Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1824-08-20
APPENDIX.

Hon. HARRISON GRAY OTIs.
APPENDIX.
July 81, 1924.
On the 18th of December, 1907 MIR. Jetier-
son sent confidential message to both houses of
congress, recommending an immediate EMBARGO
and enclosing two documents, one of which
was recent proclamation of the king of Great
Britain, authorizing and commanding the i'm
Pressment by his naval officers, of British sea-
men, from neutral merchant vessels, and the o.
| Their correspondence between General Arm
strong, then our minister in France, and the
French minister of foreign affairs, Champagny
showing that the Emperor Napoleon had finally
determined to carry into full execution without
regard to the treaty between the United States
| and France, his Berlin decree of 2lst Novem-
Der, BOG, which had for some months after il
was issued, been suspended with regard to the
vessels of the United States.
The attack by British squadron upon our
frgatc Chesapeake, had very recently occurred,
| IN consequence of which all British armed YES
sells had been interdictcd from entering the ports
of the United States. The British Orders in
Council of / 1th November, 1907, professedly
retaliatory upon the French decree of Berlin.
had issued, and were already announced in the
newspapers of the United States, though not vet
officially authenticated. The general state of
| our commercial affairs was momentous and full
OF alarm. The British government had disa-
vowed the attack upon the Chesapeake, but in
stead Of giving immediate satisfaction fori had
appointed Mr.. Rose to come ont upon mission
of subterfuge and prcvarication concerning
1T, and at the same moment had issued without
notification either to the government of the u
nitcd States, or to their minister IN London the
orders in council, which but for the embargo
would, while Mr.. Rose was amusing us with
the fragrance of his diplomacy, have swept
l three-fourths of the tonnage of the u States
| al d
| 1t was IN this state of things that the message
recommending the embargo was received and
discussed, in secret session, by the senate. The
only motive for debating it with closed doors
was the necessity, II the measure RECOMMENDED,
was deemed proper, of adopting it Immediately.
Every hour of debate tended to defeat the OBJ
ject of the message. For the instant it should
be known in the commercial cities that an EN-
barge was impending, the spirit of desperate
adventure would have rushed to sea, with every
| plank that could have been made to float and
the delay of week in deiberation, instead of
sheiering the property of our merchants from
depreciation, would only have cast it forth upon
the waters TO be intercepted BY the cruizers of
both the combating nations.
| The message was referred, in senate, TO
committee of FIVE, of which general Samuel
Smith, himself an eminent merchant, brother to
the secretary OF the navy, and in the full conf
| dence of Mr.. Jefferson, was chairman, and of
which | a member. The chairman pro-
posed to the committee, to report bill in COM
pliance with the recommendation of the message.
| | objected that the two documents with the mes
sage were not sufficient to Justify so strong and
severe measure as an embargo; and enquired,
whether besides the general notorety of the
| dangers, mentioned In the message, the execu-
tive bad other reasons for the measure, which it
might not be convenient to assign. The chair
man said, it was expected and hoped that the
act would have favourable effect, to aid the ex-
ecutive in the negotiation with Mr.. Rose and
also that il intended as a substitution for
the non-importation act, which had passed on
the 9th of April, 1906, but pending the negoti-
| atoms had been suspended until the 14th of De-
cember, 1907, only four days before the mes
sage. This act was itself nearly equivalent to
| a total commercial nOn-intercourse with Great
Britain and to have repealed, or longer sus-
| pended it at that time, would have been n sur
render at discretion, upon ri the subjects OF
controversy, then in so high q state of aggraya-
ton, with that power. To these reasons Weld
ed, and the bill for laying the embargo was re-
poyted to the Senate with the unanimous assep,
of the committee.
The bill was opposed in the Senate, very fee
bly, upon its merits, and exclusively by the fe-
deral members, then only four in number. The
principle effort made by them was to obtain de-
| tay which would, as has been shown, have de-
featcd in q great measure the object of the bill
They obtained against the bill only the vote Of
Mr.. Maclay of Pennsy lvania, and of Mr.. Craw-
ford, then new member, but who afterwards
constantly supported the adherence of the adj
ministration to the act, as long as it was conti-
nucd.
In assigning to the Senate very briefly my
reasons for asserting to the bill, and for the be-
lief that it ought to pass without delay, admit
ted that the two documents transmitted with
the message, would not have been of themselves,
| to my mind, sufficient to warrant the measure
recommended in it but referring to the exist
ing state of things, of public notoriety, and de-
nominated in the message (" The present crisis, y
/ observed that the executive, having recon-
mendcd the measure upon his responsibility, had
doubtless other reasons for it which was per-
suaded were satisfactory that with this view,
convinced of the expedicncy Of the BILL was
also impressed with the necessity of its immedi-
ate adoption that it was time, not for delibe-
ration but for action and that wished the
bill, instead of lingering through the di-
latory process of ordinary legislation, might
pass through all the stages of its enactment
| in single day. With these views a de-
cided majority of the Senate concurred. The
rule which required that bills should be read
| three times on three different days, was suspen-