the alien imposts upon British shipping. The restrictions which clogged the partial concession of the trade made by this country to America, in 1822, had been professedly made the foundation of the act of Congress of 1823; but by the act of 1825 these restrictions were done away; and, if the United States were really desirous of establishing in commerce that freedom and reciprocity, of which, in their diplomatic documents, they professed to be the most liberal adherents, nothing remained to justify the continuance of limitations which even originally were founded on unwarrantable pretensions. The United States, however, did not think proper to accept of the more liberal offer which was now made to them, although to retain the alien duties imposed in 1823, and to claim the admission of her produce on the same terms with that of the mother-country, was in fact to demand every thing of Great Britain and to give nothing in return. They refused to abate any thing of what was required by that act of congress, an obstinacy obviously most unreasonable and unjust, and which could have no other result than a prohibition of the intercourse which they refused to accept on the same terms with the rest of the world, and on which alone it could fairly be asked. So far was congress from being inclined to repeal or relax the restrictions imposed by its act of 1823, that, during the present session, when that assembly had full knowledge of the act of parliament of 1825, a motion for the repeal of the discriminating duties was rejected after debate. The consequence was, that, in

July of this year, the colonial harbours were directed, by an order in council, to be shut against American vessels after the 1st of December ensuing. The British government would have been justified in excluding them immediately, and without any more specific notice than was given by the law itself; especially as it had not come into operation till the expiry of five months after its enactment, and had already been the subject of consideration both to the government and to the legislature of the United States. From the 5th of January, 1826, when the operation of the act commenced, American vessels ought, in strictness, to have been excluded; but as, in point of fact, they had still been admitted, it was thought due, perhaps, to the courtesy to be expected from one friendly nation towards another, to give the United States a new warning, a prorogated period, an additional opportunity of becoming just and reasonable. The American government now felt the difficulties in which they had involved themselves; their trade with the colonies was at an end, and yet they were unable to discover any feasible pretence for having refused to retain it upon conditions actually much more fair and beneficial than the terms upon which they had hitherto enjoyed it. They resolved to submit the whole matter to congress in its ensuing session, that body having already, during the present year, in full knowledge of the act of 1825, refused every proposal to modify or abolish the limitations of their act of 1823; and the American secretary of state, and their minister at London, in the communica

tions which they were now com pelled to make to the British government, complained at great length, and most querulously, that the latter should have regulated the trade by an act of parliament, instead of renewing those nego tiations for arranging it by treaty which had been begun in 1824. This was a strange complaint in the mouth of a government, which more than three years before had actually regulated this very trade by an act of congress which rendered it impossible for them to negociate; an act, moreover, on explicit compliance with every one of whose requisitions, their envoy had insisted as a preliminary to negotiation, while this demanded compliance was both impudent and absurd, and an absolute bar in the way of any treaty about the matter. It was the United States themselves who had shut the door against treaty; they had done, and, after being made fully aware of its consequences, they persevered in, an act which had rendered negotiation nugatory; an act by which her executive was bound, and its hands tied up. Their public functionaries were not at liberty to exercise their own discretion; the law had prescribed a preliminary requisite as a sine qua non in any arrangement; that requisite was one to which neither Great Britain, nor any other independent nation, could listen for a moment, and which no country but the United States had ever had the coolness to propose; and it would have been a mockery, unworthy of the dignity of the British government, to treat with the executive power of America upon a basis which the supreme authority of the latter disavowed. The

American ministers might now be convinced of the absurdity and extravagance of their demands, and be willing to recede from them, but they could not recede : these demands had been made by congress, and fixed by the law; it was congress that had to recede; and, so far from showing any dis+ position to do so, it had, in this very year, refused to listen to a proposal for repealing those discriminating duties which its ministers said, in the instructions to their envoy at London, they, for their parts, were willing to see abolished on both sides. In the calm and reasonable, but decided language of Mr. Canning to the American envoy, "It is not made matter of complaint, by the British government, that the United States have declined conditions, which other nations have thought worthy of their acceptance. It is on the other hand, not the fault of the British government, if the United States have suffered the time to pass by, at which it might have been an object of greater importance to this country to induce the United States to come into their proposals. The United States exercised, upon this point, a free judgment, and they can, on their part, have no reason to complain that Great Britain, after allowing ample time for maturing that judgment, is contented to abide the result of their decision. But the British government further owes to the spirit of frankness which it wishes to cultivate in all its relations with the United States, to declare, that, after having been compelled to apply to

"Mr. Clay's instructions to Mr. Gallatin, 19th June, 1826.

of January, with the design of attacking the enemy, clearing the river, and even shutting up admiral Lobo, with his superior force, in the harbour of Monte Video, On the 15th, the squadron got under weigh for the island of Martin Garcia, situated where the Uruguay joins the Plata, which the Brazilians had taken possession of, and had fortified with a battery of fourteen guns, and a garrison of two hundred men; but, before they had proceeded far, the Brazilian squadron, consisting of three corvettes, three schooners, three gunboats, and a cutter, came in sight. Notwithstanding the enemy's superiority in point of force, admiral Brown bore down upon him as soon as he got in sight of the city. The beach was lined with spectators, and many volunteers put off in boats to join the patriot squadron. An action seemed inevitable. The two patriot brigs, together with a gun-boat, were closing with two of the Brazilians, while the remaining gun-boats were closing with the Brazilian admiral's ship, the rest of the Brazilian force being near at hand. At the moment when they had got within half-gun shot, and the commencement of the action was looked for, admiral Lobo tacked, and stood off, the remainder of his squadron following him in his retreat. The patriot squadron chased them for a short distance, and then, returning, took a new position. The Brazilians continued their course down the river for some time, but having united their force, they again returned, having formed themselves in two divisions. In an hour, the two squadrons were again within gun-shot of each other, and the multitude on shore,

entertained no doubt but that they would enjoy the view of a naval battle, when the Brazilian admiral again put about and withdrew. On the 9th of February, commodore Brown again left his anchorage to attack them, and, on his approach, they retired up the river. He followed them to within about three leagues of Colonia, on the left bank of the Plata, and, having come up with them, fired a broadside, which was immediately returned by Lobo, who, with another corvette, lay on each side of Brown, and continued the engagement for about an hour. During all this time, Brown suffered severely, his own brigs keeping out of the way a considerable distance to leeward. Finding this, he set sail and came in sight of Buenos Ayres, where he was again obliged to come to action, and. sustained a running fight for three hours. The Brazilian squadron then stood down the river to refit, and the Buenos Ayres squadron, having saved the gun-boats, rẹn turned into the outer roads for the same purpose. In other engager ments of the same indecisive character which took place during the summer, the republican commander had reason to complain of the same backwardness in his consorts, which, on this occasion, had left him almost unsupported to sustain the enemy's fire. On the 19th of October he got under weigh, having given orders to the commanders of the other vessels to follow him for the purpose of passing the Brazilian squadron; but, after they had passed the bar of the harbour in safety, and had every probability of accomplishing their design, the other vessels of the fleet left the admiral to pro