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THE LOUISVILLE GAZETTE.
T01.1.] ‘ Z_L E5 D _ A _ Y I _ M _ a * >l,
— ' REASON AND TRUTH IMPARTIAL GUIDE THE lU./r.---
Publiilied every Tuefday, by,AMBROSE DAY, at three dollars per ami. payable half yearly in advance.
Mr. D*r,
in reading- MdT'i F'er.eau & Paint’,
„ er of Sou-h-C«ro!ina. t obferv; an
SS«r, from thf «nershl<r F.mu-M
fuDUTOS, of Virginia, to the «*.-
of the United Start,, wth hi,
ohferration, on the prefeat menfures,
rurfned hr ol,r Storemment, fa far a,
jb r relate to war whh France. The
,bove mentioned pentl"man ha, fervor!
hi, country in a public capacity, for
fifty years; he was member to Congrefs
tfie ft«ie of Virginia, in 1774; he
bslong ferved the f»me Hate as prefiding
Judge of the hi*h Court of Chancery ;
jlfo has been Judge in the high Court
of Appeals.
Let Americans Hftefl to the voice of
reaGn and experience, and be governed
thereby.
Your Inferting the fame in vour ufeful
*nd impartial gazette, will oblige
Aw American.
(C When you fhdl tlieTe unlucky deeds
relate, f ealc of ihem as the* are • nothing
extenuate, nor Tct down anuhr in m Aire ”
Shakespeare.
1 HE meaftres recommended bv the j
Secretary of War, and Commifiioner j
of the Navy, for an augmentation of
the army and navy of the United Spates,
acd oaw under confideration of con*
grefs, are truly alarming ; fince their
adoption wo Id create a ru'nou* debt,
which, after opprefiing the people for
I ages to raife the annual in-crcft, mull
8 *t length be cleared, either by a revelu-
I hon, or a dilhonorable fponge. An
I army or 50 coo mercenaries, at the
V devotion of fomei future enterprlnni?
I Pfffident, aided by a fcditlon bill and
I ether accumulated terrors, with the in-
I fluence of hop? from an enormous pa-
I will fuhj-'ft America to exe-
I cut;ve dcfpotifm, inftead of a reprefen*
I Mwe republican government*
I A fleet to give full prote&ion to cur
■ commerce, or to extend beyond what
lis ncceflary to guard our coafts againft
I pirates and pr vatoerg, would not only
I colt more than our trade is worth, but
■ b. at all times at the mercy of a foreign
■ drop., whofe naval power cou : d not
■ probably be equalled by the fa’e of
I . nci m fee firaple, and the applica
ii'on of the money to that purpofe ; a
■ tauoD, too, jealous of our r.fing com
■ and panting for its return to bar
I J,fficr monopoly and direction, to which
I u ‘ lC °f vcalth and (Length would
|. 0 ;- n ; i ;' e - refourcea are faid tb
■ C - C ' lUI ‘ t 0 an V pttepofe. Let us exa
■ 'Q- the Rate of them—it has been
I MlJ ' ! :5! to Ift January, 1796,
r P ’f iic dcbt * neceffarily created du-
Bthy j ' W3r> ar f rom being dirai-
Bef J « was increafed about fix million,
«htQ l ( ,!:,10Ui?h t!me of . P* a V’
: n* . m 3 trad,: generally ftou
* e ,rn P n revenue was pro-*'
■ a efl V ; ; be^ee other taxes, and the j
H rf (| frn | i Co^ ,dcra ’ proportion of the
C ° n{e( l uen s (? rocafiires fince, we
HLij, 0w tu ra^e about 10 millions of,
Hiora an^ lo be paid by four |
■Ur /‘T of a!1 forts ’ r*vo\
Bitter Qnda ' l Hf M each foulJ no I
■Lof-d" wha ‘ forra: and ihou, -d the i
li V BUgQ ? nta : ba be ™de. the
