The Sun. — London, England, 1827-01-10 00:00:00

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE AMERICAN PAPERS. New Yoet, DEC. 16.—The packet brig Bogota, Captain Sheffield, arrived last evening from Carthagena, bringingadvices to the 2 . lst nlfimo.' Intelligence was received that General Bo livar- would arrive at Carthagena on' the 25th, and preparations were. making to receive him. .1 -le had passed through 'Quito and Guayaquil. The country was in a very unsettled state. About 1,000 troops were in the place. The frigates Ceres, South Ame rica,-and Colombia, and several vessels of war, were in port. The Ceres was to sail for thi4 port td repair. • On Saturday morning last, - about five. miles below Big Bone, and fifty-five miles frOm Cincinnati, the boiler. of the steam-boat Union burst, producing instant destruction to the boat, and kill ing and woundinge::•.'eral individuals. The boiler passed through the boat under the forecastle, and she -sunk instantly. There were four persons killed, and seven badly wounded. The engi neer is among the killed.- CONGRESS. In the Senate, on Tuesday, Mr. Johnson, of Key, introduced a bill to abolish imprisonment for debt, which was read twice, and committed to a - select Committee.—ln introducing the Bill, Mr. .1. remarked, that if he were, offering a proposition of a doubtful character to the consideration of the Senate, he should not so often press its adoption. It was a prnpOsition which had been sanctioned and approved by a majority of the Senate at its previous Session. Imprisonment for debt, he believed, hail no advocates in America—certainly none among the generous and benevolent of mankind in any country. The contemplation of the idea struck him with as' much horror as that of the tortures of the Spanish Inquisition, and it was surely as disgraceful as the continuation of that system was to Spain. It was equally pro ductive of sighs, and tears, and woe. The country, ahnost With one voice, called for its abolition—the public press was unanimous 'in its fa-sour, and orators and statesmen united in denouncing it as a relic of a barbarous age. It was also a violation of the spirit of our free institutions—of the declaration of independence. It was a vio lation of personal liberty—it destroyed personal happiness, and took from man his locomotive power. . The system originated in judicial usurpation in England, whose Courts had assumed the power upon mesne process, to incarcerate an unfortunate individual ! The system, odionS 'as it was to freedoin andinffependence, • wt.s supported by aristocracy, and aided by the vindictive cruelty of unrighteous creditors. - It was hostile to the morality and to the precepts- of the Goipel, and was a remnant of barbarism and Go thic cruelty. The obligation of man to his felloW-Man should have its basis on honour and property, and not upon the pound of flesh. He felt, 1 therefore, that he was discharging an impera tive and a sacred duty in calling upon the wisdom and experience of Congress to wipe away the stain from this fair page of our le gislation, and he hoped that a decision would he hail upOn its merits at an early period of the Session. (From the New York Daily Advertiser of Dec. 16.) We publish to-day Mr. Gallatin's letter to Mr. Canning, and Mr. Canning's answer, on the subject of the trade between this country and the British West Indies. The instructions from our Government to Mr. Gallatin are too long for publication ; hut as the points in dispute may be understood from the corre spondence, it is'not essential to the formation of a satisfactory con clusion on the merits of the controversy, that the instructions should be inserted. We abstain from all remarks on this subject at present. If the West India trade is lost to us, it will be seriously felt by dif ferent parts of the country, and, we apprehend, by the national trituury. MR. GALLATIN TO MR. CANNING. 62, UPPER SFYMOUR-STREET, AUG. 26, 1826. This undersigned, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister . Plenipo tentiary of the United States of America, had not seen the Order in Council of the 27th of July last, on the day (the 17th inst.) when he had the honour of an interview with Mr. Canning, his Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Had he then been aware of the precise import of the order in question, and of the provisions of the several Acts of Parliament to which it refers, the undersigned would have thought it his duty to make the observations to which he now begs leave to call Mr. Canning's attention. It appears that his Majesty's Government was vested with two distinct authorities, applicable to the intercourse between his Majesty's Colonies and the United,States. By the 4th section of the Act of Parliament of the sth July, ISt?,5, it was enacted, that the privileges granted by the law of navigation to foreign ships to trade with the British possessions abroad, should he limited, with respect to countries not having co lonial possessions, to the vessels of such as should place the com merce and navigation of Great Britain, and of her possessions abroad, iapon the footing of the most favoured nation, unless his Majesty, by his Order in Council, should, in any case, deem it ex 'pedient to grant the whole, or any part, of such privileges, to the ships pf any foreign country, although the said conditions should not in all respects be Waled by such country. And, by two other Acts oi Parliament, passed in the fourth and fifth years of the reign of his present Majesty, authority was given to levy Additional or countervailing tonnage duties on ves sels, and additiooat or countervailing duties of Gistorns, on goods imported and exported, in vessels belonging to any f: - . -- sign coun try, in which higher ditOes were levied on British vessels, or o 4 goods imported or exported in British vessels, than on vessels of such country, or on similar goods whit 4 imported or exported in vessels of such country, Both authorities have been resorted to in the Order in Council of the 27th July last. On the ground that the condition referred to in the Act of Parliament of sth July, 1825, having not in all respects been fulfilled by the Government of the United States, the privileges so granted to foreign ships cannot lawfully he enjoyed by ships of the said States, unless speeislly granted by his Majesty in Council, the said privileges are again thns granted by the Order in Coun cil, but with the express proviso th4t, the said