The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1810-10-02

ioea is repeated ny their echoes IN this coun =
try. the federal presscs-lrhat is 10 saw the
British will SO on, biookading whole Coasts &
countries. by one dash OF the pen-and with
out sta,ioning single ship off a single port.
SUCH are the new principles of blockade"
which she will continue to exercse--and
VINO IS there so entirely ignorant of her pride
and her pretensions, as to expect he to com
ply with this fars o. the requisition Of
| France?
| The English prints, indeed, attempt to
| gloss over these pretensions as gveU as fhey
can: They deny that England mas done a
ny thing which France has not done before
her. " Bonapartc had shut us or of every
port OF Enrope-from Hamburger. for in
stance, with which we were not at war
aud we therefore shut him in--he had. nor
land troops enough 70 fill every port --and
we therefore ought not to be expected to
station our SHIPS off every port. Both of us
| ply the very same engine. He uses his pre-
Ponderince on the land 10 shut us out
and therefore we will use our preponde
rance OH the seas as a substitute for station
airy ships" WHAT impo,en, sophisms How
lmpotent the cause, which has recourse to
them ~. @
The cases are by no means the same -
AT this time, they are less so than ever. IF
the English are shut out from Hamburger i,
IS because the French Emperor is by the
rights OF war, the lawgver of that citv-if
from Italy, Lecaese she is a fef of the EN-
pire--it from Sweden, because the Swedish
government has enacted rule for he pur
pose--.he same in Prussia-these are
municipal regulations. over which we have
no cognlzance or controul. But does G. b.
| lay Claim To the seas--which are g in their
own nature not to be, possessed, where no
| oody is able TO aetrte, as hinder
Tiers from passing 90 Are her maritime
/ Rtt 70 h.Af> ArNra,
! Bat II TINS were not so, there is another
strong difference between the cases. By
the edicts OF Napoleon, the British ships
are shut out-by the British blockade. on,
own are excluded. In the one case, il is
loelhSercnt operating upon 4 belliecrent
in the other. belligerent upon a neutral.
And are Eve to be excluded by the British, be
cause their ships are excluded by France |,
Are neutral rights to be sacrificed, because
ihsr enemy Us power may be triumphant 3
What sort OF retaliation is that, where A
wreaks his vengeance upon for injuries
received from G
Inns part OF Nthe reQuisition then may
| probably fail Let us then note the Sc
cond one The United Stafes are to
cause their rights to be respected by the
English, contormably To the Act which you
have just communica,ed."-Th English
prints have taken this requisition, in a very
general sense We are, according to them,
to exer' every sort of opposition against the
English--we are "to 60 to war" Their
Echoes IN this country have fallen into the
same idea. This condition. says the Bal
tinore Federal Republican, l." requires a
pledge on the part of ihe us to resist
England, if she rejects tine proposed ar
| rangement--and neither the American
people or goverpment are willing or prepar
ed to sanction such a condi ION. " Bur from
" haf En,, 81
| this vast latitude Of construction ! If we
| resort to the letter Itself as test, this sort
| OF construction vanlshes at the touch. In
one place, II says: " in short, the Congress
engages, lhows by the Act of the Ist of
March) to chfiose chow? in the mode spe.
fcitled III the aforesaid ac) such of the bel
lhgerent powers as shall refure TO recognize
the riSDts of neutrals "-In the otherpas
| sage. the letter is i'll more explicit" the
u >. confornabiy to the .dct which you
have just communicated shall Cause their
rights to be respected by the English 1t
thus appears on the face of the lie ter, itself
that we should pledge ourselves to no species
OF opposition or resistance, whatever, save
what conforms to the act of March, 1910
The mode of opposition is thus stated in the
9TH section:
SEC. Z. ind be il further enacted. That
In case either Great Britain or France shall,
before the tnird day OF Mar IN next, so re-
woke or modify her edCts as that they shall
Cease to violate the neutral commerce of
| the United States. which fact the President
OF the United States shall declare by procla
nation; and if the other nation shall not
within three months thereafter, so revoke or
modify her edicts in ike manner, then the
third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth,
ninth, tenth, and eighteenth sections of the
act, entitled g an act to interdict the com
| merclal intercourse between The Uni ed
States and Great Britain and France and
their dependencies, and for other purposes"
shall from and after the expiration of three
months from the date of the Proclamation
aforesaid, be revived, and have full force
! and effect, so Tar as'relates to the dominions
colonies and dependencies of the nation thus
refusing or neglecting to revoke or modify
| her edicts in the manner aforesaid And
the restrictions imposed by this act shall,
from the date Of such proclamation, cease
and be discontinued in citation to the nation
| revoking or modifying her DEGREES in the
manqer aforesaid"
| This Section, at once dssipates every idea
of a pledge of war to be given to France
| all that we have to do. is to admit her arm.
ed ships TO the rights of hospitality, agree
ably to the last clause in the section, as fveu
as TO suspend all commercial intercourse
with Eugland. We do not say, but that
we may do more hereafter. Our interests
and our honor may imperiOusly impose on