The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1808-04-22
PnINcE's STREET, FEB. 25, 1906.

SIR,
have the honorto transmit you note of the
papers which are material in my correspondence
with Your predecessors on certain interesting TO-
pics, which have been for some time depending
| oetweeh our governments, and are still unsettled
These arc, ,lst the rights of neutral powers in
| certain specified cases Cd, the imprcssIncnt of
! American and desertion of British seamcn; and
| Sd, the boundary between the United States and
the British possessions in America The papers
referred to will, presume, sufficiently illustrate
| these topics. ] shall however, be permitted to
| accompany them with some remarks, to explain
the course which the business has taken, and the
| state in which you receive it
| Aware of the abuses which had been practc-
ed IN respect to neutral rights and se:men, in the
last war, and of their injurious effect the inte-
| rest OF both countries, my government was very
desrous to prevent arepetition of them OF them
Ill the present one. With that view, and by its
order, had the honor to propose to lord Hawkes.
| bury, soon after the commencement of the war,
an arrangement by convention, Of these interests,
on such just and fair conditions as it was presum-
ed would have been readily acccded TO- You
will see by the project which then presented to
his lordship, at his request, that the object was
| strictly to prevent abuses, and the i'll consequent
ces incident to them, not to acquire any advan-
tasse to the United States by the establishment of
controTerted principles in the one, or unreasona-
bic pretensions in the other case. In respect 10
neutral rights, it was proposed to adopt between
the governments, in such cases SO were most LA
Bile to abuse, certain principles or rules of con-
duct which Great Britain had already assented
to IN her treaty with Russia, in 1901. AS those
| powers had entered into that treaty for the ex-
press purpose of defining the law of nations in
the cases to which it applied, and Great Britain
had adopted its conditions afterwards in separate
conventions with Denmark and Sweden with
the same view, it was concluded that her govern
ment would not hesitate to admit It's doctrine or
to observe its njunctions with other powers. The
same motive was felt and respected in the propo-
sitien which had the honor to make in respect
to seamen. The sensb;ty of the government,
and indeed of the whole nation, had been subject
ed to great and almost continual excitement BY
the abuses which had been committed in that line
on the high seas, in the islands, and sometimes
IN the ports of the United States. The sons of
respectable citizens had been snatched from them,
many of whom were doomed never to return, to
be slain in wars to which their country was not
a party, or otherwise perish in foreign service
No rule had been established by the governments
to discriminate between American and British
scamen, athing not easily done by the most i'm
partial and the commanders Of many of his ma
jestys ships of war and privateers especially the
latter, acknowledge none but their own iudg-
ments in making the discrimination. The his CHEST
American documents were often either not look
ed at. or utterly disregarded
|. Continued IN second hage.)