The enquirer — Richmond, Va., 1810-04-17 00:00:00, page 1

Vol. 6.] RICHMOND, TUESDAY\ APRIL 17, 1810. [No. 10S.
03* Published by Thomas Ritchie, nearly op
posite the Globe Tavern, Richmond, Virginia.
Cry- CONDITIONS :—Five dollars a year, to
|f paid annually in advance. Those who wish to
6e considered as annual subscribers, must hereafter
designate it at the time of subscribing, otherwise
their papers will be discontinued at the expiration
qf the first year.
RICHMOND FRICES CURRENT.
B. C.
TOBACCO, 5 00
TLOVa— SUPERFINE, S 50
no. fine, 6 00
•OKV, PER BARREL, 3 00
WHEAT, 1 17
BACON, PER LB. 0 9
WHISKEY, PER BALLON, 0 67
»jvk IRON, PER TON, 110 ttO
HEMP, PER TON, 250 00
THIS DA.Y IS PUBLISHED,
A New Theory,
OF
Ike DIURNAL ROTA7ION OF THE
EARTH;
Demonstrated upon Mathematical Principles,
from the properties of the Cycloid and the Epi
cycloid.
WITH
AX APPLICATION OK THK THEORY,
To tl»« explanation of the various Phenomena of
the Winds, Tides and of those Stony and Me
tallic concretions which have fallen from Hea
ven upon the surface of the Earth.
By JOHN WOOD,
Author of Elements of Perspective, prin
ted in Mondott^ in 1799.
December 14.
FOR SALE AT THIS OFFICE,
A FEW COPIES OF
Fulton’s Torpedo War.
ROBBERY—On Saturday night last, the sub
scriber’s Counting House was broke open,
and Bank Notes of the following description, to
the amount of about 7C'J g stolen ; ©ne rote of
20 g United States Bank, deposit in New York ;
two ditto of 50 S deposit in Norfolk ; one Virgi
nia Bank note of 100 g ; five ditto and its offiees
of 50 g ; two or three of 20 g ; several notes of
the same bank of 10 and 5 g on Merchant’s Bank
New-York 10 g—and a number of other bank
notes of5g; ten of the Bank of Washington
City ; two or three of Baltimore and Alexandria
Bank, and two ditto Bank of Philadelphia.
1 will give one half the money that may be
Tecoveted, to any person that will give such in
formation as will enable me to recover them.
W.W. DICKENSON.
April 10. 3t
FOR SALE—517 acics of LARI), in the
county of Nelson, on the head waters of
Tye River, first rate tobacco land. As to its si
tuation, enquire of Col. Joseph Shelton, of Nel
son county, who has a power to dispose of the
same or to T. H. PROSSER.
March 25. ep4Xv
THE subscriber has employed as tutor of the
Latin and Greek languages, Mr. Lewis At
kinson, who, henceforward, will co operate with
him in the education of youth. Their plan of
which, embraces the Latin, Greek, French and
English languages, including several particular
branches of Literature, Arithmetic and Mathe
matics. Each teacher will attend regularly to his
own department of the school. They wish to re
ceive several boys in addition to their present
number. Also, a class of girls; but at no time
shall their seminary be crowded. They propose
to have public examinations, quarterly. Their
vacations shall neither be long nor frequent.
Price for tuition, g 40 per annum, to be paid
quarterly, in advance, without any deduction fur
vacations. CHILES 1ERRELL.
N. B. Mr. Atkinson’.-; capability to teach the
Latin aad Greek languages, is certified by Mr.
Nelson, professor of Wingfield Academy in Han
over county'. The certiuc ue may ho seen by ap
plication to the subscriber.
April 3. w3wfl
-Jjl . I '1 II I .. " ' HIM
IN SENATE,
March 10.
SPEECH OF Mr. S. SMITH.
On adhering to the amendments of the Sen.
ate to the bill “ respecting the commer
cial intercourse between the U. S. & G.
Britain and France.”
