1781] VERMONT AND CONGRESS. 85 king's cause, he again addressed him. Vermont could obtain all the terms she desired. She could be most useful either by her troops joining the northern army, or by operating with a force from New York. He asked for an answer to his letters. Allen's reply to this communication was to enclose the letter to Huntingdon,* the president of congress, with the explanation that they were the only letters which had been received, and no answer had been sent. They had been submitted to governor Chittenden and the principal men of the state, and it had been thought most advisable to take no notice of the proceeding. The report + made by Allen of this proceeding to the assembly of Vermont was approved. Allen, in his letter to Huntingdon, likewise set forth the service of Vermont in defending the northern frontier. Congress could not possibly dispute his sincere attachment to the cause of his country, nevertheless he did not hesitate to claim for Vermont the right to agree to a cessation of hostilities, should the state hold this course expedient. In April of the year Germain wrote to Haldimand one of those extraordinary letters, of which the only explanation is that which has been given, that, designed to be submitted to the king, who unfailingly read all that was laid before him, the text was so formulated as to be pleasing to him. Germain's advices from New York, he wrote, encouraged the hope that the people of Vermont would come in; further, that the numerous friends of the royal cause in Albany would join the movement, and the whole district would return to obedience. These expectations obtained little countenance with Haldimand, for he had early seen that the policy of Vermont would be guided by the consideration where her interests lay. In July Germain wrote to Haldimand, pointing out that a strong force on the frontier would be the surest means of influencing the negotiations. No effort should be spared to attach Vermont to Great Britain, and no expense to effect that end would be a matter of controversy. Congress was willing to * [9th March.] + [12th April.] acknowledge Vermont as a state only in accordance with the boundaries desired by New York and New Hampshire an offer so unsatisfactory that Vermont had broken off the negotiations, and there was good reason to believe that they would close with Haldimand. The full extent of the boundaries asked by Vermont could be recognised by him. Congress indeed had arrived at no decision. In the early months of 1781 the events of the war had been so unfavourable to the cause, that vigorous action in political life was considered to be inadvisable, and the policy observed towards the claim of Vermont was that of delay. The contrary sentiment prevailed in the new state, and the feeling of self-assertion was so strong, that when Allen wrote to Huntingdon in March, he declared that rather than fail in the establishment of their demand for independent jurisdiction, he would retire with the hardy Green-mountain boys into the desolate caverns of the mountains, and wage war with human nature at large. Beyond the borders of the state, more than suspicion was felt with regard to what was passing, for, in June, Weare, the clerk of the assembly to New Hampshire, protested against the delay in settling the claims of that state, and gave information to congress that the leaders of Vermont were engaged in important negotiations with the British. + When Sherwood had left Skeenesborough in November, the arrangement had been made that Ira Allen and Fay should in a few weeks proceed to Saint John's, ostensibly for the discussion of the terms of the cartel. From some cause the appointment was not kept. Chittenden wrote in explanation that they had been unable to cross the lake; there is no reason to doubt that such was really the cause, for he added that commissioners, with colonel Ira Allen and major Isaac Clark, would shortly be sent with full power to negotiate. ‡ [Can. Arch., Q. 18, p. 173.] [Can. Arch., B. 195, p. 70, April 26th.] 1781] COLONEL IRA ALLEN. 87 On the 7th of May, Ira Allen arrived alone at île-auxNoix. While representing that he had full powers to act, he explained that for family reasons the other commissioner had been unable to be present. He sent to major Dundas the proposition of the cartel he had to submit, and delivered a private letter for Haldimand. In a conversation with Sherwood, he was not, he said, authorized to treat concerning any union; he had, however, been instructed by governor Chittenden and general Allen to lay the situation before Haldimand. Owing to the feeling of some members of the council, the time was not ripe for the proposal for any permanent arrangement. What he was now desirous of effecting was neutrality in the contest. Although those who were acting with him were convinced that congress would never admit Vermont as a state, they were unable to consider re-union with Great Britain until the population was better prepared to entertain the proposition. The jurisdiction north of the Massachusetts boundary, claimed by Ira Allen, included the territory twenty miles east of the Connecticut, extending to the Hudson. Sherwood did not fail to represent the advantages which Vermont might obtain by connection with Great Britain, assuring him that Haldimand would grant all that reasonably might be demanded. "We, however, found Allen cautious and intricate," writes Sherwood. What Allen was desirous of obtaining was a permanent cartel, so as to leave the door open for future negotiation. He did not consider it possible at that time to determine the conditions which would assure a more intimate political relationship. Much must depend upon the views entertained by the house of assembly. The eastern inhabitants of the territory were represented in that body, and those living in the west were sending representatives. Allen hoped that by the 15th of June Vermont would be in a position to make a definite proposal, and he expressed himself sincere in the desire that it would take the form he had described.* There was one condition set forth in the proposals of *[Can. Arch., B. 180, pp. 59-79. Julius Sherwood's Journal.] Haldimand, to which Allen took exception; the non-permission to elect the governor. They could always, he said, find timber enough to make a governor amongst themselves. While making no objection to the other conditions, his argument was that several of their friends were desirous of bringing the subject to attention by agreeing, in the first instance, upon neutrality during the contest: that, when the time was ripe during the war to continue the relationship, the negotiation could proceed further. It was clear that Vermont must be a separate government, subject to the ruling power, if that power would give them a free charter in every sense of the word. If they could not obtain this result, they would retire to the mountains and "fight the devil and hell and human nature at large." Sherwood was quite equal to this burst of feeling. He took it quite coolly, remarking that he could not see how "this chimera would intimidate congress, but it would have little influence on an experienced soldier like Haldimand." He explained that in this stage of their meeting, the governor expected some direct advance towards the matter they had before them, and if Allen was in no position to make these advances, he ought to explain the cause why such was the case. The conversation took a discursive turn. Allen, however, ceased to speak in the gloomy tone he had used. He was particular in urging upon Sherwood, that his conversation should not be represented in a light to lead Haldimand to break off the negotiations. He described the politicians of congress as making every effort to secure the territory claimed by Vermont. In the interim New Hampshire had summoned a convention, inviting the settlers on both sides of the Connecticut to attend. Allen represented that the majority were in favour of the views expressed by himself. He had lately been to Albany, and he gave some account of New York political intrigue. He described the dissatisfaction felt by Maryland on the course followed by Virginia. The fact soon became apparent that Allen desired to keep the negotiation open, for Vermont to take the course which expedience might dictate. At the 1781] GOOD FAITH OF THE NEGOTIATION. 89 same time it is impossible to resist the impression that the leaders were acting with good faith, and were desirous of becoming independent of congress and that Vermont should become a part of British America. It must be remembered that they entered into this matter with the risk of their lives, for, in the persecuting spirit shewn to loyalists, the whole of them would unhesitatingly have been hanged by congress, had the act been regarded as one of policy. |