National Intelligencer. (Washington City [D.C.]), Vol. 13, No. 1931, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 4, 1813 Page: 1 of 4
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YOL. XIII ]
-WASHINGTON CITY THUESDAY FEBRUARY 4, 1813.
[No. * 1931.
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January 4—lw4w._____
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YOUNG LADIES are instructed m Reading,
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vPj*For a character of the Above Novel, see
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Series; edited by WaCnmglmi Irving, Esq
Subscriptions for which work are received by
W. COOLER, who has also for sate
A PORTRAIT
OF
MRS'. MADISON, .
Engraved bv E C 'VIA', from a painting by
STUART.
Large size, price Five Dollars-—Common size
Four Doilsrs.
W. nOOl-'hfi hr.s lately rerrivciFiwrsHIfcrs- ' j Dlit, sir, war «.v„ g dbrlar^dt r-.d v!.
ble additions to his stock of MUSIC, Cc.
interested in the avowed objects of the
war, openly condemned it; .and I be-
lieved that a great portion of the other
party was secretly opposed to it. This
objection was to my mind perfectly con-
clusive. If there hud been no other rea-
son against the war, this was enough
What, sir, go to war when that part of
the country, which has most of its
wealth, strength and resources, is de-
cidedly opposed to it ?—go to war for
commercial and maritime rights, when
the people of that part of the country
which is principally interested in its
commerce and navigation, openly exe-
crate war ? .
1l seemed to me, that it became legis-
lators who were disposed to exercise a
paternal regard over the interests of the
nation, to give up their own opinions,
their prejudices ^partialities rather than
go to war with a people thus divided.1
And permit me to say, sir, without any
disparagement to the members of this
house, that thousands and tens of thou-
sands of the inhabitants of that part of
the country of which 1 have been speak-
ing, are as competent to understand the
true interest and honor of the nation, as
gentlemen 'who happen to be members
of Congress.
I was opposed to the war, because I
thought it might expose our happy
form of government, our excellent po-
litical institutions to a dangerous trial
l was afraid, sir, that the war might pro-
duce a pressure upon the government,
which it would not be able to sustain I
wus opposed to the war, and this was the
biltt-r daught, because it brought us in-
to concert and co-operation with the
great destroyer, the grand enemy of
freedom and huifi'anily throughout the
world. i was opposed to the war, be-
cause I believed that the state of tilings
in Europe, out of which our difficulties
arose, a state of things- which the Unit-
ed States had no power to controul, w.s
in its nature transient. Rather than
plunge ourselves into the vortex of Eu-
ropean politics, rather than encounter
the evils and dangers of war, 1 thought
it would be wise and prudent to wait till
“ the troubled-waters should' subside,;
and the-ancient land-marks of the world
re-appear above the flood ” With a liv-
ing statesman, I thought I saw, in the
very cloud winch blackened all our ho-
rizon, the bow which, was set for a tok-
en, that the tempest would not be for -
as this doctrine inculcates obedience, to
the laws, it has my cordial approbation ;
but inasmuch as it denies the right oi
the citizen to examine into the causes
of the war, to express and publish his
opinions respecting its policy, it is an
JUST RECEIVED AND FO*t SALE, BY
JOSEPH MILLIGAN,
Bookseller, George-Town, (Col )
Vivian and Emilie de Coulanges,
2 vols. ' §2 00
Depon’s Voyages, 3 vols 6 GO
Wanderer of Switzerland, a Poem, 75
Katernal Physician, 1 00
Gass’s Journal, with 6 engravings, 100
Johnson's Lives, 4 JO
Human Manners, 62 1 2
O ander’s Poems, 62 1-2
Zion's Pilgrim, 62 1-2
Croxali’s Fab es, 87 1-2
Little’s Poems, 75 cts. 1 00
Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves, 87 1-2
H'tdibras, ...v 1 00
Campbell’s Philosophy of Rhetoric, 3 00
David’s Psalms, 37 1-2
Catechism of Nature, 37 1-2
Minstrel, a collection of celebrated
English, Scotch and Irish Songs,
set to Music, 1 50
Diamond Songster, 3 vols. beards ICO,
bound, 1 50
Tope's Essay on Man, 25
Bamback’s Meditations, 2 vols. 400 to 4 50
Ixiw’s Encyclopedia, 7 vols quarto, 60 00
A large and elegant assortment of
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' ^ ' 4-a hniro r* r\ r* 11 n 11 o r I ftsro r\r» ton vouvo
POCKET-BOOKS,
Desk and Pen Knives and Dividers.
