The Mirror — Concord, N.H., 1799-02-25 00:00:00, page 4

(Catiraed/rra 2d,agi.)
(No. 15.)
Mr. Gerc,, to the Miniver of For
eign Relation of the French Re
public.
Paris, 13thfree, 1798.
I have received, Citizen Minis
ter, your letter of the 22d Prairiai
(ioh June,) wherein, after inform
ing me that all further explanation
relpeding the dark iocigue in
question, will be below the digni
£, of the French Government,
you fa, that you will not keep the
fame silence upon the intention
maoifefled io the message of the
President of the United States to
the Legislature, the 14th Germinal
(3d April ;) in the nature of the
pieces produced at forming part
of a negotiation ; ir a rapid pub
licity given to & strange collec
tion ; and io tire concealment of
official communication!, by which
in the fubfequeot part of your let
ter, you allude to your note to the
Envoys of the 28th Ventofe (ißih
March lal)
II the withes and interest of the
two Republics call loudly for an
accommodation of their differences
(sod of chit, the Government of
France, as well at that of the U.
States, appears to be convinced,)
is not a refloration of friendship
between them, one of the most
direct means for accomplishing
shat defirabte object ? And is it
not altogether negteded ? The
unfounded tr^judices against the
Befr ent of th? United States, in
regard co hit message, will be man
ileft, by comparing it with bis of.
ficial duty, designated by the Con°
ftiwtion, and also b, referring to
the dates of your note and of his
meffige ; whereby it will appear,
that the latter was but 16 days
later than the former, and that it
was impcffible that the Prefideot
could have received your note, or
concealed it from the public. The
Government of the United States,
pure in its principles, just in its ob
jedi, and wife in its councils, is
alfo/feperior to all perfonalitiei ;
and I with these may forever cesfe;
for fore 1 am, that from such a
source, no good, but infinite inju
ries, may rtfuk to the two repub-,
lies. You conceive that your note,
which was duly transmitted by the
Envoys to the Government, when
pubifhed, will efface from the
minds of the American people
their unfounded inquietude. Os
this I can form no judgment ; but
before you addressed that note to
the Envoys, the proposition there
in contained had been made to me
fepamely, and I had stated, that
the measure was to itfelf impolitic,
and as it reformed myfelf, impofc
fib!e.
I have nevertheless, contrary to
my withes and interests, complied
with your fubtequent proposition
for remaining here to prevent a
rupture. I have ^n happy, fioce,
by your repeated affuraoces, that
this Government was fiocerely dis
posed rfo reconcile all differences
between the two countries, and
probably would fooo make an ar
rangement adequate to she object :
indeed I had great reafoo to hope,
that I should bate been furnilhed
with a copy of it, before my leav
ing Paris, and I earoeftly wished
it, left the difsppointment which
might result from my return to the
United States without it, should
produce unhappy effea„ but the
vessel in which I am to embark,
being ready for fes, waits on my
arrival at Havre with the requisite
documents for the voyage.
The sincerity of the disposition
of the Government of the United
States, to meet this Government
on the ground of the axifting trea
ties between the two countries, and
to do justice to France, as well as
to receive it from her, is too evi.
dent to admit for a moment of the
leafl doubt ; but I again repeat,
that I have no powers to enter on
the negotiation. Nevertheleft, the
proposed arrangement might be
made by. this Government, and a
Mioifter be feat to America to
complete it; as it is of little con
fequeoce to either, in which na
tion the negotiation is concluded,
but of great importance to both
that it should terminate io an im
mediate accommodation, and io
the reftorarion of their friendship.
I presume that in this our wishes
are alike sincere and ardent, and
<hat the magnanimous policy of
this Government to persevere in
the intention to reconcile with fio
cerity all the differences between
the two; courses, will have a
speedy and happy effe&.
Accept, Citizen Mioifter, the
assurances of my perfed refpta.
(Signed) E. GERRY.
[No"^]
(TRANSLATION)
Paris, 30th Prairial, 6 h year,
fifth June, 1798 ]
The Minister of Exterior Relatione,
to Mr. Gerry, Envoy of the
United States.
1 have received, Sir, your an
swer of the 27th of this month, to
my letter of the 22d. You take
the trouble to observe to me, that
my note of the 28th of Ventofe
(18th March, 1798,) could not
have made a part of the docu
ments communicated by the Presi
dent of the United States on the
14th Germinal (April 3d, 1798.)
Do me the juftica to believe that
I have, not committed this mil
take;
You persist io thinking, that
your powers and your ipftru&ons
do pot permit you to proceed to
the conciliating of the differences
between our two Republics. You
even announce to me positively
your departure for the U. States,
in the vessel which your govern
ment has dispatched to Havre, I
should have presumed, that after
having received and transmitted
to Philadelphia my note of the
aßth Ventofe, that one of the En
voys, whose impartial difpofirioni
appeared to promise a reconcilia
tion, woul^ wait at Paris for fur
ther inftruaions and powers, if he
bad need of them. It even ap
pears to me, that these documents
cannot now be long in reaching
you, provided your Government
is as averse to a rupture as you as
sure me. The part you take
tends to give room to conjeaure,
that the vessel arrived at Havre,
has only brought you orders, simi
lar to the * of which I complain
ed on the 22d of this month.
Nevertheless Sir, such is the
fincerit, of the assurances which I
• have given you in the name of the
Executive Dircaory on the 28th
Ventofe, and which I have since
repeated to you, notwithstanding
the most irritating provocations,
that I do not hesitate to explain
myfelf to you, as if you were in a
situation to receive my overtures.
