The Patowmac guardian, and Berkeley advertiser — Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.], 1796-12-15 00:00:00, page 2

their ancient ty riu>»». me Implacable enctny of their
•ocifent ally. O! Americans,1 covered with noble
lean 1 01 you who have To often flown to death
•nd.to victory with French foldiets ! You who
know thole ^ucrom (touui au which dilnnguiih
the'true warrior I Whole he*rts have always vibra
ted with thole of your coaij anions in arms I Con
fulCthem to-day tCO^w what they experience ;
recollect at the fame'lime, 'hac it magnanimous
fouls with livclineife reicut an «xfiont, they alfo
know how ic forget one. i-et your government
retire to itlelf, and you will inti And in French
men faithful friends and gt ntroos allies.
‘Done st Philadelphia,.25'b Brumair, 51b
year of-ihe French Republic one and iiiui
viflble (iCth November, 179O, O S )
P. A. ADET.
Notei it J,‘uppart of the foregoing.
(No. i) Vide Lci'ur from Citizen Genet to Mr.
J1 ff-rfon of the 22.I of June '93. trulsage fiom tlic
F.c.lidentt page of the original French.
(.No. 2) Extract of the Prelident's fpccch to the
Houfe of Reprefent^iivts, 3d December, '93.
Ais ftion as the war hi Europe had emulated thofe
powers-with whom the Uuiied States have the molt
extends* relations, there was real’on to apprehend
that an extendve iniercourle with them might be m
terhupted, and our difpofiuon for peace drawn into
queftion by the fdfpicions too often entertained by
belligerent nations. U I’etmed therefore to be my
doty, to admonilh our citizerw of the Conkquences
of a contraband trade, and of holiiie acts 10 any of
the parties -} and to obtain, by a declaration of the
exilting legal itate ol things, an ealier admiffion of.
our right to the immunities belonging to oar fitua
tioo7. Under thefe imprttGons the proclamation,
which will be laid before you, was if'sued.
in this pofture of afruirs, both new and delicate,
1 resolved to adopt general rules, which fbould con
form To the treaties, and afstri the privileges of the
United States. Tbefe were reduced into a fyftem,
which v/ill be communicated to you. Although 1
lia*e not thought mvfelf at liberty to forbid the tale
of*the prizes, permitted by our treaty of commerce
with France to be brought into our ports, I have
nor refufed to caufe them to be reltored when they
were taken within the protection of our territory,
or-foy velseW cottimilsioned or equipped in a warlike
form within the limits of the United States.
it relts with the wildoui of Cong: el’s to correct,
improve, or inforce this plan of protection ; and it
will probably be found expedient* to extend the le
gal code a::d the juriidiction of the courts of the
United States to many cafes, which, though depen
dent on principles already recoguizcd,demand lome
further provilions.
i.Whtre'individuals (hall within the United States
array thcmfelves in holiility againft any of the
powers at war, or enter upon military expeditions
or, enterprites wichin-the jurifdiction of the United
States.or uforp and exercile judicial authority with
in the United States, or where the penalties on vio
lations of the law ct nations may have beervindi
rcctly marked, or are inadequate, thefe offences
cannot receive too early and clofe an attention, and
require prompt and decifive remedies.
. Whatever thefe remedies may be, they will be
well admiuifrered by the judiciary, who pofsefs a
long eftablifhed courle of inveftigatiou, effectual
procefs, and officers in the habit of executing it.
