As to the great point of our independence, the armed neutrality sprung out of it, and the propositions of the mediators, were built upon it. These sentiments were expressed in my first letters from hence to the President, have since been repeated in several of my letters to you, and I have never seen occasion to change them. I have never troubled the French Minister with any conversation upon the subject you allude to, since that I first detailed to Congress, except when I thought some important change had taken place in the state of affairs, such as the capture of Lord Cornwallis and his army, when the Parliament passed their several resolutions respecting the American war, preceding the change of the old Ministry, when Mr Fox communicated to this Court a new proposition relative to the mediation, the substance of which was, "His Britannic Majesty says, that he does not prejudice, nor will he prejudice, any question whatsoever, and that he does not pretend to exclude any one from the negotiation, which is had in view, who can be supposed to be interested in it, whether it may be a question respecting the States-General or the American Colonies;" and finally, when I had authentic intelligence, that a commission had passed the great seal to authorise Mr Oswald to treat of peace with the Commissioners of the United States. On all these occasions I consulted him freely, but found him as I had expected, invariably against the measure I proposed to his consideration, always assigning the old reasons in support of his advice. My sentiments upon the last most important change, you will have in my last letter, three copies of which are forwarded to you.