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braced in any arrangement to which you may agree, having for its object a reciprocal and final adjustment of all demands of indemnity on both sides. This subject was adverted to in your original instructions, and what is there said respecting it is again recommended to your notice.

With regard to the claim grow. ing out of the destruction, by fire, at Savannah in 1811, of the French privateer "Vengeance," likewise referred to in Count Molé's report as intended to be called up at the renewal of the negotiations, the accidental loss of the records of the correspondence of this department during the pc. riod of that occurrence, and the ab. sence of documentary information respecting the circumstances attending it, render it difficult to form a correct estimate of the merits of that claim. It appears, however, that the burning of the Vengeance was an act of violence committed by an exasperated mob during a very severe contest between French sailors and a party of rioters, in consequence of an affray which had taken place before, and in which an American had been killed, and a French sailor mortally wounded. It appears, also, from the communications of Mr. Serurier, then minister of France in the United States, to the secretary of state, that, notwithstanding the interference of the police and military of Savannah, the circumstances of the riot were such as to induce him to make a formal demand upon this government for the immediate cominencement of a legal prosecution, and for the exemplary punishment of the guilty; of satisfaction to his sovereign for the insult alleged to have been offered to the French flag, and of indemnity to the owners of the vessel destroyed on that occasion.

The loss of the record referred to above, and of the report which was made at the time by the district attorney for Georgia, deprives us of the means of ascertaining the view which was then taken of the matter by the government of the United States, and what answer was returned to Mr. Serurier's communications. Measures have been adopted to supply that loss, which, if successful, will doubtless enable the president to cause more precise information as to the validity of the claim to be communicated to you.

This department is more at a loss to understand what is meant by the French government in its mention of "claims of French subjects to lands in Louisiana." So far its inquiries have led to no result calcu. lated to aid its judgment in relation to those pretended claims. The subjoined memorandum from a senator familiar with the entire subject of land claims in that country, constitutes all the data I have as yet been able to collect upon the sub. ject, confirms the president in his opinion that the claim is entirely groundless, and strengthens my own conviction that an investigation of its merits will lead to the establishment of the correctness of these opinions.

The president, however, is unwilling that any obstacles of this nature should interpose themselves to a satisfactory adjustment of all the claims which either of the two nations may have upon the other, and will not refuse his assent to any proposition which may lead to an investigation of the real merits of this claim, and of that arising from the destruction of the "Vengeance." He is, moreover, ready to consent that satisfaction be made for them by this government, if, after a proper investigation of all the circumstances, they should appear to con

stitute a fair demand upon the justice of the United States.

As the claimants under the grants to the Baron Bastrop and Marquis de Maison Rouge are understood to reside in this country, it is believed that your supposition that they are amongst those referred to by the French government is erroneous.

As regards the subject of the French pretensions under the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty, which have been the cause of so much discussion, and so long served as a pretext for a denial, on the part of France, of the justice due to our citizens, the opinion of the president as to the principle involved in that question, is now, as it must ever remain, unchanged. It would therefore be as unprofitable as useless, at this time, to renew the discus. sions touching those principles. The former instructions of this department, as contained in my despatch numbered 20, have so fully explained to you the manner in which the president is willing to compromise this unhappy subject of difference, as to render any further mention of it unnecessary. The arrangement proposed in this respect has the twofold object, to dispose for ever of this vexatious subject of dispute, and to facilitate, at the same time, the developement of the commercial resources of the two countries, and bind them still more strongly together by the ties of mutual interests. The president in dulges the confident expectation that his majesty's government, to whom, doubtless, you will, ere this, have communicated his liberal proposition, will discover in the mea-, sures it contemplates an earnest of his friendly sentiments towards the French nation, and of his desire to do his utmost to remove all difficulties which may stand in the way of a final settlement of all differences between the two countries.