(No. g.) The underfigned ninilter plenipoten
tiary having complained fo the Secretary of Itate,
that theatiorney of the United States, had caufcd
the privateer La Vengeance to be arretred without
an affidavit or other authentic teftimony 5 on the
lith Augaft, »795i,the li^cretary of Itate lent him
“ ivai . I imip iJdu auuiciicu 10 mill,
iq thenbfence of Mr. Harrifon, diftrict attorney of
New-York, in which it this rift Is age—
“ As to the fnit againfc the privateer, it was
commenced uy Mr. Harrifon as att.ornfey for the
diftrict, upon official difclofure to him, by. the Span
i;h conlul, of the evidence which ltd him to lup
pofe the privateer 11 ad beeo fined out and .armed
within the United States. Mr. Harrifon upon re
ceiving this difclofure, felt .himitlf called upon by
conhderations which, as 3 public officer, he could
not refift, to proceed againfc the privateer under
the 3d feciion of the act of Congrels, entitled, an
act iu addition to the act for the punilhment of cer
tain crimes againfc the United palsed 51 h
June, 1/94. This lection works a forfeiture of the
privateer, one half to the ule of any perion who
lhall give information of the offence, and the other
hall to the ufe of the United States. No perion
having a ppea red in quality of informer, to inliiiute
the luitt Mr. Harrdiun according to the courle of
the common la w, filed an information in behalf of
the United States folcly, ag-iinft the privateer, as
yon will perceive by the copy of theinfomiat ion al
ready Iraofmiited to you. . No law of the United
States, and no law or ulage of this hate -required
the information to he founded upon any previous
effi lavit, or-evidcnce of the truth of the matters al
ledged in :ti The filing of an information is an
act entirely in the dilcretion of the officer imrufied
by law with the power of doing it ; and if he fhould
sbufe his power, he funds upon the‘.footing of. all
public,officers who are guilty of malverfation in
ufitce. :lu the prefent inltance, Mr. Harrilon has
acted from.the belt, nf his judgment upon the duty
his. office, after, officially obtaining informatiem
fipma public officer, who . conceived, himfclf like
wife hound, by a icnfe of duty to communicate the
information. **
.When the undetfigoed minift.er plenipotentiary
reviewed the charge on the j<l Vendtminire
(24.111 September ’95)’ to the lecrctary of lute,
and ft *M complained that sn iftidavir was not re
quire^ to cauie a privateer to be arretted—he cx
pretstd himiclf in tbeie words : ' -
** 0oi 1 again renew the aiaertion, that an affida
vit is not necclsary for ordering the arreit of a vei-_
fel;"—
What i£ the hw/whkt b the ufage, which efta
bldhes the protection for reparation ot an offence,
"before it he aferrtaiued that it has been committed,,
and what certainty then had tlie attorney ? His
opinion ! LJpbn what is it foilnded ? The complaint
oKthe bpauilb agent, fince there was not a Tingle
fir,upon mere fufpicions which the ent-my
intetelr will not fail always to bring forward, the
Fiemh pi ivat'eers are to he fubject to leizure : Such
a melfure tends co nothing le.» than to paralize the
i7th ^pr. of our treaty.
TlrrMecretary of ftate, in reply, fent to the un
derflgn^d niinHier plenipotentiary the copy of a
letter from Mrl Harrilon, of the 3d Oct. 95, in
which is this rtriiar liable palsage—“ In this w hole
bufinefs; however, I have Undoubtedly acted from
niy own opirtloA', founded upon luch, evidence as
came to my knowledge; and as in fmiilar cafes* 1
inuft necelsariiy, in the firft infiance, be unattjuair
ted with the opinions and convictions ofothci* 1
know of 110 other rule;hy which I can be guided.
unl'js rwhin lorn honored nuilh the dir til ions of rny chief
executive mai'jhait
The feerct’ary of ftate thus clofes his letter of the
16'h of Oct ober, covering that of Mr. Harrilon—
“ Yuu will perceive that whatever may be. the
event of the lull3 pending in court concerning her
[che privateer] and her prize, the public officer,Mr.
Barrilon, is fuppotted in his proceedings by the
laws and ufjges of this country, upon fuch evidence
and informal iba ac m the caie referred to were pro
{tfo, 4.) In virtue of this law the tribunals were
only authorized to decide on cates in which the
neutrality of the UnitedStates ihaii have been coin-’
promitted. Yet thefe tribunals conceived they had
a right to pronounce upon prizes made by cite
trench, in almol't an itidtfinite manner, in the af
fair of Glafs and Gibbs againft the ihip Bttfey, the
decision of which has been printed,'the fupreme
court .pronounced, that the^tribunal3 could not de-.
cide whether a prize belonged to enemies or lieu
trait, in the affair of Jooft Janfoti agalttit the
Dutch lhip Vrouw Cathatina Magdalena, it was
decided that thenaturaltzation granted in tile ter
ritories of France to American citizens, during the
war, could not give them the right either of ferving
or of commanding on board of French privateers;
that the prizes made by fuch, although legally covn
mifsioned, were not valid : a diftinction is elia
hliilied between a legal and an illegal privateer; it
was judged that they had a right to pronounce on
this legality ; and conf< qoently on the validity of
the prizes; it \vas finally decided, that a prize
made at fea with the afsiltance of an illegal priva
teer, was void and llioold be reftortd.
