J. V-,v J of his animosity to Frn*"e*, t**nu'd have difcovercd that however humiliating It might be to wait for a foreign l>£tc, to atlift the interpretation of an a& depending on the national authority alone, yet in the cafe of a treaty, tfhich is as much the treaty of a foreign nation, as it is ours ; and in which foreign duties and rights are as much involv ed v as ours, the sense of though to be learnt from the treaty itfeJf, is to be e qually learned by both parties to it. Neither of them can have a right more than tfryc other, to fay what a particular article means \ and where there h equality without a judge con futation k as cotjfiftent; with dignity as it is conducive to harmony and friendjhip, let Vattel however be heard on the ftibjeft. ** The third general maxim, or principle, on the fubjeft of interpretation [of Treaties] is i ii That neither the one nor the other of the in -4* t ere fled or contracting pou-crs has a right to in~ lerpretiht ad or treaty qt its pleasure. For it li you are at liberty to give my promise what sense you please, you will have the power of obliging me to db Whatever you have a mind, contrary to my 'intention, " and bevond my real engagement: and re -44 ciprocaJlv, Jf l am allowed to explain my pro %t mifes as J pkafe, I may render them yain and U * Ivftve, h giving them a si*f e W te different from 44 that in which they were prefenled to yon, and in * which you nrnjl have taken them in accepting 44 them:'' Vat. B. II- c. vii. §• 265. The writer ought to have been particular ly sensible of the improbability that a precipi tate and cxparte decision of the question arif -ing under the guaranty, could have beenjn tended by the proclamation. He had but just gone through his undertaking, to prove that the article of guaranty like the reft of the treaty is defenfive, not offenfive. He had ex amined his books and retailed his quotations, to shew that the criterion between the two kinds of war is the ciromittance of priority in the attack. . He could'not therefore but know, that according to his own principles, the question whether the United States, were under an.obligation or not to take part in the war, was a quejlion offa£t whether the firft at* tack was made by France or her enemies. And to decide a question ol fact, as well as, of principle, without waiting sot such repre sentations and proofs, as the absent and in terested party might have to produce would have been a proceeding contrary to the or dinary maxims of justice, and requiring cir cumstances of a very peculiar nature, to war rant' it, towards any nation. Towards a na tion which could verify her claim to more than bare justice by our own reiterated and formal and which must in her present fmgular and interesting situation have a peculiar sensibility to marks of our friend (hip or alienation, the impropriety of such a proceeding would be infinitely increas ed, and in the fame proportion the improba bility of its having taken place. There are yeafohs of another fort which K'Quld have been a bar to such a proceeding. It would have been as impolitic as it would have been unfair and unkind- If France meant not to insist on the gar ran tyj the metifure, without g ving any pre sent advantage, would have deprived the 'United States of afuttire claim which may be of importance to their fafety. It would have inspired France with jealousies of a secret bi as in this country toward some of her ene mies, which might have left in her breast a spirit of contempt and revenge of which the effects rtiight be felt in various ways. It must in particular have tended to inspire her with a disinclination to feed our commerce with those important advantages which it al ready enjoys, and those more important ones, which it anxiously contemplates. The nation that consumes more of the fruits of our foil than any other nation in the world, and flip-" plies the only foreign raw material of exten five use in the United States would not be unnecefTarily p< ovoked by those who under stand the , public interest, and make it their study, as it is their interest to advance it. I am aware that the common-place remaik will be interposed, that, " commercial privi leges are not worth having, when not fecurcd by mutual interest; and never worth purchasing, bccaufe they will grow of themselves oat ol a mutual interest." Prudent men, who do not fuffer their reason to be misled by their preju dices will view the fubjeft in a juftcr light. They will rtfle£V, that if commercial privileges are not worth purehafing, they are worth hav ing without purchase ; that in the commerce of a great na'ion, there are valuable privileges which may be granted or not granted, or grant ed either to this or that country, without any fenfibJc influence on the interest of the nation