The instructions heretofore transmitted to you, have put you fully in possession of the views of the presi dent in reference to the last point mentioned by you, as intended to be referred to the proposed commission, that is to say, the method to be adopted for the liquidation of the claims admitted. If a preference has hitherto been given by him to one mode over another, it was done upon views of convenience alone, of which no circumstances have yet occurred to produce a change. The president is unwilling to insist upon the adoption of any particular mode, and will readily assent to one which, without sacrificing or abridging the rights of the claimants, will meet the views of the French government, and lead to a prompt and satisfactory settlement.

I regret to have to state to you, that, notwithstanding the earnest desire of the department to ascertain the views of the claimants as to the terms upon which they would agree to a final arrangement and to produce a concert of action among them, that desirable object has not yet been accomplished, and that the probability that it ever will be attained is remote. It is therefore extremely difficult, if not impracti. cable, at this time to furnish you with positive information as to the reduction in the total amount of the claims to which it would be just or prudent to agree. Nothing can, consequently, now be added to the views which have already been made known to you upon this branch of the subject. The president is not insensible to the force of the considerations alluded to in your last despatch, as drawn from the staleness of the claims, the dif ficulties unavoidably attending their adjustment, the unsettled state of political affairs in Europe, and particularly in France, and the finan cial embarrassments of that country

arising from the present reduction in her revenue. These considerations, although in no way affecting the rights of the claimants, or the obligation of France to indemnify them, cannot be totally divested of that degree of influence which similar considerations must needs exercise over all relations between debtor and creditor. The president is not now more disposed than he ever was to yield any thing of the just rights of his fellow citizens; but he cannot so far disregard the force of the considerations to which reference has just been made, as to decline receiving, in the most indulgent and conciliatory spirit, any reasonable offer which may be made by the French government in full satisfaction of our claims, provided it shall bear a fair proportion to the amount which, upon a view of the whole subject, shall be deem

ed sufficient to cover the claims, which this government ought, under the circumstances, to insist upon. Your own acquaintance with the subject, as derived from the instructions and documents furnished you by this department and from other sources of local information, must be your guide in considering the amount which would be deemed acceptable by your government, whom you will ever find disposed to give a liberal support to any act of yours founded in the spirit of your instructions, and dictated by exist. ing circumstances, which shall have for its object the real interests of the claimants, and the final adjustment of differences, in the settlement of which each day's delay adds fresh injury to the interests involved in them.

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Paper Referred to in the preceding despatch (No. 23) to Mr. Rives.

Senate Chamber, December 14, 1830. Mr. Benton complies with the request of Mr. Van Buren, in stating what he knows of the two aucient French grants referred e.

1. The grant on the Aransas to Mr. Law.

Mr. B. presumes this to be the grant on which the German emigrants were settled under the patronage of Mr. Law; and who, upon the failure of that gentleman, abandoned the possession, with the view of returning to Europe, but stopped at New-Orleans, accepted other grants from the governor of Louisiana on the coast of the Mississippi, above the city, and formed what has been called ever since

"the German coast." The grant on the Arkansas to Mr. L., I now consider as a nullity. It h Org bably been red, perhaps to Winter.

2 The grant near the du fort Tolouse, on the Alabama.

This was in the heart of the Creek nation of Indians. They continued to occupy the country supposed to be covered by the grant until the nation was conquered by General Jackson, in 18.4. It was then ceded to the United States by treaty, and has since been sold under our land laws, and is now occupied and cultivated by American citizens. I consider this grant also a nullity.

No. 32.

SIR,

Mr. Van Buren to Mr. Rives.

Department of State,

Washington, 7th April, 1831.

Herewith you will receive a copy of a resolution adopted by the house of representatives during the late session of congress, referring the claim of the heirs of Caron de Beaumarchais to the president of the United States as a matter of negotiation, together with an extract of a private letter in relation to that claim, which I have just received from Mr. Speaker Stevenson.

