who has since honestly avowed, that he did it out of the public money, and for the sake of setting an example to the public! This was in due course; but, such examples have no effect, I believe, except on those, who, some how or other, get by the war.--Let these persons give their money to the Russians for setting fire to their own houses, as the TIMES tells us, they have their taste; but, one would imagine, that, in the sums voted by parliament, that is to say, in the sums given away out of the taxes raised upon the people of England, some of our own poor creatures, such as those at Nottingham, might be permitted to share with the Russians. The Russians, we are told, suffer in the war against our enemy; and do not our own paupers suffer from the same cause? Do not they suffer from the imposing of taxes and from the loss of their business? And what do these arise from but from the war?-I should, I must confess, be very glad to hear the reasons, why our poor suffering wretches are not to have a parliamentary grant as well as the sufferers in Russia. But, this is what I shall not hear from any of the hireling writers. This is a topic that they will not touch upon; for, if they were to give their reasons; their TRUE reasons, they would speak a little too plain even to the people of England. As to the prayer of the Muly Molock, "know all," --He is not ill, nor does he appear to be at all disconcerted at what has taken place in the North. He will organize his plans, in all probability, for another campaign in Russia; and we shall, perhaps, hereafter repent, that we have missed the last opportunity of making a safe and honourable peace. The people of Nottingham do not seem, however, to view the matter in a right light. They seem to think, that it is the present ministry who prevent peace. But, have they heard either of the other factions say a word in its favour? Have they not, on the contrary, heard the other factions blame the ministers for not carrying on the war upon a more extended scale? These factions, if they be sincere, want more war than we now have, and, of course, more taxes. They cry out, that Lord Wellington wants money. Aye, I dare say, he does; but, must not we pay it before he gets it? And do we want to pay more money? The fact is, that the OUT factions blame the ministers for being too sparing of our purses! We shall have peace at last; but not, in my opinion, while the guinea is so cheap as it now is. It will now sell for only about 29s. 6d. It must be a great deal dearer before we shall, in my opinion, have peace. Wм. СОВВЕТТ petition, I know not what the Regent may Botley, 7th January, 1813. think of it; but, the hireling press, so far from thinking of peace, is, more than - ever bent on war. It will now hear of no peace, the path to which is not " over the "corpse of the monster;" meaning the Emperor of France, and which "monster's" corpse seems, as yet, to be, however, in pretty good health and preservation.What wiseacres! They are as wise as they are honest, however; and, the suffering of them, the tolerating of their trash, meets with its just reward. They, like many thousands of others, would lose by peace; and, therefore, they are for war. They will not now treat with Napoleon because he is, as they say, at a low ebb; and formerly they would not treat with him, because he swam with the tide of victory: so that, according to them, there never can come a time to treat for peace with the ruler of France. But, I had forgotten, he is very ill. V Very ill. He does, indeed, preside at Councils, review his troops, and hunt in the woods; but, still the Times and the Courier will insist, that he is very ill. They, like OFFICIAL PAPERS. PROCLAMATION, : Issued by the Emperor Alexander, dated (Continued from page 30.) he now, with the small remains of them, seeks his personal safety in the rapidity of his flight; he flies from Moscow with as much fear and depression as he advanced against it with pride and insolence; he flies, leaving his cannon behind him, throwing away his baggage, and sacrificing every thing that can retard the swiftness of his flight. Thousands of the fugitives daily fall to the earth and expire. In such manner does the just vengeance of God punish those who insult his temples. Whilst we, with paternal tenderness and joyful heart, observe the great and praiseworthy actions of our faithful subjects, we carry our most warm and lively gratitude to the first cause of all good, -the Almigh- | high a purpose, and such invincible per ty God; and in the next place we have to express our thanks in the name of our common country, to all our loyal subjects, as the true sons of Russia. By their general energy and zeal, the force of the enemy is brought down to the lowest degree of decline, for the greater part has either been annihilated or made prisoners. All have unanimously joined in the work. Our valiant armies have every where defeated the enemy. The higher nobility have spared nothing by which it could contribute to the increase of the strength of the State. The merchants have distinguished themselves by sacrifices of all kinds. The loyal people, burghers, and peasantry, have given such proofs of fidelity and love for their country, as can only be expected of the Russian nation. They have zealously and voluntarily entered into the hastily raised levies, and have shewn a courage and resolution equal to veteran warriors. They have with the same force and intrepidity penetrated the enemy's regiments, with the same implements with which they only a few weeks before turned up their fields. In