Britannic Majesty should, with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any 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.

That although a period of three years has elapsed since the signature of the preliminary treaty, and of more than two years since that of the definitive treaty, the posts of Oswegatchie, Oswego, Niagara, Presque Isle, Sandusky, Detroit, Michilimackinac, with others not necessary to be particularly enumerated, and a considerable territory around each of them, all within the incontestable limits of the said United States, are still held by British garrisons, to the loss and injury of the said United States.

The subscriber, therefore, in the name and behalf of the said United States, and in obedience to their express commands, has the honor to require of his Britannic Majesty's Ministry, that all his Majesty's armies and garrisons be forthwith withdrawn from the said United States, from all and every of the posts and fortresses hereinbefore enumerated, and from every other port, place, and harbor within the territory of the said United States, according to the true intention of the treaties aforesaid.

Done at Westminster, this thirtieth day of November, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five.

JOHN ADAMS.

Dear Sir,

FROM JOHN ADAMS TO JOHN JAY.

Grosvenor Square, Westminster, December 9, 1785.

I went to Court yesterday morning, if not in despair, with very faint hopes of ever receiving an answer to any letter or memorial of mine to the British Ministry. I went early, but found three of the foreign Ministers before me. The rule is to admit them to his Lordship in the order in which they arrive. In my turn 1 was shewn into his Lordship's apartment, received very politely as usual, and very much surprised to be accosted by him with "Mr. Adams, I am about to write you officially. I have received a letter from 'Lord Howe, relative to your communication concerning the 'behavior of a captain of a man-of-war at Boston. The Admiralty letter is very long, and I shall send you a copy of it. I am also to

'answer your memorial concerning the seamen.

The ship is

' ordered, and expected home from the East Indies, and when she 'arrives, the man you applied for will be discharged." "And 'orders are gone to Portsmouth to discharge the other sailor whom 'you mentioned."

This last requires some explanation, as I have not mentioned it before to you. Some time ago I received a letter from a man at Portsmouth, who called himself an American, and desiring me to apply for his discharge. But as I had no orders from Congress concerning him, nor any other information than his own letter, I thought it not safe to apply officially in his behalf. When I delivered my memorial demanding the discharge of the sailors in general, I shewed this man's letter to his Lordship, and left it with him, and it has had, it seems, a better fortune than I expected. I replied to his Lordship that I was very happy to hear that I was soon to have an official answer, for, that whenever we could come to communicate officially and freely, I hoped we might gradually remove all difficulties. We fell then into some conversation upon the other points. But as nothing new was said on either side, and I could learn nothing new from him, it would be fatiguing you to no purpose to repeat it. One thing, however, his Lordship said, in the course of conversation: "That he could not yet give me any satisfaction upon 'any other points, because nothing was yet determined. Mr. Pitt 'had all my papers under consideration, and had not yet determined 'any thing."

At length I presented to his Lordship the memorial of the 30th November, copy of which is here enclosed. I do not expect an answer till next summer. But I thought it safest for the United States to have it represented, because without it some excuses or pretences might have been set up that the evacuations had not yet been formally demanded.

With great esteem, &c.,

JOHN ADAMS.

FROM JOHN ADAMS TO JOHN JAY.

Grosvenor Square, December 12, 1785.

Dear Sir,

I have at length an official answer from the Marquis of Caermarthen, in his letter to me of the 9th of this month, a copy of which is enclosed, together with a copy of a letter from the Lords of the

Admiralty of the 7th to his Lordship. I wish I might expect as seasonable an answer to my memorials of the 30th November, and all other letters, proposals, and memorials. Their answer concerning the sailors is more favorable than I expected, and that respecting Captain Stanhope is as much so. All the foreign Ministers here complain that they cannot get any answers from the Ministry respecting seamen, without great difficulty. The Count de Kageneck, the Imperial Minister, told me lately that he had memorialized for a sailor three years ago, and had often solicited an answer, but could not obtain it to this day. With great respect, &c.,

JOHN ADAMS.

Sir,

FROM LORD CAERMARTHEN TO JOHN ADAMS.

St. James's, December 9, 1785.

I did not fail to lay before the King the letter you did me the honor to write to me relative to the conduct of Captain Stanhope, of his Majesty's ship the Mercury, at Boston, with the resolutions of the Congress of the United States therein, as well as your memorial claiming the release of such American seamen as are detained in his Majesty's service; and his Majesty having directed me to transmit these papers to the Lords of the Admiralty for their consideration and opinion as to what orders it might be proper to give thereupon, I send you, enclosed, a copy of the letter I have received from their Lordships on these subjects, which I hope will convince you that every possible attention has been paid to your representation upon these points.

