shall have liberty to cure and dry fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbors, and creeks, of Nova Scotia, Magdalene islands, and Labradore, so long as the same shall remain unsettled; but as soon as the same, or either of them, shall be settled, it shall not be lawful for the said fishermen to dry or cure fish on such settlement, without a previous agreement for that purpose with the inhabitants, proprietors, or possessors of the ground.

Article 4. It is agreed, that creditors on either side, shall meet with no unlawful impediment to the recovery of the full value, in sterling money, of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted.

Article 5. It is agreed, that the congress shall earnestly recommend it to the legislatures of the respective states, to provide for the restitution of all estates, rights, and properties, which have been confiscated belonging to real British subjects; and also of the estates, rights, and properties, of persons resident in districts in the possession of his majesty's arms, and who have not borne arms against the said United States; and that persons of any other description, shall have free liberty to go to any part or parts, of any of the thirteen United States, and therein to remain twelve months, unmolested in their endeavors to obtain the restitution of such of their estates, rights, and properties, as may have been confiscated; and that congress shall also earnestly recommend to the several states, a reconsideration and revision of all acts or laws regarding the premises, so as to render the said laws or acts perfectly consistent, not only with justice and equity, but with that spirit of conciliation which, on the return of the blessings of peace, should universally prevail; and that congress should also earnestly recommend to the several states, that the estates, rights, and properties, of such last mentioned persons, shall be restored to them, they refunding to any persons, who may be now in possession, the bona fide price (where any has been given) which such persons may have paid on purchasing any of the said lands, rights, or properties, since the confiscation.

And it is agreed, that all persons who have any interest in confiscated lands, either by debts, marriage settlements; or otherwise, shall meet with no lawful impediment in the prosecution of their just rights.

Article 6. That there shall be no future confiscations made, nor any prosecutions commenced against any persons, for or by reason of the part which he or they may have taken in the present war; and that no person shall, on that account, suffer any future loss or damage, either in his person, liberty, or property; and that those who may be now in confinement on such charges, at the time of the ratification of the treaty in America, shall be immediately set at liberty, and the prosecutions so commenced be discontinued.

Article 7. There shall be a firm and perpetual peace between his Britannic majesty and the said states, and between the subjects of the one and the citizens of the other; wherefore all hostilities, both by sea and by land, shall then immediately cease; all prisoners, on both sides, shall be set at liberty; and his Britannic majesty shall, with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction of carrying away negroes, or other property of the American inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, garrisons, and fleets, from the said United States, and from every port, place, and harbor, within the same, leaving in all fortifications the American artillery that may be therein; and shall also order and cause all archieves, records, deeds, and papers, belonging to any of the said states, or their citizens, which in the course of the war may have fallen into the hands of his officers, to be forthwith restored and delivered to the proper states and persons to whom they belong.

Article 8. The navigation of the river Mississippi, from its source to the ocean, shall for ever remain free and open to the subjects of Great Britain and citizens of the United States.

Article 9. In case it should so happen that any place, or territory, belonging to Great Britain, or to the United States, should be conquered by the arms of either, from

A a

the other, before the arrival of these articles in America.

It is agreed, that the same shall be restored without difficulty, and without requiring any compensation.

Done at Paris, November 30, 1782.

Secretary to the British Commission.

Signed W. T. FRANKLIN,

Secretary to the American Commission.

SEPARATE ARTICLE.

IT is hereby understood and agreed, that in case Great Britain, at the conclusion of the present war, shall recover, or be put in possession of West Florida, the line of the north boundary between the said province and the United States, shall be a line drawn from the mouth of the river Yassous, where it unites with the Mississippi, due east to the river Appalachicola.

Done at Paris, November 30, 1782.

Secretary to the British Commission.

Attest W. T. FRANKLIN,

Secretary to the American Commission.

To R. R. Livingston, Esq. Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

SIR,

Passy, December 5, 1782.

I AM honored by your several letters, No. 16, 17, 18, and 19, dated September 5th, 13th, 15th, and 18th. I believe the complaints that you make in them of my not writing, may ere now, have appeared less necessary, as many of my letters, written before those complaints, must have since come to hand, I will nevertheless mention some of the difficulties your ministers meet with, in keeping up a regular and punctual correspondence. We are far from the sea ports, and not well informed, and often misinformed about the sail. ing of vessels. Frequently we are told, they are to sail in a week or two, and often they lie in the ports for months after, with our letters on board, either waiting for convoy, or for other reasons. The post office here is an unsafe conveyance, many of the letters we received by it have evidently been opened, and doubtless the same happens to those we send; and at this time particularly, there is so violent a curiosity in all kinds of people, to know something relating to the negociations, and whether peace may be expected, or a continuance of the war; that there are few private hands, or travellers, that we can trust with carrying our dispatches to the sea coast; and I imagine that they may sometimes be opened and destroyed, because they cannot be well sealed; again, the observation you make, that the congress ministers in Europe seem to form themselves into privy council, transacting affairs without the privity or concurence of the sovereign, may be in some respects just; but it should be considered, that if they do not write as frequently as other ministers here, do to their respective courts; or if, when they write, their letters are not regularly received, the greater distance of the seat of war, and the extreme irregularity of conveyances may be the causes, and not a desire of acting without the knowlege or orders of their constituents. There is no European court to which an express cannot be sent from Paris in ten or fifteen days,

and from most of them answers may be obtained in that time. There is, I imagine, no minister who would not think it safer to act by orders, than from his own discretion; and yet, unless you leave more to the discretion of your ministers in Europe than courts usually do, your affairs may sometimes suffer extremely from the distance which, in the time of war especially, may make it five or six months before the answer to a letter shall be received. I suppose the minister from this court will acquaint congress with the king's sentiments, respecting their very handsome present of a ship of the line. People in general here are much pleased with it.

I communicated together with my memoir demanding a supply of money, copies of every paragraph in your late letters, which express so strongly the necessity of it. I have been constant in my solicitations both directly, and through the marquis de la Fayette, who has employed himself diligently and warmly in the business; the negociations for peace are, I imagine, one cause of the great delay and indecision on this occasion beyond what has been usual, as the quantum may be different if those negociations do or do not succeed. We have not yet learnt what we may expect. We have been told that we shall be aided, but it cannot be to the extent demanded; six millions have been mentioned, but not as a sum fixed. The minister tells me still that he is working upon the subject, but cannot yet give a determinative answer. I know his good will to do the best for us that is possible. It is in vain for me to repeat again what I have so often written, and what I find taken so little notice of, that there are bounds to every thing, and that the faculties of this nation are limitted like those of all other nations. Some of you seem to have established as maxims, the suppositions that France has money enough for all her occasions, and all ours besides; and that if she does not .supply us, it is owing to her want of will, or to my negligence. As to the first, I am sure it is not true, and to second, I can only say I should rejoice as much as any man in being able to obtain more; and I shall also rejoice in the