Papers of John Adams, volume 12
1782-04-20
I received, to day the Letter you did me the honor to write to me yesterday, and am exceedingly obliged to you for your cordial congratulations, on the great Event which was yesterday finally concluded by their High Mightinesses. The Favour of Providence, has been remarkably manifested in the progress of this Negociation, hitherto, that I very sincerely join with you in imploring its continuance, to the mutual prosperity, and the permanent establishment of the liberties of both Nations.
I have small pretensions to an accurate Knowledge of the Commerce of either Country; but such general notions of it as have fallen to my share, I shall ever esteem it a pleasure and an honor to communicate.
I should be sorry however, to give the trouble of coming to the Hague to so respectable a number of the Merchants of your City; but as I do not propose to return to Amsterdam before Thursday, I shall be happy to receive them, or any of them at the Mareschall de Turenne at the Hague, on any day before that time; and if the hour of twelve on Wednesday next should suit your convenience none will be more agreeable to me.1
C. W. F. Dumas indicates in his letter of 10 May to Robert R. Livingston that the delegation led by Nolet met with JA on Monday, 22 April. In their address, the town’s merchants noted the common love of liberty in the Netherlands and the United States arising from their birth in revolutions against despotic powers. They expressed their joy at the States General’s providential decision to recognize American independence and ac-432knowledge JA as minister plenipotentiary. The address ended with a plea for the free admittance of their city’s produce into the United States. JA enclosed the address with a letter of 5 July to Livingston (Papers of John Adams, vol. 13; Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev.
, 5:408–410, 595–597). For an invitation to dine with the merchants of Schiedam, see Dumas’ letter of 30 April to JA, below.
1782-04-20
I hope your Excellency received the Copy of our Instructions which I sent by the Courier from Versailles some Weeks since. I wrote to you on the 13th. to go by Capt. Smedly and sent a Pacquet of Correspondence with Mr. Hartley. Smedly did not leave Paris so soon as I expected; but you should have it by this time.1 With this I send a fresh Correspondence which I have been drawn into, viz: 1. A Letter I sent to Lord Shelburne before he was Minister. 2. His Ansr. since he was Minister by Mr Oswald. 3. A Letter from Mr Lawrens. 4. My Letter to M. de Vergennes. 5 My Ansr to Lord Shelburne. 6. My Answer to Mr Lawrens, 7th Copy of Digges’s Report.2 These Papers will inform you pretty well of what pass’d between me and Mr Oswald, except that in a Conversation at parting I mention’d to him, that I observed they spoke much in England of obtaining a Reconciliation with the Colonies; that this was more than a mere Peace; that the latter might possiby be obtained without the former; that the cruel Injuries wantonly done us by burning our Towns &ca. had made deep Impressions of Resentment which would long remain; that much of the Advantage to the Commerce of England from a Peace Would depend on a Reconciliation; that the Peace without a Reconciliation would probably not be durable; that after a Quarrel between Friends, nothing tended so much to conciliate, as Offers made by the Aggressor, of Reparation for Injuries done by him in his Passion. And I hinted that if England should make us a Voluntary Offer of Canada expressly for that purpose it migh have a good Effect. Mr Oswald liked much the Idea, said they were too much straiten’d for Money to make us pecuniary Reparation, but he should endeavour to persuade their doing it in this Way.3 He is furnish’d with a Passport to go and return by Calais, and I expect him back in ten or twelve Days.4 I wish you and Mr Lawrens could be here when he arrives; for I shall much want your Advice, and cannot act without your Concurrence. If the present Crisis of your Affairs prevents your coming, I hope at least Mr Lawrens will be here,5 and 433we must communicate with you by Expresses, for your Letters to me per Post are generally open’d. I shall write pr. next Post requesting Mr Jay to be here also as soon as possible.6
I received your Letter advising of your Draft on me for a Quarter’s Salary, which will be duly honour’d.7
If Mr Laurens has left Holland, please to seal his Letter with a Wafer and let it follow him.8
I shall be glad to have again all the Papers of this and the former Packet; but you can keep Copies of any you may think worth the Trouble.
JA acknowledged receiving the instructions and the packet containing Franklin’s correspondence with David Hartley in his reply of 2 May (LbC, Adams Papers; Wharton, ed., Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev.
, 5:545–546).
Nos. 1–6—Franklin to Lord Shelburne, 22 March; Shelburne’s reply of 6 April; Henry Laurens to Franklin, 7 April; Franklin to the Comte de Vergennes, 15 April; Franklin to Shelburne, 18 April; and Franklin to Laurens, 20 April—are entered in Franklin’s journal in which he chronicled his participation in preliminary discussions of peace initiated by the new British ministry (Wharton, ed., Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev.
, 5:535–543). The final item on Franklin’s list presumably is Thomas Digges’ memorandum to Lord Shelburne, for which see Digges to JA, 2 April, note 1, above.
Franklin’s account of this conversation with Richard Oswald agrees substantially with the account in his journal (Wharton, ed., Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev.
, 5:540–542).
Richard Oswald returned on 4 May (same, 5:547).
In his letter to Shelburne of 18 April, Franklin specifically requested that the charges against Laurens be dropped so that he could participate in peace negotiations (same, 5:539). Shelburne notified Laurens on 26 April that he was free (Laurens, Papers
, 15:494).
Franklin wrote to Jay on 22 April (Wharton, ed., Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev.
, 5:320–321).
Not found.
JA gave Franklin’s letter to Laurens of 20 April to Henry Laurens Jr. to deliver to his father (to Franklin, 2 May, same, 5:545–546).