The National Register. — London, England, 1812-12-20 00:00:00

1)1 ,, ,e. to, more cruel, as 0: could not fail to impose a necessity of precautionary severities against those who yielded to it. At 3 remit date, an attaelsawas made on a post of the enemy near Natears, hy a detachment of the regular aed other forces under the commend of Mejor-General Van Rensseleer, et the Militia ofthe state of New York. The attack, it apears, was ordered in compli :nee with the ardour of the troops, who executed it with distinguished Feliaittry, and were for a time vaetorious ; but not receiving the ex pect:el support, they were compelled to yiel.l to reinforcements of Blitish regulars and savages. Our loss has een csiderable, an t' be d is to he l a mented. That of the enemy, b less aoscnertained, wi deeply the more telt, as it ineludee among the killed, tlic Commanding Ge nail, who was also Goveresor al the' proviine ,• and was stistaiiied by serer , troops, from inexperienced soldiers, who must doily improve in the duties of the he'd. oer expectation of gaining the command of the Loans by the in salon of Canada from Detioit, having been disappointed, measures weie iestaialy taken to provide on them a naval force superior to that of the enemy. From the talents and activity of the Officer chaired with this object, every thing that can be done may be ex peeted. Should the preseut season not admit of corro tete eaecess, the Negress made will ensure for the next a naval ascendancy where it is essential to a permanent peace with, and a controul over the savages. Among the incidenla to the measures of the war, I ant constrainel to advert to the refusal of the Governors of Massachusetts and Con n.cticut, to tarnish the required detachments cf nalitia towards the deteeee of t' Inaritime frontier. The refueal was founded on a novel and unit-wit ate-exposition of the provision,: of the Constitution re lating to the militia. The conic :pcmdence, which will he before you, contains the 'Geri- he inthrmetien on the subject. It is obvious, that it the. aethorily of the United States to call into service anti command the militia for the public defence, can be thus .frustrated, even in a state of declared war, and of course meter apprehensions of invasion preceding war, they are not one nation for the purpose most of all re wilting it, and that the public safety may have no other resource than those large and permanent natitaty establishments which are for bidden by the principles of gur tree Governmeirt, and against the necessity of which the. militia were meant to be a conetttutiectal bulwark. On the coast and on the ocean, the war has been as successful as circumstances inseparable from its early steges craild promise. Our public shies and private cruisers, by their activity, and, where there was occasion, by their intrepidity, have made the enemy sensi ble of the difference between a reciprocity of captures, the long ema il iement of them to their side. Our trade, with little exceptien, has safely reached our ports, h av ing been much favoured in• it by the course pursued by a squa dron of our frigates, under the command of Commodore Rogers; and in the instance in which skill and bravery were more particularly tried with those of the eitetny, the American flag halm auspicious triumph. The frigate Constitution, command ed by Captain dull, after a close and short engagement, completely disabled and captured a British frigate : gaining for that Officer, and for all on board, a praise which cannot be too liberally bestowed—net merely for the victory actteefy achieved, but for that prom at and cool exertion of commanding talents, which, giving to coorage its highest character, and to the force applied its full elfeet, proved that more could have been done in a ernitest tequiring mare. Anxious to abridge the evils from w hich a state of war cannot he exempt, I lost no time after it was declared, in conveying to the Bri tish Government the terms on which its progress might be arrested, without waiting the delays of a formal and fiord pacification ; and our Charge d'Atiaires at London was at - the same time authorised to agree to an armistice, feunded upon them. These terms require:l, that the Orders in Council should be repealed, as they acted the United etates, without a revival, of the blonlettaes vioatting aeknowleaged rules ; and there should be an inintediete discharge of Aloe:jean seamen Corn British ships, and a stop to irnpressments from Ameri ca t ships, with an understanding that an exclasion of the seamen of each nation from the ships of the other should be stipulated, and that the armistice should be improved in to a defiititive and comprehensive adjustment of depending controversies. Although a repeal of the Order. susceptible of explanations meet- Although the views of this Government, had taken place before this pacific advance was communicated to that of Great Britain, the advaeae was declined from an avowedreptignance to a suspension of t he p ractice of imeressnient during the armistice, and withent any intimation that ahe arrangement proposed with respect to seamen would be a ccepted. Whether the subsequent communications from this Government, afforded an occasion for re-consklering the subject on'the part of Great Britain, will be viewed in a more faeourable light, or received in a ituare accomMotlating spirit, rerniihs to be known. I t wou!d be un vise to release our measure, in any reeleect, on a presumption of such a t. resul The documents from the Departments of State, which relate to this subject, will give a view also of the 'propositions far an armistice %alech have been received here—one of them from t h e authorities at Halifax and in Canada, the other tfotn the British Governmeet its:ea f, through Admiral Warren and of the grounds upon Which neither• of them could be accepted. , Our affairs with Treace retain the posttire whi ch they tie:' at my last t:Qmmttnkatttm t« yuu• THE NATIONAL REGISTER. 