5. On book debts, open accounts, or simple contracts. 3 Ch. Rep. 64.
Freem. Ch. Rep. 133. Dougl. 376.
6. For money lent without a note. 2 Stra. 910.
7. On an inland bill of exchange, if no protest is taken. 2 Stra. 910.
8. On a bond after 20 years. 2 Vern. 458, or after a tender.
9. On decrees in certain cases. Freem. Ch. Rep. 181.
10. On judgments in certain cases, as battery and slander. Freem. Ch. Rep.
37.
11. On any decrees or judgments in certain courts, as the exchequer
chamber. Douglass, 752.
12. On costs. 2 Abr. Eq. 530, 7.
And we may add, once for all, that there is no instrument or title to
debt, so formal and sacred, as to give a right to interest on it, under
all possible circumstances--the words of Lord Mansfield, Dougl. 753, where
he says: "That the question was, what was to be the rule for assessing
the _damage_, and that, in this case, the _interest_ ought to be the
_measure of the damage_, the action being for a _debt_, but that, in a
case of another sort, _the rule might be different_:" his words, Dougl.
376, "That interest might be payable in cases of delay, if a jury, _in
their discretion_, shall think fit to allow it." And the doctrine in Giles
v. Hart. 2 Salk. 622, that damages, or interest, are but an accessary to
the debt, which may be barred by circumstances, which do not touch the
debt itself, suffice to prove that interest is not a part of the debt,
neither comprehended in the thing, nor in the term; that words, which pass
the debt, do not give interest necessarily; that the interest _depends
altogether on the discretion of the judges and jurors_, who will govern
themselves by all existing circumstances, will take the legal interest
for the measure of their damages, or more or less, as they think right;
will give it from the date of the contract, or from a year after, or deny
it altogether, according as the fault or the sufferings of the one or
the other party shall dictate. Our laws are, generally, an adoption of
yours, and I do not know that any of the States have changed them in this
particular. But there is one rule of your and our law, which, while it
proves that every title of debt is liable to a disallowance of interest
under special circumstances, is so applicable to our case, that I shall
cite it as a text, and apply it to the circumstances of our case. It is
laid down in Vin. Abr. Interest. c. 7, and 2 Abr. Eq. 5293, and elsewhere,
in these words: "Where, by a _general and national calamity_, nothing is
made out of lands which are assigned for payment of interest, it ought not
to run on _during the time of such calamity_." This is exactly the case in
question. Can a more _general national calamity_ be conceived, than that
universal devastation which took place in many of these States during war?
Was it ever more exactly the case anywhere, _that nothing was made out of
the lands which were to pay the interest_? The produce of those lands, for
want of the opportunity of exporting it safely, was down to almost nothing
in real money, e. g. tobacco was less than a dollar the hundred weight.
Imported articles of clothing for consumption were from four to eight
times their usual price. A bushel of salt was usually sold for 100 lbs.
of tobacco. At the same time, these lands, and other property, in which
the money of the British creditor was vested, were paying high taxes for
their own protection, and the debtor, as nominal holder, stood ultimate
insurer of their value to the creditor, who was the real proprietor,
because they were bought with his money. And who will estimate the value
of this insurance, or say what would have been the forfeit, in a contrary
event of the war? Who will say that the risk of the property was not worth
the interest of its price? _General calamity_, then, prevented profit and,
consequently, stopped interest, which is in lieu of profit. The creditor
says, indeed, he has laid out of his money; he has therefore lost the
use of it. The debtor replies, that, if the creditor has lost, he has
not gained it; that this may be a question between two parties, both of
whom have lost. In that case, the courts will not double the loss of the
one, to save all loss from the other. That it is a rule of natural as
well as municipal law, that in questions "de damno evitando melior est
conditio possidentis." If this maxim be just, where each party is equally
innocent, how much more so, where the loss has been produced by the act
of the creditor? For, a nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and
every member of it is personally responsible for his society. It was the
act of the lender, or of his nation, which annihilated the profits of the
money lent; he cannot then demand profits which he either prevented from
coming into existence, or burnt, or otherwise destroyed, after they were
produced. If, then, there be no instrument, or title of debt so formal
and sacred as to give right to interest under all possible circumstances,
and if circumstances of exemption, stronger than in the present case,
cannot possibly be found, then no instrument or title of debt, however
formal or sacred, can give right to interest under the circumstances
of our case. Let us present the question in another point of view. Your
own law forbade the payment of interest, when it forbade the receipt of
American produce into Great Britain, and made that produce fair prize on
its way from the debtor to the creditor, or to any other, for his use of
reimbursement. All personal access between creditor and debtor was made
illegal; and the debtor, who endeavored to make a remitment of his debt,
or interest, must have done it three times, to answer its getting once to
hand; for two out of three vessels were generally taken by the creditor
nation, and, sometimes, by the creditor himself, as many of them turned
their trading vessels into privateers. Where no place has been agreed
on for the payment of a debt, the laws of England oblige the debtor to
seek his creditor wheresoever he is to be found _within the realm_--Coke
Lit. 210, b. but do not bind him to go out of the realm in search of him.
