Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-12-02

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fitions. or in its spirit, that conciliatory dis
position which had been protested, and
which, it was hoped, had really existed.
have the honor to be, &c.
(Signed)
The Hon. D. M. Erskine, &c. &c. sc.
From mr.. .Erskine to Dlr. Smith.
WASHINGTON, august II, 1909.
SIR,
I have the homo, to acknowledge the
receipt of your letter Of the OH inst. INFORM
ingme that you had just received letter
from Mr.. Pinkney inelosing aprinted paper
purporting to be copy of a despatch to me
from Mr.. Canning, which states, among
other things, ofrom the report OF your con.
versations with Mr.. Madison, MIR. Gala
tin and Mr.. Smith it appears
S st. That the American government IS
prepared, in the event Of his majesty con-
sentinp to withdraw the orders in council
of January and Nov. 1907, to withdraw
csntemporane on its part, the inter
diction of its harbors to ships OF war, and
all non intercourse and non importation acts
SO far as respects Great Britain leaving
them in force with respect to France and
the powers which adopt, or act under, her
DEGREES.
Cd. That America is willing to renounce
during the present war, the pretenslon OF
carrying on, in time of war, all trade with
the enemies colonies, from which she was
excluded during peace.
6 sdly. Great Britain, for the purpose OF
securing the operation of the embargo, and
the bona fde intention of America to pre-
vent her citizens from trading with France
and the power adopting and acting under
the French DEGREES is to be considered as
being at libertyto capture all ssch Ameri-
can vessels as may be found attempting Ito
trade. with the ports of any Of these pow
ers, without which security for the observ-
ance of the embargo, the raising it nom-.
nally with respect to Great Britain alone,
would, in fact, raise it, with respect to all
the world"
The explanations which you request
from me on that s2hjecs shall hc given with
candor, and will proceed, accordingly, to
lay before you an abstract of the communi
cations which made to his maJesty's 60
vernment relative to the unofficial CONVEX
sations which had held with Mr.. Madi-
son, (then secretary of sta.e,) Mr.. Gala
tin and yourself at the time, and upon the
occasion alluded to by his majesty's secreta-
ry of state (Mr. Canning) in that part Of
his Instructions to me of which you inform
me you have received a printed copy from
Mr.. Pinkney.
Upon referring to my dispatches, adj
dressed to his majesty's government Of the
Sd and 18th Dec. last, in which ithese COM
munications are detailed, / conclude that
the conversations alluded to must have been
held some days previous to that period, and
were to the following effect -
Mr.. Madison, (then secretary Of state)
is represented by me to have urged various
arguments tending to prove that the United
States had exerted all their efforts to per-
staele the French government to withdraw
their unjust restrictions upon neutral com.
merce, and that recourse might have been
had TO measures of more activity and deci-
sion, but that, in the mean time Great Brit
tain had issued her orders in council, before
it was known whether the United States
would acquiesce in the aggressioes of
France, and thereby rendered it impossi-
to distinguish between the conduct Of the
two belligerents, whs had equally commit
ted aggressions against the U. States.
After some observations, Mr.. Madison
is stated by me at that time to have added,
that as the world must be convinced that
America had in vain taken all the means in
her power to obtain from Great Britain and
France just attention to her rights as
neutral nnIuer hu REPRESENTATIONS and re-