of his opinion, for he ridiculed it with all the wit imaginable, but
because the General's bill appeared to him to announce a commission as
ridiculous as that of 1780,[2] since probably they would not begin by
acknowledging the independence of America. Mr Cruger said, that if
peace with America could not be obtained without acknowledging her
independence, they ought not to hesitate a moment. Mr W. Pitt said,
that neither conciliatory bills, nor peace making commissioners, would
make peace with America. The Ministry must retire. The Americans will
never listen to any propositions until the present Ministers resign
their places to men, who have not lost the confidence of America by
deceiving them, and the confidence of the nation by imposing upon
Parliament.
[2] It is thus in the manuscript, but it should probably be 1778.
Here is another proof among many, that are given every day by the
opposition themselves, of their hunger for the loaves and fishes, and
that they do not mean with good faith to make peace, America would as
readily make peace upon proper terms with the present Ministry as any
other, and she would not make peace upon improper terms--with any
other Ministry sooner than with the present.
Lord George Germain said, "If our reconciliation with America depended
upon the resignation of the present Ministers, and they were convinced
of the efficacy of this measure, I am persuaded they would take it
unanimously forthwith. Most certainly all good men in the kingdom
ought to wish, that peace may be made upon honorable and advantageous
terms. This is the wish of my heart, and I flatter myself, that its
accomplishment is not far off. This is not speculation, my opinion is
founded upon fresh advices. I firmly believe, that the moment of
reconciliation is not far distant. The state of profound distress, to
which the Americans find themselves reduced, has brought them back, if
not to duty in general, at least to reflection, and to a knowledge of
their true interests; and I can assure the House, that the greatest
number not only desire to return to their allegiance, but express the
desire of it, and testify that they are ready to seize a favorable
opportunity, and would not wait for any opportunity, if they were not
held in by the tyranny of those, who have made themselves masters of
power. I do not think, that the Congress will ever appear disposed to
enter into treaty, but the misery of the people, but the depreciation
of the paper money, but the burden of debt, under which the community
staggers, but the repugnance, which all orders of the people testify
for the alliance, which they have made them contract with France, the
little utility, which this alliance has been of to America, all
announce in time, that the different assemblies of that Continent will
not be long before they come to terms."
It is really difficult to say what epithets ought to be given to this
speech. When a Minister of a great nation can rise in its great
Council, and with so much cold blood, so much solemnity, and such
appearance of reflection and deliberation affirm such things, what
shall we say?
The absurdity of his distinctions is not less remarkable, than the
grossness of his misinformation respecting facts, that Congress will
not treat, but the several Assemblies will. Is not Congress the
creature of the Assemblies? Do not the Assemblies create the members
of Congress every year? Cannot they annihilate them every moment?
Cannot the Assemblies instruct their members of Congress? Cannot the
people instruct their members of Assembly? But it is endless to
remark. The same system of fraud and misrepresentation, which first
deceived Great Britain into this controversy and war with America,
still deceives them into the continuance of it, and will deceive them
to their ruin. This should be the less afflicting to America, as,
since there is every reason to think, that Great Britain will be
hereafter our natural and habitual enemy, disposed to war with us
whenever she can, the more completely she is exhausted, humbled, and
abased before the peace, the securer we shall be forever after.
I have the honor to be, &c.
JOHN ADAMS.
_P. S._ The Chargé des Affaires of Denmark has notified to the
Ministry at Stockholm, the 28th of April, that this Court had acceded
to the armed neutrality, to which the Empress of Russia had invited
it, and he has requested, in consequence, in the name of his
sovereign, his Swedish Majesty, to enter into the same confederation.
Although no positive answer has as yet been given him, it is
nevertheless not at all doubted, that Sweden will concur with the
other neutral maritime powers, to restrain the excesses of the armed
ships and cruisers of the belligerent powers; an excess of which the
rencounter of the frigate Illerim, with a cruiser from Mahon,
furnished a new example, as was remarked at the head of the relation,
which the Court has published of it.
