صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

opinions which the Emperor of Russia might, entertain of the transactions at Copenhagen, could be such as to preclude his Imperial Maj. from undertaking at the request of G. Britain, that same office of mediator, which he had assumed with so much alacrity on the behalf of France.-Nor can his Maj. forget, that the first symptoms of reviving confidence, since the peace of Tilsit, the only prospect of success in the endeavours of his Maj.'s ambassador to restore the ancient good understanding between G. Britain and Russia, appeared when the intelligence of the siege of Copenhagen had been recently received at St. Petersburgh. The inviolabili-ject. But his Maj. is at a loss to reconcile

ty of the Baltic Sea, and the reciprocal guarantees of the powers that border upon it, guarantees said to have been contracted with the knowledge of the British government, are stated as aggravations of his Maj.'s proceedings in the Baltic. It cannot be intended to represent his Maj. as having at any time acquiesced in the principles upon which the inviolability of the Baltic is maintained, however his Maj. may, at particular periods, have forborne, for special reasons, influencing his conduct at the time, to act in contradiction of them. Such forbearance never could have applied but to a state of peace and real neutrality in the North; and his Maj. most assuredly could not be expected to recur to it, after France has been suffered to establish herself in undisputed sovereignty along the whole coast of the Baltic Sea, from Dantzig to Lubec.-But the higher the value which the Emperor of Russia places on the engagements respecting the tranquillity of the Baltic, which he describes himself as inheriting from his immediate predecessors, the Empress Catherine and the Emperor Paul, the less justly can his Imperial Maj. resent the appeal made to him by his Maj. as the guarantee of the peace to be concluded between G. Britain and Denmark. In making that appeal, with the utmost confidence and sincerity, his Maj. neither intended, nor can he imagine that he offered, any insult to the Emperor of Russia. Nor can his Maj. conceive that, in proposing to the Prince Royal terms of peace, such as the most successful war on the part of Den-mark could, hardly have been expected to extort from G. Britain, his Maj. rendered himself liable to the imputation, either of exasperating the resentment, or of outrag ing the dignity, of Denmark.-His Maj, has thus replied to all the different accusations by which the Russian government labours to justify the rupture of a connection which has subsisted for ages, with reciprocal advantages to G. Britain and Russia; and at

tempts to disguise the operation of that ex-
ternal influence by which Russia is driven
into unjust hostilities for interests not her
own. The Russian Declaration proceeds to
announce the several conditions on which
alone these hostilities can be terminated, and
the intercourse of the two countries renew-
ed.-His Maj. has already had occasion to
assert that justice has in no instance been
denied to the claims of his Imperial Maj.'s
subjects.-The termination of the war with
Denmark has been so anxiously sought by
his Maj., that it cannot be necessary for his
Maj. to renew any professions upon that sub-

the Emperor of Russia's present anxiety for
the completion of such an arrangement,
with his Imperial Maj.'s recent refusal to
contribute his good offices for effecting it.-
The requisition of his Imperial Maj. for the
immediate conclusion, by his Maj., of a
peace with France, is as extraordinary in the
substance, as it is offensive in the manner.
His Maj. has at no time declined to treat
with France, when France has professed a
willingness to treat on an admissible basis.
And the Emperor of Russia cannot fail to
remember that the last negociation between
G. Britain and France was broken off, upon
points immediately affecting, not his Maj.'s
own interests, but those of his Imperial
ally. But his Maj. neither understands, nor
will be admit, the pretension of the Em-
peror of Russia to dictate the time, or the
mode, of his Maj.'s pacific negociation with
other powers. It never will be endured by
his Maj. that any government shall indemni-
fy itself for the humiliation of subserviency
to France, by the adoption of an insulting
and peremptory tone towards G. Britain.
His Maj. proclaims anew those principles of
maritime law, against which the armed neu-
trality, under the auspices of the Empress
Catherine, was originally directed; and
against which the present hostilities of Rus-
sia are denounced. Those principles have
been recognized and acted upon in the best
periods of the history of Europe; and act-
ed upon by no power with more strictness
and severity than by Russia herself in the
reign of the Empress Catherine.-Those
principles it is the right and the duty of
his Maj. to maintain; And against every
confederacy, his Maj. is determined, under
the blessing of divine Providence, to main-
tain them. They have at all times contri-
buted essentially to the support of the mari-
time power of G. Britain; but they are be-
come incalculably more valuable and im-
portant at a period when the maritime power
of G. Britain constitutes the sole remaining

