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be mistaken by your enemy. If this ,
might indeed, ue'so, you will perhaps
permit me to s«y that, highly as we
may be disposed tp prize the firm atti
tude slid vast means of your country at
this eventful moment, it would possibly
suggest to some minds a reluctant
doubt on the subject of yeur observa
tion, ‘ that the strength and power of
Great-Britain are not lor herself only,
but for the world.’
1 might also have been le i to inti- \
matt: ttfat my proposal could apparent
ly lose nothing by admitting that, “by
some unfortunate concurrence ofv cir
cumstances, without any hostile inten
tion, the American embargo did come
in aid of the “ before mentioned “ block
ade of the European continent, precise
ly st the Very moment when if Unit j
blockade could have succeeded at all, j
this interposition of the American gov
ernment would most effectually have;
Coutr.huted to its success.” Yet, 1 should !
probably have thought myself bound to j
remind you that, whatever may be the :
truth of this speculation, the same cm-j
bargo withheld our tonnage and «.ur t x
ports from that communication with the
colonies of your enemies, and with the
European continent, which you had as
s'fled your right'to prevent; which,
as a direct communication (with the
continent) you Inul in fact prohibited; j
Which, even through British ports, or in
o’her qualified forms, you had professed ;
to tolerate, not as that which could he j
claimed, hut as an indulgence that could !
at iny time Ik withdrawn ; which,as u i
traffic for the United States to engage
in, y>u had at least discouraged, not ;
only by checks und difficulties in (lie
way of its prosecution, but by in an if. at-;
ing your intentions to mould it into ail j
the shapes which the belligerent, fiscal,!
Ot* other peculiar policy of Great Britain ;
might require, mid to subject it to the
exclusiv jurisdiction of her municipal j
code, armed with sjl the perogxtives of !
that univers d law to which nations are j
accustomed to look for the rights of neu-'
tral commerce.
In giving an account of our second
conference you say, “ that, though not
stating myself to be authorized by my
government formally to offer the sus
pension of the embargo, ns an immedi
ate consequence of the repeal of the or
ders in council) yet 1 did profess mv
readincss;to take upon myself to make
that offer, provided that you would give
me beforehand nn unofficial assurance
that, coupled -with that offer, so made
the clem ml of the repeal of the orders ;
would be favorably received ; that you
of course declined to give any such pre
vious assurance, but as 1 appeared to at
tach great importance to this sugges
tion, ntid you were led to think that u
compliance with it might relieve me
from a difficulty in executing the in
structions of my government, you con
sented to take a few days to consider of
it, und to reserve your definitive answer
until you should see me again.”—You
then observe that you “Clever doubted
in your owr Jiiiind us to the inexpediency
und impropriety of encouraging me to
takruh unauthorized step, by an unoffi
cial promise that it should lie well re
ceived.” lam sure you did not, sir;
but 1 must take the liberty to say, that
I nm i qually sure that I never thought
of asking you to give me encourage
ment to take an unauthorized step of
any kind. I am, indeed, truly mortifi
ed that my conduct has appeared to you
in that light, and 1 should not he readily
consoled if I did not reflect that, in con
descending to listen, even fora moment,
to wlmt, must have struct you as an ir
regularity, as vain, und nugatory in its
purpose at reprehensible in its princi
ple, you must at least have given me
credit for good intentions, and for a
strong desire, sincerely felt,although er
roneously obeyed, that our countries
should find themselves in that relative
position, which suits the interests and
tends to the happiness of both.
When 1 professed a readiness to
make rnv proposal in writing, it was, as
you stale, provisionally ; but I did not
intimate that I was acting without au
thority, nor did I comprehend that such
was, as I now know it to have been,
your impression. The provisional na
ture of my offer arose out of circum
stances, and was afterwards pressed up
on conviction that, if it was meant to
adopt the views of the president, noth
ing more could be necessary. 1 under-
Wood you to be desirous of ascertaining,
whether I was empowered and disposed,
with s view to a final arrangement, to
present wiut l had suggested, iu a writ
ten form, us «n overture originating
with my government. 1 said, of course,
that, e very tiling being first matured, u
note should be presented ; but that I
would, with your permission, take a
little time to consider of the manner
and terms. 1 did not at that time sup-
pose that we were conversing about a
written proposal which was to be made
only to be rejected, or even for the pur
pose of deliberation ; and, consequent
ly, in professing my willingness to
make it as soon as we were prepared
for it, I presumed that 1 had done ull
that you desired. And I was confirm- j
cd in this opinion, not only by yourj
saying nothing, as I supposed, to the j
contra p y, but by your requesting me, j
| as I was about to leave the room, to
employ myself, before the next inter
view, upon such a note as wc hud been
talking of, and then retracting that re
quest, by observing, that I would doubt
less first desire to know what were your
ideas and intentions upon the subject
of it; with which I was given to undt-r
--| stand I should be made acquainted at
i another confermcc.
