The Wheeling repository — Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.], 1808-04-21 00:00:00, page 2

number of infidel*, of y/liom i am the
olcl'-st, and I want to take out letters of
condemnation, and diminish the estate as
fast as possible.
I be judge, after a hearty laugh, in
terrogated the blunderer so as to find
out what he wanted, and granted him
the letters of administration,”
A pious and affe ctionate dame, whose
husband was absent on a foreign voy
age, wished to have the prayers of the
congregation in his behalf. For this
purpose a note was put into the hands
oi the clerk, which w is intended to be
read thus . “ J- W-haying gone
to sf.a,—his wife requests the prayers of
tiiis congregation, that lie may he merci
fully preserved,&c. ’ But not being cor
rectly spelled and punctuated, the note
expre ss -d a very different meaning. It
ran thus : “ J- W-,, having gone
x » SF.r. his vifj ,—requests the prayers
oi this congregation that he may be
mercifully preserved, See.”
DOCUMENTS
.Relative tj the attack on the frigate
Chesapeake.
[The details of the negotiation, as
mentioned last week, are too long for
publication in the Repository. The fol
owing letter from Mr. Munroe to Mr.
Madison, will give a satisfactory idea
of itzprhu ipal features, so far as it was
prosecuted at London.]
London, Oct. 10, 1 307.
Sir,
I have the honour to transmit you,
i,v doctor Bulius, a copy oi m\ corres
pond hce with i r. Canning, on the
sir jett which was committed to my
care, l»v vour i *ttci of the (>th of July
Ir-st. You will find by it, that the prev
sure which h; s hen n mint, on this vo
vernment, in obedience lo the instruc
tion' contain■ d in that 1 ttcr, has V rmi
d in a d. ci*i n to send a ministt r to
the lw.it d Star- s, tc adju* ■ th business
there. V\ hat the pow , ol t.v ininis
; ter v. ill be ; whether i‘ is intended to
c r.fine them to the sole o’'je t of repa
int1 for the spe cial otr.r; • , or to ex
tend th m,in case theproposi d ' paration
of tint b om the gt u ral topirk of im
press mentis ad mitt <:d, to tht latte rob jeet,
it is not in my power to state. .Mr.
Canning has given me no information
<,n that brad in conference, and his note
not explicit on it. It states, that Uic
j minister ulio shall be sent to the United
I States, to briiag the dispute relative to
the attack on the Chesapeake to a con
clusion,shall not be empowered to enter
tain, as connected with that subject, any
proposition respecting the search oh
merchant vessels—a presumption is au
thorized by those terms, that the mini
ster v ill have power to treat on the ge
neral topick alter the special one is ar
ranged. But it i' .possible that that pre
sumption may have been raised lor
some other p> rpose, or that the terms
which excited it, were introduced
merely to convey the idea that the
mission should be confined to the speci
al object.
In the discharge of this delicate and
important trust, I though tthatl should
be able, more cfloetuallv, to promote, its
object, by opening the subject to JNIr.
Canning in conference, that by _-u offi
ce 1 note. As the attitude taken Ip
iny government, which was evidently
supported by the whole nation, was of a
very impressive nature, it seemed pro
bable from the feverish state oi the pub
iu.<v mum mil, m ? garu :o,us, mat a
tone of conciliation v. hi eh would not
weaken the presto w, would he more like
1> to succeed in Obtaining the reparati m
desired, th tn a\toilitial Sc peremptory de
tnmd. Linder this impression, j had
several conferences with Mr. Canning,
the substance of which, in each, I will
endeavour to state with precision. A
knowledge . of what passed in these in
terviews, hi aid of that which is afford
ed bv the correspondence, will enable
you to form the most correct idea of
the object of the proposed mission,
1 that prt sente.ircumstances will admit of.
l'he first inter, iew, was on the 3d of
September, as soon as it co ild be obtain
ie l, after the receipt of your letter of
Juiv the Gth, which was on the 30th of
August. 1 informed Mr. Canning,
that as 1 wished the discussion in which
we were about to enter, to terminate a
micably and honourably to both our
governments, I had asked the inter
view for the purpose of promoting that
dcsi. abj ■ end ; that by explaining to
each other fully, in friendly conference,
the views of our respective governments
relative to the late aggression, 1 was
persuaded that it would be more easy
for us to arrange the business, to the sa
tisfaction </! both parties, than Ivy am o
ther mode which we c ould pursue. He
expressed his sensibility to that which
I had chosen, and his readiness to con
| cur in it; I then stated in detail, in ex
| plicit terms, the reparation which my v
government thought the United States
entitled to, and expected that they
should receive^ for the injury and in
dignity offered by the late aggression ;
that t ie men taken from the frigate
should he restored to it;- that the officers
who committed the aggression should
be exemplarily . punished ; ^that the
practice of impressment from merchant
vessels should be suppressed ; and that
the reparation consisting ol those Seve
rn’ acts should be announced to our go
vernment, though the medium of a
special mission, a solemnity which the
extraordinary nature of the aggression
particularly required. I observe that
as the aggression and the principle on
which it was founded, had been frank
ly disavowed as soon as known bv his
government, 1 *'us persuaded that there
could be no serious objection on its
part, to any of the acts which it was
d sired should constitute the proposed
reparation : that to the first act, the re
storation of the men, there could doubt
ifss oc none, as me least mat could he
done, after such an outrage, would he
to replace the United States as far if.
might he practicable, on the ground
they held before the injury was receiv
ed ; that the punishment of the officers
followed, as a necessary consequence,
to the disavowal of the act: that the
suppression of the practice of impress
ment from merchant vessels had been
made indispensable by the late aggres
sion, for reasons which were sufficient
ly well known to him — l stated to him
that the mode m which it was desired
that the reparation should be made, by
a special mission, was that which had
bei n adopted bv other powers, and by
(treat Britain herself, for injuries less
severe than the one alluded to, of v.luch ,
I gave him the examples furnished me
in your letter of July f»th. Mr. Can- .
ning took a note of what I had stated,)
and made some general rc marks on the
whole subject, which were intended to ,
givi Ids view of it, on each point, but.
without cornp-’otnittinghinn-elf in a po
sitive manner on ar.v one, lie said
that, by the proclamation of the presi
dent, and the m i'/.ure and detention of
some men w ho had landed on the coast
to procure watt r, the government sccni
to have taken redress into its own hand ;
he complained of the difT rence which
he said h id been nndr between France
and England, by restoring dcserteis to