If the dinner at Schiedam should be agreed on, there will be no difficulties in finding a way for us three to go all together. All that is before said about the negociation for peace, you know must be kept secret. But if I go to Paris, I shall break up my house here entirely, and dismiss all my servants. I have the honor to be, with compliments to the ladies, &c., JOHN ADAMS. VERBAL MESSAGE OF C. W. F. DUMAS TO THE CITY OF SCHIEDAM. The following verbal message on the part of Mr. Adams to the Secretary of the city of Schiedam, was given by M. Dumas on the 8th of May 1782: Sir, The diversity of sentiments which exists in this Republic in relation to the circumstances in which it stands to the United States of America having appeared to Mr. Adams capable of causing some embarrassment to the merchants of Schiedam, if he accepted their polite invitation, he has thought that he could not better prove the regard and affection which he has for those gentlemen, than by declining their polite request. He has, therefore, charged me, sir, to assure you of his extreme sensibility for the honor and friendship they have manifested in his person to his Sovereign; and of his intention not only to make mention of it in his first despatches to Congress, but also to show on all occasions how much he is disposed to reciprocate this cordial civility by every means in his power. TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. DUMAS. The Hague, May 10th, 1782. Sir, Since my last of the 4th of April, I have not had a moment of leisure, by a succession of agreeable occupations, which have brought us rapidly to the result which I predicted to you. The voice of the people has made itself heard from all parts. The Provinces having successively sent their resolutions here annexed to the Generality, the 19th of April was the great day when the unanimous resolution of their High Mightinesses was adopted to admit Mr. Adams; and on the 20th, in the morning, he went to present his letters of credence to the President of the week. On Monday, at nine o'clock in the morning, I went par etiquette to the house of his Excellency the French Ambassador, to ask of him the hour when Mr. Adams should come and impart to him officially his admission, and in the meantime we were to leave our cards at the houses of all the members of the States-General. The visit to the Ambassador was made in form, and publicly returned in the same way. That of the Envoy of Spain not requiring the same ceremonial as the rank of the Ambassador, we had given him notice on Sunday evening in a familiar visit, under a condition previously agreed, that he would return it in like manner the next day; and he kept his word. Monday, the 22d, I went to ask audience for Mr. Adams of his Serene Highness the Stadtholder, who granted it immediately. We dined on Tuesday, the 23d, with the French Ambassador, who had invited all the Corps Diplomatique, and they all attended. Wednesday morning we made the tour of the cities of Holland at their hotels with cards. We left also cards of notification at the hotels of the Ministers of foreign neutral Courts, who probably have written to their Courts to know if they should return the visit. There has been no return of it but from the Minister of Liege. The same morning I went to ask audience for Mr. Adams of her Royal Highness the Princess of Orange, which immediately took place. Monday, 6th of May. Mr. Adams was present at a breakfast with M. Boreel, Deputy of the States-General, where he had been invited with all the Court and the Corps Diplomatique. An address having been presented on Monday, the 22d, to Mr. Adams, by six Deputies of the body of merchants of Schiedam, having at their head the Secretary of the city, who invited him at the same time to a grand festival which they wished to give him, I had the happiness yesterday to excuse him from this festival without dissatisfying these gentlemen, as you will see by the copy of my verbal message to the Secretary. Add to all this, sir, the confusion of our removal into the Hotel of the United States of America, which is not yet over, and will not be for several weeks, and you may well have some indulgence for the imperfection of my present correspondence. Sunday last, after dinner, at the request of the French Ambassador and of our friends here, and with the consent of Mr. Adams, I made a journey by post to Amsterdam, charged with a secret commission relating to a concert of operations in this country, which the Anglomanes appeared willing to trouble by some intrigue, and I returned the next day. All is now settled to the satisfaction of France, and the Anglomanes are frustrated. Day before yesterday we were again at a familiar and friendly dinner at the house of the French Ambassador, with whom Mr. Adams was very much satisfied. I give you, sir, only a sort of index very imperfect of the principal events which have passed here lately. I leave to Mr. Adams, who presented on Monday, the 22d of April, the sketch of a treaty of amity and commerce to their High Mightinesses, to enlarge. I write from memory, not having been able to keep a journal, still less one of my going and coming, my secret interviews, conferences, and negociations, which were necessary to prepare and bring about what has been done, and which ought not yet to be trusted to paper. No one has better characterised the truly national revolution which has taken place here, than the French Ambassador, in saying that the Dutch nation had avenged itself, with the greatest success, of all the political and other evils which the English have done them since Cromwell; and