And in order that the blockade [of the Ports and Coasts of Venezula] as well as the present decree may be made known to all, that they may have their full effect; that they may be supported by the civil and military authorities, and that the foreigners alluded to may not again violate the former; I hereby direct that the same be proclaimed in this capital, and throughout the other provinces as soon as they become pacified; and that the present decree be printed and circulated throughout the colonies, and wherever it may be necessary. Given &c. F. THOMAS MORALES.

José Alvaro, Secretary.

160. Protest of Capt. Spence, U. S. Navy, against Morales' Decree.

Sir-I have been presented with your excellency's public decree of the 15th Sept. last-a declaration of the most despotic and sanguinary nature, against all foreigners, whose love of glory, commercial pursuit, and lawful occupations, may enlist them in the service, or detain them in the territories possessed by the enemies of Spain recognized by the United States as independent governments.

A manifesto so extraordinary, so hostile to the rights of nations, so disparaging and prejudicial to the character of the era in which we live, cannot fail to excite astonishment, and to attract the attention of all who wish to preserve civilization from the encroachments of barbarism, or have rights to protect from military misrule and invasion.

As commander in chief of the royal forces, ineffectually employed in Venezuela, you are accountable to your king only for your proceeding against his subjects. But, for acts of rapacity, cruelty and oppression exercised against foreigners for their illegal imprisonment-for their seizure and the confiscation of their property-for their degradation under the aforesaid proclamation, you are answerable to the world, because, by such acts of hostility, you wage an indiscriminate war against all governments, and, by trampling on the sacred rights of man, place at defiance nations who hold the laws and humane usuages of civilized society as rules of action.

War, under the mildest aspect, is a calamity to be deplored; but when to its inseparable horrors are superadded cruelties, perpetrated without necessity, and men, pursuing peaceable avocations, are included in the most sanguinary proscriptions, without reference or respect to the nation which owes them protection, it becomes a demoniac scourge, a hydra curse, which policy and humanity are equally interested in arresting.

Against such a course of violence as you have proclaimed to the world, in behalf of my countrymen, I PROTEST, and do hereby premonish your Excellency, that to enforce the penalty, punishment and ignominy, threatened in your manifesto, against the citizens of the United States, who are at present, or who may hereafter be found by your Excellency in the Independent territories to which you refer, prosecuting their commercial concerns under the guarantee of laws and usages, which no christian soldier, fighting either for glory, his monarch, or his country, can violate with impunity. The soldier, whose sword is stained with the blood of unoffending men, superfluously shed, wins not the wreath of the warrior, but the reputation of a recreant.

The blockade declared by general Morillo, to which your Excellency alludes, exists not, neither has it, at any anterior period, been enforced in conformity to

rules prescribed by the accepted decisions of the highest authorities, rendered valid by time and general acquiescence. It therefore, has hitherto been a mere pretext for the interception of our lawful trade-for the seizure and detention of our property for the abuse and mal-treatment of our mariners-for purposes of plunder and outrage-all of which evils it has produced.

For spoliations committed on the commerce of the United States, under the sanction of that paper interdiction, restitution will be required-and to the dignity which characterizes the government of the republic, is Spain indebted for that magnanimous forbearance from reprisal, justifiable on every principle of self-preservation and defence.

The citizens of the United States, from the peaceful and neutral course prescribed by their government, are justly entitled to the respect of the belligerent parties, and if their enterprise induces them to reap the advantages of a lawful trade within territories alternately in the occupancy of either, they are there as citizens of a truly neutral power-a power that has at no time afforded aid, or exercised influence of any kind, in the present unhappy contest.

Between the United States and the sovereign of Spain there exists a treaty, recently made, and consecrated by the most formal observances, the acknowledged basis of which is good will and a cordial spirit of conciliation. How, then, in the face of this pledge of concord do you, sir, undertake to threaten with forfeitures and ignominious penalties-with slavery and death-the oitizens of a republic, who have a right to expect, under this token of friendship, safety and exemption from molestation.

Wrongs and injuries that may accrue to citizens of the Union from your unlawful decrees, whether visited on their persons or property, will be numbered with the catalogue of outrages already sustained, and for which Spain must be answerable. Against all such wrongs and injuries I PROTEST, and do hereby solemnly call upon your Excellency to abstain from the adoption of measures fraught with most evil consequences-measures coercing a spirit of retaliation and reaction, the end and issue of which may be conceived, foreseen and prevented by your Excellency. And I invite your Excellency, as a lover of the character and honor of Spain, of the amity and good faith so happily preserved between her and the republic, to annul all such restrictions as lead to a violation of the laws of nations as infringe the just rights of citizens of the United States—as deprive them of the benefits of peace, and tend to augment to an alarming amount the account which hereafter must inevitably be balanced between the two nations.

ROBERT TREAT SPENCE, Senior naval officer of the United States in the West Indies.

I have the honor to be, &c. Nov. 15, 1822.

