From these you will have
known, that being authorized by Congress to settle this matter, I began
by offering to them an arbitration before honest and judicious men of
a neutral nation. They declined this, and had the modesty to propose
an arbitration before merchants of their own town. I gave them warning
then, that as the offer on the part of a sovereign nation to submit to
a private arbitration was an unusual condescendence, if they did not
accept it then, it would not be repeated, and that the United States
would judge the case for themselves hereafter. They continued to decline
it, and the case now stands thus. The territorial judge of France
has undertaken to call the United States to his jurisdiction, and has
arrested their property, in order to enforce appearance, and possess
himself of a matter whereon to found a decree; but no court can have
jurisdiction over a sovereign nation. This position was agreed to;
but it was urged, that some act of Mr. Barclay's had admitted the
jurisdiction. It was denied that there had been any such act by Mr.
Barclay, and disavowed, if there was one, as without authority from the
United States, the property on which the arrest was made having been
purchased by Dr. Franklin, and remaining in his possession till taken
out of it by the arrest.
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