142 COBBESPONDENCE, ETC., 



certain day, in the event of the United States haying before that time 

 complied with the conditions of the Act of Parliament of the 5th of 

 July, 1825 ; by opening our Ports to the admission of British Vessels, 

 and allowing their entry with the same kind of British or Colonial 

 produce as may be imported in American Vessels, the Vessels of both 

 Countries paying the same charges; by suspending the alien Duties 

 on British Vessels, and Cargoes; and by abolishing the restrictions 

 in our Act of 1823 to the direct intercourse between The United States 

 and the British Colonies thus leaving Great Britain in possession of 

 the circuitous Trade between Great Britain proper and The United 

 States, through the British Colonies. Or, the President will recom- 

 mend the same measures to Congress, at their next Session, on being 

 assured by the British Government that the passage of an Act of 

 Congress to that effect will lead to the revocation of the British Order 

 in Council of July, 1827, to the abolition or suspension of all discrim- 

 inating Duties on American Vessels in the British Colonial Ports, 

 and to the enjoyment by us of the advantages of the last mentioned 

 Act of Parliament. 



You are authorized to agree to either mode, but the former is, for 

 many reasons, to be preferred. In all that is said upon the subject, 

 it must be borne in mind that the President, whatever may be his 

 wishes, or the course he might otherwise adopt, has no authority to 

 move in the matter without the aid of Congress. The only Laws 

 relating to this subject, now in force, are the Acts of 1818 and 1820, 

 by virtue of which our Ports are closed against the admission of 

 British Vessels engaged in the Colonial Trade. They do not confer 

 a dispensing power on the President, and he has no such authority 

 derived from any other source. 



Some explanatory Act, or a Stipulation having a prospective view 

 to such provision as Congress may make, will certainly be necessary 

 to enable The United States to avail themselves of the privileges 

 offered by the Act of Parliament of 1825. By that Act we are 

 required, as a condition to the enjoyment of its advantages, to place 

 the Commerce and Navigation of Great Britain and her Possessions 

 abroad upon the footing of the most favoured Nation. If it is meant 

 by the condition that the Commerce and Navigation of Great Brtain, 

 and of her Possessions abroad, shall be gratuitously and generally 

 placed on the same footing, w r ith those of the more favoured Nation, 

 by granting to them privileges which are allowed by us to other 

 Nations for equivalents received, it would be wholly inadmissible. 



By the Laws of both Countries, the Vessels of each are prohibited 

 from importing into the Ports of the other any other productions than 

 those of the Country to which such Vessels respectively belong. By 

 the Laws of The IJnited States, this restriction is applied only to 

 those Countries which apply a similar interdict to our Commerce. 

 Almost all other Countries have excluded it from their Navigation 

 Codes: such Nations, therefore, enjoy the privilege of importing from 

 any Country upon paying our alien Duties a privilege which we 

 cannot extend to Great Britain, because her Laws deny it to us. 



Our discriminating Duties, also, have, in consequence of arrange- 

 ments by Treaty, been abolished as to certain Nations, and their 

 Vessels and Cargoes admitted on equal terms with those of The 

 United States. We have, moreover, Treaties with Central America 

 and Denmark, by which it is stipulated that whatever can be im- 