Difficulties of the United States' Charge d'Affaires with Brazil.

Department of State, Washington, 20th January, 1827. Sir, Your despatches, from No. 14 to 19, inclusive, have been received, and submitted to the President. He regrets the personal difficulties in which you have been placed, in respect to the exemption to which you are entitled, in virtue of your public character, from the payment of duties on objects intended for your own consumption, and in regard to the house which you had hired for your residence.

From the long residence of the President abroad, he is fully sensible, from his own experience and observation, of these personal inconveniences, and justly appreciates the feelings which their occurrence naturally excites. In the general, it is best to avoid, as much as possible, a written correspondence with the govern

ment, where a Minister is placed, on these topics. This remark, indeed, may be applied to many of the minor public duties of a minister. It is often much easier to effect an object by a personal interview, and oral explanations, conducted with courtesy and kindness, than by an exchange of notes. The perusal of other parts of your despatches has occasioned the President the most lively regret. He sees that there has unfortunately arisen a state of relation between yourself and the Brazilian government, which may possibly affect the publick interests committed to your charge. Our commerce and navigation have, undoubtedly, during the present war respecting the Banda Oriental, been sometimes subject to aggravating perplexities, especially on the part of the Brazilian Squadrons and Cruizers. Redress for these injuries, and others of a similar character, which we may experience in the future progress of the war ought to be sought by you in a language firm and decisive, but, at the same time, temperate and respectful. No cause is ever benefitted by the manifestation of passion, or by the use of harsh and uncour teous language. If the remonstrances and reclamations which you have been called on, during your mission, to present, have not always been attended with immediate success, several of them appear to have accomplished their purpose, although the measure of redress may some times have fallen short of just expectations. It is the fate of all maritime nations, neutral in maritime wars, to find their commerce and navigation often exposed to serious vexations. The existing Brazilian war forms no exception to their general character. But the United States do not ap pear to be the only injured power: on the contrary, the commerce and navigation of England, France, and Spain, have all suffered; and some of them to a greater extent than ours. War is the ultimate and last resort; and much ought to be borne, before a nation, one especially whose interests, generally, are so obviously on the side of peace, as are those of the United States, should appeal to arms. If we had declared war upon the occasion of causes of complaint of no greater amount than those which we have had against the South American Belligerents, (and there is no disposition to underrate them) the United States would have enjoyed scarcely a year of repose since the establishment of their present constitution.

The degree of service which a Foreign minister is able to render his country, depends much upon the respect and deference which he observes in his intercourse with the ministers and government where he is accredited; and this is more espe cially, the case in governments, constituted and administered like that of the Brazils. The President makes great allowances for the feelings which you naturally entertained as a free citizen of the United States, and as a friend of liberal institutions, as well as on account of the strong character of some of those injuries sustained by our commerce and countrymen, for which it has been your official duty to demand redress. But he would have been better satisfied if you had never allowed yourself to employ, in your intercourse and correspondence with the Brazilian government, provoking or irritating expressions. These, he thinks, ought

always to be avoided. The effect produced on that government by the character of your correspondence, is noticed in your Despatch No. 17; and you appear to have anticipated, as a possible consequence of it, that the Brazilian government might decline all further intercourse with you. The President hopes that such will not be the termination of your mission; and he is desirous that you should, in future, whilst you assert, with dignity, decision, and promptitude, all our rights, carefully avoid giving any just dissatisfaction in the particular which it has been my painful duty to call to your attention. I am, &c.

Condy Raguet, Chargé d'Affaires to Brazil.

H. CLAY.

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APPENDIX.

162. Hayti.-Extract from a Report laid before the British Parliament, on the Civil and Political Condition of Hayti; by Charles Mackenzie, British Consul General, at Hayli.

Port-au-Prince, September 9, 1826.

The government that is now established at Hayti, professes to be purely republican, according to the Constitution of Dec 27, 1806, but in practice it may be said to be essentially military.

The whole island is divided into departments, arrondissements, and communes. These are all under the command of military men, subject only to the control of the president; and to them is entrusted, exclusively, the execution of all the laws, whether affecting police, agriculture, or finance. There is not, as far as I can learn, a single civilian charged with an extensive authority.

It would be a very difficult matter to give an authentic account of the present state of the finances of this country; for, although the value of the imports and exports were accurately obtained; and we know that 5-16 of the whole of the public income are derived from the duties imposed on these, which might be supposed sufficient to establish the basis of a correct calculation; yet the frauds practised in collection are so very numerous, that it would be impossible to estimate the actual receipts with even an approximation to the truth.

