In the difficulties which the British Go- | holders of them without the jurisdiction of vernment must feel in finding a gloss for the United States? Do they confine the the extravagant principles of her paper permitted intercourse to two ports only of blockades, it may perhaps wish to infer the United States; and do they enjoin a acquiescence on the part of this Go- that all the shipments be made on French vernment, from the silence under which account exclusively ?-Is it his Majesty's they have, in some instances passed. will that the seizures made in the ports of Should a disposition to draw such an in- Spain and other places on the principle of ference shew itself you will be able to reprisal, shall become a subject of present meet it by an appeal, not only to success- or future negociation between the two Goful remonstrance in the letter to Mr. vernments?-I need not suggest to your Thornton above cited, but to the answer Excellency the interest both Governments given to Mr. Merry, of June, —, of the have in the answers that may be given to notification of a blockade in the year these questions, and how nearly connected 1806, as a precise and authentic record of they are with the good understanding the light in which such blockades and the which ought to subsist between them. notification of them were viewed by the After the great step lately taken by his United States; copies of the answer have Majesty towards an accommodation of been heretofore forwarded, and another is differences, are we not at liberty to supnow inclosed, as an additional precaution pose that any new consideration will arise against miscarriage,-Whatever may be which shall either retard or prevent the the answer to the representation and re- adoption of measures necessary to a full quisition which you are instructed to make, restoration of the commercial intercourse you will transmit it without delay to this and friendly relations of the two powers? Department. Should it be of a satisfactory-I cannot omit expressing on this occanature you will hasten to forward it also to the diplomatic functionary of the United States at Paris, who will be instructed to make a proper use of it for obtaining a repeal of the French Decree of Berlin, and to proceed, currently with you, in bringing about successive removals by the two Governments of their predatory Edicts.I avail myself of this occasion to state to you, that it is deemed of great importance that our Ministers of Foreign Courts, and especially at Paris and London, should be kept, the one by the other, informed of the state of our affairs at each. R. SMITH.

Sir-Your Excellency will not think me importunate if I should employ the last moments of my stay in Paris, in seeking an explicit declaration of the following points:-1st. Has the decree of his Majesty, of the 23d March last, enjoining acts of reprisal against the commerce of the United States, on account of their late law of Non-Intercourse, been recalled? 2d. What will be the operation (on the vessels of the United States) of his Majesty's decrees of July last, forbidding the departure of neutral ships from the ports of France, unless provided with Imperial licences? Are ship licences merely substitates for clearances; or do they prescribe regulations to be observed by the

sion, the sense I shall carry with me of the
many obligations I am personally under
to your Excellency, and of the very high
consideration with which I have the ho-
nour to be, your most obedient and hum-
ble servant,-
JOHN ARMSTRONG.

The Duke of Cadore to General Armstrong.—

Paris, Sept. 12, 1810.

Sir-I have received your letter of the 7th of September, that which I wrote to you the same day, answered the first questions you put to me.-I will add to what I had the honour to write to you, that the Decree of the 23d of March 1810, which Act of Congress of the 1st of March, 1809, ordered reprisals in consequence of the was repealed as soon as we were informed of the repeal of the Act of Non-intercourse, passed against France.-On your second question, I hasten to declare to you, that American vessels loaded with merchandize, the growth of the American Provinces, will be received without difficulty in the ports of France, provided they have not suffered their flag to lose its national character, by submitting to the Acts of the British Council. They may in like manner, depart from the ports of France.

The Emperor has given licences to American vessels. It is the only flag which has obtained them. In this his Majesty has intended to give a proof of the respect he loves to shew the Americans. If he is somewhat dissatisfied [peu

From Mr. Smith to Mr. Pinkney. Department of State, Oct. 19th, 1810.