According to your general instructions of 20th July, 1829, you are given to understand that the president would not object to the deduction of the one million of livres, claimed by those heirs, from the amount that might be allowed for satisfaction of the claims of Ameri

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can citizens upon the French government, provided the sum so allowed by that government should, in your opinion, be commensurate with the object; but the mode of making or affecting this deduction is not particularly described; and was, therefore, intended to be left very much to your discretion. the suggestions of Mr. Stevenson, on this point, could be turned to advantage, consistently with the spirit of those instructions, it would be very agreeable to the president that the proposed arrangement should, in that case, be made to correspond with them.

I am, with great respect, sir, Your obedient servant, M. VAN BUREN. WILLIAM C. RIVES, Esq., &c., &c.

SIR,

Mr. Livingston to Mr. Rives.

Department of State,
Washington, August 4th, 1831.

We,

At the date of your last despatch, No. 72, the position of our affairs was such as to excite hopes of a favourable termination to our just and long protracted demand for compensation to our citizens. therefore, looked with some impatience for the arrival of the succeeding packet. Two have, within a few days, arrived-one of the 10th June, bringing only duplicates of your despatches Nos. 71 and 72, and the other of the 22d, bringing only newspapers. In whatever state the negotiation may be, it is very important that we should, by every packet, be advised of its pro

gress or interruption. The president is perfectly convinced, from your diligence and energy in urging the settlement of these claims, that no new instructions are necessary to give activity to your exertions. But he requests me to direct if, on the arrival of this letter, some specific offer that you may deem worthy of being referred to your government be not made, that you will signify to the French ministry the extreme disappointment felt by the president at the delays which have intervened under the present go. vernment, more especially since the justice of our claim was conceded by the last. You will add, that pains have been taken by our government to repress the expression of

the feelings of impatience which pervade not only the parties interested, but the whole community, on this subject, which, if not allayed, must naturally create an unfriendly national feeling; and unless prompt measures are taken to render justice, will be communicated from the people to their representatives, who are soon to assemble; that the president, in the exercise of his constitutional duty, must lay before congress a true statement of this important feature in our foreign relations; that its effects cannot but tend to injure that harmony and kind feeling which, as yet, subsist between the two nations, and which,

but for this denial of justice, would become stronger and more intimate; that it will be your duty to report any longer delay, as a proof that nothing more can be expected; and that, for that purpose, you request such an answer as will enable us to judge what we are to expect.

I repeat, by the president's desire, a former request, that we may hear from you by every packet, whether you have any thing important to communicate or not.

I am, with great respect,

Your obedient servant, EDW. LIVINGSTON. WILLIAM C. RIVES, Esq., &c., &c.

Sir,

Mr. Brown to Mr. Clay.

Paris, 8th September, 1827. I ADDRESSED a note to his excellency Baron de Damas, requesting an interview. He returned me an anwer, appointing the 7th instant, at half past one o'clock, to receive me. I waited on him at that hour, and in order to comply with your instructions of the 28th May, I briefly, but distinctly, brought to his recollection the various measures to which the United States had resorted in order to obtain from France a settlement of the claims of our citizens for spoliations on their commerce. riving, in the course of my narrative, at that period when the negotiations were arrested by the unexpected interposition of the claim of France under the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty, I stated fully the reasons assigned by my government for refusing to unite that claim in the same negotiation with the claim of citizens for indemnity. It

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can hardly be necessary that I should, in this place, state all that passed on this subject, as it could amount to little more than a repetition of the substance of your last instructions, and of the notes which had, at different times, been addressed to the French government, either by my immediate predecessor or by myself. I shall, therefore, mere. ly observe, that the review of what had passed was full and comprehensive, embracing a statement of the principal facts and arguments which appeared in the correspon dence commencing with Mr. Gallatin's letter to the Duke of Richelieu, of the 16th November, 1816, and ending with that of his excellency Baron de Damas to me, dated the 11th November, 1825.

I told him that my government could not admit the propriety of associating, in the same negotiation, the disputed demand under the eighth article of the Louisiana treaty, and incontestible claims of

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