This is our law too. The first act, generally, of the creditors and their
agents here, was, to withdraw from the United States with their books and
papers. The creditor thus withdrawing from his debtor, so as to render
payment impossible, either of the principal or interest, makes it like
the common case of a tender and refusal of money, after which, interest
stops, both by your laws and ours. We see, too, from the letter of Mr.
Adams, June 16, 1786, No. 57, that the British Secretary for Foreign
Affairs was sensible that a British statute, having rendered criminal
all intercourse between the debtor and creditor, had placed the article
of interest on a different footing from the principal. And the letter of
our plenipotentiaries to Mr. Hartley, the British plenipotentiary, for
forming the definitive treaty, No. 58, shows, that the omission to express
_interest_ in the treaty, was not merely an oversight of the parties;
that its allowance was considered by our plenipotentiaries as a thing not
to be intended in the treaty, was declared against by Congress, and that
declaration communicated to Mr. Hartley. After such an explanation, the
omission is a proof of acquiescence, and an intention not to claim it. It
appears, then, that the _debt_ and _interest_ on that debt are separate
things in every country, and under separate rules. That, in every country,
a _debt_ is recoverable, while, in most countries, interest is refused
in all cases; in others, given or refused, diminished or augmented, at
the discretion of the judge; nowhere given in all cases indiscriminately,
and consequently nowhere so incorporated with the _debt_ as to pass with
that, _ex vi termini_, or otherwise to be considered as a determinate and
_vestat_ thing.
While the taking _interest on money_ has thus been considered, in some
countries, as morally wrong in all cases, in others made legally right
but in particular cases, the taking _profits from lands_, or rents in
lieu of profits, has been allowed everywhere, and at all times, both in
morality and law. Hence it is laid down as a general rule, Wolf, s. 229,
"Si quis fundum alienum possidet, domini est quantum valet usas fundi,
et possessoris quantum valet ejus cultura et cura."[18] But even in the
case of lands restored by a treaty, the _arrears_ of profits or rents are
never restored, unless they be particularly stipulated. "Si res vi pacis
restituendæ, restituendi quoque sunt fructus a die _concessionis_,"[19]
say Wolf, s. 1224; and Grotius, "cui pace res conceditur, ei et fructus
conceduntur à _tempore concessionis_: NON RETRO."[20] l. 3. c. 20. s.
22. To place the right to interest on money on a level with the right to
profits on land, is placing it more advantageously than has been hitherto
authorized; and if, as we have seen, a stipulation to restore lands does
not include a stipulation to restore the _back profits_, we may certainly
conclude, _à fortiori_, that the restitution of debts does not include an
allowance of _back interest_ on them.
These reasons, and others like these, have probably operated on the
different courts to produce decisions, that "no interest should run
during the time this general and national calamity lasted;" and they seem
sufficient at least to rescue their decisions from that flagrant denial
of right, which can alone authorize one nation to come forward with
complaints against the judiciary proceedings of another.
Sec. 55. The States have been uniform in the allowance of interest before
and since the war, but not of that claimed during the war. Thus we know by
[E. 1.] the case of Neate's executors _v._ Sands, in New York, and Mildred
_v._ Dorsey, in Maryland, that in those States interest during the war
is disallowed by the courts. By [D. 8.] 1784, May, the act relating to
debts due to persons who have been, and remained within the enemy's power
or lines during the late war. That Connecticut left it to their Court of
Chancery to determine the matter according to the rules of equity, or
to leave it to referees; by [E. 2.] the case of Osborn _v._ Mifflin's
executors, and [E. 3.] Hare _v._ Allen, explained in the letter of Mr.
