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his friend, lord Shelburne, had a great regard for me: that it would be pleasing to him to hear of my welfare, and to receive a line from me, of which he, lord Cholmondely, should like to be the bearer; adding, that if there should be a change of ministry, he believed lord Shelburne would be employed. I thereupon wrote a few lines, of which I also enclose a copy. This day I received an answer, which I also enclose, together with another letter from Mr. Laurens. They both, as your excellency will see, recommend the bearer, Mr. Oswald, as a very honest sensible man. I have had a little conversation with him. He tells me there has been a desire of making a separate peace with America, and continuing the war with France and Spain; but that now all wise people give up that idea as impracticable; and it is his private opinion, that the ministry do sincerely desire a general peace, and that they will readily come into it, provided France does not insist upon conditions too humiliating for England; in such case, she will make great and violent efforts rather than submit to them, and that much is still in her power, &c. I told the gentleman, that I could not enter into particulars with him, but in concert with the ministers of this court. And I proposed introducing him to your excellency, after communicating to you the letters he had brought me, in case you should think fit to see him, with which he appeared to be pleased. I intend waiting on you to-morrow, when you will please to acquaint me with your intentions, and favor me with your counsels. He had heard nothing of Forth's mission, and the old ministry had not acquainted the new with that transaction. Mr. Laurens came over with him in the same vessel, and went from Ostend to Holland.

With great respect, I am, &c.

B. FRANKLIN."

The next day being at court with the foreign ministers, as usual on Tuesdays. I saw M. de Vergennes, who acquainted me, that he had caused the letter to be translated, had considered the contents, and should like to see Mr.

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Oswald. We agreed that the interview should be on Wednesday at ten o'clock.

Immediately on my return home I wrote to Mr. Oswald, acquainting him with what had passed at Versailles, and proposing that he should be with me at half past eight the next morning, in order to proceed thither.

I received from him the following answer:

SIR,

I HAVE the honor of yours by the bearer, and shall be sure to wait on you to-morrow, at half past eight, and I am, with much respect, &c.

Paris, April 16.

RICHARD OSWALD."

He came accordingly, and we arrived at Versailles punctually. M. de Vergennes received him with much civility. Mr. Oswald, not being ready in speaking French, M. de Rayneval interpreted. The conversation continued near an hour. Mr. Oswald, at first, thought of sending an express, with an account of it, and was offered a passport, but finally concluded to go himself, and I wrote the next day to lord Shelburne the following letter.

MY LORD,

No. 8.

"Passy, April 18, 1782.

I HAVE received the letter your lordship did me the honor of writing to me the 6th instant. I congratulate you on your new appointment to the honorable and important office you formerly filled so worthily, an office which must be so far pleasing to you, as it affords you more opportunities of doing good, and serving your country essentially in its great concerns. I have conversed a good deal with Mr. Oswald, and am much pleased with him; he appears to me a wise and honest man. I acquainted him that I was commissioned, with others, to treat of and conclude a peace: that full powers were given us for that purpose; and that the congress promised, in good faith, to ratify, confirm, and cause to be faithfully observed the treaty we should make ; but that we would not treat separately from France; and I

proposed introducing him to M. le compte de Vergennes, to whom I communicated your lordship's letter, containing Mr. Oswald's character, as a foundation for the interview. He will acquaint you, that the assurance he gave of his Britannic majesty's good disposition towards peace was well received, and assurances returned of the same good dispositions, on the part of his most Christian majesty. With regard to círcumstances relative to a treaty, M. de Vergennes observed, that the king's engagements were such, as that he could not treat without the concurrence of his allies; that the treaty should therefore be for a general, not a partial, peace; and if the parties were not disposed to finish the war speedily by themselves, it would perhaps be best to treat at Paris, as an embassador from Spain was already there, and the commissioners from America might easily and soon be assembled there: Or if they chose to make use of the proposed mediation, they might treat at Vienna; but that the king was truly willing to put a speedy end to the war: that he would agree to any place the king of England should think proper. I leave the rest of the conversation, to be related to your lordship by Mr. Oswald; and that he might do it more easily and fully than he could by letter. I was of opinion with him, that it would be best he should return immediately, and do it vivâ voce.

