him (Mr Deane) and Mr Lee, but the suspicion
of having a good will to him has drawn upon me
a great deal of ill will from his antagonist.
The Congress have wisely enjoined the Ministers
in Europe to agree with one another. I had
always resolved to have no quarrel, and have,
therefore, made it a constant rule to answer no
angry, affronting, or abusive letters, of which
I have received many and long ones from Mr Lee
and Mr Izard, who, I understand, and see by the
papers, have been writing liberally, or rather
illiberally, against me, to prevent, as one
of them says here, any impressions my writing
against them might occasion to their prejudice.
But I have never before mentioned them in any of
my letters.”
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TO ARTHUR LEE.
Passy, March 13th, 1779.
Sir,
A severe fit of the gout, with too much business at the same time
necessary to be done, has prevented till now my answering yours of
the 21st past.
I did not imagine there would be any difference of sentiment between
us concerning the propriety of returning to me the papers, which
you have at various times taken from this house. When several
persons joined in the same commission are to act upon papers, it
seems necessary that they should be lodged in one place, where all
the parties may be sure of finding them, and under the care of one
person, who should be accountable for them; and if there were not
some particular reasons to influence another choice, I should suppose
the first person named in the commission might with great propriety
take charge of them; I am sure that if you had been that person I
should have made no objection to it. Mr Adams having a room more
convenient and more private than mine, and in which he lodged, I
approved of his having the papers. He has voluntarily returned me
all he had without asking, and I thought asking was only necessary
to obtain the rest from you; for the whole business, which before
was transacted by us jointly, being now devolved on me, and as there
must be frequent occasion to look back on letters received, memorials
delivered, and accounts given in, contracts made, &c. &c. which,
if I cannot have the opportunity of doing, I must be frequently at
a loss in future transactions, I did not imagine I should have any
difficulty in obtaining them, nor had I the least idea that my asking
for them would occasion any dispute.
I suppose that the papers Mr Deane mentions to have taken and
secured were those only, that related to his separate commercial
transactions for the public, before his appointment with us in the
political commission. If he took away any of the papers we were
jointly concerned in, I conceive he was wrong in doing so, and that
his doing wrong would not justify the rest of us in following his
example. I can have no desire to deprive you of any paper, that may
be of use to you in answering Mr Deane’s accusations, having no
concern in them, nor interest in supporting them. On the contrary,
if any papers remaining in my hands can be of such use to you, you
are welcome to have authenticated copies of them (which shall on
request be made out for you) as well as of any others “evidencing our
joint transactions,” which you may desire. On the whole, it seems
to me that this matter may be reasonably settled by your keeping,
if you please, all those originals of which there are duplicates
at Passy, retaining for a time such of the rest as you desire to
copy, which copies being compared by us with the originals, may be
authenticated by our joint signatures, and returning immediately all
the others docketed and catalogued as you please, so as that you may
know what and where they are, and call for a copy of any of them you
may hereafter have occasion for, which shall always be given you. If
these propositions are agreed to, the affair may soon be settled; if
not, I must wait the orders of Congress, and in the mean time do as
well as I can with their business, which I think must often suffer by
my want of the knowledge these papers might occasionally furnish me
with.
I have the honor to be, &c.
B. FRANKLIN.
ARTHUR LEE TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
Paris, March 19th, 1779.
Sir,
I received the letter you did me the honor to write me on the 13th,
relative to the few papers of our late joint commission remaining
in my hands; they are confounded among a multitude of other papers.
I will examine them soon, and if I find any that relate to public
accounts remaining unpaid (which I do not believe I shall find) I
will inform you of it, that copies may be taken of them.
You are pleased to say, that Mr Adams gave you the papers unasked.
