The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution Volume IV Part 54

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, March 24th, 1780.

Sir,

Mr Burke's bill not being as yet public, we are not yet informed of the items of it. But as it already appears, that it strikes at the Department of Secretary of State for America, and at the Board of Trade, there seems to be little reason to doubt that it goes further, and strikes at the American Board of Commissioners, at all the American Judges of Admiralty, Governors of Provinces, Secretaries, and Custom House Officers of all denominations. At least, if this should not be found to be a part of the bill, there are stronger reasons, if possible, for abolishing this whole system of iniquity, together with all the pensions granted to the refugees from America, than even for taking away the Board of Trade. And from several late paragraphs in the papers, and from Mr Fox's severe observations in the House of Commons upon Governor Hutchinson, calling him in substance the "firebrand that lighted up all the fire between the two countries," it seems pretty clear, that it is in contemplation to take away all these salaries and pensions.

If such a measure should take place, exiled as these persons are from the country, which gave them birth, but which they have most ungratefully endeavored to enslave, they will become melancholy monuments of divine vengeance against such unnatural and impious behavior. Nevertheless, as these persons are numerous, and have some friends in England as well as in America, where they had once much property, there is a probability, I think, that whenever or wherever negotiations for peace may be commenced, they and their estates now almost universally confiscated, will not be forgotten. But much pains and art will be employed to stipulate for them in the treaty, both a restoration of their property, and a right to return as citizens of the States to which they formerly belonged. It is very possible, however, that before the treaty shall be made, or even negotiations commenced, these gentlemen will become so unpopular and odious, that the people of England would be pleased with their sufferings and punishment. But it is most probable, that the Court will not abandon them very easily.

I should, therefore, be very happy to have the explicit instructions of Congress upon this head, whether I am to agree, in any case whatsoever, to an article which shall admit of their return, or the restoration of their forfeited estates. There are sentiments of humanity and forgiveness which plead on one side, there are reasons of state and political motives, among which the danger of admitting such mischievous persons as citizens, is not the least considerable, which argue on the other.

I shall obey the instructions of Congress with the utmost pleasure, or if, for any reasons they choose to leave it at discretion, if I ever should have the opportunity, I shall determine it without listening to any pa.s.sions of my own of compa.s.sion or resentment, according to my best judgment of the public good. There is another point of very great importance, which I am persuaded will be aimed at by the English Ministers, I am sure it will by the people of England, whenever times of peace shall be talked of. For facilitating the return of commerce, they will wish to have it stipulated by the treaty, that the subjects of Great Britain shall have the rights of citizens in America, and the citizens of the United States the rights of subjects in the British dominions. Some of the consequences of such an agreement to them and to us are obvious and very important, but they are so numerous, that it is difficult to determine whether so great a question should be left to my determination. If, however, contrary to my inclinations, it should fall to my lot to decide it without instructions, it shall be decided according to my conscience, and the best lights I have.

I have the honor to be, &c,

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, March 24th, 1780.

Sir,

It has been observed in former letters, that there is scarcely an example of such a series of fortunate incidents as that which happened to Rodney's fleet, and it may be proper to dilate a little upon some of these incidents, to show that the enthusiastic applause, which is given him by the Court, the Lords, the Commons, and the city of London, is no otherwise merited than by the boldness of his enterprise; unless simple good fortune is merit.

It must be allowed, that it was a desperate plan in the Minister to order him out on the design to succor Gibraltar, and it was a desperate resolution in him to undertake it; because he had to expect to meet with the whole Spanish squadron at Cadiz, and that it would follow him, which was in fact the case.

