The National Register. — London, England, 1812-08-02 00:00:00

. . _ " a . THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Our Zing, Constitution, anD Atm PUBLISIJED AT NO. 357, STRAND, CORNER OF EXETER 'CHANGE. i. ,~ No. 240. SUNDAY„AUGUST 2, 181 2. PRICE 9d. POLITICAL DIS2U/S/TION. CONDUCT OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. America has at last cast aside her veil, and by words and acts declared war against (Meat Britain. Not only has a Manifesto been issued in the share of a Message to the Senate and House of Representatives, followed by an Act of ('ongre.;s, proclaiming open hostilities; but an engage ment has taken place at sea between three American fri gates and two brigs, and the British frigate Belvidera, who after maintain?: a running fight with the whole syiadron for time hours, escaped; whilst the land heroes of the United States, equally eager to signalize their valour, were beaten off Iry the 41st British regiment, in an attack on Upper Canada. War has therel)re regularly com:. - enced, and the first flashes of American heroism arc of such a na ture, as to lead us to anticipate its prompt extinction in the gloom of extensive discomfiture. our sentiments, respecting the conduct of the Govern- . meat of the United States, arc known. Years have now elapsed since we first announced its corrupt subserviency to France, :and every month has since teemed with proofs to substantiate our assertions. Fresh evidence is supplied by the American Manifesto ; and, if it were deemed insufficient, Halifax Fa:)ers, received yesterday, have brought us addi tional documents to corroborate our statemeut. It will be recollected that we said, in our remarks on the conduct of the American nxecutire last week :—" they seem to have elpectcd, and to have hastened to anlicipatc by theft Decla ra!ion, the arrival of the (Vicia! dispatches, which would infoim the nation that the Orders in Council were repealed, and every pietence for complaint removed."—They have declared Near against 11., we asserted, " at a period wle,m Veer/ could not be i‘raord•lt that concessions had been made by our Go:crament, which, when publicly announced, would disarm them of every plea, even for dissati-fntion." Now the following letter, written by our Envoy, .Mr. FASTER, to the American Sect etary of State, Mr. MONROE, the, fourth of June last, (and war was &elated the eighieciith) will prove how weil founded were our surmises, and that the PR ES I - DENT, and his party, knew that concessions had been made ern our part, the effect of which they wished to counteract rusliHg into war, befote they could be officially an nen uced. 31R. FOSTER TO MR. MONROE. " Washington, Sone /1. 1812. &a—Since I had the honour of seeing von at your office esterday, I . l l.tre perceived :m :article in the public print, tt,tted to he extracted ti hit 411 Envlith newspaper, and purporting to be on (Mt ial Deciara. boo of tits Pop. at Iltiz!mess the PRINCE REGFNT, that She Orders :a Council will be, AND ARE ABSOLUTFLY RE roKr.o, from the period the Berlin and Milan Decrees shall, by some authentic act of the kreach Government, publicly promulgated, he expressly and !mould'. repealed. A considerable toile has elapsed since, by order of my (toverinuent. I had the honour of urging to you the expediency of P f ueurah ; Such an auth e ntic act from the French Government, and ai ;fldhaiiility the above declaration may have been issued in tlne con "ea es,Jectation, that the Government of the United States would hive oeen able to produce it ere this. At al! e.etit3, Sir, considertno the importaitt nature of the above 110d article, and the probability, taat I have CIGN to be the ern ty some communication to the American GutlCl'lll:lClit in re- VOl . Ve No. lotion to it; I cannot but trust, that no measure will, meanwhile, be adopted by the Congress, whick would defeat the endeavour of proeur v* a complete reconcililtion ht. tw. - en our two countries. Should any embarrassments arice in consequence of the declarati , n on the subject of the proposed revocation of the Orders in Council, above alluded to, resting at presc lit upon a mere statement in news papers, it will no douht tit eta to yinr recollection, that on the enact ment o 1 tiles. (riders a measure teas tokcn by Congress for the purpose 4. )1 meeting (heat, when they were as yet but known through the public prints. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) A. J. FOSTER. Had the pretended regard for peace, so frequently urged by Mr. MADISON, been rea!, would not Mr. FOSTER'S .statement, " that he shoul.l soon be the organ of some offi cial communication," respecting the repeal of the Orders in Council, have obtained a suspension of the hostile mea sures then in a state of progressive adoption by Congress? Would not his express reque , t, that, at least till he had been able to make that official communication, no mea sure should pac, " which would defeat the endeavour of procuring a comp'.ete reconciliation between the two countries," have occasioned some consideration, some delay? So far from it, Mr. MONROE, in his haste to de cide the question, would not wait for the arrival of the official dispatches, but admitting the authenticity of the newspaper copy, declared in his letter of the Gth of June, that our act cannot be taken " as a token of just and friend ly sentiments in our Government towards the United States." That " nothing can be seen in it of the character we attri bute to it," and that it is proposed to repeal the Orders in Council on conditions " which Great Britain has no right to demand." Pressed for time, the President communicated this correspondence to Congress, on the Bth of June, not two days after it had taken place, notwithstanding Mr. FosTEa's repeated applications for a short delay. Congress, probably secretly warned of the necessity of dispatch, hurried through the discussion of such a momentous suhjcct, and through all forms attending it, and on the loth ofJune war was declared. To confirm it by hostilities was the next step, and on the aid of the same month, we find a gallant little fleet or . five American vessels, bravely engaging, for three hours, at a respectful distance, one British frigate, which they never attempted to run along side, and which not only battled all their force, skill, and courage, but immediately after the action captured three United .:.itates' vessels, which she car, ied safe to Flallifax. en examining attentively the President's manifesto, it wilt be E een that he has provided, as far as it was in his power, against the effect which the expected repeal of our Orders might produce on minds less obstinately bent on war than his own. For that purpose, he has formed a list of fresh grievances, deprived the Orders in Council of their promi nency, and sunk them into a common cause of complaint, so that when this should he removed, such a host might remain a, would afford grounds for new demands or continued hos- tilities. According to this document, we have wantonly violated the laws of nations, by retaliating on our enemies, and seizing our own deserters in the service of a foreign power; nay, unable to fight our own battles, we have " drairgcd thousands of American citizens to risk their lives in out cause," and to be the melancholy instruments of t ! t I