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Being myself but one of the four persons now in Europe, commissioned by the congress to treat of peace, I can make no proposition of much importance, without them. I can only express my wish that, if Mr. Oswald returns hither, he may bring with him the agreement of your court to treat for a general peace, and the proposal of place and time, that I may immediately write to Messrs, Adams, Laurens, and Jay. I suppose that, in this case, your lordship will think it proper to have Mr. Laurens discharged from the engage, ments he entered into, when he was admitted to bail. I desire no other channel of communication between us, than that of Mr. Oswald, which I think your lordship has chosen with much judgment. He will be witness of my acting with all the simplicity, and good faith, which you do me the

honor to expect from me; and if he is enabled, when he returns hither, to communicate more fully your lordship's mind on the principal points to be settled, I think it may contribute much to the blessed work our hearts are engaged in.

By the act of parliament, relative to American prisoners, I see the king is empowered to exchange them. I hope those you have, in England and Ireland, may be sent home soon to their country in flags of truce, and exchanged for an equal number of your people. Permit me to add, that I think it would be well if some kindness were used in the transaction, with regard to their comfortable accommodation on ship-board, as those poor unfortunate people have been long absent from their families and friends, and rather hardly treated.

With great regard, and sincere respect,

I have the honor to be, my lord, &c.

B. FRANKLIN."

To the account, contained in this letter, of what passed in the conversation with the minister, I should add his frank declaration, that as the foundation of good and durable peace should be laid in justice, whenever a treaty was entered upon, he had several demands to make of justice from England. Of this, says he, I give you previous notice. What these demands were, he did not particularly say; one occurred to me, to wit, reparation for the injury done in taking several French ships by surprise, before the declaration of the preceding war, contrary to the law of nations. Mr. Oswald seemed to wish obtaining some propositions to carry back with him; but M. de Vergennes said to him very properly, there are four nations engaged in the war against you, who cannot, till they have consulted and known each other's minds, be ready to make propositions. Your court, being without allies, and alone, knowing its own mind, can express it immediately. It is therefore more natural to expect the first propositions from you,

On our return from Versailles, Mr. Oswald took occasion to impress me with ideas, that the present weakness of the government in England, with regard to continuing the war, was owing chiefly to the division of sentiments about it. That in case France should make demands too humiliating for England to submit to, the spirit of the nation would be roused, unanimity would prevail, and resources would not be wanting. He said, there was no want of money in the nation: that the chief difficulty lay in the finding out new taxes to raise it; and perhaps that difficulty might be avoided, by shutting up the exchequer; stopping the payment of the interest of public funds, and applying that to the money support of the war. I made no reply to this; for I did not desire to discourage their stopping payment, which I consider as cutting the throat of the public credit, and a means of adding fresh exasperation against them with the neighboring nations. Such menaces were besides an encouragement with me, remembering the adage, that they who threaten are afraid.

The next morning, when I had written the above letter to lord Shelburne, I went with it to Mr. Oswald's lodgings, and gave it to him to read before I sealed it, that in case any thing might be in it with which he was not satisfied, it might be corrected; but he expressed himself much pleased. In going to him I had also in view the entering into a conversation, which might draw out something of the mind of his court, on the subject of Canada and Nova Scotia. I had thrown some loose thoughts on paper, which I intended to serve as memorandums for my discourse; but without a fixed intention of shewing them to him. On his saying, that he was obliged to me for the good opinion I had expressed of him to lord Shelburne, in my letter, and assuring that he had entertained the same of me; I observed, that I had perceived lord S. placed great confidence in him, and as we had happily the same in each other, we might possibly, by a free communication of sentiments, and a previous settling of our own minds, on some of the important points, be the means of great good, by impressing our sen

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