June the 10th, No. 69, June the 22nd, No. 70, June the 26th, No. 71,
June the 29th; the three last by the British packet. My last to you
was of July the 28th, by a vessel bound to Havre. This goes to the same
port, because accompanied by newspapers. It will be the last I shall
write you these two months, as I am to set out for Virginia the next
week. I now enclose you a copy of my letter of March the 12th, to Mr.
Carmichael, which you say was not in that of the same date to you.
There was no paper to accompany it but St. Marie’s, which you say you
received. I enclose you also a copy of our census, written in black ink,
so far as we have actual returns, and supplied by conjecture in red ink,
where we have no returns: but the conjectures are known to be very near
the truth. Making very small allowance for omissions, which we know to
have been very great, we are certainly above four millions, probably
about four millions one hundred thousand.
There is a vessel now lying at Philadelphia, advertising to receive
emigrants to Louisiana, gratis, on account of the Spanish government. Be
so good as to mention this to M. de Montmorin, who will be a judge what
we must feel under so impudent a transaction.
You observe, that if Drost does not come, you have not been authorized
to engage another coiner. If he does not come, there will probably be
one engaged here. If he comes, I should think him a safe hand to send
the diplomatic die by, as also all the dies of our medal, which may be
used here for striking off what shall be wanting hereafter. But I would
not have them trusted at sea, but from April to October inclusive.
Should you not send them by Drost, Havre will be the best route. I have
not spoken with the Secretary of the Treasury yet, on the subject of the
presses, but believe you may safely consider two presses as sufficient
for us, and agree for no more without a further request.
The decree of the National Assembly, relative to tobacco carried in
French or American ships, is likely to have such an effect in our ports,
as to render it impossible to conjecture what may or may not be done.
It is impossible to let it go on without a vigorous correction. If that
should be administered on our part, it will produce irritation on both
sides, and lessen that disposition which we feel cordially to concur in
a treaty, which shall melt the two nations as to commercial matters into
one, as nearly as possible. It is extremely desirable, that the National
Assembly should themselves correct the decree, by a repeal founded on
the expectation of an arrangement.
We have, as yet, no news of the event of our second expedition against
the Indians.
I am, with great and sincere esteem, Dear Sir, your friend and servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER LXXV.--TO M. LA MOTTE, August 30, 1791
TO M. LA MOTTE.
Philadelphia, August 30, 1791.
Sir,
I am now to acknowledge the receipt of your favors of February the 9th,
March the 25th, and April the 24th; as also of the several packages of
wine, carriages, &c. which came safe to hand, and for your care of which
be pleased to accept my thanks.
I am sensible of the difficulties to which our Consuls are exposed by
the applications of sailors, calling themselves Americans. Though the
difference of dialect between the Irish and Scotch, and the Americans,
is sensible to the ear of a native, it is not to that of a foreigner,
however well he understands the language; and between the American and
English (unless of particular provinces) there is no difference sensible
even to a native. Among hundreds of applications to me, at Paris,
nine-tenths were Irish, whom I readily discovered. The residue, I think,
were English: and I believe not a single instance of a Scotchman or
American. The sobriety and order of the two last, preserve them from
want. You will find it necessary, therefore, to be extremely on your
guard against these applications. The bill of expenses for Huls is
much beyond those aids which I should think myself authorized to have
advanced habitually, until the law shall make express provision for that
purpose. I must, therefore, recommend to you, to hazard only small sums
in future, until our legislature shall lay down more precise rules for
my government.
The difference of duty on tobacco carried to France in French and
American bottoms, has excited great uneasiness. We presume the National
Assembly must have been hurried into the measure, without being allowed
time to reflect on its consequences. A moment’s consideration must
convince any body, that no nation upon earth ever submitted to so
enormous an assault on the transportation of their own produce.
Retaliation, to be equal, will have the air of extreme severity and
hostility. Such would be an additional tonnage of twelve livres ten sous
the ton burthen, on all French ships entering Our ports. Yet this would
but exactly balance an additional duty of six livres five sous the
hogshead of tobacco, brought in American ships entering in the ports
of France. I hope, either that the National Assembly will repeal the
measure, or the proposed treaty be so hastened, as to get this matter
out of the way before it shall be necessary for the ensuing legislature
to act on it. Their measure, and our retaliation on it, which is
unavoidable, will very illy prepare the minds of both parties for
a liberal treaty. My confidence in the friendly dispositions of the
National Assembly, and in the sincerity of what they have expressed on
the subject, induce me to impute, it to surprise altogether, and to hope
it will be repealed before time shall be given to take it up here.
I have the honor to be, with great esteem, Sir, your most obedient
humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER LXXVI.--TO GOUVERNEUR MORRIS, August 30, 1791
TO GOUVERNEUR MORRIS.
Philadelphia, August 30, 1791.
