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