The Patowmac guardian, and Berkeley advertiser — Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.], 1797-04-06 00:00:00, page 1

The Potomak Guardian, & Berkeley Advertiser,
9 H U R S D A T, April 6, 1797. {No. 335.]
Franklin.
WHI&I L1BK&TT DWILLI, THX&K IB MY COURTlT.
| Open and uninjiuenctd. ]
The Subfcrihet wilhes to fell, the following valua
ble property, to wit :
H E H oufe and Lot in the town of Bath,
B rkeley Conivy, occupied for leveral years
J-ufeph Bailer, as a Boarding Hoofe ; ir is well
■calculated for that pttrpoie, being the largeft houle
in the town. Alio, one acre ot ground, opp due the
market-boo lie in Wincheftef, on which there is a
■fiiiall dwelling-boute, and an excellent ftable, gra
o-ry, and carriage houfe. Tltis is the molt beaut rial
function in tbe town, contm ending a full view of it
and the adjoining country. '1 he ground will be
divided into two or three p reels, to full purcha
lers. Al'd one other piece of ground, lying louth
of Capr. Jofeph Tidball a mill, in Wiacltelter, and
adjoining bis gardrn, fuppofed to contain nearly
two acres, which would be valuable for pafturage
or grain. The above property will he fold low,
ana the terms accommodating to purchalers.
ALEXANDER WK11 E, jd.
March 30, ’97-_____
AN Election will be held at the Court-Houfe oh
the firft Monday after the thi-d Toefday in
next month, for the purpnfe of chonfing two proper
perfons roreprefent this County in the next Gene
ral A'snnttly. All perfons itttitled to vote, are
requeued to attend, under penalty of the law
r ^ JAMES WlL-ON, Sheriff
Berk-lev County, M tren 3 t. '<)7
NEBUCHADNEZZAR,
Till- Dray Send, imparted >>y the late General VVll
liams, and porch.led froGJ that eftate 1'otne lime
fince at moo tloHarH,
STANDS at the (table of the fublcribcr, in Ha
geritown, and rovers Mares this fealon, at
Fourteen Dollars, [if paid againfl the firlt of Oc
toiler. Twelve dollars only] and three (hillings and
nine pence to the Groom—or. Twenty Dollars in
bind paid, if the colts are infured.
This horfe is much efteemed b; all who have leen
him, and fame acknowledge* him fuperior to any
I>„y Horfe on the continent, and equal to any in
England. His colis (at different ages) have lold
Itomloo to ttoo dollars.
Good paltnre fields are engaged for the accom
modation of mares from a diltance. Care will be
taken to do them ample jultice, but the fubferiber
will not be anfwerable for elcapes or accidents.
The fealon for covering to end the firlt of Aogult
* JOHN RAGAN.
March 14, ’qy.
YOUNG NEBUCHADNEZZAR,
Will ftand the prelent leafon, at my Brewery in
Shepberd’s-To a o, and cover mares at Four Dollars
and half the feafon, payable the fir fr day of October
*ext. This celt is 3 years old, »6 hands high, a
dark brown, ftrong, well built, and lofty carriage
He was got by Old Nebuchadnezzar, imported by
the late Gen. Williams ; and now covers at Four
teen Dollar«. Any further recommendation mult
be unnecessary.
PHILIP SHUTT.
March 30.
YOUNG VALIENT,
WILL ftand this Sea (on, at the plantation of
William Hannah, and cover mares at the
moderate price of Two Dollars and an half the (ea
fon each mare, to be paid the hrft of December
next.
YOUNG VALIENT is a beautiful dark forrel,
l6| hands high, four years old this fpring, and
is excellent tor laddie or draft. It is prefumed
vfnnecefsary to trouhle the publie with his pedigree,
for I am confident his figure will iufficiently recom
mend him to the belt judges —The lealon will com
mence the 21ft of March and end the id of July.
DAVID HANNAH.
March 23, '27.
On Saturday, the 8th day of April next,
Will be lold to the higheft bidder, in Shrpherd's
Town, before the door of Mr, John Gooding‘8
Five or fix likely ftrong waggon horfes.
Alfo, a waggon and geers fit tor the road. Three
months credit will be given. Bond with approved
fecurity will be required, by
EVANS and SHFLPY
L O S ~
ON Monday evening, 20th inft. on the road
leading to Williams-Port, a pair of Saddle
Bags, containing (undry articles. Whoever may
have found them, lhall be generoofly rewarded by
returning the lame to
ROBERT HASTINGS.
Authentic State Papers.
