Vatlel fays pofltively that " effe&s belonrmg 'to
" an enfcmy foun I .on board a neutral (hip, are
" fcizable by the tights of wai 1 ." Agreeably to
i his long efta.lifted rule of the law of nations,'
France herfelf, in her marine laws, has dire&ed
tha' the rnerchandiv.it ami rfftfts belonging to her ene
mies -which Jhall be found on board neural vej/'els
jhall be good prixe. By a former law, indeed, the
neutral veflels ihemfelveg, as well as the effects of
her enemies on b«ard, we> e declared to be good
prize. Valin remarks, however, that this regula
tion was peculiar to France and Spain ; and that
e4fewhi?re the goods of the enemy were alone fub
jefted to confifcation. And in the treaty of France
with the city of Hamburgh in 1769, it was sti
pulated that " all effefls, provisions and merchan
" diic whatsoever belonging to her enemies, and
found on board the veflels of Hamburgh (hould
be coi.fifc#ted."
Mr Artet remarks, that one of his predecclTors,
in July 1793. applied on this fubjeft to the govern
nrent of the United S'ates, but was nnfuccrfsful.
He mult refer to Mr. Genet's letter to Mt. Jt-ffer
-8f«, dated July 9, 1793, [the fuhjeA was resumed
in terms Hill meie extraordinary in his letter of July
ajth, 1793,] to which Mr. jefferfon answered on
the 34th, declaring " bis belief that it cannor be
" doubted, but that by the general law of nations,
*' the goods of a friend fpuiid in the vessel of an
" enemy are lawful prize. It is true that sundry
" nations, desirous of avoiding the inconveniences
" of having their vefTels stopped at sea, ransacked,
«« carried into port and detained, under pretencc
" of having enemy goads on board, have, in many
" inflawces, introduced, by theirfpecial treaties, ano
" ther principle between them, that enemy bottorrts
«' (hall mak« enemy goods, and friendly bottoms
" friendly goods—but this is altogether the cffedl
" of particular .treaty, controling, in fpetial cases,
" the general principle of the law of nations, and
" therefore taking effect between such nations only
" at have fa agreed to control it." And it is
plain, that it was to avoid the inconveniences re*
fulting from this general rule of the law of nations,
that France and the United St/tes stipulated, in the
23d article of their comrriercjfcl, treaty, " That free
" (hips should give freedom to goods ; and that
" every thing (hould be deemed fret which (hould
" he found on board the Slips belonging to the
" fubjetis of either of the contra&ing parties, al
" though the whole lading, or any patt thsreof,
" (hould appertain to the enemies of either, con
" traband goods being always excepted." It is
alto slain that this ftipulatiou was intended to ope
rate (indeed it was its sole objeA, and otherwise
could have no operation at all) when one of the
parties fliould be at war with a nation, or nations,
with whom the other at peace. France,
therefore, has now no right to complain if the
goods of her enemies find protection on board
American (hips, or 1o pretend, that,in order "T»
" reflore the balance of neutrality to its equilibri.
" um, 1 (he may feiie on such goods : the jurt equi
librium between her and the United States will be
reftorcd when we are at war and (he at ; at
which time the geodiof our enemtes.will find pro
tection on board the veflels of her citizens.
2d. It is alledged that we have abandoned the
modern public law on contraband, and by our trea
ty with Gieat-Brftain granted to that pawer exclu
fively the free carriage of articles for the equipment
and armament of veflels.
Here, as in the former ease, the question recurs,
what is thr law of nations on the point in dispute ?
Vaitel defines contraband goods to be " comkjiodi
" ties particularly ofed in war--fuch are arms, mi
" litary and naval Mores, timber, horfee, and even
*' provisions in certain juoitures, when there are
" hopes of reducing the eftemy by famine." In
the treaty between France and Denmark, conclud
ed oh the 23d of August, 1742 —"Tar was de
" clared contraband, together with resin, fails,
" hemp, cordage, mails, and timber fsr (hip biiil
;"ding.'* " Thus, on this account (fays Valin)
" there would have been no cause far complaining
41 of the crinduit of the English, if they had not
•• infringed particular treaties ; for of right thefc
*' things are now contraband, and have been so since
" the beginning of this century, which, howevc,
4 * was not the cafe formerly." " The modern pub
" lie law on contraband," mentioned by Mr. Adet
and his predeceflora, probably refers to the princi
ples declared by the armed neutrality? during .the
American War. This tranfa&ion is too remarka
ble to be passed unnoticed.