You

satisfait] that they have not as yet been 1806, in so far as both relate to a trade be-
able to succeed in causing their flag to between enemy's ports, furnishes an appeal
respected, at least, he sees with pleasure to the consistency of those now in office,
that they are far from acknowledging the and an answer to attempts by them to vin-
tyrannical principles of English Legisla- dicate the legality of that blockade. It is
tion. The American vessels which may remarkable, also, that this blockade is
be loaded on account of Frenchmen or on founded on the new and extraordinary
account of Americans, will be admitted means resorted to by the enemy, for the
into the ports of France. As to the mer- purpose of distressing the commerce of Bri-
chandize confiscated, it having been con- tish subjects. What are those means? In
fiscated as a measure of reprisal, the prin- what respect do they violate our neutral
ciples of reprisal must be the law in that rights? Are they still in operation? It is
affair.-I have the honour to renew to you,
believed that true answers to these ques-
Sir, the assurances of my high considera- tions will enforce the obligation of yield-
tion.-CHAMPAGNY, Duc de Cadore. ing to our demands on this subject.
may also refer the British Government to
the characteristic definition of a blockaded
port, as set forth in their Treaty with Rus-
SIR; Your dispatch of the 24th of Au- sia, June, 1801, the preamble of which
gust, enclosing a newspaper statement of declares, that one of its objects was to set-
a letter from the duke of Cadore to gen. tle an invariable determination of their
Armstrong, notifying a revocation of the principles upon the rights of neutrality.
Berlin and Milan Decrees, has been re-Should the British Government unex-
ceived. It ought not to be doubted that
this step of the French Government will be
followed by a repeal on the part of the
British Government of its Orders in Coun-
cil. And if a termination of the crisis be-
tween Great Britain and the United States
be really intended, the repeal ought to
include the system of paper blockades,
which differ in the name only from the
retaliatory system comprised in the Orders
in Council. From the complexion of the
British prints, not to mention other con-
siderations, the paper blockades may,
however, not be abandoned. There is
hence a prospect that the United States
may be brought to issue with Great Bri-
tain, on the legality of such blockades. In
such case, as it cannot be expected that
the United States, founded as they are, in
law and right, can acquiesce in the vali-
dity of the British practice, it lies with
the British Government to remove the dif-
ficulty. In addition to the considerations
heretofore stated to you in former letters,
you may bring to the view of the British
Government the retrospective operations
of those diplomatic notifications of block-
ades, which consider a notice to the minis-
ter as a notice to his Government and to
the merchants who are at the distance of
3,000 miles. It will recur to your recol-
lection, that the present ministry, in the
debates of parliament, in opposition to
the authors of the Orders of January,
1807, denied that they were warranted
by the laws of nations. The analogy be
tween these Orders and the blockade of May

pectedly resort to the pretext of an acqui-
escence on the part of the United States,
in their practice, it may be remarked, that
prior to as well as during the present ad-
ministration, this Government has invaria-
bly protested against such pretensions;
and, in addition to other instances hereto-
fore communicated to you, I herewith
transmit to you an extract of a letter to
the department of State, of July 15, 1799,
from Mr. King, our Minister in London,
and also such part of Mr. Marshall's letter
to him of the 20th September, 1800, as re-
lates to the subject of blockades. And it
may, moreover, be urged, that the princi-
ple now contended for by the United
States, was maintained against others, as
well as Great Britain, as appears from the
accompanying copy of a letter to our Mi-
nister at Madrid, in the year 1801.
this principle the United States also ad-
hered, when a belligerent, as in the case
of the blockade of Tripoli, as will be seen
by the annexed letter from the navy de-
partment. You will press on the justice,
friendship, and policy of Great Britain,
such a course of proceeding as will obviate
the dilemma resulting to the United States,
from a refusal to put an end to the paper
blockades as well as the Orders in Coun-
cil.-The necessity of revoking the block-
ade of Copenhagen, as notified to you
in May 1808, will not escape your at-
tention. Its continuance may embarrass
us with Denmark if not with France.-
Your answer to the Corfu blockades is
approved; and should the answer to it

To

render a reply necessary, the President | directs you to remonstrate against such a blockade; availing yourself as far as they may be applicable, of the ideas in the letter to Mr. Charles Pinkney, of October 1801, and particularly of the proof it affords of our early remonstrance against the principle of such blockades.-No communication having yet been made by Gen. Armstrong, of a letter to him from the Duke of Cadore, declaring that the Berlin and Milan Decrees will cease to be in force from the 1st of Nov. next, I can at this time only inform you, that if the proceedings of the French Government, when officially received, should correspond with the printed letter of the Duke of Cadore, enclosed in your dispatch, you will let the British Government understand that on the 1st day of November, the President will issue his Proclamation conformable to the Act of Congress, and that the Non-intercourse Law will consequently be revived against Great Britain. And if the British Government should not, with the early notice received of the repeal of the French Decrees, have revoked all its Orders which violate our neutral rights, it should not be overlooked, that Congress, at their approaching session, may be induced not to wait for the expiration of the three months (which were allowed, on the supposition that the first notice might pass through the United States) before they give effect to the renewal of the Non-Intercourse. This consideration ought to have its weight in dissuading the British Government from the policy, in every respect misjudged, of procrastinating the repeal of its illegal edicts.-If the British Government be sincerely disposed to come to a good understanding, and to cultivate a friendly intercourse with the United States, it cannot but be sensible of the necessity, in addition to a compliance with the Act of Congress, of including, at this time a general arrangement of the topics between the two countries; and, above all, such a one, as will, upon equittable terms effectually put a stop to the insufferable vexations to which our seamen have been and yet are exposed from the British practice of impressment, which has so strong a bearing on our neutrality, and to which no nation can submit consistently with its independency. To this very interesting subject you will, therefore, recal the attention of the British Government, and you will accordingly