Mr. Smith—Mr. President, the question
before the Senate is, to adhere to their a.
tnaadmeuts made to the bill " respecting
the commercial intercourse between the
U. S. and (». Britain ami France.”
It is with extreme reluctance that I rise
on the present occasion. I feel, sensibly feel,
the situation in which I place myself by op
posing a measure countenanced by the vote
in the other House, of almost all those with
whom I have been accustomed to act and by
many in the Senate, for whose superior judg
ment, and correct opinions I have ever had
the highest respect; finding however, that
I differed with those gentlemen, I took the
bill to my lodgings, and considered it with a
disposition to find in it something, that should
Induce me togiva up my own opinion to that
expressed by the votes in the other House ;
but I looked in vain, and I found myself
compelled to take the ground of opposition
to the bill. In doing this, I must hope for
the indulgence of those with whom I differ,
and of the Senate, for detailing the reasons
for the motion I made to amend the hill.—
To do this, it may not be unprofitable to take
a review of the causes that led to the mea
sures adopted by the United States, and
she course taken by Congress to resist the
injuries imposed upon us by G. Britain and
France.
The insult offered to the honor of the na
tion in the affair of the Chesapeake so far
from being redressed, was heightened by a
proclamation from the King of Great Britain,
authorising publicly in the face of the world,
the boarding of our merchant ships, and ta
king therefrom whomsoever their officer*
should call a British subject; to palliate this
ouirege on our inilepv: -ly, c<\ it was rccora
mended to the boarding officer to execute
this indignity with politeness. About the
same time the government was informed of
the case of the Horizon, condemned under
the Berlin decree, and that the Emperor
had determined, that that decree thould em
brace Americans as well as other neutrals
This determination was directly contrary
to the assurance given general Armstrong,
by the French minister of marine, as well
as to the practice under the decree. This
was the first intimation given to our govern
ment, that the Berlin decree would operate
on the interests of the U. S.
The President (as was his duty) laid both
those subjects before Congress in a message,
and it was well known at the time, (altlio*
not officially,) that the British order in coun
cil of Nov. had been issued.
What was then our situation with those
nations i France had. decl area evety Ame
wm bound ;■(» or from G.
Britain, or having on board goods the pro
duce of manufacture of G." Britain, to be
lawful prize. Great Britain declared that
every American vessel bound to any port of
Europe should first come into her ports,
there land her cargo, fiay a transit duty and
depart (if theyr pleased) to their original
port of destination, and any vessel failing to
do so, should be liable ta condemnation ;
that any American vessel having a certifi
cate of origin on board, should be consider
ed good prize; Thus situated, we had a
choice of war or embargo. To make war
on France would have been idle, we could
inflict no wou*d on her by war, except that
of withholding our supplies from her West
and East India colonies, and this would as
effectually be done by an embargo. In a
war with England we could inflict severe
wounds on her immense commerce, and she
is always vulnerable on the side of Canada.
A more pacific system was however adop
ted, the embargo. Had that measure been
rigidly enforced, it could not have failed to
have compelled a removal of the unjust con
duct of those nations, most certainly of that
of Great Britain. The Senate aware that
a measure of that kind could not be enfor
ced without a physical force, sensible that
the prospect of profit would induce many to
prevent its intended operations by evasions,
did immediately pass a bill authorising the
President to fit out and put to sea all the arm
v'.ovcia U4 uii; U . iJlcUBS 1UL UlC |JUI|JU3tS
of preventing evasions of the law, to employ
our seamen who were thrown idle, and to be
prepared for events, should a war ensue.—
The bill slept in the other house, and by an
ill timed economy was ultimately rejected,
by which a free scope was given to the eva
ders of the law, and the system (which was
a wise one,) was in some degree frustrated;
yet it had an effect highly salutary on G.
