Star. — London, England, 1811-12-05 00:00:00

• ~3y'~~~Y~~. ~` ,~~. 'ii = •• .4M.E111C4. • • • WAMINGTON City, TUESDAtlativitislllll‘o. • The ricestnimr of the United States this daystern -, .Mtaicated, by Mr. EnwAno Corm. his. Private Se :v, , cretar y, the tnOw:ng Message to Congress : • • ••• " Fellow Citizens of the House of /tyres: waives, • a In caling you together sooner than a separation fmui your homes We u'd otherwbc have been requited . , • yielded to crnsidertuirais draticu 'from the posture of • our Foreign affairs, and in Sting the present fur the time of your mteTiog; regard WAS had 'to the prcba ' bility of further developemeets of the policy of the 'Belligerent Powets towards this country, which might • ' theimore 'unite the National Councils- in the measures .• to be - pursued. •. 44 t the close of the last Session of Congress, it was toped that the successive cor.firmation •pf the extinction . ef the French Decrees, so far as they via . laced our neutral commerce, would have induced the , Government of Great Britain 'to repeal - its Or ' dzrs in Council; and thereby authorise a removal of the existing obstructions to her commerce with - the 'United States. " Instead of this reasonable step towards satisfac tion and friendship between the two Nations, the Orders were, at a moment when least to have been expected, put into more r:gorms execution, and it was communicated through the British Envoy just .arrived, that whilst the revocation of the British ' Government was denied to have taken place,. it was an indispensable condition of the sepeal:of the Bri • fish Orders, that commerce should be restored to a footing that would admit the produce owned by neutrals into markets shut against them by the enemy, the United States being given to understand that, in the mean time, a continuance of their Non- Importation Act would lead to measures of reta liation. " At a late date it has indeed appeared, that a communicatit n to the British Government of fresh evidence of the repeal of the French Decrees against . our neutral trade, was followed by :in intiinatii.ii that it had been transmitted to the British Plenipotentiary here, in order that it might receive full consideration in the depending discussions. This communication appears not to have beet' received, but the transmis . sien of it hio•er, instead of founding on it an actual repeal of the Orders, or an assurance that the repeal would ensue, would not permit us to rely on any if fectjve change in the British Cabinet. " To be ready to meet with cordiality, satisfac t ry proofs of such a change, and to proceed, in the mean time, in adapting our measures to the views which have been disclosed through that Minister, will ' best consult our whole duty. In the unfriendly seirit of those disclosures, indemnity and redress, for other wrongs have continued to be withheld, an-I our coasts and the mouths of our harbours, have again witnes sed scenes Not less derogatory to the dearest of our Natienal Rights, than vexatous to the regular course of our trade. " Among die occurrencerpreducoJ by the conduct of British ships of were hovering on our coasts was, an encounter between one of them and the American frigate, commanded by Captain Rodgers, rendered unavoidable on the ~art of the latter, by a foe com menced without cause from the formere.whose com mander is therefore alone chargeable. with the blood unfortunately shed in maimaiong the honour of the American flag. The proceetheos of a Court of In-' (juicy requested by Captain Rodgers, are coinmune. I toted, together with the correspondence relating to the occurrences, between the Secretary of State and ' his Britannic Majesty's Ervo7. To these are added the several correspondences ethic]; passed on the sub ject of the British Weis in Council, and to both the correspondence relating to the Floridas, in which Congress wile be math acquainted with the interpo sition which the Goveinnont of Great Britain has thought proper to make against the proceedings of the United States. . 