itfelf ; that the friendly or unfriendly disposi tion of a country, is always an article of mo mtnt in the calculations of a comprehensive in terest I that fomr Sacrifices of interest will be made to other motives; by nations *s well as bv individuals, though not with the fame fre quency, or in the fame pioportions that more of a diiinterefted conduit or of a coiiaufi found ed on liberal views of interest, prevails in some nations than in others, that as far as can be seen of the influence of the revolution on the genius ' and the policy of France; particularly with "re gard to the Unttcd States, everv thing is 10 be hoped by the, latter on this fubj'6l, which one country can reafrrtiabjy hope from another. In this point of view a greater error could ndt have been committed than in a step, that might have turned the present disposition of France to open her commerce to us as far as a liberal tion of her interest would permit, and her fjiendfhip towards us, and confidence in our fritndfhip towards her, could prompt, into a disposition to, shut it as closely us as the united motives of interest, of distrust, and of ill-will, coul,d urge her. On the fuppoikion that France might intend to claim the guaranty, a hasty and haifh reftfal before we were alked, on a ground that accu'ed her of being the aggrr{Tor in the war against e *ery power in the catalogue of her enemies, and ;n a enfis all her fcnfibility must be alive ».>w/ids ihe Uni'id Siau t, woulfl taavc given e- Very puffiole lirratafltfn'to a <it pp«»ii-v. mc nl which motive thai one oation r.ouid let! towiirdi another and towjidi itjclf, requned to be allrvia ed lit al* the ciro»uifpc£lion and d«- iicacv that could be applied the ocdafion. The fiirucc of the Executive fmcc the accejlioi of Spain and Portugal to the war againlt France throws great light on the present dffcuffioo. Had the proclamation been iftiied id the fenfV, and for the purpoict ascribed to it, that "is to a declaration of neutrality, another vyould have followed, on that event. If it r wfjlj;t he. right and duty of the Government, that is, xb&JbsJidcntUa manifeil 10 Great Britain and Hoi.., id ;• and to the Ame-ican merchants and cititetrt, hit his disposition, and his views oo.fcfye <jueJ|ion, whether Uk United were under the circum fiances ofthe oafe, bound or not, to execute the clauft of guar'a&ty, and not to leave it uncertain whether tht Executive aid or did not "believe a Jlat< of neutrality,tg be confiftcftt with our treaties, flic duty as we| 'as the right prcfcribed a ftmilar manifeitation to all che; parties concerned after *Spainand Por tugal had joine4.ihe other maritime enemies o( France. The opinion of the Executive with re . fpe£l to a consistency or inconsistency of neutra lity with treaties in the latter cafe coijld not be inferred from the proclamation in the former, because the circumfiances night be different. Tale ing the proclamation in its propei fei>4V, as ie minding all concerned, that as the United States were at prace (thpt state not affiftcd by foreign wars, and only to be changed by the legislative authority of the country) the laws of peace were still obligatory and would be en forced, and the inference is so obvious and f<i aoplTcable to .all other cases whatever circum fiances may distinguish them, that ailot'ur pro clamation would be unnecclfary. Here is a new afpe& of 'he whole fubjeit, admonishing us in the most firiking maoiidr aMjncoof the danger of the prerogative contended for and the absurdity of the diftin£linas and arguments eni* pToyed in its favour. 7t wotild be is impofli ble in pra6lic«, as it is in theory,to (eparateMi power of judging and concluding that the oblt gationsof a ueaty do not impose war from tfiat of judging and concluding that the obligations do impose war. In certain cases, silence would proclaim the latter conclusion, as intelligibly a* words could do t he-former. The writer indeed has himfelf abandoned the diftinftion in his Vrich paper, by declaring expressly that the ob ject of the proclamation would have beeti de feated li by leaving it uncertain whether th< Executive d?d or did not brieve a Hate of neu trality to be confident with our treaties. I^ELVIDIUS. * The writer u betrayed into an acknowledgment of this in his yth No. where he applies his reasoning to Spain as we'll as to Great-Britain € id Holland He had jorgotten that 'Spain was not included in the proclamation. Foreign Intelligence. WATERFORD, (Ireland/May 2. LAST Tuesday the firft Hone of the bridge which is to.be buiit over the river Suir, oppo&te Bridge ftreet, was laid by Sir John New port, Bart, in the prelence of a number of gentlemen, and a vast concouiTe ot people. On the stone was fixed a plate of copper, on which was engraved the following infeription : •> In 1793, I A year rendered (acred to National prosperity By the extin&iou of Religious Divisions, The foundation of'this was laid, JAt the expence of aflocFared Individuals, Unaided by Parliamentary Grants,' By Sir John Newport, Bart, Chairman of their Committee, Mr. Lemuel Cox, a Native of Boiton, Architect. LISBON, June 24. SQine of your pajiers talk of a fleet from this country, .WJiich is to join Lord Howe, at Portsmouth.