States, against the vessels, goods, and effects of the government of the same United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the subjects thereof.

H. CLAY,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.
WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD,
President of the Senate pro tempore.

June 18, 1812.-APPROVED,

JAMES MADISON.

BY THE PRESIDENT

OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
A Proclamation.

WHEREAS the Congress of the United States, by virtue of the constituted Authority vested in them, have declared by their act, bearing date the eighteenth day of the present month, that War exists between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and their territories; now therefore I, JAMES MADISON, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the same to all whom it may concern : and I do specially enjoin on all persons holding, offices, civil or military, under the authority of the United States, that they be vigilant and zealous, in discharging the duties respectively incident thereto : And I do moreover exhort all the good people of the United States, as they love their country; as they value the precious heritage derived from the virtue and valor of their fathers; as they feel the wrongs which have forced on them the last resort of injured nations; and as they consult the best means, under the blessing of Divine Providence, of abridging its calamities; that they exert themselves in preserving order, in promoting concord, in maintaining the authority and the efficacy of the laws,and in supporting and invigorating all the measures which may

be adopted by the Constituted Authorities, for obtaining a speedy, a just, and an honorable peace.

(SEAL.)

(Signed)

(Signed)

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to these pres

ents.

DONE at the City of Washington, the nineteenth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, and of the Independence of the United States the thirty-sixth. JAMES MADISON.

By the President,

JAMES MONROE,
Secretary of State.

ADDRESS

OF

THE SENATE,

то

THE PEOPLE

OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.

THE Senate announce to their Constituents, that WAR exists between the United States, and Great Britain and her dependencies. This last resort of injured nations is, at all times, a most serious event; at the present, peculiarly solemn. It is a war against violence and rapacity, by an unoffending nation, aloof from the vortex and collisions of European politics; whose utmost ambition was to live in honourable peace with the world; at home, to enjoy the equal benefits of a republican government, and abroad, to carry the productions of its soil and industry in the usual channels of legitimate com

merce.

We will not enter into a detail of the injuries inflicted on us, nor of the flimsy pretexts by which she has affected to justify her outrages; it is sufficient to say, that England no longer pretends to disguise her ambitious designs, under the pretence of retaliation on her enemy. She asserts her unbounded right to dominion, only because she assumes unbounded power: She annexes conditions to the repeal of her orders, which she knows we have no right to require of her enemy; which she knows are impossible: thus adding mockery to her long train of perpetrated injuries. With the bold

ness of the highwayman, she has, at last, stripped the mask from violence, and vindicates her aggressions and impressments on the only plea of tyrants.....that of whim and convenience. The same plea extends to the weltering victim of savage barbarity on our frontiers.

It was not sufficient that we were remote from European politics, and courted peace under every sacrifice; acquiesced in minor injuries; remonstrated against those of a deeper dye; forebore, until forbearance became pusillanimity; and finally retired from the scene of controversy with the delusive hope, that a spirit of moderation might succeed that of violence and rapine. We were hunted on the ocean; our property was seized upon by the convulsive grasp of our now open and acknowledged enemy, and our citizens forced into a cruel and ignominious vassalage.-And when we retired, we were pursued to the threshold of our territory; outrages of an enormous cast perpetrated in our bays and harbors; the tomahawk of the savage uplifted against the parent, the wife, the infant, on our frontiers; and spies and incendiaries sent into the bosom of our country to plot with the desperate and ambitious the dismemberment of our government, and involve us in all the horrors of a civil war.

We have sought in vain for the motives of this horrible warfare. WhatBritish subject has ever been personally injured by America? What British property has ever been confiscated or condemned? What insult has ever been offered to the ensigns of national authority? In a time of profound peace, when we were supplying their citizens with the products of our soil, and replenishing their coffers by a lucrative commerce; with no disputes concerning territory; with no armies or navies to excite their national jealousy; we have experienced injuries and outrages, at which the humanity of modern warfare revolts.

The Constituted Authorities of the United States, in Congress assembled, submitting the justice of their cause to the God of Battles,have at length declared WAR against this implacable foe :-A WAR for the protection of commerce-A WAR for the Liberties of our Citi

zens:-AWAR for our National Sovereignty and Inde. pendence:-A WAR for our Republican Form of Government, against the machinations of despotism.

The Senate affect not to disguise from their Constitu. ents, that the times are times of peril. The ENEMIES of REPUBLICS are on the alert. The present is deemed the favorable time for the DISMEMBERMENT of the UNION, that favorite project of the British Government, which has been attempted by their authorized agent; and we have alarming proofs is countenanced and cherished by citizens of this government. YES: we say with assurance, that a deep and deadly design is formed against our happy Union: We say it from conviction forced on our minds; from declarations from responsible sources; from intrigues that have existed between the ENEMIES of REPUBLICS and an authorized British spy; and from a settled determination in individuals to oppose the Government in the prosecution of the war now forced on us,

The

The Senate will not assert that there exists a party, fin the two grand divisions in which parties are generally divided in the United States, and on which the Senate are reluctantly compelled to animadvert,) which gives countenance to such nefarious projects. great body of the people are Americans. It is the Enemies of Republics, of whom we speak. Monarchists in principle and by profession; who disguise not their enmity to our happy Government, and do not conceal their intention to embrace the opportunity of popular disaffection and commotion, to attempt a Revolution. Deeply impressed with the solemnity of the crisis, and with the dangers attendant on our beloved country, as well from our declared enemy as our intestine foes, the Senate have contemplated the duties, which, as members of the social compact, each individual owes to his country, and they declare them to be a firm support of the Government of their choice. The rightful authority has decreed. Opposition must cease: He that is not for his country, is against it. The precedents on record will serve for your guide. When engaged with this same enemy, our fathers obered the calls of their