Star.
London, England, 1801-03-07 00:00:00

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

[The: two men, which we now infert, (hon!d have been
puhlifhcd with thole inferted in No. 156. They come in be•
tweua the htterA of Cititen Otto, of the 3oth January, and
that of the Miiiittcr for Foreign Ati.airs, which cranfrnica the
order of recall
THE COMMISSIONER OF TUE FRENCH REPUBLIC IN
ENGLAND TO CITIZEN TALLETRAND, MINISTER
FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

London, February 3.

Citizen Minifter—The violent determination
taken by the Britilh Government againll the French.
fishermen may be attributed to feveral caufes ; the
apprehenfions with which the preparations of our
fquadron at Erea intpire it, the anger which it feels
at the Northern Confederacy, • and the repugnance.
with which it finds itfelf obliged to clothe the
French prifoners. While waiting for the orders of
my Government, I thought 7t my duty to proteft
againll a meafure, fo much the more unjuft, as it
is not founded upon any known fart, and as it ap-
pears to have been put in execution before our fifh-
ermen had been apprifed of the new perfecution
ordered againfl them. I join to this a copy of my
letter to the Commillioners charged with the ex-
change of prifoners. I have ohierved particularly
upon the flownefs with which thefe new orders
have been communicated to me, as if it were.wifh-
ed to afford the Englifh cruizers time to take our.]
fifhennen before they were informed of the danger
that threatened them. This gratuitous holiday
ag.iina peaceful men will not fail to be appeetiat-
ed, even in England, when the public fhall.he in-
formed of it. In France it mull produce the effed
which is feared here—it mull really give Bailors to
the national mai ine. The neutrality of the fifher-
men was reciprocal—the French Government had,
therefore, a,: much right as the Britifh Miniary to
complain of the preffing and employing of the 01-
ing boats for the provifioning of the military pmts.
Not only it has not done fo, hut, upon a mere re-
prefentation relative to the arming of fome French
Hang boats at Flufhirg, it gave immediate orders
that they fhould be employed only for their origi.
nal deflination. It thence refults, that, far from
complaining of the hoftile ufe made of Englifh fifh
ermen, we have, on our fide, pufhed our fcrupulouf.
nefs fo far as not even to arm the veils built for
fifliing. The contrail mull be remarked • it cha-
raclerifes the fpirit and the difpofitions of two
Governments. (Signed) OTTO.
COPY OF THE LETTER OF CITIZESI OTTO, TO THY
TRANSPORT OFFICE, DATED SONDONIi FEIS. 2.

Sirs—l have received the letter which you have
done me the honour to addrefs to me, of the 21ft
of this month, to communicate to me that of the
Right Hon. Mr. Dow DAS, by which the Secretary
of State announces to the Lords of the Admiralty
the refolntion of Government to authorife anew the
practice of privateering and cruizing againft
French &Mermen, and its intention to recall thoti:
who bad been fent home on their parole. Con.
• formably with your defire, I hate not loft a mo-
ment to communicate this information to my Go-
vernment. In waiting for its orders, I confine
myfeif to a few obfervations which naturally pro-
fent themfelves upon reading the paper which you
have addreffed to me. After having declared that,
from various reports,the bats of which is abfolute-
ly unknown, the French Government had;" abufed
the indulgence &ranted to fifhermen' Mr. DUNDAS
adds that there is every reafon to fear that the
French fithermen and their voile's are now put in
requitition to arm the Breft fleet, and that even
the fithermen fent back on their parole, are alfo ,
put in requilition."-t—l mull be equally furprifed
and pained to fee a mere apprehenfion placed in-
Itead of a proof. It is, however, upon this appre-
henfion, that is founded a sneafure holt& to the
peaceable clafs of fithermen, molt of them old men,
invalids, orchildren, and confequently incapable
of hurting the enemies of their country. I (hould
thick that, to jullify an aggreflion contrary to a
formal convention and the ordinary ufages of
war, fomething more would be ncceffary than con-
jeaurcs. But even admitting that the apprehen.
limo of the Britifk Miniftry were founded, and
that they could authorife muicipated reprifals, the
rigorous treatment with which all fifhermen are
menaced, will not reach fuch of them as could
have been hotlile to England ; for the fifhermen
who may he taken in crmfequence of the new or•
ders given by the Admiralty, are not certainly
thole who are fuppofed in requifition—they are
men echo, from the limplicity of their manners and
incluftrious habits, cannot give any umbrage, but
the unjud perfecution 'of whom will excite upon
the whole coati the livelieft fenfation. It is upon
there unfortunate men that will fall anew all the
weight of a war in which they have taken no
part. W.:re it °them ife, and were thefe men
really ditpoled and capable of beating arms, the
iatililities ordained againil them would be precife-
ly the mean. of inert.' fing the number of the fail-
ors of the Drell fleet, farce, being unable to con-
ti,me their tithing, they would be obliged to re-
turn to pm, where they Weald End employment
and bread. The rigorous determination of the
itifh Goverunient would be lets fdrpriting, if it
were founded upon politive liciailtties on the part
of the fithermen, or upon a refufal of juftice on
the part of the French Government. But it is
ronfolatriry to me to remark, that, &ace the ar-
rangement r..-ttle in May fat:, you have communi-
cated to me but one foiitary complaint, Rating,
thrt fame fithing ve,ich had born fitted out as fire-
:hips at }loti.ntz. l i.o. compl lint (indirafiy

