on a due west course to the river Mississippi; thence by a line to be drawn along the middle of the said river Mississippi until it shall intersect the northernmost part of the 31st degree of north latitude; south by a line to be drawn due east from the determination of the line last mentioned in the latitude of 31st degree north of the equator, to the middle of the river Apalachicola or Catahouchi, thence along the middle thereof to its junction with the Flint river, thence straight to the head of St. Mary's river to the Atlantic ocean. East by a line to be drawn along the middle of the river St. Croix, from its mouth in the Bay of Fundy to its source; and from its source directly north to the aforesaid highlands which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlantic ocean from those which fall into the river St. Lawrence, comprehending all islands within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of the United States, and lying between lines to be drawn due east from the points where the aforesaid boundaries, between Nova Scotia on the one part and East Florida on the other, shall respectively touch the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic ocean; excepting such islands as now are, or heretofore have been, within the limits of the said Province of Nova Scotia.

ARTICLE III. It is agreed that the people of the United States shall continue to enjoy unmolested the right to take fish of every kind on the Grand Bank and on all the other banks of Newfoundland; also in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at all other places in the sea where the inhabitants of both countries used at any time heretofore to fish. And also that the inhabitants of the United States shall have liberty to take fish of every kind on such part of the coast of Newfoundland as British fishermen shall use, (but not to dry or cure the same on that island,) and also on the coasts, bays, and creeks of all other of his Britannic Majesty's dominion in America. And that the American fishermen shall have liberty to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbors, and creeks, of Nova Scotia, Magdalen Islands, and Labrador, so long as the same shall remain unsettled; but so soon as the same or either of them shall be settled, it shall not be lawful for the said fishermen to dry or cure fish at such settlement, without a previous agreement for that purpose, with the inhabitants, proprietors, or possessors of the ground.

ARTICLE IV. It is agreed that creditors on either side shall meet

with no lawful impediment to the recovery of the full value, in sterling money, of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted.

ARTICLE V. It is agreed that the Congress shall earnestly recommend it to the Legislatures of the respective States to provide for the restitution of all estates, rights, and properties, which have been confiscated, belonging to real British subjects, and also of the estates, rights, and properties of persons resident in districts in the possession of his Majesty's arms, and who have not borne arms against the said United States; and that persons of any other description shall have free liberty to go to any part or parts of any of the thirteen United States, and therein to remain twelve months unmolested in their endeavors to obtain the restitution of such of their estates, rights, and properties as may have been confiscated. And that Congress shall also earnestly recommend to the several States a reconsideration and revision of all acts or laws regarding the premises, so as to render the said laws or acts perfectly consistent, not only with justice and equity, but with that spirit of conciliation which on the return of the blessings of peace should universally prevail. And that Congress shall also earnestly recommend to the several States that the estates, rights, and properties of such lastmentioned persons shall be restored to them, they refunding to any persons who may be now in possession, the bona fide price (where any has been given) which such persons may have paid on purchasing any of the said lands, rights, and properties since the confiscation. And it is agreed that all persons who have any interest in confiscated lands, either by debts, marriage settlements, or otherwise, shall meet with no lawful impediment in the prosecution of their just rights.

ARTICLE VI. That there shall be no future confiscations made, nor any prosecutions commenced against any person or persons, for or by reason of the part which he or they may have taken in the present war, and that no person shall on that account suffer any future loss or damage, either in his person, liberty, or property, and that those who may be in confinement on such charges at the time of the ratification of the treaty in America, shall be immediately set at liberty, and the prosecutions so commenced be discontinued.

ARTICLE VII. There shall be a firm and perpetual peace between his Britannic Majesty and the said States, and between the subjects

of the one and the citizens of the other, wherefore all hostilities, both by sea and land, shall then immediately cease. All prisoners on both sides shall be set at liberty; and his Britannic Majesty shall, with all convenient speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any negroes or other property of the American inhabitants, withdraw all his armies, garrisons, and fleets from the said United States, and from every port, place, and harbor within the same, leaving in all fortifications the American artillery that may be therein. And shall also order and cause all archives, records, deeds, and papers belonging to any of the said States or their citizens, which, in the course of the war, may have fallen into the hands of his officers, to be forthwith restored and delivered to the proper States and persons to whom they belong.