During that war/ Gieat.Britain and the other
belligerent powers, exercising the rights adored to
them by the law of nations, made prize of enemies
property on board neutral veflels, and of contraband
goods belonging to neutrals. Eageras neutial 11a- j
tions must be to seize the opportunity which war
presents, of becoming the tarrieis for the bellige
rent nations, where (hips and mariners are wanted
for military cpeiatiens, it was petfeftly natural that
the former (hould deiire to establish as a rule, that
frce(hips (hould made free goods ; or in other words,
that neutral bottoms (hould protest the goods on
board, to whomsoever these belonged ; and it was
equally natuial.for them to deflre to diminish the
lilt of contiabaßd. In refpeft to the latter, it must
have been particularly interesting t® the three nor
thern Bioiitime powers, ftoM dominions
chiefly the other maritime nations of Europe re
<iived supplies of timber and naval (lores, to strike
these from the lift of contraband, or by fomt means
to exempt them from capture.
[To be Continued.']
Hotfe of Q/prefentativrs of the United States.
Friday, January ao.
After f«me private petitions had been read, the
Hcufe took up the Reiblution patted in the committee
of the whole yesterday, on the fubjetf of further reve
nue, when, after some observations on the propriety
of dividing the resolution, it was agreed to be divided,
and the yeas and nays having been called for on the
firft part, viz. " for laying tax on the land with
its improvements, including town lots, they were a»
follow:
YEAS.
Mefj*s. Baldwin, Blount, Srent, Buck, Cnbel, Cut,
Cths, Cooper, Craik, Dent, Ege, Find ley, Gal at m,
Oilman, C-lenn, Goodrich, Greenup, Grove, Hamc :
Kanifan, Hartley, Hathorn, Havens, Hmdman, KU
tera, Living/ton, Madijb** Milledge, Moore, Mubkn
erg, Murray, Se-W, Nicholas, Qrr, Page, Patten,
Pre/ton, Jutherford, Sewall, Sitgrevvcs, Ifauc Smith,
■ >n. smith, R. Sprigg, S-wanwici, fin Allen, Van
Cortlandt, ''enable, IVilliams.—tf.
NAYS.' ,
n^. e J rS> ' mej ' Bailey, Bradbury,. Bryan, Burgess,
Lbriftte, Dana, Davenport, Dearborn, A. Foflcr.
D. Fojler, franklin. Freeman, GiUtfpie, Grifauold,
Harper, Henderfon, Holland, /!. Jack/on, G. Jackson
Locke, S. Lyman, W Lyman, Maclay, Macon, Mal
bone, Potter Read, Sherborne, Smith, N. Smith,
Strudavtck, Sa,ift, Thatcher, Thomas, Tbumofon,
Varnum, WadJworth, Winn. ■ 391
After a considerable debate on the latter part of the
resolution, viz. " for laying a direct tax on (laves with
certain exceptions," the question was take* by yeas
and nays 1 , as follows :
Yeas —Messrs. Ame <, Baldwin, tlount, Bradbury,
Brent, Rvck, "Cabel, Chri/lie, Claiborne, Coles, Copp
er, Craik Davenport, D,nt, tge, Findley, A. Fojler,
Franklin, Gallatin, Gillefpie, Gil man, Glenn, Green
up. Gregg, Grove, Hnmptcn, Hancock, Harper, Har
rifon, HartJey. Hathorn, Havens, Hindman, Holland,
A. Jackson, K.ttera, I.oek, S. Lyman, Maclay, Ma
con, Madison, Milledge, Moore, Muhlenberg, Mur
ray, New, Nicholas, Qrr, Page, Parker, Patten,
Prejlon, Rutherford, Seiuall, Sitgrea-ves, Israel Smith,
IJaac Smith, S.Smith, If. Smith, Sprigg, Strudzuick,
Swanwick, Kan Allen, Fan Cortlandt, Venable, Wadf
worth, Williams, ffinit. —68.
