y
affected by England over all other maritime people, not to attract
attention at the approaching negociation of peace; finally, the
necessity of breaking the yoke that Great-Britain would impose on our
flag, to make her's respected in the Northern Ocean, as the seat of her
maritime empire; and other objects of this nature, which, as the
petulant proceedings of the court of London have given rise to them,
will certainly furnish matter for claims and negociations.

That as, by these considerations, a speedy consummation of a separate
peace with England is out of all probability, especially when one
compares with them the dubious and limited manner in which it is
offered; on the other hand, a general peace appears not to be so far
distant, as that to obtain a more prompt reconciliation with England,
the Republic hath occasion to abandon its interests relative to North
America, seeing that the British government hath resolved, upon the
request of the national assembly, even to discontinue offensive
hostilities against the new Republic; and that, even under the present
administration of the new ministers, it appears ready to acknowledge
positively its independence; an acknowledgment which, in removing the
principal stumbling block of a negociation of a general peace, will pave
the way to a prompt explication of all the difficulties between the
belligerent powers.

That the petitioners should exceed much the bounds of their plan, if
they entered into a more ample detail of the reasons which might be
alleged upon this subject, and which certainly will not escape the
political penetration of your noble and great Lordships; among others,
the engagements recently entered into with the Court of France, and
which will not be violated by our Republic, which acknowledges the
sanctity of its engagements, and respects them: but which will serve
much rather to convince the Empress of Russia of the impossibility of
entering, in the present juncture of affairs, into such a negociation as
the court of London proposes, when even it will not be permitted to
presume but that Sovereign will feel herself the change of circumstances
which have happened with regard to America since the offer of her
mediation, by the revolution in the British ministry, and that she ought
even to regard a separate peace between our State and England, as the
most proper mean to retard the general tranquillity, that she hath
endeavoured to procure to all the comme