Mr Adams gave you the general papers, which no way related to him in
particular, on your promise that you would have them arranged and
kept in order. Mr Adams was not a calumniated person, nor were the
papers he delivered to you necessary to justify him and prove the
wickedness of his accuser. In circumstances so totally different I
cannot imagine, Sir, that you can think we should act the same. Your
pressing so earnestly to get from me a few original papers, which
you only conjecture may be in some shape or other useful to you,
after I have informed you that they are absolutely necessary to my
vindication from an impeachment, that touches even my life and honor,
gives me great uneasiness. Whether you are concerned or not in the
accusations, it is equally necessary for me to refute them, and I am
sure, Sir, you know that originals are better evidence than copies,
however authenticated. On the contrary, copies are as adequate to
the purposes you mention as originals, and I am most ready to give
you copies sealed and authenticated of all, or any of the papers in
my hands, as you may command. I beg, Sir, that you will have the
goodness to believe, that when I give my reasons for my conduct,
I do not mean to enter into or occasion a dispute.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
TO THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Paris, April 22d, 1779.
Gentlemen,
I enclose you copies[45] of a note and letter from me to the Marquis
de la Fayette, to show the terms on which it seems to me we are most
likely to obtain a loan from either France or Spain. If Congress
approve of them, I should be glad of some instructions in conformity
to them; if they are not approved of, I should wish to know it, that
I may not repeat the proposal.
I cannot learn that England means to send out any considerable
augmentation of their army with you. They have lately received
despatches relative to the proceedings in Georgia, but it does not
appear yet whether they will send a reinforcement thither from Great
Britain, though I think it probable they will.
I have not had a line from you since October last. The peace is not
yet signed in Germany. The news of the taking of Pondicherry and
other French settlements in India, by the English, together with
their advantageous situation in the West Indies, has raised their
funds, their credit, and their spirits.[46]
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
[45] Missing.
[46] This letter was accompanied by another, dated April 23d, and
entitled “_A Memorial respecting the Conduct of Mr Williams_,” which
was afterwards printed under the title of “Observations on certain
Commercial Transactions in France, laid before Congress. By Arthur Lee.
Philadelphia, 1780.” To these observations is prefixed a preface, which
is not attached to the Memorial first transmitted to Congress.
TO THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Paris, April 26th, 1779.
Gentlemen,
Since I had the honor of writing you last, on the 22d of April,
nothing material has happened. An account of the signing of the peace
in Germany is expected here daily.
The reinforcements sent and sending out to the army against you,
amount to about 8000 in new Scotch levies, and British and German
recruits. It is the plan of the British ministry, as far as I can
learn, to make great exertions in this campaign, both against the
United States and the French Islands. Their war against you will in
all probability be in expeditions against different parts.
This will be delivered to you by Mr Hezekiah Ford, who has served me
faithfully for eight months as Secretary. He will give you the best
information in his power of the state of affairs here.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
TO THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Paris, May 21st, 1779.
Gentlemen,
It is now more than six months since I was honored with a line from
you. I wrote you last on the 26th of April; since that time a solemn
treaty of peace has been concluded, by the mediation of France,
between the Porte and the Court of Petersburg. Though this may appear
to leave Russia at liberty to assist Great Britain, I do not think
you have anything in reality to apprehend from that quarter.
It is probable the German powers will soon be at peace, though
it is not yet signed at Teschin. The effect of this will be to
furnish Great Britain with a number of German troops, such as the
free companies which are levied by different leaders in all German
wars, and are dismissed when they end. These having once pursued
the military life will the more readily engage, especially when
tempted with good pay and promises of plunder. The King of Prussia
and the Elector of Saxony are from interest inclined to our cause;
but there are so many intermediate considerations, which retard an
open declaration, that it is not possible to say when that will take
place.
The House of Austria is in its politics inclined to England, and
the Empress is personally so. The Emperor I think has different
sentiments, but he is not the Sovereign. The Grand Duke, though much
our friend, must follow the steps of his mother.
