most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER CXXXIX.--TO COLONEL HUMPHREYS, March 22, 1793
TO COLONEL HUMPHREYS.
Philadelphia, March 22, 1793.
Dear Sir,
I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letters from No. 60 to 67,
inclusive. You cannot be too vigilant against any such treaty as that
mentioned in No. 60, which by giving the exclusive supply of wheat to
Naples, would altogether debar the United States from it. This would
bear so hard on us, that not only an exclusion of their wines from
the United States ought to be expected on their part, but every other
measure which might open to us a market in any other part of the world,
however Portugal might be affected by it. And I must for ever repeat it,
that, instead of excluding our wheat, we must continue to hope that they
will open their ports to our flour, and that you will continue to use
your efforts, on every good occasion, to obtain this without waiting for
a treaty.
As there appears at present a probability of a very general war in
Europe, you will be pleased to be particularly attentive to preserve for
our vessels all the rights of neutrality, and to endeavor that our flag
be not usurped by others to procure to themselves the benefits of our
neutrality. This usurpation tends to commit us with foreign nations, to
subject those vessels truly ours to rigorous scrutinies and delays
to distinguish them from counterfeits, and to take the business of
transportation out of our hands.
Continue, if you please, your intelligence relative to the affairs of
Spain, from whence we learn nothing but through you: to which it will be
acceptable that you add any leading events from other countries, as
we have several times received important facts through you, even from
London, sooner than they have come from London directly.
The letters enclosed for Mr. Carmichael and Mr. Short are of a very
secret nature. If you go by Madrid, you will be the bearer of them
yourself; if not, it would be better to retain them than to send them
by any conveyance which does not command your entire confidence. I have
never yet had a letter from Mr. Carmichael but the one you brought from
Madrid. A particular circumstance will occasion forbearance yet a little
longer.
Captain Cutting will bring you a copy of the laws of the last session of
Congress, and of the gazettes to the time of his departure.
Not yet knowing the actual arrival of Mr. Church at Lisbon, I believe
it will be safer that I direct letters for you, during your absence, to
Messrs. Bulkeley and son, with whom you will leave what directions on
the subject you shall think proper.
I am, with great and sincere esteem and respect, Dear Sir, your most
obedient and most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER CXL.*--TO MESSRS. CARMICHAEL AND SHORT, March 23, 1793
TO MESSRS. CARMICHAEL AND SHORT.
Philadelphia, March 23, 1793.
Gentlemen,
It is intimated to us in such a way as to attract our attention,
that France means to send a strong force early this spring to offer
independence to the Spanish American colonies, beginning with those on
the Mississippi; and that she will not object to the receiving those
on the east side into our confederation. Interesting considerations
require, that we should keep ourselves free to act in this case
according to circumstances, and consequently, that you should not, by
any clause of treaty, bind us to guaranty any of the Spanish colonies
against their own independence, nor indeed against any other nation.
For when we thought we might guaranty Louisiana, on their ceding the
Floridas to us, we apprehended it would be seized by Great Britain, who
would thus completely encircle us with her colonies and fleets. This
danger is now removed by the concert between Great Britain and Spain;
and the times will soon enough give independence, and consequently free
commerce to our neighbors, without our risking the involving ourselves
in a war for them.
I am, with great respect and esteem, your most obedient, humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
** The above meets the approbation of George Washington.
[* This letter was in cipher, but a literal copy of it
preserved.]
[** This is in the hand-writing of General Washington.]
LETTER CXLI.--TO MR. HAMMOND, April 18, 1793
TO MR. HAMMOND.
Philadelphia, April 18, 1793.
Sir,
I have now the honor to enclose you the answer of the Attorney General
to my letter covering yours of March the 12th, on the case of Hooper and
Pagan, wherein he has stated the proceedings of Pagan for obtaining a
writ of error from the Supreme Court of the United States, for revisal
of the judgment of the inferior court pronounced against him; and, also,
his opinion on the merits of the question, had the writ of error been
procured, and the merits thereby been brought into question. From this
statement you will be able to judge whether Pagan has, _bonâ fide_,
complied with the rule which requires that a foreigner, before he
applies for extraordinary interposition, should use his best endeavors
to obtain the justice he claims from the ordinary tribunals of the
country. You will perceive also, that had the writ been pressed for and
obtained, and the substantial justice of Pagan’s claim thereby brought
into discussion, substantial justice would have been against him,
according to the opinion of the Attorney General, according to the
uniform decisions of the courts of the United States, even in the cases
of their own citizens, and according to the decision of this very case
in the British provincial court, where the evidence was taken and the
trial first had. This does not appear then to be one of those cases of
gross and palpable wrong, ascribable only to wickedness of the heart,
and not to error of the head, in the judges who have decided on it,
and founding a claim of national satisfaction. At least, that it is so,
remains yet to be demonstrated.
