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complained so loudly of it; that no one could dispute the justice of these orders who was not prepared to deny our right of retaliating upon the ene my his own excesses; and that those who attributed the commercial distress of the country to the orders in council, had forgotten that the " continental system" was of itself quite sufficient to account for the distress which had occurred. That the late repeal by France of her decrees was a mere pretence, since the principle of the system was still preserved in vigour, for in a letter lately written by Tureau, the French minister, to the American government, he declared, "That it is to be clearly understood, that France would not consent to alter that system of exclusion adopted by all Europe against the commerce of Great Britain, the wisdom and policy of which system was already developed in its effects against the common enemy; that neutrality was disregarded in every state over which France had any influence.' Had France not said to each state in succession, "I must take away your independence in order to injure England?" and could it be doubted that Great Britain was thus entitled to call on neutral nations to assert and maintain their rights?—That the correspondence betwixt this country and America was not finally closed; and while a hope remained, how faint soever, it should be cherished, and nothing should be done which might increase irritation.-The motion of Mr Whitbread was negatived by a very great majority.

The correspondence betwixt the British envoy in America and the government of the United States, was in the meantime continued. Numerous misstatements, intended to widen the breach betwixt the countries, were circulated with industry in America, and were even alluded to in the speeches of some members of congress. Great

VOL. V. PART I.

Britain was said to have demanded, that the United States should pass a law for the introduction of British goods into American ports, and for compelling France to receive British manufactures. Mr Foster, in a letter to Mr Munro, positively denied this statement; and yet, in the answer to this letter, which was not sent for upwards of a month afterwards, the American minister still thought proper to talk of "the novel and extraordinary claim of Great Britain to trade in British articles with her enemy." This was a wilful and gross misrepresentation; and was coupled with the extraordinary demand, so often repeated by the government of America, that England should believe the vague declarations of France as to the repeal of her decrees, even when she continued to prove by her acts that these decrees had not been truly rescinded. The American secretary complained that ships' papers of the United States were counterfeited in England.-Mr Foster again complained, with great justice, of the partiality of the Americans towards France, in permitting French ships of war to enter and sail from their ports, and to bring back and sell prizes taken from the British merchants; yet to this well-founded complaint Mr Muuro made no reply-Such was the manner in which this negociation was conducted by the American government, which Mr Whitbread praised so much, for its candour and magnanimity.

When Mr Whitbread made his motion for the production of the correspondence betwixt the governments, a desire was manifested by some members, to blend that question with the subject of the orders in council, and thus to obtain a decision against these measures, without a fair and deliberate discussion. The day arrived when this famous subject was to be taken into consideration. The Marquis of Lansdowne in the House of

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plained were irremediable, they would be prepared to bear them with greater firmness, after an impartial and accurate investigation had been entered into. That the orders in council had been from the beginning described as of a retaliatory nature, and it was therefore of importance to understand what that system was, on which it was pretended to retaliate.That the policy of France might be distinctly traced to one of the first principles of her government-the principle of destroying the commerce of its enemy, although its own trade should become the necessary sacrifice; that the whole measures of Buonaparte had been directed to this object; that the inhabitants of Bourdeaux and other mercantile towns had represented their distress to the government, but their representations were answered by the remark, that it was now too late to talk of trade, that France was a country of arms, and its government wished to see among the people none but soldiers and peasants. The French government had even endeavoured to avail itself of theory to support its proceedings; and a book had lately been published by Talleyrand, in which he laboured to shew that the exclusive encouragement of agriculture was the true and natural policy of France, since the stormy In such period of the Revolution. circumstances, the true policy of England required, that she should have supported and encouraged her own commerce, and fostered neutrality wherever it was to be found; but she had hazarded both, by an attempt to inflict on the enemy injuries which he did not feel, and to retort upon him his injustice rather than consult her own interests. Was it not her duty to have protected a people, separated from her enemy by an ocean to him

