46 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. [June. 



another pirate, remain in the hands 

 of the Tunisians, and, so far as is 

 known, tlie Atlantic and the Nortli 

 sea are still rendered insecure by 

 the ravages of Tunisian corsairs. 

 It is, however, with gratitude to 

 be acknowledged, tliat England has 

 by lier act, in this instance, ile- 

 clared, that she will not permit 

 such offences to be committed on 

 the seas which wasli her coasts j 

 and it is to be hoped that the otlier 

 maritime Powers of Europe (to 

 whom the Senate of Hamburgh 

 has already, through their resident 

 Ministersat Hamburgh, addresssed 

 itself) will concur in adopting ac- 

 tive measures for the restoration 

 of the security of navigation which 

 is so important to all Europe : but 

 the Senates of the Hans Towns do, 

 notwithstanding, not only consider 

 it proper, but regard it as their 

 duty most m-gently to claim from 

 the high German Diet, and all the 

 members thereof, their powerful 

 co-operation tow.ards tlie total 

 abolition of depredations which are 

 calculated to interrupt all com- 

 merce by sea. 



The existence of the piracies of 

 the liarbary Powers, even within 

 the limits to which their depre- 

 dations have hitherto been con- 

 fined, is doubtless, a public injury 

 to all Europe J and the compulsory 

 exclusion thereby cRected from 

 the Mediterranean, of the ships of 

 those German States which are 

 unable to procure protection to 

 their Hags, cither by a na\al force, 

 or by making considerable pecu- 

 niary sacrifices, was previously not 

 only to themselves, but (o those 

 jntcrcbted in the trade v.hich they 

 carry on, an evil of no small mag- 

 nitude, and which was besides 

 incieascd l>y the insecurity of a 



part of the Atlantic. The abolition 

 of the piracy of the Barbary Pow- 

 ers, even within those limits, had 

 become the anxious wish of all 

 Europe, and was an object to 

 which the attention of the Powers 

 assembled in Congress at Vienna 

 was directed. But how trifling is 

 this partial evil when compared 

 with the incalculably mischievous 

 consequences which may ensue, if 

 these African pirates are permitted 

 without interruption to sail fiom 

 their infected coasts, and to spread 

 among distant countries the dis- 

 eases which they carry along with 

 them ? So long as the danger was 

 confined to the Mediterranean sea, 

 its site was at least well known, 

 and precautionary measures were 

 adopted against it ; and though 

 these measures of safety, together 

 with diminished competition, ne- 

 cessarily raised the price of the 

 productions of that part of the 

 world, yet commerce, though 

 somewhat impeded, was never to- 

 tally at a stand. A complete stag- 

 nation of German navigation and 

 Geiinan trade must however take 

 place if the Barbary pirates are not 

 rigorously restrained from extend- 

 ing themselves to other seas. 

 Should they be suffered to cruise 

 in the .\tlantic, the North-sea, and 

 the Baltic, if they are not prevented 

 from attacking merchants, who 

 during the time of peace rely 

 with confidence on the law of na- 

 tions, there must be an end to Ger- 

 man navigation and commerce. 

 It will also be henceforth useless 

 to send tlje produce and manu- 

 factures of Germany down the 

 rivers which communicate with 

 the North-sea and the Baltic, or 

 even to convey them by land to the 

 different sea-porta, in order that 



they 



