account given of the interview between the Commissioners here and
M. Gerard, on the 16th of December, printed in the Yorktown Gazette
of May 4th. The part I allude to is the following. The French
Plenipotentiary, speaking of the King, says, “he should moreover not
so much as insist, that, if he engaged in the war with England on our
account, we should not make a separate peace for ourselves, whenever
good and advantageous terms were offered to us.” This account I
understand was given to Congress by the Commissioners, and therefore
it must be presumed to be true. How then can it be reconciled with
the 8th article of the treaty of alliance? Suppose England should
offer to acknowledge the liberty, sovereignty, and independence of
America, upon condition that she should make a separate peace. The
question is, can we in honor do it? Monsieur Gerard, Royal Syndic
of Strasbourg, and Secretary of his Majesty’s Council of State,
informed the Commissioners on the 16th of December, _by order of the
King_, that the only condition his Majesty should require and rely
on would be this, “that we, in no peace to be made with England,
should give up our independence, and return to the obedience of that
government.” The 8th article of the treaty of alliance declares
directly the contrary, although the second says expressly, _Le
but essentiel et direct de la présente alliance défensive, est de
maintenir efficacement la liberté, la souveraineté, et l’indépendance
des Etats Unis_. I most ardently wish for peace; at the same time the
preservation of our national honor must be attended to. The virtue
and wisdom of the representatives of our country in Congress will be
shown, if this question should ever be agitated.
You will find by my letter to the Committee of this day’s date, that
the situation of affairs has not allowed me yet to go into Italy.
My own inclinations, if they alone had been consulted, would have
carried me there long ago. Mr William Lee was right in going to
Vienna. That Court acts from its own opinion without control, and
might possibly have been prevailed on to receive him publicly. The
event has not proved answerable to our wishes. The conduct of the
Empress Queen has certainly been occasioned by a resentment against
the Court of France, for not contributing, contrary to their own
interest, to the aggrandisement of the House of Austria. A resentment
so ill founded and unreasonable may perhaps not continue long; in
the mean time, however, it is exceedingly provoking to me, as I
am living at the public expense, without having it in my power to
fulfil the objects of my commission. Perhaps, indeed, my having been
in Paris may not prove altogether useless; and I hope the papers I
have transmitted to you may not be thought unworthy the attention of
Congress. After having had the facts stated to them relative to the
situation of affairs in Europe, they will judge what instructions are
proper to be sent to me. If they are positive, at all events they
shall be followed; if discretionary, I shall act to the best of my
judgment.
You are so good as to assure me in your letter of the 19th of May,
that you will upon all occasions have at heart my honor and interest,
and that you will by every opportunity keep me acquainted with the
state of affairs. I feel very sensibly these friendly assurances,
and promise you that amidst the troubles and vexations in which I
have been engaged, I derive considerable comfort and satisfaction
from them. You say nothing of your son. I heartily rejoice at his
promotion. He must have informed you, that he was very desirous of
going into the Prussian army. I dissuaded him from it, and advised
him, if he was determined upon becoming a soldier, to take Marshal
Saxe and the Chevalier Foland’s Commentaries upon Polybius into his
hands, and go to America, where an ample field would be open to him.
I am happy to find, that he has had no cause to repent of having
followed my advice.
My wife offers you her compliments, and joins me in desiring that
they may be presented to him. We have heard nothing very lately from
his family in England; by the last accounts Mrs Laurens was well, and
the child very much improved.
I am, dear Sir, &c.
RALPH IZARD.
FROM THE ABBÉ NICCOLI TO RALPH IZARD.
Translation.
Florence, July 28th, 1778.
Sir,
Although M. Favi, who knows my attachment for you, regularly informs
me concerning you, yet I was very much pleased with receiving a letter
directly from yourself, dated the 11th instant, and to find thereby
that the gout had left you at last, and that your little family were
well. I beg you to embrace them for me.
