The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution Volume III Part 41

HENRY LAURENS TO B. FRANKLIN.

London, April 7th, 1782.

"Dear Sir,

"Richard Oswald, Esquire, who will do me the honor of delivering this, is a gentleman of the strictest candor and integrity. I dare give such a.s.surances from an experience little short of thirty years, and to add, you will be perfectly safe in conversing freely with him on the business he will introduce, a business, which Mr Oswald has disinterestedly engaged in, from motives of benevolence, and from the choice of the man a persuasion follows, that the Electors mean to be in earnest.

"Some people in this country, who have too long indulged themselves in abusing everything American, have been pleased to circulate an opinion, that Dr Franklin is a very cunning man, in answer to which, I have remarked to Mr Oswald, 'Dr Franklin knows very well how to manage a cunning man, but when the Doctor converses, or treats with a man of candor, there is no man more candid than himself.' I do not know whether you will ultimately agree on political sketches, but I am sure, as gentlemen, you will part very well pleased with each other.

Should you, Sir, think proper to communicate to me your sentiments and advice on our affairs, the more amply the more acceptable, and probably the more serviceable; Mr Oswald will take charge of your despatches, and afford a secure means of conveyance.

"To this gentleman I refer you for general information of a journey, which I am immediately to make, partly in his company, at Ostend, to file off for the Hague. I feel a willingness, infirm as I am, to attempt doing as much good as can be expected from such a prisoner upon parole. As General Burgoyne is certainly exchanged, (a circ.u.mstance, by the by, which possibly might have embarra.s.sed us, had your late propositions been accepted) may I presume at my return to offer another Lieutenant General, now in England, a prisoner upon parole, in exchange; or what shall I offer in exchange for myself, a thing in my own estimation of no great value? I have the honor to be, with great respect, and, permit me to add, great reverence, Sir, &c.

HENRY LAURENS."

I entered into conversation with Mr Oswald. He was represented in the letter as fully apprized of Lord Shelburne's mind, and I was desirous of knowing it. All I could learn was, that the new Ministry sincerely wished for a peace, that they considered the object of the war, to France and America, as obtained. That if the independence of the United States was agreed to, there was no other point in dispute, and therefore nothing to hinder a pacification. That they were ready to treat of _Peace_, but he intimated, that if France should insist upon terms too humiliating to England, they could still continue the war, having yet great strength, and many resources left. I let him know, that America would not treat but in concert with France, and that my colleagues not being here, I could do nothing of importance in the affair; but that, if he pleased, I would present him to M. de Vergennes, Secretary of State for foreign Affairs. He consenting, I wrote and sent the following letter.

TO COUNT DE VERGENNES.

Pa.s.sy, April 15th, 1782.

"Sir,

"An English n.o.bleman, Lord Cholmondely, lately returning from Italy, called upon me here, at the time when we received the news of the first resolutions of the House of Commons, relating to America. In conversation he said, that he knew his friend, Lord Shelburne, had a great regard for me, that it would be pleasing to him to hear of my welfare, and receive a line from me, of which he, Lord Cholmondely, should like to be the bearer, adding, if there should be a change of Ministry, he believed Lord Shelburne would be employed. I thereupon wrote a few lines, of which I enclose a copy. This day I received an answer, which I also enclose, together with another letter from Mr Laurens. They both, as your Excellency will see, recommend the bearer, Mr Oswald, as a very honest, sensible man. I have had a little conversation with him. He tells me, that there has been a desire of making a separate peace with America, and continuing the war with France and Spain, but that now all wise people give up that idea as impracticable, and it is his private opinion, that the Ministry do sincerely desire a _general peace_, and that they will readily come into it, provided France does not insist upon conditions too humiliating for England, in which case she will make great and violent efforts, rather than submit to them, and that much is still in her power, &c.

