Martinsburgh gazette. [volume] (Martinsburgh, Va. [W. Va.]) 1810-1825, 1811-07-19

SOoth the people, Oy noIulng up prospect
of its repeal or suspension. This prosper
however, was decei,lul one because !,
was made to rest on their revocation oe
their DEGREES and orders affecting neutrs,
commerce. Now Mr.. Jefferson knew tina,
the embargo was acceptable to the French
emperor who, instead of making way for
its removal, would choose TO rivet il On
our necks, and Mr.. Jefferson also knew
that as the British orders in council were
declared to have been issued land after ten
mon tbs frank and open notice to the U.
States, they were unquestionably issue6
only in retaliation for the previous French
Berlin decree the revocation Of the latter
must precede the revocation of the British
orders in council and then indeed the Br;.
fish government stood ready. and pledged
itself to revoke them. Thus Mr.. Jeffer.
son, when vested by Congress with power
to suspend the Embargo on the revocation
ders, knew that such revocation was NOT
likely to take place and in fact has not IA.
ken place to this day Mr.. President
Madison's extraordinary proclamation rela-
tive to the French DEGREES to the contrary
notwithstanding. The pressure of the EN-.
barge, however upon ourselves, was SO Sc.
we're, as to exhaust the patience of the peo-
pie /; and the government, to save their
sinking popularity, changed their ground,
and by an act called the non intercourse
law, gave some relief, by opening direct
commerce with the world generally, and an
indirect commerce with France and Great.
Britain and their dependencies. Atleugth
this foolish and oppressive law also neces-
sarily gave way; and al! restraints on our
commerce were removed. But another
act put into the hand of the President the
dangerous power of reviving the restrie.
tions of the non-intercourse law on certain
events, ofwhich as matters of fact he was
constituted the sole judge: Events indeed
of nature SO simple as to be within the
competency of any man of common sense
and common honesty to decide, whether
they had or had not taken place mean
the revocation of the DEGREES and orders Of
France and Great Britain events which
have not yet happened; but which Mr..
Madison, stepping aside from the authors
ty given him by the law, proclaimed to
have taken place in regard to France when
the French emperor, whom Mr.. Madison
knew to be the most perfdious of human
beings, had only given a declar0foyy pro-
mise to revoke them after the first Of No
vember 1910. Even Mr.. Madison him
self has not now the hardihood to say the
French DEGREES are revoked. In his late
answer to the petition of the inhabitants Of
New. Haven, he ventures only to say that
" the French Government declared that its
edicts were revoked" He now at least
knows that they were not revoked when on
the I'd of November, 1910, he proclaimed
to the people of the u. States and to the
world that they were revoked. When he
issued that proclamation, he had no right
to believe them revoked; if for no other
reason, yet for this-that what was called
a revocation was to take place in future,
and on conditionS--on certain acts to be
previously performed by G. Britain, which
Mr.. Madison had abundant reason to know
would not be performed. The French
minister in his letter to Gen. Armstrong,
in which Ito use the words of Mr.. Madi..
sony "the French Government declared
that its DEGREES were revoked" thus ex-
presses himself" am authorised to de-
clare to you, sir, that the DEGREES of Berlin
and Milan are revoked, and that after the
first of November, they will cease to have
effect it being understood [bien entendu
que, on condition or provided* that m
consequence ofthis declaration, the Englisn
shall revoke their orders in council, and
renounce the new principles of blockade
which they wished to establish. "-Nothip1g
can be more plain, than that before the
French emperor's declared revocation could
be a revocation in fact, it was necessary
that the English, simply on that decLaraff0a.;,
should first repeal their orders in coun1i'
and reuounce the new principles of blockade