Part 4

There is in the Leyden Gazette of the 21st another article from London. "The Earl of Bellamont, who arrived here the 5th of this month from Ireland, has had an audience of his Majesty, and several conferences with his Ministers; as this nobleman is one of the principal supporters of the party of the administration in that country, it is supposed that his journey here was occasioned by the crisis, in which affairs are there at this time. Mr Henry Flood, who has come to Court on the same subject, as well as Mr Seaton Perry, the speaker of the Irish Commons, and Sir Richard Heron, Secretary of the Lord Lieutenant, have on the contrary returned to Dublin. As the Parliament was to sit the 10th of this month, we expect immediately interesting advices concerning the turn, which affairs may have taken there, and so much the more as we know, that soon after the meeting, Mr Yelverton intended to propose a bill, declaratory of the rights of Ireland, as far as they respect Poyning's law, and the manner of passing Irish bills in England. In the meantime, the leaders of the two parties endeavored to increase their forces in the two houses, although the preponderance in favor of the Court would scarcely have any effect, in case the party the most considerable of the people remain in the sentiments they appear to be in at this day. This consideration they say, supported by the advice of Sir Richard Heron, Mr Seaton Perry, and Mr Flood, has determined our government to give way to the wishes of the Irish nation, by consenting to the revocation of Poyning's law, if there are no other means of assuaging the fermentation of spirits. It is true, that some cities, counties, and boroughs, have lately assured the government of their attachment, and of their gratitude for the favors granted to Ireland, but there is a great deal wanting before all the people will be equally satisfied. The most enlightened part of the nation regard these same favors as granted to necessity, and purely precarious as long as the British legislature shall have the right to make laws for Ireland. Some magistrates have even already refused to execute the laws passed by the Parliament of Great Britain; those of the county of Mayo, having been among others required to put in force the act against desertions, and to show that they acknowledge no others than those, which have been made by their own legislative body. In general, according to the last accounts received from that country, it appears, that of the four parts of Ireland, the provinces of Leinster and Connaught are the most tranquil, reposing themselves upon the assurances, which have been given them by the respective Colonels of their volunteer associations, the Duke of Leinster, and the Earl of Clanricarde; and that the Court is disposed to grant to the nation all its demands. In the province of Munster, they are less quiet, and they persuade themselves, that there is little dependence upon a momentary benevolence, which is due only to necessity. But the inhabitants of Ulster are, of all Ireland, those who appear the most firmly determined to procure to themselves, at any price, an entire independence of the British legislation, and the formal renunciation of all acts, which are contrary to it. As this province, where they reckon at least thirty thousand families of Protestants, more than all the rest of the kingdom, distinguishes itself by the courage of its inhabitants, they will risk a great deal if they stir up discontents there."

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

* * * * *

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, April 26th, 1780.

Sir,

At last, even the Morning Post of the 18th of April confesses, that the Memorial from the Empress of Russia to the States-General has dissipated all their golden dreams of an alliance with the Czarina. It was announced to us last week, that a Russian squadron had left Cronstadt to sail to our assistance, nay, some of the public papers went so far as to announce their arrival at Plymouth. How sadly are we now disappointed! Instead of an alliance, we find her _Czarish_ Majesty talks of neutrality, so that at present it is pretty clear, that the various powers in Europe seem determined to stand off, and leave us to our fate."

In some confused minutes of a debate in the House of Lords on the 14th of April, it is said, that Lord Camden expressed his astonishment and regret at the Memorial from Russia, in which, contrary to the established law of nations, the Empress insisted upon free ships and free goods. He pointed out how injurious to the country it must be, if neutral vessels were permitted to supply our enemies, whom we might blockade, with everything they might want, and remarked, that the queen of the seas was now deposed, and the Empress had taken possession of her throne. In another paper, Lord Shelburne is represented remarking the very dangerous and alarming situation they stand in, with regard to their wars and foreign alliances. "Of the former," said his Lordship, "we have three, of the latter none, even the Empress of Russia, that great potentate, who was constantly held out by the noble Lord with the green riband, (Lord Stormont,) to be our principal ally, now shows to all Europe by her late maritime manifesto, what sort of an ally she means to be to England. The thought of that manifesto made him shudder when he first read it, particularly, as he knew how this country stood in respect to other powers, when Denmark must follow wherever Russia led, when Sweden was ready at the nod of France; think of having the whole force of the northern powers against us; already engaged in three wars, and striving all we can to make a fourth with our old friends and neutral allies, the States-General."

