with Russia, for the settlement of certain claims of American citizens. These treaties furnish a full refutation of the charge often preferred against him, of being indifferent to, and unmindful of our foreign commercial interests, and as being willing to sacrifice them in fostering domestic trade and manufactures. A perusal of these is sufficient to convince the most skeptical, that our foreign commercial interests lay as near his heart as any other subject of diplomatic action. He abrogated in them a clause introduced into the London treaty of 1815, by which English and American vessels were restricted, in their commercial intercourse with one another, to articles of the growth or manufacture of each, and inserted one in its place, permitting them to enter their ports, without any regard being had to the place of growth and manufacture of their cargoes. This removed what experience had proved to be a most serious impediment to our navigation, and seemed so just and proper in Mr. Clay’s estimation, that, in speaking of it, he says, ‘its reciprocity is perfect; and when it comes to be adopted by all nations, we can scarcely see any thing beyond it, in the way of improvement to the freedom and interests of their mutual navigation. The devices of maritime nations have been various, to augment their marine, at the expense of other powers. When there has been a passive acquiescence in the operation of these devices, without any resort to countervailing regulations, their success has sometimes been very great. But nations are now too enlightened to submit quietly to the selfish efforts of any one power to engross, by its own separate legislation, a disproportionate share of navigation in their mutual intercourse. These efforts are now met by opposite efforts, restriction begets restriction, until the discovery is at last made, after a long train of vexatious and irritating acts and manœuvres on both sides, that the course of selfish legislation, ultimately, does not effect the distribution of maritime power, whilst it is attended with the certain evil of putting nations into an ill humor with each other. Experience at last teaches, that, in every view, it is better to begin and continue in the career of liberality.’