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Richmond. His trial, on a charge of treason, of course, drew forth a great deal of political feeling, and gave rise to many unpleasant circumstances; but for want of sufficient evidence he was finally acquitted, and allowed to transport himself to Europe. His career as a politician was now at an end.

The conduct of France and England, in committing depredations on the commerce of the United States, had now begun to produce a great deal of irritation. Complaints against England, particularly, were loud and clamorous. In 1804, the president, in his message to congress, had congratulated them, that annoyances to trade had ceased in Europe, though they still existed in the American seas. In December, 1805, however, he announced that the aspect of foreign relations was totally changed. He represented the coasts as infested by foreign privateers, who made a practice of burning those captures to which they thought their claim questionable; and by public vessels which pryed into every creek and harbour. He spoke of new principles of commerce adopted, by which belligerents take to themselves the right of trading with the hostile country, which they deny to neutrals. He concluded by expressing a doubt, whether there was need of increasing the army; but the militia, he recommended, should be put in a state of defence.

pro

These warlike intimations were occasioned by the decrees of the British Admiralty, which had the effect of prohibitory laws upon American commerce, inasmuch as they declared such vessels as were engaged in conveying West India duce from the United States to Europe, legal prizes. The Americans having in their hands nearly the whole carrying trade of the world, during Napoleon's wars, could not but feel these decrees as levelled particularly at themselves.

As soon, therefore, as they were known, they excited the greatest indignation in the country. Meetings were held in each commercial city, petitions were forwarded to congress, and the republicans clamoured loudly for retaliation; so that the president did but obey the public voice in making this vigorous and almost menacing address. Not content with it, he followed it up by a message of the same import, in the January following.

The federalists objected that France and Spain committed equal encroachments, without exciting the president's ire in any such proportion. But in this they exaggerated, since the perseverance of England in impressing American seamen,

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and searching American ships for deserters, and that even upon our own coasts, produced daily causes of grievance far more numerous and irritating than the decrees of Napoleon. In the spring, the British ship Leander, then on a cruise off New York, practised the most rigid search and annoyances towards the vessels from that port. On one occasion a shot from it killed an American sailor of the name of Pearce. No sooner did a report of this reach the United States government, than a proclamation appeared, mentioning the murder, forbidding any communication between the shore and the ship, and in fact ordering it off the coast. This was followed by a more serious legislative act, against any further importation of British manufactures, the restriction to date from the ensuing November.

Meantime, in May, 1806, the British orders in council were passed, declaring several European ports under control of the French, to be in a state of blockade, and of course authorising the capture of American vessels bound for them.

In the month of June, 1807, an event occurred of an extremely irritating character. The British man-of-war Leopard, coming up with the American frigate Chesapeake, near the coast of the United States, fired into her, killed three of her men, and wounded eighteen more. The Chesapeake being a vessel of inferior force, and unprepared for action, struck her colours. She was then boarded by the British, her crew mustered, and four of them carried off under pretence that they were British deserters. They were subsequently tried at Halifax, and one of them hanged, by way of establishing the rightfulness of the impressment. The other three were proved to be Americans, who had been impressed by the British, and had escaped from their service.

The intelligence of this outrage was received with a burst of indignation throughout the country. Meetings of the citizens were very generally held, and, forgetting party distinctions, all united in resolutions to support the government in any measures of retaliation or redress which might be adopted. The president issued a proclamation, forbidding British ships of war the ports and harbours of the United States, and instructed the American ministers at the court of St. James's to demand satisfaction for the insult. He also summoned the congress to meet, and take the subject into consideration.

The act of the naval officer was promptly disavowed by

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the British government, who also forbade the right of search, which they claimed, to be extended to ships of war; but as no adequate reparation was offered, this outrage remained unforgiven; and contributed to keep alive the hostile feeling already excited by the aggressions of the British on our

commerce.

By his Berlin decree of 1806, Napoleon had forbidden the introduction of any English goods to the continent of Europe, even in neutral vessels, and shut the harbours of France against any vessel that should touch at an English port. The English, in retaliation, first prohibited the trade of neutrals from port to port, belonging to their enemy; and afterwards declared the whole coast of Europe in a state of blockade, prohibiting neutrals altogether from trade with the continent.

Napoleon, on learning that this measure had been adopted, thundered forth his famous Milan decree, confiscating not only the vessels that should touch at a British port, but such as should submit to be searched by the English. This was carrying hostilities to an extreme on both sides. The great powers of the land and sea, unable to measure their strength, since each was predominant on its own element, came to vent their blows upon America.