There have appeared few other reflections as yet, upon this great event, the Russian declaration. Even the opposition seems afraid to lay it open, in all its terrors, to the people. They repeat the word neutrality, neutrality, but it is as decisive a determination against them, as a declaration of war would have been, perhaps more so, because now there is a probability that the maritime powers will be unanimous, whereas in the other case they might have been divided. It is very surprising, that the peace between Russia and the Turk, and that between the Emperor and the King of Prussia, (in which the Empress of Russia took a part as spirited and decided as she has upon this occasion, in both of which negotiations the British ministry ought to have known that Russia and France acted in perfect concert,) should not have earlier dissipated their golden visions, but so it is, and so it has been; England, as Governor Pownal says, cannot or will not see. The improvement in the law of nations, which the Empress aims at, and will undoubtedly establish, is hurtful to England, it is true, to a very great degree, but it is beneficial to all other nations, and to none more than the United States of America, who will be carriers, and I hope forever neutrals.

I have the honor to be, &c.

JOHN ADAMS.

* * * * *

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, April 28th, 1780.

Sir,

The news from Hamburg of the 11th of April is, that "the Sieur de Geoss, the Minister of the Empress of Russia, near the circle of the Lower Saxony, has communicated to the Magistracy of that city a declaration, which his Sovereign has made to the three Courts at war, for the maintenance of the free navigation of neutrals; and we learn, that the same notification has been made to the Regencies of Lubec and Bremen, on the part of this Sovereign; who, without ceasing to observe a neutrality between the Courts actually at war, considers the liberty of the seas as a common good of all nations, which different particulars ought not to interrupt."

The news from London of the 18th of April is, "the term of three weeks is fixed for receiving an answer to the answer of the Memorial, which Sir Joseph Yorke has presented to their High Mightinesses, the States-General, expired last Thursday; they have published yesterday a Declaration, against the United Provinces, of which here follows the translation."

"The Resolution taken at a Council held at St James the 17th of April, 1780, in presence of his Majesty. Since Great Britain has been brought involuntarily into a war against France and Spain, the Ambassador of the King to the States-General of the United Provinces has presented several Memorials for demanding the succors stipulated by the treaties. These representations, although repeated in the most pressing manner by the Memorial of the 21st of March, have remained without answer, and their High Mightinesses have not manifested an intention to oppose them. By delaying thus to fulfil engagements the most positive, she deserts the alliance, which has subsisted so long between the Crown of Great Britain and the Republic, and places herself on a level with neutral powers, which are not connected with this kingdom by any treaty. The principles of wisdom and equity prescribe, by consequence, to the King no longer to consider the States but in the distant relation in which they have placed themselves; and his Majesty having taken this subject into consideration, has thought fit, by the advice of his privy council, to put in execution immediately the measures, which have been formerly annexed by the Memorial of the 21st of March last, and which had been previously suggested to the Count de Welderen, the Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic, by a verbal declaration of Lord Stormont, one of the Secretaries of State, nearly two months before the presentation of said Memorial. For these causes the King, with the advice of his Council, declares, that the subjects of the United Provinces shall henceforward be considered on the footing of neutral powers, who are not privileged by treaties. His Majesty suspends by these presents, conditionally, and until further order, all the particular stipulations designed to favor in time of war the liberty of the navigation and commerce of the subjects of the States-General, such as they are expressed in the different treaties, which subsist between his Majesty and the Republic, and especially in the Marine Treaty concluded between Great Britain and the United Provinces at London on the 1st day of December, 1674.

"His Majesty, animated by a sentiment of humanity, and willing to spare the interest of individuals, and not seeking their damage by an act of surprise, declares, moreover, with the advice of his Council, that the execution of the present ordinances shall not take place but at the following epochs, to wit; in the Channel and in the northern seas, twelve days after this date; from the Channel and the northern seas, as far as the Canary Islands, inclusively, both on the ocean and in the Mediterranean; the term shall be six weeks, reckoning from the date of these presents; it shall be of three months from the Canary Islands to the equinoctial line or the equator; and, finally, of six months to the parts situated beyond the equator, and, in general, in all the other parts of the world without exception, and without any more particular determination of time or place."

_Hague, April the 23d._ The Report of the Committee of the Province of Groningen, confirmed by the approbation of the States of the same Province, has been presented to the Assembly of their High Mightinesses. Here follow the contents.

