to neutrals all trade with her enemies in time of war, which they had not in time of peace.  This deprived them of their trade from port to port of the same nation.  Then she forbade them to trade from the port of one nation to that of any other at war with her, although a right fully exercised in time of peace.  Next, instead of taking vessels only entering a blockaded port, she took them over the whole ocean, if destined to that port, although ignorant of the blockade, and without intention to violate it.  Then she took them returning from that port, as if infected by previous infraction of blockade.  Then came her paper blockades, by which she might shut up the whole world without sending a ship to sea, except to take all those sailing on it, as they must, of course, be bound to some port.  And these were followed by her orders of council, forbidding every nation to go to the port of any other, without coming first to some port of Great Britain, there paying a tribute to her, regulated by the cargo, and taking from her a license to proceed to the port of destination; which operation the vessel was to repeat with the return cargo on its way home.  According to these orders, we could not send a vessel from St. Mary’s to St. Augustine, distant six hour’s sail, on our own coast, without crossing the Atlantic four times, twice with the outward cargo, and twice with the inward.  She found this too daring and outrageous for a single step, retracted as to certain articles of commerce, but left it in force as to others which constitute important branches of our exports.  And finally, that her views may no longer rest on inference, in a recent debate, her minister declared in open parliament, that the object of the present war is a monopoly of commerce.

In some of these atrocities, France kept pace with her fully in speculative wrong, which her impotence only shortened in practical execution.  This was called retaliation by both; each charging the other with the initiation of the outrage.  As if two combatants might retaliate on an innocent bystander, the blows they received from each other.  To make war on both would have been ridiculous.  In order, therefore, to single out an enemy, we offered to both, that if either would revoke its hostile decrees, and the other should refuse, we would interdict all intercourse whatever with that other; which would be war of course, as being an avowed departure from neutrality.  France accepted the offer, and revoked her decrees as to us.  England not only refused, but declared by a solemn proclamation of her Prince Regent, that she would not revoke her orders even as to us, until those of France should be annulled as to the whole world.  We thereon declared war, and with abundant additional cause.