"It was upon this footing that William the First, Prince of Orange, was made Governor and Lieutenant-General of Holland, Zealand, and Utrecht, by Philip the Second, when he was upon his departure for Spain. This commission is dated the 9th of August, 1559. It contains among other things, "We establish him in the state of Governor and Lieutenant-General of our counties of Holland, of Zealand, of the country of Utrecht, West Friesland, Voorne and the Brille, lands adjacent and annexed to our said Earldoms of Holland and Zealand." The troubles arising soon after, he accomplished in 1576 a particular union between Holland and Zealand, the States of which conferred upon him as far as in them lay, the sovereign authority for all the time that these two Provinces should be at war and in arms, as the former had invested him with the same authority the year before.
"In 1581, the same thing was repeated by Holland, and soon after by Zealand; and in 1584, already elected Earl of Holland upon certain conditions, ---- he would have been invested with the sovereignty in all its forms, if he had not been a.s.sa.s.sinated by a villain hired and set to work by the Court of Spain. During the troubles, the States declared more than once, that they acknowledged the Prince of Orange in quality of their Governor-General, and Lieutenant of the King, in the Provinces of Holland, Zealand, West Friesland, and Utrecht, upon the same footing as these offices had been conferred upon him by his Majesty, there having been since no change or alteration of anything, which was conformable to the laws and customs of the country. Holland was the first, which in 1575, gave him a greater authority, but we do not find anywhere that the States ever declared him Stadtholder in their name; and Maurice, his son, ought to be considered as the first Governor and Stadtholder of their creation. His first instructions are extant; they were very confined; but they gave him more authority in 1587, after the departure of the Earl of Leicester. His successors in the Stadtholdership have had no instructions, but only commissions, and since that time their authority is very much augmented.
"The commission given the 12th of May, 1747, to his Serene Highness, William the Fourth, father of the present Stadtholder, by the States of Holland, who conferred upon him, "The power, the authority, and the command, to exercise the office of Governor, Captain-General, and Admiral; to protect, to advance, and to maintain the rights, the privileges, and the well being of the Province and of its members, cities and inhabitants, as well as the worship of the true reformed Christian religion, such as it is taught in the public churches, and to preserve and defend it against all molestation, oppression, disorder, disunion, detriment and damage. Moreover, to administer justice in the said Province of Holland and West Friesland, to obtain and duly to grant the provisions of justice to all those who shall require it, and to put them in execution, the whole, as far as regards the affairs of justice, by the advice of the President and Counsellors of the Court of Holland and West Friesland. To him, moreover, is given the power of granting, after having taken the advice of the Court of Justice, letters of grace, remission, pardon, and abolition, provided the said letters be duly ---- it being well understood, nevertheless, that they shall not be granted for murders, unpardonable in their nature, or for enormous crimes committed, ---- or by premeditated design; and for what concerns the military and the police, to act in this respect with the approbation of the States and the advice of their Counsellors and Deputies, conformably to their instructions; to change the Burgomasters and the Sheriffs of the cities and places of the Province, as may be convenient, conformably to the privileges of each city and of each place; moreover, both by land and sea, to watch over the safety and the good order of places and fortresses of the Province where there shall be occasion."
"The conditions upon which William the First was elected Earl of Holland, are related in the seventh volume of the history of the country, according to the resolutions of the States of Holland of that time. The Prince had agreed to them. All the cities of Holland, excepting Amsterdam and Gonda, had consented to them; and the Provinces of Zealand and Utrecht would without doubt have followed this example. These conditions contained among others,
First, That if the Prince contravened in any points, and did not redress the grievances at the requisitions of the States, these should be free from all engagements to him, and should have a right to provide of themselves for the government. Secondly, That after the death of the Prince, such of his sons as the States should judge the most capable, should be made Earl on the same footing. Thirdly, That the Prince should engage himself by oath to the observation of these conditions stipulated, and that the States on their part should do the same towards him.
"In the preamble of the acts, by which the States confer the sovereign authority upon Prince William the First, is found these remarkable words, which are there laid down for a fundamental rule. "That all Republics and communities ought to preserve and maintain themselves, and fortify themselves by unanimity, which cannot take place among so many members often different in will and in sentiments; it was by consequence necessary that the government should be conferred upon one single chief." From the establishment of the Republic, the good politicians and the greatest part of the inhabitants of these Provinces have regarded the Stadtholderian government as an essential part of the const.i.tution. Accordingly, it has not been but twice without a Stadtholder, that is to say, from the year of 1650 to 1672, and again from the month of March, 1702, to April, 1747.
