The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution Volume V Part 23

"ARTICLE II. All other merchandises, whoever may be the owners, and even although they belong to the subjects of one or another of the belligerent powers, may be freely embarked upon Russian vessels, and shall enjoy on board of them equally with the merchandises of our subjects, the protection of the Russian flag, excepting those, which are contained in the first article, under the name of contraband, as in fact they are declared such in the eleventh article of our Treaty of Commerce with England. By means of this safety of merchandises permitted in neutral vessels, our subjects ought also to have a care not to embark effects which belong to them, upon vessels of nations engaged in the war, to the end to avoid thus all disagreements and disagreeable rencontres.

"ARTICLE III. Every vessel going out of the port of this city, or of any other of our empire, ought to be furnished with sufficient proofs, that she belongs to Russian subjects; to wit, with sea-letters, as is the usage, and with a certificate of the custom-house, in which it may be declared first, with what merchandises she is loaded, and how much; secondly, on the account of whom they have been purchased, and to whom the vessel and the cargo are addressed. For the greater safety, the certificates sent by the custom-house shall be inspected by the Admiralty, or in his default by the magistrate of the place.

"ARTICLE IV. Not only our native subjects shall enjoy these prerogatives, but also strangers who are settled in our dominions, and who bear like them the public burdens; that is to say, during the time that they shall sojourn in our country, since, in no other case can it be permitted them to employ the merchant flag of Russia.

"ARTICLE V. Each Russian vessel, even in case one single owner expedites two or three vessels at a time for the same place, ought to be provided in particular with the doc.u.ments mentioned in the third article, which may serve to justify their property in case that these ships should separate during the voyage, or be obliged to pursue different routes.

"ARTICLE VI. It is forbidden to every Russian vessel to have connoiss.e.m.e.nts, charter parties, or other sea papers double, or doubtful, much less false declarations, inasmuch as these always expose to an inevitable danger. Thus they should give their princ.i.p.al attention, that their doc.u.ments be in good order and prove clearly, as it is said before, the true destination of the vessel, and the nature of her cargo. It is also necessary, that the contract between the owner of the merchandises and the master of the vessel, or the agreement known under the name of charter party, be always on board.

But as it happens very often, that the owner of merchandises, in making his adventure, whether in his own vessel, or whether in a neutral vessel freighted by him, fixes the sale of them solely by speculation, by preference in some port, and in case the price in this port is too low, in some port more distant; in this case they ought not to fail to name and settle the two ports, according to the order of the route and their situation in one single connoiss.e.m.e.nt, and not in two. They ought also to observe the same precautions in regard to the charter parties, to the end, that there may be no difference between them and the connoiss.e.m.e.nts; and in case that any one of our subjects, in contempt of these dispositions, shall allow himself in artifice and duplicity, he may a.s.sure himself, that he shall never enjoy our protection, which is granted only to lawful and innocent commerce, and by no means to illicit and fraudulent traffic.

"ARTICLE VII. Every Russian vessel, which, after having unloaded her cargo in any foreign port, has a design to return into her country, or to proceed further in another foreign place, ought to provide herself in this port and in every other, at which she may stop to trade, with the doc.u.ments required by the usages of the country, to the end, that they may prove at all times the nation to which the ship belongs, the port from which she comes, that to which she is bound, and the merchandises with which she has been loaded anew.

"ARTICLE VIII. Forasmuch as the aforesaid doc.u.ments are indispensably necessary to prove the neutral property of effects, which are found on board the ship, they ought particularly to take care not to throw them into the sea, no more than any other writings or papers, without any exception upon any occasion whatever, especially on the rencontre of any other vessel, inasmuch as by such a step one might expose himself to well founded suspicions, and to disagreeable consequences.

"ARTICLE IX. It is necessary to have a scrupulous attention, that there be not on board of any Russian vessel any merchant, clerk, and never more than one third of the seamen, subjects of the belligerent powers, because by conducting differently such vessel might expose herself to sustain disagreeable disappointments. But as a similar inconvenience may easily happen to those sorts of ships, which in time of war are purchased of the subjects of the belligerent powers, for this reason, from this time, and as long as the present maritime war shall last, the said vessels may not be purchased, unless under condition, that they shall be solely employed in the Baltic, or the Black Sea.

"ARTICLE X. The carriage of all merchandise whatsoever, into places blocked or besieged by sea and by land, is entirely prohibited, in consequence of which, if any of the merchants of this empire, engaged by the hope of gain, shall intermeddle in any such traffic, whatever loss he may sustain, he cannot ever have the right of demanding our protection.

