Chapter I: A. Coles (21)

But, sir, with all due deference to the high ministerial officer who recommended the project, and likewise to the honorable committee who reported the bill, I may be allowed to pay it the compliment of saying that, in my opinion, previous to the reign of that tyrant, who, by a military force, aided by projects of this kind, has destroyed the sanctuary of justice, and has spread pillage, debauchery, robbery, and death, throughout the greater part of Europe; such a bill as that would have been scouted from this Hall as the production of a madman. But on receiving the Message of the President, covering the letters of Mr. Russell, the American Chargé des Affaires at Paris, stating that American vessels, loaded with _bona fide_ property of American citizens, had been seized and sequestered in the ports of France, under the Berlin and Milan decrees, as late as the 9th of December, doubts seemed to arise in this House, whether the decrees had ceased to operate on the first of November, as the President had declared. And the bill was sent back to the committee, for the purpose, as I understood, of bringing in a bill to suspend the operation of the law of May last, until we should hear from France, whether the Emperor had disavowed those seizures, and whether the decrees had actually ceased to operate on the first of November. And I did understand the honorable chairman of the committee, and several other gentlemen on the other side of the House, to say on that occasion, that if, after we had new arrivals from France, that did not prove to be the case, they should be as ready as any gentleman to repeal the whole code of restrictive laws until the Emperor should learn to respect our rights. What evidence have we had since to give us a more favorable prospect, as it respects the revocation of the decrees? Not a syllable. But, on the other hand, we have conclusive evidence that they were not so revoked that their operation ceased on that day.

If it be asked where this evidence appears, the answer is ready. In the first place, by the letter of the Grand Judge, the Duke of Massa, to the President of the Council of Prizes, as also by the letter of the Minister of Finance to the Director General of the Customs, both dated the 25th of December, fifteen days after the manly remonstrance of Mr. Russell, in the case of the Orleans Packet; in which remonstrance he states the outrageous conduct of the custom-house officers, and requests a prompt and speedy disavowal of the seizures, and that the property be again placed in the hands of the owners. But, sir, is there any thing in these two letters which looks like a disavowal of the seizure in express violation of the promise of the Duke of Cadore? No, sir, although these letters were written fifteen days after the remonstrance of Mr. Russell. Instead of this they both agree that the decrees did not cease to operate on the first of November, but that the property taken with the Orleans Packet, and all the property which should be seized between the first of November and the second of February, must remain in depot to wait the pleasure of the Emperor, on our causing our rights to be respected by England.

But how, Mr. Speaker, are we to cause our rights to be respected? Is it by merely reviving the law of May last, as is the object of this amendment? Certainly this is not their meaning; for both these letters have reference to that law, as well as the proclamation of the President giving it effect, and to the circular of the Secretary of the Treasury, addressed to the collectors of the several ports, enjoining a strict execution of that law. No, sir, this is not what is to be done, which will satisfy the Emperor. He who flatters himself that this will be sufficient, shuts his eyes against official evidence to the contrary; as well in the above-recited letters, written with a perfect knowledge of the performance on our part, and the promise of a performance on the part of France on the first day of November, as in the letter of the French Minister in the United States on the 12th of December, in which we are told that the French restrictions on our commerce are not to cease, but only on the result of firm and energetic measures to be adopted and persevered in by the two Governments against the common enemy.

But shall I be told that the letters of the Grand Judge and Minister of Finance promised that the property taken from our citizens since 1st of November should be restored, if we cause the law to be carried into effect after the 2d day of February, and therefore we were to believe it and ought to wait until we hear whether that has been the case? For the honor of my Government, I hope not. Is it really come to this, that we are brought to acknowledge that the Duke of Cadore was correct when he told General Armstrong that His Majesty could place no reliance on the American Government? No, sir, if this be true, for heaven's sake let us not express it. But what is this amendment which re-enacts the law of May last, and such pitiful reasoning as I have heard on this occasion, but placing our seal to that infamous insinuation? The President, on the mere promise of the Minister of the Emperor, that the Berlin and Milan decrees should cease to operate on the first day of November, placed full faith and reliance on that promise, and issued his proclamation on the 2d, presuming the promise had been fulfilled--and, shall we say that the Emperor is justifiable in disbelieving the law of May last, solemnly enacted by the three branches of the Government and the President's proclamation, together with the Circular of the Secretary of the Treasury, enjoining the law to be carried into effect?

