if then Great Britain, (hall have com- ■
Butted acts towards the United .States, j
which furnifti just cause of war, the Uni
ted States possets the right confidently
with the laws of nations, to exercise any
act towards Great Britain, which would
be juftifiable in a state of war. The U
nited States having received the injuries,
are authorised to feleA such measures and
means as they may deem the molt expedi
cnt f#r felf-prefervation and indemnifica
tion. Reprisal is within their power
All other means of redtefs, are without
their power. In such a state of things,
reprisal is a right—reprisal is a duty• An
obje&ion more plaulible than solid, has
been made to this course of reasoning, that
the individuals who will be the immedi-.j
ate obje&s of the reprisal, have not been
the immediate agents of the aggteffion.
The laws of nations state, that the pro
perty of individuals, is as much a subjeCt
of reprisal, as the property of the aggres
sing nation ; but as the nation is the im
mediate agent in the wrong, the individu
al who fuftainsan injury thereby, becomes
intitled to recompence from his nation.
The nation which commits the wrong, by
this process will ultimately sustain the lois.
Hence in the present cafe, the innocent
and unfufpe&ing vi&ims of the United
States, have received losses from the law
less aggressions of Great Britain, and the
question is, whether they shall finally sus
tain these.losses, without any clear claim
of indemnification upon the government
of the United States ? Or whether the
losses (hall be transferred to Britirti fub
jc£ts, who will thereby poflefs the cleared
claim for recompcnce, from the Biitifh
government ? He thought the law 3ot
God, the laws of morality, the laws of
reason, the laws of nations, would all pro
nounce, that thr British Government which
had done the -wrong, Jhouhl ajford the re
camping.
Mr. Giles said, that if the losses were
to be ultimately borne by the individual
fubjefts of Great Britain, the remedy
would feetn to be a lrarfh one ; but even
in that cafe, the only alternatives left to
the United States would be to fay, whe
ther their own citizens, to whom they
have promised proteft'on fho ild finally
sustain the lofles, or the Briti/h fubjcßs,
f> whom they have promised no projec
tion. But the situation of the individu
als, who may be the fubjedts of reprisal,
is greatly meliorated, by the coniidera
tion of their just claim to recompence from
their own government ; which he had no
doubt but they would ultimately obtain,
if they were put into a situation to de
mand it; but if they (hould ultimately be
denied justice, it would be a confutation ■
to reflect, that it was the in just ice of
their own Government, not of the Uni
ted State?.
He observed, that a reprisal in the way
proposed, flood upon the fame ground as
the invafton of the property, in every o
ther cafe did, and was juftified upon the
fame principle, to wit, Self-prefervation.
He presumed if there existed an acknow
ledged state of war, letters of marque
and reprisal, commiflions to privateers,
&c. would be deemed juftifiable and ex
pedient, and that no discrimination would
be made betweeu the property of indivi
duals and the property of the nation ; yet
the -invasion of the rights of property in
that cafe, would be as palpable, as in the
cafe of the reprisal proposed, with this
aggravation", that in that cafe, the indivi
dual sustaining the loss, would not be in
titled to ultimate recompence from the go
vernment—in the cafe proposed he would
be intitled to recompence. He observed,
that the British nation had not discovered
this delicate discrimination between na
tional and individual property, in their
late inftruftions given to their privateers
and {hips of war, although they had sus
tained no wrong ; and he thought their
conduit an example in point for the Uni
ted States, who had received the injury
and committed none.
A gentleman (Mr. Smith, S. C.) yes
terday attempted to make a diftin&ion
between vessels at sea, and other pioperty;
although he acknowledged that at the firft
blush he could discern no dittinction in
principle 1 .