J. A.
* * * * *
TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
Paris, May 20th, 1780.
Sir,
As my English papers, containing the debates on the 6th of this month
on General Conway's motion, are lost in the sea, I shall give Congress
the several accounts of them from the foreign gazettes. That of the
Hague gives the following account of the General's discourse.
"Two powerful motives have induced me to undertake the formation of
this bill; the indispensable necessity in which we find ourselves to
make peace with America, and the favorable disposition in which I
suppose America to be.
"To show the nature of the horrible war, which I propose to put an end
to, it is necessary to go back to its origin. I find it in that
committee of darkness, which met in this house fifteen years ago at
midnight. This company of black conspirators, who plotted in their
conventicle the destruction of the British empire, and sowed the seed
of all the evils, of all the disgraces, and of all the insults under
which England and America have groaned, from the fatal moment in which
this senseless committee conceived the extravagant idea of drawing a
revenue from the colonies, by taxing subjects in a house where they
had no representatives. Thank heaven I have no reproach to make to
myself. I opposed, in the time of it, this horrible measure, and
predicted the fatal effects, and I have the chagrin to see all my
predictions accomplished; from error to error, from one false measure
to another, we are arrived to the brink of a precipice, down to the
bottom of which we feel ourselves irresistibly hurried by the weight
of our debts.
"From the time that the word independence, coming from America,
resounded in this house, we have endeavored to evince that the
Americans had originally this independence in view. Nevertheless, the
events have demonstrated that nothing was further from their idea.
When I express myself thus, I speak of Americans in general. I pretend
not to insinuate, that there were not among them some men of inferior
rank, who have thought that they saw their present interest in the
independence of their country. In so vast a country it is impossible,
that there should not be found some such senseless men, and I should
be more senseless, more absurd, than the absurdest of them all, if I
could doubt of it a moment. But again, once more; the mass of the
nation did not aim at independence; when we had forced this peaceable
people to a just resistance, what happened here? Our lawyers opened
the road of error; we never inquired how we could appease these rising
troubles. Grave men, distinguished by the most eminent talents, and by
the most influential offices, talked of conquest and submission; 'The
Rubicon is passed,' said they, 'the sword is drawn, it you do not kill
them they will kill you.' The lawyers were powerfully seconded by the
reverend ministers of a religion, which teaches peace and recommends
brotherly love. The robe and the mitre, animating us in concert to
massacre, we plunged ourselves into rivers of blood, spreading terror,
devastation, and death over the whole continent of America, exhausting
ourselves at home both of men and money, dishonoring forever our
annals, we became the objects of horror in the eyes of indignant
Europe! It was our reverend prelates who led on this dance, which may
be justly styled the dance of death! These reverend prelates have a
terrible account to give to their country and to their consciences;
they have opened upon them the eyes of the nation, who have justly
styled them the rotten part of the constitution.