bulwark against the overwhelming usurpations of France; the only refuge to which other nations may yet resort, in happier times, for assistance and protection.-When the opportunity for peace between G. Britain. and Russia shall arrive, his Maj. will embrace it with eagerness. The arrangements of such a negociation will not be difficult or complicated. His Maj., as he has nothing to concede, so he has nothing to require: satisfied if Russia shall manifest a disposition to return to her ancient feelings of friendship towards G. Britain; to a just consideration of her own true interests; and to a sense of her own dignity as an indepen

dent nation.

RUSSIA. -Order of Council for general
Reprisals against Russia.

At the Court at Windsor, the 18th of December, 1807, present, the King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council.-—His Majesty having taken into consideration the injurious and hostile proceedings of the Emperor of all the Russias, as set forth in the Declaration of this date, issued by his Majesty's command; and being determined to take such measures as are necessary for vindicating the honour of his crown, and procuring reparation and satisfaction, his Majesty therefore is pleased, by and with the advice of his Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, that general reprisals be granted against the ships, goods, and subjects, of the Emperor of all the Russias (save and except any vessels to which his Majesty's licence has been granted, or which have been directed to be released from the embargo, and have not since arrived at any foreign ports,) so that as well his Majesty's fleets and ships, as also all other ships and vessels that shall be commissionated by letters of marque or general reprisals, or otherwise, by his Majesty's Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain, shall and may lawfully seize all ships, vessels, and goods belonging to the Emperor of all the Russias, or his subjects, or others inhabiting within the territories of the Emperor of all the Russias, and bring the same to judgment in any of the Courts of Admiralty within his Majesty's dominions, &c. &c.-CAMDEN, P. WESTMORLAND, C. 'P. S. HAWKESBURY, MULGRAVE, ST. HELEN'S, SP. PERCEVAL, G. CANNING.

JAMAICA-Resolutions, passed unanimously
by the House of Assembly, on the 29th of
Oct. 1807, relative to the distressed state
of the Colony, and especially to the Aboli-
tion Act, pussed by the last Parliament.
(Continued from p. 95)

If a community shall ever be reduced to that calamitous situation, when the whole clear in. come of the proprietors of the soil shall have been put in requisition for the treasury, there can remain in that country few objects of legi.. timate taxation. It has been proved beyond the possibility of being controverted, that the cultivators of sugar in this island, compre hending both landholders and farmers, are, with very few exceptions, in the unfortunate state supposed, even if they were exempt from the burthen of debts.--The greatest proportion of the taxes of this country is raised on this body of proprietors directly, and a considerable share of the remainder indirectly, through various classes of the inhabitants, whose chief means of support are drawn from the sugar plantations.— It were vain to search for means of levying part of a revenue that does not exist. Aud it is painful to the committee to state, that it will be impracticable to continue to raise within this island, those contributions which were chearfully paid in happier times, unless the sugar planters shall be enabled to support their share of the public burthens, by some radical, effectual, and permanent, measures, which shall restore and ensure to them an income, bearing a just proportion to their large capitals, on which our local taxes have been heretofore chiefly assessed.—I hat, from the unexpected sums which have been, and may be, collected, from the extraordinary importation of Africans, as before stated, and the unexpected falling in of debts. due to the public, it may be practicable, with rigid economy in all other branches of the public expenditure, to continue such subsistence another year. And the commit tee recommend to the House to vote sums necessary for giving the said additional subsistence to the 31st day of December, 1808. The committee humbly hope, that, 'on a faithful representation to our most gracious. Sovereign, of the calamitous situation to which his loyal subjects of this island are reduced, his Majesty, with his accustomed benevolence, will recognize the uniform zeal with which the voluntary contributions towards the comfort of his Majesty's troops: in this island have been made, whilst the inhabitants had the means: and, considering the state to which proprietors, once opulent, are reduced, that his Majesty will be pleased to direct his ministers to adopt such measures as shall be necessary for protecting this yet important colony from the general funds of the empire, to which it contributes so large and disproportionate a share. And the committee recommend to the House to appoint a committee to prepare a most hum bie address to his Majesty, setting forth these

