would be imprudent to send copies of them with this by the post.
Duplicates have already been forwarded. If I had a private conveyance,
I should be more particular under the head of mediation and neutral
confederation, as well as enter into an explanation of some parts of
my former despatches from hence. I have not yet received any account
of my letters sent from France; you will doubtless pay an attention to
such parts of them as may require it. If you will direct your letters
for me to the care of Mr Adams, whenever they may come on in that
course, he will be careful to forward them to me in a way, which we
have settled for our correspondence. As it will be more convenient, I
shall request Mr Adams to send you along with this the reply, which
the Imperial Courts made to the answers of the belligerent powers, to
their propositions for a general pacification, and also the final
answer of the Court of Versailles. Although you may probably receive
these through another channel, yet perhaps that is not a good reason
why we should fail to furnish you with them.
I am, Sir, with much esteem, &c.
FRANCIS DANA.
_P. S._ I hope to have an opportunity to forward next week, to the
care of Mr Adams, two or three Court Almanacs for you in French. The
other books I will procure for you as soon as possible, but as they
will be cumbersome, it is not probable I shall find any other
conveyance from hence than by water for them. I shall at all times be
very happy to have an opportunity to execute any of your commands.
* * * * *
TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.
St Petersburg, March 30th, 1782.
Sir,
I did myself the honor on the 5th instant to acknowledge the receipt
of the triplicate of your letter to me of the 22d of October last, the
original has since come to hand. I will forward a duplicate of the
above by this opportunity.
Everything seems to confirm the opinion I have expressed, relative to
the partial mediation between Britain and Holland, but more especially
the resolution of Friesland respecting the United States. The failure
of that mediation is now universally considered here as beyond a
doubt. And nothing I believe but the very critical condition of
Britain, will revive the idea of a general mediation sooner than I
have estimated in my last. She has now lost Minorca, and in a manner
too that astonishes every one here, and with it the remains of her
commerce in the Mediterranean Sea. St Christopher, as it is said, is
in imminent danger, and the formidable force gone against Jamaica, may
make her reflect seriously upon her forlorn state, and perhaps drive
her to the humiliating necessity of reviving a mediation she has
rejected with so much haughtiness. If so, it seems evident, from the
decided nature of the final answer of the Court of Versailles, as well
as from that of Madrid to the Imperial Courts, that to do this with
any effect, the mediators must advance to the line marked out, they
must invite the Ministers of the United States to the General
Congress.
The Minister of Spain, who went to Vienna to assist at the Congress,
has received orders to repair to this Court, (where they have now only
a _Chargé d'Affaires_) as a resident Minister. He is expected here the
next month.
There has lately been a lively sensation in this quarter, occasioned
by a publication in the "_Courier du Bas Rhin_," where it was
positively asserted, that a secret treaty had been concluded between
her Imperial Majesty and the Emperor, relative to a partition of the
Turkish territories in Europe. The affair, it is said, has been
denied. However the fact may be, there seems to be some suspicions
remaining, that a scheme is forming, if not of the nature mentioned,
yet at least relative to a full enjoyment of a commerce upon the Black
Sea and into the Mediterranean. This is an object, which has more or
less engrossed the attention of this Court from the days of Peter the
Great, and is one of no small consequence to the interests of this
Empire. The state of things brought on by the peace of Kainardgi,
(1774,) between Russia and Turkey, has opened the way for the
completion of this design. By this treaty Russia obtained a right to a
free commerce in the Turkish seas, and for that end, three ports
there, viz. Kinbourn, Kersch, and Yenikale. Further, the Khan of the
Crimea (who is no longer liable to be deposed by the Grand Sultan) is
very friendly disposed towards her Imperial Majesty, and would be
capable of affording essential services towards the execution of such
a plan. He has lately sent an Ambassador to this Court, who has been
most graciously received. The Porte has been constantly opposed to
this commercial plan. Hence the difficulties, which have taken place
respecting the admission of a Russian Consul, which the firmness of
her Majesty has at last overcome. The whole seems yet to be on too
precarious a foundation. Perhaps solidly to establish this system of
commerce, another war may be deemed necessary, particularly for the
purposes of gaining better ports, and to give greater security to the
navigation, which may be carried on from them, by removing the Turks
to a more convenient distance, and establishing a marine in those
seas, capable of affording it a complete protection; without this, all
that vast commercial project lies at the mercy of the Turks.
