Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1806-12-01
liens, and bid defiance to our laws


ur rights, and our government.
Thus wronged, infulted, and hum
oled, the people turned their eyes TO
ne administration they Waited with
| lilent ioiicitude, for prompt and pru
lent mcalures TO vindicate our honor
and extricate us from our embarrafs-
| nents. But what was the rzfult !?
We're the meafures adopted luch as
ought TO have been expected from
wife and difcrete government We're
they fuch as the delicate and critical
ltate of our affairs demanded Were
they fuch as, under GmiIar circun-
ltances, had been fuccelsfully purified
by former administration &? Were
they, like thofe, adapted to the pre-
fervation of peace, and the reforation
Of harmony TO Our foreign INFER
courfe ? Alas the men who By their
injudic;ous, temPoridng, inefficient
mealures, had brought thefe evils up
Oh the country, if they had the diiPo-
ftion, had not the talent TO remedy
them. Every meafJre they purified
only increafed our embarraaments--
Every ifep they took only involved
US in fill deeper difficulties.
At the moment, when our Minif-
ter at London, had advfed our exc
cutive Of The pros ect Of an AMIGA
bic adjufment with England - when
he had intreated that no rafh mea-
lures fhould be interpreted by our
( government, a bill was introduced
f, INTO the Senate, con6lcating Britifh
property, Offering bounty on the
murder of Britifh fcamen, and or
dering az indilcrniuate retaliation,
on any innocent Britih llbj-a, for
the Incidental death of an American
icamen much oPprobrious and IT.
riratln4 hnguage was uttered and
Publiihed and the nan -inbo tafio5
at, generally denominated the pre-
curlor Of war, was propoGed and a
dopted. What IS the con(cq uence
of thofe raih and inconhJerate
neafurcs 4? Ere iftly fuch as a ichool
boy would have predicted. They
have increaied the infolcncc and the
outrage Of Bririih Commanders, have
probably produced the fhrdding Of
innocent blood and greatly retard-
ed, if not entirely fruRrated, the ne I.
gociation8 Of our Minifer They
have, at leaf, placed Us IN far lefs
favorable ftuatlon TO procure jult
and honorable compromile.
Iniead of reGiiting (like the former
administrator he inlolent demands
of France, our government yielded
without fruggle, our independence,
cur rights, and our intereit. The
inlulting language of lurreau was
fwaIlowcd without an effort our
valuable commerce with iavti, guar
antced TO US by the eftabliih-d laws
Of nations, was intcrdic'ad without
debate aud the tribute Of milions
voted in fecret conclave.
Although our Minilter had failed
in his negotiation with Spain, our
government, inftad of rehiting the
aggrelions of that feeble 20 wer--in-
ittad Of maintaining our rights and
indicating our national honor, con-
defended, in the language Of Mr..
Randolph, :" n hire france 70 54hT
Spain 10 /fNt5e tlOrida5." What is
the relult ? Bonaparte has rejected
with difdain, the ta1rr doacrHr Of
TWO MILLIONS he itIIl refuEes 70
permit Spain to fcttle our differences
all hopes Of accommodation have van
ilheI and the threatened " French
and Spanifh war" has, i is believed,
already commenced Thus Our re-
lation with England is, at leait, ex-
tremely uncertain and uniefs We
are prepared 10 become the ribua-
ries and vailals Of Bonaparte, wat
with France and Spain, we fear, can
not be avoided.
OUR INTERNAL SITUATION
IS equally humiliating to the feelings
of every honef American. That
we may take a correct view Ct this
part Of our inbica. lea US return to
I the period, when the management
Of our national concerns were intruit-
ed with men now in power. At