Chapter L: TREZEVANT and W. TIMMONS, Esqs (7)

If, said Mr. G., it be really our intention to give protection to our seamen, instead of authorizing the proposed retaliation, we ought to go to the source of the evil, and endeavor to prevent the impressment of our seamen by the British, which alone brought them into this situation. This bill does not comprehend any American who goes on board of a British ship of war voluntarily; they are not entitled to our protection by the law of nations; they must seek protection from the country under whose flag they sail. Those American citizens only, therefore, who have been forced on board a British ship of war, and who have been obliged to fight their battles against their will, are by this bill to be protected, so far as retaliation can protect them.

Mr. G. said, he had been induced to mention this point, not only because it naturally flows from the subject, but from one of the documents which had been submitted to the House. He alluded to Lord Grenville's letter to Mr. King, our Minister at London. [Mr. G. read an extract of that letter.]

Mr. G. observed, upon this document, that it contained a very extraordinary acknowledgment. Lord Grenville says, "the King feels the protection due to those who sail under his flag." Thereby openly acknowledging that there are a number of American seamen who do sail under his flag. And, as not many of our seamen had selected his service in preference to that of their own country; as our own seamen, if left to their choice, would sooner sail on board of our own ships than those of His British Majesty, it is therefore an explicit avowal of the impressment of American seamen. That identical document which communicates the offensive decree of France, is also the occasion of this bill.

This acknowledgment, said Mr. G., leads to more than one consequence. If we pass this bill, it will amount to this, that knowing American seamen were impressed by the British, the fact having been thus confessed, we choose rather to pass a retaliatory law against the French for punishing our seamen found in a situation into which they were arbitrarily forced by the British, than apply a remedy to the root of the evil.

Again, another part of this letter of Lord Grenville, when connected with this measure, made an extraordinary impression on his mind. The acknowledgment having been made, it might have been supposed Lord Grenville would have ordered all such American seamen to have been released; but he does not do this, but says the King will cause retaliation to be exercised. To do this might have some effect whilst these men remained on board of the King's ships; it would, therefore, increase his power, and prolong the time during which such seamen will remain on board. But Lord Grenville does not stop here. He says, the "King leaves it with the different powers to take measures accordingly." So that he gives us advice what we ought to do, and we are about to do it. Mr. G. had said, this bill was not likely to produce any effect; yet, if it should be put in force, by referring once more to Lord Grenville's letter, it will appear that the retaliation of which he speaks is to be confined to French prisoners, whom the fortune of war had thrown into the power of Great Britain; and he believed the present law should be confined to persons who should be captured by vessels of the United States. And it would be most effectual in this way; because if it were to operate against other French citizens in this country, the French Government would not be concerned about it, since ninety-nine out of a hundred of those citizens are probably emigrants, or persons for whose safety they have no interest.

If by meeting every hostile act of the French Government by a measure of a similar kind, we could render this country more respectable, Mr. G. should be in favor of it; but, in the present case, he did not think the measure applicable. There was a great difference, he said, between measures of hostility and retaliation. Measures of retaliation could do no good, except as preventives; and as the decree in question had already been two years in force without being carried into effect, it could scarcely be expected that it would now be exercised.

It must be allowed, Mr. G. said, that some change had taken place in our situation with respect to France; but it seemed as if gentlemen wished, by the passing of this bill, to take off any impression of this kind which might have been made on the people by the late appointment of Ministers to treat with France. Mr. G. did not mean to express any opinion on the probable issue of that nomination. He believed the PRESIDENT had taken certain measures; and that nothing which he could do or say would either accelerate or delay those measures. He wished to leave them uncontrolled, to have the effect they may, whatever it may be. Yet, in relation to what had been said with respect to Guadaloupe, he believed that captures had taken place; yet, when we speak of information, there was a letter written by one of the commanders of our vessels, which says, that a number of vessels go there for the purpose of being taken, in order to carry on a trade contrary to the laws of the United States. [The SPEAKER called to order.] Mr. G. said he was about to conclude. He considered this bill as calculated to have but little effect, and had it not been for the arguments of the gentleman from Massachusetts, he should have been at a loss to have known for what reason it was passed.

Mr. DANA said, "with what measure you mete, the same shall be measured to you again," was a doctrine long since established. It was a doctrine which injured man had assumed in all countries, and the justice of which had been universally admitted.

An appeal to this national sentiment, and to the writers on this subject, would be a sufficient answer to the gentleman's humanity for Frenchmen, to the forgetfulness of his fellow-citizens.

