Virginia Argus — Richmond, Va., 1810-10-19 00:00:00, page 2

Troth the Rostov Patriot.
FRENCH POLITICS.
The sv9*em of French Politics with
"Tespect to commerce and the turn that
the war has now taken on the conti
Tent are clearly pointed out in the b^ok
of Mons. Hauterieve, in the first year
•of Bonaparte’s consulship. Mons. H.
was then a counsellor of stale. Tab
1-ynind, it is saidi, entertained very
(iitTt rent ide&s on the subject, especi.
allv with regard to American com
mere-. Hru <riei e’s syB'fem cotrpoi t
ed better with the vast projects and
military genius of the First Cousul,
and tfm couuscls of the man who will:
t«?ov hrs had the reputation of pro
jecting for the first gen-us of the world
fend direct ng its mighty efforts, were
discarded.
The following Decrees, which arc
eften referred to, seldom read, and
BCirctimts misquoted, are the prac ical
rxoositloos of llauierieve’s theory,
This throrv wa3 lorg considered as
chimerical acd altogether impractica
ble by thr British cabinet ; and some
time after it was adopted and put in
prac i< e, Canning in his vaunting sr le,
willing to shew himself the master
mind, had the vanity to declare, that
the st s em of the French Emperor
was broken to atom?. It is easy for
v v;dn man to mistake the bursting of
e buhl lc in his brain for the bursting
of a world. The maxim cf a Biitish
rm rci ant is, that commerce will force
its wav like a flood and preserve its le
vel. It will probably be a long time
before these sturdy counting room po
ll ic’tans will he willing to attribute
thr ir failures to French Influence. A
r erienns begin to perceive, that ’.hough
merchants have been allowed the lull
liberty ri making their calculations iu
t tir own way, commerce can Dei
tber b rce its way r.or preserve its le*
..„i__. t. ,i_ .. l .
V' * VII ' II V V Vi* V U< V »• »• I W U1VCI ^ «* liV
arc as c; rversant with the poweriu ef
bets of tied »s they aie with those cj
ft* Id, this nil! be no mystery. Avarice
is a strong ptiRHion, ro i* its offspring,
Fear. The cunning Corsican enli-ta the
child r.guin*t the pir<-nt. lie knows
thin most men fear danger—all,death ;
& none more than those tvho have an in
ordinate love of gold. And though hta
subjects and allies, (which on the con
tinent a?r much the same.) have a
drone ic clinaticn to indulge In the lux
uries of commerce, he haB learnt thal
they 1 ave ttill stronger inducements to
thun the points of his soldiers’ • ayo
iklr. It i.- tl ereforr no wonder vhtr
delight'*)' and death are placed between
his subjects and Iiri'ish commerce,
that they should refrain from the lat
ter. Whenever Napoleon has seen
Bmish gold or British influence in any
form, it, ore ehtl Of the stair that ba
lances the destinies of the contin-nt,
he has put his sword in the othtf. We
1 ave .«« en the result.
H’j Decree of JB« rlin declares the
principles of his system of warfare
with Fngland and the conditions on
which it shall terminate. There isro
pr< br bility of his relaxing essentially
from Us rigor. And however haish
it mav appear, with the excaption of
its first at tide, it gives us no just
ground of complaint, as »» infringe*
n' ne of our rights. The u Rejoinder
to his Brhanic majesty’s Orders in
\ uum.ii, tomiroiuy ran^u me occrre
of Milan, is the one whirji our rninu
t* rs at France ard England have brcn
©fF.rially inform d would be rescinded
on the abrogation of tha British Or.,
ders in Council infficgiog neutral
rights, of a pier date.—
IMPERIAL CAMP.
Brr*'n, Nr.vrm' er 21, 1805.
Napoleon, emperor of the French,
end king of Paly, considering i
1. lha?Enclanvi does not admit
the right of nation* a* universally ac
knowltdgtd by all civilized people.
