the corn-ports were to continue shut for 12 or 18 months longer, the price might rise to a distressing degree, but that much would depend upon the crop; nay, he is candid enough to admit, that, if the crop were an average one, inconvenience might arise, and well he might make this admission, after having, with all his great powers of statement, imprinted upon our minds the fact, that, upon an average of many years, we imported 800,000 quarters! But, is it not charming to see how calm, how composed, how serene, Mr. Young is become upon the score of a probable want of corn? I congratulate him upon the change, which will also, I hope, help to keep me in countenance; for, one of my correspondents treated me almost as an unfeeling ruffian, because I seemed to write upon the subject in cold blood. He told me every body else was alarmed, and he particularly cited Mr. Arthur Young, from whose authority, he said, there was no appeal.- -We now come to the grand point respecting the effect, which a general enclosure would have upon the market, and the difference between that effect and the effect of the substitution of sugar for corn, in the distilleries. The committee seem here to have made their last grasp at the eel, and, I think, the reader will agree with me, that, with the help of my little sharp-pointed holders, they fairly caught him.

-Q Does a letter on the produce and "consumption of this country signed ""ARTHUR YOUNG," and published in "COBBETT'S REGISTER Of the 5th of March, "contain your sentiments on that subject? "A. It does.- Q. I there read, that "there is a degree of precariousness in

"the national resources that ought to "" make a deep impression on the minds of

"those in whose hands the safety of the 66 66 kingdom is placed, to find that our consumption of wheat in a year of mo"derate plenty exceeds the produce by more than £1,000,000, accompanied as it is by a population admitted on all hands to be increasing, must, surely, "be admitted as a just cause of apprehen "sion. Were the countries which have usually supplied us in a state of inde

"

pendence and security, the prospect "would be far more pleasing, but when ""we cast an anxious eye to the ports of "the Baltic, the view becomes dreary in"deed."Was that case written under apprehensions of an over loaded market, "on of a famished population? A. A fa"mished population is a very strong term, "but certainly it was written under ap

66

prehensions that a severe scarcity might en

sue.-Q. Do you consider that the present state of the country, and doubtful reliance "that is to be put in foreign markets, calls "for a prompt adoption of the remedy against scarcity which you have proposed, "viz. the encouragement of potatoes, and "the cultivation of the waste lands? 4. I certainly do, and I think that every hour "that is lost, is much to be regretted.Q. You have stated, that the exclusion of grain from the distillery, would injure "agriculture by lowering the price of grain. "Do you mean, that this effect would be "produced, by the additional quantity that "would be thus thrown on the market? "A. Not by the additional quantity thrown on the marker, but by the demand for "the quantity already in market being with"drawn.- Q. Do you mean, that the proportion of demand would thereby be"come less than the proportion of supply? "A. Certainly, as far as the quantity amounts to that is consumed by the distillery.-- Q. Would not the same effect upon this proportion be occasioned, if, (the consumption remaining the same) an "additional supply of equal amount were to "be brought into the market? A. Certainly, I conceive it would. Q. In what respect, then, will the effect on the market, which is produced by saving the "consumption of a given quantity of corn, differ from that which is produced by in"troducing into the market an equal quantity in addition to the former supply by cultivating the waste lands? 4. The cul"ture of the waste lands would not have a great effect on the immediate production " of BARLEY. The great effect would "be, on the potatoes, and on the food of "cattle and on the production of other "grain, but probably least of all on barley. "If the culture was principally to increase "the production of barley, it would ope"rate exactly in the manner the hon. mem"ber alludes to, saving the consumption of "the people employed on such cultivation.

diminished, and the price reduced of oourse, by the exclusion of corn from the distilleries; 4th, that the same effect would be produced if an additional supply of corn were brought into the market. These four propositions Mr. Young has here, in his answers, clearly and undeniably stated or assented to; and, these propositions admitted, it inevitably follows, that, if to introduce, sugar into the distilleries be injurious to agriculture and the Janded interest, and tends to rob the nation of a granary in times of dearth, so is the enclosure of waste lands injurious to agriculture and the landed interest, and tends to rob the nation of a granary in times of dearth. And, how does Mr. Young endeavour to escape from this inference; from this logical eel-holder? He is asked, *in what respect, then, does the effect of the culture of waste lands from that of the introduction of to supply the place of corn?" is his answer to this question? that "the culture of waste lands would "not have a great effect in the immediate

differ sugar What Why,

introduction of BARLEY." Of barley, Sir! Why, we were not talking of barJey alone; nor were you talking of barley alone, when you were describing the probable horrid effects of a scarcity, and calling upon us to cultivate the waste lands, in order to prevent those effects. But, to Jeave no room for cavil, to do away all pretence for continuing the dispute upon in this point, either you were, your let ders to me, talking of barley alone, or you were not. If you were not, then the above inference remains indisputable; and, if you were talking of barley alone, then

we

want no inference at all, for we have your own express acknowledgement, in your last answer but one, in these words: " If "the culture of the waste lands was princi

