The American herald of liberty — Exeter, N.H., 1794-04-01 00:00:00, page 1

'{Volume VIII.
Philadelphia. Afterenttmerating
particular instances pf injury, their
reprefentadon to government pror
ceeds thus : ‘*On these cases,
which are accompanied by the le
gal proofs, the committee think
it unneceHary to enlarge, as the
inferenceswill, of course, occur to
the Secretary ; but they beg leave
to be permitted to Rate other cir
cumftapqes, which, though not in
legal proof, .are, either of such
public notoriety as to render legal
Philadelphia, March 2, 1794.
I Sir,
N your message to both Hous
es of Congress, on the sth of De
cember, 1793,. you inform them,
that “the vexations and fpoila
tions understood to.Kavebeen com
mitted, on our vefiels arid com*
merce^ by the cruisers and officers
of some of thebelligerent powers,
appeared to require attention—
That the propfs.ofthefe, howev
er, not having been, brought for
ward, the defcripiion of citizens,
supposed to have fuffered, were
notified, that on furniffiing them
to the executive, due measures
would be taken to obtain redress
of the past, and more effectual
proyifions against the future,” and
tha^ 4 Ihouid such documents be
PuBLISIED BY ORDE »F THE
HoUS^^F. &EPRESEN FIVES,.
** Unite J Stater t sth Mat
GenUemen of the Senate, an.
of the Hcufe of Reprefen. tves.
^THE Secretly of State,hav j re
ported to me upon the jtueral
Homplaintt which have been lodged
in his Office, against the vexations
andfpaUations on our commerce.fince
the commencement of the European
war \ Tfrutifmit to you a copy of 1 's
fatement, together with the dpci *
uunts upotn avbicb it. is founded.
their kind and degree. Having
reason to presume, as the fa& has
proved, chat every day would in*
create the catalogue, £ have wait
ed co digest the mass, until time
should have beep allowed, for ex
hibiting the di verified forms, in
which out commerce has hourly
fuffered. Every information is at
length. obtained, which may be
expected-
The sensations excited by.the
-embarrassments, danger, and even
ruin, which threaten our trade*
cannot b$ better exprefied, than
in the words of the committee of
furniffied, proper representations
will be made thereon, with a just
reliance on a redress proportioned
to the exigencies of the caie.”
On my fuccefiion to the depart
ment of State, I found a large vol
ume of complaints, which theno
tification had coileded, against
severities on our trad?, various in
Important Communication.
. J, . 4 n- a / * 7 : ■ : ; ' " 1 111
EXETER (New-Hampshire) Printed and Publiffied by Sterns and Winslow, in Main-Street, at 6J$ per annum.
G; WASHINGTON.”
4 1 •; <
American Herald of Liberty.
proof unnecefiary, or so vouched
to the committee as to leave them
in no doubt of (he truth of them.
“ It,has becoine a pradice for
many of the privateers of the bel
ligerent powers, to fend into port
all American vefiels they meet
with, boupd from, any of the
French po^ in the Weft-Indies,
to the Unwed States; and it is
positively averted, that the owners
of some of them have given gene
ral inftrudions to their captains co
that effed—-And though many of
those vefiels have been afterwards
liberated, yet the loss by plunder,
detention and expense, is so great
as to render it ruinous to the A
merican owner:—ln many cases,
where the cargoes have been valur
able, the owners of the privateers,
after acquittal, have lodged appeals
which they never intended to pro
secute, but merely with a view of
getting the property into their
hands upon a valuation nade so
unfairly, as-to ensure them a con
fidetabje profit, even if the; ffiould
be finally made liable.
“ Fourteen days only, aie allow
ed to an American owner .0 make
his claim, which renders t impos
sible for him, except he s on the
spot, and every difficulty which a
combination of interested persons
can devise, is thrown in the way,
to prevent his getting security, and
in few instances can it be done,
but by making over his vessel and
cargo to the securities, and there
by fubjeding himfelf to the heavy
additional charge of commission,
insurance, &c.—lt may be added,
that the most bare-faced bribery is
fomecimes pradiled to prevail on
unwary boys, or those who know
little of the obligation of an oath,
to induce them to give testimony
in favor of the captors.
“Besides the cales here enumer
ated, the committee have informa
tion of a number of vefiels belong
ing tp this port, being captured
and carried into different - ports ;
but as the legal proofs are not
come forward, they forbear to
mention them.
is proper, however, for
them to add, that behdes the loss
of property occ^fioped by thole
unjust captures and detentions, the
matters and crews of the vessels
are frequently fubjeded to infujts
and outrages, thtU must be Ihock
ingto Americans. Qf this, the
case of Captain Wall ace is an
instance—-There pre others within
the knowledge of the committee,
of which they only wait the legal
proof, to lay them before the Se
cretary.
