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N O R T ' KNIRBS
(Vol. p.)
i i
Saturday, June 14, 1794,1.
('V- 440.)
p H U A DELPHI A, May26
Tie filh"vin very in! ere fling Letters were
) read in the Houfe of Representative's of the
United St tes, on We&nefday andycflerdayi
Philadciphia,May(2o, I794.
S I
the pendency of the 'negcciatJom I quote
I this oniy 10 ihew the contrail between the a
temper obferved on your part towards' usand
on cur part towards you. 7 his pofleffion
! oj our acknowledged tei ritory, Jhas not the
!Prtct f Itatu quo oh its fide 5 it has no .
pretext at all.; It is an act,: the hfility 0 .
t. ' . . 1
- 1 1 . - A. a A l A
1 t 77 A- j ' ' C r l 'u,wl'ww' pcpai-faiea uy connection with
JLfpecch,faidtobc addreiTed, cn (the icthof j that negociation. It is calculated to iW.
Peoruary, 1704, 10 fevcralIndian nations, . poit an enemy whom we are feekin to
afenbed to the eovernor eencrjl of his hxincrtn.nar. ; - . 1
. 0 rr .. . . . . .
Britannic majefty at Quebec, has appeared
in molt of the:public priujs(in tne unucu .
states. Withrfo many cHcumftinces of
autl.tiitluty, after remaining fd lofg with
cut contradiction, it might have juflificd us .j
in inquiring from yor, whether it was reaU j
ly delivered under Eritifh authority. Our;
iorbearance thus to inquire is conformable j
with the moderation which has directed the
conduct 0 our government towards Great- j
Britain; and indicates, at the fame time,
our hope, from the declarations cf yours,
that its views would prove ultimately pacific
and that it would discountenance every mca
fureof its odicer having a contrary ten-
Lven now, Sir, while I entertain a firm j
pe:fuafion, that in alluring this fpeech to
be -genuine 1 cannot well err, I fhall be
rea.ty to retract the comments which I am
about to make, if you hall think propcr.to
deny its authenticity. . j . .
At the very nument when .the Britlfh j
miniftry were forwarding al urances of good L
viil, decs lord Dorchefter foller andencou- i
rage, in the Indians, h'oftile difpofitions to-
wards the United States. It it was a part
of the American chara&er to indu'ge fufpi-
cioh, what might not be conjectured as to 1
the influence by which our treaty was - de- j
feated in the lad year, from the aflembling
; of deputies from almoft all the nations who j
were at the late general council on th Mi- '
am:, and whole enmity againit us cannot j
be doubled ? How nearly would t)iatlulpi- :
cion approach to proof, were we. to recol
lect, th.it fo high an officer as himfclf would
not raflily hazard this exp'reflion : .." I
' (hould not be furprized, if we arc at war t
'".with the United States, in the courfe of
the prefent year ; and if we are, a line !
' mult then be drawn by the warriors."
But this fpeech only forebodes hollility :
the intelligence which has betn re cived
this morning is, if true, host :L 11 y it- !
self. The Prefident of the United States r
has underflood, through channels cf real
confidence, that governor Simcde has gone
to the foot of the rjpids of the Miami; fol-
lowed by three companies of a Britifli regi-
ment, in order to Lu;Id a fort there.
Permit me then .to aflc, whether thefe
things be fo? It has been ufual, for each
party to a negociation, to paV fuch a de
ference to the pretenfions of jthe other, as , ,
to'ktep their affairs in the fame pofture,
until the negociation was concluded On
this principle, you complained, in your let-'
ter cf the 5th of July 1792, jof thejurifdic
ti:n attempted to be exerciled, under the
ftate of Vermont; within- thediftridi oc-!
cupied by the troops of your king 5 and de
manded, that our government fhould fup
prefs It from refpect to the difcuflion which ?
