United States, and whether the Chesapeake was or was not within the acknowledged limits of the United States at the time they were taken, the character of the act of taking them remains the same.- -From the foregoing facts, it appears to your committee, that the outrage committed on the frigate Chesapeake has been stamped with circumstances of indignity and insult, of which there is scarcely to be found a parallel in the history of civilized nations, and requires only the sanction of the government, under colour of whose authority it was perpetrated, to make it just cause of, if not an irresistible call for, instant and severe retaliation. Whether it will receive that sanction, or be disavowed and declared an unauthorised act of a subordinate officer, remains to be determined by the answer which shall be given to the demand of explanation: that answer, now daily expected, will either sink the detestable act into piracy, or expand it to the magnitude of premeditated hostility against the sovereignty and independence of this nation; and, until its true character shall be fixed and known, your committee deem it expedient to decline expressing any opinion as to the measures proper to be adopted in retaliation to it. But the committee add, as other acts of aggression have been committed within our ports and waters, such as these mentioned in the President's message, the committee are of opinion, that it is expedient to provide more effectually for the protection of our ports and harbours; but, not being prepared to report specifically on that subject, they ask further indulgence of the house; and submit the following resolution:-Resolved, That the attack of the British ship of war Leopard on the United States frigate Chesapeake, was a flagrant violation of the jurisdiction of the United States; and that the continuance of the British squadron (of which the Leopard was one) in their waters, after being notified by the proclamation of the President of the United States, ordering them to depart the same, was a further violation thereof. No. 8.-Non-importation Act, passed 18th April, 1806.---Together with a Supplementary Act, passed about 10th Dec. 1807. Be it enacted, by the senate and house of representatives of the Uni ted States of America, in congress assembled, that from and after the 15th of November next it shall not be lawful to import into the United States, or the territories thereof, from any port or place situated in Great Britain or Ireland, or in any of the colonies or dependencies of Great Britain, any goods, wares, or merchandize, of the following descriptions, that is to say: All articles of which leather is the material of chief value.-All articles of which silk is the material of chief value.---All articles of which hemp or flax is the material of chief value. ---All articles of which tin or brass is the material of chiefvalue, tin in sheets excepted.---Woollen cloths whose invoice prices shall exceed 5s. sterling per square yard.---Window glass, and all other manufactures of glass.---Silver and plated wares.--Paper of every description.---Nails and pikes.--Hats.---Cloathing ready made.---Millinery of all kinds, and pictures and prints.-Nor shall it be lawful to im port into the United States, or the territories thereof, from any foreign port or place whatever, any of the above-mentioned goods, wares, or merchandize, being the growth, produce, or manufacture of Great Britain or Ireland, or any of the colo nies or dependencies of Great Britain: provided, however, that no articles which shall within 14 months after the passing of this act be imported from any place beyond the Cape of Good Hope, on board any vessel cleared out before the passing of this act from any port within the United States or the territories thereof, for the said Cape of Good Hope, or any place beyond the same, shall be subject to the prohibition aforesaid.---Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, that whenever any article or articles, the importation of which is prohibited by this act, shall, after the said 15th of Nov. next, be imported into the United States, or the territories thereof, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, or shall, after the said 15th Nov. next, be put on board any ship or vessel, boat, raft, or carriage, with intention of importing the same into the United States, or the territories thereof, all such articles, as well as all other articles on board the same ship or vessel, boat, raft, or carriage, belong ing to the owner of such prohibited articles, shall be forfeited, and the owner thereof shall moreover forfeit and pay treble the value of such articles.---Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, that if any article or articles, the importation of which is prohibited by this act, shall, after the said 15th of Nov. next, be put on board any ship or vessel, boat, raft, or carriage, with intention to import the same into the United States, or the territories thereof, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this act, and with the knowledge of the owner or master of such ship or vessel, boat, raft, or carriage, shall be forfeited, and the owner or master there of shall moreover each forfeit and pay treble the value of such articles. -Sec. 4. And be it further enacted that if any article or articles, the importation of which is prohibited by this act, and which shall nevertheless be on board any ship or vessel, boat, raft, or carriage, arriving after the said 15th of Nov. next, in the United States, or the territories thereof, shall be omitted in the manifest, report, or entry of the master or the person having the charge or command of such ship or vessel, boat, raft, or carriage, or shall be omitted in the entry of the goods owned by the owner, or consigned to the consignee of such articles, or shall be imported or landed, or attempted to be imported or landed, without a permit, the same penalties, fines, and forfeitures shall be incurred, and may be recovered, as in the case of similar omission or omissions, landing importations, or attempting to land or import, in relation to articles liable to duties on their importation into the United States..--Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, that every collec tor, naval officer, surveyor, or other officer of the customs, shall have the like power and authority to seize goods, wares, and merchandize imported contrary to the intent and meaning of this act, to keep the same in custody until it shall have been ascertained whether the same have been forfeited or not, and to enter any ship or vessel, dwelling-house, store, building, or other place, for the purpose of searching for and siezing any such goods, wares, or merchandize, which he or they now have by law in relation to goods, wares, and merchandize subject to duty; and if any person or persons shall conceal or buy any goods, wares, and merchandize, knowing them to be liable to seizure by this act, such person or persons shall, on conviction thereof, forfeit and pay a sum double the amount of value of the goods wares, and merchandize, so concealed or purchased.---Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, that the following addition shall be inserted to the oath or affirmation taken by the masters or persons having the charge or command of any ship or vessel arriving at any port of the United States, or the territories thereof, after the said 15th of Nov. next, viz. "I further swear (or affirm) that there is not, to the best of my knowledge or belief, on board (insert the denomination and name of the vessel) any goods, wares, and merchandize, the importation of which into the United States, or the territories thereof, is prohibited by law: And I do further swear (or affirm) that if I shall hereafter discover or know of any such goods, wares, and merchandize, on board the said vessel, or which shall have been imported in the same, I will immediately, and without delay, make due report thereof to the collector of the port of this district."---Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, that the following addition be inserted, after the said 15th of Nov. next, to the oath or affirmation taken by importers, consignees, or agents, at the time of entering goods imported into the United States, or the territories thereof, viz. "I also swear (or affirm) that there are not, to the best of my knowledge and belief, amongst the said goods, wares, and merchandize, imported or consigned as aforesaid, any goods, wares, or merchandize, the importation of which into the United States, or the territories thereof, is prohibited by law: And I do further swear (or affirm) that if I shall hereafter discover any such goods, wares, or merchandize, among the said goods, wares, and merchandize, I will immediately, and without delay, report the same to the collector of this district." -Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, that all penaltics and forfeitures arising under this act may be sued for and recovered, and shall be distributed and accounted for in the manner prescribed by the act, entitled, “ An Act to regulate the Collection of Duties on Imports and Tonnage :" and such penalties and forfeitures may be examined, mitigated, or remitted, in like manner, and under the like con'ditions, regulations, and restrictions, as are prescribed, authorised, and directed by the act, entitied, "An Act to provide for mitigating or remitting the Forfeitures, Penalties, and Disabilities, accruing in certain Cases therein mentioned." Supplementary Act. Sec. 1. Be it enacted, by the se nate and house of representatives of the United States of America, in congress assembled, that nothing in the act to which this is a supplement shall be so construed as to prohibit the importation of the following articles, that is to say :---Wrappers and outside packages, in which goods, the importation of which is not prohibited, usually are and shall be wrapped or packed at the time of their importation.---2. Bags or sacks in which salt shall be imported.---3. Glass bottles or phials, in which drugs, medicines, or any other articles, the importation of which is not prohibited, shall be imported.---4. Printed books, maps, and charts.----5. Watches, mathematical, astronomical, and surgical instruments.---6. Shalloons and woollen stuffs.---Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, that the articles of the following description shall be held and considered as being embraced by the description of articles, the importation of which is prohibited by the act to which this act is a supplement, that is to say ---All articles manufactured entirely of silk and wool, or of silk and flax, or of No. 9.-Act of Congress, laying the to the officers of the revenue, and of the navy and revenue cutters of the United States, as shall appear best adapted for carrying the same into full effect. Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be considered to prevent the departure of any foreign ship or vessel, either in ballast, or with the goods, wares, and merchandize, on board of such foreign ship or vessel, when notified of this act.Sect. 2. And be it further enacted, That during the continuance of this act, no registered or sea-letter vessel, having on board goods, wares, and merchandize, shall be allowed to depart from one port of the United States to the other, within the same, unless the master, owner, consignee, or factor of such vessel, shall first give bond, with one or more sureties, to the collector of the district from which she is bound to depart, in a sum of double the value of the vessel and cargo, that the said goods, wares, and merchandize, shall be relanded in some port of the United States, dangers of the seas excepted; which bond, and also a certificate from the collector where the same may be relanded, shall, by the collectors respectively, be transmitted to the secretary of the treasury. All armed vessels possessing public commissions from any foreign powers, are not to be considered as liable to the embar ACT.-Be it enacted, by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of America, in congress assembled, that an embargo laid by this act. go be, and hereby is laid on all ships and vessels in the ports and places within the limits or jurisdiction of the United States, cleared or not cleared, bound to any foreign port or place and that no clearance be furnished to any ship or vessel bound to such foreign port or place, except vessels under the immediate direction of the President of the United States; and that the President be authorised to give such instructions No. 10. PRUSSIA-Declaration against England, dated at Munich, Dec. 1, 1807, The king being obliged, by the 27th article of the treaty of peace of Tilsit, concluded on the 9th of July, 1807, to shut, without exception, the Prussian ports and states against the trade and navigation of England, as long as the present war lasted between England and France, his ma jesty has not hesitated to take progressively the most appropriate measures to fulfil his engagements. In directing these measures, his majesty did not dissemble the prejudice and loss which would result to the commerce of his dominions in gene ral, and that of his subjects, who, by a long series of misfortunes, have acquired new rights to his paternal solicitude and benevolence; but his majesty yielded to the consolatory hope, that the mediation offered by Russia to England, by accelerating the return of a definitive peace between Great Britain and France, would soon bring about an order of things more congenial to the particular interests of each power. The king has been deceived in his just expectation: the events that have taken place since, and which are too well known to render it necessary to recapitulate them, far from bringing the so much desired period of general peace nearer, have only placed it at a greater distance. All communication is broken off between Russia and England. The declaration of his majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, published on the 26th Oct. proves that there is no longer any relation between those two powers. His Prussian Majesty, intimately connected by all his relations with the cause and system of the continental neighbouring and friendly powers, has no other rules of conduct than his duties, founded upon the interests of his states, and the obligation contracted by a solemn treaty. -Conformably to these principles, his majesty, setting aside those considerations which he had hitherto respected, in the vain hope for a speedy general pacification; and having refused, since the mission of Lord Hutchinson, to receive at his court any English diplomatic agent, don to quit England as soon as possihas just ordered his legation at Lon. ble, and return to the continent. His majesty the King of Prussia, in making known the resolutions which his engagements and the interest of his monarchy impose upon him as a duty, declares, by these presents, that, till the restoration of a definitive peace between the two belligerent powers, there shall be no relation between Prussia and England. FREDERICK WILLIAM. No. 11-SPAIN-Decree against England, dated Jan. 3, 1808. The abominable attack committed by English ships of war in 1804, by the express order of that government, when four frigates of the royal fleet, which, sailing under the full assurance of peace, were unjustly surprised, attacked, and compelled to surrender, determined me to break all connection with the British cabinet, and to consider myself as at war with a nation which had so iniquitously violated the law of nations and of humanity.-So atrocious an aggression was a sufficient motive for breaking all the bonds which unite one nation with another; even had I not considered what I owe to myself, to the honour and glory of my crown, and to my beloved subjects. Two years of war have elapsed, and Great Britain has not moderated her pride, nor renounced the unjust domination which she exercises over the seas; but, on the contrary, confounding at once friends, enemies, and neutrals, she has manifested the formal intention of treating them all with the same tyranny. From these considerations, I determined, in February last year, in conformity to the wise measures adopted by my intimate ally, the emperor of the French and king of Italy, to declare, |