; § TA Tye 
sacred duty: and to spare no 
means that may hastenthe moment 
of a peace suitable to the interests 
of the Batavian people, of their 
faithful ally, of the British nation 
itself, and of humanity—such is 
our most serious object. 
The momentary advantage of 
the few, must not be balanced 
against the well-being of the public, 
the well-being and prosperity of 
the public which you wish, fel- 
low-citizens, is our principal ob- 
ject. We know that the British 
“Minister at this moment wants spe- 
cie and circulating capital. He 
has wasted millions of money and 
riyers of blood; the present mea- 
sure evinces his embarrassment. 
The glorious victories of the 
French have shut up several ports 
against the English, and will shut 
up still more. England, on the 
other hand, is full of her manu- 
factures, of pillaged merchandize, 
particularly of those articles with 
which our rich ships returned from 
the East Indies have furnished 
him. The British minister must 
besides make at this period his 
usual contracts in the Baltic for the 
Maintenance of his marine, and for 
the supplying of his other wants: 
and without drawing upon the 
Dutch merchants, it appears, that 
he could not succeed im this. —Good 
faith, Batavian glory, feel all your 
dignity ? 
What Batavian heart is not fill- 
ed with indignation, on consider- 
ing, that the enemy of our country 
would offer us for sale those very 
effeéts which he has robbed us of 
so shamefully ? and is it permit- 
ted tous’ to hesitate a single me- 
ment, in consoling ourselves for 
this loss of gain, and in frustrating 
the grand object of this enemy? 
Citizens, his object is no other than 
PAPERS. [iss 
to exchange for money innuUera- 
ble British merchandize; the fa- 
culty of being able to dispose of 
the price of these purchases to his 
own advantage: to put an end to 
the just murmurs of the English 
people; to prolong the war, and, 
above all, to excite the indignation 
of the French republic, which the 
proclamation excludes from the 
free navigation. It is therefore, in 
virtue of all these motives, that we 
have thought proper to determine 
upon what follows, as we do deter- 
mine by these presents. 
Article 1. It shall not be per- 
mitted to import into the United. 
Provinces any British manufac- 
tures whatever, any British mer- 
chandize in general, and _particu- 
larly any effects of whatever nature 
they are, which proceed from the 
effeéts laden on board the ships of 
the Hast India company, seized or 
carried to Great Britain, in any 
manner, or under any pretext, whe- 
ther the said effeéts come directly 
from Great Britain, or by any‘ 
other channel. 
2. Upon the importation of all 
effects of this kind, ‘they shall be 
first confiscated to the profitof the 
Batavian people, and deposited in 
proper magazines, in order to re= 
main there in depot, and not to be 
sold until it shall be ulteriorly de. 
manded on the part of the Batavian 
people. 
3. All persons who may have 
participated directly or indirectly 
in such importation, or who may 
have favoured it, or to whose con- 
signment such effects may have 
been addressed and expedited with 
their knowledge, shall be not 
only responsible, independently, 
and besides confiscation of the 
effects, but shall be proceeded 
against before the judge of their do- 
micile 