Spain, Portugal, and Naples are in perfect harmony. The first is
more able to reduce Great Britain to terms of peace, by a full
acknowledgment of our independency and sovereignty, than any power in
Europe. Her ministers are able, her credit great, her treasury well
supplied, her finances well administered, her commerce increasing,
her fleet amounting to fifty sail of the line, and a proportionable
number of frigates, fit for immediate service. In a word she is in a
state to begin at a moment’s warning a powerful war, and continue it
for three years without borrowing a sol. She has made a noble motion
to conclude what is stipulated in the treaty of alliance, and as I
have not received one word of answer to my letters to Congress of
the 10th of February, and 4th of April 1778, it is not easy for me
to know how to act. I wish always to receive the instructions of my
constituents, that I may pursue them to the best of my ability.
The States-General have at length resolved to grant convoys to their
merchant ships, and support their commerce against the pretensions of
England. Sweden and Denmark have determined the same; and all these
governments are augmenting their naval force, so as to support these
resolutions. I imagine this will, by degrees, let in the commerce of
America, to which these powers will give every protection they can,
short of open hostilities, and Great Britain will be obliged to wink
at it.
In England the discontents in the army and navy are little short of
disaffection. The Ministers are pursued with unremitting acrimony,
and supported by the king with proportionable perseverance. The
examination of the sea and land officers before the House of Commons,
in the inquiry now making into the conduct of the Howes, with the
correspondence between the Ministers and Generals, prove very
satisfactorily, that both the Ministers and Generals exerted their
utmost in the war against us; and that it did not fail from their
fault, but from the impracticability of the attempt. General Grey’s
decided opinion is, that the war can never succeed. Captain Hammond
spoke highly of the behavior and utility of our row gallies and fire
flats. The new recruiting scheme in England is very unproductive;
they have not yet raised six thousand of the fifteen thousand they
expected. Their expense is enormous, and the produce of their taxes,
though they are increased in number, greatly deficient. Scotland
is irritated by the countenance given to the Roman Catholics, and
their highland levies have twice mutinied, so that there is little
probability of that country, however hostile, supplying any more
troops.
Ireland is nearly in the state we were in six years ago. The people
are supplying themselves with arms, meeting and exercising, and
the government not venturing to interpose. They have entered into
a nonimportation agreement, and their spirit is in a train towards
independency, which nothing but the most wise and healing measures
will stop. General Clinton has thrice demanded his recall, and Lord
Cornwallis will probably command in his place.
On the contrary, there is not the smallest abatement of the hostile
intentions against us in the king and his Ministers. Nor will a
change, if the king should be forced to it, make any difference, but
that probably those intentions would be carried into execution with
more wisdom. Our alliance with France has united all parties, in the
resolution of prosecuting the war against us to the last extremity.
Almost the whole of the French commerce, having fallen a prey to
their privateers, has really enriched the nation and rendered the
war popular. Their late successes, especially in India, have given
them credit for this year and resources for the next, great and
unexpected; the peace in Germany will supply them with men. Lord
Shelburne’s plan is, and he will make a point of it should he come
in, to prevail upon Prince Ferdinand to take the command in America;
trusting that his abilities, with the confidence and graciousness of
his character among the British, as well as the German soldiery, will
overcome all difficulties.
But what they rely upon most is the derangement of our finances, the
depreciation of our paper, the divisions and discontents excited
among us by the bad ambition of some, the criminal intrigues of
others, and the unbounded avarice of many. They flatter themselves,
that what has happened in all countries and at all times will be
our fate, that public defaulters will, by the weight of their
acquisitions, obtain an ascendency which will either bring us to
ruin by the prevalence of the evil, or betray us to our former
domination, in order to keep possession with impunity of what they
have acquired. If, by these instruments, they can loosen the ties,
which by knitting the people and their leaders together have hitherto
rendered them invincible, and withdraw their confidence from those
who originally planned and have ably conducted them through this
wonderful revolution, they hope to effect what they hitherto have
attempted in vain,--to subjugate those _Quos neque Tydides, nec
Larissæus Achilles, non anni domuere decem, non mille carinæ_. As
far as I can learn, there is no probability of this Court’s supplying
any money. But of this you will be better informed by your Minister.