— It is true, that there are'a few good veflels here, which have been late ly, in some measure, prepared for sea ; but they are, at present, with out stores, and have 110 c half their complement of meri. Lad week they went over the Bar, and had a mock engagement, biit soon return ed ; the bowsprit of one of them war carried away. PARI S, June 22. The wits again begin to ridicble the new conltituiion. Some call it the constitution of Bentabole ; others the extempore constitution ; another calls it a Table of Matter. Danton compares it to the thunder, which is occasioned by clouds of anarchy heaped upon one another ; and on a central battery, wbitfft fires in all directions npon' the afflatus. It is reported, that 40Revolution ary Females, of tHe w Society of Fra ternity, presented themselves on the 18th inft. at the Club of Corde liers, to engage them to ifl'ue a re quest to the feiftions, to order all the Women at Paris to join them, Sunday next, in the Champ de Mars, to swear the death of intriguers, to guard Paris, and march against the rebels of La Vendee. 542 NATIONAL CONVENTION TUESDAT, July 2. Deputies from the Department of Core-d'Or appeared at tbe bar, and (aid, "We are French Moun taineers. Your long djfcuffioiH tir« us and all France. You have, how ever, inade amends by giving us a constitution, and liberty triumphs. We profefs obedience to your de crees." On the proposition of Lacroix, the following decree was palled :— " The National Convention pro visionally suspends the payment of all salaries to those who live in the diftri<sU in a state of infurredtion against the National Convention, until they can prove that they are not concerned in these doings, or that they retratfl what they have done." LONDON, July 16. Declaration of the French, Aflembled under tbe command of Gene ral Gallon, in tbe Departments of Vendee, Maine, Loire, and Loire Infericure. Denounced by the assembly entitling itfelf the national convention of France, a3 traitors to our country, and rebels to its laws, we ought, as our duty, to de clare to all loyal Frenchmen, and all the loyalists of Euiope, the motives which have hitherto diiefted our conduct, the principles which (hall for the future regu late it. When firft we aflembled in February last, in the defence of our lives, of our individual fafety, of our religion, of our libetty, and of our property, thegreatefl: of crimes was committed—the head bf Louis XVI. was brought to the fcaf fold. From that time, nothing eould be ex pected from the new order of things that arose up in France, under the name of republic, but confufion, robberies, and anarchy, every day gave birth to a new faflion ; and if these robbers sometimes appeared divided among th.emfelves in opinion and interest, upon two principal points they terminated their difference, viz. usurpation and pillaging of property, maffacreing andimprifoning goodcitizens, who refufed being accomplices in their enormities. For more than three years the rights of persons and property have und«ngone in France numerous attempts ; violence hindered us from the free exercise of the religion of out fore fathers. But, there remained to us a King j and though he was stripped of that part of his authority so necessary for the maintaining a great monarchy, we were still in hopes that the French people would yet acknowledge their true intercfts, and that order would be re-eftablilhed without cor.vulfions, and without violence. We were deprived of this-lad hope when we saw our fellow citizens, truly groaning under the yoke of a small num ber of factions, but making no effort to liberate themselves ; struck with conster nation at viewing our king dragged to the place of execution ; but keeping si. lence through terror, and not daring to arm ourselves to rescue him from the clutches of his executioners. Under such dilemmas, what were loyal fubje&s to do ?