The general principles of the law are too just to be questioned. The gentleman from Pennsylvania, well knowing that the national feelings of man must approve of the principle, undertakes to distinguish away the subject. Instead of coming forward to the point, he has gone into complaints against British inhumanity. But why speak of British inhumanity, if not to embarrass this bill? This bill is intended against the French nation. If the gentleman wished a similar law against the British, neither he nor his followers could be suspected of any attachment to that nation, which would have prevented him or them from bringing forward such a measure. The gentleman knew such a measure would be embarrassed with difficulties; and, if it failed, it would deprive him of the argument he now makes use of. Shall we, said Mr. D., because our seamen have been first injured by Great Britain, when France uses them still worse, abandon them? Because they have been once injured with impunity, shall we turn our backs upon them for ever? The doctrine is too inhuman, too absurd, to be countenanced.

The gentleman from Pennsylvania assigns another reason against this bill. To make it effectual he says certain information must be given to the PRESIDENT, viz: that the person ill-treated is an American seaman; and that he has received his ill-treatment in pursuance of a decree of the French Government. Has the gentleman to learn that, when the officers of the French Government do an act of violence, which the principles of humanity and the law of nations condemn, if the nation does not punish its officers for the act, it must be done in pursuance of the orders of Government?

The gentleman's other objection was honorable to Americans. It was that the humanity of the PRESIDENT, and of the people of this country, would not suffer the law, if passed, to be carried into effect. Mr. D. said it was difficult to reason on this subject, but, admitting the fact, it affords a decisive proof that this power will never be abused, and at the worst, the law could only be ineffectual, and it might have the good effect of preventing the unprincipled murder of our countrymen.

The gentleman from Pennsylvania had said that the decree of the British Cabinet might have had some effect in procuring a suspension of the decree of the Executive Directory.

[Mr. GALLATIN denied having said that the French Government had suspended their decree on account of the threats of the British. Mr. King's first letter is dated the 27th of November, and his second, mentioning the suspension of the decree, the 28th, so that that was impossible.]

The gentleman has taken an opportunity of referring to the note of Lord Grenville. If the gentleman was disposed to make a philippic against Lord Grenville, Mr. D. said, he had no reason to vindicate him; but, when the gentleman went so far beside the question to do it, it showed he had little respect for his audience. But the gentleman from Pennsylvania was certainly incorrect, when he said the note of Lord Grenville was a direct admission that impressed American seamen were held on board the British fleet. He would state a case in which American seamen would be liable to the effects of the French decree, where the British Government could not be censurable. Suppose an American vessel captured and plundered by the French, and some of our seamen, to escape the severities of a French dungeon, had escaped and got on board of a British ship of war, hoping by that means, in time, to get to their own country. Such cases, he had no doubt, had happened, and in such, the gentleman must allow, our citizens must be liable to suffer as pirates, without any blame resting on the conduct of the British.

Mr. OTIS said, it had been so long unfashionable to vindicate the conduct of France, or to make apologies in her behalf, that those who now wished to do it, attempt to excite hatred against another nation. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has gone altogether upon this principle. He has said but little against the principle of the bill. His only objection to it was that it was not sufficiently extensive. Admitting the injuries to exist with respect to Great Britain, and that many of our seamen have been impressed by them, did the gentleman wish us to retaliate by impressing British seamen? No, he would be the first to oppose such a law; and yet this is the only just kind of retaliation that could be adopted, for he would not wish us, because the British have impressed our seamen, to put the first British subject we meet to death; and to talk of impressing their seamen, would be perfectly ridiculous.

It was not incumbent upon him, Mr. O. said, to enter into any argument to distinguish between the injuries which we have received from the French and British Governments, nor to palliate the conduct of any nation which has done us wrong; but when things perfectly clear are violently distorted, to excite undue prejudices, with a view of diverting the attention of the House from the subject before them, it becomes necessary to notice the attempt. Let it be granted that Great Britain impresses our seamen; she renounces every right to do so. She perseveres, it is true, in her right to reclaim her own seamen from on board our vessels, and in making this claim, some abuses may have taken place.

If the gentleman from Pennsylvania had seen fit to do justice to Lord Grenville, he would have turned to another document laid before Congress by the Secretary of State last year, wherein he says that Great Britain had never assumed the principle of impressing American seamen. His friend from South Carolina (Mr. PINCKNEY) affirmed what he said, and showed that the great difficulty was in preventing false passports from being given. This was verified in the conduct of Captain Loring and the Baltimore sloop of war. The difference, Mr. O. said, between the conduct of France and Great Britain towards us was palpable. Great Britain never refused to rectify grievances; she never heaped outrages upon us. If she had, he should have been for vengeance and war against that country, and the cry would certainly have been echoed by the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. O. said he disdained that sort of sensibility which his friend from Connecticut (Mr. DANA) seemed to think redounded to the honor of the people of this country. He owned it would not wound his feelings, in the smallest degree, to see the law of retaliation executed upon any French citizen in America. If one American citizen fell a sacrifice to the decree of France, it would altogether absorb his sympathies for Frenchmen. There is a French citizen, said he, now living in the neighborhood of New York, who originally came here as Ambassador from the French Republic; and I must say that I should not feel the least sensibility if he should fall a victim to this law! Indeed, there were French citizens enough on whom to execute the law; though he joined gentlemen on all sides of the House in hoping that there would be no occasion to carry it into effect.

