oth; to add still
another nation to the enemies of his country, and to draw on both a
reproach, which it is hoped will never stain the history of either.
The written proofs, of which Mr. Genet was himself the bearer, were
too unequivocal to leave a doubt that the French nation are constant in
their friendship to us. The resolves of their National Convention, the
letters of their Executive Council attest this truth, in terms which
render it necessary to seek in some other hypothesis, the solution of
Mr. Genet's machinations against our peace and friendship.

Conscious, on our part, of the same friendly and sincere dispositions,
we can with truth affirm, both for our nation and government, that we
have never omitted a reasonable occasion of manifesting them. For I will
not consider as of that character, opportunities of sallying forth from
our ports to way-lay, rob, and murder defenceless merchants and others,
who have done us no injury, and who were coming to trade with us in
the confidence of our peace and amity. The violation of all the laws of
order and morality which bind mankind together, would be an unacceptable
offering to a just nation. Recurring then only to recent things, after
so afflicting a libel we recollect with satisfaction, that in the course
of two years, by unceasing exertions, we paid up seven years' arrearages
and instalments of our debt to France, which the inefficiency of our
first form of government had suffered to be accumulating: that
pressing on still to the entire fulfilment of our engagements, we have
facilitated to Mr. Genet the effect of the instalments of the present
year, to enable him to send relief to his fellow citizens in France,
threatened with famine: that in the first moment of the insurrection
which threatened the colony of St. Domingo, we stepped forward to their
relief with arms and money, taking freely on ourselves the risk of
an unauthorized aid, when delay would have been denial: that we have
received, according to our best abilities, the wretched fugitives from
the catastrophe of the principal town of that colony, who, escaping from
the swords and flames of civil war, threw themselves on us naked
and houseless, without food or friends, money or other means, their
faculties lost and absorbed in the depth of their distresses: that
the exclusive admission to sell here the prizes made by France on her
enemies, in the present war, though unstipulated in our treaties,
and unfounde