themselves fast to a connexion with the French monarchy; for the
British adherents begin to feel the pangs of a deep despair, which
must generate a deep aversion. The British army here, felt the
national haughtiness increased by the contempt which, as Englishmen,
they could not but feel for those who had combined against the freedom
of their own country. Every part of their conduct, therefore, towards
the tories, while they flattered themselves with victory showed how
much they despised their American friends. Now that a reverse of
fortune has brought on a little consideration, they find a total
separation from this country unavoidable. They must feel for the fate
of their country; they must, therefore, hate, but they must respect
us, too; while their own adherents are both detested and despised.
Since General Carleton's arrival, or rather since the change of
Ministers, the British have shown that their intention is, if
possible, to conciliate the rulers of America; and by the influence of
a common language and similar laws, with the force of ancient habits
and mutual friendships not yet forgotten, not only to renew again the
commercial intercourse, but to substitute a new federal connexion to
their ancient sovereignty and dominion.
The assurance, therefore, which Congress have directed you to make,
must not be considered in the number of those idle compliments, which
are the common currency or small change of a Court. It is an assurance
important because it is founded in truth, and more important still
because it is dictated by the affections of a people. If I may venture
an opinion still further, it is principally important because of the
critical situation of things. The sudden change of Britain from
vengeance and war to kindness and conciliation must have effects; and
those effects, whether they be contempt or affection, will depend
less, perhaps, on them than upon others. It cannot be doubted that
they will ring all the changes upon their usual theme of Gallic
ambition. They will naturally insinuate the idea, that France will
neglect us when we have served her purposes; and it would be very
strange if they did not find some converts among that class of people
who would sacrifice, to present ease, every future consideration. What
I have said will, I am confident, put your mind into the train of
reflections, which arise out of our situation, and you will draw the
proper conclusions and make a proper appreciation of them.
Congress have directed you further, to express to the King their
reliance on a continuation of his friendship and exertions. I have no
doubt that a full belief of this reliance will be easily inculcated.
Indeed, I apprehend, that we shall be considered as relying too much
on France, or in other words, doing too little for ourselves. There
can be no sort of doubt, that a good argument may be raised on the
usual position, that the nation which will not keep itself, does not
merit the aid of others; and it would be easy to tell us, that we
must put our own shoulders to the wheel before we call upon Hercules.
In short, if the application be refused or evaded, nothing can be
easier than to assign very good reasons why it is done. But you have
very justly remarked in one of your letters, that it is possible to
get the better in argument, and to get nothing else. So it might be
here. True sagacity consists in making proper distinctions, and true
wisdom in taking determinations according to those distinctions.
Twenty years hence, when time and habit have settled and completed the
federal constitution of America, Congress will not think of relying on
any other than that Being, to whose justice they appealed at the
commencement of their opposition. But there is a period in the
progress of things, a crisis between the ardor of enthusiasm and the
authority of laws, when much skill and management are necessary to
those who are charged with administering the affairs of a nation. I
have already taken occasion to observe, that the present moment is
rendered particularly critical by the conduct of the enemy; and I
would add here, (if I dared even in idea to separate Congress from
those they represent,) that now above all other times, Congress must
rely on the exertions of their ally. This sentiment would open to his
Majesty's Ministers many reflections, the least of which has a
material connexion with the interests of his kingdom. But an argument
of no little weight, is that which applies itself directly to the
bosom of a young and generous prince, who would be greatly wounded to
see that temple, dedicated to humanity, which he has taken so much
pains to rear, fall at once into ruins, by a remission of the last
cares, which are necessary for giving solidity to the structure. I
think I might add, that there are some occasions on which a good
heart is the best counsellor.
The third topic on which Congress have directed you to dwell upon, is
the necessity of their present application; and it is this which falls
most particularly within my department; for I doubt not that every
sentiment on the other objects, has been most forcibly inculcated by
the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I might write volumes on our
necessities, and not convey to you so accurate an idea, as by the
relation of a single fact, which you may see in the public newspapers.