Nays Mejfrs. Bryan, Burgess, Ccit, Dana, Dear
born, D. Fojler, Freeman, Goodrich, Grifivold, Hen
derfon, ft. Jackson, W. Lyman, Malba t, Potter,
Read, Sherborne, Jeremiah Smith, N. Smith, Swift,
Thatcher, 'Thomas, Thompson, Varnum—l j..
The main quefton was thert put on the resolution
together, aad the yeas and nays, thereupon, when it
was carried 49 to 39, the fame members voting in the'
affirmative and negative as upon the firft question, ex
cept that Messrs. Baldwin, Cooper and Livingfton,
who voted in the affirmative on the firft question, wers
absent when this was taken, and Meflrs. Claiborne.
Gregtr, Parker, and S. Smith, were present and vot
ed in the yeas on this question. In the nays, MK
Strudwick who voted on the firft question was absent
on thii, and Mr. Hampton was present in this and aD
fent on the firft call.
The refolut'ion was then referred to the committee
of ways and meins to bring in a bill accordingly.
The houfc went into a committee of the whole on
the bill for carrying into efTeft thf laws of the United
States in the ftatc of ! enneflee, and after some debate,
the committee rose and had leave tn fit again.
Adjom ned to Monday.
By this day's Mail.
CHARLESTON, December 30.
Arrivals yesterday. Days.
Ship George, Rice Philadelphia 7'
Dauphin, Barklay Cape-Nichola Mole 29
Brig Clinton, Norris Surinam 33
Schooner Amity,-Aammond' Ma hias 20
Sloop Joana, Briggs Norfolk 6
Capt. Rice (aw the South-Carolina at anchor
in the rivci on the 2 ill, where he had lam from
the 15th. The extremity of the weather was so
great, as to leave no doubt in Capt. Rice's mind
of the river being ckded.
Mole.Si. Nicholas, 27th November, 1796.
Lift of American veflels now in this pott, a;id
wishing for aconvoy to Poit-au Prii.ef, viz.
Snow H umonv, MatlhaH, from Charleston
Sckoo'ier Venu3, Hazard, da.
B'ig Hannah, Ha'ton, Norfolk
Schooner Eliza, M«ffat, do.
Bri» Gruger, Tinkei, v Philadelphia
Polly, Rolth, do.
Emilia, Huttings, do.
Ship Delena, Skinner, New-York
Sihooncrjohn, Lambeth, Norfolk
NORFOLK, Janua.iy 12.
The fchoener Sifters of Baltimore, artived here
on Monday evening last, in 19 days from Cape-
Francois, we are informed, that the cOmmiilioneis
from the French republic at the Cape have declar
ed, all'the southern par s of St. Domingo in a
Hate of revolt, ainj thai the refpefiive ports are
eon(ider«d in a state of blockade. All veflels and
eargoei bound to or coming from that pa 11 of the
I island are conlidered liable to capture and condem
nation.
BALTIMORE, January 19.
Yeft« r day arrived captain Webb, »f the fchoo
ner after a paflage of 28 days (rum Boftan,
vis Norfolk and Aanapulis ; he informs that the
Prevoyante was (on Monday last) lying in Hamp
ton R®ads, and that commodore Bai aey's frigates
were at Norfolk ; onp of which was heaving down.
NEW-YORK, January 20.
The canvass of the voles of this state is now
finifhed, and the following gentlemen are eledled
to represent this state in the Congrefi»-of the Unit
ed States, for two years from the 4th of March
next.
•James Cochran, £)avid Brooks,
Henry Glenn, * Lucas Elmendsrph
John Williams, P. Vail Courilandt,
Jiihn E. Va-i Allen, Jona. Ha*en,
•Hezekiah L. Hofmer,
TlioPe marked thus * are new members.
ARRIVALS. Days.
Btig Gen. Warren, Rice Gottenberg 97
Schooner Liberty, Buckley Hifpaniola 17
Anny, Woodman Cape-Francois 25
Sloop Polly, Boardman | do. 21
From the log-book of the schooner Hawk, Capt. Hunt
from Barbadoes.