Don Gaston sailed from Brest the 13th of January in search of Admiral Rodney, with twenty Spanish ships of the line, with four French ships of the line, the Glorieux, the Burgundy, the Zodiac, and the Scipio, with the frigate, the Nereis, under the Chef d'Escadre, the Chevalier de Bausset. If the four and twenty ships of the line had joined Don Langara's squadron, there is scarce a possibility of doubt, after the brave defence made by him, with such inferior force, that Rodney's fleet would have been totally ruined, and consequently Gibraltar reduced to extremities. But this was not to happen. The next day after Don Gaston sailed from Brest, he met with a terrible storm, which separated his fleet. Two of his Spanish ships arrived at Cadiz the 31st of January, the Serious and the Atlant, each of seventy guns. The third of February there arrived twelve others. The Rayo, commanded by Don Gaston, and the St Louis, both of eighty guns, the Velasco, the St Francis de Paule, the S. Isabella, the S. Joachim, the St Peter, the St Damase, the Arrogant, and the Warrior, all of seventy, the Mink of fiftysix, and the frigates, the a.s.sumption and the Emerald, with the French division under the Chevalier de Bousset, excepting the Scipio, commanded by the Baron de Durfort, which did not arrive until the 17th of February, after having cruised ten or twelve days off St Vincent, which had been appointed as the place of rendezvous and reunion, in case of separation. The Guardian Angel, of seventy guns, which was also separated from the squadron, did not arrive till several days after Don Gaston at Cadiz, having suffered very much, as well as all the other vessels, in their masts and rigging, by the bad weather, and especially by the violent gale of wind, which they met with on the 1st of February, near the Cape of St Vincent. Of the five remaining Spanish vessels, four went into Ferrol, the St Vincent Ferries, of eighty guns, commanded by Don d'Acre, Lieutenant General; the St Charles, of eighty; the Vengeur, of seventy, and the Septentrion, of sixty; the fifth, named the St Joseph, of seventy, by Don Orsorno, Chef d'Escadre, returned to Brest dismasted. This separation and dispersion of the fleet and of its princ.i.p.al officers exposed Langara, and made Rodney's fortune; and the necessity these vessels were in of reparation, gave liberty to the English fleet to put to sea from Gibraltar and regain the Atlantic Ocean, on the 13th of February, to the number of twentytwo ships of the line, including those of Rodney, Digby, and Ross, and four of the vessels taken from the Spaniards, and three frigates, with twelve merchant ships under their convoy, leaving at Gibraltar, the Edgar, of seventyfour, the Panther, of sixty, which has been there a long time, and the Guipuscoa, of sixtyfour guns, taken from the Spaniards on the 8th of January, with twentyfour merchant vessels under her convoy.

There has been much conversation for several days, concerning a Spanish armament preparing at Cadiz, and letters from Carthagena say, that the regiment of infantry, called the Flankers' regiment, which has been in garrison in that city, has been completed by orders from the Court of Naples, and on the 1st of March, the first battalion marched for Cadiz, and on the 4th of March, the second battalion. It is said that this regiment is to embark with several others, which from different garrisons have arrived at the same place for America, in all parts of which, according to appearances, the English will have enough to do to maintain their ground this ensuing campaign.

In Ireland, on the 22d of February, an a.s.sembly of the gentlemen, clergy, and freeholders of the city of Dublin, resolved unanimously, that the advantages obtained in commerce are neither complete nor solidly established; that the sense of the nation is, that the Irish Parliament alone, in concert with the sovereign, can give to the laws already obtained of the Prince their obligatory force; that what has been done ought not to be considered as anything more than a great beginning; and that the general hope was, that the end of the session would be as advantageous to the political const.i.tution of the country, as the commencement of it had been favorable to commerce; that the fathers of the country are particularly requested and instructed to obtain a declaratory act, which may preserve forever the free and independent state of Ireland, and by introducing some necessary modifications of Poyning's law, to prevent in future all controversy between the King and the Parliament of Ireland, concerning fundamental laws.

These instructions were given by the sheriffs to the representatives of Dublin, who answered that they were convinced, that no foreign legislative power whatsoever had any right, or ought to arrogate to itself any authority over their nation, and without injuring the legal and known authority, which his Majesty has a right to exercise over this kingdom in a manner conformable to the laws, they would neglect nothing to obtain an act, which should take away every unjust restriction, and which should tend to a.s.sure the const.i.tutional independence of the kingdom. This is said to be the general sense of the whole kingdom, so that it may truly be said, that the British empire is crumbling to pieces like a rope of sand, insomuch, that if the war should continue, I shall not be at all surprised if even Scotland should become discontented with the Union, and the disputes between the Ministry and the East India Company should terminate in the independence of Asia; nay, it would be no miracle if the West India Islands should request the protection of France and Spain, or the United States. I will take the first opportunity to write upon the subject of Lord North's loan, which, together with the other ways and means, amounts to the amazing sum of 20,674,000 sterling.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, March 26th, 1780.

Sir,

On the 2d day of March the news of the royal consent to the bill, which the British Parliament has pa.s.sed for granting to Ireland a free commerce with the American Colonies, the West Indies, and the Coast of Africa, was celebrated in Dublin by public rejoicings; the guns of the Lark were discharged, the garrison made a _feu de joie_, the castle and other public buildings were illuminated, as well as some private houses. The government were probably encouraged to these demonstrations of joy, by the motion, which was made the day before, that is, the 1st of March, by Mr Dennis Doly in the House of Commons, for an address of thanks to the King, to which both parties unanimously consented, not excepting the princ.i.p.al patriots, such as Mr Ogle, Mr Hussy Burgh, and Mr Grattan.

