Witness the American failors! Witnefs the republic of Genoa, in whofe port they attacked and made prize of the French frigate La Modefte, as the lay at anchor there. Witnefs the inhabitants of Trinidad, when the British, though then in amity with them, entered their capital with drums beating and colours flying, in purfuit of a few French who had taken refuge there. Thefe, and other inftances of the fort, too numerous to be recapitulated, make us lefs credulous on the fcore of Great Britain's refpect for the rights of neutrality than you appear to have been. As to those tender confiderations which actuated the British minifter to reject the plan on account of the inhumanity of calling in the aid of the Indians, I did expect that fuch vague unauthenticated declarations would have been appreciated as they deferved by you, Sir, who have fought in the glorious caufe of American independence, who witneffed the humanity of their conduct in the courfe of that war; and you cannot be ignorant of what has happened fince. Your afcribing hoftile views to the preparations of our felfdefence, cannot, Sir, have been matter of much furprise to me, after having heard a certain member of Congrefs, who is known to be the organ of the will of the adminiftration, declare in that Houfe, that he afcribed to the fame motives the preparations we were making for the defence of Florida, though probably he was not ignorant, at the very time, of their real object. Thus then, Sir, according to your mode of reafoning, and that of the gentleman I have just alluded to, though we were certain of being attacked, and though we were not certain that the American government had taken the proper measures for prote&ting its neutrality, yet we were to adopt no measures for our defence, but tamely fuffer his Majefty's forts and poffeffions to be taken; and all this for fear of creating ill-founded fufpicions on your minds! If you have not been very fuccefsful, Sir, in the folidity of your reafonings, you appear not to be more fo in the method of following them. After having denounced us to the whole American nation as ftirring up the Indians against the United States, and preparing them for a rupture, you fall into the most glaring inconfiftency in the following paragraph:-" Whether this plan of exciting the Indians to direct hoftilities againfl: the United States, has been contemplated and promoted by any of our own citizens, it may be difficult to fay; but that one or more citizens have proposed and taken measures to detach the fouthern Indians from the intereft of the United States, and to deftroy the influenceof the public agents over thofe nations, and thus to defeat the great objects of their appointment, the chief of which is to preferve peace, is certain." I again appeal here, Sir, to your generous candour. How is it poffible to reconcile fuch evident contradictions? On the one 4 hand, hand, the Spanish officers are those who excite the fouthern Indians against the United States; and on the other you quickly allow, prefuming, with fufficient foundation, in my opinion, that it may be fome citizens of the United States. But although you might entertain any doubts yourself on the fubject, which I am fure no perfon in America will, after reading Mr. Blount's letter, did not this very fame doubtful cafe and uncertainty require in your fituation more circumfpect language? And if, even in this cafe, you appear to have gone beyond what found policy, the tranquillity and intereft of the United States, required, how much more unjuft are your infinuations againft Spain, when the public poffefs, in Mr. Blount's letter, a document by which they can fee, that, if the manoeuvres with the Indians were not favourable to the United States, they were precifely combined to attack the Spaniards? From this method of reafoning of yours, it appears as if the Spaniards were, jointly with Mr. Blount, ftirring up the Indians to attack themselves. Refpecting the last article of your report, I have only to obferve, that although you have conftantly affured me that government had not the leaft information refpecting the subject of my reprefentations, and although the letter of Mr. Jackson, of Georgia, appears to coincide with your ideas, nevertheless time has shown that I have complied with my duty by not repofing on fuch affurance. The plot is difcovered, and nobody any longer doubts that the expedition was to have taken place. After having followed you ftep by step through the various points of your report to the Prefident, I fhall make a fhort compendium of fuch as arife from this letter; from which it refults, 1. That on the 27th of February I gave you fufficient particulars refpecting the intended expedition, to have attracted the attention of this government. 2. That although to this verbal communication I added another in writing on the 2d of March, the Prefident had not the leaft knowledge of it on the 9th of the fame month; and that, without doubt, you must have had very powerful motives to prevent you from communicating it to him. 3. That it does not appear by the documents prefented by the fecretary of war, that government had given orders to the military commanders to caufe the territory and neutrality of the United States to be refpected. 4. That you made to the English minifter a communication, which in my opinion you ought not; and that, even if you thought it neceffary, you delayed doing it for two months, that is, from the 27th of February to the 28th of April, although it refpected a moft urgent and important object. 5. That 5. That the Baron de Carondelet could very well have received my letters, without its neceffarily following that his had come to hand. 6. That the Baron did not represent Mr. Ellicott's not writing to him officially as a complaint, but as an observation; and that, in fact, he never has done it in those terms. 7. That the proofs you allege to exculpate Mr. Ellicott, refpecting his intentions of taking the fort of Natchez by furprife, are purely negative. 8. That it is not merely pretences, but very powerful reafons, which have impeded the evacuation of the posts, and the running of the boundary line. 9. That the infinuations with which you are willing to perfuade the American people that our arming is directed against them, are unjust as well as unfoun led, as, by Mr. Blount's letter, it is clearly demonftrated to be a precaution for the mere purpose of defence. 10. That you evidently contradict yourself, when, on one hand, you are pleafed to attribute to us the movements of the Indians, and, in the very next paragraph, you show it might proceed from American citizens, as it actually does according to Mr. Blount's letter; and that he acted with the knowledge and intelligence of the very fame British minifter, in whose private notes, without fignature, and perhaps not of his own hand-writing, you place fuch implicit confidence. 