ARTICLE VIII. The navigation of the Mississippi river, from its source to the ocean, shall forever remain free and open to the subjects of Great Britain and the citizens of the United States.

ARTICLE IX. In case it should so happen that any place or territory, belonging to Great Britain or the United States, should be conquered by the arms of either from the other before the arrival of these articles in America, it is agreed that the same shall be restored without difficulty, and without requiring any compensation. Done at Paris, the thirtieth day of November, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two.

RICHARD OSWALD,

JOHN ADAMS,

B. FRANKLIN,
JOHN JAY,

HENRY LAURENS.

Witness, CALEB WHITEFOORD,
Secretary to the British Commission.

W. T. FRANKLIN,

Secretary to the American Commission.

SEPARATE ARTICLE. It is hereby understood and agreed, that in case Great Britain, at the conclusion of the present war, shall recover or be put in possession of West Florida, the line of north boundary between the said Province and the United States shall be

a line drawn from the mouth of the river Yazoo, where it unites with the Mississippi, due east, to the river Apalachicola.

Done at Paris, the thirtieth day of November, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two.

Attest, CALEB WHITEFOORD,

RICHARD OSWALD,
JOHN ADAMS,

B. FRANKLIN,
JOHN JAY,

HENRY LAURENS.

Secretary to the British Commission.

W. T. FRANKLIN,

Secretary to the American Commission.

TO FRANCIS DANA, AT PETERSBURGH.

Paris, December 12th, 1782.

Sir,

We have the honor to congratulate you on the signature of the preliminary treaty of peace between his Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, to be inserted in the definitive treaty when France and Britain shall have agreed upon their terms. The articles, of which we do ourselves the honor to enclose you a copy, were completed on the 30th of last month.

To us, at this distance, the present opportunity appears to be the most favorable for you to communicate your mission to the Ministers of the Empress of Russia, and to the Ministers of the other neutral Powers residing at her Court, and if you have no objections, we presume you will wish to be furnished with the enclosed paper, to communicate at the same time.

We heartily wish you success, and if you should inform us of a fair prospect of it, we shall propose an article in the definitive treaty to secure the freedom of navigation, according to the principles of the late marine treaty between the neutral Powers.

With great respect, we have the honor to be, &c.,

JOHN ADAMS,

B. FRANKLIN,
JOHN JAY.

TO ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.

Paris, December 14th, 1782.

Sir, We have the honor to congratulate Congress on the signature of the preliminaries of a peace between the Crown of Great Britain and the United States of America, to be inserted in a definitive treaty so soon as the terms between the Crowns of France and Great Britain shall be agreed on. A copy of the articles is here enclosed, and we cannot but flatter ourselves that they will appear to Congress as they do to all of us, to be consistent with the honor and interest of the United States; and we are persuaded Congress would be more fully of that opinion if they were apprized of all the circumstances and reasons which have influenced the negociation. Although it is impossible for us to go into that detail, we think it necessary, nevertheless, to make a few remarks on such of the articles as appear most to require elucidation.

Remarks on Article 2d, relative to Boundaries.

The Court of Great Britain insisted on retaining all the territories comprehended within the Province of Quebec, by the act of Parliament respecting it. They contended that Nova Scotia should extend to the river Kennebec; and they claimed not only all the lands in the western country and on the Mississippi, which were not expressly included in our charters and governments, but also all such lands within them as remained ungranted by the King of Great Britain. It would be endless to enumerate all the discussions and arguments on the subject.

We knew this Court and Spain to be against our claims to the western country, and having no reason to think that lines more favorable could ever have been obtained, we finally agreed to those described in this article; indeed they appear to leave us little to complain of and not much to desire. Congress will observe that, although our northern line is in a certain part below the latitude of forty-five, yet in others it extends above it, divides the Lake Superior, and gives us access to its western and southern waters, from which a line in that latitude would have excluded us.