811 cni -T 31 " r ’ ;l be ,ncr eafcd five
V fchar-e o'*' 6 * W!thout eft mating the
B r ilc rr • .f ny , p ! rt of principal,
E bow I 8 a f u; e cail , tor farther eipences ;
■v , C c. ,Bto Uc taifed > The trea-
Ibe borrowed*! ° m ll ' onB are
B :ed: t Of t y aat,Cl P alioa the
| fed unable are fup
| tnliliona f m ° re than the
I I C P refcot and i
1 E .aoo’iy 1• a , j “ r ()i ‘ 9 are to be borrowed '
[ •• J “**» dsfisicacy— the fame i» t I
j ability will, no doubt, occur in future
years—fo that out ot this annual de
mand, it wou d feem there will grow a
; new debt of five millions yearly, and the
intercfl: end if any perfon can forefre
wliere it is to (Up, the difclofure would
afford focne comfort. Again—thefe
loans are to be made st an un imiced
intereff, (how rooft tutioually the world
will judge) which betrays a fufpicion of
American credit. It is faid the Pre
fident has offered 8 per cent.; whether
it wjll be got for that or not, is uncer
tain ; but fhould that happen, that
‘ the paying, or rather coimading to
pay, 8 per cent, for money, would
evince the «mple refourcea of a nation, ’
feenis as novel and abfurd in national
policy, £3 all rn-.n know tl to be in p;i
vate concerns.
Further—how are individuals to p?.y
thefe taxes ? Their commercial inter*
couifc wi.h France, (from which, when
in Ls vigour, they derived great wealth,
the aacusl ba’ancc in Lvor of America
be;ng fta*ed at upwards of fix millions
of dollars) s prohibited ; and our rrnde
in a great meafnre confined to Brit Kin,
by her caprine of our viffels to or from
| the ports of Spaiu and the Batavian
Republw. In the Britifii trade the
balance has betn ever againfl us, and
muff continue f>, whilfl it rnnains lub
je!t to her conir -ul. It is true the
tobacco fUics have lately experienced
an high price for that article, attribu
table to fmall crops of la e years, and
to oil the European markets being open,
and a fair competition kept up ; 11 is
now uid lhat the price is greatly fallen
in London ; if this be true, it mud
proceed from irs be*ng engrofiVd to that
port, by rhe esp arcs or ottier reesns,
that 'hey may buy on their own terms,
land, by fending the furpus to foreign
markets, pockrt the protnc, which me j
planters are cnti-lcd to, and would re
ceive from a direct free trade thofe
countries: it being notorious that the
marker there ar« yet empty, and the
price very high.
Ti this ferioua and d’tanged Rate of
our fifcal abilities, we mu;l iure y •
and not incrcafe the evil, but on the
moft imperious »nd inCvi-ablc neceffity.
Wnether fucb exifts, or cot, will bell
appear from an tuqu ry into the Tue
Hale ol cur foreign reiatiocs, particu
Jariy refpefting the two great European
nx ions, unhappily engaged in war,
wh ch,isprofecuted with a ipirit, fiiong’y
indicating 2 wifh of extermination on
both fiic* i and from both of whom,
America has received aggredions.
In th ; s crqa ry vve meet embarra-f
ment from the fi ence of the public
communications, as lo the irj irifs of
one nat'on, aud ail ether irauh&ioDß
with her adramiftrat on, wh le the volum
inous ftaternenis re/peding the other,
'arc tedious to read, and d.ificult accu
i rately to underftand.
