HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
had atted with so much zeal and 
success. 
But that which principally exas- 
perated the French government 
was the treaty that had been lately 
negociated between Jingland and 
the American states, by their envoy 
in London, Mr. Jay. It was repre- 
sented asso contrary to the treaties 
in force between them and France, 
as to amount almost to a denuncia- 
tion of the amity subsisting between 
those two powers. 
_ The resentment of the French 
hardly knew any bounds. The 
language held at Paris portended 
nothing less than the most signal 
revenge for what was termed an aét 
of the basest ingratitude and per- 
fidy. Instead of that cordiality 
which had taken place between the 
French and American governments, 
adistant and suspicious intercourse 
secceeded ; and if the public voice 
of the people of France had been 
listened to, a rupture could not have 
failed to ensue. 
‘It was retorted, on the part of the 
Americans, that as soon as the 
French republic had been establish- 
ed, it began to entertain a design to 
introduce a system perfeétly similar 
to its own, into the United States, 
without consulting them, and in 
defiance of the constitution already 
settled among them. To this end, 
they commissioned their resident, 
Genet, to use all manner of artifice 
and intrigue, in order to pervert 
the dispositions of the commonalty, 
and to seduce them from their at- 
tachment and obedience to the ex- 
isting government. Ife had carried 
his misconduct so far, as personally 
to insult the president of the con- 
gress, and endeavour tu set him 
and that body at variance with the 
people. This agent of the French 
republic, had indeed been recalled 
[171 
by his employers, but the seeds of 
mischief he had sown had produced 
their intended effeét, in the divisions 
that had embroiled the Americans, 
and destroyed that unanimity of sen- 
timents from which they had derived 
such internal tranquillity. 
To these complaints the French 
replied, that the treaty of commerce 
with England had cancelled all 
pretensions of amity from America 
to France. It violated, in a positive 
and hostile manner, the treaty en- 
tered into by the French, in favour 
of the Americans, in the year 1778, 
by which the states agreed to 
guarantee the possessions of France 
in the West Indies : whereas, by the 
present treaty with England, the 
very furnishing of provisions to the 
French islands was allowed to be 
an illegal trade. Such a falling off 
from their professions of friendship 
and attachment to I’rance, at a time 
when they ought to have been re- 
alised by aétions, after having been 
so reiteratedly expressed in words, 
displayed in glaring colours the 
contemptible interestedness of the 
Americans, and proved them to be 
void of all principles but those of 
avarice and gain, and that to these 
they would sacrifice all consideration 
of honour and magnanimity. 
tecriminations of this nature 
grew louder and more rancorous 
than ever, on the intelligence that 
the government of the united states 
had formally ratified this treaty. 
Bat fresh motives of inveteracy arose 
from the discoveries contained in a 
letter, written by the president. of 
the congress to the American am- 
bassador at Paris. This letter, 
which was dated from Philadelphia, 
the 22d of December, 1795, had 
been dispatched in a vessel that was 
wrecked on the coast of France. 
It was preserved with other papers, 
and 
