loss by the disadvantageous sale of our cargoes, under the decrees of the Provincial Courts of Admiralty, joined to the time and expense requisite to bring to an issue our claims before the Court of Appeals, produce a result that, in a plurality of cases, makes it a measure of prudence to abandon our property, instead of pursuing the remedy that is held forth to us.

It is my duty to complain to your Lordship of the injury that, under color of His Majesty's authority, is thus committed upon the citizens of a country that has given, and continues to give, unequivocal proofs of a sincere desire to live in friendship with Great Britain; and, in doing so, I am anxious to press upon your Lordship's consideration the uneasines and dissatisfaction so unfavorable to the intercourse and harmony between

our respective countries, that must, and especially at the present moment of commercial embarrassment, proceed from losses so unexpected and considerable.

Your Lordship will, I persuade myself, order this complaint to be investigated without delay; and so unjustifiable has been the conduct of the captors, that I flatter myself that not only a prompt and adequate remedy will be afforded to the sufferers, but, moreover, that such precise instructions will be given as shall secure us against the like injuries hereafter.

With the most perfect consideration, &c.

R. K.

Mr. King to the Secretary of State, dated LONDON, June 1, 1801.

Lord Hawkesbury to Mr. King.

DOWNING STREET, May 30, 1801. SIR: I have the honor to transmit to you, for enclosures, from Mr. King to Mr. Hammond, in your information, the copy of a letter, with its to be made to the Duke of Portland, on the subanswer to a representation which I had directed the Spanish Colonies in the West Indies; and I ject of the capture of American vessels trading to trust that you will consider this communication tion of His Majesty's Government to repress any as furnishing an additional proof of the disposiwhich may tend to molest or impede the legal practices on the part of His Majesty's subjects, commerce of the citizens of the United States. I have the honor to be, with great considera

tion, sir, your most obedient humble servant,

HAWKESBURY.

Mr. John King to Mr. Hammond.

WHITEHALL, May 27, 1801. SIR: Having laid before the Duke of Portland your letter of the 18th instant, with its enclosures, relative to the capture of American vessels trading to the Spanish Colonies in the West Indies, his Grace lost no time in referring them to the consideration of His Majesty's Advocate General; and I am now directed to transmit to you, for Lord Hawkesbury's information, a copy of his report thereupon, together with a copy of a letter which the Duke has written upon the subject to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. I am, &c. J. KING.

missioners of the Admiralty.

Two days ago, by Lord Hawkesbury's request, I waited upon him in Downing street, when he informed me that, having understood that we were about to send a small squadron of frigates into the Mediterranean for the protection of our trade against the Barbary Powers, he had received the King's commands to state to me, for the information of the President, that His Majesty had given orders that the ports of Gibraltar, Minorca, and Malta, should be open to our ships of war, and that they should, moreover, be supplied from His Majesty's magazines in those ports with whatever their necessities might, from time to time, require. I, of course, made my acknowledgments for this friendly communication, and added, that I would immediately transmit it to you, for the President's information.

With perfect respect and esteem, I have the honor to be, dear sir, your obedient and faithful

servant,

RUFUS KING.

WHITEHALL, May 27, 1801. MY LORDS: I transmit to your Lordships, herewith, for your information, an extract of a letter from Mr. Thornton, His Majesty's Chargé d'Af

of its enclosures, relative to the capture of American vessels trading to the Spanish ports, together with a copy of the report of His Majesty's Advocate General, to whom, by the King's command, the papers in question have been referred.

I have, at the same time, the honor to signify to your Lordships His Majesty's pleasure that you should direct the Judges of our Colonial Vice Admiralty Courts to follow and be guided in their decisions in cases relating to the trade carried on between a neutral and belligerent nation, by the rules and principles established in the High Court of Admiralty, and laid down in the enclosed report of His Majesty's Advocate General. And the better to enforce a uniform and strict adherence to those principles, I am further to signify to you the King's commands that directions should be given to withdraw letters of marque and reprisal in cases where the owners thereof shall appear wilfully and knowingly to have captured and brought in for adjudication, contrary to His Majesty's existing instructions, vessels trading

I have the honor to be, &c.

PORTLAND.

Report of the King's Advocate.

LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS,

May 23, 1801. MY LORD DUKE: I am honored with your Grace's letter of the 19th instant, transmitting to me several papers which have been communicated to your Grace by Lord Hawkesbury, from His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires in America, with a direction to take them into consideration, and to report to your Grace, for his Majesty's information, my opinion, whether, in consequence of what is contained in the extract of Mr. Thornton's letter to Lord Grenville, especially that part of it which states "a principle to have been lately adopted in the Courts of Vice Admiralty at Jamaica and Providence, that no commerce would be permitted between a belligerent and neutral nation, in the vessels of the latter, but such as had been authorized previously to the commencement of hostilities," it would be advisable to make any or what communications to the Vice Admiralty Courts at Jamaica and the Bahamas for their guidance and direction.

In obedience to your Grace's command, I have considered the papers referred to me, and I have the honor to report that the principle stated to have been lately adopted in the Courts of Vice Admiralty at Jamaica and Providence, is directly in opposition to the decisions daily passing in the High Court of Admiralty and the Court of Appeal. It has been held by the tribunals of this country that neutrals cannot be admitted by the enemy, under the pressure of war, to carry on his colonial trade, from which, in time of peace, they were wholly excluded. But this principle may be, and has been, on account of special circumstances during the present hostilities. to a certain degree relaxed. His Majesty's instructions of January, 1798, only order that vessels shall be brought in for legal adjudication, which are coming directly from the enemy's Colonies to Europe, and not being bound to England, or a port of their own country. A trade between the neutral country and the enemy's Colonies is now clearly per

mitted.

Colonial produce actually imported into the neutral country may also be re-exported from thence to any other place, even to the mother country of that colony of which it is the produce. His Majesty's existing instructions are, therefore, the rule by which at present the judges of the Vice Admiralty courts ought to govern themselves; and I humbly apprehend that it would be advisable to convey to the courts referred to a direction to that effect, as the application of the more extended principle upon which they are represented to act may be productive, not only of much injustice, but of great public inconvenience. I have the honor to be, &c.

J. NICHOLL.

ister to England, dated

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Dec 10, 1801. The accounts of peace have, with some interested exceptions, given the most sincere pleasure throughout the United States. Its effects have not yet very fully unfolded themselves, but are appearing in the fall in prices of some of our productions, particularly flour and grain. It is thought probable, however, that, as often happens, the firs effect will in this case exceed the more durable It is certain that the quantity of these par one. ticular articles, promised to foreign markets by the exuberance of our Summer harvests, will be materially abridged by the scanty crops of Indian corn which, in the Middle and Southern States, have failed more generally than has for many years happened.

Among the effects of the peace in this country, none will be more important than the shock which will be felt by our navigation. Besides the loss of the extra carrying trade derived from the war, the countervailing act of Great Britain, founded on the Treaty of 1794, must inevitably direct trade with any part of the British dominbanish American vessels from all share in the ions, as fast as British vessels can enter into competition. I have already heard of one instance in which an American owner of eight or ten ships has chartered a British ship for a cargo of cotton, as preferable to the use of his own. Instances, I am told, have occurred, even during the war, in which merchants, inattentive to the British statute, or ignorant of it, have found, to their regret. that, by shipping tobacco in American bottoms. when British bottoms could have been had, they were considerable losers by it.

This subject can scarcely fail to produce much sensation in some classes of our citizens. Three remedies occur for consideration. The first is that of imposing light duties on foreign vessels. This may fairly be done; but, if carried to an amount materially relieving our navigation, would probably be construed into an indirect violation of the compact. The second remedy might be to repeal here the discrimination between American and foreign ships, with respect to the impost on their cargoes, and to call on Great Britain to repeal her countervailing law. An objection to this expedient is, that it would either give an unnecessary advantage to other foreign nations, or involve disputes or complaints from them. Another difficulty is, that before these concurrent repeals could be brought about, a great part of the evil will have taken place. The third reme dy is that of an immediate amendment of the British act adjusting the countervailing duties to a real equality with those of the United States. This, it is conceived, may be justly claimed on the ground that the known object, the true spirit, and the obvious import of the terms of the treaty, require that the relative advantages and disadvan tages of the vessels of the two countries, in the trade between them, should become such as to put them on a fair equality. Before the treaty

took place, it was complained by Great Britain that her veseels were placed under an inequality and disadvantage by the difference of tonnage duty, and a difference of one-tenth in the impost on merchandise laid by the United States in favor of their own vessels. In the treaty, the United States agreed that Great Britain might countervail these differences; in other words, might lay an equal tonnage duty on American vessels, and a duty on their cargoes equivalent to the additional duty laid in the United States on the cargoes of British vessels. By calculating this additional duty of ten per cent., not according to its real or estimated amount in the United States, but according to British rates, which are more than ten times as high, and in many articles near ten times ten, every idea of equalization is abandoned, and the alleged difference in favor of one side, which was to be remedied by the treaty, is, by the construction of the treaty, made infinitely greater in favor of the other side. No sound rules of interpretation can authorize such a consequence, nor, I will add, can any wise policy adhere to it.