Mr. Giles said, that every species of
property, flood on the fame principle, the
promise made by the government to afford
protection to all property—the fame rights
are attached to every species of property,
and the government is bound to afford an
equal security to all. A sentence read
yesterday, by a gentleman (Mr. S. Smith)
from a writer upon the laws of nations,
clearly lhews the fight, of nation to
inake rcpriinl ilpjn nil the effetts of
i individuals of an aggfcffiog nation indil
| criminately, Jfock in the public Jutih ;
which has Ikl*ii exempted, undev the idea
of its being a pledge in the hands of go
vernment, —the wi*h}K>kl:nfc of which,
would be a breach of public faith. He
believed that the practice and policy of
some nations, might have given rife to
this diftindtion, b<it be doubted whether
the practice had been uniform and univer
sal, and he was 'clear that there was no
rational diftindtion in principle. The idea
that the public funds are a pledge in the
hands of government and ought slot there
fore to be touched, is equally applicable
. to every other species ot property. In
the cafe of contracts between individuals,
the government guarantees the perform
ance upon the refuial of one party to pay,
or comply. In ths cafe of lands or per
sonal chattels, the government guarantees
the exclusive enjoyment to the proprietor; -
it would be equally a violation of faith,
for the government to deny its obligation ;
in the one cafe, as in the other, and no- j
thing could juftify an invasion of the j
rights of property, in any cafe, but Seif- ■
preservation—the JirJl of all rights, and ,
the highest of all duties. . i
He positively denied that any pre-emi- ,
nence was due to one species of property, j
over,another. He said, however, that tins j
discussion was not immediately necelfary, ,
as the resolution under consideration, did
not embrace the stock in the funds of the
United States.
(To be continued.)
Foreign intelligence.
PARIS, December 14.
Yefteiday Anacharfis Clootz, and Dll
- both deputies of the C.invention, ■
were expelled from tlie Jacobin Society ; j
Roberfpierre chiefly prompted their ex
pulsion, and was much applauded.
All of the officers and crew of the snip
' l'Apollon, sent from Toulon to Rochfort,
by permission of lord Hood, h.lve been
accused of an intention to corrupt the pub
lic mind, and delivered up to the revolu
tionary tribunal eftablUhed in that place.
The act of accufatton pafied against
them contained the following cbargts:
" That it is proved by the diaries kept
by the prisoners, that they cali the most
distinguished patriots, anarchifls, ruffians,
hangmen, cut-throats, wortty children of
Marat; that they drained ever)- nerve to
dissolve the Popular Society ; that they
trod the national badge under foot, hoifttd
the white cockade,cried Vive LouisXVll.
and datad their writings in the firft year
of his reign ; that it had been in their
power to save the French squadron, and
that they preferred to deliver it up to the
English ; that they reiteiately rtfufed to
quit the harbor and engage the hoflile
squadron, by which Toulon would have
been saved ; that they furnifhed detach
ments to light against Carteaux; that they
received and dillributed among the crews
considerable sums to corrupt them ; that
they corresponded with the emigrants;
that they contributed to the infamous ar
rest of the Representatives Bayle and Beau
vais : finally, that they demanded certifi
cates, attesting their good conduit of the
traitors of Toulon."
They were all found guilty, and fuffer
ed death by the guillotine.
The commissioners at Bordeaux, in a
letter dated Nov. 30, slate, that the guil
lotine is busy in decapitating the rich, the
merchants and monopolizers. On the
28th all the a&ors of the Great Theatre
were put under arrest as aristocrats. A
great number of fuipecied persons were
also taken into custody the lame night,
out of the number of 2000 pcrfans who
were at the theatre.
The female citizen Marbenf, a mer
chant, has been committed to the priion
of St. Pelagie, on a charge of monopoly.
In her cattle at Champ, a small village, the
officers found 18,000 swt. of soap, 15000
weight of sugar, between 15 and 16,000
chaldrons of charcoal, 30,000 faggots,
and a great quantity of coffee, kali, and
other articles of merchandifc, which has
been put in circulation.
In the night of the 30th ult. 200 of
the most principal merchants of Bourdeaux
were put under arrest, and will be deliver
ed up to the revolutionary tribunal to be
guillotined.
December 17.
For some days pall the Parisian bakers
are lo afraid of the guillotine, that the
people are served in due time with all the
tilde fliops can affbtd, Their (hops
are nevsr opened before nine o'clock, and
this in the presence of a commiffiouer of
' polic*.
December 19.
The revolutionary tribunal hasjuft con
demned to d(jath the following peflons,
viz.