The receipts of 1818, the first year of Boyer's presidency, (according to the government statement), amounted to 2,646,017 dollars, 16 cents, and his expenditure to 2,144,291 dollars 99 cents. From that time until 1821, both continued to decline; in 1821, the former was augmented to 3,570,691 dollars, but the expenditure did not exceed it, being 3,461,993 dollars; and this year was the first in which any revenue was derived by the republic from Christophe's dominions, which had been annexed to it the preceding year. In 1822, in spite of the acquisition of the Spanish part of the island, the income fell 733,844 dollars, being only 2,620,012 dollars, while the expenditure was 2,728,149 dollars, exceeding the income 108,137 dollars. The following year, 1923, a small increase in income and decrease in expenditure took place; but in 1824, the last year of which I can get any account, the revenue amounted to 3,101,716 dollars, while the expenditure amounted to 3,105,115 dollars, leaving a deficit of 3,499 dollars. As far as I have been able to ascertain, the expenditure has not been lessened either during the last or the current year, though the revenue has sensibly decreased. Notwithstanding the apparent excess of income above the expenditure during several of the years intermediate between 1817 and 1824, the public chest may be considered empty, as large arrears of pay are due to the troops and to nearly all the public officers; and the amount remitted to France on account of the indemnity (about $1,250,000) is not equal to the surplus stated to have been derived from extraordinaries since 1818.

It is further certain that trade has, for the last two years, gradually fallen off; and it is well known, as I have already stated, how much of the annual revenue is derived from the duties on imports and exports. It is supposed by some that trade has decreased nearly one-half, by others one-third. As I have no data, just now, for forming any estinate, I shall not venture on one; but this much I consider certain, that the current expenditure has been rather augmented than diminished during that period; without taking into calculation the interest on the 30,000,000 francs raised last year in France; and the provision to be made for the next four instalments of 30,000.000 each, with the annually accruing interest on the payments actually made, if effected by loan.

Latterly an attempt has been made to systematize the laws of Hayti, and three codes have been published: Code de Procedure, Code Civil, and Code Rural.

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Two others are now printing, and when finished, will comprise the entire Code of the republic.

The most important of these is the Code Rural; the chief character of which is the enforcing of labor. It is in fact a modification of the old French regulations, sanctioned by the Code Noir, with additional restrictions.

The provisions are as despotic as those of any slave system that can be conceived. The laborer may almost be considered as "adscriptus glebæ;" he is deemed a vagabond and liable to punishment, if he ventures to move from his dwelling or farm without license; he is prohibited from keeping a shop; no person can build a house in the country, unconnected with a farm. Deviations of the law are punished by fine and imprisonment.

The Code determines the mode of managing landed property; of forming contracts for cultivation between proprietor and farmer, and farmer and laborer; of regulating grazing establishments; the rural police, or the inspection of the culti vation and cultivators; of repressing vagrancy; and of the repair and maintenance of the public roads. Lastly, it affixes the penalty of fine in some cases, and in others of indefinite imprisonment, at the option of the judge of the peace.

That cultivation would not go on, beyond that which daily necessities might require, is I think perfectly true; but it seems problematical whether the mode taken to correct the evils of sloth and inactivity be that best calculated to arrive at the object in view.

The laws have already begun to operate, and the officers commanding in the different arrondissements are said to report favorably of their progress.

But, trained as every man has been to the idleness of a Haytian military life, it will be difficult to induce them by gentle means to labor; and when the harsher provisions of the law are brought into play, it seems highly probable that they will discover, what they formerly did, that their toil produces no more profit to themselves, while it is more irksome and arduous than their previous idle mede of life; and that the benefit accrues to a new set of masters, having merely a differ ent denomination from those who preceded them.

The amount of the population of the whole island at present, is very differently estimated by different persons. It is consequently impossible to do more than attain an approximation to the truth.

By the official statements furnished by the government, it is raised to 930,000 souls; by some it is estimated at nearly 700,000; while others assert with confidence that the entire population amounts only to 423,042 persons of all ages and classes. Of these, the best informed people calculate one tenth to be white and colored people. Of the entire population, 351,819 are in French St. Domingo, and 71,223 in Spanish St. Domingo.

It is stated that at the commencement of the revolution in Hayti, the popula amounted to about 534,500 souls in the French, and about 108,500 in the Spanish part of the island, making a total of 643,000. The decrease, according to this statement, in thirty-three years, has been very nearly one-third of the whole population in 1793.

The composition of this population is perhaps the most anomalous and extraordinary that has ever existed on the Globe.

The great mass of the community consists either of ignorant men recently liberated from slavery, or their immediate descendants, equally ignorant with themselves.

The remainder is composed of some white people, chiefly Catalans or their descendants, who are to be found in the Spanish part of the island; a very few Frenchmen, having been here at the declaration of independence, have adopted Hayti as their country, and have been fortunate enough to escape the sanguinary schemes of Dessalines; and of all the various castes resulting from the intercourse of the white with the black.

The great and distinctive classes then are, in the order of their numerical importance, the blacks, the colored people or mulattoes, the European and Creole whites; of these the white are the best informed and best educated; next in the scale of improvement stand the mulattoes, and last of all the negroes.