within the United States at the moment a war broke out between their
own and another country, they determine to go into its defence;
they purchase, arm, and equip a vessel with their own money, man it
themselves, receive a regular commission from their nation, depart
out of the United States, and then commence hostilities by capturing a
vessel, If, under these circumstances, the commission of the captors was
valid, the property, according to the laws of war, was by the capture
transferred to them, and it would be an aggression on their nation, for
the United States to rescue it from them, whether on the high seas or
on coming into their ports. If the commission was not valid, and,
consequently, the property not transferred by the laws of war to the
captors, then the case would have been cognizable in our courts of
admiralty, and the owners might have gone thither for redress. So
that, on neither supposition, would the executive be justifiable in
interposing.
With respect to the United States, the transaction can be in nowise
imputed to them. It was in the first moment of the war, in one of their
most distant ports, before measures could be provided by the government
to meet all the cases which such a state of things was to produce,
impossible to have been known, and, therefore, impossible to have been
prevented by that government.
The moment it was known, the most energetic orders were sent to every
State and port of the Union, to prevent a repetition of the accident.
On a suggestion that citizens of the United States had taken part in
the act, one, who was designated, was instantly committed to prison, for
prosecution; one or two others have been since named, and committed
in like manner; and should it appear that there were still others, no
measure will be spared to bring them to justice. The President has
even gone further. He has required, as a reparation of their breach of
respect to the United States, that the vessels so armed and equipped,
shall depart from our ports.
You will see, Sir, in these proceedings of the President, unequivocal
proofs of the line of strict right which he means to pursue. The
measures now mentioned, are taken in justice to the one party; the
ulterior measure, of seizing and restoring the prizes, is declined in
justice to the other; and the evil, thus early arrested, will be of very
limited effects; perhaps, indeed, soon disappear altogether.
I have the honor to be, with sentiments of respect, Sir, your most
obedient and most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER CLIV.--TO GOUVERNEUR MORRIS, June 13, 1793
TO GOUVERNEUR MORRIS.
Philadelphia, June 13, 1793,
Dear Sir,
It has long since been observed, that of the three millions of livres
given by the court of France to aid us in the commencement of our
revolution, one million was unaccounted for by the hands into which
it was paid. The date of the payment is fixed to have been the 10th of
June, 1776, but to whom it was paid has never been known. Suspicions
are, that it was to Beaumarchais; and that with this very money he
purchased the supplies furnished us by him, for which large sums have
been paid him already, and a further large sum has lately been certified
to be due to him as the balance of the account. I enclose you a letter
from the Secretary of the Treasury on this subject, with all the papers
relative to the same which his office can furnish: and as you are on
the spot, I must beg the favor of you to make an immediate and thorough
investigation of it. No reasons of State can now exist for covering the
transaction longer under mystery.
I have the honor to be, with great and sincere esteem, Dear Sir, your
most obedient and most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
[The letter of the Secretary of the Treasury, and other papers, relative
to the lost million alluded to in the letter to Mr. Morris.]
LETTERS--RE THE LOST MILLION, June 10, 1793
Treasury Department, June 10, 1793. Sir,
The comptroller of the Treasury has reported to me, that ‘on examining
the subsisting contracts between the United States and the government
of France and the Farmers General, and a comparison thereof with
the foreign accounts and documents transmitted to the Treasury, the
following facts appear.
That previous to the treaty of February, 1778, the sum of three millions
of livres had been advanced by the government of France to the agents
of the United States, under the title of gratuitous, for which no
reimbursement was to be made.
That the payments, which composed the before-mentioned sum of three
millions of livres, are stated, in a letter of Mr. Durival to Mr. Grand,
dated in 1786, to have been made at the following periods:
One million delivered by the Royal Treasury the 10th of June, 1776, and
two other millions advanced also by the Royal Treasury in 1777, on four
receipts of the Deputies of Congress, of the 17th of January, 3rd of
April, 10th of June, and 15th of October of the same year.
