Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1806-01-08

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been pleased 10 ofer in support of the b Il
| proposed. Bur what is this Law of Nan.
] ons! Is II the Wrts,ea law, or that law as.
sumed by the nations who have the mos,
ipower? 1.-THE gentlemen mean the writer
law, must b1iieve they are nissaken.-----.
have somewhere read, that when par,
lot a state seperasss Itself, and is capable Of
supporting that separation, forms Tor itself
a government, aud fully conducts its own
affairs /; that other nations do not infringe
this law by trading or commencing friend
lily intercourse with such part.
1, We are told that celebrated French
| general, Since here, has said, thar i geurT-
! al lie Clare succeeded. he meant TO have
Handed ali the blacks Of g.. Doming, on
our so'llbern shorus. i his may be--bn:,
| sir, 1t is not probable. IT such, however,
had been his intention, they could not have
| arisen from Yesenta1en. Oh 'acccant~ct our
commerce, for we haa been of the greatest
utility TO him and his army, and had tneu
! carried ONTO commerce thar was not fully
sanctioned BY France. Nay, might say,
| that owing TO the supplies IRON the United!
! States the colony os St. Domingo had beer
preserved 10 the mother country until The
arrival Of gen. lie Clerc. Unless, hsr.
President, The honorable mover shall pro-
duce some new Information, I shall be
unier the necessity Of votiag against leave
TO bring IN this bill.
| Or. MITcHlLL, il speech Of consi-
! derablr length ard detail stated his oblec-
lions to giving ieave.
He con, ilnen.ed his friend from reisn-
| s;l"aoia Tor the purity Of his motives IN
bridging forward The present motion. But
| re could not refrain from an expression Of
his surprise, and even his regret, that the
subject had beer moved again in the Sen
ate.
During the last session of congress, the
| whole Of the intercourse with ST. Domingo
hac undergone a fall investigation. While
the bill regulating the clearance of armed
merchant vessels was under discussion, TIA.
part Of our foreign commerce had been
minutely examined. Il would be renem.
bered that the bill had been committed, re-
committed, amended, and modified with
I the utmost labor and skill. Besides the
talents which the sena,c afforded, all the
sources Of executive information had been
drained, to aid their researches. And the
complaining of the conduct of our mer-
chants in forcing this trade, were opened
10 our view Ihe crude material OF the
bill mad been hammered at and worked
upon SO deliberately, as to have 1t last
received the complete burnish Of a
law. With al the knowledge that
could be derived from SO many quarters,
;he bill was at length passed to check the
violence of our navjgators, and 20 restrain
the adventurous zeal Of cor merchants.
The provisions Of this law, were such as it
was deemed Just and proper that a neutral
nation should take. And this was liberal
coadescenson to The wishes Of the two
great maritime and btlEgerent powers with
out forgetting the respect that we owed to
our own. With both these~he wished to
colSivate peace ard good understanding
but to neither Of ;hem would he consent
10 yield any portion Of our aeasral aud -ns-
tional rights.
The difficulties exhibited ia the niiuiste-
rial correspondence, Or. III. said, were
thus removed. With promptitude that
deserved to be admired, congress inter-
posed lis authority, for The purpose at
once OF doing justice to our neIghbors, re-
gulat!ns cur commerce, and tranqailiziug
the Mexican seas. With these salutary
provisions, he believed the swo~complain.
ing nations had been satrslec. As@lcast
We had done SO mach that they ought N
all reason go be content, congress had al.
ready manifested q due regard eo all that
France and Great Britain had offered upon
the branch of West,Iatiia commerce, and
in the true spirit Of good neishbo5hood,
and correc, principle, had modified and re-