The Sun.
London, England, 1812-02-14 00:00:00

AMERICAN MERCHANTS.

Mr. LOCKHART prefaced the motion of which he
had given notice tor referring the Petition of the suf-
fering American Mercliants to a Committee, by a
history of their cl,iitns, which the noise of the 'no-
mt_int would not allow us to hear. A!; wt•il as we

could umierstand the Hon.Gentient.m, lie stand that
tile Pelitioners Itid, at a very disonl period, &Avg.
to- an iirtakeitsty, aillOUilL due to them iintfric3,

for which, in consequence of an aepheation on their
part to the British Government, ano a remonstrance
on the port of the British Government to .that of
Amerca, the American Government consented, by
an article in the Treaty of Commerce, to rend, r
themselves responsible. In 1784, four Commis-
s!oners were appainted to investigate he nature of •
these debts, but after silting ten years they were
unable to make an award, as it always happened
that when a point was pressed on the American
Commissioners, they retired, and would not return
onieei a promise were oracle them that that point
should hfaeandoned. A,,;ain• creditors remoh-
steited ; and at 1802, eig!'lt years after the .termt-
oar ion of. the ,ominission, a •cutivention %v•Fi formed
net ween the British and American &Ater nmen•s,
by which the former agreed to aceept' trout the lat-
ter 600,0091. in lieu-of all the dents for 'which 'Ame-
rica had - before rendered herself responsible.by
treaty. He was instruaed to that had the
Commissioners whom he had before mentioned,
pursued their labours to successful termination,
they would, in all probability, have awarded (too
millions as the w hole amount of that class of debts
16 which their investigation was direeled. The cre-
ditors contended that they had a, right to the full
amount of their debts, guaranteed as they had been
to them by the American Government ; and that
if Government, for good and • sufficient reasons
no doubt, thought proper to coinnuAte their claims,
Government was bound to make good the defi-
ciency, and not to sacrifice their individual iyiterest
to •the public advantage. There had been many
cases (and the:Hon; Gentleman instanced them) in
which when the State gave up the rights crf any of
ifs citizens in its negociations with other States, -it
had afterwards felt itself bound to indemnify those
citizens from the consequences of 'the surrender.
But it i-nght 'be asked, -why had not the petit ioeers
made an earlier appiication ? The fat was, that, in
the 43d ear rat the King, a Board of Commissioners
was appointed to .inquire'to whom the 60Q,0001.
oboined from the American GoVernment was to be
distributed. After a very laborious investigation,
the lapse of so many years, rendering it ditticull for
many individual, to establish their claims, it appeu--
ed to tills B mard that no less than 1,420;0001. w:is
due to the class of creditors 14 petting whom it had
been, appointed to inquire. -el the loss of the dif-
sfetence ;between this sum and 600,000.1 time Peii!,
boners Complained, and this loss, they contented,
ought to be made good to them by the country.--
They had availed themselves of the first opportunity
of submitting to the House their grievance, and ire
now moved for a Committee, not by any means to
consider the justice of the claims of the Petitioners,
but simply to inquire into the .facts, a rc4 o lay
those tects upon the table of the House. He treier-
stood ',that it was not likely the motion would be
opposed.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHECLVER, in agreeing
to refer the petition to a Committee, begged it to
be distinctly understood, that his concnrience in the
motion was not occasioned by any impression on his
mind, that the case of the claimants was sucleaas tar
call on the House to discharge the debt oriOa iy
due to them in the American States. -lie VI as
fluent:el Uut to withhold the consent of the Crux