other, there is a
tendency to restrict the authority of ambassadors, for whom there is no
longer need, and the entire system will no doubt soon disappear. Mr.
Gallatin's speech was the delight of his party and his friends. He was
called upon to write it out, and two thousand copies of it were
circulated as the best exposition of Republican doctrine.

Early in February the President informed Congress of certain captures
and outrages committed by a French privateer within the limits of the
United States, including the burning of an English merchantman in the
harbor of Charleston. On March 19, in a further special message, he
communicated dispatches from the American envoys in France, and also
informed Congress that he should withdraw his order forbidding merchant
vessels to sail in an armed condition. A collision might, therefore,
occur at any moment.

On March 27, 1798, a resolution was introduced that it is not now
expedient for the United States to resort to war against the French
Republic; a second, to restrict the arming of merchant vessels; and a
third, to provide for the protection of the seacoast and the internal
defense of the country. Speaking to the first resolution, Mr. Gallatin
said that the United States had arrived at a crisis at which a stand
must be made, when the House must say whether it will resort to war or
preserve peace. If to war, the expense and its evils must be met; if
peace continue, then the country must submit: in either case American
vessels would be taken. It was a mere matter of calculation which course
would best serve the interest and happiness of the country. If he could
separate defensive from offensive war, he should be in favor of it; but
he could not make the distinction, and therefore he should be in favor
of measures of peace. The act of the President was a war measure.
Members of the House so designated it in letters to their constituents.

On April 2 the President was requested to communicate the instructions
and dispatches from the envoys extraordinary, mention of which he had
made in his message of March 19. Gallatin supported the call. He said
that the President was not afraid of communicating information, as he
had shown in the preceding session, and that to withhold it would
endanger the safety of our commerce, or prevent the happy issue of
negotiation. On April 3 Mr. Gallatin presented a petition against
hazarding the neutrality and peace of the nation by authorizing pri