Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1812-03-03


po, all lengths with his party-one who has
not only declared that z" nc would drive the
British from North America, s deprive them
of the Canadas - but also would receive
the French refugees as friends and brothers
-eyen he with all bis gallo prejudices about
him, confessed that bonaparte had someho"
got his moose about our necka, and had tastsn-
ed it with knot which 1t was Impossible iof
us to unite, without his consent. Mr.. Grun-
DIV said, 6 We are pledged to France, to en-
force the transportation law. She has o.
some means t7visted knot about ns---Ue
cant uatie the kaaot ssithout the csnsenf q go
naherte." -,
Now as some Of our readers naay possibly
be at loss to know what was particularly
meant bythis knot, we viii give it a brlet ex-
PLANTATION. Our administration, IN an arrange
mept with Bonaparte, committed an error un-
precedented in the annals OF diplomacy. we
say with cone dence, as we do It on gooo au-
thority. A celebrated statesman, nlr Charies
Fox, in speech in the British house OF com
mons, affirmed as follows: !" No instance can
be found in the history of mankind, where one
indeDendent state bound itself Solemniy TO Go
any thing andetned unshecyfed and uncertain,
at the arbitrary demand Of another" Now 1t
was precisely in this unprecedented MANNER
that our administration bouna Itself to the
French emperor. Bonapartc promised that
he would, at future day, repeal his DEGREES
of Berlin and Milan but this promise was
clogged with a condition a'adefaed, uns1asc1A-
ed, and uncertai,s---it was that America should
cause her rights to be respected. This might
be made to mean any thing and every thing
which Bonapartc himself might wish to have
it mean. 1t was LETT with him to put whatso-
ever construction on it he should please under
future contingencies. OF course, the Anne
rican republic had placed itself, IN this re-
spect at least, completely under his arbitrsA-
ment; it can do nothing inconsistent with his
Interpretation of the aforesaid condition.
Suppose the government oil Great Britain.
should offer settlement that would be inf
nitely preferable to non-inteyccursc or war, 1t
must not be accepted. Why Because b.
naparte could and would objsct, that we had
broken cur contract with him BY yielding up
our rights. He is constituted the umpire In
this business. No settlement may be made
with England, but one that he shall please TO
Judge to be consistent with due respect for
our own rights; and such settlement, it is
well known, is impracticabe and impossible.
We have seen woes heaped on woes by the
execrable restrictive system; the morals Of
the people corrupted, thsir hbsrtleS lntrlnged,
and their property consumed. But we must
CUntlnue ,-;.l. eaSs poilticai tartar
emetic, though death be the inevitable conse-
quence because torsooth, Bonaparte has by
some means twisted knot about US, whic;.
,,tl,< l,,. Nb.a>
importation law, under which our country
groans and gasp,, is as to its continuation.
the law of Bonapsrte. Like tie Monks and
Friars of the dark ages, we scourge ourselves,
not indeed as they did, to please heaven, but
to please the foe OF 6 cd and man---we do it III
obedience to the mandate of the bloodiest Of
despots.
But there is remedy. What is it ? Why
we are at liberty to "ump out Of the frying
pan INTO the fire. " We cant unit !; the knot,
without the consent of Bonaparte,' says Mr..
Grundy; but we must cut it with the sword"
this is, SO to war with England. The plain
English is, Bonaparte has left us no other al
tentative, than either to continue the comnlcr-
cial restrictions, in conformity to his continent
tai system, or to wage open war with his enc
my. One or the other, how mnca soever
both may be against cur own interests and
wishes, must be done, in order to fulfl the
claims Of the C bond" or to cause our rights
to be respected. So that we are to get into
war as it were at the back door-not as a ma
ton acting independently according TO it's own
Judgment, but as a nation compelled to the
measure By the dictates OF a third power. And
after all, how would this cat The kaet Since
Bonaparte has such sovereign sway over US
. that hs can compel us to wage wac with his
enemy, as the only refuge from those consum-
/ ing restrictions which have equally answered
. his purpose why may he not compel us to
continue the war as long as he should please,
or to conduct 1t liz such a Kramer as shall best