sufficient ability, to talk matters over with
Franklin at Paris. Oswald arrived on April 12, and had satisfactory
interviews with Franklin and de Vergennes. The important fact of which
he became satisfied by the explicit language of Franklin was, that the
hope of inducing the American commissioners to treat secretly and
separately from France was utterly groundless.[80] After a few days he
went back to London, carrying a letter from Franklin to Shelburne, in
which Franklin expressed his gratification at these overtures and his
hope that Oswald might continue to represent the English minister.
Oswald also carried certain "Notes for Conversation," which Franklin had
written out; "some loose thoughts on paper," as he called them, "which I
intended to serve as memorandums for my discourse, but without a fixed
intention of showing them to him." As matters turned out later, it would
have been better if Franklin had not been quite so free with these
"memorandums," which contained a suggestion that the English should cede
Canada and the Americans should recoup the losses of the royalists.
Indeed, no sooner had the paper left his hands than he saw his error,
and was "a little ashamed of his weakness." The letter only was shown to
the whole cabinet.

[Note 80: About the same time Laurens was released on parole and
sent to confer with Adams in Holland, concerning a separate treating,
and brought from Adams the like response as Oswald brought from
Franklin.]

On May 5 Oswald was again in Paris, charged to discuss terms with
Franklin. But on May 7 there arrived also Thomas Grenville, deputed by
Fox to approach de Vergennes with the design not only of treating with
France, but also of treating with the States through France. The double
mission indicated a division in the English cabinet. Fox and Shelburne
were almost as hostile to each other as were both to Lord North; and
each was aiming to control the coming negotiations with the States.
Which should secure it was a nice question. For English purposes of
classification the States, until independence was acknowledged, remained
colonies, and so within the charge of Shelburne. Hence came Fox's scheme
for reaching them indirectly through France, also his avowed
willingness to recognize their independence immediately, for foreign
business belonged to him. Shelburne, on the other hand, strenuously
resisted this; at worst, as he thought, independence must come through a
treaty, and with