The Columbian informer, or, Cheshire journal — Keene, N.H., 1794-07-15 00:00:00, page 1

John Cooper (an" American- cj:&ea)
"forcibly to tike p( ffehouvf'tke AnfcHcan
trig Venus, which was la^cn with flour,
On account of the French government,and
which was detained in Norfolk harbour,
in ccnfequence of the embargo—that in
conformity to this order, Mr. Cooper for
cibly took pofleflion cf the brig Venus,
and on the Bth of April delivered her to
rear Admiral Vantlabe!—:hd that Mr.
Wilson, lieutenant colonel commandant
of Norfolk county, whose duty it was to
prevent any infradich of the law, previ
oully (on the sth of April) gave his offi.
<ial fandion to the propriety of this ves
sel's (the Venu?) proceeding to join the
French fleet, notwithstanding the proviC
ions of the embargo. N The whole of this
tranfaaion is contained in the enclosed
copies, from authenticated doctircents in
myo flexion, ofthe letters of rear Admi.
ral Vanftabel, Mr. Cooper and Mr. Wil
son. At the very moment when thefc
measures of partiality and favor were pur-
Sued at Norfolk towards the French Ships,
the most Scrupulous caution was, as I be
fore Rated, employed to prevent any oth
er veffcl from contravening the embargo.
One or two which had attemped to fail
immediately after the receipt of the intei
ligehceofits being imposed were brought
back and detained during its continuance ;
sr.? a fmalb Schooner named the Berry,
—belonging to or being under the direaion
ofMr. Hamilton, his Majesty's tonful at
Norfolk, was on the cth of April forcibly
Seized and Gripped of her fails, by orders
of a General Matthews, under pretence,
that She was preparing to elude the em
bargo, although Mr. Hamilton, had
assured Gen. Matthews that it was not bis
intention to allow the veffcl to depart until
its expiration ; although no master was
appointed nor any seamen engaged for
her, nor had the any provisions or water
on board. From this minute Statement
of the traafadions to the only port to
which I alluded, I conceive myfelf fully
juftified in having adverted to the conduct
which has b,:n observed by this govern
inept, or the officers anting under its au
thority towards the powers combined a
► gainft France in the enforcement of the
embargo.
7th. with refpe& to the uniformly un
friendly treatment which, British offi
6th. IN my assertion that the vessels of
France, had been permitted to depart
from Hampton Roadr, notwithstanding,
the imposition and continuance of the em
bargo, I certainly did rot mean to infin
eate that they were allowed to fail under
an ex,reft permission from.the govern
ment ; but it is a fad of universal notori
ety that the whole of the convoy under th?
rear Admiral Vanffabel, amounting to
about one hundred and fifty-fix veffefi
(including Ships of war arid jnerchfnt
ships) did fail from Hampton Roads on %
7th of April, although the imposition 'of
the.embargo Had been known there for
more than a fortnight antecedently to tha|
date, and had bee» rigidly enforced wiffi
refped to all other merchant Ships rehatfa
tver : 'And I really cannot perceive an,
ve/y material diftindion b#wn an in,lied
permission to Q partidul^frenfh vef-°
fels to depart freq) Hampton Roache and
a neglect of employin& any coercive means
of preventing them from^departing. But
Imuft farther remark, Qat not pnly thtfe
Trench veff:ls w,fe<iowfO prevented, .but
also—that on the 7f{ of April Tear Admft
ral Vanftabel, . issued an &r^er ^ Ms
Mr. HAMMOND'S LETTER, %.
With the rejoinder of the Se-
[No. 16, of Vol. ll.]
Qfr^ tu^fa^ v^& ^^gf^ ^f&% ^gft ^4^ ^ft
STATE PAPER.
(Concluded from our loft.)
cretary of State.
Columbian Informer;
Or, C HESHIRE JOURNA L.
PRINTED and PUBLISHED 3v HENRr ^LA K'E,^ CO. in KEENE, New-Hampshire.