privileges, or, in other words, the intercourse in American vessels, between the United States and the British Colonies, shall absolutely cease on th e first of December next, so far as respects Smith America, the W est i n di e ;, the Bahama Islands, Bermuda, and Newfourals land, and, on some other o)9e/went days, so far as respects the British possessions on the Weswn Coast of Africa, the Cape of Good Liope, Mauritius, Ceylon, Neu , jjollarul, and Van Die fnan's Land. 411(1, ina.srnnel s as British vessels, entering the pacts of the United States front British Wonies, are charged with addizioita). tonnage do.i of ninety-four cents per On, and with an addition of ten per cent. en the import duty, payable on the wile goods when imported in American vessels, a countervailing fluty, deem ed equivalent in amount, is by the Order of, council laid, during the time that the :an rcourse is permitted to- continue, on Ame rican vessels, and on • c oods imported in American vessels entering the ports of his Majesty possessions in North and South Ame rica, and in the West Indies. _ There is not, if the undersigned is rightly- ihformed, a single act of the Government of the:United States which can, in the view taken of the suhject.by that of his Majesty, be considered as not fulfilling the condition contemplated by the Act of Parliament of the sth July, 1t325, as not placing the commerce and naviga tion 0; Great Britain, anti of her possessions abroad, upon the footing-4 the most favoured nation, excepting only the continn sore of •the .4criminating tonnage duty of ninety-four cents per ton s.ti British .vi eels, awl of the addition of ten per cent. on th e oi ordinary tinty charge.i ~-;p cargoes imported in British vessels enter in.- tht , porta .cf the ,12344 ad States from the British Colonies. Both the , measures.cnahraceo 41 Oae.Ortlgr in Council, the coun tervailing an:Jes, and the discooa,lntt4ce of the intercourse, are founded on one a..rd the same fact--,the ,csa*pance of the United States' discriminattn; duties. And, the y c4.oloailing duty which has. by the Order in Cowl! keen lair# deemed eq u ivalent theri , . t° ' on .ut t e i t i - e ief l i ,ort u vessels, ss and . goods imported i n A m eri can vessels T hi , A n thill Colonies, was alone suffi , rient to plate the British. and Araler:i.ai; vessels, employed in the intercourse between those Colonies and thy r pited States, on the' footing of the most perfect equality, It does not belong to the undersignod •to question the of the measures which _Greas,Britaia may proper to adopt re specting the trade.with,h et & i lon ies. lie only infers, from the Acts of Parliament pas i t ed on that subject durins the last four Years, that the intercourse between the united States and the , ltritishr - Colnnies in the Wett Indies , South - America, and other place,, - to She extent anthoriied by those Acts, is considered, bY lus Majesty's Government, as bene ficial to those. Colonierip and the British ernpi re nt large. With this conviction, and the onlyineqtislity supposed to exist having bees removed by the countervailing duties, the under signed has been .011ableito drover the motive for interdicting al together, after a fine, SU far as respects the British - i)osses sions in the West ..1411:4,-South America, and several ot h er places an interenurse benefit to both parties, -and w hi c h might, in confopnity %Al . ? : the Oct o f pArliameut,,hav e , if d eem ed expedient, heeu i cia d4 4 4eiy continued .n those C o l on i es, in the' same manrwr. as hasbeeµ 4:.; )e- as respects they;,!,ritisli p osse , *ions of North America. Wholly unable, ,therefore,, to a ssign 4 for the contem plated suspension of . the intercourse. in .que.stiogs, the undersigned apprehends that, for the very reason that the objent in view can not be muleratoed, it may be misconstrued. • Having instruction DI) a contingency ,which y 7 ,, s no t k i , e _ seen, he ca at this time, on ly express his regret, that a measure which cannot be viewed favotarablyby his .Government, should Live been adopted at the moment iwben he was authorised to renew the negociations on that subject, and with a well-founded hope, from the liberal tedor of his instructions, that an ar rangement, founded on principles of mutual convenience to both parties, might be concluded. It is well known that the delay in that respect was due to causes not• under the controul of the United States, principally to the state of health of Mr. King, which has ultimately de prived them. of his services. The reasons of the marked preference given by the Govern ment of the United States to an arrangement by treaty, instead of regulations adopted by both countries, are sufficiently obvious. It is highly important for-all the parties concerned, essential for the security of commercial or agricultural operations, that the in tercourse should be plaCed on a more permanent and explicit footing than- it- Can be by reciprocal laws, liable to he modified or revoked at .any time, at the will of either party, and not always easily understood by those on whom they operate. And the ob stacles which have prevented the United States from accepting the intercourse contemplated by the Act of Parliament, which could only be done in foto, and by complying with terms on which they had not been consulted, may, it is believed,. be easily removed by modifications essential to . them, and which will not, it is thought, he. fount' inconsistent . with the interest of Great Britain. The undersigned has taken•a view only of the - general tenor of the Order in Council, and does not think it necessary to advert to some of its details. He believes the omission of a special men tion of the trade with the British provinces in the East Indies, in that clause which makes a special exception as respects that with the British possessions in Europe, to be purely accidental. And he takes it for granted, that it is not intended to extend the coun tervailing duties to the intercourse by land or inland navigation, between the United States and the British possessions in North America, if it shall he found, as the undersigned believes it to he the fact, that the discriminating duties of the United States do not apply to that intercourse. The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to pray Mr. Canning to accept -the assurances of his perfect consideration. The Rt. Hon. G. Canning, &c. ALBERT GALLATIN. MR. •CANNING TO MR. GALLATIN. The