jected to quarantine and the letters fumigated before they were distributed. But the abuses had now reached their last extreme.-On the 27th October arrived a small vessel from the coast of Tunis: the vessel and passengers were both subjected to quarantine. Only one letter was delivered on the day of her arrival, and on our earnestly endeavouring to learn whether there were any for us, we received negative answers. Nevertheless on the 9th of this month, a packet was given to the charge des affaires of his catholick majesty and another to the consul of the United States of America; the latter, having had the politeness to communicate some news from it to us, complained of the considerable delay he had experienced of a letter he had just received from Algiers, dated on the 25th July, contained in another from Tunis of the 1st of October. This letter was of the greatest consequence to him in his consular concerns, and he requested us to attest the day of its arrival, which we did, as we now do by these presents. The next day (Nov. 10,) arrived a courier from Tunis. He arrived in the morning, but all the day passed without receiving the letters. On the 11th in the morning they were landed open and thrown together promiscuously, and instead of fumigating them they were burnt in such a manner as to consume a part and render the rest illegible, and thus they were sent to us by handsful. Seeing these unworthy proceedings, finding many of our letters lost, and that our residence here at Tripoli would be absolutely useless to our governments, if their orders did not reach us, we thought it our duty to make a complaint supported by all, and in the strongest manner, to his excellency the bashaw. An audience being granted, we showed him our letters in pieces and burnt, among which there was one for the bashaw himself. His excellency immediately promised to cause this abuse to be redressed. He gave his orders in consequence, and declared himself ready to punish the guilty. After having thus terminated the principal object of the audience requested, each of us communicated to his excellency the news we had received, and the consul of the United States of America having equally communicated to the bashaw, that the ministers of his government at Paris had just concluded a treaty with the French Republick, which was to terminate their differences, his excellency complimented him on the occasion, but nevertheless added, that an arrangement ought also to be made with him, and to take care that he did not give orders to his craisers to bring in the merchant vessels of the United States; and his excellency the bashaw further explained himself in such manner as to cause the fear of a rupture not far off. The consul of the United States of America, Mr. Cathcart, answered, that he was sure that would never take place; that the word of his excellency was sacred; that he, the consul, could do nothing without the orders of his government, and that his excellency had promised to wait, not only six months computing from the 2d of October last, but until the arrival of an answer from the American government; but the bashaw did not seem to accede to it; on the contrary he refused, and said that he had the greatest reason to complain of the Americans; that lately he had received a letter from one of his corsairs which acquainted him, that being on the coast of Naples he had met an American polacre richly laden; that he visited and treated it in a friendly manner; that nevertheless the polacre, after entering the port, gave intelligence that the corsair was there, in order that a superior force might be sent out to capture him; but the corsair being advised of it by a Ragusan vessel which had just come out of the same port, he had time to save himself. Mr. Cathcart answered his excellency that it was evidently a false report, dictated by malice; that among the whole marine of the United States there was no polacre; and that he prayed his excellency not to give credit to such lies, which his raiz might report; nevertheless the consul of the United States had no reason to be tranquil lized it appeared on the contrary, that his excellency the bashaw of Tripoli intended shortly to give orders for bringing in the merchant vessels of the United States, and thus to commence hostilities. The audience being finished, we retired, and Mr. Cathcart consul of the United States of America, having communicated his wish to us, to have a process verbal of all that passed at the audience, as well as of what gave occasion for asking it, we have drawn up these presents; and in faith thereof we have signed them, and thereto affixed the royal seals of our consulates. Done at Tripoli in Barbary this 13th Nov. 1801. Consul of his Danish Majesty, at In absence of the Consul General [L. s.] PEDRO ORTIZ DE ZUGASTI. MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO CONGRESS. DECEMBER 22, 1801. I Now enclose sundry documents supplementary to those communicated to you with my message at the commencement of the session. Two others of considerable importance, the one