Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1824-08-20
TIE LETTER wlrn AN APPENDIX.

| We have before given our reason for re-
printing the letter Of John Quincy Adams to
IL. u. OTIS "n the embargo Of 1903, viz: The
course MIR. Adams pursued il relation TO that
measure, having beeo made the subject Of dis
cussion, and the pamphlet, containing an ex
position Of his views, being out of print. We
have alsu announced the receipt Of an APP
pendix TO the letter from Mr.. Adams. This
twill add to the interest of the letter very con-
siderably, inasnuch as the only charge made
against the author by Col. Pickering, in his late
review Of the Cunningham Correspondence,
deemed worthy of notice, is here met with the
weapons that never fail, calm reason and truth,
and rsfuted.
We know not which to admire most in this
letter, and especially in the appendix, the
true republican principles incucated, the
qaickness of intellect in discovering the
motives of action in others and the facility of
his pen in exposing their errors, or tn. calm.
yet drm and equabIe temper with which the
most odious charges are met, expatiated ON
and given 10 the winds. We transfer the APP
pendix To our columns, and respectfully ask
for it perusal from all who love to SEE
calumny refuted, error corrected, and truth
triumphant. Bait. Put
| July 81, 1894.
| On the 9th of December 1907, Mr. Jeffer-
sou sent confidential message to both houses
OF Congress, recommending an immediate
em6drgo and enclosing two documents, one
OF which was recent proclamation Of the
king oil Great Britain, authorizing and COM
rnandlng the impressment by his naval Off
GERS of British seamen, from neutrai merchant
vessels, and the other correspondence be
| tween General Armstrong, then our minister
in France, and the French minister of foreign
affairs, Champagny, shelving that the emperor
la..s had a. a
full execution, without regard to the treaty be-
tween the United States and France, his
Berlin decree of elst November, 1906, which
had FOR some mouths after il was issued, been
suspended with regard 10 the vessels of the
United States.
The attack by British squadron upon our
fIigate chesapeake, had very recently occur
red, in consequences ofwhich all British armed
vessels had been inteIdicted from entering the
ports of the United States. The British Or
ders in Council,of 1llh Nov- mber, 1907, pro-
fessedly retaliatory upon the French decree
OF Berlin, had issued, and were already an
nounced in the newspapers Of the United
States, though not yet officially authenticated.
The general State of uur commercial affairs
was lnom-ntous and full ofaIarm. The British
government had disavowed tue attack upon
the chesapeake, but instead of giving i'm
mediate satisfaction for il, had appointed Mr..
Rose To come out upon mission of subter.
fuge aud prevaricaiion concerning il, and at
the same moment had issued without noiifea
ZION either To the government Of the United
States, or TO their minister in London, the or
ders in council, which but for the embargo,
| would, while MIR. Rose was amusing us with
the fragrance Of his diplomacy, have swept
three.fourths of the tonnage of the United
i States into the ports of Great Britain iur con-
/ iscatiun.
twas in this state of things that the mes
sage Recommending the embargo was received
and discussed, in secret session, by the senate.
The only motive for debating il with closed
doors was the necessity, il the measure re-
commended was deemed proper, Of adopting
1t ammedinftiy Every hour Of debate tended
TO defeat the object ofthe message. For, the
instant 1t should be known in the commercial
cities that an embargo 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 elaboration, instead Of sheltcrIng the
property of our merchants frUm depreciation,
would only have cast il forth upon the waters
to be intercepted by the cIuzers VI both the
! combating nations.
u The message was referred, in srnate, to
Committee Of five, of which general Samuel
Smith, himself an eminent merchant, brother
"
! confidence Of Mr.Jellerson, was chairman and
of which was member. The chairman
proposed to the committee, 10 report a bill in
compliance with the recommendation of The
message. objected that the two documents
with The message were not sufficient to Justify
SD strong and severe measure as an embargo
and euqured, whether besides the general
notoriety of the dangers mentioned 10 the
message, the executive had other reasops FIR
the measure, which il might not be conv enien ut
= TO assign. The chairman said, il was ex-
pected and hoped that The act would have a
favourable effect, TO aid the executive in the
, negotiation with MIR. Rose and also that it
was intended as a substitution for the non-im
portaton act, which had passed on the 9Th
of April 1906. but pending the negotiations
had been suspended until the 18th Of Decem-
Der, 1907, only four days before the message
ms act was itse!i nearly equivalent to total
Y commercial non-intercourse with Great Bril-
tain and to have repealed, or longer sus.
pc0dtd IT III that time. would have been y
surrender at discretion, upon all the subjects
OF controversy, then in SO high state OF az
grayatOn, with tiiat power. 10 these easr Us
yielded, and tile bill for laying the embargo
was reported 10 the Senate with the undRi-
nous assent tie committee.
The bill was opposed in the Senate, very
feebiy upon It's merits, and exclusively by the
federal members, then only four II. number
The principal Effort made by them was to Oh
tain delay, which would, AS has been shown,
have defeated ~ great easure the object
/, of The bill. They obtained against the bill on
ly the vote of MIR. NscIay Of Pennsylvania,
and Of MIR. Craw ford, then new member,
but who afterwards constantly supported The
adherence of the administration 10 the act as
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