787 Notwithstanekg the authorised expectation of an early as well as favourable issue of the discussions on foot, these ha ve been procras tinated to the latest date. The only intervening occurrence mg attention is, the promulgation of a French Decree, purpot tine fo o tle a repeal of the Berlin and Milan Decrees. This proceeding, although mede the ground of the repeal of the British Orders in Council, is rendered, by the time and manner of it, liable to many objections. • The final communications from our Special Minister to Denmark. affOrd further proofs of the good elti:cts of his mission, and of the amicable disposition of the Danish Government. From RUst,iii we have the satisfaction to receive assurances of continued friendship, and that it will not be affected by the rupture betfie en the United States and Great Britain. Sweden also proie.sses sentiments levoulable "to existing harmony. ith the Barbary Powers, excepting that of Algiers, our affairs remain e.n the ordinary footing. The Consul-Genera' reading - scith that Regency, has suddenly, and without cause, been banished, toge ther with all the. American citizens found there. Wi.e'her this was the transitory el Pct of capricious despotism, or Cie first act el we determined hostility, is not ascertained. Precautioes were taken by the Consul on the latter supposition. • The Indian tribes, not tinder foreign instigations, remain at pease, and receive the civilising attentions which have proved so beneficial to them. With a view to that vigorous prosecution of the war to which our national faculties are adequate, the attention of Congress oil he par ticularly drawn to the insufficiency of tee existing previsions fur tilling up the military establishment. Such is the happy condition clout country arising from the facility ef subsistence, and the high wages for every species of occupation, that, notwithstandiug the augmented inducements provided at the last Session. a partial success only has attended the r cruising service. The dcficieecy has been necessarily supplied during the campaige by other than regular troops, with all the incenvenieusies and expellees incident to them. The remedy lies in establishing more: favourably for - the ptivate soldier, the proportion between his reccmpence anti the term of his enlistment ; and it is a subject which cannot too soon °moo seriously be Liken into considerae tien.—The sane iesufficiency has been experienced in the provisions for v luntccrs made by an act of last Session. The recompeece for the service required in this case, is still less attraeti ve than in the other; .and although patriotism alone has sent into the field some vain dile corps of that description, those alone n ho can Ante the sacrifice, can reason ably be expected to yield to the impulse. It will inset consideration also, whether as auxiliary to the security of onefrontier, corps may not he advantog,cously organised, with a restriction of their sell/lees to particular districts convenient to them ; and whether the locator oc cesional services of marine, or others in the sea port towns, under singlet organization, would not be a pi opee edditien to the ine.eas of their defence. I lecommend a provision for an i. crease of the Gene ral Officers.of the Army, the deli. iency of which leis been IL ustrated he the number and distance of seperate commands, which the cause of the war, and the advantage of the service, have required ; and I cannot press too strongly on the earliest attention of the Legislature, the importance of the re-organirition of the stallestablislintent, with a view to render more distinct and definite the. relaticns and responsi bilities of its several departments; that there is room fur impro v em e nts which will materially promote both economy and success, in what appertains to the army and the war, is equally evident by the ex amples of other county es, and by the experience of our cwn. A revision of the Militia Laws, for the purpose of renderitig them mere systematic, and better adapting them to the emergencies of the war, is at this time particularly desirable. Ot the additional ships ' authorised to be fitted for service, two will be shortly ready to sail, a third is under repair, and delay will be avoided in the repair of the residue. Of the a ppneeriations for the purchase of materials for ship., building, the greater part has been applied to that object, and the pure chases will be continued with the balance. The enterpri sing spirit which characterised our naval force, and its successes both in rest raining in sults and depredations on our coasts, and in reprisals on the enemy, will not Ail to recommend an enlargement upon ir. There being reason to believe, that the act prohibiting the ecceptaece of British licencies is not a sufficient guard agrinst the use of diem, for purposes favourable to the interests and-views the enemy : further provisions on that subject are highly important. Nor is it less so, that penal enactments should Be provided ter cases of corrupt and perfidious intercourse with the enemy, not amountiog to treason, nor yet embraced by any statutory provisions. A considerable number of American vessels, which in England when the revocation of the Orders in Council took place, were laden with British manufactures, under an erroneous impression that the Non importation Act ,would immediately cease to operate, have arrived in the United StateS. It did not appear proper to exercise on unforeseen cases of suck magnitude, the ordinary powers vested in the Treastey Department, to mitigate forfeitures without presiees - y affording Congress au opportunity ut making On the suh ject such pro visions as they may think proper. In their decisiontney will, doubt ecteally consult what is due to equitable codiideretiseee, and to the public interest. The receipts Leto the Treasury during the year en:!ing on the 30;11 of Seprembet last, have exceeded 16 mihrens and a hint of dollars, which born sufficient to ail the ex wands on the Treasury t that • 11 WO. ° eat lii; with n ani to