were not lefs surprised to fee that, whilft the difturbances in America, and their direct confequences, could not affect the Republic by virtue of any treaty, and that the affiftance had not been required before the declaration of the Court of Spain had increased the number of the belligerent powers; his Britannic majefty had nevertheless taken occafion, from this event, to infift on his demand with fo much ardor and earnestness, as if his majefty had a right to pretend and maintain, that, a war being once kin dled between him and fome other power, was alone fufficient to compel the states to grant directly, and without any previous examination, the faid ftipulated affistance.

The Republic, it is true, had bound itself by treaties to aid and aflift the kingdom of Great Britain, whenever that power should be attacked or threatened with an unjuft war the Republic was moreover to declare war in fuch a cafe against the aggreffor; but their High Mightinelles never intended to give up that right which is the nature of a defenfive alliance, and which cannot be difputed to the allied powers to examine first, and before they grant the required affiftance, or take part in the war, the principles of the diffenfions which have prevailed; the nature of the differences from which they sprang; as alfo to investigate and maturely weigh the reafons and motives which may inforce the Cafus Færderis, and which are to form the bafis of the equity and lawfulness of the war, on the part of that confederate ftate claiming the aforefaid affiftance. There is not a treaty extant, by which their High Migh

tineffes have forgone the inde pendence of the ftates, or facrificed their interefts to thofe of Great Britain, fo far as to deprive themfelves of the right of fo neceffary and indifpenfable an examination; by taking fuch fteps as might infinuate, that they should be looked upon as compelled to fubmit to the pleasure of Great Britain, by granting the required affiftance; even when the above court, being at variance with another power, thinks proper to prefer a war to an amicable accommodation on well fupported complaints.

It is not therefore through spirit of party, or the fcheme of a predominant cabal, but after a mature deliberation, and by a defire of fupporting the deareft interefts of the Republic, that all the provincial ftates refpectively have, with one voice, teftified they were of opinion, that the affiftance requir ed fhould be politely refuted; and their High Mightineffes would not have failed to communicate to his Britannic majefty, in confequence of those refolutions, an answer to the repeated requefts for affiftance, had they not been prevented from fo doing, by the violent and unprecedented infult offered to the Dutch flag, under the command of Rear-Admiral Byland; by their being refufed redrefs on fo serious a matter, and by his majesty's declaration, no leis ftrange than unjuft, in regard to the fufpenfion of the treaties which fubfifted between him and the Republic. were fo many events which, as they required deliberations of a different kind, put an end to those which were held in confequence of the aforefaid requifitions. It is in

These

vain, and in oppofition to all truth, that endeavours have been ufed to multiply the number of grievances, by alleging the fuppreffion of duties on exports, as a measure calculated to facilitate the carrying of naval ftores over to France: for, befides that the faid fuppreffion is an object which respects the interior regulation of commerce, to which all fovereigns have an uncontroverted right, and for which they are account able to no one, the matter has been put in deliberation, but never finally refolved upon; fo that thofe duties are ftill on the former footing; and what is fet forth refpecting this matter in the manifetto, is totally groundlefs, tho' it cannot be denied, that the conduct of his Britannic majefty towards the Republic, furnished their High Mightinefles with but too many motives to juftify fuch a measure on their part.

The difpleature of his Britannic majefty, in regard to what has been done for Paul Jones, is equally groundless. Their High Mightineffes had for many years before given general and pofitive orders for the admiffion into their ports, of all privateers and armed fhips, with their prizes: orders which have been obferved and executed without the leaft exception: in this cafe their High Mightineffes could not defift from fuch orders, in regard to an armed fhip, which, provided with a commiflion from the American Congrefs, was in the Texel, together with the frigates of a fovereign power, without affuming the part of judges, and giving a decifion in a matter which their High Mightinelles were not obliged to take any cog

