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Lot 128
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The Jay Treaty, Pitt, and Seizing American Vessels in 1795
The Jay Treaty, Pitt, and Seizing American Vessels in 1795
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Description:

[Jay John]

New England Merchant Writes Indignantly from London about the British Practice of Seizing Neutral American Ships

“I have as much Friendship for the People of England, as for those of any Nation on the Earth... but the Government I do detest & abhor from my very Soul....”

Boston merchant George Watson writes from London to a fellow merchant regarding continued British attacks on American merchant shipping, just weeks after the U.S. Senate ratified the Jay Treaty.

[Jay's Treaty.] George Watson, Autograph letter signed, to Andrew Leach, July 11, 1795, London. 3 pp., 7" x 9.125". Expected fold, hole from sealing wax affects text on two lines on third page.

Excerpts

“I am anxious to let you know when to expect me at Boston, I let slip no Oppo to inform when I expect to leave this Country. The Conveyance by which this goes is the Mary, Cap. Colley, that sails a few days sooner than I expected, as he mentioned of going about the same time with the Thetis, Capt Felt, the Vessel in which I shall embark, about Tuesday next.”

“Great Commotions were in Paris on the 25 Ulto which continued some Days, but the Convention were finally triumphant. All neutral vessels bound to France with Provisions of Grain are captured & brought into England, for Adjudication & condemnation to pay for the Cargoes at what Price the Impudence of the Government think proper to allow. I do not know in what Situation Affairs may be, in America; but I think that if the Insults of the Court of Saint James’ are much longer practiced upon them, it must arouse them to seek Restitution in some more effectual Manner than they have yet obtain’d for the Damages sustained by them. They pretend to [tear] Americans here with the insignificant Pretence [that?] it is thus stipulated in the late Treaty negotiated by Mr Jay; but a Man of as much sense as would only turn the Ballance of a Mustard Seed must be capable of a better supposition than that. But the Fact is they are at the last Gasp, and seize at every floating Straw to save them from total Destruction. I have as much Friendship for the People of England, as for those of any Nation on the Earth; for I have found among them Men of the most amiable Characters; but the Government I do detest & abhor from my very Soul; for it would irritate Saint Paul and the most holy of the Apostles to behold their abominable Practices. This is not the bare Idea of all Foreigners & Americans; but that of more than three quarters of the Inhabitants of the Country, dare they speak their Sentiments; for indeed such has been the Fruit of my Observation through the Parts of the country that I have travelled. As for Pitt, he is almost unanimously detested & despised throughout the whole Kingdom. We have very few accounts from Ireland lately; but those that we have, state them in a more quiet Situation than they have been.”

In 1794, John Jay negotiated a treaty with Great Britain that was designed by Alexander Hamilton. President George Washington supported the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, or as it came to be known, the Jay Treaty. The treaty was signed in November 1794 and approved by the United States Senate in June 1795 by the bare two-thirds majority necessary to approve treaties. The British ratified it, and it took effect at the end of February 1796. Although the treaty resolved several issues remaining since the Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolutionary War in 1783, it was deeply unpopular with many Americans. The treaty contributed to the rise of party divisions between Federalists, who generally supported the treaty and closer ties with Great Britain, and Democratic Republicans, who opposed the treaty and preferred to support France in the Revolutionary Wars that had raged in Europe since 1792.

Once ratified, the Jay Treaty facilitated ten years of peaceful trade between the United States and Great Britain, but it angered France and paved the way for the election of Democratic-Republican President Thomas Jefferson in 1800. In 1806, Jefferson rejected the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty as a replacement for the expiring Jay Treaty, and tensions between the United States and Great Britain increased toward the War of 1812.

This letter reflects an unusually Democratic-Republican attitude toward the British government for a New England merchant, as New England was the center of Federalist strength in the new United States. Watson reflects particular animosity toward British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806), who was prime minister from 1783 to 1801, and again from 1804 until his death. An excellent administrator and powerful leader, Pitt the Younger, unlike his father who had also been prime minister (in the 1760s), was not personally popular with the British public. His father had been known as the “Great Commoner,” but the son was too solitary and superior to capture British affections. However, Watson’s conclusion that Pitt was “unanimously detested & despised” is overstated, as the Pitt government enjoyed broad support, especially in its wars against France.

The brig Thetis, with Captain Felt in command, arrived in Boston on September 6, 1795, after a voyage of 61 days from London. Among its passengers was George Watson. The passengers informed the Independent Chronicle in Boston that “British ships of war are daily sending in neutral vessels, let them be bound to or from where they may, or whatever are their cargoes. Among them are a great number of Americans: it is said these captures are made under NEW ORDERS in consequence of Jay’s Treaty. That the merchants after knowing the general principles of the Treaty, were so confident that the Americans would never submit to it, that they were in doubt whether to ship goods or not. That had no idea of the Americans ever receiving a farthing for adjudicated property. So much for British amity.”

George Watson of Boston owned the 288-ton ship Packet, built in Newbury in 1797. A George Watson died in Dover, Massachusetts in October 1800, at age 53, and may be the author of this letter. It is likely not George Watson (1718-1800) of Plymouth, Massachusetts, who seems to have spent his entire life in Plymouth.

Andrew Leach (1753-1820) was born in Scotland. He lived in Middleborough, Massachusetts, where he married Hannah Hobart in 1778. He moved to Boston in 1792, where he was a shipping merchant. He declared bankruptcy in 1802, and by 1805 Leach had moved to Belfast, Maine, where he lived for the rest of his life.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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