The New Hampshire Gazette

IMPORTANT and AUTHENTIC.
State Paper.

The following was communicated by the President of the United States, this day.

TRANSLATION.

Philadelphia, the 7th Germinal, 2d year of the French Republic, one and indivisible.

J.H. FAUCHET, Minister Plenipotentiary of the French Republic.

To Mr. RANDOLPH, Secretary of State of the United States.

AS you are about to lay before the President a statement of the claims relative to the vexations and spoliations which your commerce has experienced, you will doubtless receive with pleasure some eclaircissement on the complaints, well or ill founded, which have been brought against privateers, and two ships of war of the French Republic. You will not observe with less pleasure in my reply, that the National Convention has already done justice to some of the demands of the merchants of the United States, and are now occupied in satisfying some others.

In the list of complaints against the Republic of France, the complaints urge, that the French privateers do not less harass your commerce than those of the English.

To this assertion I answer, by two observations, which I submit to your impartiality.

1. It is now some time since any more privateers have sailed out of the ports of France, and the number of those which have been armed in our Islands, is not to be compared with those pirates which the Islands of Bermuda alone send forth.

2. If any of your merchants have suffered any injury by the conduct of our privateers, (a thing which would be contrary to the intention, and express orders of the Republic) they may, with confidence, address themselves to the French government, which will never refuse justice to those whose claims shall be legal.

I feel a pleasure in thinking and saying to you, that it is not the fault of the French, if commercial property even of enemy nations, has not been respected amidst the horrors of war.

This proposition of natural right, was made by one of our Legislative Assemblies, to the British, who rejected it.

2dly. It is imputed to two of our ships of war, that they have committed enormities on your vessels. Should the fact be proved, the Captains of those two vessels, are as culpable towards France as they are towards the United States, for having acted in a manner contrary to the instructions they have received : The government upon information of the crime, will most certainly punish the authors of it. It would be unjust to accuse a nation generally, for the acts of some individuals, when that nation disavows their conduct, and repairs the wrongs which they have committed.

3d. Certain acts of oppressions in the Courts of Admiralty complained of.

The oppressive acts of the Admiralty Courts, need no longer be complained of, since on the claims of the merchants of the United States, the Convention, on the 8th of November last, passed a decree, giving to the Executive Council, the power of judging the validity or invalidity of prizes.—It is as follows :

" The national Convention having heard the report of the committee of Public Safety, decrees,that all disputes arising, or which may arise on the validity or invalidity of prizes made by privateers, shall be decided by way of administration ; by the Provisional Executive Council.

The decree of the 14th Feb. (O. S.) attributing the judgment of these matters to the commercial Tribunals is repealed."

Copy agreeable to the original.

J.H. FAUCHET.

The 4th allegation would require a long discussion, which I shall not undertake here. I shall only indulge myself in this single reflection, that the horrible system of violating the law of nations, in order to starve a people who cannot be conquered by force of arms, has not been invented by France,and that it would- be as unjust as barbarous to require that she should allow provisions to pass to her enemies while those destined for her are taken by them.

As to the embargo on American vessels, imperious circumstances, the salvation of the country, have imposed that measure, but the interests of no one will be injured, and to convince you of this, I recite an extract of a letter which I have just received from Citizen Tallien, Representative of the people, at Bordeaux.

" It is possible (he writes me) That some malevolent persons may make use of this pretext (the embargo) to disturb the harmony existing between the Americans and us, or might represent this measure as a violation of treaties be- tween the two nations, the interests of individuals may for a moment cause the general interest to disappear. It is then to you brave Republican and the true friend of your country, that we must consign the care of defending it to Congress (should the measure happen there to be calumniated). Say to our brethren that it is the inten- tion of the Committee of Public Safety, the actual center of the French government, to in- demnify all the owners or captains, who by the operation of the embargo have been obliged to remain a length of time in France, and the pro- positions which soon will be made to them in the name of the Committee will be advantageous to both nations. In short, my friend, use every means of a frank Republican negotiator to con- vince our brethren the Americans, that when occupied concerning the aggregate interests of the nation, we do not forget theirs, and they be a- sured that they will always find in us faithful observers of the treaties made with nations wor- thy of liberty."

The 5th. and last allegation is that a contract, the payment of which having been stipulated in cash, has been made in assignats : I am unacquain- ted with the fact, but I am assured, that it is the intention of the National Convention not to permit any injustice, and to repair such as shall have been committed.

I conclude my reflections, not doubting, Sir, but that they will be received with the same in- terest as would be excited in France by the ob- servations of our allies, to whom I always with new pleasure renew the assurance of the most perfect fraternity and eternal friendship on the part of the people of France.

J.H. FAUCHET.

Faithfully translated from the original, 29th March 1794, by GEORGE TAYLOR, jun.

Philadelphia, April 5, 1794.

SIR,

You do me no more than justice, in believing that I receive with pleasure the explanations which your letter of the 29th ult. contains—They inspire me with full confidence, that my repre- sentations on each complaint will be treated with candor ; and assure me of redress, as far as truth will support my demands.

On my part, permit me to repeat, what I have expressed in my letter on the vexations of our commerce, that my enquiry into the facts did not go beyond the allegations of the parties in- terested. My view was to present a summary only of the subjects of the remonstrances lodged in my office ; reserving the proofs for our inter- views on the adjustments of the claims of retri- bution, delivering no opinion how far the charges were supported by evidence, and above all, not imputing to the French Republic the unau- thorised misconduct of its ships of war.

I have the honor, Sir, to be with great respect and esteem, your most obedient servant.

EDMUND RANDOLPH.

The Minister Plenipotentiary of the French Republic.