158 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



If this was rejected and " a desire should manifest itself in any consider- 

 able part of the American Union, especially in those States bordering 

 upon His Majesty's North American dominions to return to their 

 relations of peace and amity with this country, " he was directed to 

 encourage it, and if overtures were made to him for a cessation of hos- 

 tilities with that part of the United States alone, he was authorized 

 to agree to it and enter into an arrangement for the renewal of com- 

 mercial mtercourse with the States concerned.'^ 



A flag of truce was accordingly despatched to New York with a 

 proposal for a suspension of hostilities to be succeeded by négociations 

 for a treaty of peace. But as the terms proposed included a recall of 

 letters of marque and the withdrawal of American troops from British 

 territory, Warren was obliged to admit that he expected the answer 

 would certainly be in the negative. " It is really extraordinary, " he 

 remarked, "that our friends at home in consequence of Mr. Foster's 

 representations and others will so long not have believed that the 

 war was actually going on. " He advised Prévost to repair and occupy 

 Fort Cumberland in Nova Scotia, and added that he had detached 

 two sail of the line to accompany a convoy with some troops into the 

 St. Lawi-ence.f 



Ten days later he wrote that he had despatched a sloop or war 

 with 100 men of the 100th Regiment with instructions to land them 

 at Bic or as high up the river as the ship could venture at that advanced 

 season "from a perfect conviction of your having occasion for all the 

 troops you can muster. " He intended to leave a senior officer with a 

 strong detachment of frigates and several sloops and schooners in the 

 Bay of Fundy for the defence of the coast and would sail for l^ermuda 

 on November 20 to assemble there all the ships of the line in his com- 

 mand. Î 



Monroe's reply to his proposal, although dated at Washington on 

 October 27, was not delivered to Warren at Halifax until November 13. 

 The President, Monroe wrote, was anxious to restore peace, and had at 

 the very moment war was declared, instructed his representative in 

 London, to make proposals with that object. But the abandonment of 

 the practice of impressment from American ships was an indispensable 

 condition. If that were agreed to, he would undertake that in 

 future British seamen would be excluded from the naval and merchant 

 service of the United States. In an}'- event impressment from Ameri- 

 can vessels must be discontinued during the proposed armistice. "It 

 cannot be presumed, while the parties are engaged in a négociation to 



*Cast.lorcaf;;h to tlu; Lords of the Admirait j', August 6 and 12. 

 fWarren to Prévost, Oct. 10. 

 JWarren to Prévost, Oct. 20. 



