DOCUMENTS BEABING ON TREATY OF r783. 223 



No. 137. 1783, July 17: Extract from letter, Mr. Adams to Mr. 



Livingston. 



PARIS, July 17, 1783. 



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The Duke said the English had been trying to deceive us, but were 

 now developing their true sentiments. They pretended for awhile to 

 abolish the navigation act and all distinctions, to make one people 

 with us again, to be friends, brothers, &c., in hopes of drawing us off 

 from France, but not finding success, they were now showing their 

 true plan. As to the pretended system of Shelburne of a universal 

 free commerce, although he thought it would be for the good of man- 

 kind in general, yet for an English minister it was the plan of a mad- 

 man, for it would be the ruin of that nation. He did not think Shel- 

 burne was sincere in it, he only meant an illusion to us. Here I differ 

 from the Duke and believe that the late ministry were very sincere 

 towards us, and would have made a treaty with us at least to revive 

 the universal trade between us upon a liberal plan. This doctrine of 

 ruin from that plan to the English has been so much preached of late 

 in England by the French and American refugees, who aim at estab- 

 lishments in Canada and Nova Scotia, and by the old Butean admin- 

 istration and their partisans, that I do not know whether any minis- 

 try could now support a generous plan. But if Temple, Thurlow, 

 Shelburne, Pitt, &c., should come in I should not despair of it. It is 

 true the Shelburne administration did encourage the ideas of cordial 

 perfect friendship, of entire reconcilation of affections, of making no 

 distinction between their people and ours, especially between the 

 inhabitants of Canada and Nova Scotia and us, and this with the 

 professed purpose of destroying all seeds of war between us. These 

 sentiments were freely uttered by Fitzherbert, Oswald, Whitefoord, 

 Vaughan, and all who had the confidence of that ministry, and in 

 these sentiments they were, I believe, very sincere. And they are, 

 indeed, the only means of preventing a future war between us and 

 them, and so sure as they depart from that plan, so sure, in less than 

 fifteen years, perhaps less than seven, there will break out another 

 war. Quarrels will arise among fishermen, between inhabitants of 

 Canada and Nova Scotia and us, and between their people and ours 

 in the West Indies, in our ports, and in the ports of the three king- 

 doms, which will breed a war in spite of all we can do to prevent it. 

 France sees this and rejoices in it, and I know not whether we ought 

 to be sorry, yet I think we ought to make it a maxim to avoid all wars 

 if possible, and to take care that it is not our fault, if we can not. 

 We ought to do everything which the English will concur in to re- 

 move all causes of jealousies, and kill all the seeds of hostility as 

 effectually as we can, and to be upon our guard to prevent the 

 French, Spaniards, and Dutch from sowing the seeds of war between 

 us, for we may rely upon it they will do it if they can. 

 I have the honour to be, &c. 



JOHN ADAMS. 



Due de la Vauguyon, French Minister to Holland. 



