Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1808-04-23
~, rup sEcgvYARY OF STATE,

in case such an arrangement sllouio DC satis-
flotosv In substance that as long as 1t should
be respected in practice, parucuiariy on the
xrh;ecfs of neural Grade and impressment,
the president would earnestly, and probably
successfully, recommend it to Congress, not
to permit the noa-importauon law to go lnto
operstion and in the mean time that he
would exercise the power vested IN him by an
act of congress il 10 intervening intelligence
forbade it, OF suspending It's operation TIL the
meeting Of congress who, being I'D session,
would have an opportunity TO make due pro-
vision for the case and finally, that II trea-
~. which did not provide for the interests OF
impress,nent, should have bean concluded be-
fore thesreceipt of that letter, we should can
didly. apprize the British commissioners of
the reasons why it would not be ratified, and
invite them to enter again on the business
with view to such a result as was desired.
BY this letter the arrangement winch we
had sanctioned, comprising the INFORMAL one
relative to impressment, and that ey treaty On
the other topics, was rejected, and that Ia
lieu of it we were instructed to inter into an
informal understanding or arrangement vi the
whole subject, and as was to DC inferred rom
the fair import of the letter, on the same con-
clitions. 1t was the more to be presumed that
the government was willing to accept, IN the
mode which it proposed, the conditions winch
we m;uht be able 10 obtain III the other, from
the consideration that the latter were unaer
ire view Sc the time the Instructions were 81
ven. by The paper of the British commission
ers of November 8tn, and our letter ot the
lltb and the certainty with which 1t, as we'll
nc we. must have been impressed, that more
favorable could not be expected.
In defending myself against the inputatlon
of having sacrificed the rights OF our seanen'
shall be permitted to derive. support from
the conduct of the government itself IN the
same interest Under that impression, nave
to remark. that consider the conduct Oh the
government as furnishing the most ample YIN
d;ca+ion of that of the American commission
ers. The government was equafty WliiIag to
enter into some arrangement, whch shouid
preserve the peace OF the country, although II
should not accomplish the oSJect winch mad
been so arlently desired. The only difference
between the plan which we sanctioned and that
which if proposed, was that the whole arrange
ment should be Informal. Had the az minis
tration resorted to war as a preferable alter
native, or been willing to leave the business
unsettled It's policy and Its example might
have been plead against US, but In offering
to accelst the same conditions In an informal
mode, and to withdraw, in some form, the
non.importation law as a motive to 1t.
Showed that the considerations which had
been respected by US had as much weight with
It.
Rut the conduct off the administration fur-
nished other strong arguments III favour OF me
arrangement proposed by the American COM
missioners. By engaging to observe the intor-
NAL arrangement which we were instructed to
enter into, as long as Great Britain should OBJ
serve il. it seemed as if the y. S. would be
deprived of the right of insisting on other
terms, however favorable the opportunity Tor
il MIGHT be, while Great Britain would be at
liberty TO depart from such arrangement
whenever the events OF war furnIshnd her an
adequate motive forit. This was the opposite
of our arrangement as have stated above, By
which, as we presumed, she would be bound
and we free. Certainty to our merchants was
all important Any fair well defined rule,
within which they might prosecute IN safety
their enterprises, although it might tall short
In some respects of our Just Claims, might
perhaps be preferable to frequent collisions
which put every thing at hazard. In any
event it was an object of great Importance to
keep the peace of our country IN our own
hands, by retaining the right to resort to war
when it suited US and then only.
will now proceed to the other topics,
which are adverted to in your letter OF May
90, 1907, and on which shall be as eencise
as possible. In your examination of the trea-
ty you norice several of primary Importance,
which you conceive to have been improperly
arranged in the articles which refer to them
/ will pursue in my remarks the order which
you have traced.