All negotiation between France
and the United States, must effeo
rially rest upon three principal
points.
,1. Frank and amicable declara
tion concerning certain circum
stances, which malevolence has,
and may yet misrepresent.
It is utterly lalte, notwithstand
ing the public and private it finoa
tions which have been made io
private writings and in folemo a&s,
that the French Government has
ever fought to detach the people
of the U. States from the Confti
rotion they have given to them
selves. It has complained of the
American Government, but to the
Government itfelf. justice de
manded, that it should render
homage to the fympithy of a free
people for the cause of liberty ;,
and it did not go farther.
The Secretary of State, Mr.
Pickering, has infested io his
public letter to Mr. Pinckney,
(of the 16'h of Jan. 1797,) affet
tiona against the good faith of
France in the negotiations of 1782,
which have no other foundations
than rhe interefled communica
tions of the Engilh negotiator.—
It is a long time that this infidiom
weapon, forged by the enemies of
France, has been used in the dark.
It is of importance to the two
countries, to understand each other
equally concerning the true value
ot the several documents publish
ed as emanating from the French
Government, and of the private
afts of certain agents, whom it has
difavowrd. In effea it is only by
destroying all the gems of distrust,
that a good understanding can re
appear aad continue hereafter
without being obfeured.
2. Fixing the meaning of seve
ral articles of the treaties between
the two countries, and the abso
lute enjoyment of the rights which
flow from them.
Long before the war, the 9th
and 12th articles of the convention
of the 14th of Nov. 1788, the firft
relative to deserters, and the 2d
relaive to the jurifdiaion of the
Confute, were a continual source
of altercations. The, have be
come completely null b, interpre
tations foreign to their manifeft in
tent. U is necessary to perfect
them..
By the 6th art. of the treaty of
alliance, France has renounced the
Bermudas, new-Bruntwick, Nova-
Scotia, Cape- Breton, and Canada ;
in other words, it has renounced
the procuring for itfelf of one of
the ports, which would have been
so necessary for it to possess for the
proteaion of its fogar ifhnds. It
devoted, io preference, the effort
of its arms to the defence of the
United States. It was understood
that it should find proportionate
advantages in their ports. , One of
these advantages is found implicit
ly in the 17th art. of the treaty of*
commerce of the fame day. The
French ships, public and private,
may freely enter into the Ameri
can ports with the prizes which
they may take. The (hips public
rod private of the enemies of Fran,
who may have taken prizes from
it, (hall not, on the contrary, have
any asylum in those ports. Such
is the literal sense, such is the in
tended sense. Does good faith
permit a diflioaion between the
vessels of the enemies of France,
I teko leave their prizes without the
I port, and thole who come in with
them ? Can it be decided that the
latter only should be excluded,
without evidently violating the +
chute of the treaty which it the
most important to France ? Can
it be invalidated by febfequent en
gagement! ? Doubtless not.
In virtue of the fame 17th art.
no authority whatever ot the U. r.
States is permitted to interfere with
the prizes taken by French fhipt
public and private. The Captains
are bound only to shew their com
miffioas, because it is oeceffary to
be able to distinguish the pirate
from authorized vessel. It iv also
lawful to demand the release of a
prize taken within the extent of
the jurifdidion, that is to fay witfe
io the reach of cannon shot. But
what abuse, what vexations, what
odious chicanery, have flowed from
the deviation, from the meaning
of the article ? The Government
of the United States has rejected
the precautions suggested co reme
dy the evil. Experience has Ihewn
that without those precautions the *
article it ilufory.
The United Staterc permitted
the fate of French prizes until
Prairial, 4th year, (May, or June,
1796.)— At this period the Su
preme Court decreed the revoca
tion of this advantage, in virtue of
the 24th art. of the treaty with
Grestbritain. The 27th article
nevertheleft adds, that that treaty
shall in no refpeft alter those which
the United States may have pre
viously contrasted. But the liber
ty, enjoyed by the French vessels
of war, of felling their prizes, is
derived from the 17th and aad
articles of the treaty of commerce
of the 6th Feb. 1798. The 27th <
article would be ot little value, if
it were confined to the right of
asylum. The aad article would
be mere forplufage, if it did not
declare a right for the French aad
an interdiction for their enemies.
Great-Britain obtained a similar <
right only on condition that it
should be without force in all cases
wherein France should be interest
ed. When the United States con
cluded their treaty with Holland
in Oft. 1782, the memory of the
treaty of 1778 was not yet weak
ened ; and the exclusive privilege 1
of the aad art. of the latter is for
mally acknowledged in the azd
article of the former.
[Turn to the id page],
TRIFLES?
FASHIONABLE BONNETS.
LADY W. a writer in the Wor
cester Gazette, complains bitterly
to Lady X of the modern fsfhioa
of making borneh—She concludes
thus : —" For my own part, I can
not fay, that I feel perkaiy easy
about the matter ; for as true as I
now live, I have not had a single
Kiss since I firft were the Beonet;
nor do I so much wooder, tor it is
not possible for any creature, ex
cept it be a horse, 0 tome other
long snouted animal, to come wear
MM, to perform the act."
I'y'WwMMiwwa— «—**-»— ■ ■■■
THE following curious notice
was lately fixed upon the door of
the church in Ludford, in Hert
fordfhire, and read in the church
b, the clerk, viz. 66 This is to
give notice, that no person is to
be buried in this church-yard, g
but what lives in this parish ;
and those who ioijh to be buried
here, are desired to apply to me.
Eph. GRUB, Parish Clerk,"