that they might thus by accident fall in with, bound to any ot the ports within the notirication; (tlie only force tiiat Mr. Canning can refer to, and this without proof;) this would not amount to a legal blockade, which could only be constituted by that stationary force before each interdicted port, that would make the entrance to it, or the exit from it, manitestly dan- eeroHs.— This alone would meet the construction of the law by Sir W. .Scott, and by British diplomatists as well as judiciary authoiities. In the year 1711, in resistance of the blockade of certain ports of the Baltic by the King «f Sweden, a memorial from Great Britain contained the following words: "SilesditesVillesetoientactucUement assiCg^es on bloqntes, les sujets de sa Maiest<>, et de Icurs hautes Puissances n'miroient point de pr{>texte d y aller, maislecasestbiendiff<^ient par rapport a quclques Vaisseaux, qui crotwnt Mulement dam la mcr liallique." (Memoires de Lamborty, v. 6. p. 466.) Ihc doctrine here is quite unequivocal, neither is it contested, but on the con- trary it is confirmed by the opposite party ; who, with a resolution like that of England to contend against all tlie world rather than surrender a maritime right, maintains this right only on the ground of a close investment ot the different places " in quorum vicinio aut cmsiiectu naves nostra; constitutae et locftta sunt," " ad omncs illoa portus, claudendos, ardeque obsidendos. (Ibul. 1>. 451. et454.) The quotations are here abridged and combined for brevity s sake; but the documents more at large amplify the doctrine, without any contradiction of it.— See also the treaty of June, 1801, between Great Britain and Russia, in which the necessity of a statiomrn force »8 asserted not as a special stipulation but as a general principle ; and Sir William Scott in Robinson's Reports poAsiw, and particularly in the case of the Juffrow Ma- ria -Schroeder. v. 3. p. 155. " This fact I will venture to assume, orders must have been given to these cruiztrs, m the mo?t regular manner ; vet I cannot shut my eyes to -a fact that presses upon the court, that the blockade has not been duly carried into effect." (p. 156.)-" 1 here can be no doubt then oftlie intention ofthe Admiralty, that neutral ships sftouW not be permitted to go in; but the fact is, that it was not, in evej^y instance, earned into effect." " Wiiat in a blockade, btii io prcveni ^QCzsa uy lorce , 537 IfUie ships HtaHoned o» Ihe spot to keep up tbc blockade will not use their force for that p.ui.oi.e, it in in.poHMl)le for a comt of justice to lay, - l^B.) " "lup restored." 'I lie learned J»(l«e had abundant authorities to justify this decision.— Among others, there was one before him Irom Jiynkershmjck in complete analogy with the last word, here (iuot«(!, Uiata blockade is virtually relaxed; at $egniua Oim ob$erv^ta '^""'*"'* Note B. Page 517. So also in thetjase of the Fox. " From every thing that must have pre. ceded and from every thing that must have followed, tlie revocation ot the French Decrees, if such revocation had taken place, I think I am justified in proiwuncing that no such event has ever occurred. Die only document referred to on behalf of the claimants is the letter ot the person styling him- self Due de Cadure. lliat letter is nothing more than a conditional rcvoca- tion : it conUins an alternative proposed— either that Great Britain shall not only revoke her Orders in Council, but likewise renounce her principles of blockade, principles founded upon the ancient and established Law of Na- tions; or that America [here the important words are also omittedj shall cause her neutral rights to be respected ; In other words, that she shall jol« France in a compulsive onfederation against this country. It is quite unpossible that England should renounce her principles of blockade to adopt the new-fangled principles of the French Goyernraent, which are absolute novelties in the law of nations; and I hope it is equally impossibla Uiat America should lend herself to an hostile attempt to compel Uiis country to renounce tliose principles on which it has acted, m pertect conformity to ancient practice and the known law of nations, npon Uie mere demaBd of the person holding the government of J^ance. The ea»us fadnia, therefore, ifitmaybeso called, does not exist; the conditions on which alone Fraiwe holds out a prospect of retracting the decrees, neither are, nor caft be fulfilled." (Edwards, v. i. p. 324.) It will be seen here, inde- pcndently of the evidence referred to, under paragraph 10, of the American doctrine of blockade following the English, and not the French construction, that, as in the case of the Snipe, an inlereuce is drawn from the words, as erroneously quoted, which the true text would not allow. Dr. Adams in his argument against the Snipe says, " the court was pleased to put itK own interpretation npon these words ' causing her rights to be respect- ed •"— Be it the courts monopoly! he might have added that the interpreta- tion fitted the words, for the words were made to fit the interpretation ; andwhoshall6ay,ifmy liverjr be too small for a new servant, that I have not the right to take the man in. „. , .v • •^- In the letters from Marquis Wellesley to Mr. Pinkney, the same omission is followed so closely by the same inference, that one would alniost suppose tlicm the work of the same hand : "that Icttei- states," says the noble Marquis, " that the decrees of Berlin and Milan aro revoked, and that tioin the Jst of Nov. 1810, they will cease to be in force, it being understood, that in consequence of this declaration, the English shall revoke their Orders in Council and renounce the new principles ot blockade whidi they have attempted to establish." And here lie stops -.