Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1809-06-16
lFour Dollars Per Annum-Paid in AdSance.l

(AlItCiiSSnCcT brought INTO this mouse
lon a former occasion will shew.-
The non-importation & the embar.
! go acts were passed. They no lon
ger exist-the one no longer exists
at all the other no longer exists as
TO Great Britain-and the removal
ofthese distractions was the alledg-
ed and true reason of the revocation
iof the orders in council which were
mot the moving consideration to
passing the non-importation act or
Laying the embargo. This is the
truth. The withdrawal of the or
ders in council, out of which the
Inon-importation and the embargo
did not arise may be considered as
the cause of doing away both the
non importation and the embargo,
and the non-intercourse act besides
for the non-intercourse act did
Igrow out OF the orders in council
and the affair of the Chesapeake
there is no doubt about that-or
more properly speaking, sir, the
|non-lntercourse act grew cut of the
lembargo; for, really smarting I'M
lder the fortunes OF that most wret-
|ched measure, this house and the
|nation were goaded to that pitch OF
madness, that a declaration of war
from any quarter would by ma
ny have been considered better than
our then situation. We were in a
situation, In which if something BIZ
not administered to the suffering pa
llent, ne must die-and we took the
|non-ntercourse act. We rejected,
md (thank God for it y not without
some little OF nay fundamentally,
|the proposition to issue letters oil
|asaFque aad rciJrisstt, Which, if adop-
ted, leave to you and the house 10
decide whether we should have met
in our present agreeable situation.
Yes, sir, with the embargo, like a
blister plaster upon our backs, we
were in such a situation that the
committee OF foreign relations said,
and we affirmed their decree, we
must be disgraced or fight all the
nations of the earth-fght all, fgh,
nobody; fight like demi-gods. A
worthy gentleman from South Caro-
lima (Mr. d. X. Williams) now not
a member of this house, also tho'r
that we must fight every Lody, but
ne tho't better Oh 1t, ana was content
to fight one, and TO chose his antago-
INST. Gentlemen III the other house
were OF the same opinion !; aud as
they alledged they could not get at
France, they chose to fight Great
Britain. This was the situation in
which we were placed by the opera
ton Of the embargo on the public
mind. Sir, if we were not quite
cool, like Sir Anthony Absolute
who has been quoted Oh the floor OF
the British house of commons, as
the prototype of the British minis
ter, we were something like honest
Bob Acres-fightlng Bob, who was
not sensible, till ne was put to the
pinch, how little he liked, really liked
! fghting-our fighting disposition,
like his, oozed out of our finger
ends, or rather our tongues ends
and we are at peace. 1t is for
these reasons that hope this slur
will not be cast upon the govern
ment of the United States though !
do not conceive that they greatly O.
verreached their antagonist. But
am willing TO concede they have
done their duty, and to give them
my appreciation for having SO done.
MIR. Canning, to be sure, most dex.
trously seized upon our situation,
but still our goycrnmenthave shewn
how easy it is for men, when they
/ set about If bona fide. with honest