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138 *1 ran fait and for the Argus, Liberty. K qju a l i t y . In the name of the French Republic. AAROC LA M A TIO N. Lcger Fleicite Sonthonax, Julien Ray mond, Mare Antoine Alexia Giraud, Pierre George Leblanc, and Philippe- Rose Romine, Commiffarics delegat ed by the French government to the Windward Illands, To all the citizens of the colony, and to all those who compose the land and sea forces deftiued for its defence. Citizens, Ah TER so many dorms and critical emergencies, inseparable concomitants of a revolution, France enjoys at lad a constitution worthy of a people who know how to value liberty. Already under a truly republican go vernment, the French people begin to relt from their long and arduous toil, and to enjoy the happy effects of the liberty which they have attained.— Already the government directs its so licitudes towards those objects which arc to preserve the rights and increase the happiness of the people. Firmly resolved to cause the consti tution to be executed, the executive di rectory is conltantly employed in fear oil ing out means to have it citablifhed in all parts of the republic. That conititution dates, article 156, That the legiflativc body can authorife the directory to fend to all the French colonies, as the emergency of the cale may require, one oF more particular agents, whom it will appoint for a lim ited time. Those agents are to exercise the fame functions as the directory, and be under its orders. The sixth article of the conditution Rates, That the French colonics are in ieparatc parts of the republic, and sub mitted to the fame conditutional law. It is particularly for the execution of that article, that we have received from the government the honorable million intruded to us ; and, at the fame time, to let you know all the means you ought to employ to preserve liberty and equali ty, which are die fundamental laws ol that conditution. You will undoubtedly believe your old and fmccre friends : undoubted!}’ you will litten to philantrophifts, who have spontaneously devoted themselves toalmoft certain death, in vin dicate your rights. Bound by the fame principles, they propose to themselves only one end—that of leading you to true happiness, in preserving among you liberty and equality. Citizen's, rally at the voice of the delegates of the republic, since it is in her.name, and for her deareit interells, that they arc going to address you. The ancient government of the colon ies had diitinguilhed three different dalles-—the whites, the colored people, and the Haves. To those different claflet, now united and honored with the name of F reach citizens, we are go ing to speak alternately. Wc shall fir It address that portion of the people of the colony, which has molt fuffered under the tyrannic order which has been a bolished, and we (hall fay to them— the republican constitution which the French nation lias just adopted, you have recovered your primitive rights; but you must know the proper means to preserve them without trouble, and to transmit them without interruption to your remotest posterity. Those ships, rhe warriors whom they bring to you—all thole formidable preparations are deligned againlt the Englilh, who are the moft cruel enemies of your lib trfy. • 1 hey dare to indulge the hope °u l ram n § ne . w chains for you. See those blod-thirfty tygers, bending Hill your brethren under their homicidal whips. Vve cannot fufter any longer so difinal an objed : join the forces which France lends to you—expel from the territory of the French republic, those tyrants of mankind ; purluc them even to their haunts, and destroy the last of them ! \\ hat! is it not incumbent upon you to revenge your brethren whom they keep fettered in the surrounding illands ? Yes, citizens, every thing ought to impress you with an implaca ble hatred for those tyrants, whose molt lucrative trade is of reducing y-ou to llavcry, niilery, and death. What can withhold, your vengeance ? Rush on V lls impious race—make it disappear rom that facrcd fpot,’ which, too long, .5“ been # the theatre of iu crimes and depredations!” Those means, citizens, you lhall find an labor and mftrudion, and in the prac rice of moral and civil virtues. Labor and inilrudion, citizens, are Columbian iHttfeum, &c. neceflary to the preservation of the peo ple, and the constitution imposes them as a duty upon all citizens.—The 1 -th article of the second title, contains these words : “ Young men cannot he in fciibed, in the civic register, if they do not prove that they can read, write, and follow a mechanical branch of business.” That clause, citizens, can and ought to take place only agreeably to the consti tution, alter the firit day of the twelfth year of the republic. The mutual operations of agriculture belongs to the mechanic arts. Yes; labor, and agriculture particu larly, is absolutely r.eccflary to him who wilhes to preserve his right, and enjoy liis liberty. Through labor we pro cure the necessary tilings to our exift cnce and enjoyment; through labor on ly we can preserve our liberty. Woe to the people who neglect labor ; luch people cannot fail becoming Haves to an active nation. Never forget that the Lnglifn, your neighbors, are very ac tive, and that they may rivet your chains once more, should you ever forlake la bor—And has experience not too long taught you that truth ? Had your an cestors, the inhabitants of Africa, de voted themselves to the culture of their Iruitfullands, they moft alluredly would not have debased themselves by recipro cal bioody wars, of which greedv Eu ropeans have availed themselves to re duce them to the moft intolerable and degrading ilavcry. What remains for you to do, in order to avoid all the mis fortunes which are inseparable concomi tants of idlenels ? Nothing but to de vote yourselves to the culture of the rich