2. T hat she declares as an enemy
every individual belonging to an ene
my s ate, and, iu consequence, makes
prisr nets ct war, not only of the ere* s
of armed vr»*» Ip, hut also of merchant
vessel*, and even the iuperca-goes of
the
a. That she extends or applies to
merchant vessels, to articles of com*
i* oce, and to ihe property of indivi*
d tt.l*, the right ol conquest, which
t n only be applied or expended to
what belor.ps to an entmv state :
4. lint she extends to port* not fojjK
tifird, to harSoi*, and mouths of'rT
vers, the r'ght of Motkrde, whieh, .ac
cording to f '*oti and the usage of ci
vilized nations, i* applicable to stio.g
Crf' r ified port* ;
5. That r.he declare* blockaded
place* before which she ho not a ain
vetiji 1 >f ws't ; ;d howph a p’act
* Ought not t» *'t con iden d block aded,
bus wn* i> it i* io invested as that ro
an, ?y»cb to it can be made, without
iron rnent hazard j that she declares c*
ti. A
veil plafes blockaded, which her uni
ted forces would be incapable of do
ing, such as entire coasts and a whole
empire .*
0. J hat this unequalled abuse of
right of blockade has no other object
than to interrupt the communications
of different nations, and to extend the
commerce and industry of Engl nd
upon the ruin of those of the conti
nent;
7. That this being the evident de
sign oi England, whoever deals on the
continent in English merchandize fa
vors that design, and becomes an ac
complice ;
8. That this conduct in England
(worthy only of the first ages of bar
barism) has benefited her to the de
triment of O'her nations .•
9. That it being right to oppose to
an enemy the same arms she mak« &
use of, to combat as she does, when all
ideas, 6f justice and eve: v liberal sen
timent (the result of civilization a
mong men) arc disregarded':
We have resolved to enforc‘d against
' England the usages which she has
consecrated in her maratime Code. ..
The present decree shall be consi
dered as the fundamental law of the
empire, until England has acknowledg
ed, that the rights of war are the same
on land as at sea ; that it cannot be
j ex'.ended to any private property wliat
j ever, nor to persons who arc not mili
I tary, and until the right of blockade
; lie restrained to fortified places, actu
ally invested by competent forces.
[TRANSLATION.]
Imperial decree of the 21 st» of Novem
ber , 1806.
Article 1. The British islands are de
clared in a state cf blockade.
] 2. All commerce and correspon
! dence wbh the British ir. lands are pro
j hlhited. In consequence, letters or
(packets addressed either to England,
i to an Englishman, or in the English
• language, shall not pass through the
post office, and shall be seized.
3. Every subject of England, of
whatever rank and condition soever,
who shall be found in the countries oc
cupied bv our troops, or by those of
our allies shall be made a prisoner of
war.
4. All magaz:ncs, merchandize* or
propertv whatever, belonging to u
subject of England, shall be declared
, lawful prize.
j 5. The trade ia English merchan
1 dize is forbidden. All merchandize
, belonging to England, or coming from
its manufactories aud colonies, is de
clared lawful prize.
I 6. One half of the proceeds of the
confiscation of the merchandize and
property declared good prize by the
preceding articles, shall be applied to
indemnify the merchants for the lo ses
which tlvy have suffered by the cap.
ture of merchant vessels by English
cruizers.
7. No vessel com’ng directly from
( England, or from the English colonies,
: or having been there since the publica
| tion of the present decree, shall be re
ceiver! in any port.
8. Every vessel contravening the a
bove clause by me-ins of a false decla
ra'ion, *h/ll be seized and the vessel
i and cargo confiscated, ns if they were
_ English prtpt rty.
9. Our tribunal of prizes at Paris is
' charged with the drfinrive adjudicati
• on of all the controversies which mav
tari*e within our empire, nr in the
count i**s occupied by the French nr*
; rrv, r l-tiv** to the execution of the
; pr «.ent d'-n pp, Our t’ i' uoal ofprizes
rt Mil n ah '! bp charged with »hc de
fi? hive adjudication of the said con*
trov-rsies, wh rb n v arbe within the
extent of our k^^dom of Italy.
10. The present d *crce shall he
communicated, by our minister of ex
terior lelaticns, r<> the kings of Spain,
of Naples, of Holland, of Etruria, ard,
to our allies, whf»se subject, like ours,
are die victims of the injustice and the
barbarism of the English maritime
; law*.
Our ministers of exmrlor relations,
: of war, of marine, of finances, of po
lice, and our post-no strrs general, arc
charged, each in what concerns him,
with the txteution of the present de
! crco.
Pari*, Deceo her 26.
IMPERIAL DECREE—
Rejoinder to hi* Pt itannic majesty'* or
der in council, sf the 11 th November,
1807. At our roual palace at Milan,
December 17, 1807.
Napoleon, emperor of the French,
king of Italy, and protector of the
Kh nish confederation.