Britain, it compelled her to modify the or
ders of council of November, and no longer
were our ships compelled to go into her
porta and tlicro pay tiibut* ; no longer were
our vessels subjected to condemnation for
having a certificate of origin on board.—
The embargo was severely felt by Great
Britain while in force, every article which
they had been accustomed to receive from
us, rose immediately in price, and I am cpn
fident that had it been continued and exe
cuted, full satisfaction would have been giv
en by G. B.Jfor the various outrages which
had beet; committed on our honor 8c indepen
dence. It was relinquished, and a non-in
tercoursc was substituted as to both nations.
This measure, although less strong, was
such as would have been very severely felt
by the British nation. It completely exclu
ded the importation of our manufactures
from the United States ; it took from her a
market for more than one half of her man
ufactures, it turned idle a large number of
workmen, and although it did not prevent
her from getting our produce, yet she ob
tained them in such a way, that they cost
her in some instances double their usual
price. Thisncw system was however, check
ed in its course by the arrangement made
with G; Britain through Mr. Erskine.
Our ports were thrown open, and our ves
sels (then nearly all in our harbors) soon fill
ed G. Britain with every thing she wanted
at low prices; flour fell instantly in Eng
land to nine and a half and ten dollars the
barrel.
urcat Britain in lieu ot the orders of coun
cil excluded us from France, and Holland
and their colonies, and from Italy by a pa
per blockade; an iniquitous, illegal system,
which she bad adopted in 1793, and has ei
ther contracted or extended at her pleasure
ever since. Our law excluded us from
France and Italy. This tended to give a
direction to a great proportion of our trade
to G. Britain, and thereby completely sup
plied her wants. On the disavowal of Mr.
I‘irskine’3 arrangement, the non-intercourse
was renewed, and a stop put to our exports,
to G. Britain ; the consequence was, that
flour rose immediately to 14 and 15 dollars
in England, cotton, tobacco and other arti.
cles in a propoition still greater. 1 menti
on this to shew, that whenever we stop our
trade) to G. Britain, she feels it sensibly in
the high prices she has to give for our ex,
ports, and thus to shew the efficacy of the
system that has been taken, if it had been
duly executed. But in her exports G. Bri
tain felt little, for our merchants had given
their orders under the arrangement, and it
would have been unjust to have prevented
them from receiving the goods they had or.,
dered ;—the nonJinpartation part, which
I conceive the most essential pRrt oi tUe non
intercourse, had in consequence oeen impe
rative.
What then was our situation when Con
gress met? The French privateer» were
capturing our defenceless merchant ships,
burning those of little value and carrying
into their ports for condemnation those which
were valuable. G. Britain had by a preten
ded blockade excluded us from entering the
ports of Holland, France, Italy, and their
West and East Indian colonics. She had
sent a minister to succeed Mr. Erskine, who
so far from offering any explanations on the
disavowal of the arrangement inauc with his
predecessor, added insult to injury, ft bear
tied us to our teeth, he gave us to under
stand that the terms proposed in the inttruc
lions to Mr. Erskine would be insisted on,
terms, that I am confident nc citir.en of the
U. S would accede to
♦
| In this state of fur foreign relations Con
gress met; the membeti brought with them
the feelings of the people. who were all a
I live to the late inilgnit* offered to their go
; vernment, all expected fiat measures of en
ergy would be puitsucd. This house felt £c
nctei1 Resolutions passed almost unanimous
ly, expressive of their stnse of the insult of
fered by the British minster.
The Senate passed t bill ordering the
whole of the vessels of ytir to be put in com
mission (which bill sleejs still in the other
House,) and were progips&iitg in preparati
ons tor tb~ defr »ce of lie honor and safety
of the nauon, when the till now under con -
sidcration was reported;by the committee
of foreign relations. It operated instantly
like anclectric shock, it paralysed every ef
fort, and gentlemen wets astonished when
they were told, that this bill was the great
measure that was toprestrve our honor in the
eyes of all the world ; ilkt it was the grand
panacea, that was to-heal the wounds that
had been inflicted on our rights by the bel
ligerents. In fact, it was the only measure
on which we were to rely for a redress of
all our grievances.