"The Stadtholdership has not been interrupted in Friesland, nor in the Provinces of Groningen and Ommelanden; but heretofore, the power of the Stadtholders of these two Provinces whose ancient instructions are to be found in Aitzema and elsewhere, although they have no place at present, was confined in more narrow bounds, and until William the Fourth, there never was a Stadtholder of all the seven Provinces together.
"The Stadtholdership, and the offices of Captain-General and Admiral-General of each of the seven Provinces of the country of Drenthe, and of the generality, are at present hereditary, not only in the male line, but also in the female. The Stadtholder cannot declare war, nor make peace, but he has, in quality of Captain-General, the command in chief of all the forces of the State, and the military men are obliged to obey him in all that regards the military service. He is not restrained by instructions, and he disposes of the patents, an article very important in all that concerns the military.
"In this Republic, they call patents the orders in writing, which the Captain-General sends to the troops to march. He orders the marches, provides for the garrisons, and changes them at his pleasure. The ordinances and military regulations proceed from him alone; it is he, who const.i.tutes and authorises the High Council of War of the United Provinces, and who, as Captain-General of each Province, disposes of all military offices as far as that of Colonel, inclusively. The highest posts, as those of Field Marshals, of Generals and Lieutenant-Generals, are given by the States-General, who choose those to fill them whom his Highness recommends. It is he also, who gives the governments, commandants, &c. of cities and places of arms of the Republic, and those of the barrier. The persons named, present their acts to their High Mightinesses, who provide them with commissions. In disposing of civil employments, which are in their departments, the States-General have always a great deal of regard also to the recommendations of his Highness. The power of the Stadtholder, as Grand Admiral, extends itself over everything which regards the naval forces of the State, and the other affairs of the departments of the Admiralties. These councils, called the Admiralties, preside over the perception [?] of the duties of entries, inwards and outwards, and have the direction of the custom-house, as well as that of the Admiralty. He presides here in person or by his representatives; and as chief of all these councils in general and of each one in particular, he is able to cause to be observed and executed their instructions, both by themselves, and what concerns them. He disposes of the employs of Lieutenant-Admirals and others, who command under him, and creates also the captains (_de haut bord_). The Grand Admiral, who has his part in all the prizes which are made, both by the vessels of the State and by privateers, establishes, when it is necessary, maritime councils of war, who do right in the name of their High Mightinesses, and of his Highness, but whose sentences are not executed until after he has approved and confirmed them. It is the same in those of the High Council of War of the United Provinces.
"Here follows the COMMISSION of the Prince, exactly translated from the Dutch.
"The States-General of the United Provinces of the Low Countries, to all those who shall see or hear these presents, greeting. We make known, that it being necessary to authorise and establish one person capable and qualified as Captain-General and Admiral-General of the people of war, by sea and land, who are in our service, for the maintenance of the State and of the government of this country, and for the direction of the affairs of war; for these causes, considering the good qualities and the capacity of his Highness, the Prince William Charles Henry Friso, by the Grace of G.o.d, Prince of Orange and of Na.s.sau, Earl of Catzeneltebogen, Vianden, Dietz, &c. &c. &c. and relying upon his firmness, valor, and inclination, for the prosperity of these countries, we have established and authorised, and we do establish and authorise his Most Serene Highness, the said Prince William Charles Henry Friso, Captain and Admiral-General over the people of war, who are in our service by sea and by land, giving to his Highness full power and authority to command, in that quality, all the said troops, and order them all that is convenient for the conservation and the maintenance of the union, for the safeguard and the defence of the State, for the tranquillity, the rights and the privileges of the country, both in general, and of each Province in particular; and for the protection of the inhabitants, as also for the conservation of the true reformed religion, in the manner that it is at present exercised, and under the public authority in the a.s.sociated Provinces and cities; in fine, for the maintenance of the present form of government; the whole with the authority, the rights, the honors, and pre-eminence, thereto annexed. We have, moreover, conferred on his Serene Highness, as we hereby confer upon him, by these presents, until we shall have made known that we have disposed otherwise, the free power to dispose of patents and other things which relate to war, as the Lords, Princes of Orange, glorious ancestors of his Serene Highness have done, in quality of Stadtholders with relation to the troops. We command and ordain, most expressly, to all and every one, particularly to the officers of the troops, Colonels, Captains of Cavalry and of Infantry, and of other people of war in our service and pay, to acknowledge, respect, and obey his Serene Highness in that quality, giving him all succor, favor, and a.s.sistance, in executing his orders. His Serene Highness, as Captain-General of the State, shall take the ordinary oath to us, or to those whom we shall depute for that end, upon the instructions[9] which we shall judge proper to prepare in this respect. Done, in our a.s.sembly at the Hague, the 4th of May, 1747.