Jan. 7.
doctrine has since been promt. 1 gated
that it is now the duty of every im.n to
support it ; that all inquiry must be
hushed, and all examihutieui of its ex-
pediency and propriety cease. bo fur abyss. \V e have been humbled and
gage the reflection off the national le-
gislature, for, without that section of
the country, our strength is weakness.
—I know how ungracious and invidious
topics of this kind are to some gentle-
men. But, sir, we cannot help it, that
the country is made up of sections. We
are legisl ting for such a country, and
it is our business and duty to regard the
eircumfctane.es, Uie interests and feel-
ings of the people of different parts of
the union. We declared war for com-
merce—the people most int' rested n
commerce were opposed to it. W
continued the war for sailors' rights
and three-fourths of our native Ameii-
can seamen belong toN w-York arid the
eastern states, the people of which are
sighing for peace. It ought to be re-
membered too, sir.) that the war itself
must have the effect of driving a vast
portion of our sail; ; s out of the coun-
try into foreign servo e.
But, Mr. Chairman, whatever may
have been the Reasons for declaring wav,
the question is not now what it was
when war was declared. Our relations
with the belligerents have materially
and essentially changed. So much have
thfejr changed, that I declare, without
fear of contradiction, that had they been
on the 17th June last what they now are,
we should not have gone to war. I
hope no gentleman of this committee
will deny this. But if any gentleman
should deny it, the Ration will not be-
lieve him. Sir, we have received new,
important and interr sting evidence of
the true state of bur foreign relations
since the declaration of war. Facts
which were then unknown, and which
hav-e shed a flood of light upon the situ
ution and policy of the U. States, have
since been published to the world. The
repeal of the orders in council itself, by
removing the principal cause of the
war, has produced a most material
change ; for had they been r< pealed be-
fore the war was declared, there would
have been no war— aid let it be remem-
bered, that they were repealecfcbufore
the war was known iu England. But
this is not all to. which I refer—I mean
to speak of the evidence we hav> re-
ceived respecting ..ur relations with
F-r nee; and I hope gentlemen will
not be startled or offended by what I
am about to say. i Ac Ere confidently
anti boldly, that N. polccn has inveigl-
•et- us inio the war. .tie nas cajoled and
deceived us. Bvffff rffis arts, intrigues
rrrt-lt- A trp-M c ’-ty, “ttre vb . 'ff .ui.CS v/O Ui-.V -rvtvl
now have been at war with G. Britain.
Yes, sir, he has led us on step by step,
till lie brought us to the edge of tru
precipice, and plunged iis into the
mortified. He has triumphed over our
character, our honor, our rights, our
independence. I do not say these things
hastily, carelessly or lightly. And I
will add, that after the discovery of the
deceit and duplicity, which the emperor
insult to the understanding of an lintel \ of France has practised upon us, it be-
ligent people, and inconsistent >vjjh the
character and spirit of the constitution
came the duly of this government to go
back to the ground it occupied before
CONGRESS*
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
DEBATE OK THE KEJV ARMY BILL.
(continued.)
Mil BLEECKER—Mr. Chairman, I patriotic and laudable to alarm the [no-
have a very lew, very desultory, and I pie, to entreat them to put an end to that
Icar very unimportant observations to -which is the cause of their calamities.
War is declared by law. How shall the
la-w be repealed ? Flow can we get rid
of the war, if we may not say that it is
inexpedient, impolitic and ruinous r
Flow abominable the doctrine is, lout
the declaration of war shuts the door
against all inquiry, is manifest from .the
consideration that it would enable a
wicked administration to perpetuate its
power by declaring war. Again, sir, I
would ask the advocates of the doctrine
I am reprobating, when will it be pro-
per to show the tally and ruinous conse-
wur
to have continued five or ten years, and
the country to be impoverished, its com-
merce annihilated, its resources ex-
hausted, its best blood expended in wild
and fruitless projects of conquest ; the
people oppressed by debts and taxes ;
will it then be deemed improper to ex-
pose the absurdity and mischief of con-
tinuing the war ? Surely, sir, it will be
make on the subject now before the
committee. These will be few, not be-
cause the subject does not abound with
various fruitful and interesting topics ;
but because an indisposition of some
d-ys has unfitted me for any considera-
ble effort of memory.
