(No 102)
Separate.
My Lord,

I lost no Time in executing the important Orders transmitted to me in Your Lordship's Letter No 38, which I received yesterday Morning. I executed them in the following Manner. By way of Introduction, I mentioned to M. de Vergennes, the Information Mr [Andrew] Frazer had at my Desire given the Commander at Dunkirk with regard to the Cutter arming there, and added, that I knew the Commandant by means of this Information, and that, which he himself had collected, was apprized of every Particular, and had made his Report accordingly, yet notwithstanding all this Sir, the Armament of this Cutter goes on, and will continue, till positive Orders are sent from hence to stop it. He threw in a Word or two about our Smugglers arming more— than they used to do for fear of our Cruizers. I told him that this Cutter which was to mount 18 Guns at least, was certainly not to be employed as a Smuggling Vessel, but was to carry a Commission from the Congress a Commission that would be issued by Franklin and Deane. This Sir, is agreeable to a most extraordinary Plan which they have formed, and of which I have more than once given you some Intimation; They purchase, or hire Vessels, which they arm in your Ports, man them with French Sailors, transmit them Commissions from hence and then mean to pass them for American Vessels, and send them out as such to cruize against us. This is the Case of the Cutter at Dunkirk, it is likewise the Case of a French Vessel now arming at Marseilles, whose present Name is the Tartar.

I believe Sir, there is no Instance of Men who come to take refuge in a Country making such an insolent Abuse of the Asylum granted them (he interrupted me here to say, ils ont L' Asile, mais ils n'ont que cela;) These Refugees do what would be unpardonable in an Ambassador from the most friendly Power. If for Instance, we had the Misfortune to be at War with Spain, and were at Peace with France, you certainly would not suffer a Spanish Ambasasdor to purchase Vessels, arm them in your Ports, and send them des Lettres de Marque to cruize against us: and yet Sir, what would not be suffered in an Ambassador, from a State in Alliance with you, these Rebel Emissaries have the Insolence to attempt every Day. What they have hitherto only attempted in Europe, they have executed in the West Indies, and that in such a manner, as calls loudly for Redress. There is one Bingham an Agent from the Rebels who resides at Martinico, and who gives Commissions to Ships fitted out there, which are manned by French Men and have at most one American on board; if these Ships meet with any trading Vessel of ours, they take her, and carry her into some one of your Islands, where the Ship and Cargo are sold: if on the contrary they are boarded by any of our Cruizers, the Men all speak French, and shew French Papers. Whilst I was saying this, I gave him a little Extract I had made of the Letter Your Lordship transmitted to me last Week, that gives an Account of the taking of the Sloop called the Venus: And whilst he was reading it, observed to him, that that was but one Case out of many; that those Seas were infested with Ships of this kind which hitherto we had not meddled with, but he must be sensible that the Evil was a very grievous one, and such as must have a Remedy: I added· that I was particularly enjoined to make the most serious Representations upon the Subject, that I made them very short, as it would be idle to use reasoning in so plain a Case, and employ Arguments to prove to a Man of his Penetration so self-evident a Proposition as this, that if they really meant to preserve Peace with us, ils ne pouvaient pas permettre a leurs Sujets de nous faire la Guerre; sans doute sans doute, Said he hastily, it is contrary to all Rule, and must not be endured. He then, My Lord, went to his Table and took down in writing a Minute of what I had said to him, and noted in that Minute the different Names I had given him. After he had finished this; which he did not read to me, I told him that I had purposely avoided giving in a Memorial upon the Subject, as Memorials often led to disagreeable Altercations, which was what we wished to avoid; but I added, that I hoped and believed his Excellency would make a faithful Report of the whole to His Most Cn Majesty, on whose Friendship the King my Master relied, and whose Love of Justice he knew, and was persuaded that both these Sentiments would engage him to give the necessary Orders for imme­ diately stopping a Practice so injurious to us, and so directly contrary to every Sentiment of Friendship, every Principle of Justice. I purposely gave this Tum to my Discourse to lay M. de Vergennes under the Necessity of making an exact Report. He not only assured me that he would do so, but said that Orders should be sent to the New Governor of Martinico to remedy this Abuse, and that the Captains of the Frigates stationed in those Seas should receive similar Orders, and be directed to visit all such Ships as they thought suspicious: he ended with saying that those Orders must issue from M. de Sartine's Department, but that upon this Occasion he would take care to read the Letters before they were sent: As this was as much as I could well desire, I ended with thanking him for the Promise he had made me, and the Readiness he had shewn to remedy so pernicious an Evil: I am however, My Lord, far from expecting a radical Cure.

I am with the greatest Truth and Respect My Lord [&c.]