42S ANNUAL REGISTER, 1S12. 



was willing, in the event of its re- 

 moval, to repeal that decree ; 

 which being followed by alternate 

 repeals of the other offensive edicts, 

 might abolish the whole sj'stem on 

 both sides. This inviting oppor- 

 tunity for accomplishing an object 

 so important to the United States, 

 and professed so often to be the 

 desire of both the belligerents, was 

 made known to the British go- 

 vernment. As that government 

 admits that an actual application 

 of an adequate force is necessary to 

 the existence of a legal blockade, 

 and it was notorious that if such a 

 force had ever been applied, its long 

 discontinuance had annulled the 

 blockade in question, there could 

 be no sufRcient objection on the 

 part of Great Britain to a formal 

 revocation of it : and no imaginable 

 objection to a declaration of the 

 fact that the blockade did not exist. 

 1 he declaration would have been 

 consistent with her avowed prin- 

 ciples of blockade, and would have 

 enabled the United States to de- 

 mand from France the pledged 

 repeal of her decrees; either with 

 success — in which case the way 

 would have been opened for a 

 general repeal of the belligerent 

 edicts, — or without success, in 

 which case the United States would 

 have been justified in turnins 

 their measures exclusively against 

 France. The British government 

 would, however, neither rescind 

 the blockade, nor declare its non- 

 existence, nor permit its non-ex- 

 istence to be inferred and affirmed 

 by the American plenipotentiary. 

 On the contrary, by representing 

 the blockade to be comprehended 

 in the orders in council, the United 

 States were compelled so to regard 

 it in their subsequent proceedings. 



There was a period, when a 

 favourable change in the policy of 

 the British cabinet was justly con- 

 sidered as established. The mi- 

 nister [)lenipotentiary of his Bri- 

 tannic Majesty here, proposed an 

 adjustment of the differences more 

 immediately endangering the har- 

 mony of the two countries. The 

 proposition was accepted with a 

 promptitude and cordiality, corres- 

 ponding with the invariable pro- 

 fessions of this government. A 

 foundation appeared to be laid for 

 a sincere and lasting reconciliation. 

 The prospect, however, quickly 

 vanished. The whole proceeding 

 was disavowed by the British go- 

 vernment, without any explana- 

 tion which could at that time re- 

 press the belief, that the disavowal 

 proceeded from a spirit of hostility 

 to the commercial rights and pros- 

 perity of the United States ; and 

 it has since come into proof, that, 

 at the very moment when the pub- 

 lic minister was holding the lan- 

 guaoje of friendship, and inspired 

 confidence in the sincerity of the 

 negociation with which he was 

 charged, a secret agent of his go- 

 vernment was employed in in- 

 trigues, having for their object a 

 subversion of our government, and 

 a dismemberment of our happy 

 union. 



In reviewing the conduct of 

 Great Britain towards the United 

 State?, our attention is necessarily 

 drawn to the warfare just renewed 

 by the savages on one of our ex- 

 tensive frontiers ; a warfare which 

 is known to spare neither age nor 

 sex, and to be distinguished by 

 features particularly shocking to 

 humanity. It is difficult to account 

 for the activity and combinations 

 which have for some time been 



developing 