Dear Sir,
My letter of July the 26th covered my first of exchange for a thousand
dollars, and though that went by so sure an opportunity as to leave
little doubt of its receipt, yet, for greater security, I enclose a
second.
The tranquillity of our country leaves us nothing to relate, which may
interest a mind surrounded by such buoyant scenes as yours. No matter; I
will still tell you the charming though homespun news, that our crops of
wheat have been abundant and of superior quality; that very great though
partial drought has destroyed the crops of hay to the north, and corn
to the south; that the late rains may recover the tobacco to a middling
crop, and that the fields of rice are promising.
I informed you in my last, of the success of our first expedition
against the Indians. A second has gone against them, the result of which
is not yet known. Our public credit is good, but the abundance of paper
has produced a spirit of gambling in the funds, which has laid up our
ships at the wharves, as too slow instruments of profit, and has even
disarmed the hand of the tailor of his needle and thimble. They say the
evil will cure itself. I wish it may; but I have rarely seen a gamester
cured, even by the disasters of his vocation. Some new indications of
the ideas with which the British cabinet are coming into treaty, confirm
your opinions, which I knew to be right, but the Anglomany of some would
not permit them to accede to.
Adieu, my dear Sir. Your affectionate, humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER LXXVII.--TO MONSIEUR DE TERNANT, September 1, 1791
TO MONSIEUR DE TERNANT, _Minister Plenipotentiary of France_.
Philadelphia, September 1, 1791.
Sir,
I have communicated to the President what passed between us the other
day, on the subject of the payments made to France by the United States
in the _assignats_ of that country, since they have lost their par with
gold and silver; and after conferences, by his instruction, with the
Secretary of the Treasury, I am authorized to assure you, that the
government of the United States have no idea of paying their debt in a
depreciated medium, and that in the final liquidation of the payments
which shall have bean made, due regard will be had to an equitable
allowance for the circumstance of depreciation.
I have the honor to be, with sentiments of the most perfect esteem and
respect, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER LXXVIII.--TO T. NEWTON, September 8, 1791
TO T. NEWTON.
Georgetown, September 8, 1791.
Dear Sir,
I was in the moment of my departure from Philadelphia, for Virginia,
when I received your favor, inquiring how far the law of nations is to
govern in proceedings respecting foreign consuls.
The law of nations does not of itself extend to consuls at all. They
are not of the diplomatic class of characters, to which alone that law
extends of right. Convention, indeed, may give it to them, and sometimes
has done so; but in that case, the convention can be produced. In ours
with France, it is expressly declared that consuls shall not have the
privileges of that law, and we have no convention with any other nation.
Congress have had before them a bill on the subject of consuls, but have
not as yet passed it. Their code then furnishes no law to govern these
cases.
Consequently, they are to be decided by the State laws alone. Some of
these, I know, have given certain privileges to consuls; and I think
those of Virginia did at one time. Of the extent and continuance of
those laws, you are a better judge than I am.
Independently of law, consuls are to be considered as distinguished
foreigners, dignified by a commission from their sovereign, and
specially recommended by him to the respect of the nation with whom they
reside. They are subject to the laws of the land, indeed, precisely as
other foreigners are, a convention, where there is one, making a part of
the laws of the land; but if at any time, their conduct should render
it necessary to assert the authority of the laws over them, the rigor of
those laws should be tempered by our respect for their sovereign, as far
as the case will admit. This moderate and respectful treatment towards
foreign-consuls, it is my duty to recommend and press on our citizens,
because I ask it for their good towards our own consuls, from the people
with whom they reside.
In what I have said, I beg leave to be understood as laying down general
principles only, and not as applying them to the facts which may have
arisen. Before such application, those facts should be heard from all
whom they interest. You, who have so heard them, will be able to make
the application yourself, and that, not only in the present, but in
future cases.
I have the honor to be, with great esteem, your most obedient, humble
servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER LXXIX.--TO MR. HAMMOND, October 26,1791
Mr. Jefferson has the honor of presenting his compliments to Mr.
Hammond, of expressing his regrets that he happened to be from home when
Mr. Hammond did him the honor of calling on him, and was equally unlucky
in not finding him at home when he waited on him on Monday. Being
informed by Mr. Bond, that Mr. Hammond is charged with a public mission
to the government of the United States, relative to which some previous
explanations might be proper, Mr. Jefferson has the honor to assure Mr.
Hammond, he shall be ready to receive any communications and enter
into explanations, either formally or informally, as Mr. Hammond shall
choose, and at any time suitable to him. He recollects with pleasure
his acquaintance with Mr. Hammond in Paris, and shall be happy in every
opportunity of rendering him such offices and attentions as may be
acceptable to him.
October 26,1791.
LETTER LXXX.--TO WILLIAM CARMICHAEL, November 6, 1791
TO WILLIAM CARMICHAEL.