—either accomplices or victims was to be our portion ; but we would be neither the one or the other ; we have assembled, we have aimed our selves, and hitherto Heaven has crowned our efforts with success. We are not the aggressors ; our inten tions are only to defend our persons and property. As men, we have the righr to refill oppression ; as possessors of pro perty, we oppose its devalhtion •, as Frenchmen, we will hare a king ; as Christians, we will have the religion of ourTathers; as citizens, we will have fixed laws, under cover of which we may again find peace. In fine, we are weary of being the sport and vifiims of the fa&ious. This is neither the time nor place to declaim on political opinions 5 we have not the smallest pretension to govern France. Individual fafetv, property, liberty of religious worship, and a king, are what we demand j for that it is we contend ; and we will not disarm till we have obtained them. . We invite all people', whatever may be their political or religious opinious opini ons, to unite themfelvea quickly to us ; it is their moll prefiihg interest ; for every man who is not a robber is oh our fide ; if any citiz;n has not a hed |^op er »y t defend, all have at le:tft theiY p<:r rnn. property, (and peifonal liberty it <ham< fuliy violated by our enemies) all are in tetefted in enjoying in peace, the fruit o their labor and industry ; all are intereit ed in living securely at home, and to hav. their house? for an asylum—this is wha we demand for our fellow citizens, a: well as for ouifelves. It is the intcreft of all the powers ol Europe to sustain arid protest us ; sot our,enemies arc such at withed to over, throw, every king and 1 every throne. • It is the interest of all people to fend us help : for our enemie# wished to dif< turb the peace, and overturn the laws ol all people. Our enemies unmercifully punish with death those of us they make prisoners ol war. We declare, before all Europe and France, that we have not used, and wt will not use, in this respeCt, death foi death. The cause which we defend ii that of justice and humanity ; and w< will never dishonor it by a&tof barbarity. They threaten to cruih ui by number! and the factious announce, that thej will attack us with all the forces they car aflemble. We await them determined for we have on our fide our courage, anc the julf?e of our cause. We have th< God of armies, who will fight for us'! the God of Clovis and of St. Louis who did not permit formerly the Frencl monarchy to be overthrown, and wh< miraculouily fullained the throne of 001 kings, almoftdeltroyed under Charles V under Charles VII. and under Henn IV. At lad, if, by one of those ltrokes o providence, which the human mind car neither calculate nor forefee, we are o»er come in the defence of a cause so jull, wt shall at leait have the glory of dying, ij fighting for our God, for our king, anc for our country,—thousands will arn themselves sooner or later to avenge us for the Funch pepple will at last be wearj of their heavy yoke of anarchy ; anc even our defeat itfelf will serve to hafter the fall of our tyrants. JJefides, le them not believe us so weak as we ar< said to be at the bar, and at the tribuni of their aflembly, where they place u between vidtory and punidiment ; so they are always strong, who have.qo o ther alternative but to conquer or die. (Signed) GASTON, For myfelf and my bran fellow soldiers. General Quarters, near"! Fontenay la Comte > 25th May, 1793. J SPANISH STATE PAPER. Proclamation of Gen. Ricandbs, com manding the Spanish Array againfl France. - THE army over which the Kinpr ha been pleased to give me the command doe* not enter France with boftile inten tions. His Majesty, a conftant'friend o the French monarchy and nations, onlj ptopofcs himfelf to deliver her from tk< horrid depotifm with, which she .is op prefTed and tyrannized by an unlawful, usurping, and unruled assembly, who after having fubverced and trod upon rc ligion, laws, and the fafety of public aw individual property, after having com mitted and ordained, in cold blood, thi mod unheard-of murders ot» the moll re fpe&able and innocent pcrfons, have fil led the meafureof their iniquities*by (htd ding the blood of their lawful and well meaning sovereign. ,For these reasons, the king 6rders mt to declare, as I do declare in his name that all good Frenchmen who, abhorring the erroneous and perverse maxims that have produced, and are productive of ar overthrow, as fatal as it is disastrous, (hal declare themselves to be attached to then monaich, will find in his majesty everj kind of protection and support ; that the troopk whom I have the honor to com mand, shall obfetve the most fcrupuloui discipline, and shall in no manner attach the fafety nor property of any body Tiiat the speediest justice (hall be done tc every Frenchman, who (hall make a well founded complaint against any individua whatever of the Spanish army, and that the troops shall pay ready money foi whatevei is fold or furnifhed to them On the contrary, all those wfl be perfe cted who persevering in Jalfe principles or deluded by the attra&fon of an illufor) liberty, shall fide with the pietended Nati onal Convention, and a& against the
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