A NATIONAL PAPER, PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS ANb SATURDAYS ,BY JOHN FENNO, No. 34, NVKTB FIFTH-STREET, PHILADELPHIA
[No. 111 of Vol. IV.]
FROM THE. GENERAL ADVERTISER.
r F'f\lE interest which the citizens
-I of the United States mult take
in any question which may in the
Jeaft degree appear to implicate
their neutrality, has induced the
editor to colledt all the information
in his power respecting the cafe of
the fliip William, prize to the pri
vateer schooner Citizen Genet, li
belled by the owners of said ftjip in
the Di(tri<ft Court of the United
States for the Diftrkt of Pennlylva
nia.
Robert Findley, fan
Andrew Buchanan,
George Buchanan,
James Hopkirk,
Thomas Hopkirk,
John Dunlop, and
John B.innatyue.
The Ship WiL'iam.
At a JieW
the 14th June, 1793 —The libel in
the aforefaid cafe was read, letting
furth—l'hat Robert Findley, jtin.
Andrew Buchanan, George Bucha
nan, James Hopkirk, Thomas Hop
kirk, J .hit Dunlop, and John Ban
natyne, all fubjet'ts of the king of
Great Britain, were owners of the
Ship William—That the said ihip
011 her voyage to Potovunack river
in the Hate of Maryland, at the dis
tance of nine miles from the coalt
of the United States, received an
American pilot 011 board ; that the
said ship continued the fame icourf'e
outil they arrived within 2 miles of
Cape-Henry, the Southern Promon
tory of Chefapeak Bay, in 5 fathoms
water, and as near the shore as the
pilot thought proper to convey the
Ihip, when she was forcibly seized
by the Citizen Genet, commanded
by Pierre Arcade Johanene. The
libellant then proteltingagainfl and
not admitting the said schooner Ci
lizen Genet to be duly commifiion
ed, infilled that according to the
premifcs the said ship William was
at the time of her being so taken
upon neutral ground, within the
territorial jurifrlic'tion and under
the protection of the United States.
—Concluding with 3 prayer of res.
titution of ship and damages.
To this libel Pierre Arcade Joha
nene appeared on behalf of himfelf
and crew of the Citizen Genet, and
pleaded to the jurifdidiion of the
Court, stating that neither the law
of nations nor the treaty of amity
and commerce with the United
States and the French Republic gave
cognizance to the said court to in
teifete or hold plea refpecfting the
said ship and property. To this
plea the owners of the said ship en
tered their replication, and ilfue
was joined ther eon.
Sketch of the Pleadings in this im-
portanMCafe.
Mr. Dupouceau, on the parr of
the concerned in the Privateer, o
pened the cause. He, after a few
preliminary observations, turned to
the 171 h ariicle of our treaty of ami
ty with France, to (liew ihat it ex
pressly prohibits our raking cogni
zance of prizes brought iiuo any of
our ports by the French. This ar
ticle of the treaty he remarked, on
ly renders the obligations of the law
of nations on this point lirongei ;
una as the treaty secures mutual ad-
Vantages to the two nations, if cer
tainly (he continued) is entitled to
eonfiderable refpetft, The French
are now at war, it is true, and the
■Americans at peace, therefore at
this particular time, it operates mod
favorably as to the former, but a
period may come when Americans
in their turn' may be involved in
war, and find feveraJ of the stipula
tions in said treaty of confideiable
importance to their interests.
Hr nexc entered into a cumprc-
htnfive view of the gci'eral nature of privateer
ing, to (hew that none of out Courts can tiike
cognizance of a£ls committed by either of the
belligerent powers o<*ainft each other. Priva
teers obtain commissions, the nations to which
they belong, alone, can take cognizance of their
proceedings under those comnriiflTions, and an at
tempt in a court o! any .neutral* power to inter
fere is an iilfi ingeaient on the sovereignty of the
state that granted the conimillion. The govern
ment of ail civilized counties cftabLfh tribunaii
for the trial and condemnation of pn*- s captur
ed by their privateers, and in those ■courts »c
---drefs can be obtained, neutral property, hrough
them, will be rHlored, and all matters adjusted.
He turned to Magens to shew an inftauce in
which the piinciple he wifticd 10 tftablifh was
involved. Englilh privateers had seized and
cameo into port Prulliau vcff -ls. (Piuifia being
a neutral power) for having enemy's property on
board ; fbefe seizures were tried in the Enelifii
courts, and f«>me of the property condemned,
and fume not. The Coim of Pruflia, thiough
their mi rafter, expressed to the Englilh Court
their rtilpleafure at these procccdiugs. Mr.
