Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-06-24

the established usaSes OF hati0hs, tInS aci,
Of the British commander, though il Hay
be deemed an aggression. affords no just
fication Of your previous conduct.--Nhc-
Their he believed you to be an American or
! not, he saw you approaching him, with an
hostile aspect and as appears from you:
own statement, after he made several IN
effectual efforts to escape you, he
found himself at last, placed by you,
in a situation Which. OF all others. must,
be the most trying TO a man Of bravery, oil
sensibility and honor. lie found himself,
under the guns of q vastly superior ship,
hich he could have no hopes of conquer
ing, and from whom he could have no
prospect Of escape. know nothing Of
Capt. Bingham, or what were his feelings
on the .oecasion--but will appeal 20 your
self, whether it was honorable or manly
in you, to charge him at such an awful
moment, with premeditating sn insult or
thinking ofpromolion. at the expcncc OF
his honor, and duty to his sovereign. His
honor and duty required him, to protect
from insult, lis sovereiga's flag ard
they equally required him. 10 refrain
from violating the rights Of Others. [
will appeal farther to You, and ask. what
would have been your own feeIings. to
have been pursued by an srmed yessc;,
Of vastly superior force, and to be ccer-
ecd into the situation in which you plae-
cd Captain Bingham. and to be called
upon to give an account of yourself, by ono
the manner Of whose approach to YOU, in
the dark, clearly indicated he had no
friendly views 1 will not say that
you would have fired the first gun; but 1
know commanders whose prudence is not
inferior to your own, who would have had
to exercise no small degree Of self-deniaI
in declining it. After all, 1 have no in
tention Of vindicalins Captain Bingham.
Though l conceive lie was perfectly JUS
tifiable. in declining to answer your hail,
he ought to have pcrscyercd in his efforts
to escape FROM You, however notifying
the attempt must have been. IL he took
you for an enemy we may applaud his
courase--thOugh at the cxpence Of his
prudence. 1fhe believed Won to be an
American, he has been severely chastised
IOr Ills tcHlefity.
1t is much TO be regretted, therefore,
that the enquiry you demanded was not
instituted. Fit had. we should probably
then have known, whether the course You
pursued, was in pursuance Of instructions
from the Executive, or on your own dis
erection. lit was cOnformable to instruc
tons, then, ON the authors Of these instruc
tons, will a serious responsibility rest
but if it was your own doings, it was TAX
ing upon yourself responsibility, which
no individual, however distinguished,
ought to assume, and which ought not to
be sanctioned.
The next point to which will call your
attention, is the fact stated by you, that the
first shot, which was fired from your ship,
was done without your orders. This may.
seem rather matter relating to the dis
cipline of your ship, than as worthy Of
notice in national point Of view. 1t is
however, at all times ofgreat Importance,
and on this occasion it was peculiarly 50
for you state yourself, that when your add
versary fired his first shot, 4" YOU were
under the impression that it might proba-
bly, have proceeded from accident, and
without the orders of the commander"
Had this been the case, and had the gun
from your ship not been discharged at the
moment that it was, for any thing that
appears to the contrary, an explanation
might have taken place, and all the un-
happy consequences avoided. 1t is there.
fore, an important point for enquiry.
Another point to which l would call
your attention, is one in which. in Inv C.
Union, you have been most materially de-
ficient, in conveying the Whole truth TO
the government. Iallude to the very inn
perfect account you give Of the converse
ton between the British comrsnder and
at. Creighton, and the communication
made by the former. through the latter,
to you. the morning after the engagement.
1t must strike every man Of common sense
and common observation. that imam TT