remitted those bills to their correspondents here, to pay debts, and
purchase goods in this kingdom, to be carried home in the ships, that
are come, or coming to France, thus to open a larger commerce with
this nation.
If those bills cannot be paid, the creditors of America will be
disappointed and greatly hurt, and the commerce will be deranged and
discouraged in its first operations, of which the numerous ill
consequences are more easily imagined than described.
Our loan in Holland is going on, and with such prospect of success,
that the bankers, who have the care of it, have lately sent by express
to Mr Adams all the blank obligations, necessary to complete it, for
him to sign, that they might have them ready to deliver, as demanded,
his return thither being delayed.
This loan will, therefore, probably answer the bills Mr Morris has
drawn on those bankers.
But the protesting any of his bills here would occasion such an alarm
there, as must probably entirely stop any further progress of that
loan, and thereby increase the mischief.
The government of the Congress would also be enfeebled by it.
We apprehend, too, that, in the present unsettled situation of our
affairs with England, such a failure might have very ill effects, with
respect to our negotiations.
We therefore request your counsel, hoping your wisdom, which has so
often befriended our nation, may point out some way, by which we may
be extricated from this distress.
And as the King has hitherto so generously assisted us, we hope that,
if it is any way practicable, his Majesty will crown the glorious
work, by affording us this help, at the different periods when it will
be wanted, and which is absolutely the last that will be asked.
We are, with sincere and great respect, &c.
B. FRANKLIN,
JOHN JAY.
FOOTNOTE:
[15] See Mr Grand's letter above, p. 139.
* * * * *
PROPOSITIONS MADE BY THE COMMISSIONERS TO DAVID HARTLEY
FOR THE DEFINITIVE TREATY.
ARTICLE I. To omit in the definitive treaty the exception, at the end
of the second Article of the provisional treaty, viz. these words,
"excepting such islands as now are, or heretofore have been within the
limits of the said Province of Nova Scotia."
ARTICLE II. The prisoners made respectively, by the arms of his
Britannic Majesty, and the United States, by sea and by land, not
already set at liberty, shall be restored reciprocally and _bona
fide_, immediately after the ratification of the definitive treaty,
without ransom, and on paying the debts they may have contracted
during their captivity; and each party shall respectively reimburse
the sums, which shall have been advanced, for the subsistence and
maintenance of the prisoners, by the sovereign of the country where
they shall have been detained, according to the receipts and attested
accounts, and other authentic titles, which shall be produced on each
side.
ARTICLE III. His Britannic Majesty shall employ his good offices and
interposition with the King or Emperor of Morocco or Fez, the
Regencies of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, or with any of them, and also
with every other Prince, State or power of the coast of Barbary, in
Africa, and the subjects of the said King, Emperor, States and powers
and each of them, in order to provide as fully and efficaciously as
possible for the benefit, conveniency and safety of the said United
States and each of them, their subjects, people and inhabitants, and
their vessels and effects, against all violence, insult, attacks or
depredations on the part of the said Princes and States of Barbary, or
their subjects.
ARTICLE IV. If war should hereafter arise between Great Britain and
the United States, which God forbid, the merchants of either country
then residing in the other, shall be allowed to remain nine months to
collect their debts and settle their affairs, and may depart freely,
carrying off all their effects without molestation or hinderance. And
all fishermen, all cultivators of the earth, and all artisans and
manufacturers unarmed and inhabiting unfortified towns, villages or
places, who labor for the common subsistence and benefit of mankind,
and peaceably follow their respective employments, shall be allowed to
continue the same, and shall not be molested by the armed force of the
enemy in whose power, by the events of war, they may happen to fall;
but if anything is necessary to be taken from them, for the use of
such armed force, the same shall be paid for at a reasonable price.
And all merchants or traders with their unarmed vessels employed in
commerce, exchanging the products of different places and thereby
rendering the necessaries, conveniences and comforts of human life
more easy to obtain, and more general, shall be allowed to pass freely
unmolested. And neither of the powers, parties to this treaty, shall
grant or issue any commission, to any private armed vessels,
empowering them to take or destroy such trading ships, or interrupt
such commerce.
ARTICLE V. And in case either of the contracting parties, shall happen
to be engaged in war with any other nation, it is further agreed, in
order to prevent all the difficulties and misunderstandings that
usually arise respecting the merchandise heretofore called contraband,
such as arms, ammunition, and military stores of all kinds, that no
such articles carrying by the ships or subjects of one of the parties
to the enemies of the other, shall on any account be deemed
contraband, so as to induce confiscation and a loss of property to
individuals. Nevertheless, it shall be lawful to stop such ships and
detain them for such length of time as the captors may think necessary
to prevent the inconveniences or damage that might ensue from their
proceeding on their voyage, paying, however, a reasonable compensation
for the loss such arrest shall occasion to the proprietors. And it
shall further be allowed to use in the service of the captors, the
whole or any part of the military stores so detained, paying to the
owners the full value of the same.
