Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1811-06-17
TO Che Editor Of the V1Rc1S1A .lRcgs.
ST. R,

Noome OF the Republican prints, CONSUL
tingRore the feelings ofrcsentment than the
sactua condition Of the republic, preach up
oecisDn and energy to the administrator :
1orSetfui that these words, addressed to a
government remaining a,eutrul during the
prevalence OF war can have no meaning at
all. The measures of ministry must ne
cessarily be consonant TO the posture If
assumes: if the policy be pacific, the steps
to be taken should be conformable to peace
ne United States have not declared war
then why such multitude of reproaches
Tor supposed want of spirits Of what q
van are angry and swelling sounds. Moth
ing is SO ridiculous as inpotent rage and the
world invariably laughs at and despises the
Draggaoocio who employs nothing but mere
lnVective as the instrument of his vengeance.
When the Congress of the United States
shall have appealed to the sword, and the
President shall have neglected the duties as
signed to him for it's successful operation. II
viii be quite time enough to rouse him to
ACTIVITY by broad inuendo or sharp reprehen-
SION. But i'll the present situation CT affairs
when the majority of the nation has decided
that the bark of state shall continue to be
haVlSated by the chart OF neutrality, it is ex-
.reineiy silly aswellas ungenerous to attempt
to wound the sensbility of a chief mseis-
with punctilious exactitudc, the will of the
people, expressed in the laws enacted by
!, their REPRESENTATIVES.
Nam fully aware that plausible apologies
nav be fopnd for such incorporate anomaly
hnthe deep wounds inflicted on our commerce
and our fights by the belligerent govern
ments IN the supercilious Indifference which
they have manifested to our repeated de-
mands for justice; in the perpetually-recur-
ring outrages of their most subordinate agents
on the property and the persons of our citi-
2ens and, above all, in the fragrant auda
city OF the organs of British faction, whose
venom, like that of envy, becomes more
Virulent as their strength diminishes.
what, for example, can be more impudent
than the contents OF some of these vehicles
IN relation to the conduct of commodore
Rodgers towards the Little Belt? The law
applicable to neutrals is tortured and the
name OF Grotius prosttuted by sophists, who
would pursuade us that neutrality has no o.
ther attribute than that of patient endurance
OF all sorts of wrongs, even within the COM
pass or our own domicile! / know that
these scribblers do not deserve a reply but
when truth is silent, chattering fools and de-
signing knaves frequently assume triumph
which imposes on the community.
The affair of the Little Belt can onlv be
considered in two points of view: first, in re-
iation to the law of neutrality: secondly,
with respect to the reason of the case.
, And first, as to the lazv Of neutrality. All
writers on public law lay it down, (and none
more expressly than Vattel,) that whilst
sHation lets with impartiality to the powers
at wsf; that is, whilst she grants and refu-
ses favors oall alike, her neutrality is entire,
and the belligerent states are bound to re-
spect it. The rights which appertained to
the neutral beforc the war commenced, ap-
pertain to her a. fter it has begun. Her iuris-
diction is the same; her prerogative to main
tain peace and good order within that iuris-
diction remains perfect. The law (says
Martens, book 8, chap. 6, sect. 16,) forbids
the belligereDt powers to begin or continue
hostllities on the parts of the sea under the
q 1minion OF neutral power. The authority
OF the possessor of the coast (says the same
author, book a, chap a, sect. ~ by custom
generally acknowledged, extends to a can
non shot from the Shore that is to say, three
leagues from the shore; and this distance is
the least that nation ought now to claim as
.theextent OF it's dominion on the seas. A
hatiNp may occupy and extend its dominion
lcontnues Martens, book 4, chap. 4, sect. 81
6ey&d the distance cfthree leagues, either
pm J4vers, lakes, bays, straits, or the ocean
and such dominion may, iCtic national Sc
enTfty requires IL, be maintained by a fleet of
armed vessels.
Great Britain herself has kegisiated upon
this principle On examining the British
statutes at large, find at chap. IT, page
$50, vol. 9, An act for the more effectual
prevention of smuggling in this kingdom"
passed A. y. 1874, in the 24th year of the
reign Of the present king George H. The
first Ssction of this act is in the following
wordsk
Sect. 1. Be it enacted by the kings
most excellent majesty, by and with the adj
vice and consent of the lords spiritual and
temporal, and commons, in this present par
lament assembled, and by the authority Of
the same, That from and after the first day
OF October 1884, if any ship or vessel shall
be found at anchor, or h0UcTing within the
limits of any Of the ports Of this Kingdom, or
7vithin fotr leagues Of the coGst thereof or
shall be discovered TO hGUe been within the
said limits or distance, having on board any
brandy, &c. in any vessel or cask which shall
snail not contain sixty gallons at the least,
Sr having on board any wine in casks, or ha-
wing on board six pounds weight Of tea, or
twenty pounds weight of coffee, OF having on
board any goods whatsoever liable to forfeit
ture, by any act of parliament, upon being
imported into Great Britain, then not only
all such goods, but also the ship or vessel on
board which they shall be found, as afore-
said, with all her guns, ftlfhiture, ammuni-
tiQR, tackle, and aNpare& shall be forfeit