The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1809-06-13

! kantolph) to demonstrate. In the very SEN
tence wherein the gentleman approves OF
the conduct OF government. he tells us, G.,
BRITAIN has conceded nothing. We have oil, y
'aineo an important concession, inasnuch as
i PREPARATION Is made for the attack on the
chesapeake. and Mr.. Erskine was instruct
ed to OTTER an abandonment of the orders in
| Coehcli, without arepeal os her DEGREES by
france, or promise to refuse trading with
her;tbut merely on renewal of intercourse.
with Great Britain; which IIopeat it, is Oh
tanning betteraterms than we offered to ac4
| cept, 4 hen we were told, that unless the
French DEGREES were formally resc;nded the
orders would be adhered TO. Now, the Bri-
tlsh orders are abandoned, whilst the French
| DEGREES are unrevoked
| s; Mr. Monroe 'streaty is drawn into discus
SION, and the gentleman say $, that the obec-
ton to II was, because there was no proyisi-
Oh against imPressing seamen ; and we, ne
vertheless, come to an accommodation now.
without any such provision. Does the gentle-
man recollect, that when the affair of the
Chesapeake took place, all negotiation had
been suspended for some time, and except in
! relation to it and the orders i'm council, has
never been renewed? The affair of the,
chesapeake was "A barrier to all other neeo-
cation: 1T was impossible, at time when
| the blood OF our citizens was crying for VEN
| geance, and the survivors were confined i'm
! slavery worse than death-it was impossible
to sit down coolly and calculate how far Tho.
East India or Colonial trade could be given
up by us. Nothing could be done in relation
to minor points of difference, when higher
paramount conoerns pressed upon us. Bnt
does 1t follow, sir, because these points are
not now settled, that the seamen are to be
abandoned, that the West-India trade is to
be given upe That all points of collision
are to be considered as concededi The ne
gociators have wisely deferred the subject,
I Tor we are informed, that minister witham-
| pie powers will be sent here to negotiate n
treaty, and we ought to suspend our opinions
until it IS concluded The gentleman SAYS,
another objection to the treaty, was on ac-
count OF the British note, that it was oppo-
| sed, because 1t tended to bring US in collision
with France, and noT-We have. done what il
required of us. Sir, there were various OBJ
JectIons TO that note one was, that Great
Britain attempted to bully us into the course
she wished hs 10 pursue, TO compel rs TO give
security to his niajesty,' that we would
not submit to the attack made by France on
our rights. Now, although we did not and
would not submit, we could not tolerate such
arrogance in G. Britain.
lie note, however, says the gentleman
was no part the treaty. 1t was certainly
communicated by the British government
as forming an indispensable condition OF it
ana the British commissioners in the CORES
pondence with IIr. Canning, which read
70 the House at the last session, stated ex-
pressly that the treaty was perfect instru-
ment, no reservation was annexed to il ex-
cept the note inquestion, which maintained
the right to chastise US in case we did not
resist France; and Mr.. Canning repeats the
assertion to our ministers. The gentleman
has gone on to say, that Mr.. Monroe could
nave received PREPARATION for the attack en-
the Chesapeake, if his Instructions concern
ing seainen, which were blended with it. had
permitted him. On this point have the
correspondence before me, which must sa
tisfy the gentleman that he is wrong. AS
soon as the attack Oh the Chesapeake was
known. the President issued his proclamati-
on, and ON receipt of it. Mr.. Canning wrote
a letter to Mr.. Monroe, in which he says:-
:" Before proceed to observe upon that
part OF 1T which relates more Immediately
to the question now at issue between oar
two governments, / am commanded, in the
first instance, to express the surprise which
is felt at the total omission of subject, upon
which, had already been commanded to
/ apply to yon for information the proclama-
ton purported to have been issued by the.
President of the United States. OF this pa
per, when last addressed you upon it. yeu
protested not to have any knowledge. beyond
what the ordinary channels of public irlfor-
niatioh aiioi ueu, nor any authority to declare
it to be authentic.
" feel it IN indispensable duty to renew
my enquiry on this subject. The answer
which may receive from you is by no means
unimportaht to the settlement of the discus.
sion which has arisen from the encounter be-
tween the Leopard and the Chesapeake"
| And he goes on to urge the impropriety
of making any atonement during the exis-
tence of the proclamation And Task again.
sir, would the nation have been reconcilcd
to the apathy Of the President, if he had
neglected to breathe forth itsSspirit, feebly
as it was done, in the forbiddins British
armed vessels the use Of our wa ,ers. whilst
the mcn Except the one whom they hung
in Halliday were retained in bondage, and
the outrage had the sanction of high officer
of the British government, which induced
| the belief that it was with its authority that
the act was committed, could the prociama-
ton have been rescinded or 4 less friendly
measure have been resorted toI
| The gentleman says the orders in council
were made imperative by our measures, and
to give them up was in fact to yield nothing
that they were to prevent our trade to France
and we have prevented it ourselves. and
therefore Great Britain conceded nothing ON
that point. 1t was not upon trade to France
alone that the orders operated, but upon all
nations from whose ports the British flag was
excluded, and even from some Whenever had
made any such regulations but indepen-
dent of this, suppose France, without relax