tled the _Rights of Great Britain_, &c. is full of
the grossest falsehoods. A very material one is exposed by the
enclosed extracts from the acts of Parliament, granting bounties upon
American produce, which proves by their own words, that those bounties
were given for their own interests only. Yet that pamphlet has given a
long list of the amount of those bounties, and charged it to the
Colonies. The fact is, as Dr Smith, a Scotchman, and an enemy to
American rights, has stated it, in his late labored and long expected
book on the Wealth of Nations. "Whatever expense," says he "Great
Britain has hitherto laid out in maintaining this dependency, has
really been laid out in order to support their monopoly." Speaking of
the debt incurred last war, he says,--"This whole expense is, in
reality, a bounty, which has been given in order to support a
monopoly. The pretended purpose of it was to encourage the
manufactures, and to increase the commerce of Great Britain." The
operation of this monopoly against the Colony he states thus,--"The
monopoly of the Colony trade, therefore, like all the other mean and
malignant expedients of the mercantile system, depresses the industry
of all other countries, but _chiefly that of the Colonies_."

When you write to the Congress it would be well, I think, to mention
that as all the evils have been produced by Scotch counsel, and those
people prosecute the business with more rancor and enmity, a
distinction ought to be made between the treatment of them and other
people, when made prisoners.

We expect every day some decisive news from New York. The last gazette
gives us no reason to fear anything but the chance of war, against
which no prudence can provide. We have certain intelligence from
Canada, that it will be the last of August before the boats will be
ready upon Lake Champlain for the Ministerial army; so that there is
no possibility of their joining Howe. They are putting eleven ships
of the line in commission, here, which is kept very secret, or it
would shake the stocks exceedingly.

Adieu,

ARTHUR LEE.

* * * * *

SILAS DEANE TO C. W. F. DUMAS.

Paris, August 18th, 1776.

Sir,

Your favor of the 8th, and one earlier, but without a date, are before
me, and I return you my thanks for the attention paid to mine, and