These, and the thousand other delays and difficulties, to which the present cautious system of Europe subjects us, give every possible opportunity to Great Britain to recover that commerce, which her unwise and unjust conduct has obliged us to withdraw from her, and offer to the rest of Europe. An open acceptance of that offer would have settled the question at once. I may not presume to doubt the wisdom of that policy, which prefers the chance of gleaning our fields after they have been spoiled and laid waste by a mercenary and enraged army, to the certainty of reaping the full harvest of an unravaged country. Undoubtedly there are better reasons for it than I can devise. This is, however, most clear, that if the commerce of America were a thing not valuable, or rather noxious to the European powers, they could not give Great Britain a fairer opportunity of cutting it off from them forever, by retrieving the monopoly, or of greatly diminishing its sources by destroying our cities and laying waste our country with mercenary arms. We are left, like Hercules in his cradle, to strangle the serpent that annoys all Europe.
I beg your Excellency will accept my thanks for the satisfactory explanation you were so good as to give me yesterday of what I confess was not clear to me before.
Permit me to suggest, that as it is probable your captains will not be able to provide themselves with marine charts of the American coast, it would be proper to order some of the best of them from London. If in any thing your Excellency should think I can be further useful, you will do me the honor to command me.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ARTHUR LEE.
TO THE COMMITTEE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Berlin, June 11th, 1777.
Gentlemen,
In pursuance of the plan, which I had the honor of mentioning in former letters, I arrived here the 4th of this month. Mr Sayre accompanies me in the place of Mr Carmichael, who after promising refused to go.