Berkeley and Jefferson intelligencer. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va.) 1802-1810, 1808-05-20

"nen ne returns nOheI ne transmits the
duplicate of his protest to the secretary
of state. In process of time, the names
of the impressed men, and Of the shin
into which they have been impressed are
received by the agent in London. He
makes his demand that the men NAV BE-
delivered up-T he lords Of he admiral.
~, after reasonable time for enquiry
: and acvisement, return for answer, that
the shi P is on foreign station, and their
lordshiPs caHt,herefore take no further
steps in the matter-Or, that the ship
has been taken and that the men have
been received in exchange for French
prisoners-Or, that the men had no
projections (the imposing cficers Of
ten having taken tn. m from the men)-
Or that the men were frsbcbfy British
subjects. Or, that they have entered
and taken the bounty TO which the
officers know how to reduce them.) Or,
that they have been married, or settled
in England. In all these cases, without
further ceremony, their discharge is re-
fused sometimes their lordships, in
vein of humor, inform the agent tha.
the man has been discharged as unser.
u'ceabhe. Sometimes in a sterner tone.
they say he was an ~impostoy. Or Der.
haps by wav Of consolation to his tela.
tives and friends, they report tina, he
has fallen in battle, against nations in
amity with his country. Sometimes
they cody return that there is no such
man on boa'd the ship; and what has be-
come OF him, the agonies Of wife and
children in his native land may be left to
conjecture. When all these and many
other such apologies for re fussl fail, the
native American seame is dis CHARGED
and when BY the charitable aid Of his
government he has found his way home,
he comes to be informed, that ali is as it
should be-that the number ofhis fellow
sufferers is small--that it was impos sible
to distinguish him from an Englishman
and that he was delivered up, on duly
authenticated proof
Enough of this disgusting subiect-I
cannot stop to calculate how many cf
these wretched victims are natives of
Massachusetts, and how many natives
Of Virginia. cannot stop to solve tina,
knotty question Of national Jurisprudence
whether some of the m might not posi-
oily be slaves and therefore not citizens
OF the United States-I cannot stav to
account for the wonder, WHY, poor, and
ignorant, and friendless as most of them
are. the voice Of their complaint. is 50
seldom heard in the great navigating
states. admit that we have endured
TINS cruel 'ndignity through all the adj
illustrations of the general government.
acknowledge that Britain claims the
right OF seiziBg her subjec in our mer-
chant vessels, that even if we coald &C
knowledge it, the line of discrimination
would be difficult to draw. We are not
in condition to maintain this right, by
war, and the British governmental have
been more than once on the point Of
giving 1t up Of their own accord, would
still hope for the day when returning
justice shall induce them to abandon Il
without compulsion. Her subjects we
do not want. The degree of protection
which We are bound to extend to them
cannot equal the claim Of our own ci,i-
zens. would subscribe to any COM
promise OF this contest, consistent with
the"Ti8hts of sovereignty, the duties of
humanity and principles Of reciprocity
but to the right Of forcing even her own
subjects out Of our merchant vessels ON
the high seas, | can never assent.
The second point on which Mr.. Picker.
ing defends the Pretensions of Great
Britain, is her denial to neutral nations
OF the prosecuting with her enemies aud
their colonies, any commerce. from
winch they are excluded in time fpeace-
his statement of this case adopts the
British doctrine as sound.-1he "yirht
as on the question of impressments, so
on this it surrenders at discretion-and
" IS equally defective in point of fact.