conneited with this dircuilion, as the quell; on did,
not relate to fishermen,_ but only to their veffels)
was immediately redrefred. I had the honour to
write to you on the 7th Vendenaiaire (29th Sept.)
t* that without ftanding upon the inconteftible
right which a Power has to difpore of its velfels at
pleafure, the Firft Conful yielding, upon that oc-
cation, to the defire of avoiding every thing that
might prove injurious to an arrangement which
he withed religtoufly to obfcrve, had given orders
to rtflore thea flitting veffels to their original dclii-
nation." The convention relating to the neutrali-
ty of the fiihcrmen bein,, reciprocal, would be
equally juftified in exprefling its apprchenfions
with refpe& to the employment of the Englifh
fifhermen. Itmight fear,witlifome foundation,that
tilde men are liable to be prelled, that they have
been fent to Portfmouth or Plymouth, where their
velrels have fervcd for the purpofe of carrying mili-
tary ftorcs and provifions into there ports, and for
the fame ,reafon it might have ordered the feizure
of their perfhns and property. The dcklrine of
treating as enemies thofe who might become fuch
would be as new as it would be dangerous. It
would fo confound the public code of nations that
all *confidence would be banifhed for ever from
their inntual relations. More natural equity op-
,pofes itfelf to the punithment of a man for what he
might do. Thole who have fubmitted to your
Government the reports on which its late deter-
tnination is founded cannot therefore have any
other view but to add to the numerous filbjeCts of
irritation which a protralted war has produced be-
tween two Nations, and to multiply the obftacles
which oppofe themfelves to a reconciliation in ex-'
afperating a poor but numerous daft of inhabi-
tants of the coaft. I mull further obfcrve, Gen-
tlemen, that the letter of Mr. Dumas, of the 2 t
of January, was not tranfmitted to me until the
Both, and that the communications which you
have prayed me to make in confequence of that
letter, will be very much fubfequent to the orders
which appear to have been given to feize the Hi-
ermen. If the delay has had for its °Bic& to al-
low the Britilh cruizers time to eiectite the mea-
Cures of Government, before they who are the ob-
jed of them could be apprized, I proteit,folemn-
ly, againft a violation fo manifeft, of the arrange-
ment made between us touching the neutrality of
Mermen, and reciprocally obferved up to the pre-
fent day ; and, I fhall earneflly claim the :vibra-
tion of all thole who (hall have been taken before
the refolution of the Britifh Government for ezer-
citing hoflilities againft Mermen !hall have been
known on the coafts of France. I have the honour
to be, &c. (Signed) OTTO.