the legion, and the progrefs of the infurrection, will carry into the bofoms of the unwarlike citizens. In order to fpread the panic as generally as poffible, the legion is to be divided into feveral columns, having fettled a common rendezvous, where they are to affemble every four, fix, or eight days. The inhabitants must be obliged to ferve as guides, and any who refufe are to be punished on the fpot; the magiftrates, or fome of their families, are always to be employed in preference, on this fervice, that they may not accufe or punish the others. All denunciations against thofe who join the legion, are to be punished with death. Wherever the legion, or any of its columns, is pofted, if the neighbouring parishes do not give inftant notice of the approach of the enemy, whether by ringing of bells, or otherwife, they are to be given up to fire and fword. Colonel Tate will not omit to obferve, that there are in England numbers of French, who will be eager to join him, fuch as prifoners of war, foldiers and failors, privates in the English emigrant regiments, and a crowd of others, whom want, and the defire of vengeance, will draw to his ftandard. He may admit fuch Frenchmen into the legion; but he will obferve to be on his guard, that the new-comers may not raise cabals or factions, especially if there fhould be among them any nobles or priests, whofe ambition is only to be exceeded by their cowardice. Should any fuch attempt be made, he will take care to punish it most severely. Colonel Tate will encourage all deferters and prifoners to enter into the new companies before mentioned: fhould fuch prifoners refufe, he will have their heads and eye-brows; and if they are taken again in arms, they are to be fhot. (Signed) L. HOCHE. To Colonel Tate, on his military Operations and Marches. WITH boldness and intelligence combined, you may easily poffefs yourself of Chefter or Liverpool, which you will ruin, by burning the magazines, and filling up the ports, or at least you may cut off all communication between thofe cities and the interior. There is another object, which fhould likewife decide you to enter thofe counties, as you will be joined there by two other columns of French troops, to which you will unite that under your command, if the General commanding the expedition in chief fhall defire it. In order to fpread the confternation and aftonishment as wide as poffible, after the deftruction of Liverpool (for this point is capital), you must follow your blow, and feize upon fome fmall town or fea port on that coaft, which you will lay under con tribution. Your Your foldiers are to carry nothing with them but their arms, ammunition, and bread; they will find every where clothes, linen, and fhoes; the inhabitants may fupply your wants, and the feats of the gentry are to be your magazines. In cafe your pofition fhould be, at laft, no longer tenable, or that fuperior forces fhould compel you to quit the country bordering on the Channel, you must not lofe an inftant to join two French parties fent into the counties of York, Durham, and Northumberland. In that cafe, you must send me notice into Ire land, that I may be enabled to execute a diverfion in your favour. An officer in difguife may reach me, either by feizing a fifhingboat on the coaft of Wales, or elfe by the route of Scotland. (Signed) L. HOCHE. Executive Directory.Decree of the 13th Thermidor (August 2). ΤΗ HE Executive Directory having heard the report of the minifter of marine and the colonies; and confidering that the news recently arrived from the French colonies and the continent of America, leave not a doubt that the French cruifers, or the foi-difant French cruifers, have infringed the laws of the republic with refpect to prizes; confidering that foreigners and pirates have abused that latitude allowed in Cayenne and the Antilles to neutral veffels, either armed or mercantile, by cloaking under the French flag their exactions, and violation of that refpect due to the rights of nations, as well with regard to the perfons as the properties of allies of neutral powers; decrees, Art. I. That in future there thall not be delivered in the colonies of America, any letters of marque or reprifals, or permiffions to arm, either as privateers or as armed merchantmen, except by the particular affent of the Directory themselves, who are not permitted to delegate their power to any one, and who fhall not exercife the privilege vefted in them, but in favour of thofe whole principles they fhall be acquainted with, and who, moreover, tha be bound to conform to all the laws relative to prizes, and efpecially to that of the 1st October 1793. If. All letters of marque or reprifal, or permiffions granted in the colonics of America, by the particular agents of the Dis rectory, or other civil and military agents under their orders, to arm, either as privateers or armed merchantmen, are confidered as of no effect after the thirtieth day from the publication of this pre fent decree in the French colonies. III. Every agent, or perfon under him, in any of the neutral poffeffions, whofe duty it is to judge of the validity of the prizes made by French cruifers, who fhall be fufpected of having any in VOL. VII. 3 Y tercft, tereft, direct or indirect, in any of the privateers or armed merchantmen, fhall be immediately recalled." IV. The particular agents of the Executive Directory at Cayenne, St. Domingo, and Guadaloupe, fhall be careful that the interefts and property of neutral veffels are fcrupulously attended to; and in no cafe fhall they difpofe of the cargo but at a fair valuation, and to the entire fatisfaction of the contracting parties. V. The faid particular agents of the Executive Directory, the commanders of all the fhips of the republic, the confuls, the viceconfuls, and all others invefted with powers to this effect, shall arreft and punish, conformably to the laws, all those who shall oppose the present decree, which shall be printed in the bulletin of the laws, and with the execution of which the minifters for foreign affairs, of the marine, and of the colonies, are charged. (Signed) MERLIN, Prefident. Letter from the Minifter for Foreign Affairs to Mr. Gerry, Envoy from the United States, written on the Occafion of tranfmitting him his Paffport. Paris, 24th Meffidor (July 12), 6th year of the French republic. EVER fince I have flattered myself, Sir, with fulfilling the wishes of the Executive Directory, by using my efforts, in conjunction with yourself, to establish a good understanding between the French republic and the United States, I have endeavoured, not only in the conference. I have had with you, but also in the course of our correfpondence, to fmooth the road, weigh all