I have often wished for you all at Florence, during my stay here,
and to partake with you the delights that are to be enjoyed beneath
a fine sky, and under the protection of good laws. I have tortured
myself to find some means to induce you to come here; my conscience and
honor have always dictated the counsels I have given you, so contrary
to my inclinations, but most conformable to your situation and the
circumstances you are placed in. I wish very much that the order you
have received to effect a loan in Italy might furnish you with a
plausible reason to make me a visit, but I see so many difficulties
in this design, that I dare not flatter myself with hopes. You will
permit me to mention those, which present themselves on the part of
Tuscany. Tuscany, which has been deprived for upwards of two centuries
of an active commerce, is but just emerging out of the languishing
and exhausted state into which she was plunged. There has indeed been
for some years a large quantity of cash in circulation, but although
my countrymen are convinced of the solvency of the United States, of
their honesty in keeping their word, and that they consider their
independence as established, they will not however lend their money,
because they can employ it in a much more lucrative manner under their
own eyes. To give you an evident proof of it, I send you the extract
of an edict of his Royal Highness. You will find the inducements to be
infinitely superior to anything the United States can offer.
I propose also to send you shortly an abridgment of the immunities,
privileges, and liberties granted for fourteen years past by the Grand
Duke to his subjects. You will see in it his system of administration,
and you will judge whether, in a State favored as ours is, it can
be reasonably expected to amass money to put it out to interest.
I will moreover give you a proof of what has happened under his
administration, and of which I am an eye witness. Cultivation of land
has increased double, and landed property, if there is any for sale,
is purchased at double the price it sold for before. The Grand Duke,
who has reimbursed almost the half of the State debts, which he found
at his accession, has the consolation to see the manner in which this
money has been employed.
I confine myself, Sir, to one single point, to show you the little
probability there is of accomplishing your object in Tuscany, leaving
it to you to judge whether in the present circumstances government
would not be blamed, should it permit a loan to be opened here for the
United States. I know not whether they would permit such a thing for
the Emperor.
This is enough respecting Tuscany. As to the other States of Italy,
I see none in a condition to comply with your views excepting the
Republic of Genoa. In this State, being strictly connected with
France, you may not meet with the same difficulties on the part of the
government, and as the Genoese have almost all their property in ready
money, and are accustomed to lend to every body, I am persuaded you
may find it with them, especially if the Ministry of France interposes
favorably. I imagine that they will demand large interest, with
security, perhaps, and guarantied by the King of France. You will do
well, before you open this negotiation, directly to speak about it to
the Count de Vergennes; and he should speak to the Marquis Spinola,
the Genoese Envoy. If you have not this recourse, I know not how you
can fulfil the commission of Congress, because all Europe being in
a convulsed state, money becomes scarce and dear. You know that the
Empress Queen has opened a loan in her States of Brabant; perhaps,
should the troubles not cease, she will open one likewise in Milan.
Thus, my friend, you have my opinion; I am sorry that I cannot furnish
you with some better hints, and more conformable to your wishes and
mine. I say nothing respecting myself, and I know not yet what the
Grand Duke will do with me; whenever he shall determine, you shall not
be among the last who are informed of it. Communicate always good
news of your country to me, and be assured of the perfect and sincere
attachment with which I have the honor to be, Sir, &c.
NICCOLI.
TO THE COMMISSIONERS.
Paris, August 25th, 1778.
Gentlemen,
In a letter, which I have lately received from Florence, and which
I have had the honor of laying before you, it is recommended that
an endeavor should be made to interest the Ministry in favor of any
loan, that may be attempted in Genoa for the United States, as it is
probable the Genoese may require the security of the Court of France
for the payment of such sums, as they may have it in their power
to lend. The Ministry must be convinced of the ability of America,
in a few years after the establishment of peace, to discharge any
pecuniary engagements she may at present have occasion to enter into,
and the connexion, which subsists between the two countries, will,
I hope, induce them to afford us every assistance in their power. I
shall be glad to know whether you think I ought to apply to Count
de Vergennes on the subject, or that the application should be made
first by you; in either case, I shall be ready to co-operate with
you, or act in any manner that shall appear most likely to produce
the desired effect.