4 The justice and fairness which have been evinced on the part of the United States towards Feanee, both beft-re and since the revocation of her Decrees, :au thorised an expectation that her Government would have followed up that measure by all such others as were due to our reasonable claims, as well as dictat ed by its amicable professions. No proof, however, is yet given of an intention to repair the other wrongs done to the United States, and particularly to restore the great amount cf American property seized and condemned under edicts, which, though not affecting our neutral relations, and therefore not entering into questions between the United States and other Bel ligerents, were, nevertheless, founded in such unjust pi inciples, that the reparation ought to have been .prompt and ampie. " In addition to this and other demands of strict rights on that nation, the United States have Much retoon to be diseatioi id with the rigorous and unex pected restrictions to which their trade with the French dominions has been sobjected, and which, it .not discontinued, will require at least cerrespood.' ing'restrictions on importations from hence into the United States. . • 4? Of all those subjects, our MiiiisterePlenipoten- tiary, lately sent to Paris, has carried with him the necessary instructions, the result of which. will be communicated to yi.o ; and, by ascertaining thaulte rior policy of the French Governmeot, towards the United States, will enable you to adapt to it tb.tt iff' the United States tinnuils Prance. 44 Our other foreign relations remain wa:.cett un favourable changes. With Kumla they are on the beat foxing of friendship. The ports of Sweden haze • affordedeproofs of friendly dispositions towards our Comment in tbe"Councils of that nation also ; end the ioformaeiron from our Special Minister to Dennierk shows that the mission had been attended with Nato able effects to our Citizens, whose property had been ins eitenshely violated and endangered by cruisers under the Danish flag. = 4 , Under th ese ominous indiclitions, which 'coin.. '.' *winded 'atientro• G l s it became a duty, to exert 'th e . - usesos committed' so theeectstioe department helm . Oliding for the generilineuri y. The works ci &fence `on - our Maritime treiteaer have riccordiegly been pro secuted with an activitylesring little to be adciee for . otte completon of the most important, ones ; and, as riticularlY suited for cooperation in mot rgencies, . a portion of .the sup-boats have in particular bar , boure,toren ordered into use. The. ships of war be ts/is in cOmplissiou, with the addition of a frieute, have been chiefly employed as a cruizing guard to ahe rights of our coast ; and such a disposition has been made.Of oar land forces. as was thought to promise' the seriices most appropriate and important. In this disposition is included a three consisting of regulars and militia, embodied in the Indiana territory, and marched towards our North-western frontier. This asure was made requisite by several murders and de predations committed by Indians s but more especi4y by tie menacing preparatiOns and aspect of a combi nation of them on the Wabash, under the influence and direction of a fanatic of the Shawanese With these extepticins, the Indian tribes retain their peaceable dispositions towards us, and their usual pursuits. I must now add, that the period is arrived which claims from the, Legislative guardians of the national rights, a system of more ample provisions for main taming them. notwithstanding the scrupulous justice, the protracted moderation, and the multiplied efforts ort the part of the United States, to substitute for the accumulating dangers to the peace of the two coun tries, all the mutual advantages of re-established friendship and confidence. We hare seen that the British Cabinet perseveres not only in withholding a remedy for other wrongs so long and.so loudly call ing for redress, but in the execution brought home to the threshold of our territor7, of measures, which, under existing circumstances, have the character as well as the effect of war on our lawful commerce.— With this evidence of hostile inflexibility in trampling eon rights, which no independent nation can relin quish, Congress will feel the duty of putting the Uni ted States into an armour and an attitude demanded by the crisis, and corresponding with the national !spirit and expectations. " I recommended accordingly that adequate pro vision be made for Jilting the ranks and prolonging the enlistments o(the regular troops ; for an auxili ary force, to be engaged for a more lim;ted tom ; for the acceptance of volunteer corps, whose patriotic ardour may court a p:trticipation in urgent service ; for detachments, as they may be wanted, Of other portions of the militia ; and for such a preparation of the great body as will proportion its usefulness to its intrinsic capacities. Nor can the occasion fail to re mind you