I hope not; for if we are become so pitifully servile as this, well might Cadore, in his letter of February 14th, 1810, tell General Armstrong that the Americans were without just political views, without honor, and even independence. And if we, by adopting this amendment, condescend to justify the Emperor, in his insult upon the plighted faith of our Government, in my opinion we shall furnish the American people and the world with just ground to say Amen to the declaration of Cadore in that respect. Will any gentleman still say, that the decrees ceased to operate on the first of November, since we have had official information from the French Government itself, that our vessels are to be seized under these decrees, until the second of February? I trust not. Those gentlemen who support this amendment, ought to recollect that the sections which go to re-enact the law of May last, contain a confession that that law is not now in operation; for if the decrees did actually cease to operate on the first of November, no one doubts but the law is now in full force, without the provisions of this bill. When the honorable chairman of the committee first offered his amendment, a misunderstanding seemed to take place between him and two gentlemen on the opposite side of the House, viz. the gentleman from Maryland, (Mr. WRIGHT,) and the gentleman from Tennessee, (Mr. RHEA,) which undoubtedly happened in this way. While the honorable chairman well knew that the decrees did not cease on the first of November; therefore to keep alive the spirit of the law of May, which gave England three months after they did cease, it became necessary to lengthen the time for her to revoke; and the other two gentlemen, as it would seem, really supposed, that because Mr. Pinkney had said that Cadore's letter was precision itself, these decrees really did cease to operate agreeable to that promise; although we have the official information from Mr. Russell on our tables, that the Orleans Packet was the first case that had happened after the first of November, to which the Berlin and Milan decrees could have been applied, and that they were applied in that case, and that several late arrivals, which left France from twenty to twenty-five days afterwards, bring no information from him that a change had taken place, and had that been the case, he would certainly have communicated information to the Government before the rising of Congress. On the contrary, these arrivals confirm what he had stated, and say, that every vessel arriving in France shares the same fate. Mr. Speaker, until I heard those two gentlemen, I did suppose that no man of common sense could have believed a position, in such direct opposition to evidence. And from the opinion which I have of the discernment of the gentleman from Tennessee, I think I must have misunderstood him, while perhaps it may be improper to include the other gentleman in the supposition.

Sir, I seldom trouble the House with any observations of mine, nor is it my intention, at this time, to examine and expose all the winding and management which has been practised, to bring about such a state of things as to render plausible this measure at this time. I shall, however, examine the non-intercourse system from the date of the law of March, 1809, and inquire what was its professed object? What use has been made of it? And how has it been regarded by the belligerents? And also notice some of its effects upon our own citizens as well as upon the Treasury. What must be the inevitable consequence if this measure is suffered to go into effect? I take it to amount to an entire non-importation of any of the articles, products, or manufactures of more than three-fourths of the civilized world, to which our merchants would, at this time, run the risk of attempting voyages; for, from the Continent of Europe no one returns unless at the expense of this Government. The dominions of Great Britain, including the East and West Indies, as well as her European dominions, and those on the American Continent, are immense. The products of these various countries formed a principal part of those importations of the last year, which, while the non-intercourse slept, gave new life and vigor to every branch of business. Our seaports, which the year before presented the gloomy appearance of cities besieged by a hostile foe, again resumed the appearance of enterprise, industry and wealth. Thousands, who in 1809 were either a burden to their friends, in the poor-house, or begging their bread in the streets, were in 1810 enjoying the fruits of their industry in a comfortable supply of the necessaries of life, while the farmer and planter sowed his seed and cultivated his field, with the comfortable prospect that his crop would not decay on his hand for want of a market. Now, sir, although exportation is not interdicted by this bill, yet I apprehend the result will be much the same. It can hardly be expected that Great Britain, who gentlemen on the other side of the House are fond of considering as the cause of all our commercial distress, will condescend to pay us specie for our produce, while our ports are closed, not only against her shipping of all kinds, but against every article of her products and manufactures, as well as those of her colonies and dependencies, while they are open to those of her enemy. Again, what was the effect of the non-intercourse in 1809 upon our Treasury? In addition to the bankruptcy and wretchedness spread over the face of the whole country, we are informed by the annual report of the Secretary of the Treasury, laid on our tables, that the net revenue arising from duties on merchandise and tonnage, accruing during that year, amounted to only $6,527,000, while we are informed in the same report, that this source of revenue in the three first quarters of the year 1810, while commerce was free, amounted to a sum exceeding $7,250,000, and the Secretary adds, that he believed the whole revenue arising from duties on merchandise and tonnage for that year would amount to more than $12,000; making an increase in this year, when commerce was unshackled, of $5,473,000, notwithstanding all the robberies of Napoleon, which probably amounted to more than forty millions, a free importation of the avails of which would have greatly increased the revenue of that year. From this view of the subject, we find a deficit in the revenue of 1809, caused by this measure, of $5,473,000, and, in anticipation of the effects of the law now about to be enacted, the Secretary of the Treasury has, in the same report, recommended an immediate additional duty to be laid upon importations, which, together with the high duties already established by law, he thinks will not amount to more than $8,000,000; making an anticipated deficiency in the next year's revenue, occasioned by this measure, of $4,000,000, compared with that of 1810. But if we compare the revenue arising from duties on merchandise and tonnage during the year 1809, while commerce was restricted by the non-intercourse, with what it was in 1807, while it was unshackled, we shall find a deficiency of about $11,000,000.