I was opposed to the war when it was
declared, because I was confidently per-
suaded that the evils of which we com-
plained were of a nature not to be re-
medied by war. I thought, too, sir, that
And if such conduct will then be’ pro-
pi r, it must be laudable and patrioliu
now to shew them their evils and dan-
gers, and to point them to the means of
escape.
Bet, sir, Yvhat has been the state of the
country since the declaration of war ?
I speak again in reference to public
opinion. The people of the north and
east have poured out their feelings a$d
opinions, their complaints and groans,
i:.i addresses, petitions, ve solutions and
sir, at the presidential election, ami you
see all the northern and eastern status,
with the exception of Vermont, arrayed
against the a iministration. You see the
by .entering inlo war we tvere piungin,. ugninst ,ltc wttr. Leek,
ourselves into evils a million fold great-
er than those from which we sought to
be relieved. 1 was opposed to the war,
because 1 thought that notwithstanding
all the clcciees and ouleis ot the belli- pt.0pje disregarding the old line of par-
g, ren s o e^tmg our neutral rignts, we t division & distinction, 3Gs,sir,in spito
migut enjoy a commerce more extern ^ suth (iivl5lon & distinction, “ burying
sue anc pi onta) e t.ian we could have tjiejr mutual animosities, their ancient
in a time of European peace, ihev.ar judl,ts» iu thcir common dtusia-
m Aiiope was in <lCt a essmg to this Hon” of the policy of the government)
countiy. Mas opposea to tiic war, be.- rls}lig up in their might and stKiigth to
cause 1 knew that the whole ol one of
the great political parties in the north
ern and eastern, the most commerce 1
section of the ceuntrv, which was most
manifest their hostility to the course of
measures it has pursued. This Mr.
Chairman, is a state oi things which
ought Jo arrest the attention, and en-
the President's proclamation of Nov.
18 10, or to declare immediate war a-
guinst France. A proper regard to the
honor, the character and independence
ol che country, demanded this of its go-
v’ernmu ht.
bar, the proof of what I have said is
plain ; and it is time that it be stated
here and spread before the nation. I
beg the attention of the committee to
the facts on which it rests. I need not
go back farther than to the law of May
1810, which provided, that the non-in-
icrcourse act should cease as to that bel-
ligerent which should first repeal its de-
crees violating our national rights, and
that it should operate on the other,
which shouid fail so to do within three
months after the President’s proclama-
tion of the fact of such repeal. This
law and the conduct of the President un-
der it arc the immediate cause of the
war, and the present unhappy state of
the country. On the 5th of August,
1810,_the Duke de Cadore wrote his
famous letter to gen. Armstrong, the
American minister at Paris, stating
■that the Berlin & Milan decrees would,
upon certain conditions, cease on the
1st of Nov. then next. On the authori-
ty of this ietter, the President of the U.
States issued his proclamation, declar-
ing the fact, that the French decrees
were repealed. But the British govern-
ment, not considering the letter of the
Duke de Cadore sufficient evidence of
Uieir repeal, did not revoke their or-
ders in council, and in conseqtvence
our non-intercourse act went into ope-
ration against G. Britain ine F'eb. foilovv-
mg. Notwithstanding the proclama-
tion of the President, great doubts ex-
isted in this country, whether the
French decrees were in fact repealed.
To remove tiiosc doubts, to confirm the
proclamation, to prevent inquiry and in-
vestigation in the judicial tribunals of
the country, the act of March 1811 was
passed. Yet, sir, it has ever since been
denied, that the decrees ot Berlin and
Milan were repealed. The public
■prints have teemed, and the tables ol
uffs House have been loaded, with the
proofs of their existence and execution.
You remember, sir, an impressive, in
many respects original, an unanswered,
and unanswerable argument of the hon.
gentleman from ’Virginia (Mr. Ran-
dolph) on this subject in this House, to-
wards the close of the last session
But, sir, notwithstanding all this, this
government persisted in declaring, that
t.hfc French decrees were repealed. I
do riot mean to discuss that stale mat-
ter. The statement I make is necessa-
ry to my present purpos* . The ques-
tion of their repeal was the subject of a
very voluminous and long continued
correspond rice between Mr Foster,
the British minister, and our Secretary
of State. The discussion, l believe,
was protracted to the last moment of
peace. War was declared on the 18th
of J line. Sonne weeks afterwards ap
peered in this country a decree of Na-
poleon, issued in May last, and bearing
date the 28t;h of April 1811. This, sir,
is an extraordinary paper, and deserves
some attention. I will read it
“ 28th APMli) 1811.