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nizance of, and in which it feemed to them contrary to the intereft of the Republic to interfere: their High Might ineffes, therefore, thought it beft not to swerve from the rules eftablished for fo long a time, but refolved to lay the strongest injunctions, left the faid privateers and armed fhips fhould. take in any warlike stores, and defired them to quit the road as foon as poffible, without being permitted to fojourn, but just as long as would prove abfolutely neceffary to repair the damages fuffered at fea; declaring formally at the fame time, that in cafe of a longer delay, their departure fhould be pofitively infifted upon. To this purpofe, the commanding officer in the faid road took care to make every requifite difpofition, the effects of which the privateer of Paul Jones had hardly time to prevent. In regard to what has happened in other parts of the world, the informations tranfmitted to their High Mightinefles, from time to time, from the Eaft-Indies, are in direct oppofition to thofe which feem to have been laid before his Britannic majefty. The frequent complaints of the Eaft-India direction, addrelled to them, and which the love of peace had obliged the latter to fmother, as it were, in their breafts, are fo many incontrovertibleproofs of the affertion. The meatures taken in regard to the Weft-Indies, before mentioned, will ferve at all times for an unquestionable proof of the fincerity of the zeal, and of the attention with which their High Mightineffes have affiduoufly endeavoured to obferve, in thefe countries, the most exact and strict neutrality; nor could their High

Mightineffes find out the leaft legal proof of any infraction of their orders in this refpect.

As for what concerns the project of an eventual treaty of commerce with North America, framed by a member of the government of the province of Hol land, without the fanction of any public authority; and the memorials prefented on this matter by the chevalier Yorke, the matter happened as follows:

As foon as this ambaffador had prefented a memorial, dated Nov. 10, 1780, their High Mightineffes, without noticing the expreffions, rather unbecoming between fovereigns, with which this memorial abounded, did not delay entering into the most serious deliberation on that matter; and by their refolution of the 27th of the fame month, they did not hesitate to difclaim and difapprove publicly whatever had been done in

this affair.

After this they had every reafon to expect that his Britannic majefty would have acceded to this declaration, fince he could not be ignorant thet their High Mightineffes have no jurifdiction over the refpective provinces, and that it was to the States of Holland, to whom, as being invefted as the States of the other provinces with a fovereign and exclufive authority over their fubjects, was to be fubmitted, an affair which their High Mightinetles had no reafon to doubt but the other States of the faid provinces would regulate according to the exigency of the cafe, and conformably to the laws of the State, and the principles of equity. The eagerness with which the chevalier Yorke, by his fecond memorial,

infifted on the punishment, could not, of courfe, but appear very ftrange to their High Mightineffes, that if he did not receive the very fame day an answer to his memorial in every refpet fatisfactory, he fhould find himself obliged to acquaint his court thereof by an extraordinary courier. Their High Mightineffes, informed of this declaration, foon perceived its importance, as a manifestation of the measures already determined on in the king's council; and although, according to the established cuftom, fuch verbal declarations from foreign minifters admit of no deliberation, they nevertheless thought proper to fet it aside on this occafion, and to defire their recorder to wait on the chevalier, and inform him, that his memorial had been taken ad referendum, by the deputies of the respective provinces, according to the received cuftom and conftitution of government; adding, at the fame time, what feemed defignedly omitted in the manifefto, that they would endeavour to frame an answer to his memorial as foon as poffible, and the conftitution of government would permit. In confequence thereof, a few days after, the deputies of the province of Holland gave notice to the affembly of their High Mightinefles, that the ftates of their province had una voce, refolved to require the advice of their court of juftice in regard to the requifition of punishment, requefting the faid court to give their opinion as foon as poffible, foregoing all other affairs. Their High Mightineffes did not fail to acquaint the chevalier Yorke with the above refolve; but what was their furprize and aftonishment,

when

when they understood that the faid ambassador, after having read his inftructions, had fent a note to the recorder, wherein he called the abovefaid refolve illufive, and flatly refused to tranfmit it to his court! This obliged their High Mightineffes to fend it to Count Welderen, their minister at London, with orders to lay it immediately before the minifter of his Britannic Majefty; but the refufal of the latter created an obstacle to the execution of those orders.

