Page:Henry Adams' History of the United States Vol. 4.djvu/231

1808. letter from Champagny to Armstrong, dated Jan. 15, 1808, in defence of the Berlin and Milan Decrees. Written in words dictated by Napoleon, this letter asserted rude truths which irritated Americans the more because they could not be denied:—


 * "The United States, more than any other Power, have to complain of the aggressions of England. It has not been enough for her to offend against the independence of their flag,—nay, against that of their territory and of their inhabitants,—by attacking them even in their ports, by forcibly carrying away their crews; her decrees of the llth November have made a fresh attack on their commerce and on their navigation as they have done on those of all other Powers.


 * "In the situation in which England has placed the Continent, especially since her decrees of the 11th November, his Majesty has no doubt of a declaration of war against her by the United States. Whatever transient sacrifices war may occasion, they will not believe it consistent either with their interest or dignity to acknowledge the monstrous principle and the anarchy which that government wishes to establish on the seas.  If it be useful and honorable for all nations to cause the true maritime law of nations to be re-established, and to avenge the insults committed by England against every flag, it is indispensable for the United States, who from the extent of their commerce have oftener to complain of those violations.  War exists then in fact between England and the United States; and his Majesty