s, acting
doubtless under the sanction of his Imperial Majesty, and assuredly
under the guidance of common sense, held out that the value of ships
of war taken from the enemy was to be the reward of the enterprise of
the captors? And yet are we not now told that a law exists decreeing
all captured men-of-war to the crown, and so rendering the engagements
of the late ministers illegal and nugatory? Can anything be more
contrary to justice, to good faith, to common sense, or to sound
policy? Was it ever expected by any government employing foreign
seamen in a war in which they can have no personal rights at stake,
that those seamen will incur the risk of attacking a superior, or even
an equal, force, without prospect of other reward than their ordinary
pay? Is it not notorious that even in England it is found essential,
or at least highly advantageous, to reward the officers and seamen,
though fighting their own battles, not only with the full value of
captured vessels of war, but even with additional premiums; and was
it ever doubted that such liberal policy has mainly contributed to the
surpassing magnitude of the naval power of that little island, and her
consequent greatness as a nation?

Can your excellency deny that the delay, the neglect, and the conduct
generally of the prize judges, have been the cause of an immense
diminution in the value of the captures? Have not the consequences
been a wanton and shameful waste of property by decay and plunder?
Can your excellency really believe in the existence of a good and
sufficient motive for consigning such property to destruction, rather
than at once awarding it to the captors in recompense for their
services to the empire? Is it not true that all control over the sales
and cargoes of the vessels, most of which are without invoices, have
been taken from the captors and their agents and placed in the hands
of individuals over whom they have no authority or influence, and from
whom they can have no security of receiving a just account? And can
it be doubted that the gracious intentions of his Imperial Majesty, as
announced by himself, of rewarding the captors with the value of
the prizes, are in the utmost danger of being defeated by such
proceedings?

Since the 12th day of February, when his Imperial Majesty was
graciously pleased to signify his pleasure in his own handwriting that
the prizes, though condemned to the crown, should be paid for to
the captors, and that