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war. These, instead of being recompensed, should be punished.

It is usual among Christian people at war to profess always a desire of peace; but if the ministers of one of the parties chose to insist particularly on a certain article which they know the others are not and cannot be empowered to agree to, what credit can they expect should be given to such professions? Your ministers require that we should receive again into our bosoms those who have been our bitterest enemies, and restore their properties who have destroyed ours; and this while the wounds they have just given us are still bleeding. It is many years since your nation expelled the Stuarts and their adherents, and confiscated their estates. Much of your resentment against them may by this time be abated; yet if we should insist on and propose it as an article of our treaty with you, that that family should be recalled, and the forfeited estates of its friends restored, would you think us serious in our professions of earnestly desiring peace?

I must repeat my opinion that it is best for you to drop all mention of the refugees. We have proposed indeed nothing but what we think best, both for you as well as ourselves. But if you will have them mentioned, let it be in an article which may provide that they shall exhibit accounts of their losses, to commissioners hereafter to be appointed, who shall examine the same, together with the accounts now preparing in America of the damages done by them, and state the account: and that if a balance appears in their favor it shall be paid by us to you, and by you divided among them as you shall think proper; and if the balance is found due to us, it shall be paid by you.

Give me leave however to advise you to prevent the necessity of so dreadful a discussion, by dropping the article, that we may write to America, and stop the inquiry. I have the honor to be, &c.

B. FRANKLIN.

TO R. R. LIVINGSTON, ESQ.

Passy, Dec. 5, 1782.

You desire to be very particularly acquainted with "every step which tends to a negotiation." I am therefore encouraged to send you the first part of the Journal, which accidents and a long severe illness interrupted; but which, from notes I have by me, may be continued if thought proper. In its present state, it is hardly fit for the inspection of Congress, certainly not for public view. I confide it therefore to your prudence.

The arrival of Mr. Jay, Mr. Adams, and Mr. Laurens, relieved me from much anxiety, which must have continued, if I had been left to finish the treaty alone; and it has given me the more satisfaction, as I am sure the business has profited by their assist

ance.

Much of the summer had been taken up in objecting against the powers given to Great Britain, and in removing those objections, in using any expressions that might imply an acknowledgment of our independence, seemed at first industriously to be avowed. But our refusing otherwise to treat, at length induced them to get over that difficulty, and then we came to the point of making propositions. Those made by Mr. Jay and me before the arrival of the other gentlemen you will find in the enclosed paper,

* See page 112 of this vol.

No. I., which was sent by the British plenipotentiary to London for the king's consideration. After some weeks an under-secretary, Mr. Strachey, arrived; with whom we had much contestation about the boundaries and other articles which he proposed; we settled some, which he carried to London, and returned with the propositions; some adopted, others omitted or altered, and new ones added; which you will see in paper No. II.† We spent many days in discussing and disputing, and at length agreed on and signed the PRELIMINARIES, which you will receive by this conveyance. The British ministers struggled hard for two points; that the favors granted to the royalists should be extended, and all our fishery contracted. We silenced them on the first, by threatening to produce an account of the mischief done by those people; and as to the second, when they told us that they could not possibly agree to it as we requested it, and must refer it to the ministry in London, we produced a new article to be referred at the same time, with a note of facts in support of it, both which you have, No. III. § Apparently it seemed that to avoid the discussion of this, they suddenly changed their minds, dropped the design of recurring to London, and agreed to allow the fishery as demanded.

You will find in the preliminaries some inaccurate and ambiguous expressions that want explanation, and which may be explained in the definitive treaty ; and as the British ministry excluded our proposition * See documents at the end of this dispatch. paper does not appear. ↑ See documents.

+ This

§ See documents.

relating to commerce, and the American prohibition of that with England may not be understood to cease merely by our concluding a treaty of peace; perhaps we may then, if the Congress shall think fit to direct it, obtain some compensation for the injuries done us as a condition of our opening again the trade. Every one of the present British ministry has, while in the ministry, declared the war against us unjust ; and nothing is clearer in reason, than that those who injure others by an unjust war, should make full reparation. They have stipulated too, in these preliminaries, that in evacuating our towns, they shall carry off no plunder, which is a kind of acknowledgment that they ought not to have done it before.

The reason given us for dropping the article relating to commerce, was, that some statutes were in the way, which must be repealed before a treaty of that kind could be well formed, and that this was a matter to be considered in parliament.

They wanted to bring their boundary down to the Ohio, and to settle their loyalists in the Illinois country. We did not choose such neighbors.

We communicated all the articles as soon as they were signed, to M. le Comte de Vergennes, (except the separate one,) who thinks we have managed well, and told me that we had settled what was most apprehended as a difficulty in the work of a general peace, by obtaining the declaration of our independency.

December 14. I have this day learnt that the principal preliminaries between France and England are agreed on; to wit:

1st. France is to enjoy the right of fishing, and

drying on all the west coast of Newfoundland down to Cape Ray. Miquelon and St. Pierre to be restored, and may be fortified.

2nd. Senegal remains to France, and Goree to be restored. The Gambier entirely to England.

3rd. All the places taken from France in the East Indies to be restored, with a certain quantity of territory round them.

4th. In the West Indies, Grenada and the Grenadines, St. Christopher's, Nevis and Montserrat, to be restored to England. St. Lucia to France. Dominique to remain with France, and St. Vincent's to be neutralised.

5th. No commissioner at Dunkirk.

The points not yet quite settled, are the territory round the places in the Indies, and neutralisation of St. Vincent's. Apparently these will not create much difficulty.

Holland has yet hardly done any thing in her negotiation.

Spain offers for Gibraltar to restore West Florida and the Bahamas. An addition is talked of the island of Guadaloupe, which France will cede to Spain in exchange for the other half of Hispaniola, and Spain to England; but England, it is said, chose rather Porto Rico. Nothing yet concluded.

As soon as I received the commission and instructions for treating with Sweden, I waited on the ambassador here, who told me he daily expected a courier on that subject. Yesterday he wrote a note to acquaint me that he would call on me to-day, having something to communicate to me. Being obliged to go to Paris, I waited on him, when he showed me the full powers he had just received, and

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