The National Register.
London, England, 1813-01-17 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL. REGISTER;

_)

of Mal, 1806, whilst the British Government mu eei ere t•
maintain its legality, 64 that in point of tact this particular O i-ickarte
" had been discontinued fir a length of time, having been in in
" the general retaliatory blockade of the enemy's ports. under the
" Orders in Council, and that his Majesty's Government had no
" intention of recurring to this, or to any other of .he blockades
" of the enemy's ports, founded upon the ordinary and accustomed
" principles of Maritime Law, which were in force preview; to the
" Orders in Council, without a new notice to Neutral Powers in
" the usual form."
The American Government, before they received intimation of
the course adopted by the British Government, had, in tact, pro.
ceeded to thext Nine measure of declaring war, and issuing " Letters
of Marque," notwithstanding. they were previously in possession of
the report of the French Minister for Foreign Affitirs, of the 12th of
March, 1812, promulgating anew the Berlin and Milan Decrees, as
fundamental laws of the French empire, uneer the false and extrava-
gant pretext, that the mans' rout principles therein contained were to
be found in the treaty of Utsetchr, and were therefore hineing upon
all States. From the penalties of this code no nation was to be ex.
empt, which did not accept it, not Gnlv as the :tile of its ewe con-
duct, out as a law, the observance of which it was also required to
enforce upon Great Britain.
Ina Manifesto, accompanying their Dee:aration of Hostilities, in
addition to the former complaints against the Orders in Council, a
lon,; list of grievances was brought forward; some trivial in them-
selves, others which had been mutually adjusted, but none of them
such as were ever before alleged by the American Government to be
grounds for aver.
As if to throw additional obstacles in the way of peace, the Ame-
rican Congress at the sanie time passed a law, prohibiting all ietere
course with Great Britain, of such a tenour, as deptiyee the Exe-
cutive Government, according to the President's own construction of
thrt Act, of all power at restoring the relations of friendly inter-
course between the two States, far, at least, as concerned their
commercial intercourse, until Congress should re-assemble.
The President of the 'Jotted States has, it is true, since proposed
to Great Britain an Armistice; not, however, on the admission, that
the cause of war hitherto relied on was removed •, !nit on condition,'
mat Great Britain, as a preliminary step, should do away a cause of
war, now brought forward as such for the first time; namely, that
she should abandon the cuercis: et her undoubted right of search, to
take from American merchant vasacls iiritish seamen, the antral-
horn subjects of Iris Nlajeaty ; and this concession was required riper,
a mere assurance that laws wetild be enacted by the Legislature of
the Uei:ed States, to pretest such seamen from entering into their
service ; but independent of flte objection to an exclusive reliance on
a foreign State, for the cons-rvatien of so vital an interest, no ex-
plmut,on WAS, or could he etre-act! by the ageut who was charged
with this overture, either as to the main principles moon which such
laws were te be fiunded, or ,as to the provisions which it was pra-
poaeel they should contain.
This proposition having been objected to, a second proposal was
made, again oil'eting en Armistice, provided the British Graver- neer.
would secretly stipulate to renounce the eX7:reise of this teaht in
a treaty of Peace• An immsdiaie and formal aban'onment of its
exercise, as preliminare to a cessation of hostilities, was not ee-
mraeltd ; but his Koval Highness the Prince Regeat was required, in
the. name and on behalf of his Majesty, secre'4 to ahoodun what
the former overture had proposed to him puldiLly to concede.
This must otiOesive proposition was also rejected, being accom-
panied, as the former had bean, by other demands of the rimer. excep-
tionable nature, area es,iee.ir.ily ref indemnity for rdi American sessels
detained and cendemeee under tile Orders 11/ Ceuncd, or under what.
were termed illegal blockades—e compliance with which demands.
exclusive of all ether objectiens, wolid have ammulteri to an abso-
lute surrender or the riots ea which these Orders and blockaees
were founded.
Had the American Geeeiteeent teen sincere in representing, the O.'.
dews in Coeecil, as the only 'subject ut defereeee between (fleet Br :edit
and the United S!etes calculated to lend to hostilities, it might have Iseen
expected, so so ,11 ns the revecation at theae Orders had been i•theially
mede known to them, that they weekd have spoitieneeusla ree.sded their
" letters amenities," and aninilested a disposition intrucdietela to ie.ti.le
the relations of tic ace Intl anti b, tee en toe two Poe cis.
But the con ieet of the Govanenent ref the Uulted States by nu means
cerrespended with such reasonable expectation!.
The Order in Canewil of the laid of J one beme connimeiean
in Americe, the Geverimene et the Ceired States saw nothieg in the re-
peat of the Orders in Calmed, wh.ch should of itself rcatore peace, en.
less Great Britain were prepared, ill the first instance, suhstaltially
to
he right of impressing her own !..eanit.ll, Whell tOuill onboard
American merchant ships.
The proposal of an armistice, and of a simultaneous repeal of the re•
strictly(' measures set both sides, sub•ekiecutle made by tile Connuenoieg