productions of the colony you in habit! Many ofyou have been to France they will tell you, tnat the people are there conltantly occupied at ufeful la bors, and agriculture in particular. Imitate that active people who adopts you as brethren, and you will eitablifh ov that means, a trade of exchange with chem, which will cement and itrengthen your brotherly relations. InltruCtion is as uie.ul to you as la bor ; by it you will transmit your rights your children ; by it you will learn fulfil the duty of good citizens : anally, by imtruction you will attain that degree of morality, which distin guishes the civilized from the savage .nan, the hoaeft ironi the perverse citi zen. The government will omit nothing to attain an object so intereftin* and so worthy of its solicitude. Public schools will be eiiabiilhcd throughout all the colonies; your children ihail there re ceive inftruCtion, imbibe a taste for la bor and morals which are to accompliih their full regeneration, dhe republic wdl extend tarther her cares tor your children, lor lhe wilhes that a certain number of those who lhaii have produced a greater diJpofitionand zeal for inftruc cron to be feat to France, with the con lent ot their parents, there to lfudy in a more perfect degree thele sciences or arts to which they may have Ihewn a more decided inclination. The fame resources are likewise of lercd to the children of the whites and of the colored people; for the primary schools, which will be eltablilhed, will be open to all individuals born in the colonies of whatever color thev may be. ALL MEN ARE EQUAL IN RIGHTS. An irreproachable property is con sidered by the constitution as so ufcful to citizens, tnat when they are punilhed by law, they lole for a while their po litical rights. It is therefore neceflary that the man who wilhes to prelerve his liberty without interruption, lhould be bred up to labor, inftruCtion, and morals, which are absolutely neceflary to the preservation of asocial Hate. From what you have just now read, you will no more doubt of the intention of the government to maintain you in the in alienable rights of your liberty. 1 o you, citizens, whom a barbarous custom had made formerly proprietors of Haves, we shall oblerve, that In con lequence only of the moft ftrangc subver sion of what is known under the name of justice and humanity, the moft sacred rights ot man, had been forfaken in the touner order ot things which allowed men to be reduced to the moft infuffera bie and abject ilavery ; we shall tell you that a itate so contrary to nature, though apparently favorable to your inicreics was of too violent a nature to last long. How could the malter (hake off the thought ot the dangers with which he was incefla.itly threatened ? Does not the experience ot ages and nations, trans mitted by history, informs us, that ty ranny has always fallen a victim to its own crimes ? Undoubtedly, fix hundred thousand Haves unjuttly and cruelly tor tured, in almost every iuftant in their fives, could not afford a great degree of security to the fmatl number of their mailers. Surrounded with foes, tor mented with mistrust and fear, what could be the enjoyments of inafters ? They were moft assuredly dillurbed by the moft cruel enormities. Add to this the continual fear they labored under to fee themselves utterly ruined by that morality which is the inevitable conse quence of the manner in which the blacks were treated in the colonies. Inltead of the violent state in which lingered the late proprietors of Haves, liberty and equality which flow from the conititution, offer to them nothing but true enjoyments, and perfect secu rity to their lives and fortunes. Sur rounded with free and peaceable hus bandmen, who will cultivate the lands for a just salary, the owner will dread no more the fury of the revolted Have ; hf will live among those men as among his children ; he wtllailift their activity with his knowledge. Their posterity will no mors decline, but rather increase in proportion to the foftering cares paid them ; and that increase of population, as it will give more hands to agriculture, will improve more and more the estate of the owner, and procure him enjoy ments more fvveer, and gratifications more real, as they will not be acquired at the expencc of the happiness, as they w ill not be the lhameful price of the tears and blood of their equals. As, by the new fyltem, the proprietor of lands will dread no more those sadden chang es of fortune, he will be able to encreafe itill more his enjoyments, and give a greater salubrity to his poffellions, by those rural ornaments which have made France so delicious a spot. The land holder in the colonies will also enjoy all that advantage over the inhabitants of France, which is to be derived from a beautiful climate, and the high price of the natural productions of the country. The republic, therefore, has a right to expect that the misfortunes which have attended the revolution will have the happy effect of making the planters wiser than they were ; the republic has a right to expect, that, recovered from their errors, occaHoned by a long habit, they will refurne principles of eternal justice; that,'influenced by the love of their country, they will concur with all their might in the reitoration of the order and prosperity of the colony, and that they will aliiit, with as much eag erness as zeal, the wife aird humane views of the government, In addrefiing those formerly diftin guilhed as whites and people of color without pofleffions, we would fay to them, that in a free state, all hands ought to be employed ; that every one ougnt to make a choice of a kind of laoor which, in concurring to the general wel fare, would procifre to the laborer not only existence, but the conveniencics of life ; that the colonial fyltem being al tered they mijl no more tfablijh their hopes of fortune on SLAVER