“Napoleon, Emperor of che
‘‘ Trench, life- Cfc-
u On the report of ,aur minister of
foreign relations. x
“Seeing by a law passed 2d March,
1811, the Congress has ordered the ex-
ecution of the provisions of the act of
non-intercourse, which prohibits the
vessels and merchandize' of G Britain,
ner colonies and dependencies from en-
tering the ports of the U. States.
“ Considering that the said law is an
act of resistance to the arbitrary preten-
sions consecrated by the British ordei 3
in council, and a forma! refusal to ad-
here to a system invading the indepen-
dence of neutral powers and of their
fleg ; vm have ordered and do decree as
toiiovvs :
“ The decrees of Berlin and Milan
are definitively, and to date fro hi 1st
Nov; last, considered as not existing in
regard to American vessels.”
Now, sir, did this decree exist at the
time ef its date ? No, sir, the-date is
false, If the decree existed in April,
1811, why'was'it not communicated to
this nation, the only one interested in
the subject ( Why was it not commu-
nicated to Mr. Russeii, who so si^L.gly
urged upon the lYench government,
the necessity of furnishing some evi-
dence of the repeal of the decrees. Fur
the purpose of Communicating some
satisfactory information on that subject
to ihin oouaiir-y^ he., tlet;Aiui-cl Jolip
Adams in France in July 1811 You
will remember Napoleon’s decree is
dated in April. Permit me here to
read a passage of Mr Ruiscll’s letter to
Mr. Monroe dated the 15lh July,
“ On the ,14th June, Mr. H.nniiton of
the John Adams, reached Paris, arid in-
formed me, that this vessel had arrived
at Cherbourgh. Unwilling to close my
despatches by her without being able to
communicate something of a more de-
finite and satisfactory character, than
any thing which had hitherto transpired,
1 immediately called at' the office of
foreign relations, but the minister be-
ing at St. Cloud, I was obliged to post-
pone the interview which I sought un-
til the Tuesday following. At this in-
terview, I state'd to him the arrival of
the frigate, and my solicitude to trans-
mit by her to the U- States some act
of this government, justifying the ex-
pectation ff\th which tlie important law
which she had brought hither had un-
doubtedly been passed.”
After Mr Russell had left Paris, he
wrote from England to Mr. Barlow,
who succeeded him, “ for additional
proofs of the removal of the decrees.”
Mr. Barlow seems to be very anxious
“ to get the treaty through, carrying an
unequivocal stipulation, that shall lay
that question to rest.”
But it was all in vain—no authentic
evidence of the repeal was furnished.
This decree did not exist, and, sir,
wiiy was it not issued ? Why was the
evidence of the repeal of the decrees
withheld ? The answer is obvious.
The United States were not yet com-
mitted to go to war with Great Britain.
Napoleon knew very well that When
proper evidence of the repeal of his
decrees was furnished, the English or-
ders in council would be repealed, . nd
the U. S. would not go to war with G
Britain. For, sir, he knew very
well, and we know very Well, that
for the subject of impressments alone
this country would not go to war. Sir,
it cannot be denied, that for this cause
we should not have declared war. This
government has never been disposed
to go to war on that ground alone. The
present President of the United States
made an arrangement with Mr. Erskine,
which gladdened the heart of ever> man
in the nation, without any provision on
that subject) without any mention of it;
and, sir, there was not a murmur in the
country, on account of its omission.
Mr. Pinkney, too, sir, as stated by the
gentleman lrom Georgia, (Mr. Troup)
yesterday, again and again, offered to
accommodate with England, on the
j rescinding of the orders in c uncil)
withoutany reference to impressments.
Sir, this decree itself is an insult to this
government. It is issued expressly, be-
cause we had taken our stand against
England—it is declared to be issqed
in consequence of our act of March
1811, when, in fact, the President’s pro-
clamation and thz act of March were
founded on the repeal of the decrees.-
To show the correctness of my remarks
on this part of the, subject; to■ show
that Napoleon has triumphed over our*
honor and character, I beg leave to call
the attention of the committee to Mr. .
