Memorandum handed to His Excellency Monsieur le Comte de Vergennes by the English Ambassador on the 18th March 1777.

These Orders were to the effect that the American Vessel named the Reprisal, commanded by Mr Wykes [Wickes] should at once leave L'Orient, as well as the five English Vessels it had captured and brought into the said Port. They also carried absolute Prohibition of the Sale of any of the above-mentioned Vessels, or of any part of their Cargo: These were the Orders, This is the result. The American Pirate is still in the Port of L'Orient, where he is even having his Vessel careened, and finds all the Aid he Requires. The five English Vessels have all been sold, and what is more, sold to Frenchmen; they have left the Port of L'Orient, as belonging to France, and they are manned by French Sailors who even form the whole Crew.

In order to give colour to this fraudulent Sale, Mr Wykes has been allowed to Enter these five Vessels in the Registers of the Customs at L'Orient, as being Vessels belonging to him. Although it was Notorious that they were English Vessels which he had taken, although the Orders issued by the Court demonstrate, that It knew that they were captures, although the Captains of the said Vessels had made formal Depositions to establish their Ownership, and to protest against any Sale; To add still another proof, The Commissioner of His Most Christian Majesty has released the English Prisoners, who were on board these Vessels, and on that of Mr Wykes: Could he, then, be unaware that they were Captures? Can he even allege such ignorance? The merest Acquaintance with French Customs suffices to know that this Sale could not take place without the formal or tacit Permission of the Commissary, and that it was likewise impossible for French Sailors to take these Vessels out of the Port of L'Orient without the Permission of the said Commissary. It is, therefore, very just and he should be obliged to give all Details of this fraudulent Sale, of which he made himself an Accomplice, and that in a manner which deserves most exemplary Punishment.

The English Ambassador does not yet know who has bought the Falmouth Packet, but The Commissary must know. Of the four merchant Vessels, of which The Ambassador has handed a List to M le Comte de Vergennes, two, namely, those which were commanded by Captains Jefferson and Duncan, have been bought by Inhabitants of the Island of Noirmoutier. The two others, namely, those of Messers Campbell and Kentisbeer, have been bought by Messers Berard Brothers, Merchants at L'Orient. The salt fish, which formed a part of the Cargo, has been sent to Nantes, on small French Vessels. The Brandy has been sent to Ostend.

These are all the Circumstances which, up to the present, have come to the Knowledge of the English Ambassador; he makes no reflexions, and limits himself to the mere statement of Facts. These all support the Demand which he has here the Honor to make, and the Justice of which will at once strike so enlightened a Ministry as that of France.

He claims, then, the accomplishment of the formal assurances, which have been given to him, that the American Vessel, commanded by Mr Wykes should at once leave the Port of L'Orient, and should not be allowed to cruise off the French Coast. He demands immediate and full restitution: 1st of the Falmouth Packet, a Vessel belonging to the King, his Master; 2nd of the four Merchant Vessels above-mentioned belonging to Subjects of the King, his Master, and bought by Subjects of His Most Christian Majesty. He asks that this Restitution with the Value of that Part of the Cargo which has been misappropriated, be made at once, and bona fide, to the Owners or Their Assigns.

The Ambassador knows too well the penetration of this Court, and the Justice which governs all its Steps, to set forth the numberless reasons on which this Demand is based; He will limit himself to saying that it is evident, as this fraudulent Sale has been allowed, as French Subjects have been permitted to appropriate Vessels belonging to Great Britain, and taken by one of her Rebellious Subjects, ー The Friendship which so happily exists between the two Courts, and which That of England desires to cultivate more and more, the Treaties which are the Basis of this Friendship, the usages of all civilized Nations, and especially those of France, as appears from her Naval Ordinances, the positive Orders issued by the Ministry on this occasion, ー all have been forgotten; and without the Restitution which the Ambassador of England demands, this Sale would put the Purchasers (who are French Subjects) in the Place of the American Corsair, and would make them Accomplices in the Capture.