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MIRROR OF THE TIMES.
SPEECH
OF
Mr. DE WITT CLINTON,
Delivered in the Senate of N. Tori.
Tuefday, January 31.
Mr. President,
The critical situation in which
the United States are placed,
aflailed from without and from
1 within, menaced on the one
hand by foreign violence, and
on the other by domestic facti
on, renders it the incumbent du.
ty of the state government to
! step forth and unite their ener.
gies with those of the general
government At no period since
the revolution have we b< en in
greater jeopardy, and at no pe
riod have harmony, patriotism,
and exertion been more neces
sary to ward off the dangers
with which we are menaced.—
When I can plainly perceive a
spirit of faction and sedition ex
hibiting it (elf in the mod odious
light, and evidently acting in
obedience to the nod of a foreign
government, and that govern
ment at the fame lime, assailing
our rights and trampling upon
our honor, I think it our duty
to declare our sentiments to the
world in a voice that can be
heard and underflood. I have
therefore prepared some reio
lutions, which I will now pre.
sent; and upon which I will de
tain the Senate, with a few re
mat ks. Indeed, the fubjeft is
so well understood, that I would
have preferred silence, if silence
were compatible with the im
portance of the occasion, and
with the refped due to the Se.
nate.
I fliall pass over the inimical
fpini which has been generally
evinced by Great Britain, du
ring Mr. Jefferlon’s adminiilra.
lion, her redrifciions upon our
commerce, and the unjud deci.
fions of her admiralty courts,
the judges of which are paid in
propoaion to the amount of
condemnations. Nor will 1
particularly dwell upon the nu
merous acts of violence and in
tuit, which have been commu
ted upon our codlts, and in our
haibors. It has been common
for the veflels of G. Britain to
Ration themleives at the mouths
ot our harbors, to examine all
veflels entering or departing, to
capture on the moll frivolous
pietexis, and to expose us to
all the evils of a blockade. An
Engliih frigate has entered the
poriof!'Jew York, Sc has open- '
ly IMPRESSED fearnen from
a merchant velfel at the Quar
antine ground. loltead or be
ing pumfhed by his government
lor this audacious outrage, it is
laid that the captain was pro
moted to the command of a
seventy four. Part of a French
squadron was puriued by a Bri
tilh fleet within ihejurifdictional
line of the United biates, and a
t rench 74 was burnt on the
coalt of N. Carolina. The
murder of Pierce is frefli in our
j memories. An American cit
izen, in purluit of his ordinary
butmefs, and even when obey
ing a command 10 come to,
was MURDERED within our
waters, by the inlamous Whit
by. At the time dm atrocity
was perpetrated, the offending
velfels were wnhin a maiinc
ieaguc of our coals, and p »eiee’s
<s hold the mirror up tO nature.”— Shakespeare.
WEST END OF BROAD STREET.
veffe! was near the iliore. The
lenfibility felt and expreTed by
all parties on this occaiion, ex.
cited terror in the bosom of the
ruthless murderer, and in a
struggle between his pride and
his fear, he wrote a letter to me
as chief magiftrateof the city of
Sew York, atiempiing-to pah
j liate his enormity, but at the
fame time criminating the ma
giltrates, for the detention of
lb me of his officers in the city,
(an allegation totally destitute
of truth) and breathing inlult
and menace. The conduct, of
Whitby was represented to the
President. A formal complaint
was made to the British miniitrv.
A court martial was in(tiruted.
Witnesses were sent over to
England at a great ex pence,
who fully fublfantiatcd the char,
ges against him. The court ac*
quitted him, and his sword was
rellored to him wi:h a compli
mentary speech from the prefi.
ding officer ! This mock-trial,
by a packed court, was more
insulting than no trial at ah, and
one of the molt atrocious crimes
that man can perpetrate again It
man, and one of the molt in
fufferable infuLts that nation can
commit against nation, is to
this day unpunished and u ;ex.
piaied. the President oh the
United Slates, on this occaiion,
ifTued his proclamation, inter,
dieting the offending velfels
from the rights of hospitality.