“To this lift of grievances, the
committee are sorry to find it their
doty to add, that by reason of the
vexatjon, loss, and outrages, (of
fered by th^ merchants of the U
nited States, its commerce already
TUESDAY, April 1, 1794.
“ The committee conclude this
representation, with an afiurance,
- that they ha ve, in no degree, exag
gerated in the statement they have
made, and that they will continue
to communicate all such informa
tion as they may further receive;
of which nature, before the clos
ing of this report, they are forty to
add, is that of -the irruptions of the
Algerines from the Mediterranean,
in consequence of a truce con
cluded with that regency, it is
said, by the Britiffi minister,
on behalf of Portugal and Hol
land. This alarming event, to
which some American ihips, we
hear, have already become vidims,
is of so distressing a nature, as must
soon deprive us of some of the
most lucrative branches of our
commerce, if not speedily check
ed or prevented. The immediate
rife it has produced in insurance,
and the fears it may inftil into our
seamen and commanders, are of
a nature highly deserving the feri
o^ consideration of government,
on whose protedion and zeal for
the interests, commercial and ag
ricultural, of the country, the com
mittee implicitly rely.”
In a supplementary letter, rhe
committee of Philadelphia make
this conclusion, “that the cases
which they recite, and others less
formally announced, lerve to shew,
that there ate frequent instances of
suppression of papers, regrfters,
&c. very prejudicial to our (hip
ping on their trials, and of inju
ries by the deftrudion of letters,
to the general correspondence of
the country with foreign nations.”
When we examine the docu
ments, which have beep trinfmit
ted from different parts of the U
nion, we find the Britifo, the
French, the Spaniards, and the
Dutch, charged with attacks up
on our commerce.
It is urged against the Britilh,
i. That their privateers plun
der the American vessels, throw
them put of their course, by fore
ing them upon groundless suspi
cion, into pprts, och^r than those,
to which they were deftiped; de
tain them, even after the hope of
a regular confifcation is abandon
ed ; by their negligence, while they
hold thepoffefflon, exppfe the car
goes to damage, and the vessels co
begins to languid and its pro
du&s are likely to be left upon the
hands of those who raise them.
Prudent men doubt the propriety
of hazarding their property, when
they find that the ftrideft conform
ity with the laws of nations, or of
their own country, will not proted
them from the rapacity of men
who are neither rest rained by the
principles of honor, nor by laws
fufficiently coercive to give secu
rity to those, who are not fubjeds
of the fame government.
5. That without the imputa*
tion of a contraband trade, as de^
fined by the law of nations, our
vefiels are captured for carrying
on a commercial intercourse with
the French Weft-Indies 5 altho*
it is tolerated by the laws of the
French Republic, and that for
this extraordinary conduct, no
other excuse is alledged, than that
by feme edidt of a King of France
this intercourse was prohibited j
and
6. That the conduct of the
admiralty in the British i (lands,
is impeachable for an excess of
rigour, and a departure from ftridt
judicial purity 5 and the expenses
of an appeal to England^ too hea*
vy to be encountered, under all
the circumftanccs of difcourage*
ment.
Against the French it is urged,'
1. That thejr privateers har*
rafs our trade no less than those
of the British.
z 2. That two of their ships of
war have committed enormities
on our vefiels*
3. That their courts of ad
miralty are gyilty of equal op
preflion.
4. That besides these points
of accusation, which are common
to the French and British, the
former have infringed the treaty
between the United States ahd
them, by fubjeding to tenure and
condemnation our vefiels trading
with their enemies in merchan
dize, which that treaty declares
not to be contra ba nd,'a nd under
circumftanccs not forbidden by
the law of nations. .
J. That a very detrimental
embargo has been laid upbn large
.numbers of American vessels in
the French ports ;* and,
6. That a contract with the
French Government for coin has
been dilcharged in depreciating
affignats,
“ rc ^ son t 0 Relieve that the em
bargo was removed in December last, and
the detention cbihpenlated by an order of
die committee of Puttie Safety, in France,
r. • ■- • » .4 „ ,> i
deftrudion; and mal-treat their’
crews.
2. That Bririffi ships of wair
have forcibly seized mariners, be
longing to American vefiels, and
in one inftance^ under the protec
tion of a Portuguese fort.
3. That by Britiffi regulations
and pradice, our corn Ind provi
sions are driven from the ports of
France, and reftrided to the ports
of the Britiffi, or thole of their
friends.
4. That our vefiels are not
permitted to go from the Britiffi
ports in the Islands without giv
ing security (which is not attain
able but with difficulty and ex«
pence) for the difeharge of the
cargo, in some other Britilh or a
neutral port.
[Number 39.