Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1801-10-29

France in time of war, under the autho-
rity OF Great Britain. II is abfurd TO
prohibi, the manufactured article, and al
low the inportat on of the raw material.
France does not want RLfiian cannon, or
RufHan fwerds. She wants the raw ma
terials neceHary to make them at home,
as her own artifs are far hyperion to thoie
Of the North of Europe. How much this
treaty comedies to the Northern Corfede.
racy, we leave to be decided by the fol-
lowing fats: in 1898, commodore Law
ford TENT an officer on board Swedifh fri
gate, conveying a Gee, of merchantmen,
to ak OF what their cargoes conhfed, and
to what ports they were bound! The an
iwer was, they were laden with hemp,
pitch, tar, deals, iron, &c. &c. and
that they were notify bound TO ports in
the Mediterranean. This was enough.
Commodore Lawford deiired to fee no pa
pers, he made no fearch: but he called
Council of War, after which he tent to
the Admiralty for initruttions, till keep
ing company with the convoy. Upon
the arrival of thofe inffruttions, he detain-
edthe whole feet and brought them into
Margate Roads. Thoie we're foon after
wards releafed which had not eargoes Of
pitch, tar, hemp, deals, and iron.-
Hence we find that the Admiralty laying
it down as law, that thefe articles were
contraband of war; and, to clear up all
doubts on the fubjett, Str William Scott,
in the cafe ofone of the lhips l.he Maria
expressly fated them, from the Bench, to be
of that defcription, and authorizing the de-
tentiDn of the whole convoy.
The fecond gives up the right Of
fearch to degree far beyond what we
calculated. lfa Swedih irigate, for In
Hance, ihall now be conveying feet of
Swedilh merchant ihips to France, and an
Engliih hip of the line falls in with them,
the Englifh (hi2 is to lend an officer on
board the Swediih frisate, who is to in
ipea the papers of the Swede, and if there
appear no caufe of iufpicion, then none of
the Swedilh merchantmen are to be at all
examined, but the neutral feet is to pats
on. We mutt truf to the Swedilh trigate's
taking cognizance of the cargoes and con.
duct Of the merchantmen. She is relponh-
bic for them; they are as it were flowed
in her hold, part of her cargo, and if her
papers appear fair, then we are not at Ii
berty to inveaigate thofe ofmerchantmen.
Or fish. of Ea,rh, therefore, extends
no further than feeling that the Swedih
frigate conveying the merchantmen has
regular papers and documents to thew of
what their cargoes conGt. We are not
allowed the privilege of queftioning the
crews of the merchantmen, or by perfonal
enquiries and examination on board their
lhips, difcovering facts which cannot be
learned in the fligate. We have the dii.-
advantage which Court of Law would la
Dor under of taking written evidence in
Read Of perfonal ,eaimony. We cannot
crofs examine the parties concerned. Lord
Robert Fitzgerald, in his writings has ac-
cufed the Danilh government of conniving
at the expectation of warlike flores to
Frame, and of general fpirit to favor
the fsccouring of the French. The 4 eech-
es of the late and prefent miniaers in par
liamsnt were to the fame effect. If Den
marx and Sweden be 70 inclined now, it
is only neceilary to praetiie little fraud
on board the conveying frigate, and their
wiihes will be attained, they cannot be
detected. But iuch fraud is unneceflary,
fnce tar, hemp, iron, sc. are no longer
con,raband of war. We have iecured the
faith of the neutral powers mof wiiely,
by granting them full liberty to do all
which might tempt them to be perddious.
/" Othe. parts Of this treaty called for
animadyerGon which our limits will not
admit at preiept. We fhall only fate
that it grants all which the Nothern Con-
federacy con,ended for. The right offearch
is mockery while we are not at liberty
to feize the dangerous articles that will be
conveyed. We might as we'll boat of
iearching empty fhips. We have never
been warm advocates for the rigorous ex-
ercife of this right, which in our opinion
has been much abufed. We have ever