The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1807-07-14

What are. in fa6, the. prssos atives clain,et,
and exercifed by Great Britain over therr feas
Ii they werc really part of her domain, her
authority veuld he the fame there as within her
Other dor'iln. Foreign veficis would be fi,s.
jee' fo az the laws and regulations framed for
taem, M much as it they were wit hin the har-
bours or rivers of the country. Nothing of this
Tort is pretended. Nothing of this for, will be
tolerated.. The only initances in which thefe
'eas are diitnguifhed from other fras, or i'm
wnicn Great Britain enjoys within them, any
diit'ncton over other nations, are firt, the com.
Pliment paid by other flags to hers. Secondly,
the extenfion of her territorial iurifdiction in
certain cafes to the difance of four leagues from
the coat. The firft is a relic of ancient ufur.
patron, which has thus long efcapcd the cor
rection, which modern and more enlightened
times have applied to other ufurpations. The
preroeative has been often contetted, however,
even at the expenfe Of bloody wars, and is ftiIl
borne with i'll will and impatience by her neigh
bors At the LAT treaty of peace at Amiens, the
aoottion of't was repeatedly and 1rong!y pref
'eo oy France; and it is no, improbable, that
al no remote day it will follow the fate of the
title OF " King of France" 10 long worn by
the Brltiih monarchs, and at length 70 proper.
ly iacriiced to the leflons of maguapimous
wIsdom. AS far rs this homage to the Britif,
nag has any foundation at prefent. it retls mere
" on iors utagc and long acquiefcence, which
are connrued, as in few other cafes of mari
time claims, into the effect of general though
tact convention. The fecond inftance is the
eXteniion OF the territorial jprifiielion TO four
leagues from the f,ore. This too. "a far az
the d'itance may exceed that which is generally
allowed, rets on like foundation, freng,h-
enea, perhaps, by the local facility of fmus.
cling, and the peculiar interen which Great
britain has in preventing a praetice affecting 70
deeply her whole fyitem of revenue, commerce.
and manufactures: Whit the limitation i,Eslf
to iour leaguee neceilariy implies that beyond
that diitance no territorial jurfdiGtion is aGum.
ed.
But whatever may be the origin or value of
theie Prerogatives over foreign flags in one cafe,
ana within limited portion of thefe teas in a.
MOTHER, 1t IS obvious that neither of them will
he violated by the exemption of American vec
ieis frnm imPreflments, which are no wife on
neeted with either I; having never been made on
the pretext either of Withholding the wonted
homage to the Britifh flag, or of fmnpplipp in
defiance of Briti(h laws
This exteniion of the Britif, law to four
leagues from the fhore is Inferred from an ae
OF parliament pafft ID in the year 1886, 70 G. @
Z. $50 the terms of which conprehendea all
veiiels, foreign as well as Brtifh tits pofIibIe
however, that the former are conftrut,ively ex-
cpted:-Should your inquiries afccrtain this
10 De the Gale you will find yourfeIves on bet
ter ground, than the concefIion here made.
With retpett to the compliment paid to the
BrIih flag, it is alto pofIible that more is here
conceded than you may find to be necefary.
After the peace of 1888, this compliment was
peremptoriiy withheld by France, in fpite of
the remonitrances Of Great Britain and it re-
mains tor your enquiry, whether it did not con.
t'nue to be refufed, notwth Handing the failure
at Amiens to obtain from Great Britain for
maj remuneration of the claim.
From every view of the fubiecf, it i. reafop-
able to expect that the exception of the narrow
ieas, from the liquidation againf imprefTments,
will not be inilexiby maintained. Should il be
10, your negotiation will be at an end. The
truth is, that 70 great proportion of our trade
dreet and circuitous, pa6es through thofe
Channels and tuch is its peculiar expofure in
them to the wrong pratliied, that with fuch
an exception, any remedy would be very par
tIal. And we can never confeT to purcbafe
partial remedy, by confirming a general evil,
by !ubjeeting ourfclves to our ow Il reproach-
&c, as well as to thofe of other nations.
Third, 1t appears, as well by letter from
Mr.. thornton, IN antwer to one from me, of
both which copies are euclofed, as from con-
VIBRATIONS with MIR. Merry, that the facility
which would be given, particularly in the Bri-
tiih channel, by the immunity claimed for A.
merlcan veilels, to the efcape of traitors, and
the defertaton of others whole fervices in time
OF war may be particularly important to an G.
nemy, forms one of the pleas for the Britifh
practice OF examining American crews, and will
be one otthe objections to a formal relinquiih-
uent of it.
This plea, like all others, admits a fold and
satisfactory reply. In the frh place, if it could
prevail at all againt the neutral claim. it would
authorize the iezure of the perfons defcribed
only, and IN veilels bound to hottie country
only ; whereas the practice of impreifing is ap
Piled TO perions few, if any of whom, are aledg
ed to be OF either defcription, and to veGeIs
whltherioever bound, even to Great Britain
herfelf. In the next place, it is not only pre-
ference of fmaller object on one Gde to a great
err object on the other but facrifice of right
| on one iide, to expedieBcy on the other fide.
COMMUNICATION.