DOCUMENTS
Which accompanied the melsage of the Prefident of
the United Stales 10 both Houles of Congrels,
January 19 1797.
'tentiarj of the
Letter to Mr PlNtKNEY Mir.
ii#iw
United States, to the f
( Continued from
JP'lRSTcafe. The French privateer Sana Pareil
and her prize the P. rle verance.
On the 26 h Augjlt ’94, Mr. Faochet complain
ed that the prize had been ieiztd on the pretext
that the Sans Pereil had been illegally armed in the
United States. The anfwer of September 3d from
the leo’-eiary offtate, which Mr. Adet cenlures “ as
indicative of delay," alsured him that the lecretary
had urged the governor ol Rhode libnd, where the
prize was carried, to report the circumliances of
the cafe without delay. On the 27th of September,
the ‘ecretary informed Mr. Fauchet, that the go
vernor had decided that the prize fhould be reito
red.—On the 171b of October Mr. Fauchet renew
ed his -complaint, for on the fuit of the claimant
the prize had again been arrelted by procafs from '
the dtltrict court. The fecretary of lute ahfwered
n the 23 I, wirh information that ought to have
fatisfied Mr. Fr.uchet. For admitting that agreea
hly to the law of the -$ch June ’94, the courts had
authority, arid were bound in duty, to take cogni
zance of captures made within the jurifdiction of
the United States, or by privateers illegally fitted
in their ports {the right of doing which Mr Fau
chetdid not conceit) they could not refule it in the
cafe of rhe prize of the Sams Pared ; the guard a
gainft veJurious profecutions being the judgmenr
lor cofts and dsmagt.s to which an unjuft piofecutor
i« expofed. The circular letier written on this oc
cafion to the governors of the Oates manifefes the !
folicitude of our government to prevent vexatious I
1'uitSo
2d Cafe. Glafs st)d Gibb*.
By the copy of the proceedings in the fupreme
court of the United States, in this cafe, you will
iee that the court did not, as frated by Mr. Adet,
determine That the tribunals could decide whe
ther a prize belonged to enemies or neutrals." The
ijuefiion before the court was of the cognizance of a
captured velsel and cargo, the former the proper
ty of a Swede r od the latter belonging partly to
fotne Swedes and partly to a citizen of the United States.
The opinion therefore pronoumed by the lupnnie
court applied to the cafe in which one of the claim
ants was a citizen of the United States. And after
folemn arguments, the court decided—“ that tbedif
trict court of Maryland had jurifdiction and Ihould
accordingly proceed to determine upon this cafe
agreeable to law and right."
I will add only one more remark—That the 17th
article, the letter of which we are charged with vi
olating, in Coffering our courts to take cognizance
of French prizes, exprefsly refers to “ i he lhips
and goods taken from their enemies,*’ and it is the
examination concerning the lawfulnH's of fuch pri
zes." which the article forbids—but no examinati
on of fuch prizes has been attempted by our govern
ment or tribunals, unlefs on clear evidence, or rea
fonable presumption, that the captures were made
in circutnftances which amounted to a violation of
our fovereignty and territorial righ»s.
3d Cafe. The French {frivateer L'Ami de la Point
a Pet re, Capt William Talbot, and her Dutch prize,
Vrouw Chriftiana Magdalena.
To the information contained in the papers col
lected in this cafe, I have to add, that this caufe
was finally decided in the fupreme court in Augult
term 1795. The court were unanimoufly of opinion
■'hat in the particular circumftances of Talbot's cafe,
notwithftanding his French commiflion, and his ra
king an oath of allegiance to the French Republic,
he continued to be a citizen of the Uunited States.
But the caufe, as I am informed, did not appear to
have turned on this point. Talbot had associa
ted wirh one Ballard, commanding an armed vefsel
called Aini de la Liberte, which had been fitted
out in the United States ar.d had no commijjion. Tal
bot and Ballard cruized together as contorts ; and
in fact it was Ballard's vefsel that took the prize :
Tal ’Ot not coming up till an hour after the capture.
Bollard was afterwards tried before the Circuit
Court for piracy.
The court were of opinion, from the tenor of the
evidence, that Talbot's vefsel was owned by citi
zens of the United btates, to whom the prize mo
ney would eventually fisd its way in cafe of refiitu
tion to the captors.
Ballard and Talbot were both citizens of Virgi
nia. The attempt of the latter to become a French
citizen was confidered to be fraudulent, being made
for the foie purpole of obtaining a comnuffion, un*
der colour of which he might plunder the fu-jects
of nations with whom the United States were aC
peace.
