Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-03-07
From, the .Nezy- York EUering Past.
Inte7trctctior. or Construction and Ereea''0n
Of the French DeTsss.
CcoxcIUpED

The brig Charleston, sailed from New orh
for ST. Sebastian, oh the 25th OF September,
1907. nearly three months before the Milan
Decree: She arrived at the port OF PaaSsge'
SEAPORT of Spain, III the bay OF Biscav, a Il "
miles 10 ihe eastward of ST. Sebastian, her
mort of destination this was on the 2Sd Oh
November; she there performed qufr'al'i'io
for a few days, and then pursued her course ~
St. Sebastian, where she arrived Oh The Isl u
December, 1907, more than fortnight before
the issuing CT the Milan decree.
St. Sebastian not Offering any advantae eCuS
returns, Capt. Newman contormed to the III
structons of his owIiers, and went TO take Ia q
cargo at Bordeaux.
He went from St. Sebastian III ballast the
lsth of the same month of December, 1907,
and entered the river al Bordeaux, the l7th,
the very day when his Imperial Majesty sigh
ed, 1t Milan, the decree under which she WIS
seized.
The Charleston was admitted to make her
entries. Her consig!ices had procured ler a
Car~o, and she was or the poit OF setting S..il
h., s>ew-y DIRK, loaded with French wines aid
braD,ljcs, when, OH the l5th of january, 1903,
tie officers OF the customs seQuesterca her,
a,eecss rer5ai was drawn up the same day,
AID then an investig; ION made OF Ter journal,
III which ;hc following note was found, viz
Sunday, J st Of November, 1907, (obsclve,
reader, sig weeks before the date OF tic Nil
ian decrce,) wind ME-. steering towards the
ENE. then TO tie Sc. we hauled down, on re-
ctiyinp 4 SHOT under die wind, from d sail, TO
Which We were Obliged to bear, and met her
She saiuttd us under French colors; but be-
iIe colauctcd or board, found that She vas
Lr;vatcer rom Gueilsey, OF Is gul.s 1t OBJ
served ~, 24 Tie Cd OF November, 1907, at
O'clock P VI. the paivatecrs people sent tie
cap,a;l. back a,G We made Sail
It is on account OF this incident, it is because
,be ChQyifstc,. lid been visit i Oh t;;.r LIST OF
November, that the administration OF the
customs tAcsgilt fit to put her under scques-
tra,lOn.
On the mock trial Of this ship, Monsieur dc
Ii Grange, tie celebrated French &cTccatc,
who appc.rcd for the owners aid claimants,
boldly used the following arguments; Winch
Sc sha.! give ii MS own words, IS they 90 MIN
yarv Great ho..or. " TIE olIy question to be
tsc;dcd IS, whether the Cscrcc q fAe l7h I
DecenLe;-, ca.l DC applied Il, ulSit nEsde the
lst Of .N1pem5.r. Il would be to Insult the
sli slNS ~ ~--S>'''> $500 - -
ton before them.
Some opinions n,ay have been given IT to
Vol. % ,,S,c resrc-acE.tn, On account OF tie
It1o7yi-Gge which TIE slips visited may De sup
poacc 4 ..,Yc had OF the law in other words,
it ncy have bcea =: ,tenGcd, that q ship visited
stree the decree, was liable 20 lis operation,
notp outstanding they could not be known to
those to whom they were applied; but nc-
BODY has hitherto either said CT thought, that
the Law could have any operation ON pisit
which had t4hen place 6efyre The EecrceS scefe
III e1isieuee in the present case, surely, the
decree could hot be applied to a fact which
happened forty-sevcn days bcf6re its promui-
CATION. But further, the visit not only pre-
Ccdcd the erislsace OF the law; 1t WAS even
cuterisr to the motfve which the sovereign has
alleged for issuing 1t: Considering" Says
tue preamble 10 the decree, tie measures =
dopted by the British government OF the Date
of the l,th of November last : considering
that, By these acts, the British government has
deuc.ionaHzed the ships OF al the Nations or
Europe" &c sc. Such are the motives ex-
pressed by the Legislator himself But our
visit took place re-, days 6gfore. 1t IS, there
fore, true. not only ,,1t the tsct to which it is
DEGREES existence, but further, that it proceed
cd What was called that attack upon the law
OF Iations, without which, the decree would
nrvcr have existed.
To apply this decree, then, to the Charles
tan. would be more than to make the decree
Lave a retroactive effect 1t would be to
nIace the effect before lie cause, and to say,
that these laws could govern at an epoch, At
whici. tney could Lot EVEN EXIST.
Thus falls TO the ground, SO far as respects
the present case, The forced ;rguments of
,Eose who have said that the decree OF the
l7:h of December was 50 much necessary
consequence OF the English orders of the 18th
of November, that the mere simple knowledge
of the latter, ought to hive put neutrais on
their GUARD against the just rcprisals which
the decree has established.
}ss,1his reasoning, if reasoning it cs,n be
called. must isll before. the cYidence In
the present CAUSE, and We shall answer TO
those who have hazarded it. It was on the
Isl cf Noyember that we were visited
W.. tho, could c.otain Newman do Al this