e our rights. Justice may hold
the balance and decide, but if unarmed will for the most part be
treated like a blind woman. There is no doubt that Spain requires more
cessions than England, unless extremely humbled, can consent to.
France knows and fears this. France is ready for a peace, but not
Spain. The King's eyes are fixed on Gibraltar. The Spanish finances
indeed are extremely mismanaged, and I may say pillaged. If England
should offer us peace on the terms of our treaty with France, the
French Court would be very much embarrassed by their alliance with
Spain, and as yet we are under no obligations to persist in the war to
gratify this Court. It is not certain what England will do, nor ought
we to rely on the present promising appearances there; but can it be
wise to instruct your Commissioners to speak only as the French
Ministers shall give them utterance? Let whatever I write about the
French and their Ambassador here be by all means kept secret. Marbois
gleans and details every scrap of news. His letters are very minute,
and detail names and characters.

Sweden is leaning towards us, and it will not be long before the Dutch
become our allies. Under such circumstances, Spain ought not to expect
such a price as the Mississippi for acknowledging our independence.

As it is uncertain when I shall again have so good an opportunity of
conveying a letter to you as the present, I have been very particular
in this. The facts might perhaps have been more methodically arranged,
but I thought it best to state them as they arose; and though some of
them separately considered do not appear very important, yet when
viewed in connexion with others, they will not be found wholly
uninteresting.

You will readily perceive on reading this letter, that parts of it
relate to Mr Morris's department. I hope he will excuse my not
repeating them in a particular letter to him, especially as he will
readily believe, that the length of this, and the cyphers used in it,
have fatigued me a good deal.

All the cyphers in this letter are those in which I correspond with Mr
Morris, and the only ones I have received from him. They were brought
by Major Franks and marked No. 1. Several of my former letters to Mr
Thompson and you mentioned, that his cypher was not to be depended
upon. The copy of it, brought by Mr Barclay, which is the only copy I
have received of the original by Major Franks, having passed through
the post office, came to