"Noble and Mighty Lords,

"In compliance with the resolution of your Noble Mightinesses of the 31st of March last, in consequence of which was presented into the hands of the Committee of your Noble Mightinesses, the Report presented the 17th of February, by the deputies of their High Mightinesses to their Assembly, who had examined that which passed between Commodore Byland and the English Commodore Fielding, after the relation sent the 5th of January, by the Count de Welderen to Secretary Fagel, and after having heard and collected upon this subject the opinions of the Committees present of the colleges of the Admiralty respectively, purporting, among other things, that for the future, all merchandises, which the treaties do not positively declare to be contraband, ought, without any exception, to be under the convoy and protection of the State; the Committees have the honor to report to your Noble Mightinesses, that,

"From the commencement of the present troubles, this State has not only done all that which his Britannic Majesty, grounding himself upon the law and the treaties, could require of the Republic, but, at the same time, has relinquished some of the prerogatives, which incontestably belonged to it; that, instead of experiencing on the part of England the reciprocation of a treatment thus friendly, the Republic has seen itself cruelly undeceived, as a great number of ships belonging to its inhabitants have been seized by the privateers, and even by the men-of-war of the King of England; ships with their cargoes, or at least one of them, declared lawful prize; violence having even been employed on many occasions against our crews, without our having been able to obtain the least indemnification or satisfaction for such grievances, notwithstanding all the repeated complaints and representations to that effect; that the expedition of Commodore Fielding appeared to have been made in conformity to positive orders; that thereby the flags of the States had been notoriously insulted, and the ships under the convoy of Commodore Byland had been not only carried into England, but had been also there detained, although it appeared, that their loading did not consist in contraband goods; that this condescension, to which the Republic was by no means obliged, had only had disagreeable and dangerous consequences, both with regard to Great Britain and other powers, as is proved by the considerations drawn up by the colleges of the Admiralty respectively. The Committees of your Noble Mightinesses would be, therefore, of opinion, that from this time forward and for the future, we ought to take under convoy and the protection of the State all the merchandises, which the treaties declare not to be contraband, and that they be so effectually protected, that we may have no further room to fear for the future, that the least insult will be committed against the flag of the States, and that, in one word, as to what remains, we ought, conformably to the treaties subsisting, to observe an exact neutrality."

The State of Groningen has entirely conformed to the foregoing Report.

_Second Report presented by the same Province._

"Noble and Mighty Lords,

"The Committees of your Noble Mightinesses, in compliance with the Resolution of the 26th of November and the 2d of December of the last year, as well as of the 23d of March last, after an examination of the three Memoirs presented by Sir Joseph Yorke, Ambassador Extraordinary of his Britannic Majesty, on the 22d of July and the 26th of November, 1779, and on the 20th of March last, to their High Mightinesses, demanding, by the first, the succors stipulated by the treaty of 1674; insisting, in the second, on a catagorical answer; and finally complaining, in the last, of the combat held by Commodore Byland; on occasion of what passed with Commodore Fielding, adding thereto,---- instances to the end to obtain before the expiration of three weeks a satisfactory answer concerning the succors demanded, since otherwise, his Majesty would regard this Republic on the footing of neutral powers no ways favored by treaties, and would conditionally suspend all the treaties, and particularly that of 1674, and would treat the Republic according to the ordinary law of nations; after having also examined several letters, and other pieces annexed, successively transmitted by the Count de Welderen, Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of their High Mightinesses to His Britannic Majesty, they have the honor to report to your Noble Mightinesses, that after having maturely reflected upon what relates to the points in question, their advice will be, that in answer to the said three Memorials of Sir Joseph Yorke, Ambassador Extraordinary, it ought to be replied,

"That their High Mightinesses during the troubles subsisting, which undoubtedly drew their origin from America, and from thence, by an ulterior extension of the war, have spread themselves in Europe, have, by observing an exact neutrality, giving to his Britannic Majesty the most unfeigned proofs of their attachment and of their affection, even beyond their obligations, by a condescension, to which they were by no means obliged towards England, but the consequences of which have been, besides the prejudice thereby occasioned to the commerce and navigation of this country, that there has arisen a marked dissatisfaction, although by no means provoked, of the belligerent powers; and, in particular, the preparations made at the same time by land could not but excite the most serious attention of their High Mightinesses, to the end that they might, without interruption, not deprive themselves of the means indispensably necessary, both for their own preservation and defence, by granting the succors demanded; that they ought rather to think of demanding themselves, in consequence of the aforementioned treaties, the succors, which would be so necessary to them, upon the least apprehension of the continuance of the same preparations. That their High Mightinesses, founded upon good reasons, as well as upon the favorable declarations of his Majesty so often reiterated, ought to have expected a reciprocal affection and a friendly treatment towards the Republic, at least, that he would not have disputed a right, stipulated clearly by the most solemn treaties, and of which, so soon after the conclusion of the treaty of 1674, even before the war was entirely finished, the subjects of his Majesty, to the detriment of this country, make so free a use.