"I told the gentleman, that I could not enter into particulars with him, but in concert with the Ministers of this Court. And I proposed introducing him to your Excellency, after communicating to you the letters he had brought me, in case you should think fit to see him, with which he appeared to be pleased. I intend waiting on you tomorrow, when you will please to acquaint me with your intentions, and favor me with your counsels. He had heard nothing of Forth's mission, and the old Ministry had not acquainted the new with that transaction. Mr Laurens came over with him in the same vessel, and went from Ostend to Holland. With great respect, I am, &c.

B. FRANKLIN."

The next day, being at Court with the Foreign Ministers, as usual on Tuesdays, I saw M. de Vergennes, who acquainted me, that he had caused the letters to be translated, had considered the contents, and should like to see Mr Oswald. We agreed that the interview should be on Wednesday at 10 o'clock. Immediately on my return home, I wrote to Mr Oswald, acquainting him with what had pa.s.sed at Versailles, and proposing, that he should be with me at half past eight the next morning, in order to proceed thither. I received from him the following answer.

Paris, April 16th.

"Sir,

"I have the honor of yours by the bearer, and shall be sure to wait on you tomorrow, at half past eight, and am, with much respect, &c.

RICHARD OSWALD."

He came accordingly, and we arrived at Versailles punctually. M. de Vergennes received him with much civility. Mr Oswald not being ready in speaking French, M. de Rayneval interpreted. Mr Oswald at first thought of sending an express, with the account of the conversation, which continued near an hour, and was offered a pa.s.sport, but finally concluded to go himself; and I wrote the next day the letter following.

TO LORD SHELBURNE.

Pa.s.sy, April 18th, 1782.

"My Lord,

"I have received the letter your Lords.h.i.+p did me the honor of writing to me on the 6th instant. I congratulate you on your new appointment to the honorable and important office you formerly filled so worthily, which must be so far pleasing to you, as it affords you more opportunities of doing good, and of serving your country essentially in its great concerns.

"I have conversed a good deal with Mr Oswald, and am much pleased with him. He appears to me a wise and honest man. I acquainted him, that I was commissioned, with others, to treat of and conclude a peace. That full powers were given us for that purpose, and that the Congress promised in good faith to ratify, confirm, and cause to be faithfully observed, the treaty we should make; but that we would not treat separately from France, and I proposed introducing him to the Count de Vergennes, to whom I communicated your Lords.h.i.+p's letter containing Mr Oswald's character, as a foundation for the interviews. He will acquaint you, that the a.s.surance he gave of His Britannic Majesty's good dispositions towards peace was well received, and a.s.surances returned of the same good dispositions in His Most Christian Majesty.

"With regard to circ.u.mstances relative to a treaty, M. de Vergennes observed, that the King's engagements were such, that he could not treat without the concurrence of his allies, that the treaty should, therefore, be for a general, not a partial peace, that if the parties were disposed to finish the war speedily by themselves, it would perhaps be best to treat at Paris, as an Amba.s.sador from Spain was already there, and the Commissioners from America might easily and soon be a.s.sembled there. Or, if they chose to make use of the proposed mediation, they might treat at Vienna; but that the King was so truly willing to put a speedy end to the war, that he would agree to any place the King of England should think proper.

"I leave the rest of the conversation to be related to your Lords.h.i.+p by Mr Oswald, and that he might do it more easily and fully, than he could by letter, I was of opinion with him, that it would be best he should return immediately and do it _viva voce_. Being myself but one of the four persons now in Europe, commissioned by the Congress to treat of peace, I can make no propositions of much importance without them. I can only express my wish, that, if Mr Oswald returns. .h.i.ther, he may bring with him the agreement of your Court to treat for a general peace, and the proposal of place and time, that I may immediately write to Messrs Adams, Laurens, and Jay. I suppose, that in this case, your Lords.h.i.+p will think it proper to have Mr Laurens discharged from the engagements he entered into, when he was admitted to bail. I desire no other channel of communication between us, than that of Mr Oswald, which I think your Lords.h.i.+p has chosen with much judgment. He will be witness of my acting with all the simplicity and good faith, which you do me the honor to expect from me, and if he is enabled, when he returns. .h.i.ther, to communicate more fully your Lords.h.i.+p's mind on the princ.i.p.al points to be settled, I think it may contribute much to the blessed work our hearts are engaged in.