One of ihem, the Driver, after
wards proceeded to the port of
Charletton, Sc the captain there
refufed to comply with the in
junctions of our government, in
terms of insolence and defiance,
& compared our national chief
magistrate to one of the petty
delpots of the Barbary coalt.
But the great fubjeet of con
troversy between the two go
vernments, is the impressment
of Teamen from American vel
lels. The right of impress.
ment involves the right of search,
and the right of search extern!*
by the law of nations, to two
cales only; contraband arti
cles and enemy’s property.—
The latter is even a doubtful
poinu The great objefct of the
armed neutrality formed by the
Emprels of Rullia, was, to al
ien and maintain the doCtririe
that free ihips make free goods.
But as this point has been con*
ceded when Gen. Walhington
was President, and Mr. Jetfer
fon Secretary of State, it will
not be proper to chicuts our
claim on this occaiion. But
there is no ftauue in the code
of nations, which authoriles a
learch and an imprcJJ'menL of
seamen on board of neutral vef
lels. This is an odious exten
lion of the fy Utm of derivative
tyranny, to the citizens of fo
reign nations. The right to
impress Bruifh fubjeCts on Bri
tilh territory has been previouf
•>' doubled and is exienuated on
ly on the ground of necellity—
a tyrant’s plea. To apply this
a ffumcd right, so queitioriable
as it lefpetts their own lubjetls
or territories, to the citizens
and vessels of foreign govern,
ments, is an cxecrablcencroach'
ment on the independence and
rights of nations. The mode in
which u is exercised is calcula
ted to produce the greatest op.
prefhon. A merchant vellel
u detained on the highway
of nations or when entering
'ts port, a Lieutenant of Tome
petty officer is sent on board,
the lailors are mustered on deck,
and the (lave of delpotifm (e
--lefts his v‘itfims without refpecV
ing the claims of citizenlhip,
the demand of juliicc, or the
prayers Sc fuppheations of the
kneeling, friendlefs faiior. All
he regards are phvlical ability
and nautical dexterity. Thus
an ignorant, prejudiced and in.
terelled inllrument oftyranny is
conflituted a judge in our own
juriJdiction (for 1 cotvend that
we have complete jurildiCtion
on board our vessels on the
high seas) —he is to determine
on the citizenlhip of Americans
to decide whether our brave
tars (hall be (laves of the worlt
kind, or continue fieemen.—
The praQice partakes of the cha.
racier and nature of the preten
tion ; Sc on every lea Sc in eve
ry harbour, Amercan citizens
are wrested from their ships by
force incarcerated on board fo
reign vellels, lorn from their
famlies and country, and com.
polled, not only to endure mote
than Egyptian bondage, but
also to fight the battles of the
very tyrant who inflaved them.
The lupplications or our unfor
tunate leamcn reach the govern
ment from every quarter of the
globe, and every Gazette is fil
led with melancholy accounts
of their (offerings. Our admi.
niltration, ever attentive to the
intereits of their couutry, has
not faded to call the attention of
the Briulh mmiltry to this sub.
jefct, to protelf againlt thole
usurpations, to demand re
drei’s, and infilt upon a relin.
quifhment of their pretended
right. After many difficulties
and great efforts, the Britilh
ministry evinced a disposition
to relax, and in verbal con
ferances it was at one time a
greed between Mr. King and
lord Hawkebury, that Great
ltain Ihould nui exereije her
pretended right of imprdfment
on the high leas. Idadthisino'
dtfication been obierved, altho’
not entirely iatisfattory, yet it
would have been gaining a great
deal, Sc would have fervedasa
preliminary Itep to a total abol
ition of the pratticc. Before
(he articles of the contemplated
treaty were reduced to form,
however, unexpected difficul
ties were railed—the ommpo
tenceofthe Britilh navy might
be affected. And to enable
Great Britain to back out of the.
negociation with iouie appear !
ance of decency, a relervanon
of the right within the four leas,
and an implicit acknowledge,
ment of her excluhve dominion
to that extent were set up and
made a fine qua non t on the part
of Great Britain. This bioke
off the negociation and our lea
men continued exposed to vex.
anon, to unrighteous imprison
ment, and to every indignity
Sc injulfice —“ hewetsof wo 0 d
and drawers of water/' the
mer 2 slaves of Britilh oppres
sors.