"Such is the horrid war, which we have maintained for five years. What
have been its horrible fruits! a ruinous war to sustain against the
two branches of the House of Bourbon; we are crushed under the burden
of an immense debt; at war with America; at war with France; at war
with Spain, without having a single ally or a single power for our
friend. On the contrary, seeing distinctly and without doubt, that all
foreign powers act directly or indirectly, in a manner absolutely
contrary to our interests, not to say in a hostile manner, there are
none, even down to the little inhabitants of Lubeck, of Dantzic, and
of Hamburg, who are not against us! This is not all. What is much
worse still, we see Holland, our natural ally, opposed to our
interests, and refusing us the slightest succor. We are precisely at
this moment the deer marked out for the chase, detached by the blood
hounds from the rest of the flock which abandons us! If our situation
is terrible, we need not believe, that the Americans repose themselves
upon beds of roses; far from it, and it is from the bosom of their
distress that the ray of hope issues, which in my opinion shines upon
us at this day. We have forced them to contract an alliance with
France; this alliance was not natural; nature, habit, language, and
religion, all conspire to raise a barrier between France and America;
all tend to bind again, between England and America, the natural ties
heretofore fortunate and happy. The Americans have not found in their
great and good ally, the friend that they sought in him; they have a
natural aversion even for the title of a King. They prefer the
republican institutions to absolute monarchy; they are overloaded with
an immense debt, the burden of which France has not appeared forward
to lighten for them. Their paper money is fallen to such a degree of
depreciation, that they have given forty dollars in paper for one
dollar in silver, worth four shillings and sixpence. The greatest part
among them, groan under the tyranny of those, who have made themselves
masters of power, desiring ardently the restoration of the ancient
form of government; their troops ill paid, and still worse clothed,
have been reduced to such dreadful extremities, that the last summer,
in the course of a fatiguing march, they saw themselves reduced to the
ration of a handful of pease a day; as for the rest, their allies know
as much upon this point as we. A Frenchman, distinguished by his
talents, sent some years ago by his Court to America to observe the
disposition of the people and the state of things, &c. in a letter,
which he wrote from the place of his destination, serves himself of
these remarkable expressions; 'one shall find in a coffee-house of
Paris a great deal more enthusiasm for the cause of liberty, than in
any part of America.'
"Let us take advantage of these circumstances. Let us put an end to
the war of America, to the end that we may unite more efficaciously
all our efforts against the House of Bourbon. I believe we shall not
find much hostility. France has not gained, Spain has considerably
lost, let us strike both the one and the other more decisive blows. We
cannot do this without making peace with America. We cannot obtain
this peace but by offering reasonable terms of reconciliation. I have
maturely examined all which has been proposed before me. I have come
as near as possible to the plan of conciliation, drawn by the Earl of
Chatham. I may say, indeed, that I have taken it for my model. But I
have departed from it in the most essential point. The Earl of
Chatham's bill had for its foundation this express condition, that
America should acknowledge the sovereignty of Great Britain, and that
each assembly should furnish to the mass of the public revenue a
certain quota. Certainly, if we were to make at this day to America a
similar proposition, they would laugh in our faces, and would treat
those who should dare to make it, as smartly as they treated the
Commissioners, who visited her in 1778. The great object of my bill
is, that something certain should be done, which may be proper to
convince America of the sincerity of those views, with which we invite
her to enter into some conciliatory convention with his Majesty. In
one word, the title of my bill is an analysis of it;--_A Bill to
appease the Troubles, which have sometime subsisted between Great
Britain and America, and to authorise his Majesty to send
Commissioners, clothed with full Powers to treat with America._"[3]
I have the honor to be, &c.
JOHN ADAMS.
[3] See Mr Adam's remarks on this speech, in a letter to M. Genet,
above, p. 101.
* * * * *
TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
Paris, May 23d, 1780.
Sir,
The public papers announce, that all the maritime powers have acceded
to the proposition of Russia respecting an armed neutrality.
The following article from Stockholm is of the 2d of May. "Our Court
has accepted the plan of an armed neutrality, which the Empress of
all the Russias has proposed to it; and in consequence has given
orders to equip six more ships of the line; so that our naval force
will consist, like that of Denmark, of six ships of the line and six
frigates, whereof six vessels of war will remain in the port of
Carlserona, equipped and ready to be employed, on the first order."
The article from Copenhagen is of the 9th of May. "The Court has
acceded to the proposition of her Majesty the Empress of Russia, in
regard to an armed neutrality, and in consequence, they are busy in
taking measures for the armament. Besides the four vessels of the line
and the two frigates, which they equipped, the Court have further put
in commission two other ships of the line, the Jylland of ten guns,
and the Mars of sixty, and they are taking all possible pains both
here and in Norway, and in the other Provinces of this kingdom, to
recruit the number of men necessary for this armament. Two of our
ships of the line, the Wagrien and the Infods, passed into the Road
last Saturday. The same day Captain Ziervogel, commanding a frigate,
set sail with the officers and crews necessary to bring here the two
frigates, which are at Fredericksham in Norway. The Russian ships of
war, Captain Spendof, who has wintered here, and the frigate of the
same nation, which was upon its return from Norway, set sail yesterday
for Petersburg."
