The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-26

AS England was stronger than
| France on the sea, American vessels
had a sort of gamblers chance to get
| through. They might take their cargo,
| consigned to Copenhagen or to any port
| in Denmark, and land II in England,
pay duty on 1t, load again and proceed
to destination. If no French fleet
caught them they might load there
and return, breaking cargo again at
| London or Liverpool, and so come
home. The restrictions laid upon
| American commerce by these two gi-
ants-England and France--was all
but disastrous to the unit'n.
Congress and the president-Jefferson
was then our chief magistrate-tried to
| punish Europe by refusing to send
| them any of our tobacco or corn or
flour or leather or potash or oil or salt.
| The embargo" and the "non-inter-
| course act' were severe measures.
They stopped all our products from go-
| ing to Europe, save such shipments as
went out of the country through the
| hands of smugglers. But, really, Eu-
| rope got along under the infliction rath-
| er better than did the American people,
| 1t was an inconvenience there; 1t was
| pretty nearly self-destruction here.
| Under that triangular prohibition--for-
| hidden by the French to trade with
| England or any ally of England; for
| hidden by England to trade with
| France or any ally of France; forbid
| den by our own federal authorities to
trade with anybody abroad-the grass
| grew on the wharves of every seaport
in America. The exports in 1908 tell to
| 81" 100 00O-a reduction of $S6,000000 in
| a year. And the imports, fell from
| Sl3S 900, 900 to $50, 1000, 900. A good deal
| was smuggled out of the country, no
| doubt; but trade cannot flourish that
| way. And suffering from the injury of
! trade prohibitions and the insults of
search, the American nation waited
/ nine years before declaring war.
HAD CAPTURED $50 VESSELS.
In that time England had captured
| $50 American vessels. and had impress
ed seamen beyond any recorded num-
| her. France had captured more than
| SOC, and held at one time 1S3 American
ships. Some were set at liberty by the
| captors; some were sold. The cash
realized went into the treasury of Ma
! pOleon or of Great Britain.
Doubtless we could at any time
| have improved the material condition
| by going to war with France, and so
securing England as an ally. But such
an act, under such coercion as the
| English exercised, would have meant
| complete surrender to Great Britain-a
rerunciation of everything gained in
| the revolutionary war. And while
| there were many people, particularly
in New England. who would have been
glad to see the step taken, the president
and the congress suffered and strug-
| gled and hoped till forbearance ceased
| to be virtue. Then they fought and
| the issue fixed the status of the ration.
| The United States of America rose at
once from a thrd-rate power to one
| which no ruler on earth will assault
| with the reasonable expectation Of es-
| Gaping sCathless.
Madison was elected in 1908, and pc
| titions for the repeal of the embargo
act came in great numbers from New
| England, which section suffered most
severely, and whose people openly de-
nounced the republic. March Is, 1909,
| the embargo was removed, except as to
Great Britain and France.
All through 1909 and 1910 the i'm
! pressment of American sailors by
England continued. In 1911 the Ameri-
can frigate President and the British
sloop of war Little Belt encountered off
Cape Charles ard fought. The Pres-
dent was victorious. The blame for
the collision was with the British, since
they answered with a round shot when
Commodore Rodgers hailed With what
| ship is that?"
BROUGHT ON THE WAR.
That was battle. but it was not war,
since neither nation would concede it's
officer was to blame. But it fired the
! nations heart as NJ other event had
done. At the time Americans did not
expect much from the navy, but count
| ed on raising an army in the event
| of a war with Great Britain. They
| hoped 10 capture Canada. AS it turned
| ont the effective battles of the war
were all on water.
New England had from the first op-
| posed the war spirit, urging that Great
| Britain was doing no more than the
war with Napoleon compelled her to
| do, and contendng that even the habit
Of impressing seamen would cease if
| the United States could but remain
| patient a little longer One Of the
| pamphlets of the day was published
in T;oston under the title: War With
out Hope; Peace Without Dishonor."
The New England federalists were
strongly seconded by John Randolph,
Of Roanoke, who fought on the floor of
| the house through every session
against tie policy of the adminstra-
ton, and all the friends of jefferson
and of Madison. SO intense was he in
his hostility to the government that one
day when crossed in debate by John w.
Eppes. of Virginia, he-being flushed
with liquor-called Eppes a liar. The
house was in an uprOar. The speaker
pounded for order. Members on every
| side hurried to pacify the angry legis-
lators. Eppes sat down and wrote a
challenge\ and Randolph hurried away
to make arrangements for his second.
NO REDRESS.
All through these years succession
of commissioners had been waiting in
London in the vain attempt to secure
from England an abatement of that
odious claim to the right of search and
seizure. But premiers rose and fell,
news travelled slowly, and they con-
tinually failed, James Monroe devoted
himself to the task through the last
days of King Georges reign, but that
stubborn monarch would not abate one
jot of his ancient privilege. But the
contentious old monarch--who had no
easy task controlling the commons
gradually lost his hold on reason, and
in 1911 was succeeded by the regency
of the Prince of Wales This monarch,
who became George ", on the death
OF the king in 1920, was perhaps the