Philadelphia, November 6, 1791.
Sir,
My last letter to you was of the 24th of August. A gentleman going from
hence to Cadiz will be the bearer of this, and of the newspapers to the
present date, and will take care that the letter be got safe to you, if
the papers cannot.
Mr. Mangnal, at length tired out with his useless solicitations at this
office, to obtain redress from the court of Spain for the loss of the
Dover Cutter, has laid the matter before Congress, and the Senate have
desired me to report thereon to them. I am very sorry to know nothing
more of the subject, than that letter after letter has been written to
you thereon, and that the office is in possession of nothing more than
acknowledgments of your receipt of some of them, so long ago as August,
1786, and still to add, that your letter of January the 24th, 1791,
is the only one received of later date than May the 6th, 1789. You
certainly will not wonder, if the receipt of but one letter in two years
and an half inspires a considerable degree of impatience. I have learned
through a circuitous channel, that the court of Madrid is at length
disposed to yield our right of navigating the Mississippi. I sincerely
wish it may be the case, and that this act of justice may be made known,
before the delay of it produces any thing intemperate from our western
inhabitants.
Congress is now in session. You will see, in the paper herewith sent,
the several weighty matters laid before them in the President’s speech.
The session will probably continue through the winter. I shall sincerely
rejoice to receive from you, not only a satisfactory explanation of the
reasons why we receive no letters, but grounds to hope that it will be
otherwise in future.
I have the honor to be, with great esteem, Sir, your most obedient and
most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER LXXXI.--TO THE PRESIDENT, November 6, 1791
TO THE PRESIDENT.
November 6, 1791.
Sir,
I have the honor to enclose you the draught of a letter to Governor
Pinckney, and to observe, that I suppose it to be proper that there
should, on fit occasions, be a direct correspondence between the
President of the United States and the Governors of the States; and
that it will probably be grateful to them to receive from the President,
answers to the letters they address to him. The correspondence with them
on ordinary business may still be kept up by the Secretary of State, in
his own name.
I enclose also a letter to Major Pinckney, with a blank to be filled up,
when you shall have made up your mind on it. I have conferred with Mr.
M. on the idea of the commissioners of the federal town proceeding to
make private sales of the lots, and he thinks it advisable. I cannot but
repeat, that if the surveyors will begin on the river, laying off the
lots from Rock Creek to the Eastern Branch, and go on, abreast in that
way, from the river towards the back part of the town, they may pass the
avenue from the President’s house to the Capitol, before the spring;
and as soon as they shall have passed it, a public sale may take place,
without injustice to either the Georgetown or Carrolsburg interest.
Will not the present afford you a proper occasion of assuring the
commissioners, that you leave every thing respecting L’Enfant to them?
I have the honor to be, with the most sincere respect, Sir, your most
obedient, humble servant,
Th: Jefferson
LETTER LXXXII.--TO MAJOR THOMAS PINCKNEY, November 6, 1791
TO MAJOR THOMAS PINCKNEY.
Philadelphia, November 6, 1791.
Sir,
The mission of a Minister Plenipotentiary to the court of London being
now to take place, the President of the United States is desirous
of availing the public of your services in that office. I have it in
charge, therefore, from him, to ask whether it will be agreeable that he
should nominate you for that purpose to the Senate. We know that higher
motives will alone influence your mind in the acceptance of this charge.
Yet it is proper, at the same time, to inform you, that as a provision
for your expenses in the exercise of it, an outfit of nine thousand
dollars is allowed, and an annual salary to the same amount, payable
quarterly. On receiving your permission, the necessary orders for these
sums, together with your credentials, shall be forwarded to you, and it
would be expected that you should proceed on the mission as soon as you
can have made those arrangements for your private affairs, which such
an absence may render indispensable. Let me only ask the favor of you to
give me an immediate answer, and by duplicate, by sea and post, that
we may have the benefit of both chances for receiving it as early as
possible. Though I have not the honor of a personal acquaintance with
you, yet I beg you to be assured, that I feel all that anxiety for your
entrance on this important mission, which a thorough conviction of your
fitness for it can inspire; and that in its relations with my office, I
shall always endeavor to render it as agreeable to you as possible.
I have the honor to be, with sentiments of the highest respect and
esteem, Sir, your most obedient, humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER LXXXIII.--TO THE PRESIDENT, November 7, 1791
TO THE PRESIDENT.
Philadelphia, November 7, 1791.
Sir,
I have duly considered the letter you were pleased to refer to me, of
the 18th of August, from his Excellency Governor Pinckney to yourself,
together with the draught of one proposed to be written by him to the
Governor of Florida, claiming the re-delivery of certain fugitives from
justice, who have been received in that country. The inconveniences of
such a receptacle for debtors and malefactors in the neighborhood of the
southern States, are obvious and great, and I wish the remedy were as
certain and short as the latter seems to suppose.
