The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution
Chapter 87 : Pa.s.sy, March 9th, 1782.Sir, I have just received the honor of yours dated January the

Pa.s.sy, March 9th, 1782.

Sir,

I have just received the honor of yours dated January the 7th. Your communications of the sentiments of Congress, with regard to many points that may come under consideration in a treaty of peace, give me great pleasure, and the more, as they agree so perfectly with my own opinions, and furnish me with additional arguments in their support. I shall be more particular on this subject in my next, for having notice from Captain Barry last night, that he will not go to Brest, as I expected, to take in some of our goods, but will sail immediately on the return of the post, which sets out today, I am obliged to be short.

You will see in the enclosed newspapers the full debate in the House of Commons, on the subject of declining the war with North America. By private advices I learn, that the whole opposition, now become the majority, went up in a body with the address to the King, who answered that he would pay a due regard to the advice of his faithful Commons, and employ his forces with more vigor against the ancient enemies of the nation, or to that purpose; and that orders were immediately given for taking up a great number of large transports, among which are many old India s.h.i.+ps, whence it is conjectured, that they intend some great effort in the West Indies, and perhaps mean to carry off their troops and stores from New York and Charleston. I hope, however, that we shall not, in expectation of this, relax in our preparations for the approaching campaign. I will procure the books you write for, and send them as soon as possible.

Present my duty to the Congress, and believe me to be, with sincere esteem, &c.

B. FRANKLIN.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON TO B. FRANKLIN.

Philadelphia, March 9th, 1782.

Dear Sir,

The enclosed letter from the Superintendent of Finance was written in consequence of the resolutions of which I sent you a copy in my last.

I then detailed so fully on the subject, that I can give you no further information on that head, than is contained in the enclosed, which, as I was just going out of town, I have requested Mr Morris to put in his cypher.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

DAVID HARTLEY TO B. FRANKLIN.

London, March 11th, 1782.

My Dear Friend,

Mr Digges, who will deliver this to you, informs me, that having been applied to for the purpose of communicating with Mr Adams, on the subject of his commission for treating of peace, he is now setting out for Amsterdam, and that he intends afterwards to go to Paris to wait upon you. I understand the occasion to have arisen, by some mention having been made in Parliament by General Conway, of persons not far off having authority to treat of peace, which was supposed to allude to Mr Adams, and some friends of his in London. The Ministry were therefore induced to make some inquiries themselves. This is what I am informed of the matter.

When the proposal was made to Mr Digges, he consulted me, I believe from motives of caution, that he might know what ground he had to stand upon; but not in the least apprized that I had been in any degree in course of corresponding with you on the subject of negotiation. As I had informed the Ministry from you, that other persons besides yourself were invested with powers of treating, I have nothing to say against their consulting the several respective parties. That is their own concern. I shall at all times content myself with observing the duties of my own conduct, attending to all circ.u.mstances with circ.u.mspection, and then leaving the conduct of others to their own reasons. I presume that Ministry have only done what others would have done in their situation, to procure the most ample information that the case will admit. I rest contented to act in my own sphere, and if my exertions can be applied to any public good, I shall always be ready to take my part with sincerity and zeal.

I am, my dear friend, your ever affectionate,

D. HARTLEY.

DAVID HARTLEY TO B. FRANKLIN.

London, March 12th, 1782.

My Dear Friend,

Enclosed with this I transmit to you the public Parliamentary proceedings respecting the American war. If you will compare these proceedings with some others in several of the counties of this kingdom about two years ago, you will at once see the reason why many persons, who from principles of general and enlarged philanthropy do most certainly wish universal peace to mankind, yet seem restrained in their mode of endeavoring to obtain that object. We must accommodate our endeavors to practicabilities, in the strong hope, that if the work of peace was once begun, it would soon become general. Parliament having declared their sentiments by their public proceedings; a general bill will soon pa.s.s to enable administration to treat with America, and to conclude.

As to the sincerity of the Ministry, that will be judged of by their conduct in any treaty. The first object is to procure a meeting of qualified and authorised persons. You have told me that four persons are empowered by a special commission to treat of peace. Are we to understand that each separately has power to conclude, or in what manner? The four persons whom you have mentioned are in four different parts of the world, viz. three of them are in hostile States, and the fourth under circ.u.mstances very peculiar for a negotiator. When I told Mr Laurens that his name was in the commission, I found him entirely ignorant of every circ.u.mstance relating to it. I understand that the Ministry will be ready to proceed towards opening a negotiation as soon as the bill shall pa.s.s, and therefore it is necessary to consult time, and place, and manner, and persons, on each side. The negotiation itself will speak the rest.

I have been informed, that some gentlemen in this country (not in administration) have lately entered into a correspondence with Mr Adams, relating to his commission of treating for peace, and that then previous inquiries having been spoken of in public, the Ministry have been induced to make some inquiry themselves from Mr Adams on that subject. In whatever way a fair treaty may be opened, by whomsoever or with whomsoever, I shall heartily wish good success to it for the common good and peace of mankind. I know these to be your sentiments, and I am confident that they will ever remain so, and hope that you will believe the same of me.

I am ever your most affectionate,

D. HARTLEY.

DAVID HARTLEY TO B. FRANKLIN.

London, March 21st, 1782.