, (To be continued )
Congress of the United States.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Wednefday, December 7.
This day, precifely at 12 o’clock, the Prefident of
the United Slates met both Houles of Cougrefs in
the Hall of the Reprefentatives, when lie addi'efsed
them in the following
SPEECH.
FeJ/onv- Citizens of the Senate,
and of’the ihuje of R(prejentaii'v::,
IN recurring to t he internal fituation of ruf conn
try lince 1 had ialt the plealure to addrefs you,
1 find ample reafon for a renewed ertpreflion of that
gratitude to the Ruler of the Univerle, which a con
tinued feries of profperity has io often and lo juftly
called forth.
The acts of the laft fefsion, which required fpe
cial arrangements, have been, as far as cirtumfun
ces would admit, carried into operation.
Meafures calculated toenlure a continuance of the
rriendlhip of the Indians, and to prelerve peace a
long the extent of our interior frontier, have been
• digefted and adopted. In the framing of thel’e, care
..has been taken to guard, on the other hand, our
advanced fetrUlnems front the predatory i'ncurfions
• of thole unruly individuals, who cannot be relrrain
ed by their tribes ; and on the'olhfcr hand, to pro
tect the rights iecured to the Indians by treaty } to
draw them nearer to the civilized hate ; and in -
fpire them with correct conceptions of the powtr,
as well as juft ice of the government.
The Steeling of the ciiputies from the Cret k Na
tion at Colerain, in the hate of Georgia, which
had foCa principal object the purchafe of a parcel
.of their land by that Hate, broke tip without its be.
ing accouiplilhtd; the nation having previous to
their departure intruded them cgainfi making a
ny fale f the occafion however has been improved,
to confirm by a new treat) with the Creeks, their
pre-exiliing engagements with the Unired States ;
and to obtain their confent to the cltablilhment of
trading houles, and military pofts within their
boundaries ; by means of whim, their friendlhip
and the general peace may be n»ore effectually fc
cured;
The period during the late feffion at which the
app*opriation was pafsed, forcarryirg into effect
the treaty of amity, commerce and navigation, be
twtrentthe Unired States and'his Hriiannic Majeftp,
iKpeflarily procralui-aitd the reception of ike polls
ftipulattd to be dclivtrtd, bt)o/.d the date -fEgntd
tor that event.
As iodh however as the Governor General rf
Canada could be aadre.sed with propriety cu ipe
lubject, arrangements were cordially and promptly
concluded tor their evacuation, ard the Lniied
States took polselsion of the principal of tbtm
comprehending Olwrgo, Niagara. Detroit, Mi^he.
lirtiackiliac and Fort-Miami, where luch repairs
additions have beeu ordered to be made as i-pptar
ed indifptr.fible.
1 ne comtnusioners appointee on ine part of the
United iJiaits and of G reat-Britain, to determine
which i3 the river St. Croix, mentioned in the trea
ty of peace of B3, agreed in tire choice of Egbert
Benlo Eiq. ol N w-Yoik, lor the third conundrum.,
er. The wiiole nut at St. Andrew’s, in Palsama.
quody Bay, in the begir.utg of October, and di
rected lurveys to 1 c made ct the rivers in dilpute ;
but deeming it impracticable to have thtle lurwyg
completed before the next year, liny ae journed, 10
meet at Bolton in Augufi '97, fur the dual utcifioa
of the queltioo.
Oilier conuuiflioncrs appointed on the part of ihe
United States, agreeably to the ieventh article of
the treaty with Grtai-Bi itain, relative to captures
and condemnation of velsels and other property,
met the u mmilsioru 19 of his Britannic ni-jMty in
London, 111 Augult lan. w hen John Ti unibull/fi;^
was choien by lot, tor. the filth ccmmifsioner. in
October following, 'he board were, to proceed to
buiintls, As yet, theie has bttn no crmiruntcati.
on of conintilsiontrs on the part of Great-Britain,
to unite will) il.ole who have been appointed on
the part of the United Mates, for carrying into tf
ieci the fixth article of the treaty.
