Chap. XXIX.} 1782. Sept. |
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navigation of the Mississippi.
For himself, he re-
peatedly insisted with Oswald, that West Florida should not be left in the hands of the Spaniards, but should be restored to England; and he pleaded ‘in favor of the future commerce of England as if he had been of her council, and wished to make some reparation for her loss,’ not duly considering the dangers threatening the United States, if England should hold both East and West Florida and the Bahama Islands.
Shelburne had hoped to make a distinction between the jurisdiction over the western country and property in its ungranted ___domain, so that the sales of wild lands might yield some compensation to the loyal refugees; but Jay insisted that no such right of property remained to the king.
Oswald urged upon him the restoration of the loyalists to their civil rights; but Jay answered that the subject of pardon was one with which ‘congress could not meddle.
The states being sovereigns, the parties in fault were answerable to them, and to them only.’
Oswald yielded on both points.
On sending over the draft of the treaty to the secretary of state, the British plenipotentiary wrote: ‘I look upon the treaty as now closed.’
Both Franklin and Jay had agreed that, if it should be approved, they would sign it immediately.
Towards the French minister, they continued their reserve, not even communicating to him the new commission of Oswald.1
1 On m'a assure que les negociations sur le fond étaient entamees et que le plenipotentiaire anglais était assez coulant Mais je suis dans l'impossibilite de rien vous dire de positif et de certain á cet égard, Messrs. Jay et Franklin se tenant dans la reserve la plus absolue à mon ègard. Ils ne m'ont meme pas encore remis copie du plein pouvoir de Mr. Oswald. Je pense, Monsieur, qu'il sera utile que vous disiez cette particularity a Mr. Livingston, afin qu'il puisse s'il le juge a propos ramener les deux plenipotentiaires americains á la teneur de leurs instructions. Vergennes to Luzerne, 14 Oct., 1782.
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1874.
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