ARTICLE VI. The citizens and inhabitants of the said United States, or
any of them, may take and hold real estates in Great Britain, Ireland,
or any other of his Majesty's dominions, and dispose by testaments,
donations or otherwise of their property, real or personal, in favor
of such person as to them shall seem fit; and their heirs, citizens of
the said United States, or any of them residing in the British
dominions or elsewhere, may succeed them _ab intestato_, without being
obliged to obtain letters of naturalization. The subjects of his
Britannic Majesty shall enjoy on their parts, in all the dominions of
the said United States, an entire and perfect reciprocity, relative to
the stipulations contained in the present Article.
ARTICLE VII. The ratifications of the definitive treaty shall be
expedited in good and due form, and exchanged in the space of five
months, or sooner if it can be done, to be computed from the day of
the signature.
ARTICLE VIII. Query. Whether the King of Great Britain will admit the
citizens of the United States to cut logwood on the district allotted
to his Majesty by Spain, and on what terms?
* * * * *
DAVID HARTLEY'S SIX PROPOSITIONS FOR A DEFINITIVE TREATY.
June, 1783.
1st. That lands belonging to persons of any description, which have
not actually been sold, shall be restored to the old possessors
without price.
2dly. That an equal and free participation of the different carrying
places, and the navigation of all the lakes and rivers of that
country, through which the water line of division passes between
Canada and the United States, shall be enjoyed fully and
uninterruptedly by both parties.
3dly. That in any such places, within the boundaries assigned
generally to the American States, as are adjoining to the water line
of division, and which are not specifically under the dominion of any
one State, all persons at present resident, or having possessions or
occupations as merchants, or otherwise, may remain in peaceable
enjoyment of all civil rights, and in pursuit of their respective
occupations.
4thly. That in any such places adjoining to the water line of
division, as may be under the specific dominion of any particular
State, all persons at present resident, or having possessions or
occupations as merchants, or otherwise, may remain in the peaceable
enjoyment of all civil rights, and in pursuit of their occupations,
until they shall receive notice of removal from the State to which
any such place may appertain; and, upon any such notice of removal, a
term of three years shall be allowed for selling, or withdrawing their
valuable effects, and for settling their affairs.
5thly. That his Britannic Majesty's forces, not exceeding ---- in
number, may continue in the posts now occupied by them contiguous to
the water line, for the term of three years, for the purpose of
securing the lives, property, and peace of any persons settled in that
country, against the invasion or ravages of the neighboring Indian
nations, who may be suspected of retaining resentments, in consequence
of the late war.
6thly. That no tax or impost whatsoever, shall be laid on any articles
of commerce passing or repassing through the country, but that the
trade may be left entirely open, for the benefit of all parties
interested therein.
* * * * *
THE COMMISSIONERS' ANSWERS TO MR HARTLEY'S SIX PROPOSITIONS.
To the 1st. This matter has been already regulated in the 5th and 6th
Articles of the Provisional Treaty, to the utmost extent of our
powers. The rest must be left to the several States.
2dly. All the lakes, rivers, and waters, divided by the boundary line,
or lines, between the United States and his Britannic Majesty's
territories, shall be freely used and navigated by both parties,
during the whole extent of such divisions. Regulations concerning
roads, carrying places, and any land communications between said
waters, whether within the line of the United States or that of his
Majesty, together with the navigation of all waters and rivers in
America, belonging to either party, may be made in a negotiation of a
treaty of commerce.
3dly. That in all places belonging to the United States, in the
country adjoining to the water line of division, and which, during the
war, were in his Majesty's possession, all persons at present
resident, or having possessions or occupations as merchants, or
otherwise, may remain in the peaceable enjoyment of all civil rights,
and in pursuit of their occupations, until they shall receive notice
of removal from Congress, or the State to which any such place may
appertain; and that upon any such notice of removal, a term of two
years shall be allowed for selling, or withdrawing their effects, and
for settling their affairs.
4thly. That his Britannic Majesty's forces, not exceeding ---- in
number, may continue in the posts now occupied by them contiguous to
the water line, until Congress shall give them notice to evacuate the
said posts, and garrisons of their own shall arrive at said posts, for
the purpose of securing the lives, property, and peace of any persons
settled in that country, against the invasion or ravages of the
neighboring Indian nations, who may be suspected of retaining
resentments, in consequence of the late war.
5thly. The consideration of this proposition may be left to the treaty
of commerce.
* * * * *
TO DAVID HARTLEY.
Passy, July 17th, 1783.
Sir,
We have the honor to inform you, that we have just received from
Congress, their ratification in due form, of the Provisional Articles
of the 30th of November, 1782, and we are ready to exchange
ratifications with his Britannic Majesty's Ministers as soon as may
be.
