The Patowmac guardian, and Berkeley advertiser — Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.], 1797-03-16 00:00:00, page 2

VnW ri^ufatYon was peculiar toVrance arc? Spain;
•6nd that di'ewhere the gtcds of the enemy w-.re alone
ted to confiscation. And in the treaty of Fraucc
V,;il, the ci v *1 Hamburg, in ’69, if wn ftipulated,
that “ all at.cl*, prC.itions and mfrchadtec what
soever belonging ro her enemies and found on board
the vet's*!: < f Hamburg, fhould be coiififcated.**
Mr. Ala remarks, ibal one of his predectfaorg,
in Jtilv 1795 applied on ibis inbj'ct to the govern- j
‘mentoftV.tr U b. but Was unfucctl&ful. He muft
leter ro Mr. G net's letter to Mr. Jr-ff rfon, dated
.July o '05. fihe funiect ’was reiutneo in terms frail
snore t xu ordinary in His letter of July 25, '93} to
which Mr. j:(ferfon anfwered on the 24 )., declar
ing “ Ins b lief that it cannot be doubted, but that
f.y rhr >>eneial Uw of nations, the goods cf a friend
foot'd in the vefsel of an enemy llidl be iree, find j
the good* of an enemy found in the vefse! of a i
'friend, are 1 j wful'pr’we. It is true tTiaf (tindry na
tions, defwous of avoiding the inconvenience of
having their vefseh ltcpped at ica, ranlacked, car
lied into port and detained,under pretence of having
enemy'*-goods on board, have, in many tnfianccs
imro luted, ly theirfi>nial treatin, another principle
‘hcrwfccti them, th-u eiMtiy hottouts fhould make
enemy goods, and Iriendly bottoms friendly goods }
but this is ahogfibrr the e.fF'c; of particular treaty,
t on t rolling in /pedal cafes % ihr general principle of the
Isw of nations, anti uirrefore taking effect between
Inch nations only as have fo agreed to controol it.
An.) it is plain, that it was to avoid the inconve
niences rdjdriiig from this.general rule of the law
«f nations, that France and the United States ftipu
luted, in ihe 23 I article of their commercial treaty,
" I hat free f hips fhould give freedom to goods;
and tfi.it every thing Ihould be deemed free which j
Jitoold be found on board the thips belonging to the !
Inbj-cra of either of the contracting par ies, altho’ 1
the whole lading, or any part thereof, fhould an- |
pertain to the emmits of either, contraband goods ;
being always excepted.” It is a Ho plain, that this ]
itiptilation was intended to operate (indeed it was I
its foie obj:*rt, and olherwife could have no opera
tion at all) when one of the parties fhould be at war j
with o nation or nations, with whom the ether !
fhould be at peace. France therefore, has no right
to coni plain if the goods of her enemies find protec
tion on board American ihips, or to pretend, that
in 0 it “To ref:ore the balance of neutrality to
its equilibrium,” liie may leij'e on fuch goods ; the
juft equilibrium hempen her and the United braies
will be refitored when we are at war and {‘neat peace,
at which time the good- of our enemies will find pro
tection on board the vefseh of her citizens.
2.1. ft is cdledcid that we have abandoned the
modern public lav/ on cunt raband, and by our treaty
with Great Britain granted to that power, exciufiue
ly, the free carriage ul article for the equipment
and armament of vends#
Here, as in the former wle, the queftion recurs,
what is the law of nations on the point in dilpute ?
Vatel define* contraband goods to be “ commodi
ties p,'rti'.ul'*rly ufed in war—Inch as arms, milita
ry and nan.•al ttofts, timber, horlcs, and even provi
fi.ms in certain junctures, when there are hopes of
reducing ihe ctuiv.v by famine.** In the treaty be
tween France and Denmark, concluded on the i>?d
of Auguft, 1742 — “ Tar w as declared contraband,
together wiih rofin, fails, hemp, cordage, malts,
and timber for ihipbuilding.** “ Thus on this ac
count (lays Valin) there would have been nocaufe
for complaining of the conduct of the Er.gliih, if
they had not infringed particular treaties j for of
right thefe things are now contraband, aad have
bet'n fo fince the beginning of this century, which,
however, was not the cafe formerly.*’ The mo.
dern public law on contraband, mentioned by IVlr.
Adet and bis predecel’sors, probably refers to the
principle declared by the ermed neutrality, during
the American war. This iranfaction is too remark
able to be pafsed unnoticed.
