Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-05-19
ItONMISTC.-r,
IVOHHINICATID
British OuIragek Kensua

The late accounts Of the firing at, biingiD,
to, and searching American vessel. a. 10
coast OF Cuba, and 10 the Gulf of New.
reminds US Of events of the same kind nh,
happened some fifty years ago, aud which !,
q great measure led to the war of l.ro
called "the second war Of independence -
Great Britain has not gone quite 50 f,,,.
this time; she has not impressed our se,u.,
yet, to Eight her naval battles, because r..
hsps, she does not want them. The ar,b,.
of the Life of Decatur. | think, estimate. u.
number of impressed American seaman :,
the service of Great Britain, when thu ~.
broke out, at three thousand five bupd,.,
men: many of these men were killed :,
fighting the battles of our eneuy--o,. Al,
was the only enemy or the greatest We b.i
for years before the war was declared. NAM
from this town were impressed, some of vbon,
never returned: one at leas. is said 10 b,,.
been killed because he would not fight again,
his country. His name, if the writer remsm'
bsrs, was Robert McRea; be belonged 10 :.
family noted for patriotism and yslor from n,
revolutionary war to New Orleans. Tbs,eT,
tives and friends Of these victims Of B,,n.b
tyranny are still among Us. The writer or
this, many years ago saw 2 WAGNER from
Psuquier or Culpeper who in his youtb had
sailed out OF Alexandria, and had been Inv,
pressed on board Of one Of SIR Sydney sui,b.
| nj
Jean D'Acre, where Napoleon was stoppeI
by the British and their noble ally Digzz,r--
"par mobile fratrum" The name Of the W.
ginian referred to believe was Wa,biup,oo
Cooke. No man who heard him talk. couyJ
doubt the truth of his story. 0ne Of tbe,
own writers acknowledges the fact Of nm.
isning impressed Americans B,.1
Hall 10 one of his books mentions the IN.
human fortunes ct noble Impressed Amer.
can sailor who refused 70 do duty % board Of,
British man-Of. Waffle recital is enough !,
make ones blood run cold. Capt. Hall ala
mentions the fact of an American cosste,
being fired into of Sandy Hook, by a British
lrigate, and the mate being kllled--sud the
consequent excitement st the funeral of the
murdered man; and remarks nearly as fol.
lows-l quote from memOry:-"No wonder
these people were hostile to us"-ani ,h,
admission from such an unirendy source a.
Capt. Hall--who can doubt ~ Tie firing
into the Chesapeake was another instance
| The writer was informed by a naval con.
msnder whose exploits shed lusre on the
annals of the Navy, and whose Dame will! be
handed down among the worthless Of our dea,
old mother State, that one VI our Gun
briggs, the Vixen, If the name is rightly u.
mem bered- was on her way u New Oresa.
having on board seven passengers among
| them MIR. Poindexter, the delegate from ID.
then territory of MIssissippi-wheu 10 pas.
sing British man-of-war of larger force a.
anchor on the Bahama Bank, she va. fred
into and her main or trysal boom was cut
away. These are among the macy iustat.
ces of British outrage with which the papsf'
of those days teened. SDme years ago, dar.
Jag the reign Of Louis Philippe, Grea, Br.
! tain got up what was called the Quibtuy.a
treaty, mutually allowing the right Of search
between Great Britain, France, Russia Aus.
tria, and Prussia--in other words, makDgG
universal: for if all the great power Of EurOp.
agreed TO the measure IL would have bad ID.
force of international law. This Was Osten.
sibly to suppress the African slave trade;b U'
Russia, having little, or no navy in the A.
laptic--Austria and Prussia none at sll-aD!
Louis Philippe, being so anxious to please The
other powers--it would have made GreatBf
tain. in effect, the police keeper Of the sea-
and then who could have resisted her 10 he
execution Of the right and search and impress.
ment, also, bad such been her policy.
Unfortunately for the views Of Great Bf.
tain, our couutry, at that time had repre'et.
tative at Paris, who well understood Der inter
eats, and by simple protest, blew the whole
eontrivance to atoms. Our Minister ~ France
saw that active and prompt action was requI'.
ed, and without waiting for Instruction, ir3g
home, he saved his country from the bloodle'i
and most destructive Of war; which woul!
have ensued unless We bad surrendered oG'
national independence and suffered Gres;
Britain to drive off our trade not only from
Africa, but everywhere. Fortunately, thai
minister is now senior pilot Of our ship q
State" and the veteran commander Is under
stood to agree with him in our foreign pOiic!.
The country looks TO General Cass 10 see thee
great outrages promptly redres-cd-hs ib'
K oman people expected generals from :h'
Scipio family" the country expects Ir1T
the veterans Of 1872. their patriotic dug
now. British cruisers. some years since
searched and sent into por, for trial and COO.
domination, many American vessels engaged
in trade on the coast of Africa, 90 pre'eoee
Of their being engaged in the slave trade
thereby breaking up their voyages, and 'wI
ping our trade; for no trade could stand thai
Now they seem to have commenced 90 oa'
own coasts, and when we consider that sooU
seven .eighths of the foreign vessels rading
Cuba are American, the effect is very agF'
rent.
at has been sugguested that The BRITISH
tcer in command Of one Of the cruisers "a
drunk" but the boarding Lieutenant sad TIE
orders were ito examine all vessels W.
apparently sober, and If he was not, dii be ..
tell the truth! DJes Great Britain mean
break up our trade to Cuba. Oh our owe c''''
or is che anxious to prevent the N"Hi.
from lauding in Cuba or else"here, " ''',
and more ominUus still, does sbe mean
put q stop 20 the transportation oil slave "''
one state to another? All vessels ens'9'
in that business must pass by Cuba 1910 w
Gulf of Mexico and run the British CAV
let. There is little doubt that there J, :
cret treaty between Great BrItslo, ff '..
and Spain; guaranteeing the island o. W.
70 Spain, and that as long a. Spala %.
Cuba, Great Britain aud France vii ba''''
excuse for interfering 10 American ab'I'
When Cuba passes into the pOsse'sl'h VI ~. ~
United States, in any way, the causes " :.
ference with these powers, will be 's'"!
niDi.hed God grant that this may stes's