登陆注册
15478300000004

第4章 CHAPTER I. THE TREATY OF PEACE(4)

Two subjects involving the greatest difficulty of arrangement were the compensation of the Loyalists and the settlement of commercial indebtedness. The latter was really a question of the payment of British creditors by American debtors, for there was little on the other side of the balance sheet, and it seems as if the frugal Franklin would have preferred to make no concessions and would have allowed creditors to take their own chances of getting paid. But the matter appeared to Adams in a different light--perhaps his New England conscience was aroused--and in this point of view he was supported by Jay. It was therefore finally agreed "that creditors on either side shall meet with no lawful impediment to the recovery of the full value in sterling money, of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted." However just this provision may have been, its incorporation in the terms of the treaty was a mistake on the part of the Commissioners, because the Government of the United States had no power to give effect to such an arrangement, so that the provision had no more value than an emphatic expression of opinion. Accordingly, when some of the States later disregarded this part of the treaty, the British had an excuse for refusing to carry out certain of their own obligations.

The historian of the Virginia Federal Convention of 1788, H. B. Grigsby, relates an amusing incident growing out of the controversy over the payment of debts to creditors in England:

"A Scotchman, John Warden, a prominent lawyer and good classical scholar, but suspected rightly of Tory leanings during the Revolution, learning of the large minority against the repeal of laws in conflict with the treaty of 1783 (i. e., especially the laws as to the collection of debts by foreigners) caustically remarked that some of the members of the House had voted against paying for the coats on their backs. The story goes that he was summoned before the House in full session, and was compelled to beg their pardon on his knees; but as he rose, pretending to brush the dust from his knees, he pointed to the House and said audibly, with evident double meaning, 'Upon my word, a dommed dirty house it is indeed.' The Journal of the House, however, shows that the honor of the delegates was satisfied by a written assurance from Mr. Warden that he meant in no way to affront the dignity of the House or to insult any of its members."

The other question, that of compensating the Loyalists for the loss of their property, was not so simple a matter, for the whole story of the Revolution was involved. There is a tendency among many scholars of the present day to regard the policy of the British toward their North American colonies as possibly unwise and blundering but as being entirely in accordance with the legal and constitutional rights of the mother country, and to believe that the Americans, while they may have been practically and therefore morally justified in asserting their independence, were still technically and legally in the wrong. It is immaterial whether or not that point of view is accepted, for its mere recognition is sufficient to explain the existence of a large number of Americans who were steadfast in their support of the British side of the controversy. Indeed, it has been estimated that as large a proportion as one-third of the population remained loyal to the Crown. Numbers must remain more or less uncertain, but probably the majority of the people in the United States, whatever their feelings may have been, tried to remain neutral or at least to appear so; and it is undoubtedly true that the Revolution was accomplished by an aggressive minority and that perhaps as great a number were actively loyal to Great Britain.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 西点军校给男孩的成人礼

    西点军校给男孩的成人礼

    《西点军校给男孩的成人礼》内容简介:只要你不认输,就有机会!胜利属于最坚韧的人;只要充分相信自己,没有什么困难可以阻挡你;要培养各方面的能力,包括承受悲惨命运的能力;要敢于战胜一切恐惧,要感谢生活中的逆境和磨难;“没有办法”或“不可能”常常是庸人和懒人的托辞;哪怕是对自己的一点小克制,也会使人变得强而有力。
  • 奇葩侦探怪神偷

    奇葩侦探怪神偷

    早上侦探晚上神偷,穿越过来的莉蒂亚里奇维该如何做好两样兼职呢?
  • 尊魔为仙

    尊魔为仙

    把世界变美丽的仙人,但改变世界是魔头的工作,不想变成嘴上说着改变世界,最后改变自己的虚伪之人,所以我放弃了人的身份,变身为了魔。当然这是我能做的所有事,当然也没有后悔过,我一定会回来的待我重新回来之时你要和以往一样什么都别说静静地待着静静地
  • 虎猫传奇

    虎猫传奇

    在遥远的古代,一日天地异象,雷声滚动,一道黄光倾到人间,现到地上一只虎相小猫,连毛儿还没干。他便是女娲娘娘用带到天庭的最后一块黄河之泥所制,一种新的种类虎猫。他被百兽之王,老虎看到,叼到虎洞让虎后抚养,刚好虎后刚生了一群小虎崽,虎猫倒是落了个逍遥自在。可是眼看哥哥姐姐,弟弟妹妹都能自食其力,自己却还是形同幼虎一般。靠着虎父母养活。好在虎父母倒是不嫌弃他,将他养在身边。可是虎父渐渐衰老,山头易主,另立新王,虎父母只好带他远离家园,四处奔波。
  • 疯狂兵痞

    疯狂兵痞

    佣兵界的神话,让人听了闻风丧胆的,因为他是一个疯狂的兵痞。没有什么能够阻挡他前进的脚步,他无法无天,没有规则!各路美女,纷纷投入他的怀抱。黑白两道都能吃开,世界等他叱咤风云。他跺一跺脚,世界都要震一震的人物。
  • 末日曙光之月黑时刻

    末日曙光之月黑时刻

    人类的罪孽,神魔共愤;潘多拉的种子降临世间!是科学的失误?还是冥冥之中的注定?月黑时刻,人类终将毁灭!却还在渴望着……那末日的曙光!
  • 一路修行

    一路修行

    一个神奇的少年,在茫茫的大陆上行走,时而危险,时而好运,时而艰难,但这一切都证明了修炼道路上的不容易,有开心,有悲伤,总之慕容英武都一路坚持着,他想过放弃,可是他咬牙行走,改变了好兄弟的命运,拯救了这片世界的危机。
  • 银白的裁决之光

    银白的裁决之光

    公元2189年,这是人类史上最黑暗的一天,无数的人类在陨星群坑中悲哀地失去生命,也许,这才是刚刚开始,等待着人类的是被掩盖的历史和新生命的复仇……十年过去,人类再次焕发出新的生机,这次站在命运的门口前的人是谁?在以培养对抗巨兽和巨龙的特殊学校的入学式上,他首次出现,以特招生的身份成为一名学员,但是,在所有人眼中,他只是一个依靠父母的功绩才得到学校录取的最弱者。
  • 我的老公大人

    我的老公大人

    全本完【出版名:我的总裁大人】“不准抢我的爹地!地位!和鸡腿!”为救孤儿院,唐火火嫁入了闻名A市的贵胄豪门,不想还没入门,就遭五岁小拖油瓶威胁。冷脸总裁老公也警告:“你的职责,是做个合格的摆设,安静的后妈。”于是她把自己婚后生活准确定位,有钱花钱,没钱自挣,有事可闪,没事滚远。
  • 拓疆纪

    拓疆纪

    蛮荒域,无数蛮兽争地为王,而人类的领地不过占蛮荒域不足万一。小七,后改名为林星。好持扇,扇柄上牵着一个兽纹扇坠,一身或月白或浅蓝色的袍子,面貌俊朗。看似温和的他,却带领着人类无数次的开荒拓疆。他需要的是什么?“自由,还有空间”林星笑笑:“人类的空间太窄了,我喘不过气。”