their Noble and Grand Mightinesses taking into serious deliberation the proposition laid before them by the Regency of Amsterdam on the 18th of last May, and bring forth a final resolution about the same; and particularly upon the Deputies of this Province in the Assembly of the States-General, being ordered to direct things there to such effect that the French Court may be requested by their High Mightinesses to deliberate with them on the manner of acting jointly, by communicating the plans of operation; a measure which must visibly clog the enemy, and directly fortify the affair of this Republic." September 12th. Last Thursday they were busy at the Assembly of this Province in deliberating on the Duke's letter to their High Mightinesses. The votes of eight cities, viz., Dort, Haerlem, Delft, Leyden, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Gorcum, and Schiedam, were directly against it. The speeches of Haerlem and Leyden, which being written were read, have been admired. The points wherein the eight agree are, 1st. The impropriety of the Duke's addressing himself by letter (when as a military servant he should have done it by request) to their High Mightinesses, which are by no means competent judges, when he should have applied to the true and only Sovereign here, viz., to the Province of Holland. 2dly. That of any foreigner whatever being in fact the only counsel of the eminent chief of this Republic. 3dly. That, without crediting or countenancing current charges of corruption, this foreigner's being hated and suspected by the bulk of this nation as not patriotic, produces the same effect, and forbids his having any management or influence, direct or indirect, in public affairs. 4thly. That the nobility's constantly opposing the advices of the cities is a circumstance which will at last ruin this Republic. 5thly. That the cities have the constitutional right of remonstrating against whomsoever they think proper, according to the resolutions of 1586, 1622, and 1663, which last is the strongest act of indemnity for the purpose. With all that they could not come to a resolution; the nobility, with the ten other cities, pretending their not having yet enough considered the matter. I think the Duke will dispute the ground with some success as long as he can preserve his old influence over his pupil; but, on the other hand, he will by no means obtain the satisfaction he craves. I have been favored by a very good patriot with the sight of the two short notes of the French Ambassador. Their contents are, that the King being satisfied with the notice given him of their being now disposed to exert all their powers for annoying the enemy, his Majesty proposes to them an occasion for distressing them greatly, by their consenting to a loan of five millions of florins, at four per cent. a year, payable every six months, which interest, as well as the capital, the King should procure to be paid exactly at their expiration. The destination of the money, in behalf of the United States, has been added verbally. There are two very strong propositions against the Duke made by the Quarter of Westergo in Friesland, to which that of Ostergo and part of Sevenwolde have acceded. The first is inserted already in the Leyden Gazette; the second the gazetteer hesitates as yet to insert, because it is very violent against their High Mightinesses. If he does not, I shall translate and transmit it. September 13th. I am just now informed that this Province has consented in the loan for France, by their resolutions of the 7th and 10th instant. I have the honor to be, &c., DUMAS. Sir, TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. The Hague, October 11th, 1781. On the 12th of September the Baron Lynden wrote a letter to the Prince of Orange, telling him that, after he had so much complied with the wishes of his Highness as to withhold for a considerable time his letter from their High Mightinesses, he had expected from the honor of his Highness that the Embassy for Vienna would not be disposed of in behalf of another, till there was a greater necessity for it than there is at present, and till his own motives for refusing a post which, in every other respect, would have been very delightful to himself, had been attended to; but, seeing himself not fairly treated by another's (the Count of Waffenaar Twickels, who, however, has not yet dared to accept it) being appointed to it, he should be obliged, if his Highness should go on without paying regard to the present letter, to publish it with the foregoing ones that had passed between his Highness and him, together with what he knew from the late Counts of Rhoon and Bentinck concerning a secret Act by which his Highness, when of age, had promised the Duke that he should ever be his only counsel. A very unfaithful account having since been circulated of this letter, the Baron makes no difficulty of showing it to those whom he wishes to be undeceived, and probably he will at last publish it with the others. In the meantime, I have seen the original draft. Several very violent Dutch pamphlets have been published within a few days, not only against the Duke, but even against the Stadtholder and against the Stadtholdership in general, and the whole Orange dynasty, the last of which is a masterly performance, but too large for me to translate. There is more moderation in the considerations herewith enclosed; and therefore I have consented without difficulty to get them printed, at the request of some very good people, as your Excellency will see by the annexed copy of my letter to their society at Rotterdam. The States of Holland have met again this morning. I have not heard if any of the Provinces, besides Holland and Friesland, have consented to the loan proposed by France, in the manner I told your Excellency in my last. They are too much taken up at present with their domestic quarrels. I have the honor to be, &c., DUMAS. ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON TO C. W. F. DUMAS. Philadelphia, November 28th, 1781. Sir, It is necessary to inform you that the correspondence with you will in future be through the office of Foreign Affairs, at the head of which Congress have done me the honor to place me, as will appear by the enclosed resolutions. I have before me your interesting letters from December to July. The minute detail into which you go, of the facts in which either your Government or ours is concerned, is highly acceptable to Congress. You will not, therefore, fail to continue it, and from time to time transmit, in addition thereto, such papers and pamphlets as serve to throw light on the politics of the United Provinces or of the Northern Powers. Dr. Franklin will defray the expense to which this may put you. Be pleased to subscribe for the Leyden and Amsterdam Gazettes, and transmit them to me as opportunity offers. We have as yet received no account from Mr. Adams of the presentation of his memorial, or the reception it met with, nor any other particulars on this interesting subject, than what you have related. We consider this as a proof of his reliance upon your exactness in the relation. You have before this heard the variety of agreeable events which have, with the divine blessing, taken place in America. The particulars of the capture of Cornwallis and General Greene's victory are sent to Mr. Adams, though you will probably have them earlier by way of France. Our affairs here are in such a situation that even our enemies have given up the idea of conquest, or the most distant expectation of our reunion with Great Britain, whose unheard of cruelties have excited the most inveterate hatred. This is, perhaps, the moment in which other nations might, by a generous and decided conduct, take their place in our affections; and before our tastes were so formed as to give the preference to the fashions or manufactures of any one country, to establish their commerce with us on the ruin of that of Britain. I wish, both for your sake and ours, that the United Provinces knew how to avail themselves of this invaluable opportunity by entering boldly into commercial connexions with us, and by ingratiating themselves into our affections by some such act of friendship as would strike the senses of the people. But alas! this is too daring for your Councils, and is rather to be wished than expected. It gives me pain to inform you that Lieutenant-Colonel Bedaulx is dead. It will, however, be some consolation to his friends (in whose sorrows I sympathise) to hear, after what has been injuriously repeated to them, that his reputation was untarnished, and that he died with the character of a man of honor and a soldier, fighting in the cause of freedom at Savannah.* Congress are very sensible of your attention to their interest, and wish the situation of their finances would admit of their rewarding it more liberally; but having retrenched expenses of every kind, and reduced the salaries as low as the strictest frugality requires, they do not think it expedient at this time to make any additions to that allowed you by Dr. Franklin, which they will direct him to pay * See General Bedaulx's letter to M. Dumas on this subject above, p. 329. regularly. You will be pleased in future to direct your letters, not to the President, but to me, as Secretary of the States for Foreign Affairs; and when you favor us with any thing written in French or Dutch, to give it in the original language. This may save you some trouble, and enable us in quoting it to make use of the original expression, which you know is often very necessary. As you appear to labor under a mistake with respect to Mr. Searle, I take the liberty to inform you that he is not a member of Congress, his delegation having expired before he left America. I cannot close my letter without congratulating you on the spirit and gallantry of Admiral Zoutman and his officers and men. Had Britain known that your Van Tromps and De Ruyters were still alive, she would have thought the treasures of your islands too dearly purchased by provoking their resentment. It will give you pleasure to hear that the British have been foiled in every quarter of this country. A considerable body of them, with a number of Indians, who crossed the lakes from Canada upon a ravaging expedition, with no nobler view than that of burning farm houses and scalping women and children, were met twice and defeated, with considerable loss in killed and prisoners, by an inferior number of militia. Congress are engaged in preparations for the most vigorous exertions as soon as the spring shall open, from which, by the blessings of Divine Providence, we have the highest reason to promise ourselves success. I am, sir, with great esteem and respect, &c., ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS. Amsterdam, January 7th, 1782. Sir, It would require a volume and several hands to relate the events of which I have been a daily witness, and not seldom an active one, since my last despatch of October 11th. Indifferent health, as well as prudence, has forbidden me to write down and send a journal of them, as I formerly did. The rage of the English and of their faction here is increased with their late disappointments; and while things draw nearer to some conclusion, my own experience and |