This letter I expect will go by the Chevalier de la Luzerne, who
succeeds M. Gerard. M. de la Luzerne’s family is among the best and
most honorable of this country. He has been Minister to the Court of
Munich, and is a gentleman of honor and ability, insomuch that the
Court of Versailles seems to me in nothing to have shown its wisdom
more, than in sending at this important moment a Minister, whose
conduct is likely to correspond with his rank and character, and who
will not descend to anything that may either dishonor himself or
disturb us.
The secretary to the embassy, M. de Marbois, is also a gentleman
respectable for his character and abilities.
The sums of public money, which I have received for my expenses (my
two journies included) from the bankers Sollier and Grand, from the
16th of December 1776, to the 20th of April 1779, amounts to 119,018
livres, 17 den. 17 sols. I observe that Mr Deane, in a summary laid
before Congress on the 12th of October 1778, lumps a sum received
by the Commissioners for their expenses, &c. from Mr Grand, only to
the 30th of April 1778, and states it at 244,285 livres, 15, 11. But
as I have no concern with what Dr Franklin and Mr Deane received, I
desire that the accounts of the bankers, and not that of Mr Deane,
may answer for me.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
_P. S. May 22d._ The treaty of peace in Germany was signed on the
13th. From some intelligence I have just received, though not from
authority, I am inclined to believe we shall soon be satisfied with
the conduct of Spain. Be pleased to enclose my letters, à Monsieur le
Marquis de Malsherbe, Ministre d’Etat, Paris.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
Paris, May 31st, 1779.
Sir,
I beg the favor of your Excellency to lay my respects before
Congress, with a repetition of my most earnest request to be recalled.
I should most willingly continue to sacrifice, as I have hitherto
done, my private interests to the public good; but I am satisfied
that the dissensions raised concerning me will be continued, by a
continuance of my commission, and will be of more injury to the
public than I can be of service; and as the public good was the sole
motive of my accepting the commission, the same reason now induces me
to desire most earnestly to resign it.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
TO COUNT D’ARANDA.
Paris, June 7th, 1779.
Mr Lee has the honor to present his respects to his Excellency the
Ambassador of Spain, and begs him to be pleased to transmit the
letter accompanying this to his Court.
TO COUNT DE FLORIDA BLANCA.
Paris, June 6th, 1779.
Sir,
I have the honor of enclosing to your Excellency a Memorial, which
the opportunities I have had of knowing the temper and circumstances
of Great Britain make me presume to submit to your consideration.
The earnest desire I have of rendering some service to Spain, and the
common interest that must subsist in the success of the war, should
it happen, are the motives and I hope will be the apology for what I
offer.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
MEMORIAL TO THE COURT OF SPAIN.
Paris, June 6th, 1779.
It is experience that teaches wisdom. The misfortunes of our friends
carry this good with them, that they are a warning to us.
The present war between France and England has been conducted chiefly
by the privateers of the latter. They have made a prey of almost the
whole commerce of France. This, while it really enriched England,
rendered the war popular. It has deeply wounded France in the loss of
her sailors as well as of her property.
The cause of this misfortune is manifest. France permitted her
trade to go on as in time of peace, as individuals pleased, and
without convoy. It was thought better to employ their ships of war
in cruising for the privateers, than in convoying and defending
their vessels against them. It was not considered, that privateers
always go single, that they are swift and small, that it is difficult
to find a small and single ship at sea, and that an East or West
India prize is worth fifty privateers. The consequences have been
proportioned to the plan. France has captured some little privateers
of England, the English the large and rich East and West India ships
of the French. This is a misfortune, from which I would wish to warn
and guard Spain.
