‘ HISTORY OF EUROPE 
accident, in which an American 
seaman happened to be killed, 
- within sight of New York, * bya 
shot from the British armed vessel, 
the Leander, had drawn attention 
to this subject and rendered some 
regulation indispensable; but no 
difficulty could occur in settling a 
point, which was already settled 
by the law of nations, The affair 
of the Leander having taken place 
during the elections at New York, 
Sreat use was made of it by the 
federal party, to excite odium 
against the president, and bring dis- 
credit upon his administration, on 
pretence that foreigners were en. 
couraged to commit such outrages, 
by their knowledge of the weakness 
and timidity of his government. To 
counteract these desigus Mr. Jeffer- 
Son issued a violent proclamation, 
accusing of murder the captain of 
the Leander, and prohibiting that 
and some other British vessels from ~ 
entering the harbours, or remaining 
within the jurisdictional limits of 
the United States. + The captain 
of the Leander was afterwards tried 
in England for the death of the 
American seaman and acquitted. 
' As the conferences, which were 
held in London for the adjustment 
of these differences, by Mr. Monroe 
| and Mr. Pinkney on the part of 
the United States, and by lord 
| Holland and lord Auckland on the 
part of Great Britain, though 
brought to a conclusion before the 
| close of the present year, terminat- 
ed in a treaty, from which the 
president of the United States 
thought proper to withhold ‘his rati- 
fication, it will be unnecessary for 
us to enter minutely into the results 
of the negotiation. It appears, 
* April 25th. 
+ May 3d. 
249 
however, from the papers since 
pubiished and laid before parlia- 
ment, that the commissioners on 
both sides were animated by a 
sincere desire to establish a firm and 
lasting friendship between the two 
countries, on terms the most advan- 
tageous to both. And, considering 
the state of public opinion in Ame- 
rica, and the instructions which 
they appear to have received from 
their government, the American 
commissioners, in particular, evin- 
ced in the strongest manner their 
disposition to conciliation, when 
after many fruitless conferences held 
in the hope of devising some ade- 
quate substitute for the practice of 
impressing on the high seas, they 
consented, contrary as it appears to 
their instructions, to proceed in 
the other articles of the treaty, 
without any further satisfaction up- 
on this head, than an official paper 
from lord Hollamd and _ lord 
Auckland, ¢ pledging the govern- 
ment of Great Britain, ‘¢ to issue 
instructions for the observance of 
the greatest caution in the impres- 
sing of British seamen, and of the 
greatest care to preserve citizens of 
the United States from any molesta- 
tion or injury, and to afford imme- 
diate redress upon any representa- 
tion of injury sustained by them,” 
and engaging besides, at any future 
period, ‘* to entertain the discus- 
sion of any plan that should be 
devised to secure the interests of 
both states without any injury to 
rights to which they are respectively 
attached.” 
In the other questions between 
the two countries the negotiators. 
were more fortunate in bringing 
their labours to a successful issue. 
t Nov. 8th. 
On 