The address contains an a.s.surance of their attachment to the royal person and government of the King; a profession of grat.i.tude for his Majesty's uninterrupted attention to the interest of Ireland, and for the happy alteration, which the wisdom of his councils, and the liberal sentiments of the British Parliament have effected in the situation of their affairs. They express a double satisfaction for the benefits, which have been granted them, because they appear to them to be an efficacious remedy for the poverty of that country, and because they furnish an unquestionable proof of that fraternal affection, which they think they have a right to expect from Great Britain, and which they will constantly endeavor to cultivate and augment to the most perfect degree of mutual confidence. They profess the sincerest pleasure in finding that the ties, which have ever united the two kingdoms, have been bound faster than ever, by the conduct of their fellow subjects, and they a.s.sure his Majesty, that on their part, they will never fail to make the greatest efforts for the maintenance of that close connexion between the two kingdoms, which they firmly believe to be inseparable from their happiness and prosperity.

The next day the House of Peers, even at the motion of the Duke of Leinster, followed the example of the House of Commons. Their address is in substance the same, with this addition, that the benefits received afford a remedy proportioned to their distress, and that they will discountenance with all their power all attempts, that deluded men might make to excite ill founded apprehensions in the people, and to turn their attention to the commerce, which has been granted them in a manner so extensive.

To these additions, however, there was an opposition, and finally a protest, signed by Lord Carrisford, the Earls of Charlemont and Arran, and the Viscounts Powerscourt and Mountmorris, and by the proxies of the Earl Moira, and the Lords Eyre and Irnham.

The Duke of Leinster, however, has brought upon his reputation by this motion suspicions all over Europe, that he has been gained by the King, which a little time and his future conduct will either dissipate or confirm.

The next day Parliament adjourned to the 11th of April. Congress will be able to put a just interpretation upon these addresses, by the account I gave in my last, of the instructions of the city of Dublin to their representatives, and their answer, as well as by those of the county of Dublin, which remain to be communicated. On the 7th of March, there was held at Kilmainham, an a.s.sembly of the freeholders of the county of Dublin, when the following instructions to their representatives were agreed on.

"We, your const.i.tuents, desiring to acknowledge as we ought, the advantages our commerce will derive from the particular attention, which his Majesty has given it, from the integrity of our Parliament, the firmness of our countrymen, and the justice, which the English nation begins to render us, we declare to you, that what follows is the princ.i.p.al cause of our joy upon this occasion. It appears to us, that the desire of monopolising commerce was the only motive, which could make England imagine that she had a right to usurp a legitimate authority over this kingdom, and from the moment when she renounced this monopoly, she has taken away the princ.i.p.al obstacle, which opposed our liberty, and consequently the British nation will not continue to itself an arbitrary power, from which she can derive nothing but reducing this kingdom to slavery. We desire to know, moreover, whether the united efforts of the Parliament and people of Ireland ought to confine themselves, so as to leave this island in a state of dependence and submission to laws, to which the nation has never consented, to laws dictated by a Parliament, in which she has no representatives? Let it not be said, that this power attributed to the English Parliament is chimerical. We may see the proofs of it even in the repeal of several of the acts and in this, that several persons declare, however falsely, that this power is founded upon law. Having an equal right to political liberty and to commerce, but deprived of both; and nevertheless content to be restored to the enjoyment of a free commerce alone; will it not appear, that we absolutely give up the former? This idea would be absurd. It is then our duty to declare to the universe, that we are of right a free nation, not to be subjected to any laws, but such as are made by the King and Parliament of Ireland.

"Desirous of nothing so much as to live always in good intelligence with the British nation, on account of the union of the two Crowns, our instructions are, that you shall make the greatest efforts to obtain an act, which shall establish forever the independence of the legislative power of Ireland. We wish, moreover, that you would endeavor to qualify Poyning's law, by taking away from the privy council the legislative power. In accomplishing these important objects, you will acquire honor to yourselves, and give satisfaction to the nation.

"It is not to be doubted, that you will also fall upon some plan of economy, by making savings, which are become necessary to increase the revenue of the Crown, and improve the commerce of the nation."

It seems now very plain, that the Irish nation aspires to an independence of Great Britain the most unlimited, and acknowledges no other connexion with her but that of affection and a subjection to the same King. The troops already raised by a.s.sociations amount to between sixty and seventy thousand men, which are to be forthwith augmented by ten thousand more, who are to be formed of countrymen; each officer is to furnish four, who will be clothed and paid out of the funds, that each regiment will establish for this purpose. The princ.i.p.al objects of these armed a.s.sociations are said to be, a free and unlimited commerce to all parts of the world, except only the East Indies. The repeal of Poyning's law, pa.s.sed under Henry the Seventh, and another under George the First, which restrains the legislative authority of the Irish Parliament, with an express clause, that the Parliament of Ireland ought, and shall be forever and wholly exempt from all kind of control and dependence of the British Parliament, in all cases whatsoever. That students shall no longer be obliged to go to the Temple in London, and other seminaries in England to study law. But, in future, they shall study in the University of Dublin, under proper professors, and shall be admitted to the bar in Ireland by the Lord Chancellor and the other judges, after a proper examination; the judges to be natives, except the Chancellor; the bishops also to be natives.

