The American herald of liberty — Exeter, N.H., 1794-01-07 00:00:00, page 4

AGREABLY to the promise that
was publilhed on the 6th instant,
J (ball now proceed tp declare the fads,
relative to Mr, Genet's converlatipn
with me, in the case of the Little Dem
ocrat.
J feel,indeed the indelicacy of disclos
ing, what may appear, in Come refpeds,
to be an official, and in ethers, a private
ocm munication: Bat the anxiety, which
the public mind ha? experienced on the
'fubjed; the misapprehensions, which
have prevai led,and the exam pie, which
is derived from the condud of all the
other persons who have been involved in
the difeuffion j will, I think.be esteemed
afafficient juftification of'the liberty
that 1 find it necessary to take.
Late in the evening of Saturday,
the — day of July last, I was informed
that the Little Democrat ( whose warlike
equipments,in opposition to the declared
neutrality of the port had before attract
ed the attention of government) would
fail in the course of the enfaing morn
ing. Having immediately communicat
ed this information to the Governor, I
received inftrudions to prepare for call
ing out a party of the militia, to pre
.vent, at all events, the departure of the
vessel ; but, on my suggesting, that the
necessity of purfoing hostile measures,
might probably, be fuperceded by an
application to the diferetion of the French
Minifler, I was, directed to wait upon
that gentleman, with an overture for an
amicable arrengement, before the party
foould be summoned to parade.
It was about i x o’clock at night,when
I arrived at Mr. Genet’s house. Mr.
fafcal withdrew from the room, into
which 1 was introduced, soon after I en
tered it; but Mr. Bernonville, and Mr.
Dupont,remained there during the whole
of my visit.
I apolpgifed for so unseasonable an in
frufion, and lamented that my errand
‘was not of an agreeable import. I stated
the nature, extent and obligation of the
jnftrudions, which the Governor had re
ceived from .the President, for the pur
pose of preserving the neutrality of <be
United Stages, within the jurifdidion of
Pennsylvania j and I described the cir
cumstance, that rendered the Little De-,
mocrat an objed of those inftrudions;
as well as the recent intelligence of her
intention to leave the port, which the
Governor was bound to prevent. I men*
tioned, however, that the Governor was
defirousto avoid the use of any compul
sory means on the occasion : And, there
lore, as the allegation whieh bad been
ma^e, that the vessel belonged to the Re
public of France, and not to individuals,
might produce an exception from the
general * rule, in her favor, he would
cheerfully rely upon the Minister’s en-i
gagement, tjiat she should not depart till:
there was ah opportunity df con felting;
the President, (who was then, I believe,!
on his way from Mount Vernon to the
city of Philadelphia) upon the merits of
this particular case.
This representation &as scarcely de
livered, when Mr. Genet e_xdaimed with
greafvehemence, “ that the preceding
was vkry extraordinajy. improper, and ■
unjust. ;He thought th^t- ^is u^farjnyc- j
quiescence in thd wifees of the govern- •
kpeht (instanced in the ferrender of the:
Grange, £c.) bad not merited this return,*
Which hefaid,however,fhould regolate.his|
ebndud in future. He expressed, surprise,:
that the firft intimation which was giv (
en of the matter,fhould be accompanied!
with a thre<V_He dbfnplained in ftroog
terms, dnd with manyangryepithW,of
the ill treatment that he had received
from some of the officers of the genera!
government, which he contrasted with!
the cordial attachment that was express :
ed by the people at large, for his nation. :
He ascribed the condud of those officers,
to principle* inimical to the cause of;
France and liberty. He expreffedi appre
hensions, that owing to their influence,
even the President bad, in that r^d,,
been milled. He observed, with consid
erable emphasis, that the President was
not the sovereign of the country f fbf' he
From the American Daily Adyertifer,
TO THE PUBLIC
could not legislate on general fubjeda ;>
nor could he declare war or make peac?
that Congress, the depqfiwry of those
powers, was the only constituted body,
that could,on the part of the United Mates,
give a constitutional interpretation (pol
fibly involving the qUlftion of war or
peace) to the terms of the treaty ; that it
was, therefore, the duty of the President
(a duty of which he has frequently press
ed a performance) to have convened
Congress, before he ventured to decide,
by rhe proclamation of neutrality, upon
the general,relation between America and
the billegerent powers; or to prohibit,by
his inftrudions to the State Governors,
the enjoyment of the particular rights,
which France claimed under the ex
press stipulations of the treaty. He
urged,*that the powers which he had
received from his constituents, gave
him no latitude upon the point now in
controverfy ; that ihe privilege to arm
and equip their vessels was deemed by
them .indisputable ; founded upon the
plain meaning of the 22d article of the
treaty of commerce; and that he could
not therefore,enter into any arrangement
which might appear as a waver of that
privilege. He infilled that the Prefiden’s
conflrudioh was neither just nor obliga
tory ; that notwithftanning the existing
cause?, which would warrant an abrupt
departure, his regard for the people of
America would induce him to remain
here, amidst the insults and disgusts that
he daily fuffered in his official character
from the public officers, till the meeting
of Congress. He fpokeof publishing his
corrofpondence with the officers of gov
ernment, together with a general narra
' live of his proceedings: And he faid,that
if Congress agreed in the opinions, and
supported the measures of theTrefident,
in relation to the Republic of France,he
would certainly then withdrhw,co«fcious
of having discharged his doty^W^ ^ ave
chedifpate to be Anally adjusted by^he
two nations themselves.”
