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Supplemental Journal.

ted States;" which motion was determined in the negative.

gold, Roane, Robertson, Ruggles, Sage, Schureman, Sevier, Seybert, Sharp, Sheffey, Sherwood, Smith of Mr. S. then moved to amend the same section, New York, Smith of Virginia, Stockton, Stuart, Tanby inserting, after the word "of," in the tenth nehill, Taylor, Telfair, Troup, Udree, Ward of Masline, the word "maritime;" which was also deter-sachusetts, Wilson of Pennsylvania, Winter, and mined in the negative. Yancey.

The question was taken on engrossing the bill, and reading it a third time, and passed in the affirmative yeas 94, nays 32, as follows:

YEAS-Messrs. Alexander, Anderson, Barbour, Baylies of Massachusetts, Bines, Bowen, Bradbury, Burwell, Calhoun, Cannon, Champion, Clopton, Condict, Cox, Creighton, Cuthbert, Desha, Duvall, Eppes, Farrow, Findley, Fisk of Vermont, Fisk of New York, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Gholson, Goodwyn, Gourdin, Grosvenor, Hale, Hall, Harris, Hasbrouck, Hawes, Hawkins, Hopkins of Kentucky, Hubbard, Humphreys, Hungerford, Hulbert, Irwin, Jackson of Virginia, Johnson of Kentucky, Kennedy, Kent of New York, Kent of Maryland, Kerr, Kershaw, Kilbourn, King of North Carolina, Lefferts, Lowndes, Macon, McCoy, Montgomery, Moore, Nelson, Newton, Oakley, Ormsby, Pickens, Pleasants, Potter, John Reed, Wm. Reed, Rea of Pennsylvania, Rhea of Tennessee, Rich, Ring

NAYS-Messrs. Bard, Bigelow, Brigham, Brown, Caperton, Cilley, Constock, Crouch, Davenport, Davis of Pennsylvania, Ely, Goldsborough, Henderson, King, of Massachusetts, Law, Lovett, Pearson, Pickering, Piper, Pitkin, Slaymaker, Smith of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Strong, Sturges, Taggart, Thompson, Vose, Wheaton, White, Wilcox, and Wilson of Massa

chusetts.

And the bill having been engrossed, was read a third time, and sent to the Senate by the hands of Mr. GASTON and Mr. FORSYTH.

THURSDAY, March 2.

The bill for the protection of the commerce of the United States against the Algerine cruisers," was returned from the Senate, they having passed it without amendment. And the injunction of secrecy was removed.

APPENDIX

TO THE HISTORY OF THE THIRTEENTH CONGRESS.

[THIRD SESSION.]

COMPRISING THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS ORIGINATING DURING THAT CONGRESS, AND THE PUBLIC ACTS PASSED BY IT.

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Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane to Mr. Monroe. HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S SHIP THE TONNANT, PATuxent River, August 18, 1814. SIR: Having been called upon by the Governor General of the Canadas to aid him in carrying into effect measures of retaliation against the inhabitants of the United States for the wanton destruction committed by their army in Upper Canada, it has become imperiously my duty, conformably with the nature of the Governor General's application, to issue to the naval force under my command, an order to destroy and lay waste such towns and districts upon the coast as may be found assailable.

I had hoped that this contest would have terminated without my being obliged to resort to severities which are contrary to the usage of civilized warfare, and as it has been with extreme reluctance and concern that I have found myself compelled to adopt this system of devastation, I shall be equally gratified if the conduct of the Executive of the United States will authorize my staying such proceedings, by making reparation to the suffering inhabitants of Upper Canada, thereby manifesting that, if the destructive measures pursued by their army were ever sanctioned, they will no longer be permitted by the Government. I have the honor to be, &c.

ALEX. COCHRANE,
Vice Admiral, Commander, &c.

Hon. JAMES MONROE.
13th CoN. 3d SESS.-41

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

September 6, 1814.

SIR: I have had the honor of receiving your letter of the 18th of August, stating that, having been called on by the Governor General of the Canadas, to aid him in carrying into effect measures of retaliation against the inhabitants of the United States for the wanton desolation committed by their army in Upper Canada, it has become your duty, conformably with the nature of the Governor General's application, to issue to the naval force under your command an order to destroy and lay waste such towns and districts upon the coast as may be found assailable.