In the account of Mr. Ferdinand Grand, banker of the United States, the
following sums are credited, viz.
1777.--January 31, .... 500,000 livres.
April 26, ...... 500,000
June 4, ........ 1,000,000
July 3, ........ 500,000
October 10, .... 500,000
Amount in the whole, .. 3,000,000 livres.
The Farmers General of France claim a large balance from the United
States, on account of one million of livres which they contend was
advanced in June, 1777, in consequence of a special contract with
Messrs. Franklin and Deane, to be repaid by the delivery of tobacco at
certain stipulated prices, and the advance made by the Farmers General
is said to be the same money, as is credited by Mr. Grand on the 4th of
June, 1777.
After a careful examination of the foreign accounts, it is found that no
more than three millions of livres have been credited by any agents of
the United States.
An opinion was entertained by the late officers of the Treasury, that
the sum claimed by the Farmers General composed a part of the sum
supplied as gratuitous aid by the government. Subsequent explanations
have however rendered it probable, that, including the claim of the
Farmers General, the sum of four millions of livres were in fact
received; it is, however, indispensable that it should be known to whom
the money was paid.
The most direct mode of obtaining this information will be, to call for
copies of the receipts mentioned in Mr. Durival’s letter of 1786, and
more particularly, a copy of that said to have been given on the 10th of
June, 1776.’
And as explanatory of the transaction, he has sent me the documents
herewith transmitted.
The most likely conjecture, in my mind, considering the period of
the advance and the circumstances of that period, is, that the
unaccounted-for million went into the hands of M. de Beaumarchais.
The supplies which he furnished to the United States exceeded his own
probable resources, besides the imprudence of having hazarded so much at
that stage of our affairs upon our ability to pay. And there were many
symptoms, at the time, of his having been secretly put in motion by the
government.
It is now become urgent, that the truth of the case should be known. An
account has recently passed the auditor’s office, admitting in favor of
M. de Beaumarchais a balance of four hundred and twenty-two thousand two
hundred and sixty-five dollars and thirteen cents, with a reservation
only of the question of the million. If he has received that million,
which has been acknowledged as a free gift from the French government,
it is unjust that he should be able to establish a claim against the
United States for supplies which must have been the proceeds of that
sum. If he has never received the million, every, day’s suspension of
his claim, after the immense delays heretofore incurred, is a grievous
hardship upon him. It concerns materially the interests, and more the
justice, the credit, and the character of the United States, that as
speedy a solution as possible of the enigma may be obtained.
With a view to this, I have the honor to make you the present
communication, that you may be pleased to take such steps as shall
appear to you the most proper and efficacious to procure, as speedily
as the nature of the case will admit, the requisite explanations. With
respect, I have the honor to be, &c.
Alexander Hamilton.
_Letter from Mr. Grand to ------ ------_
Paris, September 9, 1786.
Dear Sir,
The letter you honored me with, covered the copies of three letters
which Mr. Thomson wrote you to obtain an explanation of a million
which is not to be found in my accounts. I should have been very much
embarrassed in satisfying him and proving that I had not put that
million in my pocket, had I not applied to M. Durival, who, as you will
see by the answer enclosed, informs me that there was a million paid by
the Royal Treasury on the 10th of June, 1776. This is the very million
about which Mr. Thomson inquires, as I have kept an account of the other
two millions, which were also furnished by the Royal Treasury, viz.:
The million in January and April, 1777; the other in July and October of
the same year; as well as that furnished by the Farmers General in June,
1777.
Here then are the three millions, exactly, which were given by the King
before the treaty of 1778, and that furnished by the Farmers General.