By the same Articles it is stipulated, that his Britannic Majesty
shall, with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction,
or carrying away any negroes, or other property of the American
inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, garrisons, and fleets from the
United States, and from every port, place, and harbor within the same.
But, by intelligence lately received from America, and by the enclosed
copies of letters and conferences between General Washington and Sir
Guy Carleton, it appears that a considerable number of negroes,
belonging to the citizens of the United States, have been carried off
from New York, contrary to the express stipulation contained in the
said Article. We have received from Congress their instructions to
represent this matter to you, and to request that speedy and effectual
measures be taken to render that justice to the parties interested,
which the true intent and meaning of the Article in question plainly
dictates.
We are also instructed to represent to you, that many of the British
debtors in America have, in the course of the war, sustained such
considerable and heavy losses by the operations of the British arms in
that country, that a great number of them have been rendered
incapable of immediately satisfying those debts; we refer it to the
justice and equity of Great Britain, so far to amend the Article on
that subject, as that no execution shall be issued on a judgment to be
obtained in any such case, but after the expiration of three years
from the date of the definitive treaty of peace. Congress also think
it reasonable, that such part of the interest, which may have accrued
on such debts during the war, shall not be payable, because all
intercourse between the two countries had, during that period, become
impracticable, as well as improper. It does not appear just, that
individuals in America should pay for delays in payment, which were
occasioned by the civil and military measures of Great Britain. In our
opinion, the interest of the creditors as well as the debtors,
requires that some tenderness be shown to the latter, and that they
should be allowed a little time to acquire the means of discharging
debts, which, in many instances, exceed the whole amount of their
property.
As it is necessary to ascertain an epocha for the restitutions and
evacuations to be made, we propose, that it be agreed, that his
Britannic Majesty shall cause to be evacuated the posts of New York,
Penobscot, and their dependencies with all other posts and places in
possession of his Majesty's arms within the United States, in the
space of three months after the signature of the definitive treaty, or
sooner, if possible, excepting those posts contiguous to the water
line, mentioned in the 4th proposition, and those shall be evacuated
when Congress shall give the notice therein mentioned.
We do ourselves the honor of making these communications to you, Sir,
that you may transmit them, and the papers accompanying them, to your
Court, and inform us of their answer.
We have the honor to be, &c. &c.
JOHN ADAMS,
B. FRANKLIN,
JOHN JAY.
* * * * *
TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.
Passy, July 18th, 1783.
Sir,
We have had the honor of receiving by Captain Barney your two letters
of the 25th of March and 21st of April, with the papers referred to in
them.
We are happy to find, that the Provisional Articles have been approved
and ratified by Congress, and we regret, that the manner in which that
business was conducted, does not coincide with your ideas of
propriety. We are persuaded, however, that this is principally owing
to your being necessarily unacquainted with a number of circumstances,
known to us, who were on the spot, and which will be particularly
explained to you hereafter, and, we trust, to your satisfaction, and
that of the Congress.
Your doubts respecting the Separate Article, we think, are capable of
being removed; but as a full state of the reasons and circumstances,
which prompted that measure, would be very prolix, we shall content
ourselves with giving you the general outlines.
Mr Oswald was desirous to cover as much of the eastern shores of the
Mississippi with British claims as possible; and, for this purpose,
we were told a great deal about the ancient bounds of Canada,
Louisiana, &c. &c. The British Court, who had, probably, not yet
adopted the idea of relinquishing the Floridas, seemed desirous of
annexing as much territory to them as possible, even up to the mouth
of the Ohio. Mr Oswald adhered strongly to that object, as well to
render the British countries there of sufficient extent to be (as he
expressed it) worth keeping and protecting, as to afford a convenient
retreat to the tories, for whom it would be difficult otherwise to
provide; and, among other arguments, he finally urged his being
willing to yield to our demands to the east, north, and west, as a
further reason for our gratifying him on the point in question. He
also produced the commission of Governor Johnson, extending the bounds
of his government of West Florida, up to the river Yazoo; and
contended for that extent as a matter of right, upon various
principles, which, however, we did not admit, the King not being
authorised, in our opinion to extend or contract the bounds of the
colonies at pleasure.
We were of opinion, that the country in contest was of great value,
both on account of its natural fertility and of its position, it
being, in our opinion, the interest of America to extend as far down
towards the mouth of the Mississippi as we possibly could. We also
thought it advisable to impress Britain with a strong sense of the
importance of the navigation of that river to their future commerce on
the interior waters, from the mouth of the St Lawrence to that of the
Mississippi, and thereby render that Court averse to any stipulations
with Spain to relinquish it. These two objects militated against each
other, because to enhance the value of the navigation, was also to
enhance the value of the countries contiguous to it, and thereby
disincline Britain to the dereliction of them. We thought, therefore,
that the surest way to reconcile and obtain both objects would be by a
composition beneficial to both parties. We therefore proposed, that
Britain should withdraw her pretensions to all the country above the
Yazoo, and that we would cede all below it to her, in case she should
have the Floridas at the end of the war; and, at all events, that she
should have a right to navigate the river throughout its whole extent.
