News of the Peace diffused general Satisfaction. I will not now take upon me to justify the apparent Reserve, respecting this Court, at the Signature, which you disapprove. We have touch'd upon it in our general Letter.1 I do not see, however, that they have much reason to complain of that Transaction. Nothing was stipulated to their Prejudice, and none of the Stipulations were to have Force, but by a subsequent Act of their own. I suppose, indeed, that they have. not complain'd of it, or you would have sent us a Copy of the Complaint, that we might have answer'd it. I long since satisfi'd Comte de V. about it here. We did what appear'd to all of us best at the Time, and, if we have done wrong, the Congress will do right, after hearing us, to censure us. Their Nomination of Five Persons to the Service seems to mark, that they had some Dependence on our joint Judgment, since one alone could have made a Treaty by Direction of the French Ministry as well as twenty.

I will only add, that, with respect to myself, neither the Letter from M. Marbois, handed us thro' the British Negociators (a suspicious Channel), nor the Conversations respecting the Fishery, the Boundaries, the Royalists, &c., recommending Moderation in our Demands, are of Weight sufficient in my Mind to fix an Opinion, that this Court wish'd to restrain us in obtaining any Degree of Advantage we could prevail on our Enemies to accord; since those Discourses are fairly resolvable, by supposing a very natural Apprehension, that

1 See "Diplomatic Correspondence" (Sparks), Vol. X. p. 187. — ED.

2 Marquis de Barbe-Marbois (1745-1837), secretary of the French legation, at Philadelphia; minister plenipotentiary in Germany; major of Metz; President of "Conseil des Anciens"; Conseiller d'Etat; directeur in 1801; President of "Cour des Comptes"; senator (1813); garde des Sceaux under Louis XVIII; member of the "Académie des Inscriptions."— Ed.

we, relying too much on the Ability of France to continue the War in our favour, and supply us constantly with Money, might insist on more Advantages than the English would be willing to grant, and thereby lose the Opportunity of making Peace, so necessary to all our Friends.

1

I ought not, however, to conceal from you, that one of my Colleagues is of a very different Opinion from me in these Matters. He thinks the French Minister one of the greatest Enemies of our Country, that he would have straitned our Boundaries, to prevent the Growth of our People; contracted our Fishery, to obstruct the Increase of our Seamen; and retained the Royalists among us, to keep us divided; that he privately opposes all our Negociations with foreign Courts, and afforded us, during the War, the Assistance we receiv'd, only to keep it alive, that we might be so much the more weaken'd by it; that to think of Gratitude to France is the greatest of Follies, and that to be influenc'd by it would ruin us. He makes no Secret of his having these Opinions, expresses them publicly, sometimes in presence of the English Ministers, and speaks of hundreds of Instances which he could produce in Proof of them. None of which however, have yet appear'd to me, unless the Conversations and Letter above-mentioned are reckoned such.

If I were not convinc'd of the real Inability of this Court to furnish the further Supplys we ask'd, I should suspect these Discourses of a Person in his Station might have influenced the Refusal; but I think they have gone no farther than to occasion a Suspicion, that we have a considerable Party of Antigallicans in America, who are not Tories, and consequently to produce some doubts of the Continuance of our 1 John Adams. — ED.

Friendship. As such Doubts may hereafter have a bad Effect, I think we cannot take too much care to remove them; and it is, therefore, I write this, to put you on your guard, (believing it my duty, tho' I know that I hazard by it a mortal Enmity), and to caution you respecting the Insinuations of this Gentleman against this Court, and the Instances he supposes of their ill will to us, which I take to be as imaginary as I know his Fancies to be, that Count de V. and myself are continually plotting against him, and employing the NewsWriters of Europe to depreciate his Character, &c. But as Shakespear says, "Trifles light as Air," &c. I am persuaded, however, that he means well for his Country, is always an honest Man, often a wise one, but sometimes, and in some things, absolutely out of his senses.

1

When the Commercial Article, mentioned in yours of the 26th was struck out of our propos'd Preliminaries by the then British Ministry, the reason given was, that sundry Acts of Parliament still in force were against it, and must be first repeal'd, which I believe was really their Intention, and sundry Bills were accordingly bro't in for that purpose; but, new Ministers with different Principles succeeding, a commercial Proclamation totally different from those Bills has lately appeared. I send enclos'd a Copy of it. We shall try what can be done in the Definitive Treaty towards setting aside that Proclamation; but, if it should be persisted in, it will then be a Matter worthy the attentive Discussion of Congress, whether it will be most prudent to retort with a similar Regulation in order to force its Repeal (which may possibly tend to bring on another Quarrel), or to let it pass without notice, and leave it to its own Inconvenience, or

1 "Othello," III, 111, 222. — Ed.

rather Impracticability, in the Execution, and to the Complaints of the West India Planters, who must all pay much dearer for our Produce, under those Restrictions.

I am not enough Master of the Course of our Commerce to give an Opinion on this particular Question, and it does not behove me to do it; yet I have seen so much Embarrassment and so little Advantage in all the Restraining and Compulsive Systems, that I feel myself strongly inclin❜d to believe, that a State, which leaves all her Ports open to all the World upon equal Terms, will, by that means, have foreign Commodities cheaper, sell its own Productions dearer, and be on the whole the most prosperous. I have heard some Merchants say, that there is 10 per cent Difference between Will you buy? and Will you sell? When Foreigners bring us their Goods, they want to part with them speedily, that they may purchase their Cargoes and despatch their Ships, which are at constant Charges in our Ports; we have then the Advantage of their Will you buy? And when they demand our Produce, we have the Advantage of their Will you sell? And the concurring Demands of a Number also contribute to raise our Prices. Thus both those Questions are in our favour at home, against us abroad.

The employing, however, of our own Ships and raising a Breed of Seamen among us, tho' it should not be a matter of so much private Profit as some imagine, is nevertheless of political Importance, and must have weight in considering this Subject.

The Judgment you make of the Conduct of France in the Peace, and the greater Glory acquired by her Moderation. than even by her Arms, appears to me perfectly just. The Character of this Court and Nation seems, of late years, to

be considerably changed. The Ideas of Aggrandizement by Conquest are out of fashion, and those of Commerce are more enlightened and more generous than heretofore. We shall soon, I believe, feel something of this in our being admitted to a greater Freedom of Trade with their Islands. The Wise here think France great enough; and its Ambition at present seems to be only that of Justice and Magnanimity towards other Nations, Fidelity and Utility to its Allies.

The Ambassador of Portugal was much pleas'd with the Proceedings relating to their Vessel, which you sent me, and assures me they will have a good Effect at his Court. He appears extremely desirous of a Treaty with our States; I have accordingly propos'd to him the Plan of one (nearly the same with that sent me for Sweden), and, after my agreeing to some Alterations, he has sent it to his Court for Approbation. He told me at Versailles, last Tuesday, that he expected its Return to him on Saturday next, and anxiously desired that I would not despatch our Pacquet without it, that Congress might consider it, and, if approv'd, send a Commission to me or some other Minister to sign it.

I venture to go thus far in treating, on the Authority only of a kind of general Power, given formerly by a Resolution of Congress to Messrs. Franklin, Deane, and Lee; but a special Commission seems more proper to compleat a Treaty, and more agreable to the usual Forms of such Busi

ness.

I am in just the same Situation with Denmark; that Court, by its Minister here, has desired a Treaty with us. I have propos'd a Plan formed on that sent me for Sweden; it had been under Consideration some time at Copenhagen, and is expected here this Week, so that I may possibly send