I have touched upon this subject, that from the great interest this
empire has in such a plan from the extensive views of its sovereign,
and from the present apparently favorable state of circumstances, you
may be enabled to form a better opinion of the probability or
improbability of the supposed connexion. But upon the supposition of
its truth, will our enemies draw any essential benefits from it? Or
will it in any way injure our interests? are questions which may arise
out of it, and bring it home to us. It will happen, I think, if it
happens at all, too late for the former, but as to the latter, it may
procrastinate our views, as it will form the principal object of her
Majesty's attention, and the affairs on this side of Europe will
become but secondary concerns. I shall add nothing further at present
on this subject, but shall from time to time endeavor to give you some
account of the prevailing system, and the leading principles of
politics in this Court.
In pursuance of one branch of my duty, I have during my residence here
made a particular inquiry into the nature of the commerce of this
country. By the list of exports for the last year, which will
accompany this, may be seen the commodities of all kinds which it
furnishes, as well as the share which the several nations of Europe
have taken in this commerce, for the same time; and by the list of
vessels passing and repassing the Sound, the proportion of their
navigation which has been concerned in it. When it is considered that
the Dutch used to send about six hundred vessels into the Baltic
annually, there can remain no doubt but that the neutral maritime
powers are very well contented with the Dutch war; and that they are
deeply interested in the principles of the neutral confederation,
though a crooked and corrupt system of politics may prevent some of
them from defending their rights with proper vigor.
The great demands we have for the principal articles of this commerce,
such as hemp, cordage, sailcloth, their linen manufactures of all
sorts, especially for household use, is well known, as we have been
heretofore supplied with these through Great Britain. But perhaps the
commodities suitable for this market may not be so well understood
among us. The principal ones of our country are rice and indigo;
tobacco is a prohibited article. Grain is not wanted, except rice.
From this state is it not evident if we would carry on this commerce
to any considerable extent, as we shall certainly find it proper to
do, we must do it by circuitous voyages in a great measure? For this
purpose the productions of the West Indies and of the continent of
America south of us, such as sugar, coffee, (rum would not answer,)
all sorts of dyeing woods, cochineal, &c. are proper. This may point
out the importance of obtaining a right to cut those woods on the
Spanish shores in the Bay.
The wines, brandies, fruits, and manufactures of France form a great
branch of the trade to this country. This has heretofore been chiefly
carried on by the Dutch; but may we not come in for a share of it?
Many of our commodities are adapted to the markets of France. Might
not our vessels intended for this circuitous voyage, arrive in France
towards the end of the winter, charged with our produce, and take in a
cargo there, so as to be ready to enter the Baltic early in May. The
ports of France, frequented by the Dutch in this carrying trade, are
Havre, Nantes, Bordeaux, Cette, and Marseilles. Havre has an advantage
over all the others, from its proximity to the Baltic, as well as its
situation below the Seine, by means of which all the manufactures of
Paris, Rouen, &c. are easily conveyed thither. The cargoes from Havre
for Russia consist in fine cloths, linens of Rouen, sugar, coffee,
indigo, preserved fruits of all kinds, and of all the manufactures of
Paris. Wines are from Bordeaux. The exports from Nantes are nearly the
same as those from Havre; Cette and Marseilles may be too distant for
us. The greatest navigation between France and this country is from
Havre. I have been so particular upon Havre, because I suppose
Congress would choose to have _one_ free port, (in virtue of our
treaty with France,) in or near the Channel, and I have heard Dunkirk
talked of; but is it not worth consideration, whether a port at the
very extremity of the empire, can be of equal advantage to that of
Havre, which may answer as well for a direct commerce as for this
circuitous one, if it should be thought proper to adopt it. By our
treaty, I am sensible we have a right to demand but _one_ free port in
France, and that for the purpose of carrying there our own commodities
_only_. If we should be held rigidly to this, the appointment of a
free port will be of great importance to our interests. If we could
obtain more, perhaps Havre, Bordeaux, and Marseilles, might be the
most advantageous of any three, to furnish us at the best rate, with
the productions and manufactures of the several parts of the kingdom.