What course may be preferred by Congress, on this occasion, is not known. It is not improbable that one or other of the expedients within their powers may be taken into consideration. The expedient, which belongs to the Executive De partment, may, in the meantime, be a subject of negotiation, and being the most eligible, will, if likely to succeed, preclude a resort to any other. It is accordingly the wish of the President that no time may be lost in stating it to the British Government. The sudden and unexpected peace which has taken place varies the case, and calls for an immediate interposition in behalf of our citizens.

France, also, has a discrimination in force, which must exclude American vessels from any share in the carriage of the important article of tobacco to her ports. But as no stipulation can be pretended to restrain us from countervailing the inequality, the remedy is in our hands if she should not see the propriety of applying it herself.

Mr. King to the Secretary of State.

LONDON, February 5, 1802. SIR: Having carefully examined what would be the footing of our navigation with the British dominions, upon the return of peace, I was quite prepared for, and, indeed, by several conversations with Mr. Addington and other members of the Administration, had already brought under consideration the subject of your letter of the 10th December, which I received a few days ago. Immediately after its receipt, I intimated to Lord Hawkesbury my desire to confer with him respecting the points to which it relates; and, upon his naming a day for this purpose, I prepared and sent him the paper. a copy of which is annexed. Yesterday, I received the duplicate of your letter, of December 22d, which has enabled me to be more explicit than I otherwise should have been in my conference of this morning with

Lord Hawkesbury. I began it by observing that, during the continuance of the war, which had the effect to procure to our vessels some preference over theirs, we had not called their attention to the inequality of their laws, in respect to the commercial intercourse between the two countries; but as the war was now at an end, we could not delay calling upon them to reverse these commercial regulations, in order that they may be made conformable to the respective rights of the two countries. The revision of certain branches of these regulations being more urgent than that of others, and the countervailing duties upon articles imported into Great Britain, in American vessels, appearing to be the most urgent, I confined my observations chiefly to this point, explaining to Lord Hawkesbury my motives for doing so; and, after suggesting some further reflections, in addition to those contained in the paper I sent to him, I proposed that they should agree, either

To discontinue the countervailing duties on articles imported from the United States, in American vessels, as soon as the difference of duties on articles imported into the United States in American and British vessels, shall be abolished: or

To repeal the countervailing duties on imports, and impose duties upon all articles exported from Great Britain to the United States in American vessels, corresponding with the difference of duties payable upon the importation of the like articles into the United States in American and British vessels.

Lord Hawkesbury admitted that the only legitimate purpose of the countervailing right, reserved to Great Britain, was to equalize the advantages and disadvantages of the vessels of the two countries in their commercial intercourse. He said not a single word in vindication of the manner in which this right had been exercised; and, after intimating a preference of the first of the two propositions which I had made, he said he would submit the subject immediately to the Cabinet, and apprize me of its decision with as little delay as possible.

The American mail was to have been despatched to-morrow; but, upon my expressing to Lord Hawkesbury my hope that a few days only would be requisite to enable him to give me an answer upon the subject of our conference, and my solicitude to transmit it to you by the packet he said he would order the packet to be detained.

The few words which I said concerning the tonnage duty, was, in every respect, conformable to the observations upon that subject in the paper sent to Lord Hawkesbury; and the more I consider it the more am I satisfied that we shall find the advantage of establishing light-house duties so as to be distinct from the public revenue.

Lord Hawkesbury assured me that the subject of the West India trade should be immediately put in a train for examination.

I have but one observation to add: It is, that the return of peace will not establish cordial harmony and good humor between this country and the maritime nations of Europe, among which a

general opinion prevails, whether correctly, is another point, that the commercial and financial prosperity of England is, in too great a degree, at the expense of her neighbors.