Mitchelf, the Pruflian minister, injifttd, that the
Englilh had no-right to try this pioper y, that
4be (hips ought to be cotifidered as part of the
territory of the nr.tion to whom they belonged ;
that wherever a nation could extend her protec
tion, so far did her territory extend ; that lhips
were as much a part of the territory of a nation
as forts on the boideis of the lea ; the PruHidiis
in their own lhips were perfectly at home ; that
therefore it was agiinft the law of nations to seek
for enemy's property on board, and that since
the qucllion related to the law of nations, at any
rate ihe courts ps England had no light to eie£l
themfclves as judges, and that the bu fine fit could
be properly fettled by negociation only. In ill
Magens, page 463, Mitcln li's representation to
the Duke of Newealtle is recorded. For the
answer, fee .page 487. Mr. Duponceau proceed
ed to ftatc, that in confquence of England's
judging n this cafe, Pruilia proceeded to coun
teract her procerdings by liquidating the da
mages on her part and fecurtng their amount.
This proceeding of Prufiii was geneially com
plained of the courts,of that country to whom
the capture belonged had a right to give a d'ecri
fion in the cafe. So in the cafe before the court,
he contended, the courts of admiralty to which
the capture belonged, alone had a right to deter
mine the cjueflion of prize or no orize.
If the cafe involved a violation of our territo
ry? it belonged to the fov reign power of the
United S aics to seek redress by negociation,and
on the principles of the la at of nations the ques
tion would be determined. He cited 2. Byn-
Kerfhoek, 177, to shew that if we ast in an hos
tile manner againll our enemies on the territoiy
ot a friend of both paities, the offence is given
to tl.e sovereign that has power over that terri
tory.
Libel filed,
Ke cited Woodifon's second leflure, 425, to
prove the fame point.—-Hp referred to the 4th
Cooke's ii. failures, ijs, to {hew, that before the
merits of a cafe of capture on the high fcas cia
be brought in the court of a neutral country, it
must be (hewn, that the country to which the
capture is brought is in a ftaic of amity and
peace with the parties, and that the foveieigns of
(he countries to Which the parties belong, are 41-
so in a state of amity and peace.
1 he cafe before the court involved a queftiqn
of violation of the territory of the United States,
the action is brought by Briiifh fuhjecls and the
court prayed in a collateral manner 10 determine
a queltion in which the fovereiguty of the nation
is concerned, without giving an opportunity 10
that nation to be heard in its behalf. The Bri
tish fubjr&s who conceive themfeWcs aggrieved,
he said, had two remedies. In the fiift place
they might apply to the courts in France,where
a candid heating would be had-, and where fe~
curity was given by Capt. Johanene in the sum
of 50,000 livres, to arifwei any demands for da.
mage* wrongfully committed. Their fccond
remedy was an application to the Executive of
the United States ; they could tell the Execu
tive, that in conlequence of a violation of the
territory ot the Union bv a Frcnch privateer, we
arc immediate fuffcrt rs, we demand protection
and expe6t redress.
It would then be incumbent on the Executive
to bring the bufmefs before the proper tribunal,
and a decifson would be obtained by negociati
on with the agents of the sovereignty of France.
It would be, he remarked, for the good of
mankind, if a tribunal could be cftablifhed, hav
ing the fame relation to all the powers of the ci
vilized world, that our federal courts have to
the several dates, or that an analogous institution
in Switzerland has to the separate Swiss Can
tons : such a tribunal would often be able to fet
tle disputes, for the determination of which na
tions now fly to arms. But in the preferit (late
of things, nego iaiion is the only means of de
termining these national queitions; in the re
cent cafe of the (hip Grange, these were the
m ans —tKe ess €t is known.
This cafc wouid have embarrassed any court
of justice in the United States ; but inthecourfe
ol ..micahle ncgociation it was fettled 'O the fa
tisfad'on of the United Siiit*. No doubt if the
present cafe had been cariied to the fame tribu
nal, an equitable decifiou would also have ob-
tamed.
He turned to ?.d Vattel. ch. § y fct 7. 65, 66, 67,
68, to ihew. that nation* h-ivc a 'igfrt to do
justice ; when justice i» Tcfufed ; bul
wot a tight intheti.-ft inftdnce 10 attempt to do
therofelves justice the medium of their
own tribunal.
441
Saturday, June 22, 1795.
,V. ">ext adverted to the treaty, and Obfer-ed
generally, that treaties should never be
to forced interpretations. He turned to ad Vat
tel, ch, 17. to enforce that opinion Vattcl lays
it down, thai no part of a treaty Ihonld be fuf
fered to be interpreted which is plain without
interpretation.
