xl 



battles of Bonaparte against the civilized world. When this over- 

 whelming conqueror was on his triumphant march against Russia, 

 our government, at the very moment which seemed to suit his 

 views, declared war against England, the only remaining barrier in 

 his way to universal dominion. The power of the elements over 

 him could not be foreseen. The repeal of the British orders in 

 council, the chief alleged cause of the war, having taken place 

 before its declaration, though not known here till afterwards, left 

 the impressment of American seamen, or rather the claim of a 

 right to take British subjects from the merchant-ships of the United 

 States, the only remaining pretext for prosecuting the war. In 

 relation to this subject, great errors had crept into the public docu- 

 ments, and great delusion existed in the public mind. Mr. Picker- 

 ing thought that he could in no way render a greater service to 

 his country than by correcting those errors and dissipating that de- 

 lusion. For this purpose, he introduced, in the House of Repre- 

 sentatives, an order " to ascertain the number of the seamen of 

 this Commonwealth impressed or taken by any foreign nation." 

 On him, as chairman of the committee thereupon appointed, chief- 

 ly devolved the labor and responsibility of the undertaking. It is 

 sufficient to add, that it was accomplished in a manner alike hon- 

 orable to himself and satisfactory to the legislature. A great mass 

 of evidence was reported, comprised in more than fifty depositions, 

 taken from the principal merchants and shipmasters of Massachu- 

 setts, together with a just account of the previous practice of our 

 government in relation to impressments, and a clear exposition of 

 national law on the subject, all showing conclusively that the fur- 

 ther prosecution of the war was as unnecessary as it was dis- 

 astrous. 



We cannot follow Mr. Pickering through his important legisla- 



