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NATIONAL CONVENTION. September 14. The president and members of the Jacobin club of Paris came to the bar . of the convention, to demand the can celling of the decree lately palled by the convention, by which it is enabled that the fortunes of the English lhall not be confifcated. Ihe Jacobins in filled, in the strongest terms, that the property of the Englilh be included in the decree of confifcation ; they rc prefented, that such a mealure would ruin the commerce of Great Britain, and create divilions, trouble, arid a revolution in England, a circiimftance which would doubtless enable the fans culottes to make a defeent upon Great Britain. 1 his petition being converted into amotion, was decreed, charging at the lame time rhe committee of public wel fare to present fre'fli ideas on this fub jed. ‘ September 15. On the motion of Charlier, it was I decreed, that all the young males, I from the age of 18 to 25, of whatever ! profeffion or Ration, fliall be forced to I join the armies within the period of f time preferibed. September 16. ! The minister at war transmitted the following extraft of a letter from ge- I ncral Carteau, dated September to : “ Having let out on the Bth, at I seven o’clock in the morning, we af- rived at the passes of Olioulles ; the I Spaniards and the Englilh occupied j the heights on the right, the rebels f thole on the left. I was soon per’ j ceivcd by the enemy ; the cry of 7 live 1 Louis XVII. was resounded from their | fide, accompanied with reproaches 1 and the difeharge of mulketry. At j mid-day I ordered the attack ; at two j o’clock the entity were dispersed. | We killed 150 of their men, and took ’ p great number of prisoners ; tw oof . their colours were taken. We 101 l : only one man, and had but two ! wounded.” (Applauded.) A letter front Andrew Dumont an nounced the arreit of the former duke of Bethune-Charoft, who was prepar ing to fly to England. Charoft was , failing :u a boat near the Ihore—lee ing an Englilh fltip at fonte distance, he clefired the boatman to row him towards it.—The boatman having re filled it, the duke instantly dilcharged a pistol at him, fortunately without , effect. He immediately jumped into the fca, and the boatman plunging in after him, came up with him and brought him to land. Twenty-five millions of livres were found upon him. The national commiflioners at Per pignan have addrefi’ed the following letter to the departments forming the divilion of the army of the Ealfern Pyrennees : “ For fifteen days we have de manded youfi afliltance. You have given us promises, but no men. The enemy approach—what do you wait for ? If you wait till they fliall mas , fiacre you in your houses, the time will iborr arrive. Do you mean to lurrender your cities in the fame man ner as Toulon has been surrendered l Be assured the enemy rely more on ! their gold than their llrength—ln the : middle of such important events-—you ; linger—you sleep.—Hear us, and at* j tend to this tremendous truth :—lf in eight days, 10,000 men assemble not at Salces, no consolation but that of death will remain for republicans, and nothing but remorle for cowards.— Perpignan, Sept. 6.” \ On the different houses of Perpig f nan, this infeription is placed : “ Whoever fliall propole to capitulate ihall be puniflied with death.”— ifKound the tree of liberty are these i \vt-rdc :—“ The inhabitants fweor an ruai hatred to the fattHites of def fiji.” At the entrance of every ih*.. v, this declaration is printed : “ Fk ‘reuJi republicans give up to the execration of the human race-, every person who makes an attempt upon the life of an old man, woman, or child.” Saturday, September gi. Barrere made his report on the na vigation a@ -after which “the follow” ing articles Vere decreed : I. All treaties of commerce and navigation, existing between France and the powers with which she is at peace, fliall be executed according to their tenour, without any infringe ment by the present decree. 11. After the firft of January, 1793, no veil'd fliall be reckoned French, unless built in France, or in her colo nies. 111. No Englilh merchandise fliall be imported into France, or the French colonies, but by French veflels. IV. Foreign vessels are not to trans port merchandize from one French port to another, under penalty of con- fifcation. V. The duties are to have a frefh regulation. VI. The present decree fliall be publiflied all over the republic, and transmitted by the minister for foreign affairs to the neutral powers. The convention, beiide, decreed, that the report of Barrere flioukl he printed, and translated into the differ ent languages. September 26. Barrere, in a very long speech, at tempted to vindicate the committee of public welfare from the reproaches which their late conduct in the change of the command of the armies had oc casioned. “ I own, incontrovertible fads (fays lie) fender Houchard ex tremely suspicious. iff- That after the defeat of the Englilh, he did not force them into the sea. 2dly, That he did not cut in pieces the Dutch troops, which he had surrounded 3dly, That he did not fuccour our troops, which were llaughtered in a reserve near Cambray. 