this manner the troops of levies sent from St. Petersburgh and Novogorod, for the strengthening of the forces severance in the whole nation, does it immortal honour, worthy of being preserved in the minds of posterity. With the courage of such a nation, we entertain the most well-founded hopes. Whilst we jointly with the true church, and the holy synod and clergy, supplicate God's assistance, that if our inveterate enemy, and the mocker of God's temple and holiness, should not be entirely and totally destroyed in Russia, yet that his deep wounds, and the blood it has cost him, will bring him to acknowledge her might and strength. Meanwhile, we hold it to be our bounden duty, by this general publication before the whole world, to express our gratitude to the valiant, loyal, and religious Russian nation, and thereby render it due justice. - Given at St. Petersburgh, the 15th day of November, in the year 1812, after the birth of Christ, and in the twelfth year of our reign. (Signed) ALEXANDER. UNITED STATES. under Count Wittgenstein, have behaved Farther Documents accompanying the Pre themselves, especially at Polotzk, and other places. We have besides, and with heartfelt satisfaction, perceived by the reports of the Commander in Chief of the armies, and from other Generals, that in several Governments, and particularly in those of Moscow and Kalouga, the country people have armed themselves, chosen their own leaders, and not only resisted all attempts at seducing them, but also sustained all the calamities that have befallen them with the perseverance of martyrs. Often have they united themselves with our detachments, and assisted them in making their enterprises and attacks against the enemy. Many villages have secreted their families and tender infants in the woods; and the inhabitants, with armed hand and inconceivable courage, under engagements on the Holy Gospel not to leave each other in danger, defended themselves, and whenever the enemy shewed himself, have fallen upon him, so that many thousands of them have been cut to pieces, and dispersed by the peasants, and even by their women, and numbers taken prisoners, who were indebted for their lives to the humanity of those very people whom they came to plunder and destroy. So sident's Message. Mr. Graham to Mr. Russell. Department of State, Aug. 9, 1812. Sir, The Secretary left this city about ten days ago, on a short visit to Virginia. Since that period Mr. Baker has, in consequence of some dispatches from his Gevernment addressed to Mr. Foster, made to me a communication respecting the intentions of his Government, as regards the Orders in Council. It was of a character, however, so entirely informal and confidential, that Mr. Baker did not feel himself at liberty to make it in the form of a note verbal or pro memoria, or even to permit me to take a memorandum of it at the time he made it. As it authorizes an expectation that something more precise and definite, in an official form, may soon be received by this Government, it is the less necessary that I should go into an explanation of the views of the President in relation to it, more particularly as the Secretary of State is daily expected, and will be able to do it in a manner more satisfactory. I have the honour to be, &c (Signed) JOHN GRAHAM. Mr. Graham to Mr. Russell. Department of State, Aug. 10, 1812. Sir, Thinking that it may possibly be useful to you, I do myself the honour to enclose a memorandum of the conversation between Mr. Baker and myself, alluded to in my letter of yestesday's date. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) JOHN Graham. Mr. Baker also stated, that he had received an authority from Mr. Foster to act as Charge d'Affaires, provided the American Government would receive him in that' character, for the purpose of enabling him officially to communicate the declaration which was to be expected from the British Government; his instructions to be understood, of course, as ceasing on the renewal of hostilities. I replied, that although to so general and informal a communication, no answer might be necessary, and certainly no particular answer expected, yet I was authorized to say, that the communication is received with sincere satisfaction, as it is hoped the spirit in which it is authorized by his Government may lead to such farther communications as will open the way not only for an early and satisfactory termination, of existing hostilities, but to that entire adjustment of all the differences which produced them, and that permanent peace and solid friendship which ought to be mutually desired by both countries, and which is sincerely desired by this. With this desire, an authority was given to Mr. Russell on the subject of an armistice, as introductory to a final pacification, as has been made known to Mr. Foster; and the same desire will be felt on the receipt of the further and more particular communications, which are shortly to be expected, with respect to the joint intimation from Mr. Foster and the British authorities at Halifax, on the subject of suspending judicial proceedings in the case of maritime captures, to be accompanied by a suspension of military operations. The authority given to Mr. Russell just alluded to, and of which Mr. Foster was the bearer, is full proof of the solicitude of the Government of the United States to bring about a general suspension of hostilities on admissible terms, with as little delay as possible. It was not to be doubted, therefore, that any other practical expedient for obtaining Sir John Sherbroke, had authorized Mr. in. Upon