relating to our transactions with the Barbary powers, the other presenting a view of the offices of the government, shall be communicated as soon as they can be completed. TH: JEFFERSON. TRANSLATION. The Bashaw of Tunis, to Mr. John Adams, President of the United States of America. MR. PRESIDENT,Although I have charged the worthy and zealous consul of your nation, the Sieur William Eaton, to acquaint you with a proposition, which I have found myself under the absolute necessity of making to him, I have nevertheless determined to apply directly to you about it by these presents, in order that I might at the same time procure for myself the pleasure of reiterating to you the assurance of the continuance of my esteem and my friendship. After the request I formerly made for forty cannon of different calibers, the present circumstances in which I find myself, require that I should procure twenty-four pounders, of which I have the most pressing need. I should therefore wish that you would cause them to be sent to me as soon as possible, in case you should not, on the receipt of the present, have sent the first to me, if finally they should have been already sent away, I expect, Mr. Presi dent, as a real proof of your friendship, for which I shall be infinitely obliged to you, that you will furnish and convey to me, forty other pieces, all of the caliber above mentioned. This request will not appear in the least extraordinary to you, when you consider the very moderate and friendly manner, in which, differently from others, I have conducted myself towards the United States and their flag, notwithstanding that the douceurs and presents, stipulated four years ago for my making peace with the United States, have not all arrived, and that not the smallest part of those which were intended for me individually have been sent. I make no doubt on this subject, that your consul will have forwarded the letter I addressed to you about two years past relative to it, and that you will thereby have seen, that I consented to wait the space of a year, in consequence of the representation which the same consul made to me, that several of the articles composing the present, due to me, and which I constantly expect, could neither be had or manufactured in the United States, and that they were to be procured from foreign countries. Wishing on my part to return you a reciprocity (whenever an occasion of urgency in your nation happens) in my country, and hoping to see that good harmony which happily subsists between us continued and remain undisturbed, I pray Almighty God to preserve you, and I assure you, Mr. President, of my esteem and my most distinguished consideration. [Signature and seal of Hamouda Pache Bey of Tunis.] At Bardo of Tunis, the 2d of the moon Haggia, of the year 'Egira 1215, and the 15th April, 1801. Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States of Ameri ca, to Hamouda Pacha Bey of Tunis. GREAT AND GOOD FRIEND,-The letter which you addressed to the President of the United States of America, on the fifteenth of April, has been received, and has conveyed us the assurances always welcome, that your friendly dispositions towards these States, still continue firm and unimpaired. We feel deep regret that the regalia and other tokens of our esteem for you, had not at that date, reached their destination. These delays proceed from the distance of our situation, and from the circumstance that some of the articles acceptable to you, are not fabricated here, but are to be sought for in foreign countries, where also they require time to be prepared. We trust they will all have been received before this reaches you. We are a nation not practising the dif ficult arts, but employed in agriculture, and transportation of its produce for commercial exchange with others. Peace therefore with all nations is essentially our pursuit, so long as it can be obtained on just and equal grounds. Of this desire on our part we have given to the states bordering on the Mediterranean the same manifestations of which Europe had set the example. Like them, we consented to give a price for friendship, which would have been properly requited by our own. So long as we have been met with moderation and good faith, we have preferred these means of peace, rather than to seek it through our own strength. At length, however, the inadmissible demands of the bashaw of Tripoli, and our determination to owe to our own energies,and not to dishonourable condescensions, the protection of our right to navigate the ocean freely, have induced us to send a squadron into the Mediterranean sea, for the protection of our commerce against the bashaw of Tripoli. We gave, illustrious friend, in strict charge to our officer, chief in command, to respect, and treat with particular friendship, your flags, your vessels, and your subjects, and to take an early occasion, after his arrival in those seas, to testify his respect to you, to assure you of our adherence to the peace and friendship established with you, and of our orders to him to cultivate them with assiduity: |