The Patowmac guardian, and Berkeley advertiser — Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.], 1796-12-15 00:00:00, page 1

J^he Potomak Guardian*® Berkeley Advertiser,
[Num. 319]
THURSDAY, December ij, 1796.
VoL. 7]
Franklin,
(T wHiii Liberty dwilli, there ii my country.
\Open and unfrjluenctd. ]
tv. -.tt ^jaaCTy'rawwwMuawsJiJ ovwb
A U T H E N 7 / C.
' f n Note from the min if r of the Ftencb Re
puuuc, to the Secretarj of the United i: tales.
( Continued from our laji )
IN vnin will it be objected that France.having the
, :gnt by her treaty of ’78, to enjoy all the ad
v.-iii tg-.s in commerce anct >vigMi-ni, which the
United S.u'.es h.r*e granted to England, is not in
j ,rt‘d by the ft ipuiatiotis of the treaty ol rela
tive to corv. r aba mi <>f war, as they become common
jo her. H it the right (ecured to her by the 2 I ar
li: i-r of tb< tree tv ol ’78 docs not at all extend to the
allies whom the fuccets of her arms, &ndthei.«t re
ftntntrnt, inlpircd by tile ambition ol England,
Jvtvc twfi i iv- i;. given and (lull give to her 111 Ru
tons. J hef- di'poli1. ions change daring the courl'e
oi i!i© war, 11; * ii:nation of the U.;ii/;d State?, to
wards Engl md and the Celligereri! powers allied to
3*ranee j me intcrelts of thete powers is common to
France ; and from the niom<wtc that is injured,
France is injured all'n.
After having assured to the Etglilk thecarriag
of nival ft ores, the Federal government wiiue i .0
also re to them char ot niesls; :n a \v >rd, it policed
to h ue commerce only with England. Tims it iti
p :!;• <**s by the 1 8:It article, tliai the Am<ritaii vc-l
JeU l.o.len with grain, maybe 1 i. rd under the tri
v.-.l ..is pretext, that it is extremely d Hi ult to de
ft ].-■ ,) 1.• cale? wh-rein pr.jvilions, .tad other articles
w'.irii are genet illy exetpterf, could be t-.im-d in
t' • !• t of contraband of war; thus it 1'iVpu lutes in
a* >»ic 1 e 1 7-, ih.t' the Amer'K.-ni vcUeIs may be at -
jelled upon the (ingle luipicion, either that they
Jt.ave mrivfundi! •: b longing t o 1 he ent my, or that
they casry to them articles cuntrabjiul ol war. '1 he
United Sratcs in their treaty > h France, have
niade flip..; nions entirely opp< (i e r<> thole j 1!'
cited ; wliilft her veiV^ls of w.ir are bound to tel
pect the Anterior. fi g going to Ltifltlh pj-.s-Fl ies,
the F.nglilh drig into their ports American vtfsrls
going to France - fidj-’ct them to de< ifions more or
lels .arbitrary ; and otter condemn them on account
.oil he name alone of their ownt-ri. By whuh
lneons, s* 11 commercial r< 1 *rio; » between the H.si
ted Mates and trance are entirely fubpended.. VVmt
American will venture to lend nls<ls in'o French
ports ? What .commerce will he venture to under
take with the I' liuh poL-fliot.s, when it will be
certain that his funds, either in going to, or re
turning from them, run tin- gw-areli hazard?—
Would lie not rather prefer tr. fluking with a coun
try, to which his vefstI3 might go without being
ex poled to other rilkx than thofe if the lea ? Won Id
h - not prefer Great-Brit ain to France, for his I pe
culations : In virtue ol the tiea*y ol London, and
by the cotirfe of things, would not the commerce
of the United Stares pal? entirely to England, dur
jr>g the* preifiit war r
After having ennfeoted tof.ich conditions,the Ame-‘
riran government cannot pretend to imp’in iali; y •
h cannot lay tint it has maitvaihed an <qt;i mu
trM'.tv i prween France and England fince it has
granted to Grear-Britain advamazes denied to
F'ance. But every one or ibtie advantages Ranted
to England, was a real wrong to the Republic ; and
if it is not maintained, vvi'hoiu (porting with all
principles, that a government may confider itl'elf as
neutral, in granting to a belligerent power advan
tages which it reiole to auorher, i; is dear that the
government of the United States, alter having made
)<s treaty with Great Britain, ceafed to be neutral,
when it oppnfed itl'elf to the participation by France,
inth-’fa'nrs granted to • he Englifb.
