State of South Carolina, City of Charleston.

By John Mitchell, Esquire, Justice of the Quorum in and for the said state, and Notary Publick, by lawful authority duly sworn, admitted and commissioned, residing and practising in the City and State aforesaid.

Do hereby certify, that on the day of the date hereof, personally came and appeared before me the said notary, Ithamar Haskin, second mate; Thomas Davis, Isaac Sanford, John Clark and Thomas Smith, seamen on board the brig Mary of Savannah, in the state of Georgia; who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, did depose, testify, and declare, that they sailed on board the said brig Mary of Savannah, in Georgia, commanded by Francis Lightborne, from Savannah aforesaid, bound for London; that they and each of them are native Americans; that they arrived at London, and on the seventh day of July last, being loaded with porter and dry goods, they sailed in said vessel under the command of the said captain Lightborne-John Stafford, first mate, and a boy; having a long passage, they did not arrive on the coast of America till Wednesday morning the eighteenth of this instant, October; they made the land near Charleston harbour in sixteen fathom water: that about eight o'clock in the night of the same day, being in eight fathoms water, about three leagues from the land and light-house of Charleston, a small French privateer schooner, carrying two guns and several swivels, came along side the said brig, hailed her and ordered the captain with his papers to come on board, which he did. They detained the captain and two men, and sent an officer with eight men on board the said brig, who took forcible possession of her as a prize to said privateer; that this morning the deponents were put on board the ship Flora, of Providence, state of Rhode Island, who brought them to Charleston, South Carolina, and landed them about eleven o'clock, the said captain Lightborne, John Stafford the mate, and the boy, being put on board the said brig Mary, whom the prize master declared he would carry to

Cape Francois, in St. Domingo, where he said she came from and belonged to, but never hoisted any colours during the whole time.

ITHAMAR HASKIN,

In testimony whereof, I the said Notary, have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal of office, at [L.S.] Charleston, this 19th day of October, in the year of our Lord 1797, and in the 22d year of the independence of the United States of America.

JNO. MITCHELL, Q. U. Not. Pub.

MESSAGE

FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO CONGRESS. MARCH 5, 1798.

THE first despatches from our envoys extraordinary, since their arrival at Paris, were received at the Secretary of State's office at a late hour the last evening. They are all in a character, which will require some days to be deciphered, except the last, which is dated the 8th of January, 1798. The contents of this letter are of so much importance to be immediately made known to Congress, and the publick, especially to the mercantile part of our fellow citizens, that I have thought it my duty to communicate them to both houses, without loss of time.

JOHN ADAMS.

No. 5.

Paris, January 8, 1798.

DEAR SIR,-We embrace an unexpected opportunity to send you the Redacteur' of the fifth instant, containing

the message of the directory to the council of five hundred, urging the necessity of a law to declare as good prize, all neutral ships having on board merchandises and commodities, the production of England, or of the English possessions, that the flag, as they term it, may no longer cover the property :--And declaring further, that the ports of France, except in case of distress, shall be shut against all neutral ships, which in the course of their voyage shall have touched at an English port. A commission has been appointed to report on the message, and it is expected that a decree will be passed in conformity to it.

Nothing new has occurred since our last, in date of the 24th ultimo. We can only repeat that there exists no hope of our being officially received by this government, or that the objects of our mission will be in any way accomplished. We have the honour to be, &c.

Timothy Pickering, Esq.

· CHARLES C. PINCKNEY,
J. MARSHALL,
E. GERRY.

Postscript to a triplicate of the Envoys' letter, No. 5, received March 30, 1798.

The law abovementioned has been passed unanimously by the council of five hundred, and we enclose a journal containing the account. There is no doubt, but that it will be adopted, without opposition, by the Council of

Ancients.

TRANSLATION.

Message to the Council of Five Hundred, of the 15th Nivose, 6th year, Jan. 4, 1798.

Citizens Representatives,-On this day, the fifteenth of Nivose, and at the very hour at which the executive directory addresses this message to you, the municipal administrators, the justices of the peace, the commissaries of the directory, and the superintendents of the customs, are proceeding, in all the chief places of the departments, in all the ports, and in all the principal communes of the Republick, to seize the English merchandise now in France, or

introduced into its territory in contravention of the law of the tenth Brumaire, fifth year, (Oct. 31st, 1796.)

Such is the first act by which, now that peace is given to the continent, the war declared long since against England, is about to assume the real character which becomes it. The French will not suffer a power, which seeks to found its prosperity upon the misfortune of other nations, to raise its commerce upon the ruin of that of other states, and which, aspiring to the dominion of the seas, wishes to introduce, every where, the articles of its own manufacture, and to receive nothing from foreign industry-any longer to enjoy the fruit of the guilty speculations.

The English government has kept in pay, during the war, the coalesced forces with the produce of its manufactures. It has violated all the principles of the law of nations, in order to shackle the relations of neutral powers; it has caused to be seized the provisions, corn, and commodities, which it supposed to be destined for France: it has declared contraband every thing which it thought could be useful to the Republick-It desired to starve it. All the citizens call for vengeance.

When it had to fear the capture of vessels sailing under its flag, it corrupted foreign captains to induce them to take on board their vessels English merchandise, and thus to introduce it, by stratagem, by fraud, or otherwise, into other states, and especially into the French Republick.

The neutral powers should have perceived, that, by this conduct, their merchants took part in the war, and that they lent assistance to one of the belligerent powers.

We serve a party, as well when we procure for it the means of augmenting its forces, as when we unite ourselves to those which it has. The neutral powers should have perceived, that England, by stopping the vessels of other powers, laden in their respective ports, and destined for France, by permitting articles coming from her own manufactories alone to circulate, aimed at an exclusive commerce, and that it would be necessary to seek reparation for such an attempt.

The ordinance of the marine, and the regulation of 1704, have declared lawful prize, the vessels and their cargoes in which is found English merchandise belonging

to enemies. These provisions should be extended. The interest of Europe requires it.

The directory thinks it urgent and necessary to pass a law, declaring, that the character of vessels, relative to their quality of neutral or enemy, shall be determined by their cargo, and the cargo shall be no longer covered by the flag in consequence, that every vessel found at sea, having on board English provisions and merchandise as her cargo, in whole or in part, shall be declared lawful prize, whosoever may be the proprietor of these provisions or merchandise; which shall be reputed contraband, for this cause alone, that they come from England or her possessions.

It would be useful to declare, at the same time, that except in the case of distress, the ports of the Republick shall be shut to all foreign vessels, which, in the course of their voyage, shall have entered those of England.

The executive directory requests you, citizens represen fatives, to adopt these measures. No neutral or allied power can mistake their object, nor complain of them, unless it be already abandoned to England. The infallible effect of the measure is to enhance the value of the produce of their own soil and industry, to increase the prosperity of their commerce, to repel every thing that comes from England, and essentially to influence the conclusion of the war.

Such are the motives which induce the executive directory to invite you, citizens representatives, to take the ob ject of this message into the most prompt consideration. P. BARRAS, President.

LAGARDE, Secretary General.

Plan of a Decree reported by M. Villers to the Council of Five Hundred, in its Sitting of the 11th of January, 1798, translated from a Paris paper, entitled Journal du Soir, of the same day, enclosed in the triplicate of the Envoy's Letter, No. 5, dated January 8, 1798.

"1st. THE character of a vessel, relative to the quality of neuter or enemy, is determined by her cargo. "In consequence, every vessel loaded in whole or in part with English merchandise, is declared lawful prize, whoever the owner of the said merchandise may be.