The readiness with which the government of the United States has entered
into inquiries concerning the case of Mr. Pagan, even before that case
was ripe for their interposition, according to ordinary rules, will, I
hope, satisfy you that they would, with equal readiness, have done for
the redress of his case whatever the laws and constitution would have
permitted them to do, had it appeared in the result that their courts
had been guilty of partiality or other gross wrong against Mr. Pagan.
On the contrary, it is hoped, that the marked attentions which have been
shown to him by the government of Massachusetts, as well as by that of
the United States, have evinced, the most scrupulous dispositions to
patronize and effectuate his right, had right been on his side.
I have the honor to be, with due respect, Sir, your most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
[The letter of the Attorney General, referred to in the
preceding.]
TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
Philadelphia, April 12, 1793.
Sir,
You will perceive from the two letters marked A. and B. of which I
enclose copies, that the subject of Mr. Pagan has been for some time
in my view. The former of those letters being intended for you, and
containing a summary of facts, I determined to show it to Mr. Tilghman,
who was Pagan’s counsel, before it was sent to you, in order that he
might correct any misstatement. This produced the latter letter from him
to me; and I have thought it more advisable to forward both of them to
you even in the unfinished state of my own, than to reduce the case into
a form which might be supposed to be less accurate.
As I do not discover an essential difference between Mr. Tilghman and
myself, I shall not discuss any seeming variance, but proceed upon his
ideas.
It is too obvious to require a diffusive exposition, that the
application for a writ of error was not only prudent, but a duty in
Pagan. To this Mr. Tilghman explicitly assents, when he says, that he
was perfectly ‘satisfied of the prudence of applying for the writ of
error, as Pagan could not complain of a defect of justice, until he had
tried the writ of error and found that mode ineffectual.’ This remark
becomes the more important, as it manifests that the process was not
suggested as an expedient for shifting any burthen from the government.
Indeed I may with truth add, that the proceedings, taken collectively,
appeared to me to present a sufficient intimation of the main question,
to serve as a ground of decision.
However, take the case under either aspect; as excluding the
consideration of the main question by an omission in the pleadings and
record; or as exhibiting it fully to the cognizance of the court.
It never was pretended that a writ of error ought to have been granted,
unless the matter was apparent on the record. Whose office was it to
make it thus apparent. Of the attorney who managed the pleadings. If,
therefore, he has failed to do so, we may presume that he considered the
ground untenable, or was guilty of inattention. Either presumption
would be fatal to a citizen of the United States; and the condition of a
foreigner cannot create a new measure in the administration of justice.
It is moreover certain, that those who have been consulted on Pagan’s
behalf, as well as others, have seriously doubted whether a cause,
which has been pursued to the extent which his had reached before the
commencement of our new government, was susceptible of federal relief.
The last observation opens the inquiry, what remedy ought the Supreme
Court of the United States to have administered, even if the question
had been fairly before them? My opinion is, that the very merits are
against Mr. Pagan. In America, the construction of the armistice has
been almost universally to compute the places, within which different
times were to prevail, by latitude only. Am I misinformed, that such
an interpretation has been pressed by our ministers, and not denied by
those of London? A second mode has been adopted, by describing a circle,
and thereby comprehending longitude as well as latitude: now let either
rule be adopted, and the position of the capture in this case will be
adverse to Pagan’s pretensions.
But what can be exacted from our government, after repeated trials,
before various jurisdictions, none of which can be charged with any
symptom of impropriety, and upon a subject, which, to say no more, is at
least equipoised? Nothing; and I appeal to the British reasoning on the
Silesia loan, as supporting this sentiment, in the following passage.
