Franklin's correspondence

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=185 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="040b9c00dduajq.jpg"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="70" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 76 WIDTH="66"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="76" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="66" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Falmouth Packet Archives 1688-1850</B></FONT>    |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Falmouth Packet Archives 16881850"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id169.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1724 Franklins first voyage, to England"><U>1724 - Franklin's first voyage, to England.</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id165.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1726 Diary of Franklins return passage "><U>1726 - Diary of Franklin's return passage to PA</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id168.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1757 Franklin takes the packet to Falmo"><U>1757 - Franklin takes the packet to Falmouth (England)</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id167.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1762 Franklin sails to PA in convoy"><U>1762 - Franklin sails to PA in convoy</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id176.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March 1775 Franklin Leaves England for "><U>March 1775 - Franklin Leaves England for PA</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id177.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1764 Franklin sails, PA to Portsmouth ("><U>1764 - Franklin sails, PA to Portsmouth (Nov-Dec) </U></A>   |   <A HREF="id178.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Nov. 1776: Franklin sails to France on R"><U>Nov. 1776: Franklin sails to France on 'REPRISAL'</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id166.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="1785 Franklin returns from France to Ph"><U>1785 - Franklin returns from France to Philadelphia</U></A>   |   <B>Franklin's correspondence</B></div> <div> Franklin's correspondence</div> <bR> <div> Franklin's correspondence give a fascinating insight into his astuteness, particularly when negotiating terms of Independence.</div> <bR> <div> "To David Hartley,  Passy, Feb. 3, 1779.     </div> <div> Dear Sir,    </div> <div> I have just received your favour of the 23d past, in which you mention, "that the alliance between France and America is the great stumbling block in the way of making Peace;" and you go on to observe, that "whatever engagements America may have entered into, they may, (at least by consent of parties) be relinquished, for the purpose of removing so material an obstacle to any general Treaty of free and unengaged parties" adding, that "if the parties could meet for the sake of Peace upon free and open ground, you should think that a very fair proposition to be offered to the people of England, and an equitable proposition in itself." </div> <div> <B> <A NAME="_1779__david_hartley___long_steady_kind_regard_for_america"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>The long, steady, & kind regard you have shown for the welfare of America</B>, by the whole tenour of your conduct in Parliament, <B>satisfies me, that this proposition never took its rise with you,</B> but has been suggested from some other quarter; and that your excess of humanity, your love of Peace, & your fears for us, that the destruction we are threatened with will certainly be effected, have thrown a mist before your eyes, which hindered you from seeing the malignity and mischief of it.  We know that your King hates Whigs and Presbyterians; that he thirsts for our blood, of which he has already drunk large draughts; that his servile unprincipled Ministers are ready to execute the wickedest of his orders, and his venal Parliament equally ready to vote them just.  Not the smallest appearance of a reason can be imagined capable of inducing us to think of relinquishing a solid Alliance with one of the most amiable, as well as most powerful Princes of Europe, for the expectation of unknown terms of Peace, to be afterwards offer'd to us by such a government; a Government, that has already shamefully broke all the compacts it ever made with us!  This is worse than advising us to drop the substance for the shadow.  The sog after he found his mistake, might possibly have recover'd his mutton; but we could never hope to be trusted again by France, or indeed by any other nation under heaven.  Nor does there appear any more necessity for dissolving an alliance with France before you can treat with us, than there would of dissolving your alliance with Holland, or your Union with Scotland, before we could treat with you.  Ours is therefore no material obstacle to a treaty as you suppose it to be.  Had Lord North been the author of such a proposition, all the World would have said it was insidious, and meant only to deceive & divide us from our friends, and then to ruin us; supposing our fears might be strong enough to procure an acceptance of it; but thanks to God, that is not the case!  We have long since settled all the account in our own minds.  We know the worst you can do to us, if you have your wish, is to confiscate our estates & take our lives, to rob & murder us; and this you have seen we are ready to hazard, rather than come again under your detested Government. You must observe, my dear Friend, that I am a little warm.  Excuse me. 'Tis over. Only let me counsel you not to think of being sent hither on so fruitless an errand, as that of making such a proposition.</div> <div> <B>It puts me in mind of the comick farce intitled, </B><I><B>God-send or The Wreckers</B></I><B>.</B> You may have forgotten it; but I will endeavour to amuse you by recollecting a little of it. </div> <div> SCENE. <B>Mount's Bay</B>. [Near Penzance]</div> <div> A Ship riding at anchor in a great Storm.  A Lee Shore full of Rocks, and lin'd with people, furnish'd with axes & carriages to cut up wrecks, knock the sailors on the head, to carry off the plunder; according to Custom.</div> <div>  </div> <div> 1st. Wrecker. This ship rides it out longer than I expected. She must have good ground tackle.</div> <div> 2nd Wrecker. We had better send off a boat to her, and persuade her to take a Pilot, who can afterwards run her ashore, where we can best come at her.</div> <div> 3rd Wrecker. I doubt whether the boat can live in this sea; but if there are any brave fellows willing to hazard themselves for the good of the public, & a double share, let them say aye. </div> <bR> <div> (The boat goes off, and comes under the ship's stern.)</div> <div> Spokesman. <I>So ho, the Ship, ahoa!  </I>Captain. - <B>Hulloa</B>.</div> <div> <I>Wou'd you have a Pilot? </I>Capt. <B>No, no!</B></div> <div> <I>It blows hard, & you are in danger.  </I>Capt. - I<B> know it.</B></div> <div>  <I>Will you buy a better cable?  We have one in the boat here. </I>Capt.  <B>What do you ask for it?</B></div> <div> <I>Cut that you have, and then we'll talk about the price of this.  </I>Capt.  <B>I shall not do such a foolish thing.</B>  I have liv'd in your Parish formerly, & know the heads of ye too well to trust ye; keep off from my cable there; I see you have a mind to cut it yourselves.  If you go any nearer to it, I'll fire into you and sink you. </div> <div> <I>It is a damn'd rotten French cable, and will part of itself in half an hour.  Where will you be then, Captain?  You had better take our offer.</I></div> <div> Capt. <B>You offer nothing, you rogues</B>, but treachery and mischief.  My cable is good & strong, and will hold long enough to baulk all your projects. </div> <div> <I>You talk unkindly, Captain, to people who came here only for your good. </I>Capt. <B>I know you come for all our goods</B>, but, by God's help, you shall have none of them; you shall not serve us as you did the Indiaman.</div> <div> Spokesman: <I>Come, my lads, let's be gone</I>. <I><B> This fellow is not so great a fool as we took him to be</B></I>." (Benjamin Franklin)</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Passy, June 3, 1779.   To Sarah Bache [Franklin's daughter, in Philadelphia?]</div> <div> Dear Sally,</div> <div> "I have before me your letters of October 22d and January 17th. They are the only ones I received from you in the course of eighteen months.  If you knew how happy your letters make me, and considered how many miscarry, I think you would write oftener. ..... </div> <div> Referring to his grandson; "Ben, if I should live long enough to want it, is like to be another comfort to me.  As I intend him for a Presbyterian as well as a Republican,<B> I have sent him to finish his education at Geneva</B>.  He is much grown, in very good health, draws a little, as you will see by the enclosed, learns Latin, writing, arithmetic, and dancing, and speaks French better than English." (Benjamin Franklin)</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>