fhot of the coaft, or in the ports or rivers of their dominions, by fhips of war, or others having commiffion from any prince, republic, or city, whatsoever but in cafe it fhould fo happen, both parties fhall employ their united force to obtain reparation of the damage thereby occafioned. Art. XLII. But if it fhall appear that the captor made ufe of any kind of torture upon the mafter of the hip, the crew, or others who fhall be on board any fhip belonging to the fubjects of the other party, in fuch cafe, not only the fhip itself, together with the perfons, merchandizes, and goods whatfoever, fhall be forthwith released, without any delay, and fet entirely free, but also fuch as fhall be convicted of fo enormous a crime, together with their accomplices, fhall fuffer the most severe punishment fuitable to their offences: this the king of Great Britain and the Moft Chrif tian king mutually engage fhall be obferved, without any respect of perfons whatfoever. Art. XLIII. Their majesties fhall refpectively be at liberty, for the advantage of their fubjects trading to the kingdoms and dominions of either of them, to appoint therein national confuls, who fhall enjoy the right, immunity, and liberty belonging to them, by reafon of their duties and their functions: and piaces shall hereafter be agreed upon where the faid confuls fhall be eftablished, as well as the nature and extent of their functions. The convention relative to this point fhall be concluded immediately after the fignature of the prefent treaty, of which it fhall be deemed to conftitute a part. Art. XLIV. It is alfo agreed, that in whatever relates to the lading and unlading of fhips, the fafety of merchandize, goods, and effects, the fucceffion to perfonal eftates, as well as the protection of individuals, and their perfonal liberty, as alfo the adminiftration of justice, the fubjects of the two high contracting parties fhall enjoy in their respective dominions the fame privileges, liberties, and rights, as the moft favoured nation. Art. XLV. If hereafter it fhall happen, through inadvertency or otherwife, that any infractions or contraventions of the prefent treaty fhould be committed on either fide, the friendship and good understanding fhall not immediately thereupon be interrupted; but this treaty fhall fubfift in all its force, and proper remedies fhall be procured for removing the inconveniencies, as likewife for the reparation of the contraventions: and if the subjects of either kingdom fhall be found guilty thereof, they only fhall be punished and feverely chaftifed. Art. XLVI. His Britannic ma jefty and his Moft Chriftian majefty have referved the right of revising and re-examining the several stipulations of this treaty, after the term of twelve years, to be computed from the day of paffing laws for its execution in Great Britain and Ireland refpectively, to propofe and make fuch alterations as the times and circumftances may have rendered proper or neceffary for the commercial interefts of their respective fubjects: and this revifion is to be completed in the fpace of twelve months; after which term the prefent treaty fhall be of no effect, but in that event the good harmony and friendly friendly correfpondence between the two nations shall not fuffer the leaft diminution. Art. XLVII. The prefent treaty hall be ratified and confirmed by his Britannic majefty and by his Moft Chriftian majefty, in two months, or fooner, if it can be done, after the exchange of fignatures between the plenipotentiaries. In witness whereof, we the underfigned commiffaries and plenipotentiaries of the king of Great Britain and the Moft Christian king, have figned the prefent treaty with our hands, and have fet thereto the feals of our arms. Done at Verfailles, the 26th of September, 1786. WM. EDEN. (L. S.) Farm of the Pafports and Sea-letters which are to be granted by the repective Admiralties of the Dominions of the two high contracting Parties to the Ships and Veffels failing from thence, pursuant to the 24th article of the prefent treaty. N. N. To all who fhall fee thefe prefents, greeting. Be it known that we have granted licence and permiffion to N. of the city (or place) of N. mafter or commander of the fhip N. belonging to N. of the port of N. burthen tons, or thereabouts, now lying in the port or haven of N. to fail to N. laden with N. the fhip having been examined before her departure, in the ufual manner, by the officers of the place appointed for that purpose. And the faid N. or fuch other perfon as fhall happen to fucceed him, fhall produce this Licence in every port or haven which he may enter with his fhip, to the officers of the place, and thall give a true account to them of what shall have paffed or happened during his voyage; and he fhall carry the colours, arms, and enfigns of N. during his voyage. In witnefs whereof, we have fign- in the year, &c. &c. The Prince of Orange's Letter to the States of the Province of Holland, fent September 26, 1786, in answer to their Notification of his Sufpenfion from the Office of Captain General. Noble, great, and mighty lords, and particularly good friends. T is with the utmoft