1800, viz., that merchant vessels under convoy should not be searched; that the man-of-war under whose protection the convoy was sailing should be, as it were, a guarantee that no contraband was on board; and that a merchantman belonging to any one of the coalesced neutrals might put itself under the protection of a man-of-war belonging to any of the coalesced neutrals that it might chance to meet in the open sea, and that such convoy should be sufficient to protect it against search. England, however, refused to acknowledge this pretension, issued letters of marque against the coalesced neutrals, and within twelve months dissolved this armed neutrality. It is fair to state that, when peace was made, England made one concession to the armed Neutrality, viz., that merchant-men under convoy should only be searched by men-of-war and not by privateers.
It is sometimes, very incorrectly, stated that the war of 1812 with the United