of the importance of those military semi naries which in every event will form a valuable and frugal part of our military est iblishment. The ma nufacture of cannon and small-arms has been pro ceeded in with due success, and the stock and re sources of all the neeepary munitions are adequate to emergencies. It will not be inexpedient, however, for Congress to authorize an enlargement of them. Your attention will, of course, be drawn to such provisions on the subjects of our naval force as may be required for the services to which it may be best adapted. I submit to Congress the seascnableness also of an authority to angment the stock of such ma terials as are imperishable in their natre, or m,ty not at once be attainable. " In contemplating the scenes which distinguish this momentous epoch, and estimating their claims to our attention, it is impossible to. overlook those deve loping themselves among the great communities which occupy the Southern portion of our own hemi sphere, and extend into our neighbourhood. An en-, larged philanthropy and an enlightened forecast con cur in imposing on the National Councils an obliga tion to take a deep interest in their destinies, to che rish reciprocal sentiments of gnAl•will, to regard the progress of event', and not to be unprepared for what.; i ever order of things may be ultimately established. 1 ." Under another aspect of our situation the early attention of Congress will be due to the expediency of further guards against evasions and infraotions'of I our commercial laws. The practice of smuggling, which is odious every where, and particularly trim nal in freeGovemments, where, the laws being made by all for the good of all, a fraud is committed upon every individual as well as on the State, attains its u• most guilt when it blends with a pursuit of igno minious gain, a treacherous subserviency in the trans-' gre,sors to a foreign policy, adverse to that of their own country. It is then that the virtuous indignation of the Public should be enabled to manifest itself, through the regular animadveisiuns of the most com petent laws. " To secure greater respect to our mercantile flag, and to the honest interest which it covers, it is exile, client also, that it be made punishable in our citizens, to accept licences from foieign Governments, for a trade unlawfully interdicted by them to other Ame rican citizens, or to trade under false colours, or pa ' pets of any sort. A prohibition is equally called fur against the acceptance by our citizens of special licences to be used in a trade with the United States, and against the admission into particular ports of the United States, of vessels from foreign countries au- thorised to trade with particular ports only. 44 Although ocher subjects will press more imme diately on your delibcrauong, a portion of them can not but be well bestowed en the just and sound policy of securing to our manufactures the success they have attained and are still attaining in some degree uhder the impulsz of Causes: not permanent; and to our 'navigation the fair extent of which it is at pusent abridged by the unequal regulations of foreign .po vernsneziti. &sides the reasonablencur of savinglaur manufactures from sacrifices which A change ofxir curt:stances might bring on them, this national inte rest requires that, with respect to such articles atieast as belong to our defence and our primary wants;' \`: C should not be left in unnecessary, dependence on:ex, uTnal supplies ; and whilst rorei g n Governments adhere to the existing criminations in their ports I .o.ainst our navigation and. an equality or leaser t* * tincriniination is enjoyed by their navigation in our Ports, the effect cannot be mistaken, because it has been seriously felt by our shipping interests, and in Iproportion as this takes place , the adv_antages of an independent conveyance of our products to foreign Markel:, and of a growing. body of ntatioes trained' Iby their occupations for the service of tkeir country in the time of danger,. Must he diminished. • . • .i* The receipts into the Treasury during•tlut7ear. ending on the 80th ti . September last, hive kr.anted4 thirteen million: and a hall of dollars, and bare en. able(' us to.xlefiay 'the current expente4 incinding the iirerests on the public debt, and t o reimbursl• more than fi ve millions of dollars of the ?rinciPal without' recurring to the loan, authorised by the Act of vie last Session. .'ilia temporary loan, ootained in the latter