The Sun.
London, England, 1813-01-11 00:00:00

French DecreeS teat to cease. `flils instimiht
expreisly declared these French Decrees were re,
pealed'in nsequence of time American tegislatnre
having by their Act the lit March, 1811, provid-
ed, that British ships and. merchandise should be
excluded front the ports , and liarbOUrS of the
United, States.
By this instrument,.the only document pro-
dtiaed by America as.mi repeal of the French Des'
crees,-it appears beyond a possibility of doubt
cavil, that.thenlleged repeal of the French De-
crees was conditional, as Great Britain bad assert-
ed.; and not absolute or final, its had beeiOnain-
- tabled by America': that they. were not repealed
thUrtiine.they were, stated to he repealed by the
American Government that theysvcreinit. repealed
iii conformity with a proposition simultaneously
matte to both belligerent 3, but that in conse-
quence Of a previous Act on the part of the Aitie,;•
riean Government, they were repealtalin favour of
one Belligerent to the .prejinlice 'of the other :,
that the American Government having. adopted
measurefirestactive upon the commeice of both
Belligerents, in consequence of. Edicts issued by
both, rescinded these measures, as they affected
that Power which was the aggressor, whilst they
put then; in' full operation against the party
aggrieved ; although the Edicts, of both Powers
continued in force ; and lastly that they-excluded
the ships of , war belonging to one Belligerent,
whilst they admitted into their ports and harbours
the ships of -War belonging to the other, in viola-
tion of one of the plaineat and most essential ditties
of #,neutral nation,
Although the instrument thus produced was by
no Means that general and unqualified revocation
of the Berlin and Milan Decrees, which Great
Britain had continually demanded, and had a fall
right to claim ! and although this instrument,
ander all the circumstances of its appearance at
that moment, for the first time, was open to the
strongest suspicions of its authenticity; yet as the
Minister of the United States produced it as pm-
!minting to be a copy of the instrument of revoca-
tion; the Government of Great Britain, desirous of
reverting, it' possible to the ancient and aectistoni-
ed principles of 'maritime war, determined upon
revoking conditionally the Orders in Council:—
Accordingly in the month of June last his. Royal
highness the Prince Regent was pleased to declare
inCounell, in the name and on the behalf of Ids"
Majesty, that the Orders in Council should be re-
voked, as fast as respected ttic ships and property
of the:United States from the Ist of Aug. follow-,
•ing: This reyoeation was to :Continue in force pro-
vided the Government of tbe United Siate should
with irt sa tiltte to he limited, repeal their Restrict-
' ire Lawi against British conmierce. Majes-
' ty's Minister in America was expressly ordert d to
;slrelare to the. Government of the United States,
r that " this measure bad been adopted by the Prince.
Regent in the earnest Wish and hope, either that
the ,Government of France, by further relaxations
its system, might render perseverance on the
part of Great Britain in retaliatOry measures sinr
uecosary, or "if this hope•shoteld prove delusive,
that his Majesty's Government might he enabled,
Wthe abSence of all irritating and restrictive re-
gulations on either side, to cuter with the Co-
vert-ncut of the. United States into amicable ex-
planations, for the parpose,of, ascertaining whe-
ther, if the necessity of retaliatory Measures
ahould nnfortunately continue to operate, 'the
,
particular measures to lie -mietei neon. by (iretit
Britain, could be rendered more acceptable to the
American GovernMent, than those hitherto pur-
stied.'.*
In order' to provide for the contingency of • a
Declaration of War on .the part of the United
States, previous to the arrival in America of the
said Order of Revocation, instructions were sent
to his*Majesty's Minister Plenipotentiary accre-
dited to the' United States (the execution of which
instructions; in consequence of the discontinuance
of Mr. Foster's 'functions, were at a subseqUent
period. entrusted to Admiral Sir John .Bor:sse
Warren), directing:him to propose a cessathin
of hostilities, should they have. commenced ; and
further to offer is simultaneous repeal of the Or
tiers in Council on the one tide, and of the Re-
atrictive Laws on British ships and commerce" on
.he otlker.
They were also respectively empowered to ac-
plaint the American Government, in reply to any
inquiries with respect to time blockade of May
I 80G, whilst the British Government must con-
tinue to maintain its legality, " that in ,point of
fact, this particular Blockade had been discon-
tinued for a length of time, having been. merged
in the general retaliatory blockade of the enemy's
ports,under the Orders in Council, and that his Ma-
lesty'sti Overnment had no intention of recurring to
this, Pr to any other Of the blockadeS of the enemy's
yorts, founded upon the ordinaly and accustomed
vinciples of Maritime Law, which were in force
previous' to the Orders in Council, without a new
notice to Nentral Powers in the usual form."
The American Goverlinient, before they.rectived
intimation."cmf the 'course adopted. by the British
ciovernment, had in fact proceeded to the extreme.
Speisitre of declaring svar,-ind issuing " Letters of
!orator,'" notwithstanding they %vele previously
in possession of the &port of the FIT C h Minister
,for FOreign Affairs, ot"the 12th of March, 1812,
promulgating anew the Berlin and Milan De-
crees, fundamental laws of the French Empire,
wader tie fake and extravagant pretext,, that the
•
Monstrous prinriples'-therein contained, were to
he found in the treaty of Utrecht, and Were there-
fare binding 'Tom:rail States. Front the penalties
of thia. Code no nation was to he , exemp t 'h
alid not accept it not only as the rule of its own
etniduct,tut as- a law,- the observance of which,
it was. also -required to enforee upon Great

