Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1813-04-01

10 our iaWs) Carried To AMerlCa with III
oths and cutlery. Their alleging that
hey went thither to avoid the effect Of pro.
ecutions for libel or for some other of our
tate crimes, would be no bar to our claim
pom them (; and in short they could never
e sale to the last moment of their lives
I is SAID that the seamen on board of Anne
'ican ships are deserfers. Be it so. We |
nay be sorry that they do desert; Blu, it is
40 crime III the Americans that our sailors |
so into America. Is it not well known that |
numerous deserters from the Austrian aud |
armies have at all times deserted |
into the ncighboring States; & is it not equal
" well known that the neighboring State
has invariably possessed the nndisputcd
right OF giving them protection and of inlist-
ing them in its servicel WHY, therefore.
should we deem it a crime i'm America,
whose abundance of lands and prov sions,
whose high price of labor, aud whose happ-
ness TO the lower orders of mankind, hold
out their arms to the whole world And
here cannot help Introducing remark up
on the proposition made by Lord Castle
reagh to Mr.. Russell, that the American
government should stipulatc to deliver Nh
all British seamen in the service of Ameri-
cans. Mr.. Russell is said to have express.
eel himself as having beer shocked AT this
proposition, which has afforded an abundant
the:ne ofabuseo f him by our hireling writer's.
But, have no scruple to say, thar firmly
believe, that it is proposition, that never
was before made to any Independent State
even to the mnst ny state of GERMANY
there was plan some years ago in agitati-
on among the States of Europe, for putting
IN force mutual surrender of each others
SUBJECTS, whereupon the Able Raynal re-
marks, that, if it had gone into effect, each
OF the several States might have taken the
motto OF Dante over the entrance to his In
/ernalHegtons :" He who enters here leaves
evenhohe behind. He represents it as the
utmost stretch of tyranny a point he SAYS
which the world ought to perish rather
than reach. Aud, therefore, though Lord
Castlereagh's proposition did not go this
length, although it was confined to British
seamen, we have no reason to abuse Mr..
Russell for his expression.
1t will be SAID, may be, that Mr.. Russell
was ordered to stipulate for the surrender,
on our part, of all American seamen. Ave,
out the difference is, that Mr.. Russell pro
posed those only who had been impressed
Oy us whereas we wanted to stipulatc for
the surrender of those British seanen who
had gone into America of their ozp,s free
mil We wanted to have surrendered to us
men who were employed in American mer-
chant Ships; they wanted us to surrender
men, whom we had seized in their ships &
had forced into our men of war But il is
impossible that any one can find any thing
to object to in request that, as hreliniia,
ny, we shouldgive up the Americans whom
we mad impressed into our service What
Us the state OF those men now in service -
what Is their tatef Has the reader re.
iiected upon thisf They must be useless on
ooaro OF ships; they must not acc ; they
must do no seamen's duty; or they must,
according to our own doctrine lately exem-
plified at Horsemonger Lane. be rRAIrops
worthy tfbeing hanged rippedup and cut in
quarters HIS Royal Highness's Declare
ton says, that allegiance to his father and
his successor begins with mans birth and
ends but with his death. And is it not the
same with American citizens Do they not
owe similar allegiance to their country Or
is II about To be pretended, that none bur
Kings can Claim this sort of allegiance 7
Go not thlnk that any one, even of the wri-
ters OF the Times and Courier, will have the
impudence to set up this doctrine but this
they must do before they can make ont n
ny good ground of charge against the Anne
ricans for having demanded as prelim;na-
ry the surrender of the impressed Ameri
can seamen. Captain Dacres, in account
ing for the loss of his frigate, expressly
states that he had many Aniericans o.,
board, whom he permitted to be spectators.
from reluctance to compel them to FIGHT
against their country. And can the reader
believe that this was the only istzpce in
which native Americans were unwillingly
serving on board of British ships of war;
what then again ask, must be the state
OF those Americans And what are we TO
think OF those writer's, who abuse Mr. Rus.
sell LOT proposing to us their surrender as a
step preliminary to any further arrauoe-
ments The declaration compIains tbst
America demanded the abandonment of the
practice of impressment as ty-eln1nar,,
to her passing d law to prevent British sea.
men from being received on board her shiDs.
The hireling writer's have treated this de-
mand as something too insolent to be for
moment listened to. The 'DEcLARATIoN,
does not treat 1t in this lofty style: but II
speaks OF 1t IN pretty strong terms, as thus
=" lhe proposal of an armistice. and of a
Simultaneous repeal of the restrictive mea
sures on both sides, subsequently, made bv
the commanding officer of his mniessv,s ma.
val forces on the American coast were re-
ceived in the same hostile spirit by the 90
vernment of the United States. The cue
pension of the practice of impressment was
insisted upon in the correspondence which
passed OF that occasion, as a uecessar,, mr..
HDIina1y to cessation of hostilities. Nego.
Cation, it was stated, might take place
without any suspension Of the exercise NJ
this right, and also without any armistice
being concluded: but Great Britain reoui-
red Previously TO agree. without any know
ledge of the adequacy of the system which
could be substituted, to negotiate upon the
basis, of accepting the legislative regulations
OF foreign state, as the sole equivalent for