‘The law of nations, founded upon justice, equity, convenience, and
the reason of the thing, and confirmed by long usage, does not allow of
reprisals, except in case of violent injuries directed and supported by
the State, and justice absolutely denied, in _re minime dubid_, by all
the tribunals, and afterwards by the prince.’ Where the judges are
left free, and give sentence according to their consciences, ‘though
it should be erroneous, that would be no ground for reprisals. Upon
doubtful questions, different men think and judge differently; and all a
friend can desire is, that justice should be as impartially administered
to him, as it is to the subjects of that prince, in whose courts the
matter is tried.’ Under such circumstances, a citizen must acquiesce. So
therefore must Pagan; against whom even the court of Nova Scotia, within
the dominions of his sovereign, has once decided.
There are many smaller points, arising from the controversy, which might
be relied on. But I pass them over, from a hope that the observations
already made will induce you to think with me, that government is not
bound to interpose farther in the behalf of Pagan. I have the honor,
Sir, to be, with respect and esteem, your most obedient servant,
Edmond Randolph.
LETTER CXLII.--TO MR. PINCKNEY, April 20, 1793
TO MR. PINCKNEY.
Philadelphia, April 20, 1793.
Dear Sir,
In a postscript to my letter of the 12th, I acknowledged the receipt
of yours of January the 3rd; since which, those of January the 30th and
February the 5th have been received by the William Penn.
With respect to our negotiation with Mr. Hammond, it is exactly in the
state in which it was when you left America, not one single word having
been received in reply to my general answer, of which you had a copy. He
says, he waits for instructions, which he pretends to expect from packet
to packet. But sometimes the ministers are all in the country, sometimes
they are absorbed in negotiations nearer home, sometimes it is the hurry
of impending war, or attention to other objects, the stock of which is
inexhaustible, and can therefore never fail those who desire nothing but
that things shall rest as they are. Perhaps, however, the present times
may hasten justice.
We shall be glad to receive the assayer you hope to procure, as soon as
possible, for we cannot get one in this country equal to the business
in all its parts. With respect to Mr. Droz, we retain the same desire to
engage him, but we are forced to require an immediate decision, as the
officer employed in the interim, and who does tolerably well, will not
continue much longer under an uncertainty of permanent employment.
I must therefore desire you to press Mr. Morris to bring Droz to an
immediate determination; and we place the matter on this ground with
him, that if he is not embarked by the first day of July next, we shall
give a permanent commission to the present officer, and be free to
receive no other. We are likely to be in very great distress for copper
for the mint, and must therefore press your expediting what we desired
you to order from Sweden.
You may, on every occasion, give assurances which cannot go beyond
the real desires of this country, to preserve a fair neutrality in
the present war, on condition that the rights of neutral nations are
respected in us, as they have been settled in modern times, either by
the express declarations of the powers of Europe, or their adoption of
them on particular occasions. From our treaties with France and Holland,
and that of England and France, a very clear and simple line of conduct
can be marked out for us, and I think we are not unreasonable in
expecting that England shall recognise towards us the same principles
which she has stipulated to recognise towards France, in a state of
neutrality.
I have the honor to be, with great and sincere esteem, Dear Sir, your
most obedient and most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER CXLIII.--CIRCULAR TO MORRIS, PINCKNEY, AND SHORT, April 26,1793
CIRCULAR TO MESSRS. MORRIS, PINCKNEY, AND SHORT.
Philadelphia, April 26,1793.
Sir,
The public papers giving us reason to believe that the war is becoming
nearly general in Europe, and that it has already involved nations with
which we are in daily habits of commerce and friendship, the President
has thought it proper to issue the proclamation of which I enclose you a
copy, in order to mark out to our citizens the line of conduct they
are to pursue. That this intimation, however, might not work to their
prejudice, by being produced against them as conclusive evidence of
their knowledge of the existence of war and of the nations engaged in
it, in any case where they might be drawn into courts of justice for
acts done without that knowledge, it has been thought necessary to write
to the representatives of the belligerent powers here, the letter
of which a copy is also enclosed, reserving to our citizens those
immunities to which they are entitled, till authentic information
shall be given to our government by the parties at war, and be thus
communicated, with due certainty, to our citizens. You will be pleased
to present to the government where you reside this proceeding of the
President, as a proof of the earnest desire of the United States to
preserve peace and friendship with all the belligerent powers, and to
express his expectation that they will in return extend a scrupulous and
effectual protection to all our citizens, wheresoever they may need it,
in pursuing their lawful and peaceable concerns with their subjects, or
within their jurisdiction. You will, at the same time, assure them, that
the most exact reciprocation of this benefit shall be practised by us
towards their subjects, in the like cases.
