72 APPENDIX TO BRITISH COUNTER CASE. 



No. 37. 1782, Jime 13: Extract from letter, Mr. Adams (at The 

 Hague] to Dr. Franklin. 



.... The permanent friendship of the Dutch may be easily ob- 

 tained by the United States, that of England never; it is gone with 

 the days before the flood. If we ever enjoy the smallest degree of 

 sincere friendship again from England I am totally incapable of 

 seeing the character of a nation or the connexion of things; which, 

 however, may be the case, for what I know. . . . 



No. 38. 1782, June IS: Extract from Dr. Franklin's Journal. 



. . . Mr. Oswald left me about noon, and soon after Mr. Granville 

 came, and acquainted me with the return of his courier, and that he 

 had brought the full powers. That he, Mr. Grenville, had been at 

 Versailles and left a copy with Count de Vergennes. That, the in- 

 strument was in the same terms with the former, except that after 

 the power to treat with the King of France, or his ministers, there was 

 an addition of words, importing a power to treat with the ministers 

 of any other prince or state whom it might concern. That Count de 

 Vergennes had at first objected to these general words as not being 

 particular enough, but said he would lay it before the king, and 

 communicate it to the ministers of the belligerent powers, and that 

 Mr. Grenville should hear from him on Monday. Mr. Grenville 

 added that he had further informed Count de Vergennes of his being 

 now instructed to make a proposition as a basis for the intended 

 treaty, viz., the peace of 1763; that the proposition intended to be 

 made under his first powers, not being then received, was now 

 changed, and instead of proposing to allow the independence of 

 America on condition of England's being put into the situation she 

 was in at the peace of 1763. he was now authorised to declare the 

 independence of America previous to the treaty as a voluntary act, 

 and to propose separately as a basis the treaty of 1763. This also 

 Count de Vergennes undertook to lay before the king and com- 

 municate to me. 



Mr. Grenville then said to me he hoped all difficulties were now 

 removed and that we might proceed in the good work. I asked him 

 if the enabling bill was passed. He said no ; it passed the Commons, 

 and had been once read in the House of Lords, but was not yet com- 

 pleted. I remarked that the usual time approached for the proroga- 

 tion of Parliament, and possibly this business might be omitted. He 

 s;;id there was no danger of that ; the Parliament would not rise this 

 year till the middle of July; the India affairs had put back other 

 business which must be done, and would require a prolongation of the 

 session till that time. I then observed to him that, though we 



Americans considered ourselves as a distinct independent power 

 45 or state, yet, as the British Government had always hitherto 



affected to consider us only as rebellious subjects and as the 

 enabling act was not yet passed, I did not think it could be fairly 

 supposed that his court intended, by the general words any other 

 prince or state, to include a people whom they did not allow to be a 

 state, and that, therefore I doubted the sufficiency of his power as to 



