Volume VI Part 42 (1/2)

Upon this, I recounted the history of General Gage's agreement with the inhabitants of Boston, that they should remove with their effects, upon condition, that they would surrender their arms; but as soon as the arms were secured, the goods were forbid to be carried out, and were finally carried off in large quant.i.ties to Halifax. Dr Franklin mentioned the case of Philadelphia, and the carrying off of effects there, even his own library. Mr Jay mentioned several other things, and Mr Laurens added the plunders in Carolina, of negroes, plate, &c.

After hearing all this, Mr Fitzherbert, Mr Oswald, and Mr Strachey retired for some time, and returning, Mr Fitzherbert said, that upon consulting together, and weighing everything as maturely as possible, Mr Strachey and himself had determined to advise Mr Oswald to strike with us, according to the terms we had proposed as our ultimatum, respecting the fishery and the loyalists. Accordingly, we all sat down, and read over the whole treaty, and corrected it, and agreed to meet tomorrow, at Mr Oswald's house, to sign and seal the treaties, which the Secretaries were to copy fair in the mean time.

I forgot to mention, that when we were upon the fishery, and Mr Strachey and Mr Fitzherbert were urging us to leave out the word _right_, and subst.i.tute the word _liberty_, I told them at last, in answer to their proposal to agree upon all other articles, and leave that of the fishery to be adjusted at the Definitive Treaty, that I could never put my hand to any articles, without satisfaction about the fishery; that Congress had three or four years ago, when they did me the honor to give me a commission to make a Treaty of Commerce with Great Britain, given me a positive instruction not to make any such treaty, without an article in the Treaty of Peace, acknowledging our right to the fishery; that I was happy Mr Laurens was now present, who, I believed, was in Congress at the time, and must remember it. Mr Laurens, upon this, said with great firmness, that he was in the same case, and could never give his voice for any articles without this. Mr Jay spoke up, and said, it could not be a peace, it would only be an insidious truce without it.

_Sat.u.r.day, November 30th. St Andrews' Day._--We met first at Mr Jay's, then at Mr Oswald's, examined and compared the treaties. Mr Strachey had left out the limitation of time, the twelve months, that the refugees were allowed to reside in America, in order to recover their estates, if they could. Dr Franklin said this was a surprise upon us.

Mr Jay said so too. We never had consented to leave it out, and they insisted upon putting it in, which was done.

Mr Laurens said, there ought to be a stipulation, that the British troops should carry off no negroes, or other American property. We all agreed. Mr Oswald consented.

Then the treaties were signed, sealed, and delivered, and we all went out to Pa.s.sy to dine with Dr. Franklin. Thus far has proceeded this great affair. The unravelling of the plot has been to me the most affecting and astonis.h.i.+ng part of the whole piece.

As soon as I arrived in Paris, I waited on Mr Jay, and learned from him the rise and progress of the negotiations. Nothing, that has happened since the beginning of the controversy in 1761, has ever struck me more forcibly, or affected me more intimately, than that entire coincidence of principles and opinions between him and me. In about three days I went out to Pa.s.sy, and spent the evening with Dr Franklin, and entered largely into conversation with him upon the course and present state of our foreign affairs. I told him, without reserve, my opinion of the policy of this Court, and of the principles, wisdom, and firmness, with which Mr Jay had conducted the negotiation in his sickness and my absence, and that I was determined to support Mr Jay to the utmost of my power in the pursuit of the same system. The Doctor heard me patiently, but said nothing.

The first conference we had afterwards with Mr Oswald, in considering one point and another, Dr Franklin turned to Mr Jay, and said, I am of your opinion, and will go on with these gentlemen in the business, without consulting this Court. He accordingly met with us in most of our conferences, and has gone with us, in entire harmony and unanimity throughout, and has been able and useful, both by his sagacity and his reputation in the whole negotiation.[15]

I was very happy, that Mr Laurens came in, although it was the last day of the conferences, and wish he could have been sooner. His apprehension, notwithstanding his deplorable affliction under the recent loss of so excellent a son, is as quick, his judgment as sound, and his heart as firm as ever. He had an opportunity of examining the whole, and judging and approving, and the article, which he caused to be inserted at the very last, that no property should be carried off, which would most probably in the multiplicity and hurry of affairs have escaped us, was worth a longer journey, if that had been all. But his name and weight is added, which is of much greater consequence.

These miserable minutes may help me to recollect, but I have not found time, amidst the hurry of business and crowd of visits, to make a detail.

I should have before noted, that at our first conference about the fishery, I related the facts, as well as I understood them; but knowing nothing myself, but as a hearsay witness, I found it had not the weight of occular testimony; to supply which defect, I asked Dr Franklin, if Mr Williams of Nantes could not give us light. He said Mr Williams was on the road to Paris, and as soon as he arrived he would ask him. In a few days, Mr Williams called on me, and said Dr Franklin had, as I desired him, inquired of him about the fishery, but he was not able to speak particularly upon that subject; but there was at Nantes a gentleman of Marblehead, Mr Samuel White, son-in-law to Mr Hooper, who was master of the subject, and to him he would write.

Mr Jeremiah Allen, a merchant of Boston, called on me about the same time. I inquired of him. He was able only to give such a hearsay account as I could give myself. But I desired him to write to Mr White, at Nantes, which he undertook to do, and did. Mr White answered Mr Allen's letter by referring him to his answer to Mr Williams, which Mr Williams received and delivered to Dr Franklin, who communicated it to us, and it contained a good account.

I desired Mr Thaxter to write to Messrs Ingraham and Bromfield, and Mr Storer to write to Captain Coffin at Amsterdam. They delivered me the answers, both contained information, but Coffin's was the most particular, and of the most importance, as he spoke as a witness. We made the best use of these letters with the English gentlemen, and they appeared to have a good deal of weight with them.