our grievances and oppressions, earnestly beseeching his Majesty's commands on his ministers to adopt proper measures for our relief and redress.-Ordered, that Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Grant, Mr. Whitehorne, Mr. Sims, and Mr. Finlayson, be a committee for that purpose. Resolved, That this House, for itself, and on the part of its constituents, and of all other persons in any manner concerned in the welfare of this island, do, in the most solemn and decided manner, protest against the act of the Imperial Parliament, passed on the 25th day of March last, entitled, "An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade," not only as a breach, on the part of government, of the conditions under which his Majesty's subjects embarked in the setslement of this island, but as a novel, unjust, and unconstitutional interference with its internal government and affairs; calculated to defeat and to subvert our laws, to deprive us of our dearest birth-rights, the trial by jury, to raise envy and jealousy in the breasts of the settled negroes; subversive of an ancient and admitted principle of the British constitution, that no laws can be binding on those who are not represented in the parliament which enacts them, placing not only our rights and properties, but also our lives, in the most imminent danger, and tending to promote disaffection in the minds of his Majesty's most loyal subjects.III. Resolved, That the legislature of this island has, and ever had, the exclusive and absolute right to enact its own laws, and to regulate entirely its internal government and affairs: that the Imperial Parliament hath not, nor hath any other power upon earth, the mest distant right to interfere therein (except only his Majesty, in the instance of disallowing the laws here made); and that in support of the dearest rights and liberties of our fellow subjects, it is our duty, by all con titutional means in our power, to resist the attempt that has been, and every attempt that may be, made, to destroy or to abridge that right. IV. Resolved, That this House, in more fortunate days, when the situation of the inhabitants of this island was different, and when the burthens and restrictions imposed by Great Britain were infinitely less oppressive than they now are, has never failed in shewing the strongest disposition to render the situation of his Majesty's troops in this island most comfortable; and that this house is still influenced by the same disposition; but is totally deprived of the same means.V. Resolved, That the usual pay and subsistence granted to his Majesty's white troops stationed in this island, to the extent of 3000 men, be continued to

them until the 31st day of December, 1508; in the first place, by exhausting the funds to arise from the duties on new negroes, under the act commonly called the additional duty bili, and, as to the deficiency, out of the modies to arise from some or one of the other money bills to be passed this session. -VI. Resolved, That the abolition act, by its totally destroying, for the future, the customary revenue under the negro duty bill, by its baneful effects on our ordinary resources, and its general tendency to overwhelm the unfortunate settlers and inhabitants of this island, in combination with the excessive duties and charges on our produce, and the well-known general distress of the colony, render us totally unable to make any provision for his Majesty's troops, beyond the period above-mentioned, nor can we contemplate a renewal of such grants, until, by a redress of our grievances, the minds of our constituents respecting our constitutional rights shall be quieted, and the possession of the means shall again enable us to bear so heavy a burthen.-VII. Resolved, That under the pressure of a heavy public debt, and of individual distress, now actually felt and become insupportable; and from the prospect of the calamities which must be the inevitable consequence of the abolition act, it is absolutely necessary to relieve all ranks, by moderating the taxes, and by retrenching the public expenditure in every possible manner, even in some cases of acknowledged public benefit and advantage. That the vote of the House, refusing the annual grant of £15,000 for roads at a dis-, tance from the sea, by which internal settlers, who so much augment our strength, are discouraged, should be followed up by a resolution to suspend for the present all grants for public buildings and barracks, except in a limited degree and under very apparent necessity.VIII. Resolved, That the further prosecution of the measures about to be adopted in the Imperial Parliament for the relief of the sugar colonies; the repeal in toto of the abolition act; or, if that cannot be effected, the absolute repeal, at least of all the obnoxious and unconstitutional enactments thereof, coupled with a full compensation to the island for its losses, sufferings, and disappointments, in consequence of the abolition of the trade; the adoption by the British government of the means of affording general protection to this colony at the general expence of the empire; and, above all, an abandonment by the Imperial Parliament of every pretension to an interference with our internal government or affairs, are objects of the highest importance

to this island, and call for the immediate, the serious, and most energetic attention of the island agent.