Observing the measures adopted by
the British government, on the 11th
November last, by which vessels be
longing to neutral, friendly, or even
fmwers the allies of England, are made
iafle, not only »o tfe scorched by
English cruisers, but to be compulsorily
detained in England, a*ul to hive a
t>x laid on them of so much per cent,
on the cargo, to be regulate l by the
Bri ish legislature.
Observing that by these. ?ct3, the
British government denationalizes
ships of every na'i n in Europe, that
it is not competent for a- y gov**rn«
meu to detract from i's own indepen
dence and rights, all the sov< reigns of
Europe having in t*u«t the sovereign
ties and independence of the fl g;
that if by an unpardonable weak less,
and which in the eves of posterity
would be an indelible stain, if such a
tyranny was allowed to he established
into princip’es and consecrated by u
sage, the Engl sh would avail tiiem.
stlvcs of it to assert it as a right, as
they have availed themselvea of the
tolerance of gov- rnment to establish
the infamous principle, that the (lag
of a nation docs not cover goods, and
to have to their right of blockade an
arbitary extension, and which infrin
ges on the sovereignty of every state ;
we have decreed and do decre .is fol
lows :
Art; r. Every ship, to whatever
nation it may belong, that shall have
submitted to be searched by an Eng
lish fehip, of to a voyage to Eugland or
shall have paid any tax vshatsoever to
the English government is thereby Sc
for that alone, declared to be denati
drializedy to have forfeited the protec
tion df itS ting, and to have become
English nroperty.
Art. if. Whether the ships thus
denationalized by the arbitrary mea
sures of the English government, en
ter into our ports or those of dnr al
lies, or whether ihey fall into the hand*
of our ships of war, or of our priva
teer**, they are declared to be good &
lawful prize.
Art. III. The British islnnjls are
declared to be in a state of blockade'
both by laad and sea. Every ship of
whatever nation or whatsoever the
nature of its cargo may be, th it sails
from the ports of England, or those of
the English colonics, and of the coun
tries occunieci by English troops, and
proceeding to England, or to the En^
glish colonies, or to countries occu
pied by English troops, is good and
lawful prize as contrary to the present
decree, and may be captured by our
ships of war, or our privateers, and ad
judged to the captor.
Art, IV. These measures, which
are resorted to only in just retaliation
of the barbarous system adopted by
England, which assimilates its legis
lation to that of Algiers, shall cease to
have any effect with respect to all na
tions who have the firmness to compel
the English government to respect
their flag. They shall continue to be
rigorously in force as long as that go
vernment doe3 not return to the prin
ciple of the law of nations which reg
ulates the relations of civilized states
in a state of war. The provisions of
I the present decree shall be abrogated
; and null, in fact as soon as the English
j abide again by the principles of the
ltwof nations, which are also the
• principles of justice and of honor.
All our ministers are charged with
the execution of the present decree,
which shall be inserted in the bulletin
of the laws.
NAPOLEON,
By order of the emperor.
(Signed)
ri. ajd ill a KM, sccry ol state.
From the Aurora,
GREAT-BRITAIN and FRAXCE.
The dispatches from Europe being
now received at Washington, the sub
ject will come before the public, for
thrir cou'-tderntiom It is [rom the
people only, that we can now expect
to see infused into Congress, a proper
spirit, and due regard to their public
dufy. The people therefore will dfli*
! berate, and their representatives must
•act. When our executive, confiding
, in the good faith of the British govern
j orient, in carrying into effect the agree,
I ment mads w th their plenipotentiary,
: Emkine, issued a proclamation, open*
j ing the intercourse with Gr at |j. ita:r»,
i prior to the orders. in council being
j withdrawn—the measure, although n ,t
enjoined 03 the President by any ex
| i*ting law of Congress, was applaud
I ed by the partizans of England, and
i(from different motives indeed,) by a
■ considerable portion of the whole com
mun‘ty. It was said 44 let us shew no
distrust of the good faith of Great Bri*
■ t»in, but give her our confidence in ad
[ vance—which will conviure her of our
good will, and remove any doubts which
j she might have entertained of our par*
itiality to France.”—Those, however,
1 who kept in mind the good faith of the
British government to her allies the
I)ane% a* well as to every other nati*
on with whom she has come into col
1 llsion, and the great difference that the
substitution of the non-intercourse for
1
the embargo Inv l ad triad?, in f..vor of
England, (a m aavtri n t known ia G.
; Britain, when t ie orders on which
\ Mr. E-skint* was actiug, were given,)
entertained doubts ot the adjustment
being c mplied wi'.h.