Captain Woodford, who has lately arrived in this city from Leghorn,
informs me that there are some merchants there inclined to enter
into the American trade. He is to command a vessel from that port,
and is apprehensive of meeting some of the cruisers belonging to the
States of Africa. This danger will probably deter many Americans
from entering into the Mediterranean trade, and if possible it should
be removed. The King of France, in the 8th article of the Treaty of
Commerce, has engaged to employ his good offices and interposition
with the Emperor of Morocco, and with the Regencies of Algiers,
Tunis, and Tripoli, and every other power on the coast of Barbary,
in order to provide as fully as possible for the convenience and
safety of the inhabitants of the United States, and their vessels
and effects against all violence, insult, attacks, or depredations,
on the part of the said Princes and States of Barbary, and their
subjects.
You will be so good as to inform me, whether any steps have been
taken by the Court of France, for the security of the inhabitants of
the United States, in consequence of the above article.
I have the honor to be, &c.
RALPH IZARD.
FROM THE COMMISSIONERS TO RALPH IZARD.
Passy, August 25th, 1778.
Sir,
We have the honor of your letter of this date, and shall give the
earliest attention to its contents.
We apprehend there would be no impropriety at all in your application
to his Excellency the Count de Vergennes, concerning the subject of a
loan in Genoa, and we wish that you would apply. As we wish however
to do everything in our power to procure you success, we shall do
ourselves the honor to propose the subject to his Excellency the
first time we see him, which will probably be tomorrow, when we
shall make an application to him also upon the other subject of your
letter, the interposition of His Majesty with the Emperor of Morocco,
and with the Regencies of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and every other
power on the coast of Barbary.
We have the honor to be, &c.
B. FRANKLIN,
ARTHUR LEE,
JOHN ADAMS.
_P. S. August 27th._ Since writing the foregoing, we have spoken of
the Genoese loan to Count de Vergennes, who gave us no encouragement
to hope that France would engage for us in that affair. The other
matter will be the subject of a proposed written memorial.
TO THE ABBÉ NICCOLI.
Paris, September 1st, 1778.
Dear Sir,
Your favor of the 28th of July affords no very flattering prospects
to us from Tuscany. My expectations and hopes from that quarter
were high, and I confess that I am disappointed. All Europe appears
to me to be interested in the success of our cause, and Italy will
certainly receive no inconsiderable share of the benefits resulting
from the establishment of the independence of the United States; it
is, therefore, not a little to be wondered at, that she should refuse
to stir a finger towards the accomplishment of that event. I am well
aware, that the revenues of the Grand Duke are not equal to those of
the King of France; something, however, is certainly in his power;
and we are taught by Scripture to set a proper value on a single
mite, when it is proportioned to the ability of the donor.
The Grand Duke, you say, has discharged almost half the debt with
which he found the State encumbered at his accession. This is a proof
of the wisdom and good government of his Royal Highness, and shows
how well founded the opinion is, which the world has entertained of
that excellent Prince. It shows also, that his State is in a very
flourishing condition. I have been lately informed, that his Royal
Highness intends shortly to discharge another part of his debt, to
the amount of three millions of French livres. If this payment could
be postponed, and the money lent to the United States, it would be of
considerable service to them. You will excuse me for pressing this
subject with earnestness, as I have the greatest desire to execute
the business, which the Congress have done me the honor of putting
into my hands.
Captain Woodford has lately arrived here from Leghorn; he informs me
that some merchants at that port are determined to enter into the
American trade, and that he is to command a vessel from thence bound
to Virginia, which he thinks will be ready to sail in the course of
a few weeks. He is a man of a very good character, and I hope he
will succeed, which will probably induce many others to follow his
example. He has charged himself with the delivery of this letter, and
I do not doubt but that you will give him any advice or assistance in
your power to facilitate the execution of his plan.
My wife and family join in offering you their compliments, and I am,
dear Sir, &c.
RALPH IZARD.
TO COUNT DE VERGENNES.
Paris, September 2d, 1778.
Sir,
I am directed by the Congress to endeavor to procure a loan of money
in Italy, and have in consequence done everything in my power to
obtain proper information on the subject. My correspondent in Tuscany
gives me no hopes of procuring any there, as that country is just
beginning to emerge from a state of languor, under which it has
suffered for two centuries.
