Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-01-26

n
pecting merchants within his grasp And
this INDUSTRIOUS outrage upon our honor and
independence, the secretary OF state, with
very exemplary meekness, says, Z had the
air, at least, OF an assumed authority p
Where his armies did not thus penetrate
and plumber, the French emperor sent to
the several powers ON the continent, whe-g
ther emperors, kings, or petty states, re-
curing or which from him was equivalent
to command, aavitiag them to shut their
ports against the commerce Of England:
and, Sweden excepted (between whom and
the French armies lay narrow sea guarded
by Swedish and British shlps) all obeyed.
Even the emperor of Austria, though at
peace with England, shut against her his
two or three little ports at the head Of
the Adriatlc sea.
The prince regent Of Portugal, whose
country for more than a century had lived
in friendship with England, was the last to
obey. But though he shut his ports, natl
onal faith and gratitude towards his friends
forbade his arresting Engllshmen and Eng
lish merchandise. BY shutting his ports,
he hoped to appease the emperor, and save
his kingdom. But his fate had been deter
mined: although Portugal had for many
years been paying heavy tribute to France
and been moreover, anxious to observe the
duties Of & neutral nation, to save himself
and family from disgrace and bondage, the
prince quilted his kingdom finding an a
sylum in his American dominions.
Thus we have seen the French emperor,
not only shutting his own ports and those of
his allies, but even those Of neutral states,
against British commerce; and Selling and
confscating the merchandise proceeding
from England and her colonies, although
belonging to neutrals, and Oh neutral terri
tories; and that this unexampled scene of
devastation commenced within four days
after the Berlin decree was Issued.
1t was alter she had witnessed all these
atrocities, and seen the deadly weapon aim
ed at her vitals, that England issued her re-
taliating orders of November 18th, 1907.
I now recur to Mr.. Champagny's letter
of Octobev Z, to General Armstrong, in
answer, to his enquiry, " whether Gin exc
cutting the Berlin decree it was his majes-
tvs intention to intract the obligations Of the
treaty now subsiSting between the u. States
and the French empire (" The answer to
which has been already recited.
Allow me to repeat, that this letter Of
Champagny was one of the four papers
communicated by the president with his
message recommending the embargo, and
one Of the two which, after being read, was
not then suffered to remain on the tables of
the senate, but was returned TO the pfesi-
dent, together with General Armstrong;
letter to which it was an answer, agreeabIy
to his request. Subsequent events drew it
from the cabinet. Gentlemen will also re-
collect, that the concluding paragraph Of
the presidents message, in which he de
sired a return ofthose two letters, was or
dered by the senate to be omitted; so that
no evidence of the existence Of those letters
could appear On the senate's journal, or on
the printed copy. In this letter Of Cham
pagny's, the views OF the French Emperor
Were but too clearly indicated. 10 render
his decree ofblockade more efectuai' Chat
is in destroying the commerce of England |
It's execution must be completes But as
it could not be complete while the vessels
of the United States (then with those of !
England, carrying on, almost exclusively, |
the commerce of the worloD continued their !
extensive trade with England we were, in
language sufficiently ineligible, invited to
fall into the imperial ranks, with the mari
time powers of Europe, whom the French !
Emperor had marshaled against England.
But the people of the Un:ted States would
have been shocked at an open proposition
to shut their ports against the English COM !,
meree, at the command Or at the invitation