[Extract]
No 34

I have received, Sir, the dispatch No 45 which you did me the honor to write to me on the 13th of this month.

The King and His Council have highly approved, Sir, the explanations which you gave to Lord Weymouth on the subject of the search of our merchant ships; you caused that Minister to see clearly that the principles followed by His Court in this matter are not only unjust, in themselves, but also that they may involve the most dangerous consequences. Indeed, if every nation allowed itself, on the high seas and at its own caprice, unlimited search of all merchant ships, commerce would experience most harmful disturbances, and would soon see itself exposed to the license of the searchers, and to all the excesses which they might think allowable. We admit the right of warships to stop and search merchant ships; but, in our opinion, it is abusing that right to exercise it indiscriminately in all cases and at every encounter. The safety and freedom of trade require that the examination should be limited to the papers which state the true destination of these vessels, and that search should only be permitted when they are sailing in a suspicious direction, that is, when they are encountered outside the line of their destination.

In order to justify the violation of these principles, Lord Weymouth maintains not only that the French merchants send a great quantity of contraband goods to the rebellious English Colonies, but also that the Americans frequently take on armaments in our ports. You have been informed previously, Sir, of the prohibitions that have been made in all our ports against the export of arms and munitions of war to the American Colonies. We have, so far as depended on us, taken care that these prohibitions were observed; but it is impossible to prevent all clandestine and disguised exportations. The Court of London itself has daily experience of this; in spite of the most rigorous vigilance, it has not yet been able to keep in check its own subjects, and it may remember that it has never prevented English ships from carrying on contraband trade on our coasts, and principally on the Spanish coasts, despite the complaints of the Court of Madrid; on the other hand, the King cannot and will not ruin the commerce of his subjects by forbidding them to sell in his ports goods which have hitherto been saleable; we have declared this in good faith to the English Ministers before. I understand that it would be agreeable to them that we should shut our ports to the Americans, but would it be prudent to provoke and draw down on ourselves the resentment of a people who, having nothing to lose with us, would find much to gain if they had a pretext for seizing our ships returning from America. In reminding the English Ministers of all these things, you will call their attention, Sir, to the principles which I established at the beginning of this letter, viz, that the search of our ships should only take place when they are, without legitimate reason, in latitudes far from their line of course; in these cases we shall not object either to search or confiscation, if authorised by the circumstances. To convince the English Ministers how much we desire to put an end to the disagreeable disputes to which this matter may daily give rise, we propose to them, after the example of Spain, to communicate to and devise with Us the instructions to be given to the Commanders of His Britannic Majesty's warships. As I do not doubt that on his part Prince de Masserano has received instructions relative to this matter, you will be good enough to plan with him the steps it may be desirable to take to induce the English Ministry to adopt our proposal.

In several Cases the British Ministry has wished to give false appearances to the necessity of the search of our ships by the pretext that the Americans in order to escape pursuit by English warships have hoisted the French flag. I do not Contest this fact, which. is probable, but, the inspection of the ship's papers proving sufficiently whether the ship is French, the examination of these same papers gives all the certainty that can be desired without it being necessary to proceed to a more rigorous search.

With regard to the arming and fitting out which Lord Weymouth asserts that the Americans make in our ports, we prevent them when they come to our knowledge, and that is what we have just done with regard to those now in question in the port of Marseilles. But it is impossible that we should be punctually informed of all arming and fitting out, and it is all the more natural that Viscount Stormont should know of them before us, and more precisely than we, as he has spies in all our ports, even with an ostentation, I could willingly say a want of consideration, of which we should have grounds to complain, if we had any interest to hide what can be done in our country. But the British Ministry should not blindly believe all the reports which its Ambassadors receive from their Emissaries. Their reports are mostly very inexact, and sometimes so vague that Lord Stormont in making his complaints has not been able in certain cases to designate either the precise Place of the affair, or the name and rank of the participants. The orders to our ports to oppose all irregular arming and fitting out are precise; they are about to be energetically repeated, but the English Ministry should know from its Experience that people who seek to deceive know well enough how to take precautions in order not to be easily discovered.

Lord Stormont handed to me at our last Meeting The List of the different grievances with which he reproaches our people on Martinique. He had spoken to me about them a week before, and, on his simple state­ ment, orders had been sent immediately to remedy them; for greater efficiency and in order to impress our insular subjects, who appear to have been seduced by a Spirit of plundering, still more severe measures are to be taken, and which shall not leave room for false interpretations. This is what you may, Sir, tell Lord Weymouth, assuring him that, if the King's justice can not prevent some irregularities Especially in Such a Distant Place, it can curb and punish them. His Majesty, faithful to neutrality and to the pacific inclinations of which he has given an assurance to the King of England, will not allow His Subjects to do anything Contrary to them, but he has a right to expect that His Britannic Majesty, animated with the same feelings, will be good enough on his part, to remedy the irregularities and excesses which are only too frequent on the part of his naval officers.

Lord Stormont has spoken to me of some arming made by some of our own merchant captains. I have no precise Knowledge of this, but I have not concealed from him that several of our ships, which are able to arm them­ selves, think it necessary to take this precaution, in order to protect them­ selves against the annoyances which they meet with from English Cruisers. We can not prevent them providing for their safety; it is a natural right, and England Alone could prevent it, by ordering Its privateers to respect our flag and our commerce. It is in this sense, Sir, that I have replied to the English Ambassador, and I beg you, Sir, to adapt to this the explanations you may have occasion to give in this matter to the British Ministry. This has not, however, prevented me from requesting M. de Sartine to ascertain from the ports whether the arming has not another object, and to provide against it as far as that may be necessary.

To conclude this, Sir, it remains for me to reply to the observation which Lord Weymouth made to you as to the manner in which we send munitions to our islands. This Minister is in error if he thinks that they are sent only by warships; at least five-eighths goes out on merchant ships; and that is all the more necessary as we rarely send ships of the line to our Colonies, and the frigates which cruise there, are too encumbered with their own armaments, and the provisions which their long Station assignments require, to allow of their being loaded with munitions of war. Moreover, Sir, you will only make further explanations to Lord Weymouth, to correct his ideas, and by no means to justify us: we have no need of that in a matter which depends solely and absolutely on the kindness and good pleasure of His Majesty, as you very well observed to the English Minister.