Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1812-06-29

z Grum6nt, Tor WnIGu tG ". Dla'No "A~
I 70 far from having made themielves
refponfible, that, in official explana-
tons, which have been Pubhihed TO
the world, and in a correspondence
Of the American miniltcr at London
( with the Brit.fh Minilter for Foreign
Affairs, fuch Responsibility was OK
! pIicitly and emphatically Unclaimed.
It has become it4leed efficiently
certain that the commerce OF the
I United States is to be iacriiced, not
as interfering with the beIllgerent
rights Of Great Britain, not as iuP-
plying the wants of her enemies,
which lhe herfeIf fupplies but as
interfering with the monopoly which
lhe covets for her own commerce
and navigation. She carries on a
war againlt the lawful commerce OF
friend, that ihe may the better
carry on a commerce with an enemy,
a commerce polluted BY the fOrgerles
and perJurics which are for the mott
part the only paHports by which it
can iucceed.
Anxious to make every expert
ment ihort of the lat refort of in
iured nations, the United States have
withheld from Great Britain, under
fuccellive notifications, the benefits
of a free intercourse with their
market, the lois of which could not
buc outweigh the profits accruing
from her restrictions Of our COM
merce with other nations. And to
entitle thele experiments to the more
favorable confederation, they were 70
framed as to enable her to place her
adverlary under the executive opera
ton of them. To theie appeals her
government has been equally inHex-
IbIe, as # willing to make iacrifices
of every fort, rather than yield to the
claims of juftice or renounce the
errors Of falfe pride. Nay, 70 far
were the attempts carried, TO over
come the attachment of the Britiih
Cabinet to its unjult editts, that it
received every encouragement, with
in the competency Of the Executive
branch of our government, to expect
that a repeal of them would be fol-
lowed by a war between the United
States and France, unleis the French
edi6ts hould alto be repealed. Even
this communication, although ST.
lencing for ever the plea OF diiPoii-
ton in the United States TO acqueiCe
in tAole edicts. originally the fole
plea for them, received no attention. |
IF no other proof exiited of a pre- |
determination of the British govern
men1 againlt repeal Of its orders, it |
might be found in the cOrrefpon- |
dence of the Minilter PleniPotentia- |
ry of the United States at London, !
and the Britilh Secretary for foreign |
Affairs in 1910, on the queition
whether the blockade Of May 1906 |
was conGdered as in force as or not |
in force. 1t had been alcertained that
the French government, which urg-
ed this blockade as the ground of its
Berlin decree, was willing, in the e.
vent of its removable repeal that de-
cree; which being followed BY alter
nate repeats Of the other ofenfve G
diets, might abolilh the whole fyl- /
ten on both fdes. This inviting
opportunity for accomplishing an
object 70 important to the United
States, and proteiled 70 often to be
be the delire of both the belligerents,
was made known 70 the Britilh gov
ernment. AS that government adj
mits that an actual application of an
adequate force is neceHary to the ex-
iitence of a legal blockade, and it was
notorious. that if luch : force had |
ever been applied, its long dilcontin-
uance had annulled the blockade in
queition, there could be no iuficient I
OBJECTION on the part Of Great Britain
to forma! revocation Of il and no
imaginable OBJECTION to a declaration
of the fact that the blockade did not
exit. The declaration would have
been confident with her avowed |
principles of blockade, and would
have enabled the United States to !
har,anI frnnn Er,r-- LIZ nladnal -