I must pray your Excellency to send on the enclosed packets; any expense it occasions will be paid by the Governor.
I have the honor to be, &c.
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.
TO GENERAL GREENE.
Philadelphia, March 12th, 1783.
Dear Sir,
The arrival of the Washington packet affords me an opportunity of sending you the preliminary articles, agreed upon between our Ministers and those of Great Britain. In every point but one they are unexceptionable; in that one I believe our Ministers have labored to obtain all that circumstances would admit, and by the reference of the tories to their respective States, they have made a very slender provision for the restitution they stipulate.
What it imports you more to know is, that though our principal difficulties are removed, yet many remain to retard the peace. Our allies do not appear to have made much progress in their negotiations, and Count de Vergennes, in a letter of the 25th of December, speaks with great uncertainty of the issue of his negotiations; yet not so as to destroy our hopes of a happy conclusion; at all events, I believe that the war will be removed from us, and directed to other objects in the spring.
The British commissioners have made some propositions to ours about a convention for permitting the army to depart in peace; but as nothing was concluded, some doubts may still remain on this head; though you will find in Lord North's speech, in the enclosed paper, a passage that seems to take the evacuation for granted. As, however, I have reason to suppose, that they do not mean to rest contented with the loss of West Florida, and are apparently collecting a force for its reduction at Augustine, I should think it prudent to maintain so respectable a force in Georgia and South Carolina, as would discourage any attempts upon them in case the negotiations should prove abortive.
A treaty is now on foot between Sweden and us. The commission to his Swedish Majesty's Minister, contains an ample and an honorable recognition of our independence.