I have the honor to be, &c.
JOHN ADAMS.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
Paris, March 30th, 1780.
Sir,
There is an anecdote, which causes a great speculation at present, because it is supposed to show the tendency of things in Ireland, and what is to be expected by Great Britain, if the Ministry should oppose themselves to the wishes of the Irish nation. On the 23d of February, three bodies of volunteers, those of Dublin, commanded by Colonel John Allen, those of the Liberties, commanded by Sir Edward Newingham, and another body, commanded by Mr Taylor, assembled at the Exchange, from whence they made a long march in a circuit of four miles, accompanied with other volunteers on horseback, to the Park, the avenues of which were guarded by five other corps of volunteers.
There they went through the manœuvres and firings, with as much celerity and precision as any regular troops. They were there reviewed by the Duke of Leinster, as General and Commander-in-Chief, accompanied with four Aids-de-Camps, and they all rendered to this nobleman military honors almost equal to those which are rendered to a King.
Returning from the review, the volunteers met in Barrack street a detachment of the royal troops marching to the castle. These required, that the volunteers should turn out of the way, and endeavored to break their ranks; but the volunteers, with their bayonets fixed and charged, stood their ground and discovered such a resolution, that the commanding officer of the King's troops ordered them to halt, and desired to speak with the Duke of Leinster. They entered into a conference. The regular troops pretended they had a right to the pavements, as the troops of the King. The volunteers, thought they had a right to keep it, as free citizens, voluntarily armed for the defence of their country, and consequently superior to mere mercenaries. They supported these arguments by preparations for battle, the people declared themselves in favor of the volunteers, by collecting together a sufficient quantity of stones, to overwhelm the troops, who at last gave way, in order to avoid a scene of blood. The next day the volunteers sent to the Viceroy an excuse, but couched in terms, which justified their conduct as necessary to maintain the liberty, independence, and dignity of the nation. I have seen so much of the spirit of the King's troops, in several contests between them and the citizens of Boston, as to know very well what all this means. The volunteers must have great confidence in their own strength, and the King's troops equal diffidence of theirs, before an altercation of this kind could terminate in this manner.
I have the honor to be, &c.