On Friday, 23d December, at 4, P. M. the
island of Defeada bearing E. S. E. saw a 1 nail
fail to windward, 10 company with a large brig,
who immediately bore down upon me, and after
running about an hour, finding it impoflible to es
cape him, I hove two — Upon her coming along
fide, I was bailed, and in.broken Engliih, defircd
to hoist out my boUand come on board, with my
papers—Upon my atrival on board the piivateer,
hey rie ained rae, and sent the boat to the schoo
ner( with fix men, armed with pistols and cutlafles,
a examine her. In the intermediate time, the
aptainoverhauled my papers, examined and re
timed them, without faying any thing to me. I
fljed him what that brig was to windward—he
infoimed me (he was a -biig from Portland, laden
with provifionSj bound t» Martinique, which he
a
hid taken and ffnt for GuadaAwpe. I aflted the
name of the veflel and captain, hut h? would in
form me (if neither—would give me no intelli
gence relative to the Situation of Guadalovpe,- but
said t(iey had five American veffeli at Point-a Petre
Under condemnation. Upon the return of the
boat, I found they had brought with them a
French gentlen#in, who had been taken at St.
Lucia, wat then upon hi* parol#, and had taken
his passage with me to Philadelphia for the reco
very of his health : they detained him on board,
but deiired me to depart with the reft, and make
the belt of my wiy. Upon ipy return 011 board,!
I found they had examined the trunks of two pas
sengers, and overhauled every thing, but taken no
thing—onlv threatening to carry them into Gus
daloupe as Englilhmen, and put them in jail.
Late Foreign Intelligence.
Frcm tht London Gazette Extraordinary.
from our !aft. J
Admiralty Office, November 3,1796.
Difpatehes, of which the following are copies, (bro't
by Captain JobH Aylmer, of his Majefty'a Clip Tre
mendous) were this day received from the honorable
Vica Admiral, Sir George Keith llphinftone, K. B.
Monarch, Saldanha Bay, Auguji 19,1796.
Sir,
I have the honor to inrlofe a lift of a Dutch fquad
on under the command of Rear Admiral Enijelbertus
Lucas, lent hither for the reduction of this colony, but
which were compelled to surrender by eapitulation, on
the 17th inftaut, to the detachment of his Majesty's
Clips undtr my commind, named in the margin*, on
the terms also inclofeit, For further particulars I beg
leave to refer you to the accompanying detail of the
proceedings of the squadron from the 4t)vto the Bth
inft. and I hope the Lords Commissioners of the Ad
miralty will approve the measures I have taken, so es
sential te the Britifli commercial interest in the East.
Ihe ships are all coppered and in good condition,
except the Caflor, wliofe rudder is defective.
In juft'ice to the officers and men I have the honor
to command, it is iny duty to observe, that, in conle
quence of the mod violent tempestuous weather I eyer
beheld, and the very unpleasant fittution in which the
squadron was at limes placed, they chearfully, and
much to their credit, underweul a degree of fatigue
hardly credible.
Caprain Aylracr will have the Jionor of presenting
thei'e difpatehes. I beg leave to mention him to their
Lordfliips, as a rei'peiSable Gentleman and an a<Sive
officer. * , '
1 have the honor to be, with great refpe&,
Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
G. K. tLPHINSTON.
Evan Tfepean, Esq.
Monarch, SaldbaHa Buy, Augujl 19, 1796.
Sift,
I have the honor to inform you, that intelligence
was received at Cape Town, on the 3d inft. of a num
ber of (hips having been seen in the offing at Saldanha
Bay, which was confirmed en the sth. In cense-
this 'very preparation was made for putting
te i'/Jpinmediately, with the squadron under my com
nnunl; bin from the Monarch's main mast being out,
and theiefiipeßuous weather, I was not able to quit the
anchorage in Simon's Bay until the 6th, when we
pffrcefded toTea.