Mr. President—*! rer.d this grand effort
with attention: Invain did I look for some
thing therein, that wouldtend to obtain sa
tisfaction for the insult on the Chesapeake
--in vain for any,thing that would tend
to prevent the future impressment of our
seamen—in vain for anyi thing that would
induce or coerce the belligerents to repeal
their nnjust orders and detrees against our
lawful commerce. One gteat feature, and
one only was to be discovered, to wit: the re,
peal ot the non-intercourse law; covered
hy a thin veil; composed is the gentleman
from Kentucky (Mr. Cldv) has said, of
shreds and patches. Not£, Mr. President,
if it had been patch worl alone, I should
not have disturbed its ankngeinent. Bui I
found in it, or believed I did, that which
would be ruinous to the coa merce of the U.
S. and therefore felt myself'pound hy the du
ty I owe to my constituent to remove the
veil, and leave the nicasurA open to public
view ; the Senate (concurred with me, in
opinion, to wit: to strike ou*-the injurious
sections, to which opinion I skall vote to ad
here.
i wm, Mr. President, asi the Senate s
indulgence to shew my viejv of the secti
ons that have been strickeiy out of tlie bill.
The important ones are the Id, 4th and 5 th;
the others are only calculatKl to carry those
into execution. The 3d anc 4th contain the
principles that appear to bmntendedto have
a ttwo-fold operation—tie one to coerce
the belligerents to do justice, the. other to
secure to our own ships, tnt* carriage of all
the produce of the Unit Id States. The
third section excludes froti our ports all the
British and French merchant ships, and de
dares, '• that any ship sailing under the
flag of either, which shall hereafter arrive
in any of nur harbors, shall with their car
goes be seised and condermed.”
Is there no danger, Mr. President, to be ap
prehended from the empero*,if the bill should
pass with the provision ? His character ^or
decision is well known—night we not fear
that he would retort our »wn measures up
on us, by causing all the property of ourmer
1 chants now undrr sequestration (amounting
j to at least 3 million of dollars) to be con
demned, and by seizing all American ves,
*e!s and property in his ports, or that might
arrive therein ? I confess, sir, I should feel
no surprise if he did. Tt appears to me
from his well known conduct that he would
scarcely hesitate to adopt such a measure,
ami what right would you have to complain ;
and for what object wou'd such a risque be
run ? The section only prohibits the entry
of French merchant ships into our ports—
prohibits what ? That vhich has no exi
fence i for there is scarcely a French mer
chant ship that now floats the ocean. The
lection permits our ow:i ships to carry to
[ France, it throws open aur trade to Fance,
in the only way that it can be carried on,
to wit: in our own vessels, and thus in
vites them togo to France and there be
subject to any conseqaences which the
Emperor (in resenting the provision of that
section) might choose to decree. It in r.o
way inflicts a punishment on Francefor her
aggression on our honor and interest.
nwc wnai win England do, should this law
pass ? Will the king and council retaliate
our measure ? I confess, Mr. President,
that I think they will-What right shall
we have to complain, if a seizure is order,
ed in the ports of Great Britain, of every
American vessel found therein ? I have
been told, that the magnanimity of Great
Britain is a full security against such con
duct, and that the words of this bill would
not justify her. I admit it, but I must be
excused for not putting implicit reliance in
her justice or her magnanimity. I fear,
that she would not .tie herself down to the
letter of our law,'in the retaliation she
would inflict ; but admitting that she did_
this bill permits an open trade to her ports
in our ships—an immense number of our ves
sels are ready to proceed to her ports, the
moment this bill shall pass into* law ; and,
sir, the law will get to England as si’xin as
our ships, with their valuable cargoes; a
day is sufficient for the king and council to
act--an order may, and I do not doubt,
would issue, perhaps in the very words of the
bill, •• directing the seizure and condemna
tion of every American vessel and theii car
goes, that shall arrive in her ports.” What
would be the consequence-Ruin to your
merchants, and destruction to the party,
which now govern for this country. But,’
Mr. President, let us suppose, that the king
should not order the condemnation of our
ships, yet he would have It in his power to
i wound us severely, by simply arresting all
| the American ships and cargoes in his ports,
1 and holding them as a skcority for any
I of the ships of his subjects, that w* should
[ condemn under our law-he would thus
| Plfce in his power from 3 to 400,000 ton of
shipping, and their cargoes; such a step
would hi ing down certain ruin on our tnrr.
