The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution Volume III Part 14

I am, &c.

W. ALEXANDER.

Paris, March 19th, 1780.

I do hereby certify whom it may concern, that I was with Mr Pultney and Dr Franklin at Paris, when in a conversation between them, on the subject of certain propositions for a reconciliation with America, offered by Mr Pultney, Dr Franklin said, he did not approve of them, nor did he think they would be approved in America, but that he would communicate them to his colleagues and the French ministry. This Mr Pultney opposed, saying that it would answer no good end, as he was persuaded, that what weighed with Dr Franklin would weigh also with them, and therefore desired, that no mention might be made of his having offered such propositions, or even of his having been here on such business, but that the whole might be buried in oblivion, agreeable to what had been stipulated by Mr Pultney, and agreed to by Dr Franklin, before the propositions were produced, which Dr Franklin accordingly promised.

W. ALEXANDER

COUNT DE VERGENNES TO B. FRANKLIN.

Translation.

Versailles, May 11th, 1780.

Sir,

The Baron de Goltz has warmly entreated me to recommend to you the Baron d'Arendt, a Prussian officer in the service of the United States. I the more readily acquiesce in satisfying his demand, as you will certainly take a pleasure in obliging this Minister, as far as in your power.

The Baron d'Arendt will himself explain the different matters, in which he thinks he wants your aid with Congress.

I have the honor of being, with great sincerity, &c.

DE VERGENNES.

TO THE JUDGES OF THE ADMIRALTY AT CHERBOURG.

Pa.s.sy, May 16th, 1780.

Gentlemen,

I have received the _proces verbaux_, and other papers you did me the honor to send me, agreeable to the 11th article of the regulation of the 27th of September, 1778. These pieces relate to the taking of the ship Flora, whereof was Captain Henry Roodenberg, bound from Rotterdam to Dublin, and arrived at Cherbourg, in France, being taken the 7th day of April, by Captain Dowlin, commander of the American privateer the Black Prince.

It appears to me from the above mentioned papers, that the said ship Flora is not a good prize, the same belonging to the subjects of a neutral nation; but that the cargo is really the property of the subjects of the King of England, though attempted to be masked as neutral. I do therefore request, that after the cargo shall be landed, you would cause the said ship Flora to be immediately restored to her captain, and that you would oblige the captors to pay him his full freight according to his bills of lading, and also to make good all the damages he may have sustained by plunder or otherwise; and I further request, that as the cargo is perishable, you would cause it to be sold immediately, and retain the produce deposited in your hands, to the end, that if any of the freighters, being subjects of their High Mightinesses the States-Generals, will declare upon oath, that certain parts of the said cargo were _bona fide_ shipped on their own account and risk, and not on the account and risk of any British or Irish subjects, the value of such parts may be restored; or, that if the freighters, or any of them, should think fit to appeal from this judgment to the Congress, the produce so deposited may be disposed of according to their final determination.

I have the honor to be, &c.

B. FRANKLIN.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Pa.s.sy, May 22d, 1780.

Sir,

The Baron d'Arendt, Colonel in the armies of the United States, having expressed to me a desire of returning to the service in America, though not entirely cured of his wound, which occasioned his voyage to Europe, I endeavored to dissuade him from the undertaking. But he having procured a letter to me from M. de Vergennes, of which I send your Excellency a copy herewith, I have been induced to advance him twentyfive louis d'ors towards enabling him to proceed. To justify his long absence, he intends laying before Congress some letters from William Lee, which he thinks will be sufficient for that purpose.

With great respect, &c.

B. FRANKLIN.

TO AN AGENT OF AMERICAN CRUISERS.

Pa.s.sy, May 30th, 1780.

Sir,

In my last, of the 27th instant, I omitted one thing I had intended, viz. to desire you would give absolute orders to your cruisers not to bring in any more Dutch vessels, though charged with enemy's goods, unless contraband. All the neutral States of Europe seem at present disposed to change what had before been deemed the law of nations, to wit; that an enemy's property may be taken wherever found; and to establish a rule that free ships shall make free goods. This rule is itself so reasonable, and of a nature to be so beneficial to mankind, that I cannot but wish it may become general. And I make no doubt but that the Congress will agree to it, in as full an extent as France and Spain. In the meantime, and until I have received their orders on the subject, it is my intention to condemn no more English goods found in Dutch vessels, unless contraband; of which I thought it right to give you this previous notice, that you may avoid the trouble and expense likely to arise from such captures, and from the detention of them for a decision. With great regard, and best wishes for the success of your enterprise,

I have the honor to be, &c.

B. FRANKLIN.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Pa.s.sy, May 31st, 1780.

Sir,

I wrote to your Excellency the 4th of March past, to go by this ship, the Alliance, then expected to sail immediately. But the men refusing to go till paid their shares of prize money, and sundry difficulties arising with regard to the sale and division, she has been detained thus long to my great mortification, and I am yet uncertain when I shall be able to get her out. The trouble and vexation which these maritime affairs give me is inconceivable. I have often expressed to Congress my wish to be relieved from them, and that some person better acquainted with them, and better situated, might be appointed to manage them; much money as well as time would, I am sure, be saved by such an appointment.