It is, that the requisitions of last October for eight millions, had
produced on the 1st day of this month only one hundred and twentyfive
thousand dollars. You are so perfectly a master of everything, which
relates to calculation, that I need not state anything of our
expenses. You know also what were our resources beyond taxation, and
therefore you have every material for forming an accurate idea of our
distresses. The smallness of the sum which has been paid will
doubtless astonish you; and it is only by conversation or a long
history that you could see why it has been no greater. The people are
undoubtedly able to pay, but they have easily persuaded themselves
into a conviction of their own inability; and in a government like
ours the belief creates the thing.
The mode of laying and levying taxes are vicious in the extreme; the
faults can be demonstrated; but would it not be a new thing under the
sun, that people should obey the voice of reason? Experience of the
evil is always a preliminary to amendment, and is frequently unable to
effect it. Many who see the right road, and approve it, continue to
follow the wrong road, because it leads to popularity. The love of
popularity is our endemial disease, and can only be checked by a
change of seasons. When the people have had dear experience of the
consequences of not being taxed, they will probably work the proper
amendment, but our necessities in the interim are not the less severe.
To tell America in such a situation, that she should reform her
interior administration, would be very good advice, but to neglect
affording her aid, and thereby to lose the capital objects of the war
would be very bad conduct. The necessity of the present application
for money arises from the necessity of drawing by degrees the bands of
authority together, establishing the power of government over a people
impatient of control, and confirming the federal union of the several
States, by correcting defects in the general constitution. In a word
it arises from the necessity of doing that infinite variety of things,
which are to be done in an infant government, placed in such delicate
circumstances, that the people must be wooed and won to do their duty
to themselves, and pursue their own interests.
This application also becomes the more necessary, in order to obviate
the effort of that British faction, which the enemy are now attempting
to excite among us. Hitherto indeed they have been unsuccessful,
unless perhaps with a very few men, who are under the influence of
disappointed ambition, but much care will be required when their plans
are brought to greater maturity. The savage inroads on our frontiers
have kept up the general horror of Britain. The great captures made on
our coasts have also rather enraged than otherwise, though such
captures have always the twofold operation of making people wish for
peace as well as for revenge. But when the enemy shall quit our
coasts, (and they have already stopped the inroads of their savage
allies,) if the people are urged at once to pay heavy and unusual
taxes, it may draw forth and give weight to arguments, which the
boldest emissaries would not at present hazard the use of.
I have already observed, that Congress wish to obtain this money
either from or by means of the King. The most cautious prudence will
justify us in confiding to the wisdom of his Ministers the portrait of
our situation. But it might not be very wise to explain to others
those reasons for the application, which lie so deep in the nature of
things, as easily to escape superficial observers. I shall enclose a
copy of this letter to Mr Adams, and you will find a copy of what I
say to him on the subject. I hope the Court will take such measures as
to render any efforts on his part unnecessary; but you and he must
decide on what is best for your country.
I must trouble you still further on this subject, with the mention of
what you will indeed collect from a cursory reading of the
resolutions, that Congress have the strongest reason for their
procedure, when they direct your utmost endeavors to effect this loan,
notwithstanding the information contained in your letters. If the war
is to be carried on, this aid is indispensable, and when obtained,
will enable us to act powerfully in the prosecution of it. If a peace
takes place, it is still necessary, and as it is the last request
which we shall then have occasion to make, I cannot think it will be
refused. In a word, Sir, we must have it.
With perfect respect, I have the honor to be, &c.
ROBERT MORRIS.
* * * * *
TO B. FRANKLIN.
Office of Finance, September 27th, 1782.
Sir,
By my letter of this date you will be informed of the intentions of
Congress, to provide for a principal part of the expenditures of the
year 1783, by loan. I expect that you will be able to obtain the four
millions of dollars, either from the Court, or by their assistance. I
wish for an immediate deposition of a part in the following manner.
