PARIS, December 20, 1786.
DEAR SIR,--Colonel Franks will have the honor of delivering you the
treaty with the Emperor of Morocco, and all its appendages. You will
perceive, by Mr. Barclay's letter, that it is not necessary that any
body should go back to Morocco to exchange ratifications. He says,
however, that it will be necessary that Fennish receive some testimony
that we approve the treaty; and as, by the acts of Congress, our
signature is necessary to give validity to it, I have had duplicates of
ratifications prepared, which I have signed, and now send you. If you
approve and sign them, send one back to me to be forwarded to Fennish,
through Mr. Carmichael. Perhaps a joint letter should be written to
Fennish; if you think so, be so good as to write and sign one and send
it with the ratification, and I will sign and forward it. The other
ratification is to go to Congress. Colonel Franks wishes to proceed
with the papers to that body. He should do it, I think, immediately, as
Mr. Jay, in a letter to me of October 26th, says that Congress have
heard through the French Chargé des Affaires, that the treaty was
signed, and they wonder they have not heard it from us.
I enclose you a copy of a letter from Mr. Lambe, by which you will
perceive he does not propose to quit Alicant. I will forward the
resolution of Congress to Mr. Carmichael, which was enclosed in yours
of November 30th, to see if that will move him. As the turn of this
resolution admits a construction that Congress may think our original
appointment of him censurable, I have, as in justice I ought, in a
letter to Mr. Jay, taken on myself the blame of having proposed him to
you, if any blame were due. I have enclosed him a copy of my letter to
you of September 24, 1785. Mr. Barclay has proposed to go to Alicant to
settle Lambe's accounts, and asked to be strengthened with our
authority. If Lambe will obey the resolve of Congress, it will be
better to let him go and settle his account there. But if he will not
go back, perhaps it might not be amiss for Mr. Barclay to have
instructions from us to require a settlement, those instructions to be
used in that case only. If you think so, be so good as to write a joint
letter and send it to me. But this, if done at all, should be done
immediately. How much money has Lambe drawn? I have suggested to Mr.
Jay the expediency of putting the Barbary business into Carmichael's
hands, or sending somebody from America, in consideration of our
separate residence and our distance from the scene of negotiation.
I had seen, without alarm, accounts of the disturbances in the East.
But Mr. Jay's letter on the subject had really affected me. However,
yours sets me to rights. I can never fear that things will go far wrong
where common sense has fair play. I but just begin to use my pen a
little with my right hand, but with pain. Recommending myself,
therefore, to the friendship of Mrs. Adams, I must conclude here with
assurances of the sincere esteem of, dear Sir, your friend and servant.
P. S. Should a Mr. Maury, of Virginia, but now a merchant of Liverpool,
present himself to you, I recommend him to your notice, as my old
school-fellow, and a man of the most solid integrity.