The Mirror — Concord, N.H., 1799-03-11 00:00:00, page 2

gociate, they could soon finiffi a treaty ;
far the Executive Dir&r,, fare wet in the
b^it e/JP^dng much time about fu<b mat
„„.'' Hencethe rifraions to Generals
Pinckney and Marfrll ; they manifefted
a difeernment superior to the intrigues
of the French Government, and an in
vincible determination not to surrender
the honor, the interest, or the independ
ence of their country. It was necessary
then to get rid of them ; and feeing that
neither def,air of negotiating, nor Audi
ed indignities, could induce them to quit
their posts, peffports were sent to them to
quit France ; it was with difficulty that
Gen. Pinckney could obtain permission
to flay two or three months for the recov
ery of his sick daughter, to whom an im
mediate voyage would probably prove fa
tal. Unembarrafled by the presence of
these Envoys, the French Government,
if it really desired a treaty on any terms,
hoped to prevail on Mr, Gerry to nego
tiate separately, although from the firft
overture he declined and continued to
decline it. But after the expulsion of his
colleagues, it hoped, by its fedudive arts,
to prevail over his scruples, and gain bis
confect to terms which, while they were
nrefent. would be rej &ed ; or at all e
rents to retain him with tefembtem
cf negociating, regularly or informal!,,
end thus keep the United States in the
^orof indecision, Without preparation
Inee or defence. Unfortunately,
r er rv was induced, by the threats
%^^ ^ ^ u& „'
:±###[
2. The fad that the French Govern
ment attempted to inveigle„Mr. Gerry
into a separate negociation, will not be
questioned : at firft it was made private!,,
and under an rju^ion of jecrec, towards
his colleagues : it was afterwards plainly
fa fi.u?!ed by the Minister, in his tetter
of the i3h of Match, 1798, in which he
lelh the Envoys that the Executive Di
rea^ry was disposed to treat with one of
the there ; and that ont he openly a
vowed, in his letter cf the third of April,
to be Mr. Gerry. The ,mratt for feled
irg him was, that his " opinions pie
fumed to be m?re impartial, promised, in
the course of rhe explanations, more of
that reciprocal torfiJenee which was
indifpenfable.'' But when before, have
their " e,Brioni" been stated as a just fia
ble ^rt\ind for rfraing the ambaffidors
of peace ? Ambatladsrs too, of efttbiifh
ed probity, whole characters were of the
fi ft d^fiindion in their own country, and
whose demeanor towards the government
to which they were deputed, was decent
and refpeaful? Who had with a frank
nefs which the candor of theit instruc
tions warranted, communicated the im
portant points which they contained ?
And who onremitingly, and with the
most anxious folicituce, entreated that
the negociatioms might be commenced f
What more proper or more honorable
qualities ought ministers deputed to ne
goci,e with a foreign nation to possess I
But why ihould a foreign Government
question the opinion: of the ambassadors
sent to riegociate with it on fuljeas of
dfrencc between the two nations ? If
Wifely chefen, and faithful to the inter
ests of their own country, they must of
coufle possess different opinions from the
government, to which they were sent, the
dfring ep^iont maintained by the two
nations oirtheir ,efpe&ive rights and in
terests, being the cause and objeds of
the negociation. A government really
disposed to treat on fair principles, would
never object to the opinions of foreign
amb&dors. It would receive them,
and appoint its own ministers wi'h pro
per powers to treat with them, propose its
'terms, and receive those offered ; and
difeufs both, and if then they could not
agree, put an end to the negociation.—
The French government did not with to
negotiate, it desired to impose a treaty
on the United States. To this praaice
it had been accustomed towards the mi
nor powers in Europe, whom it has fab
jefted to its will ; and it expeAed equal
submission from the United States.—
Hence Mr. Talleyrand's secret declara
tion to Mr. Gerry, " that if he would ne-
ued ineffice, after the accouat of theft
intrigues bad been published to the world,
i< a decifiie proof that they were com
menced and carried on with the privity,
and by the secret orders of the Directo
ry. It was to accomplish the objed of
these intrigues that the American En
voys Were kept at Paris unreceived, fix
months after their credentials had been
laid before the Direaory : and it was
only beraufe they were superior te those
intrigues, and that no hopes remained
of wheedling or terrifying them into a
compliance, that two of them were then
feat away—and with marks of insult and
contempt.
their motives, merited only defecation
and contempt. Four or five months ne
fore, the threats of immediate orders to
quit France, and the terrors of war in its
most dreadful forms, had been held up
tu all the Envoy! to frighten them into a
compliance with the groundless, unjust,
and corrupt demands of the French Gcv
ernment. Those threats had not been
executed, and the unworthy purposes, for
which they had been uttered, had been
obvious.