From this view of the subject, which is taken from authentic documents, which I invite gentlemen to controvert if they have it in their power, it is demonstrated that if we suffered this system to go into operation, we are not only to again reduce our citizens to a state of bankruptcy in their private fortunes, while loaded with additional taxes, but, notwithstanding the aid of these additional taxes, our Treasury is, if possible, to be reduced to a more complete state of bankruptcy than at present. I put it to gentlemen, who are in the confidence of the Cabinet, to say, why we are called upon again to plunge this nation into such a state of poverty and wretchedness? Is it necessary as a measure of self-defence, as the only mode of resistance which will bring England to terms? For myself I should suppose that our late experiment in this species of warfare, at which France took so much offence, as to take occasion to seize and confiscate the property of American citizens, to the amount of $40,000,000, which rendered necessary an appropriation of $80,000 during the present session, in order to enable those of our citizens, who had been thus robbed and plundered, to revisit their native shores, afforded a spectacle too humiliating to suffer us to make another attempt so soon, and before we have so far recovered from the effects of our late experiment as to be able to defray the ordinary expenses of government without having recourse to annual loans for the purpose. Are we bound to adopt this measure on account of the faith of Government being pledged to France by the law of May last?

Here give me leave to inquire what has been the further effect of this law. It seems England, although she saw that if it had any operation at all, it operated only against her, was willing to consider it as a municipal regulation of our own, and treated it as such, while Bonaparte at first, and for ten months, passed it over as inoffensive to him, until our vessels, which had been shut up in our ports by its elder sister, the embargo, having got released from that strong measure, flocked into the ports of France, Spain, Holland, and Naples, all under the immediate and entire control of France, when, on the 23d March, an order was issued by his gracious and loving Majesty to seize and confiscate the property of our citizens in all those countries; which property is, by the best calculation, estimated at more than forty millions. And you will perceive, Mr. Speaker, that the Duke of Cadore saw, that, by suffering the law to pass unnoticed, till our property released from the embargo had filled nearly every port in Europe under French control, and then issuing an order which was to have a retrospective operation of ten months, was such a gross outrage upon every principle of honor and justice, as well as the usages of public law, that he, in a letter to General Armstrong, of the 5th August, 1810, attempts to excuse the piratical transaction, by saying that the Emperor knew nothing of the law of March, until very lately. But, I pray gentlemen to take notice that General Armstrong, in his letter to Cadore of the 10th of March, (five months before the one just recited from Cadore,) asserts that this law was communicated to him in the month of June or July preceding--one whole year before the declaration made by Cadore.

But to pursue this subject: on the first day of May, 1810, while this robbery, I ought to presume, was unknown to the Executive--certainly to the people--this non-intercourse law was repealed; but the majority, for wise purposes, I presume, did, in the same law that repealed the non-intercourse, give the President power, in case England or France should, before the 1st day of March, so revoke or modify her edicts as that they should cease to violate the neutral commerce of the United States, to declare the same by proclamation; in which case, the non-intercourse should be revived against the nation neglecting to revoke or modify her edicts, in like manner, for the space of three months after the date of such proclamation. And you will recollect, sir, that this law was also opposed by the minority, not so much, perhaps, because they suspected either the integrity or impartiality of the President, as because they thought it unconstitutional to commit a power to the Executive which was, in its nature and effect, an act of legislation, viz: to revive a law at his discretion which was to affect the great interest of the nation, and might result in war. I say, at his discretion; and I ask gentlemen to take notice that the law reads, "so revoke or modify." This law was also sent by the President to our Ministers at London and Paris, as he states in his Message. But, what was it sent there for? Only to be used as an inducement to those nations to revoke their unjust edicts, which was the avowed object of the provision when it passed. And, if sent there for that purpose, it would seem, that to have acted a neutral part, it ought to have been used alike at the palaces of St. Cloud and St. James. But, Mr. Speaker, what was the fact? Here we may learn the management of which I spoke when I first addressed you. This law, which you will perceive was in the nature of a generous overture made to the belligerent who first revoked his edicts, changed its character when offered to the other belligerent, who should neglect to revoke the obnoxious edicts until after his enemy had done so; and, instead of being a generous offer, contained a threat, that if she did not revoke, we should shut our ports against her products, while they should be open to those of her enemy. And this is the light in which it was viewed by our Government, as will be seen in Mr. Smith's letter to General Armstrong, of the 5th day of June, 1810, (printed documents, p. 35,) in these words: "It might be added, that the form in which the law now presents the overture, is as well calculated as the overture itself to gain a favorable attention, inasmuch as it may be regarded by the belligerent first accepting of it as a promise to itself and a threat only to its adversary." For this view of the subject, gentlemen will perceive that it is much more agreeable to close any matter in dispute upon a generous offer for so doing, than it would be to do so while threatened by their opponent that if it is not done they must suffer the consequence of their own folly and his vengeance. Now, in looking through the documents, I mistake if gentlemen have not discovered some management in this business, so that while the law was presented to France as an offer made to herself, it should be presented to England in no other character than that of a threat. It seems that the first correspondence with our Minister which we are suffered to see, is a letter from Mr. Smith to Mr. Pinkney, of the 22d May; although it appears from that letter that the Secretary of State had sent a copy of the law in a previous letter of the 4th of that month to Mr. Pinkney, as also another copy in the letter of the 22d; but we hear nothing of instructions in either to use this new overture, which the law presents, to the best advantage at the Court of St. James, while it retained its character of an offer made to that Government. Indeed, it would seem most natural to suppose that the instructions given in this business were contained in the letter of the 4th, which was the first enclosing a copy of the law. But, at this we are not suffered to look, nor at the one sent to General Armstrong, of the same date, which was also the first to him enclosing a copy of the law.

