Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1811-06-17
IN ereruc. from cossRr4's REc1srFa.
AMERICAN STATES

the zvorld being put into its former state, be-
fore the orders in council are repealed. A
las if that is the sole condition, those orders
are Ike the laws of me Modes and PerSians ::
for never will he see the commerce of the
world restored to its former state. We have
long had laws, and we have them yet, for the
confscation offoreign goods. Napoleon has
now made similar laws; and, if the orders
are to exist till he repeal these laws, & leave
ours in force, leave the reader to guess how
longft is likely to be before our orders will
be repealed. 1t has been acknowledged, in
parliament, that Napoleon's restrictions have
occasioned great part of our commercial dis
tress. Indeed, all the world knew it and
this being known, is it to be supposed, that
the system which has produced it will not be
persevered in ?--It would be n folly far grea-
ter than any that has yet seized hold of us to
suppose any such thing. 1t is quite useless
to talk about the la7o Of nations, which is,
and always has been, the iagv given by the
strongeSt-or, in one word, fo7ver; sheer
barefaced power. Where there is no arbiter
where there is no power to decide between
The itiyafttS, what nonsense is it to talk of
iasy! Bonaparte takes the Hanse-Towns,
and we took the Danish fleet. Bonaparte has
taken Holland, and we received the Dutch
fleet from the Stakeholder. The question is,
be done9 If we repeal our orders in coun-
Gil and give up the "faher blockade" as the
Americans call it, we shall, for some time
longer, have an intercourse and commerce
with America, though that commerce must,
from the causes stated in my last, daily dimi-
nish. But to balance against this, the COM
merce of Holland, and the Hanse- Towns, and
OF France, viii all be carried on under the
Ame~can flag, and, those articles of prime
necessity in manufacture, the. cotton, the in
digo, and all other raw materials that are
now 7canted in England, owing to the COM
mepcial system adopted upon the continent,
will, OF course, go to the Continent, where, for
want of a supply of goods from England, ma
nutactures will grow up, and will, in a very
short time, cut of the commercial connecti-
on forever between England and the CONT
nent. 1t is fine talking, then, about "restor-
ing the commerce OF the world to its for
1leT state" Nothing short of the total, and
almost instant overthrow of Napoleon can eff
feet this. The Americans say to us Come,
the French have revoked their DEGREES, and
now revoke your orders, as you promised us
you would" "Aye," says Lord Wellesley,
$50 we will, whenever the repeal Of the
French DEGREES shall have actually taken eff
feet" Wen, but there is something more.
" And the commerce of neutral nations shall
have been restored to the condition in which
IL stood previously 10 the PRONUNCIATION of
those decrees." This is new. This was not
mentioned before Now we know that be-
fore the issuing of those DEGREES, American
vessels could fake in goods in the Thames
and carry them 10 any port on the continent,
without the risk Of the vessel or the goods be-
ing seized and we know extremely well
that that cannot nozv be done, Napoleon hav-
ing passed DEGREES, like some Of our revenue
laws, for con6scating all goods manufactured
IN England, and all colonial produce Coming
from her; and having, in some cases, carri-
ed the thing so far as to cause such goods and
produce to be burnt--His system for putting
down smuggling seems to have surpassed
ours, which was thought 70 be the most COM
pletc in the world.--But, really, his troops
and boats and douaners seem TO surpass in
vigilance our drsgOons and revenue cutters
and excisenCn. BE this as it may, however,
let tie preference IN point Of vigilance belong
TO us OF 70 hin, and am sure do not wish
TO deprive our own establishment Of the SUI
perior merit, If it possesses it but, this is Of
no consequence. The fact is, that he has de-
clared all colonial produce and manufactures
coming from England, ireland or Scotland to
be sDRgsled goods, and the persons having
s1ch IN their posse 5sion, he has declared to
be snHggters, and has made laws for punish
in5 them accordingly and sach laws they
appear 70 be as tc have cut up the smuggling
root and branch. This has produced a great
fhangs This change has been produced
Since the issuing Of the Berlin and Milan de-
crees.-Thc neutral ships Chat IS, American
shps) can no longer save our goods by be-
coming TIC carriers OF them to the continent