Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1806-01-07
NICHOLAS 'BIDDLE,
Secretary to the miniiser.


Secretary to the minilter.
The coofeoucnce of fuch letter from the "A.
mericAn miniitcf will appear by the following es.
tracrs Of two letters written to the'csainants oy
their sgen;s at Paris.
COPY.
Paris aotb Jaly, 1905.
Mefis. Nieklin and Gliiith,
Philadelphia
DUPLICATE.
Gsrtlsntn-The fate of the ihip New-Jestey
IS decided. The miniRer of the public tssaiury
was of opinion to pay one third part OF the de-
mand, out Of the twenty millions processing
FROM the fale of Louilana, which would have
produced fxty fegen thouiand fix hunereay and
eighty three dollars thirty three cents, or three
bundled fixty Ave shouland thee hundred thirty
three francs thirty three confines.
MIR, Armstrong would not content to allowing
more than three hundied thouiand srancs OF aboug
6fty FIVE thouisnd five hundred levensy nine dol.
lars.
The empcrorhas given his agent, and We only
wa;t FIR the convenience Of MIR. Armitrong TO
receive the bills upon'the treaiury OF the Onifea
States.
They require receipt for the whole, mention.
ing, however, the fun actually paid.
sThcy ALTO require that that fun fhonld be
diaribntea among the concerned in luch manner
ths, each of them flouId only have about three
! eleventh parts of what he wenld have receives
had the whole been paid.
The misfortune which you experience and
which even all the members of the French 60
verInent conGdcr as an inju&icr, proceeds en-.
,irely from their having conluited Mr.. Arm,
frong, and from Mr.. ArmRron8's (though ne
twice changed his epnioaI. having dchntvely
maintained that the fun injured ought not to be
teimburfe3, and that the underwriters ought 10
rofe the whole. Itis on this principle that he
thought that only one hundred thirty TX ihce.
! fand francs were to &c reimboried cut OF lhs fun
of one million nine hundred hxsy thou.and francs
which have been depofitcd, and that when he
scceded to the demand waich was msde by The
miniasr Of the ,rcsiufy of ore hundrcs tixiy tour
thouisnd francs moie, be has.honght that Re con.
fcredsa very great favor. Nay, he ceotended
for great while that nothing atali ihcn:d &c
paid.
In vain have we gefnonfrated that Mr.. Arm.
arong had no right to interfere with this buiineis,
that he was only 70 decide upon tht!e clatfns
which the American board of cotnmihlcnegs had
not admitted. The French mir;Rer has thoughs
pfep.r TO ats in concert with him, and we ouid
only obtain thefum which we have already mea-
toned.
The iofs therefore cs fsvtn handred nifety tx
.l...<,.l f..r,, h,ut on- hpnated and tQrty.
fcven shoufand dollars, proceeds Only t:cm 4slr
Armarong's having EXTENDED his tunetiens 'ss-
yond the powers conferred upon hnn, and from
his not having formed aeortea Judgment OF the
rights of the Ame.icsn>U Underwriters on the ret.
tituticrs of she vsie,s of their nation, ordered
even by the Tribunals OF the enemy, which ac-
knowicased the capture to have been unluIt,
Mr. Arm&rong has IN facs eRaoiiflled as a
principle 10 The CAFE of the Ntw-JsEs
that privateess have. always right 70 capture
American veGels, fnce shese Hsyer pat 70 lea
| without beiog infuIed in America.
We confder This doctrine as very great
commercial and political misfortune, !.
AS you will continue TO carry on trade and It
you do not the American nation always will car-
ry on trade, we think that il would be neccfla-
ry thar your government Aould declare ITS trnte
| Of this tranfaetion, and difavow in Rrong terms
|. the doctrine of MIR. Armarong, which all the
nations Of Europe will otterwifc quote as pre-.
cedent again& the United States.
COPY.
Paris, md s<tsa5er, 1905.
Mears. Niekiin ard Griffith,