patly to increase the production of barley, it would operate exactly in the manner the honourable gentleman alludes to;" that is to say, it would produce the same effect as the introduction of sugar into the distilleries; and, that is to say, according to your present opinion, the culture of the waste lands would be injurious to agriculture and the landed interest, and would tend to rob the nation of a granary in times of dearth; which opinion is directly opposed, to all that, upon this matter, you have theretofore given as the result of your maturest thoughts, and have endeavoured to inculcate in the minds of all descriptions of persons. I have now to beg the reader's pardon for having so long trespassed upon

his patience; but, the subject appeared to me to be of extreme importance to the nation at large; and, as Mr. Young is evi dently the oracle of the country gentlemen, and of all the patrons of high prices of corn, it seemed to me necessary to show, that, eis ther he is a gentleman of very unsettled opinions, or is carried away by a misguided zeal for the interest of that particular class of the community amongst whom he has had the greatest intercourse, and with whom he has long been an object of admiration and res pect. As to the measure proposed, there, surely, cannot be a doubt of its receiving the sanction of parliament. Petitioners indeed? Petitioners for a high price of corn! The freeholders of Rosshire have, it seems, petitioned for high prices, while it is in evidence, that an alarming scarcity exists in that county; and which state of things is not confined to Rosshire alone; yet, are the other counties of Scotland also petitioners against sugar, thanks to the instigation of those who would starve the people, if they could thereby fill their own pockets. But, is the sober and sensible part of the kingdom to sit quietly, and suffer, as a correspondent asks, a ques tion of this extreme magnitude to be decided by the clamours of misguided avarice? If so, we deserve, not only to be flogged; but fa mine ought to complete what the lash has begun.

Botley, May 6.

A LETTER FROM THE HON. TIMOTHY PICKERING, A SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHU• SETS, AND SECRETARY OF STATE UNDER GEN. WASHINGTON, EXHIBITING TO HIS CONSTITUENTS A VIEW OF THE IMMI NENT DANGER OF AN UNNECESSARY AND RUINOUS WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN: ADDRESSED TO HIS EXCELLENCY JAMES SULLIVAN, GOVERNOR OF THE SAID STATE-Dated City of Washington, Feb. 16, 1808.

SIR;In the even current of ordina ry times, an address from a senator in con gress to his constituents might be dispensed with. In such times, the proceedings of the executive and legislature of the United States, exhibited in their public acts, might be sufficient. But the present singular condition of our country, when its most interesi. ing concerns, wrapt up in mystery, excite universal alarm, requires me to be no longer silent. Perhaps I am liable to censure, at such a crisis, for not sooner presenting, to you and them, such a view of our national atairs as my official situation has placed in my power, I now address it to you, Sir, as

the proper organ of communication to the legislature. The attainment of truth is ever desirable and I cannot permit myself to doubt that the statement I now make must be acceptable to all who have an agency in directing the affairs, and who are guardians of the interests of our commonwealth, which so materially depend on the measures of the government of the nation. At the same time, I am aware of the jealousy, with which, in these unhappy days of party dissentions, my communications may, by some of my constituents, be received. Of this I will not - complain: while I earnestly wish the same jealousy to be extended towards all public men. Yet I may claim some share of attention and credit-that share which is due to the man who defies the world to point, in the whole course of a long and public life, at one instance of deception, at a single departure from truth.--The embargo demands the first notice. For perhaps no act of the national government has ever produced so much solicitude, or spread such universal alarm. Because all naturally conclude, that

a

measure pregnant with incalculable mischief to all classes of our fellow-citizens, would not have been proposed by the president, and adopted by congress, but for causes deeply affecting the interests and safety of the nation. It must have been under the influence of this opinion that the legislative bodies of some states have expressed their approbation of the embargo, either explicitly or by implication.-The following were all the papers laid by the president before congress, as the grounds of the embargo.-1. The proclamation of the king of G. Britain requiring the return of his subjects, the seamen especially, from foreign countries, to aid, in this hour of peculiar danger, in the defence of their own. "But it being an acknowledged principle that every nation has a right to the service of its subjects in time of war, that proclamation could not furnish the slightest ground for an embargo.-2. The extract of a letter from the grand judge Regnier to the French attorney general for the council of prizes. This contained a partial interpretation of the imperial blockading decree of Nov. 21, 1806 This decree, indeed, and its interpretation, present flagrant violations of our neutral rights, and of the -existing treaty between the United States and France'; but still, the execution of that decree could not (from the small number of French cruisers) extensively interrupt our trade. These two papers were public.-3. The letter from our minister, Mr. Armstrong, to Mr. Champagny, the French miSister of foreign affairs; and→4. Mr. Cham

We

pagny's answer. Both these ought, in form or substance, also to have been made public, The latter would have furnished to our nation some idea of the views and expectations of France. But both were withdrawn by the president, to be deposited among other executive secrets: while neither presented any new ground to justify an embargo -la the senate, these papers were referred to a committee. The committee quickly report ed a bill for laying an embargo, agreeably to the president's proposal. This was read a 1st, a 2d, and a 3d time, and passed; and all in the short compass of about 4 hours! A little time was repeatedly asked, to obtain further information, and to consider a mea❤ sure of such moment, of such universal con❤ cern: but these requests were denied. were hurried into the passage of the bill, as if there was danger of its being rejected, if we were allowed time to obtain further in formation, and deliberately consider the subject. For to that time our vessels were freely sailing on foreign voyages; and in a national point of view, the departure of half a dozen or a dozen more, while we were inquiring into the necessity or expediency of the embargo, was of little moment. Or if the danger to our vessels, seamen, and merchandize, had been so extreme as not to admit of one day's delay, ought not that extreme danger to have been exhibited to congress? The constitution which requires the president to give to congress information of the state of the union," certainly meant not partial, but complete information on the subject of a communication, so far as he possessed it. And when it enjoins him recommend to their consideration such measures as he should judge necessary-and-expedient," it as certainly intended that those recommendations should be bottomed on information communicated, not on facts with held, and locked up in the executive cabinet. Had the public safety been at stake, or any great public good been presented to our view, but which would be lost by a moment's delay, there would have been some apology for dispatch, though none for acting without due information. In truth, the measure appeared to me then, as it still does, and as it appears to the public, without a sufficient motive, without a legitimate object. Hence the general inquiry For what is the eatbargo laid?" And I challenge any man, not in the secret of the executive, to tell. 1 know, Sir, that the president said the papers above-mentioned shewed: that great and increasing dangers threatened our vessels, our seamen, and our merchandize:" but I also know that they exhibited to how day

to

on

This

gers; none of which our merchants and seamen had not been well apprized. The British proclamation had many days before been published in the newspapers [the copy laid before us by the president had been cut out of a newspaper]; and so bad the substance, if not the words of Regnier's letter, Yet they had excited little concern among merchants and seamen, the preservation of whose persons and property was the professed object of the president's recommendation of an embargo. The merchants and seamen could accurately estimate the dangers of continuing their commercial operations; of which dangers, indeed, the actual premiums of insurance were a satisfactory guage. Those premiums had very little increased by the British proclamation not a cent: and by the French decree so little as not to stop commercial enterprizes. The great number of vessels loading or loaded, and prepared for sea; the exertions every where made, the first rumour of the embargo, to dispatch them, demonstrate the president's dangers to be imaginary, to have been assumed. Or if great and real dangers, unknown to commercial men, were impending, or sure to fall, how desirable was it to have had them officially declared and published. would have produced a voluntary embargo, and prevented every complaint. Besides, the dangers clearly defined and understood, the public mind would not have been disquieted with imaginary fears, the more tormenting, because uncertain.-It is true that considerable numbers of vessels were collected in our ports, and many held in suspense; not, however, from any new dangers which appeared, but from the mysterious conduct of our affairs after the attack on the Chesapeake, and from the painful apprehensions that the course the president was pursuing would terminate in war. The National Intelligencer, usually considered as the executive newspaper, gave the alarm, and it was echoed through the U. States. War, probable or inevitable war, was the constant theme of the newspapers, and of the conversations, as was reported, of persons supposed to be informed of executive designs. Yet amid this din of war, no adequate preparations were seen making to meet it. The order to detach a hundred thousand militia to fight the British navy (for there was no appearance of an enemy in any other shape) was so completely absurd, as to excite, with men of common sense, no other emotion than ridicule. Not the shadow of a reason that could operate on the mind of a man of common understanding can be offered in its justification. The refusal of the British offi

cer to receive the frigate Chesapeake as a prize, when tendered by her commander, is a demonstration that the attack upon her was exclusively for the purpose of taking their de serters, and not intended as the commencement of a war between the two nations. The president knew that the British had no invading army to land on our shores; and the detached militia would be useless, except against land forces. Why then was this or der for the militia given? The nature of the case, and the actual state of things, authorize the inference, that its immediate, if not its only object, was to increase the public alarm, to aggravate the public resentment against G. Britain, to excite a war pulse: and in the height of this artificial fever of the public mind, which was to be made known in G. Britain, to renew the demands on her government, in the poor expectation of extorting, in that state of things, conces sions of points which she had always considered as her rights, and which at all times, and under all circumstances, she had uniformly refused to relinquish. The result of the subsequent negotiation at London has shown how utterly unfounded was the president's expectation, how perfectly useless all this bluster of war. While no well-informed man doubted that the British government would make suitable reparation for the attack on the Chesapeake. The president himself, in his proclamation, had placed the affair on that footing. "A rupture between the two nations," said he, " is equally op posed to the interest of both, as it is to as surances of the most friendly dispositions on the part of the British government, in the midst of which this outrage was committed, In this light the subject cannot but present itself to that government, and strengthen the motives to an honourable reparation for the wrong which has been done." And it is now well known that such reparation might have been promptly obtained in London, had the president's instructions to Mr. Monroe been compatible with such an adjustment. He was required not to negotiate on this sin gle transient act (which when once adjusted was for ever settled) but in connection with another claim of long standing, and, to say the least, of doubtful right; to wit, the exemption from impressment of British seamen found on board American merchant vessels. To remedy the evil arising from its exercise, by which our own citizens were sometimes impressed, the attention of our government, under every administration, had been earnestly engaged; but no practi cable plan has yet been contrived; while no man who regards the truth, will question