-converting a semicolon into a period, and thus omitting the precise alternative which demonstrates the equal protfcr of the United States to both belligerents ; but not content with this omission of the precise condition of the alternative, a paraphrase is added by his Lordship, without travelling out of the paragraph, which perverts t^e particular mode of resistance offered by the United States, to either belli- gerent revoking her hostile edicts, against the oUier refusing, into a general resentment against Great Britain alone. A separate condition, relatmg to America, seemed also to be contained in this declaration, by which America might understand, "that the decrees of Berlin and Milan would be actually ° t , ._ ^u- ..4. ««.* Mf>'..«n>K- iAin ni-nviilftrl that America sliould resent fPPeUiCU UJi UiC lit U» iTVTtjjlwv. ii'--; J — — -- 5S8 any refusal of the British Government to renonnce the new principles of blockade, and to revoke the Orders in Council." (Wellesley to Piukney, 29th Dec. laiO.) There is another evident omission of reference to the act of Con^rfssof thelstof May, 1810, in the subsequent letter of the Noble Marquis to Mr. Pinkney of the llth of February, 1811. " If Great Britain shall not submit to these terms, it is plainly intimated in the same letter that France requires America to enforce them." France only required of America to put this act in force. mssi FROM THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER OF AUG. 4. WE have seen, with gieat rogret and surprise, the many misrepresentations of the views •f the Government which are daily published in the federal prints. At a time like this, when the exertions of every individual sliould be directed to an efficient prosecution of the war, •olemnly declared by the constituted authorities, such misrepresentations cannot .but have the ■ost baneful influence as well on the present as on tlie future prospects of our country. To p"t rtu ond to them, so far as is in our power, we will remark, that although the Govern- ■lent are making the most vigorous efforts to prosecute the war against England with effect, Ihey arc disposed to accommodate all differences on the most reasjuahle conditions. As an iuducement to the British Oovcrnnient not to impress seamen from our vessels, our Government is yet willing, iis it is well known it has long been, to enter into an arrangement. to be reciprocal, to prevent the employment of British seamen in American vessels, public or private. Such an arrangement would put an end to all pretext on the part of Great Britain for impressing men from our vessels; and the great advantage she would derive from it, if her only object, as is alleged, is to get her own subjects, ought to induce licr to accede to it ; for it must be tvident th«l the exclusion of British seamen from our service, would secure to her more than she can gain by impressment : seamen must have employment, and the ex- clusion of those of Gi cat Britain from our service would confine them in a great measure to that of their own country. Such an arrangement, then, would be advantageous to Great Britain, merely as an expedient to increase her maritime strength ; while it would have the effect of bringing into our service our seamen, and also of augmenting their numbers. We state with pleasure, another fact, which we believe to be equally true— that our Govern, ment will not, under any circumstonccs that may occur, form n political connexion with France. To the injuries received from her. a just sensibility has always been felt. The war , with England has not abated it, nor has it diminished the zeal or weakened tlie effort to obtain redress. The idea of a political connexion with France, as an expedient to extort justice from England, is treated with disdain by every person connected with the Government, li is not desirable to enter the lists with the two great belligerents at once; but if England acts with wisdom, and France perseveres in her career of injustice and folly, we should not be surprised to see the attitude of the United States chance towards those powers. We are now at war with England ; let her Government do us justice— let the other continue to re- fuse it; and from that moment we have no doubt that the United States will assume a correspondent rslation with both. The United States are placed by the injustice of the belligerents in an important crisis ; but we are confident they will go through it with honor and advantage. If the citizens of the United Staies make common cause, and support with energy and decision the measures of Government, the result is certain. They will obtain what they have a right to demand,— first of Great Britain, and afterwards of France. Success in this struggle will secure them the »espect of both the belligerents and of all Europe. It will also secure thera a permanent ptace, and in other respects, a just reward for all their exertions. We are confident that nothing will be wanting on the part of the Government to ensure success. It has boldly taken on itself a gf^a* responsibilityr-ono which the exigency of the times required ; and we are satisfied it will acquit itself to the just expectations of the country.