The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution Volume IV Part 55

COUNT DE VERGENNES TO JOHN ADAMS.

Translation.

Versailles, March 30th, 1780.

Sir,

I have received the letter, which you did me the honor to write on the 21st instant. I remember very well to have said to you, that your presentation should be inserted in the Gazette of France; but, from the information I have since obtained, it seems that the presentations, whether of Amba.s.sadors or Ministers Plenipotentiary, are not thus announced in our Gazette, and it would have the appearance of affectation to insert yours. As a subst.i.tute, I will have it mentioned, if you wish, in the _Mercure de France_, and you can take measures to have the notice repeated in the foreign gazettes.

I have the honor to be, &c.

DE VERGENNES.

_P. S._ I enclose a draft of an article, which I propose to send to the _Mercure de France_. It will not be sent till I learn your opinion of it.

"Mr Adams, whom the Congress of the United States has designated to a.s.sist at the conferences for a peace, when that event shall take place, arrived here some time ago, and has had the honor to be presented to the King and the royal family."

TO THE COUNT DE VERGENNES.

Paris, March 30th, 1780.

Sir,

I have the honor of your Excellency's letter of this day, in answer to mine of the 21st of this month. Until the receipt of it, I had taken it for granted, that the presentation of every Amba.s.sador was regularly inserted in the Gazette of France, and until very lately, several days since the date of my letter to your Excellency of the 21st of this month, I had supposed, that the presentation of Ministers Plenipotentiary was constantly inserted likewise.

The information your Excellency has given me, that the presentation of neither Amba.s.sadors nor Ministers Plenipotentiary have ever been inserted, has perfectly satisfied me, and I doubt not will equally satisfy my countrymen, who have heretofore been under the same mistake with myself.

I approve very much of your Excellency's proposition of inserting my presentation in the Mercury of France, and shall take measures to have it repeated in the foreign gazettes.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, March 30th, 1780.

Sir,

I have the honor to enclose to Congress copies of certain letters, which I have had the honor to write to the Count de Vergennes, and of others, which I have received from him.

It seems that the presentations of the American Commissioners and Ministers Plenipotentiary have not been inserted in the Gazette, which occasioned some uneasiness in the minds of some of our countrymen, as they thought it a neglect of us, and a distinction between our sovereign and others. The enclosed letters will explain this matter, and show, that no distinction has been made between the representatives of the United States and those of other powers.

I ought to confess to Congress, that the delicacy of the Count de Vergennes about communicating my powers is not perfectly consonant to my manner of thinking, and if I had followed my own judgment I should have pursued a bolder plan by communicating, immediately after my arrival, to Lord George Germain, my full powers to treat both of peace and commerce; but I hope Congress will approve of my communicating first to this Court my destination and asking their advice, and then pursuing it, because I think no doubt can be made, that it is my duty to conduct my negotiations at present in concert with our ally, as I have hitherto done.

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, a.s.sembled 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 manoeuvres 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 n.o.bleman 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 quant.i.ty 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.

JOHN ADAMS.

TO ARTHUR LEE, AT L'ORIENT.

Paris, March 31st, 1780.

Dear Sir,

I have received yours of the 26th, and that of the 15th of this month.

I enclose a copy of the letter you desire.

M. Garnier is gone into the country, and I have not seen him since I arrived here. Mr Izard, however, has seen him, and will give you a satisfactory account of what he says.

If I were to apply to the other gentleman, you know what would be the consequence. It would fly very soon to, you know where, and I should have only the credit of meddling unnecessarily with disputes, which I have kept out of as much I could, and which it is certainly now the public interest, and consequently my duty, to keep out of as much I can. I had, therefore, rather be excused. The gentleman himself would probably give you the same answer to a letter from you directly to him, as he would give to me, unless I should use arts with him; which would be unworthy of you, as well as of me, and which I cannot use with anybody.

I shall have enough to do, to steer my little bark among the rocks and shoals. I shall have perplexities enough of my own, which I cannot avoid, and dangers too. These I shall meet with a steady mind, and perhaps none of them will be greater than that, which I think my duty, of avoiding things that do not belong to me.

Scarcely ever any Minister executed a commission for making a peace, without ruining his own reputation, in a free government. No Minister that ever existed, had a more difficult and dangerous peace to make than I have.

The gentleman you mention has. .h.i.therto been very still, but he has been well received, by all that I have learnt.

Adieu,

JOHN ADAMS.