The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 06

by Unknown

The French Minister at Philadelphia has made some representations to Congress, in favor of a compensation to the royalists, and the Count de Vergennes no longer than yesterday said much to me in their favor. The Count probably knows, that we are instructed against it, that Congress are instructed against it, or rather have not constitutional authority to do it; that we can only write about it to Congress, and they to the States, who may, and probably will, deliberate upon it eighteen months before they all decide, and then every one of them will determine against it. In this way there is an insuperable obstacle to any agreement between the English and Americans, even upon terms to be inserted in the general peace, before all are ready. It was the constant practice of the French to have some of their subjects in London during the conferences for peace in order to propagate such sentiments there as they wished to prevail. I doubted not such were there now; M. Rayneval had been there. M. Gerard, I had heard, is there now, and probably others. They can easily persuade the tories to set up their demands, and tell them and the Ministers, that the King's dignity and nation's honor are compromised in it.

For my own part, I thought America had been long enough involved in the wars of Europe. She had been a football between contending nations from the beginning, and it was easy to foresee, that France and England both would endeavor to involve us in their future wars. I thought it our interest and duty, to avoid them as much as possible, and to be completely independent, and have nothing to do but in commerce with either of them; that my thoughts had been from the beginning to arrange all our European connexions to this end, and that they would continue to be so employed. And I thought it so important to us, that if my poor labors, my little estate, or (smiling) sizy blood, could effect it, it should be done. But I had many fears.

I said, the King of France might think it consistent with his station to favor people, who had contended for a Crown, though it was the Crown of his enemy. Whiteford said, they seem to be through the whole of their course, fighting for reputation. I said, they had acquired it, and more, they had raised themselves high from a low estate by it, and they were our good friends and allies, and had conducted generously, and nobly, and we should be just and grateful, but they might have political wishes, which we were not bound by treaty, nor in justice or gratitude to favor, and these we ought to be cautious of. He agreed that they had raised themselves very suddenly and surprisingly by it.

Tuesday, November 12th.—The compliment of "Monsieur, vous êtes le Washington de la négotiation," was repeated to me, by more than one person. I answered, "Monsieur, vous me faites le plus grand honneur, et le compliment le plus sublime possible." "Eh! Monsieur, en vérité, vous l'avez bien mérité."

Friday, November 15th.—Mr Oswald came to visit me, and entered with some freedom, into conversation. I said many things to him to convince him, that it was the policy of my Lord Shelburne, and the interest of the nation, to agree with us upon the advantageous terms, which Mr Strachey carried away on the 5th; showed him the advantages of the boundary, the vast extent of land, and the equitable provision for the payment of debts, and even the great benefits stipulated for the tories.

He said he had been reading Mr Paine's answer to the Abbé Raynal, and had found there an excellent argument in favor of the tories. Mr Paine says, that before the battle of Lexington, we were so blindly prejudiced in favor of the English, and so closely attached to them, that we went to war at any time, and for any object, when they bid us. Now this being habitual to the Americans, it was excusable in the tories to behave on this occasion, as all of us had ever done upon all others. He said, if he were a member of Congress, he would show a magnanimity upon this occasion, and would say to the refugees, take your property, we scorn to make any use of it in building up our system.

I replied, that we had no power, and Congress had no power, and, therefore, we must consider how it would be reasoned upon in the several Legislatures of the separate States, if, after being sent by us to Congress, and by them to the several States, in the course of twelve or fifteen months, it should be there debated. You must carry on the war six or nine months certainly, for this compensation; and consequently spend, in the prosecution of it, six or nine times the sum necessary to make the compensation; for I presume this war costs every month to Great Britain, a larger sum than would be necessary to pay for the forfeited estates.

"How," said I, "will an independent man in one of our Assemblies consider this? We will take a man, who is no partisan of England or France, one who wishes to do justice to both, and to all nations, but is the partisan only of his own." "Have you seen," said he, "a certain letter written to the Count de Vergennes, wherein Mr Samuel Adams is treated pretty freely?" "Yes," said I, "and several other papers, in which Mr John Adams has been treated so too. I do not know what you may have heard in England of Mr Samuel Adams. You may have been taught to believe, for what I know, that he eats little children. But I assure you, he is a man of humanity and candor, as well as integrity; and further, that he is devoted to the interest of his country, and, I believe, wishes never to be, after a peace, the partisan to France or England, but to do justice and all the good he can to both. I thank you for mentioning him, for I will make him my orator. What will he say, when the question of amnesty and compensation to the tories comes before the Senate of Massachusetts, and when he is informed, that England makes a point of it, and that France favors her? He will say, here are two old sagacious Courts, both endeavoring to sow the seeds of discord among us, each endeavoring to keep us in hot water; to keep up continual broils between an English party and a French party, in hopes of obliging the independent and patriotic party to lean to its side. England wishes them here, and compensated, not merely to get rid of them, and to save herself the money, but to plant among us instruments of her own, to make divisions among us, and between us and France, to be continually crying down the religion, the government, the manners of France, and crying up the language, the fashions, the blood, &c. of England. England also means, by insisting on our compensating these worst of enemies, to obtain from us a tacit acknowledgment of the right of the war, an implicit acknowledgment, that the tories have been justifiable, or at least excusable, and that we, only by a fortunate coincidence of events, have carried a wicked rebellion into a complete revolution. At the very time, when Britain professes to desire peace, reconciliation, perpetual oblivion of all past unkindnesses, can she wish to send in among us a number of persons, whose very countenances will bring fresh to our remembrance the whole history of the rise and progress of the war, and of all its atrocities? Can she think it conciliatory, to oblige us to lay taxes upon those, whose habitations have been consumed, to reward those who have burned them? Upon those, whose relations have been cruelly destroyed, to compensate the murderers? What can be the design of France, on the other hand, by espousing the cause of those men? Indeed, her motives may be guessed at. She may wish to keep up in our minds a terror of England, and a fresh remembrance of all we have suffered. Or she may wish to prevent our Ministers in Europe from agreeing with the British Ministers, until she shall say, that she and Spain are satisfied in all points."

I entered largely with Mr Oswald into the consideration of the influence this question would have upon the councils of the British cabinet, and the debates in Parliament. The King and the old Ministry might think their personal reputations concerned, in supporting men who had gone such lengths, and suffered so much in their attachment to them. The King may say, "I have other dominions abroad, Canada, Nova Scotia, Florida, the West India Islands, the East Indies, Ireland. It will be a bad example to abandon these men. Others will lose their encouragement to adhere to my government." But the shortest answer to this is the best, let the King by a message recommend it to Parliament to compensate them.

But how will my Lord Shelburne sustain the shock of opposition, when Mr Fox and Mr Burke shall demand a reason, why the essential interests of the nation are sacrificed to the unreasonable demands of those very men, who have done this great mischief to the empire? Should these orators indulge themselves in Philippics against the refugees, show their false representations, their outrageous cruelties, their innumerable demerits against the nation, and then attack the First Lord of the Treasury for continuing to spend the blood and treasure of the nation for their sakes?