AMERICAN STATES.- -Report, made in the Congress, Nov. 17, 1807, touching the. Affair of the Chesapeake Frigate.

Mr. Blount, from a Committee of the House of Representatives on a part of the President's Message, reported this day on the subject of the attack on the Chesapeake. The report commences with an expression of sensibility at this outrage: states the receipt of information relative thereto from the state and navy departments; presents a general view of the circumstances, observing that it might be said to have been incontestibly proved, that William Ware, John Strachan and Dan, Martin (three of the four persons taken out of the Chesapeake) are citizens of the United States; but the committee add, that they conceive it unnecessary for them or the House to go into any inquiry on that part of the subject, as in their opinion whether the men taken from the Chesapeake were, or were not citizens of the United States, and whether the Chesapeake was or was not within the acknowledged limits of the United States at the time they were taken, the character of the act of From taking them remains the same.

the foregoing facts, it appears to your committee that the outrage committed on the frigate Chesapeake has been stamped with circumstances of indignity and insult, of which there is scarcely to be found a parallel in the history of civilized nations, and requires only the sanction of the government under colour of whose authority it was perpetrated, to make it just cause of, if not an irresistible call for, instant and severe retaliation. Whether it will receive that sanction, or be disavowed and declared an unauthorised act of a subordinate officer, remains to be determined by the answer which shall be given to the demand of explanation; that answer, now daily expected, will either sink the detestable act into piracy, or expand it to the magnitude of premeditated hostility against the sovereignty and independence of this nation; and until its true character shall be fixed and known, your committee deem it expedient to decline expressing any opinion as to the measures proper to be adopted in retaliation to it. But the committee add, as other acts of aggression have been committed within our ports and waters, such as these mentioned in the President's Message, the committee are of opinion, that it is expedient to provide more effectually for the protection of our ports and harbours; but

not being prepared to report specifically ou that subject, they ask further indulgence of the House; and submit the following resolution-Resolved, That the attack of the British ship of war Leopard on the United States frigate Chesapeake, was a flagrant violation of the jurisdiction of the United States; and that the continuance of the British squadron (of which the Leopard was one) in their waters, after being notified by the proclamation of the President of the United States, ordering them to depart the same, was a farther violation thereof,

ENGLAND. -Order in Council, relative to Neutral Commerce. Dated Dec. 18, 1807. At the Court at Windsor, the 18th day of Dec. 1807, present the King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council.-His Majesty is pleased, by and with the advice of his Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, that nothing in his Majesty's Order in Council of the 11th of Nov. last shall extend, or be construed to extend, to permit any vessel to import any articles of the produce or manufacture of the enemies' colonies in the West Indies, direct from such colonies to any port of this kingdom; and it is further ordered, that all vessels which may arrive in the ports of this kingdom direct from the colonies aforesaid, shall, nevertheless, be released, upon proof being made that the charter-party or other agreement for the voyage was entered into before notice of this order. And the Right Hon. the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury, his Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and the Judges of the High Court of Admiralty and Courts of Vice-Admiralty, are to take the necessary measures herein as to them shall respectively appertain.-W. Faw

KENER.

FRANCE.

·Decree against English Com merce, dated at Milan, Dec 17, 1807, and signed by the Emperor Napoleon. Toge ther with a Supplement by the French Minister of Marine.