"ARTICLE XI. All our subjects who, by reason of their commerce, find themselves in foreign countries, ought to conform themselves exactly to the civil and mercantile laws, which shall there subsist, as well as to the ordinances of every place where they live, or to which they may send their vessels. Nevertheless, to the end that they may, as much as possible, be instructed in those laws and ordinances, the College of Foreign Affairs will communicate to that of Commerce, all the writings that have relation thereto, that they may be able to give notice of them to the merchants by the means of the public papers.

"ARTICLE XII. Although our intention is, to protect efficaciously and vigorously the navigation and the commerce of our faithful subjects, nevertheless, we intend not by any means to permit that there result from it the least prejudice to one or the other of the belligerent powers, or that individual merchants should profit of it to make unlawful gain. To this effect, we forbid expressly any of our merchants and trading subjects to permit strangers to negotiate, or send ships to sea, under his name. Every person who shall in this respect transgress our will, shall be deprived forever of our imperial protection for his vessels, as well as of the right of fitting them out in future. If our subjects, interested in maritime commerce, follow exactly this ordinance in all its points, they may be a.s.sured of our entire and unlimited protection concerning their affairs in foreign countries, as well as of a zealous and affectionate intervention on the part of the Ministers, Agents, and Consuls, who reside there on our part. To this end, our College of Foreign Affairs will communicate to them in sufficient season the most precise instructions. But those among our subjects who shall depart from these regulations, ought not to expect the least protection on our part, whatever unfortunate accidents and other damages they may sustain, by their voluntary transgression of the orders which they shall have received, and not to depart from the requisite circ.u.mspection recommended to them. The College of Commerce, in notifying this ordinance to the body of Russian merchants trading in our ports, shall at the same time be held to furnish the custom-houses with the necessary instructions relative to this order, as well as to communicate our will to the Governors of Provinces where there are ports, that at the same time they may be observed in all the tribunals which may concern them."

Czarsko-Selole, 19th of May, 1780. The original is thus subscribed by the hand of her Imperial Majesty, Catterine.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS

Paris, July 19th, 1780.

Sir,

There is an article of news from Copenhagen of the 4th of July. "The vessels of war, the Prince Frederick and the Jutland, each of seventy guns, and the frigates, the Pearl and the Alsen, are in the Road. The Admiral's flag will be hoisted on the 6th on board the Just.i.tia, of seventyfour guns, and all the Dutch fleet will consist, this year, of ten ships of the line, from seventyfour to fifty guns, and six frigates, thirtysix to thirty. There has already sailed of this fleet, one ship of sixty guns, for the coast of Guinea; one of fifty is in the north sea; another is in the Road of Elsinore, for a guard ship, and three frigates have sailed for America. Thus the squadron will remain composed of seven ships of the line and three frigates, which are to join the Russian fleet. Yesterday and the day before, arrived in the Road of this city a Russian fleet, consisting of fifteen ships of the line and four frigates, under the command of Admiral Borislow, of Vice Admiral Kruse, and of the commandant, Polibin; and on the 1st of this month, there pa.s.sed before the port of this city, the Swedish ships of war, coming from the Baltic Sea, and making sail toward the Sound."

_Elsinore, 27th of June._ "There has sailed from this port a convoy of eighteen merchant ships, destined for the North Sea, under the convoy of a Swedish ship of the line and a frigate."

There is a paragraph in the Amsterdam Gazette of the 14th, which is worth translating, because these paragraphs oftentimes betray a great deal of politics. It is this; "the conquest of Mobile, made by the Spaniards, the news of which has lately arrived here, appears so much the more important, as it leads infallibly to that of Pensacola, by which the Spaniards may cut off one of the princ.i.p.al avenues of Jamaica, and may, in time, intercept the commerce and the provisions of this Island, from whence they are much annoyed at Mexico by the English, who sufficiently incline to extend themselves when they can, and had made since the peace so great progress in this part of the world, that to stop them, the war was become almost indispensable to Spain." It might have been added, that it was become indispensable to France too; for the English have ever made it a maxim to go to war with France, as she had a fine fleet and a flourishing commerce. Burn, sink, and destroy, were the words with England whenever a formidable navy appeared upon the ocean, belonging to any other nation.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

COUNT DE VERGENNES TO JOHN ADAMS.

Translation.

Versailles, July 20th, 1780.

Sir,

I have received the letter, which you did me the honor to write me on the 13th of this month. I am very sensible of the confidence with which you have communicated your ideas on the present situation of the United States, and the need they have of the immediate a.s.sistance of some ships of the line and some frigates. The Chevalier de Ternay and the Count de Rochambeau, are sent with the express design, which is the subject of your letter. They will concert their operations with Congress and with General Washington. And as the King has given them no precise orders with regard to their return to Europe, but has left them at liberty to act as they shall judge proper for the relief of America, there is every reason to believe, that they will take their station during next winter in North America, if that shall be agreeable to Congress, and that they will employ the ships and troops under their command, according to the plan that shall be settled between them and the American Generals.