These sentiments may lead to restrictions and embarrassments upon the European commerce of this country, which will not fail to make its trade with us an object of still greater value and importance than it is already known and confessed to be. Difficulties of this sort are anticipated, and the Government consoles itself with the expectation of a progressive increase of the sale of its manufactures in America.

The inference from these remarks is, that the present time is a favorable one to press for the consideration and admission of our just claims to a fair and equal share of the advantages to be derived from the navigation and trade between the two countries. The regulations upon this subject should, in the first instance, be temporary and ex parte. In this way they may be adjusted to the reciprocal rights of the parties, and then become matter of national stipulation.

With perfect respect and esteem, I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient and faithful servant, RUFUS KING.

Mr. King to Lord Hawkesbury.
GREAT CUMBERLAND PLACE,
February 3, 1802.

MY LORD: With the view of assisting our conference on Friday next, I have prepared, and take the liberty to send your Lordship the enclosed paper, concerning the present footing of the navigation and trade of the United States with the dominions of Great Britain; and which likewise suggests the grounds of our claim to an equal participation in the navigation employed between the United States and the British West Indies, as well as the objections which we have against the act of Parliament for carrying into execution the Treaty of 1794.

I have the honor to be, your Lordship's most obedient and very humble servant,

RUFUS KING.

Right Hon. Lord HAWKESBURY. Observations respecting the Navigation and Trade of the United States of America with the dominions of

Great Britain.

NAVIGATION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE BRITISH COLONIES.

The Treaty of 1794, between the United States and Great Britain, provides for and regulates the commercial intercourse between the territories of the former, and almost all parts of the British dominions, except those in the West Indies. The provisions concerning this branch of their navigation and trade, originally inserted in the treaty, having, on account of their inequality, been excluded, at the instance of the United States, the intercourse is open to the regulations of the respective parties.

Hitherto the United States have made no regulations upon this subject, because the regulations

on the part of Great Britain, contained in the statute of the twenty-eighth of George III, ch. 6. having been suspended on account of the war, the trade has been opened to, and carried on by, American as well as British ships. But, as the war is now at an end, and the suspension of the British statute may be discontinued, it becomes expedient to examine the regulations which it contains. These regulations divide themselves into two distinct heads: the first regards the articles which may be exported from the British West Indies to the United States, and those which may be exported from thence to the British West Indies: the second regards the carriage of those articles between the United States and the British West Indies.

In respect to the first head, the United States. which offer so extensive a market to all sorts of British manufactures and productions, may reasonably expect to find, in return, a market in the British West Indies for certain articles in their power to supply with advantage, but which have hitherto been prohibited.

In respect to the second head, it may be ob served that these regulations exclude the American ships from any share in the carriage of the articles referred to, by confining the same exclusively to British ships, including as well the exports of the United States to the British West Indies, as the exports from thence to the United States. The mere statement of this regulation shows its inequality; and whether it be referred to the principles of commercial reciprocity, or to those even of the navigation act of Great Britain. the inference is the same, and in favor of its revision.

"If the Colonies be considered as parts of the common empire, the trade between one part and another, as between London and Kingston, in Jamaica, may be considered equally internal, as with the coasting trade between London and Liv. erpool, and if deemed expedient, might be restrained to domestic bottoms. But when a trade is opened between a Colony and a foreign country, the case is changed; the foreign country becomes a party, and has a reciprocal claim to the use of its bottoms in the trade with the Colony, as with any other part of the empire to which the Colony belongs. In support of this principle, the practice of other nations in Europe may be appealed to, not one of which has refused, whenever a trade was permitted at all between the Colonies and a foreign country, to make the carriage common to the vessels of both." This observation is equally applicable to the trade between the Uni ted States and the other British Colonies in Ame rica, as to that between the United States and the British West Indies.

COUNTERVAILING DUTIES.

The Treaty of 1794 likewise provides that the ships and merchandise of the parties shall not pay higher duties in their respective ports than the like ships and merchandise of other nations; and as the United States had imposed a higher tonnage duty upon all foreign ships than upon Ame

rican ships, as well as higher imposts upon all goods imported in such foreign ships, than upon the like goods imported in American ships, the treaty reserves to Great Britain the right to impose upon American vessels, entering the British ports in Europe, a tonnage duty equal to that payable by British ships in the ports of America, and such duty as shall be adequate to countervail the difference of duties payable on the importation of European and Asiatic goods into the United States, in British and American vessels. The manifest object of this reservation is to give a fair and equal competition to the vessels of both countries in their mutual intercourse.

