The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1806-10-21

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merchantmen, is deemed Efficient ]; no E.are6
IS To be permitted, and to protect the trade of
the two countries, the contracting parties agree
TO e7aio am! proride E7aadron5 N
Iheie principles had been before recognized
by the celebrated treaty between PrufIia and
the United States, negotiated by Mr. JeHer-
ion, in conjunction with the immoita, Frank
lin, with .ninifter from the court OF Prufiis.
then at the Hague. 1t was nearly the fame
with the armed neutrality of 1880, bu, fome-
what more favorable to belgerent powers at
fea, and lefs to neutrals. 1t was required that
the captain and baLfthe crew ihoud he Gb-
jedf of TIE .Fate to which the neutral HipJ
ihou i belong. (2)
This maritime compact was fiened on the
10th OF December 1900 by Ruffia, Sweden
and Denmark, and on the 10Th by Prufiia, as
an acceding party. The acceiiion Of this laft
power completed the chain, for excluding the
Engliih from the continent, from Petersburg
and Stockholm to the Gulph of Genoa.
The progrefs and consequences of this for,ni-
dable coalition are known to every reflrtting
reader. The FirR caufe of its eeliation. was
the celebrated bombardment of Cs,enbaeen
by the gallant Mellon on the cd OF A bril- 1901 ::
an event, which produced an armiftice for ID
weeks, during which " the treaty, commonly
unoeritood as the treaty of armed neutrality,
65J@T as relates to the co operation of Denmark"
was to be Eypended. The EeouI and moa IF.
icient cauie, WAS the intermediate death of the
emperor Paul on the night of the esd of March
whole genius had refufcitated the league ori.
gna!iy formed during the reign of his mother
Satharine IL. and whole death prevented all fu-
ture hoHilifies with the ftatcs of the north.
Sson after the emperor Alexander 7. had az
cended the throne, thefe difputes were ,,,;c,-
bly, adjufed, by convention formed a, Pc.
teriburg between Ruilia and England. On
one hand, the emperor allowed the right of
irarcf, Gn9er certain rey?rI!9isn5, by nlips of
war, 6gt nor by Prig'ateers; whilc on the other
the rHtV or manufactured commodiiie5 of the bell
hgerent countries might be burebaErd and e7rr;-
ed a7Vay BY the neutral powers; though by
uoiequent explanatory declaration, the trade
between the mother country and the colonies
were expressly excluded from the benefits of
this arrangement. One of thefe articles ale,
tiPulated, that Denmark and Sweden hould
receive back their fhips and fettemen,s, on &C.
ceding to the treaty; and they accordingly de-
CARED their afent in the courfe of ] few weeks.
1t was thus Gays Stephens that Great. Bri-
tam, partly by the fudden demifc of the en-
peror Paul, and partly by facrifce of rome of
her preteniions, contributed to fufpend, and
even to difpel the efforts of confederacv.
which aimed at the decreafe of her maritime
greatness, and was calculated to involve her in
a HcW ana NilaUTOuS war.
AT the brit bluth, therefore, the reader wilmer.
ce'Ve the remarkable difference that fubfiits he
tween fbcje tsve armed neufraLiiie,. He will Zee
that the arrangement of ,uear5 was much NOR.
complete in the Taft than in the frf that m.
queftion at niue was actually brought TO trial, at
the point of the fwnrd IN ~ In :, n
hrt cafe: x that all which the contraeinp mar.
ties gained IN the hrft cafe, wa,a Eknt, unfati.
factory admiihon of their claims and in the
other, formal admifion of a very few points.
Hewi! perceive too that thefc points were By
no means OF 10 much importance, az the confc
deracy had CON nplsted being no more than
'he Hn'fNfioa OF articles OF confra6and; and the
limitation OF right of /fHreb to ys1cLj efs,ar.
So much then for the hGory of ar,,cd mem.
UNARMED NEUTRALITY.
The plan of an amar,,.d neutraIisy has ne.
yer been officially taken up by any govern
ment whatioever, for it exifs as yet only among
the fplendid projects of IbtrMatiue politicians.
Would we underfsnd its nature, therefore,
we mutt look it, not in the State Paper, of
Europe; but in the cvritiYg5 of philofo-
phicaI ftatcfmen. The following extras from
Joel Barlow's letters to the people of the Uni
ted States, will give a efficiently ineligible
idea of this project. 1T is from a proportion.
which he was folicitous to " put into fome
channel fer the confederation of the Frereb
Republic:
There fhall be treaty, called TIE Maritime
Contention, formed by and between as many
powers as may choofe to be parties to it in the
firf isftance and it fhall be afterwards &C.
cedcd to indie 6nitely by fuch other powers as
may at any time think proper to fubfcribe to
its conditions.
The object of this Convention is l, To
deHnc and declare the rights of neutral COM
merce; which fhall be done in the shfrument
itielf: 2, A general and mutual guarantee of
thote rights among the parties by the operation
OF commerce alone without referring to an
armed force by land or fea, in any cafe proyid-
ed for in this Convention. But If fuch refort
fhould hereafter be found neceffary, it may be
authorized and regulated bya fubiequent trea-
ty, which fhall be regarded as supplementary to
this, and predicated on the praetica infuffici-
cncy OF the penalties herein prefcribed. Thcfe
prefume however, for the reafons / am going
to explain, will always be found fufficent and
in fuch cafe it would doubtless be more dctri-
mental than beneficial to provide for any arma-
ment at all.
"To effectuatc this mutual guarantee among
the parties, there fhall be eftabIi(lcd Cbaneery
of the Maritime Convention, competed of one
delegate from each contracting power, to af1cm-
BILE at fome convenient place not within the
limits Of any of the great maritime nations, but
Poiiib,e in one of the Hanfeatic towns. The
Chancery mall be always in feflion in time of
war ; that is to FAY, when one or more of the