The question really is, whether the Republic shall make peace with England, by furnishing her ships and troops according to old treaties, and joining her against all her enemies, France, Spain, America, and as many more as may become enemies in the course of the war? The English party dare not speak out and say this openly; but if they have common sense they must know that England will make peace with them upon no other terms. They pretend that upon some little concessions, some trifling condescendencies, England would make peace with Holland separately. Some pretend that a separate peace might be had upon the single condition of agreeing not to trade with America; others upon the condition of considering naval stores as contraband goods; but the commercial cities are almost unanimously against both of these articles. The English party are sensible of this, yet they entertain hopes by keeping the Republic in a defenceless state, that commerce will be so far ruined, and the common people in the great trading cities reduced to such want and misery, as to become furious, demand peace at any rate, and fall upon the houses and persons of those who will not promote it. The English party, I think, will never carry their point so far as to induce the nation to join the English. There are three considerations, which convince me of this beyond a doubt. First, corrupted and abandoned as a great part of this nation, as well as every other in Europe is, there is still a public national sense and conscience, and the general, the almost universal sense of this nation is, that the English are wrong and the Americans right in this war. The conduct of the Americans is so like that of their venerable and heroic ancestors, it is evidently founded in such principles as are uniformly applauded in their history, and as every man has been educated in a habitual veneration for, that it is impossible for them to take a part in the war against America. This was universally conspicuous upon the publication of my memorial to the States. Secondly; the commercial part of these Provinces, I think, will never give up the American trade. Thirdly; England is so exhausted and so weak, and France, Spain, and America so strong, that joining the former against the three latter, would be the total ruin of the Republic. Nevertheless, the court party will find means of delay, and will embarrass the operations of war in so many ways, that it will be long before any decisive measures will be taken in favor of America.