of the U. S. and in case of any of thein reentering the harbors or waters aforesaid, all intercourse with them was forbidden, all supplies and aid prohibited from being furnished them under the penalties of law provided: and whereas one of the said armed vessels, the Cambrian, has lately entered into the waters of the Chesapeake, within which, with certain other British armed vessels, she still remains: I have therefore thought fit to issue this my Proclamation, forbidding, so long as the said Cambrian shall be within the waters of the Chesapeake all intercourse, not only with the said armed vessel the Cambrian, but with every armed vessel of the same nation, their officers, & crews now in the sd bay of Chesapeake, or it's waters, or which may enter the same. And I do declare & make known, that if any person from, or within, the jurisdictional limits of the U. S. shall afford any aid to any of the said armed vessels, contrary to the prohibition contained in this proclamation, either in repairing any of them, or in furnishing them, their officers or crews, with supplies of any kind, or in any manner whatsoever or if any pilot shall assist in navigating any of the said armed vessels, unless it be for the purpose of carrying them, in the first instance, beyond the limits & jurisdiction of the U. S. such person or persons shall, on conviction,

got ready, and I ask the heads of departments to meet here tomorrow at II o'clock to consider what additional measures can be taken for forcing the Cambrian off, and for preventing her entering any other port of the U. S. Would it not be proper to ask Mr. Erskine to see you immediately to shew him the letter of Newton & report of the officer, & to let him know the measures we will take tomorrow. He may by tonight's post reinforce his advice to those

officers."

He had also written to Gallatin on Dec. 18:

"I inclose a draught of a Proclamation with an amendment proposed by Mr. Madison. Before I make any alteration I shall be glad of your opinion on the matter. I return the two draughts of letters with an alteration or two proposed to me of them for your consideration. Mr. Erskine promised to write to Commodore Douglas yesterday on the subject of the Cambrian. He says she is reported as having sprung her bowsprit, & put in on that account. Consequently we must let the matter lie till we hear from the Collector. I have made it a rule not to give up letters of accusation, or copies of them, in any case. It is true that Davies would probably care very little about a copy of his letter being sent to Briggs; yet I should think it sufficient that the heads of accusation have been already furnished to Mr. Briggs. Affectionate salutations."

suffer all the pains & penalties by the laws provided for such offences. And I do hereby enjoin & require all persons bearing office civil or military within the U. S., and all others, citizens or inhabitants thereof, or being within the same, with vigilance & promptitude, to exert their respective authorities, & to be aiding & assisting to the carrying this proclamation and every part thereof into full effect.

In testimony whereof I have caused the seal of the U. S. to be affixed to these presents, and have signed the same with my hand. Given at the city of Washington the 20th day of December in the year of our Lord 1806 and of the sovereignty and independence of the United States the 31st.

TO THE GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA.
(WILLIAM CHARLES COLE CLAIBORNE.)

J. MSS.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20, 06.

DEAR SIR,-You will receive your formal instructions from Genl. Dearborn. This is private of course & merely for your more full information. You already have a general knowledge of the insurrection prepared by Colo. Burr. His object is to take possession of N. Orleans, as a station from whence to make an expedition against Vera Cruz & Mexico. His party began their ⚫formation at the mouth Beaver, from whence they started the 1st or 2d of this month, and would collect all the way down the Ohio. We trust that the opposition we have provided at Marietta, Cincinnati, Louisville & Massac will be sufficient to stop him; but we are not certain because we do not know his strength. It is therefore possible he may escape & then his great rendez-vous is to be at Natchez. You can judge as well as I when he can be there, leaving Pittsburg or Beaver Dec. 1. We send our present orders by both the Tennessee & Athens routes, in expectation they will reach Natchez & N. Orleans in time for the whole force of both countries to be collected & to take the best point for opposition. The orders are to the governor of Missipi to bring forward the whole force of his militia instantly to act in conjunction with the force at Fort Adams: to the commanding officer of