I:i onltqm iue the underfigmd minifter plenipo
tentiary again declares, that «h»- Executive Directo
ry have jolt ordered the 1'oips of war and privateers
o! the Republic, to treat Am-i icrtn vcfsds in the
fame manner as they fnfLr the Euglilh to treat
them.
V\Vre the rreatv of London out of the queftion,
the m-alm c the E.vicmive Directory now takes,
wool I not be lets conformable to juice. The tin
derligned minilter plenipotentiary has developed
to the tec-rtiry of It ate, in hi-- note of 6 Brnmair
1 ifr, principles which leave no dowbr in this refpect,
a> d which the aufwer of the i-crerary of flare is
fir from deftroving. (No. £ ) Bit the ftipul.itions
of i reader; now come to the lupport of general prin
ciples, 1 he Republic culls for :he tx*-.uiion of the
fecntid artide of the treaty of’78 w’nich lays, that
France and the U dred States, muiu-llv engage not
to grant, any particular favor, as :o navigation or
commerce, which lhdl not im.Mediately become
tnminon to the other party; The government of
the L• i)ir—ri S’u'es having by the treaty of I ondnn,
liter• ficed to Kngfmd the freedom of their flag, the
proper;v of the common enemies of England, and
naval Jt ores ; France, by her treaty, is an'horized
to 11 'im the lame udv*nt.jg-t, to m.'ke «i»e of it, and
lilt United States have no right to complain'.
Certainly it would have fyeen more conformable
to the dffignt of France, to her principles, to lee
the American flag, floating without- interruption
upon the feat, to tee .the commerce o( the United
States enjoy that liberty, that freedom, Which Ihou.ld
belong to neutral nations: but in orde_r to that, it
was necefsary that it prelerved it free from violati
on bv Great Britain; and if now the execution of
meafures which the Directory is obliged to adopt,
give rife to complaints in the United Stites, it is
not againft France they Ihould be directed, but a
gainfr thofe men who, by negotiations, contrary
to theinterefts of their country, have brought the
French government to ul'e the prerogatives granted
to the Englilh.
When, after having fuff-red to be violated the
treaties which unite i; to France, the government
of the United States associated itfelf with England,
and his rendered its neutrality as ufcful^o that pow
er as it is .now injurious \6 its ancienf all) • could
the R-public be filent ? her outraged generolity,
her wounded honour, prevented her ; her filence
w re weakn-'S ; and.fnong in principles as .in her
proceeding's, ihe Ihould deiliand her unachnoWlegtd
or forgotten rigors.
Thus iherefore, as h refulrs from rbe fratement
which the underfigncd minifter plenipotentiary has
j ii'V given.
nt! That the 17th article of the treaty ol '78 has
Hern violated j that in contefcipr of this article, the
American tribunals have been permitted to take cog
ni/ince of the validity of prizes made by French
(hips of war and privateers, under pretext of origi
nal armament, or augmentation of armament in the
United State*, or of capture within the j irildicrion
:,i line of the Unirtd States.
2 f. Tim the fa id article 17 has been equally vi
olated hy the admiffion of Englifh -vefst Is in the
ports of the United States, which hid made prizes
.n Frchchmrn, and by the admiflion? of their pri
3 • . 1
'I he underlined minifter plenipotentiary, in the
nan1-, and by the orders of 1 he executive directory,
peotefrs again It the violation of tbe1 17th article,
stH.ov-e cited, in contempt of which &K American
tr ion 1 Is rive t'«Re-i cognizance of the validity of
pi !;:"s made by French fo ps of war privaiters,
under pretext ot original armament, or augmenta
tion of -Min^me;*.i in the United States, or of cap
ture within the jjri'dictional line ; cla'lns the re
pievv of all Jtiz'jres, and the repeal of all other ju
dicial acts excrciled on thofe prizes ; and proteits,
moreover, a gain It all oppofition to the fale of the
laid prizes.
Further,the nnderfigned rhinifrrr plenipotentiary
proteits againft 1 lie violation of the 17th article t»i
the treaty of ’78, in contempt of which Englifh
vefsels, which had made prizes on Frenchmen, have
been admitted into the ports of the United States;
and declares that the executive directory cannot re
gard as a jufr cooftruction of the treaty, the dil
tincrion which Mr. Randolph, fecretary of ftate
has eltabliihed in his letter of 2H h May ’95, in
which he admits only the exclufton of the Englifh
vefsels which brings in their prizes, and willies to
except from the prohibitory mcafures, the vefsels
which after having made prizes, enter the ports of
ine unueti otaies.
- The imderfigned minifrer plenipotentiary moreo
ver declares, that the executive directory regards
th'* treaty of commerce concluded with Great Eri
tain as a violation of the treaty made with France
in ' 8, ahd equival-nt to a treaty of alliance with
Great-Britain, and thaijulily < (Fended at the con
duit which tlte American govti hment lias held in this
cafe, they have given him ordus to (ufpend from
thi« mofiiem his minifterial functions with the fede
ral government.
The fame canfe which for a long time prevented
the executive directory from allowing their juft re
feinment to break forth, has alfo tempered its ef
fecis. Neither hatred, nor the defire of vengeance,
rapidly fucceed to fricndlhipin the heart of a French
man ; the name of America frill excites fweet emo
tions in it, notwithftanciing the wrongs of its go
vernment j and thefxecntive directory with nor to
break with a people v/hom they love to ialuie with
the appellation of friend.
The undet fignrd minifter plenipotentiary there
fore announces that tlie government of the United
j States, and the American people are not to regard
| the fufpenfton of his functions as a rupture between
‘ France and the United States, but as a mark of ju«r
i difeontent, which is to 1 a ft until the government of
the United States, returns to fentiments and to mea
furcs niore conformible to the interelts of the alli
ance and the (worn friendlhip between the two na
tions.
This alliance was always dear to Frenchmen j
tfiey have done every thing t« tighten its bands ;
' the government of the Unite^ Srates, on the contra
i rV li.is fought to break them, bcarcely had the w ar
i br» ken out between France and England when A
| muica was alone invited to the commerce of the an
rilles. All the colonial, porta were opened to her.
Her vefsels entered the ports of France without be
ing fubj-cted to higher duties than French veisels.
When the Engl if h violated, the freedom of the neu
tral flag, the convention yvas obliged tx» ule repri
fals. They ordered that neutral vefsels Ihould be
leized by the fhipfi of the republic ; Ihe excepted the
Americans from ’his rtieafure : forced, ugainft her
inclination to make it beer on them alfo Ihe waited
with impatience for the moment when Ihe might re
turn to a conduct more conformable to her lenti
ments for the United States. Soon Ihe revoked her
law relative to the arreft of their vefsels. Soon al
fo the committee of public iaftety gave orders to re
Ip-ct the American flag. In every circumstance
France foughr the means of proving :o the United
Stares, the fincerity of her tricndlhip. When the
federal government complained of the conduct of
one of t!ie predeoefsors of ihe underligned ; the
French government faw only the compluiiVs of the
government of the United States, and immediately
gave the molt Uniting reparation.
Let the annals oftb.e French revolution he orrtned,
let the minutes of tli’u s»ugult fitting he leen, in
which the national convention received the minilrer
of the United States in itvbol 'in ; the ariclrelses
were not ifudled ; they fpruojV from hearts toll ot
affection for an allied people; they breathed the
Irntiinents which dictated them ; and the American
minifter found .himfelf in the mid 11 of bis friends.
What toy did not the American flag inlpire when
it waved unfurled in the French frpate ? Tender
te^rs trickled from every eye ; every one looked at
it with amazement. There ('aid they is the lyinbol
of the independence of our American brethren—be
hold there the pledge of iheir liberty ! May victory
always attend it—May it lead to gh>ry none but a
free and happy people ! Thefe words which efcaped
from a thoiand mouths were the expriflton ol the
fentiments of the whole nation. Was not an Ame
rican to each Frenchman, another frenchman ?—he
was more,—he was a friend ; and ihar facred name
aroidlt civil dilsentions, was equally reflected by
all.
What then was done hv the government r it pin
in queftlon whether it Ihould execute the treaties,
or receive, the agents of (he rebel and profcrlhed prin
ces (No 6 ); it nidde a prot lanvttton of infidious
neutrality ; hy its chicaneries it abandoned French
privateers to its courts of Justice ; it eluded the
amicable mediation of the Republic lor breaking the
chains of its citizens ar Algeirs (No. 7.) Notwith
Itanding treaty ftipulaiions, ii allowed to be arre^r.
ed, vel’vrls of the liate; it i offered England, by in
fulting its neutrality, to interrupt its commerce with
France j not withfianding the faith . of treaties, it
gave an afsylum to thefe fame Englifh, uho after
having infulied her II ig, piliaged her citizens, c<ms
alfo to brave the American people in iis ports, and
to take a ftation whence to cruize on a favorable
opportunity ngainfr the French: ir ni ght be f id
that it applauded their audacity j all lubmiflion to
their will, it allowed the French colonies to be de
clared in a frate ol blockade, and its citizens inter
dicted the right of trading to. them, (No 8 ) it
eluded all the advances made by the republic for re
newing the treaties of commerce, upon a more fa
vorable footing to,both nations; (No. cj> ) It excu
ied itfelf, on the moft frivolous pretexts ; whillt it
anticipated Great Britain, by foliating a treaty ill
which; proltitoting its neutrality, it facrificed
France to her enemies, or rather looking upon her
as obliterated from thechart of the world, it forgot
the fervices that fhe had rendered it, and threw a
fide the duty of gratitude as ii ingratitude was a go
vernmental duty.
Abs. Time has not yet derriolilhed the fortifica
tions with which the Englilh roughetied this coun
try—forthofe the Americans railed for their de
fence ; their half rounded (umniits ftill appear in e
very quarter, amidft plains, on the tops of moun
tains. The traveller need not learch tor the ditch
which ferved to encoinpafs them ; it is frill open tin
der his feet. The fcattered remains of houies laid
wafte, which the fire had partly rcfptcted, in order
to leave monuments of Britilh fury, are (till to be
found—M'-n ft ill exift, who can fay, here a feroci
ousEnglilhman (laughtered my father ; there my wife
tore her bleeding daughter from the hands ofan un
bridled Englilhman. Alas ! The foldiers who fell
under the fword of the Britons are not yet reduced
to duft ,* the labourer, in turning up his field, ftill
draws from the boforh of the earth their whitened
bones ; while the ploughman, with tear3 of ten
dernels and gratitude, ftill recollects that his fields,
now covered with rich barvefts, have been moiften
ed with French blood ; while every thing around
the inhabitants of this country, animatesfthem to
fpeak of the Tyranny of Great -Beit a in and of the ge
nerofiry of Frenchmen ; when EngTand had decla
red a war of death to that nation, to avenge her.
felf for its having cemented with its blood the inde
pendence of the Uni red States.—It was at this mo.
mem thtir government made a treaty ol amity wftrc