All the circumstances of this affair being thus expofed, the impartial public will be enabled to appreciate the principal motive, or rather pretence, to which his Brittannic Majefty has had recourse, in order to give a scope to his defigns against the Republic. To this we may reduce the whole matter his Majefty was informed of a negociation which would have taken place between a member of the government of one of the provinces, and a reprefentative of the American congrefs; which negociation intended to lay the plan of a treaty of commerce to be concluded between the Republic and the faid colonies, cafu quo, that is to fay, that in cafe the independency of thofe colonies fhould be acknowledged by the crown of England; this negociation, although conditional, and holding by a claufe which depended on the anterior act of his majefty, this negociation, which without the faid act, or anterior declaration, could not have the leaft effect, was fo mifconftrued by his Majefty, and excited his difpleasure to fuch a degree, that he thought proper to require from the States a public difavowal and difapprobation,

as well as a complete punishment and fatisfaction: it was in confequence, and without the leaft delay, that their High Mightineffes acceded to the first part of his requifition; but the punishment infifted upon was not within their power, and they could not affent to it, without itriking at the root of the fundamental conftitution of the state. The States of the province of Holland were the only ones to which it pertained lawfully to take cognizance of it, and to provide thereto by the ordinary means and the authority of the laws. This fovereign state adhering to the maxims which oblige them to refpect the authority of the laws, and fully convinced that the maintaining that department in all the integrity and impartiality which are infeparable from it, is the firmeft bafis of the fupreme power; that fovereign state, obliged by what is held moft facred, to defend and protect the rights and privileges of its fubjects, could not forget itself fo far as to fubmit to the will of his Britannic Majefty, by attempting to overturn thofe rights and privileges, and exceeding the limits prescribed by the fundamental laws of its government: thefe laws required the intervention of the judicial department, and those were the means which the above states refolved to ufe, by requiring on this object, the advice of the court of justice, establifhed in their province.

By an adherence to this method it was, that, before the eyes of his Britannic Majefty, the English nation, and all Europe, were dif played the unalterable principles of that juftice and equity which form the leading feature of the

Dutch

Dutch conftitution, and which, in fo important a part of public adminiftration, we mean that which concerns the exercise of the jufticary power, will for ever ferve as abulwark against whatever could militate with the fecurity and independance of a free nation. It was alfo by thefe means, and by following this road, that, far from precluding juftice, or evading the punishment required, a free courfe, on the contrary, has been laid open to a regular procefs, conformably to the conftitutional principles of the Republic; and by the fame reafon, in fhort, depriving the court of London of any pretence to complaint of a denial of justice, care has been taken to anticipate the leatt fhadow, or appearance of reafon, which might have authorifed that court to make reprifals; to which, nevertheless, it has had recourfe without fcruple, in a manner equally odious and unjuft.

To thefe ends, and fince, after the repeated outrages and heavy loffes which the fubjects of this Republic must have experienced from his Britannic Majefty, their High Mightineffes find themfelves. furthermore provoked, and affailed by his aforefaid Majefty, and compelled to ufe thofe means which they have in hand, in order to defend the precious rights of their liberty and independence; they entertain the firmeft hope that the Lord of hofis, the God of their fathers, who, by the palpable direction of Providence, fupported and carried this Republic through the greatest dangers, will blefs the means which they have determined to employ, by crowning the juftice of their arms, with the ever-tri

umphant affiftance of his omnipo tent protection; whilft their High Mightineffes will ardently figh after the inftant, when they fhall fee their neighbour and old ally, but now their enemy, recalled to fentiments more moderate and equitable. And it is at that period, where their High Might inefles will improve all the opportunities which, confonant with the honour and independence of a free state, may tend to a reconciliation between them and their old friend and ally.

Thus given and fettled in the affembly of their High Mightinefes, our lords the States General of the United Provinces, at the Hague, the 10th day of March, 1781.

Signed, Coca. HAAFTAN, Vt.

By command, H. FAGEL.