The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1811-02-21

port OF the Mayor of Nsw-York, and an en-
inent merchant OF this city sent me in writing
his guarantee that the man nar.sd IN the pas
port was naffve einzen u 'he Z. 5fnffS.
The passport was forged in ,ndtn ty lew
named Van Sander, who has kept there a
shop Tor neutral papers for several years ;snd
the man named IN II was Liverpool tracer,
who had never set his foot ia he L. States
You very naturally perceive, ,h.r hot only
refused the autLt nticalion desired OF ne, but
that l cid not entirely suppress a sep,imtnt
of indignation al the imposition that Was at
tempted TO be practised on me III the guar
antee.
Within fortnig'.' afterwards two ships
entered with registers OF the s4me Van San
der's fabrication. They we're detected by Mr
Harris who laid the papers before me, and
VINO duly informed the Russian government,
that they we're forged. The vessels with
their csrgoes were conGscated, and their pa.
pers delivered to Mr.. Harris, ho has snt
them to the Department OF State. In this he
acted entirely with my countenance and APP
probation, which, under weight OF mercan-
tile influence existing here in favor of ihcsc
frauds, was undoubtedly useful, if not neces-
sary to him. certainly aid let it be under
stood, by all the merchants ot ST. Petersburg
and oil the other Russian ports, that forged
hahers, pretended TO be American, should
md neither ConnivanCe nor mercy from me,
whenever they should come 10 my knowledge
and although this determination, so explicitly
manifested, had not recommended me To tie
favor OF Engllshnen, not even To that of the
merchants in ST. Petersburg. l do most sin
cerely believe thst bad il not been for il, the
real American flag, would long before this
have been excluded fron the ports Of Rus.
STA as II has been from those oil Denmark
and Prussia
have had no more forced passports,
with guarantees, sent to me 10 be authentica-
ted, and only two or three more of MIR. Van
Sanders Registers have appeared in tie Ru-
ssian ports during the present year. They
have met the sarle ia with their predeces-
sors. But the story that / examined all the
papers OF vessels myself, or that | ever med->
died with them, unless at the request of Mr..
Harris, of the Russian government, or Of
the persons TO whom the papers belong. is a
mere fabrication totally destitute OF truth.
My real offence theretorA has been in
contributing to the exclusion of persons,
vessels and cargoes, really English, but COM
Ing with forged signatures and seals of the
publick ofhcers oi my country.
g In speaking OF the me- camille inaIro-
here In favor OF these frArcher I he mer-
per to eKplaie,ersburg are almost all for
ce7itrs. Great numbers vi them are Eng
lish, or connected with English house. Their
busincs is almost exclusively commission
business. They universally .detest ths war
with England, and long for the restoration of
the commercial Intercourse with that country.
They want the trade and they care not un-
der what flag or what papers 1t comes and
goes. The American fay, and American
papers would have been the most convenient
of all their shelters, and under the liberal con
fdencc with which the Russian government
admitted every vessel and person coming
from friendly countries and recognized ny
the American Minister or Consuls as Ameri-
can, If our countenanoe could have been OBJ
taincd, instead Of fifty or sixty vessels from
Tencriffe, which have come TO Russia, tor
eonhscation, under all sorts o. papers erceht'
ing american, we might have seen five hun
dred direct from the London market, both OF
mere handize and OF papers.-The inevitable
and just consequence Of which would have
been, that the true Americans would have
been contoundcd with thn false, and all OF
them involved in one general prccrastinaton">