But, Mr. Speaker, as we are not suffered to see the first correspondence on this important business, which we are called upon by the Executive to carry into effect by a new act of legislation, it becomes doubly our duty to examine well this letter of the twenty-second, and see what that treats of, and whether it compares with the first we are suffered to see, sent to General Armstrong on this subject. In this letter to Mr. Pinkney of the twenty-second, the Secretary commences, as he says, with much surprise, that Great Britain had not revoked her blockades, and that she had not sent a man of rank to replace Mr. Jackson; and, after having dwelt at great length on the latter of these subjects, he mentions that he had sent a copy of the law, as also another, in his letter of the fourth of that month, and tells Mr. Pinkney to let the British Government know that the provisions of the law would be carried into effect, but not a syllable of proffering it as an offer made to that Government and a threat to France. But, instead of this, the Secretary selects two subjects, which he must have known would be difficult to close, and tells Mr. Pinkney that if another Minister was not sent to replace Mr. Jackson, to let the British Government know that he would return to the United States. And as though this was not sufficient to prevent the British Government from closing with the conditions of the new overture, the attack on the Chesapeake must be settled in a manner agreeable to the propositions made to Mr. Rose and Mr. Erskine, which he might well know would not be done, as the British Government had told him it could not be closed in that way. On the first of July, Mr. Pinkney acknowledges Mr. Smith's letter of the twenty-second of May, and very properly goes on to execute the instructions it contained as to the British Government sending a man of rank to replace Mr. Jackson, &c. And, in my opinion, very properly notices the scrap of instructions it contained, respecting the law of May last, by merely mentioning, that while he is engaged with Lord Wellesley on these other subjects, he thinks he shall draw his attention to the non-intercourse law, but I find no account of his ever presenting the law to that Government.