The English have greater expectations of rich and numerous prizes in
a Spanish than in a French war. If they are disappointed in this,
such a war would soon become unpopular and unmaintainable. Now
the means of disappointing their expectations are, as I conceive,
these. To lay an embargo on all the merchant vessels of Spain, both
in Europe and America, at the commencement of hostilities. Not to
suffer their merchantmen or galleons, which are the great objects of
English avidity, to go out of their ports but with strong convoys. So
secured, they could not be captured but by a fleet or strong squadron
of the enemy. But fleets and large squadrons hardly ever make prizes;
nor from their nature and circumstances can they do it. Privateers,
frigates, and single ships of force, are those only which cruise
with effect against merchantmen. Defended from these, the commerce
of Spain will go safe and secure, the hopes of the enemy will be
disappointed, they will sustain all the burthen of the war without
reaping any of its expected benefits.
Such a war must soon become unpopular; and the wisest Ministers in
the best of times cannot long sustain an unpopular war in England,
much less can it be sustained in times of great and manifest
difficulty and distress, and by Ministers who have not given the
most distinguished proofs of their wisdom. There is no human event
more sure than that Spain, if she secures her commerce from the
depredations of the enemy, must soon reduce Great Britain to whatever
equitable terms she pleases. Add to this, that if while the fleet of
France keeps that of England in check in the channel and in the bay,
the fleet of Spain should completely block up the Mediterranean, so
as to intercept all communication with Gibraltar and Minorca, these
strong holds must inevitably surrender in a few months.
I may, therefore, be now permitted to repeat with more confidence
than ever, that it is in the power of Spain to clip the wings of
Great Britain, and pinion her for ever.
ARTHUR LEE.
JOHN ADAMS TO ARTHUR LEE.
L’Orient, June 10th, 1779.
Dear Sir,
I have the honor of your letter from Paris, of the 5th of this month,
in which you inform me, that by advices from America your enemies are
determined to impeach your attachment to our country and her cause,
and in which you request my opinion on that point, from the knowledge
I have had of your conduct, while we acted together in commission.
At the same time, that I lament the necessity of giving my testimony
to a point, that ought to be so well established in every part of
the world, I have great pleasure in declaring, that from my first
knowledge of your fame to this hour, I have never entertained one
moment’s suspicion of your attachment to our country and her cause,
but on the contrary through the whole course of that period, which I
think is more than ten years, I have seen frequent proofs of your
fidelity and zeal in it, oftentimes at a great expense of labor and
care at least, and at great hazard; and particularly through the
space of time I had the honor to serve with you in commission, I
never saw or heard anything which gave me the least suspicion of the
sincerity, fidelity, or zeal of your devotion to the sovereignty of
the United States, but on the contrary, constant evidence of a warm
affection for their honor, dignity, and prosperity.
I have the honor to be, with great esteem and respect, &c.
JOHN ADAMS.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
Paris, June 21st, 1779.
Sir,
I have the honor to inform Congress, that Spain has declared against
Great Britain, and that their respective Ambassadors are recalled. A
part of the Spanish fleet has joined that of France, which makes it
outnumber that of England, amounting to thirtythree sail of the line,
under Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, so that it is not very probable the
latter will long hold the dominion of the sea.
Two motions in the House of Commons, one for offering us peace, the
other for withdrawing all their force from America to withstand the
House of Bourbon, have been negatived since the Spanish declaration
was known to the Ministry of England. The ministerial arguments
were, that neither they nor any other Ministry could consent to
the independence of America, nor to the withdrawing their troops,
without previous offers on our part. That the number of Americans
in the King’s service was equal to General Washington’s army, with
seven thousand of our sailors volunteers in his service. Lord George
Germain said he knew, from undoubted intelligence, that Congress was
divided into parties, and that it was only the fear of the army, that
withheld a part of Congress from immediately offering terms to Great
Britain. He added, that as the prohibitory act empowered the Crown to
receive bodies, or individuals of America into the King’s protection,
and to grant pardons, this was sufficient. The majority of the House
received this with acclamations of applause.
Parliament is to be prorogued on the 24th, having voted another
million for this year’s service.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
TO COUNT DE FLORIDA BLANCA.
Paris, June 27th, 1779.
Sir,