Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1812-05-14
Congress q the United States.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. /
WEDNEsB1Y, llav IS, 1912.
/ REPORTED ron THIS Gazette. I

Mills, q revolutionary officer, praying compen-
sation for services, and moved to refer il to
, the committee ofclaims.
Some objections were made to lis taking
that course On the ground that it had during
the present session been before that commit
tee and acted on. twas referred.
Mr. Sybert presented the petition of the
masters OF four Portuguese vessels now in the
port of Philadelphia, stating that they had come
to this country for the purpose Of procuring
provisions for the Portuguese government *
had brought funds with them Tor effecting that
object, that they bad arrived here after the
Embargo was laid, and praying permission to
take IN cargo and return to their own coun-
try. He moved that it lie on the table. Ne
gatiyed.
Mr.. Lacock had no notion of granting to
these foreigners any BENEFITS which he woula-
deny 10 our own citizcns--he thought it ough
to take the same direction that other petitions
relative to the embargo had taken, and there
fore moved that it be postponed TIL the 4th o.
July.
Mr.. Pitkin said, Nat he was little surpriz
ed. that the gentlemen (Mr. Seybert) who ii,
troduced this petition, did not move, that il
be referred to the committee of commerce s
manufactures, instead of moving that it lie
the table. The petitioners state, that thes
are subjects of the crown of Portugal, thai
they arrived in our ports, without any previous
knowledge of the Embargo, that they brouglt
here funds, exclusively Portuguese, 10 be laid
out IN -four, neal and provisi MS, to be CARR
ed back to their own country. IF this state
ment is true, Mr.. Pitkin sad, he could see no
objection to granting them permission TO de-
part with cargoes of our produce. But it is
said by gentlemen, that this petition ought to
share.the same fate, with those of our own ci-
tizcns, and se postponed till the 4th of Juiy
next. They ask, will you grant jav3rs TO To-
reigners, which you deny to your own citizens
The ADVOCATES for the Embargo, Mr.. Pitkin
said, have uniformly stated, that it was laid as
a frecRr8or Of 7vQr, that It's sole objects was
to keep she property Of car citizens at home,
aud not to have it exposed on the ocean or in
foreign ports, to the depredatioDs OF nation
! against whom we were about to d4cIare war.
If this then is the real object ofth Embargo'
s,sss6ss been SO often stated in this House, the
treason does not ct all apply TO the petitioners
BY restraining our citizens from going abroad
With their property, we consider ourselves as
fayorlng them; when we postponed the petit
tons of citizens from New York until the 9TH
of July, We told them, that denial of the
petitions for this postponement amounted to
deaial,) was done as favor towards them;
that 1t was done in order to preserve their
property for themselves and their county,
But, sir, we have no such interest in pre-
serving the property of the petitioners; they
have come into cur ports, without any previous
knowledge ofthe embargo, with funds, as they
state, belonging to item, and they desire to
vest those funds in the produce OF the country
and to return with it 10 Portugal.
In granting this permission it is difficult to
perceive in what way the ayowed principles OF
the embargo will be contravened. No pro-
perty belonging to our citizens will be put at
hazard and if the whole should be taken or
lost the country would receive no injury what
ever, or be less able to carry on tie contem-
plated war. Nay, sir, if,without any hazard
at all, we can exchange some of our surplus
produce, SO much ofwhich we have now on