Anthony Machi, grocer, and James
Louis Tonnelier, mercer, both commifii
oners of equipment ; and Bernard Le
monier.and John Baptist Giblin, taylors ;
—all convidted of dilapidation of the funds
of the Republic by fraudulent purchases.
FRANCE.
NATIONAL CONVENTION.
Sunday, Nov. 10.
" We have long," said Seyes, " wished
to fee reason triumph over fuperttition and
fanaticifm. The day at length arrived,
and I rejoice at it as one of the greatest.
bk'flings that could happen to the French
Republic. Though I have for many
years laidafide the ecclesiastical character,
let me, however, be permitted to declare
at present, that I know no other worship
than that of liberty and equality, and no
other religion than the love of mankind
and my country. I have lived victim of
superstition, but I was never its inttrument.
, None can fay he was ever deceived by me;
| and maily are indebtd to me for the truth.
! At the moment my reason was disengaged
from the fatal prejudices by which it was
fettered the energy of infurrefltion entered
mv heart. Since that period I have been
retained in my facredotal habit by the fame
force which retained other free fouls in
chains. These were all destroyed on the
day of the revolution.
" I have been known only by my ef
forts for liberty and equality It was as a
plebeian, a Deputy of the People, and not
as a Priest, for 1 was then no longer one,
that I was called to the National Aficm
bly. I cannot, like many of my colleagues,
deiiver to you the paper or titles of my for
mer Hate ; for a long time they have not
been in existence. I have no relignation to
gi?e in to you, because I have no eccleli
a(lleal employment; but I have ftiil an of
fering to make my countiy, that of an an
nuity of 10,000 livres, which the law
gave me as an indemnification for my for
ukv be»e6cce. Permit me to depolite oa
your table my formal renunciation of that
pension."
The Convention ordered this speech to
be inleited in the minutes.
Thursday, January 2.
Roberfpierre, jun. from Toulon, as
cended the tribune, and spoke as follows :
" You know the exploits of the loldiers
of the Republic. The capture of the Eng
lilh redoubt has decided the fate of Eu
rope. The enemy had exhausted all the
resources of art and genius to profit by it
Well, the defenders of liberty wanted to
take it, and they became matters of if."—
He now traced the pitture of the cruelty
of the Englifli, who threatened the patri
ots with cutting out their tongues, and
pouring.boiling lead into their brains, so
escape such cruelties, Bayle made away
with himfelf. Beauvais, who survived,
fuffered such fnocking treatment in his
dungeon, that the features of his face are
so much altered as to render it difficult to
know him again.—' 1 have now,' conti
nued Roberfpierre, ' to speak to you res
pecting the army of Italy, to which you
sent me. That army encamped on huge
rocks, in the midst of the snow, tar from
the woods, havirig every where frefh ob
stacles to conquer, and redoubts to carry,
flew, for these five months pad, from one
victory to another. Its valour has been
too little celebrated : too little lias been
said refpe&in'g the affair of Cillat, where
1000 Republicans, commanded by the
brave Dugomier, conquered 4QOO men,
and took 800 prisoners, and where a poll,
defended by too men, liood an attack of
12 hours againtt rooo assailants. That
army has not only the enemy to combat,
1 but it is also surrounded by thousands of
1 alLffins : The peasants kill our brave ibl
t diers, and instances of this kind are daily
[ renewed." Roberfpierre having informed
; the Convention that it had been the ene
my's deiign to seize Provence, and having
" unmafted the treachery of Kellernian,
: who left the town of Entrevcan destitute
of troops, cannon, and ammunition, con
; eluded by,mpving,, that the Afiemblv at
trft by a decree, that the army of Italy
had well deforced.. of the country. De
j creed, and his report ordered to be insert
: sd in the bulletin. *
'■ Birrere read the following letters:
From Dentiel, ReprefentatWe of, he P , . %
at Landan. "P*
" Landau, Dec. 18, I 7„. fc
or the French Rq, u b®t
divfible, Srft y J r of
I Con Caution, firfl hour ©f Ac
of the blockade. "^Maing
" Vidoire ! Vive la ReMfcem,,
O my friends, my dear coUe^.a"
nerators of all polterity, once
" The blockade of Landau is raised
are free ; our slavery is at an rn(L Oar'w
thers, our saviours are here. WlmtranWr
prevails among us! I am carrirf beyond
felf! Omy country, thou art fired ; 1 aj-7
with my brother ioldiem, lave a»<J th£
place, so important to the republic. We ha™-
braved the bombardment and the Tain toe
naces of these audacious combined tvrants -
the bearers will inform you of particular. I
wait your orders, to fly hn o your
inform you of the fucctfs of the Frrnchlnd
the total defeat of tyrants.