end of the year'lslo, has also been 1 reian bursed, and is not Mended ,in thatatnount, " The deercal: of revenue arising fronasthe Aux • tion of our commerce, and the 'extraordinary expences which have and may become necessary, must be taken into view in making commensurate provisidn for the ensuing year; and I recommend to your considera tion the propriety of ensuring a sufficiency of annual revenue, at least to defray the ordin2ry expence of Government, and to pay the interest oh the public debt, including that on new loans which may be authoribed. " I cannot close this communication without ex-. pressing my deep sense of the crisis in which you are assembled ; my confidence in a wise and honourable result to your deliberaticns, and assurances of the faithful zeal with which my co-operating duties will be discharged, invoking at the same time the blessing of Heaven on our beloved country, and on all means that may be employed in vindicating its rights and advancir.g its welfare. (Signed) 64 JAM SAADI/lON. " Washington, Nov. 3, 1811." The Message being read by the Clerk, he then proceeded to read the correspondence of Mr. Mun roe, and the British Minister Mr. Foster, relative to the situAtion of the two countries, &c. The affair of the Little Belt, and the correspondence respecting the I I Floridas, being postponed till to.motrow. The reading of the correspondence this day conti nued till half past three o'clock, when the House ad journed. The first was a letter from Mr. Foster to Mr. Mun roe, declaring the regret of the Prince Regent at Mr. Pinkney's departure, &c. dated Jaly 2. In a letter of July 3, from Mr. Foster to Mr. Mttn roe, the British Minister endeavours to prove, from the ambiguous wording of the letter of the Duke of Cadore to General Armstrong, August 5, 1810, from the character cf Bonaparte ; from his address to the deputation of the Hanse Towns, declaring the de. trees the fundamental laws of the empire ; trom the edict nf Fontainbleau, October, 1810 ; from the let ter of the Duc de Massa to the Council of Prizes, from the capture of the Ntw Ot leans packet and other ves sels, &c. &c. that the Decrees of -Berlin and Milan are not repealed ; and that, thtn fore, the law of March last, prohibiting the introduction of British goods, &c. ought to be repealed. Mr. Foster strives to justity the British Orders in Council as a necessary measure of self-defence, and as perfectly justifiable in retaliation for the monstrous unprecedented edicts of Berlin and Milan. He complains of the American povernment,fi ir continuing the Non Intercourse, and thus joining Bonaparte in his measures to destroy Bri tish commerce. The Blockading Decree of May, 1806, Mr. Foster endeavours to justify as legal and proper ; not a mere paper blockade, but the whole coast from Brest to Elbe being invested with an ade quate naval force for all the purposes, as a blockade in fact. Mr. Foster urges the repeal of the Non In tercourse) and declares, that unless repealed, his Go vernment will be obliged, though painfully and un wiliingly, to resort to measures of retaliation. He de mands, in a letter, Shortly after, a direct reply, whether or not the Non Intercourse will be repealed ? Mr. Munroe considers our Government bound to respect the solemn declaration of the French Govern ment, August 5, 1810, that the decrees were repealed; augurs that they are repealed, so tar as we are con cerned. from the release of the New Orleans pat ket, the Grace, Anne, and other vessels ; endeavours to avoid the meaning Mr. Foster gives to the declata- Lion made to the deputation trona the Hanse Towns : to prove that the repeal by Massa's letter to t'a.! Council of Prizes, and tne edict of Fontain)lean were not inconsistent with the repeal. He also urges the 'illegality of the Blockading Decree at ltaai ; and declares the intention of our Government to continue the .on Intercourse unless the orders are revoked, &c. This correspondence seems to h.tve ceased about the last of July. During the last month it was re newed ; and, October 17, Mr. Munroe informs Mr. Foster of further proof of the repeal of the obnoxious Decrees ; sending him copies of letters from our Charge des Affaires at Paris and London. And a letter from Wellesley to our Charge des Affaires at London, mentioning dispatches sent to Mr. Foster, which, howevtr, Mr. Foster has.not received, though in daily expectation of them. FROM THE NEW YORK EVENING POST OF NOV. 7. " SUOCIRISIVE CONFIRMATION OF TUB EXTINCTION