[9] No such instructions exist.
"The Sladtholder grants likewise, letters of grace, of pardon, and abolition, both of the crimes which they call _communia delicta_, and of military offences. In Holland and Zealand, these letters are made out for the former, in the name of the States, with the advice of his Highness; in cases of common crimes, he consults the courts of justice, the counsellors deputies of the Provinces, the Council of State, and the tribunals of justice of the cities respectively, according to the nature of the case, and concerning the others, the High Council of War, &c.
"In the Provinces of Holland and Zealand, the Stadtholder makes every year an election of the magistrates of the cities, upon a representation or nomination of a double number, which the cities themselves send to him. He has the choice of two, and in some cases, of three candidates, whom the States of Holland name to fill the offices, which their n.o.ble and Grand Mightinesses, and formerly the Chamber of Accounts of their dominions had the disposition or election of, when there was no Governor. In some cities, the Stadtholder elects only the sheriffs, in others the burgomasters and sheriffs, and in some, the counsellors of the cities also. The magistrates, in taking possession of their offices, promise by oath, to maintain the rights, privileges, and immunities of their cities and citizens; and they take an oath also of fidelity to the States of Holland and Friesland. In 1672, the magistrates of Dort, added "as also to his Serene Highness, the Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the Province," and the same thing was done in 1747, but only in Dort. When the States, in extraordinary cases which require it, judge proper to invest him with an act of authority, he can dismiss all these magistrates and replace them by others. This was done upon this footing, in 1672 and 1748. "Saving their honor, and without its being permitted to suspect them of having ill conducted in the exercise of their offices, the Stadtholder promising to take, in case of need, their persons and their families under his protection and safeguard, &c." The Prince of Maurice having changed in 1718 the magistrates of the greatest part of the cities, was thanked for it by the States of Holland, who, by their resolution of the 16th of November of the same year, approved unanimously of what his Excellency had done.
"There are some few offices, which, by the const.i.tution, the States have the disposal of, but in effect, the Stadtholder disposes of all offices, and is by this means in a capacity to oblige and attach to him, the magistrates of the cities, and other persons whom he pleases to gratify with them. He elects the counsellors and inspectors of the d.y.k.es of Rhynland, of Delfland, and of Schieland, &c. upon a presentation of three persons which these Colleges, established in Holland for many centuries, send directly to him. Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in an old ordinance, calls these officers Counsellors of the d.y.k.es. Their offices are for life; and besides these three Colleges, there are still several others in Holland, but the three abovementioned are the most considerable.
"In virtue of the regulations made in 1674 and 1675, and renewed since the accession of the Prince to the Stadtholdership, he has a great power in the Provinces of Guelderland, Utrecht, and Overyssel. The decision of the differences, which may there arise among the respective members and quarters belong to him; all the offices and commissions, which are exercised both in the Provinces and without.
The States of Guelderland had, in 1748, conferred on the Prince Stadtholder the power of correcting, changing, and augmenting the regulation of the Regency of the year 1675, as his Highness should judge necessary for the good and advantage of the Province, in case that in this regulation he should find articles, which, according to the const.i.tution of the present form of government, have occasion to be altered. But his Highness, in re-establishing it, did not judge proper to avail himself of this concession, which he nevertheless accepted in 1750. See the last article of the regulation published that year. In 1748, the Quarter of Nimeguen made a present to the Prince of the Earldom of Culembourg, and the States of Overyssel did the same with regard to the lands, which they possessed in the Earldom of Bantheim. By this he is the First Member of the States, and Sovereign Lord of the Lower Earldom.
"He has at his disposal all the offices and commissions in the Provinces of Groningen and Ommelanden, since the regulation of the year 1748, and the Prince Stadtholder has also acquired the greatest prerogatives in Friesland, by the regulation of December, 1748. As Stadtholder of the country of Drenthe and of the territory of the Generality, he has also very fair prerogatives, and annual appointments. The Council of State of the United Provinces, as well as the Councils Deputies of Holland and West Friesland, have, of their own motion offered, and at last conceded to his Highness all the employments which were in their disposal. By the articles ninth, sixteenth, and twentyfirst of the Treaty of Union of Utrecht, the Stadtholders of that time had been named provisionally, arbiters of the differences, which contrary sentiments and opposite views might occasion among the confederates, who, in thus submitting to an arbitration of points so important, had considered no doubt, that in fact there could not be any union or confederation among allies, who united themselves so closely, without agreeing upon means of coming to a conclusion, in cases, in which the plurality of voices did not take place.