Sf,atcely were those sceptics pe mit- j
trd to otter a svlable—-they "ere de« I
dared to be men destitute of principle,
who could for an instant entertain
1 doubts of he honor of Great Britain,
• o fulfil so solemn an engi^e-vent—
more particularly as t*he had conceded
n .thing but what the ,United States
were in naked jus ice entitled to; and
hundreds ol mm, who are vet in the
British rank*, and advocate her injus
tice, declared at that pi riod, that ii the
British govt l ament did not ratify the I
engagement of their minister, they1
would be for instamly declaring war
agaius- that natiou.
But now mark them !
When France, rot by a trick of her
minister here, as was practised in
Easkine’s engagement, but through her
ministrr at home, the p»opcr organ ot
the government, declares ail hrde
cret^of which we complained, to he
abrogated, those men have the impu*
clent^e to assert, that the President
ought not to issue his proclamatioi,
declaring the fact, although it ia en join,
ed on him by a solemn law ot the
land.
Innocent, honorable, humane G.
Britain! who had onlv attacked our
public vessels, and impressed St mur
dered our fellow citizens, r-stricted
our commerce, and plundered vs of
1 our prop-rty on the ocean! she must
! be soothed with acts of beueficence and
confidence, whilst the feelings of
Franci and her allies a. «* to be wholly
disregarded, nav insulted!
But France, it seems, cannot be
friendly or sincere, wh lu she holds in
sequestration Am roan property,seiz
ed under her decrees. But may not
France reply to the Ametican gov rn
ment, by askingcc what proof have we.
I that the darted Spates will unequivo
cally enforce her non-intercour e a
gaia t Great Britain, in Case that nati
on doe* not virtually rescind her or
der* in council. Let this engage nen:
be fulfilled, and it will lead to a com
j pLte adjustment of all points ot vari.
ance between U3.w It is perfectly well
known, that when dhlerences arise be
tween nations, tho*n, rtf the greatest
magnitude are first adjured, and mi
noXr pecuuiary alT.urjj deferred for
tuture discussion anti settlement.
When our administration ma^e
their agreement with Air. Erskin ,
which opened the intercourse w: h G.
Britain, was there any stipulation made
for the restoration of our property cap
! tured under the British orders incoun
| cii? Certainly no:—and, what w.i>
j ten thousand times of more important
j to our national honor, and the gouc
. faith due to our own citizens, the sti
pulation was made for the release o
our impressed seamen. The truth is
.that the injuries which we have sus.'
tained from Britain have been ten fold
i greater than those which we have re.
Ccived from France, whilst our con*
duct and the language ol our minister
in London, has been as submissive to
the former as the remdnstrauces ofge
neral Armstrong to the latter have been
firm and dignified*
Our citizen* are now permitted, but
not forced, by our own laws and the
i_~ t ry_ *. _ j •.» .1
Mm x i aim.v | iiaiig mill me cull*
tincnr, and we are only prevented
from that commerce by the existence
of jhg. British blockading orders in
council. The principle which these or
ders attempt to establish, would, it ex
tended by declaring all the world block
aded, confine m within our own har
bors. This principle we must resist,
or yield our pretensions to the charac
; ter of an independent nation. Great
Britain has no meyrr right to forbid u®
the use of the ocean than she has to de
prive us of the air we breathe, and if
Americans have not lost the spirit of
their forefathers, she will find it asdif
ficult to do the one as the other. If *©
wish for commerce, and for the safrty
and restoration of our porperty, our
law of the 1st of May must be actual
i !y enforced, and that immediately on
tne meeting of Congress.
We can carry our point without the
1 a of a drop of blood, provided our
1 nvs are enforced. Wc h;ive only to
join the rest of the world in our ex
communicating the commtrce and flag
of Great Britain from the U. States,
and in a very »hort time her necessity
will bring her to terms.
— i a
From thr Aurora.
CONTRASTS—AGAIN.
^Thc Evening Post of New York, of
A^ril 21, 180% invited the ship own
er* to display their fhgs, the church
vestry to have their he'll® rung, the
artillery to fire their guns, and the peo
p?e at Urge to illuminate their houses]
—'in honor t-f the triumph r,f *! ?d pal
policy, in the restoration of intercourse
between the Uuited States and G.
Britain.”