The gentleman from New York says that a law of this kind ought not to be passed, except in time of war; and yet, said Mr. O., the gentleman will not let us go to war, and in the mean time our citizens may suffer with impunity under the bloody decrees of France. But he believed Congress had clearly the power, from those words of the constitution which say, "they shall grant letters of marque and reprisal"--reprisal, doubtless, not only against ships, but against property and persons, to pass a law of this kind. Mr. O. thought it necessary, therefore, to show to the French Republic that we are not negotiating through fear; that we are desirous of keeping peace with all the world, so long as we can do it consistent with our honor and independence; but no longer.

Mr. S. SMITH wished to have postponed this bill till the next session. He thought it improper as it originally stood; as the decree which was passed two years ago was never acted upon. Indeed he had somewhere seen that American seamen were released on application of Mr. Skipwith, our Consul in France. The bill, as amended, is far less objectionable, yet he wished it were postponed till next session, because he never wished to see a law of this kind on our code. He agreed with the gentleman from Connecticut that it was legalizing murder.

Mr. S. believed the gentleman from Massachusetts mistaken in many respects. He himself believed France was disposed to make peace. Mr. S. proposed an amendment to the bill confining the retaliation to persons captured in pursuance of any of the laws of the United States. If this amendment was agreed to, the bill would be less exceptionable; for, though the gentleman from Massachusetts had said he should not regret the murder of any French citizen, under this law, nothing surely but the heat of argument could have led him to say this; he must own he should: nor did he believe that that gentleman, or any other, could lay hold of an unfortunate Frenchman, and put him to death, though one of our citizens might have suffered unjustly and cruelly in France.

The amendment was carried.

Mr. MACON did not wish to see this law in our code. In his opinion nothing but the utmost necessity ought to induce us to pass it. Nor could he believe that the gentleman from Massachusetts could see any man, even if taken in arms, put to death in cold blood! Though it might be right to punish those who passed the decree, if they could be laid hold of, it was a mournful thing to retaliate upon innocent persons the offences of the guilty.

The gentleman from Connecticut had quoted a scriptural passage--"With the same measure that you mete, the same shall be measured unto you." In the same volume, Mr. M. said, he would also find, "Do unto others as ye would they should do unto you;" and a law of this kind could not be justified upon the latter principle.

It is said we ought to show that we do not act from fear. He thought this one of the last measures the House should pass to evince that. Mr. M. hoped, that on the last evening of the session, a bill of this kind would not be pressed. The members had heretofore been accustomed to part in good humor, at the close of the session, however they might have differed in the course of it. He hoped they should not now depart from this custom. He therefore moved to postpone the bill till next session.

The question for postponement was negatived--48 to 37.

After a few observations from Mr. MCDOWELL, against the bill, it was ordered to be read a third time and passed--yeas 56, nays 30.

A motion was made by Mr. LIVINGSTON, to adjourn till ten in the morning, as it would be impossible to get through the business to-night, and he understood the Senate were about to adjourn to that time.

Mr. DANA proposed to adjourn till seven in the evening; but that motion being negatived, the House adjourned till ten o'clock on Sunday morning.

SUNDAY MORNING, March 3.

Several reports were made by the Committee of Enrolment, and sundry messages communicated from the Senate relative to the bills in their passage.

_Vote of Thanks._

Mr. CHAMPLIN rose and addressed the House as follows:

"Sensible as I am of the importance of the duties that at all times attach to a gentleman who presides over the deliberations of this assembly, and more especially in times of imminent danger; impressed with the able and honorable manner in which those duties have been discharged by the gentleman who now fills the chair; and believing the sentiments I entertain on this occasion to be in perfect unison with those of every member of this House--I beg leave to submit a resolution expressive of the sense of the House on this subject:"

He then moved the following resolution:

"_Resolved_, That the thanks of this House be presented to
Jonathan Dayton, in testimony of their approbation of his
conduct in discharging the arduous and important duties
assigned him whilst in the chair."

This motion was received by the Clerk, and the question being put upon it by him, there appeared for it 40, against it 22.