Britain.
In a Manifesto, accompanying their Declara
thin of
flostilities, in addition to the former com-
plaints against the Orders in Council, a long list
of (rrievanees was brought tom art! ; some trivial
in Themselves, others which bad been mutually ad-
justed, but none of theta such, as ever before
alleged by theAmeriran Government to be grounds
for war.
As if to throw additional obstacles in the way •
of peace, the American Congress at the saute
time passed a law, prohibiting all intercourse with
Great Britain, of such a tenor as deprived the,Exe-
cutiveGuvernment,according to the President's own
construction of that Ace, orall power of restoring

the relations td friendly intertontst between the
two States) so fur at least as contettid theft`
conthiercial Intercourse, until Congress should re*

assemble.
The President of the United.. States has, It is
true, since-propoied
.to Great. Britain UTI Arun,
stiee; not, however, on the adtnission, thatthe •
cause of4a;rchitherto relied on'.what was rolio‘:ff,
but ofrantditiim., .that Great Britain,• as
preliminary step, should do away a came Of War,
-now brought forwardas_such for the first tittli2 ;
namely, that site ,should abandon the exercise of
her undoubted right, of search,,t6 tike from Ame-
riemi injrchantvessels 1,34-itish :3e,rinien the tßitn,;.
ral-born subjecrg.,:pf :hi); Xiajestv :and this co:)-
ce.ssion was required mere assrirmice that
laws ‘vind(l.be,..enacteds,hy the I".4‘..,,isiature of the
• Uniteti'.§tikte, to‘piev-Ott.stich!,:eml;l:l fivmh emer-
mg into t1:161' service but indeliendent of th;.(th-_,
jectiim to All-exclitaiv,e reliance ou a Foreign. State,,
for the conseryation of SO vital au interest, tiO
plapatioll could-he afforded by the agent,
who was eh recd with thiS' *Overture, either as to,
the mainpitinelples; upon .which such laws Iverc to
:be lotiadedluia,as to the provisions Which it was
propostyk.the.ty should contain.
'This pr,opositiein having been .obit ter,se7;
cond proposal Wiis made, again offering .an armi-
stice, provided the British Gov:eminent would se,
cretly stipulate to renounce the exercise of this
right in a Treaty of Petiee. An immediate anti
formarlabandoninent Of its exercise, as preliminary
to fi ees. sation of hostilities, was not demanded ;
but. his Royal tlighness the Prince Regent was
required, in the name and': on the behalf of
his Majesty, secretly' to abandon What the.
former overture had proposed to him publicly to
concede.
This ti iist offensive •:Iroposition was also re-.
jected,,heing accompanied as the former had been,
by other demands of the most exceptionable •na-.:
tore, and especially orindeinnity for all Anle!iean,
vessels detained and condemned under the Orders.
in Council, or under wtat were termed illegal,
blockades---a eomplinnee ‘vith which demands,,
exclusive. of all other objections,. trould ,haye
amounted to au absolute surreuder of the rights,
on *Mai those Orders and Blockades Were.
foumitAU:,
llad the. American GoVernment been sincere,
in representing the Orders ,in Co..acil, as the,
only subject of difference between Great
Britain
and the United States, ;calculated to lead to hos-
tilities ; it might have, been expected, so soini as:
the revocation of those Orders had been ofkially
made known to them, that they would leave sport-
taneou6ly reca,llo their letters of marque," and
manifested sa disposition. immediately •to restore
the relations of peace and amity between the two

