Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1808-05-03

CURED hrst TO make voyage to some Bril- |
tish port, take Clearances from British off
GERS, IN somcinstances obtain special licen- !
ces, and in others pay a tax BY subse- |
quent decree of the French emperor, any |
vessel submitting to make such a voyage TO I
England, or paying ajax TO the British GO
vernment, or submitting TO search by an |
English ship, Is rendered liable to capture !
by French cruizers, and TO condemnation, |
whether it shall, after such submission,
enter port of France or OF her allies, or
whether 1t shall be captured by French
cruizer Thus the u. States were placed
IN the critical dilemma, of either restrain
ing their commerce by an embargo, or of
taking step calculated to precipitate them
into state of war, with one or both of those
belllgerent nations. For such, il is beliey-
ed, would have been almost the inevitable
consequence of a permission to arm. In
choice between two such evils, both acknow-
lodged TO be great--but that of war, much
the Sreatest-there was but little hesitate
on; and the bill was passed by large ma
joritv.
Inc operation of this measure must be
feit throughout the union But as il affects
the nausns, whose wrongful proceedings to-
wards our neutral commerce have occasion
ca resort TO u, the consequences must be
very important; and it is presumed that, of
any measures practicable TO the u. States,
| tnere was none other so well calculated to
induce change in their measures respect-
ing that commerce. To their colonies in the
west Indies, IL is expected, great distress
VIII necessarily ensue from want of supplies
| OF provisions from the United States Tn
the numerous products of the American soil.
heretofore imported into the dominious of
Great Britain, they have constantly derived
a large fund of raw materials, without which
their manufactures must languish. These
manufactures constitute a vast proportion of
the active wealth of that nation; and the
suspension OF commercial intercourse, con-
sequent ON the embargo, must inevitably
have two-fod operation to their detr;ment
BY withholding supplies of those materials,
the British artizan is rendereC.unable m
pursue his business to its accustomed ex.
tent and even of all those articles, which
may DC wrought from the scantv materials
within his reach, it will be difficult to find
purchasers. This must be a consequence
OF their seclusion from the American mar
ket. The non importation at, now in force.
prohibits very considerable proportion of
the articles formerly exported from thence
TO TINS country--and amongst those, not COM
! prenended within the prohibitions of that
act, 1t cannot be presumed that many will
can produce are allowed to be shipped
From the present situation of Great britain
with respect to other powers of Europe, sup
plies CT that produce must have become un
usually important to her. At war with near
| ~ all those powers, she is cut off from all
intercourse with them; and consequently,
the materials and merchandise of any kind,
formerly drawn into her eominions from
those countries, are no longer attainable by
her. 1t is now, more thanever heretofore
her interest to recover friendly intercourse
with the United States. From hence her
naval stores, timber and other materials
| tor ship building, of which she formerly de
| rived large supplies thro' the Baltic, must
tonebb ed, or not ut ali except indeed
what she can derive from her American
colonies and from Sweden, the only nation
bordering on that sea, with whom she re-.
| mains in amity. The amount of these, at
the utmost, can bear but small proportion
| to her demands. For the attainment of
such supplies tothe extent of her demands.
as we'll as of raw materials to supply her
manufactures, strong must be the induce.
ments to come to good unders anding with
the U States; otherwise her darling estab-
| liShment, the Navy, must decline-thou-
| s@5dS-Cs her subjects must be thrown out of
employment, aud reduced to the extremi
- " N'iNtShNNhCSos OuCi5 IL is DGIlGVeQ.
will be the effect of the embargo upon En-
gland. Its pressure on France and some of
her allies, there is no doubt, will be very
considerable; and her dependencies in the
West Indies will be distressed by it, perhaps,
to greater degree than those of England
In that quarter of the world. While, there
fore, the unjust proceedings of those belli..
gerents in relation TO our commerce, have
induced the legislature TO withdraw it from
the ocean, as the only means of saving it
from destruction, or a disgraceful submits
sion to the arbitrary restrictions and impo-
sltions OF foreign nations, the measure is,
at the same time, considered as the most
probable one, by which to avoid a state of
war, and procure to our commerce * rights
OF navigation, upon honorable terms, bet
ter security hereafter. There is reason.
able ground to look for this result--and,
should it be effected by the embargo, the
good, which shall have been thus educed
from it, will abundantly more than counter
vail the temporary evil, which had attend
ed 1t. But If neither a sense Of their inius
tice, nor a regard to their own true inte-
rests, should induce the belligerenis to
change Of conduct towards neutrals, who
take no part in their wars; If, for the pnr-
pose of doing all possible injury to each o..
Their, they shall persist in course of ou t.
rageous aggression on the rights Of those
neutrals-and rather than reliDauish sys
fer III -