i chants,'and would beam.*$t powerful ma
j chine in his hands to compel our govern
j n -nt to such measures, at his ministry might
| dictate. What administration could stand
, the hue and cry, that would be raised a
i Sa*VJt them by the sufferers and their
i friends i All would understand that the
[wrong was on our side—all would be
taught to know, that our own law had only
been retorted upon us, and all must agree,
[that we had no right to complain. We
should lose the high ground wc now stand
on, that of opposition to the unjust and op
pressive measures of the belligerents, and
be compelled to admit, that we were the
*£K,'e3!*ors» thus departing fionithe defend
ers of right, to become the wrong doers.—
And for what, Mr. President? For the pal
try consideration of preventing British ship,
ping, to an amount not exceeding eight
thousand tons, from entering our ports, and
front becoming the carriers of our produce
to that amount; for that is the only in
jury the bill proposes to inflict on the Bri
tish government for all her spoliations,
insults and injuries.
The 4th section, Antilles the importation
of Frehch and British goods, to our own ves
sels. The 3d and 4ili sections, form one
great whole, the object of which is, tocoerce
Great Britain and France to do us justice.
How ?—by prohibiting all commerce with
them ? No- — by preventing them from
the carrying any of our produce, or bringing
into our ports, any of their manufactures in
their ships? And this measure is to coerce
G. Britain and France ! What are its co
ercive powers? None, certainly-none
ufion France, for she has no merchant ships
—of course, it can have no coercive influ
ence upon her. It certainly has no persua^
sive qualities. We throw out provocation
without a motive, as it relates to France—
already we have the whole carrying trade
between the United States and France and
her colonies—this bill could not give us
more. But, Mr. President, gentlemen who
have voted for this bill, may have thought
that it would operate powerfully against
G. Britain. Let us examine that point
If I recollect correctly, there did enter the
ports ot the United States, on tile average
of the three years prior to the Embargo,
about 8,000 tons of British shipping. To
exclude the participation in the carrying
trade between Great Britain and the Unit
ed States, to that amount, is thegrtui good
that is to result to the United States from the
3d and 4th sections, to obtain which, we are
to risk, the retaliation of G. Britain. Should
she lake the words of our own law, and pro
hibit our vessels from her ports, what should
we suffer hereby, is a question worthy of
consideration? I have little doubt, that 3
to 400,000 tons of ships of the U. States, annu
ally enter the ports of Great Byitain. We
would then risk, by this law, the employ
ment of 4tiO,OCO tons of shipping-to ob
tain what? The employment of tf,000 tons
now occupied by British ships—what cx
trenie tolly! What madness! Would any
[man run such a risque on his private ac.
count ?
It is, Mr President, tiie old story of the
goose with the golden eggs-In attempt
ing to seize on a little, we risque the loss of
a great whole. Having taken this view of
the subject^ had believed, that imperious
duty compelled ;ne to endeavor to avert such
great evil. Bull have been told, that ii G.
Britain should retaliate, that her retaliation
would operate as a complete non intercourse,
or embargo between the two countries, and
in a way that would be effectual ; and that,
as I had always approved those measures,
this view of the subject must meet my ap~
probation ; that it would precisely create
that, which I have said, was a powerful
measure against Great Britain, to wit: an
embargo. I never will agree, Mr. President,
in this side-way, to carry into execution a
great national measure. If we could not
execute our law by our own means, I will
not, bv a subterfuge, attempt to call in the
aid of the nation, against which the measure
was directed. 1 will not loose the right side
of the question, and put myself in the wrong.
