here. They may perhaps abound more in some other parts of the world, but they are also to be found here, though an unsocial kind of policy requires unceasing attention to the most austere rules of caution and prudence. The little that I have seen and observed of this people induces me to think, that (except the generality of those who compose the highest and lowest orders) they possess many qualities which are praiseworthy and that two or three long and wise reigns would make them a very powerful and an amiable nation. But as I have not had sufficient opportunities of mixing with, and personally knowing many them, time and further information may either confirm or alter this opinion. The evident suspense and indecision of the court concerning us has kept many at a distance, with whom I should otherwise have been on a very familiar footing, and some of them have been so candid as to tell me so. This is a kind of prudence which naturally grows out of a jealous and absolute government, under which the people have, for many generations, been habituated to that kind of dependence, which constrains every class to watch and respect the opinions and inclinations of their superiors in power. The prosperous tide of our affairs, however, has for some time past run so strong, that I think many of our obstacles here must soon give way. Shyness will then cease, and I shall not afterwards find it difficult to be received into more of their houses, and that in the only manner I can wish to be received into any;-I mean, at the front door, by direct invitation from the masters of them, and without the precursory good offices of upper servants and unimportant favorites, whom I never can submit to court.'

On receiving his commission to enter into negotiations for the conclusion of peace with Great Britain, Mr. Jay wrote to the President of Congress, expressing in decided terms his objections to that portion of the instructions given to the commissioners, by which they were required to govern themselves by the advice of the French ministry in all the stages of the negotiation, and requesting that he might be relieved from the performance of a duty, which, under the circumstances, he considered as humiliating. In the mean time and until the reply of Congress could be received, he resolved to undertake the commission, and went for that purpose to Paris, where he arrived on the 23d of June, 1782. In July, Mr. Oswald was commissioned by the king of Great Britain to treat, consult of, and conclude with any commissioner or commissioners named, or to be named by the thirteen Colonies or plantations in North

America, and any body or bodies, corporate or politic, or any assembly or assemblies, or description of men, or any person or persons whatsoever, a peace or truce with the said Colonies or plantations, or any part thereof.' Count de Vergennes was solicitous that the commissioners of the United States should negotiate with Mr. Oswald under this commission, and Dr. Franklin was of opinion that it was sufficient. Mr. Jay, however, considered it as a virtual declaration that the United States were still Colonies of Great Britain, and declined commencing the negotiation, but resolved to take upon himself the responsibility of violating the express command of Congress. Without the knowledge of the French minister, he assured Mr. Oswald that he would take part in no negotiations in which the United States were not treated as an independent nation, and at his request, gave him a draught of such a commission, as he was willing to admit as satisfactory. This was transmitted by Mr. Oswald to his court, who informed him in reply, that it was the King's intention to grant to America unconditional independence, as an article of treaty. In the mean time, the Count de Vergennes had given the British Government to understand, that the original commission was, in his judgment, a sufficient one. On being informed of this fact by Mr. Oswald, Mr. Jay prepared a letter to that gentleman, intended to be subscribed by Dr. Franklin and himself, in which a resolution was avowed to treat upon no other footing than that of absolute independence. Dr. Franklin refused to subscribe this letter, but it was communicated by Mr. Jay to Mr. Oswald, and by him transmitted to his court. On the 9th of September, it was ascertained by Mr. Jay that M. Rayneval, the secretary of Count de Vergennes, had gone to London, and he immediately inferred, that the journey could be undertaken only to inform the British cabinet that the commission was regarded by the French Government as a sufficient one, to counteract the claim of the United States to the fisheries and the country bordering on the Mississippi, and to ascertain whether a general peace could be concluded on terms agreeable to France. The well known letter of Marbois had by this time made its appearance, and had confirmed Mr. Jay in his suspicion of the hostile purposes of the French ministry; and, without the knowledge of the Count de Vergennes or Dr. Franklin, he immediately dispatched a secret agent to the British Secretary of State, to inform him, that the United

