There being reason to believe that the act prohibiting the acceptance
of British licenses is not a sufficient guard against the use of them,
for purposes favorable to the interests and views of the enemy, further
provisions on that subject are highly important. Nor is it less so that
penal enactments should be provided for cases of corrupt and perfidious
intercourse with the enemy, not amounting to treason nor yet embraced
by any statutory provisions.
A considerable number of American vessels which were in England when the
revocation of the orders in council took place were laden with British
manufactures under an erroneous impression that the nonimportation act
would immediately cease to operate, and have arrived in the United
States. It did not appear proper to exercise on unforeseen cases of such
magnitude the ordinary powers vested in the Treasury Department to
mitigate forfeitures without previously affording to Congress an
opportunity of making on the subject such provision as they may think
proper. In their decision they will doubtless equally consult what is
due to equitable considerations and to the public interest.
The receipts into the Treasury during the year ending on the 30th of
September last have exceeded $16,500,000, which have been sufficient
to defray all the demands on the Treasury to that day, including a
necessary reimbursement of near three millions of the principal of the
public debt.
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