might be
renewed. In this shape the bill was returned to the Senate, which
concurred February 28. Next day it became law, by the President's
signature.

The Enforcement Act and the Non-Intercourse Act, taken together and in
their rapid sequence, symbolize the death struggle between Jefferson's
ideal of peaceful commercial restriction, unmitigated and protracted,
in the power of which he had absolute faith, and the views of those to
whom it was simply a means of diplomatic pressure, temporary, and
antecedent to war. Napoleon himself was not more ruthless than
Jefferson in his desired application of commercial prohibition. Not so
his party, in its entirety. The leading provisions of the
Non-Intercourse Act, by partially opening the door and so facilitating
abundant evasion, traversed Jefferson's plan. It was antecedently
notorious that their effect, as regarded Great Britain, would be to
renew trade with her by means of intermediary ports. Yet that they
were features in the policy of the men about to become prominent under
the coming Administration was known to Canning some time before the
resolution was introduced by Giles; before the Enforcement Act even
could reach England. Though hastened by the outburst in New England,
the policy of the Non-Intercourse Act was conceived before the
collapse of Jefferson's own measure was seen to be imminent.

On January 18 and 22 Canning, in informal conversations with Pinkney,
had expressed his satisfaction at proceedings in Congress, recently
become known, looking to the exclusion of French ships equally with
British, and to the extension of non-importation legislation to France
as well as Great Britain.[283] He thought that such measures might
open the way to a withdrawal of the Orders in Council, by enabling the
British Government to entertain the overture, made by Pinkney August
23, under instructions, that the President would suspend the embargo,
if the British Government would repeal its orders. This he conceived
could not be done, consistently with self-respect, so long as there
was inequality of treatment. In these anticipations he was encouraged
by representations concerning the attitude of Madison and some
intended members of his Cabinet, made to him by Erskine, the British
Minister in Washington, who throughout seems to have cherished an
ardent desire to reconcile differences which interfered with his just
appreciation even of written words,--much more of spoken.

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