America, and any body or bodies, corporate or politic, or any assembly or assemblies, or description of men, or any person or persons whatsoever, a peace or truce with the said Colonies or plantations, or any part thereof.' Count de Vergennes was solicitous that the commissioners of the United States should negotiate with Mr. Oswald under this commission, and Dr. Franklin was of opinion that it was sufficient. Mr. Jay, however, considered it as a virtual declaration that the United States were still Colonies of Great Britain, and declined commencing the negotiation, but resolved to take upon himself the responsibility of violating the express command of Congress. Without the knowledge of the French minister, he assured Mr. Oswald that he would take part in no negotiations in which the United States were not treated as an independent nation, and at his request, gave him a draught of such a commission, as he was willing to admit as satisfactory. This was transmitted by Mr. Oswald to his court, who informed him in reply, that it was the King's intention to grant to America unconditional independence, as an article of treaty. In the mean time, the Count de Vergennes had given the British Government to understand, that the original commission was, in his judgment, a sufficient one. On being informed of this fact by Mr. Oswald, Mr. Jay prepared a letter to that gentleman, intended to be subscribed by Dr. Franklin and himself, in which a resolution was avowed to treat upon no other footing than that of absolute independence. Dr. Franklin refused to subscribe this letter, but it was communicated by Mr. Jay to Mr. Oswald, and by him transmitted to his court. On the 9th of September, it was ascertained by Mr. Jay that M. Rayneval, the secretary of Count de Vergennes, had gone to London, and he immediately inferred, that the journey could be undertaken only to inform the British cabinet that the commission was regarded by the French Government as a sufficient one, to counteract the claim of the United States to the fisheries and the country bordering on the Mississippi, and to ascertain whether a general peace could be concluded on terms agreeable to France. The well known letter of Marbois had by this time made its appearance, and had confirmed Mr. Jay in his suspicion of the hostile purposes of the French ministry; and, without the knowledge of the Count de Vergennes or Dr. Franklin, he immediately dispatched a secret agent to the British Secretary of State, to inform him, that the United VOL. XXXVII.-NO. 81.

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States would treat on the basis of independence, or not at all; that it was not for the interest of England, however it might be for that of France, to postpone the acknowledgment of our independence until the conclusion of a general peace; and that he was resolved to take a part in no negotiation, that should not recognise the right of the United States to the fisheries, and the navigation of the Mississippi. On the 27th of September, the agent returned from London with a commission, authorizing Mr. Oswald to treat with the commissioners of the United States of America. The negotiations were now actively commenced. On the 26th of October, Mr. Adams arrived, and gave his efficient aid in prosecuting them, and, on the 30th of November, the provisional articles of treaty were subscribed by Mr. Oswald and the American commissioners.

The account which we have here given is a mere abbreviation of the more extended one, which is contained in the work before us. The author naturally enters warmly into the feelings of his father, on all the questions relating to the inclination and policy of the French Cabinet, throughout the negotiation. Our views upon these questions have been more than once expressed, and it is hardly necessary for us to declare them now. We will only here remark, that we are not aware of the existence of any evidence, tending to show, that the object of M. Rayneval's tour to London was that which Mr. Jay supposed. All the testimony, which we have seen, goes to contradict that supposition. What verbal overtures he may have made, it is of course impossible to ascertain; but it is hardly proper to proceed upon the supposition that he offered any hostile to our interests, until the fact be made in some way to appear. As respects the letter of M. Marbois, the considerations relating to it have been already amply examined in this Journal; admitting its authenticity to be beyond dispute, as the biographer assures us that it is, it would hardly justify the liberal inferences which have been deduced from it. But this, as we have already said, is a subject which it is not now our intention to discuss. The point of view in which it is most interesting, is that which relates to the character of Dr. Franklin, whose views, respecting the designs of the French ministry, differed essentially, in the early stages of the negotiation, from those of Mr. Jay and Mr. Adams. It was not until after the arrival of Mr. Adams, that Dr. Franklin consented to disobey the instructions of Congress; but his subsequent willing