Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-12-09
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rafr. Smiths letter concluded.]

Under these circumstances we are caueo
upon to ransora the captlves,
1st. By acknowledging that precautions
arJ proclaim alton, justified by events pre-.
.seding the outrage, by the outrage itself
and by what immediately followed it, was
uniustiaable, and that a2repeaIr of It was
properiv condition precedent TO repara-
ton for the outrage. And this requisition
is repeated, too, after suchan acknowledge
ment had been uniformly asserted by this
4 government TO be utterly inadmissible, and,
what is particularly remarkable, at time
when the proclamation, as is well under
stood. was no longer in force The occa-
sion obviously invited a silent assumption
of the existing fact, and this would have
excluded the difficulty heretofore found to
be insupesahlc.
Cd. By throwing into complete oblivion
the conduct of the officer answerable Tor the
murdercus transaction, with knowledge
: TOO on our part, that instead OF being pu-
nished or even brought TO trial, ne has been
honored by his government with new and
5 more important command.
Sd. By admitting RICH. on the part OF
Great Britain to claim discharge from our
service of dssertess generally, and partieu-
LARRY of her natural born subjects, without
Excepting such as had been naturalizcd In
s+due form under the laws Of the US.
Ithas not been explained, whether it was
1 .meant, as the universality ofthe term de-
\ serters" would import, to include Ameri-
Mean citizens who might have left the British
service. But what possible consideration
could have induced the British government
70 expectthas the II. S. could admit a prm
cip.e, that would derive our nataralized
citizens of the legal privileges, which they
\ hold in common with their native fellow.
citizens. The British government ought
not to have made such proposition be-
cause it not only, ike. Others naturalizes
aliens but IL relation taiths United States
has evenqefused to disc Fee from the Brit
tish service native citizens of the United
States, Observation-Disclosures. Ifan Ame-
rican seaulen has resided in Great Britain,
or has. married therein, or has accepted q
s bounty in Fer naval service, his discharges
s,herefrom, on the regular application to the
British government, has been invariably re-
fused by lis board OF admiralty. This I
state on the authority of the Official reports
made TO this department. Its, therefore,
truly astonishing that, with knowledge OF
these facts, such a pretenslon should have
been advanced at all, bat above ali, that it
should have been made a sine ga non TO an
act Of plain justice, already so long1elayed.
This is the more to be regretteeh as the O.
men does not favor the belief we would viii
l;npIv cherish, that no predetermina:ien cx-
lists in the councils OF dis Britannia majesty
;rreconc;iable to an amicable arrangement
ofan affair, which, affecting so deeply the
honor of the United States, must precede .
general Regulations of the mutual interests
of the two countries.
After the correspondence with Mr.. Jack
soa was terminated, two notes, of which
: copies are herewith sent to you, were pre-
sented 20 me In the name and by the hand
0. Mr.. Oakeley, the British secretary of
legation.
The FIRST requested document, having
the effect Of a special passport OF safeguard
30 Mr.. Jackson and his family during their
stav in The United States. As the laws of
this country allow an nnobstructed passage
through every part Of it, and, with the law
of nations, equally in force, protect public
ministers and their families in all their pri.
yileges, sucl, an application was regarded
IS samewhat singular. There was no he
station, however, in furnishing a certificate
of his public character, and to be used In
any mode he might chuse. But what SUR
prised most was the reasons assigned for
Che application. The insult he alluded 10
was then, tor the FIRST time, brought to the
knowledge of this government. It had Ia