•
Powers;
lint the conduct of the Government of the
Unit ed„§p),W, by no.means corresponded with such
reasonable expect atiom.
rtiVelOi.der in Council Of the •23d of June being,
OtTiciailpecnumunicat;.(i in America, the ooV'ern-
ment the United States, saw. nothiug in the.
Repeal of the Orders in Council, which should.
of itself restore Peace, tiolei Great ltritain
were prepared, in the first instance, Substantially
to relinquish the right of impresr,ing her' own,
.scamen, when found on board American merchant

ships. - •
The proposiTa au armistice, and of a shunita-
iskorts-repeal of the -restrintivesneasttees on both
sides, subsequently made by the .commanding
oftii
eer of his ..Majestrs naval forces on the American
coast, were received in the settle liostile spirit by.the
Government of the Unitetk States.' The suspensiott
of die practice of impressitent was insisted upon,
itt
the correspondence which passed on that occasion,
os a necessary nieliminary to a cessation of
s negociation, a was stated, might take place
without, any suspension of the exercise of this
tight, and also without any armistice being eon 7
eluded ; but Great Britain was required, previously
to agree, without any knowledge of the adequacy
of the system which could be substituted, to ne-
gociate upoo the basis of accepting the legislative
Regulations 04 a foreign State as the sole equi-
vnlent for the exercise of a right, which she has
felt to be essential to the support of her maritime
power.
If America, by demanding this Prelimintify con'
cession, 'intends to deny the validity of that Right,
in that denial Great Britain..eannot acquiesce ;
nor will she give
.countenance, to such a preten-
sion, by acceding to its stipepsion, 11111011 Less to
its abandonment, as a basis on which to treat.---s
If th(PAnterienn Government has devised, or con-
ceivesit- ems devise, regulattoits t'aieb may Safely
be accepted' by Great Britain, as a subStitute for
the exercise' of the. r:ght in question,. it is for
theth to'bring forward such a plan for considees-
t ion. The British Government has never attempt-
to exclude this question ' amongst those on
which the two States might have to negociate : it
has, on the contrary, uniformly professed its rea-
diness to. receive and diseuss:any proposition'
this subject, ,corning Isom the American tiove:l,-
meta : it has never asserted any exclusive rie;ht,
as to the inipressment of British'scattiett from
American 'vessels, which it was not propare.i to
acknowledge G
as appertaining equally to the o-
vernment of_ the 'United States, with respect to
Ames lean seamen when found ,on board .British
merchmitships :--'r-But it cannot, by steeedlng to
such a basis in the first instance, either aSstimi,
or actinit that to lie visteticalsts,•s which, when at-
temptkir on fortneri oesasioos) has always been
Afton! to he attended with gre!st ditlieulties; such
diffitssilties, as the tritish Commissioners in I t74oti
exnrcssly declared, lifter •attentive consideration
dif lie4fiqggettiOns brought forward by the Com-
missioners-on the part of America, they were un-
able to surmount.
Whilst this proposition,- transmitted through
the British' Admiral, was pending in America, un-
commtmication on the snbject of atl armi-
stice WO unofficially made to the British-Govern-
ment in this country. The Agent,: from whons
this proposition was received, acknowledged thst
he did not consider that lie lout any authority
himself to sign nn agreement on the part of his
Government. It was obvious thatstrty stipulations
entered into, in consequence of this overture,
would have been binding On the British Govern-
Anent,, whilst the Government of the United States
,'lave been free to refuse or accept them,
eeeolaling to the eircurnity aces of 'he moment