consider yourself hereby authorised to discuss and adjust the same separately, conformably to the instructions in my letter to you of the 20th of January last, on the condition, however, contained in that letter, namely, that the requisite atonement shall have been previously made, in the case of the outrages on the Chesapeake. But as in this case every admissible advance has been exhausted on the part of the United States, it will be improper to renew the subject to the British Government, with which it must lie, to come forward with the requisite satisfaction to the United States. You will, therefore, merely evince a disposition to meet in a conciliatory form, any overtures that may be made on the part of the British Government.-The British Government, having so long omitted to fulfil the just expectations of the United States, in relation to a successor to Mr. Jackson, notwithstanding the reiterated assurances to you of such an intention, has no claims to further indulgence. On the receipt of this letter, therefore, should the appointment of a Plenipotentiary successor not have been made and communicated to you, you will let your purpose be known of returning to the United States, unless, indeed, the British Government should have unequivocally manifested a disposition to revoke their Orders in council, conformably to the Act of Congress of May last, and our affairs with them should have accordingly taken so favourable a turn as to justify, in your judgment, a further suspension of it. have the honour to be, &c. R. SMITH.

SPAIN.Statue to George III.--Sitting of the Cortes, Nov. 19, 1810.

Senor Perez de Castro, addressing the Cortes, spoke in substance as follows:"I have long felt a desire to propose to the Cortes a resolution, the adoption of which appears to me very proper, because it is very just; but the important affairs which have occupied your Majesty since your installation, and the multitude of occurrences, if not so important in themselves, yet at least all springing from the wish to advance in the grand career of the salvation of the country, have hitherto prevented me in spite of myself. In the mean time, I have been able to observe, with much satisfaction, on repeated occasions, that the opinion of many Deputies of the Cortes, as appeared from

their speeches, was in accordance with my own ideas; therefore, I submit them to your Majesty, in the well-founded confidence that they will merit your high approbation. I mean to speak of the profound gratitude which the Spanish nation feels for England, its generous ally. The whole world knows how much we are indebted to her illustrious Sovereign, as great in his sentiments towards the Spaniards, as determined in his purpose to protect their sacred cause. There is not a patriot, who, so to speak, does not feel his sensibility excited when contemplating the abundant supplies of troops, arms, ships, and money which the generous British nation has freely bestowed on Spain from the moment at which it beheld our heroic resolution. Donations, praises, enthusiasm, all have been lavished by the English people on their ally; and posterity, painting in majestic colours the heroism, the constancy, and fidelity of Spain, will place in the same picture the unbounded generosity and truly inimitable exertions of Great Britain in our behalf. England knows our gratitude, the whole world knows it; it is engraven on our hearts; our past governments have repeated it on every occasion that offered; but it is just, it is necessary, that the whole nation, that is, the Cortes, who represent it, in the fullest manner should solemnly manifest it, by voting an eternal monument of national gratitude to the worthy head of their great nation. Thus shall we perform a sacred duty; thus we shall give a public proof of one of those virtues, which greatly characterise the noble nation whom we represent, I mean gratitude. Let us declare at the same time, that we will never lay down our arms till we have seen secured our independence, the integrity of our territory in both hemispheres without dismemberment, and our lawful King free. Let us run the painful but heroic and glorious course of our holy war, always in good understanding with, always united to the great nation which aids us so generously; and may that union be as eternal, as the ties are sacred and sincere which bind us to our ally, by the last treaty of the 14th January, 1809. My wish is, that since such are the vows of the whole nation, its representatives also may sanction them. If the Cortes think fit to adopt my ideas, I beg permission to read the beads of a decree, conformable to what I have

suggested.-The motion was approved of
by acclamation. The decree was then
read, which was also carried by acclama-
tion, without the alteration of a single
word. Joy was depicted in the counte-
nance of all the spectators, and the grati-
tude which filled their bosoms was dis-
played by the most affecting demonstra-
tions of applause.
DECREE.