1 he people were impatient under the em£
bargo, and you repealed it. Yes, sir, it was
repealed at the moment when G. Britain,
smarting under the effects, was modifying
her orders of council, and she would have
done us complete justice, but for the wa..
vering, indecisive conduct, that she saw we
were pursuing. Seeing that, and encou^ag
ed by the support her measures met in tne
U. States, she ifiodified her orders, and sub
stituted her blockading order of April, 1S09.
Should this bill pass, and another embargo
be created thereby between the two nations,
how will the people then feel ? When the
embargo was laid, to compel a redress of
wrongs, it created uneasiness among many,
but was highly approved by most ofthepeo..
pie-But should our commerce be again
shut up through this bill, the veil will b*
seen through ; the covering is too thin, and
all will see that our own act was the leading
cause i that on the part of G, Britain, it is
fair retaliation, provoked by ourselves ; that
in justice to her subjects, she could not do
less. You will, then, appear the aggressor.
■ mu win nave leit me mgii ground ol being
ihe defender against acts of injustice, and
place yourselves before your fellow-citizen*
as the wrong doer. You will forfeit that
character for impartial justice to which
wohave now a just claim, and I fear, Mr
President, that it would deprive the admi.
nistration of their well-earned popularity
But 1 believe, that the pleasure would have
a very different tendency ; that if would
throw the carrying of our produce to G. bri
tain and her possessions, entirely into British
hands, which I shall try, before I sit down,
to show to the Senate.
The 5th section is intended to operate in
ihe expectation, that G. Britain and France
would retaliate. It prohibit* ti.c mi'-erta
tion from those nations of tlieir goods, ex
cept direct from the place where they are
produced or manufactured, and is intended
to prevent G. Britain from introducing b#r
produce or manufactures into the U. States,
by placing, them at Amelia Island, at Nova
Scotia, or Canada, or in any neutral country.
Should G. Britain retaliate, (which is ex
pected by this section of the bill,) how will
the hill operatet In the fallowing manner.
The bill repeals the non. into re nurse l*w. ol
course, our ahi/it arc free to ro with our /iro
rlucr nvkfteaotvcr they filcmtc But Great
Britain, It is presumed, will prohibit their en
trance into her por's generally; still she
wants our exports. How will she g«t them?
By throwing open tlsnada, Nova_Scotia,
Bermuda atA.cvtdu Island to oar trade ;
our coasters will carry to those ports our cot
ton, tobacco, flour, ike. 5cc. and from thence
they will be carried in British ships
, thus will our ship owners be deprived of
their present valuable employment tor their
; ships——Equally injurious wiil it he, to the.
| agricultural interest; for at those places
| their produce will meet with a cor.fi.ied
! market, and the prices they will obtain,
will be in proportion to the difficulties of such
a course of trade, and to the little competi
tion in such markets.
The manufactures of G, Britain will bo
brought to those places, and the prices in the
U. S. will be such, that no risqu? of seixure
will prevent them from being purchased
and smuggled into the United States to the
ruin of your finance, the great injury of the
honest merchant and the destruction of tho
morals of the people. And all this risque
we are to run with the sole x>:ew of employ
ing eight thousand tons of shipping more
than we now employ ; for, sir, there is not
another motive held out by the bill, and to
add ridicule to injury, we in the 10th section
authorise the president to repeal thia terri
ble measure, provided the belligerents shall
withdraw their hostile orders and decrees.
Why, sir, we should bv this bill hold our
selves up to the two cations as subjects to be
laughed at—When our embargo and non in
tercourse did not obtain for us justice, can
any man believe for a moment, that this mea
sure can operate auy effect favorable to our
Interest ?
