The gazette., 1799-02-18

from thcle who are? Do The legislative coun-
cils really at Independently Of he Directory
o. does the fame influence" aauate' both .
Tbe printed difpatches Of our ENJOYS under
the date of Od %, 1897, latc, on the infor
naiion of Mr.. .Talieyrand's private agent \,
that Merlin, one of the members, and now or
late Prefident Of the Directory, was to receive
TO part Of the dsa1sur demanded Of the ENJOYS
5saaE Be zya5 paid By he o1uner5 q rivafrer5, and
in reipea to the Ian then demanded, on which
fubi@a it was faggeRcd that ore Of the ENJOYS
fhould 90 10 America 70 conlult the govern
ment, the envoys "alzed Mr. K, if in the mean
time the directory would order the American
property not yet Paiied into he hands Of the
privateerirnen to lie refored ? He fad expli-
city that they wculd not. The ENJOYS aflzed
him whether thvy would fniPend further depre
dalions on our coCnnerce? He faid they would
not:-but Mr. Talleyrard oblerved that on
this fubeR we could not lultain much additional
injury, becaule the Water feaEon was approach
ing when few additional captures could Be
made" Here we fee our ENJOYS enquiring-
not whether the t7vo councils would fufpend
thofe depredations- but whether the DreRory
would do it: and Mr.. Talieyrand's agent X,
without intmating that tie Directory qyanted
b5zver, or that they could only "endeavcr to
provoke in the le5ilature, reviion Of their
maritime laws"-arfwered peremptorily, thai
sbe DIRECTORY qU0alG net JsiPeHd fbe debreGaioaJ.
The truth is, that it was an act Of the Directory
alone (their decree of the I'd of March I7o7)
which authorized and produced more extenive
deprsdations on the commerce Of tie United
States than any other decree or law of the
French Republic. To efe6 a repeal Of that
decree, no applications TO the legislative coun-
cils could be neceGary. They could alfo have
repealed another of their own DEGREES, that of
the I'd Of July 1895, which fubieded neutra.
property, aGd particularly that of American
citizens, TO The dncTeton Of tile confuls and
Cruilers in the European fcas, as well as Of their
privateers and agents in the Wet Indies, and
On which theie agents have founded other nu-
nercus DEGREES, which have occaioned thofe
hocking depredations and abules there and on
the COAT Of tie United States, which the dircc-
tory by their decree Of The 3rf July laR Gfc7,
to refrain.
When the French Directory wilaed 10 enlarge
the field Of depTedations on neutral commerce,
and 90 the 4th Jan. 1893 rropofed to the two
councils, the PROJECT Of the nqu;ous law $ te
declare to be good p.ize every ysfel * her cargo
10 eUbsmj5sVsr 6eloHg.ag, if any part of the cargo
came from England or her Pofealons" there
was ready obedience. "The directory think
It urgent and neceAhy to Pafs the law" The
plan Of decree Is reported to the council Of
Five Hundred on the tIth and " urgency
beirg declared is Immediately and unanimouly
adopted. Itgces to the council # Ancicnts-
that council approves the at Of "urqency ;'
and On the 18th January the Projea of The
DirecCTY becomes a lax.
This law was necedary for The French gov
eminent 70 many Amer rc4n veH-ls had been
entrapped by The Dirt6o'v's decree cf March
z,I7G7, requiring The rol Peqai6ase, thtt the
rcfidue were now generally provided with that
paper: Some new Preteyt was therefore requi-
Ete for " fleecin2" the people Of the United
States 81 their properly and an ordinance Of
one Of lie king of France, maze near a ceutury
paG, having declared lavfu. prize, tie vcfels
and their csrgoes, il which etr found Engih
merchandise " belonging II eHe17is5"-the direc-
tory declare that the ProvltIons OF ths ordinance
opgtt 10 6e exisuaed, to comprehend the vefels
and cargoes Of tJisHd5j that is, Ct allied and
neural uations The directory knew that the
United States Whole inhabitants were chiefly
cultlvators, required greater fuPPy Of Engliih
manufactures than any other neutral country
OF equal p0puiauCN5 dHd uioIS hldhuld-tuItS
ZOO. were. from the courle of American com
nerce combined with almoH all our mercantile
operations, and pervaded entire'y our great
coating trade. Hence it is evident that this
law was chiefly aimed at :bsm.
It will be remembered allo, that this law was
paded while our three envoys were at Paris,
where they had paaed three months unheeded
by the French government, except by its indig-
nities-and when they had in vain lollcited TO
be heard on the juR claims Of our citizens,
plundered and ruined under the former DEGREES
Of the republic. This time was preferred, in
order to add infult to iujury. The envoys had
firmly reGRed her demands Of loans and dou.
ceurs and when lpeaking of their country, dar-
ed to intimate, that it was iadfpendeat it was
therefore requiGte, on the French iyitem, to
"chafife," as we'll as to g fleece" it.
In cloGng this iubjed, it will be proper TO
notice an aGerton Of Mr.. Tall=yrand in con-
verfation with the ENJOYS on the I'd Of March,
1908. In reply to iome obfervations of bis
refpe6ing the proofs of frendthiP required by
France from the United States, Cen. Pinckney
4