From first to last, I ever insisted upon it with the English gentlemen, that the fisheries and the Mississippi, if America was not satisfied in those points, would be the sure and certain sources of a future war, showed them the indispensable necessity of both to our affairs, and that no treaty we could make, which should be unsatisfactory to our people upon those points, could be observed; that the population near the Mississippi would be so rapid, and the necessities of the people for its navigation so pressing, that nothing could restrain them from going down, and if the force of arms should be necessary, it would not be wanting; that the fishery entered into our distilleries, our coasting trade, our trade with the Southern States, with the West India Islands, with the coast of Africa, and with every part of Europe in such a manner, and especially with England, that it could not be taken from us, or granted us stingily, without tearing and rending; that the other States had staples, we had none but fish, no other means of remittances to London, or paying those very debts they had insisted upon so seriously; that if we were forced off, at three leagues distance, we should smuggle eternally, that their men-of-war might have the glory of sinking, now and then, a fis.h.i.+ng schooner, but this would not prevent a repet.i.tion of the crime, it would only inflame, and irritate, and enkindle a new war, that in seven years we should break through all restraints, and conquer from them the island of Newfoundland itself, and Nova Scotia too.

Mr Fitzherbert always smiled, and said it was very extraordinary that the British Ministry and we should see it in so different a light.

That they meant the restriction, in order to prevent disputes, and kill the seeds of war, and we should think it so certain a source of disputes, and so strong a seed of war; but that our reasons were such, that he thought the probability on our side.

I have not time to minute the conversation about the sea-cow fishery, the whale fishery, the Magdalen Islands, the Labrador coasts, and the coasts of Nova Scotia. It is sufficient to say, they were explained to the utmost of our knowledge, and finally conceded.

I should have noted before, the various deliberations between the English gentlemen and us, relative to the words, ”indefinite and exclusive right,” which the Count de Vergennes and M. Gerard had the precaution to insert in our treaty with France. I observed often to the English gentlemen, that, aiming at excluding us from fis.h.i.+ng upon the north side of Newfoundland, it was natural for them to wish that the English would exclude us from the south side. This would be making both alike, and take away an odious distinction. French statesmen must see the tendency of our fishermen being treated kindly and hospitably, like friends, by the English on their side of the Island, and unkindly, inhospitably, and like enemies, on the French. I added, further, that it was my opinion, neither our treaty with the French, nor any treaty or clause to the same purpose, which the English could make, would be punctually observed. Fishermen, both from England and America, would smuggle, especially the Americans, in the early part of the spring, before the Europeans could arrive. This, therefore, must be connived at by the French, or odious measures must be recurred to by them or us to suppress it, and, in either case, it was easy to see what would be the effect upon the American mind. They, no doubt, therefore, wished the English to put themselves upon as odious a footing at least as they had done.

Dr Franklin said, that there was great weight in this observation, and the Englishmen showed plainly enough that they felt it.

I have not attempted, in these notes, to do justice to the arguments of my colleagues; all of whom were throughout the whole business, when they attended, very attentive and very able, especially Mr Jay, to whom the French, if they knew as much of his negotiations as they do of mine, would very justly give the t.i.tle, with which they have inconsiderately decorated me, that of ”_Le Was.h.i.+ngton de la negotiation_,” a very flattering compliment indeed, to which I have not a right; but sincerely think it belongs to Mr Jay.

_Tuesday, December 3d._--Visited M. Brantzen, _Hotel de la Chine_. M.

Brantzen asked me, how we went on? I told him we had come to a full stop, by signing and sealing the preliminaries the 30th of November. I told him, that we had been very industrious, having been at it forenoon, afternoon, and evening, ever since my arrival, either with one another, or with the English gentlemen. He asked if it was definitive and separate? I said by no means. They were only articles to be inserted in the definitive treaty. He asked, if there was to be any truce or armistice in the mean time? I said again, by no means.

He then said, that he believed France and England had agreed too; that the Count de Vergennes' son was gone to England with M. de Rayneval; but he believed the Spaniards had not yet agreed, and the Dutch were yet a great way off, and had agreed upon nothing. They had had several conferences. At the first, he had informed Mr Fitzherbert, that their High Mightinesses insisted upon the freedom of navigation as a preliminary and a _sine qua non_. Mr Fitzherbert had communicated this to his Court, but the answer received was, that his Court did not approve of conceding this as a _sine qua non_, but chose to have all the demands of their High Mightinesses stated together. M. Brantzen answered, that his instructions were, not to enter into any conferences upon other points, until this was agreed. That it was the intention of the British Court to agree to this. That he could not consider any changes in the Ministry as making any alteration. They were all Ministers of the same King, and servants of the same nation.

That Mr Fox, when he was Secretary of State, by his letter to the Russian Minister, had declared the intention of the King to consent to the freedom of navigation, &c.

M. Brantzen said, however, that he had in his private capacity and without compromising his ministerial character, entered into explanations with Mr Fitzherbert, and had told him that he should insist upon three points, the freedom of navigation, the rest.i.tution of territories in the East and West Indies, and compensation for damages. The two first points could not be disputed, and the third ought not be; for the war against them had been unjust, the pretences for it were groundless, their accession to the armed neutrality must now be admitted, even by Britain's accession to it, to have been an illegitimate cause of war, and the object of a treaty with America could not be seriously pretended to be a just cause of war; and many members of Parliament had in the time of it declared the war unjust, and some of those members were now Ministers; even the prime Minister, my Lord Shelburne himself, had freely declared the war unjust in the House of Peers; and if the war was unjust, the damages and injustice ought to be repaired.