A. D. 1783. 



ed as an anticipation to give at once a brief abridgement of the treaties 

 in this place. 



By the treaty with France 



Article 4) Great Britain was maintained in the pofleffion of New- 

 foundland and the adjacent iflands, agreeable to the thirteenth article 

 of the treaty of Utrecht, except thofe of Sf Pierre and Miquelon, which 

 were fully ceded to France. 



5) In order to prevent the difputes inevitable in a concurrent fhhery, 

 it was agreed, that the French ihould enjoy the fifhery on the coaft of 

 Newfoundland from Cape S\ John in 50° north latitude to the north 

 point of the ifland, and thence along the weft fide to Cape Raye, which 

 is the fouth-weft corner of it. 



6) The French werealfo to enjoy the fifhery in the Gulf of S\ Lau- 

 rence, as agreed on in the fifth article of the treaty of Paris in 1763. 



7) hi the Weft-Indies Great Britain reftored to France the ifland of 

 S'. Lucia, and ceded the ifland of Tobago, ftipulating that the proteft- 

 ant inhabitants of thofe iflands fliould not be molefted on account of 

 their worfliip, and that all Britifli fubjeds fliould retain their pofl^eflions, 

 upon the fame titles and conditions by which they had acquired them, 

 or have liberty, within eighteen months after the ratification of the de- 

 finitive treaty, to fell their eftates (but only to French fubjeds) and re- 

 move from the iflands, without any reflraint upon their perfons or 

 property, unlefs on account of debt or criminal profecutions. For the 

 greater fecurity of the inhabitants of Tobago the king of France agreed 

 to abolifh the droit d'aubaine in that ifland *. 



8) France reftored to Great Britain the iflands of Grenada, and the 

 Grenadines, S'. Vincent, Dominica, S'. Chriftophers, Nevis, and Mont- 



* In the preliminary treaty there was no Ilipu- 

 lation fur the aboh'tion of the droll d''aubaine in be- 

 half of the Britifti inhabitants : and the negleft of 

 it produced no fmall conllernation among fuch of 

 the proprietors of that ifland as were then in Britain, 

 and the mortgagees, who had lent above half a 

 million of money on the fecurity of eftates in it : 

 for, by the laws of France, the efFefts of all per- 

 fons, not fubjcds, dying in any of the French do- 

 minions, were feized for the ufe of the king by 

 virtue of the dro'it d'auLaine, without paying the 

 fmallcft regard to the rights of alien heirs or cre- 

 ditors. Thofe gentlemen being informed by the 

 minifter, that he could do nothing for them, next 

 determined upon trying what could be done at the 

 court of France, and requellcd of General Mel- 

 ville, lately the governor-general of the Ceded 

 iflands, of which Tobago wps one, and Mr. 

 Young (now Sir William Young) to undertake 

 the folicitation of relief for them. It was a for- 

 tunate circuaiilance for them, that General Mel- 

 ville had been governor of the French ifland of 



Guadaloupc and its dependencies when in our 

 poflcflion, and that his impartiality and benevol- 

 ence to the French inhabitants on that occafion 

 were fo well known at the court of France as to 

 have confiderable influence in obtaining a very 

 favourable aafwer to his application, whereby the 

 droit d'aubalne was abolifhed in Tobago, as it was 

 alfo by the fame edift (dated in June 1783) in 

 S'. Lucia and French Guyenne. The king 

 moreover gave a declaration, that all obligations 

 contracted under the Britifli laws fliould be held 

 good, and that the courts of jufl.ice fliould be in- 

 ftruited to uti accordingly ; terms much more fa- 

 vourable than thofe granted to the French inha- 

 bitants of Grenada, &c. at the peace of 1763, and 

 which, moreover, (how, that a libera! and benevol- 

 ent conduft to a conquered enemy is much truer 

 policy than rigorous treatinrnt and cruel confifca- 

 tions. And thus it was that the abolition of the 

 droit d'aubalne came to be infetted iu the definitive 

 treaty. 