Nothing then remains to be known but who received the first million in
June, 1776. It could not be by me, who was not charged with the business
of Congress until January, 1777. I therefore requested of M. Durival the
copy of the receipt for the one million. You have the answer which he
returned to me. I wrote to him again, renewing my request, but as the
carrier is just setting off, I cannot wait to give you his answer, but
you will receive it in my next, if I receive one. In the mean while, I
beg you will receive the assurances of the sentiments of respect, with
which I have the honor to be, my Dear Sir, your most obedient and most
humble servant,
Grand.
_Letter from Mr. Durival to Mr. Grand_.
Versailles, August 30, 1786.
Sir,
I have received the letter which you did me the honor to write the 28th
of this month, touching the advance of a million, which you say was made
by the General Farm to the United States of America, the 3rd of June,
1777. I have no knowledge of that advance. What I have verified is, that
the King by the contract of the 25th of February, 1783, has confirmed
the gratuitous gift which his Majesty had previously made of the three
millions hereafter mentioned, viz:
One million delivered by the Royal Treasury the 10th of June, 1776, and
two other millions advanced also by the Royal Treasury in 1777, on four
receipts of the Deputies of Congress of the 17th of January, 3rd
of April, 10th of June, and 15th of October, of the same year. This
explanation will, Sir, resolve your doubt touching the advance of the
3rd of June, 1777. I farther recommend to you, Sir, to confer on this
subject with Mr. Gojard, who ought to be better informed than us, who
have no knowledge of any advances but those made by the Royal Treasury.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, Sir, your most obedient and
most humble servant,
DU RIVAL.
_Postscript from Mr. Grand_.
Paris, September 12, 1786.
I hazard a letter in hopes it may be able to join that of the 9th,
at L’Orient, in order to forward to you, Sir, the answer I have
just received from Mr. Durival. You will therefore see, Sir, that
notwithstanding my entreaty, the Minister himself refuses to give me the
copy of the receipts which I asked for. I cannot conceive the reason for
this reserve, more especially, since if there has been a million paid,
he who received it has kept the account, and must in time be known.
I shall hear with pleasure that you have been more fortunate in this
respect in America than I have been in France, and repeat to you the
assurances of the sentiments of regard, with which I have the honor to
be, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,
Grand.
_Letter from Mr. Durival to Mr. Grand_.
Versailles, September 5, 1786.
I laid before the Count de Vergennes the two letters which you did me
the honor, to write, touching the three millions, the free gift of which
the King has confirmed in favor of the United States of America.
The Minister, Sir, observed, that this gift has nothing to do with the
million which Congress may have received from the General Farm,
1777. Consequently he thinks that the receipt which you desire may be
communicated to you, cannot satisfy the object of your view, and that it
would be useless to give you the copy which you desire.
I have the honor to be, with perfect attachment, Sir, your most
obedient, humble servant,
Durival.
_Letter from Mr. Durival to Mr. Grand_.
Versailles, September 10, 1786.
I have laid before the Count de Vergennes, as you, Sir, seem to desire,
the letter which you did me the honor to write yesterday. The Minister
persists in the opinion that the receipt, the copy of which you request,
has no relation to the business with which you are entrusted on behalf
of Congress, and that this price would be useless in the new point of
view in which you have placed it. Indeed, Sir, it is easy for you to
prove that the money in question was not delivered by the Royal Treasury
into your hands, as you did not begin to be charged with the business of
Congress until January, 1777, and the receipt is of the date of the 10th
of June, 1776.
I have the honor to be, with perfect attachment, Sir, your most obedient
and most humble servant,
Durival.
_Extract of a letter from Benjamin Franklin to Mr. Grand, banker at
Paris, dated Philadelphia, July the 11th, 1786_.