Messrs. Munroe and Pinkney,
our ministers at London, found
that this usurpation was the great
stumbiing-block in the way of a
renewal and arrangement of a
treaty with Great Britain. With
dispositions by no means unfriend
ly to this country, the administra
tion of Mr. Fox were bttii unwd-
[No. XXV.]
MONDAY’, April 3,
l"*>? to abandon r pretehsion,
and alter much difficulty it wag
finally agreed that every obstacle
in the power of the ministry slidyUt
be interposed agabt't practical op.
preasion. And toe treaty was ac
conipanted Be a written declaration
t'l t!ie British ministers of a right
reserved, to vlo'ate the treaty,
with a view to Retaliate upon
France. This unsatisfactory pro
vision for the protection of our
seamen, and this unprecedented de.
duration that the treaty should be
obligatory on us at alt times, and
should only be binding on Great
Britain when she did not see fit to
assert the law of retaliation, ren.
dered the ratification of the treaty
impossible. And the sending it
b- ck unratified, with a view to the
removal of the negotiation* could
not be considered as offensive to
Great Biitain, because our minis
ters, at the formation of the treaty,
assured her ministers, that they
exceeded their instructions, and
did not consider their government
committed to sanction the arrange
ment. With every disposition
to benefit their country, with ta*
lents adequate to vindicate her
rights, and af\er the most earliest
and commendable exeritnos, ai.er
having exhausted every argument,
and after having appealed in the
most powerful manner to her inter
ests ami tier sense of justice, all
(fiat our tmuisur* Could obtain
from Great Britain* was an empty
declaration in favor of the right*
of our seamen, which however
plausible or proper, would, in fact
nave been no barrier against her
enormous oppression. Small as
our confidence was in the justice
of Great Britain, particularly after
the establishment of the present
m nistry, which is composed of the
understrappers Si disciples of Put
Daudas and Jenkhison, the decided
foes of Ameiica, and as humble ia
talents as they are destitute of in
tegrity —*t ll it was not dreamed,
that an act so atrocious in us cnar
acter, so unauthorised in its princi
ple, so unprecedented in the anoal*
of nations, and so alarming to the
world, as tiie attuck on the Chesa
peake, could be committed. Tha
nature of this outrage is well un
derstood. Il has commanded tha
attention and excited the indigna
tion of every American. >\ n
merican ship of w.tf was detained
on the ocean, under pretence of
toe right of searching f ur deser
fd, umi »V4*- over
powered by a.British armed ves^
} tlie lives of American citizens
destroyed ; her crew w aß muster
ed on deck, and some of them im
pressed and forcibly dragged away,
and to complete the muuman ca
tastrophe, one or mo tc nauritred
utidei the forms of just, ce< \V,,ei» #
this eveut was announced, but one
emotion thrilled the Oosouis of our
citizens, q hose of New York of
,a > ,n d “Side their differ
cn<f*s» assembled together, and in
the face of day, dfcu the presence
■ <ocir themselves
the government m a |l
measures that might be adopted
to vindicate hono?
and to maintain our rights. s>im
ilar declarations were made in all
parts of the United States. All
Africa appeared as if animatad
with but one feeling, a 8 express.ng
one voice, and tendering a united
and energetic support to the go.
vernuient. Would to God tnac
tiicsc sentiments and feelings had
continued in force to this dav.—
If they had, the storm which now
threatens our country would pro
bably have passed by. If our na
| ttonal government were actuated
| by that hostility to Great Britain
and that partiality to France, which
have been so mjustly ascribed to
them, this would have been a per
iod peculiarly favorable to pro
mote their views, to wreak their
vengcauce fit to gratify their pre
possessions. An immediate con
vocation of Congress, at this time,
i when the public sensibility w a » >o