In the meantime, the slightest circ.u.mstances may blow up the flames of war between the two kingdoms, which would have been done some weeks ago, if the regular officers of the King's troops had not given way to the Dublin volunteers.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, March 29th, 1780.

Sir,

I think it my duty to lay before Congress what may occur in Holland, relative to the present war, at least until the arrival of Mr Laurens, whose presence is much desired there. Many appearances make it probable, that the grasping and vindictive temper of the English will compel the Republic into the war. If they do take a part, it is very certain it will be against England. As plunder and revenge are the present ruling pa.s.sions of the English, it is probable, that a war with Holland is rather wished for than otherwise, because the Ministry and their princ.i.p.al supporters seem to have no idea, that it is possible to make things worse, and all the plunder they can get will be so much clear gain. The Dutch are so much alarmed and aroused, that it is very certain the Prince finds it necessary to give out, that he has been deceived by the English, that he has changed his sentiments, and that he will promote with all his influence unlimited convoys. It is certain, that they are fitting their men-of-war with a great deal of activity, and it is confidently affirmed, that they have made a treaty with Russia and Sweden, who are to make a common cause. The States of the Province of Friesland have come to a resolution, that it was certain Byland was not the aggressor, but that Fielding had not hesitated to make use of force to visit the Dutch ships under convoy, to stop those that were loaded with hemp, and to insult the flag of the Republic. That this proceeding shows, that the complaisance hitherto shown to England, in depriving the ships loaded with masts and ship timber of the protection of the State, in leaving them to sail alone and without convoy, has had no effects, and consequently the States judge, that a similar condescension ought no longer to take place, but, on the contrary, all merchandise whatsoever, which the treaties do not expressly declare to be contraband, ought, without the least difficulty, to be admitted under convoy, and enjoy the protection of the State, and to this effect, His Most Serene Highness ought to be requested to give orders to the commanders of the men of war, and of the squadron of the Republic, to protect, as heretofore, all merchandise.

This resolution was taken the 29th day of February, and laid before the States-General, who, after debating upon it, determined to require the deputies of the other Provinces to obtain, as soon as possible, the decision of their Provinces upon the same subject. These two Provinces, Holland and Friesland, have already decided for unlimited convoys.

Sir Joseph Yorke, on the 21st of March instant, laid before their High Mightinesses another Memorial, insisting on the aid which he had demanded before, upon condition, in case of refusal, that his master would, after three months consider all treaties between the two countries as null, and in which he contends, that the protection afforded to Captain Jones, whom he calls a pirate, in the Texel and in Amsterdam, was a violation of the treaties.

In order more clearly to comprehend the dispute between Great Britain and the States-General, it may not be amiss to observe, that by the marine treaty between the two powers, concluded at the Hague in 1667, all the subjects and inhabitants of the United Provinces may, with all safety and freedom, sail and traffic in all the kingdoms, countries, and estates, which are, or shall be in peace, amity, or neutrality with the States-General, without any hinderance or molestation from the ships of war, gallies, frigates, barques, or other vessels belonging to the King of Great Britain, or any of his subjects, upon occasion or account of any war, which may hereafter happen between the King of Great Britain and the above said kingdoms, countries, and estates, or any of them, which are, or shall be, in peace, amity, or neutrality with the States-General; and this freedom of navigation and commerce shall extend to all sorts of merchandise, excepting contraband goods. That this term of contraband goods, is to be understood to comprehend all sorts of fire arms, their appurtenances, and all other utensils of war called in French, "_servans a l'usage de la guerre_," and that under this head of contraband goods, these following shall not be comprehended; corn, wheat, or other grain, pulse, oils, wine, salt, or generally anything that belongs to the nourishment or sustenance of life, but they shall remain free, as likewise all other merchandise and commodities not comprehended in the foregoing article, and the transportation of them shall be permitted even into places at enmity with Great Britain, except such places are besieged, blocked up, or invested. Masts, yards, ship timber, and hemp, the articles now in dispute, are not contraband by this treaty, or by the law of nations. Yet Great Britain, in the hours of her insolence and madness, which are not yet at an end, makes no scruple to seize, condemn, and confiscate them. She pretends, that as the Dutch refuse to her the aid she demands by treaty, she has a right to seize upon masts, timber, and hemp, which are not prohibited by treaty. Not to enter into the inquiry, whether the present case is such, as by the treaties obliges the Dutch to furnish her aid, but admitting for argument's sake it is so, yet the consequences will not follow. It would only follow, that Great Britain was absolved from the obligation of the treaty, not by any means that she is discharged from the obligations of the law of nations.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.