The Connecticut courant, and the weekly intelligencer — Hartford [Conn.], 1779-12-07 00:00:00, page 2

a fatisfadion proportioned to the desire he
always had for the maintenance of peace.
Although the King of Spain, at firft de
clared that it was indifferent to him, whe
ther his mediation was accepted or refuf d;
and though notwithstanding he had these
proposals, he left the King his Nephew.at
full liberty to rd according to his own
views, his Maj.ffy not only accepted the
mediation, but immediately suspended the
failing of his Beet from Brest, and consent
ed to communicate his conditions of peace,
as soon as Gnat-Britain should in a posi
tive manner fignily her d< fire of reconci
liation, on terms comprehending the Uni
ted States of America, which France from
principles of duty as well as inclination
could not abandon. _
Nothing surely could be more confor
mable to the farming intentions of the
Court of London ---His Catholic Majesty,
without doubt loft not one moment for
negotiating accordingly, with the King of
England and his Ministry ; when these
soon convinced the Court of Madrid that
their propofih for peace were not sincere.
The British M'rHuy answered without
N^Ed,] cru'd Lie mOtc finffe z^d life cff.> fi/e,
than the declaration hi# Majesty's A&baiLdcr d 6 li
ve?ed tod t Bril Ih Miniffry.
Bit tc Council at St. James's did not View it in
th fame light ; and the K ng of G.e#>Britain. after
having broken the peace by recalling tie Ambaffa
dor, represented to hit Parliament, hit Majgfty't be
haviou; as an a& of hostility, at a premeditated and
formal aggr ffion. Yet it would be unreafcnable to
imagine tha; the refentrhant, of the King of G cat-
Britain, arose from bis Mijefty's#ckncuhd;m:nt cf
the L dependence of the United S aes. Tat Prince
futely was not ignorant cf all the examples cf this
kind which are found in the British annals,andtvn
in thofcof his own tehn, H ; s urfn^en^ a.ofe
from another prjnc ple. The treaty of F ar.ee fruttra
ted the plan f.>rmeda London, of a momentary and
precarious coalition w h America and disconcert
ed th± fec'/et pajamb which had influenced his Bri
tannic Mjefty to such a meafute. The true catfe
of the «n mofi y which the King of England mini
felled and Was comrounfered to hi Pa lament; was,
that he could r© re unite the Americans to his
Crown and arm them 2 airfl France.
Such an extraordinary conduct evident
ly dethonftraced to his Majesty what he
had to expt6l from the Court of London ;
and if any doubt had still remained on
this head, his Majesty, would soon have
found proof in the immense preparations
which were redoubled with the molt af
fonilhing precipitation in all the British
ports.
Such demorftrations, so manifeftly di
rected against France, became a law to his
Majesty. He put himfelf in a condition
to repel force by force. With the view
he hastened the armaments in his ports;
and sent a squadron to America under the
command of Count D'Eftaing.
It is notorious that the forces of France,
were firft in a condition to aft. It was in
his power to strike the most unexpected
and sensible blow on Great Britain. It
shall ever be confi ffed that his Majesty
had entertained the thought, and that he
was on the point of executing his projects,
when the very n/me of peace flopped him.
He was i: formed by his Catholic Majefy,
that the CourtofLondon, flawed feme de
fire of a reconciliation through the medi
ation of Spain.--This Monarch was not
willing to appear as a mediator, until he
had clear and positive assurance cf being
accepted ; and without beirg informed of
the princi; le objrfts which were to form
the basis of the negotiation.
His Majesty received this overture, with
evasion, that there was no room for recon-.
ciliation and peace, until France should
have withdrawn her declaration of the 13th
of March last year. This answer was in
jurious to Spain, as well as to France, and
difeovered in the evident manner, the hos
tile views of Great Britain. The two
Monarchs considered it in this light ; and
although his Majesty, continually animat
ed by a love of peace, still left it in his
Catholic Majefly's power, if he thought
proper to continue the mediation, he or
dered his charge d\ffairs at the Court of
London to be in future silent on this head.
His Majesty was still however in hopes
of an accommodation, when the squadrons
commanded by Admirals Keppel and By
ron, failed from the British ports: This
served to rend the flight veil under which
the Court of London fought to conceal
its true intentions. No longer was it pos
sible to credit their inlidious pretentions,
nor to doubt of their inimical purposes.
In'thir fituaiion of affairs, his Majesty found
himfelf forced to change the directions of
the meafmes which he had before adopt
ed, for the security of his possessions; and
of the commerce of his'fubjeds.--. The
event soon demonflrated rhe justice of his
Majesty's precaution. Every one knows
in what manner his Majesty's frigate la
Belle Poule was attacked by an Enghfh
frigate in the fight of the French coast.
