GENERAL HISTORY. 



[193 



jinntng to subside. It was, in- 

 deed, too efficaciouo for tliis pur- 

 pose; for it is said, that whea the 

 documents were read, a burst of 

 indignation proceeded from all 

 parts of the house. A thousand co- 

 pies were ordered to be printed for 

 dispersion throughout the Union. 



In the beginning of April, at a 

 secret sitting of Congress, an act 

 was passed for lajing an embargo 

 on all the ships and vessels of the 

 United States, for the term of 90 

 days from the date thereof; the 

 purpose of which was doubtless to 

 expedite the manning of the Ame- 

 rican ships of war, and to prevent 

 any more pledges from remaining 

 in the power of an enemy on the 

 commencement of hostilities. This 

 act was followed by another, pro- 

 hibiting the exportation of specie, 

 and of any goods or merchandize, 

 foreign or domestic, either by land 

 or water, during the continuance 

 of the embargo. As a further pro- 

 gress towards hostilities, a bill was 

 introduced into the House of Re- 

 presentatives about the end of 

 April, "for the protection, reco- 

 very, and indemnification of Ame- 

 rican seamen," the first clause of 

 which declares that every person 

 who, under pretence of a commis- 

 sion from a foreign power, shall 

 impress upon the high seas a na- 

 tive seaman of the United States, 

 shall be adjudged a pirate and a 

 felon, and upon conviction, shall 

 ftufter death. Another article gives 

 to every such seaman impressed 

 under the British flag, the right 

 of attaching in the hands of any 

 British subject, or in the hands of 

 qny debtor of any British subject, a 

 sum equal to 30 dollars per month 

 (or the whole time of his detention. 



This violent bill passed to a third 

 reading in the House of Represen-- 

 tatives, such were the feelings 

 which at that time governed the 

 American republic! An attempt 

 was made by the moderate party 

 to adjourn the two houses, in or- 

 der to give tmie for a cooler dis- 

 cussion of these topics, but it failed 

 of effect. The mercantile interest 

 in the eastern states also petitioned 

 for some relaxation of the embar- 

 go ; and a motion was made fof 

 the repeal of the non-importation 

 act, upon the ground of the ne-" 

 cessity of bringing home property 

 belonuin£ to the citizens of the 

 United States, previously to en- 

 gaging in a war, but the govern-* 

 ment would not yield in either of 

 these points. At the same timej 

 while hostilities were impending 

 with one of the belligerent powers, 

 the relations with the other were 

 by no means satisfactory ; and on 

 May 26th, a correspondence was 

 laid before Congress by the PresiJ" 

 dent, between Mr. Barlow, the 

 American minister at Paris, and 

 the secretary of state, in which the 

 former states the inattention of the 

 French government to his com- 

 plaints and claims for redress, and 

 announces that he is obliged, after 

 long waiting, to send away his dis- 

 patches without the treaty which 

 he expected to have concluded. 



The temper of the House of 

 Representatives with respect to a 

 war with England, was rendered 

 manifest by the result of a motion 

 by Mr. Randolph, on May 29th. 

 That gentleman, after a long 

 speech concerning; the present re- 

 lations of the United States with 

 Great Britain and France, submit- 

 ted to the house the following re- 

 [O 2] solution ; 



