Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-05-02
Fsaas t.hc Apeg5csaa Gatszeas.

have so gona interrupted the commercial m
,srce,,rse between the United States and
f,reat Bsitain and he is not more pleased
with Congress for having teff the door OF
reeociatien open. ss Whatsan awkward fl
cure. heobserves, does thetenth Congress
now exhibit to the eyes of discerning men
like himself Had the Embargo been
Continued, we should now have had the
glory Of settling for ourselves, and for all
neutral nations, the rights OF free ships and
the freedom of the seas"
his is. precisely the Languages of Bona
,,arte. do not. mean to, say that the sGolio-
mel IS in the pay. of the Emperor, but it is
nevertheless The Emperor's language. We
know what Napoleon means by it. He
complains of British tyranny upon the ocean,
hut would he not exceed 1t, if he had a ST.
,nilar power upon that element !?
. The rights Of free ships, and the free
ron, Of the seas is a little Of Mr.. Duane's
laundering, somewhat Of his daily tauso-
lcey. The.freedom of the seas being once
established, the rights Of free ships neces-
sarik follow. There aFe,two sorts. of rights,
20 a,se the customary phrases: the rights Of
.,eutraIs, of exemption from al search, and
the rights of neutlals of exemption from
,,,,tio,,ar search. The claim of search, IN
,he first, IS grounded on the law OF nations:
that of the second, in regard to England,
on the mere nsutieipal laws Of that coun-
TRY.
With respect to the first, the law of ma
t;cns autLorists a Iellieerent 20 search a
neutral vessel for eoutraband CT war, Tor
enemies, and fer enemies property. Eng
land claims this right, which she bounds
upon the international LAW, and Mr.. Jeifer-
son contended, when secretary OF state,
pcssiblg against his wishes, that the claim
Massa good one. The goods otsan enemy,
IN the vessel Of friend, he truly observed,
are BY the law Of nations, lawful prize. In
these respects, therefore, and Tor these OBJ
iects, belligerent has an undoubted right
to search a neutral ship.
In respect to the second, particular
search, or a search for and an impresmcnt
Of men on beard ct neutral ships, which is
Lot,omed by ENGLAND on her municipal
laws, thai is undoubtedly an infraction Of
rational rights. 1t is no answer to say that
Ineland has right iorcibly to Seize her
subjects wherever she can find them, for if
this be true, she can find them within our
territorial limits. Can she lawfully seize
them there? No man Of sense and repu-
tation viii assert that she can. Ifthen neu-
tral ships are parts Of neutral sovereignty,
and after some examination Of the subject |
am of opinion that they are, she can no
more forcibly bear away men from neutral
ship, than she can from the territory to
which. the ship belongs. 10 search there
fore neutral ships for men and there TO I'M
press them, is a violation of neutral rights.
But although the principle is, ON this
branch Of the subject, clearly witt, US; al
though we ought to keepitin state Of AMI
nation by negotiation and remonstranee
with the British cabinet, yet would re-
mark that as we are not in a condition prac-
ticalfy to assert it, our government should
be left to toe management OF the important
subject, free from thoSe agitations which
incorporate if not mischievous men are IN
the daily habit of stirring up. While we
are growing as nation we should be pm
dent and do nothing materially to check our
growth; when We are mature, we may ha-
card war for exemption from search and
-impressnsent. A course exactly opposite
to the one here recommended, was pursued
by the late president, andto the unfortunate
and premature and rash stand which he
made may be attributed hegreat evils which
for the last fifteen months we have suffered,
and from which we are now happily reliey-
ed by the negotiation with England which
Mr.. Madison has for imperious purposes
concluded. Facts will best illustrate the