I express myself with much diffidence on this subject, because I know
that a thousand matters ought to be taken into consideration, many of
which are known only to those who have made commerce the business of
their lives, in order to form a solid judgment upon it. But if
anything I have said may serve as hints, which may be improved by
others to the general benefit of our country, my purpose will be
completely answered.
I have the honor to be, with much esteem and respect, &c.
FRANCIS DANA.
* * * * *
TO JOHN ADAMS.
St Petersburg, April 23d, 1782.
Dear Sir,
I see with infinite satisfaction the progress our affairs have made in
Holland within a short time, and that you will soon be able to put the
finishing hand to your business. No one will more sincerely rejoice in
the honor you will merit and acquire by it, than I shall. That nation,
after much internal struggling, seems at last to have adopted an
almost universal sentiment upon the propriety, or rather, necessity of
forming an intimate commercial connexion with us, and this without
loss of time. They have been doubtless justly alarmed by the late
important change in the councils and system of Great Britain, and have
wisely resolved not to suffer her to get the start of them, by
adjusting her commercial connexions with America before they have
concluded their treaty with us. They well know how much is risked by a
further delay. Hence their present zeal to acknowledge our
independence.
I wish others saw their interest to do the same thing in as clear a
light, and did not longer think of the glory of mediating a peace,
which in the end they may miss of; for it is evident to every one who
will attentively consider the late measures of Britain, that she means
to settle her peace with America, without the participation of any
mediators; well knowing the great danger which her most important
commercial interests will be exposed to, if they pass through such a
medium. Her aim will be to exclude the other maritime powers, as far
as possible, from the benefits of our commerce. To effect this, she
will make great sacrifices in some respects. You know what I allude
to. The critical moment for the maritime powers of Europe has already
arrived. They may never, or at least for a long time to come, again
see so fair an occasion to promote their essential interests, if they
suffer this moment to slip by without fixing their connexions with
America. It must be apparent to them all, (the neutral powers I mean,)
that no just objections can now be made to a measure of this sort,
since the British themselves have felt the necessity of publicly
proclaiming to the world their utter inability to obtain the great
object of their war, the subjugation of the United States, or of any
one of them; and have even made the attempt to do this criminal. With
what face can they now pretend to claim any dominion over that
country, or to require the neutral powers to forbear the
acknowledgment of our independence, till they themselves shall have
acknowledged it? Or in other words, to rest idle spectators, as I
have before said, till Britain has adjusted all her commercial
interests with America, as far as possible to their exclusion.
Do you ask whether this will probably be the case here? I cannot say
that it will not. For besides, that I have some reason to suppose this
government not yet properly informed, I may say of the immense
interest it has at stake relative to the commerce of our country, I
know the British will not fail constantly to hold up to her Imperial
Majesty the glory of mediating a peace between the great belligerent
powers, while they are secretly carrying on a negotiation as above
with the United States. Should you ask me if it is not practicable to
give those in government just ideas upon the nature of the commerce of
the two countries, I must say I have taken such measures to this end,
as the peculiar state of things will admit of. I dare not expose the
dignity of the United States by making any official advances. They may
be rejected. I am not satisfied that they would not be. The cry of
mediation I know would open upon me. It is necessary therefore first,
to do away all errors upon this subject of commerce, to establish the
great mutual interests the two nations have in a close and intimate
connexion with each other, and to point out the danger this interest
is exposed to, in the present critical state of affairs by delay. When
this is done (and I flatter myself the task is very easy if the door
is open to me) I shall have nothing to apprehend from mere sounds or
words. Her Majesty would most certainly pursue the great interests of
her empire, and not suffer herself to be diverted from that pursuit by
any dazzling prospects of glory, which the British or any others might
hold out. She has too much wisdom not to change her system when
affairs have changed their face, and not to improve every favorable
occasion, which the course of events may present to her for the
benefit of her empire.
