340 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



out of their own territory as within 

 it, it is obvious that to abandon 

 this ancient right of Great Bri< 

 tain, and to admit these novel pre- 

 tensions of the United States, 

 would be to expose to danger the 

 very foundation of our maritime 

 strength. 



Without entering rainutely into 

 the other topics which have been 

 brought forward by the govern- 

 ment of the United States, it may 

 be proper to remark, that what- 

 ever the declaration of the United 

 States may have asserted, Great 

 Britain never did demand, that 

 they should force British manufac- 

 tures into France; and she formally 

 declared her willingness entirely to 

 forego, or modify, in concert with 

 the United States, the system, by 

 which a commercial intercourse 

 with the enemy had been allowed 

 under the protection of licences ; 

 provided the United States would 

 act towards her, and towardsFrance, 

 with real impartiality. 



The government of America, if 

 the differences between states are 

 not interminable, has as little 

 right to notice the affair of the 

 Chesapeake. The aggression, in 

 this instance, on the part of a Bri- 

 tish ofKcer was acknowledged, his 

 conduct was disapproved, and a re- 

 paration was regularly tendered by 

 Mr. Foster on the part of his ma- 

 jesty, and accepted by the govern- 

 ment of the United States. 



It is not less unwarranted in its 

 allusion to the mission of Mr, 

 Henry, a mission undertaken with- 

 out the authority or even know- 

 ledge of his majesty's government, 

 and which Mr. Foster was autho- 

 rised formally and officially to dis- 

 avow. 



The charge of exciting the In- 



dians to offensive measures against 

 the United States is equally void of 

 foundation. Before the war began, 

 a policy the most opposite had been 

 uniformly pursued, and proof of 

 this was tendered by Mr. Foster to 

 the American government. 



Such are the causes of war which 

 have been put forward by the go- 

 vernment of the United States. 

 But the real origin of the present 

 contest will be found in that spirit 

 which has long unhappily actuated 

 the councils of the United States : 

 their marked partiality in palliating 

 and assisting the aggressive ty- 

 ranny of France ; their systematic 

 endeavours to inflame their people 

 against the defensive measures of 

 Great Britain ; their ungenerous 

 conduct towards Spain, the inti- 

 mate ally of Great Britain; and 

 their unworthy desertion of the 

 cause of other neutral nations. It 

 Is through the prevalence of such 

 councils, that America has been 

 associated in policy with France, 

 and committed in war against 

 Great Britain. 



And under what conduct on the 

 part of France has the government 

 of the United States thus lent itself 

 to the enemy? The contemptuous 

 violation of the commercial treaty 

 of the year 1800 between France 

 and the United States ; the trea- 

 cherous seizure of all American 

 vessels and cargoes in every har- 

 bour subject to the control of the 

 French arms ; the tyrannical prin- 

 ciples of the Berlin and Milan 

 decrees, and the confiscations under 

 them ; the subsequent condemna- 

 tions under the Rambouillet decree, 

 antedated or concealed,to render it 

 the more effectual; the French 

 commercial regulations which ren- 

 der the traffic of the United States^ 