As soon as 1 could obtain an opportu
nity, I recalled Mr. Genet’s attention to
the immediate objed of my visit; but he
peremptorily refufed to enter into any
engagement,for suspending the departure
of the Little Democrat; and indeed,in a
manner which I thought intemperate,
that»«he hoped no attempt (o seize her
would be made : for, as she belonged to
'fhe Republic, she must defend the honor
of her flag, and could certainly repel;
force by force.
—Such was Mr. Genet’s conversation
with me ; arid it will be allowed, that
although I am refponcible for the fide!
tty of the recital, I am not refponcibie
for any inference which has been, or
may be drawn from the fads that ir
contains.
My report to the Governor, the fame
night, and to Mr. Jefferfon on the suc
ceeding morning, correfponded,as pre
cifely as I can repeat it, with the ac
count which I have now given ; and J
well remember, that Mr. Jefferfon’s re-,
latiod of the difeourfe that passed in his
Tubfequent interview with Mr. GenhL;
bn the fame occasion, so nearly corres
ponded with my report, that the simi
larity became a matter of remark with
the Governor and Mr. Jefferfon,’as
well as with me. '
But it will be expelled, perhaps,
that I ihouid give a more dircd reply
to a fpecific charge, which flares,
f had reported to the Governor,
communicated to Mr. jefferfon, * that;
Mr. Genet had declared, that he would;
appeal from thePrefident to the people.’
v 7 Upon enquiry, I find that the Gov
ernor thibks, that I made use of the
word appeal, towards the close of my
report, in this manner ; ir that if, afteri
the business was lard before Congrefs.’
Mr. Genet did ncit receive fatisfadion.
on behalf of his rtatidh, he Would pub
lish his appeal, withdraw, and leivfe diej
governments themselves to fettld 'the;
difpute.”' The word appial, appear?,!
however, in my 1 opinion, to be ahdre;
applicable to those fads which repie-l
lent, that Mr. Genet, controverting the
.justice and force of the President’s de-:
cifibns on the treaty, &C. declared a de- ■
termination to address Congress on the.
fiibje# ; but in ekhet place; if it is not '
construed ncceffarily to import, that I
heard a declaration from Mr. Genet,
The Printers of the American Daily Ad
'Vertifer ha^ve reieiwed- the follo'uing
Jiatem ent from an authentic Jource^njuith
f’rmiffion to make the foutce t<>
any party concerned, wuho may dejire it.
DALLAS having lately' made
a ftatemeni differing from that of M:.
Jay and Mr. King,.with regard.to the
declaration alledgcd to have deen madei
by Mr. Genet, namely, '‘tpat he would
appeal from the President to the people,”*
the following circnmftafcces may serve toj
assist the public judgm ent, concerning (he !
real nature of the tranfe^ton.
The information, which was cerifiedi
by Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Knox/ to^
have been received from Governourj
Mifflin, was communicated by the:
Governour to those gentlemen separate- 1
ly ;to the latterihe dav afterThe'eveil
ing of the inteview between’Mr. Glnet j
ahd Mr. Dallas, at which the declarn-j
VonJl undetftood to have keen made;
(being Saturday,.the 6th*q( July last).
to the former the day following, (that is
the 2d day ifter the interview ) Those
gentlemen, deemed it a mattcr of public
importahce.immedjately conneSed ^with
’an object ujppn which they fead tq aft
officially, compared wi h 'each other s at
the time, the information they had lev
erally received from theiGovernour, apd
Ipqnd it to agree as to the point in quest ?
ion, being precisely this, that Mr. Gen
et had laid to Mr. Da llas, that he
would appeal frbm the Pfefideht to the
people.”
The fame second day after the inter
view between Mr. Genet and Mr.
Dallas, in an officiaf conferrence be
tween Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Hamil
ton and Mr. Knox, having relati^4p
the affair which gave rife to Che above-
" that he would appeal from the Presi
dent to the people,” I am content to ad
mit the expression as mine.
But I am likewise apprised, that soon
after .the tranladion ; when, however,
the report was circulating, that Mr.
Genet had used the expression in ques
tion; when ir was reported to have
been used by him in his conversation
with Mr. Jefferfon, and when Mr. Jef
ferfon thought it proper to remove im
pressions made by that circumstance in
the report ; he stated, in an official me
morandum, that Mr. Genet’s declara
tion, of an intention to appeal from the
President to the people, was not exprefl
ed to him, but tome. Whether Mr.