I agree with you, that glory and interest are both united in our case;
that her Majesty could not by any line of conduct more effectually
promote both, than by stepping forth at this moment, and acknowledging
the independence of the United States, and forming a commercial treaty
with them, that there is nothing to fear from any quarter, that the
example of so illustrious a sovereign would probably be followed by
the other neutral maritime powers, and would infallibly restore peace
and tranquillity to both worlds; and that all Europe would partake
equally in the benefits of our commerce, or at least enjoy an equal
freedom in it. But if instead of this, America cannot obtain a
hearing, which is all she wants to insure her success, wherever
national counsels are influenced by national interests, and her
Majesty should persevere in her system of mediation, notwithstanding
the change in affairs, is not the consequence plain? America will make
the best bargain in her power with Britain, and she can now clearly
make an advantageous one. When this is done, her Majesty and the other
neutral powers will certainly see, though too late, the importance of
the present moment to the interests of their respective empires. I
will only add, may they be wise in season, may they follow the
example, which Holland is setting them, and which she would have set
them at this moment, had she been in profound peace with Britain, even
at the hazard of a war, little as she delights in it, rather than
suffer herself to be foreclosed in her great commercial schemes.
I have the honor to be, &c.
FRANCIS DANA.
* * * * *
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON TO FRANCIS DANA.
Philadelphia, May 10th, 1782.
Dear Sir,
In my letter of the 2d of March last, I explained fully to you the
intentions of Congress in sending you to Petersburg; and the reasons
that influenced them to wish, that you would by no means display your
public character, till you were fully convinced, that it was the wish
of the Court to acknowledge it. And I saw with pleasure, in your
letter of the 31st of March, 1781, to the Count de Vergennes, that you
had determined agreeably to the spirit and meaning of your
instructions, to appear only as a private citizen of the United
States, until the result of your inquiries should point out a ready
and honorable reception. The opinion of the Minister of his Most
Christian Majesty, as well as of Dr Franklin, whom you were directed
to consult, was so decided upon that point, that though you might not
have thought it sufficient to justify delaying your journey, yet it
certainly rendered it proper to take the best precautions to conceal
your public character, under some other, that would have been
unsuspected; and this for reasons that carried the greatest weight
with them.
The Empress having projected the armed neutrality, she naturally
wished it to have the appearance of a general regulation, and not of
an attempt to serve one of the belligerent powers at the expense of
the other. The strictest impartiality could alone give a dignity to
her measures, or crown them with success. She further wished to be the
means of re-establishing peace, and was perhaps influenced by the
laudable ambition of being at the same time the great legislator and
arbiter of Europe. At this critical moment it could hardly be
expected, that she would publicly entertain a Minister from the United
States. For though the powers at war have many collateral objects, yet
it is well known, that American independence is the great question in
controversy; and though a decision in favor of it might be worthy of
the magnanimity of the Empress, yet it would certainly militate
against her objects, and afford Great Britain an apology for
considering the armed neutrality as a partial regulation; and for
rejecting the mediation of a power, whom they would charge with having
decided the very point in controversy. A secret agent, if his
character was declared to the Russian Minister, would in a less degree
have the same effects, and reduce them to the necessity of
embarrassing themselves by dissimulation, or permitting us to
entertain unfavorable sentiments of their impartiality by directing
you to withdraw.