Hff took notice of the effe£iof a breach of one
article of a treaty, 2d Vattcl. ch. 13, f.ivs in
strong terms, that the violation of one clause of
a treaty renders null the whole, not only because
of the connc&ion between the fubi<-& ofvarious
clauses, but because elaufes very <ilflirtiilar are
often nratually granted by way of comptomife,
find therefore the breach of one tends to destroy
the balance intended by the framers of thetreaty.
He recapitulated, and Hated as the result of
his argument : That prizes IbouJd be tried in
the court of the country to whom the captor be
longs ; that a neutral power has no tight to en
quire into the validity of . prizes brought into
their ports, and expressly so oy treaty, as it re
lates to France and the United States' ; and that
queliions in which the sovereignty of .States is
involved can only be fettled by negociation.
Upon thefc grounds which he had endeavored
to elucidate, h<schent pleaded to thejut ifdiclion
of the Court.
He cone Med by tha*. if the pre
fect application to th«S court was fuccefsfu!, we
might in a iimilar circumftancc he involved on
the other fide, and after having offended France
by an encroachment on her sovereignty, off, nd
Gicat-Sritain in the fame way. He closed by
forne observations on the importance of keeping
clear of the disturbances which agitate Europe.
M. Sergeant, before the court adjourned,
wiPned merely to turn to some authorities omit
ted by his colleague. The present contest is
between Englifli fubjc&s and Fiench citizens,
and the United States have no immediate con
cern in it. Independent of treaty; the law of
nations does not allow a thiid power to judge
between two nations at war. 1. Vattcl s. 18,
and 3, Vat. s. 191, to this point. 2. Inft. s. 335,
'38, *39, to the fame. Douglass, p. 56c, lays,
no cafe of an admiralty court of a neutral nation
attempting to judge between two belliger- nt
powers i the preemption, the*), that none exists.
The court adjourned to the afternoon.
(To bt continued.)
| From Port-au-Prince papers.]
ADDRESS
Of the Merchants of the town of Port-au-Prince* to
the National Civil ComntiJJioners, on board the
America, a French 74 gun'fkip in the road of
Pvt-au-Prince, dated the 8M of April, 1793 —
[tour days hejore the severe cannonade took place,
of which the particular i have appeared in former
papers.]
AS long as we had any hopes remaiuing
that an accommodation would prevent
the misfortunes that are ready to bur ft upon
Port-au-Prince, we did not think it our duty
to trouble you in relation to the private con
cerns of our commerce. At pre lent every
thing reminds us that we have every thing to
fear ; we? Ihould be blame-worthy then if we
did not exert ourselves, in the name of that
national commerce whole conf:dence we pos
sess, to make such representations as will
serve to the advancement of its intercil.
\Ve (hall not here undertake the defence of
an unfortunate town, now for three years pafl
the viftiin of perfidious condndt: we will beg
leave to observe, however, that it is painful
for its inhabitants to be accused of cl imes
without being fw3er<?d to exculpate them
selves ; to fee themselves menaced with pu
nifhinent without being informed what crimes
are laid to their charge. Will the delegates
of the nation condemn them without a hear
ing ; will they indifcriniinatelv involve in
their profciiption the friends of lawful go
vernment, the faithful children of the parent
country, and those who are accused of being
declared enemies of both ?—No ; it is impos
sible the breajts of the comm.flioners can har
bor so cruel a thought. But, citizens com
miifioners, if we fhoitld for a moment flatter
ourselves with a ray of hope, how can we
otherwise then despair when we refledt that
by your proclamation of the 21ft of Jaft March
you involved us all in an indiscriminate fen
tertce of fufpic on, and held as certain truths
t-he slanderous affertidns of our enemies, car
rying despair into every heart b> your threats
of a deplorable transportation of the mer
chants of Port-au-Piince from their homes
and properties. What citizen would not
tremble, however intiocent he might be, to
fee his name on the lilt of the prolcribed; to
b* fsp* ated from bis wife, his children, his
property 9 from those various great and lacred
concerns which are entrusted to him, and to
be dragged like a criminal to the terrible tri
bunal of the National Convention of France !
In our hands remain the fortunes, and per
haps the last resources of those valuable men,
to whom the republic of France owes its
prosperity. In defending their interests, we
defend those of the mother country, who will
find in their generous and inexhaustible pa
triotism the means of refitting the enemies cf
liberty ; and yet, for fifteen days pad ail our
business is suspended. An embargo has been
put upon our drogumg veflTels, that keep up a
commercial connexion with a'd parts of tte
[Whole No. 455.]
colony,, supply ti'ofV With proviltons sviwch
cannot be resorted to bv vefliis lVoni foreign
parr?, and serve as iranfporf tor rt*
commodities Mfitl> whicn our foreign (hips are
laden. And how /hall we an Twer the private
engagements we have made ; how flip ply the
dertiands of our correfpondt nts in Europe, if
all our abilities are thus fetureti ?