Y for it is FOREVER ABOLISHE D on the I whole territory of France. Let every one therefore make the belt of his in dultry, devote himfelf to agriculture. Let not any ill-founded ftiame keep him in activity, which is as dangerous to himfelf as it is ruinous to the common weal. Let him be convinced, that no occupation debases man ; let him know, that with the wisest people of antiquity, agriculture was considered as the firfl of ail occupations. Let them therefore renounce that itate of vagrancy which the laws of the republic will punifli. In fine, we would repeat to them, that, as all the inhabitants of the colony, from this instant, will form but one cla!s, every citizen will have the fame rights, and enjoy the fame advantages; and that THE REPUBLIC ESTAB LISHES NO OTHER DISTINC TIONS AMONG MEN, THAN THOSE OF VIRTUE AND VICE, OF TALENTS AND IG NORANCE. In the name of the republic—in the name ot humanity—in the name of the sacred love ot country, wc invite all citizens to concur with us in the reitora tion of order and agriculture :—We in vite them to forget their refpettivc wrongs and quarrels to make it now their folc bufmefs to expel the enemies of the republic, from the territory they have invaded, and soon to repair the evils and devastations which have been occalioned by hatred, palfion and civil war. Conftitutcd authorities will be ef tablilhed throughout the whole colony, agreeably to the constitution ; every thing will be disposed to promote the good of the people :—We invite them, therefore, to inform us of all reclama tions they have to make, and the means of improvement which they may think | moft likely to contribute to the public happiness. They will find, in the 11. gates of the republic, the greatest eav. ernefs to favor their efforts, and to a dopt, with unbounded zeal, whatever may encreafe the fafety and prosperity of the colony. t •/ The proclamation is to be printed publiiFed, and parted up, wherever ft will be neceflary, mferibed in the reeif ters of administrative and judiciary bod ies ; lent to the major-generals, the com manders of camps and polls, and the commanders ot the fliips of the Repub. lie* Done a t the Cape, the 25th Floreal [May 15] the fourth year of the’ French republic; one and indivi Able. The president of the commission ru / o s° nt honax. ‘1 he general Secretary, pascal. PARIS, April 16. General Pichegru, having definitely declined the Embassy to Sweden, and being willing to enjoy the charms of re pole in the bosom of his family at Ar boia,the place ofhis nativity,the govern ment is to fend to Stockholm a fimplc Charge des Affaires, who is not known m a Diploma tic character. He is order*, cd to depart in two days. Gen. Moreau sets off’ to-morrow, to take command of the army of the Rhine, If Eclair contains the letter of the Spanish minister, the prince of Peace announcing the reitoration ol'all the pro perty of French fubjeds in .Spain, which had been fequeltered during the war. LON D O N, April 12. Rear admiral Harvey arrived yeiier day in town, and waited upon Earl Spencer at the admiralty. ‘I his officer is expeded to receive immediate ordersi to fail in the Prince of 9S guns, toaffume the naval command of the Barbadoes na tion. April 13. < 1 he vvar, it is now decided, is to be carried on ior another year. The min iiter has declined all parliamentary con troversy on the fubjedf. He is to lay the Hate papers, as they are termed, on the tables of bothhoufes. Hepreferves an affected silence, left he should liaftea the enquiry, “for whose advantage it the war to be carried on ?” It is evident, however, that we are now to purfueour exertions for the ex clusive advantage of the emperor. The means of this country, drained as they have been, arc to be further exhausted, left the exnperor should lose the Nether lands. Ihis is the principal object which remains for contest. The foil has been moistened too dreadfully with British blood—and it is further destined to the abyss of our last resources. What are the imperial Wants, or the imperial losses, to the wretched poor of this country ? Pretended Negotiation for Peace. The state papers from Balle, will be iufficient to convince any man of com mon sagacity how far our minillers were sincere, or otherwise, in affedting toopiena treaty. The negociation is now said to be broken off, because the I’ rench Directory refufe to alienate any portion of conquered countries which have been declared an integral part ot the Republic. The countries thus in corporated are, Nice and Savoy, and a part of the Austrian Netherlands. Now the fadt is, that our Minillers, before they pretended to open a negoti ation, knew, that by the conditutional act, the Directory could not alienate any part of these territories 1 and therefore, in breaking off the treaty upon this pre text, they evince in the cleared manner, their insincerity in pretending to com mence it, since it is plain they determin ed to infill upon what was impofnble to be granted. ‘l'here is another fact, which we have from the best authority, and for which on that account we can pledge ourselves, and that is, that the Emperor is extreme ly indifferent with refped to the reite ration of the part of the Netherlands in corporated with France, and would by glad of any indemnity in lieu of it. This indemnification might easily have been obtained by arrangements in Germany orelfewhere, as he is really more intent on keeping his share of Poland, which is to him a more valuable acquifitior*, than on recovering the uncertain pofief fions of these turbulent and difaffeftccl provinces. Nay, we are fatisfied that he would give them up, if Great-Britain would resign his obligation to pay tiir interest of the late loan of four millions* (which is but of little fold value to os, from the uncertainty of the tenure) we might be more than indemnified of concessions in other parts, As No - 3.1.