I have the honor to be, &c.,

CAERMARTHEN.

FROM THE LORDS OF ADMIRALTY TO LORD CAERMARTHEN.

Admiralty Office, December 7, 1785.

My Lord,

Your Lordship having transmitted to us, in your letter of the 1st ultimo, a copy of a letter which you have received from Mr. Adams, Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States of America, together with the resolution of the United States in Congress, relative to the VOL. II.-35

conduct of Captain Stanhope, of his Majesty's ship the Mercury, at Boston, in the month of August last, and your Lordship having signified his Majesty's pleasure that we should take the same into our consideration, and that as Captain Stanhope, in his correspondence with Mr. Bowdoin, has made use of expressions which appear to be highly improper and unbecoming, we should acquaint your Lordship, for his Majesty's information, with our opinion thereupon, and transmit you a copy of such orders as may be judged proper to be sent to Captain Stanhope, that you may lay the same before the King, and receive his Majesty's commands as to the answer to be returned to the American Minister's letter; and your Lordship having also transmitted to us in your said letter a copy of a memorial which you have received from the American Minister, requiring the discharge of American seamen detained in his Majesty's ships, and desired to be informed of the orders we may judge proper to give thereupon, that you may acquaint Mr. Adams therewith, we beg leave to acquaint your Lordship, in return to the former part of your letter, that we have not received any account from Commodore Sawyer or Captain Stanhope, of the transaction at Boston which gave rise to Captain Stanhope's complaint to Governor Bowdoin ; but whatever the circumstances of the case might be, his complaint should certainly have been expressed in more proper and becoming terms; and having once made it, he would have done well to have afterwards remained on board his ship, and not exposed himself to a repetition of the injury, or engaged in any dispute, which, by his commanding officer's instructions, he had been particularly cautioned to avoid, but have finished his business as soon as possible, and left the port, trusting that any insult he had received in his public character would be duly noticed when properly represented to his Majesty. We beg leave, at the same time, to suggest the necessity which we conceive there is for a mutual, friendly reception of the subjects of States in amity with each other, in their respective ports, provided they conform to the laws and customs of the place.

That, upon meeting with a different treatment, we apprehend the parties can only seek protection by application to the Chief Magistrate resident on the spot, as it might be impossible for them to stay long enough to obtain it in the common forms of law, to which the Governor referred Captain Stanhope for redress; and we must remark that, in this instance, it appears from the conversation which

passed on the subject, the act of violence offered to Captain Stanhope arose not from any impropriety in his private conduct, but in resentment of certain public commercial regulations foreign to the purpose of his entering the port. And though the Governor supposes these kinds of outrages to be very frequent in all sea ports, we do not know of any ship or vessel belonging to the American States having experienced similar treatment in any of the ports of these kingdoms.

We have transmitted to Commodore Sawyer, a transcript of the resolution of the United States in Congress, with directions to him to call upon Captain Stanhope for the motives of his conduct in the matters therein complained of, and shall lose no time in communicating to your Lordship our sentiments thereon, when the Commodore's report enables us to pay a due obedience to his Majesty's commands on that head.

With respect to the requisition of Mr. Adams, in his memorial mentioned in the latter part of your Lordship's letter, that orders be immediately given for the release of Richard Low, and of all such seamen, soldiers, or citizens of the United States as, having been captured during the late war, may yet be detained in his Majesty's prisons, garrisons, armies, and ships, we have to acquaint your Lordship that as it is not probable any American seamen of the description abovementioned should be detained on board any of his Majesty's ships, except those which are now on their passage from the East Indies, all others having been put into commission since the conclusion of the war, we do not think it necessary to give a general order for their release, as those ships will be paid off as soon as possible after their arrival, and their crews consequently discharged from his Majesty's service.

As to John Ledyard, (whose application to be discharged from the Powerful, one of the guard-ships at Plymouth, accompanied the memorial, although not particularly mentioned therein,) having found upon inquiring into the circumstances of his case that he is a subject of the United States, and that he declared himself to be a native of Boston when he voluntarily entered on board that ship, we have ordered him to be discharged, agreeable to his request; and if any other seamen, subjects of the said United States, are serving on board his Majesty's ships, they will be considered in the same light as subjects of other foreign States, and consequently be