104 APPENDIX TO BRITISH COUNTER CASE. 



perfect sincerity and good faith, has authorised you to go to the full 

 extent of them. The 3rd article, however, must be understood and 

 expressed to be confined to the limits of Canada as before the Act of 

 1774. As to the 4th, of the liberty of fishing, the privilege of drying, 

 not being included in Dr. Franklin's demand, it is taken for granted, 

 that it is not meant to be inserted in the treaty. 



His Majesty is also pleased, for the salutary purposes of precluding 

 all further delay, and embarrassment of negotiation, to waive 

 63 every stipulation by the treaty for the undoubted rights of the 

 merchants whose debts accrued before the year 1775, and also 

 for the claims of the refugees for compensation for their losses, as 

 Dr. Franklin declares himself unauthorised to conclude upon that 

 subject; yet His Majesty, it is hoped, it is well-founded in his ex- 

 pectation that the several Colonies will unite in an equitable deter- 

 mination of points, upon which the future opinion of the world, with 

 respect to their justice and humanity, will so obviously depend. But 

 if, after having pressed this plan of treaty to the utmost, you should 

 find the American Commissioners determined not to proceed, unless 

 the independence be irrevocably acknowledged without reference to 

 the final settlement of the rest of the treaty, you are to endeavour to 

 obtain from them a declaration, that if this point of independence 

 were settled they would be satisfied, as far as relates to America, 

 with such further concessions as are contained in the four articles as 

 above stated. You are then, but in the very last resort, to inform 

 them, in manifestation of the King's most earnest desire to remove 

 every impediment to peace, that His Majesty is willing, without wait- 

 ing for the other branches of the negotiation, to recommend to His 

 Parliament to enable him forthwith to acknowledge the independence 

 of the 13 United Colonies, absolutely and irrevocably; and not de- 

 pending upon the event of any other part of the treaty. 



But upon the whole it is His Majesty's express command that you 

 do exert your greatest address, to the purpose of prevailing upon the 

 American Commissioners to proceed in the treaty, and to admit the 

 article of independence as a part, or as one only, of the other articles 

 which you are hereby empowered to conclude. 

 I am &c 



THOS. TOWNSHEND 



RICHARD OSWALD Esqr 



No. 63. 178%, September 10: Letter, Mr. Oswald to Mr. Townshend. 



PARIS 10th Sept 1782 



SIR: By the Courier Ranspack, who arrived here on the 3rd, I 

 have the honour of your letter of the 1st instant. Upon receipt of 

 it, I went out to Dr. Franklin. He asked me whether I had any di- 

 rections relative to the point upon which the last courier had been 

 dispatched to England, regarding a previous declaration of their 

 independence before a commencement of treaty. I told him I had 

 got instructions on that head, which, although they empowered me 

 only to make such declaration as in the first article of the treaty, yet 

 I hoped, upon a due consideration of the matter, they would appear 

 to be fully satisfying. He said, if there was no particular objection, 