j At the third interview, alter speaking
; of a transaction upon the lakes, of which
j your traders complained, and of ano
‘ tiier occurrence in the hay of Paasatna
! quody, you observed, that you had tho’t
j long and anxiously upon what I had
suggested to you ; that the subj et. had
at first struck you as Wring muni more
simple ,than upon careful examination
it hud been found to be ; that, in the
actual state of the world, it behoved
both you ami me to move in this affair
j with every possible degree of circum
-1 speclion ; that, without some explicit
; proposal on my part in writing, upon
i which the British government could de
! liberate and act, nothing could be done;
; and, finally, that you must leave me to
i consult my own discretion whether 1
! would make nnc.li it proposal.
ft appeared to me that, if this deter
; ruination should be persisted in, my ;
j overture was not likely to be successful; i
' til id 1 urged, accordingly, the propriety j
j of going on in a course which would j
lead us to a better issue. TlTat course :
! was, that wc should understand one auo- j
: ther as to our respective views; and |
; that a concise note, which I had in fact
1 prepared since the Ust inerting, should
i then he presented and acted upon—
You informed me, that my wish in this,
particular could not be acceded to; that, j
if I presented a note, you mu it be left |
at perfect liberty to decide upon what
it proposed ; that you could not give j
me even an intimation ol the probable '
consequences of if ; and, in word, that
you would neither invite nor discourage ,
such a proceeding. You added, that
there were some points belonging to the
subject, which it would be proper, to
; discuss in writing, one of which was
the connection between our embargo
and your orders of November, suppos
ed to be implied by my proposal. 1 re
marked that, with an actual result in
view, and with a wish to arrive at that
result*without dth-y, it could rot be ad
visable to entangle out scivco in a writ
ten correspondence, undefined as to its
scope and duration, upon topics on
which wc were not likely to agree; and
that if 1 were to frame my note with a
! knowledge that it was to provoke argu
| ment, instead of leading, at this crisis,
to a salutary change in the state of the
world, you must be conscious that I too
must argue. And where would this
end? To what wholesome consequence
would it conduct us ? At the close of
the interview, I observed, that as the
footing, upon which the subject was
now placed, made delay of no imper-:
tance, I should take time to prepare |
such farther proceeding as the occasion
required. 4
On the 26th of August I liad the ho
nor to sec you again, and, alter enter
ing more at large than 1 had before be
lieved to be proper, into a consideration
of the effect of my proposal on the c
quity of adhering to y.m v orders in
council, and after reading to yvu parts
of my instruction*, 1 delivered an offp
cia! note., in which the proposal was
made in the form required,
t Something was said, at this inter
view, of the affair of the Chesapeake
• and the president’s proclamation, which
> it is not I presume necessary to repeal, j
It will be sufficient to state, that you
■ asked me what was to be done with
i these subjects? and that my reply was,
, that they had no connection with the
• present; but that I could say with con
• iidencc, that aiy government had every
• disposition .to attend to them, with a
i view to such an adjustment as would be
• honorable to both parlies. I did not
suppose that it was expected (for you
, did not intimate* such an expectation)
, that renewed negotiation upon these
> points should, as w ell as the repeal, up
on terms, of your orders in council, be
invited by a formal overture from the
, government of America.
1 will not trouble you with many ob
servations more.
You state in your letter that ‘ there
was one point upon which you were par
icularly anxious to receive precise in-
formation, and upon which, from tny !
candor and frankness, you were fortu- 1 1
nate enough to obtain it.’ This was, !
‘ whether m fact the orders in council j
of November had been known to the j 1
government of the United States previ- j i
| ousjy to the message of the president i'
proposing the embargo, so as to be a '
moving consideration to that message.’ j
I quote this passage, principally, that I j'
nmy recall to your recollection, that i
tny suggestions, upon the subject of it,;
were not made officially, or as being •
authorized or furnished by any commu
nication from my government, or in an
swer to enquiries on your part. They
were very briefly made, near the close,
as I thick, of our third interview, in
consequence of your mtimation.(inten
ded, perhaps, to amount to an enquiry)
dial my proposal implied that the em
bargo had been produced by the orders
of November; to which you added that
this could not be admitted, and (as I
comprehended what you said) that it
even required to be made the subject
of some notice or discussion in writing, .
as intimately connected with my propo
sal, if it should be brought forward in
that shape. And 1 understood you to
assign this as one of the reasons why a
written overture was indispensable. In
replying to that intimation, and the re
marks which followed it, I professed to
speak, as I did in fact speak, from ge
neral information only, and disclaimed,
as it was my duty to do, all authority
to say more upon the nature and origin
ot the embargo, than 1 had some time
before communicated to you, in obedi
' ence to the orders of the president.'—
'l'iit purpose of my observations was,
chiefly, to shew that there was no in- !
ducement for embarking in formal du-
I ' ttsstons upgn this point; and.l assured
! you that it was not in my power, either
as respected instructions from my gov
: ernm; nl or knowledge of facts, to do so.
| My opinion was, and I spoke actotd
> irigly, that i; was one el those questions
which might be left completely at rest
without the least injury to the wisdom |
i or the justice of our conclusions upon
i the great object oi our conferences.—
j There could be no objection, however,
to my giving you, on this head, such
. conjectural inlormuti n as I was able.