oF THE FRENCE DECREES !" The following letter, it iiill be seen, is directly lh point to prove the truth of the above extract from the President's Message: Extract of a Letter to a Mercantile House in this City of the first respectability, dated Copenhagen, September 22. • 44 It is with the utmost grief that I must inform lou of my further misfortunes, after the date of my ast respects from Farsand, previous to my deparaare from that place. On the 22:1 ult. being a little within the Koht Poinr, and in sight of Elsineur Castle, was boarded by a Danish privateer, who, after examining my papers, ir.formed me of a French lugger being. .near Elsineur, who captured every American vessel that he saw. As the wind blew in, it was impossible f or me to escape. I therefore persuaded the Dane to keep possession of my vessel and irately papers, at the same time hauling the ship directly over to the Danish shore, in order to be within tilei r ju r i s di c tion I before the lugger would board me, who by this time made her appearance, standing o u t for us : luckiy ' we were within an English mile and a half of the shore before he boarded, and although the Danish Captain told him he had taken possession of the ship; he boarded and put two hands on board; and after we came to anchor at Etsineor, the Dane suffered the French Captain to Out his seal with ours to the pa pers ; but I succeeded in preventing him from get ting possession of them until our arrival at this places when they were delivered up to the Prize Court, and On the second day after our arrival here, I was' brought on shore for examination. The usual inter. rogations were put to myself and crew, as well as to the privateer's men. I protested before the exami- 1 nation begun, against the French having any claim, on account of jurisdiction, as well is being in posses sion of the Danish cruizer. Alter the Mize Court had finishectwith the proceeding. the were laid' before the Chancery, and are now ore his Majesty. --I sen'e to Elsineur and got an esagnination of his a tealjesty's 'Officers and men helm 'air to the gun..: boats on that station, to pro ve my within. the jurisdicti in wbeu boarded tor the Prenl . and have 1 every reason to expect a favourable decision within a' ' full' days. Mr. Erring, front the IROAleilt Of my cap a tire, has been indefatigable. in obtaining my release. Of the other five vessels taken by this lugger, altho ug h two of them were in possession of the Danes first, thew trials will go to Paris, as the French have pessessio s of the:r papers, and will not give them up. When I left this to go on to Norway, there were no French cruizers to be dreaded ; but at this moment there at , : two at Elsineur,. and one arrived in thi, port two da) s since. Many otheri have passed through the can it from Tonningea to Kiehl, and are all in the Baltic, s well as six gun-boats—more are expected. 511k.u1..1 I find it too dangerous wtigi cleared to uttimpt the Baltic. I shall endeavour tlf obtain permission to sell here, which, with Mr. E.'s assistance, I think I may obtain, and the markets are notch better than of St. i Petersburgh. I shall write you more fully as soon as I g.:l my papers, of what are my prospects. With the greateit respect, your unfortunate servant, a a: LAW." RENVARIM-It appears from the above, that down to September, the French keep their p:ivateers upoa the look out, on the coast of Denmark, so that no: An American can escape them, although their hostile 'decrees have been extinguished more thin r year. ;It appears also that the Danes afford them the uie of their ports and harbours fsr Weir convetvience and necessities, in which they arm, equity, and recruit, &c. and into which they may send their prizes, although Denmark, the President intimates, is now our very good friend. But, I must candidly confess, that I de not see how we can find any fault with the Danes for this, for, do we not do it eurtelves ? As to those re s . sals mentioned in the letters wie lately published frets Mr. Bell at Paris and Mr.Alibott at Dantric, cap. tured. as Mr. Law was, en a voyage to Pelesabere, ,what shall we say? Does .not Mr. Madison tell us that we aro tia the best f: o:ing of friendship nil'.; Russia ? How then cAn our Vessels, in a trade ail!: her, be considervd as violating the French decrets, , since those decrees are only directed agamst the com merce with England ? We would r.or, for all the world, call it piracy--but tho vessel; ipokeu of 1w Abbott and Bell bad been convoyed by the Britil!.. 