the Envoy of Spain, who said to Mr. Adams that he had struck the greatest blow which had been given in Europe for a long time. I conclude by recommending, sir, to your attention and to that of Congress, the copy of a letter which Mr. Adams wrote me from Amsterdam the 2d of this month. I have not had a moment of leisure to write the present despatch sooner; nor by consequence to make a prompt use of this letter according to the intention of Mr. Adams, and which, nevertheless, interests the United States as much as myself. It surprised and affected me very agreeably, and it was no doubt his intention so to surprise. You know, sir, or you may know, by the papers of your department since the end of 1775, the intimate part I have had in political affairs without interruption, in executing faithfully the orders of Congress, unsolicited, but accepted on my part with an ardor which, I am bold to say, has never changed, and which has drawn upon me personally all the enemies, open and concealed, of America, and has cost me and my family great persecutions, mortifications, losses, and sacrifices. I should fear, therefore, to weaken the letter, so energetic and so honorable to me, of Mr. Adams, (who told me by word of mouth, a few days since, that he was surprised Congress had not before made such a disposition on the subject of my affairs,) if I should add anything more, except that I have never had any other principle in my actions, especially in these six or seven years of faithful and painful labor, than the service of humanity, of the United States, and of their honorable Congress; and if, in my last sigh, I could add to this testimony of my conscience the idea of having retained the esteem and friendship of all your respectable Ministers, both in Europe and America, and especially yours, sir, which will be very dear to me, and which I pray you to bestow on me, I shall contentedly close my days with the words of Horace in my mouth: Non ultima laus est principibus placuisse viris. I am, with the most sincere respect, DUMAS. P. S. May 12th. There arrived here yesterday a second proposition of Fox for peace with this Republic. It will be presented to-morrow to the States-General-a new snare, which is happily foreseen and escaped. I shall speak of it in my next. TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON. The Hague, June 1st, 1782. Sir, My last was of the 10th of May. Since that time I have been constantly occupied with the French Ambassador and the good patriots of this country in counteracting the pretended mediators for a separate peace between Great Britain and this Republic; and we have so far succeeded that Holland has adopted a good resolution in relation to it, which is all ready, and which will nearly destroy this manœuvre of the Anglomanes. On the 21st and 22d of May I made, at the request of the Ambassador, a journey to Dort, where was ready a sketch of a resolution (since matured and perfected) of which I at the time made a translation for the Ambassador. shall see the effect this will have. We I know that one of the principal Ministers of the Republic, on the good will of whom we begin to rely a little more than formerly, has declared that he has in his pocket the full proofs of the intention of the British Ministry to amuse and deceive the Republic, which I hope to see soon irrevocably pledged not to make a peace except in conjunction with the three other belligerent Powers. I cannot explain myself more at present. If it were not for the disaster of De Grasse, in the West Indies, which delays our progress a little, we should be already more advanced. June 18th. The abovementioned resolution, although printed on the 5th, was not finally decreed by the States of Holland till the 12th instant, with some changes; after which they separated, not to come together again for about three weeks. In this interval, the cities will have examined the report of the Admiralty on the treaty of amity and commerce between the United States and this Republic; and I am assured that this treaty will be brought to a conclusion at the first sitting. There will be a question also at that time on the nomination of a Minister of this Republic to reside near Congress; the Prince having declared his willingness to propose it to the same Assembly. I accompanied Mr. Adams yesterday morning to an audience with the Prince at the Chateau du Bois, and he supped there the same day with the Prince, the Princess, and many foreign Ministers. The stay of Grenville at Paris, and his pretended instructions to negociate peace, have all the air of being only a trick of the Court of London; and I think it will require one more campaign to bring them to talk seriously of a general peace, or rather to ripen the revolution or civil war, which has appeared to me for a long time springing up in their bosom, and which will bring about finally the catastrophe of this great tragedy. May the catastrophe be only fatal to the authors of the evil, and turn to the happiness of the human race in general, and especially to that of the United States. June 20th. The Ambassador has informed us that the combined fleet departed from Cadiz the 4th instant, and in great confidence that Mr. Grenville, who is at Paris, has received from his Court full powers more ample to treat with all the belligerents. This is well, if his powers are explicit and sincere. But to trust to them it seems necessary that the British Court should declare that it recognises the United States for a belligerent Power, otherwise it will be a Proteus; it will escape from us when we think to hold it, and will pretend to |