The armament In our harbor wears a me
nacing aspect, arjd the land fortes collected
from the wellerji quarter, are brought hither
to annihilate the last hopes of national com
merce infteatl of aiding the citizens of Port
au-Prince and Croix des Bouquets to fuppoi t
them. At this instant the revolters are waft
ing and burning the rich poflefHons in Cul de.
Sac; inflead of hallening to deft toy the vil
lains, you arm againlt a town that is atfually
at war with them, and which begs you for
peace. You refufe all intercourse with us,
rejert the deputations we have sent to yon,
and ftiew every hostile disposition. Alas ! do
you perceive how much future mifchieHs the
confeqtience of fitch steps. Do you knew that
we have on Ihore here our papers and preci
ous effects, and merchandize the vaiu« of
which.is inestimable? that Heither these pa
pers nor these articles of merchandize are ouf
own, but that we are merely the trustees of
the greater part ? that rheir deftrti&ion would
occasion nutnberlefs failures, which failuies
would bring on the ruin of national commerce,
already (hocked by the misfortunes it lias
ftiftained ; and, finally do yon know. MelTis.
Commiflloners, that you will be refpoi fible for
these loßes, and that fix millions of nffln tu
nate people, who are filpported by commerce,
will with cries of despair demand vengeance
on the National Convention.
Can it he your intention to set at defiant#
this awful refpnnlibility, and thereby reduce
us to defpaii } we Can no longer doubt it,
since the orders you have given to the Cap
tains of the merchant vefiels to anchor out
side of .the ships of war. What can be your
designs ? will you proceed to the last extre
mities against a town whole petitions "you
have refilled to heat i we now declare to vott
in form that the order you have given to the
mercantile Captains cannot be executed
without eflentially injuring the concerns of
trade. Indeed, only call your eyes on the
lituation of the vetTels in the road, few of
them are loaded or even ballasted j it would
be next to impolfible that they can go out of
the harbor, or be conducted into the groutyi
without being exrofed to confiderabie (ja
ma ge, and probably to a total loss. Bifidesj
moll of the Captains have their cargoes on
fliore, which they are obliged to ar'd care
fully : and how can they attimi so this dlity.
if you order them away to the grand road s at
so confiderabie a diftanee from their property.
Will you aofwer for it, that on your attack
ing the town the commercial magazines will
be refpefted ; and would you not be held re
sponsible for the lotfes that might happen
through plunder or conflagration >
It is impoflible to calculate the evils at
tendant upon civil war; and not one of t : -enj
but is a mortal stab to the interests of trade,
Citizen commiflioners, before you procced to
extremities, reflect that peace is for the ad
vantage of this colony, an.l that Fiance stands
in need of her commerce, and that you your
lelves will be held seriously lefpon/ible fur thq
loss of either. What is the meaning of that
general embargo laid solely on this port
which puts a stop to all our business and octa
fions immenle lofles to commerce. What
means that obstinate (ilence you keep not
withstanding our prefllng and repeated Ibfici
tations to you to explain yourselves What
mean tlio e threatening fleps are taking
against a town on whose fate a very larg£
(hare of the national commerce depends ?—!.
Inline, what conftruftion are we to put upon
the orders you have given to the Captains of
the trading veflels to retire outside of the
fliips of war '—Is it really your design to can
nonade the town, and to deftrny in one in
stant the merchandize and debts due to the
national trade; for such will be the conse
quence of the least ast of hoftilityon our part".
We repeat to you, is it a time wheo tI,S
revolters lay waste and burn the rich po(i
feifions on the plain, when they are ruining
the sources of national commerce, that you
think it your duty to exci'e a civil war in
western province by arming fourteen pari/h
----cs against one. Is it not rather your duty to
destroy the revolters before you think of re
eftabliftting order in a p ace where ail is qui.
et—and do yoa suppose you will not have to
answer tor the conflagrations and devasta
tions whicharedaily committing in the plains,
for want of the stipulated relief, which your
proclamation has prevented the neighboring
pari/hes from fending.
Citizen comniiflioners, we nowdccla»e to
you that this address is to be printed and fq
be transmitted to all the commercial settle
ments of the republic, that we transfer to
yourselves all the reTponObility we Jay under
to our constituents, and that we will notify
to them, that if they fufler lofles, we have
used every argument with you to p.event
than. You are ruining the colony irfiead of