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About Foreign correspondent & Georgia express. (Athens, Ga.) 1809-1811 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1810)
From the Virginia Avails, It muft afford feme pleafnre to the patriotic bolbm tc fi.;d that fome of ihofr papers as well as individu als ufually called “ federal,” enter lain and exprels thofe lentirn. nts which become an American 3 anxious for the welfare, profperity and ho i,or of our common country. It is but too true that, the words “ Fede ral and Federdlifm” have been ufed jvj cloaks to cover a hidden arnmo firy, bordering on open creafon a gaiuft all that Americans fiiould hold dear : and wkilft the a£lors in the wicked fohemes conceal them- Elves from open view, they con trive to did me the credit of being the politic ai aliociates of many up tight and patriotic Americans who are denominated Federalifts. Thefe feelings and remarks are *■: prelVnt chitllv t xciced by the com le purfued by Major Jackfon, the E tii or of a paper publifbed in Phi ladelphia, called Federal, and like wife from fume articles which have appeared in that paper ; one in par ticular under the fignature of c< As- TftCA,” deftrves notice : And the moft proper notice is to publifh the whole without mutilation. The article juft mentioned re lates to the conelpondence between the Secretary of State, Mr. Robert Smith, and the Britijh Minifier, Mr. F> J. Jackfon. The writer 1 as verv ingeuioufly and corredly f.-lcdted from that lengthy correl pondence thofe paragraphs, or fen tcnces which embrace all the points in difeuflion, and from thefe each reader may at once, decide for him • ft If, w ithout embarraffing and in cumbering his underftanding with a guments, propofitions, replies, e v3lions, affertions, and all the ar tillery of diplomatic warfare. Thefe extracts appear to exhibit the points of importance. When they are read in the fucceftive order in whicn they occurred —there will be but little occafiun for lengthy explana tions. To the Editor of the Regifter . SIR, Wha ever may be the wifhes of the one party or the other, in rela tion to the events which may fol low the lufpenfion of the fundions of Mr. Jackfon, the Britifh Envoy, it tnull be thedefireof all parties fully to comprehend the true merits of the correspondence between that minifier and the government of the United S ates. The bed way to eff and this grneraland corred corn prehcnfion is, in my opinion, for every citizen to throw fuch lights upen the fubjrd as his calm and candid refl ations may produce.— With this view, and pradiflog up on mv own fuggeflion, I btg leave, through the medium of your Ga zette, to iff.r to the public, the 101 l >wing collation from the cor refpondtnce, upon two particular points, to wit :1. The numeri cal {lavement of Mr. Jackfon’s re prefentations to the Secretary of Sra e, contained in Mr. Smith’s ic ter of Od. 9th —and 2. The caufe for which Mr. Jackfon was difearded. In the flrft inftance the reader will perceive, I think, as the Vrt li lent La his late Meffage has llao'd, ‘ how uneffentiaily the fea tures prefented in its commence ment have varied in its progrtfs;’ and, in the fecond, that Mr. Jackfon in Mr. Oakley’s note, Jus mill a ted the grounds upon which he has been debarred communication with the government. My objed is, on theft topics, to Amplify what Mr. Jackfon has dilfjfcd o-vcv a wide and thereby rendered ex tietnely complex.—Mr. Jackfon may have had his reafons forcreat idg this perplexity j lor, certain ic is, that inftead of anfwering to the fpetifi attons of the ftu'ement brief ly arid promptly, he evaded a dif tmc:t and unequivocal replication, and fhrouded his refponfe in un ntctfTary verbofity. FIRST POINT. Mr. Smith to Mr. Jackfon, Od. 9. “ The Pr eft dent has learned, with no lejs fur pr ife than regret, that in your jeveral conferences Kith me, yeti have fated — “ if. ‘That yen have no inf ruc tions from your gov a nment which authorife you to make any explanati ons whatever to this government as to ties reafons which have induced his majefty to dijavow the arrangement lately made by your predcccjfcr and that, therefore,you could not make any Jucb explanations .” Mr. Jackfon to Mr. Smith, Od. 11 “ As to the expectation entertained here, that the explanation of his ma jefty's jhare in this trarfahlion jhould be made through me, I might content myfeif with fimply cbferving, that I was not provided with inf ruElior.s to that effeti.” Mr. Smith to Mr. Jackfon, 061. 