Jefferfon employed the language of his
own inferrence from my recital, on the
occasion ; or adopred the language of
the current rumour, I will nix attempt
to difeufs; but, if, in the fame early
flage of business, I, had allo enjoyed the
means of explanation ; I, like Mr. Jef
ferfon, should then have said, what J
said the n^oment I heard the foggeflion,
applied to me; what I have since taken
every opportunity of faying, and what
1 must solemnly fay, that Mr. Genet
never did, in his conversation with me,
declare •’ that he would appeal from the
President to the people;” or thathe
would make any other appeal, which
conveyed to my mind, the idea of ex
citing infurreHion or tumult.
Upon the whole, as mv communica
tions to the Governor and Mr. Jefferfon,
we>e of an official and confidential na
ture, I think, thar I have Cause to com
plain ; and the candour of others will
induce them to lament that I was not
personally confuted (which common
courtesy, as well as common caution,
might hate dictated) before Mr. Ham
ilton and Mr. Knox (who had daily
opportunities of feeing me) undertook
to propagate the report, connected with
my name ; or at least, before Mr. Jay
and Mr. King undertook to vouch for
its authenticity. The most attentive
hearer, may sometimes misconceive the
ideas of the person who addresses him :
The most upright narrator can feldotr
adhere ftriilly to the language of hi;
author : Andi am not aware of any juf
purpose which could require, that tht
sentiment which has been -circulated
should be immutably fixed ; or that the
form of words in which it is clothed,
(hpuld be irrevocably prescribed.
A. J. DALLAS.
Philadelphia Die. 7, 1793..
A House, Barn, and
between 9 and 10 acres of Land, ple<.
(aritly situated in Concord, New-Hamp
feire^d.in theqentre of the townftrect,
and within a few rods'of the Stores at
which most of the business in Merchan
dise is tranfeffted. The place has been
Improved as a Tavern a Imo it ever since
the firft settlement of the tewn ; and op
account of its localiry, may justly b? laid •
to be the bell situation fore House. of
Entertainment of any in this part of the
The buildings are in good re',
pair, and the foil of theland is excel
lent. RICHARD H. OSGOOD.
v Cohcoid, Dec. 4.' T*"'. ■
J\JoTK2Eis hereby given that
the Probate Court by law to beheld ac
Epsom, on the third Wednesday of Jan
uary 1704? ’•‘U adjourned co the
Wednefoey of May, then next. . All
concerned may govern them (elves ac
b.- 1 i
By otder of tne Judge,
WiLLiam Parker, Reg’ri
mentioned declaration, Mr.
listed, that Mr. Dallas had told Um
likewise, that Mt, Genet hsd far’
<f he would appeal from the prefid et t yf /
the people the terms cotrefpondini
with those which had been before use
by Governour Mifflin in his feparat v
communications to Mr. Knox and Mr
Hamilton.
The two last mentioned gentlemen ir
an official paper, drawn up and signed by
them on the 9th of the fame July, a copy
of which was then delivered to Mr.jE f
ferson, recited the information they
had received in the following words—• J
* The declaration of the Minister of
France to Mr. Dallas, secretary of the
Commonwealth ot Pennsylvania, as re
lated by him to .he Govc’Uour of that
Commonwealth, and to the secretary of
State, is a further confirmation of the «
fame fyflem. This declaration among
o her exceptionable thing?, expressed that
he (the French Minister) would appea. &
rom the President to the people.”
Mr. Jefferfon in an official paper un« j |
der his signature, dated the 10th of the I ? »
fame July, stated the fame tranfadion in
the following words—"On repeating to
to him (the Governour) and Mr. Dallas
what Mr. Genet had said, we found ihat
it agreed in many particulars with what ■
he had said to Mr Dallas; but Mr. Dal
las mentioned some things which he had
not said to me, andj particularly, his dec- ; j
laration that he would appeal from the j 1
President to the people.” The converfa
ticn between Governor M’fflin, Mr. Jes- j
lerfon,and Mr. Dallas at which this pass
ed, is stated in the fame paper, to have
happened on Saturday the 71b of July/he
day after the evening of interview be
tween Mr. Genet and Mr Dallass
No comments will be mde on these j
particulars. The public is left to draw 0
its own inferences.
AX7HEN tie French army
\ j were on the eve of enter
ing Maeftricht, frofeffor Paas of
Fat city, cut off the heels of bis
(hoeSy and being asked by one of hit
acquaintance the reason why he
did Jo, replied, that be was deter
mined in future to have his toes
tnd heels on a footing of perfedt
equaiiiy \ f
; CAPTAIN N. who latly ar
rived at B oft on, when going up to
the wharf, ordered an Irijhman
to throw over the buoy, and go^
ing below for a few minutes he
he called to hts Irrff servant and
asked him if he had thrown over
the buoy’? —No fir fays he, and
indeed I could not catch the
Boy, but I have threw over the
Old Cook I - ‘
FOR
a a l r.