Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, From the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 3Jefferson, Thomas
History
Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, From the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 3
Jefferson, Thomas
United States -- Politics and government -- 1775-1783; United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865
not disposed to make out of mere complaisance to a false definition of
the term privateer. Finding that the Jane had purchased new carriages to
mount two or three additional guns, which she had brought in her hold,
and that she had opened additional port-holes for them, the carriages
were ordered to be relanded, the additional port-holes stopped, and her
means of defence reduced, to be exactly the same at her departure as at
her arrival. This was done on the general principle of allowing no party
to arm within our ports.
4. The seventeenth article of our treaty leaves armed vessels free to
conduct, whithersoever they please, the ships and goods taken from their
enemies without paying any duty, and to depart and be conducted freely
to the places expressed in their commissions, which the captain shall be
obliged to show. It is evident, that this article does not contemplate
a freedom to sell their prizes here; but on the contrary, a departure
to some other place, always to be expressed in their commission, where
their validity is to be finally adjudged. In such case, it would be as
unreasonable to demand duties on the goods they had taken from an enemy,
as it would be on the cargo of a merchant vessel touching in our ports
for refreshment or advices; and against this the article provides. But
the armed vessels of France have been also admitted to land and sell
their prize-goods here for a consumption, in which case, it is as
reasonable they should pay duties, as the goods of a merchantman landed
and sold for consumption. They have however demanded, and as a matter
of right, to sell them free of duty, a right, they say, given by this
article of the treaty, though the article does not give the right
to sell at all. Where a treaty does not give the principal right of
selling, the additional one of selling duty free cannot be given: and
the laws, in admitting the principal right of selling, may withhold
the additional one of selling duty free. It must be observed, that our
revenues are raised almost wholly on imported goods. Suppose prize-goods
enough should be brought in to supply our whole consumption. According
to their construction we are to lose our whole revenue. I put the
extreme case to evince, more extremely, the unreasonableness of the
claim. Partial supplies would affect the revenue but partially. They
would lessen the evil, but not the error, of the construction: and
I believe we may say, with truth, that neither party had it in
contemplation, when penning this article, to abandon any part of its
revenue for the encouragement of the sea-robbers of the other.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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