India Islands; that the bill would be the means of bringing rum to Newfoundland distilled from French molasses, and that it would be impossible to prevent its being smuggled; that unless the English had a market for their rum, the estates in the West Indies could not be worked. Here, I presume, one principal secret comes out. The principal motive of the bill was to exclude New England rum from Newfoundland. This rum, distilled in the United States out of French molasses, is considered as benefitting two rivals at once, and, therefore, we do not see any man of any party in this debate even hinting any thing in favor of it.

Mr. Beaufoy, who is supposed to be in the confidence of Mr. Pitt, closes this debate in a long speech, which contains more argument and more knowledge of the subject than all the rest. His first argument is that the bill, upon Watson's own ground, is peculiarly formed to defend the interests of the West India Islands, and protect their commerce, because it narrows and circumscribes the intercourse between the United States and Newfoundland. He does not speak out like Watson, but he means that New England rum is excluded by the bill.

His next argument is that the bill is expedient, because the intercourse without it would be unlimited, as the custom-house officers at Newfoundland had then no right to demand a manifest or certificate from a vessel arriving from a foreign port, and the United States were, by proclamation and treaties, known to be foreign ports, British treaties being laws of the land.

He next examines Watson's maxim, that all intercourse between the United States and Newfoundland should be strictly prohibited, lest it should be the means of introducing the rum of New England as a rivil of West India rum; and he shews that the loss to the islands can be but trifling, compared with the loss to the fisherman, if the intercourse should be probibited.

He asserts that the fisherman can have no resource in Nova Scotia, which does not produce a sufficiency of food for its own people, but depends for supply on the United States. Canada, for some years, can be no resource; besides that, the Gulf of St. Lawrence in winter and spring, when the wants of Newfoundland are greatest, is bound up in frost. The occupation of fishermen is of little benefit to themselves, but of infinite advantage to their country; miserable, at the best of times, is the subsistence they obtain, but valuable, indeed, are the returns they make to the kingdom-not less

than half a million a year-though this forms but a small part of their importance; for, next to the coasting trade, theirs is the greatest nursery for seamen; hundreds of new men are sent out to this school every year.

Allow your fishermen, says he, the right of purchasing their corn at a fair market, instead of that of a monopolist, and you will find that as far as foreign markets are concerned, they will soon be established on the ruins of every other. The French have never more than supplied the consumption of their own market. (He should have known that they have never done this; they have never supplied their own West Indies, and that, whenever by British folly they shall be enabled to do it, they will easily establish their fishery on the ruins of that of Great Britain.) The Americans, excluded from the West Indies, find their fisheries rapidly declining, having no other considerable market for their damaged fish. They must advance the price of their best fish so far that they cannot long contest with us the possession of the Spanish or Italian, or any other foreign market. The American fishermen are seeking a refuge from poverty in the dominions of Britain. But if we consign our fisheries to the avarice of the monopolist, they will fly from distress to other employments or other employers.

I have attempted this hasty abridgment of the debate because it deserves the critical attention of every man in America. The United States may learn from it their own duty. The cunning both of Administration and Opposition restrained them from opening fairly their opinions. But thus much appears too plainly, viz: That no man of any party had the courage to declare himself for an open, free, and unlimited trade between the United States and any of the British dominions in America. Mr. Pitt, and, indeed, the Administration at the head of which he is, declare themselves against a total prohibition of intercourse; but they have discovered by this bill an inclination to confine it to so few articles, and to exclude so many others, that the United States can never consent to the plan, but must prohibit in their turn the few articles and the narrow intercourse permitted by the English.

In short, sir, every article which can support a shipwright, a ship, a seaman, a whaleman, a codfisherman, a rum distillery, or a sugarhouse, appears to be struck out with the malice of murderers, and a settled plan to dupe us out of all our carrying trade. The carriage of our own produce, as well as theirs, appears to have been decidedly

adopted by the present Ministry; but no party, no man, has yet dared to declare himself of another opinion.

If the United States submit to it, they will deserve to be the contempt of the world and of posterity. The Massachusetts and New Hampshire have done themselves great honor all over Europe by the proofs they have given of their feelings and intelligence; and I hope they will persevere in their acts, even although they should stand alone, and be supported by similar acts in no other State. This, however, is in Europe universally supposed to be impossible; it is universally expected that most of the other States will do the same immediately, and all of them ere long.