No other part of Italy seems to afford a more agreeable prospect
except Genoa, and I am told, that even there, the security of the
Court of France will probably be expected, for any sum which the
inhabitants of that Republic may have it in their power to lend to
the United States. The value of the paper currency of America has
sunk, on account of the great sums which it has been absolutely
necessary to issue in the prosecution of the war against Great
Britain. If the loan can be obtained, the Congress will be enabled to
reduce the quantity in circulation, and at the same time raise and
establish the credit of the remainder. This will be of such important
service to our country, that I am induced to hope your Excellency
will be so good as to afford us your assistance in it, and speak to
the Marquis Spinola, the Envoy from Genoa, on the subject. I shall be
extremely happy to have it in my power to inform the Congress, that
by your Excellency’s assistance, I have been enabled to execute the
trust which they have committed to me.
I have the honor to be, &c.
RALPH IZARD.
TO HENRY LAURENS, PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
Paris, September 12th, 1778.
Dear Sir,
My last letter to you was dated the 25th of July, and yours of the
19th of May still continues the only one I have been favored with
from you. My letter of the 28th of June was accompanied by several
papers, which appeared to me proper that you and every other friend
of our country should be acquainted with. Five sets of them were sent
to you, and it will be very unlucky if one of them does not get safe
to your hands.
The molasses business would certainly have proved the source of
continual disputes if it had not been altered, but the mischief,
which might have been expected from that, is beyond comparison
less than what is pointed out in my letter to Mr Lee of the 18th
of May. My apprehensions on this subject were communicated to the
Commissioners at this Court, but I am sorry to say that they made
no impression upon them. Mr Lee alone seemed to think it possible I
might be right; the other two gentlemen were perfectly satisfied. Dr
Franklin’s usual consciousness of infallibility was apparent, and Mr
Adams insinuated, that the business of the treaties was put entirely
into the hands of the Commissioners at this Court, and nobody else
had any right to give their opinions about them; that he understood
that I had objected to the 11th and 12th articles of the Treaty of
Commerce respecting molasses, but he believed I should find myself
greatly mistaken in that matter; that he did not doubt but those
articles would be extremely popular in Congress, and that they
would be very angry when they were informed that I had objected to
them. I answered, that I was sensible the conclusion of the treaties
was committed solely to the gentlemen he mentioned, but that the
principles in which I had been educated militated against the other
part of his opinion; that I had thought it my duty to oppose the
proceedings of the King and Parliament of Great Britain when they
were injurious to my country, that the same motives had occasioned
my opposition to the articles in question; that I had submitted my
objections to the treaty to the President, and hoped he would make
them known to Congress; that if they thought I had acted wrong, I
should of course be informed of it by him; that I should in that case
look upon myself to be no longer fit to be employed, when my opinion
differed so totally from that of my employers, and should request the
favor of the President to procure the leave of Congress for me to
return into my own country.
I have had the satisfaction, however, of finding that Mr Adams,
as well as his countrymen, Dr Franklin and Mr Deane, have been
mistaken in their expectation, that Congress would be inattentive to
the interests of nine States of America to gratify the eaters and
distillers of molasses. I am yet to learn whether the arguments made
use of in the abovementioned letter of the 18th of May have had any
weight with you, and the other gentlemen to whom I desired you to
submit them, but I am very sorry to inform you that my apprehensions
were too well founded. The letters, which Mr Lee has lately received
from Spain, leave not the least room to doubt what the expectations
of that Court are respecting the Floridas. For my own part, no such
additional proof was necessary after having compared the 5th article
of the Treaty of Alliance with the 9th article of the original
treaty, transmitted by Congress.
The conduct of Spain has been full of ambiguity; she has been arming
with all possible diligence, and at the same time sent an Ambassador
to London, who has hitherto made use of no other language but that
of peace and mediation. England, who seems to have lost her common
sense at the same time that she parted with her humanity, does not
appear to suspect that the delays of Spain may possibly be intended
only to make her blow more certain and effectual. Some politicians
believe, that the delays of Spain have been occasioned by her being
averse to the independence of America. Nothing can be more absurd
than such an opinion. Spain can have nothing to apprehend from us
alone, equal to what she had reason to fear from the united strength
of Great Britain and America. When the present war is ended, I hope
the blessings of peace will be long enjoyed. Should Spain be suffered
to get possession of the Floridas, perpetual causes of quarrel may
be expected, and therefore I hope the wisdom of Congress will guard
against this evil.