The resolution being carried, the SPEAKER rose and addressed the House as follows:

No language, gentlemen, can do justice to those feelings
which this second vote of approbation of my conduct, after
four years' presidency in the House of Representatives, has
excited in my breast. It would be unjust in me not to
acknowledge, that to the support uniformly afforded, and to
the confidence unremittedly reposed in me, rather than to
any merit of my own, is to be ascribed the success with
which you are pleased to declare that the duties of the
chair have been executed.

Permit me to say, that far from being displeased, I have,
on the contrary, been very much gratified at hearing that
the resolution of thanks has not been passed, as a mere
matter of form, unanimously. As in all public bodies, there
have ever been found men whose approbation must be
considered by the meritorious as a censure, so in this
body, there are, unhappily, some whose censure will be
regarded by all whose esteem I value, as the highest
testimony of merit. About to abandon the seat which I have
held in this branch of the General Legislature for eight
successive years, I take advantage of the moment which
precedes our separation to bid you, gentlemen, an
affectionate farewell.

Mr. MACON moved the usual resolution appointing a joint committee with the Senate, to inform the PRESIDENT, that Congress is ready to adjourn without day, unless he has any further communication to make them; which being agreed to, Messrs. OTIS, MACON, and BROOKS, were appointed a committee on the part of this House.

Mr. OTIS, from the committee appointed to wait upon the PRESIDENT, informed the House that they had performed that service; and he informed them "that he had no further communication to make, except to express his wish for the health and happiness of the members, and a pleasant journey home to their families and friends."

The SPEAKER then adjourned the House without day.

NOTE.

The fifth Congress, the first under the administration of Mr. John Adams, was wholly occupied with measures of defence against France, and incurred debt and taxes in these preparations which greatly impaired its popularity, and contributed to the overthrow of the federal party: but there was great necessity for these exertions at that time, and both national honor, and national interest, and national safety required them to be made. Besides the insults which went to our honor, and the depredations which affected our commerce, there were threats of attack and invasion not to be despised. The Directory, inflated with the successes of Buonaparte in Italy, with the subjugation of several small powers, the transformation of several principalities and kingdoms into republics, the peace with the Emperor of Germany, the neutralization of some kingdoms and the alliance of others: exalted with so much success, and anxious to bring the United States into their system and especially into the war with Great Britain, had recourse to all the means of accomplishing its purpose--first, by entreaties; afterwards by insults and outrages; and finally by threats of war. It is difficult for general history to give a view of these proceedings, and it is only in contemporary sources that they can be adequately studied. The Debates of Congress are one, and the largest one, of these sources; documents on which the debates are founded are another: and it is often desirable, in after time, to produce these documents in greater extent than used in the debate. That is the case with these debates on French affairs during the time of which we speak, and the communications of our Ministers sent to Paris furnish the documentary evidence necessary to complete them--evidence too well known to require copious quotation at the time, but now little known to the subsequent generation. This note then, in the nature of an appendix to the debates of the fifth Congress, will contain extracts from the dispatches of the Ministers of that day: and first of General Pinckney.

Arriving at Paris the 5th of December 1796, he immediately waited on the Minister of Exterior Relations (Citizen Charles De la Croix) in company with Mr. Monroe, according to an appointment previously made, and had an interview with him; of which he gives this account in a dispatch to Mr. Pickering, Secretary of State: (_Extracts only are given._)

Mr. Monroe and myself, with my secretary, Major Rutledge,
about two o'clock, waited upon M. De la Croix, and I was
introduced by Mr. Monroe as the person appointed as his
successor. The Minister at first received us with great
stiffness, but afterwards, on our conversing on some
general subjects, he unbent and behaved with civility; and,
on receiving the official copies of our letter of credence
and recall, said he would deliver them, without delay, to
the Directory. He desired Major Rutledge to let him have
our names of baptism, and our ages, that cards of
hospitality might be made out, which he said were necessary
to reside here unmolested. This requisition was immediately
complied with, and he promised to send the cards the next
morning. When this interview was known, the reports which
had been spread abroad before my arrival, of my not being
received by the Directory, vanished, and the general idea
seemed to be that there would be no objection to receive me
as Minister from America. At 11 o'clock, on Monday,
December 12, Mr. Prevost (Mr. Monroe's secretary) called
upon me, and told me that Mr. Monroe had just received a
letter from M. De la Croix, and desired to know if I had
received one. I said no. He then showed me M. De la Croix's
to Mr. Monroe, which was as follows: [_Date, Dec. 9._

