Star.
London, England, 1813-10-07 00:00:00

.Asirikitembibkkoftibßerrole
AMERICA
0m.p.0mm..•

.

-..

SaIPORTANT DOCUMENT.—OUR RELATIONS WITH
. FRANCE.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE TO CONGRESS.
44 widrineron, July It, ISM"
•
••• • TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OP THE UNITED
STATES.
" I transmit to the House of Representatives a Re-
port of the Secretary of State, containing' the infor-
'nation requested by their Resolutions of the 21st of
June last. 4' JAMES MADISON."
" The SECRETARY of STATE, to whom was referred
several Resolutions of the House of Representatives
or the 41st ult. requesting information on certain
points relating to the French Decree of the 28th of
April, 1811, has the honour to make to the President
the following Report :
" In furnishing the information required by the
House of Representative-% the Secretary of State
presumes, that it might be deemed sufficient for him
to state what is ?tow demanded, what part thereof
his been heretofore communicated, and to supply
the deficiency. He considers it, however, more
conformable to the views of the House, to meet at
this time, without regarding what has been already
communicated, every inquiry, and to give a dis-
tinct answer to each, with the proper explanation re-
lating to it.
" The House of Representatives has requested
information, when, by whom, and in what manner,
the first intelligence was given to this Government of
the Decase of the Government of France, bearing
date on the 28th April, 1811, and purporting to be
. a definitive repeal of •the Decrees of Berlin and Mi-
[ lan ; whether Mr. Russell, late Charge d'Affaires of
the United States to the Government of France, ever
admitted or denied to his Government the correct-
.. ness of the declaration of the Duke of •Bassano, to
Mr. Barlow, as stated in Mr. Barlow's letter of the
12th May, 1812, to the Secretary of State, that the
said Decree had been communicated to his, Mr. Bar-
low's predecessor there, and to lay before tjte House
any correspondence with Mr. Russell on that subject,
which it may not be improper to communicate, and
also any correspondence between Mr. Barlow and
• Ur. Russell in possession of the Department of State;
whether the Minister of France to the United States
ever informed this Government of the existence of
the said Decree, and to lay before the House any
correspondence with the said Minister relative thereto
not improper to be communicated ; with any other
information in possession of the Executive, which he
May nordeem it injurious to the public interest to
disclose, relative to the said Decree, tending to shew
at what time, by whom, and in what manner, it was
I first made known to this Government, or to any of
its Representatives or Agents ; and, lastly, to inform
the House whether the Government of the United
I States hath ever received from that of France any ex-
, planation of the reasons of that Decree being con-
cealed from this Government, and its Minister, for
so long a time after its date, and if such explanation
has been asked by this Government, and has been
omitted to be given by that of France, whether this
Government has made4lny remonstrance, or express-
. ed any dissatisfaction to the Government of France
at such concealment.
These inquiries embrace two distinct objects. The
first relates to the conduct of the Government of
France, in regard to this Decree. The second, to
that of the Government of the United States.. In*
satisfying the call of the House, on this latter point,
it seems to be proper to meet it in a two-fold view r,
first, as it relates to the conduct cf this Government
in this transaction ; secondly, as it relates to its con-
dint towards both Belligerents in some important
circumstances connected with it. The Resolutions
. do not call specially for a Report of such extent, but
as the measures of the Executive and the acts of Con-
gress, founded on communications from the Execu-
tive, which relate to one of the Belligerents, have by
necessary consequences an immediate relation to the
other, such a Report seems to be obviously coin-1,
prised within their scope. On this principle the Re-
port js prepared, in the expectation, that the more
full the information given, on every branch of this
subject, the more satisfactory will it be to the House.
44 The Secretary of State has the honour to report,
in reply to these inquiries, that the first intelligence
which this Government received of the French De-
cree of the 28th April, 1811, was communicated by
Mr. Barlow, in a letter bearing date on the 12th May,
1812, which was received by this department on the
13th July following ; that the first intimation to Mi.
Barlow, of the existence of that Decree, at appears
by his communications, was given by the Duke of
, Bassano, in an informal confetenoe on some day be-
tween the Ist and 10th of May, 1812, and that the
official communication of it to Mr. Barlow, was made
on the 10th of that month, at his request ; that Mr.
Barlow transmitted a copy of that Decree, and of
the Duke of Bassano's letter, announcing it to Mr.l
Russell, in a letter of May 11th, in which he also
formed Mr. Russell, that the Duke of Bassano had
stated that the Decree bad been duly communicated
to him ; that Mr. Russell reified, in a letter to Mr.
Barlow of the 29th May, that his first knowledge of
the Decree was derived from his letter, and. that he
has repeatedly stated the same since to this Govern-
ment. The paper marked A, is a copy of an extract
of Mr. Barlow's letter to the Department of State, of
May 12, 1812 ; B, of the Duke of Bassano's letter
to Mr. Barlow, of the 10th of the same month ; C,
of an extract of Mr. Barlow's letter to Mr. Russell of
May 11th I D, of an extract of Mr. Russell's an-
swer of the 29th May; and E, of Mr. Russell's letter
to the Department of State of the SOth.
" The Secretary of State reports also, that no
communication of the Decree of the '2Bth April,
1811, was ever made to this Government by the
Minister of France, or t cher person, than 'as is
above stated, and that no explanation of the cause
of its not having been communicated to this Go-
vernment, and published at the time of its date,
was ever made to this Government, or, so far as it
is informed, to the Representatives or Agents of the
United States in Europe. The Minister of France
has been asked to explain the cause of a proceeding
apparently so extraordinary and exceptionable, Hho
, replied, that his first intelligence of that Decree was
received by the Wasp, in a letter from the Duke of
Bassano, of May 10, 1812, in which he expressed his
, lurprise, excited by Mr. Barlow's communication,
that a. prior letter of May, 1811, in which he had