Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1812-06-15
Mr.. RANDOLPH'S SPEECH.
Foysa OF RraassRs4A41yss-May go

meet Oh Monday next. Which having been
carried, he then Immediately moved that the
house donow adjourn. Negatiyed by small
majority.
Mr. RAypcrpE said that rumors to which
he could not shut his ears OF an intended de-
claration of war on Monday next, with closed
doors and the circumstance which had Just
passed under the eye of the house abiding TO
the motion to adjourn iinpelled hln' 10 make
q last effort to rescue the country from the
calamities which he feared, were impending
over it. He had a proposition to submit, the
decision of which would affect vitality the best
interests OF the nation. He conceived himself
bound to bring it forward. He did not feel
himself free agent in the TRANSACTION. He
would eudeavor to state as sue, iHcty as be
could the grounds of his motion, and he hum
bly, asked the attention Of every man whose
mind was at all open to conviction, of every
man devoted 10 the cause Of his country, MOI
only in that house, but in every rank and con-
dition Of life, throughout the state.
The motion which he was about to offer
grew out of certain propositions, which he
pledged himself to prove; nay, without al
abuse Of the term, to demonstrate.
The first of these propositions WAS that the
Berlin and Milan DEGREES were, not only. not
repeated, but that our government had fur
nished to the house and TO the world, unequ.
vocal evidence of the fact. The difficulty in
demonstrating this proposition arose rather
from his embarrassment in selecting from the
vast mass Of evidence before him. than in any
deficiency of proof for ii he were to use all
the testimony That might be adduced, he fear
ed his discourse would grow to bulk not in
frrior TO the volume which he held in his hand.
he would refer the house to the espond-
ence, generally, of Mr.. Russell our agent at
Paris, accompanying the Presidents Message
Of the present session. He referred to the
! Schedule Of American vessels taken by French
privateerS since the first of November 1910
the period of the alledgedrepeal OF the French
DEGREES oi these, II was worthy of remark
that - the RobIn.Unova, from Norfolk to Lon
don, with tobacco, cotton and slaves tn,
Mary Ann from Charleston TO London, wit
cotton and rice the General Eaton, from
London to Charleston, in ballast the Ncp-
tune, from London TO Charleston, also in bal
last; the Clio, from London to Philadelphia.
with English manufactures the Zebra, from
Boston to Iarragona, (then in Possession Ct
the operation of the French DEGREES, and seiz
ed since the I'd November 1910, had not been
restored, on the l4th of July last :" and that
the only two vessels named in that schedule,
which had been restored; viz: the Two Bro
Tiers, from Boston to St. Malo, and the Star,
from Salem to Naples Che one port il
France, the other virtually French port) did
not come within the scope Of the Berlin and
Milan DEGREES, Indeed, the only cases relied
upon by Mr. Monroe 10 prove tie repeal OF
the French DEGREES, are those Of the Grace
Ann Green and the New Orleans Packet
On the first of these no great stress is laid
because, having been Captured by an English
cruizer, she was retvken by her own crew
and carried into Marseilles, where consequent
ly the captors became French prisoners of
war.a As we'll might it be expected, that in
case of war between the United States and
England, our privateers carrying their prizes
into French ports should be proceeded against
under those DEGREES. 1t was, therefore, on
the case of the New Orleans Packet that the
principal reliance was placed, 20 shew the re.
peal OF the obnoxious DEGREES. But even this
case established, beyond the possibility of
douot, that the Milan DEGREES of the 23d No
vember and 18th December, 1907, w ere in
force subsequently to the period of their al
lodged repeal. This vessel hearing at Gil
oraltar, where she had disposed of part of
her cargo, OF the letter ofthe Duke of Galore
OF the 5th of August, 1910, suspended her
sales, and the supercargo, after having con-
suited with Mr.. Hackley, the American con-
sui at Cadiz, determined on the faith of that
lnsidlous letter, to proceed with the remain
der OF his cargo to Bordeaux. He took the
Precaution however to delay his voyage, so
that he might not arrive in France before the
LIST OF November the day on which the Ber-
lin and Milan decreea were 30 cease to opG-
rate.