CITIZEN MINISTER: I hasten to lay before the Executive
Directory the copies of your letters of recall, and of the
letter of credence of Mr. Pinckney, whom the PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES has appointed to succeed you, in the
quality of Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States
near the French Republic. The Directory has charged me to
notify you "that it will not acknowledge nor receive
another Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States,
until after the redress of the grievances demanded of the
American Government, and which the French Republic has a
right to expect from it." [_Date, Dec. 11._

I waited until next morning, expecting to receive a notification from M. De la Croix, when, not hearing from him, I wrote him the following letter:

CITIZEN MINISTER: Colonel Monroe has been so good as to
communicate to me your letter to him of the 21st Frimaire,
wherein you inform him that you had submitted to the
Executive Directory his letters of recall, and my letters
of credence as Minister Plenipotentiary from the United
States of America, and that the Directory had instructed
you to notify him "qu'il ne reconnoitra et ne recevra plus
de Ministre Plenipotentiaire des Etats Unis jusqu'après le
redressement des griefs demandé au Gouvernement Americain,
et que la République Françoise est en droit d'en attendre."
[That it will not acknowledge nor receive any Minister
Plenipotentiary from the United States, until after the
redress of the grievances demanded of the American
Government, and which the French Republic has a right to
expect from it.] This communication has filled me with real
sorrow, as I am thoroughly convinced that the sentiments of
America and its Government--for they are one--are
misunderstood, and that I am not permitted even to attempt
to explain them, or, in the terms of my letters of
credence, to endeavor "to efface unfavorable impressions,
to banish suspicions, and to restore that cordiality which
was at once the evidence and pledge of a friendly union."
Devoted, as I am, to the liberty, prosperity, and
independence of my own country, the freedom, happiness, and
perfect establishment of the French Republic, have always
been dear to me, and to have been instrumental in cementing
the good understanding which, from the commencement of
their alliance, has subsisted between the two nations,
would have been the height of my ambition. I most fervently
pray that there may be a speedy and candid investigation of
those points in which you differ from us, that affection
may banish distrust, and that the alliance of the two
Republics may be perpetual.

In your letter to Colonel Monroe you do not desire him to
make any communication to me, and I am indebted to his
politeness for the knowledge I have of the intentions of
the Directory. I submit to you, citizen Minister, that, as
the letters of recall had been received by Mr. Monroe, and
official copies of his letters of recall, and my letters of
credence, had been delivered to you, that the sentiments of
the Directory should be communicated by you immediately to
me, that I may, without delay, transmit them as from the
Executive of this Republic to the Government of the United
States; and that I may be informed by you, whether it is
the intention of the Directory that I should immediately
quit the territories of the Republic, or whether I and my
family may remain until I hear from my Government. As I
have not received the cards which, in your interview, you
said I ought to possess in order to enable me to reside
here, and that they should be transmitted to me next
morning, I am the more doubtful on this subject than I
should otherwise be. Accept my best wishes. [_Dec. 13._

This letter I sent by Major Rutledge, who delivered it to M. De la Croix, and made the following report of what passed between them, which he immediately reduced to writing:

"I this day waited upon M. De la Croix, the Minister for
Foreign Affairs, at two o'clock, as bearer of a letter from
General Pinckney. I was admitted immediately on sending in
my name, and delivered the letter. Having informed him from
whom it came, and that there was a French translation
annexed, he opened it and proceeded to read the letter in
my presence, which, when he had finished, he desired me to
return to General Pinckney as his answer: That the
Executive Directory knew of no Minister Plenipotentiary
from the United States of America, since the presentation
of Mr. Monroe's letters of recall, and that the Executive
Directory had charged him to notify to Mr. Monroe (here he
read the quotation contained in the letter) qu'il ne
reconnoitra et ne recevra plus de Ministre Plenipotentiaire
des Etats Unis, jusqu'après le redressement des griefs
demandé au Gouvernement Americain, et que la République
Françoise est en droit d'en attendre. Which notification
the Directory relied upon Mr. Monroe's imparting to his own
Government, as well as communicating to General Pinckney."