the most favourable consideraBaker to say, that these gentlemen would ❘tion, however, which could be given to agree, as a measure leading to a suspen- the expedient suggested through him, it sion of hostilities, that all captures made did not appear to be reducible to any pracafter a day to be fixed, should not be proceeded against immediately, but be detained to await the future decision of the two Governments. Mr. Foster had not Memorandum referred to in the above Leller. Mr. Baker verbally communicated to me, for the information of the President, that he had received dispatches from his Government, addressed to Mr. Foster, dated, I believe, about the 17th of June, from which he was authorized to say, that an official declaration would be sent to this country, that the Orders in Council, so far as they affected the United States, would be repealed on the 1st of August, to be revived on the 1st of May, 1813, unless the conduct of the French Government, and the result of the communications with the American Government, should be such as, in the opinion of His Majesty, to render their revival unnecessary. Mr. Baker moreover stated, that the Orders would be revived, provided the American Government did not, within fourteen days after they received the official declaration of their repeal, admit British armed vessels into their ports, and put an end to the restrictive measures which had grown out of the Orders in Council. The dispatches authorizing this communication to the American Government expressly directed, that it should be made verbally, and Mr. Baker did not consider himself at liberty to reduce it to writing, even in the form of a note-verbal, or pro memoria, or to suffer me to take a memorandum of his communication at the time he made it. I understood from him, that the dispatches had been opened by Mr. Foster, at Halifax, who, in consequence of a conversation 'he had had with Vice-Admiral Sawyer and a similar result would readily be concurred seen Sir G. Provost, but had written to him by express, and did not doubt but that he would agree to an arrangement for the temporary suspension of hostilities. ticable shape to which the Executive would be authorized to give it the necessary sanction; nor indeed is it probable, that if it was less liable to insuperable difficulties, it could have any material effect previous to the result of the pacific advance made by this Government, and which must, if favourably received, become operative as soon as any other arrangement that could now be made. It was stated to Mr. Baker, that the President did not, under existing circumstances, consider Mr. Foster as vested with the power of appointing a Charge d'Affaires; but that no difficulty in point of form would be made, as any authentic communication through him, or any other channel, would be received with attention and respect. The Secretary of State to Mr. Russell. [Extract.] Department of State, Aug. 21, 1812. My last letter to you was of the 27th of July, and was forwarded by the British packet, the Althea, under the special protection of Mr. Baker. The object of that letter, and of the next preceding one of the 20th of June, was, to invest you with power to suspend by an armistice, on such fair cond conditions as it was presumed could nat be rejected, the operation of the war, which had been brought on the United States by the injustice and violence of the British Government. At the moment of the declaration of war, the President, regretting the necessity which produced it, looked to its termination and provided for it; and happy will it be for both countries, if the disposition felt, and the advance thus made on his part, are entertained and met by the British Government in a similar spirit. You will have seen by the note forwarded to you by Mr. Graham, of Mr. Baker's communication to him, that Mr. Foster had authorized him to state, that the Commanders of the British forces at Halifax would agree to a suspension, after a day to be fixed, of the condemnation of prizes, to wait the decision of both Governments, without, however, preventing captures on either side. Sir George Prevost has since proposed to General Dearborn, at the suggestion of Mr. Foster, a suspension of offensive operations by land, in a letter which was transmitted by the General to the Secretary at War. A provisional agreement was entered into between General Dearborn and Colonel Baynes, the British Adjutant-General, bearer of General Prevost's letter, that neither party should act offensively before the decision of our Government should be taken on the subject. Since my return to Washington, the document alluded to in Mr. Foster's dispatch, as finally decided on by the British Government, has been handed to me by Mr. Baker, with a re mark, that its authenticity might be relied on. Mr. Baker added, that it was not improbable, that the Admiral at Halifax might agree likewise to a suspension of captures, though he did not profess or appear to be acquainted with his sentiments on that point. - On full consideration of all the circumstances which merit attention, the President regrets that it is not in his power to accede to the proposed arrangement. The following are among the principal reasons which have produced this decision:1st. The President has no power to suspend judicial proceedings on prizes. A capture, if lawful, vests a right, over which he has no control. Nor could he prevent captures otherwise than by an indiscriminate recal of the commissions granted to our privateers, which he could not justify under existing circumstances. 