1 and that bmnght them within the decrees. True; (so it did. This then is our ca s e. Th ere are f our or five French privateers which cruize in the Baltic for American vessel, and they take every one they meet with ; while certain it is, that the sloop Hornet Alois; if sent there, could clear those seas, in a vay short time, of every privateer that infests them. She, bow. ever, is not'sent ; that would hardly accord with the views of an imperial master : Nothing is sent. The Americane, thus left dofenceless,. are driven to seek for safety under British convoy, which brings them directly within one of Bonaparte's decrees, and for wisich, they are condemned and fall into his clwehes, the said decrees being reitealed and extiegttisliad. Who but must envy Americans the blessings they cloy, 4 1 being thus protected by their porn reareerumett ? FRENCH PAPERS. • PARIS, NOVEMBER 27. • Their Imperial Majesties, it is said, will leavtrthe I Palace of St. Cloud next Saturday to return to the Thuilleries. There wilt be a mass and music at the 'Chapel of the Palace on Sunday, and on Monday a ' performance at the Theatre of the„Court., i His Majesty has ordained the suppressinn of all the religi .us corporations in the department of La Lippe. 'chitty-three ships laden with grain are expected an Holland. They are on their way boat Pushover, and eutered the Weser on the 11th instant. Of all the discoveries which have dine honour to the artillery , since the time of General Gribeaueal to this day, there is certainly none more important that that of the howitzer die rillantrois, so called trim the name of its inventor, a Colonel of Artillery. This howitzer carries its ball to the distance cf 5000 toises, or one league and an half French. The artillery of the Guard, who were conaniiisimied by has Excellency the Minister at War, *make trial of this piece of artillery, hate lately dote so at the pa lygon of La Fere, under the iorection of General Aboville, Commandant of **School, and of M. dr Villantrois himself. Thealleixials had the most suc cessful result. Public ezpeetation having been excited. a crowd of people were mlected to witness the elects of a machine, the very dimensions of which presented to the eye something terrific. Without entering into much detail, we shall only mention, that this gun and its carriage weigh 10,000 kittgranis. This howit zer,. notwithstanding its enormous weight, is not ma nceuvred with more difficulty than the ordinary mor tars ala Gonnner. The number of men employed in its management is the same. This great advantage is owing to the peculiar construction of its carriage, invented by M. Thirrion, ColonePot Marine Artillery. and improved by M. de Villamnis. This howitzer requires a charge of from 45 to 501 b. of gunpowder—die weight of the ball is 180th.. It was thought that a charge so considerable would pro duce a very violent detonation, but the explosion was less violent than that of other mortars bither:o em ployed ; which appears ta be owing to the form date gun. The time in which the projectile performs its arc, is from 36 to 40 seconds. The greatest heigh: i Of projection is 600 wises, The rapidity of the ben end its elevation, do not permit it to be visible to the eye.—Since this discovery, it may be justly said, tha: ithe French artillery, which seems to advance every day towards the greatest possible perfection, has ac. Iquired tne means of throwing its proketiies to a slit -1 tame unknown to ev er y o t h er art illery. The range of this new h ow it zer , excee d s by 1200 i toises that of Co ngreve ' s roc k ets. I t as we ll kienea that our artillery, alter having discovered some time ago, the composition of these rockets, has im i ir. , ved the discovery by new experiments, and the range of their rockcts is now greater than that of the Edgusti. FROM THE MONITEUR. Revisits on the accounts from Sicily given u:tt English Journals o . What is pasbing between England and the lian fikivecoment, resembles the fable of the wit, .1 the lamb. 411 discussion; tberetorc, on the sub.', becomes puerile. " Never had Wawa a o.eatereneiny than the Coin L atlfing•Ferdinafid. • - • • 44 Englagd never had an.. ally more steadilf blindly attached to her. i irr • "The Prinse whveigi i ts in Sicily has log a k dons. in egniequence or haring.rem•tiod will, :o hilt alliance with SElgilad. P 7he s Englith'gre debited in WY; The Etv.4 .4 1 character does not sympathise with cwt of v...“ r