the advantages, and enter into a full difcuffion of whatever was neceffary to convince you of the utility of your presence at Paris. It is in your quality of envoy of the American government that I would receive you, that I would write to you. It depends upon yourfelf to be publicly acknowledged by the Executive Directory. Without conforming to your opinion, as to the alteration which the departure of Mellrs, Pinckney and Marthall has produced relative to the full powers to treat feparately, with which I underftand you were invefted, it appeared to me that, in the fituation in which you were placed, you were to refer the question to your government; and in the interval you were to fettle all the points in difference, by a calm and amicable difcuffion with myself. This procedure was the more natural, inafmuch as fetting afide the certain knowledge your government had of the offer to treat with you, after the departure of your colleagues. My note of the 28th Ventofe, which thould have reached Philadelphia towards the end of of Floreal, left no fort of doubt upon the subject. It contained three objects perfectly diftinct. In the first place it pointed out, with that dignity becoming the French government, the mode of redreffing the complaints of the United States, as particularized by their envoys on the 28th of the preceding month Nivofe. It then reprefented the motives which concurred to prevent the negotiation being concluded with the envoys collectively. Finally, it folemnly declared the conciliatory difpofition of the Executive Directory, its formal defire of renewing between the two countries the bands of their ancient friendship, and the intention of treating with you. A declaration fo explicit was made for no other purpofe than to furnish the Prefident of the United States with the infallible means of an accommodation. It was a pledge of future peace. I prefumed you would not delay receiving fimilar inftructions from other powers, if they were neceffary; or at leaft, if you had announced to the Prefident of the United States your defire of returning to America, that another envoy would have been fent to have confummated the happy work which we had the fatisfaction of preparing. With hopes fo juftly founded, were connected confiderations upon the inconvenience of your departure. I have made you fenfible that, notwithstanding the affurances you gave me, no one can believe that it depended wholly on your own will, on an opinion of the invalidity of your powers, or on a defire of entrusting the care of the negotiation to other hands. I have intimated to you the conjectures which were raised; the part acted by the cabinet of Great Briiain, which spares no means to reduce France and the United States to extremities by which it alone hopes to profit, and the fufpicions conceived by the French government.I have made you foresee the poffible confequences of them. Many accidents have already retarded the union of the two republics.-It is allowed to that one which fincerely defires peace to be alarmed by new fears. Thefe confiderations, of which I fhall be ever proud, have made me refift the defire you have fhown to quit France. You however abfolutely infift upon it in your letter of the 22d of this month. The Directory has in confequence authorized me to tranfmit you the paffports you require for yourself and the vessel which is to convey you to Havre. You will herewith receive them. May your return to the United States, and the communication of what has paffed between us fince you have reprefented your government, destroy the injurious opinion entertained of the hoftile intentions of France. You have often repeated to me, fince you urged your departure, that if your could not treat as an envoy, your good offices in the United States, in the capacity of a citizen, 3Y 2 fhould fhould not be wanting. You cannot render the two countries a more fignal fervice, than in contributing to place their political and commercial relations in concordance with their inclination and their intereft. Affure your government, that the Executive Directory perfeveres in the intention of conciliating the differences between the French republic and the United States, as foon as a fair occafion fhall prefent itfelf. If it is true that the difpofitions of your government are correfpondent, let it give a proof of them, and be affured beforehand of fuccefs. You cannot diffimulate, Sir, that, if there is not any thing to hinder you from perufing, in conjunction with me, the examination and conciliation of the griefs that divide the two countries, there is no occafion of delay for want of refpective ratifications. Who will doubt the fincerity of the French government, when it is known that for three months every propofition has proceeded from me; and that, faithful to the engagements made in my note of the 28th Ventofe, I was the first feriously to prefs the negotiation after the departure of Meffrs. Pinckney and Marshall? I trust that it will not be faid that the refufal to treat with them was a denial of conciliatory measures, when the refufal was accompanied with a promise to treat with you; and you by your full powers was authorized to treat feparately. I will not cease to urge this point, because it is the bafis of the opinion the government muft forin; and even admitting you were bound by fecret feltrictions, I could not, at leaft in my own mind, oppose that which I did not know from any other oftenfible fource of belief. Yes, Sir, hardly was I informed of the departure of Mr. Pinckney, when I endeavoured in every conference I had with you to point out to you the urgency, the convenience, and the poffdility of an active negotiation. I collected your ideas; they differed from mine; I fought to reconcile them. I was about to have tranfmitted propofitions to you, when a meffage from your government arrived at Havre. You then appeared to prepare for your departure: till then I never conceived you had the defign of embarking, till we had come to fome, agreement as to the definitive articles to be ratified by your government. A few days after, I received packets from Philadelphia, the contents of which inftantly gave a different turn to my correfpondence with you. The 22d Prairial, I notified to you that the difpofitions of the Executive Directory were the fame, and I requested you to declare if you were at length in a fituation to negotiate. The 30th Prairial, I tranfmitted you a complete plan of the negotiation. The 9th Meflidor, I fent you my firft note, difcuffing one of the points of our treaties which had not been executed in the United States. You declined answering it. The 18th of Meffidor, I fent you two others. It was in vain I accompanied these notes |