The Cortes General and Extraordinary, actuated by the most lively and sincere gratitude towards his Most Sacred Majesty George the Third, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for the most generous interest he has displayed, and for the important assistance he has afforded the Spanish nation, in liberally supplying her with arms, money, troops, ships, and stores, from the first moment in which the provinces raised the loud acclaim of independence and 'fidelity to their legitimate Sovereign King Ferdinand VIIth, insidiously ensnared, captured, and insulted by the unprincipled Usurper of the Throne of France, Napoleon Buonaparté :-hereby decree, that a public Monument shall be erected to his Majesty George the Third, in testimony of the national gratitude of Spain, not only to an august, generous Sovereign, but to the unconquerable English Nation, for the ardour and patriotism which she has evinced in the glorious cause of Spain. The Cortes at the same time declare, that the Spanish Nation will not lay down her arms until she has secured her independence, the absolute integrity of the Spanish Monarchy in both worlds, and recovered it for her lawful Sovereign, Ferdinand VII. acting always with the concurrence, and in the most perfect harmony, with the King of Great Britain, in pursuance of the strict amity, and the perfect and indissoluble alliance, solemnly stipulated in the treaty of the 14th of January, 1809. The Council of Regency will take care to make known to his Majesty, respecting the most solemn and appropriate manner in which the same can be executed, and will also submit to the Cortes the plan which it thinks will be the best for carrying such national intention into effect. The Council conceives it proper, in the first instance, with a view to the attainment of the desired object, that this Decree shall be printed, and publicly circulated.-LUIS DEL MONTE, President.-MANUEL LUXAN.

Published by R. BAGSHAW, Brydges-Street, Covent Garden :-Sold also by J. BUDD, Pall-MaR. LONDON :-Printed by T. C. Hansard, Peterborough-Court, Fleet-Street,

VOL. XIX. No. 8.] LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 1811.

193]

[Price 15.

[194

declared it to be; he said that the pound of interest in the funds would go on sinking lower and lower in value, till at last (if the progress were not interrupted by some convulsion) the pound of interest would not purchase a quartern loaf.--Now, that this depreciation will continue is certain. All the powers upon earth cannot prevent it. And it must finally produce its natural and inevitable consequences. These consequences may not be attended with any violent shock, though any violent shock that should accelerate or produce the catastrophe, would also make that catastrophe the more dangerous. The time, too, may be more or less distant; events from without or within may operate upon the paper system more or less rapidly; but, the death of you or me, reader, is not more certain, than the catastrophe now in contemplation. This being the case, a wise government will look forward to it; it will be amongst the objects for which such a government will endeavour to provide. And, in the making of such provision, will a wise government leave the temper, the disposition, the wishes, of the people out of the question? Will not a wise government do all that it can to leave the people no solid ground of complaint in such a crisis, when, in spite of all that can be done, so much must depend upon the disposition of the people, and when, indeed, the very existence of the government and the maintenance of order and of law will rest upon that sole foundation?-At such a time there ought to be left in being no great and general grievance; for, is it not manifest, does not common sense, as well as the

SUMMARY OF POLITICS. THE REGENCY.Before I proceed to what I intended principally to make the subject of observation in this Number, I think it necessary to go back, for a little, to the subject of Reform, treated of in my last. I there spoke of the measure as necessary to produce that sort of spirit and union in the country, now so loudly called for by all the circumstances of the nation, both at home and abroad; but, I omitted to notice one possible emergency, in which the beneficial effect of this great conciliatory measure must be felt in a degree hardly to be calculated: I mean, the emergency attending the total destruction of the Paper Money, an emergency, which every one will allow to be possible, and which all those, who have much reflected upon the matter, will allow to be probable; and, one would think, that there could not be found a man, even amongst the most venal, to deny this position, after the Report of the Bullion Committee and the declarations of many of those men, who, if they possibly could have done it, would still have disguised from the people the real state of the Paper-money.Mr. HUSKISSON has acknowledged, that the Bank-Notes, in which the Dividends in the Funds are paid, have depreciated 15 per cent, and he has said, in express words, that the Fund-holder now receives only 17 shillings in the pound, out of which he pays 2 shillings more in Income Tax, reducing his former pound to 15 shillings. Mr. HORNE TOOKE long ago said that this would be the case. During the short time that he was in Par-experience of the world, teach us, that, if liament, he uttered more good sense, upon subjects of Political Oeconomy, than I have ever heard of being uttered in that House for the last 30 years. He dealt not in fine-spun stuff that has no other effect than that of puzzling plain men, and that always has its rise in a want of clear notions in the speaker or writer. He saw the thing clearly himself; and he communicated his knowledge to others, in a way that no man of common sense could fail to understand. He said it would be as the Bullion Committee have now

such grievance were, at such a time, in being, that the people would not be likely to cease their complaints, and, indeed, that they would seize upon that very moment for urging them in all the ways in their power?That the present state of the Paper-money may be fairly ascribed to the want of a Reform of Parliament there can, I think, be no doubt; because, it was the want of that Reform that led to an expenditure, which produced the expulsion of gold and the inundation of paper. But, whether this be admitted

I