During that war, Great Britain-and the other
belligerent powers exercifing the rights afiured to
them by the- law of nations, and made prize of ene
mies property on board neutral vefscls, and of con
traband goods belonging to neutrals. Eager as
neutral munn3 raw ft bf to feize the opportunity
which war prefents, of becoming the carriers for
the belligerent nations, whole Ships and mariners
are wanfed lor military opera-tons, it was perfectly
neutral that the former ihould delire to efiabljih as
rule, tbit free Ships ihould make free goods j or in
other words, that neutral bottoms fhould protect
the goods on boird, to whomfoever the le belonged;
■ wd it was t dually neutral for them to defire to <li
minilh the lilt of contraband. In reipect to the
l ater, ft mult have been particularly intcreftino to
the three northern maritime powers, from whole
dominions chiefly the other maritime nations of Eu
rope receiver! fopplies of timber and naval !*ores,
to fir Ike thefe from the lift of contraband, or by
font: means to «xeinpr them from capture.
With thefe diipofitions, the Kniprefsof Ruffia, in
F-hr0ary, 17S0, made public the principles on
which Ihe would maintain the eonmieree of her fub
jecis. It is necefsary here to recite* only two of
them. I ft. That all the effects belonging to {-ob
jects of the nations at war Ihould be free on board
neutral vefsels ; contraband g. ods t^epttd. ad
That the articles of contraband, (hould be regulated
by the 10th and nth articles of her treaty of com
merce with Great Britain, extending the regulati
ons of thole articles to ali the belligerent poweis.
To enforce the obfervnnce of thefe principles,
ihe gave orders for equipping a eonfiderahle part of
her marine.
-«oo—-.
be continued, iveei/j as the limits of our paper •wilt
ptr/n ftw
Mr. WlttiS, . 4 .
UPON the eve of every Election, for fome time
pafi, your paper has been filled with publics
tiuns lending to wound the reputation and feelings
of tome perlon or other for electioneering purpo
rts. *A'e have a*wa\s cbnfidered this practice as in
famous as it is barbarous and inhuman—but, fund
ing as we do, in no one's way, we little expected
we Ihould be made the fnbj.'Cl of this kijid of a bale.
In this we have been miftaken—a Writer* who fig ns
hinilelf 7be Peopk, with what propriety the real
people wilt judge, anxious to induce the people of
this County to leave out one of their late Repre
fentaini's at the enfuing election, to make room,
perhaps, for himlelf or .his friend, among other
things lias charged him W'th prefect ing and lup
porting a Petition, which went from this County,
and we are told, 11/3r a petition pretented in our
names to rbe 1 a It afftmbly, is the petition alluded
to ; if this is really the petition to which he al
ludes, there is a vvickednt-fs, there is e malevolence
in the representation he gives of it, and its recepti
on, rbat we did not fuppoie any man upon earth
could be guilty of.
The petition prefrnted for *ts, we verily believe,
would have been figned by hundreds in this Coon
ty, had it been thought ntetisary by us, !o have ob
tained other fignaturcs to it. VVe know that bun-,
dreds in this County were interfiled in the event
of it. We know that fnnilar petitions were pre
fcrited front Hardy, Mampihire, aid Shanondoah,
figned by nearly a thouland people of thole Coun
ties. Had this writer wiihed to have lain the 1 ob
ject of otir petition fairly before the people, helure
ly would not have been totally blent with relpect
to the petitions fi'om thole Counties, He could
not have been ignorant of it, becaule we find it in
the fame journals which he refers to, pege j j, en
tered in thefe words—
“ A petition of a number of the inhabitants of
the Countie3 of Hardy, H ampibire, and Shenondo
ah, was prHented and read, letting-forth, that in
the year j Sr, the Leg; ft*tore of this lore, parsed
a law abftlilmng rite right of the late Lord Fairfax,
to lands in the Northern Neck, ami anihorifn g the
citizens of the Commonwealth to make locations
thereii ; thit under the laid law they proceeded to
make ocations, and have made coufiderable im
provemeots on the property tbu* acquired, fince
whief the heirs and reprelentat ivts oi the laid Lord
Fairfax claiming all tiie laid lands, have infriiuted
fuits ,n the Federal Court for their recovery, and
obtained a decree in their favor, declaring void the
ftate law, and revelting Ihe lands in them ; and
prayirg the interference of the Legislature on the
occaliun.
" yjTaereay i nat \ r,r jam prnucns De referred to
the Commit;<‘e for Courts ofjnfticc* that they do
examine the matter thereof, and report the fame,
with their opinion thereupon, to the Houfe.”
We would zlk this writer, to what fuit did this
petition allude ? it was the liiir brought by Denny
Fairfax, a gain ft us, in the Federal Court, on which
he ok?-rifted a judgment, and from which judgment
the Governor and Count il, without even consulting
us, took an appeal on behalf of this Sta'e, to the
Supreme Court of the United States, ’where it re
mained undrtenrined. We would a(k this writer,
what vras the object of this petition from Harciy,
Hamptbire, and Sbanondoah ? Was it not, that a
caufe of fuch immenfi importance which involved
their rights,and the rights of every perfoh who had
taken up lards in the Northern Neck, under the
Taw* of the {rate, fhould not be left to a lew indi
viduals to cidVnd, but that the Legiflature ihould
interfere in t ? And what was the object of our
petition ? Piecifefy the fame. We infilled that the
Commonwealth, having received nearly half a mil
lion of doilats from the people, in confcqnence of
opening their land c ffice for the Northern
Neck, it was bm juft and reafnnable that a
ftnall part of it ihould be applied to defend the
rights of the Commonwealth to thofe lands.
V/e complained that it was a hardihip upon us
to defend a law-fuit at our own expence, in
which hundreds of individuals were equally inter
efted, and which included the rights of the Cohi-»
monweahh to the unappropriated lands of the Nor
thern Neck, amounting to perhaps, a trillion of a
cres ; and we concluded, by praying that if the Le
gifUiure thought otherwise, ana determined not to
interfere in the conteft, we might withdraw ottr
lelvts from it, return our warrants into the Regif
ter's office, and receive from the f'reafurer, what ?
gold and filver, in lieu of our certificates? No—
fuch an idea is not to be found any where, but in the
writer's own brain. We vvilhed our own certifi
cates to be returned, which bore an intereft of fix
per cent, and we wilhed the experceswe had been
put to-, in defending the right of the Common
wealth, to he repaid to os. Was this unjult, in the
opinion of this writer ? if fo, we think his ideas of
jufticeextremely defective. But give us leave to
alk him a few more queftions, Would it have been
taxing the people, to apply a fmall part of the mo
ney paid into the Treaiury by the people of the
Northern Neck, for unappropriated lands, to de
fend the rights of the State to thofe lands? We
think not. Did we wilh to put our hands into
honeft farmer’s pockets, to make good our lofses,
by unfuccefsful (peculations. No. We wrfhed the
Comtnonweahh to reftore us the money we had
paid for Northern Neck land warrants, which two
courts had determined the State had no right to
grant. ?f an honeft farmer fhould fell land?, which
tie had no right to, and receive the money for them,
wouM- it be irrrprttdes-t hi the purrhafer to afk of
rhis? hem eft farmer to repay him h:s money, with
tiisereiE,and the c2yfcrict$ha had been put- to in de
frr: cling the title ? Would the hortft farmer rtirct
fuch an application with indignation and horror?
If he did, we believe an honut jury would ttlv|j
this b< celt farmer a very different lefson—but «e
ere weary of alking this writer quefrions, ro which
believe we lhall receive To anlttcr. Give ts
leave to afk him one more, and we will take our
leave of him. Has he really been informed, that
thele petitions were confklered by the-Afsentbly im
p.ideiu petitions, and rrj cted with horror and dif
dain r It he has, we believe lie has been grolsly de
ceived. We know they were advocated by fevtral
of the ableft numbers of the Houfe of Delegatti
and we know the refult was a coiuproinife beivveen
the perfons claiming under Denny Fairfax and the
Commonwealth, by which the lands within the
NoMhern Neck, which were unappropriated zt the
death of Lordkairfax, are rrlincpilhtd to UieSiate
and ofcouMe fechreH to the porchaiers of the State.
Is this of no fervice ro the people of this Couniv ?
Examine the records-of the Surveyor's office for an
anf'wer. Rffpect lor the People of this County,
niui jnftice to the number who has betn i'o rnaliti
ocflv end • bafhcfully traduced by this wiiter, and
we In 1 eve lor the baft It purpoles, has indt ted us
to cone forward and place before the people the
circomiftances which gave rile ro, and the lubftance
of, the petiiion ; for prelenting and Support which,
he wifbes the p» op!? i o punijh the late member; if
his object is to fupply his place, we unit he will !>e
disappointed ; but we prefume noi to fpeak the nit/dt
andjcr.t'mtntt ul the people ; wc leave it to tliis wri
ter,who afsumes the right of doing fo, with a; much
alsuranceas if he was a heady their reprefentjative.
We with nor to be engaged iu a news-paper war
with this writer, or any other, but if he determines
to continue his.1iofti>i'.ies,we would obw rve ro f im,
tint it is ibe part of a cowardly ahnfTn onlv ro
it»b in the dark. 1: he is really toe b-.-nefr in an
which he tells yon he is, let him not lcrem h'*m. if
behind an anonvnious fignature, byt come boldlr
forward in his proper pcrlon ; we ihall then be the
berier able to determine the refpect due to hian—
in which we will endeavour not. t o be defi. i -nr.
MObaS HUN !'ER,
PHIL PLMDL.K i ON.
DAV.D HUNTER.
ror the roToMAK Uuaudian.
Mk. Willrs,
THE experience of Several years p;>fr, frij;Tr have*
ivttisfied il < public, that before elections feref
iher Repreiemativcs to the I'ungveis c.l the United
•States, or fur she State L-gif] •.lure, the cardicE tes
for cither mult expect ahule, through the medium
of vour preis ; fu> h publications are. ginerally moia
profitable to the t rtls, than informing to the peo
Having feen two publications in yoor late paper?,
figned 1 hr Profit, ami one figned One of ’hi fto./e,
which 1 tuppoie were inttmird to injure me at ill©
enfuing. election for reprelt niativf s in the State
Legifbuure, in which 1 am charged by that
Icurt ilous and ahufive writer, Who has afuQmed the
fignature of The PecpUt with having betray‘.-d the
truft committed to me by the people, by for faking
it ; with having acted our of contempt to the peo
ple, in leaving ihe afsecnbly during the la ft fefiion.
I am, and always have been of opinion, that when
ever confidence is repoled in a perion by ary one or
more of his fellow citizens, whenever a perion is
delegated to fill any office,more Specially that of fo
much importance to the people as a law maker,
that it is his duty, that he is bound by every prin
ciple of honour to discharge that trufr with afiiduity
and attention ; under thefe imprefiions, I have
Jwice offered my fervices to the very relpectable ci
tizens of this county ,• 1 have lor two years pu'.t had
the honour to rep'felent them, and under thefe irn
prefSons it is, 1 again offer ntyfclf as a candidate at
the enfoing election ~Nor do I fuppofe my late
conftituents will fay 1 have in the Imalleft degree
deviated from thofe principles when f left the 'aft
lefTron at'the period i did, when thty are informed,
that the indilpofition of one and the death of ano
ther of my neareft relations, was the caufe thereof;
at whole preffiog.folicitations,although the molt in
tenfeiy cold weather during the laft winter, I rilked
my own ht'.lth, and although the ciiliance is nearly
two hundred miles, i was abfent but nine days from
the houfe.— I bis will, no doubt, be a fuflicient apo
logy to my fellow citizens j even the fcurriloos wri
ter himfeif, if he is not as void of feeding as he is
of principle and friendfhip, mu it acknowledge i: is.
But there is another charge exhibited aguinit me by
thofe writers, to wit, “ that 1 prefemed and lop
ported a petition from a few individuals of ring
county, for the laudable purpofe of taxing the peo
ple fo raile money ?or thofe lew, to carry on law
funs for land3 they had no right to.” Thofe petiti
oners having informed me they have already lent
to the preis a full ftatement of the petition, toge
ther with a reference to the laws under which they
acted, and the adjudications thereon, I iha'S only
fay, that I never faw r.or heard of the petition al
luded to, until the day 1 left Martinfburg for Rich
mond. I never read the petition until the fecond
day of the letting of the alsembly ; after reading
the petition and confuting feveral of the members
from the Northern Neck of Virginia, and others ot
the belt information- in the Leg fixture, 1 found
there were petitions from the counties of, Harnp
fhire, Hardy and Shenandoah to the lame effect.
It wan agreed by every member I converfed with,
that the iobject was an important one to the peo
ple of Virginia, and elpecially to thofe within the
Northern Neck. It was unanitnoufly agreed upon
that it ought to be taken op and coniidcred by the