‘I send you enclosed some letters that have passed between the Secretary
of Congress and me, respecting three millions of livres acknowledged to
have been received before the treaty of 1778, as _don gratuit_, from the
King, of which only two millions are found in your accounts; unless
the million from the Fanners General be one of the three. I have been
assured that all the money received from the King, whether as loan or
gift, went through your hands; and as I always looked on the million we
had of the Farmers General to be distinct from what we had of the crown,
I wonder how I came to sign the contract acknowledging three millions
of gift, when in reality there were only two, exclusive of that from
the Farmers. And as both you and I examined the project of the contract
before I signed it, I am surprised that neither of us took notice of
the error. It is possible that the million furnished ostensibly by the
Farmers, was in fact a gift of the crown, in which case, as Mr. Thomson
observes, they owe us for the two ship-loads of tobacco they received
on account of it. I must earnestly request of you to get this,matter
explained, that it may stand clear before I die, lest some enemy should
afterwards accuse me of having received a million not accounted for.’
_Letter from Dr. Franklin to Charles Thomson_.
Philadelphia, January 25, 1787.
Dear Friend,
You may remember that in the correspondence between us in June last, on
the subject of a million, free gift of the King of France, acknowledged
in our contract to have been received, but which did not appear to be
accounted for in our banker’s accounts, unless it should be the same
with the million said to be received from the Farmers General, I
mentioned that an explanation might doubtless be easily obtained, by
writing to Mr. Grand or Mr. Jefferson. I know not whether you have
accordingly written to either of them. But being desirous that the
matter should be speedily cleared up, I wrote myself to Mr. Grand a
letter upon it, of which I now enclose a copy with his answer, and
several letters from Mr. Durival, who is _chef du bureau des fonds_ (and
has under his care _la finance des affaires étrangerès_). You will see by
these letters, that the million in question was delivered to somebody on
the 10th of June, 1776, but it does not appear to whom. It is clear that
it could not be to Mr. Grand, nor to the commissioners from Congress,
for we did not meet in France till the end of December, 1777. That
banker was not charged before with our affairs. By the Minister’s
refusing him a copy of the receipt, I conjecture it must be money
advanced for our use to Mr. Beaumarchais, and that it is a _mystère
du cabinet_, which perhaps should not be further inquired into, unless
necessary to guard against more demands than may be just from that
agent: for it may well be supposed that if the court furnished him with
the means of supplying us, they may not be willing to furnish authentic
proofs of such a transaction so early in our dispute with Britain.
Pray tell me, has he dropped his demands, or does he still continue to
worry you with them?
I should like to have these original letters returned to me, but you
may, if you please, keep copies of them.
It is true, the million in question makes no difference in your accounts
with the King of France, it not being mentioned or charged as so much
lent and repaid, but stood as freely given. Yet if it was put into the
hands of any of our agents or ministers, they ought certainly to account
for it. I do not recollect whether Mr. Deane had arrived in France
before the 10th of June, 1776, but from his great want of money when I
joined him a few months after, I hardly think it could have been paid
him.
Possibly Mr. Jefferson may obtain the information, though Mr. Grand
could not, and I wish he may be directed to make the inquiry, as I
know he would do it directly; I mean, if by Hortales and Co.’ s further
demands, or for any other reason, such an inquiry should be thought
necessary.
I am ever, my Dear Friend, yours most affectionately,
Benjamin Franklin.
LETTER CLV.--TO GOUVERNEUR MORRIS, June 13, 1793
TO GOUVERNEUR MORRIS.
Philadelphia, June 13, 1793.
Dear Sir,
The insulated state in which France is placed with respect to almost
all the world, by the present war, has cut off all means of addressing
letters to you through other countries. I embrace the present occasion
by a private individual going to France directly, to mention, that since
the date of my last public letter, which was April the 24th, and which
covered the President’s proclamation of April, I have received your Nos.
17 to 24. M. de Ternary notified us of his recall on the 17th of May,
and delivered the letter of the Provisory Executive Council to that
effect. I now enclose you the President’s answer to the Council, which
you will be pleased to deliver; a copy of it is also enclosed, open, for
your, information. Mr. Genet delivered his credentials on the same
day on which M. de Ternant took his leave, and was received by the
President. He found himself immediately immersed in business, the
consequence of this war. The incidents to which that gives daily rise,
and the questions respecting chiefly France and England, fill the
executive with business, equally delicate difficult, and disagreeable.