Your eager desire to render essential services to your country had in
some measure biassed your judgment, and led you to see this matter in
a different light from that in which it would have appeared to you, if
your patriotism had permitted you coolly to weigh and consider
circumstances. It appears by your letters of the 28th of July, the
15th of September, and 15th of October last, which have been received
and read in Congress, that you entertain serious thoughts of making an
immediate display of your powers to the Russian Ministry,
notwithstanding the cautions given you by the Count de Vergennes, the
opinion of Dr Franklin, and the advice of the Marquis de Verac, whom
you are expressly directed to consult; whose lights you are interested
to avail yourself of, and to sound the dispositions of the Court of
Petersburg.
Congress, when they appointed you to the important and delicate
mission in which you are engaged, discovered their respect for your
abilities, while they meant by their instructions to guard against any
inconvenience into which you might hastily run, by directing you
before you declared your character, to take the advice of a Minister,
whose residence at the Court of Petersburg (independent of other
circumstances) gave him advantages, which an absolute stranger could
not enjoy. The letters that have passed between you, confirm the
propriety of this restriction. The conclusions of the Marquis de Verac
on the plan of the proposed mediation are sound and just; and if you
have disregarded them, there is no doubt but the event has before this
time justified them to you. He has, probably, shown you the answer of
France to the proposals of the mediators. You will have remarked
therein, the same reasoning extended in such a manner, as fully to
have convinced you that the distinction he has drawn between our
treating _at the same time_, and our treating as an independent
nation, are very well founded. It will serve too, Sir, to show that
your suspicions on another point are groundless. To suppose that
France would go to war for our independence, and yet not wish to see
that independence recognised, is a solecism in politics. Surely every
acknowledgment of this kind raises our hopes and depresses those of
the enemy, and places the justice of the war, both on the part of
France and of us, in a fairer point of view. But, Sir, I do not
enlarge on this subject; your instructions ought to be your guide, and
they evidently show, that at the time they were given, Congress meant
that you should treat the Minister of France at the Court of
Petersburg, with the most unreserved confidence, and that you should
not declare your mission till he thought the moment favorable. They
still retain the same sentiments, every day having convinced them that
France makes but one interest with them in establishing their
independence. That she should be delicate about advising us to solicit
the notice of other Courts, is not to be wondered at, since she must
partake, in some degree, of the humiliations that our ill-timed
solicitations subject us to. The whole of your communications with the
Count de Vergennes, marks a delicacy on the other side, about advising
upon a measure, which the instructions of your sovereign should
direct. It is easy to see his opinion and his apprehensions of
appearing to have disapproved what Congress had thought might be
advantageous to them. I conclude this, Sir, by requesting you, if you
have not yet made a communication of your powers, to delay doing it
till the Marquis de Verac shall agree in sentiment with you that it
will be expedient, or until you shall receive farther instructions
from Congress.
In the meanwhile you will employ yourself in the manner, which your
instructions and my last letter advise. I can see no other line in
which you can be useful in your present station. As you will have much
leisure on hand, I must beg you to write weekly to this office in
cypher, and to write with freedom whatever it may be useful for us to
know, particularly all changes that may take place in the
administration and the measures of Russia. I will not repeat what I
have said on this subject in my last, a quadruplicate of which is
enclosed, as is also a cypher. This letter will be consigned to Mr
Adams, who will take means to forward it to you by a safe hand.
I am in great pain on account of your letter of the 28th of July, a
duplicate of which is arrived. The original has miscarried; should it
have fallen into improper hands it may do us very essential injury. I
need not tell you how impatient I shall be to hear that this has
reached you, since I cannot use my cypher till I receive a line from
you written in it, nor can I write with freedom to you till I have a
cypher.
Since the reduction of York, nothing important has passed in the
military line. The enemy keep possession of New York, Charleston, and
Savannah, though they have not strengthened either of the garrisons.
They are consequently much weakened; if, as we expect, we shall have a
naval support, we have no doubt of being able to expel them this
campaign from the continent. Our effective force, exclusive of
militia, which we can call in as we want them, including four thousand
five hundred French troops, amounts to about twenty thousand men.