Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-03-22

SauoTe > Ietter, on WHICH the proclamation
was founded property, that had been only
seized and lay sequestered, in several French
ports was afterwards removed to Antwerp.
and there, by command OF the emperor, re-
gularly and formally subjected to actual con-
hscation. France then, had not before the
proclamation, nor has she yet revoked or mo-
dihed all her edicts, which violated our neu-
trail commerce. But neither has France sa-
tis6ed the words of the act in another re-
spect, the words require not merely that
France should revoke all her in furious edicts,
but that she should $50 revoke them as that
thay should cease to violate the neutral COM
merce of the United States" sc. Luckily we
are saved the trouble of explaining the real
meaning of these words, by the president
himself, in his secretarys official letters of last
| summer; before he was aware that it might
be necessary, in order to serve his purpose to
adopt different one. In this case the prcsi-
dent shall speak for himself. In Smiths let
ter to Gen. Armstrong of last June, he ex-
presses himself thus:
off the arrangement contemplated in the
law should be acceptable to the French 60
vcrnment, you will understand it to be the
purpose of the president, not to hrocee! in
giving it effect, in case the late seizures of the
property of the citizens of the United States
| has been .foNosVed by an absolute confscaiion,
and restoration be finally refused. The only
ground, short of preliminary restoration of
the property, on which the contemplated ar
rangement cun be made, will be all understand
ing that the confscation is reversible, and that
it will become immediately the subject of dis
cussion, with reasonable PROSPECT Of justice to
orr injured citizens"
Again, more emphatically in his letter Of
July.
AS has been heretofore stated to you, a
satisfactory provision for restoring the proper
| ty lately surprizcd and seized by the order
! or at the instance of the French government,
nnuSt BE combined scith r.teal qf' she french
edictS, 1uith q Ufe7v To q non-anterc0u2Se zclth
Great Britain !; aach a provision being an III
I disfensQ6te evidence OF the lust purpose of
| France towards the United States"
Language could not be more explicit nor.
stronger than that contained in the above ex-
tracts. In the first, VIC arc told that should
France shew herself ever so well disposed to
come into the arrangement proposed by the
act of May, there was point first to be set
tied, before the president on his part would
aIr +I,ott he
seized underline Rambouillet decree should
not be subjected to contiscation; but should
! be immediately restored or that if not i'm,
mcdiately restored, that at any rate, there
should be an understanding that all confsca-
, tons that might have taken place should be
reversible, and should, without delay, become
the subject of negotiation with prospect
of Justice, to our Ia ured fellow citizens.'
IN the second, he goes still further, and de-
clares that g e. satisfactory hrovision for res
toring the property taken from us, under the
last mentioned decree, must be combined wish
a reteal of the French edicts," before he could
issue his proclamation nay, that sucA tr0-
vision qyas absolutely " indispensable" Can
language, ask, be more precise It pro-
else to shew what the president himself I'M
derstood by those words in the act which re-
quired France so to revoke, as that she should
cease to violate neutral commerce: In direct
contradiction of his own editor Gales, it proves
that in his, the presidents comprehension, the
act of May did not look entirely to the future,
without regard to the past conduct of France,
however attrocious."
Havr : thus shewn how Mr.. Madison him
self understood the act, we shall assert that not
single requisite to enable him to issue his !
proclamation has been obtained
Instead OF ell the French DEGREES having
been revoked before the I'd of November, not !
single one was revoked; and only two out |
of four of them were ever tlromised to be re- (