Another remark which I wish to make is, that I am most decidedly the friend, nay, sir, if you please, the partisan, of the seamen of the country. I have no doubt that this nation is destined to be a great maritime power; and that, in times not very far distant, we are to owe our prosperity, as a commercial people, and possibly, under Providence, our security, to our seamen. I am therefore a friend to "seamen's rights," properly understood and fairly enforced; but this shall not blind me to the rights of others. Besides, in a war to be carried on for seamen alone, and that, too, on the abstract question of the right of flag, I can see great danger to the seamen in their just claims to protection; and, I must beg their friends, in and out of this House, to reflect before they act. As surely as the war is continued on this ground alone, so surely will seamen become unpopular, and their rights be neglected. When the evils of the war press upon the country, and press they will; when the many lives sacrificed, and the countless millions expended, shall be brought to view, is it not to be apprehended that seamen and their claim will be remembered, only as the cause of the scenes of expense and blood through which we are to pass? It is not dealing fairly with our seamen, to make them the scape-goats of this war.
The British then claim the right, in time of war, to take their seamen out of neutral merchant vessels on the high seas.
Is this claim a novel one? That the claim is novel, is certainly intimated by the Committee of Foreign Relations, when they say that the impressment of which we complain, is "a practice which has been unceasingly maintained by Great Britain in the wars to which she has been a party since our Revolution." Indeed, it has been most roundly asserted, and by many it is believed, that the British claim was made for the first time after our war; that it originated in views hostile to our commerce and maritime rights; and that in practice it is only brought to bear upon us. In truth, however, whatever may be the justice of the claim, it is not a recent one. It has, in a greater or less degree, been practised on in all the wars in which England has been engaged for the two last centuries.
The instructions to armed ships are not frequently made public; but it so happens, that we have in print an instruction on this very point, given in 1646, by the Earl of Northumberland, Lord High Admiral of England, to Sir John Pennington, which goes beyond the present claim: "As you meet with any men of war, merchants, or other ships, belonging to any foreign Prince or State in any road where you, or any of His Majesty's fleet, may happen to come, you are to send to see whether there be any of His Majesty's subjects on board; and if any seamen, gunners, pilots, or marines, (whether English, Scotch, or Irish,) be found on board, you are to cause such of his Majesty's subjects to be taken forth, and so disposed of as they shall be forthcoming, to answer their contempt of His Majesty's proclamation in that kind." These instructions were modified in the reign of Charles the Second, so as to exclude public armed vessels, and with this modification they have come down to the present times. If it were at all necessary to the purposes of my argument, I might show that this right has been exercised both towards France and Holland, long before we had existence as a nation. Their vessels have been searched, and British seamen taken from them. But enough has been said to prove that the claim, if unjust, is not novel.
Is the claim peculiar to the British? I am justified in saying that this claim, in time of war, to search for and seize seamen in neutral merchant vessels, on the high seas, has been made and exercised by every maritime nation in Europe. To be more particular—I assert, and stand ready to prove, that it has been made and enforced by France as well as England, and is now. It would be a waste of time to go very much at large into the French usages on this subject. I propose to do little more than to refer to one or two French ordinances, and then show from our State papers their practical application to us.
By the French laws, and they are ancient laws, the seamen of the country are all classed, and enrolled, and licensed. In 1784, an edict was made which is still in force, declaring, that any classed seaman, who shall, in time of peace, be found serving in foreign ships, shall be sentenced to fifteen days' confinement, and reduced to the lowest wages, and serve two years extraordinary at the lowest rate; but those who, in time of war, shall be arrested in foreign ships, or passing into foreign countries, shall be sentenced to three years' service in the galleys. Under the authority of this, and similar ordinances, the French have taken their seamen out of our vessels, and in some instances our seamen with them.
Mr. Chairman, the first proof relative to the committee, is the impressment document of January last, known to the American people as the 6,057 document. The Secretary of State, Mr. Monroe, at the close of the introductory report, says, "it is equally impossible, from the want of precise returns, to make an accurate report of the names or number of citizens of the United States, who have been compelled to enter into the French service, or are held in captivity under the authority of that Government, whether taken from vessels captured on the high seas, or seized in rivers, ports, or harbors; the names of a few only, greatly below the number believed to be so detained, being within the knowledge of this Department. A detail therefore is not attempted, with respect to this part of the call of the House of Representatives." Yes, sir, it is known to the Administration, that some of our citizens have been compelled to enter into the service of the French Emperor, while others are held in captivity by him. Ask, however, for their names, and you have for answer, that all the persons detained are not known to the Government, and therefore it cannot be material that you should have the names of any. Say to gentlemen, here is a case of American rights violated, and you will be told, that the injury, in practice, is not of sufficient importance to justify strong measures against the French Government. Be it so. But attempt to prove to the same gentlemen, that the practical operation of British blockades and Orders in Council, is not such as to require war, you will then hear, that it is necessary to fight about the principle.
I have one other paper to lay before the committee, on this subject. For some years back, the information about French impressments has been general and vague, or altogether withheld. Formerly this was otherwise. In a report respecting the impressment of seamen in 1797, made by the Secretary of State to this House, on the 27th of February, 1798, we have the names of upwards of twenty American citizens, taken out of American vessels, on the high seas, by French privateers. We have more, sir. This same report states, that two French seamen named Lewis had been impressed from on board the American ship Bryseis by a French Commodore's ship; that Francis Gibbons, a native of France, but married and resident at New London in Connecticut, was impressed from the American ship Edward, at Rochefort, by authority of the French Republic, and put on board a French ship of war: and that Henry Doughty, an American, was impressed at sea from the American brig Elsa by the French frigates Lapancy and Thetis. I could instance other cases, but these are sufficient to show, that neither the claim nor the exercise of it is peculiar to the British.
If this right, or claim of right, however, is made a mere pretext by any nation to seize and detain our seamen, I am willing to allow that it would be a cause of war. But even in this case, war ought not to be waged until we have done our duty to our seamen and the offending nation, by making suitable regulations to prevent the employment of the seamen of such nation. Have we done this, as respects Great Britain? Perhaps some such regulation is to be found in the law which defines what vessel is an American vessel, and which, as such, is entitled to hoist our flag. Look at it, sir. According to the act of December, 1792, an American ship is one wholly owned by an American citizen, and commanded by a person also a citizen. The crew may be all foreigners—all Englishmen, if you please—all English deserters. In this, therefore, we find no security to the British Government.
But, we have also the law of May, 1796, which provides, that the collectors may register seamen calling themselves American, and grant certificates of citizenship. Out of this law, it is presumed, has grown the practice of granting protections, as they are called—papers procured from notaries and magistrates, ofttimes on the most barefaced perjuries, and always considered as a species of negotiable property for value received. Sir, these protections, in their abuse, are a scandal to the nation. It has made false swearing an employment, and the granting of false papers a business. The price of such a paper is as well known in the great seaport towns as is that of your stocks. All ages and complexions and tongues may have this badge of citizenship, by paying the charges in such cases provided. If this, however, was not so; if protections were only granted to real Americans; it is difficult to see how this is to prevent the employment of British sailors. It is not necessary that the persons navigating an American vessel should have them.