The treaty with Spain required that the conimif.
lioners for running, the boundary fine between the
territory of the United Stattsand his Catholic ma
j<lty’s provinces of Kafr and Welt Morida, ihctdd
meet at the Natchez .before the expiration ot fix
months aftsr the exchange of the raiilitai ions,which
was effected at. Aranjuex on the tweniv-fifth day of
April ; and the troops of his Cat holic M je,'rVj Pc.
copying any pufts within the limits .of the United
States, were within the fame period to be with
drawn.' 'I he cotnruiljiontr of the United Struts,
therefore, commenced .his journey for the Natchez,
in September, otul troops, were ordered to occupy
the polls from v/hich the Spanifh garriloo lhouid
be withdrawn." Information has been recently re
ceived of the appointment of a cormnilsioner on tl:s
part of his Catltulic majHty.ior running the boun
dary line ; but none of any'appointment for the ad
juitmerit of the claims of our citizens, whole vet
icls were captured by the arps d velsels of Spain.
In purfuance of the act of Congreis palscd in the
1 a ft lefsion, for rhe protection and relief of Ameri
can 1‘cameri, agents were appointed, one to rUio'e in
Great-Britain, and t|ie other in ,the Wx-fr-Indies.
The effect') ol the agency in the Weft-Indies are not
yet fully alcertained ; but thole which have been
communicated afford grounds to believe the mca
I'ure willbe beneficial, 'ihe agent deftined to re*
licle in Great Britain declining to accept the ap
pointment, the buiintls li > conte qutnily devolved
on the miniiter of the Unitcd States in London,
and will command his attention, until a new agent
After many delays and difappointmenrs, a riling
out of the European war, the final arrat'eancn:s lor
fulfilling the engagenienis made to the D;y and Re
gency of Algiers, will, in all pretem appearance,
be crowned with (uccrls ; but under great, though
inevitable diladvantages in J he pecuniary tranlacu
ons, occafioned by that war; which will render a
further provilion necelsary. The actual lihe ration
of all our citizens who were prifontrs in Aiguis,
while it gratifies tvery I ceding heart, is it fell an car
nelt of a fatislactory lesniinatiori of the win le ne
gociation. Mealures are in operation ii*r tfn-efing
treaties with the Regencies of Tunis and T lipoii.
To a ri act ive external comtoerce, the protect inti
of a naval force is indilpenlab'ie. T his is ntanifeU
with regard to wars in which a ftate is it.lelf c par-,
ty. But bolides this, it is in our own experience*
that the .molt lincere neutrality is not a It-fticien:
guatd againlt the depredations of nations at war.
■To fdcure relpect to a national fl.ig, requires a na*
v:.I force, organ;led, and ready to vindicate it from
;inlulr or aggrelsion, ri his :n«y even prevent the
neceflity of going to war, by ’difeouragmg bellige
rent powers from copimitting luch violation of ibe
rights of the neutral party, as may firft or la ft lenv d
no other option. From the^eft information I have
been able to obtain, it would lei nt as it our trade to
the Mediterranean, wit hout n protecting force, w.lt
always he inlet ore, and ourcinzer* expoiicl to ’he
calamities from which numbers ft) them have but
.juit been relieved. '
Thefe cotiliderations invite the United Stater fo
look ro the means, and to fet about the gradual
creation of a navy. T he encreafing pregreis of
their navigation promilcs them, at no diltant peri
od, the requilite lupply offeanten ; and their means
in other rctpccts favor the undertaking. It ’• *n
encouragem: nt likcwil’e, that their particular litua
tion will give1 weight and it fluence to a moderate
naval force in their hands. Will it not then be rd
viie&ble to begin without delay to provide and lay
up the materials for the building and equipping of
jhips of war „• and to proceed in the work by de
grees, in proportion as our relources ihnll render it
practicable without inconvenience ; lothat a future
war of Europe niay not find our commerce in the
fame unprotected ltate in which it was found by
ihe prelent ? .
Con^t-cls'hsveTepeaiedly, and not without luc
cefs, directed their auentiou to the cncourag-neut