Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1841-06-10

letter.
After history OF the legal proceed
ings in the case, already known to the
reader, the. Secretary proceeds 10 pay a
high cucomum on the Supreme Count o
the State of New York, and then says
"l'hc undersigned has now To 81 nifty
10 Mr.. Fox tha, the Government Of the
United States has not changed the opin-
ion which il has heretofore expressed to
Her Majesty's Government, of The char.
acter Of the act Of destroying the Caro-
line.
The Government Of the United States
docs not think that the Caroline affair can
be Justified by any reasonable applica.
,ion of the right of sell-deience under the
law of nations. But not having been
advised of the reasons under which the
British Government considers the attack
jnstiiable, the Secretary earnestly re-
nc " ing the renonsirance Of this govern.
mcUt according 10 the transaction, alb
stains for The present, from any extended
discussion of the question.
After alIuding to the term "permitlcd," )"
used by Mr.. Fox, in reference to the
org rganizniion Of force in the l.. States
and SAYING that the President is willing
10 believe no intimatlon Is Intended that
the United States Government afforded
any countenance to the acts Of the pa
triois, the Secretary proceeds to remark
that upon line of frontier long enough
to divide the wh1lc Of Europe into halves,
that irregularities, violence, and con-
flicts should sometimes occur, equally
against the will of both Governments, is
certainly easily TO be supposed. This
may be more possible, perhaps IN regard
to the United States, without any re-
proach to their Government, since their
institutions entirely discourage the keep.
ing up of large standing armies IN time
Of peace, and their situation happily ex-
emp,s them from the necessity Of main
tanning such expensive and dangerous
establishments. This Government ac-
knowlcdgcs no delinquency in the per.
iormance Of its duties.
The letter takes exception against the
term pirates as applied TO the American
volunteers, and saws that "thoueh they
were already violating the laws of their
country, they were certainly not pirates,
nor does the undersigned think that il
can advance tho purpose OF fair and
friendly disc usSion, or hasten The accom-
modation of national difficulties, SD to
denominate them. Their offence, what
ever il was, had no analogy 10 cases Of
piracy. The fact that for the last two
centuries, subjects Of the British crown
have been permitted to engage in foreign
wars, and the recruiting of whole regi-
mrnIs for the Spanish service, openly in
England, is forcbly alluded to /; aud yet
it has not been imagined that Enga
at any time allowed her subjects to turn
pirates"
The Government Of the United Sinics
has not, from the first fallen into doubts,
entertained, OF the true extent
Of the duties of neutrality. 1t has held
that, however it may have been in less
enlightened ages, the just Interpretation
ol the modern law of nations is, that neu-
trail States are bound to be strictly neu-
trail aud that it is a manifest and gross
for individuals 10 engage in
the civil conflicts of other States, and
thus to he at war, while their Government
is at peace. War and peace are high
national relations, which can properly
be established or changed only by ma
tions themselves.
Alter quoting instances from the whole
history OF the Republic, to show the sin
ceri,y with which the United States have
carried out the principles above stated,
The letter of MIR. Webster thus conc cludes:
"under these circumstances, and un-
der those Immediately connected with |
the transaction itself, it will be for Her
Mn esty's Government to show upon |
whnt state Of facts, and what rules Of |
law the destruction Of the Caro-
line IS to be defined 1t will be for that |
to show the necessity of
seli-deiencc, instant ,Ovcrwhe lining ,leav-
ing no choice of means, and no nome Mt |
for delibera,ion. 1t will be for i. TO
show, also, that the local authorities Of
Canada, even supPosing the necessity Of
the moment authorized them TO enter the
territory of the United States at all, did |
nothing unreasonable or excessive; since \
The act, justi cd by the necessity of self
defence, must be limited by that necessi-
ly, and kept clearly within it.
Ii must be shown that admonilon or
renonsirance, tn the persons on board \
the 'Caroine was imprac,icable, or
would have been unavailing; il must be
shown ihat daylight could not ho waited
for; that theie could be no attempt at
between the innocent and
The guilty that ii would not have been
enough TO seize and detain the vessel
but that there was necessity, present
and inevitable for attacking her, in the
darkness of the night, while moored to
he shore, and while unarmcd men were
asleep on board, killing some and wound
'ng olhets, aud then drawing her into
he current, above the cataract, setting
her on fire, and, careless TO know whclh-
RI there might not be in her the innocent
"ilh The guilty or the living with the
Head, committed her TO a fate which fills |
he Imagination will, horror "a necessity
or all this the Government ofthe United II
states cannot believe To have existed.
All will see, that If such things be al
owed to occur, they might lead to bloody
Il