to govern your intercourse with Doctor Franklin, and with the other American Commissioners, which you will continue to cultivate by all fair and honourable means, avoiding to give jealousy to the Court of France. It is His Majesty's pleasure, that you should furnish Mr. Grenville any lights which may occur to you in the course of your communication with any of these gentlemen, which may be useful to him, in his transactions with the French Ministers, or those of any of the other Powers of Europe who may be about to enter into the proposed negotiation, and I must recommend to you to omit no opportunity of letting it be understood that there subsists the strictest union in His Majesty's Council upon the great subject of peace and war.
"I am sorry to observe that the French Minister gives very little reason to expect that his Court is likely to make good their professions, which they made thro' so many channels, of a desire of peace upon terms becoming this country to accept; upon the strength of which Doctor Franklin invited the negotiation. I have that entire confidence in Doctor Franklin's integrity and strict honour, that if the Court of France have other views, and that they have been throwing out false lures to support the appearance of moderation throughout Europe, and in the hope of misleading and the chance of dividing us, I am satisfied he must have been himself deceived; and in such a case, I trust that if this shall be proved in the course of the present negotiation, he will consider himself and his constituents freed from the ties which will appear to have been founded upon no ideas of common interest. We shall however, I hope, speedily ascertain the real purposes of France by their conduct in the future progress of this negotiation, which the King will not suffer to go into any length. In the meantime you will govern your conversation with the American Commissioners with all possible prudence, collecting their sentiments and every other information which you conceive may hereafter prove useful, and I have His Majesty's commands to acquaint you, that it is his pleasure you should continue at