undersigned, his Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has the honour to acknowledge the official note of the 2eith ultimo, addressed to him by Mr. Gallatin, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, on the subject of an Order in Council, issued by his Majesty on the 27th of July. The undersigned feels hiniself greatly indebted to Mr. Gallatin for the full and frank exposition, which that note contains, of his own opinions, and cf those of. his Government, upon the whole matter to which the Order in Council related; and the, opportu nity thereby afforded to the undersigned for entering into an ex planation, equally unreserved, of the opinions and intentions of his Majesty's Government on that matter. It will he highly advantageous to dispose at once of a subject which stands apart from all the other important subjects which Mr. Gallatin is authorised to discuss with the British Govern ment—a subject which is to be argued on principles, and to be decided on considerations peculiar to itself. Mr. Gallatin will allow the undersigned to take the liberty of remarking, that this peculiarity of character seems to have been overlooked by Mr. Gallatin, in his note of the 26th of August.— Througfiout that note there appears to be one pervading error.— Mr. Gallatin treats the question as if it had turned altogether on this single point—f' What are the equal and reciprocal conditions under which a trade between the United States and the British West India Colonies should be carried on ?" Assuming, as a sort of axiom, that such trade is as open to the United States as any other trade in the world, and never inquired whether some com pensation might not be due from the United States to Great Bri tain, for the concession of a privilege which it is her undoubted right to give or withhold. The undersigned is prepared to show, that even if the liberty to trade with the British West India Colonies were gratuitously con ceded by England to the United States, still the footing on which the trade, so permitted, is now carried on by the United States is unequal and unfair. But as the objection which the British Government feels to the proposition for such partial equalisation of conditions, as Mr. Gal latin's instructions appear to be intended to establish, lies deeper than Mr. Gallatin's proposition goes, the undersigned thinks it right to explain, in, the first instance, the nature and grounds of that fundamental objection., _ . It is, as the undersigned has already said, the unquestionable right, and it has, till within these few years, been the invariable practice, of countries having colonies, to reserve to themselves the trade with those colonies, and to relax that reservation only under special circumstances, and on particular occasions. When a re laxation of that nature has been dictated and limited by the neces sities of the mother country, or of the colonies, the foreign coun tries taking advantage of it, may fairly aver, that they owed no thing to the•State:which had granted such relaxation. They may even have felt themselves at liberty to decline to accept of a partial admission into the ports of the colonies, thus evidently opened from considerations of local or temporary convenience, unless they mire allowed a general liberty of trade with those colonies, independ ently of such considerations. • The interdiction of the American Government in ISP,O, -of any commerce with the British West India Colonies, until American shipping should be permitted free entry into the British colonial ports, is to be justified upon this ground. - The obvious way of meeting that interdiction by Great Britain, would have been to open to other commercial and maritime powers the trade refused by the United States. Circumstances, not necessary to be detailed here, rendered that expedient, at that time, 'inadvisable. In S S22, the privilege of trading with the British West Indies was conceded to the shipping of the United States, with certain restrictions and limitations, under which they are content to enjoy it ; but that privilege Great Britain still withheld from all the powers of Europe. The concession to the United States was, in effect, if not in words, exclusive : for the new countries of America (not then re • cognized by his Majesty) had no commerce or navigktion which could interfere with those of the United States. It capant, however, be supposed—it is not affirmed by Mr. Gallatin—that by granting the privilege, thus in effect exclusively, to the United States, in the first instance, Great Britain precluded herself from extending it to other nations, whenever the course of events should create a favourable occasion for doing so: Events, which intervened between 1822 and 1925, created such an occ.;44.pn. As little c;r) it be supposed that, because Great Britain sub mitted, at a moment of necessity, to terms which, though not un• just, were inconvenient to her, ;iv. Igutrid herself to continue to submit to them when that necessity should 4ave passed away. Scarcity may justify the demand for a high price, and mono poly may give the power of exacting it; but there is surely no understood compact between the buyer and the seller, that the former shall not endeaxonr to make himself independent of the latter, by opening the market to general competition. These obvious and simple considerations led to the Act of Par• liament of 1825. Our right either to open the ports of our Colonies, or to keep them closed, as might suit our own convenience ; our right to grant the indulgence of a trade with those Colonies to foreign Powers, wholly - or partially, unconditionally or conditionally, as we might think proper, and, if conditionally, on what condi tions we pleased, was clear: We were not bound by any engage ment to continue a monopoly of such indulgence to, one foreign power against another. We had, for three years, felt the incon venience of such monopoly. We naturally sought, therefore, in our new-measure, to avoid the recurrence of the like inconvenience, by making our indulgence general to all nations; and, in order to keep the regulation. of that indulgence in our own hands, we grant cl it by spontaneous legislation, and not by positive treaty. i fteztazstion is now, therefore, no longer what it was in 1820 or. 1822, a cinestiop between Great Britain and the United States •of America; it is a que.stio# 4etwegn- Great Britain and all the nations of the Old and the New World ; of whom Great Britain has tendered access to her Colonies; on