I have the honor to be, with great esteem and respect. Sir, your most
obedient and most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER CXLIV.--TO M. DE TERNANT, April 27,1793
TO M. DE TERNANT.
Philadelphia, April 27,1793.
Sir,
Your letter of the 13th instant, asking monies to answer the expenses
and salaries of the consular offices of France, has been duly laid
before the President, and his directions thereon taken.
I have in consequence to observe to you, that before the new government
of France had time to attend to things on this side the Atlantic, and
to provide a deposite of money for the purposes here, there appeared a
degree of necessity that we, as the friends and debtors of that nation,
should keep their affairs from suffering, by furnishing money for urgent
purposes. This obliged us to take on ourselves to judge of the
purpose, because on the soundness of that, we were to depend for our
justification. Hence we furnished monies for their colonies and their
agents here, without express authority, judging from the importance and
necessity of the case, that they would approve of our interference.
But this kind of necessity is now at an end: the government has
established a deposite of money in the hands of their minister here, and
we have nothing now to do but to furnish the money, which we are in the
course of doing, without looking into the purposes to which it is to be
applied. Their Minister is to be the judge of these, and to pay it to
whom and for what he pleases.
If it be urged that they have appropriated all the money we are
furnishing, to other objects, and that you are not authorized to divert
any of it to any other purpose, and therefore that you need a further
sum, it may be answered, that it will not lessen the stretch of
authority to add an unauthorized payment by us to an unauthorized
application by you; and that it seems fitter that their Minister should
exercise a discretion over their appropriations, standing as he does in
a place of confidence, authority, and responsibility, than we who
are strangers and unamenable to them. It is a respect we owe to their
authority, to leave to those acting under that the transaction of their
affairs, without an intermeddling on our part, which might justly appear
officious.
In this light I hope you will view our conduct, and that the consular
officers will be sensible, that in referring them to your care, under
which the national authority has placed them, we do but con-form
ourselves to that authority.
I have the honor to be, with sentiments of great respect and esteem,
Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER CXLV.--TO M. DE TERNANT, May 3,1793
TO M. DE TERNANT.
Philadelphia, May 3,1793.
Sir,
The Minister Plenipotentiary of his Britannic Majesty has represented to
the government of the United States, that on the 25th of April last, the
British ship Grange, while lying at anchor in the bay of the Delaware,
within the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, was taken
possession of by the Embuscade, a frigate of the French republic, has
been brought to this port, where she is now detained as prize and the
crew as prisoners, and has made a requisition in form, for a restoration
of the vessel and liberation of the crew. I have the honor to furnish
you with copies of the evidence given in by the British Minister, and to
observe, that the United States, being at peace with all parties, cannot
see with indifference its territory or jurisdiction violated by either;
that the government will therefore proceed to inquire into the facts,
and for that purpose will receive with pleasure, and consider with
impartiality, any evidence you will be pleased to have them furnished
with on the subject: and the President hopes that you will take
effectual measures for detaining here the vessel taken, her crew and
cargo, to abide the decision which will be made thereon, and which is
desired to be without delay.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, Sir, your most obedient and
most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER CXLVI.--TO MR. PINCKNEY, May 7, 1793
TO MR. PINCKNEY.
Philadelphia, May 7, 1793.
Dear Sir,
Since my letter of April the 16th, yours have been received of March the
12th, 12th, 13th, 13th, and 19th. Before the receipt of these, one of
which covered the form of your passports, it had been determined here,
that passports should be issued in our own ports only, as well to
secure us against those collusions which would be fraudulent towards
our friends, and would, introduce a competition injurious to our own
vessels, as to induce these to remain in our own service, and thereby
give to the productions of our own soil the protection of its own flag
in its passage to foreign markets. As our citizens are free to purchase
and use foreign-built vessels, and these, like all their other lawful
property, are entitled to the protection of their government, passports
will be issued to them as freely as to home-built vessels. This is
strictly within our treaties, the letter of which, as well as their
spirit, authorizes passports to all vessels belonging to citizens of
the United States. Our laws, indeed, indulge home-built vessels with the
payment of a lower tonnage, and to evidence their right to this, permit
them alone to take out registers from our own offices, but they do
not exclude foreign-built vessels owned by our citizens from any other
right. As our home-built vessels are adequate to but a small proportion
of our transportation, if we could not suddenly augment the stock of our
shipping, our produce would be subject to war-insurance in the vessels
of the belligerent powers, though we remain at peace ourselves.