This proposition was accepted, and we agreed to insert the contingent
fact of it in a separate Article, for the express purpose of keeping
it secret for the present. That Article ought not, therefore, to be
considered as a mere matter of favor to Britain, but as the result of
a bargain, in which that Article was a _quid pro quo_.
It was in our opinion, both necessary and justifiable, to keep this
Article secret. The negotiations between Spain, France, and Britain
were then in full vigor, and embarrassed by a variety of clashing
demands. The publication of this Article would have irritated Spain,
and retarded, if not have prevented her coming to an agreement with
Britain.
Had we mentioned it to the French Minister, he must have not only
informed Spain of it, but also been obliged to act a part respecting
it, that would probably have been disagreeable to America; and he
certainly has reason to rejoice that our silence saved him that
delicate and disagreeable task.
This was an Article, in which France had not the smallest interest,
nor is there anything in her treaty with us, that restrains us from
making what bargain we please with Britain about those or any other
lands, without rendering account of such transaction to her or any
other power whatever. The same observation applies with still greater
force to Spain; and neither justice nor honor forbid us to dispose as
we pleased of our own lands without her knowledge or consent. Spain at
that very time extended her pretensions and claims of dominion, not
only over the tract in question but over the vast region lying between
the Floridas and Lake Superior; and this Court was also, at that very
time, soothing and nursing those pretensions by a proposed
conciliatory line for splitting the difference. Suppose, therefore, we
had offered this tract to Spain, in case she retained the Floridas,
should we even have had thanks for it? or would it have abated the
chagrin she experienced from being disappointed in her extravagant and
improper designs on that whole country? We think not.
We perfectly concur with you in sentiment, Sir, that "_honesty is the
best policy_." But, until it be shown that we have trespassed on the
rights of any man, or body of men, you must excuse our thinking that
this remark as applied to our proceedings was unnecessary.
Should any explanations, either with France or Spain become necessary
on this subject, we hope and expect to meet with no embarrassment. We
shall neither amuse them nor perplex ourselves with flimsy excuses,
but tell them plainly, that it was not our duty to give them the
information; we considered ourselves at liberty to withhold it. And
we shall remind the French Minister that he has more reason to be
pleased than displeased with our silence. Since we have assumed a
place in the political system of the world, let us move like a primary
and not like a secondary planet.
We are persuaded, Sir, that your remarks on these subjects resulted
from real opinion and were made with candor and sincerity. The best
men will view objects of this kind in different lights even when
standing on the same ground; and it is not to be wondered at, that we,
who are on the spot and have the whole transaction under our eyes,
should see many parts of it in a stronger point of light, than persons
at a distance, who can only view it through the dull medium of
representation.
It would give us great pain if anything we have written or now write
respecting this Court should be construed to impeach the friendship of
the King and nation for us. We also believe that the Minister is so
far our friend, and is disposed so far to do us good offices, as may
correspond with, and be dictated by his system of policy for promoting
the power, riches, and glory of France. God forbid that we should ever
sacrifice our faith, our gratitude, or our honor, to any
considerations of convenience; and may He also forbid that we should
ever be unmindful of the dignity and independent spirit, which should
always characterize a free and generous people.
We shall immediately propose an Article to be inserted in the
definitive treaty for postponing the payment of British debts for the
time mentioned by Congress.
There are, no doubt, certain ambiguities in our Articles, but it is
not to be wondered at, when it is considered how exceedingly averse
Britain was to any expressions, which explicitly wounded the tories;
and how disinclined we were to use any, that should amount to absolute
stipulations in their favor.
The words for returning the property of _real British subjects_ were
well understood and explained between us, _not_ to mean or comprehend
_American refugees_. Mr Oswald and Mr Fitzherbert know this to have
been the case, and will readily confess and admit it. This mode of
expression was preferred by them, as a more delicate mode of excluding
those refugees, and of making a proper distinction between them and
the subjects of Britain, whose only particular interest in America
consisted in holding lands or property there.
The 6th Article, viz. where it declares, that no _future
confiscations_ shall be made, &c. ought to have fixed the time with
greater accuracy. We think the most fair and true construction is,
that it relates to the date of the cessation of hostilities. That is
the time when peace in fact took place, in consequence of prior
informal, though binding, contracts to terminate the war. We consider
the definitive treaties, as only giving the dress of form to those
contracts, and not as constituting the obligation of them. Had the
cessation of hostilities been the effect of truce, and consequently
nothing more than a temporary suspension of war, another construction
would have been the true one.