condiiiona which many pf them have 'practically accepted, and more, perhaps, are ready to accept ? Having thus placed, as be hopes, in a clear light the general principles of Colonial trade, and the principles and considerations upon which Great Britain ha, acted in respect to bet own West • India Colonies, the undersigned now proceeds to consider the de tails of Mr. Gallatin's notnnt6 of the 25th of August. It harp been already said, that in tho year 1822, we opened, by Act of Parliament, a trade with our West India Coloiliso to Ame rican ships, gilder certain limitations and conditions. The United States were at full liberty to accept or to decline those terms. In accepting them, the 'United States imposed, at the sam e ti me onerou s charges and restrictions ppm' all Briti s h vesse l s w hi c h might trade between the B r itis h W e s t India Colonie s an d th e United States. One of these charges is an alien duty both upon the ship and upon her cargo. After ineffectual endeavours on our part, to obtain the removal ,:t* this duty, we were compelled to lay a countervailing duty to the saz. mount, upon American ships in the Colonial ports. M. 'Gallatin--" that by the imposition of this countervail ing duty, im i f;l, an d Atzerican vessels, employed in the inter cofiiise between the British•Oonies anj the United States, are placed on a footing of the most'pel-fek enality." informed; "a singli . a c t 'Of t b e " that there is no, if he is rightly Government of the United States can, in the view taken of the subject by that of his Majesty, he considered as not fulfilling the condition contemplated by the Act of Parliament of the sth of July, 1825, as not placing the commerce and navigation of Great Britain, anfl of her possessions abroad, upon the footing of the most favoured nation, excepting only the continuance of the dis criminating tonnage duty of ninety-four cents per ton on British vessels, and of the additional ten per cent on the ordinary, duty charged on goods imported in British vessels entering the ports of the United States from the British Colonie;," The arguments drawn by Mr. Gallatin, from these statements, are three :—First, that the duty on the side of the United States, and the countervailing duty on the side of Great Britain being equal, British ships trading between the Colonies and the United States, are as much favoured as American ships in the same trade; secondly, that, inasmuch as, with the exception of the dis criminating duties in America, - Great Britain is, in all other re spects, treated as " the most favoured nation," there is no just cause for the exercise, on the part of Great Britain, of the.power of interdiction provided by the Act of 1825 ; and, thirdly, that having in our hands two remedies for one and.the same grievance, we ought, at all events, to have contented ourselves with applying either, but not both by the same Order in Council. To begin With the last of these three points—viz. the assump tion that " having in our hands two remedies for one grievance, we ought to have been contented with applying either, but not both by the same Order in Council. The only measure which is now in the Order in Council, is the interdiction of the trade between the British West India Co lonies and the United States, after a specified period. The duties on American shipping; mentioned in that Order, are now new. They were imposed by an Order in Council, in 1823, and have been constantly levied since that time. They are again men tioned in the present Order in Council i only for the direction of the British Custom HouSe officers in the' West Indies, who, if those duties had not been mentioned as still existing, might have imagined them to be superseded. . . _ The history of these duties is simply this. On the Ist of Alarith 1823, a law was passed by the united States, which directs an alien duty to he levied upon British ships and cargoes coming front the British West India Coloni!s, f' until proof shall be given, to the satisfactioin of the President of the United States, that no other or higher duties of tonnage or impost, and no other charges of any kind, are exacted in the 'British Colonial ports upon the vessels of the United States, and upon any goods, wares, or mer chandise, therein imported from the United States, than upon British vessels entering the same 'ports, and upon the like goods, wares, and merchandise imported in such vessels from elsewhere.". The British Government at first misapprehended the import of the term " from .elsewhere,". conceiving it to apply •to foreign countries alone, and not to British possessions in North America; nor was it till after the interchange of several official notes be tween the British Envoy at Washington and the American Se= cretary of State, that the British Government was made to com prehend (or rather was brought to believe) the full extent of the concession required by the Act of Congress—namely, that the produce of the United States, when imported from the United States into the British West India. Colonies, should be placed on an equal footing with the like produce of the mother country her self and het dependencies. When such was at length ascertained to he the true construction of the American Act of Congress• of 1823, those countervailing duties were imposed . on the trade of the United States by the British Government, which are now merely continued till the Ist of December next, in the West Indies, and indefinitely in the ports of British North America. It is to be observed, that, by the Act of Parliament of 1822 (3 Geo. IV. cap. 44.), the British Government was enabled to interdict all intercourse between the United States and the Bri tish West India Colonies, under any such circumstances as those which had already arisen in the United States. The milder measure of a retaliatory duty was preferred, for two reasons :—First, we were - convinced that a claim so extraordi nary as that put forward by the interpretation given to the Act of Congress of 1823, would not be persevered in after explana tion ; and secondly, we had assurance that a full opportunity of that explanation would. arise in the course of the negotiation wh . th was then about to be opened between the two Govern n ents on this, among other points, in which their respective . in terests were concerned. That negociation took place in London in the spring of 1824. On the part of the British Government, an offer was made to ar range this matter upon terms