When my apprehensions on this subject were communicated to the
Commissioners at this Court, a proper explanation I believe might
have been obtained from the Ministry under their hands, as the
ratification of the treaties was not arrived, and it is certain they
were very much alarmed about them, and expected they would have
undergone a much severer scrutiny than they did. The limits, which
Congress have prescribed in the 9th article of their original treaty,
are such as I am convinced we ought to have, and I hope that nothing
will happen to make it necessary that they should be altered. Mr
Lee will, I suppose, inform Congress of the contents of his letters
from Spain on this subject. It appears of so much consequence to the
Southern States, that I think they should be consulted separately on
the subject of ceding the Floridas to Spain, before the question is
brought before Congress.
In my letter to the Committee of Foreign Affairs, of the 25th of
July, I enclosed them two letters, which I had written to the Abbé
Niccoli at Florence, on the subject of money. I now send you his
answer, by which you will find that there is no very flattering
prospect of obtaining any there. I send you likewise enclosed several
other papers, which will show you that I have done everything in
my power to fulfil the wishes of Congress; nothing has been left
unattempted to promote the success of what I have had constantly at
heart. I have had an interview with Count de Vergennes, Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs, and endeavored to prevail upon him to
offer the security of the Court of France for any money, which might
be borrowed in Italy for the use of the United States. He refused
affording any assistance in the matter. I then wrote him the enclosed
letter of the 2d of September, without promising myself much hopes
of success from it. The King of Prussia during the last war received
a subsidy from Great Britain, of between seven and eight hundred
thousand pounds sterling. The object to be obtained was certainly
much less considerable, than what France has already got by the
dismemberment of so great a part of the dominions of her natural
enemy, and yet the States of America, her allies, whose exertions
have procured so desirable an event for her, have no subsidy, and
even her assistance in effecting a loan is refused. France has
certainly great demands for money herself; she might, however, have
been more liberal than she has been, and I am of opinion she would
have been so, had things been properly conducted by those who ought
to have thought less of themselves and more of the public.
I have in this, and some of my former letters, given you my opinion
on such parts of the treaties as appeared likely to prove injurious
to us. The Southern States are most affected by the articles, which
have been already taken notice of. The 9th and 10th articles of
the Treaty of Commerce contain matter which will, if I am not much
mistaken, prove the subject of great uneasiness to the States of
New England. The gentleman, whose presumption and self sufficiency
I have already complained of, may in this instance, I believe, be
acquitted of having any design. Whatever there may be improper in
these articles can be only attributed to the want of information, and
to their not being acquainted with the subject.
When the peace of Paris in 1763 was concluded, I was in London,
and heard the subject of the fishery much discussed; the French
pretended that by the 13th article of the treaty of Utrecht, they
had an exclusive right to fish on all that part of the island of
Newfoundland, which extends from Cape Bonavista to Point Riche. The
English Ministry would not admit of any such explanation of the
article, and accordingly the French have enjoyed no such exclusive
right since. The words “indefinite and exclusive right” are not to be
found either in the treaties of Utrecht or of Paris, yet they were
inserted in the 10th article of our treaty of commerce, and that it
may seem as if no innovation was intended, that right is claimed as
having been _designed_ by the treaty of Utrecht, and the whole is to
be conformable (not to the words,) but to the _true sense_ of the
treaties of Utrecht and Paris. I do not think that the States of New
England would be very well contented, if they should find themselves
excluded from the right of fishing on any part of the coast of
Newfoundland. I have endeavored to get all the information I could on
this matter, and am confirmed in my opinion that it is intended.
The discussion of this business will probably not be entered upon
till the conclusion of peace, and that event I fear is not very near
at hand. It is however of importance, that those persons who are
likely to be affected by this matter should be acquainted with what
I have written to you about it, that they may consider it and be
prepared.