"Since the re-establishment of the Stadtholdership on the footing where it is at present, similar differences between the Provinces are no longer to be feared; the Prince Stadtholder, being fortified with a power sufficiently great to maintain the union, by preventing the consequences of all which might disturb it, or being a prejudice to the State in general, or to the Provinces, or their Quarters, or their members in particular; finally to take and put in execution the measures and resolutions necessary, &c. His Highness presides in the Court of Holland, and in the Courts of Justice of the other Provinces, and his name is placed at the head of their commandments, ordinances, and bills. In Overyssel and in the Province of Utrecht, the fiefs are held in the name of the Prince Stadtholder. He is supreme curator of the Universities of Guelderland, of Friesland, and Groningen, Grand Forrester and Grand Hunter in Guelderland, Holland, and other places.
"In the Province of Utrecht, his Highness, by virtue of the regulation of the year 1674, disposes of the provostship, and other benefices, which have remained attached to the chapters, as also the canonical prebends, which have fallen vacant in the months which were formerly called Popish.
"Conformably to the first article of the instructions of the Council of State of the United Provinces, the Stadtholder is the first member of it, and has there the right of suffrage, with an appointment of twentyfive thousand florins a year. In virtue of a resolution of the States-General, of the 27th of February, the Prince of Orange had enjoyed it before his elevation to the Stadtholdership, having been placed, from the year 1670, in the Council of State. The 26th of July, 1746, their High Mightinesses granted the same appointments to the Prince Stadtholder.
"He a.s.sists also, whenever he judges proper for the service of the State, at the deliberations of the States-General, there to make propositions, &c. and sometimes also at the conferences held by the Deputies of their High Mightinesses in the several departments, according to the order established at the a.s.semblies of the States of particular Provinces, and at those of their Counsellors, or States Deputies. In Guelderland, in Holland, and in the Province of Utrecht, his Highness partic.i.p.ates of the sovereignty, as Chief, or President of the body of n.o.bles; and in Zealand, where he possesses the Marquisate of Veere and of Flessingue as First n.o.ble, and representing alone all the n.o.bility. In his absence, he has in Zealand his representatives, who hold the first place, who have the first voice in all the councils, and the first of whom is always First Deputy from this Province at the a.s.sembly of their High Mightinesses. The three quarters of the Province of Guelderland conferred the dignity of Chief, or President of the Body of n.o.bles, on his Serene Highness, in 1750. None of his predecessors had it, but Basnage says, in his Annals of the United Provinces, that the Prince William the Second, a little before his death, had a design to get himself elected First n.o.ble in Guelderland, where the n.o.bility had been at all times devoted to him.
"The Body of n.o.bles of Holland, having prayed in 1635, the Prince Frederick Henry to do them the honor of being their Chief, his Highness, who as Stadtholder had neither seat nor voice in the a.s.sembly of the States of the Province, graciously accepted of this offer, and became thereby a permanent member of it. The Body of n.o.bles have done the same with regard to the successors of this Prince.
"Veere and Flessingue are two of the six cities, which, with the First n.o.ble compose the a.s.sembly of the States of Zealand. The councils in Zealand, in which the Prince or his representatives have the first voice, are the a.s.sembly of the States, and of the Counsellors Deputies; in the Council of the Admiralty, in the Chambers of Accounts, and in the a.s.sembly, that they name the States of Walcheren, a College, which has the care of the d.y.k.es of this part of the Province. It appears, that under the precedent Stadtholders, the a.s.sembly of the States of Zealand, composed, as at present, of the First n.o.ble, and the six cities, disposed of all provincial offices and commissions, and one may see, by the resolution of the States of Zealand of the 15th of June, 1751, how this affair has been regulated.
"In 1749, the Prince Stadtholder was created by the States-General, Governor-General and Supreme Director of the Companies of the East and West Indies, dignities which gave him a great deal of authority and power, and which had not been conferred upon any of his predecessors.
