Fontainebleau, 10 November 1775
I had the honor to receive, Sir, your letter dated the 6th of this month and a copy of the one which Mr. Prévost de la Croix, General Commissioner at Lorient, sent you. I think that we must show the consideration which we hold for the Court of London by preventing the Americans from trading arms and war ammunition in our ports, but, at the same. time, I am of the opinion that this courtesy must not turn to the detriment of our own trade. Furthermore, Sir, if we obstruct the trade in destination of the English Colonies, our precautions must not, in my opinion, extend to transactioqs. concerning shipments marked 2 for Holland or other European ports.
1. AMAE, Correspondance Politique, Angleterre, vol. 512, LC Photocopy.
2. Vergennes first wrote "destined for Holland and other European ports." He scratched out "destined" and substituted "marked." In other words, his policy was to assume that if they were marked for Holland, he had preserved his desire to satisfy the English, but that they reached Holland was none of his affair. "Destined for Holland," however, would presume an actual shipment to that country, a nice distinction, but a salve to his conscience.