Napoleon, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, and Protector of the Rhinish Confederation :-Observing the measures adopted by the British government, on the 11th of November last, by which vessels belonging to neutral, friendly, or even powers the allies of England, are made liable, not only to be searched by English cruizers, but to be compulsorily detained in England, and to have a tax laid on them of so much per cent. on the cargo, to be regulated by the British legislature.-Observing that by these

acts the British government denationalizes ships of every nation in Europe, that it is not competent for any government to detract from its own independence and rights, all the sovereigns of Europe having in trust the sovereignties and independence of the flag; that if by an unpardonable weakness, and which, in the eyes of posterity, would be an indelible stain, such a tyranny was allowed to be established into principles, and consecrated by usage, the English would avail themselves of it to assert it as a right, as they have availed themselves of the tolerance of governments to establish the infamons principle, that the flag of a nation does not cover goods, and to give to their right of blockade an arbitrary extension, and which infringes on the sovereignty of every state; we have decreed, and do decree as follows:

Art. I. Every ship, to whatever nation it may belong, that shall have submitted to be searched by an English ship, or to a voyage to England, or that shall have paid any tax whatsoever to the English government, is thereby, and for that alone, declared to be denationalized, to have forfeited the protection of its king, and to have become English property.-Art. II. Whether the ships thus denationalized by the arbitrary measures of the English government, enter into our ports, or those of our allies, or whether they fall into the hands of our ships of war, or of our privateers, they are declared to be good and lawful prizes. Art. III. The British islands are declared to be in a state of blockade, both by land and sea. Every ship, of whatever nation, or whatsoever the nature of its cargo so may be, that sails from the ports of England, or those of the English colonies, and of the countries occupied by English troops, and proceeding to England, or to the English colonies, or to countries occnpied by English troops, is good and lawful prize, as contrary to the present decree; and may be captured by our ships of war or our privateers, and adjudged to the captor.Art. IV. These measures, which are resorted to only in just retaliation of the barbarous system adopted by England, which assimilates its legislation to that of Algiers, shall cease to have any effect with respect to all nations who shall have the firmness to compel the English government to respecttheir flag. They shall continue to be rigorously in force as long as that government does not return to the principle of the law of nations, which regulates the relations of civilized states in a state of war. The provisions of the present decree shall be abrogated and null, in fact, as soon as the English abide again by the prinriples of the law of nations, which are also

the principles of justice and of honour.—— All our ministers are charged with the execution of the present decree, which shall be inserted in the Bulletin of the Laws.

As a Supplement to this decree, there is in the Official Journal the following Circular Letter, addressed by the Minister of the Interior to the Chamber of Commerce:---You are not unacquainted, gentlemen, with the late acts of the British government, that last stage of the oppression of the commerce of the world; you know that it has resolved to destroy the feeble remains of the independence of the seas. It now thinks proper, that henceforth no ship shall navigate the seas, without touching at its ports, without a tribute to its pretended sovereignty, and without receiving from it an ignominious Jicence. Thus the ocean is henceforward only the field of slavery! The usurpation of the most sacred of the rights of nations is consummated, and this tyrannic yoke is to press upon them until the day of vengeance, or until brought to a due sense of inoderation, the English government will itself calm its rage, and break that sceptre to which the nations of the continent will never consent to submit.-I am calling our common attention to the important circumstances which must powerfully induce us to awaken your patriotism and your wisdom. One would have imagined, that every obstruction and restraint that clogged the course of the commerce on the continent, had been exhausted; still, however, they are going to be aggravated by the measures lately adopted by England; but they will find our minds. made up to struggle against, and to overcome, this new mode of oppression.--We must not shut our eyes to the consequences. Importation and exportation, already so much restricted, will soon be much more so. Every thing connected with maritime commerce; every thing that depends upon it, will now be liable to more difficulties, to more uncertainty. There are, however, two channels that still remain open-The power of attacking every ship that renounces the independence of its national flag, by a shameful submission to the British sovereignty, and by navigating under a British licence, will open a wide field to the hopes of our commanders. Such a resource will not prove ineffectual, and French commerce will not devote itself uselessly to that sort of warfare which never lets courage, dexterity, and decision, go unrewarded. -We have moreover to hope that neutral ships will. elude the vigilance of the English cruisers; the immense extent of the coasts of the empire will favour and protect their enter

« السابقةمتابعة »