That the Court of Spain should give orders for the shipment of a
million of dollars at the Havana, free of duties, and be convoyed by
one or more ships of the line to an American port; the money to be
paid to them during the year, in Europe; I wish this order may be so
expedited, as that Captain Barney, in the Washington, by whom this
letter goes, may carry it out to the Havana, and receive the money,
which will by that means arrive here some time during the winter, and
of course will, I expect, come safely as well as seasonably. I wish
that a half million of dollars may be paid to Messrs Le Courealx & Co,
as soon us possible, to enable them to execute my orders as to
particular negotiations, which I commit to them. Whatever else of the
money is obtained in France, will of course be paid to Mr Grand,
subject to my orders. If any part of the money be negotiated in
Holland, it will be, I suppose, proper to leave it in the hands of
those who negotiate the loan, subject to my further disposition.
I am, Sir, &c.
ROBERT MORRIS.
* * * * *
TO B. FRANKLIN
Office of Finance, September 30th, 1782.
Sir,
It is in some respects fortunate, that our stores were not shipped,
because, as you observe, they might have been taken; but I hope they
are now on the way, for if they are to lie in France at a heavy
expense of storage, &c. while we suffer for the want, it will be even
worse than if they were taken. You will find by the letters, which are
to go with this, that Mr Barclay is prohibited from making any more
purchases on account of the United States. I confess, that I
disapprove of those he has made; for the purchase of unnecessary
things because they are cheap, appears to be a very great
extravagance. We want the money as much as anything else, and the
world must form a strange idea of our management, if while we are
begging to borrow, we leave vast magazines of clothing to rot at
Brest, and purchase others to be shipped from Holland. I have said
nothing on this subject to Mr Barclay, because the thing having been
done, could not be undone, and because the pointed resolutions of
Congress on the subject, will prevent any more such operations.
What I have now said, however, will I hope lead you to urge on him the
necessity of making immediate shipments of all stores in Europe. A
merchant does not sustain a total loss of his goods by their
detention, but the public do. The service of the year must be
accomplished within the year, by such means as the year affords. The
detention of our goods has obliged me to purchase clothing and other
articles at a great expense, while those very things were lying about
at different places in Europe. I am sure that any demand made for
money on our part, must appear extraordinary, while we show so great
negligence of the property we possess. The funds, therefore, which
were obtained for the year 1781, are not only rendered useless during
the year 1781, but so far pernicious, as that the disposition of them
will naturally influence a diminution of the grants made for the year
1782.
You mention in yours of the 25th of June, that you would send enclosed
the account of the replacing of the Lafayette's cargo, if it could be
copied in season. As it did not arrive I shall expect it by the next
opportunity.
I have received Mr Grand's accounts, which are not settled in the
manner I wish; and in consequence I have written to him by this
opportunity to alter them. I have desired him to give your account
credit for every livre received previous to the current year,
including therein the loan of ten millions of livres in Holland,
though a part of it may not have been received until this year. I have
desired him to debit your account for every expenditure made by your
order, which will include all your acceptances of bills, &c. and of
course M. de Beaumarchais' bills, if they shall have been paid.
Finally, I have desired him to carry the balance of your account to
mine, in which he is to credit all moneys received for the current
year; for instance, the six millions (and the other six if they are
obtained) together with such moneys as may come to his hands, from the
loan opened for the United States, by Messrs Willink, Staphorst, & Co.
I did expect to have had some kind of adjustment made by this time of
Captain Gillon's affair; but Congress referred much of it to a
committee, with whom it has long slept; but I have informed Mr Gillon,
that I must have a settlement, and at present I wait a little for the
determination of Congress.
You mention to me, that the interest on the ten millions, Dutch loan,
is payable at Paris annually on the 5th of November, at four per cent.