They have not yet been rendered hereditary. He has his representatives in the respective chambers, and chooses the Directors of the two companies, upon a nomination of three persons, who have the qualifications necessary to be elected. From his elevation to the Stadtholdership, the Prince enjoyed in Zealand this prerogative. His Serene Highness enjoys, without paying taxes, as the precedent Stadtholder might have enjoyed, the thirtieth part of all the divisions, which the East India Company makes; that is to say, the dividends of sixtysix actions and two thirds, each action being reckoned at three thousand florins, old capital. See the resolutions of their High Mightinesses, of the twentyseventh of November, 1747, when the company gives to the interested a dividend of fifty per cent, the portion of the Stadtholder amounts to fifty thousand florins. The Prince Stadtholder represents the dignity and the grandeur of the Republic, and without bearing the name of sovereign, and doing all in the name of the States, of which he is the Lieutenant-General, he enjoys in several respects, even the effects of the sovereignty. We have already seen what are his princ.i.p.al prerogatives, his authority, his great credit, and his influence in all affairs.
"The Amba.s.sadors and other Ministers in foreign Courts hold their commissions and receive their instructions from the States-General, who nevertheless do not name to these employs, excepting such as are agreeable to the Prince Stadtholder, and recommended by his Highness.
These Ministers address their despatches to their High Mightinesses, or to their Register, and correspond also with the Counsellor Pensionary of Holland. They also render an account to the Prince Stadtholder of the negotiations with which they are charged, and of all important and secret affairs.
"Treaties, alliances, conventions, &c. are negotiated, signed, and ratified in the name of the States-General, after having been communicated to the Provinces and ratified by them. The name of the Prince Stadtholder does not appear, but he can, when there is a question concerning his particular affairs, enter into negotiation with foreign Courts, and conclude with them treaties, as it was done with Spain in 1646 and 1647.
"Some of the foreign Ministers who reside at the Hague, are also accredited with the Prince Stadtholder. The prerogatives of the Prince Stadtholder of the Republic are at present sufficiently fixed; but they are not precisely the same in all the Provinces. The appointments and revenues of the Stadtholder and Captain-General, to consider them even in proportion, cannot be put in parallel with those of a King of England. Nevertheless, it is reckoned that the revenues of the Stadtholdership of the Seven United Provinces, of the country of Drenthe and the Territory of the Generality, comprehending the twentyfive thousand florins which the Prince enjoys annually as First Member of the Council of State, and the dividends of the company of the East Indies, amount to three hundred thousand florins a year. The Stadtholder pays neither imposts nor taxes, excepting those which they call in Holland _Odinares Verponding_, which is raised in this Province upon the lands and upon the houses, &c. The body guards and the aid-de-camp of his Most Serene Highness are entertained at the expense of the union. Holland alone pays the company of a hundred Swiss, and makes good the hire of the houses, which the Prince Stadtholder and some of the princ.i.p.al officers of his house occupy at the Hague, who enjoy also a freedom from excises. On some occasions, the Counsellors Deputies of Holland and West Friesland, dispose, upon the proposition of the Stadtholder, or of the Counsellor Pensionary in his behalf, of certain sums necessary for the service of the State; and upon an act of this Council, they pa.s.s them in account at the Receiver-General of the Province.
"As Captain-General of the union, his Highness has a hundred thousand florins of appointments a year, besides twentyfour thousand from Friesland, and twelve thousand from Groningen, in quality of Captain-General of these two Provinces. In time of war, the State grants extraordinary sums to the Captain-General, for the expense of each campaign.
"The Prince Stadtholder, as the eminent head of the Republic, is revered, honored, and respected by all the world. The Princes of Orange, by the great revenues of their patrimonies, both of their princ.i.p.alities and of their signorial lands in France, Germany, and Burgundy, and in divers places of the United Provinces, have frequently been a great support to the State. William the First, the father of his country, who always preferred the prosperity of the Republic to his own and that of his house, raised twice, and led an army, in a great part at his own expense, as we may see by the public declaration, which the States-General made of it, in the inscription of the mausoleum, which they raised to the memory of this great man, in one of the churches of Delft.
"Offers the most tempting for them and for their houses have been made to the Stadtholders, provided they would depart ever so little from the engagements which they had taken with their country; but they have rejected them all with disdain, and would not have other friends nor other enemies than those of the Republic. As she was in some sort their daughter, they could not but have a lively affection for her, to such a degree as to be at all times ready to sacrifice their lives and all things to her defence. Thus they have been the authors and conservators of her liberties, in the first place against the Spanish tyranny, and since against an enemy still more formidable, who opened to himself in 1672 a pa.s.sage into the heart of the Republic. The same thing was near happening in 1748."