It is seen, with the greatest surprise, that this system of devastation, which has been practised by the British forces, so manifestly contrary to the usage of civilized warfare, is placed by you on the ground of retaliation. No sooner were the United States compelled to resort to war against Great Britain, than they resolved to wage it in a manner most consonant to the principles of humanity, and to those friendly relations which it was desirable to preserve between the two nations after the restoration of peace. They perceived, however, with the deepest regret, that a spirit, alike just and humane, was neither cherished nor acted on by your Government. Such an assertion would not be hazarded if it was not supported by facts, the proof of which has, perhaps, already carried the same conviction to other nations that it has to the people of these States. Without dwelling on the deplorable cruelties committed by the savages in the British ranks, and in British pay, at the river Raisin, which, to this day, has never been disavowed or atoned for, I refer, as more immediately connected with the subject of your letter, to the wanton desolation that was committed at Havre-de-Grace and at Georgetown, early in the Spring of 1813. These villages were burnt and ravaged by the naval forces of Great Britain, to the ruin of their unarmed inhabitants, who saw, with astonishment, that they derived no protection to their property from the laws of war. During the same season,

Relations with Great Britain.

Should your Government adhere to a system of desolation, so contrary to the views and practice of the United States, so revolting to humanity, and repugnant to the sentiments and usages of the civilized world, whilst it will be seen with the deepest regret, it must and will be met with a determination and constancy becoming a free people contending in a just cause for their essential rights and dearest interests. I have the honor to be, &c.

scenes of invasion and pillage, carried on under either Power may have committed against the the same authority, were witnessed all along the other, this Government will always be ready to waters of the Chesapeake, to an extent inflicting enter into reciprocal arrangements. It is prethe most serious private distress, and under cir- sumed that your Government will neither excumstances that justified the suspicion that re-pect nor propose any which are not reciprocal. venge and cupidity, rather than the manly motives that should dictate the hostility of a highminded foe, led to their perpetration. The late destruction of the houses of the Government in this city is another act which comes necessarily into view. In the wars of modern Europe, no example of the kind, even among nations the most hostile to each other, can be traced. In the course of ten years past, the capitals of the principal Powers of the continent of Europe have been conquered, and occupied alternately by the victorious armies of each other, and no instance of such wanton and unjustifiable destruction has been seen. We must go back to distant and barbarous ages to find a parallel for the acts of which I com- Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane to Mr. Monroe. plain.

Although these acts of desolation invited, if they did not impose on the Government the necessity of retaliation, yet in no instance has it been authorized.

The burning of the village of Newark in Upper Canada, posterior to the early outrages above enumerated, was not executed on that principle. The village of Newark adjoined Fort George, and its destruction was justified by the officers who ordered it, on the ground that it became necessary in the military operations there. The act, however, was disavowed by the Government. The burning which took place at Long Point was unauthorized by the Government, and the conduct of the officer subjected to the investigation of a military tribunal. For the burning at St. David's, committed by stragglers, the officer who commanded in that quarter was dismissed, without a trial, for not preventing it.

I am commanded by the President distinctly to state, that it as little comports with any orders which have been issued to the military and naval commanders of the United States, as it does with the established and known humanity of the American nation, to pursue a system which it appears you have adopted. This Government owes it to itself, to the principles which it has ever held sacred, to disavow, as justly chargeable to it, any such wanton, cruel, and unjustifiable warfare.

Whatever unauthorized irregularities may have been committed by any of its troops, it would have been ready, acting on these principles of sacred and eternal obligation, to disavow, and, as far as might be practicable, to repair. But, in the plan of desolating warfare which your letter so explicitly makes known, and which is attempted to be excused on a plea so utterly groundless, the President perceives a spirit of deep-rooted hostility, which, without the evidence of such facts, he could not have believed existed, or would have been carried to such an extremity.

For the reparation of injuries, of whatever nature they may be, not sanctioned by the law of nations, which the military and naval force of

JAMES MONROE.

Sir ALEXANDER COCHRANE,
Vice Admiral, Commander, &c.

HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S SHIP TONNANT, IN THE CHESAPEAKE, September 19, 1814. SIR: I have had the honor to receive your letter of the 6th instant this morning, in reply to the one which I addressed to you from the Patuxent.

As I have no authority from my Government to enter upon any kind of discussion relative to the points contained in your letter, I have only to regret that there does not appear to be any hope that I shall be authorized to recall my general order; which has been further sanctioned by a subsequent request from Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost.

A copy of your letter will this day be forwarded by me to England, and, until I receive instructions from my Government, the measures which I have adopted must be persisted in, unless remuneration be made to the inhabitants of the Canadas for the injuries they have sustained from the outrages committed by the troops of the United States. I have the honor to be, yours, &c. ALEX. COCHRANE, Vice Admiral, Commander, &c.

Hon. JAMES MONROE.

