The gazette. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1798-1799, 1798-05-28

fubiea was Iefs conclufve, and that its itlpula
tons had been ambiguouly exprelied yet il /
certain that it has been uniformly underitood b
both parties, as the undersigned have exPounde'
il. and that neither France nor The u. 5. Previou
| to the decree complained Of conGdered the vel
fels Of their nation, producing the PahPort.a
greed on, as liable to capture for the want OF
rolls d'equpage.
For more than four years after her treatywitE
the u. S. Fraace was engaged in war witt
| Britain, and in the courfe Of thar time it wa
never fuggeRed that role d'equiPagc was ne
cefary for the protection OF an American vctel
It does not weaken the argument that the Y. 2
were allo parties to the war. The principle al
fumed is, that without the production OF the pa
pers required by the decree. the vehsl does not
appear to Be, and cannot be'coafiiered as Anne
rican property. If this principle BE- correct, i
would not ceafe to apply becaule the U. 5. were
engaged in the war. Was America even en-
gagged in the war on the part Of France, Britlih
vefel carrying American colours would not be
Occurred by the flag ihe bore. Il would BE- ne
cehary to prove BY her papers, or other adFi'iii'
bic teaimony, that the veG-l was American pro
Perty. IF this fact cannot appear without a
role dcpuipage, while the U. >. are at peace,
neither could it appear without the fame cyl
dence, if the U. S were parties to the war.
About four years Of the Prclent war had alic
elapfed before this contribution Of the treaty, a
the fame time 70 wonderful and r. ruinous, hac
dfclofed itlelf In the courle Of that time tht
ports Of France were filed with the vehels OF th'
US. Very many Of them failed under con
tracts made for the government itielf, BY Il
minifers in Philadelphia, No one Of them poi
f-fed role d'equipage; no one Of them wa
conGdered on that account as being liable Il
condemnation. Indeed, in Tome initances, v5f
fels have been captured and difchatged, althc
this paper was not among thole belonging 10 th'
fhiP.
Such a long courfe Of practice appears tohavt
evidenced unequivocally the len14 Of France, or
this fubea.
It's too apparent to be que0ioned for a mo-
ment, that on the part Of the United States nc
fuipicion had been ENTERTAINED that fuch paper
could have been required. "A role d'equPage
could have been obtained with as much facility
as that pafport for which the treaty ltiPulates
Could it have been imagined that American
vefels incurred the pofible hazard Of being re-
tarded only one day ina voyage forwart Of iuch
paper, it would in every initance have been fuP-
piled. No veiIel would have failed without.
Your own mind, citizen mini9er, will fuggeft
to you, with IRRITABLE force, the extreme hard
flip Of thus putting anew contribution on long
exiting contract, or Of giving new and unex
Pedsd extapfon toancient Negotiations
and Of c6ademning thereby vehels taken on the
high ieas for want Of paper nor known to be
required, when they failed out Of port. Il q
role d'epuipage was really conGdered BY France
as nccefary evidence of any fIa, the eltabl.h
ment of which was deemed ehential, common
ufage and thofe plain principles Of jutice which
| all nations lhould refped, indiiPenfbly require
| that the regulation fhould frR be made known
to neutral and friendly nation by other mean
than by thecapture & conhlcationof lis property
| If this meanurc had been announced ID tht
| government Of the L. S. before it had been Pr
in practice, and American vedels had fAileC
without role d'equipage, they would have t.
ken upon themfelves the hazard Of iuch a pro
cedure. But in moment when the ocean i
covered with peaceful merchantmen, purifying
a juR and lawful commerce, to bring into fud
den operation a meafure which had never before
been applied to them, which had for 70 many
years nept unheard Of, and by the force Of Thu
regulation to condicate unguarded property
which has bern truted to the leas, under TIL
faith Of lolemn and exiting treaties, and wi h
out conjecture that this, more than any othei
formula, would have been required, is to impoG
on unofending Individuals ruin from which
no wife precautions, no human foTelight coulc
politely have protected them.
On this fubje6 then the undersigned aPPea
with confidence 10 the iuRicc and equity OF tht
French government. But could it re conceded
for moment that the executive directory nigh
rightlully modify the treaty Of France with II,
u. S. by that Of the u. S. with Britain, anC
might rightfully require a role d'equiPage il
order to eltablilh the neutrality Of a veiTel, 70
want Of which the ve1Tcl might be conffcated
yet the cargo being proved to be neutral, ongh
10 be fate. According 10 the law Of nations