The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution Volume V Part 34

I must, therefore, entreat Congress to make no more drafts upon Holland, until they hear from me that their bills can be accepted, of which, at present, I have no hopes.

People of the first character have been, and are still constantly advising, that Congress should send a Minister Plenipotentiary here, and insist upon it that this would promote a loan. It is possible it may; but I can see no certainly that it will. Sending a few cargoes of produce, would do something.

The Dutch are now felicitating themselves upon the depth and the felicity of their politics. They have joined the neutrality, and have disavowed Amsterdam, and this has appeased the wrath of the English, the appearance of which, in Sir Joseph Yorke's Memorial, terrified them more than I ever saw any part of America intimidated in the worst crisis of her affairs. The late news we have of advantages gained by our arms in several skirmishes in Carolina, contributes a little to allay the panic. But all in Europe depends upon our success.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Amsterdam, December 18th, 1780.

Sir,

War is to a Dutchman the greatest of evils. Sir Joseph Yorke is so sensible of this, that he keeps alive a continual fear of it, by memorials after memorials, each more affronting to any sovereignty of delicate notions of dignity than the former. By this means he keeps up the panic, and while this panic continues, I shall certainly have no success at all. No man dares engage for me; very few dare see me.

On Tuesday last, the 12th of December, the British Amba.s.sador had a conference with the President of the States-General, and upon that occasion presented to their High Mightinesses the following Memorial.

"High and Mighty Lords,

"The uniform conduct of the King towards the Republic, the friendship which has so long subsisted between the two nations, the right of sovereigns, and the faith of engagements the most solemn, will, without doubt, determine the answer of your High Mightinesses to the Memorial, which the subscriber presented some time ago, by the express order of his Court. It would be to mistake the wisdom and the justice of your High Mightinesses to suppose, that you could balance one moment to give the satisfaction demanded by his Majesty. As the resolutions of your High Mightinesses, of the 27th of November, were the result of a deliberation, which regarded only the interior of your government, and it was not then in question to answer the said Memorial, the only remark which we shall make upon those resolutions is, that the principles which dictated them, prove evidently the justice of the demand made by the King. In deliberating upon this Memorial, to which the subscriber hereby requires, in the name of his Court, an answer immediate and satisfactory in all respects, your High Mightinesses will recollect, without doubt, that the affair is of the last importance; that the question is concerning a complaint made by an offended sovereign; that the offence, of which he demands an exemplary punishment and complete satisfaction, is a violation of the Batavian const.i.tution, whereof the King is the warranty, an infraction of the public faith, an outrage against the dignity of his Crown. The King has never imagined that your High Mightinesses would have approved of a treaty with his rebel subjects. This would have been on your part a commencement of hostilities, and a declaration of war. But the offence has been committed by the magistrates of a city, which makes a considerable part of the State, and it is the duty of the sovereign power to punish and repair it. His Majesty, by the complaints made by his Amba.s.sador, has put the punishment and the reparation into the hands of your High Mightinesses, and it will not be but in the last extremity, that is to say, in the case of a denial of justice on your part, or of silence, which must be interpreted as a refusal, that the King will take this charge upon himself.

"Done at the Hague, the 12th of December, 1780."

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Amsterdam, December 21st, 1780.

Sir,

The sentiments and affections of a people may be learned from many little circ.u.mstances, which few people attend to. The poets and orators are generally considered as the surest repositories of popular ideas, both in ancient and modern nations. The clergy may be cla.s.sed among the latter, and it is very certain, that most public preachers accommodate both their sermons and their prayers, in some degree, to the general taste of their hearers, and avoid everything which will unnecessarily give them offence.

At Rotterdam, there are several English churches. The Presbyterian church, which would be the least likely, one should think, to be bigotted by England, I attended. The parson in his prayer, after pet.i.tioning heaven for the States of Holland and West Friesland, the States-General and Council of State, and for the Prince of Orange, their hereditary Stadtholder, and Governor, &c. added a pet.i.tion for England, for the King, Queen, and royal family, for their health, long life, and prosperity, and added, that he might triumph over all his enemies in the four quarters of the world.

At Amsterdam, I have attended both the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches, and heard similar supplications to heaven in both. At Utrecht, I attended the Presbyterian church, and there heard a prayer for the English, with much more fervor and in greater detail. The parson was quite transported with his zeal, and prayed that the rebellion, which has so long prevailed, might be suppressed, and hide its head in shame. At Leyden there is another English church. The parson, I am told, is a tory, but prudently omits such kind of prayers.

This is quite a work of supererogation in the reverend zealots, and is, therefore, a stronger proof that such sentiments are popular. The English, who are very numerous in all these cities, are universally in favor of the British Ministry. But there are so many Dutch families who worship in these churches, that the parsons would not give them offence, if such prayers were offensive. This is the more remarkable, as the religion of North America is much more like that of this Republic, than like that of England. But such prayers recommend the parson to the Prince of Orange, and to the English party, and no other party or person has influence or courage enough to take offence at them.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Amsterdam, December 25th, 1780.

