7i8 A. D. 1782. 



American allies, inftead of requiring the payment in one funi on a 

 fixed day, propofed that it fliould be repaid in equal annual inftallments 

 in twelve years, to begin the third year after the peace, with Uberty for 

 the congrefs to pay the debt fooner, if convenient for themfelves : and 

 he made them a prefcut of all the intercft, due, or accruing, till the day 

 of the date of the treaty of peace*. 



The king was alio fecurity for 10,000,000 livres, borrowed for the 

 congrefs from the Dutch on the 5''' of November 178 1 with intereft at 

 five per cent, to be repaid by inftallments commencing on the 5''' of 

 November 1787. And the whole of both debts was acknowleged in a 

 treaty or contradl, figncd by Dodlor Franklin, as ambafllidor for the 

 United fiates, on the 16"" of July 1782, and confirmed by the congrefs 

 in January following. 



It was not till the 8'" of Odober, that the Dutch finally completed 

 with fome very trifling alteration, and publicly confirmed, the treaty 

 with America, which had been fecretly negotiated in the year 1778. 

 As a brief extradt of that treaty has been already given, it would be 

 fuperfluous to repeat it here f . 



The nation being very clamorous for peace, and the events of the war 

 having fufficiently convinced the advocates for the fubjugation of Ame- 

 rica, that there was no probability of their objedt being accomplifhed, 

 the parliament empowered the king to negotiate for a peace with the 

 Americans : and Mr. Grenville was fent to Paris, fully authorized to 

 treat with all the powers allied againfl Great Britain, and particularly 

 to offer a preliminary and unconditional acknowlegement of the inde- 

 pendence of the American ftates. The commanders in America were 

 alfo directed to notify the pacific difpofition of the Britifh government 

 to the American congrefs, who, however, declared, they would liften to 

 no propofals for a pacification, but in conjunction with, and with the 

 confent of, their allies. In truth, all the belligerent powers were now 

 tired of the war. The French, though they had taken many of our 

 Weft-India iflands, had no reafon to congratulate themfelves upon the 

 fuccefs of their interference : their commerce had fufFered feverely ; 

 many of their merchants were ruined ; and even the national credit 

 began to ftagger under the weight of their own expenfes and the fup- 

 plies to America. The Spaniards found themfelves totally difappointcd 

 of their expedations in every inftance, except the conqueft of Minorca ; 

 that of Florida and the Bahama iflands being no advantage to a nation, 

 who already had too many unproductive diftant fettlements. The 

 Dutch had at leaft as much reafon to be tired of the war as any of their 



* In the year 1 792 the United ftates had paid f Tlie chief difference is in the arrangement of 

 all the inftallments that were due, and alfo, to ac- the various artickr, apparently with a view to 

 commodate the French, who were then in want of make it appear ditf<;rent from the original, 

 money, a part of that which was not yet due. 

 l_C3xi's Fit-TV of tki Uniserijlaler, p. 364, 370.J 