11. That although, in all your official communications, you have always manifefted to me that the American government knew of nothing which indicated any foundation for my fufpicions, Mr. Blount's letter clearly proves that I was perfectly in the right. I have thus fulfilled a very difagreeable duty. Always defirous to contribute to strengthen the bands of friendship which unite Spain and America, and to which their situation, their wants, and refources, invite them, I have feen with the moft profound grief, that the language and tenour of your communication to the Prefident, is not, in my opinion, calculated to promote fo defirable an object to us all. For my part, although I fhall leave nothing undone to cement the union and harmony with a nation which I refpect, neither fhall I ever fuffer the interefts of the King, my master, in any cafe whatever, to be facrificed to an unjust partiality. I pray God to preferve you many years. Your most obedient humble fervant, CARLOS MARTINEZ DE YRUJO. Philadelphia, July 11, 1797. VOL. VII. Y Speech Speech of the American Prefident, on the opening of the Congress, Thurfday, Nov. 23, 1797. Gentlemen of the Senate, and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives, WAS for fome time apprehenfive that it would be neceffary, on account of the contagious fick nefs which affected the city of Philadelphia, to convene the national legislature at fome other place. This measure it was defirable to avoid, because it would occafion much public inconvenience, and a confiderable public expenfe, and add to the calamities of the inhabitants of this city, whofe fufferings must have excited the fympathy of all their fellow-citizens. Therefore, after taking measures to afcertain the Itate and decline of the fickness, I poftponed my determination, having hopes, now happily realized, that, without hazard to the lives or health of the members, Congrefs might affemble at this place, where it was fixed by law to meet. I fubmit, however, to your confideration, whether a power to poftpone the meeting of Congrefs, without paffing the time fixed by the conftitution upon fuch occafion's, would be an afeful amendment to the law of one thousand feven hundred and ninety-four. Although I cannot yet congratulate you on the re establishment of peace in Europe, and the restoration of fecurity to the perfons and properties of our citizens from injuftice and violence at fea, we have, nevertheless, abundant cause of gratitude to the Source of benevolence and influence, for interior tranquillity and perfonal fecurity, for propitious feafons, profperous agriculture, productive fisheries, and general improvements; and, above all, for a national fpirit of civil and religious liberty, and a calm but fteady determination to fupport our fovereignty, as well as our moral and religious principles, against all open and secret attacks. Our envoys extraordinary to the French republic embarked, one in July, the other in Auguft, to join their colleagues in Holland: I have received intelligence of the arrival of both of them in Holland, from whence they all proceeded on their jour'ney to Paris, within a few days of the. 19th of September. Whatever may be the refult of this miffion, I truft that nothing will have been omitted on my part to conduct the negotiation to a fuccefsful conclufion, ön fuch equitable terms as may be compatible with the fafety, honour, and interests of the United States. Nothing, in the mean time, will contribute so much to the prefervation of peace, and the attainment of justice, as a -manifeftation of the energy and unanimity of which, on many former occafions, the people of the United States have given such memorable proofs, and the exertion of those refources for na tional defence, which a benevolent Providence has kindly placed within their power. It may be confidently afferted, that nothing has occurred which renders inexpedient thofe precautionary measures recommended by me to the confideration of the two Houses, at the opening of your late extraordinary feffion. If that fyftem was then prudent, it is more fo now, as increafing depredations ftrengthen the reasons for its adoption. Indeed, whatever may be the iffue of the negotiation with France, and whether the war in Europe is or is not to continue, I hold it most certain that permanent tranquillity and order will not foon be obtained. The state of fociety has fo long been difturbed, the fenfe of moral and religious obligations fo much weakened, public faith and national honour have been fo impaired, refpect to treaties has been fo diminished, and the law of nations has loft fo much of its force; while pride, ambition, avarice, and violence, have been fo much unreftrained, there remains no reasonable ground on which to raise an expectation, that a commerce, without protection or defence, will not be plundered. The commerce of the United States is effential, if not to their existence, at least to their comfort: their growth, profperity, and happiness, the genius, character, and habits of the people, are highly commercial; their cities have been formed and exift upon commerce; our agriculture, fisheries, arts, and manufactures, are connected with and dependant upon it. In fhort, commerce has made this country what it is, and it cannot be deftroyed or neglected, without involving the people in poverty and diftrefs. Great numbers are directly and folely fupported by navigation. The faith of fociety is pledged for the prefervation of the rights of commercial and fea-faring, no less than for thofe of the other citizens. Under this view of our affairs, I fhould hold myself guilty of a neglect of duty, if I forbore to recommend that we fhould make every exertion to protect our commerce, and to place our country in a fuitable polture of defence, as the only fure means of preferving both. I have entertained an expectation that it would have been in my power, at the opening of this feffion, to have communicated to you the agreeable information of the due execution of our treaty with his Catholic Majefty, refpecting the withdrawing of his troops from our territory, and the demarkation of the line of limits. But by the lateft authentic intelligence, Spanish garrifons were ftill continued within our country, and the running of the boundary limited not been commenced. Thefe circumstances are the more to be regretted, as they cannot fail to affect the Indians in a manner injurious to the United States. Still, however, indulging the hope, that the anfwers which have been Y 2 given |