highly favourable to the Fnited States; but the American Plenipotentiary entrenched himself within the letter of the American law, and declared any proPosal inadmissible which was not accompanied with the concesiion re quired by the final interpretation of that law. Things remained in this state, and the British proposition hav ing been unnoticed for nine months before by the American Go vernment, the Act of Parliament of July 1825 was passed. The American Legislature had cognizance of that Act from .the commencement of its last Session. It had also cognizance of the specific proposals offered by the British Government in 1824. Farther, there was brought under its consideration, by one of Its members, a resolution for repealing the discriminating duties. The Session, however, ended without the enactment of. any law for repealing or relaxing the restrictions of the Act of Con gress of 1823, and with the rejection, after debate, of the resolu tion for the repeal of the discriminating duties. To come next to I%h. 'Gallatin's allegation, that the.discriminat ing duties are our only cause of complaint ; that, in other respects Great Britain is placed by the United States on the footing of the most iisvuured nation, in her intercourse between - her West India colonies and the United States. • Mr. Gallatin, in making this averment, appears to overlook another enactment contained in the same Aet of Congress which imposed the discriminating duties, an enactment hardly less in jurious to the commerce and navigation of Great Britain. That enactment, in substance, provides that no British ship entering an American port from the United Kingdom, or from any other British possession, except directly front the West India Colonies, shall be allowed to clear from any port of the United States for any of those colonies. If it is to be maintained that, because the British Act of 1823 permits only a direct trade between our colonies and the United States in American ships, the prohibition of a trade through thy United States between the Mother Country and her colonies is, therefore, fair reciprocity, that position resolves itself, in effect, into the first of the three arguments into which Mr. Gallatin's state ment has been divided, and may be comprehended in the same an swer. It furnishes a striking illustration of the general rniscon ception which has already been noticed as pervading Mr. Gallatin's note, in respect to the character of colonial trade. To allow a foreign ship to enter colonial pmts at all, and upon any terms, is a boon ; to withhold from a ship of a country hav ing colonies, trading from the mother country to a foreign State, under a regular treaty between the two countries, the right of clearing for another port belonging to that mother country in another part of the world, is an injury. That right has been denied to Great Britain by the United States—not, perhaps, in contradiction to the letter, but un doubtedly in deviation from the spirit of the Treaty of 1815. It is a right which existed and was enjoyed before the Treaty of 1815 was framed ; at a period,—that is, when no claim to any trade to our colonies had been even whispered by the United States; and it could not therefore. be, by any just reasoning, connected with that trade, or made dependent upon it. It is a right which friendly nations, trafficking with one another, are so much in the habit of allowing to each other, that it is exercised as matter of course, unless specifically withholden. The colonial on the contrary, by the practice of all nations having co lonies, is a trade interdicted as a matter of course, unless specifi cally granted. It must not he forgotten that this enactment, founded profess edly on the limitations of the British Act of Parliament of 1822, is continued fourteen months after the passing of the British Act of 1825, by which the limitations of 1822 were done away. Since which, sth January, 1826, an American ship, trading to a British West India colony, may clear out from thence to any part of the world, the United Kingdom and its dependencies alone ex cepted. But the British ship in the American port still remains subject to all the restrictions of the American law of 1823, prohi biting a trade thronli tli9 United States .between the Mother Country and her West India P . oloniea, Mr. Gallatin, in his note of the 26th o f August, states that " it is well known that the delay in renewing the negociation upon the subject of colonial intercourse, on principles of mutual accommodation, is. doe to causes not under the controul of the United States, principally to the state of the health of Mr. King." Upon this point the undersigned has only tp observe, that no intimation that Mr. King had received instructions which would have enabled him to resume the negociation, was ever before corn munipated to the British Government. On the contrary, the only cnrnmunigation at all relating to this matter, t.ti h ich has ever reached him in any authentic shape, was in a despE;:li from Mr. Vaughan, dated the 22d of March last, whero-1 that Minister states, that M r. Cl a y bad informed him that lie.shpuld not be able to fur nish Mr. King with his instructions beti4e-the end of the month of May, to enable him to recommence the negociation." But whatever may be the date or tenor of the instructions under which Mr. Gallatin acts, he will have collected from this note, that, after all that has passed upon the subject of colonial inter course, and especially after the advised omission by the Govern ment and LegislatUre of the United States to meet (as other na tions have done) the simple and direct provisions of the Act of 82:: ; ), the p F itish Government cannot consent to enter into any renewed negotiation upon the intercourse between the United States and the British colonies, so long as the pretension recorded in the Act of 1823, and there applied to British colonies alone, remains part of the law of the United States. But the British Government further owes to the spirit of frankness which it wishes to cultivate in all its relations with the United States to declare, that, after having been compelled to apply to any country the interdict prescribed by the Act of 1825, the British Government cannot hold itself bound to remove the interdict, as a matter of course, whenever it may happen to suit the convenience of the Foreign Government to reconsider the measures by which the application of that interdict was occasioned. • It is not made matter of complaint by the British Govern ment, that the United States have declined conditions which' other nations have thought worthy of their acceptance. It is, on the other hand,' not the fault of the British Govern ment, if the United States have suffered the time to pass by, at which it might have been an object of greater importance to this country to induce the United States to come into •their proposals. - The United States exercised, upon this point, a free judgment ; and they can, on their part, have no reason to complain that 9reat Britain, after allowing ample time for maturing that judgment, is contented to abide the result of their decision. The undersigned requests Mr. Gallatin to accept the assurances of his high consideration. Foreign Office, Sept. 11, 1826. GEORGE CANNING. P.S. The undersigned, on reading over the preceding obser vations, finds that he has omitted to notice one or two subor dinate points touched upon in Mr. Gallatin's note of the 20th of August. The first relates to the trade between the United States and the British possessions in the East Indies; the second to the inter course, by inland navigation, between the United States and the British possessions in North America. • With regard to the former, it is only necessary to state that the trade with the East Indies remains upon the footing on which it was established by the Conventions of 1815 and 1818, which Conventions it it is expressly stated, in the Order in Council, that the provisions of that Order are not intended in any way to in= terfere. In respest to the second point, relative to the intercourse, by inland navigation, between the United States, and the British North American provinces, the undersigned begs to inform Mr. Gallatin, that the intercourse, so far as relates to the Canadas, is regulated by the Act of Parliament of 1825, by which the same duties are expressly imposed on the vessels and boats of the. United States importing any goods into either of those pro vinces as are or may he, for the time being, payable in the United States of America, on British vessels or boats entering the harbours of the State from whence such goods shall have been imported. The discriminating duties, besides, only apply to trade by sea; and if, in any instance, they have been levied upon American goods brought into his Majesty's possessions by inland navigation, or on the boats and vessels employed in that navigation, there will be no difficulty in directing the amount so levied to he repaid, unless it should appear that the like duties had been levied on the American ports, upon the inland navigation and trade of the Bri tish provinces. G. C. STATE PAPERS. The following important doCuments have been in general cir culation at Lisboa : NOTE PRESVATED BY THE MARQUIS OF PALMELLA TO MR. CANNING. The undersigned Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipoten tiary from his Most Faithful Majesty, cannot, after the news which has just arrived, of the invasion of the Portuguese territory, with force of arms, by a corps of troops assembled and organized in Spain, delay a moment in addressing to his Excellency Mr. Can sling, his Britannic Majesty's principal Secretary of State for the Department of Foreign Affairs, a formal demand, in the name of her Highness the Infanta Regent of Portugal, for the support and aid of British troops, in virtue of the treaties of alliance and gua rantee which have existed in full force between the two Crowns, without intermission, for more than a century and a half. It is in pursuance of the express orders of his Government, that the Undersigned claims the fulfilment of the stipulations of the said treaties; and that he has now the honour to repeat in writing, the representations he has already officially made in several conferences with Mr. Canning. The defensive alliance between Portugal and Great Britain is so directly founded on the permanent interests, political as well as commercial, of both countries, and on their geographical position, that it might be regarded as virtually existing, though it had not been consecrated, as it in fact is, by diplomatic acts, and become, as it Were, habitual to both nations. This alliance is coeval (to say nothing of snore ancient relations) with the establishment of the Royal House of Braganza on the throne of Portugal, and afterwards with that of the House of Bourbon on the throne of Spain ;—those two great events having concurred to induce the Portuguese, on the one hand to regard England as their natural ally, and the English, on the other, to consider the independence of Portugal, one of the essential conditions of the political balance of Europe. In fine, those ties, formed by mu tual relations of compatibility, have too often been cemented on the field of battle to render it necessary to refer to facts, of which some are not only recent but gloriously memorable. The Undersigned, however, does not confine himself to a mere appeal to the general spirit of the numerous treaties existing between the two crowns. He annexes to this note textual copies of some of the articles of the treaties of 1661, 1703, 1810, and 1815-- articles which leave no kind of doubt as to the positive obligations which have been contracted. The undersigned, in the mean time, begs that Mr. Canning will he pleased to allow him to make a rapid analysis of those articles, in doing which he is persuaded it will be easy forlim to demonstrate to his Excellency that, accord ing to the spirit and the letter of the said treaties, the casual faderis has actually occurred. Articles 15, 16, and 17, and the secret article of the treaty of 1661, expressly stipulate that his Britannic Majesty will always place the interests of Portugal near his heart, and will defend that kingdom and the possessions thereof, with all his power, by sea ana land, in the same manner as he would England. That whenever Portugal should be invaded, and the King of Portugal should demand aid from his ally, his Britannic Majesty woul d send, free of expence, forces for the defence of Portugal ; an finally, that his Britannic Majesty would defend the conquests and the colonies of the Crown of Portugal against all enemies pre f d distinctly sent and future. In vain would it he alleged that this treaty had on l y a s p ecial object, e P c Portugal t a ng a l Ist, it does stipulate the first article of. for a fixed period, but in perpetuity ; 2d b l t l ie 7 B o a 3 re be e t x w p e r e e n so P y o a i- p ti p ig r a o l v a ec n i :l l th u a i t th it s c p ea a s in ed i I b 6 e 6 i s n ; fo f s o -c r e , after thepeacneotconcluded 3tll , the out doubt, comprehend the treaty of 1661 ; y guarantee „Govireartmßedri,tattinarlalyitifihezeic,hecil ( fr i g r i e th a d v e e r n a ' t iaos is n cessions o of territory made by Portugal to England—that is to a P rt o ie r l t es ig , a i l n consi deration say, ant value received, which England, in a great degree, still for possesses. Articles 2d and 3d of the treaty of alliance concluded in 1703 a st n a d ted im i o n m th is : above-mentionedo f assistance t between the King of Portugal on the one part, and England and the States-General of the United Provinces on the other, specify, inave everprecise ha m p a p n en ner t „ ha t t he tb s e uc Kng succours which Fbicrhansce o hallr h.bteieffoKrdiuegd,-of if it should Spain, present or future, together or separately, should snake war on Portugal. This treaty is perpetual, and any objection which might be advanced on the ground of its comprehending the States-General conjointly with his Britannic Majesty would not be valid— the l Clef ß ec e t e i a o u n se Of one of n yt g %tvho t e o aos t ts h io, e ec doctrinesassociated p parties , n s f d t o l law not oafnnations, obligations contr a :c c :e l :l ) i 2.. Because the relations between the United Provinces and Portugal have ceased in consequence of posterior wars, and in particular on account of their not being renewed since the latter state has undergone a change of form ; but it is not the same with regard to the relations of Portugal with England, which have not for a single moment experienced any interruption. 3. Above all, because the said treaty, like every other between the crowns of Portugal and Great Britain, has been revived and confirmed by subsequent treaties ; and it will be sufficient to add, that in the treaty of alliance of 1910, one of the stipulations of the treaty of 1703 is referred to as existing.—(See article 8.) The act of guarantee of the treaty of Utrecht, between Portugal and Spai n , formally declares that His Britannic Majesty engages on his Royal word, to take care that the said treaty shall he in violably observed. Finally, the treaty of Vienna of 1815, between his Most Faithful Majesty and his Britannic Majesty, declares (article 3) that all the treaties of alliance, friendship, and guarantee, anterior to )910, are renewed by the two high contracting parties, and that they recognize the existence of those treaties in full force and vigour. It seems useless to add other stipulations and other arguments to prove the existence of the obligations of defensive alliance and guarantee contracted between the two Crowns. The Undersigned, lineefore, proceeds to fulfil the second task which he has imposed on himself namely, to submit to the 'coniideration of the'Cabinet of his Britannic Majesty the present state of things in Portugal. The British Government has adopted the principle (and lilt Excellency- Mr. Canning publicly announced-it on a recent ()era-, sion) never to interfere in the civil discords of other countries. This principle might. be found to be in contradiction with some stipulations of the ancient treaties cited above; but, avoiding for the present any discussion of ,this question, the Undersigned is confident he can clearly demonstrate, that Spain is now commit ting hostile acts against Portugal, and that those acts are suffi ciently flagrant to constitute a real aggression. He will besides assert, that even if it should be wished to overlook those provoea tions, and to carry, as the Portuguese Government does (from the desire of peace, and from respect to the wishes of all the other Powers), forbearance as far as it can be carried, there would still be no reasonable ground why his Britannic Majesty should not send by way of precaution, and for the sake of preventing war, a body of auxiliary troops to Portiigal ; for, in fact, if war does not now exist, it cannot be dissembled that the chances of its breaking out are at least but too probable. But his Britannic Majesty will doubtless recog nize that there are just bounds to the tolerance of aggressions and insults, and that the existence of the State, and national honour, require that those limits should not be overstepped.— Now, by what right could any other Power of Europe blame, still less oppose, the temporary stationing of a corps of British troops in Portugal for the avowed purpose of maintaining peace? Moreover, it is evident that such aid being stipulated by anterior treaties, does not (according to the principles of international law) place England in a state of war with the enemies of Portu gal, even though her troops should be compelled to co-operate in the defence of the latter kingdom. More than one proof of this assertion will be found in the modern history of Europe, and more particularly in what respects the States which formerly constituted the Germanic empire, which were regarded as individually at peace, notwithstanding that they furnished their contingents to the army of the empire. There are innumerable proofs of the animosity entertained by the Spanish Government towards that of Portugal, and of hos tile.acts committed by Spanish authorities, either with the sanc tion of their Government, or of their own accord. The under signed will confine himself to the recapitulation of the follow. ing . 1. The Court , of Spain at this . moment still refuses to recog nize explicitly his Majesty the King . of Portugal as the successor of his august father, and her Royal Highness the Infanta Donna Isabella Maria, as Regent of the kingdom. 2. The Portuguese refugees and deserters are cordially received in Spain, where they have been permitted to remain imbodied, to retain their arms, and publicly to swear fidelity to another prince ; and, at last, consent has been given to their returning sword in hand into Portugal. 3. None of the promises made by the Cabinet of Madrid to redress the above grievances have yet , been performed. 4. The Governor and the other authorities of the town of Ayamonto have maintained an official correspondence with the Portuguese rebels of Algarve. , 5. Spanish soldiers have entered the Portuguese territory, and have committed acts of aggression within it; and among others, the spoliation of the property of an English subject. 6. Portuguese vessels peaceably navigating the river Minh°, which divides the two countries, have been fired on from the Spanish side. All these facts are proved by authentic dosuments, which have been communicated to the Ambassador of his Britannic Majesty at Lisbon; and the undersigned confines himself to annexing to the present note, extracts of two despatches which he has re ceived f ro m his Excellency the Minister for Foreign Affairs to his Most Faithful Majesty, which, in a few words, gave an idea of the present state of our relations with Spain. of al Europe , as its legitimate th eehiessove reign, son Such are the provocations which Po r t uga l h as rece i ve d from the Spanish Government : and what are th e reproac h es w hi c h that Government can , on its part, snake a ga i ns t t h e P ortuguese of its late King? Can it be the having received with gra ti tu d e natio n ? in accordanceC an it be t h e lvi t hav i ngh the wi s recognised, hes the charter freely granted by that sovereign, and which, in fact, only contains the restoration of the ancient rights and privileges of the nation? Is it, in fine, the peacefully endeavouring to re form its 'internal administration, and observing with ecrupsdous good faith 'all the attentions which are due to the Government of a neighbouring state, abstaining from employing against it arms similar to those which it employs? The reality of this contrast is unquestionable, and the facts speak for themselves. All Eurbpe cannot fail to recognize its truth, and the British Government owes it to the good faith of treaties, to the love of peace, to its own honour, and to the interests which the fate of Portugal cannot fail to excite in England, to take prompt and decisive measures for placing her ally beyond the danger of external attack, and for terminating a state of things which would, if not prevented by interposition, ne cessarily lead' to a violent crisis. . , . . , .. The Undersigned will now o n ly a dd a f e w reflections on th e principle adopted by England of non-interference in the domestic dissentions of other States. This principle (if it is to be observed literally, and war is not to be considered as existing with Sp a i n until a Spanish army shall have actually entered the Portuguese territory) would guide the enemies of Portugal in the course which they would desire to follow ; for, from it they would learn that they might with impunity invite our soldiers to desert, sow corruption amongst them, maintain them embodied in military corps on the frontiers, and, in fine, commit all kinds of hostilities, provided such hostilities were not avowed ; and Portugal would thus be placed between an enemy who permits himself to resort to the most perfidious means to injure her, and an ally who interdicts , himself from assisting. her. i in question, it cannot even be admitted represented by the two Chambers, in of interest and opinions. The Portu gu es e .assembled the clergy and nobility, acts in accordance spontaneous will of the King. The ease in Portugal a real d pursues with . moderation the path traced parties which agitate the . country, directed by certain men who and de I as the disgrace of the nation, have dared to pro claim the name of a moww t l u i hia a tt ß c yf t hobt h ri i e e: ae r e rri e s eeg e sa x i bnrsiys Sovereign,t thest ien freean Young Prince, who, being himself called one day to the legitimate participation of the throne, has, in the meanwhile, by oaths and solemn acts, given the most satisfactory guarantee of his fidelity and devoted obedience to the orders of his august brother, and thus contradicts the unworthy abuse which is • toth made of his name. However, wh a t ever may be the opinion and wish manifested by the majority o f the Portuguese nation, it is not impossible to imagine a case in which foreign intrigue, by employing the ter rible m eans of seduction, might succeed, through the defec tion of th e army, in bringing about a total revolution in Portugal. Telheeimuinn(gl, i undersigned the e d n w am il e l ncfonhcleurde Royal this H no ig te hn a es s hsethceoulintnfleantea n commenced it, by gent,e etxhieatsiunpgptoietataienad. He avails himself of thi s o ccas i on to repeat to his Excellency aid of his Britannic Majesty, conform a bly ..._. Mr. Can n i n g, the assurance of his highest consideration. (Signed) The Aiarquis De PALMELL A. London, Dee. 2. To his Excellency Mr. Canning, &e. &c. (COPT.) the hono ur t o FO R EIGN-OFFICE, Dec. , 11, 1826.—The und ers i gne d , his Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign Aff a i r ., i n re mnohtei•s' oAfrotshteFiNaliathrtlismdaejePstayl,mhelasla, Ambassador e nclose to his Excellency, the copy of a me:gage-from hi s M a j esty - to both Houses of Parliamen t, d elivered this day, which h e at the same time offers to the Marquis de Palmella an opp or t un i ty of ply to Extraordinary the officialfro transmitting to his Government by a British ship of war which •,, Is 7 under orders for Lisbon:. The undersigned avails himself of this opportunity to renew to his Excellency the Marquis de Palrnella, the assurance of his most distinguished consideration. (Signed) GEORGE CANNING. To his Excellency the Marquis de Palmella, &c. &c. SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. FROM LLOYD'S.—(Tnis DAY.) DEAL, JAN. 9.—Wind W. —Arrived and remain, the Lynx. Hyson, and Africanus, Hodson, from Africa. Arrived from the River and remain, the Sir E. Paget, Geary, for India ; and the Denmark Hill, Foreman, for New South Wales, PORTSMOUTH, JAN. 9.—Wind W.—Arrived and remain, the Madeline, Coghlan, from London to Mauritius. PLYMOUTH, JAN.—Wind rrivel the New Lon don, Butler, from Prince Edward's Island. FALMOUTH, JAN. S.—Wind 'W.—Arrived the Minerva, Richards, from St. John's; Ark, Short :from Gibraltar ; and the Rinaldo packet, from America —sailed from New York Dec. 12, and from Halifax the 20th ; also, the Princess Elizabeth, from the Mediterranean--on the sth inst. experienced a most tremen dous gale from N.N.E. w i t h heavy fall of snow—on the 6th saw a ship, with loss of, mast, named Barton ; the Princess Elizabeth came from Gibraltar in 15 days. Also arrived, the Duke of Marlborou g h packet, from Lisbon, sailed 27th ult. Sailed, the Lady L ou i sa packet, for Jamaica ; and the M agnet packet, for Lisbon. Lisbon A : R D y N a n d, Power, ltN9 . a —_Arrived, ita,nftr,omM Demeraraajor,from; and the Robert and Ann, Harrison, from Quebee. Sailed, the Cyrene, Barret, and Eliza, Wylse, for Sierra Leone ; and tl:e Countess of Harcourt, Harrison, for New South Wales.