was pending. On this principle, you were
afluredi that proper meafures fhould be a
doptcd. On the fame principle, you renew
on the 10th of March, 1794, a fimilar ap
plication , and are anfwered, that the mea
' fures ot the government fhould correfpond
.witliitsafluranccs. Accordingly, although
the forts, garrifons and diftridts, to which 1
your letters relate, are confelTedly within
the limits of the .United States, yet have
our citizens been forbidden to interrupt you
in thi occupancy of them. ; What return
then have we a right to expect ? V j
But you will not fuppofe that I put the
Impropriety of the prefent aggreflion upon
v .111 r . t ; - r-
iiuuwu vi me, united states to-
rcar uritain, is an unequivoca prcof, af
ter all jhat has , Jiapjjened ,1 of t;tV-fincerc $
wifli of our gbvt Tnment ro preferve peace,
and a good underftandmg with your nation
But oar hohour.and fafety reqdire "that an
invejion Jfiail be repelled ' . .
Let me therefore inform yon, , Sir, that
I have it in charge from thePrendent
of theUn'ted States, to requelt and uroe ydu
to take imrrediate-and effectual meafures,
as far as in you lies, tofupprefs thefe hofliie
mo errinss 5 10 call to mind? that the army
of the United States,- in their march agarnlt?
the enemy, will not be able to jdifiingujfh
between tb 'em, and cny other peiplt aflbuated
in the war ; tov-compare thefe incroach
rnents with the 'candour of ojf conduct,7
and.the doctrines which yen have maintain
ed ; I and to admonifl thofe' who fhall throw
obrtacles in the . way of negociaiion, and
tranquility, that they will be refponlible for
all tne unnappy ccnieuenxes,
- j I have the honor to be;
I : With refpectj
I I j Your moll obedient fervarit. I
1 (Signed) EDM. RANDOLPH.
Mr. IUmmond, .Mihiller. )
Plenipotentiary pi his Bri
tannic Majefty. j
"'"i " s - Philadephia, May 2 2d, 1704:
- I S I V- ':r
IN anfwer to your letter of: the 20th cur
rent, which 1 did not receive until late in
the "afternoon of yelierday,' it is necelTary"
for me to j remife that, whatever may be
my perfonal opinion, with , reflect to the
ftile and manner in which you have thought
it proper to addrefs me,' upon the pvelent
occafion; -it is not my intention to oher any
an.madverfion upon them, but to proceed
with temper and candour tO:the examhrati
on of rhe fubjects of your letter. - j ,
1 hough I never can acknowledge the right
of this government to require from me jib
categorically as you have required it, an
expiariation of any meafiire erriunaf hg irom
the Governors ot Canada, over whofe acti
onr. I have no controul, and for whofe cOn
duct I am not reiponfible ; I am willing; to
admit the authenticity .of the fpeech to cer
tain Indian nati'ens to which you have al
luded, and which you have afcribed to the
Governor General of his; Majeft V poiTef.
fions in North America. But in order I f o
afcertairt the precife fenfejof the, only paf
fage of thar fpeech, to which you have re
ferred, and of which you have given me'rely
a partial citation,; I mail quote the pafiage
at length zr ' ' . ; 'v ; "
".Children, ! : - r ; v -
Since my return, I jindhb 'appearance
ft of a line t emains, and from the manner
which the feope of the States pufi on f and
del)1 and talk on this fide and from luhfctl
" can learn cf their conducl t ards the fear
u Ifliall not be furpriied, if we are at war
" with them in the courfe of the prefent
year,and if fo, a line mult then be drawn
cc by the warriors." - From the context! of
this whole paflage, it is manifeft that Lord
Dorchefter was perftiaded, that the aggref
fion which might eventually lead to a ttate
of holtility, had proceded from the United
States; and fo far as the ftate of Vermont,
to which I prefume his Lordjhip principally
alluded, was implicated, I am convinced
that, that perfuafion was not 111 founded f
For notwithftandiiig the pofitive aiTuraies f
which I received ircm your predeceflbr, ont.