In support of the motions, it was maintained, that the commercial distress of the country had become so great, and the clamour of the manufacturers so loud and general, that it was incumbent on the legislature to enquire into the existence of the evil, and the means of providing a remedy; that all classes of persons were interested in the prosecution of this enquiry; that even those who conscientiously differed in opinion from the movers as to the origin and extent of the present calamities, must wish to see their sentiments defended and established; that those who approved of the system of 1806, must wish to discover how far it had been supported by that of 1807; that those who did not entirely disapprove of the new system at first, but were surprised by its unexpected result, must be anxious to ascertain clearly and distinctly whether there were sufficient grounds for a change of their opinions; that others who still thought highly of the general policy, might entertain some doubt as to the expediency of the mode in which it had been pursued, and others again who reprobated the new system from its commencement, and who were prepared to shew, that their predictions had been verified, must earnestly desire an opportunity of exposing the folly of government, and averting the ruin with which the country was threatened.-That even impassable, a people having a comif the evils of which the people com- mon origin and speaking a common

language with ourselves; the only nation on earth, except Great Britain, free from the dominion of Buonaparte? -That next to the calamity of war betwixt Great Britain and America, the greatest that could happen to British commerce, would be a war between America and France, which would powerfully second the designs of the enemy, by excluding British commerce from every port of the continent. That our policy, however, had breathed nothing but hostility to neu. trals, and the whole series of our measures spoke but one language, that they must take part either with the one belligerent or the other. That since the issuing of the British edicts, the trade of the country had declined; that from the returns for the year 1809, the amount of exports and imports would appear to have fallen short of that of the preceding year by fifteen millions, viz. ten millions of exports to the continent, and five millions to America. That in April 1809, the orders in council had been in a great measure modified or rescinded; the only orders now in force were then issued, which, in place of the former sweeping principle, substituted a blockade of limited extent, including Holland, the coast of Germany as far north as the Ems, and that portion of Italy which lies between Pesaro and Orbitello. That the original system had thus been abandoned, and the project of retaliation had been altogether laid aside. That the French government had then resorted to measures of still greater severity; and instead of discovering any embarrass ment on account of the policy pursued by Great Britain, had carried the anticommercial system to the greatest extremity. That the enormous in crease of bankruptcies, and the distressed state of our commercial and manufacturing towns, afforded a melancholy proof of the evils of our present

commercial measures; in the town of Liverpool alone, the poor had in the space of four weeks increased to more than four times their former number. That these proofs of distress could not be met by a reference to the custom-house books, whatever accounts these might give of the exports and imports of the country; in reply to such fallacious statements, we had only to turn our eyes to jails filled with debtors, poor-houses crowded with mendicants, and above all, to the state of many populous counties, where so great was the distress, that the people were driven to insurrection. That even the accounts of the custom-house, however, did not conceal the melancholy fact of the decrease of the commerce of the country; that in the year 1811, there had been a great falling off in exports, compared with the year 1810, and even compared with the year 1809, which had been one of great adversity; nay, although it was universally ac knowledged, that the year 1808 had been the most unpropitious ever known in the country, yet the value of the exports of 1811 had sunk below even that of the exports in that unfavourable year. That the custom-house books, however, were entitled to very little regard; and as an instance of this, it was mentioned, that although they exhi bited an increase of exports during the year 1809, compared with the year 1807, to no less an amount than twenty millions, yet it was soon discovered that this enlarged exportation had gone to markets where there was no demand, and the greater part of the goods exported had the next year been returned to this country, and occasioned a proportional addition to the value of the imports. Such evidence, there fore, could be of no authority to disprove the existence of the distress with which the country had been vi sited. That out of the unprecedented

state of commercial affairs, the licence system, a system fraught with every evil, had originated; in 1807, the number of licences granted did not exceed 1,600, but in 1810, amounted to upwards of 18,000. That by these licences, all that remained of the principle of the orders in council had been at once given up to the enemy; and we were thus carrying on a trade which was open to him but shut to all neutrals, excepting those who chose to partake of the licence system. That nothing could be more impolitic than thus to encourage the trade of France and her dependencies at the expence of neutral powers, since those who received these licences did not comply with the regulations laid down by England, but secretly carried on just such a trade as the enemy desired, an evil which there was no way of preventing, except by covering the whole of the enemy's coast with British ships, and thus establishing a real and not a nominal blockade. That the consequence of all this had been a prodigious increase of foreign shipping in British ports, and the establishment of an extensive nursery of seamen for the fleets of the enemy. That the effect of the licence system in our own country had been no less alarming; that British trade had fallen entirely under the controul of the executive government.—But this was not the only danger; there were abuses connected with granting licences, which spoke powerfully in favour of the present enquiry. That great errors had frequently been committed in the issuing of them; that some persons had opportunities of information which were denied to others, and that the communications which it had become necessary for the Board of Trade to hold with merchants, were calculated to divulge secrets which might be turned to the most unfair purposes. That the evil might ex