Sth, I consider the insult offered at
Newport to his Majesty's Sloop of war
Nautilus, to have been unparalleled,
fiace the measures pursued there were di
rtffly contrary to the principle, which in
all civilized dates regulate cases of this
"nature ; for if on the arrival of a ship of
war in an European port, information be
given that that ship of war had on board
'Subjects of the sovereign of that port, ap
plication is made to the officer command
ing her, who himfelf conducts the investi
gation, and if he discovers that any such
Subjects be on board ofhfe veffcl, he im
mediately releases ihem,- but if he be not
fai;fied that &kre-be any such, his declar
,3tion to flhat efa?, # on- bis ^ord of honor,'
is universally credited. Butrfe legisla
ture and thejueges of tye State of Rlo'de-
Mltnd, refuted to accept theaffurancta p£
the commander of the Nautilus, or to al
low him to originate or prosecute the en
quiry himfeif, and forcibly detained him
and his lieutenant prifeners, by virtue of
the aft of assembly until the veffe£ was
fetched, and the American, or pretend
;ed American seamen, were liberated. 1
'am certainly not inclined to cifpute the
merit which the governor of Rhode-Ifl
and ascribes to himfelf for limiting the
fopplics granted to the Nautilus to such
an amount as was merely necessary to car
ry her to her defined port/hcugh this hm
itation in the Ripflatior.s of the treaty with
France, is confined to privateers only,and
does net extend to royal or national
mips of war. But t muft,contend that
those individuals of the legislative or judi
ciary departments of Rhode-IHand,, who
were concerned in this transaction, con
duced themfelve# neither with moderation,
with decency; nor with that refpe& which
was due tothe cemmander ofa vefl?l be
longing to a sovereign with whom their
country was at peace.
9th. Having in the preceding part of
this letter vindicated Lord Dorchester
frilm the accusation of his having “ En
deavored to Stir up the Indians against the
United States," it is needless for me to
enlarge upon that topic. In regard tothe
expedition of Governor Simcoe, as 1 have
real?, no accurate knowledge cf the pye
cife Situation in which it is asserted that of
ficer has ere&ed or intends to ere& a fort,
fol must desire to decline all other dis
cussion upon this fubjeft until I Shall re
ceive such information from Governor
Simcoe or from the Governor-General of
his Majesty's peffeffions in North-Ameri
ca, as will enable me to enter into cor
reft and definite explanations of the meas
ures they may have pursued in this refped.
But from the diftingpifned character and
reputation of both those officers. I enter
tain no doubt that,whatever those measures
may have been, they will appear to have
been adopted on a sense of their expedien
cy, and to have been profccutcd on just
and equitable principles.
I have the honor to be, with great ref
ped, fir, your most obedient, humble fer-
QEO. HAMMOND.
cers have experienced in the ports of the
United States, 1 had, exclusively of those
inftances,on which I have addressed fpecif
ic complaints to you, Several cases of a
similar nature in my contemplation,which
it is needless for me at present to nume
rate. They are all of them imputable
solely to the unauthorized aggressions and
infuits of individuals,and not in any man
ner to any ill difpofltion in the governs
ment itfelf. In fad,in no inftarte,what.
soever have any Britilh officers been im
plicated in any kind of immediate original
iifeuffion with the government, except in
therafe of the passport, which I solicited
in behalf of certain British officers, who
were prisoners of war—anxious on every
consideration to return to their native
country ; and which was refufed.
TUESD^r, JuLY 15, 1794.
%e/fa<%fazv^fa,wfa ^4%c&^n &^n w^fa^egft v^n<
t HAVE repeatedly sent to the Captain
and owners of the Snow Venus, now ly
ing in Norfolk, to proceed to Hampton
Roads, being chartered by T. H. Le
C^mpterand Richard German, agents for
the French Republic, who have shipped in
her nineteen hundred barrels of flour for
account of the Republic, as appears by
Capti M'Connel's receipts. But to this
moment I have not seen the said Snow,and
am Informed she does not intend to join
my convoy— I then request yon,fir, to or
der .her and fee her under way, and
sh uld she not obey your orders, I request
you to force her to proceed being my duty
to ake all French property under my con
voy. Yotr friend.
VANSTABEL.
foils Cooper Esq. Commander
of the foi, ganftabel at Norfolk.
The above js a true copy of Gen. Van
fUbel's orders to me, and in consequence
of which I take possession of the snow Ve
nu!, in order to deliver her to Gen. Van
ft. jel, now on board the Tigre in Hamp
ton Roads. (Signed) ..
JOHN COOPER.
I John Cooper Commander of the Ship
Vanftabel,'lying in the port of Norfolk,
and Portsmouth, do. hereby certify that
I have taken possession of the snow Venus,
commanded by Alexander , M'Connel,
, laden with nineteen hundred barrels of
flour on freight for the French Republic,
ggeetble to General Vanftabel's orders
(proceed to join his convoy ; and to pro
c#i to France,a fight of the General's br
ders previously being Shewn to Capt. M'
Connel bv me. (Signed)
JOHN COOPER.
April Sth, 1794.
Ship T^re, April sth, 1794.
Sir,
General Vanftabel tells me you are un
der his convoy. You have therefore
a right to come down and join the
fleet. I am, hr, year most obedient ler
vant, . ~ .
W. WILSON.
Capt. M'Connel,^Brig Venus.
Philadelphia, 10th June, 1794.