Happily tor the United States, the
Chatae^rof the French gov. delineated
in the official di(patches of all the envoys,
and the knowledge of its coodud to
wards other countries whose government
it had overturned, and whole people, in
the names of Liberty and Equality, it
bad erfhved, so operated as not to leave
us exposed to all the evils which fufpence
was calculated to produce. Mr. Gerry
indeed refilled all the arts of the French
Minister to entice him into a formal ne
gociatian, after that government had
driven his colleagues from Paris : a ne
gociation which in its nature would have
been a surrender of our independence, by
admitting a foreign government to
choose for usthe Minister who sh u'd re
prefeot our country, to treat of our im
portant rights and interests, which that
government had itfelf violated and deep
ly injured.
The Dire&ory and their Minister Mr.
Talleyrand hoped and expected that Geo.
Pinckney apd General Marlhall would
voluntarily have quitted France, after the
Minister's letter of the 18 h of March,
in which he made the < ff:nfive distinc
tion between them and their colleague,
Mr. Gerry, on the pretence that his " o
pinioas" were more " impartial" than
theirs. Accordingly Mr. Talleyrand,
io his letter to Mr. Gerry of the third of
April, fays—"l suppose Sir, that Messrs.
Pinckney and Maifhall hav: thought
it ufeful and proper, in confcquence of
the intimations which the end of my note
of the 18th of March last prefects, to
quit the territory of the Republic." Yet
Mr. Talleyrand had given them neither
passports nor letters of fafe conduct! The
fad is, the French government wished
to avoid the odium of fending them aw^,
and the blame of a rupture, which Mr.
Talleyrand predided would be the corle
quence : while it was privately intima
ted to them that they must leave the
country. —The Miniftcr's conduft on
this occasion toward# G n. Matfhvll (is
detailed in his journal) was particularly
masked with indignities. When it was
observed to Mr. Talleyrand that this
was not the manner in which a foreign
Minister ought to be treated, Mr. Tal
leyrand replied, that Gen. Marshall was
not a foreign Minister, but was to be
considered as a private American citizen ;
and must obtain his passport, like others,
through the Consul. To this it was an
swered, that Gen. Marshall was a for
eign minister, and that the French
government could not deprive him of
that charader, which was conferred up
on him, not by Mr. Talleyrand, but by
the United States; and tho' the Directo
ry might refufe to receive or to treat with
him, still his country had clothed him
with the requisite powers, which he held
independently, ot France ; that it he
was not acceptable to the French govern
ment, and io consequence thereof it was
determined to fend him away, still he
ought to be sent away like a minister,
that he ought to have his passports, with
letters of fafe condu& which would pro
tea him from the eruifers of France.
\ Mr. Talleyrand replied, that if Gen.
Mailhall wished for a passport, he must
give in his name, stature, age, complex
ion, &c. to the American Consul, who
would obtain a passport for him: that
with refpea to a letter of fafe conduct,
it was unnecessary, as no [ilk from the
cruizers would be incurred.
Tbe result cf these converfatfons was
a plain femonftration of the insertion of
the minister, that in confcquence of bis
intimation at that close of bis tetter of
the 18th March, .hat the " opinions"
ot two of the envoys were not agreeable
to the government of France, Generals
Pinckney and Marshall fau/Z appropriate
to tbemJebou the character which the
minister had drawn generally ; the en-i
voys aware of this snare, in their answer
of the third of April to the intimation
• 0# the§bof Oa. 1797, th da, after
th En%t bad dofcradte th mini ftor at 0^
„afttar tetr of credence, " cffde es hfpi
lalit, were felt te them andf^ir Secretaries,
i^ a ftpkjuitabh te their <,&d cbareatr."
[Dijpatchep. 17J Ana in th miirJhr't
tetter te then of th i3tb of Mdreb 1798, be
calb them " tbe Cemmiffieners and Enve,i
Extraordinary eftbe U. State of dtoicn."
ADi&fov)
1. Because it real, it wit only
in the hope and expedition, that
by intrigue# and terror# the French
Government might influence Mr.
Gerry to enter into a formal treaty,
on the term# which he and his col
league# had repeatedly rtjOed a#
incompatible with the interests,
honor and independence of their
country. For at this time Mr.
Talleyrand had not renounced the
demands of loan# and a douceur
at the indispensable preliminaries
of a treaty. Accordingly we fee
Mr. Talleyrand, in hi# letter of
the 3- lof April, to Mr. Gerry,
piopoled " to resume their tecip.
r®cal communications upon the in
tereft# of the F each republic and
the United States of America."
And in hi# letter of July 12th to
Mr. Gerry, having mentioned the
arrival at the Havre, of a packet,
the Sophia, from the American
government, he fays, " until then
I never supposed you entertained
the defiga of embarking before
we had come to an agreement
upon the definitive articles to be
ratified by your government."—
2d. Because if that government
had so far succeeded, it wood
have irfifted on it# ratification by
the Pufident and Senate, on the
ground conftandy taken by Mr.
