98 APPENDIX TO BRITISH COUNTER CASE. 



and could not but confess that I had this answer from one of his 

 friends. To this I cannot say I had any reply. 



******* 



The doctor at last touched upon Canada, as he generally does upon 

 the like occasions ; and said there could be no dependence on peace 

 and good-neighbourhood while that country continued under a differ- 

 ent Government, as it touched their States in so great a stretch of 

 frontier. I told him I was sensible of that inconveniency ; but, hav- 

 ing no orders, the consideration of that matter might possibly be 

 taken up at some future time. 



No. 58. 178%, August 15 and 17: Extract from Mr. Oswald's "Ob- 

 servations." 



. . . He (Jay) said we had it now in our power to put a final 

 period to the misfortunes we complained of by carrying into execu- 

 tion what had been solemnly intimated to them, and which Sir Guy 

 Carleton had orders to communicate to the Congress in America, a 

 copy of whose instructions they were in possession of, one article of 

 which says that His Majesty was to grant unconditional independence 

 to the thirteen States of North America ; but that the way proposed 

 of making the same rest upon the events and termination of a treaty 

 did not come up to that description ; and was a mode of performance 

 which would not give satisfaction to the Congress or people of Amer- 

 ica, and could not be considered by them as absolute and uncondi- 

 tional, if only standing as an article of a depending treaty. And upon 

 the whole that they could not treat at all until their independence 

 was so acknowledged as that they should be on an equal footing with 

 us, and might take rank as parties to an agreement. 



That in this they had a fair precedent in the settlement of the 

 Dutch with the Spaniards, who refused to enter into any treaty until 

 they were declared Free States. That if we wished for peace, that 

 was the only way to obtain it. ... 



At proper times I said what occurred to me as necessary to bring 

 this question to some sort of desirable period, and in particular wished 

 to have Mr. Jay's idea of such way of declaring this unconnected 

 ascertainment of independence as would satisfy them. 



His former proposal of doing it by proclamation he gave up, as 

 liable to sundry objections needless to be here repeated; he then pro- 

 posed it should be done by a particular and separate deed, or patent 

 under the Great Seal, in which my commission for a treaty might 

 also be narrated : and that such patent should be put into the posses- 

 sion of the commissioners, to be by them sent over to the Congress; 

 and accordingly Mr. Jay brought me a draft of the patent. As I 

 could see no other way of satisfying those gentlemen, and it appearing 

 highly necessary that some beginning should be made with them, 

 since until that was done the foreign treaty could not proceed in its 

 course. I agreed to send the draft over to His Majesty's Secre- 

 60 tary of State by a courier express for that purpose, with my 