The act of Parliament, passed in 1797, for carrying into execution this treaty, notwithstanding, contains regulations which, in some very important instances, defeat this object of the treaty, by establishing such duties upon American ships and cargoes as must altogether exclude the former from the carriage of their own most bulky and valuable productions to Great Britain.

TONNAGE AND LIGHT-HOUSE DUTIES.

The tonnage duty payable by all foreign ships on their entry in the ports of America, is fortyfour cents, or two shillings sterling per ton more than is payable by American ships. This duty is collected and paid into the public Treasury, which is charged to nearly the same amount for the support of light-houses, beacons, and buoys, upon the coasts, and in the bays, rivers, and harbors of the United States; and being analogous to the light money paid by American ships in the ports of Great Britain, is not a duty which can, consistently with the spirit of the treaty, be countervailed: this, however, has been done; so that an American vessel entering a port in Great Britain now pays not only two shillings per ton countervailing duty, but a further sum for light money, varying in different ports, but in almost all of them double the sum paid by British ships. The remedy in this particular is, however, not difficult; as, by imposing an adequate light duty upon all ships, distinct from the present tonnage duty, the United States may not only equalize the present difference of duties, but assimilate their system to that of other nations which do not confound their light duties with the public revenue.

DUTIES ON THE CARGOES OF AMERICAN SHIPS.

The manner of countervailing the difference of duties payable upon goods imported into the United States in American and foreign vessels, has, in consequence of the conclusion of the war, become a subject of urgency and importance, and requires particular and immediate consideration. The United States might repeal the duties liable to be countervailed, and call upon Great Britain to repeal the countervailing duties; but, as they equally affect all foreign ships, and not solely the ships of Great Britain, the repeal would be a gratuitous benefit to other nations at the expense of the American navigation.

As the articles usually exported from Great Britain to the United States are not raw materials, but finished manufactures of great value in

small bulk, the American duties cannot in any considerable degree affect the navigation of either country, inasmuch as the British exports are carried to the United States in a small number of vessels, compared with those employed in the carriage of the exports of the United States: the chief competition between American and British vessels will take place, not in the carriage of the manufactures of Great Britain, but in the carriage of the bulky and raw materials exported from the United States; and this competition will not be materially affected by the duty upon the imports of the United States.

is

Perhaps the only just and practicable mode of exercising this countervailing right would be to impose upon the articles exported from Great Britain to the United States in American vessels precisely the same difference of duties to which they are liable upon their importation into the United States in British and American vessels. This would put the ships of the two countries exactly upon the same footing. Without, however, stopping to discuss this point at present, it will exercised, by the act for carrying into execution suffice to show that the mode in which the right the treaty between the United States and Great than the measure was intended to correct; for, by Britain, will be productive of greater inequality referring to the act, it will be seen that, instead of imposing on American vessels only such disadvantages as would be adequate to balance the disadvantages imposed on British vessels, in the carrage of American and British exports, different American articles, imported into Great Britain in countervailing duties are imposed upon different American vessels, according to the importance of such articles in the internal economy of Great Britain, and the quantity of shipping employed in their transportation; and in pursuance of these principles, that the American oil and tobacco (the quires many times double the quantity of tonnage carriage of the last of which articles alone rerequisite for the carriage of the whole of the exports of Great Britain to the United States) have been selected as objects upon which the highest countervailing duties are imposed; the countervailing duties being upon fish oil 36s. 3d. sterling per ton of two hundred and fifty-two gallons, and upon tobacco 18. 6d. sterling per hundred.

The unequal and injurious effect of these duties, in respect to the American navigation, will be most completely exposed by a comparison of the freights of an American and British ship of the same tonnage, for performing the same service.

DUTY UPON AMERICAN FISH OIL.

Before the late war the freight of a ton of two hundred and fifty-two gallons of oil from America to Great Britain, varied from 40s. to 50s. sterling; the average freight being 45s. sterling; and a vesabout two hundred and fifty tons of oil. sel of two hundred and fifty tons burden carried

Supposing upon the return of peace that freights fall to their former rates:

A British ship of two hundred and fifty tons arriving in Great Britain from the United States, with two