Talleyrand, that the power# of the
Envoy# being frotfal as well as
faint, M-. Gerry, when alone, even
after the French government bad or
dered bis colleagues to leave France,
were adtquate to the formation of
the treaty ; and that therefore the
public faith would be violated, if
it were not ratified. 3d, Because
under such circumftaocei, the Fr.
government doubtless calculated at
lead on a division of the pubic
opinion in the United States in fa
vor of the ratification of such a
treaty ; by means of which it
might enforce the ratification, er
eftß fill greater mijebiefs. 4 But
these endeavors to draw Mr. Gerry
into a formal negociation, are
chiefly remarkable because they
were persevered in during near five
months, against his constant, direst
and positive refufals to treat sepa
rately: Mr. Talleyrand and Mr.
Gerry denying the competency of
his powers.
We have fean the Envoys from
the 6th of Oa. 1797. the date of
their 6rft letter to the French min
ister, to the 3d of April, 1798,
when their last was delivered to
him, expressing their earnest desire
to enter upon and prosecute the
great bufinefa of their mission,
we have feed them during that
long period patiently enduring
negleft and indignities, to which
an ardent zeal to re-eftablilh War
mony and peace could alone in
duce freemen to submit : We have
seen them white held in falpeoce
that " the Dhedory 339 disposed to
treat with one of the Eo<o„" deciare to
the Minißer, ''(hat no one of the en
veys was authorized to t h? upon him
fcifa negotiation evidently entruffed to
the whole," and " that no two of them
could propose to withdrew themselves
from the talk committed to them by
their government, while there remained
a possibility of performing it ;" but that
if " it mould be the will cf the Direaory
to order passports for the whole or any
number ot them," it was desired that
such passports might be accompanied
with letters of fafe condua. to protea
them tgainft the cruizers wf France.
Thtfe endeavours of the French Gov
ernment, whether real or effe^ed, to
draw Mr. Gerry into a separate negocia
tion, conflitute the substance of the cor
respondence between him and Mr. Tal
leyrand. They appear to merit consid
eration in several points of view.
—meiiber received nor rejr.^d—
to the impoitunitiu of private :
gents cf rhe French governroerr,
and hearing zed dilcuffing iheir
propofitioni,intuiting as they were,
in the hope that when these (hould
be thowo to be utterly ioadmiffi
ble, others founded in reason and
equity, and io the usual course of
diplomatic negociation, might be
brought forward. Doublets they
also wished, when their aftonilh
ment at the firft overtures had
subsided, by littering still longer
to such difhonerable propositions,
to ascertain the true charader of
the French government. We
have seen them, after waiting five
weeks from the prefentationot a
copy of their letter# of credence,
entirely unnoticed, “ solicit an at
tention to their miffioo, and soli
cited io vain.— Thus denied an of-<
ficial hearing, they hoped by aw
unusual step to excite the attent
tion of \hat government : they
determined to tramfmit to the min'
ifler a letter reprefenring the views
of their own government in rela
tion to the fubjefts in difpuce with
France. This letter dated theiyth
was delivered the gift Jao. '9B.
Waiting neat, a month without aa
sofwer, & ' b still being anxious to
hear explicitly from Mr. Talley
rand himfelf, before they sent their
final letter, whether there were no
means, within their powers of ac
commodating cur differences with
France, on just and reafonab!e
grounds,— on the 27 b of Febua
ry they defied " a peilonal inter
view on the fubjed of their mis
sion ;" and afterwards a second
interview. They remark on what
puffed at these meetings, " that
the views of France, with regard
to thtUoitedState#,were not essen
tially charged since their commu
nication# with its unofficial agents ^
in the preceding October."
At length they received Mr.
Talleyrand's letter cf the 18 h of
March, 1798, in atfwer to theirs
of the 17 bof Jan. The mihif'
tet's letter represented the com
plaints of France : as vfual, charge
ing the American Government
with the incxecution of the trea
ties with France—with diffinuto
fo—iffi mating that our tribOrab
were fubfed to a secret influence —
holding up the British treaty as re
plete with evil and injury, ard
“ the principal grievances of the
republic" —accunog the Americas
government of a with to seize the
firft favorable occasion to coofum
mate an intimate union with &
Britain, and fuggefling that a de
votion and partiality to that power
have long been the principle of
the conduct of the federal govern
ment. ,
To this letter of the French
mirifter, the Envoys sent their re,
ply on the 3d of April.— -Thii re
ply, and their former letter, dete&
the sophisms ard erroneous state
ments of the minister—expose his
naked affertions—lefute his argu
ments —repel his calumnies, and
completely vindicate the fidelity,
the juflice, and, as a neutral pow
er, the impartiality of the govern
ment of the United States $ and, ,
at the fame rime, exhibit the
weighty and well-founded com,
plaints of the United States against
the French Repub ic.;
Hitherto, inftesd of a define to
Obtain a reconciliation, we can ^if
[cover in the French goveinmeot
only empty proUffioos of a d:fre