Oil getting under way an officer from thelhore, came
on board t.> ( i ifoi m me thai a number of fails had been
seen the preceding night in the offing, near False-bay j,
I theq refpjve ito ftecrto the Couth ward and weft, in"
expedition of their having taken tfiat eourfc.
i he fqjnlro; continued eruiling in the m»(l
temj rftupiti wea'her I have evei experienced, which
damaged many ot the fhip3, and at one time the
Ruby had five feel water in her hold. We were
joined at sea by his majesty's (hip Stately, Rattle
snake and Echo fiopps. Oil the 12th L returned,
with a frslh breeze blowing .frcm the fpuih east,
upon anchoring in Simon's Bay, the master
attendant Come ofF with information that the ships
seen, consisting os-nine fail, had put into Saldanha
Bay on the 6th, the fame day 011 which I had pro
ceeded to sea ; that they remained there by the last
advice, and that four ships had been difpaiched in
quest of mq to communicate this welcome intelli
gence.
1 immediately made the signal to fail, but the
Crcfcent had got afhorc ; the wind blew strong and
increased on the following day to a perfect tempest,
in which the Tremendous parted two cables, drove,
and was in great danger of being 1011, so that, not
withstanding every exertion, and the n*jft anxious
moments of ray life, we could not get out until
the 15th.
On the 16th the squadron arrived olf Saldanha
Bay at sun-set, and the Crescent, which had been
ordered a-head, to discover information and 10 re
port, made the (ignal for the enemy, consisting of
three ships of the line, three frigatti, and other
(hips, being moored in the bay.
The squadron Hood on into the Bay in the order
of failing, but the night coming on, and the rear
being too far extentjud for action, I judged it ex
pedient to come to an anchor within (hot of th#
euemy's (hips, and perceiving their numbers very
inconfideraWe in comparison to the forces under my
command, T confidcred it my duty, and an imam
bent aft of humanity, to address the Dutch offieer
in command, and consequently forwarded the lcttef
to him, of which the enclosure, No. 3, is a copy,
by lieutenant Coffin, of the Monarch, with a flag
of truce; to this I received a verbal return, that a
politive leply should be sent in the morning at day
break. I was fearful the enemy might attempt to
injure the (hips, and therefore ordered lieutenant
Collin to return immediately with my letter No. 4.
to which he brought back the reply No. 5.
On the 17th, at nine in the morning, a Dutch
officer came on board with a flag, and presented
proposals of teims for capitulation, which you will
observe in the correspondence, with my remarks
and definitive letter ; and at five P. M. the terms
contained in the inclosed copy were ultimately
agreed upon, but it was impofiible to take pofTef
fion of the (hips until the 18th, on account of the
(lormy weather.
It affords me the highest fatiifaftinn, therefore,
to communicate to my lords eommiffioners of the
admiralty, that a squadron of (hips belonging to
the United States, under command of his ex
cellency rear admiral Engtlberttis Lucas, has fur-
to the Britilh force utider ray command,
confilting of three fltips of the line, swo fine In
fjates, tw« of 28 £Uns, and a flonp of (8 jfans, all
completely coppered, stored and victualled, toge
ther with a large laden store (hip, the names of
which are described in the inclofure No. 6, and the
Britilh ships, to whom they are prizes, in the in
elofure No. 7.
The consequent joy of this fortunate event it
much augmented from the eonfulatory reflcAion on
it's accompli'hmeitt without effufion of human
blood, or injury to either of the enemy's or Britilh
(hips, n«t a single shot having been filed.
T must, however, beg leave to observe, tVat any
refiftaace on the part of the eneiwy could only have
occasioned the wanton facrifite of a few lives; and
I doubt not, that had their numbers been adequate
to contention, their eondu& would have confirmed
the acknowledged merit at all times reeorded to the
martial spirit «f fubjefls of the United Stales ; and
I can with similar confidence afl'ure you, that the
officers and men under my command would have
exhibited a conduct equally ereditable to tIK-m
----felves.
The repeated advic»s communicated in your let
ters, refpefiiiig'the enemy's force* dettined to this
quarter, agreed so corre&ly with the intelligence I
obtained by other means, that I have lo'tg been ex
pe&ing this arrival, and was thereby enabled to be
perfectly prepared to receive them, and contLantif
to keep a vigilant look out.
I have the honor to be, with great sfteem,
Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
G. K. ELPHINSTONE.
Evan Nefiah, FJj.
fTobe continued.^
t
Mr. Fxitr/o,
Please to insert for the consideration of the
Stockholders, the following r.ames in your paper,
as suitable characters for Directors of the Bank of
Pennfylv*»ia—And oblige A stockholder.