2d. The proposition is not made by the British Government, nor is there any certainty that it would be approved by it. 3d. No security is given or proposed, as to the Indians, nor could any be relied on. They have engaged in the war on the side of the British Government, and are now prosecuting it with vigour in their usual savage mode. They can only be restrained by force, when once let loose, and that force has already been ordered out for the purpose. - 4th. The proposition is not reciprocal, because it restrains the United States from acting where their power is greatest, and leaves Great Britain at li-berty, and gives her time to augment her force in our neighbourhood. - 5th. That as a principal object of the war is to obtain redress against the British practice of impressment, an agreement to suspend hostilities, even before the British Government is heard from on that subject, might be considered a relinquishment of that claim. - 6th. It is the more objectionable, and of the less importance, in considerationof the instructions heretofore given you, which, if met by the British Government, may have already produced the same result in a greater extent and more satisfactory form. I might add, that the declaration itself is objectionable in many respects, particularly the following: 1st. Because it asserts a right in the British Government to restore the Orders in Council, or any part thereof, to their full effect, on a principle of retaliation on France, under circumstances of which she alone is to judge: a right which this Government cannot admit, especially in the : extent heretofore claimed, and acted on by the British Government.--2d. That the appeal is founded exclusively on the French Decree of the 28th of April, 1811, by which the repeal of the Decrees of Berlin and Milan, announced on the 5th of August, 1810, to take effect on the 1st of November of that year, at which time their operation actually ceased, is disregarded, as are the claims of the United States arising from the repeal on that day, even according to the British pledge. 3d. That even if the United States had no right to claim the repeal of the British Orders in Council, prior to the French Decree of the 28th of April, 1811, nor before the notification of that Decree to the British Government on the 20th of May, of the present year, the British repeal ought to have borne date from that day, and been For the farther information of Congress, relative to the pacific advances made on the part of the Government to that of Great Britain, and the manner in which they have been met by the latter, I transmit the sequel of the communications on that sub ject, received from the late Charge d'Af faires at London. JAMES MADISON. DOCUMENTS WITH THE MESSAGE. London, Sept. 19, 1812. Sir, On the 12th inst. I received your letter of the 27th of July last; and the copies of my note to Lord Castlereagh, and of his Lordship's reply enclosed herein, will inform you that the propositions, made in consequence of it, have been rejected. As I have but this moment heard of the immediate departure of the Friends, I have time only to add, that I have received the communications of Mr. Graham, of the 9th and 10th of August, by the Gleaner, and that I leave London this evening, to embark on board the Lark, at Plymouth, for New York. I am, with the greatest respect and consideration, Sir, your faithful and obedient servant, subject to none of the limitations attached to it. These remarks on the declaration of the Prince Regent, which are not pursued with rigour, nor in the full extent which they might be, are applicable to it, in relation to the state of things which existed before the determination of the United States to resist the aggressions of the British Government by war. By that determination, the relations between the two countries have been altogether changed; and it is only by a termination of the war, or by measures leading to it by consent of both Governments, that its calamities can be closed or mitigated. It is not now a question, whether the declaration of the Prince Regent is such as ought to have produced a repeal of the Non-importation Act, had not war been declared; because, by the declaration of war, that question is superseded, and the Non-importation Act having been continued in force by Congress, and become a measure of war, and among the most efficient, it is no longer subject to the control of the Executive in the sense and for the purpose for which it was adopted. The declaration, however of the Prince Regent, will not be without effect. By repealing the Orders in Council, without reviving the blockade of May 1806, or any other illegal blockade, as is understood to be the case, it removes a great obstacle to an accommodation. The President considers it an indication of a disposition in the British Government to accommodate the differences which subsist between the two countries; and I am instructed to assure you, that if such disposition really exists, and is persevered in, and is extended to other objects, especially. My object was to communicate to your (Signed) JONA. RUSSELL. P. S. An interesting interview took place between Lord Castlereagh and myself on the 16th instant, the account of which I must, for want of time, reserve until I have the honour to see you. Mr. Russell to Lord Castlereagh. (Private). 18, Bentinck-street, 12th Sept. 1812. My Lord, In consequence of additional instructions which I have received from my Government this morning, I called about noon at the Foreign Office, and found with regret that your Lordship was out of town. |