5156. MEDITERRANEAN TRADE, Reestablishment of.—
It rests with Congress
to decide between war, tribute, and ransom, as
the means of reestablishing our Mediterranean
commerce. If war, they will consider how
far our own resources shall be called forth,
and how far they will enable the Executive to
engage, in the forms of the Constitution, the cooperation
of other powers. If tribute or ransom,
it will rest with them to limit and provide
the amount; and with the Executive, observing
the same constitutional forms, to take
arrangements for employing it to the best advantage.—
Report on Mediterranean Trade. Washington ed. vii, 526.
(1790)