Now, Mr. Speaker, while we see in this letter of the twenty-second the substance of all we are permitted to see of the use to be made by Mr. Pinkney of this law, as an inducement to the British Government to revoke the Orders in Council, let us examine what was the course pursued towards the French Government to induce it to take advantage of the law, while it retained the character of a favorable overture, so that the British Government should have to meet it as a threat, or as a rod held over them to procure the revocation of their edicts. In order to do this, I shall examine the first letter which is suffered to come to public view, from Secretary Smith to General Armstrong, after the date of the law of May first. This bears the date of June fifth, documents, page 34. In this, we find that he had sent two before, each one enclosing a copy of the law, and no doubt both containing instructions what use to make of it. For we find, even in this third letter, that Mr. Smith tells General Armstrong, (to use his own words,) "If there be sincerity in the language held at different times by the French Government, and especially in the late overture to proceed to amicable and just arrangements in the case of our refusal to submit to the British Orders in Council, (not blockades,) no pretext can be found for longer declining to put an end to the decrees of which the United States have so justly complained." And here, I entreat gentlemen to notice that this is the first ground stated by our Government to that of France, as being that which would be insisted upon from England--a compliance on her part required to entitle her to the provisions of this law, viz., her relinquishing the Orders in Council. We may here notice, that Mr. Smith adds, as a further inducement to France to take advantage of the law, while it retained the character of a favorable overture, "that by putting in force the non-intercourse against England, agreeable to the terms of this statute, that the very species of resistance would be made which France has been constantly representing as the most efficacious." But, Mr. Smith goes still farther in his instructions, and tells General Armstrong, "that it may be added, that in the form in which the law now presents the overture, it is as well calculated as the overture itself to gain a favorable attention, inasmuch as it may be regarded by the belligerent first accepting it as a promise to itself, and a threat only to its adversary." In this letter, we find that the Secretary states a first ground, which was necessary in the first instance to entitle the French Government to the provisions of this law. What was this ground? Why, he tells General Armstrong to let the French Government understand that the President would not proceed to give the law effect, if the restoration of the property of our citizens be finally refused; and closes his letter by directing him to let that Government know that the only ground, short of a preliminary restoration of the property, on which the contemplated arrangement could take place, would be an understanding that the confiscation was reversible, and that it would become immediately the subject of discussion, with a reasonable prospect of justice to our injured citizens. Was this the ground on which the subject was placed? It seems so, from this official letter of the Secretary. Yes, sir, it was; and with due deference, I may be allowed to say, the only honorable and just ground; and if the American Government had possessed independence enough to have still occupied this ground, we would not have had the mortification to discuss the bill on the table at this time. But, instead of this, although Mr. Smith had just received Cadore's insulting letter, in which he more than insinuates that, as a Government and nation, we are destitute of just political views, without honor, energy, or even independence, and closes by letting our Government know of the seizure and sale of the property of our citizens in all the ports of Europe under French control; what was the conduct of the American Government on this occasion? I entreat gentlemen to take notice, that, with this horrid picture of insult and robbery fresh in their recollection, the same conciliatory disposition, guided by the principles of neutrality, which dismissed a British Minister for an implied insult, induced Mr. Smith to inform General Armstrong that the President thought it best not to make any animadversions on that subject at that time. (Printed documents, page 34.) The next letter on this subject worthy of notice, is one of the 5th of July, in which Mr. Smith acknowledges the receipt of information, that the property which he had said in his last must be restored, in order to entitle France to the American commerce while it was denied to England, was sold, and the proceeds deposited in the _caisse prive_--privy purse of the Emperor. Here, indeed, Mr. Smith seems to have almost forgot himself, and to conceive he was giving instructions how to proceed with a British Minister, and tells General Armstrong to demand every reparation of which the subject was susceptible. But, Mr. Speaker, is it not worthy of notice that he closes even this spirited letter, with such a history of piracy and insult then on his desk before him, by quitting the ground he had taken in his letter of the fifth of June, and, instead of a proposed renewal of the non-intercourse against England, if she should neglect to withdraw her Orders in Council, which was the only ground taken by the President with Mr. Erskine, and also the only thing contemplated when the law of May last was passed, as also the only ground taken by himself only one month before, (having, it is presumed, heard from France in the interval,) he condescends to tell the General, that if France should demand it, he might give her to understand that it was the President's intention to renew the non-intercourse against England, if she did not also rescind her blockades. It is here again to be noticed, that he again repeats, what he had before told General Armstrong, that a restoration of the property was indispensable, in order to a renewal of the non-intercourse against England.

But again: will, I had like to have said, the servile manner, in which a rescinding the blockade is coupled as a condition with the withdrawing the Orders in Council, escape notice? Immediately on instructing General Armstrong to state to the French Government that a repeal of the blockade of eighteen hundred and six would be insisted on, the Secretary adds: "You will press the reasonableness of permitting the United States to proceed in such way as they may think proper, in relation to any subsequent blockades, or any other blockades not against France," which to me reads in this way, _i. e._, as we have, at the request of the French Government, receded from our first ground, and included blockades also, you are instructed humbly to request Bonaparte to permit us to do our own business in our own way in future. _My God!_ After all this, to see the Government of my country soliciting, at the feet of the Emperor of France, for permission to manage their own affairs in their own way! What American can read this correspondence without laying his hand upon his heart and exclaiming, O my Government, my Government, now is the gold become dim, and the most fine gold changed! The next thing we meet with, is Mr. Smith's letter of the 2d of November, to General Armstrong, enclosing the President's proclamation, declaring the edicts of France so revoked, as that they ceased to violate the neutral commerce of the United States, and of course the non-intercourse to be revived against England after the 2d of February, if she did not in the mean time revoke her orders, which, after the ground taken, and so often repeated, with respect to the restoration of the property, must astonish every American. But we have still this as a consolation, that Mr. Smith, notwithstanding he had been told by the Duke of Cadore that it was impossible any compromise could take place on that subject, says in the letter enclosing the proclamation that the President presumes that the requisitions contained in his letter of the 5th of July, as to the restoration of the property, will have been satisfied. In the name of God, Mr. Speaker, what grounds had he for this presumption? In addition to this, in his letter of the 5th of November, Mr. Smith instructs General Armstrong to let the Emperor know that the third section of the law of March, 1809, at which he took so much offence, was not intended to operate against his subjects, but against our own citizens. And although this may be, and probably is, true, yet a confession of this kind, after so recent and aggravated insult and violence, must I think be sickening to the American people, and Napoleon himself will be at a loss to know why it was made unless to testify our loyalty. But our loyalty to the contrary notwithstanding, the Duke of Cadore in his letter to General Armstrong of the 12th of September, in answer to one from him of the 7th of that month, tells the General, that the Emperor sees with pleasure that the Americans are far from acknowledging the tyrannical principles of English legislation, yet informs him that as to the merchandise confiscated, it having been confiscated as a measure of reprisal, the principles of reprisal must be the law in that affair.