GREAT BRITAIN.

[Communicated to Congress, October 10th and 14th,
and December 1, 1814.]
To the Senate and House of

Representatives of the United States:

I lay before Congress communications just received from the Plenipotentiaries of the United States charged with negotiating peace with Great Britain, showing the conditions on which alone that Government is willing to put an end to the

war.

The instructions to those Plenipotentiaries, disclosing the grounds on which they were authorized to negotiate and conclude a treaty of

Relations with Great Britain.

peace, will be the subject of another communi- the war. Had not Great Britain persevered ob

cation.

JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, October 10, 1814

To the Senate and House of

stinately in the violation of these important rights, the war would not have been declared. It will cease as soon as these rights are respected. The proposition made by Mr. Russell to the British Government immediately after the war, and the answer given by this Department to Adin-miral Warren's letter since, show the ground on which the United States were willing to adjust the controversy relative to impressment.

Representatives of the United States: I now transmit to Congress copies of the structions to the Plenipotentiaries of the United States charged with negotiating a peace with Great Britain, as referred to in my message of the 10th instant.

JAMES MADISON. WASHINGTON, October 14, 1814.

To the Senate and House of

Representatives of the United States:

I transmit for the information of Congress the communications last received from the Ministers Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States at Ghent, explaining the course and actual state of their negotiations with the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain.

DECEMBER 1, 1814.

JAMES MADISON.

Mr. Monroe, Secretary of State, to the Plenipotentiaries of the United States for treating of peace with Great Britain.

This has been further evinced by a report of the Committee of Foreign Relations of the House of Representatives, and an act of Congress passed in consequence of that report. By these documents you will see that, to accommodate this important difference, the United States are disposed to exclude British seamen altogether from the American service. This being effectually done, the British Government can have no pretext for the practice. How shall it be done? By restraints to be imposed by each nation on the naturalization of the seamen of the other, excluding, at the same time, all others not naturalized? Or shall the right of each nation to naturalize the seamen of the other be prohibited, and each exclude from its service the natives of the other? Whatever the rule is, it ought to be reciprocal. If Great Britain is allowed to naturalize American seamen, the United States should enjoy the same privilege. If it is demanded that DEPARTMENT OF STATE, April 15, 1813. the United States shall exclude from their service GENTLEMEN: I had the honor, on the ul- all native British subjects, a like exclusion of timo, to receive from Mr. Adams two letters, one American citizens from the British service ought bearing date 30th September, the other on the to be reciprocated. The mode also should be 17th October last, communicating the overture common to both countries. Each should be at of the Emperor of Russia to promote peace by liberty to give the same facilities, or be bound to his friendly mediation between the United States impose the same restraints that the other does. and Great Britain. On the day following, Mr. The President is willing to agree to either alterDaschkoff, the Russian Minister, made a similar native, and to carry it into effect by the most communication to this Department. The sub-eligible regulations that can be devised. ject has, in consequence, been duly considered, and I have now to make known to you the result. The President has not hesitated to accept the mediation of Russia, and he indulges a strong hope that it will produce the desired effect. It is not known that Great Britain has acceded to the proposition, but it is presumed that she will not decline it. The President thought it improper to postpone his decision until he should hear of that of the British Government. Sincerely desirous of peace, he has been willing to avail himself of every opportunity which might tend to promote it, on just and honorable conditions, and in accepting this overture he has been particularly gratified to evince, by the manner of it, the distinguished consideration which the United States entertain for the Emperor Alexander. Should the British Government accept the mediation, the negotiation to which it leads will be held at St. Petersburg. The President commits it to you, for which a commission is enclosed, and he has appointed Mr. Harris secretary of the mission.

The impressment of our seamen and illegal blockades, as exemplified more particularly in the Orders in Council, were the principal causes of

If the first alternative is adopted, the extent of the proposed exclusion will depend on the impediments to naturalization, on the efficacy of the regulations to prevent imposition, and the fidelity of their execution. The greater the difficulty in acquiring the right of citizenship, the easier will it be to avoid imposition, and the more complete the desired exclusion. The law of the last session of Congress relative to seamen proves how sincerely desirous the Legislative as well as Executive branch of our Government is, to adjust this controversy, on conditions_which may be satisfactory to Great Britain. By that law it is made indispensable for every British subject who may hereafter become a citizen, to reside five years, without intermission, within the United States, and so many guards are imposed to prevent frauds, that it seems to be impossible that they should be eluded. No British subject can be employed in a public or private ship of the United States, unless he produces to the commander, in the one instance, and to the collector, in the other, a certified copy of the act by which he became naturalized. A list of the crew, in the case of a private ship, must be taken, certified and recorded by the collector, and the

Relations with Great Britain.

consuls or commercial agents of Great Britain may object to any seamen, and attend the investigation. The commander of a public ship receiving a person not duly qualified, shall forfeit a thousand dollars, and the commander or owner of a private ship, knowing thereof, five hundred dollars, to be recovered in any action of debt, onehalf to the informer, and one-half to the United States. It is also made penal, punishable as a felony by imprisonment and labor from three to five years, or by fine from five hundred to one thousand dollars, for any person to forge or counterfeit, or to pass or use any forged or counterfeited certificate of citizenship, or to sell or dispose of one.

