The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 05
History
The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 05
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1775-1783; United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources
There is a paragraph in the Gazette of Amsterdam, of the 21st, from
Paris of the 14th of April. "It is only by conjecture, that we talk of
the plan of the next campaign in Europe; and it is also with the same
uncertainty, that we lend our ear to the report, which runs, that the
Count d'Estaing will command the combined fleet, and even, that the
Count du Chaffault, as well as the Spanish Admirals, have offered to
serve under him. It is pretended, besides, that there may very well be
also some alterations in the progress of our Ministry, if it is true,
as they continue to affirm, that the Count de Parades has been
arrested as a spy of the English Government, to whom he was, in fact,
in a capacity to discover important particulars upon this subject. But
there is another piece of news, to which we give more credit, because,
really, there is no good citizen, nor genuine friend of humanity, who
does not wish to hear it confirmed. It is, that there should be, as it
is said, upon the carpet, a plan concerted between all the maritime
powers of Europe, to the end to form and digest a universal code for
the sea, the laws of which no nation should attempt to infringe,
without devoting herself to the indignation, or exposing herself to
the vengeance, of all the others; an important project, if it could be
executed, which would insure the happiness and tranquillity of
nations, and would set bounds, which could not be passed, to the
audacity, as well as the avarice of any one, which, without any other
right than that of force, should pretend to arrogate to itself the
exclusive empire of the sea."
There is also intelligence from the Hague of the 19th of April, that
there was sent on the 14th of the month to the Assembly of the
States-General of the United Provinces, a Memorial of the following
tenor.
"Their Noble and Grand Mightinesses, the Commissioners of the affairs
of commerce and navigation, conjointly with some counsellors of
Holland, and Ministers of the College of Admiralty residing in this
Province, having, in consequence of a resolution of the 4th of this
month, examined the Memorial presented the day before to the
Generality, by the Prince Gallitzin, Envoy Extraordinary of her
Majesty, the Empress of all the Russias, by which the Minister has
communicated a declaration made by his sovereign to the Courts of
France, Spain, and England, that the neutral powers may protect by
common agreement the commerce and navigation of her subjects
respectively, as is more fully explained in the note of the 4th of
April.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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