On the 25th of Frimaire, (15th of December,) about three
o'clock in the afternoon, a Mr. Giraudet called on me, and
said he was chief secretary in the Department of Foreign
Affairs; that he came on the part of the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, to signify to me that, with respect to my
letter to him, (which he produced, together with the
translation,) he could not directly communicate with me on
it, as such direct communication would be acknowledging me
as Minister, when the Directory had determined not to
receive me; that, as to the other part of my letter,
relative to remaining here, that he supposed I was
acquainted with the laws of France, as they applied to
strangers. I told him that I was not acquainted with the
local laws of the Republic; he said that there was a
decree which prevented all foreigners from remaining at
Paris without particular permission, which, as the
Directory did not mean to grant to me, of course the
general law would operate. I answered, that I could not
conceive the having a direct communication with me would
involve the consequences he stated; that if Mr. Monroe had
died before my arrival, the information that they would not
acknowledge me, must, of course, have been made to myself.
Mr. Monroe having received his letter of recall from our
Government, could not now act officially any more than if
he had ceased to exist; that I was indebted to Mr. Monroe's
politeness for the information I had received of the
intention of the Directory not to acknowledge me, but that
he had not intended it as an official communication. That,
with regard to the laws of France relative to strangers,
the law which he had cited did not apply to the requisition
of my letter, which was to know whether it was the
intention of the Directory that I should quit the
territories of the Republic; or whether I might remain here
until I should hear from my Government. He said he rather
believed that it was the intention that I should quit the
territories of the Republic; but, as it admitted of a
doubt, he would mention it to the Minister, with whom he
was to dine, and acquaint me with the result in the
evening. I told him I should be obliged to him, should it
be the intention of the Directory that I should quit the
Republic, to inform me in what time I was to set out, as my
baggage was not arrived from Bordeaux; that I meant not to
ask any personal favor, but to have the intention of the
Directory clearly expressed, as it related to me, in the
situation in which I came to France. He said he would, and
expressed a regret at being the bearer of disagreeable
information, and then departed. His behavior and manners
were very polite.

In the evening, about eight o'clock, he returned, and
informed me that, in answer to the doubt which had been
entertained in the morning, (a doubt, he observed, which
had proceeded from his own inattention to the words of M.
De la Croix,) the Minister could only reply that he
understood the Directory to mean the territory of the
Republic, and not Paris alone, which was to be quitted;
that as to the time in which it was necessary to depart,
the Minister could not designate it, but that he would have
another communication with the Directory, and that their
intentions should be made known to me in a more explicit
manner upon both points; that, at the same time, he must
inform me that, in all probability, M. De la Croix would
not be the organ through which they would be addressed, as
the Minister of the _Police Générale_ would be the officer
under whose department my case would come. I replied that I
apprehended M. De la Croix was the proper organ through
which information should come to me, as he knew the
capacity in which I had come to France; whereas, the
Minister of Police might regard me as a mere stranger, and
throw me into confinement; that it was in the power of the
Directory to receive me, or not: but they could not divest
themselves of the knowledge which they had of the public
character in which I came to France; and that, in that
character, I was entitled to the protection of the laws of
nations, whether the Directory received me or not. If they
permitted me to remain until I heard from my Government, I
was under the protection of those laws; if they ordered me
to quit the territories of the Republic, I was still
entitled to letters of safe conduct, and passports on my
journey out; that this was the case even with Ministers of
belligerent powers, much more ought it to apply between us,
who were at peace. Since this conversation, I have not
heard from the Directory, or any of the Ministers or their
agents. My situation, as you may easily conceive, is
unpleasant; but if I can ultimately render any services to
my country, I shall be fully compensated: at all events, it
shall be my study to avoid increasing the discontent of
this Government, without committing the honor, dignity, and
respect due to our own. Should I fail in doing this, or
should I err in the measures I pursue to accomplish it, the
failing will not be in my zeal, but should be charged to my
want of ability. At present, I think the ground I have
taken has puzzled them: they wish me gone, but they
apprehend that it would be too harsh a measure to send off,
in a peremptory manner, the Minister of my country; though
there is no saying what their conduct will ultimately be,
as I am informed that they have already sent off thirteen
foreign Ministers: and a late emigrant, now here, has
assured them that America is not of greater consequence to
them, nor ought to be treated with greater respect, than
Geneva or Genoa. Those who regard us as being of some
consequence, seem to have taken up an idea that our
Government acts upon principles opposed to the real
sentiments of a large majority of our people, and they are
willing to temporize until the event of the election of
President is known; thinking that, if one public character
is chosen, he will be attached to the interest of Great
Britain; and that, if another character is elected, he will
be (to use the expression of Du Pont de Nemours, in the
Council of Ancients) devoted to the interest of France;
entertaining the humiliating idea that we are a people
divided by party, the mere creatures of foreign influence,
and regardless of our national character, honor, and
interest.

I have seen Mr. Monroe very often since my arrival: his
conduct has been open and candid, and I believe he has made
me every communication which he thought would be of service
to our country. He undoubtedly felt himself hurt at his
being superseded; but I am convinced he has not, on that
account, left any thing undone which he thought would
promote the objects of my mission. The Directory and
Ministers had, for some time before they were informed of
his removal, treated him with great coolness; but as soon
as they heard of his recall, their attentions to him were
renewed. Should this Government attempt to make any further
communications to me, through him, he has promised me to
inform them that he cannot comply with their desire, as his
powers have ceased. I remain, with great respect, &c.
[_Dec. 15._

Major Rutledge having called on the Minister of Exterior Relations on another affair, and finished, inquired of the Minister if he had heard any thing further from the Directory, in relation to General Pinckney's remaining where he was:

"He answered, with marks of great surprise, that he thought
he had already explained himself with sufficient clearness
on the subject; that he had signified to General Pinckney,
long since, the impossibility of his staying; that he
thought he had exercised much "condescendance" in having
been so long silent; which he had been induced to do by
General Pinckney's having complained of the delay of his
baggage, which, he supposed, must, by this time, have
arrived from Bordeaux; that, in short, he should be sorry
if his further stay should compel him to give information
to the Minister of the Police. To this I replied, that
General Pinckney had refused to regard himself in any other
light than the one in which he had entered France, which
had not been in a private capacity, but in a public
character; which circumstance had been officially announced
to the Directory, by his having delivered to the Minister
of Foreign Affairs a copy of his letters of credence and by
other acts. That this precluded all laws relative to
strangers from operating on him, and put him under the
protection of the law of nations, which he claimed in his
favor. That Mr. Giraudet had taken leave with a promise to
communicate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs the ground
which General Pinckney had taken. That he returned again in
the evening, and then said, that the Minister would again
lay General Pinckney's letter before the Directory, and
that their intentions should be made known to him as soon
as possible. All this had, no doubt, been faithfully
related to him by his secretary. He answered that General
Pinckney must have mistaken Mr. Giraudet as to his
intention of again laying his letter before the Directory.
I told him that it was impossible; for that I had been
present at both conversations, in which the material points
had passed in English, and been repeated in French. He then
said Mr. Giraudet had acted without his authority. I
replied, that General Pinckney had, however, waited until
this moment in expectation of hearing from him, agreeably
to Mr. Giraudet's promise; that he was very far from
intending to dispute the will of the Executive Directory;
what he wanted was a communication of their wishes in
writing. He said that it had already been given. I desired
to know when; he answered in the notification which he had
made, by their order, to Mr. Monroe; that it had contained
their sentiments on Mr. Pinckney's staying, inasmuch as
that his not being received, implied that he should depart.
I denied that it was a fair deduction; he insisted that it
was; I declared that it had not struck General Pinckney or
any person with whom he had conversed; but that, however,
if such was the construction which he had put upon it, I
flattered myself that he could have no objection to
throwing his idea upon paper, that General Pinckney might
have something more substantial, than the authenticity of
the word of his secretary to justify himself to his own
Government, for quitting a spot to which he had come in
obedience to their orders. The Minister here turned from me
with some warmth, and said that he should do no such thing;
that General Pinckney might make his own deductions; he
desired to have no more communication with him. I only
replied by a bow, satisfied to end a conversation which had
already lasted near half an hour; during which I had not
been admitted to the honor of a seat." [_Dec. 26._

The written order to quit the territory of the Republic did not come: General Pinckney would not depart without it: the _Police Générale_ did not molest him; two months elapsed, when Buonaparte having gained a great victory over the Austrians in Italy, the day after the arrival of the news of it in Paris, he received the following notification from the Minister, De la Croix:

"The Executive Directory has charged me to make known to
you, that not having obtained special permission to reside
at Paris, you are amenable to the law which obliges
foreigners to quit the territory of the Republic. I had
the honor of informing you near two months ago, by the
principal Secretary of my department, of the intentions of
the Government in this respect. I cannot dispense with
notifying you of them to-day. Receive, sir, &c." [_Feb. 1,
1797._

To which General Pinckney immediately returned this answer:

CITIZEN MINISTER: I did not receive, until 3 o'clock
to-day, your note in date of the 6th inst., informing me
that the Directory had charged you to acquaint me, that not
having obtained particular permission to reside at Paris, I
was subject to the law which obliged strangers to quit the
territory of the Republic. I intimated to you some time
since, by the Secretary General of your department, and by
Major Rutledge, my Secretary, that I deemed a notification
of this sort, in writing, from you necessary, previous to
my departure. Having now received it, I shall, without
delay, prepare to go, and, in the meanwhile, will be
obliged to you for the necessary passports for myself and
family, with our baggage, to quit the Republic, in my way
to Holland. Accept, citizen Minister, &c.