Now, Mr. Speaker, after seeing how the law of May, 1810, has been used with the French Government, and for aught we know, not used at all with that of England, until it had assumed the character of a threat, together with the various changes of position taken by our Government in this business, I think it demonstrates a management, which, if duly examined, will not leave much doubt whether it be indispensably necessary to suffer this law to go into operation, either as a measure of resistance against England, or of good faith towards France. For instance, at one time England must repeal her Orders in Council to entitle her to the benefit of the law; at another, viz: after hearing from France, the condition must include a repeal of the blockades also, and on the part of France, she must rescind her decrees and restore the property, then a promise is to be accepted as it respects the property, and, to top the climax, the proclamation issues on the presumption of an agreement having taken place, on the part of France, that the property shall be restored. But after all this we are told by Cadore, on the 12th of September, to be contented, for as to the property in question it will not be restored.

But, Mr. Speaker, it seems that the President, in compliance with a resolution of the House of the 21st of December, has furnished documents which put the question beyond a doubt, that the proclamation was issued, declaring that the French decrees were repealed, so that they ceased to violate the neutral commerce of the United States, when, to say the least, he had no official information of the fact, or, if he had, he has taken care to keep it to himself. Mr. Smith, in his letter to Turreau, of the 18th of December, is compelled to say in effect, that the French restrictions on our commerce are not rescinded, or, to use his own words: "If, then, for the revoked decrees, municipal laws producing the same commercial effect have been substituted, the mode only, and not the measure, has undergone an alteration." In this situation, I should like to be informed why we are called upon by the Executive so to modify our laws as to carry the non-importation against England and her dependencies forcibly into effect, and thus destroy the small remains of our commerce, the effects of which we have so recently felt at the Treasury, since the repeal of the non-intercourse law of May last, as I have already shown from the Secretary's report. This information I have not as yet been able to obtain, although I have sought for it, unless I resort to the last paragraph in General Turreau's letter of December 12, to Mr. Secretary Smith, in answer to one from the Secretary, remonstrating against the exclusion of cotton and tobacco from the ports of France. In reply to which he says, among other things, that he thinks some modification will take place in this respect, but tells him that this will depend upon the firm and persevering measures to be pursued by the two Governments against the common enemy. In this intimation of his Imperial Majesty through his Minister, which, by-the-by, is not the first of the kind, will I fancy be found the only necessity of suffering this measure to go into operation. And are gentlemen prepared to obey? I trust not. No, sir, I will not for a moment entertain so degrading an idea. But firmly believing the contrary, I still hope the amendment will be rejected, and with it the whole restrictive system, until France shall learn to respect our rights.

Mr. Speaker, if I am to be called an enemy to my country for opposing this measure, under present circumstances, to my country I will appeal; being entirely willing that the honorable gentleman from Maryland (Mr. WRIGHT) and his friends should share the whole of the honor of advocating the right of the Emperor to take and withhold the property of our citizens. Sir, it creates no astonishment to hear that gentleman contend that we are bound by the law of May to carry the non-intercourse into effect against Great Britain, but, to hear a gentleman possessed of the discernment of the honorable chairman of the committee who reported this bill, make this declaration, is truly astonishing, when the reverse is the fact. I trust I have already shown that in every communication from our Executive to the French Government on the subject, that Government has been told that if, in connection with the revocation of the decrees, the sequestered property was not given up, the non-intercourse would not be renewed against England. These several letters were communicated to this House, and published nearly three months since, and are, at this moment, in the hands of the British Government, and, by this tenure, that Government has a right to rest assured that the non-intercourse will not be renewed against them. Indeed, to believe the contrary, would be an insult to the plighted faith of the Executive.

