Much of the summer has been taken up in objecting against the powers given by Great Britain, and in removing those objections. The not using any expressions, that might imply an acknowledgment of our independence, seemed at first industriously to be avowed. But our refusing otherwise to treat, at length induced them to get over that difficulty, and then we came to the point of making propositions. Those made by Mr Jay and me before the arrival of the other gentlemen, you will find in the paper A, which was sent by the British Plenipotentiary to London for the King's consideration. After some weeks, an under secretary, Mr Strachey, arrived, with whom we had much contestation about the boundaries and other articles which he proposed and we settled; some of which he carried to London, and returned with the propositions, some adopted, others omitted or altered, and new ones added, which you will see in paper B. We spent many days in disputing, and at length agreed on and signed the preliminaries, which you will see by this conveyance. The British Minister struggled hard for two points, that the favors granted to the royalists should be extended, and all our fishery contracted. We silenced them on the first, by threatening to produce an account of the mischief done by those people, and as to the second, when they told us they could not possibly agree to it as we requested it, and must refer it to the Ministry in London, we produced a new article to be referred at the same time, with a note of facts in support of it, which you have, C.[8] Apparently, it seemed, that to avoid the discussion of this, they suddenly changed their minds, dropped the design of recurring to London, and agreed to allow the fishery as demanded.
[8] The papers alluded to in this letter will be found in the Correspondence of the Commissioners for negotiating peace.
You will find in the preliminaries some inaccurate and ambiguous expressions, that want explanation, and which may be explained in the definitive treaty, and as the British Ministry excluded our proposition relating to commerce, and the American prohibition of that with England may not be understood to cease merely by our concluding a treaty of peace, perhaps we may then, if the Congress shall think fit to direct it, obtain some compensation for the injuries done us as a condition of our opening again the trade. Every one of the present British Ministry has, while in the Ministry, declared the war against us as unjust, and nothing is clearer in reason, than that those who injure others by an unjust war, should make full reparation. They have stipulated too, in these preliminaries, that in evacuating our towns, they shall carry off no plunder, which is a kind of acknowledgment that they ought not to have done it before.