1 On the contrary, by fully disclosing to
you my own materials for forming an
1 opinion upon it, you would be enabled
more distinctly to see, that I could take
no part in any discuss on, which you
might propose to apply to it. And I
could not but be assured that any anxi
ety you might feel, to obtain a know
ledge of the facts in question, sprung
from considerations which had every
chum to my respect; for I know that
vour vntnd was far abova the reach oi
prejudices, which would ascribe the
American embargo to participation in
the councils or views of your adversa
ry, or of any foreign power whatsoever.
My suggestions were to the follow
ing effect: that I believed that no copy
of your orders of November had arriv
ed in the United State, at the date of
the president’s message ; that a recent
change in the conduct of France to our
prejudice dicl appear to be known ; tint
intelligence had been received, and a be
lief entertained, of your intention to ad
opt some further measure, as a mea
sure of retaliation against France, by
i which our commerce and our rights
I would be affected ; that there was rea
son to conclude that you had actually ad
opted such a measure; that (as I collect
ed from American newspapers) this had
appeared from private letters, and the
newspapers of this country, received in
the United States some days before the
message of the president, and probibly
known to the government; that, in a
word, various information concured to
shew that our trade was likely to be as
sailed by the combined efforts of both
the belligerent parties; and that the em
bargo was a measure of wise and peace
ful precaution, adopted under this view
of reasonably anticipated peril.
You observe, in another part of your
letter, “ that you have always rather
wished to refer the argumentative dis
cussion of the subject of the orders in
j council to the official correspondence,
j which you have more than once been
i taught to expect me to open upon it.”
; If 1 should object to any part of this
statement, it would be to the words
: j more than once.” Your wish has always
appeared to be such as you now repre-
I i present it, and you had reason to expect
: | that I would commence a w-ritten dis
• cussion of the orders of November, soon
: after their publication. I had told \ou
: that I should do so, and you had said
> that there could be no objection to it.
■ j But you were afterwards apprized that,
' upon reflection, 1 had determined to
: ! leave the subject where it was, until I
- i should know the pleasure of my govern
-! ment.
The orders had been officially com
municated, not to me, but to Mr. Madi
son, through the British minister at
Washington. It seemed, therefore, to
be proper (unless my instructions
should make it otherwise) that the view,
which the government of the United
States took of them, should find its way
to you through the same channtl; Sc ac
cordingly, the letters of Mr. Madison,
to which I have referred in my note of
tin* 23d of August, did open at great
lengths discussion which I could have
no inducement to shun, although I did
not continue to think myself authorized
to commence it.
It only remains to add that your share
in our several conversations was, what
you represent it to have been, not con
siderable ; and that your manner, al
though reserved, was, as it always is,
perfectly friendly.
I need not say that if in this letter,
written under the influence of sincere
concern, that the proposal I had the
honor to lay before you has been unsuc
cessful, any thing is to be found which
you could wish to be otherwise than it
is, I shall be the first to regret that I
have not been able to do justice to my
own feelings and intentions.
1 have the honor to be,
With the highest consideration,
•V '
Sir,
Your most ob’t. humble serv’c,
WILLIAM PINKNEY.
Notice.
T'HE subscriber having removed to
A Savannah, offers his services to
the' public in the
FACTORAGE
AND
Commission Line,
and hopes by strict attention, to render
satisfaction to those who may favor him
with their business
Jtimes Beggs.
October 15 65
ON Monday last, the Rich
mond Academy, was opt tied under the
direction of the Rev. A. Rouge, as Rec
tor, and the Rev. J. Holcombe, us first
English Teacher. A Writing Master
is expected, we understand, in a short
time. The rates of Tuition are the
same as heretofore—the hours of in
strictmn at this season are from half
past eight to twelve, and from half past
two to six.
January 7
Notice.
A lP persons having demands a
gainst the estate of Clemsy Morse,
late of this city, deceaeri, are requested
to present them legally authenticated,
and those indebted to said estate, will
make payment t#
Ann Morse, Jldrri'x. or
Robert Johnson, Adirtr.
Augusta, IGtb July, 1808. 62
Notice.
NINE months from the date hereof,
appPeation will be made to the
honorable the inferior court of the coun
ty ol Lincoln for leave to sell the whole
of the real estate of John Bentley, dec.
for the benefit of all concerned.
John Oir, _ ? Admr's.
W in. Muncnef, 5
September I©.
Notice.
NINE months from the date hereof
application will be made to the
honorable the inferior court for Lincoln
county, for leave to sell Three Tracts
of Land, viz :—One tract containing
three hundred acres, lying on Savan
nah rivet , adjoining lands «f VV. Cook,
heirs of Jemison, Grillage and Winn,
with a good dwelling house and out
houses, and about twenty acres of fresh
cleared land.
ALSO, —An Island containing about
seventy five acres, in Savannah river,
with about thirty acres of cleared land.
ALSO, —Ten acres of land with
good improvements, adjoining Lamar’s
ferry. The above land being part of
the real estate of Basil Lamar, sen*;’.
1 1 dec. for the benefit of the heirs and
1 creditors.
’ Peter Lamar, Adnvr.
J)c bonis non.
July 16. 180*. 52