tend still farther; and that under the new system, the enemy had the means of knowing at all times what articles this country might wish to have exported, and what it might wish to have imported from the continent; it must be his own fault, therefore, if he did not reduce British commerce completely under his own controul. But the worst evil of the system was, that which it produced on the morals of the trading part of the community, who are tempted into speculations, which begin by forgery, are continued by perjury, and end in enormous fraud. That the terms of the licences were disgraceful to the government which issued them; that the licences, besides the regular papers of the ships, allowed the captain to take on board another set of papers, which were forged from beginning to end; and all these forgeries were confirmed by the solemn oaths of the captain and crew, when they arrived at their destined port. In proof of all this, a letter of a curious description was referred to, written by a person who had made the forgery of ship papers a regular profession. It was in the following terms:-"Gentlemen, we take the liberty herewith to inform you, that we have established ourselves in this town (Liverpool) for the sole purpose of making simulated papers, which we are enabled to do in a way which will give ample satisfaction to our employers, not only being in possession of the original documents of the ship's papers and clearances from various ports, a list of which we annex, but Mr G. B. having worked with his brother, Mr J. B. in the same line for the last two years, and understanding all the necessary languages. Of any changes that may occur in different places on the continent, in the various customhouses and other offices, and which may render a change of signature ne

cessary, we are careful to have the earliest information, not only from our own connections, but from Mr J. B. who has proffered his assistance in every thing, and who has for some time made simulated papers for Messrs B. and P. of this town, to whom we beg leave to refer you for farther information. We remain, &c."-Such were the miserable and disgraceful expedients to which the new system had reduced the British merchants It was no answer to say, that if these crimes had not been committed by us, they would have been perpetrated by others; let them be committed by the whole world besides, but let it no longer be said, that England, whose merchants in former and happier times were held in universal estimation for probity and honour, had sunk to this depth of shame and degrada

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Among other arguments of a less direct nature against the orders in council, it was said that the manufacturing interests of England had more to fear from the manufactures of Massachusets, than from all the manufactures of the French empire; and if it were the object of ministers to prevent the growth of French commerce, the hazard of increasing by the orders in council the manufactures of America should not be overlooked. mericans had the advantage of possessing the raw material; and they had begun already to export the first articles of manufacture which they had never done before.-That America, with all her advantages, would soon be able to supply the southern parts of her great continent with manufactures, as the communication would be easy, and her commercial restraints would hardly be felt. That the effect of the orders in council on the state of France had been very insignificant; that the French revenue of customs might have been somewhat di

minished, but as the customs always formed a small part of the revenue of France, any diminution in this respect had probably been compensated by confiscations. That there was nothing derogatory to the national honour in an attempt to conciliate America ; that the Americans had not urged their claims with haughtiness or violence; they believed that France had effectually repealed her decrees, and they naturally expected the immediate repeal of the orders in council.—It had been said that the denationalizing system, to use the jargon of the French government, had not yet been abandoned by Buonaparte; but although, on the principle of this absurd system, some captures had been made, no instance of confiscation had occurred since the alledged revocation of the decrees.-That America, from common courtesy to the French government, was bound to believe its declarations; and of course she could not hesitate to admit what the government of France had solemnly asserted, that her decrees had in truth been repealed.-That a groundless clamour had been raised for the safety of our maritime rights; but in truth those rights, in their fair and liberal interpretation, had not been questioned by America. -And, finally, that it was strange to hear the advocates of the orders in council oppose enquiry; since, if the orders had been really beneficial to the country, they, of all others, had no reason to dread the proposed investigation.

In answer to these arguments, it was stated, that the commercial distresses were not general; that they had not been produced by the orders in council, and that the papers on the table, so far from supporting, directly contradicted, such an assertion That the view which had been taken of the state of commerce was very erroneous; that in the year 1807, the year in which the

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