I must request you to send me the particular details on this subject,
such as who it is payable to, and by whom, that I may make proper
arrangements for a punctual performance, so as not to incur
unnecessary expense. I presume that the first year's interest may be
discharged before this reaches you; but at any rate I enclose a letter
to Mr Grand, to prevent any ill consequences, which might arise from a
deficiency of payment.
I informed you, in mine of the 1st of July, that Congress had resolved
to appoint a Commissioner to settle the public accounts in Europe.
This is not done, but they have reconsidered and committed the
resolution. Where the thing will end, I do not know. I think, however,
that eventually they must send over some person for the purpose.
The appearances of peace have been materially disserviceable to us
here, and general cautions on the subject from Europe, and the most
pointed applications from the public officers, will not prevent that
lethargy, which the very name of peace extends through all the States.
I hope measures will be taken by our public Ministers in Europe, to
prevent the people from falling into the snares which the enemy has
laid. Undue security in opinion, is generally very hurtful in effect,
and I dread the consequences of it here, if the war is to be carried
on, which is not improbable.
I am, Sir, &c.
ROBERT MORRIS.
* * * * *
TO B. FRANKLIN.
Office of Finance, October 1st, 1782.
Sir,
In my letter of the 27th of September last I expressed my wish, "that
the Court of Spain should give orders for the shipment of a million of
dollars at the Havana, free of duties, and to be convoyed by one or
more ships of the line to an American port," &c. Upon further
reflection, I am induced to believe that the Court of Spain will not
go into the whole of this arrangement; for although they may, and
probably will, agree to so much of it as will procure them an
equivalent in France for the one million dollars, to be shipped from
the Havana, yet there are reasons to doubt whether they will convoy
the Washington hither. I wish, therefore, (should you meet with
difficulties in that quarter) to apply to the Court for such convoy. I
wish it may consist of a ship of the line, because none but frigates
will cruise on this coast during the winter, and therefore a ship of
the line will afford more protection than two or three frigates.
However, this will depend entirely on the convenience or inconvenience
which may attend the business. I shall communicate both this letter
and that of the 27th, to the Chevalier de la Luzerne, on whose
representations I rely much, as well for procuring the aid asked for,
as for accomplishing the necessary arrangements after it is procured.
I am, Sir, &c.
ROBERT MORRIS.
* * * * *
TO M. DE LA LUZERNE.
Office of Finance, October 2d, 1782.
Sir,
I have the honor to enclose for your Excellency's perusal, the copies
of letters from this office to Dr Franklin, of the 27th of last month
and the 1st instant. I am to entreat, Sir, that you will represent to
your Court the necessity of the application, which Congress have
directed their Minister to make for four millions of dollars. The
resolutions on the subject have, I suppose, been communicated to you
by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. I have, also, to request that you
will facilitate the arrangements proposed in my letters already
mentioned, the advantages of which are so well known to you that I
shall not dwell on them.
With real esteem and respect, &c.
ROBERT MORRIS.
* * * * *
TO ALEXANDER HAMILTON.
Office of Finance, October 5th, 1782.
Sir,
I have now before me your letters of the 14th and 21st of last month.
I am sorry to find that you are less sanguine in your pecuniary
expectations than the Governor appears to be; for I have always found
that the worst forebodings on this subject are the truest.
I am not surprised to find that the contractors apply with their
paper, in the first instance, to the receivers and collectors. This I
expected, because much of that paper is not fit for other purposes.
Some of it, however, which is payable to the bearer, is calculated
for circulation, which you observe, is not so general as otherwise it
might have been, by reason of the largeness of the sums in the notes.
Mr Duer's letters contain the same sentiment.