My Dear Friend,

You will have heard before this can reach you, that Lord North declared yesterday in the House of Commons, that his Majesty intended to change his Ministers. The House is adjourned for a few days to give time for the formation of a new Ministry. Upon this occasion, therefore, I must apply to you, to know whether you would wish me to transfer the late negotiation to the successors of the late Ministry; in these terms; (_vide_ yours to me of January 15th, 1782,) viz. "that you are empowered by a special commission to treat of peace, whenever a negotiation for that purpose shall be opened. That it must be always understood, that it is to be in conjunction with your allies, conformable to the solemn treaties made with them. That the formal acknowledgment of the independence of America is not made necessary."

And may I add, that upon these terms you are disposed to enter into a negotiation. It is not known who will succeed the late Ministry, but from the circ.u.mstances which preceded its dissolution, we are to hope that they will be disposed to enter into a negotiation of peace, upon fair and honorable terms. I have no doubt that there were some persons in the late Ministry of that disposition.

I told you in my last letters to you, of the 11th and 12th instant, that I had received information, whilst I was in the course of correspondence with the Ministry myself, on the subject of peace, that some part of the Ministry were transmitting some communications or inquiries upon that subject with Mr Adams, unknown to me. I had informed the Ministry from you, of the names of the four persons empowered to treat. I saw the Minister upon the occasion. (I should now call him the late Minister.) I took the liberty of giving him my opinion upon the matter itself. So far as it related personally to me, I expressed myself fully to him, that there was no occasion that such a step should have been taken unknown to me, for that I was very free to confess, that if they thought my partiality towards peace was so strong, that they could drive a better bargain through another channel, I could not have any right of exclusion upon them. I relate this to you, because I would wish to have you make a corresponding application to your own case. If you should think _that my strong desire for peace_, although _most laudable and virtuous in itself, should mislead me_, and that my being as you may suppose misled, may be of any prejudice to the cause committed to your trust, I desire by no means to embarra.s.s your free conduct by any considerations of private or personal regard to myself. Having said thus much, I will now add, that I am not unambitious of the office of a peace maker; that I flatter myself the very page which I am now writing will bear full testimony from both sides, of the impartiality of my conduct. And I will add once more, what I often said and repeated to each side, viz. that no fallacy or deception, knowing, or suspecting it to be such, shall ever pa.s.s through my hands.

Believe me, I sympathise most cordially and sincerely with you in every anxiety of yours for peace. I hope things are tending (although not without rubs) yet in the main, to that end--soon! as soon as the course of human life may be expected to operate on the great scale and course of national events, or rather in the creation and establishment of a new world. I am sometimes tempted to think myself in patient expectation the elder sage of the two; I say the elder, not the better.

Yours, &c.

D. HARTLEY.

T. DIGGES TO B. FRANKLIN.

Amsterdam, March 22d, 1782.

Sir,

I left England a few days back, and until my conversation and some consultations with Mr Adams, on a matter which will be mentioned to you by him, and more particularly explained in this letter, my determination was to have seen you, as well on that business as on a matter of much consequence to my private reputation. I feel the disadvantages under which I labor, when writing to you on a matter, which cannot be explained or cleared up but by personal conversation.

I do not give up my intended purpose of personally speaking to you; but it being found better and more convenient to my purpose to return immediately hence to England, and from thence to Paris, in preference to going first to Paris, it must be unavoidably delayed for some days.

It would take up more than the length of a letter to explain the whole opening and progression of a matter I am here upon, which was and is meant to be jointly communicated to you with Mr Adams; I will therefore take the liberty to give you an abbreviation of it in as few words as I can.

About a fortnight ago a direct requisition from the Ministry, through Lord Beauchamp, was made to Mr R. Penn, to know if he could ascertain _that any person or persons in Europe were commissioned by Congress to treat for peace, whether they were_ now _willing to avail themselves of such commission, and of the present sincere disposition in the Ministry to treat, and whether they would receive an appointed Commissioner to speak for a truce, and mention a place for the meeting, &c._

Mr Penn's referring Lord Beauchamp to me, as knowing the nature of Mr Adams's former commission, was the sole cause of my being privy to, or a party, in the matter. I had various meetings with Lord Beauchamp in company with Mr Penn on the subject; the particular memorandums of which, and Lord Beauchamp's statement of what the Ministry wanted to obtain, together with every other circ.u.mstance relative to the matter, I regularly consulted Mr Laurens and Mr D. Hartley upon; and the result was, my taking the journey hither, and to Paris, in order to put the questions (as they are before stated from Lord B. to Mr Penn) and to bring an answer thereto. I am well convinced, by Lord Beauchamp's pledge of his personal honor, as well as from Mr Hartley's telling me he knew the matter to come directly from Lord North, (for he visited him more than once to ascertain the fact) that it is a serious and sincere requisition from the Ministry, and that they will immediately take steps to open a treaty, provided I go back with a.s.surances, that there is a power vested in Americans in Europe to treat and conclude, and that they are willing to avail themselves of such power when properly applied to.

I have stated the whole transaction to Mr Adams, read every memorandum I had made, informed him of every circ.u.mstance I knew, and when I put the questions (as they are before stated from Lord Beauchamp to Mr Penn) he replied, "that there were certainly Commissioners in Europe, of which body he was one, who had powers to treat and conclude upon peace; that he believed them willing to enter into such a treaty, provided a proper offer was made; but that no questions now, or to be made in future, could be answered by him, without previously consulting his colleagues, and afterwards acquainting the Ministers of the belligerent powers thereof." Mr Adams recommended that any future questions might be made directly to you, for that the present, as well as any subsequent propositions, would be immediately communicated to you and to M. de Vergennes.