4thly, That he abandoned Mehin, and tuttered \Ue rear of his retreating army to be but chered by the allies. Thele I acts can not but inspire a very unfavourable opinion of a man who, stepping forth from the rank of a legion as a private soldier, became the commander in chief of one of the molt important ar mies of the republic.” He added, that if these fads were fufficient to juftify the dilmiffion of Houchapd, the choice of so flout and relpedable a fans culotte as Jourdan for his successor, could not require a juftification. Applauded. A letter was read from the repre sentatives of the people, dated Arras, September 26, 1793: “ General Houchard and his etat major, are guilty, in the eyes ofper fons of the leaf! penetration, in not having taken advantage of victories obtained by our brave soldiers, in lpite of the perfidious orders given by the etat major, which did not conform to the plan agreed on, and had formed one for an entire rout. They have been lufpended and put under arrest. “ We have difeovered his corres pondence with the prince—We find by it, that our armies were confided to the friend of our enemies, the creature of Cufline. Thus the duke of York, finding that the loldiers had rendered vain the means taken, to have us cut to pieces before Hond fchoote, exclaimed in a plaintive man ner—“ We are betrayed !” “ The anny is republican ; it fees with pleasure a traitor delivered up to justice and the representatives of the people watching over the generals. “ The republic will triumph solely by the intrepidity of the loldiers.— Hitherto the country has had only to complain of the treachery of its chiefs. If fome have occasionally given cause for complaint, it is not the toldier who is guilty, but it is the result of the ill will and perfidy of fome cf the in triguers, who command, and ought to be accuicd.” CONGRESS. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. TurJ Jay, December 3. The secretary of the senate, inr. Qtis, informed the houle, that the members of the senate were waiting to receive the members of the houle of representatives, in the senate cham ber, in order to meet the president of the United States :_-Whereupon the members, preceded by their fpeaker and clerk, repaired to the senate chamber. Exaftly at 12 o’clock the president arrived, accompanied by the secretary of slate, the secretary of the trealury, the secretary at war, and the attorney general, &c. and in the presence of a large aflemblage of citizens and fo feigners, delivered to both houles the following address : Fellow citizens of the senate and of the house of representatives, Since the commencement of the term for which I have been again called In to office, no fit occasion has arisen for exprefling, to my fellow-citizens at large, the deep and refpeftful lenle which I feel, of the renewed testimony of public approbation. While on the one hand, it awakened my gratitude for all thole inflances of afl'eftionate partiality, with which I have been honoured by my country ; on the other, it could not prevent an earnest wilh for that retirement, from which no private consideration should ever have torn me. But influenced by the belief, that my conduft would be efli. mated according to its real motives ; and that the people, and the au thorities derived from them, would support exertions having nothing per sonal for their object, I have obeyed the fuffrage which commanded me to resume the executive power ; and I humbly implore that Being, on whose will the fate of nations depends, to crown with fuccef’s our mutual endea vours for the general happiness. As fcm u* v,-Ar in £>vtvoi ko'l embraced those powers with whom the United States have the mod ex tenllve relations, there was reason to apprehend that our intercourle with them might he interrupted, and our disposition for peace drawn into ques tion, by the suspicions too often en tertained by belligerant nations. It seemed therefore to be my duty, to admonifli our citizens of the conse quences of a contraband trade, and of hoflile acts to any of the parties; and to obtain, by a declaration of the ex ilting legal slate of things, an earlier admiftion of our right to. the immuni ties belonging to our situation. Under theie impreflions the proclamation which will be laid before you, was if hied. In thispofture of affairs, both new and delicate, I resolved to adopt ge neral