Sir,

It is very difficult to discover with certainty the secret spring, which actuates the Courts of Europe; but whatever I can find, with any degree of probability, I shall transmit to Congress at one time or another.

The Prince of Orange is himself of the royal family of England; his mother was a daughter of King George the Second, and this relation is no doubt one among the several motives, which attach the Stadtholder to England. His Princess is a niece of the King of Prussia, and it is believed is not perfectly agreed with His Most Serene Highness, in his enthusiasm for the English Court. The King of Prussia has a great esteem and affection for his niece, with whom he frequently corresponds. In some of his letters he is supposed to have expressed his sentiments freely upon the Prince's conduct, intimating, that his Highness would take too much upon himself, and make himself too responsible, if he persevered in a resolute opposition to the armed neutrality. The Empress of Russia, who possesses a masterly understanding, and a decided inclination for America, is thought too, to have expressed some uneasiness at the Prince's political system.

The King of Sweden, who was lately at the Hague, is reported to have had free conversation with the Prince upon the same subject. All these intimations together, are believed to have made His Most Serene Highness hesitate a little, and consider whether he was not acting too dangerous a part, in exerting all his influence in the Republic, to induce it to take a part in opposition to the general sense and inclination of the people, and to all the maritime powers of Europe.

The English Court is undoubtedly informed of all this. They dread the accession of the Dutch to the armed neutrality, more than all the other branches of that confederation, because of the rivalry in commerce, and because the Dutch will a.s.sist the Royal Marines of France and Spain, more than all the others. The present conduct of the English indicates a design to go to war with the Dutch, on pretence of an insult to their Crown, committed two years ago, by a treaty with America, in hopes, that they will not be supported in this quarrel by the confederated neutral powers. But they will be mistaken. The artifice is too gross. The confederated powers will easily see, that the real cause of offence is the accession to the armed neutrality, and the conduct of Amsterdam, in projecting a treaty with America, only a pretence.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Amsterdam, December 25th, 1780.

Sir,

The dispute between Great Britain and the United Provinces is now wrought up to a crisis. Things must take a new turn in the course of a few days, but whether they will end in a war, or in the retraction of one party or the other, time alone can determine.

I have before transmitted to Congress the two Memorials of Sir Joseph Yorke, against M. Van Berckel, and the Burgomasters of Amsterdam. The language of both is conformable to that domineering spirit, which has actuated the Councils of St James, from the beginning of this reign, and they have committed the honor and dignity of the King, and engaged the pride of the nation so far, that there is no room left for a retreat, without the most humiliating mortification. On the other hand, there is authentic information, that the States proceeding in their usual forms, have determined to refer the conduct of Amsterdam to a committee of lawyers, who are to consider and report, whether the Burgomasters have done anything, which they had not by law and the Const.i.tution authority to do. It is universally known and agreed, that the report must and will be in favor of the Burgomasters. This report will be accepted and confirmed by the States, and transmitted to all the neutral Courts, in order to show them, that neither the Republic in general nor the city of Amsterdam in particular, have done anything against the spirit of the armed neutrality. The States have also determined to make an answer to the British Amba.s.sador's Memorials, and to demand satisfaction of the King his master, for the indignity offered to their sovereignty, in those memorials. In this resolution, the States have been perfectly unanimous, the Body of n.o.bles, for the first time, having agreed with the Generality. The question then is, which power will recede. I am confidently a.s.sured, that the States will not; and indeed if they should, they may as well submit to the King, and surrender their independence at once. I am not, however, very clear what they will do. I doubt whether they have firmness to look a war in the face. Will the English recede, if the Dutch do not?

If they should, it would be contrary to the maxims, which have invariably governed them during this reign. It will humble the insolent overbearing pride of the nation; it will expose the Ministry to the scoffs and scorn of opposition; it will elevate the courage of the Dutch, the neutral powers, and the House of Bourbon, not to mention the great effect it will have in America, upon the whigs and tories, objects which the British Court never loses sight of.

This Republic is certainly, and has been for several weeks, in a very violent struggle. It has every symptom of an agony, that usually precedes a great revolution. The streets of the city swarm with libels of party against party. Some masterly pamphlets have been written in favor of the Burgomasters. Thousands of extravagant and incredible reports are made and propagated. Many new songs appear among the populace, one particularly adapted for the amus.e.m.e.nt of the sailors, and calculated to inspire them with proper sentiments of resentment against the English. A woman, who sung it in the streets, the day before yesterday, sold six hundred of them in an hour, and in one spot. These are symptoms of war. But it is not easy to conquer the national prejudices of a hundred years' standing, nor to avoid the influence of the Stadtholder, which is much more formidable. In this fermentation, the people can think of nothing else, and I need not add, that I have no chance of getting a ducat of money, but I think Congress will see the necessity of having here in these critical times more ample powers.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Amsterdam, December 25th, 1780.

Sir,

Affairs are still in suspense. This day being Christmas, and yesterday a Sunday, there was no public Exchange held on either. But business, and especially stockjobbing, goes on without ceasing, being done at the coffee-houses on Sundays, and holy-days, when it cannot be held upon 'Change.