Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-07-18

happy to see IT. put sc. 's ror o;v.
further, and consider his reason Tor oiY'
st It be recollected, that when hrst
a.sor;ed. the Little Belt was so many
miles distant as to be discerned only from
the eommodore's mast head, and standing
towards him-and he, presume, stanaihs
tow.rds her; that about ~ hour AFTER
wards, her upper sails we're dlstiaSu1sifa-
him rrcm the ccmmodore's deck; Wheh
she made signals. which rot being answer.
cd Nv him, she changed her course anu
stoo;, for the southwark. Then, says inc
commodore, :. being DESTROYS OF speak
ing her, and ascertaininS what she was.
now made sail in cilase"---Ana so we
,re to believe it would seem, that merely
from curiosity, to speak q ueSssl at great
distance from him, on the h sf seas ana
TO learn her name, Gnd to 1ohat nat'on sae
belonged, the commodore gave her a SIN
up seven hours chase. and sailed many
miles out OF his course! for the Little
Belt at sorle fifty miles distance from our
coast. ran TO the southwark, when the
commodore gave her chase; although ac-
csrding to the government newspaper
:. he was ordered to put to sea lmmehi-
atc,y from Annapolis, and resume his lor-
mer station, l suppose at New YORK
cruising along the coast as before, Tor tne
purpose ofsuarelins our maritime AT'sa.:"
ton from violations by foreign cruisers"
The commodore, continuing his details
concerning the vessel in sight, remarks,
ihat :. the symmetry Of her sails and her
naking Signals, showed her TO be man
IF war.''-Dut the commodore knew that
COR a long time before, 70 other than Br'-
fish men of war had visited or approached
our coasts: hence must have arisen in his
mind another violent presumption that
the sail he discovered and to which he
cave chase, was that ola Brittsi, ship OF
war. 1t appears also by the first reports
OF the battle at Norfolk, by vessels come
ing in and which had heard the firing
i" that but the day before, commodore
Rodgers was spoken, inquiring for Bri-
fish fiisate which had been spoken not far
lF:'--Let us now suppose that the com
molore had commenced the chace OF the
Little Belt so much earlier as to have
come u, with her in broad day light and
that saewin, her 60 OPS. the commodore
ha, found I" to what nation she belonSed;
and that the commOdore's ship became
| in like manner kno yn to the Little Belt ;
and de ,tuctive :.cion had thus been pre-
vented S,,pose then that her captain
| had asked the commodore why he, conf
| mouains neutral ship; had given him
six or seven hours caase on the hgt
,sGs. Would the commodore have felt
satisfied to have answere |, ~ was desirous
Of sp~ aking Won and ascertainins what
rou we're ?"-And if the British captain,
Indignant. as every man OF sense and sp'-
| rit must be. on receiving such an answer
shoald have told the commodore it 7cas
| most impairment and anpGrdoaaots
curiosity-could he deny the business OF
the charge? or not be mortified by the
we'll deserved reproach lis this official
reason for the chase, one which our ad
ministration would not feel ashamed to of.
fer to the British minister should he be
instructed only to ask an explanation OF
this affair :--How much is it to be regret
ted that all officer whose proves, i'll an
honorable cause, would do honor to any
country. should he drawn aside from the
| strait, Ingenious path his own heart would
pursue, because the sinister views, of the
men in power, with the official right to
| command him. rfCIliye If
! have gone into SO minute an cxamina.
ton of Com. Rodgers letter, because Tar
from furnishing a justification of his pro-
ceedings, it officially confirms the reports
current at the time Of his sailing; that he
was sent in quest ofthe British frisate Gu.
errier, to demand the American citizen
she had impressed on our coast and if
his delivery was refused, to attack and
take him by force. 1t was also stated a
the same time, in the government paper
at Washington, 50 that it vas we'll under
stood that the commanders Of our public
vessels were generally instructed to sub.