(SignedJ « j. p. DENT7.PT
« Citizens," continued Barrere, "Surhis
the result of the courage of your armies,
such are the fruits of your labors. Fort iJ
is blockaded; tyranny will not long
nor it. What remains to be done for the Re
public ? Forthwith to enfranchife the P-rea
nees, who have forgot the viacru-s of Ren
cevaux and the siege of Barcelona. Then
to chafe away the difereet Cobcum f rom
Conde, Valenciennes and Qucfnov, and to
give him once more a Belgie lefim. In fine
to strike and punift London, that haujjhtr'
banking, mercantile, rr.inifleriaj, aad r ov ii
city, that devours the earth, tyrannize*
the seas, plunders Europe, and debafc the
morals of every people.—lt is, Above all, on
this courageous garrison of Landaa that the
committee think it their duty to fix yoiir re
gards. Locked within the eiitmy'* country,
abandoned almost to themfdves for more
than four months, ignorant of what French
valour was meditating for their d lhnrance,
imagine what constancy it must require, and
with what courage they must arm themfeWes
from day to day ! they refitted ail kjids cf
corruption. The enemy was desirous even,
by urgent felicitation, to make them dtfpiTe
i their General, and to name a Chief devoted
to himfelf."
UNITED STATES.
BOSTON, April 2.
FROM CAPE-ANN, April 1.
" Yesterday arrived here a vcffel frcm
St. Vincents, in 13 days pillage, confirm* _
' tfae~ agreeable intelligence, Thar the nevA
orders had arrived there from Eisgknd,
not to molest any American veflcls; and
all processes were to cease against those
already taken. This vcffel fpofce with a
droger from Grenads, which confirmed
the fame news. Before the veHel {ailed
from St. Vinccnts, intelligence lad been
received from Martinico, that the Engliih
forces had attacked Fort Republic, and
had beeu repulsed with the loss of krrcn
hundred men."
yl CorrefponAeht ajfcrls,
That the orders for the release of A
merican vefiels have actually beea received
in the Wrft Indies, and that they ha«-al
tered the countenances of the plunderer*
very much. Several Captains at St. f .u
---ftatia are said to have repaired to St. Kitts
to receive their vefiels. Heaven grant the
intelligence may be true, and that the
fails of our vefTels may speedily whiten the
harbors of the United States. If true it
is to be lamented thai so many oflEcttsand
seamen have been forced to leave the
Xflaods.
On Monday last arrived here, Captain
Crocker, in the schooner Ann, from Mar
tinico, which lie left about the sth of
March. Captain C's veflel was of
those taken when that part of the iCand
was captured where he lay. He with all
the itiafters of neutral veflels, were felt
on shore to live at their own cxpettce;
the rriatps and sailors were put on beard a
large (hip provided for that purpose; they
were not under a guard, and had two
boats provided for them to go on fiwre
when they pleased ; that they ltad only
two thirds of an allowance; that a ntsn
ber of the American seamen, abont 40,
were prefled on board the Britifli ibijjs cl
war; the vefTels had all their fail* unbent,
yards and toprnafts ilrnck, with a gcaro
onboard, "who plundered them of whate
ver they pleased. This veflel vns est
here to bring M. Bellegarde, a genera! ot
colour, in the service of the-Republic,
who capitulated to the English, and i S ret '
able tu capitulation, was fe"t here to ao
American vcffel. Capt C's cargo
all taken on fiiore, or the head* <*
casts stove in ; His adventure
him, such articles only excq>tec» St