concern we have feen by the letter and refolution of your noble and great mightineffes, dated the 22d inftant, that you are pleafed to perfift provifionally, and without prejudice to the further deliberations of your noble and great mightineffes, in the various orders iffued out concerning the troops of that ftate, by which they have been relieved, till further orders, from that part of the oath which bound them to Our obedience as captain-general of Holland and Weft Friefland, but which orders your noble and great mightineffes did not think proper to impart to us in our aforefaid quality, whilft you fufpend provifionally the effect of your refolution of the 8th of March, 1766, which invefted invefted us as captain-general of your province by efpecial delegation, with power to difpofe of all military employments, from the enfign to the colonel inclufively, ferving in the militia or troops with in your jurifdiction. We cannot but be fenfibly hurt at the aforefaid refolution, fince its effect is to deprive us of a right which has been allowed and secured to us by the unanimous vote of all the members of the ftate, by appointing us captain-general hereditary of Holland and Weft Friefland. We might here claim the immediate effect of fuch a refolution, which as it had been entered into nem. con. cannot, fuppofing it to be revocable, be cancelled, or even fufpended, without the like unanimity. But what goes ftill nearer to our heart, and on which we cannot remain filent, is the motives you are pleased to adduce in fupport of your last refolution, namely, that it has been taken with a view to obviate our influence as captain-general over the faid troops, and the manner of directing them, which is incompatible with the fafety of your province, and the measures adopted to fecure it. We might, without failing in what we owe to your noble and great mightineffes, and in as earneft a manner as befits a matter of fuch high importance, that concerns our honour and good name, request you would be pleafed to communicate to us the reafons of the mistrust your noble and great mightineffes entertain of our influence and direction of the provincial troops, and then you would find that we have it fufficiently in our power to convince your noble and great mightineffes how groundless are both your apprehenfions and the malicious hints thrown out by certain perfons, ill-difpofed towards the country and ourselves. But we are perfectly eafy and fecured that nothing can be alledged with truth against us, by which we should have deferved to forfeit the confidence of your noble and great mightinesses. And we can vouch before God, yourfelves, all the citizens of the Netherlands, nay, and before all the world, that in this regard our confcience is perfectly irreproachable. Under pleasure of your noble and great mightineffes, we cannot but declare, fince our honour, dearer to us than life, ftands impeached, that we cannot remain under fuch a blame and ftigma, refulting from the tokens of diftruft given us by your noble and great mightineffes, and especially by your recent refolution, and it is a duty we owe to the race from whence we spring, to the royal houfe to which we have the honour to be allied, to their high mightineffes, to the refpective provinces to whofe fervice we are bound by the employments we hold by hereditary right, and to ourselves, in fine, to clear ourselves from fuch an afperfion; that, conscious of our innocence, from any failure of our plighted faith to your noble and great mightineffes, as well as to the provinces of Holland and West Friesland, by the oath taken by us as ftadtholder, governor, captain general, and hereditary admiral of your province, when we undertook to act in thofe capacities; we are juftified in fuppofing that nothing pofitive hath been laid to our charge, and that all the steps taken against us are merely the refult of fome members of your affembly having too readily lent an ear to the reports of of perfons unworthy of their confidence, and whofe fole aim is to abridge our lawful prerogatives, and thofe of our house, granted by your noble and great mightineffes, and enjoyed by the stadtholders, and captain-generals our predeceffors, or even to bring about a total alteration in the lawful and established conftitution of thofe countries, entirely abolish the stadtholdership, or fo contrive it, that the above dignity should become completely ufelefs to our dear country, and its good citizens. Mean while we reserve to ourfelves the choice of fuch further measures for our justification as to us may seem best. Here we might conclude, did we not think it neceffary to proteft once more, that we never have done, or even attempted any thing that we justly might look upon as derogatory to the real concerns of the United Provinces in general, or in particular to the ftates of Holland and Weft Friesland; and that we defire nothing better than to be put to the teft of giving effectual proofs of the true love we bear to the country, having nothing more at heart than the profperity of the United Provinces, and especially that of the province under the jurisdiction of your noble