This notification was addressed to "_Mr. Pinckney, Anglo-American_," upon which designation of his nationality, and the supposed motives for giving the order to depart so suddenly after having been so long delayed, General Pinckney remarks:

I should have made some observation on being termed
Anglo-American, but, on inquiry, I found it was customary
to call all my countrymen so, to distinguish us from the
inhabitants of St. Domingo and the other French West India
islands. I have received my passports, and shall, in two
days, set out for Amsterdam. I know not what has occasioned
this determination of the Directory after having permitted
me to remain here so long a time from their refusal to
acknowledge me. You will judge whether the answer of the
Senate and the House of Representatives to the President's
Speech, and the late successes in Italy have not concurred
to occasion it. Mr. De la Croix assured Major Rutledge,
that he acted by the express orders of the Directory in
this particular, and not from himself.

General Pinckney remained in Holland till the autumn of '97, when _Messrs._ Marshall and Gerry were joined with him in an extraordinary mission, and all three proceeded to Paris. Arrived there, they asked an interview with the Minister of Foreign Relations, now changed to the astute and supple Talleyrand--obtained it--and thus describe it in their dispatch to Mr. Pickering, the Secretary of State:

The Minister, we found, was then engaged with the
Portuguese Minister, who retired in about ten minutes, when
we were introduced and produced the copy of our letters of
credence, which the Minister perused and kept. He informed
us "that the Directory had required him to make a report
relative to the situation of the United States with regard
to France, which he was then about, and which would be
finished in a few days, when he would let us know what
steps were to follow." We asked if cards of hospitality
were in the mean time necessary? He said they were, and
that they should be delivered to us; and he immediately
rung for his secretary and directed him to make them out.

This interview with Talleyrand being over, a game of intrigue, impudence, venality and corruption was immediately commenced upon the American Ministers, by the intimates and agents of Talleyrand, which has but few parallels in history, and of which they give this account:

On Saturday, the 14th, Major Mountflorence (U. S. Consul
General in Paris,) informed General Pinckney that he had a
conversation with Mr. Osmond, the private and confidential
secretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who told him
that the Directory were greatly exasperated at some parts
of the President's Speech at the opening of the last
session of Congress, and would require an explanation of
them from us. The particular parts were not mentioned. In
another conversation on the same day, the secretary
informed the Major that the Minister had told him it was
probable we should not have a public audience of the
Directory till such time as our negotiation was finished;
that probably persons might be appointed to treat with us,
but they would report to him, and he would have the
direction of the negotiation. The Major did not conceal
from Mr. Osmond his intention to communicate these
conversations to us.

In the morning of October the 13th, Mr. W., of the house of
----, called on General Pinckney and informed him that a
Mr. X., who was in Paris, and whom the General had seen, *
* * * was a gentleman of considerable credit and
reputation, * * * * and that we might place great reliance
on him.

In the evening of the same day, Mr. X. called on General
Pinckney, and after having sat some time, * * * * whispered
him that he had a message from M. Talleyrand to communicate
when he was at leisure. General Pinckney immediately
withdrew with him into another room; and when they were
alone, Mr. X. said that he was charged with a business in
which he was a novice; that he had been acquainted with M.
Talleyrand, * * * * and that he was sure he had a great
regard for [America] and its citizens; and was very
desirous that a reconciliation should be brought about with
France; that, to effect that end, he was ready, if it was
thought proper, to suggest a plan, confidentially, that M.
Talleyrand expected would answer the purpose. General
Pinckney said he should be glad to hear it. Mr. X. replied
that the Directory, and particularly two of the members of
it, were exceedingly irritated at some passages of the
President's Speech, and desired that they should be
softened, and that this step would be necessary previous to
our reception. That, besides this, a sum of money was
required for the pocket of the Directory and Ministers,
which would be at the disposal of M. Talleyrand; and that a
loan would also be insisted on. M. X. said if we acceded to
these measures, M. Talleyrand had no doubt that all our
differences with France might be accommodated. On inquiry,
M. X. could not point out the particular passages of the
speech that had given offence, nor the quantum of the loan,
but mentioned that the douceur for the pocket, was twelve
hundred thousand livres, about fifty thousand pounds
sterling. General Pinckney told him, that his colleagues
and himself, from the time of their arrival here, had been
treated with great slight and disrespect; that they
earnestly wished for peace and reconciliation with France;
and had been entrusted by their country with very great
powers to obtain these ends on honorable terms; that, with
regard to the propositions made, he could not even consider
of them before he had communicated them to his colleagues;
that, after he had done so, he should hear from him. After
a communication and consultation had, it was agreed that
General Pinckney should call on M. X. and request him to
make his propositions to us all: and, for fear of mistake
or misapprehension, that he should be requested to reduce
the heads into writing. Accordingly, on the morning of
October 19, General Pinckney called on M. X., who consented
to see his colleagues in the evening, and to reduce his
propositions to writing. He said his communication was not
immediately with M. Talleyrand, but through another
gentleman in whom M. Talleyrand had great confidence. This
proved afterwards to be M. Y.