The course intended to be pursued being that of a strict and impartial
neutrality, decisions rendered by the President rigorously on that
principle, dissatisfy both parties, and draw complaints from both. That
you may have a proper idea of them, I enclose you copies of several
memorials and letters, which have passed between the executive and the
ministers of those two countries, which will at the same time develope
the principles of the proceedings, and enable you to satisfy them in
your communications, should it be necessary. I enclose also the answer
given to Mr. Genet, on a proposition from him to pay up the whole of
the French debt at once. While it will enable you to explain the
impracticability of the operation proposed, it may put it in your power
to judge of the answer which would be given to any future proposition
to that effect, and perhaps to prevent their being brought forward. The
bill lately passed in England, prohibiting the business of this country
with France from passing through the medium of England, is a temporary
embarrassment to our commerce, from the unhappy predicament of its all
hanging on the pivot of London. It will be happy for us, should it be
continued till our merchants may establish connections in the countries
in which our produce is consumed, and to which it should go directly.
Our commissioners have proceeded to the treaty with the northwestern
Indians. They write, however, that the treaty will be a month later
than was expected. This delay, should it be extended, will endanger
our losing the benefit of our preparations for the campaign, and
consequently bring on a delicate question, whether these shall be
relinquished for the result of a treaty in which we never had any
confidence. The Creeks have proceeded in their depredations till they
assume the appearance of formal war. It scarcely seems possible to avoid
its becoming so. They are so strong and so far from us, as to make very
serious addition to our Indian difficulties. It is very probable that
some of the circumstances arising out of our affairs with the Indians,
or with the belligerent powers of Europe, may occasion the convocation
of Congress at an earlier day than that to which its meeting stands at
present.
I send you the forms of the passports given here. The one in three
columns is that now used; the other having been soon discontinued. It is
determined that they shall be given in our own ports only, and to serve
but for one voyage. It has also been determined, that they shall be
given to all vessels _bonâ fide_ owned by American citizens _wholly_,
whether built here or not. Our property, whether in the form of vessels,
cargoes, or any thing else, has a right to pass the seas untouched by
any nation, by the law of nations; and no one has a right to ask where a
vessel was built, but where is she owned? To the security which the
law of nations gives to such vessels against all nations, are added
particular stipulations with three of the belligerent powers. Had it not
been in our power to enlarge our national stock of shipping suddenly
in the present exigency, a great proportion of our produce must have
remained on our hands for want of the means of transportation to market.
At this time, indeed, a great proportion is in that predicament. The
most rigorous measures will be taken to prevent any vessel, not
wholly and _bonâ fide_ owned by American citizens, from obtaining our
passports. It is much our interest to prevent the competition of other
nations from taking from us the benefits we have a right to expect from
the neutrality of our flag; and I think we may be very sure that few, if
any, will be fraudulently obtained within our ports.
Though our spring has been cold and wet, yet the crops of small grain
are as promising as they have ever been seen. The Hessian fly, however,
to the north, and the weavil to the south of the Potomac, will probably
abridge the quantity. Still it seems very doubtful whether we shall not
lose more for want of the means of transportation, and I have no doubt
that the ships of Sweden and Denmark would find full employment here.
We shall endeavor to get your newspapers under the care of Major Read,
the bearer of this letter.
I have the honor to be, with great respect and esteem, Dear Sir, your
most obedient and most humble servant,
Th: Jefferson.
LETTER CLVI.--TO MR. PINCKNEY, June 14, 1793
TO MR. PINCKNEY.
Philadelphia, June 14, 1793.
My last letters to you have been of the 7th of May and 4th instant.
Since the last date, yours of April the 15th has come to hand.