It is not less notorious that two other fri
gats anda final) vessel, were taken by
furprize, and carried into the British ports.
The failing of the fleet which hjs Ma-°
jtfty had placet under the command cf
the Count D'Orvilhers became mceffary ;
to oppole the cf fgns cf the enemies to his
Crown, and revc^ the irfults which had
been committed on his flag. By Divine
Provide; ce his M^hy! arms triumphed ;
the Count D'Oivilii&s, ^;ckea tw the
Erplifh fleet, iucght, end obliged it to re
treat, after it had fullered considerable da-
mage.
From that time hofiilitieo have continu
ed between the two Crown', without any
declaration of w^r. The Court of Lon
don made none, becauf she had no reasons
to justify it. Bfidts, she did not chufe
publicly so accife France of being the ag
gressor, after the Brir sh Iquadron'had ta
ken three of L 5 Matty's ffiips and they
law that they fhpuld have had too much
reason to blush when the execution ofcheir
orders, clandestinely lent to the Ealt Indies,
should have convinced Europe what fort
of corfidence w^ to be placed on their pa
cinc difpc fitions, and should have enabled
all the World tojudge, to which of the
two Nations, France or England, the ap
pellation of pergdio is tightly belongs ;
which the Ecgnlh Miniftty on every occa
sion applies to Fance. The reason why
his Majesty delayed to acquaint all nati
ons ^h the many complaints he had a
gainst tie Court of London, and to de
moiftrate the absolute neceffiry he was un
der to have recourse to arms, was, that he
still filtered himfelf the British Minifby
would return to their senses, and that jus
tice, 0" full more the critical situation into
which they had plunged their country,
would induce them to alter their conduct.
This hope appeared so much the better
grounded, as the English Ministry inces
santly employed emissaries to difeover his
Majeftyl dispositions, whilst the King of
It was therefore fully evident that Eng
land did not want a peace, and had no 0-
ther end in view than to gain the time ef
fentiai to her wa like preparations.— The
King of Spain was perfectly convinced of
this, and law also how far his dignity was
exposed ; notwithstanding which, this
Prince was so much affected by the calami
ties inoperable from war, and was so much
pre-occupied with the hopes of bopping
its progress, that he forgot how far the
conduct of the Court of London, had been
offenfive to him, in order that he might
employ himfelf only about the means of
eftabldhing his pacific views • ,for this pur
pose His Catholic Majesty propoftd to the
King, a new plan, by which the bellige
rent powers should conclude a truce fora
long number of years. This plan was a
gred to by his Majesty, on condition that
the United States, should be included
therein, and treated during the truce as
Independent in fad, and to give mere fa
cility to the King of England to fubferibt
to this effeptial condition. His Majesty
consented, t.hat that Prince might treat
with Congress, either dire&ly or through
the interposition of the King of Spain.
In conlequence of this plan, His Ca
tholic Majesty formed the proposition to
be made to the Court of London : inde
pendently of an unlimited cessation of arms,
during which the United States should be
regarded as Independent in fad, that
Prince, willing to make use of every means
which might stop the effufion of human
blood, undertook of himfelf to propose
relative to America, that each of the par
ties should remain in poffeffipn of what
they might hold, at the time of signing cf
the treaty.
No one surely could doubt but that
those conditions would be accepted ; they
were, however, refuffed. The Court of
London rejected them in the most formal
manner, and shewed no disposition to peace,
unless his Majesty would abandon the A-
Spain continued^ fpc^k to h°m : f pegce.
His Majesty, far from fidfifying the fenti
nients he had always manifefted, on the
contrary listened with eagerness to the new
exortation of the King his uncle ; and, to
convince that prince of his sincerity and
perfeverence, he intrufted to him without
reserve the moderate conditions on which
he was willing and ready to lay down his
arms.
The Cathelic King communicated these
assurances which he had received from his
Majesty to the Court of London, and pref,
fed that Court to effectuate a reconciliati
on for which it had itfelf teftified so great a
desire; but the British Ministry still fig
nifying to wish for peace, only answered to
the friendly efforts of the King cf Spain,
by ambiguous proposals which could not
be admitted.
mericans to themselves. After a declara
tion so decisive, .the continuation of war
is become inevitable, and from thence his
Majesty found himfelf obliged to invite
the Catholic King to join with him, in vir
tue of their engagements, to revenge their
mutual grievances, and to fix bounds to
the tyrannical empire which Great Britain
hath usurped and pretends to maintain o
ver all the seas.
This concise expofirion of the political
views, proceedings and successive events
which have occasioned a rupture between