and eightytwo barrels bought at Wilmington, and that this quantity of provisions has, from this time, become the property of the United States.

Finally, the undersigned Minister requests Congress to take the effectual measures that their wisdom shall dictate, for protecting all the officers of the King, his master, from every unjust, injurious, and arbitrary proceeding, and for securing to them the liberty necessary for the exercise of their functions, without seeing the dignity of his Majesty and the honor of his officers exposed to farther insults.

The justice of Congress, and their regard for the honor of a monarch, who is a friend and ally of the United States, will, doubtless, prevent the serious discussions and the misunderstanding which such proceedings, if they are not promptly and authentically made amends for, would undoubtedly occasion. It is with the most entire confidence, that the undersigned Minister places this whole affair in the hands of Congress.

M. Holker, Navy Agent and Consul of the King, my master, has presented to me his defence in relation to the suspicions, which some have been pleased to excite as to

I approve and confirm all the contents of his letter, and f declare, that he has acted on this occasion in his capacity of a public man and an officer of his Most Christian Majesty, and that all the orders that he has given for the said subsistence have been given under my direction, and with the consent and agreeably to the desire of the committee of the general Congress of the United States.

I hope that the defence of the Consul of the King will satisfy your Excellency and the Executive Council of this Province, as well as every honest and unprejudiced man. At any rate, M. Holker and all the other consuls and officers of his Most Christian Majesty scattered throughout America, will always be ready, when they shall be properly requested, to answer as to anything that shall relate to the law of the country. It is the serious will of his Majesty; his representatives are ordered to see to it; and it is for this reason, that the offers of M. Holker have anticipated your wishes in this respect. But, Sir, in paying this just tribute to the sovereignty and to the territorial law, I must have the honor of observing to you, that there is no civilized nation where the agents and public servants of a foreign sovereign do not enjoy immunities and exemptions, which by the unanimous consent of these nations have been regarded as indispensably necessary for the free exercise of their functions; even when they act contrary to the law of the country, care is taken, and caution used, in order not to wound the dignity of their constituents, and not lightly to injure the public character of their officers. If they have acted only in their official capacity, people have neither the right nor the power to set themselves up for judges; but if there are evident proofs, they are trans

and it may be to the sovereign himself, and it is for him to cause satisfaction to be made, or the proper punishments to be inflicted.

These officers, moreover, cannot be subjected to any inspection or inquisition with regard to the execution of their public functions, except to that of their own sovereign and his representatives; it does not belong to any one whatsoever to assume in this respect a power and an authority, which would become an attack on the rights of the sovereign of another country, and an injury to its represen tatives. This would be a violation of the laws common to nations governed by the laws of police, and a manifest infraction of the principles upon which the mutual and necessary communication between friendly nations is founded, and without which the appointment and the residence of the respective public officers would become dangerous and impossible, if in any country whatever these principles were not acknowledged, or if any person pretended, without the consent of a sovereign, to set up for a guardian of his officers, and to censure and condemn their conduct in his name, or under the pretext of his interest. If this usurped power extended even to actions, the scene of which was without the territory of the State; if it were allowable to take the property of a sovereign by force from the place of deposit, notwithstanding the protest of the civil magistrate, and in a foreign State, to which alone it would belong to protest against the violence of its laws; in fine, if after assuming the pretext of taking care of his interests, any one should dare to sentence explicitly or by implication a foreign King to pay a penalty or fines, and if the public officers were represented as enemies of the country, even while they were employed in affairs of the

I approve and confirm all the contents of his letter, and f declare, that he has acted on this occasion in his capacity of a public man and an officer of his Most Christian Majesty, and that all the orders that he has given for the said subsistence have been given under my direction, and with the consent and agreeably to the desire of the committee of the general Congress of the United States.

I hope that the defence of the Consul of the King will satisfy your Excellency and the Executive Council of this Province, as well as every honest and unprejudiced man. At any rate, M. Holker and all the other consuls and officers of his Most Christian Majesty scattered throughout America, will always be ready, when they shall be properly requested, to answer as to anything that shall relate to the law of the country. It is the serious will of his Maj; his representatives are ordered to see to it ; and it is for this reason, that the offers of M. Holker have anticipated your wishes in this respect. But, Sir, in paying this just tribute to the sovereignty and to the territorial law, I must have the honor of observing to you, that there is no civilized nation where the agents and public servants of a foreign sovereign do not enjoy immunities and exemptions, which by the unanimous consent of these nations have been regarded as indispensably necessary for the free exercise of their functions; even when they act contrary to the law of the country, care is taken, and caution used, in order not to wound the dignity of their constituents, and not lightly to injure the public character of their officers. If they have acted only in their official capacity, people have neither the right nor the power to set themselves up for judges; but if there are evident proofs, they are trans

and it may be to the sovereign himself, and it is for him to cause satisfaction to be made, or the proper punishments to be inflicted.

These officers, moreover, cannot be subjected to any inspection or inquisition with regard to the execution of their public functions, except to that of their own sovereign and his representatives; it does not belong to any one whatsoever to assume in this respect a power and an authority, which would become an attack on the rights of the sovereign of another country, and an injury to its representatives. This would be a violation of the laws common to nations governed by the laws of police, and a manifest infraction of the principles upon which the mutual and necessary communication between friendly nations is founded, and without which the appointment and the residence of the respective public officers would become dangerous and impossible, if in any country whatever these principles were not acknowledged, or if any person pretended, without the consent of a sovereign, to set up for a guardian of his officers, and to censure and condemn their conduct in his name, or under the pretext of his interest. If this usurped power extended even to actions, the scene of which was without the territory of the State; if it were allowable to take the property of a sovereign by force from the place of deposit, notwithstanding the protest of the civil magistrate, and in a foreign State, to which alone it would belong to protest against the violence of its laws; in fine, if after assuming the pretext of taking care of his interests, any one should dare to sentence explicitly or by implication a foreign King to pay a penalty or fines, and if the public officers were represented as enemies of the country, even while they were employed in affairs of the