I have translated this from the French, because it is not often to be found, and is the shortest and best account of the Stadtholdership I can find. It is full of instruction to the United States of America, and will serve to explain many political phenomena. As all these powers are in possession of a family connected by blood and by ancient habits and political alliances to that of Hanover, we may easily see, that the American cause will meet with powerful obstacles. I am still, however, of opinion, that it would be good policy to send a Minister Plenipotentiary here, accredited both to the States-General and to the Prince Stadtholder, without this even a loan of money will scarcely succeed. Mr Laurens is taken and carried to England.
I have the honor to be, &c.
JOHN ADAMS.
TO B. FRANKLIN.
Amsterdam, October 14th, 1780.
Sir,
The extracts of letters you were so good as to send me, have been inserted in the papers, and I should be obliged to you for future communications of the same kind. Notwithstanding the flow of spirits, and the vigorous exertions of our countrymen this year, I am sorry to say I cannot see a prospect of anything decisive this campaign. The fatal defect in the plan of the campaign in not sending a sufficient number of ships with M. de Ternay, or soon after him, will render abortive all the great exertions and immense expenses of the year.
And, at the same time, Cornwallis will spread too much devastation at the southward, where the want of numbers of whites, the great numbers of blacks, and above all the want of discipline and experience, will make the people long unhappy and unfortunate.
The ill luck of Carolina, pursues her citizens even to sea, and to Europe, I think. Can nothing be done for the relief of Mr Laurens.
Will you be so good as to apply to Court, and see if they will send us somebody suitable to exchange for him? After exchanging so many military men as prisoners of war, it is pitiful to use Mr Laurens as they do.
I have felt the mortification of soliciting for money as well as you.
But it has been because the solicitations have not succeeded. I see no reason at all that we should be ashamed of asking to borrow money, after maintaining a war against Great Britain and her allies for about six years, without borrowing anything abroad, when England has been all the time borrowing of all the nations of Europe, even of individuals among our allies, it cannot be unnatural, surprising, or culpable, or dishonorable for us to borrow money. When England borrows, annually, a sum equal to all her exports, we ought not to be laughed at for wishing to borrow a sum, annually, equal to a twelfth part of our annual exports. We may, and we shall wade through, if we cannot obtain a loan; but we could certainly go forward with more ease, convenience, and safety by the help of one. I think we have not meanly solicited for friendship anywhere. But to send Ministers to every great Court in Europe, especially the maritime Courts, to propose an acknowledgment of the independence of America, and treaties of amity and commerce, is no more than becomes us, and in my opinion is our duty to do. It is perfectly consistent with the genuine system of American policy, and a piece of respect due from new nations to old ones. The United Provinces did the same thing, and were never censured for it, but in the end they succeeded. It is necessary for America to have agents in different parts of Europe, to give some information concerning our affairs, and to refute the falsehoods that the hired emissaries of Great Britain circulate in every corner of Europe, by which they keep up their own credit and ruin ours. I have been more convinced of this, since my peregrinations in this country than ever.
The universal and profound ignorance of America here, has astonished me. It will require time and a great deal of prudence and delicacy to undeceive them. The method you have obligingly begun of transmitting me intelligence from America, will a.s.sist me in doing, or at least attempting, something of this kind, and I therefore request the continuance of it, and have the honor to be, with respectful compliments to Mr Franklin and all friends, Sir, your most obedient servant,
JOHN ADAMS.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
Amsterdam, October 14th, 1780.
Sir,
Repeated letters from London confirm the account of Mr Laurens being confined in the Tower; so close a prisoner, that neither his old correspondents, nor even his refugee relations, are suffered to speak to him.
There have been so many precedents of exchanges, Mr Lovell, as well as the Major-Generals, Sullivan, Stirling, Lee, and others, having been exchanged as prisoners of war, that it is very extraordinary they should now treat Mr Laurens as a prisoner of State. It is not, however, merely a proof that pa.s.sion and caprice govern their councils. I conceive it is intended to signify to the tories in America, whom they believe to be more numerous than they are, and to their officers and troops serving in that country, that now they have obtained an election of Parliament to their minds, they are determined to prosecute the war with vigor, and to bring America still to unlimited submission. For, however, our countrymen may have flattered themselves with hopes of peace, there is nothing further from the thoughts of the King of England, his Ministers, Parliament, or nation, (for they are now all _his_,) than peace, upon any terms that America can agree to. There is no future event more certain in my mind, than that they never will acknowledge American independence while they have a soldier in the United States. Nay, they would not do it, even after their troops should be driven from the continent.