9. “ id. ‘That in the cafe of the Che fapeake, your inf ruElions only autbo rijeyou, ( without affigr.ing any rea- Jon whatever why the reajonable terms of fatisfaction tendered and accepted, have not been carried into ejjett) to communicate to this government a note tendering falisfaflion, with an under- Jtanding that fuch note foould not be Jigned and delivered by you, until you Jhuuld have previcufly feen and ap proved the propcfed anjwcr of this government , that the Jigning and de livery of your note jhould be Jimultans ous Mr. Jackfon to Mr. Smith, Od. 11. “ My prepofai was to agree with you beforehand upon the terms of a declaration on the pa> t of his majefty , which Jhould aflualiy give the Jatis faftion (the conditions of which 1 in formed you I was authorifed to carry into immediate execution) and of a counter declaration to be Jigned by you on the part of the United States, Jor the purpofe of accepting J'uch fatisfac tion—the papers to be Jigned by us refpeftively reciprocally correfled and modified, & jimultaneoujly delivered.” Mr. Smith to Mr. Jackfon, Od. 9. “ id. That you Lave no infiruc tions which author ife you to make to this government any propoftiions what ever in relation to the Britijh Orders in Council—but only to receive fuch as this government may deem it proper to make to you.” Mr. Jackfon to Mr. S.rith,Od. 11. “ It has appeared to his majejly to be unneceffary to command me to pro poje to the government of the United States any formal agreement to be fubftituted for that which his majefty has been under the neceffity of dijavow ing ; but / am dire fled to receive and djjcufs with you any propojai which you may be authorifed to make me on this head.” Mr. Smith to Mr. Jackfon, Od. 9. “ ‘lhat at all events, it is not the dijpofition or the intention of the Britijh government to 7 evoke their or ders in council, as they refpefl the U. States, but upon a formal jlipulation on the part of the U. States, to accede to the following terms and'conditions, viz ; —• <( iff Thai the aft of congrAs 10 n nionly called the non intercouffe law, be continue l againjt France, Jo long as (he Jhall continue her decrees. “ id. That the navy of Great Britain be aulhorijed to aid in enforc ing the previfiens of the faid act of congrefs. “ jd. That the United States jhall explicitly renounce, during the prefent war, the right of carrying on any trade, whatever, dire it or indirect with ary colony of any enemy of Great Britain, from which they were exclu ded during peace ; and that this re nunciation mufi extend, not only to the trade between the colony and the mo ther country, but to the trade between the colony and the United States.” Mr. Jackfon to Mr. Smith, Oct. ir. “ li is matter of indifference to Great Britain, whether the orders in council be continued, or an arrange ment by mutual con/entfubfitutedin its room. The commerce of the U. States may be if they pleafe, nearly as great under the orders in council of the 16th of April, as it would be under any arrangement which Jhould effetl the indifpenfikle objeCfs to which that order applies, or as it would be even without ary Juch order fo long as France, and the powers fubjervieni to Trance, continue to enforce their de crees.” Mr. Jackfon to Mr. Smith, Nov. 4. “ ‘ That before the orders in council can be revoked, their objeft muf be obtained in fame other way, is unquej thmbly true.” Ihus, by peacemeal, with long di grcffions, multiplication of words, and drawl ng relublance, Mr. Jackfon ad mits the whole of Mr. Smith's fate ment to be fubflantially true. ‘The e quivocation of the envoy rejpefiing the 4, tto feftion, and the three [ubdiviftons of it, is totally deftroytd by the Jingle refleSHon, that if no accommodation could be made unlefs the indifpenfible objefts of the exijling order in council be obt lined in fome other way , and the intervention of the Britijh navy is ne cejjary, according to Mr. Canning's fine cjua non, to fecure the bona fide intention of America, there could be no arrangement u at all events,” without