DOCUMENTS BEARING ON TREATY OF 1783. 155 



will I add anything further on this head at present, than to assure you 

 that Mr. Vaughan greatly merits our acknowledgments. 



The next thing to be done was to prepare and draw up the proposed 

 articles. They were soon completed and settled between us and Mr. 

 Oswald, by whom they were sent to his court, with letters declaring 

 his opinion that they ought to be accepted and agreed to; but they 

 differed witji him in opinion. 



These articles, for very obvious reasons, were not communicated to 

 the Count de Vergennes. 



Mr. Oswald did not receive any opinion from his court relating to 

 our articles until the 23d of October, when letters from the minister 

 informed him that the extent of our boundaries, and the situation of 

 the Tories, &c., caused some objections, and the minister's secretary 

 was on the way here to confer with us on those subjects. 



On the 24th of October, I dined at Passy with Dr. Franklin, where 

 I found M. Rayneval. After dinner we were in private with him a 

 considerable time. He desired to know the state of our negotiation 

 with Mr. Oswald. We told him that difficulties had arisen about our 

 boundaries, and that one of the minister's secretaries was coming here 

 with papers and documents on that subject. He asked us what boun- 

 daries we claimed. We told him the River St. John to the east, and 

 ancient Canada, as described in the proclamation, to the north. He 

 contested our right to such an extent to the north, and entered into 

 several arguments to show our claim to be ill founded. These argu- 

 ments were chiefly drawn from the ancient French claims, and from 

 a clause in the proclamation restraining governors from making 

 grants in the Indian country, &c. 



He inquired what we demanded as to the fisheries. We answered 

 that we insisted on enjoying a right in common to them with Great 

 Britain. He intimated that our views should not extend further 

 than a coast fishery, and insinuated that pains had lately been taken 

 in the eastern States to excite their apprehensions, and increase their 

 demands on that head. We told him that- -such a right was essential 

 to us, and that our people would not be content to make peace with- 

 out it; and Dr. Franklin explained very fully their great importance 

 to the eastern States in particular. He then softened his manner, 

 and observed that it was natural for France to wish better to us 

 than to England ; but as the fisheries were a great nursery for seamen, 

 we might suppose that England would be disinclined to admit others 

 to share in it, and that for his part he wished there might be as few 

 obstacles to a peace as possible. He reminded us, also, that Mr. 

 Oswald's new commission had been issued posterior to his arrival 

 at London. 



On the 26th of October Mr. Adams arrived here, and in him I 

 have found a very able and agreeable coadjutor. 



94 No. 98. 1782, November 19: Letter, Mr. Townshend to Mr. 

 Strachey (who was returning to Paris). 



SIR, I send at last the draft of the Preliminary Articles, which 

 have undergone a great deal of discussion, and required a good deal 

 of management to get them into their present form. 



