The Alexandria herald. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1811-1826, 1813-07-26
CONGRESS.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
Debate on Mr.. We6sser's resolutions. con.
81
timed.
mr.. GroSUenor'S Sneeck confiuned.

-. he nuuoltaDle correctness OF these
positions appeal to facts. On the 5th of
August 1870, the duke de Galore the
French minister of foreign relations adj
dressed note to Mr.. Armstrong, then
our minister III France, from which l will
read AN extract" am authorised to de-
clare to you, sir, that the DEGREES Of Bcr-
I'm and Milan are revoked, and that after
the LIST Nov. they will cease TO have effect
1t being well understood ihat in eonse-
9uence Of ms declaration, the English Shall
revoke their orders in council, and enounce
the new principles of blockade, which they
nave wished to establish, or that the United
States, contormably to the act YOU have
Just communicated, shall cause their rights
10 be respected by the English"
olr, TINS Is the instrument, and the only
instruments. upon which the proclamation
ol the president was founded. Upon pc
rnsing this letter, its hollow, juggling, ie-
su'ncai character Is visible and glaring.
Qnconnected with subsequent events,
which Is strlpt OF all ambiguity, from It's
gerry fcr"iS who Will dare TO say that it re-
voked or modified the DEGREES, as REQUIRED
Dy Tie act OF May preceding. /, does not
even Purport to do thls--it has not even
the merit OF Pythian obscurity-it ougb,
not 10 nave deceived the weakest under
Standing" II being well understood" that
is, upon conditinn," (not in consequence
oil TINS revocation, even the jugeler him
sell had not the impudence to cali it revo-
caton) !" The English shall revoke, sc. or
America cause her rights to be respected"
What Is the plain English ofthis jcsuiticai
Instruments" Upon condition that England
reVoKes her DEGREES, or that America, in
case she does not so revoke, proclaims
measure OF non-importation against her ea,-
cl"Sspeiy, then make this declaration tina,
my DEGREES Shall be revoked ON the Is,
November.
This is the plain import of this famous
letter 1t demanded that the executive
should stake the lead where national ho-
nor anH the law required him to follow"
IL demanded as condition precedent 10 the
absolute revocation of the French decree.
that the president, under the law of Nav,
1910, should proclaim a non-importa,ion
| act against Eng lana--a measure which nm
der such circumstances, the committee of
! this house In 1908. had pronounced to he =
g n,eGsure Of erar."
What WAS the plain duty of the prcsi.
dent Surely to resist the demand-at
least, to wait until time, and the conduc,
OF France. should strip the declaration"
| OF It's oracular ambiguity. On the contra
~, the president, as if eager TO bind his
| country in the tolls as if eager TO violate
the honor of the nation and The law as soon
| as 1t was possible issued proclamation in
which he declared the French DEGREES re.
voked or modified in which he demanded
from Britain revocation Of her orders in
council, and in which. he announced the
act OF non-importation against her, if she
fa'ied 10 comply with the demand by the Sc
cond day of the February succeeding.
Never, sir. venture to say, never was
public astonishment greater than thatupon
the I'd OF Nov. when this proclamation was
| published.
AND let me solcmnly demand, have not
subsequent events demonstrated that. at
the tlme' and long after the date Of this
proclamation, the Berlin and Milan de-
crees were IN full force against .1merica.
1 wiz briefly examine the matter, and the
American people, even that party which
mas hal'ed lis colors to the mast OF the ex-
ecutive' and resolved, with him 10 90 TO
tue oot.om shall no longer doubt the weak
| ness OF the president, and the black trea-
| emery oi'his imperial dcceyer.
Mr. Speaker-After the first of Noyem-
| per- after the official proclamation of the
presidcn: bad, in the face of the world,
pronounced the Berlin and Milan DEGREES
repeated or modified SO as no longer to VIC.
tate the neutral commerce of America.
American vessels were captured on the
| sea and seized in France under these very
DEGREES, were prosecuted under these We
ry DEGREES, and never released from the
grasp OF these DEGREES, until late i'm the
1911 nd e..