I cannot, 1 be’ eve, be denird, hew
j ever, that fr irn the year 1793 to the
prefeot cay, Britain has c. n inued to
capture an 1 condemn Americas v. ff le,
j and itnprcfs our feamen, con rary to rhe
law of nations, and fince the late trea y,
jin v o’ation to thar. By the trea'yt
| they agreed to make cornpeaiaiion for
thofe injuries, to be fettled by comraif* ;
fioners- whofe prog’efs hath b.en flowr
and expenfive, und the paym-uts, it is
laid, fcarccly equal to iotcrefl on lb?:
demands ; this i do not tffert j bet
from what I hear of ano-.her fet of com
miffioners in Phila ’clphia, I am inclined I
to think the United States would have I
a good bargain to difeharge both caffes j
of comm.fllon.'rs, and fer rhe fpoliationsj
!on her •ommercc, agamd the affumed j
I Britifh debts, although probably not a j
• fhilling oa that accoaa; was juit’y due l
■ from the union 1 wliich it may be nc
ccffary to explain :
! At the time of the Britifh fieaty in
: 1794, the unfettled parts of that of
■ 1753 we;e—on the part of Britain, the
1 evacuating the wrilern polls, a; d deli
■ vering np or mtnpcnfaling for the ne
groes they poffeffed of ours at the peace
—and on the American pait, a repeal
of the fiate laws, which impeded the
recovery of Britifh debts s which nation
was mofl faulty in the non- nerformaf’ce,
was a queflion, tbc dTcumon of which,
was more likely to initate, than con
-1 clliafe : impartial judges will p:ob»b!y
decide it againff Britain, from the terms
of the trea'y, requiring her part to be
performed for hwith, whereas ihc Ame
rican part, would in its nature require
fomc confidrrahlc time to tffeit it } and
from the fuperioi 1 power of that nation
lo indemnify herfclf, by repiifals on our
commerce, if, after performance on her
parr, America had neglefttd to comply
with hcTs. However, (he declaration
In the preamble, to forbear thefe un
friend'y difcuffions, was wife, if if had
been otferved on thefe points, as it w.is
m the cafe of therew Ipoliaiiuns, which (
admitted cf no doubt that the fault was
all on one fide. As to wl.at wrs fo be
j do:,c, America Lad, in 1789, pciformcd
j her pa r t, by adopting her federal con
j dilution, which declared “ all former as
1 welt as 'mure treaties, to he the fupreme
{ 'av.',” and operated as a repeal cf all
the impeding (late I ws; it only remained
to provide for tlie yielding of (lie pofb,
and con penlating for the negroes.
It wc-a indeed equi’able that America
fhould account fjr ail loffes in ihe debts,
from infolvenccs happening bt tween
1783 end 17S9 —but Ihe fame principle
at lead, equally required that Britain
1 fhou d account for the damages lo Amc~
j nca, occafioned by her non-peiformance,
to wu’t, for the lofa of America’s (hare
of the peltry tra-ie, and probably, the
exp-occ and other «.v.ls of a long Indian
war. from the retention of the polls ;
and intereß, at IcHl, added to the com
peofation for the cegroea • the accounts
to have been fairly adjufted, and the
balance on cither fide paid, or :o fave
trouble, tJ have fat one Bga'nll the
other, each nation becoming paymaftcr
to her individual citizens. In Head of
this, Britain io ie<varded (or the breach
by a fotsl acqu ttar.ee for the negroes ;
and being allowed Iti!! eighteen rnon ha
more to yield the polls, which were, iu
178?., to have becng’vm up forthwith.
The American lands, which Britain had
n th e io c.vH granted to their Indian
'radrrs. were co fitiried to them, which
they vv rc permitted to ho d, and con
tinue Britifh fubjetts, if that was their
choice at the end cf a yiar; by which
America wai fubjeded to the danger of
Ind an hoftilities, and injuiy iu trade
from their frcrei cabals.
Ga the otlier hand, America is pun
ifhed, and not only with payment for
infoiveneiea, happening iu the period
before fuied, (the uimoll limits of her
moral obligation on a fair mutual account ]
but from the ioofe wording of the ar*
t cle, we are told, that a;l the worm
eaten ledgers of the century, are brought
forth, and an info’vent balance is claimed
—at the Gmc time legal judgments, on
! trials not depending cu the quefiion ot
i legal impediments, nor contcmp ated by
I the trccly, but on the real merits of the
demand, are fubmitted to the judgment
of the commiflioßCia, sgaini uil pro
| priety rnd expediency : the amount aud
I confequcnt mcreafe of the Abmcrcan
i debt, 13 incalculable, sr,d no wonder .t
1 13 dlimated. at from ih.rty to fiziy m»l
-| lions of dollars.
| This is the Kate cf our fituadoD ref
ipcwiing Britain, whith doci uot offer
any temptation to a political union wi*h
her ; nor an anxious defira to inereafc
fhc commercial iorercnnrfe, unlcfs ir can
b? more free, and ire progrefsmd pro
fif3 icciproca! ; a: the fame time no
penon wifltfs a war with Iter, which
would increafe the evil, but bopes for a
ternedy in ncgoca'icn, directed by prin•
ciplei of reciprocity and mutual intereft.