Riissel’s U tter to Mr. Monroe, dated >
t he 9th of June, 1811. His language
does credit to his understanding and
f flings
“ To liave waited for the receipt of the
proclamation, in order to make use of
it, for the liberation of the New-Orleans
Packet, appeared to me a preposterous
and unworthy course of proceeding)
and to be nothing belter th .n absurdly
and basely er.-ploying the declaration
of the President, that the Berlin , and
Milan decrees had been revok d. as the
means of obtaining their revocation. I
believed it became me to take higher
ground, and without confining myself
to too made best calculated to recover
the property, to pursue that which the
dignity of the American government
required.
“ A crisis in my opinion presented
itself, which was to’decide whether the
.French edicts we*e retracted as a.pre-
liminary to the execution of our law,
or whether by the non-performance of
the other, the order in which these
measures ought to stand was to be re-,
verted, and the American government
sinifBed into the lead, where nutio -.al
noftoi* and the law required it to fol-
low ”
It would have been base to have em-
ployed the President’s proclam.uion,
that the Berlin and Milan decrees hud '
been revoked as the means of obtaining
their revocation. But, what, sir, is the
price we have at length paid for their
repaid ? The President's proclama-
tion was not enough ; the act of March
added to it was not enough ; we could
not procure the revocation, until we
went to war. For, sir, the Emperor
would not issue this decree till he
knew that we were pledged and com-
mitted to go to war with Great Britain.
How he knew this, sir, it is not for me
to say. We all knew," however, that ho.
hud all the acts -of this government to
satisfy him of the course we were pur-
suing—-the step we wefe about to take.
FfeftT.cl the i'i <..sidiht’s mvs «■».-
port ofthe committee of foreign rela-
tions, the war speeches of the members
of tins House, laws for raising armies,
and the embargo. Pi the. month of May,
then, when the policy of tnis country
in relation to G. Britain was settled, he
issues his offeree, just in such time too,
sir, that it could not reach this cbuiury.
till we had plunged into the war. And
well, in. such a state of things, might lie
repeal his decrees, which, by the war
itself, would be superseded—would be-
come a nullity.
Tnus, sir; believing the French'de-
crees to repealed, wo departed from
our neutral stand by enforcing tiicnou-
intercoursu law against Great Britain.
We have in vain waited for such evi-
dence of their repeal as would have in-
duced G. Britain to rescind her orders
m council, the great cause of the war.
Their revocation depended upon the
repeal of the F1reach decrees; and hud
they been revoked, there would have-
been no war between the United
States and . Great Britain. The de-
cree declaring the edtcis of France to '
be revokeff, is at length issued, vvneu
the .Emperor knows it is too late to
prevent'tiie war. The decree is com-
municated to the English government,
the orders in council are revoked on
the ground of the repeal of the F'rench
decrees,* but the U. S. have declared
war. How, sir., can 1 make this matter
plainer? Our whole course against G,
Britain has proceeded from the belief
of the repeal of the Berlin and Milan
decrees, but that evidence of their re-
peal, which woufd have stopped ®ui‘
course, by means of which the order*
in council would have been revoked,
and the war would nave been avoided,
is withheld till the Emperor knows
that war is inevitable. Thus, sir, nave'
we been duped, deceived and inveigled.
1 repeat it, sir, ha.l we, on the 17th
June, understood our foreign relations as
we now understand them, we sho.uld not
have declared war. And would it not
nave been just and magnanimous ui this
government, when ail doubt was re-
moved on the subjeet of me French
decrees, to have aeiuiowledgcd its er-
ror ? Did not the nonor, the charac-
ter, the independence ot the country
require us to go back to our original
neutral ground ? i rose principally tor
the purpose of presenting this view of
the arts and deceit of the French empe-
ror to toe committee. I regret that i
have hot done tt more fully unu cleanly;'
and i hope that some gentleunm more
competent to a proper examination of
the suoject, will y«,iaku A up, before we
get through this discussion,
* See the Pretddeiu’s message.
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National Intelligencer. (Washington City [D.C.]), Vol. 13, No. 1931, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 4, 1813, newspaper, February 4, 1813; Washington, District of Columbia. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth996078/m1/1/: accessed May 14, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .