The Sun.
London, England, 1807-10-20 00:00:00

MAILS.
AR* tvisb -z Watertbra. E--1 Cottenburgh, i Dublin,
Waterford.

. .
PRICE OF STOCKS
THIS DA y A r TWILV 6 O'CLOCK.
CuIISOIS 6zi I I ged. Ann.

TiE 17, S VN.

-611 i

1014/4 (41.116 DlCliiii IAI,4UX AVDEAT ?

L 0 ND 0 .N,

TUESDAY, ocroiatt 20, 1807.

Tu Proclamation which appeared in Saturday's.
Gazette, relative to Aritish Subje&s serving on board
Foreign Ships, has been comMented upon by some
"of oar CQtemporaries it, a way which cvinc9s a total
ignorance of the principles which diaatcd the mea-
sure.

It has been assertgd that Ministers hai,e made a
concession to America, inconsistent not only with
their former professions, but with the true and an-.
dent rights of this Country as a Maritime State.
r. With respe& to the former, we inusi refer to what
passed in the House of Commons on the jot') of
August. In answer to a question from Mr. WHIT-
BitirAP, on the snbje& of the aaion between the
Leopard and Chesapeake, Mr. Secretary CANNtits,
spoke as follows ,
" Sir, t have no difficulty in saying, that whateyei may be
the situation olatlairs between thisCountryand America, I can
assure the lion. 'Gentleman, and I feel that It will be a
source of great satisfaelien to him, that it In no degree arise; oat
of thtcondwa of His Majeqy's present Ministers. Finding on
our apcession to office a Treaty pending with America, to
laihieh the faith Of this Country was pletlged,if the Condi-
tions should be accept Al in America, we held it to be, our
most sacred duty not to interfere with the course of the rela-
tio9s established between the two Countries, butto stiffer
skein to proceed with the same impulse which had been im-,
parted try them by our Predecessors. Whatever our private
opinions mialit have been, we were resolved to give the
fullest effect to the stipulations
,of the Treaty, determined
Iliac, if it should not come to a hirtunate conclusion, it shoUld
rot be imputed to any thing said of • done by us. With there
01r:4.4, 14m not only,labuained front seeding to the Ib Nth Minister
' ist Anttska initruellons that 'nth: interfere' with the Treaty,
Om 1.4,T aoeerved the them- 0*04#114 with regard 11 the Naval &Ct.

tipou that station. 11, therefore, on an accurate examinattm of
she j 4411, dad an accurate examination must on all hands be
allu%vcd to be indispensably necessary, it .ihrul,l he found tbai
sign tentra, :astable ads have taken place on the part of Great
jirstain, it must be acknowledgLal that they did, not originate
in any undue instrualinns givei by us, and consequently that
we are in no way responsible t'or them."

This is the only observation which has ever come
from Ministera On the subje&. It was cautiously:,
worded, as wai_perfettly proper, in the state of
taoranee as to the real circ.amstances of the case in
which Mr. CANsiNq was at the tilllC. I3ut so far
ftiArt assuutio4 any " high .441 imperious tone," it
clear, that it any infironce 'were to 'be drawn
{rota the_Speech we have tooted, it wotild be, that
• the inclination of the. Speaker's mind was against
" Vat ondatt of Admiral PKIMILLEY, or the ihstruc-
tiolis under which he ai.ied. So much for the
;question considered pers,eqelly at the .{present Ad-
Ministration.

tut, the most important. pais of the aubje& is, the
.pancesstons which IV/iniiters have been supposed
to make, and this, we affirm, 'has been more or leas
misconceived by every one of the Daily Prints.
Tilat we hate, conetled any right which either
-Britain or any other Power has at any periocl.ex7
'retied, is a total niiii9ke. There iS,ne instance" of
,a,search of a Ship of War of a Neutral Power, hy a
Belligerent Comminder. le is not long sir co.,the
Neutrals asserted the right of proteCiing, by, their
National Hag, all Vessels under its' bonvoy. This
Claim we elleaually resisted ) but the search of the
convoying. Ship, or any other Ship if War, was
never praCtised or attempted. Coe tOrmably to the an 7
- eientl.3W Of hichiutt never been Abandoned
by us, nor ever,,in praCtice;hy any. European nation,
weelaina the right of searcHltig the Merehant'Shipsof
any Neutral Nation, and.of taking out and cotfis-
' pacing all- ,V,,fletniest Property or Contraband Goads
s6und therein. .This prilaice is a mitiOtion of our
Delligertut 13„ights'. We should be fully authorised
in tidying to a Neutral Government, " You shall
;tot (for instance) carry to the Ports of our Enemies.
..any Warlike Stores ,you shall not permit your
iubjeas to do it if they persist, it will be for
Iva to decide whether time '4, extent of the
I.nef does or does not make yen(nentrality more
‘;tiangeroes than your hostility, compel
us
•to consider you as au Etteiny:yoUrsell." But in-
t teAd of this, Belligerent Nations iii genorql (fur
there have been exceptions) content themselves with
;vizing the .contraband geOds themselves, wherever
they find them, punishin4 the individual without
iilistiobing the peaCts, of the State.
Nowlet us suppose; that America, or any other
. Neutral State, were to suffer its natiun# Vessels to
be freighted with the property of our kneTies let
4 inppoSe 'that ihiv....s.A'inericatt Navy should be em-
rtnyed in convey 4 to, the Ports of France warlike,
or ether contraband; stores. TiyTe Ca.ri be no doubt
heat, in, loch a Novel s.hootc)l,)Oi
fontent 'ourselves -with seizing the prohibited
tfAtia themselveo, and interrupting. -their COMUICICO