There is another article from Paris of the 12th of May. "The Court of
Portugal," they say, "has given assurance to ours of arming if
necessary to maintain the neutrality, and by means of the accession of
this Power to the system it appears, that there can remain little hope
to England of finding an ally, who will make a common cause with her,
and aid her to preserve the empire of the seas, of which she flattered
herself she would never be dispossessed."
Another article from Hamburg of the 12th of May. "At a time, when
there is an extraordinary dearth of news, our politicians occupy
themselves about the declaration of the Court of Russia to the
belligerent Powers, and the proposition of this same Court to the
neutral Powers. Already, they say, it is no longer doubtful, that the
Courts of Sweden, of Denmark, and the States-General of the United
Provinces, have acceded to the proposition of the Empress of Russia,
and that they arm themselves. It is now the problem, to know if the
Court of Portugal will follow their example. In the meantime, our
speculators appear in general very curious to know, what will be the
measures, which the neutral Powers will take for the execution of
their designs, and at what time the plan of this armed neutrality can
have its effect."
Another is an article from London of the 12th of May. "The day before
yesterday, the Court received despatches from its Ministers in the
Northern Courts, which confirm the news of a plan of confederation
formed by the Powers of that part of Europe, for the protection of
their respective subjects against the attacks of the belligerent
Powers. The despatches of Sir Joseph Yorke announce, they say, an
approaching negotiation between the Court of London and the
States-General, to the end to adjust amicably the difference arisen
between the two nations, relative to the capture of some Dutch
vessels, and the insult offered to the flag of the Republic, by
Commodore Fielding. It is believed, that this affair will be
terminated to the mutual satisfaction of the two parties, and that
this negotiation may well serve to pave the way to a reconciliation
among the Powers at war, to which there is no doubt England would
sincerely agree, upon honorable conditions."
I have the honor to be, &c.
JOHN ADAMS.
_P. S._ A second division is said to be preparing at Brest, of several
ships of the line and several thousand men.
J. A.
* * * * *
COUNT DE VERGENNES TO JOHN ADAMS.
Translation.
Versailles, May 24th, 1780.
Sir,
I have received the two letters, which you have done me the honor to
write to me on the 12th and 19th of the present month. I had no need
of your apology to induce me to render justice to the patriotic
sentiments with which you are animated. You understand the interests
and engagements of your country, and I am persuaded you will never
have any other object, than to consolidate both the one and the other.
You can judge by this, Sir, what confidence we place in your
principles, and what security we feel beforehand, as to the conduct
you will hold, in case the Court of London should propose to you
overtures of conciliation.
I offer you many thanks for the American gazettes, which you have been
so kind as to send me. I will take care that they shall all be
returned.
I have the honor to be, &c.
DE VERGENNES.
* * * * *
TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
Paris, May 26th, 1780.
Sir,
At a numerous assembly of gentlemen of the law in Dublin, held the
30th of April, Captain Henry Hewart in the chair, after having
collected the votes, Henry Grattan was unanimously admitted an
honorary member; and it was agreed with the same unanimity, that the
following address should be presented to him.
