22 Decr. 1782 Between 7 & 8 OC. this Evg I visited Mr Oswald—after some general Conversation he took occasion to say that Ld. Mount Stuart the Son of Ld. Bute had dined with him t’Day, and that he had also seen his Brother Col. Stuart who had served the whole War in America—he spoke of the Col’s. aversion to the am. War, and the Accts. he gave of the want of Discipline & Disorder wh. prevailed in the british army there, & the Depredations committed by them— He passed several Encomiums on the Colls. Character, sometimes of the father & then of the Sons, & observing how unlike they were to what the Father was supposed to be, tho for his part he beleived that more sins were laid upon his back than he had ever committed— He said that Ld. Mountstuart execrated the american War, and had shewen him ^to day^ several Letters written ^by him^ at Turin (where he was Emb.) to Ld. Hilsborough, on that Subject— Mr. Oswald asked me if I remembered what he had told me of Mr. Pultney’s Information abt the propositions of Ct. De Vergennes to Divide am. with Britain—1 I told him I did—[“]Well says [he] the same kind of proposition was made to Ld. Mountstuart—” His Ld brought with him ^here^ to Dinner his Letter Book wh. he did not chuse to leave with his Chargé D’Affairs and in it he shewed me his Letters written with his own Hand for he wd. not confide it to his Secy, to Ld. Hilsborough—and the first Letter was dated in the month of Septr. 1780 from wh it appears that a Mr. Molly Mally who had formerly travelled wd. [with] Ld Mountstuart, and is an honorary Professor at Geneva, and is employed to write the History of Hesse, &c: for wh. he receives Annuities, a Man in short well known among Men of Letters, was employed by Mr. Neckar to make overtures to Ld. Mountstuart to about putting an End to the War by dividing Am. between Britain & France, the latter to have the eastern part—

Mr Oswald also says that Ld. Mountstuart went to Geneva on the Occasion ^where he conversed with Mr Mally^ and that his Ldship read to him out of his Letter Book ^some^ french Letters from this Mr Mally to his Ld. on the Subject ^after his Ret. to Turin^—that this Correspondence ^of his Ld.^ with Ld Hillsborough contains a very curious & particular acct. of french Intrigues—particularly that Neckar wishd for peace because his Efforts ^System^ cd. only raise money enough to provide for old Arrears & for current Expences, and were he obliged to sustain the Expence of the War he must break in upon it and perhaps be disgraced—it also mentioned the Intrigues to get de Sartine2 out of the Marine Department, and Mr Oswald says that the Overtures abt Am. were conducted with a Variety of precautions for Secrecy, & with a Stipulation ^or Condition^ that both parties in Case they did not agree shd. be at Liberty to deny what all that passed— He told me that my Lord wrote strongly to Ld. Hilsborough agt the am. War & that the latter in answer told Him it was a Subject out of his Line, and with wh. it was not proper for him to interfere— Ld. Mountstuart was offended with the Minister for this & he brought his Letter book with him to Mr Oswald to shew him the full State of the Matter— Mr Oswald said that as he had told me the affair of Mr Pultney he cd. forbear mentioning this also, for it was a little strange that so extraordinary Matter shd. be come so circumstantial & correspondent, from two such different & unconnected Quarters— He desired me to consider this Communication as very confidential, adding that he cd say more, but that it w’d not be proper for him at present to enter into a Detail of further particulars