Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-01-27

this bill we rive the nation pledge that
shall be the ne blus ultra which shall giveto
foreign nations time to revise their conduct
towards us,and will give them time e consl- 4
der whether or not they will have. war With With !
us. The gentleman wants special mission.
Sir. are we to continue in this state any
longer? Shall negotiation be spun out tur- 4
Their! No man can doubt the capacity OF
our ministers abroad and their disposition
to represent their government correctly
The doors are shut in. the face OF our MI
mister al the court of ST. James and worse
than shat at the court OF st. Cloud, Tor
from the latter contemPtuous silence is All
the answer we have received, 1t indeed ST.
lence can convey an answer. Are we to re-
new negotiation, then, when every clTcum-
stance manifests that It would be useless
Need I refer to what took place the other
day allude to the publication OF letter
by Mr.. Canning in a highly exceptlonable
manner, through federal presses, or presses
more devoted to the interests OF that coun-
try than any other. One universal burst OF
indignation accompanied the publication OF
that letter in this House. And are we, un-
der such circumstances, to renew negocla-
ton by extra missions conceive that
the cup of negotiation and Cancellation IS
exhausted to the dregs, and that we shoula
but further DEGRADE ourselves by sending
further extra missions. 1t has been stated
to me that proposition had been actually
reduced to writing by member OF TINS
House the other day for sending away To-.
reign ministers and calling our ministers
home and am sorry that the proposition
was not offered to the House, for under
present circumstances it might not have
been improq,-r TO have ,dopted It. The
gentleman asks if the government has IN Its
power any. thing to rouse the people /! ! there
is no occasion for it, sir; they imPel US to-
wards war; we can scarcely keep them out
of it, we can scarcely maintain our course a
moment. Nothing but a disposition to con-
6de in the constituted authorities prevents
them from expressing their inclination more
loudly. Passing over every thing else, are
not the orders and DEGREES sufficient to IN
duce the nation tn impel us TO take the atti-
tude of war, If the time WAS proper Tor 1t :!
The bestanswer to the gentleman squesuon
! may be found in the vote OF this house,
which has unanimously declared, with an
exception of but two members, and those
! two understand to be opposed to the de-
claratoe AffaH VS. i WAS se;svs hs. pro-
diets without a sacrifice of our rights, ho-
nor and independence. And are these to
be sacrificed without first -st,.- y,,l;-,o %
maintain them trust not.
Mr.. SMILE said, if there were no other
reason, the present. suspension OF commerce
and discontents ut home were sufficient rea-
sons for calling Congress earlier than the
first Monday in December. When the new
administration should come into Office, it
was proper, he said, that they should have
an opportunity of meeting Congress as ear
" as possible. Il was his opinion that at
the next session change CT measures would
take place. What would be tie substitute
for the present measure he could not say !:
but at this time he must say that he could
see no way of avoiding war. With regard
to extra missions, he really had no idea Of
measure of that kind. Ii there should be
any Other means to secure the interest and
honor of the nation but war, he hoped in
God it would be adopted; bat he did not
nov. see any such prospect.
Mr.. RHEA Ct. said it was of no I'M
portance in the consideration of the present
question whats the next administrator should
think or do. He wished that there could
be an understanding with foreign nations
for our good, but he much doubted such
result. He would not undertake to say
whether war or what other measure ought
to be adopted at the extra session but it
was his opinion that congress ought to meet,