Paris, October 31st, 1782.
Sir,
Having executed the treaty of commerce at the Hague, and despatched four copies of it, by four different vessels bound to America from the Texel, and having signed a sufficient number of obligations to leave in the hands of Messrs Willinks, Van Staphorsts, and de la Lande and Fynjè, and having received information from Mr Jay, that Mr Oswald had received a commission from the King his master, under the Great Seal of Great Britain, to treat with the Commissioners of the United States of America, I set off for Paris, where I arrived on Saturday, the 26th of this month, after a tedious journey; the roads being, on account of long continued rains, in the worst condition I ever knew them.
I waited forthwith on Mr Jay, and from him learned the state of the conferences. It is not possible, at present, to enter into details. All I can say is in general, that I had the utmost satisfaction in finding, that he had been all along acting here upon the same principles upon which I had ventured to act in Holland, and that we were perfectly agreed in our sentiments and systems. I cannot express it better than in his own words; "to be honest and grateful to our allies, but to think for ourselves." I find a construction put upon one article of our instructions by some persons, which I confess I never put upon it myself. It is represented by some, as subjecting us to the French Ministry, as taking away from us all right of judging for ourselves, and obliging us to agree to whatever the French Ministers shall advise us to, and to do nothing without their consent. I never supposed this to be the intention of Congress; if I had, I never would have accepted the commission, and if I now thought it their intention, I could not continue in it. I cannot think it possible to be the design of Congress; if it is, I hereby resign my place in the commission, and request that another person may be immediately appointed in my stead.
Yesterday we met Mr Oswald at his lodgings; Mr Jay, Dr Franklin, and myself, on one side, and Mr Oswald, assisted by Mr Strachey, a gentleman whom I had the honor to meet in company with Lord Howe upon Staten Island in the year 1776, and assisted also by a Mr Roberts, a clerk in some of the public offices, with books, maps, and papers, relative to the boundaries.
I arrived in a lucky moment for the boundary of the Massachusetts, because I brought with me all the essential documents relative to that object, which are this day to be laid before my colleagues in conference at my house, and afterwards before Mr Oswald.
It is now apparent, at least to Mr Jay and myself, that, in order to obtain the western lands, the navigation of the Mississippi, and the fisheries, or any of them, we must act with firmness and independence, as well as prudence and delicacy. With these, there is little doubt we may obtain them all.
Yesterday I visited M. Brantzen, the Dutch Minister, and was by him very frankly and candidly informed of the whole progress of the negotiation on their part. It is very shortly told. They have exchanged full powers with Mr Fitzherbert, and communicated to him their preliminaries, according to their instructions, which I have heretofore transmitted to Congress. Mr Fitzherbert has sent them to London and received an answer, but has communicated to them no more of this answer than this, that those preliminaries are not relished at St James'. He excused his not having seen them for six or seven days, by pretence of indisposition, but they are informed that he has made frequent visits to Versailles during these days, and sent off and received several couriers.
How the negotiation advances between Mr Fitzherbert, and the Count de Vergennes, and the Count d'Aranda, we know not.
The object of M. de Rayneval's journey to London, is not yet discovered by any of us. It is given out, that he was sent to see whether the British Ministry were in earnest.[12] But this is too general. It is suspected that he went to insinuate something relative to the fisheries and the boundaries, but it is probable he did not succeed respecting the former, and perhaps not entirely, with respect to the latter.