rules, which should conform to the treaties, and assert the privileges of the Uniied States. Theie were reduced into a system, which will be communicated to you. Although 1 have not thought myfelf at liberty to forbid the taleof prizes, permitted by our treaty of Commerce with France to be brought fiuo our ports; I have not refufed to cube them to be re stored, when the) were taken within the protection of our territory ; or by vessels cominilflored or equipped in warlike form within the limits of the United States- It rests with the wifiom of con gress to correft, improve, or enforce this plan of procedure ; and it will probably be found expedient t\ extend the legal code, and the jurikifition of the courts of the United States, to many cases which, though dependant on principles already recognized, de mand fome further provilions. Where individuals filial!, within the United States, array themselves in hostility againff any of the powers at war ; or enter upon military expcdL tionsor enterprizes within the jurif diftion of the United States ; or usurp and exercise judicial authority within the United States, or where the* pe nalties on violations of the law or na tions may have been indiftinftly mark, cd, or are inadequate ; theie offences cannot receive too early and dole an attention, and require prompt and de cillve remedies. Whatever these remedies may be, they will be well adminiflered by the judiciary, who poffels a long eflab liflied course of investigation, effectual process, and officers in the hab'.t of executing it. In like manner, as se veral of the courts have doubted, un der particular circumstances, their power to liberate the veflels of a na tion at peace, and even of a citizen of the United States, although seized un der a falfe colour of being hcff le pro perty ; and have denied their power to liberate certain captures within the protection of our territory ; it would i’eem proper to regulate their jurif diftion in these points- Bat if the executive is to be the re ore in ei ther of the two lass mentioned cases, it is hoped that it will be au thorifed by law to have fads afeer tained by the courts, when for his own information he ihall request it. I cannot recommend to your notice measures for the fulfilment of our du ties to the rest of the world, without again prefling upon you the neceflity of placing ourselves in a condition of complete defence, and of exacting from them the fulfilment of their du ties towards us. The United States ought not to indulge a persuasion, that, contrary to the order of human events, they will for ever keep at a distance those painful appeals to arms, with which the history of every o her na tion abounds. There is a rank due to the United States among nations, which will be withheld, if not ablo lutely loft, by the reputation of weak ness. If we desire to avoid irffiilt, we mult be aide to repel it ; if we dclire to secure peace, one of the moft pow erful instruments of our rising proifie rity, it mult be known, that we, at all times ready for war. The documents which will be pre sented to you, will fliew the amount, and kind of arms and military stores now in our magazines and arsenals 5 and yet an addition even to theie sup plies cannot with pfudence be negleft ed, as it would leave nothing to the uncertainty of procuring a warlike apparatus in the moment of public danger. Nor can such arrangements, with such objects, be ex poled to the censure or jealousy of the warmefl friends of republican government* They are incapable of abuse in the hands of the militia, who ought to pofiefs a pride in being the depository of the force of the republic, and may be trained to a degree of energy equal to every .military exigency of the United States. But it is an enquiry, which cannot be too solemnly pursued, whether the aft, “ more effectually to provide for the national defence, by eflablifliing an uniform militia throughout the United States,” has organized them so as to produce their full effeft ; .whether your own ex perience in the several states has not detested fome imperfeftions in the icheme ; and whether a material fea ture in an improvement of it ouglit not to be, to afford an opportunity lor the study of those bs'anches of the military art, which can scarcely ever be attained by practice alone? The connefticn of the United States with Europe has become extreme'./ interesting. Ihe occurrences wjtich relate to it, and have passed under the knowledge of the executive, will fie exhibited to congress in a subsequent communication. When we contemplate the ward our frontiers, it may be truly affirnv tfj, that every realonable effort 112 5 beVi made to adjust the causes and diffxition with the Indians north ol the OhW v The inftruftions given to uie commijßoners evince a moderafid