It was in vain that the government of the United States expostulated with them. To England it denied having submitted to the decrees of the French ruler; to the latter it represented the indefeasible rights of neutrals. 'Join with me in bringing England to reason,' was the reply of Napoleon, who was blind to all objects and reasons, but that of humbling his arch enemy. America was, in consequence, left to choose which of the belligerents she would take for an enemy, since both at once might prove too powerful for her, and neutrality, persevered in, only exposed her vessels to capture without retaliation to the disadvantages, in fact, without the advantages of war.

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The American ships being so much exposed to capture, congress, in December, 1807, decreed an embargo, or prohibition to American vessels to leave their ports, a measure which operated far more to the disadvantage of England and of American merchants, than of France. Mr. Jefferson, in his correspondence, acknowledges this to have been a measure preparatory to war, allowing the merchants to recall home their ships and sailors, and the country to put itself in

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a posture of defence. The embargo caused much distress, and many murmurs especially in the New England states; but the edict was rigidly enforced by the government.

During the year 1808, no progress was made towards an accommodation. To demands made by the United States of both the great European rivals, to recall their obnoxious decrees, France made no answer; whilst Mr. Canning returned one that was considered insulting. In the meantime, the distress in the United States, occasioned by the embargo, became so great as to occasion a considerable defection from the government party. In New England, particularly, the Federalists acquired a decided majority, and Massachusetts boldly remonstrated against the edict, and recommended its repeal.

In the autumn of 1808, Mr. Jefferson having signified his intention of retiring from office at the expiration of his second term, James Madison was elected to succeed him, and George Clinton was re-elected to the office of vice-president. În March, 1809, he retired to his farm at Monticello, to pass the remainder of his life in literary leisure, and the society of a large circle of admiring friends, who were constantly repairing to his residence to interchange the offices of kindness and attention.

The following remarks on the character of Jefferson are from a foreign writer, who appears to express himself with impartiality on American events and characters:

However secondary the name and fame of Jefferson may seem to those classic ones of the revolution-Washington and Franklin-his influence is likely to be much more considerable and permanent than that of these memorable persons. Their efforts, in conjunction with his, were directed to the great general task of freedom and independence; but, in addition to this, Jefferson has founded a school of political principle and party, which has swallowed up all others in the United States, and which is likely to be professed more or less by every free people. His principles are those, no doubt, of the French republicans; but their short-lived and stormy reign never allowed time for the developement of a principle. They proclaimed them, but had not time to act upon them, before they were cut down. But Jefferson stood long enough, and wrote, and spoke, and overcame, so as to infuse his own spirit into the majority. He exists, indeed, in history, as a model of a republican statesman-bold and levelling in his

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principles, and shrinking from none of their consequences. From some of these, from both perhaps, the monarchist of Europe may shrink. But argument is idle on such a subject, the great phenomenon is there, and, though yet incomplete, the experiment is in progress. The political government that Jefferson conceived is realised in that of the United States; and should it prove a happy one, durable, prosperous, and great, (and there is every prospect of its continuing, as there is proof of its being so,) it will be vain to find fault with the principles which have given birth to such a state. Of Jefferson's private honesty there is irrefragable proof. The property of one who had been the greater part of his life either the minister or the sovereign of his country, was sold to pay his debts.'

CHAPTER XXXVI.

COMMENCEMENT OF MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION.

THE public services of Mr. Madison had fully entitled him to the first office of the state. We have seen that he was one of the first authors of the federal constitution, and had been most active in recommending it to the adoption of his countrymen. His subsequent career had not been marked as that of a partisan. He was declared to want the strong anti-British feeling of his predecessor, and it was now confidently hoped, that an accommodation between the United States and the leading maritime power of Europe might speedily take place.

In March 1809, the embargo law was repealed, and an act passed prohibiting all intercourse between this country and both France and Great Britain. A provision was inserted in this non-intercourse law, that if either of the belligerent nations should revoke her hostile edicts, the law should cease to be in force with respect to that nation.

The repeal of the embargo, and the substitution of a less obnoxious act, offered a fit and favourable pretext for renewing negotiations. Mr. Erskine was accordingly sent out by the British government, to treat, and considering the suspension of the non-intercourse a fair equivalent for that of the orders