In issuing this paper, one principal view was to facilitate the
payment of taxes, by obviating the too general, though unjust,
complaint of the want of a circulating medium. In substituting paper
for specie, the first obstacle to be encountered, was the difference
which has arisen from the late profusion of it. Had a considerable
quantity been thrown into the hands of that class of people, whose
ideas on the subject of money are more the offspring of habit than of
reason, it must have depreciated. That this apprehension was just, is
clear from this fact, that the paper I first issued, and the bank
paper which came out after it, did depreciate from ten to fifteen per
cent in the Eastern States, notwithstanding all the precautions which
were used. If I had not taken immediate measures to create a demand
for it on the spot, and to stop issues to that quarter, its credit
would have been totally lost for a time, and not easily restored.
Besides that the quantities, which were pouring in from thence would
have done mischief here. Confidence is a plant of slow growth, and our
political situation is not too favorable to it. I am, therefore, very
unwilling to hazard the germ of a credit, which will in its greater
maturity become very useful. If my notes circulate only among
mercantile people, I do not regret it, but rather wish that the
circulation may be for the present confined to them and to the
wealthier members of the professions.
It is nothing but the greater convenience, which will induce people to
prefer any kind of paper to the precious metals, and this convenience
is principally felt in large sums. Whenever the shop-keepers in
general discover that my paper will answer as a remittance to the
principal ports, and will be readily exchanged by the receivers, they
will as readily exchange it for other people. When the people in
general, find that the shop-keepers receive it freely, they will begin
to look after it, and not before. For you must know, whatever fine
plausible speeches may be made on this subject, the farmers will not
give full credit to money merely because it will pay taxes, for that
is an object they are not very violently devoted to; but that money
that goes freely at the store and the tavern, will be sought after as
greedily as those things which the store and the tavern contain.
Still, however, your objection remains good, that the trafficking in
which the greater part of the community engage, do not require sums so
large as twenty dollars. This I shall readily acknowledge; but you
will observe, that there is infinitely less danger that notes, which
go only through the hands of intelligent people will be counterfeited,
than small ones that come to the possession of illiterate men. When
public credit is firmly established, the little shocks it receives
from the counterfeiters of paper money, do not lead to material
consequences; but in the present ticklish state of things, there is
just ground of apprehension. Besides this, the value of paper will
depend much upon the interchanges of it for specie; and these will not
take place when there is a circulation of small paper. Lastly, I have
to observe, that until more reliance can be placed on the revenues
required, I dare not issue any very considerable amount of this paper,
lest I should be run upon for more than I could answer; and as the
circulation of what I dare issue, by increasing the general mass,
enables people (as far as it goes) more easily to get hold of other
money, it consequently produces, in its degree, that object of
facilitating taxation, which I had in view.
I am, Sir, &c.
ROBERT MORRIS.
* * * * *
TO B. FRANKLIN.
Office of Finance, October 7th, 1782.
Sir,
Captain Barney having been detained until this day, and it being
probable that he will not arrive in Europe so early as I expected, I
am very doubtful whether it would be proper to send him to the Havana,
but think it would be better he should return immediately hither,
because it is likely that the negotiation I proposed will consume more
time than he can spare. His ship is small, but she sails remarkably
well, and will, therefore, give us a good chance of being well
informed of the situation of our affairs.
If there is likely to be any delay or difficulty in the Havana plan,
it will be best that you endeavor to obtain the shipment of a
considerable sum in Europe on board some of the King's frigates. At
any rate, we must have money, and I think you may venture fifty
thousand crowns by this vessel. You will see that Captain Barney is
put under your directions, and is to wait your instructions; but I
must at the same time inform you, that Congress have directed his ship
to be purchased and sent to France, among other things, for the
purpose of obtaining a better communication with their servants, and
more frequent and accurate intelligence from Europe. You will see,
therefore, the propriety of despatching her as speedily as possible,
and I think we may, probably, fall upon ways and means to afford you
frequent opportunities of writing with a great chance of security.
I am, Sir, &c.
ROBERT MORRIS.
* * * * *
TO GEORGE WASHINGTON.
Office of Finance, October 15th, 1782.
Sir,