the government of the United States would agree to the three conditions of the fourth feftion. SECOND POINT. Mr. Jackfon to Mr. Smith, Oft. 11. “ It may have been concluded between you [Mr. Smith and Mr. Erfkine] that thefe latter were an equivalent for the original condi tions ; but the very aft of fubftiiu tion evidently fhews, that thefe conditions were in fad, very ex plicitly communicated to you, and by you, of courfe, laid before the Prefident for his confideration.” Mr. Smith to Mr. Jackfon, Oft. 19. “ What was the real and entire inftrudions given to your preu • (- for, is a queftion effentially between him and ms government. That he had, or at leaft, that he believed he had, fufficient authority to conclude the arrangement, his formal affu rances during our difeuflions, were fuch, as to leave no room to doubt. lt The declaration, that the dif patch from Mr. Canning to Mr. Erfkine, of the 1 2d January, is the only difpatch by which the condi tions were preferibed to Mr. Erfkine, for the conclufion of an arrangement, on the matter to which it relates is now for the firft time, made to this government. — And I need hardly add, that if that defpaech had been communicated at the time of the arrangement <V if it had been known, that the propofitions contained in ir, and which were ac firft prelented by Mr. Eilkine, were the only on s on which he was authcrifed to make an arrangement, the arrangement would not have been made.” Mr. Jackfon to Mr. Smith, Oft. 23. “ Theft* inftrudions, I now undetftand by your letter, as weii as from the obvious deductions which I took the li berry of making in mine, of the 1 ith inft. /ere at the time, in fubftance, made known to you.” Mr. Smith to Mr. Jackfon, N ov. 1. i( It would be improper to con clude the few obfervations, to which I purpofely limit myfeif, without adverting to your repetiton, a language implying a knowldgeon the part of this government, that the ir.ftrudions ot your predeceflur did not authorize the arrangement formed by him. After the explicit and peremptory affbveration that this government had no fuch knowledge, and that with fuch a knowledge no fuch arrangement would have been entered into, the view which you ha/e again prefenc ed of the fubjed, makes it my duty to apprize you that fuch infinuations are inadmiffible in the intercourfe of a foreign minifier with a govern ment that underftands what it owes to itfelf.” Mr. Jackfon to Mr. Smith , Nov. 4. “ You will find that in my cor refpondence with you, I have care fully avoided drawing conclusions that did not nectftarily follow from the premifes advanced by me, and leaft of all fnouid I think of utter ing an infinuacion where I was unable to fubftantiate a fadl.” Mr. Smith to Mr. Jackfon, Nov. 8. “ Finding that in your reply of 4th ir.ft. you have ufed a language which cannot be under flood but as reiterating and even aggravating the fame grofs infirniation it only remains in order to preclude oppor tunities which are thus abufed, to inform you that no further commu nications will be received from you, and that the neceffity of this deter mination will without delay, be made known to your government. In the mran time a ready attention will be given to any communications affecting the incerefts of the two nations, through any other channel that may be lubftituteu.” Mr. Oakley to Mr. Jackfon, Nov. 13. “ One of thefe lads aduded to ha3 been admitted by the Secretary of State hirnlcif in his letter of the 19th of Odober, viz. that the three conditions forming the fubftance of Mr. Erfkintds original inftrudtions were fubmitetd to him by thac gentleman. The other, v:z. that that inftrudion is the only one in which the conditions were pre fer! bed to Mr. Erfkine for the conclufion of an arrangement on the matter to which it related, is known to Mr. Jackfon by the inftrudions which he has himfelf received.” “In Hating thele fads and ad hering to them,” Mr. Jackfon, through Mr. Oakley, lays, confifted the offence for which he was dil carded. Bur, fir, I will fubmit it to you, and your readers, after you and they have perufed with attention what precedes the quotation from Mr. Oakley’s* note, whether the envoy’s offence wis not of a very efferent nature, to wit: not that Mr. J addon knew another fact; j
