Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1810-03-23

hcatiOns were made Ia these orders.
but, OF course, not to the extent of
permitting France ard America to
trade mutually in the produce of their
territories to the exclusion
ofall the produce of this country and
of her colonies-If Bonaparte consent.
tho not formally, at least virtually, to
|repea his Berlin and Milan DEGREES
If they remain dead letter on his
statute book, and are not carried in
TO execution, then, no doubt, we shall
oppose no obstacles to the trade be-
tween America and France--But we
do not as yet see any reason for sup
posing this to be his intentiou--and we
confess that this decree has produced
a considerable change In the opinion
we entertained yesterday, after read
ing the private letter from Paris. 1t
was generally believed after the arri.
val OF the letter, that the Berlin and
Milan DEGREES were on the eve Of dis
solution, if not actually dead. 1t may
be so; but the decree respecting neu-
trails by no means justifes us in en-
tertaining such an opinion. Bona
parte, informed Of the late events that
have occurred in America, conceived
1t to be favorable opportunity for
conciliating her, & therefore issued his
decree, which IN its operation will he
thinks, tend TO influence her against,
If nor to make her SO to war with Us
because 1t is impossible for US to
suffer her 10 avail herself of the adj
yantages which he insidiously holds
out TO her.
For the present Bonaparte has con-
tented himtelf' with Selling part of
Holland, the province of Zealand.
Accounts from Holland, of the 9th
state hat proclamation for incor.
porating the province of Zealand with
France had been received from Paris.
The Chief Civil Oiicer having refu
sed to take Inc oath of Allegiance
without a mere explicit and lorna!
declaration Of SO important change,
was, 1t is 6aid, immediately put un-
der an arrest by the commander OF
the French troops and sent to Paris,
TO account for his contumacy. The
possession of the province os .Zea-
land makes BonaPagte master OF the
mouths of the Scileldt and the Macs,
and IL fact OF tho whole trade of hol-
land.
The Blossom sloop ofwar;s arrived
at Yarmouth; she parted with the
Baltic convoy in thick log Eocr days
ago they were IL nu1aser about 800.
Upwards of 40 were prizes TO the
Baltic squadron.
Z JANUARY IS.
). Dutch papers have arrived to the
10Th, containing extracts frcm The Pc /.
ris papers OF the 4th. The latter con-
tam the decree respecting exports and
imports, with a short preamble or
preface, stating the motives thar have
led to 1t. After reading this pream-
bic, we can be az no loss TO discover
that the wretched state OF the interior
Of France has alone wrung the decree
from Bouapartc. lhe g superabun-
dant products" spoken of are the
CORE and the vine, which the farmers
and rhe wine-growers cannot SELL
'SSome districts" we were told in
his Expese 8 find it impossible to sell
their COM" The same impossibt,ity
was felt by the winc-growers, and his
ministers must have assured him, that
1t men cannot sell what they GROW,
they will NOT grow so much in future
that when the surplus products OF
a country cannot be exported, part Of
the productive labor of the country
must cease, ard the value of its annn-
al produce diminish. We remarked,
When this expose was published, that
it proved the wretched state of the in
tcrior--and that under this man, who
boasts Of the love which the people OF
France bear him, and of the great
blessings he has conferred upon
France, the manufactures and com.
nerce had been ruined, and agTicul-
turc had received the deepest wound.
The decree shows the Justice OF our
remarks, and proves that the chief
Object Of passing the decree (the wisi,
to concI!iate America may certainly
have been another o1jscO was TO en-.