Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-06-03

deCree-We WOuld give HOnS aAu oiA.a
had recourse to the alternatlve--it was her
duty, her existence depended on it France
enforced her decrees-we did not resist
them-then Britain issued her orders IN
council-it is not now my place to say she
did right, though | am free 10 declare, 1t
has long been my opinion.
Britain has since demanded a pledge OF
resistance to France, she has now hat
pledge, and had it been given sooner, 1t
would have spared our country all the dis
t~ressit has been subject to. | should not
be surprised, would the secret leak out, that
the new President while he was making
hard faces at Britain, was, without the
knowledge of the old President doing every
thing to France, that Great Britain wanted
us--while the old President was tanning
the flame of war, the secretary of state was
| smoothing the way to a~scendancy.
1t has been stated that our non inter
| course putting the two belligerents on an e.
I quail footing, was bat a pretence to British
| overtures. Let us examine it. Let US see
| whether it was the embargo had such won
| der-working effects if it had, let us never
| forget it but it was not that; it was the a
| bandonment OF that measure. 1t is neces-
| sary we should knowWhich medicine work.
! ed the wonder, lest what worked our ruin
| might be had resort to again tor a cure
We had an undisputed right to forbid the
| entry of armed vessels into cur waters but
if two beligerent armies were in Canada,
| and we succored one and not the other, We
lost our neutral character il VIZ withheld
from both We preserved that Character
We find that it has not alone been complain
| vessels into our ports, but that we did allow
French, and it was on this account chat re-
paration was o given by Mr.. ROSE, for
the attack on the Chesapeake. England was
not mad enough to think we had not the
right to interdict armed vessels /; bat COM
planned that we SHOULD allow one and not the
other-let both in or keep both out, he said,
and till that was done she would never give
| reparation for the attack On the Chesapeake,
BY the non-intercourse law she had her de-
mand-hoth were put on an equality land
she has offered reparation.
The embargo was another cause OF dis
pute--itwas embargo against orders in coun-
Gil, and embargo gave up first, for as soon
| as we opened our ports to a special COM
merce, we abandoned the principle, which
was to starve Great Britain-to be sure you
said, and very cunningIy too, you must not
| go to British ports, but you may go to St.
Bartholomew, where the British may send
for our supplies-no matter if Britain get
the carrying trade into her hands, it will be
a perseverance in our measures against her,
and as WE don't like, or are ashamed, at
once to abandon our system, we will let 1t
down ~easlly-this will break its fall. But
| since the overthrow ofthese measures, and
the door opened, Great Britain walked in
ard said, as you have now done all we could
reasonably desire, We will give you all you
can reasonably desire--and it is for the pre-
sent presidents promptitude and trankness
in accepting the overture, thar / am against
| tle postponement. As lord Grenyille's APP
probation of our neutral stand has been lug
| ged in, | will just mention, for the infor-
nation of my colleague from n. York, that
they know the game of outs and ms as well
in England as we do here-and that this
very man was in the ministry at the time
when they declared in their note, that they
would r~etaliate by orders in council. After
this fair explanation | have endeavored to
+ make, it will be seen that the merit of bring
ing us out of the scene of darkness belongs
to something, or some body, and am not
willing to give it to the embargo, for that
was dead at the time-that it in justice be-
longs to the amicable disposition of the pre-.
sident I have not a doubt. ! have always
said that it only wanted a fair disposition on
+ fbe narf of This country. TO brine this about