"By the Act of Parliament relative to American prisoners, I see the King is empowered to exchange them. I hope those you have in England and Ireland may be sent home soon to their country, in flags of truce, and exchanged for an equal number of your people. Permit me to add, that I think it would be well if some kindness were mixed in the transaction, with regard to their comfortable accommodation on s.h.i.+pboard, as these poor unfortunate people have been long absent from their families and friends, and rather hardly treated. With great and sincere respect, I have the honor to be, my Lord, &c.

B. FRANKLIN."

To the account contained in this letter, of what pa.s.sed in the conversation with the Minister, I should add his frank declaration, that, as the foundation of a good and durable peace should be laid in justice, whenever a treaty was entered upon, he had several demands of justice to make from England. Of this, says he, I give you previous notice. What these demands were, he did not particularly say. One occurred to me, viz. reparation for the injury done in taking a number of French s.h.i.+ps by surprise, before the declaration of the preceding war, contrary to the law of nations. Mr Oswald seemed to wish to obtain some propositions to carry back with him, but M. de Vergennes said to him very properly, there are four nations engaged in the war against you, who cannot, till they have consulted and know each other's minds, be ready to make propositions. Your Court being without allies and alone, knowing its own mind, can express it immediately. It is therefore more natural to expect the first proposition from you.

On our return from Versailles, Mr Oswald took occasion to impress me with ideas, that the present weakness of the government of England, with regard to continuing the war, was owing chiefly to the division of sentiments about it. That in case France should make demands too humiliating for England to submit to, the spirit of the nation would be roused, unanimity would prevail, and resources would not be wanting. He said there was no want of money in the nation, that the chief difficulty lay in the finding out new taxes to raise it, and, perhaps, that difficulty might be avoided by shutting up the Exchequer, stopping the payment of the interests of the public funds, and applying that money to the support of the war. I made no reply to this, for I did not desire to discourage their stopping payment, which I considered as cutting the throat of the public credit, and a means of adding fresh exasperation against them with the neighboring nations. Such menaces were besides an encouragement with me, remembering the adage, that _they who threaten are afraid_.

The next morning, when I had written the above letter to Lord Shelburne, I went with it to Mr Oswald's lodgings, and gave it to him to read before I sealed it, that in case anything might be in it with which he was not satisfied, it might be corrected; but he expressed himself much pleased.

In going to him, I had also in view the entering into a conversation, which might draw out something of the mind of his Court on the subject of Canada and Nova Scotia. I had thrown some loose thoughts on paper, which I intended to serve as memorandums for my discourse, but without a fixed intention of showing them to him. On his saying that he was obliged to me for the good opinion I had expressed of him to Lord Shelburne in my letter, and a.s.suring me, that he had entertained the same of me, I observed, that I perceived Lord S. had placed great confidence in him, and as we had happily the same in each other, we might possibly, by a free communication of sentiments, and a previous settling of our own minds on some of the important points, be the means of great good, by impressing our sentiments on the minds of those with whom they might have influence, and where their being received might be of importance. I then remarked, that his nation seemed to desire a reconciliation, that to obtain this, the party which had been the aggressor and had cruelly treated the other, should show some marks of concern for what was past, and some disposition to make reparation; that perhaps there were things, which America might demand by way of reparation, and which England might yield, and that the effect would be vastly greater if they appeared to be voluntary, and to spring from returning good will; that I, therefore, wished England would think of offering something to relieve those, who had suffered by its scalping and burning parties. Lives indeed could not be restored nor compensated, but the villages and houses wantonly destroyed might be rebuilt, &c. I then touched upon the affair of Canada, and, as in a former conversation he had mentioned his opinion, that the giving up of that country to the English, at the last peace, had been a politic act in France, for that it had weakened the ties between England and her Colonies, and that he himself had predicted from it the late revolution, I spoke of the occasions of future quarrel that might be produced by her continuing to hold it, hinting at the same time, but not expressing too plainly, that such a situation, to us so dangerous, would necessarily oblige us to cultivate and strengthen our union with France. He appeared much struck with my discourse, and, as I frequently looked at my paper, he desired to see it. After some little delay, I allowed him to read it; the following is an exact copy.