You will perceive, Sir, by this detail, that the King is far from abandoning the cause of America, and that his Majesty, without having been solicited by Congress, has taken effectual measures to support the cause of America. I flatter myself, Sir, that these generous proceedings will excite suitable sensations in America, and that they will prevail over the falsehoods, which the common enemy and their wicked adherents propagate there, in order to raise suspicions of France, and to induce the Americans to take resolutions, which will terminate in their slavery and dishonor.

I have the honor to be, &c.

DE VERGENNES.

TO THE COUNT DE VERGENNES.

Paris, July 21st, 1780.

Sir,

I have received the letter you did me the honor to write me yesterday, and am extremely sensible of your Excellency's confidence in communicating to me the destination of the armament under M. de Ternay and the Count de Rochambeau, and the probability that the ships will winter in North America.

I a.s.sure your Excellency, that scarcely any news I ever heard, gave me more satisfaction; and nothing, in my opinion, can afford a more effectual a.s.sistance to America, or make deeper or more grateful impression on the minds of her inhabitants.

I am infinitely mistaken, if the service of the King in the conduct of the war, both in the West Indies and North America, does not derive such essential advantages from this measure, as will demonstrate its wisdom to all the world, as well as to the English and Americans the King's determined benevolence to the American cause.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, July 22d, 1780.

Sir,

The King of England's speech at the prorogation of Parliament, contains nothing remarkable, worth the attention of America, except compliments to the two Houses upon their magnanimity and perseverance in the pursuits of this just and necessary war, which he says, has put it in his power to make such efforts, that he dares hope, with the aid of Divine Providence, to disconcert the violent and unjust designs of his enemies, and induce them to listen to equitable and honorable terms of peace. These efforts have already been followed by success both by sea and land, and the happy and important turn, which affairs have lately taken in North America, makes me conceive the best founded hopes of the return of the affection and loyalty of my subjects of the Colonies, and of their happy reunion with their mother country.

There is one more sentence, which deserves attention. "Exert yourselves to inculcate this important truth, that rebellious insurrections to resist or reform the laws, cannot fail to terminate in the destruction of those who have made the attempt, or by the subversion of our happy and free const.i.tution." Americans will make their own reflections on this speech. It is very certain, that it has not the air nor the spirit of peace.

_Madrid, the 27th of June._ "We expect to learn in a few days, the formation of the combined fleet in the Bay of Cadiz. The following is the state of the Spanish vessels which are now there, ready to go out under the command of Lieutenant General Don Louis de Cordova; La Tres Sainte Trinite, of one hundred and twenty guns; the Foudre and S.

Ferdinand of eighty; the Sainte Isabelle, the Ange Gardien, the Serieux, the Atlas, the St Pierre Apotre, the Orient, the St Raphael, the St Joachim, the St Damase, the St Isidore, the St Eugene, and the St Laurent of seventy; the Mino of fiftysix; the frigates, the Ste Lucie of thirtysix, the Ste Rufine of twentyeight, the Ste Barbe, and the a.s.somption of twentysix; the chebecs, the Majorquais, and the Murcien of thirtysix; the St Sebastian of twentyfour, and the corvette, the Ste Catharine of eighteen. To these vessels must be added the squadron of Ferrol, which entered on the 23d of May in the Bay of Cadiz, under the command of Don Athanas...o...b..randa, and composed of the vessels, the Conception of ninety; the St Charles and the St Vincent of eighty; the Ferme, the Galice, the St Paschal, and the Brilliant of seventy; the Septentrion of sixtyfour; the frigates, El Carmen and the Perpetua of thirtysix; as well as the corvette, the Ste Helene of twentytwo guns; making thus a total of twentyfour ships of the line, six frigates, four chebecs, and two cutters."

_Cadiz, the 24th of June._ "The squadron of M. de Beausset, composed of seven ships of the line, anch.o.r.ed on the 18th in this Bay. His frigates brought in two small ships loaded with corn and flour, and a cutter of twelve guns. The cruise of this squadron has served very much to keep the enemy's cruisers at a distance; and the neutrals not fearing to be disturbed, have come here in great numbers. The 19th, the Protector, commanded by M. D. Achen, arrived here; she fell into the midst of the Quebec fleet; but as she sailed ill and had no frigate, (the Galatea having been separated from her) she was not able to take more than two vessels, the cargoes of which were rich enough, and which she sent into Lisbon."