Rodney entered Gibraltar with four Spanish ships of the line, the Phoenix of eighty guns, the Monarca, the Princessa, and the Diligente of seventy, besides the Guipuscoa, now the Prince William, of sixtyfive, which he took with the convoy on the 8th of January. He entered, also, with the Shrewsbury of seventyfour, which joined him from Lisbon. His squadron must therefore have consisted of twentyfour ships of the line. If he left the Panther and another at Gibraltar, he must have gone out with twentytwo. Whether he has gone with the whole fleet to the West Indies, or whether with part of it, and what part, is yet undetermined by the public. France and Spain, however, have a vast superiority still remaining, which, if it should be ably managed, will easily humble the English; but if it should be unwisely managed, or continue to be as unfortunate as it has been from the moment of the Count d'Estaing's sailing from Toulon, it will even in this case last long enough to consume and exhaust their enemies. I have the honor to enclose the _Mercure de France_, of the 11th of March, the Hague Gazette of the 6th, and 8th, the Amsterdam Gazette of the 7th, and the Leyden of the 7th. I have the honor to be, &c. JOHN ADAMS. * * * * * TO EDMUND JENNINGS.[58] FOOTNOTE: [58] Mr Jennings was an American, and although he resided in London during the war, he was a warm friend to the cause of his country. Paris, March 12th, 1780. Dear Sir, I have to acknowledge the receipt of three excellent letters, one of the 1st, the others of the 5th and 8th of March. I thank you for the copy of your letter to the pensioner, and for your dialogue between York and Chatham. It is undoubtedly the duty of every commercial nation, to make their flag respected in all the seas, and by all the nations, not by insulting and injuring all others, like Great Britain, but by doing justice to all others, and by insisting upon justice from them. But how is Holland to obtain justice from the English, who take a manifest pleasure and pride in showing her and all Europe, that they despise her? Holland seems to be as corrupted and unprincipled as Great Britain, but there is one great difference between them. Great Britain has a terrible naval force, Holland has next to none. Great Britain has courage and confidence in her power, Holland has none. I do not mean that the Dutch are destitute of personal courage, but national courage is a very different thing.