ndependence of the English colonies has been
acknowledged. This is for me an occasion of grief and dread.
France has few possessions in America; but she should have
considered that Spain, her intimate ally, has many, and that
she is left to-day exposed to terrible shocks. From the
beginning, France has acted contrary to her true interests
in encouraging and seconding this independence; I have so
declared often to the ministers of this nation. What could
happen better for France than to see the English and the
colonists destroy each other in a party warfare which could
only augment her power and favor her interests? The
antipathy which reigns between France and England blinded
the French Cabinet; it forgot that its interest consisted in
remaining a tranquil spectator of this conflict; and, once
launched in the arena, it dragged us unhappily, and by
virtue of the family compact, into a war entirely contrary
to our proper interest.

"I will not stop here to examine the opinions of some
statesmen, our own countrymen as well as foreigners, which I
share, on _the difficulty of preserving our power in
America. Never have so extensive possessions, placed at a
great distance from the metropolis, been long preserved_.
To this cause, applicable to all colonies, must be added
others peculiar to the Spanish possessions; namely, the
difficulty of succoring them in case of need; the vexations
to which the unhappy inhabitants have been exposed from some
of the governors; the distance of the supreme authority to
which they must have recourse for the redress of grievances,
which causes years to pass before justice is done to their
complaints; the vengeance of the local authorities to which
they continue exposed while waiting; the difficulty of
knowing the truth at so great a distance; finally, the means
which the viceroys and governors, from being Spaniards,
cannot fail to have for obtaining favorable judgments in
Spain; all these different circumstances will render the
inhabitants of America discontented, and make them attempt
efforts to obtain independence as soon as they shall have a
propitious occasion.

"Without entering into any of these considerations, I shall
confine myself now to that which occupies us from the dread
of seeing