Samuel Howell, George Pennock,
Robert Ralfton, Matliew Lawler,
Jftfeph P. Norris, • Andrew Bayard,
Godfrey Haga, Joseph Ball,
George Pluroftead, Henry Pratt,
William Sarfon, Thomas Norton,
.Thomas L. Moore, John Craig,
Wm. Montgomery, Robert Wharton,
Philip Nickli*, Jacob Douning.
John C. Slocker,
NOTICE.
Persons having Goods on board the Ship Persever
ance, James Williamfon, matter, bound from Ham
burg to this Port, and lately put into New-York,
where the VefTel is discharging, will please apply to
THOMAS and JOHN KETLAND.
Philadelphia, Jan. 11, 17;';, tf
Hibernian Society.
Such of th« Members ol this society as are entitled to
Diplomas, are rsqucftcd to apply for them to
Mr. Hugh Helmet, Vice President',
- Mr. David M'Cor mid, Treafurtr }
Mr. Robert H. Drinker, LonnfelUr f
Mr. Jojefih Bra<wn ;
Mr. Edward Fox;
Or to MATHEW CAREY, See.
Philad. Jan. n, 1797. taw6t
Loft «r Mislaid,
At the Bank of the United States, Joseph Higbee'e
Nott, dated 29th December laQ, tor twelve hundred
dollars, payable at 60 days to Nathaniel Lewis «3c Son.
Whoever may find the fame will please return it to said
Bank, or to the lubferibers, who will allow a reward.
Payment being barred, it cannot be of ufc to any
other person. NATHANIEL LEWIS & SON.
5. \ J. 11, 3*
Canal Lottery, No. 11.
Scheme of a Lottery, authorized by an aft entitled
"An ad to enable the President and Managers of the
Schuylkill and Sufquehannah navigation, to raise, by
way of Lottery, the furn of Four Hundred Thousand
Dollars, for the purpose of completing the works, ia
their ids of incorporation mentioned."
Dollars
I Prise of twenty thousand dollars, *0,000
I of ten thousand dollars, 10,000
5 of four thousand dollars each, to
be paid to the poffelTors of the five
numbers firft out of the wheel on the last
day's drawing, at which time there (ball
not be less than 500 numbers undrawu, 10,000
10 of two thousand dollars each, 20,000
29 of one thousand dollars each, jo,sco
43 of five hundred dollars eaeh, 31,500
100 of two hundred dollars each, ac,eo«
lao of one hundred dollars each, 10,000
ISO of fifty dollars each, li,ce*
19,500 of five dollars each, 147,509
30,000 Tickets at ten dollars each. 300,000
Six dollar s for each ticket will only be demanded at
the time of sale
All prizes £hall be paid ten days after the drawing i»
finifhed, upon the demand of the pofl'eflbr of a fortunate
ticket, a dedudion of fifteen percent.
Such prizes as are not demanded within 12 month*
after the Drawing Is finiflied, of which public notico
will be given, shall be conlidercd as relinquilhed for
the use 0 the Canal and applied accordingly.
At a nfeiting of the President and Managers of the
Schuylkill and Snfquehanna Canal Navigation— and
the President and Managers of the Delaware and
Schuylkill Canal,
Refolvtd, That Joseph Ball, John Steinmctz, Stan
dilh Forde, Francis Weft, James M'Crea, John Mil
ler, jtanr. and William Montgomery be a committee
to arrange and dired the mode of difpolng of the
tickets ; which committee {hall deposit the money in
Bank, to be carried to the credit of an account to be o»
pened for the Lottery.
At a meeting of the Canal Board, held January 16, '97,
Resolved, That the committee for conduding the
Lottery be direded to commence the on the
firft day of March next. '' •
JEjttrad from the minutes,
Wm. M. Smith, Secretary.
Joseph Ball, 1
John $teinmet%,
( &tandi/k Forde,
Francis Weft, Manager*.
James M'Crea,
Jehu Milltr, juit.
M'illiam M»xl{omery, t
Jan. s«. thit f.t.