"Their High Mightinesses, penetrated with the most lively grief, have nevertheless perceived, that so far from their good intentions and proceedings having operated to any happy effect, it has happened, on the contrary, that several acts diametrically opposed to justice, have been authorised and executed by connivance, under the illusory pretext of opposition even to the same connivance, and this, in spite of multiplied efforts employed by the Republic to obviate such abuses; that, moreover, the rencounter between Commodore Fielding and Commodore Byland is of a nature, that according to the law of nations, the flag of a sovereign power being, in fact, everywhere sacred, the declaration made by the Count de Byland, an officer commanding in chief a squadron in the name of the Republic whereof he is a subject, ought to have been regarded as authentic, and to have stopped at once all suspicions, and destroyed the intelligence falsely given; from whence it follows, that the said Commodore Byland has not undertaken anything, but for the maintenance and protection of the honor and respect due to the flag of the State; while the seizure and detention of the ships are equally a part of those objects, concerning which, their High Mightinesses ought also to demand a satisfaction convenient to his Majesty, as well as a declaration unequivocal for the time to come; adding, at the same time, that, after a mature consideration upon the situation in which the Republic is at present, their High Mightinesses are perfectly acquainted with the succors demanded by his Britannic Majesty."

The States of the Province of Groningen have conformed themselves to the report before mentioned.

_Hague, 22d of April._ "We learn that the Province of Gueldres has determined to grant unlimited convoys, and, at the same time, to refuse the succors demanded by Great Britain; by means of which, the Seven United Provinces are actually of one unanimous sentiment upon this object."

_Hague, 23d of April._ "We learn, that the deputies of the Province of Holland have already been instructed to carry to the Assembly of the States-General, the opinion of their high constituents concerning the invitation, which the Prince de Gallitzin, Envoy of the Empress of Russia, has made in the name of her Majesty, to their High Mightinesses, to protect in concert the navigation of the neuters; and that this opinion, announced in a resolution of the State of the Province, bearing date the 13th of April, tends to accept the invitation in terms full of attachment and gratitude, declaring, 'that their High Mightinesses regard the communication, which has been made to them, as a signal token of the benevolence of her Majesty towards the Republic; that they honor it, and believe it to be their duty to answer it with sincerity and cordiality; that they consider it also as a new proof of the magnanimity and the justice of her Majesty, which are universally acknowledged, both the end which she proposes and the measures she has projected to maintain in the present war, a neutrality the most rigorous between the belligerent powers, and for protecting, not only the honor of the Russian flag, and the safety of the commerce and navigation of her subjects, in not permitting that any of the belligerent powers should strike at it; but also, by establishing by her cares the liberties and repose of Europe upon foundations the most solid, of equity, the law of nations, and the treaties subsisting, and to give validity to an equitable system of navigation and of commerce in favor of the neutral powers; that their High Mightinesses, desiring to observe with her Imperial Majesty in the present war a scrupulous neutrality, have but too much experienced the losses to which the navigation and commerce of neutral nations are exposed by the uncertain and fluctuating ideas of the belligerent powers with regard to the rights of neuters, in proportion as they are guided by their private interest and by the operations of the war; that their High Mightinesses judge with her Imperial Majesty, that it is of the last necessity that this law should be fixed upon solid principles, and maintained in concert by the neutral maritime powers; that for what concerns the determination of the said right, their High Mightinesses conform themselves entirely to the five points contained in the declaration, which her Majesty has made to the Courts of Versailles, Madrid, and London; that after her example, they are ready to transmit parallel ---- to the belligerent powers, and that they are very much disposed to enter into conferences with her Majesty and the other neutral powers, upon the measures by which the liberty of navigation and commerce may be maintained in concert, in a manner the most efficacious, both for the future and for the present, observing, at the same time, an exact neutrality among the belligerent powers.'

"The same opinion tends also to cause to be transmitted the copy of such a resolution, not only to the Prince de Gallitzin, Envoy of her Majesty to the Republic, but also to M. de Swart, Resident of their High Mightinesses at Petersburg, and to their Ministers at the Courts of Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Lisbon, with orders to these last to second, as far as possible, the proceedings of the Court of Russia, and to act in concert with the Ministers of her Imperial Majesty, &c."

Congress will be able to draw just inferences from these important papers of State.