I know not, sir, what Mr. Temple may have authority to say to Congress, but I hope they will not be lulled by any general expressions of good will. I know, sir, that there is an absolute impossibility of our obtaining a reasonable relief to our commerce from this country. There is no other question left for us to determine than this: Will you see all your shipping, seamen, and commerce taken from you, and become a nation of mere husbandmen, fleeced almost at pleasure by rapacious foreign factors, or will you be your own carriers? Threats, prophecies, reasonings, with whatever delicacy or skill they might be urged, even although yourself, sir were here to enforce them, would have little effect. The deed must be done. You must prohibit and exclude in your turn, and confine your exports to your own ships, or, at least, exclude the ships of Great Britain. When they actually see six or seven hundred of their own ships thrown out of their employ, they will begin to consider how their navigation is affected. Nobody doubts the ability of every State from Maryland, inclusively, northward, to furnish ships for its own exports; and if the States to the southward of Chesapeake cannot procure ships immediately, the other States will soon be able to furnish them. Nothing will ever be done here until this measure is adopted by the United States. If the Ministry, in the next winter session, should bring in a bill upon such a plan as America desires, they would not be able to carry it through Parliament. Why? Because the national prejudice in favor of their navigation acts is so strong, and the necessity of relaxing it does not appear; on the contrary, they think it certain there is no necessity, because we cannot unite in laws and measures which would make one.

By the best judgment I can form, the posts upon the frontiers will never be evacuated, nor the Maryland stock recovered, nor the

Rhode Island demand satisfied, nor the negroes paid for, while there remains in force a vote of any Assembly, suspending process for the recovery of British debts.

With great and sincere esteem, &c.,

JOHN ADAMS.

P. S. Enclosed are the American intercourse act and the Newfoundland and American trade act.

Dear Sir,

FROM JOHN ADAMS TO JOHN JAY.

Grosvenor Square, Westminster, October 27, 1785.

Yesterday at the levee at St. James's, the Marquis of Caermarthen came to me and told me that he should deliver those papers I had communicated to him relative to the correspondence between Governor Bowdoin and Captain Stanhope to Lord Howe, in whose department it was to consider such things. His Lordship added that he thought some of the letters extremely improper in a captain of a man-of-war to a Governor, and that he had carefully examined the letters of the Governor to see if there was anything which could have given occasion to them or excused them; but that he could find nothing. I suppose from this information, that the Captain's letters will be disproved at Court, as they are generally by men of sense, although some of John Bull's children, who cannot or will not distinguish between ill nature or ill manners and spirit, applaud them.

With great regard, I have the honor to be, &c.,

JOHN ADAMS.

FROM JOHN JAY TO JOHN ADAMS.

New York, December 5, 1785.

Dear Sir,

I cannot omit this opportunity of transmitting to you a copy of an act of Congress respecting Mr. Temple. It appears to me to be a proper one. In my opinion, our public conduct should be just and liberal on the one hand, but firm and decided on the other.

I have the honor to be, &c.,

JOHN JAY.

Extract from the Secret Journal of Foreign Affairs, December 22, 1785.

The Secretary of the United States for the Department of Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred his letter of the 24th November, to his Excellency the President, with Mr. Temple's commission, having reported:

That John Temple, Esquire, has presented to the United States in Congress assembled, a commission in due form, bearing date the 5th day of February last, from his Britannic Majesty, constituting and appointing him the Consul General of his said Majesty in these States: That there is as yet no commercial treaty or convention subsisting between his Britannic Majesty and the United States, whereby either have a perfect right to establish Consuls in the dominions of the other, but that amicable negotiations for that and other reciprocal privileges are now depending: That although the issue of those negotiations is as yet uncertain, it will nevertheless be proper for the United States, on this and every other occasion, to observe as great a degree of liberality as may consist with a due regard to their national honor and welfare: Therefore,

Resolved, That the said John Temple, Esquire, be, and he is hereby, received and recognized as Consul General of his Britannic Majesty throughout the United States, and that his commission be registered in the Secretary's office.

Resolved, That all the privileges, preeminences, and authority, which the law of nations and of the land give to a Consul General received by the United States from any nation with whom they have no commercial treaty or convention, are due to the said John Temple, and shall be enjoyed by him.

Ordered, That certified copies of the above resolutions be transmitted to the Executives of the different States for their information.

Sir,

FROM JOHN JAY TO JOHN ADAMS.

Office for Foreign Affairs, January 2, 1786.

I have the honor of transmitting to you, herewith enclosed, a copy of a letter of the 21st December, from Mr. Temple to me, which I laid before Congress. They have been pleased to direct that you communicate it to his Britannic Majesty; that you inform