An ohfervation ought not to be omitted here ;
that although the captors, Talbot and others, had
been defeated both in rhediftrict and circuit courts;
yet they carried the cattle up to the (upreme court .*
thus uiing the * r 1 riv’ht of »• ealing to the court
in rhw iait refoK ^r tn, alike rx< rcifed by
the lubjfcts of pow^O.jfe'^ ; nemies ot France,
has formed a principal lubjfect"ot Mr. Uauchet's and
Mr. Ader's continued complaints
4'h. Under the head of compl ainrs for vexatious
prolecutions, Mr. Adet mentions only two tales in »
whiah damages and interelt were allowed to the
French captors, viz. One of Le h'eujha Henora del Car
m n, at Rhode Ifljnd — and the other m La PrincrJJa
det Afiuriat, at New-York. “Yes (fays he) the tri
bunals have always allowed damages to the captored,
when they had declared the prizes illegal." How
far the facts will warrant this la It alseriion, lain
not pofsefsed of documents to determine. 1 prefume
it is to be underftood in a general fenie only, and ro
admit of exceptions. And in this lenfe there will
be no difficulty in admitting the truth of the asser
tion and accounting tor it. The captures here re
ferred to were made either without our jurifdrction
al line,# or by illegal privateer!, being fueh as were
equipped in Whole or iri part in the ports of the U
nited States. Of thele material facts, the captors
could not be ignorant t conliquently they could
have no apology for defending their urjuft claims
in our courts ; and, of courie, werejultl) condemn
ed in cofts and damages.
zen of MetftiHct, damages were claimed by the cap
lors, bui denied. For thofc prizes had been confi
dered in ihe diftfict coart to be illegal. And altho*
the fenrence of that court was revei fed in the cir
cuit court, yet it was upon the introduction of netu
tfimonjy on the part of i he captors. This -la It deci
iion was affirmed in the fuprctne court, yet without
damages • inafrnucb as the teftimony was rnnfider
ed to be fo ambiguous ss to jultify the appeal.
The fame remark* apply to the prints of ihe pri
vateer General Lavtaux; with this addition, that ont
of the judges dilsemed from the opinion of the court,
being firmly of opinion that this privateer wts co
veted American property.
The privateer La Parifenne had been regiftered a#
an American coajimg •vejfely under the name of tho
HaiL-k. During the embargo in the fpring of ’94,
Ihe Hipped out of Charleston and went to Port de
Paix, where (he was fold to one Blochos, a French
man, who armed her and provided her with a com
miffion. Having afterwards arrived at Charlefton,
ihe was recognized and profecured for a breach of
the revenue laws, in fjai'ing gone to a foreign port whiliC
ihe was in the legal predicament of a o-ajier.—The
diitrict court condemned her; but on the applica
tion of Blochos to have her reftored on piyiug the
appraifed value, »he judge permitted him to take
her in a fate of 'warlike t quip then t Shortly afterwards
ihe put to fca anti captured two valuable Britiiht
prizes, the brigantines Ctefar and Favorite. On
their arrival, the one at Charlefton, the other at
Savannah, fuits were commenced to obtain their re
ititution as having been captured by an illegal pri
vateer. The decrees of the courts were in favor of
the captors, but without damage*. The fupretne
court difapproved of the rtftitution of the privateer
without ditmantling her ; and confidered the mis
take committed in this refpect a fufficient reafon to
cover the party profecuting from the payment of da
mages.
All the other cafes of capture by French priva
teers which have been brought up to the J'upreme
court were decided at laft Auguft term. In foire
of them, the circumftance# would not have wa1.
ranted an award of damages, Vn others, the counfel
for the captors omitted to ajle for them. When demanded,
you know it is in the aitcreiion of the court to grant
or refufe them : this diferetion being regulated by
all the circumfta nces of each cafe. Hence when ^
p*rty is drawn before a court without good caufe
and vexatioufly, damages are always given ; but
are denied when there appears a reasonable caufe of
controverfy.
$th. Mr. Adet having briefly noticed feveral ca
fes by name, feems to referve thofe of the Vengeance
and Caflius for a full difplay of unwarrantable con
duct in the government vid courts of the United
States, and therefore diicants on them at fome
length ,* but with fo many abberations from ihe facts,
with fo many erroneous ideas concerning our jurif
prudence, and fo many injurious infinuatiotis re
fpecting our courts and their officers, it will be nt
ccfs rv that you ihould learn the true hiftory of thefe
cafe* from authentic documents.
(To be continued.)