It may fairly be presumed, that, if this law should be carried into effect, it would exclude all British seamen from our service.

By requiring five years continued residence in the United States, as the condition of citizenship, few if any British seamen would ever take advantage of it. Such as had left Great Britain, and had resided five years in this country, would be likely to abandon the sea forever. And by making it the duty of the commanders of our public, and of the collectors in the case of private ships, to require an authenticated copy from the clerk of the court, before which a British subject, who offered his service, had been naturalized, as indispensable to his admission, and highly penal in either to take a person not duly qualified, and by allowing also British agents to object to any one offering his service, and to prosecute by suit the commander or collector, as the case might be, for receiving an improper person, it seems to be impossible that such should be received.

If the second alternative is adopted, that is, if all native British subjects are to be hereafter excluded from our service, it is important that the stipulation providing for it should operate so as not to affect those who have been already naturalized. By our law, all the rights of natives are given to naturalized citizens. It is contended by some that these complete rights do not extend beyond the limits of the United States; that, in naturalizing a foreigner, no State can absolve him from the obligation which he owes to his former Government, and that he becomes a citizen in a qualified sense only. This doctrine, if true in any case, is less applicable to the United States than to any other Power. Expatriation seems to be a natural right, and, by the original character of our institutions, founded by compact on principle, and particularly by the unqualified investment of the adopted citizen with the full rights of the native, all that the United States could do, to place him on the same footing, has been done. In point of interest, the object is of little importance to either party. The number to be affected by the stipulation is inconsiderable; nor can that be a cause of surprise, when the character of that class of men is considered. It rarely happens that a seaman, who settles on a farm, or engages in a trade, and pursues it for any length of time, returns to sea. His youthful days are exhausted in his first occupation. He

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leaves it with regret, and adopts another, either in consequence of marriage, of disease, or as an asylum for old age.

To a stipulation which shall operate prospectively only, the same objection does not apply. In naturalizing foreigners, the United States may prescribe the limit to which their privileges shall extend. If it is made a condition that no native British subject, who may hereafter become a citizen, shall be employed in our public or private ships, their exclusion will violate no right. Those who might become citizens afterwards would acquire the right, subject to that condition, and would be bound by it. To such a stipulation, the President is willing to assent, although he would much prefer the alternative of restraints on naturalization; and, to prevent frauds, and to carry the same fully into effect, you are authorized to apply all the restraints and checks, with the necessary modifications, to suit the cases that are provided in the act above recited, relative to seamen, for the purposes of that act.

In requiring that the stipulation to exclude British seamen from our service, with the regulations for carrying it into effect, be made reciprocal, the President desires that you make a provision, authorizing the United States, if they should be so disposed, to dispense with the obligations imposed by it on American citizens. The liberal spirit of our Government and laws is unfriendly to restraints on our citizens, such at least, as are imposed on British subjects, from becoming members of other societies. This has been shown in the law of the last session, relative to seamen, to which your particular attention has been already drawn. This provision may likewise be reciprocated if desired.

The President is not particularly solicitous that either of these alternatives (making the proposed reservation in case the latter be) should be preferred. To secure the United States against impressment he is willing to adopt either. He expects in return, that a clear and distinct provision shall be made against the practice. The precise form in which it may be done is not insisted on, provided the import is explicit. All that is required is, that, in consideration of the act to be performed on the part of the United States, the British Government shall stipulate in some adequate manner, to terminate or forbear the practice of impressment from American vessels.

It has been suggested, as an expedient made for the adjustment of this controversy, that British cruisers should have a right to search our vessels for British seamen, but that the commanders thereof should be subjected to penalties in case they made mistakes, and took from them American citizens. By this the British Government would acquire the right of search for seamen, with that of impressing from our vessels the subjects of all other Powers. It will not escape your attention that, by admitting the right, in any case, we give up the principle, and leave the door open to every kind of abuse. The same objection is applicable to any and every other

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