the 9th of ju'y 1792, in anfwer to my letter
of the 5th of the fame month, -of the deter
mi nation; of the general government t o d if
courage j a;;d reprefs the encroach men : s,
which the ftate and iridividus of Veimont
had committed, on the terriroy occupied by
his Majefty's :arrii'ons I afleit with con- :.
fidehce, that not only theie encrbachmentr
have never been in any .manner, reprefied,
but that recent infringements in that quarter
anci on the territory , in its vicinity have been, ''.
commit:ed. Indeed if this aiTtion'bfmine
could require any corroboration. , 1 would
remark, that though ihi pace'off'ty duys,
elapfed betw een, my, letter of the 10th of
March; 1 794, upon, this fubject, and your an
fwer, of the 29th April 1794. ycu did; i.ot
atiemfJt to deny the f : as which J then dat
ed, and wl i h J now txpljcitly reper.t. ;
Jn regard to your detlaiation that pb
( verrior Sincce has gore to the lco of the
f Miami, fbllowed ly three companies cf a
" Britifh regiment j, in order to build a fort
there."-J I have no intelligence that fucH
an event has actually; occurred; Eut eyeti
admitting your information to be accurte
much.will depend bn-the . places in which
you afllrt, that the ibrt'is intended to be
erected, and whether it be ;fbr;;he fHirpbfe,
of pro'ecting fubj cts f h's majelty refiding
in diftricts depencing tn the lort of Detroit,
Or of preventing that fort re ''3 from bing.
-Straitened by jhe Approach of the 'Ame icaa.. .
arrny $ to iirier 6; which ei fes j I imagine;
that the principle of the tdfs ou un jl the '
final arrangement orthe poinu in diJcufliort '
between the two cburtriiS (h.Ul hi to .ciu
ded, .'will ftrictly apply. In order hovvever
to correct any inaccurate '?intOrr?iatiou yevt
may have received, of to avoid tny ambi
guity relative to this ' circumtlance, i fiiall
immediately tranfmit copies of your letter,
and of this aqfwer,- as vvcll to thp governor
general of his majefty's pofieflions in North
Amerxa, and the governor or Upper Can- A,
ada as to his Majefti 's miniiters in Eng- i
jana, tor tneir reipective inrormsnon . .p;
Before I conclude this letter, I mu ft be:
perm ttel tbobierve that I haye coffin td to
the unreprefled and continued aggrefliorisf
of the ftate bf Vermont, aloneV the perfua
fit n of Lord Dorchefter, that they were in
d ic a t ive of an exifting hoftile d if p ofitibn i ri
the United State sagainft Great-Britain, ano
might ultimately : produce an ..act iial ftate of
war cn their part. . If I had betn'defirousot
recurring to other fources of diiquiet
I might, from the allufion ofljisLorpfhip
to the conduct of this government towards
" the fea," have deduced other motiyes
of apprel ehhbn, in which, irom the foli
citude you evince to eftablilh " a '- - contraft:
between the temper oblerVv?d on your part
towards us, and our part towards. you,'
I might have conceived mylelf juftifiiJ in
dilating. I might have adver ed to the
pr vateers originally fitted .out at Charleon'
at the commencement ot the prelentholtiL
iticsi i and 1 which were allowed to', depart;
from that port, not only with the confentj
but under the exprefs permifticri of the go3
vernor of South-Carolina. ,: ; P ; .
I might have ad vet 1 ed to the prizes made
by thefe privateers, of which the; legality;
was in fome meafure admitted,, by the refu-
fal ot this government t to reitore, tucn as
were made antecedently to the 5th of June
i 793V I might have aj verted to the; peri
mifnnn Granted bv this er vernment to the
'" o ' . -
ue. r
mmmanders 6f French (hips of war, and of
privateers,1 to dilpcie of their prizes by !al e
in ports of the United tatefs. I might have;
adverted 10 the. two privateers le petit De
mocrat (now la Cbrrolia) and le' Carmgnoj
bottt which were illegally fitted out in the
river Delaware, i and which in con fequencc
of my remonftrances and ot the afTurahccs-
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