NOTES FOR CONVERSATION.

"To make a peace durable, what may give occasion for future wars should if practicable be removed.

"The territory of the United States and that of Canada, by long extended frontiers, touch each other.

"The settlers on the frontiers of the American provinces are generally the most disorderly of the people, who, being far removed from the eye and control of their respective governments, are more bold in committing offences against neighbors, and are forever occasioning complaints and furnis.h.i.+ng matter for fresh differences between their States.

"By the late debates in Parliament, and public writings, it appears that Britain desires a _reconciliation_ with the Americans. It is a sweet word. It means much more than a mere peace, and what is heartily to be wished for. Nations make a peace whenever they are both weary of making war. But if one of them has made war upon the other unjustly, and has wantonly and unnecessarily done it great injuries, and refuses reparation, there may, for the present, be peace, the resentment of those injuries will remain, and will break out again in vengeance when occasions offer. These occasions will be watched for by one side, feared by the other, and the peace will never be secure; nor can any cordiality subsist between them.

"Many houses and villages have been burnt in America by the English and their allies, the Indians. I do not know that the Americans will insist on reparation; perhaps they may. But would it not be better for England to offer it? Nothing would have a greater tendency to conciliate, and much of the future commerce and returning intercourse between the two countries may depend on the reconciliation. Would not the advantage of reconciliation by such means be greater than the expense?

"If then a way can be proposed, which may tend to efface the memory of injuries, at the same time that it takes away the occasions of fresh quarrels and mischief, will it not be worth considering, especially if it can be done, not only without expense, but be a means of saving?

"Britain possesses Canada. Her chief advantage from that possession consists in the trade for peltry. Her expenses in governing and defending that settlement must be considerable. It might be humiliating to her to give it up on the demand of America. Perhaps America will not demand it; some of her political rulers may consider the fear of such a neighbor, as a means of keeping the thirteen States more united among themselves, and more attentive to military discipline. But on the mind of the people in general, would it not have an excellent effect, if Britain should voluntarily offer to give up this Province; though on these conditions, that she shall in all times coming have and enjoy the right of free trade thither, uninc.u.mbered with any duties whatsoever; that so much of the vacant lands there shall be sold, as will raise a sum sufficient to pay for the houses burnt by the British troops, and their Indians; and also to indemnify the royalists for the confiscation of their estates?

"This is mere conversation matter between Mr Oswald and Mr Franklin, as the former is not empowered to make propositions, and the latter cannot make any without the concurrence of his colleagues."

He then told me, that nothing in his judgment could be clearer, more satisfactory and convincing, than the reasonings in that paper; that he would do his utmost to impress Lord Shelburne with them; that, as his memory might not do them justice, and it would be impossible for him to express them so well, or state them so clearly as I had written them, he begged I would let him take the paper with him, a.s.suring me that he would return it safely into my hands. I at length complied with this request also. We parted exceeding good friends, and he set out for London.

By the first opportunity after his departure, I wrote the following letter to Mr Adams, and sent the papers therein mentioned, that he might fully be apprized of the proceedings. I omitted only the paper of _Notes for Conversation_ with Mr Oswald, but gave the substance, as appears in the letter. The reason of my omitting it was, that, on reflection, I was not pleased with my having hinted a reparation to tories for their forfeited estates, and I was a little ashamed of my weakness in permitting the paper to go out of my hands.