As if two combatants might retaliate
on an innocent bystander, the blows they received from each other. To
make war on both would have been ridiculous. In order, therefore, to
single out an enemy, we offered to both, that if either would revoke
its hostile decrees, and the other should refuse, we would interdict all
intercourse whatever with that other; which would be war of course, as
being an avowed departure from neutrality. France accepted the offer,
and revoked her decrees as to us. England not only refused, but declared
by a solemn proclamation of her Prince Regent, that she would not revoke
her orders even as to us, until those of France should be annulled as to
the whole world. We thereon declared war, and with abundant additional
cause.
In the mean time, an examination before parliament of the ruinous
effects of these orders on her own manufacturers, exposing them to the
nation and to the world, their Prince issued a palinodial proclamation,
suspending the orders on certain conditions, but claiming to renew them
at pleasure, as a matter of right. Even this might have prevented the
war, if done and known here before its declaration. But the sword being
once drawn, the expense of arming incurred, and hostilities in full
course, it would have been unwise to discontinue them, until effectual
provision should be agreed to by England, for protecting our citizens on
the high seas from impressment by her naval commanders, through, error,
voluntary or involuntary; the fact being notorious, that these officers,
entering our ships at sea under pretext of searching for their seamen,
(which they have no right to do by the law or usage of nations, which
they neither do, nor ever did, as to any other nation but ours, and
which no nation ever before pretended to do in any case), entering
our ships, I say, under pretext of searching for and taking out their
seamen, they took ours, native as well as naturalized, knowing them to
be ours, merely because they wanted them; insomuch, that no American
could safely cross the ocean, or venture to pass by sea from one to
another of our own ports.
Pages:
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320