The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1812-05-15

morialists for denying their petition. Sir,
we cannot go TO war within so days. mean
not to offend gentlemen, or to rouse their
feelings, but it is impossible that we can go
to war the expiration of the Embargo.
speak, sir, of active offensive war such a
:Tar as that is wholly out of the question:
This being so. is it wise. is it just, to distress
and ruin so many of your people, by suffer-
ing the produce which they pray your per-
mission to export, to moulder and perish in
their granaries T.. Certainly not, sir: you
ought to grant their petition. There is 10
escape from this argument. And, sir, am
not correct in saying that>you are not pre-
pared to goto WARP What is the state of
your Qualifications Where are your ar
mics. your navies? Have you money -
No, Sir, rely upon it, there will be. there
can be, no war, active offensive war, within
90 days. What ever may be thought of it
here, the people knosv that we cannot GO to
war at the expiration of the Embargo.-
The petitioners do not believe that you will
attempt IL. They think with the gentle
man from Virginia, [N1r. Randolph) that for
the government to go to war in our present
unprepared state, would be little short of az
act OF treason. Thinking as lido, sir, of the IN
teiligence and patriotism of the gentlemen
who are now the lords of the ascendant in
this House, and respecting the intelligence
and patriotism of the cabinet, cannot be-
iieve that we are to commence the war
without any of the necessary means for car
rylng 1t OH without an army, without a ma
val force, without money. To go to war un :
der such circumstances, would necessarily
bring upon us shame, disgrace and defeat
L nc people are unwilling to believe that
you are going to war immediately. You are
not prepared now, and long before you can
rnd no &c 81
may be exported and the avails of it bro't
home. The alledged policy and necessity
OF an embargo. therefore, do not exist, and
the memorialists ought to be relieved. You
may declare war at the expiration of the
embargo or sooner but what then, sir?-
Rely upon it, repeat it, you will have no
war, active offensive war. Bur, war i ecla-
red, the produce of the country that NAV
0e mt tor expectations, will still be embar-
coed by the fear the owners will of course
nave OF the enemy's cruisers that will then
mover on our coast: Sir. gentlemen will find
1t impossible to satisfy the petitioners that
Congress can be justified in refusing to listen
to their prayers. The gentleman from
iennesses asks me the price of wheat in
Albany. have understood that there are
no sales at all, and that it is not considered
worth more than dollar bushel.
When petitions of a similar kind were be-
fore the House few days ago, it was said
tnat the sufferers under the embargo must
charge cheir loss to the members on tn is
side CT the House, who by their speeches In
the Rouse and their conversation out of
doors had deceived the people as to the in
tention of the government to goto war. /
thought this rather an .ungenerous observa
ton. No speeches hadbeen made on this
side OF the House on the subject of war
No, Sir. If any false impression respecting
the war has been made on the public mind,
il is to be charged to the proceedings of this
House. The people knew that you were {,
that you could not soon be, pre- pared for war
lhey knew that your Golfers were exhaue-
ted, that you had neither fleets nor armies.
VI course they could not suppose that you
were going to war with nothing but paper
preparations. 1t was, therefore, impossible
TOR them to foresee the Embargo. 1t came
upon them suddenly as a stroke of thunder.
But, sir, there are other important .conside-
ratIons to induce you to relieve the memo
rialists is it wise, sir, to plunge the people
into distress and ruin, first to impoverish
the country and then to go to war, and that
very country too, sir, in and through which
the war is to be carried on , Is it not better
tohave the hearts of the people with you
when you are. about to enter into the con-
hict, than to ALLEVIATE them from YOUR You
cannet go TO war without the people. No,
sir, 1T will be better to conciliate people,
who must necessarily bear so much of the
Privations,' burthens and calamities Of the
war, the people of a state SO much exposed
10 the enemy. hope the House will seri-
0usly consider this memorial and not reject
1t in the manner proposed by the gentle
man from Tennessee, which cannot fail t O
offend and wound the feelings of the memo
rialists
MIR. BOYD said he wished to make
few observations on the motion now before
the House to postpone the further conside-
alton of the petition until the fourth of july
next. / did not intend to advocate such
measure nor do Lthink THAT the Congress IAN
grant the praysr of the. petitioners bit
there is a propricty in observing decent
respect to SO respectable q petition. with o.
theirs OF the same tenor already REFEREED
We should do we'll to consider what the
feelings Of the petitioners will be, If treated
IN this mrnner. We ell know, at least
great many of us, what were our feelings OH
the informant of our petitions [prior to the
revolution] being treated with contempt &
disrespect. Sir, my intention in laying that
embargo was with double view, the one
to save and secure our property from the
grasp OF the proposed enemy, the other to
keep from her those supplies that will, or
would, enable her to be better able to pro-
secute war. i think that this petition
with the others on the same subject of the
embargo ought TO be committed to a select
committee or the committee of Commerce
and Manufactures, with instructions to re-
port to the House their oDinion-not tn re-