DOCUMENTS BEARING ON TREATY OF 1783. 149 



United States of America, would remove the objections to which his present 

 one is liable, and render it proper for the American commissioners to proceed 

 to treat with him on the subject of preliminaries. 



I then reminded him of the several resolutions of Congress, passed 

 at different periods, not to treat with British commissioners on any 

 other footing than that of absolute independence, and also intimated 

 that I thought it would be best to give him our final and decided 

 determination not to treat otherwise in writing in the form of a 

 letter. He preferred this to a verbal answer, and the next day I 

 prepared the following draft of such a letter : 



SIR: It is with regret that we find ourselves obliged, by our duty to our 

 country, to object to entering with you into negociations for peace on the plan 

 proposed. One nation can treat with another nation only on terms of equality ; 

 and it can not be expected that we should be the first and only servants of 

 Congress who would admit doubts of their independence. 



The tenor of your commission affords matter for a variety of objections, 

 which your good sense will save us the pain of enumerating. The journals of 

 Congress present to you unequivocal and uniform evidence of the sentiments 

 and resolutions of Congress on the subject, and their positive instructions to us 

 to speak the same language. 



The manner of removing these obstacles is obvious, and in our opinion no less 

 consistent with the dignity than the interest of Great Britain. If the Parlia- 

 ment meant to enable the king to conclude a peace with us on terms of inde- 

 pendence, they necessarily meant to enable him to do it in a manner compatible 

 with his dignity ; and consequently that he should previously regard us in a 

 point of view that would render it proper for him to negociate with us. What 

 this point of view is you need not be informed. 



We also take the liberty of submitting to your consideration how far his 

 majesty's now declining to take this step would comport with the assurances 

 lately given on that subject, and whether hesitation and delay would not tend to 

 lessen the confidence which those assurances were calculated to inspire. 



As to referring an acknowledgment of our independence to the first article of 

 a treaty, permit us to remark that this implies that we are not to be considered 

 in that light until after the conclusion of the treaty, and our acquiescing would 

 be to admit the propriety of our being considered in another light during that 

 interval. Had this circumstance been attended to we presume that the court 

 of Great Britain would not have pressed a measure which certainly is not 

 delicate, and which cannot be reconciled with the received ideas of national 

 honor. 



You may rest assured, sir, of our disposition to peace on reasonable terms, 

 and of our readiness to enter seriously into negociations for it. as soon as we 

 shall have an opportunity of doing it in the only manner in which it is possible 

 for one nation to treat with another, viz., on an equal footing. 



Had you been commissioned in the usual manner we might have proceeded ; 

 and as we can perceive no legal or other objection to this, or some other such 

 like expedient, it is to be wished that his majesty will not permit an obstacle 

 so very unimportant to Great Britain, but so essential and insuperable with 

 respect to us, to delay the re-establishment of peace especially, and in case the 

 business could be but once begun the confidence we have in your candor and 

 integrity would probably tender the settling all our articles only the work of 

 a few hours. 



We are, &c. 



I submitted this draft to Dr. Franklin's consideration. He 

 thought it rather too positive, and therefore rather imprudent, for 

 that in case Britain should remain firm, and future circumstances 

 should compel us to submit to their mode of treating, we should do it 

 with an ill grace after such a decided and preemptory refusal. Be- 

 sides, the Doctor seemed to be much perplexed and fettered by our 

 instructions to be guided by the advice of this court. Neither of 

 these considerations had weight with me; for as to the first, I could 

 not conceive of any event which would render it proper, and there- 



92909 S Doc. 870, 61-3, vol 7 15 