The Alliance is to carry some of the cannon long since ordered and as much of the powder, arms and clothing, (furnished by government here) as she, together with a frigate, the Ariel, we have borrowed, can take. I hope they may between them take the whole, with what has been provided by Mr Ross. This gentleman has, by what I can learn served the Congress well in the quality and prices of the goods he has purchased. I wish it had been in my power to discharge his balance here, for which he has importuned me rather too much. We furnished him with about twenty thousand pounds sterling to discharge his first accounts, which he was to replace as soon as he received remittance from the Committee of Commerce. This has not been done, and he now demands another nearly equal sum, urging as before, that the credit of the States as well as his own will be hurt by my refusal.

Mr Bingham too complains of me for refusing some of his drafts, as very hurtful to his credit, though he owns he had no orders from Congress to authorise those drafts. I never undertook to provide for more than the payment of the interest bills of the first loan. The Congress have drawn on me very considerably for other purposes, which has sometimes greatly embarra.s.sed me, but I have duly accepted and found means to pay their drafts; so that their credit in Europe has been well supported. But if every agent of Congress in different parts of the world is permitted to run in debt, and draw upon me at pleasure to support his credit, under the idea of its being necessary to do so for the honor of Congress, the difficulty upon me will be too great, and I may in fine be obliged to protest the interest bills. I therefore beg that a stop may be put to such irregular proceedings.

Had the loans proposed to be made in Europe succeeded, these practices might not have been so inconvenient, but the number of agents from separate States running all over Europe, and asking to borrow money, has given such an idea of our distress and poverty as makes every body afraid to trust us. I am much pleased to find that Congress has at length resolved to borrow of our own people, by making then future bills bear interest. This interest duly paid in hard money, to such as require hard money, will fix the value of the princ.i.p.al, and even make the payment of the interest in hard money for the most part unnecessary, provided always that the quant.i.ty of princ.i.p.al be not excessive.

A great clamor has lately been made here by some merchants, who say they have large sums in their hands of paper money in America, and that they are ruined by some resolution of Congress, which reduces its value to one part in forty. As I have had no letter explaining this matter, I have only been able to say, that it is probably misunderstood, and that I am confident the Congress have not done, nor will do, anything unjust towards strangers, who have given us credit.

I have indeed been almost ready to complain, that I hear so little and so seldom from Congress, or from the Committee of Correspondence, but I know the difficulty of communication, and the frequent interruption it meets in this time of war. I have not yet received a line this year, and the letters written by the Confederacy, as I suppose some must have been written by her, have not yet come to hand.

I mentioned, in a former letter, my having communicated to Mr Johnson of Nantes, the order of Congress appointing him to examine the account, and his acceptance of that appointment. Nothing, however, has yet been done in pursuance of it; for Mr Deane having written that he might be expected here by the middle of March, and as his presence would be very useful in explaining the mercantile transactions, I have waited his arrival to request Mr Johnson's coming to Paris, that his detention here from his affairs at Nantes might be as short as possible. Mr Deane is not yet come; but as we have heard of the arrival of the Fendant in Martinique, in which ship he took his pa.s.sage, we imagine he may be here in some of the first ships from that island.

The medal for M. de Fleury is done and delivered to his order, he being absent; I shall get the others prepared as soon as possible by the same hand, if I cannot find a cheaper equally good, which I am now inquiring after. Two thousand livres appear to me a great sum for the work.

With my last I sent a copy of my memorial to the Court of Denmark. I have since received an answer from the Minister of that Court for Foreign Affairs, a copy of which I enclose. It referred me to the Danish Minister here, with whom I have had a conference on the subject. He was full of professions of the good will of his Court to the United States, and would excuse the delivery of our prizes to the English, as done in conformity to treaties, which it was necessary to observe. He had not the treaty to show me, and I have not been able to find such a treaty on inquiry. After my memorial, our people left at Bergen were treated with the greatest kindness by an order from Court, their expenses during the winter that they had been detained there all paid, necessaries furnished to them for their voyage to Dunkirk, and a pa.s.sage thither found for them all at the King's expense. I have not dropped the application for a rest.i.tution, but shall continue to push it, not without some hopes of success. I wish, however, to receive instructions relating to it, and I think a letter from Congress to that Court might forward the business; for I believe they are sensible they have done wrong, and are apprehensive of the inconveniences that may follow. With this I send the protests taken at Bergen against the proceeding.

The Alliance, in her last cruise, met with and sent to America a Dutch ship, supposed to have on board an English cargo. The owners have made application to me. I have a.s.sured them, that they might depend on the justice of our courts, and that if they could prove their property there, it would be restored. M. Dumas has written to me about it. I enclose his letter, and wish despatch may be given to the business, as well to prevent the inconveniences of a misunderstanding with Holland, as for the sake of justice.