and great mightineffes, wherein we were born and brought up; and that our first and warmeft with is, to become, in the hands of the Almighty, a fit inftrument to contribute to the welfare of the country. Wherefore, &c. (Signed) September, 1786, by the Count de Goertz, his Majefty's Envoy Extraordinary. Frederic William, by the W grace of God, king of Pruffia, marquis of Brandenburgh, &c. &c. to their High Mightineffes the States of the United Provinces of the Low Countries, with offers of friendship, and every good thing in our power. High and mighty lords, particular good friends, and neighbours. As it has pleafed Providence to call to himself our much honoured and loved uncle Frederic the Third, late king of Pruffia, by which we fucceed to the government of the eftates which he left, we have thought proper to fend to your high mightineffes, in quality of envoy extraordinary, our minifter of state and grand-mafter of the wardrobe, the comte de Goertz, to give your high mightineffes a proof of our efteem, and that he may by word of mouth communicate to you how defirous we are to continue in that friendship and harmony with the republic of the Seven United Provinces, which has been tranfmitted down to us by our ancestors for centuries; and alfo to demonftrate the warm part we take in the unhappy diffenfions which have fo long divided fome of the provinces, and particularly thofe which have arifen between fome of them and the ftadtholder, prince of Orange and Naffau, and the very extraordinary WILLIAM, Prince of Orange. oppreffions which that prince is in The King of Pruffia's Letter to the States General of the United Provinces, delivered on the 18th of nocently obliged to fuffer. We will not detain your high mightineffes with any ample detail on that fubject, as his highness the prince ftadtholder has, in feveral different let ters cular province, in a moft explicit manner, to affure on our part all that is neceffary, and, if it be thought proper, to enter into negociations on the fubject. We defire your high mightineffes in confequence to place entire con ters to the ftates of Holland and Weft Friefland, explained in a very ample and convincing manner the hardness of taking from him his prerogatives; but we would rather refer to the letter fent by our predeceffor on the 18th of September, 1785*, as well to your high migh-fidence in the comte de Goertz in tineffes as to the ftates of Holland and Weft Friesland, the contents of which well-intentioned letter we feriously confirm and renew, repeating the amicable requeft contained in it, that the affairs of the prince ftadtholder may be directed by fuch reciprocally agreeable means, that they may be re-established as foon as poffible upon their former footing, conformable to the conftitution, and the convention. By the prefent we request your high mightineffes earneitly and amicably to employ your powerful interceffion, in the most ferious manner, with the ftates of Holland and Weft Friesland, and wherever else your high mightineffes may think proper, to put his ferene highnefs the prince ftadtholder in a fituation (by means which are not difficult to be found out) to return with honour and propriety to the Hague, to take upon him his high employments; and that a durable termination be put to all the other differences, in a manner compatible with equity, and the honour and true interefts of all parties, towards which we are willing to contribute, with other friends and neighbours of the republic, by our councils and mediation, in a manner both equit able and impartial. We have given inftructions to the comte de Goertz to lay all this before your high mightineffes, and, if circumstances require it, before the ftates of each parti this weighty affair, and to negociate and finish with him whatever may be thought agreeable to both parties, according to circumftances. We hope and truft that no fufpicions can arife in the minds of your high mightineffes, or thofe of the states of any of the provinces, on account of our interefting ourselves fo ferioufly for the prince ftadtholder. On the one hand, we are fuch near relations, that the lot of that prince, his confort, our beloved and worthy fifter (of whofe fentiments entirely devoted to the republic, your high mightineffes can have no doubt) and their children and pofterity, cannot be indifferent to us. On the other hand, because we know in the moft certain manner, and can insure, that the ftadtholder and all his family are moft affectionately attached to the republic of the United Provinces, and that certainly they will never do any thing againft the intereft and fyitem of the ftates, but, on the contrary, will always endeavour to preferve them, and contribute to their well-being; to which we must add, that being the nearest neighbour of the United Provinces, and in confe quence of the ties which have never been broken between the two parties, we have great intereft that the government of the republic, conformable to the ancient conftitution, should not be changed in any effential point, but always preferved un * For this letter, see State Papers, page [364] in our last volume. touched; |