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IN AMERICA IN 1764-5.

369

some are returned to it; others have sold their properties to British subjects, and all have taken the oaths of allegiance, and will, I think, in the succeeding generation become useful subjects both in peace and war, if properly moulded by those who, by their superior stations and good example, may take the lead in a point of so much essential consequence to Great Britain and America. In 1765, Major-General R. Burton commanded at Montreal as Brigadier-General: he was equally respected and loved by the troops and by the inhabitants, as every honest man will in command, who does his duty in a gentlemanlike manner, and has determination and good breeding.'

An admirable reflection! As the outfitters say, 'To gentlemen going out to India it is particularly recommended.']

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370

FRENCH DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE

1766.

II.

Abstract of a Correspondence between the Duke de Choiseul and the French diplomatic agents in England, relating to American affairs from 1766 to 1770.*

THE uneasy relations between the American provinces and

the mother-country had early attracted the notice of the French government. On October 19, 1766, the Count de Guerchy, the French Ambassador in London, writing to the Duke de Choiseul for a passport for a M. de Pontleroy, speaks of this person as 'of a Lieutenant in the Navy attached to Rochfort, whom you commissioned in 1764 to visit the British possessions in North America, which he did. . . .

It is necessary that the letters or passports should be made out in the name of Beaulieu, being that he assumed while August 3. residing in that country.' On August 3, 1766, M. Durand, the intelligent representative of France in England, communicates to the Duke de Choiseul the substance of the information he had just received from this agent. He describes the prosperous condition of New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania; mentions the various products of these states, noticing especially the abundance of cedar-wood, which he represents as especially adapted to building purposes, inasmuch as it is easy to work, does not split, is lighter than oak, and not subject to rot. He describes the greater part of the inhabitants as accustomed to the sea, and as having extensive

[In the original, the extracts from the diplomatic correspondence of, 1st, the Duke de Choiseul, 1766-1770; 2dly, the Count de Vergennes, 1775, 1776; and 3rdly, Citizen Genet, occupy 151 closely printed pages. It has been thought expedient to condense the matter into three abstracts, containing the chief points.]

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ON AMERICAN AFFAIRS.

371

fisheries. They build,' he says, 'about 150 ships, which they sell annually in Europe and in the West India Islands at about 71. per ton.' He observes, they are beginning to feel their strength; thinks they are too opulent to remain long dependent; that the hope of getting into their own possession the fisheries and fur trade, of removing the impediments to their commerce, and of invading on their own account the West Indian sugar islands which are near them, will influence them sooner or later, and that England ought to anticipate the dangers to which she exposes herself by strengthening these three colonies. M. Durand goes on to state that M. de Pontleroy proposes to procure the command of some merchant vessel, and thus be enabled to take the soundings of every American port, as well as of every English port. He will select Canadians only for his crew, of whom he means to make good pilots, qualified to serve either in ships of war stationed on the coast or in privateers. As they become fit for service, he will, from time to time, send them to France. M. Durand concludes his letter with an interesting remark respecting the nature of the English Government.

Will you allow me, my Lord, to avail myself of this occasion of laying before you some suggestions as to the kind of war we ought to wage against England. It appears to me that, in the circumstances in which we are now placed in respect to her, we have the means of exposing her to risks more likely to alarm her than any to which she has been exposed up to this time; that our wars with her will be less lasting, if the citizens of London, whom war enriches, and who are anxious for it, be made sensible of the horrors it occasions, and if their commerce were to be sufficiently harassed to bring them to feelings of more humanity. If war makes many sufferers in a monarchical state, it matters not; the sovereign does not permit himself to be determined by any expression of their feeling; but in a republic, where these very people have a share in the government, they very much determine the policy which will be followed, because they support their views with much more vigour than those who are influenced only by considerations of a general

nature.'

1776.

1766.

August 7.

372

FRENCH DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE

'Should the violent conduct of England compel France to renew the war, it appears to me, according to this principle, her policy ought to be rather to direct her attacks against the fortunes of private individuals than to attempt any dismemberment of the enemy's territory; because public feeling, as regards these losses, will never act so powerfully on the deliberations of the country as the personal interest of those who would suffer from such a war.'

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Four days after this curious application of the word republic to England, he again reports his conversation with M. de Pontleroy. According to this person, there were two parties in Philadelphia -the Quakers and Presbyterians,— the Quakers the richer, and monopolising all political influence, the Presbyterians the more numerous, the latter composed of a chance-medley of Germans, quite weary of the English government, and who declare openly that Pennsylvania will one day be called Little Germany. In the last war,' he says, 'the latter refused, at first, to enter the English service. It was necessary to send for German officers, who in six weeks got together as many as seven thousand men;' and adds that, both in this province and in that of New York, all the recruiting officers were Germans. They speak little English, and avoid as much as possible all dealing with the English, who they look upon as people always ready to take advantage of them. They idolise the King of Prussia, and make much of all who served under him. Should France ever undertake an expedition against this country it would be advisable to employ German regiments, under the command of some person of distinguished name in the Austrian empire.'

Such was the very exact information which this M. de Pontleroy amused his employers with.

M. Durand, in subsequent letters, continues to report the information thus received, amongst which is the rather startling fact, that 'the Quakers of Philadelphia have an agent in London, named Franklin, a man of talent, who had persuaded them to ask for a royal government; that they have despatched him to England with powers to solicit this favour, in which he is opposed by the descendant of William Penn,

ON AMERICAN AFFAIRS.

373

the lord of the whole province, and deriving from it a revenue of 50,000l. sterling!'

1766.

On August 24, 1766, he writes to the Duke that it is a great August 24. mistake to suppose that England can be weakened by the loss of any of her dependencies (meaning by dependencies those provinces which, not being represented in the English legislature, are treated as conquered countries), and that she cannot afford to lose them. No nation in Europe, he says, derives less advantage from her foreign dominions; vast sums spent upon them, great expenditure upon them little economy, consequently little profit. The annual returns from America 12,000l., the cost of administration 7,600l. Ireland, which he includes among the dependencies, does not pay the expense of the troops quartered upon her; Gibraltar and Port Mahon are of course costly to her: so that, in fact, all these branches might be docked off without endangering her vitality. He mentions one exception - Jamaica as returning annually 600,000l., and which nevertheless was one of the English possessions which has been least menaced with invasion."

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The vanity of the English' may, he says, 'perhaps, have been wounded by the capture of Port Mahon, but wounds of this nature simply exasperate the enemy's animosity, without causing his destruction or materially affecting his strength. If they betrayed some anxiety at the time, it was from the apprehension that the French, animated by their success, might entertain the design of invading England. They have on this subject grounds of alarm better understood by them than us. They themselves represent England as often conquered by foreigners; allege that its constitution has become too regular for times of danger; that the number of springs she has to put in movement in order to bring her resources into play is a cause of weakness against sudden attacks: they dwell on the difficulty of assembling Parliament during the prorogation, and the impossibility of taking any important step without its sanction; on their general officers not being allowed to act on their own responsibility, and therefore afraid of doing anything on their own judgement; on the enormous disproportion between paper and

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