The delivery of fugitives from one country to another, as practised by
several nations, is in consequence of conventions settled between them,
defining precisely the cases wherein such deliveries shall take place.
I know that such conventions exist between France and Spain, France and
Sardinia, France and Germany, France and the United Netherlands; between
the several sovereigns constituting the Germanic body, and, I believe,
very generally between co-terminous States on the continent of Europe.
England has no such convention with any nation, and their laws have
given no power to their executive to surrender fugitives of any
description; they are, accordingly, constantly refused, and hence
England has been the asylum of the Paolis, the La Mottes, the Calonnes,
in short, of the most atrocious offenders as well as the most innocent
victims, who have been able to get there.
The laws of the United States, like those of England, receive every
fugitive, and no authority has been given to our executives to deliver
them up. In the case of Longchamp, a subject of France, a formal demand
was made by the minister of France, and was refused. He had, indeed,
committed an offence within the United States; but he was not demanded
as a criminal, but as a subject.
The French government has shown great anxiety to have such a convention
with the United States, as might authorize them to demand their subjects
coming here: they got a clause in the consular convention signed by Dr.
Franklin and the Count de Vergennes, giving their Consuls a right
to take and send back captains of vessels, mariners, and passengers.
Congress saw the extent of the word passengers, and refused to ratify
the convention; a new one was therefore formed, omitting that word.
In fact, however desirable it be that the perpetrators of crimes,
acknowledged to be such by all mankind, should be delivered up to
punishment, yet it is extremely difficult to draw the line between
those, and acts rendered criminal by tyrannical laws only; hence the
first step always is a convention defining the cases where a surrender
shall take place.
If, then, the United States could not deliver up to Governor Quesada,
a fugitive from the laws of his country, we cannot claim as a right the
delivery of fugitives from us; and it is worthy consideration, whether
the demand proposed to be made in Governor Pickney’s letter, should it
be complied with by the other party, might not commit us disagreeably,
perhaps dishonorably, in event; for I do not think we can take for
granted, that the legislature of the United States will establish
a convention for the mutual delivery of fugitives; and without a
reasonable certainty that they will, I think we ought not to give
Governor Quesada any grounds to expect that in a similar case, we would
re-deliver fugitives from his government.
I have the honor to be, with the most profound respect and attachment,
Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER LXXXIV.--TO WILLIAM SHORT, November 24, 1791
TO WILLIAM SHORT.
Philadelphia, November 24, 1791.
Dear Sir,
My last to you was of August the 29th, acknowledging the receipt of your
Nos. 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, and informing you I was about setting out to
Virginia, and should not again write to you till my return. Only one
vessel has sailed from hence to Havre since my return, and my notice of
her departure was so short, that I could not avail myself of it. Your
Nos. 72, 73, 74, 75, 78, came here during my absence, and 79, 80, were
received October the 28th. The Nos. 76 and 77 seem to be missing.
You mention that Drost wishes the devices of our money to be sent to
him, that he may engrave them there. This cannot be done, because
not yet decided on. The devices will be fixed by the law which shall
establish the mint. M. de Ternant tells me he has no instructions to
propose to us the negotiation of a commercial treaty, and that he does
not expect any. I wish it were possible to draw that negotiation to this
place. In your letter of July the 24th, is the following paragraph. It
is published in the English newspapers, that war is inevitable between
the United States and Spain, and that preparations are making for it on
both sides.’ M. de Montmorin asked me how the business stood at present,
and seemed somewhat surprised at my telling him, that I knew nothing
later than what I had formerly mentioned to him. I have, in more
than one instance, experienced the inconvenience of being without
information. In this, it is disagreeable, as it may have the appearance
with M. de Montmorin, of my having something to conceal from him, which
not being the case, it would be wrong that he should be allowed to take
up such an idea. I observed, that I did not suppose there was any new
circumstance, as you had not informed me of it.’ Your observation was
certainly just. It would be an Augean task for me to go through the
London newspapers, and formally contradict all their lies, even
those relating to America. On our side, there have been certainly no
preparations for war against Spain; nor have I heard of any on
their part, but in the London newspapers. As to the progress of the
negotiation, I know nothing of it but from you; having never had a
letter from Mr. Carmichael on the subject. Our best newspapers are sent
you from my office with scrupulous exactness, by every vessel sailing to
Havre or any other convenient port of France. On these I rely for giving
you information of all the facts possessed by the public; and as
to those not possessed by them, I think there has not been a single
instance of my leaving you uninformed of any of them which related to
the matters under your charge. In Freneau’s paper of the 21st instant,
you will see a small essay on population and emigration, which I think
it would be well if the news-writers of Paris would translate and insert
in their papers. The sentiments are too just not to make impression.