Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1807-12-05

|.on terms towhielino independent ration
could listen An attack Ike that on the
s Chesapeske had never occurred before -
I. The makirg gassnot alonr an outrage
4 ofihe se,y worst character, kss also 30
assertion OF the most positive KIDD, lila,
Great Britain was about 10 insroduce q
new principle into The lay Of na,ions -
{ We have rndeavored, said he, 10 soo.sl
ourselves with q hope, that this attack vas
the mere unaolhorissd acl OF . British
commander, which his gossrument might
afterwards disaypv or not as they pleased.
And while we went on hoping VIC might
as well hope too, thar they wc6id d;.aycw
) III. Ia this hope, said he. wr haye wrap.
ped ourselves so securely UP, t'sat ct The
very moment / am speaking. the cannon
i Of Britain may be carrying ruiesnd havoc
| into our defenceless sea.ports Air. G.. could
NOT persuade himself, that a Es,;ish admi.
/ raj would voluntarily assume 30 awful a
responsibility. He could rot believe that
the admira's cwn orders were less precise
and positive than those which BE gave to
the captain of the Leopard. YeI, il he
could even believe thGt, he could not be.
! lieve that this outrage would have been
followed up. and consumma.cd BY bringing
TO to trial, con demnlng,snd rxecuiiug one
OF the uptor,unase men, who owed Bis
dea,h to his confidence inslhe ip.iolsbili
ny Of the, American flag; and thar too,
after it was koowuat Halifax wha, poig.
pant sensations the attack iiselfhsd exci,td
here; after The presidents proclamation
itself was known there. He would have
paused, raid Mr.. G. before he proceeded
70 this dreadful extremity. lie would
have waited for new and more precise or.
ders, i his instructions lad not been al
ready clear and explicit. Can we, esid!
he, in even's subsequent TO This, find any
Cause to console each other with hope Of
peace? No, sir.
From The tinac the proclaim a.ion was IS
sued 10 his very moment, have British
squadron remained in our waters, persist
ing il the violation of our territory, with
az air OF scorn acd defiance, which while
j: ought to awaken all that is American in
US, excludes almost every ray OF hope.
Gould gentlemen indulge a.. hope When
they heard that the British vessels in the
lakes had been armed? Tha, the British
forces in Canada were encreased and con,
csntrased? That the for,i6ca.ions at Que.
bee were repaifing Tha. a, Halifax 100
men were drafted from the militia, to as.
s'st in putting that post in a stale Of de
fence That 40 additional number Of ships
sad troops were expected I? Did any thing
from. our ministers al S. James encourage
hope? Any thing that could be collected
from the political journals there? When
we see The British ministry, said hei pre-.
parirg TOR war, taking those steps which |
this government oueh, TO have taken long
ago, could they longer console each other
with the hope OF pescel There was no.
thing to induce theM TO delay for mo.
ment 10 delay The most active prspara
ton. II is true, they were in some esree |
excusable, tor not having acted on this
subject hitherto. The Presidents Mes I
sage though j, bad eommuricsted 10 them
Information ofshe attack on the Chesa
prake, did rot state whether it vas ia Ahe
opinion ofthe executive most probable
tina. we should have war, or iha.we should |
nos have war i'merely s,a.sd, tina. peace
might not continue. They were left,
therefore,. 10 deliberate as they could, va. !
irancnced and undiFec,ed By an eS oppression
OF Whist was the opinion Of the executive.
Bot, asftom their own impulse, they had
a, last arrived at the subjec,,he hoped they
would go fully into it, Our ports, he said !
cugh, to be fortified, whether we are ni,i-
naatcly 10 baye peace or war. but if Only
In case OF var seeming inevitable, he en-
treated sgen,lemen TO conssdfr, whether
the prospect was no, as gloomy asst could
b, IN any STATE of things short OF actual
war. Hutif, contrary TO all sound caicu.