(which had ordained that neutral ships could
carry what goods they pleased--free ships, free goods), to capture and
condemn English merchandise on American vessels. Provisions owned by
Americans and en route to England were also to be forfeited as
contraband. Even the most reasonable French officials seemed bent on
treating our country as a dependency of France.

We see this in the actions of Genet, the first envoy to America from the
French constitutional monarchy, accredited hither by a ministry of
high-minded Republicans while Louis XVI. still sat upon his throne.
Genet arrived in Charleston in 1793, before our neutrality had been
proclaimed. Immediately, before presenting his credentials to our
Government, he set about fitting out privateers, manning them with
Americans, and sending them to prey upon British ships, some of which
they captured in American waters. All this was in utter derogation of
the treaty, which only guaranteed shelter to bona fide French vessels.
Under a law of the French National Convention, Genet assumed to erect
the French consulates in this country into so many admiralty courts for
the trial of British prizes. We could not have allowed this without
decidedly violating international law at least in spirit. He also
devised and partly arranged expeditions of Americans, to start, one from
Georgia to invade Florida, another from Kentucky to capture New Orleans,
both as means of weakening Spain, which up to this time and for several
years later was France's foe.

[1795]

But Genet's worst gall came out in his conduct toward Washington. Him he
insulted, challenging his motives and his authority for his acts and
threatening to appeal from him to the people. He tried to bully and
browbeat the whole cabinet as if they had been so many boys. So
ludicrous did he make himself by such useless bluster, that his friends,
at first numerous and many of them influential, gave him the cold
shoulder, and the ardor for France greatly cooled. At length Washington
effected his removal, the more easily, it would seem, as he was not
radical enough for the Jacobins, who had now succeeded to the helm in
France. The officious Frenchman did not return to his own country, but
settled down in New York, marrying a daughter of Governor Clinton. He
was succeeded by Adet.

[Illustration: Portrait.]
George Clinton.
From a painting by Ezra Ames.

Upon learning that the United States had ratified Jay's treaty, France