Iam averse, Mr. President, to a com
mercial warfare with G. Britain ; in such
war, we shall always be the sufferer; tho
king and council can in one session of a sin
gle day, do an act which it would take Con
gress a month cr two to meet. We have
had some experience on the subject. Soon
after the adoption of the constitution, discri
minating duties were laid, which operated
rapidly to increase the shipping of the U. S.
it soon called the attention of G. Britain,
and in the tredty made by Mr. Jay, they
provided against its increase and were au„
thorised to CBuhtervcil its effects ; they did
countervail and secured themselves (in times
of peace) the carrying (for their consumption
and commerce) of ail the tobacco they re^
quired, and nearly all the other produce! of
the U. S. as they increase their duties, trs t tr
countervail of 19 per cent, also increases ;
—this increase has so operated on the arti
cle of cotton, that should peace take place
in Europe, every pound of that important ir.
tide watted for Great Britain would be e< r
r‘~d in British g hi/23. l am therefore of\o
pimon that we should as soon as possible V
Kiee v.'ith Q. Britain to relinquish our di\
-uu'ic^, vn tujmiuun uiziE Slft.n
j would repeal her countervailing duties ; ktt
i the ships of each enter the ports of ihe other!
(erna oj fierfec’. equality. I nm nota-t
fraid of the Competition, I feel confident that \
we can meet any Ration on equal terms in \
die Carrying uf the produce of our country ; '
if we cannot, we do not deserve-the prefer
ence. With this precedent in my view, l
am hot wishing agnin to enter into commer
cial warfare with G. Britain or France, for
France countervails oifr discriminating du
ty on the article of tobacco, which will (when
she again enters into trade) give to her ship*
the carrying ot all that article wanted fof
her consumption, being near forty thousand,
hogsheads annually, and she will no doubt
pursue the system as to cotton and other ar-*
tides.
1 have been asked, shall Congress rise and
do nothing ? I answer that. it is better to do
nothing than do that which will only injure
ourselves. But, sir, I wished to do soma
thing, I proposed in select committee to
strike out those sections which would only
do us .injury and fill their place with
sections (which I had drafted and pre
sented for consideration) authorising the
arming of the merchant ships, not for
defence alone, but with authority to cap
ture arid make pi ize of any vessel that might
assail them while engaged in lawful com
merce, and to employ the public ships of war
in conveying the trad-of the nation. I met
with no support in this system, there wet-t
in committee four against my motion. Dis
couraged by so large- a proportion voting a
gainst me, I neglected nr was deterred from
making the same motion in Senate, and th!s -
error I regret, although I know not whether
I should have been more successful in the
Senate, than I had been in committee ; buc
I should have been better pleased with my
own conduct. I had, it is true, an nxpecta
tion that, in a committee of conference be
tween the two Houses, something might be
introduced that would please both branches
of the legislature ; and I presumed, that the
convoy system would hr substituted. I
...tvc uceu uiisinucn. me conferees met
and the committee of thi Seriate submitted a
section * authorising the President, under
his instructions tn grant convoy to the mer
chant Ships of the U. States engaged in law
ful commerce." That proposition spoka
this language to the belligerents. The U.
States have taken every pacific means of
ohtpinring justice from you without success.
We will no longer deprive ourselves of com
merce, we will opnn our trade, and we will
defend it.—We are ready to meet the coh •
sequences that may arise, and will stand pre
pared for war, it war shall ensue. This,
Mr. President, appeared to your committee k
course that would be honorable to the dr ■
non, it was unanimouHly rejected by the
committee on the part of the House, whoin
turn proposed that “ British ships should be
permitted to bring into the 17. States the pro
duce and manufactures of that nation, but
should not be permitted to carry from the
U. Staten any of the produce thereof,” and
the same as to France, This most extraordi
nary proposition was unanimously rejected
by the conferees 01 the part of the Sinaia.
Strip the proposition an t what language,
does it speak f Thar the Britilh marc,he ,t
may send nto your porta bis nhip» an(j f(,|
your market with British £>od9, to tr-j .*.r,u
injury of your infant rnanulr.ct rie*
enter into competition with them urd w,.-t:
their deetrucfwh. But he must no*«■ ,
to competition with the Preicbinto in «
purchase of a i.-tum ca yj, i,,t- wifi the
Jhlj)owners in theca *ry»n^ *,i t ic p" ,J ,<■*■
the country. No, >tt , thdl rjets t-dlw
teroundand mu*c not fie iroddcti. T ,e
ueiwftf .b- .lupa,.