The same paper of Amil2<Uh, after
describing the rejoicings it had recom
mended, said :
44 Whit are the reflections that pre
sent them«eives to the mivd, from a
surrey and recapitulation of this scene i
A natural association of ideas pourtray
a people, who, after having long groan
ed under despotic restrictions, severe
bondage and oppressive laws, ate sud
denly einaocipa'ed by the firmness Sc
virtue of inflexible patriots. To them
do we owe thee testimonies of grati
tude and jov.—And who are they f—
The federalists of the eastern states,
who made a noble stand against uncon
stitutional and unjust oppression and,
drove its authors from the iniquitous
ground the* had taken.”
S» Touch for federalism in April,
l8fHJ.^j&Now, l<t the reader look back
at the event i which followed: federal
policy or rebellion, so far from gaia
iug a triumph, induied Britain to vio
late Mr. K t ski lie’s engagement: in
stead of a triumph, and free trade,
th t policy produced disgrace and
confiscation ; had not that policy prea
vailed, our ships would not ha»e been
converted into British smugglers, and
of tours would have escaped seizure:
had it not prevailed, the law of Marrh
1809, wou'd not have been passed,
French ships would not have been
c mdemned, without warning, upon
entering our ports, and American ve*,.
s< Is would rot have been confiscated
wi.houi warning, upon entiTing French
ports.
The ringing of bells and illumina
tions tlkicf rf, were really r juicing
at the spret (which opened to
Britain b\ the repeal of our embargo)
oi m mug our rvttoms smuggle urtt
ish pends, 01 maki g us pay duties in
to the Bntiah treasury, ot filling the
manufactories a d arsenals of Eng
land with our raw materi da, and of in
Vvb iug ns in <ar with France.
same pare-, ^ f April 21, 1809,
isai<%^tbe ty»iem of federal policy
lP*H#r>mpelleJ the admmi itratiun to
I accept te ms < ffcredKrxtcen months be
! for .
if 'ho^e ter ns had been offered, why _.
dit? not Brit io cm firm Mr. Ershin-’s ^
| engagement ? Why did it no’ actept
I ihvin, when r. t issented to them ? And
" hgf ^trr the Bvttish refus' d to agree
jto«^m, did uf-t the federalists con
• fPifW the r tusal i Vhy did they
! t ike part with Mr Canning agiin-tt
Mr. Erskme, and keep out of sight
ale gerher, the leajjnerits ot the casr ?
it '.vc are to belieVe the accourr.s ot
federalists, Britain lias been anxious
to do us justice, and would do us jus
tice, z% soon as France repeated,
her decrees ; of coor-ir, according to>
their reasoning, as Francehas repealed
her decrees, there will be 44 restora
tion of intercourse” and commerce,
vyuh both belligerents : if this is.sp,,
why have we no bell ringing and feast- '
ing now ?
The reason is a very plain one; the
knowing federalists are all well aware
that Britain nevet^nd i»t< n:i, '.hat she
does not now in^id, to do us justice ;
ithjfr know tha^pr tain will not permit
» have am^rade to France and its
n\jWmi!entie<rupon anv terms-and
therefore they have no disposi icn to
mock ua wilh any thing likr rcj icing,
which might probably tend to leave
them ps they are in retirement.
PimladblphiA, October 13.
Extract of a letter from an Amennm
gentleman at Riel, dated ITih August, to
aaothrr in Gottenborj, received *t the
latter piece 1hy a silip in 40 hnups
fmm the former-—“ There is a new de
cree end a promise of a new n of
! operations respecthig trad - by the neii'ral
[fliig. It is dated Jth August, and istrtlake
eftr» t the 1st November n *xt. It permits
I all importation* hy neutrals irtta the tn.
[ pire except manufHC'ured goods^ on payw
| ing the (IiUirs affixed tn a tari.T made tor
that purpose, and which I copied in my
last, to which I refer you "
Washington Citt, Oct. 15.
Government, we understand, has
received dispatches from Gm. Arm*
str.-ng, by tbe ship Silly, arrived at
Baltimore ; but they are of a date an
terior to that of the letter from M# *
CI^Hipagny to our minister at Paris
revive to the repeal of the Ilrrlin and
Milan decrees^ N.st. Int.
From certain par ipraphs which have
recently appeared in the English prims,
it is probable thst questions may here
after arise, between the American and
British governments, on the subject of
blockades. Go recurring to the d<r§l*
irentx comnvinicuted to Congreas on
the 2:11 rf Dectm'er, 1ROS, we find
the ffil nvjng letter from Mr. Mfrrv to
Mr. fifT*!uon, e.vphoatpry of ihe BrL
tish cloct*inc on that topic. It embra
ces, we b»lieve, the priiK.iplc»cordially
admitted by the United States, beyond
which they have never advanced ary