and had then the wind eastwardly, which was contrary; and on the sixteenth they were supplied from another brig with two bags of bread, some pease and wine, on payment, and proceeded their voyage with variable winds and weather, without any particular circumstances happening, until the twenty-second, when being in latitude 48, 23, they were boarded by his Britannick majesty's ship Galatea, the officers of which pressed from the said appearer's vessel the said fourteen men, three passengers, and one of their own crew, and supplied the said appearers with provisions, when they continued the pursuit of the voyage with the wind southwardly. And on the twentythird had sounding in seventy-five fathoms, and proceeded the channel course with the wind continuing southwardly, with hazy weather. And on the twenty-fourth in the evening, the Lizard lights, bore north north east, distant about five leagues. That on the twenty-fifth in the morning, Portland lights bore northeast by east, distant three leagues. And on the same day it began to blow hard, which increased to a gale, and in the afternoon, being off Beachy head, with the weather continuing very thick and hazy, they, upon consultation on the state and condition of the said vessel, adjudged it most expedient for the safety of their lives, and preservation of her and her cargo, to put into the first port of safety to refit, that they might be enabled safely to proceed to their place of destination, and accordingly hoisted a signal for a pilot and assistance to take charge of the said vessel, for the purpose of conducting her to such said port of safety; and about 4 o'clock they procured a pilot and assistance from a cutter which came alongside, whom the said master employed for the purpose aforesaid; but the weather being hazy, and night time coming on, they laid off and on until the said twenty-sixth at 5 o'clock in the morning, when they bore away for Dover harbour, and at ten o'clock in the forenoon, on arriving at the entrance of the same, the said vessel was, by the strong tide and swell forced against the north Pier Head, whereby the figure head, rails, cutwater and bow, were damaged; and the anchor hooking the head, and having a long range of the cable, the same run out nearly thirty fathom, which stopping the said vessel, and she then touching the ground, they were obliged, for the purpose of preventing her laying thereon, to cut

the cable the length it had so run out, by doing of which, and with the utmost exertions on board, and assistance on shore, she was hove from the dangerous place she was likely to lay on, and into safety, and also the said appearers declare, that they have used their utmost endeavours for the preservation of the said vessel and cargo; that whatever damage or loss the same have already sustained, or may hereafter sustain, was not occasioned by or through any neglect or default of them, or any of the crew, or by reason of any defect or default in the said vessel or her tackling, but merely by means of the circumstances before stated. Therefore the said master hath desired a protest; wherefore I, the said notary, at his request, have solemnly protested, and by these presents do protest against the wind, weather and sea, the officers and crew of the said French brig (whose names, together with the name of their said vessel is unknown to these appearers or to their belief to any of their crew) and every other person and eause occasioning the said vessel's damage and loss of, and for all losses, costs, charges, damages, and expenses already and hereafter to be suffered and sustained, to be allowed and recovered in time and place convenient. Thus done and protested in Dover aforesaid, in the presence of Robert Steriker and Thomas Pain, witnesses thereto called and requested. In testimony of the truth whereof, the said appearers and witnesses subscribed their names in the registry of me, the said notary. And I the said notary have hereunto set my hand, and affixed my notarial seal, dated the day and year second above written. JAMES GRAVENER, [L. s.]

And I, James Gravener, a master extraordinary in his majesty's high court of chancery, do hereby certify, that the said William Martin, Eugene Sweeney, and Robert Jackson, were duly sworn on the Holy Evangelists to the truth of the aforegoing protest, at Dover aforesaid, the said 3d day of April, 1797, before me,

JAMES GRAVENER.

MESSAGE

FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES RELATIVE TO ALGIERS. JUNE 23, 1797.

[See Vol. Confidential Documents.]

MESSAGE

FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO CON

GRESS. JULY 3, 1797.