"Sir;--The body of the gentlemen of the law, ambitious of associating
to themselves a man, whom they consider as an ornament of his country,
and as the firm support of her rights, unanimously prays you to accept
the title of honorary member of the society, as an unequivocal
testimony of their admiration of vast talents when they are displayed
in the cause of liberty and virtue. They request you, particularly, to
accept of their most affectionate thanks for the noble effort, that in
concurrence with several of the most respectable persons in the
kingdom, you made on Wednesday, the 19th current, in defence of the
rights of the people, and in endeavoring to unite the British Empire;
they assure you, that although the event has not entirely answered,
either to their expectations or to the nobleness of your efforts, they
are firmly determined to sustain their rights, such as they are laid
down in the resolutions, which you have proposed. They esteem it happy
to see, that without excepting even the servants of the Crown, all the
members of the House have acknowledged the truth of the principle upon
which those resolutions stood, although the majority has not accepted
them, alleging, that at this critical time it was not necessary to
renew the declarations already standing on the journals of the House
and subsisting in full force."
To this address, Mr Grattan made the following reply.
"Gentlemen;--I esteem myself infinitely honored to be a member of an
association, which has merited for a long time my attention and my
admiration. By declaring that there is no power capable of subjecting
this country, but the King, the Peers, and Commons of Ireland, you
render a great service to this nation, because you give to all the
other corps of volunteers the great example, to make the same
declaration of their rights under the sanction of your corps, who not
only protect the nation in arms, but by your knowledge and authority,
propagate the great principles of law and liberty.
"In a country which possesses laws like ours, and men of your merit
agitate the great question of liberty, it is to be free. I rejoice
then that the rights of Ireland have been discussed. This discussion
has opened the eyes of a people, who had slept during the course of a
century, and forced almost all the representatives of this people, who
are susceptible of principle, to deny that any foreign legislature has
rights over Ireland; and makes this declaration circulate through all
the great associations of the kingdom, and will finally extirpate all
that remains of authority usurped by the British Parliament.
"I observe, with satisfaction, that you think like me, that liberty is
the tie which preserves the union of Great Britain and Ireland. We are
attached to Great Britain, but not to its yoke. Common privileges
formed originally our connexion with Great Britain; these same
privileges will render this connexion indissoluble. If Ireland
acknowledged as a slave the supremacy of the British Parliament, she
would be the enemy of British liberty, because in that case she would
league herself with the Ministers to annihilate the system of
government, and precipitate all the subjects of his Majesty into a
state of equality.
"I regard the liberty of Ireland as adding to the safety of that of
Great Britain, which, instead of protestations of loyalty extorted
from a Province devoted to pillage, will actually receive a tribute of
affection sensibly felt on the part of a free people. As a friend of
the constitutions of the two kingdoms, as desirous of an honorable and
permanent union, I esteem myself happy to see myself enrolled among
men, who have your courage and your principles."
On the 13th of April, the British frigate the Hyæna, Captain Thompson,
arrived at Gibraltar at midnight, having escaped the fire of three
batteries, three chebecs of twentyeight guns each, and a frigate of
thirtytwo. Don Barcelo, in the Spanish Admiral, pursued him in a fifty
gun ship. The Don's squadron consists of six ships of the line, one
frigate of thirtytwo guns, three chebecs of twentyeight guns each, and
a number of fire-ships and gallies, which intercept all which pass the
Gut, and completely blockade Gibraltar, and the squadron of Commodore
Elliot, reduced to the Panther, the Enterprise, and three smaller
vessels. The garrison is said to be in good spirits, although a
malignant fever brought in by the Spanish prisoners has carried off a
great many men, particularly in the regiment of Highlanders. The wants
of the garrison, however, will soon be very great, particularly of
fuel. Captain Thompson carried the news, that they are soon to have a
powerful succor from Admiral Graves. It is very probable, that the
Ministry may send Graves to attempt to act over again the part of
Admiral Rodney, and after throwing assistance into Gibraltar, pass on
to America. It is to be hoped, that Graves will not have Rodney's
luck. It is pretty certain he has not all his dexterity. Yet I cannot
but think the Spaniards are imprudently exposed in that part. The
English have filled all the newspapers of Europe for three weeks, with
lists of ships of the line to compose the grand fleet in the channel,
which they have made amount to forty. But at last comes out a frank
and honest confession in the Courier de l'Europe, that they can muster
but twenty.