, Slr, . ~
AS 1 did not receive your letter dated
the 2d current until late in the afternoon
of the 4th, I was incapacitated by that
cbcumftance from returning you an an
swer on an earlier day than Saturday laR.
But your letter having been printed, I
venture to hope from the Frefident's im
partiality and candor,that he will be pleas
ed to dired my anfiver also to be publish
ed. I have the honor to be with great ref
ped Sir, your most obedient humble Ser
vant,
GEO. HAMMOND.
To the Secret ar, of State.
Philadelphia, June loth, 1794.
Sir,
BEFORE I had the honor of receiving
your letter of this date, I had requested,
and obtained from the President of the U
nited States, permission to publish your
other letter of the 7th inst. and it was im
mediately given. The clerks in my de
partin' having been particularly engag
ed to day, the tranfeription for the press
shall begin to morrow.
Being at present anxious only'to make
a few observations on a matter of faft,
permit me to sum up the material parts
of your reasoning in a Short reply : That
neither the whole passage of Lord Dor
chester's Speech nor the whole Speech itfelf,
nor yet the manner of the Indians assem
bling, whether by invitation or of their
own accord, variesthe hostile tendency of
the sentence which I quoted; that when
the conduct of G°v. St. Clair in 1789,
and of the commissioner# in 1793,1# ingo-
(copy) on board th Tigre, Monday, 7th of
J,rd, 1794.
Mr. Cooper;
[Whole No. 68.]
>%fte^^tyfro^ft u^ftaa#^
Department of fate, 12 June, 1794.
I hereby certify that the foregoing let
ters ofthe 7th and 10th instant, with the
tions were divided on the right So to pro
hibit ; that we mast wait for further fame
before the insinuation concerning the em
bargo is again difeuffed ; but that any
unlawful violation of an embargo, or the
want of coercive means for preventing a
fleet of 156 vessels, including ships of war
and merchandize from departing from
Hampton Road, which is net many miles
distant from the sea, it is ncteven an im
plied permission: that the site of the
Small Schooner Berry is, nd oth,r than the.
fate of the French snow La Cammille ; that
as you impute all the instances of ill treat
ment of the British officers, to which you
have alluded, " Solely to the unauthoriz
ed aggressions and infalts of individuals,
and not in any manner to any ill difpe
fition in the government itfelf," it is e:
nough to repeat the freedom and probit,
of our courts for granting full redress to
Suitors of every nation ; that it was the in
controvertible privilege of our govern
ment to refufe the passport; Solicited for
the British officers, without infringing its
maxims of impartiality ; and that no sense
of expediency can juftify a farher penetra
tion into our territory.
The matter of fad, to which I have new
referred,refpefh your letter of the 2 7th of
December. 1793. It was received before
I came into office ; filed away with an in
dorsement 'indicating it Onneceffary for
me to ad upon it ; and marked as relat
ing to the veffcl Hope only. The con
tents of your letters having been generally
noted on the back -with accuracy, it was.
imagined that no other case than that of
the Hope was contained in this letter, and
that it was unconnected with the question
before us. This then will account for the
passing it over,if indeed it Should Eh neces
sary to do so, when it is net contended that
from the 27th of December 1793, to the
22d May 1794, near five months; our
government heard any thing from }cu.--
felf upon the fubjed ; and when during
the time of those privateers continuing idle
in the port of New-York,they could be of
no injury to their enemies, I trust howev
er that I shall Soon be in a capacity cf
transmitting to you the whole transac
tion.
Reserving for a future examination and
glefs pressing moment for your comments
upon the affair of Rhode-Inland ; I have
the honor, Sir, to be with great refpeCt
your most obedient Servant.
edm. Randolph.
The Minifer Plenipotentiary
of bit Britannic Majeftj.
the declaration in my letter of the 2d inst.
was not that my predeceflor's letter of the
ph of^une 1793, was fatisfadory to you,
but only that it was conceived of itfef to &
fatifaflory ; that there is a clear distinc
tion between an express permission to fell
prizes, and the not prohibiting of such
sales, when the writers on the law of na-
duced as a justification of the' effort on
the part of Lord Dorchefler to the extent,
which! .have ascribed to him, it may be
answered among many o.her considera
tions, that if you have perhaps uninten
tionally, afforded room to suppose that
this eff rt was dilated by a spirit of repri
sal ; that if the measures of the Governor
or of the commissioner; which were- dh
reded to peace for burfeivcs with the faV
ages, not to war agrinft any other nation,
had been juflly exceptionable, they would
have been probably remonstrated against
before this day ; that it might be reason
ably presumed, that the diffatisfaaion cx
preffed against the people of Vermont was
removed, after an acquiefeence of nine
teen months, without a complaint, Since
we could communicate from hence noth;
ing on that head which was not better
Enown to those who were on the spot; that