THE whole of the intelligence which has for some time past been received from abroad, the correspondences between this government and the ministers of the belligerent powers residing here, and the advices from the officers of the United States, civil and military, upon the frontiers, all conspire to show in a very strong light the critical situation of our country. That Congress might be enabled to form a more perfect judgment of it, and of the measures necessary to be taken, I have directed the proper officers to prepare such collections of extracts from the publick correspondences as might afford the clearest information. The reports made to me, from the Secretary of State, and the Secretary at War, with a collection of documents from each of them, are now communicated to both houses of Congress; I have desired that the message, reports and documents may be considered as confidential, merely that the members of both houses of Congress may be apprized of their contents before they should be made publick. As soon as the houses shall have heard them, I shall submit to their discretion, the publication of the whole, or any such parts of them, as they shall judge necessary or expedient for the publick. good.

JOHN ADAMS.

Additional Report of Secretary of State, to the President of the United States, of the Proceedings of the Officers of his Catholick Majesty, in relation to the Posts occupied by his Troops within the Limits of the United States, the Boundary Line, and other Matters therewith connected.

ON Thursday last, the twenty-ninth of June, I received farther despatches from Andrew Ellicott, Esq. the commissioner of the United States at the Natchez, dated the tenth of May last, of which an extract and copies, numbered 1, 2 and 3, are subjoined. By these it appears that a new motive has been assigned by the commander in chief, the Baron de Carondelet, and governour Gayoso, for still retaining the possession of the posts of the Natchez and the Walnut-hills, and for strengthening the fortifications; viz. to guard against an attack by the British from Canada. This motive being derived from information communicated to the Baron de Carondelet by the chevalier de Yrujo, the minister of his catholick majesty to the United States, it appears necessary again to bring before the President my correspondence with the Spanish and British ministers on that subject. These papers are numbered 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Although the minister declared he had just reasons for suspecting an expedition from Canada, was preparing by the British against the upper posts of Louisiana, yet he never mentioned a single fact or reason on which his suspicion was founded. From all the existing circumstances I ever believed the suspicion to be groundless.— And the note of Mr. Liston, the British minister, of the nineteenth of the last month, declares that no such expedition has been or is intended, by the British govern

ment.

On the sixteenth of March last, by the President's direction, I inquired of the minister of his catholick majesty whether the Spanish troops had been withdrawn, agreeably to the treaty, from the territory of the United States; and if not, what orders or measures for withdrawing them had been taken. To this the minister answered, on the seventeenth of April, that not having for some months heard from the Baron de Carondelet, he was "deprived of any information touching the steps taken for the exe

cution of the treaty." Nevertheless he had previously informed the Baron de Carondelet of his suspicions of a projected expedition from Canada; for on the 1st of May it is offered by governour Gayoso, as a new reason for continning to hold the posts. These two letters are numbered 10, 11.

On the 24th of June last, the minister of his catholick majesty wrote me the letter number 12, in which he undertakes to give the substance of two letters from the Baron de Carondelet, and which about a week before he had orally translated to me from the Spanish originals. These letters (as appears by the detail of them now given by the minister) exhibited divers complaints against Mr. Ellicott, whose conduct is assigned as the cause of an alleged misunderstanding between him and governour Gayoso; and of the delay in commencing the running of the boundary line.

One article, however, the minister has omitted in his recital. The Baron de Carondelet complained, among other things, that Mr. Ellicott had not given him notice of his arrival at the Natchez, as the commissioner on the part of the United States, for running the boundary line between their territories and those of Spain. I was astonished at this complaint, as I had then lying on my table a copy of Mr. Ellicott's letter to the Baron, dated the 27th of February, only three days after Mr. Ellicott's arrival at the Natchez, announcing his arrival as the commissioner of the United States for the object above expressed, and two copies of the Baron's answer, dated at New Orleans the 1st of March; one of the original Spanish, and the other a translation in English, acknowledging the receipt of Mr. Ellicott's letter, and "congratulating him on his arrival in that country in the character of commissioner on the part of the United States, to run the dividing line between the territories of his most catholick majesty and the United States." I immediately presented these copies to the minister, in whom the repugnance of fact to assertion excited the natural sensation: but soon recollecting himself, he made this apology for the Baron, that he supposed he did not consider Mr. Ellicott's letter as official! This letter and the translation of the Baron's answer, have been already laid

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