W ith France our relations are more
(important on the prefent enquiry, and
:P c bapg It is underftood, f'om the lengthy
• publications on the fubjeft. That flic
limited in our rcvo'utionary war to ferve
, ~3» true ; and if it was, would
i; be incecorous to men’ion : flic h*d hep
national inlercfl in view, as we had out’s
—the common intereft ivns a pledge of
j rau ' Ua ‘ fi Fifty, and the obfervatioo ferns
jof no other 'mportarce—her treay wjg
I iihera’, and (he petformfd it with gcnc
i ro lity to tie peace, and continued cv'ry
mark of.rral fricn .fh pto the year I 793.
In that year fhe fenl over n miniftcr,
p r obab'y to propofc our joining in her
war agamft Brfta n, though I do not
j know that it was dircftly the purpofe j
s however, it was a proportion they ai'pht
make without infultiog American h r nof
or independence. The Prefident 1 flamed
a neutral itabon, of which all America
approved, and France acqulcfccd The
m ni£t«r m (behaved, and France recalled
lum—lmnll difputes arofc about pr va’ ecn
and their pr zco, which I hcli<-ve were
properly dec ded, and the repr; fentaltons
of the then fccrctaay of date on the
fill jedt, appeared at the time fo be fa»i*
factmy to the min ifters of both nations.
Depredations upon our commerce
foon after commenced. and have bee"
injurioufiy continued by France, whicli
(he is morally bound to compcnfaic fop
her attribution of them to imperious
oectfli y, or the example of Brita n,
being nov-xcufe ; on that fcorc, an well
as on account of feme diplomatic occur
rentes, but tbove all, on fhe Brftifh
rreay, bickerings and efperfty of cx
priflion took place between the riecu
fives of the tv7o nations, t 11 at length
France recalled her miniftcr, end refufed
fo receive one from y/merica. The
Prefi ideut fent three envoys ivi-h full
powers, and proper inflrudiions, to ne
goFate a peace—the exrcutive dire<sfcry
of Frarce delayed to acknowledge or
treat wi.h them —the mien Her T alleyrand
fells them that the dire&ory are much
irriratedat the Picfldeni’e fp echcs, aud
calls for an explanation, which they are
not autborifed to make. hie then re
commends their offering to nuke a It an
I y the purchcf* of Dutch refcripfions,
wit ch they j rcperly re ufed,ag not within
their powers, and a french of ncu'ralfty
—he ia rfited f this loan was an ultima
turn of treaty ? ar d was filent; ye! that
government i> charged with demanding
a tribute of America, for which tin
loan is the only ground of proof ; for
as to the douceur of 5® coo pounds
fterlmg, it appears ro bave been demanded
by intruding Iwind'ere, X slid Y, (called
unauthorifed agents) tot xiort money for
their ewa ufe, without the knowledge
of the executive or mic fler, from any
thing which appears. It is true Bellamy,
rep r efen!ed by Y, fa’, a “ he made no
prt pofi ion which he was not empowered
to mike by the min ftcr,” Lut lie at the
fame litr.c denies that he ever propofed
the douceur, or any other pecuniary
offer, except the loan; io this he o
contradicted by the envoys, and his cht
ratter ran ft abide the confeq'jence.
But thefe unaaihonzed ccnvei r afions
ere ufed for another more iotcrefting
purpdfe ; the f.v.ndlcrs threatened an
t r Vufioo from Fiance, and therefore our
army muit be augracn ed, without an
atom of other proof which I have feen
that fuck a mcaf jrc was ever coaiem<