Mr. BIGELOW.--Mr. Speaker, I regret extremely that, at this late period of the session, and at this late hour of the night, the high sense of the duty which I feel that I owe to my constituents and to my country, should compel me to submit to the consideration of the House a few remarks upon this all-important subject. They will be of a general nature, candid, and as much as possible confined to the subject of debate.

Sir, on this occasion, I feel no disposition to censure the conduct of the President. Permit me, however, before I proceed to the subject, to notice a very singular remark of the honorable gentleman from Pennsylvania, (Mr. Ross.) That gentleman observed, "that when this bill was laid on your table, he was determined to vote against it; that he considered it wrong in principle, and injurious in its consequences; and that he should now vote against it, had not several gentlemen, particularly the gentleman from Massachusetts, (Mr. QUINCY,) been so severe in their censures upon the conduct of the Administration. He felt it his duty to support the Administration, and should, therefore, vote for the bill, although he disliked it."

Sir, I apprehend the President will not feel under very great obligations to that gentleman for this kind of support. For myself, I am free to declare, that stronger reasons than those must operate upon my mind, before I can give my sanction to a measure professedly impolitic and unjust.

This bill, Mr. Speaker, is advocated on the ground that, by the law of May, 1810, we are under obligations to France to prohibit commercial intercourse with Great Britain. If, sir, I rightly recollect, for I have not the law before me, the substance of the provision, as it respected France, was, that if she so revoked or modified her edicts and decrees, as that they should cease to violate our neutral commerce, and Great Britain refused, for three months, to pursue a similar course, then was this system of non-intercourse to commence, as it respects Great Britain.

Mr. Speaker, I deny that the faith of the nation is pledged by the law of May, 1810. It is neither a contract nor a treaty. To constitute a contract, two parties are necessary, at least. All writers upon the subject have so considered it; and, sir, if one party can make a contract with another, without the knowledge, consent, or approbation of the other, it is a new discovery, with which, as yet, I am unacquainted. Such, sir, is the nature of the contract referred to. The Congress was the only party concerned in making it. France knew nothing of it; it was made wholly without her consent or approbation. How, then, is the national faith plighted to France by that law? Sir, I know of but one way in which the faith of this nation can be pledged to another, and that is, by a treaty approved and ratified by the constituted authorities; and surely, sir, no gentleman will contend that this law amounted to a treaty. If, then, it was neither a contract nor a treaty, the faith of the nation is not pledged. The most you can make of it is, as was observed on a former occasion by the honorable gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. RANDOLPH,) "that it is a rule of conduct for ourselves." But, sir, I am willing to admit, in case France had fairly and honestly complied with the conditions of the law, so often referred to, that good faith on our part might have required that we should pass the present bill. What was the condition to be performed on the part of France? Sir, she was to revoke and modify her decrees, so that they should cease to violate our neutral commerce. This has not been done. The Berlin and Milan decrees are not even nominally revoked. Look at the letters of Mr. Russell, our Chargé des Affaires at Paris, of the tenth of December last. Look at the letters of the Dukes of Massa and Gaete, of the twenty-fifth of the same month. Look at her conduct subsequent to the first of November, the time when you were informed that those decrees would cease to operate. Has she not seized every vessel which has arrived at her ports since that period? Upon this point I will not waste the time of the House by attempting to show that those decrees are still in force, a fact which has been already so fully and amply proved by the candid and able arguments of the honorable gentleman from New York, (Mr. EMOTT.)

But, sir, I will go further, and, for the sake of argument, admit, not only that the law of May, 1810, has all the binding force upon this nation of a treaty made by the regular constitutional authorities, but that the Berlin and Milan decrees were, on the fifth day of August last, actually revoked; and, after the first day November, ceased to violate our neutral commerce. There is still another important point to be considered, and I hope gentlemen will attend to it with candor.

Sir, it is a principle well established by the law of nations, as well as by the laws of nature and reason, that when one nation, in consequence of revoking certain acts injurious to another nation, claims from the other nation the performance of a promise made on condition that those acts should be revoked, it is necessary that the nation thus claiming the fulfilment of the promise, should first, not only revoke those injurious acts, but it should also be done fairly and honestly, without subterfuge or reserve, and without, at the same time, adopting other measures equally injurious, and producing the same effects. Now, sir, admit that the declaration of the Duc de Cadore, in his letter of the 5th of August, 1810, that the Berlin and Milan decrees were revoked, and, after the first of November, would cease to violate our neutral commerce, was an actual revocation of those decrees; still, sir, if this was merely to amuse and deceive us, if another act equally injurious was at the same time substituted, will it be contended that France has, nevertheless, fairly complied with the conditions of your law? Sir, it is a very singular fact that, on this very fifth day of August, another decree was issued by the French Emperor, which was equally injurious, and amounted, in fact, to a prohibition of our commerce, as much as the Berlin and Milan decrees. I allude to the duties established by the Emperor on articles of American produce, which were so enormously high, that the owner would prefer an abandonment of his cargo to a payment of the duties. Even this was insufficient; for, by a subsequent decree, various articles were prohibited, and those which were allowed, must only be exported in vessels which should sail from Charleston or New York.

Is this, sir, that fair, that honest repeal of the Berlin and Milan decrees; is this that _bona fide_ performance of the condition; that ceasing to violate our neutral commerce, which lays us under such solemn obligations to France? Am I not, then, Mr. Speaker, authorized to say, that the condition of the law of May, 1810, has not been complied with? I trust, sir, as to this point, that the letter of the Secretary of State to Mr. Turreau, of the 18th of December last, will be considered as conclusive. In this letter, the Secretary, speaking of the enormous duties which have been mentioned, observes: "If, then, for the revoked decrees, municipal laws, producing the same commercial effect, have been substituted; the mode only, and not the measure, have undergone an alteration."

To my mind, sir, this insidious, this perfidious conduct, on the part of Napoleon, is infinitely more base, and merits the indignation of the American people infinitely more than would an open refusal to revoke the obnoxious decrees. It is an attempt, if I may be allowed the expression, to gull and deceive us, by an artful, intriguing policy, which ought to excite our jealousy, and rouse our highest resentments. I trust, sir, I have fairly shown that our faith is not plighted, that we are under no obligations to Napoleon. If in this I am correct, then the passage of the present bill is a mere question of policy and interest.

It would be a mere waste of time to attempt, by a reference to the past evils which have resulted from this restrictive system, to show the impolicy of its continuance. The bad effects already produced are but too well known. This, sir, is the favorable moment to erase it from your statute books; the policy and interest of the nation require it.

Let us examine, for a moment, the consequences of its continuance.

Do you believe, sir, that your merchants, a great portion of whose property has been seized by foreign nations, when the remnant of their vessels, which have escaped, shall, upon entering your own ports, be seized by your own custom-house officers, that they will be satisfied to lose the remainder of their property, in pursuance of your own laws? They will think it hard enough, that millions of their property have been seized by France, by Denmark, and by Sweden, without having the remainder seized on their return, and confiscated by their own Government. Surely, sir, they will require strong evidence of the fact that your faith is plighted to France, before they will be satisfied with the measure you are about to adopt.

Mr. Speaker, I am not the Representative of merchants; I feel no peculiar interest in their favor, but I consider them a useful class of citizens; their interests are closely connected with the interests of your farmers; and, in this point of view, they are at least entitled to notice. Hitherto, your merchants have been noted for their fairness, and for the respect they have paid to your revenue laws. But, sir, after having their property plundered by France, by Denmark, and Sweden, will they not, when they learn that from a scrupulous regard to your faith plighted to France, a faith, however, which has no existence, you seize, with a few exceptions, all which return; will they not, I repeat it, endeavor to land their cargoes so as to escape the vigilance of your officers? Have you no apprehension that, when they have once learnt the art of smuggling to save their property from seizure and confiscation, they will afterwards practise it, to avoid the payment of duties? I fear that this system will have a tendency to corrupt the morals of your merchants, and from them it will extend throughout the country.

WEDNESDAY, February 27.

The House formed a quorum at half-past ten o'clock.

Mr. GOLD.--Mr. Speaker, at a period when the civilized world is convulsed by continued war, to its centre; when the European continent is exhibiting the marks of ruthless conquest, and is threatened with all that barbarism, with which Attila, with his invading hordes, overwhelmed the Roman world, it becomes the Councils of this nation to move with cautious steps on the theatre of our foreign relations; to move, sir, with a fixed eye on the great law of neutrality, and yield an implicit obedience to its high injunctions.

It eminently becomes, sir, the Government of this country, in all our concerns with the belligerents of Europe, to carry an even hand, to manifest to both a fair, impartial, and equal conduct. Without such a course, the consequences to our peace and prosperity, from the jealousy and violence of warring nations, are inevitable, and, with it, we can hardly promise ourselves exemption from aggressions and spoliation; such and so destructive is the spirit of the times. Need I, sir, to excite caution in legislation, refer the House to the consequences of the non-intercourse act of the 1st of March, 1809; for, however free from all exception from the belligerents was that act, yet France, in the wantonness of power, made it the pretext for the exercise of the rigorous right of reprisal by an additional decree, which, with the preceding, have, like the besom of destruction, swept our property from the ocean.

It was on that act, that the Rambouillet decree of the 23d of March last, was founded for its sole justification; and so do the very terms of the decree, shameful and disgraceful as it is, import.