the gunboats &c. to move with his whole force immediately up the river & to take the station which shall be thought best: we presume it will be a little above Fort Adams or Fort Coupee, but within reach of them, that he may fall back under the protection of their guns if in danger from superior numbers. We expect you will collect all your force of militia, act in conjunction with Colo. Freeman & take such a stand as shall be concluded best. These orders are given to the several officers distinctly, because Genl. Wilkinson is believed to be kept at bay on the west side of the Misipi by the Spanish force under advice from Yrujo, who has been duped by Burr to believe he means only the capture of N. Orleans & the separation of the western country. This is a summary of the orders given; but, if they vary in any point from what the Secretaries of war and of the navy direct, you are to suppose that I recite them incorrectly, & that theirs are the real orders, which it is my intention should be followed. Do not suffer yourself to be lulled into a moment's delay by any information which shall not come to you in the most unquestionable form. Should he get possession of N. Orleans measures are now taking for it's immediate recovery, and for calling forth such a force as will be sufficient. He has been able to decoy a great proportion of his people by making them believe the government secretly approves of this expedition against the Spanish territories. We are looking with anxiety to see what exertions the western country will make in the first instance for their own defence; and I confess that my confidence in them is entire.'

TO THOMAS LIEPER.

J. MSS. WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 06.

DEAR SIR,-This is merely a private letter, intended for yourself individually. If I have not answered the very friendly & flattering address I

'Endorsed by Jefferson: "This letter was left to be finished on the 21st, but the mail went off at 2 a.m., which was earlier than I expected: so it was not sent. It is kept, as containing the sum of what was agreed upon at a meeting of heads of Departments, (except Mr. Gallatin who was not present) on the 19th of Dec. 1806."

received through you, and the many others I have received, it is not from an insensibility to their kind and gratifying contents. No man feels them more powerfully than I do; no breast ever felt more consolation from such testimonies of good will. And the having given no answer to them has been the hardest act of self denial I have been called upon to perform. But on consultation with friends here, there is but one opinion, that the question presented by these addresses cannot be touched without endangering the harmony of the present session of Congress, and disturbing the tranquility of the nation itself prematurely & injuriously. I express these sentiments to you, privately, because they will enable you to give in conversation a true solution to the fact of my giving no answer. The present session is important as having new & great questions to decide & in the decision of which no schismatic view should take any part. It may become still more important, should the measures we have taken fail to suppress the insurrectionary expedition now going on under Colo. Burr. A few days will let us know whether the western states suppress that enterprise, or whether it is to require from us a serious national armament. Our little band in Congress has as yet been quiet: but some think it is from a sense of importance, not a conviction of error, or motives of good will. But all these schisms, small or great only accumulate truths of the solid qualifications of our citizens for self government. Accept my friendly salutations and assurances of great & constant esteem.

TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.
(ROBERT SMITH.)

J. MSS.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 06.

DEAR SIR,-Yours of yesterday has been duly considered. What I had myself in contemplation was to wait until we got news from Louisville of Dec. 15 (the day of Burr's proposed general rendez-vous). The post comes from thence in 12 days. The mail next expected will be of that date. If we then find that his force has had no effectual opposition at either Mariette or Cincinnati, & will not be stopped at Louisville, then, without depending on the opposition at Fort Adams, tho' I have more dependence on that than on any other) I should propose to lay the whole matter before Congress, ask an immediate appropriation for a naval equipment and at the same time order 20,000 militia (or volunteers) from the western states to proceed down the river to retake N. O. presuming our naval equipment would be there before them. In the meantime I would recommend to you to be getting ready & giving orders of preparation to the officers and vessels which we can get speedily ready that is to say, the 3 sloops at Washington, the 2 gunboats and ketch at N. York, the 3 gunboats (not including No. 1) and ketch at Norfolk & the 3 gunboats at Charleston: all this on the supposition that the officers are of opinion that the gunboats can be safely sent at this season. We now see what would be the value of strong vessels of little draught for the shoaly coasts of the Gulf of Mexico. At any rate we should have some as powerful as a 12 feet draught of water could be made to bear. Affectionate salutations.

END OF VOLUME VIII.