Rawle, attorney of the United States, No. 59. And by the letter of Mr.
Lewis, judge of the district court of the United States, No. 60, that in
Pennsylvania the rule is, that where neither the creditor nor any agent
was within the State, no interest was allowed; where either remained, they
gave interest. In all the other States, I believe it is left discretionary
in the courts and juries. In Massachusetts the practice has varied. In
November, 1784, they instruct their Delegates in Congress to ask the
determination of Congress, whether they understood the word "debts" in
the treaty as including interest? and whether it is their opinion, that
interest during the war should be paid? and at the same time they pass
[D. 9.] the act directing the courts to suspend rendering judgment for any
interest that might have accrued between April 19, 1775, and January 20,
1783. But in 1787, when there was a general compliance enacted through
all the United States, in order to see if that would produce a counter
compliance, their Legislature passed the act repealing all laws repugnant
to the treaty, No. 33, and their courts, on their part, changed their rule
relative to interest during the war, which they have uniformly allowed
since that time. The Circuit Court of the United States, at their sessions
at ----, in 1790, determined in like manner that interest should be
allowed during the war. So that, on the whole, we see that, in one State
interest during the war is given in every case; in another it is given
wherever the creditor, or any agent for him, remained in the country, so
as to be accessible; in the others, it is left to the courts and juries
to decide according to their discretion and the circumstances of the case.
TO RECAPITULATE.
Sec. 56. I have, by way of preliminary, placed out of the present
discussion all acts and proceedings prior to the treaty of peace,
considering them as settled by that instrument, and that the then state
of things was adopted by the parties, with such alterations only as that
instrument provided.
I have then taken up the subsequent acts and proceedings, of which you
complain as infractions, distributing them according to their subjects,
to wit:
I. Exile and confiscations.
II. Debts.
III. Interest.
I. Exile and confiscations.
After premising, that these are lawful acts of war, I have shown that
the 5th article was _recommendatory_ only, its stipulations being, not to
_restore_ the confiscations and exiles, but to _recommend_ to the State
Legislatures to restore them:
That this word, having but one meaning, establishes the intent of the
parties; and moreover, that it was particularly explained by the American
negotiators, that the Legislatures would be free to comply with the
recommendation or not, and probably would not comply:
That the British _negotiators_ so understood it:
That the British _ministry_ so understood it:
And the members of both Houses of _Parliament_, as well those who
approved, as who disapproved the article.
I have shown, that Congress did recommend, earnestly and _bona fide_:
That the States refused or complied, in a greater or less degree,
according to circumstances, but more of them, and in a greater degree than
was expected:
And that compensation, by the British treasury, to British sufferers,
was the alternative of her own choice, our negotiators having offered to
do that, if she would compensate such losses as we had sustained by acts
authorized by the modern and moderate principles of war.
II. Before entering on the subject of debts, it was necessary--
1st. To review the British infractions, and refer them to their exact
dates.
To show that the carrying away of the negroes preceded the 6th of May,
1783.
That instead of evacuating the _upper posts with all convenient speed_,
no order had been received for the evacuation, August 13, 1783.
None had been received May 10, 1784.
None had been received July 13, 1784.
From whence I conclude none had ever been _given_,
And thence, that none had ever been _intended_.
In the latter case, this infraction would date from the signature of
the treaty. But founding it on the _not giving the order with convenient
speed_, it dates from April, 1783, when the order for evacuating New York
was given, as there can be no reason why it should have been inconvenient
to give this order as early.
The infraction, then, respecting the upper posts, was before the treaty
was known in America.
That respecting the negroes, was as soon as it was known.
I have observed that these infractions were highly injurious.
The first, by depriving us of our fur trade, profitable in itself, and
valuable as a means of remittance for paying the debts; by intercepting
our friendly and neighborly intercourse with the Indian nations, and
consequently keeping us in constant, expensive, and barbarous war with
them.
The second, by withdrawing the cultivators of the soil, the produce of
which was to pay the debts.
2d. After fixing the date of the British infractions, I have shown,
That, as they _preceded_, so they _produced_ the acts on our part
complained of, as obstacles to the recovery of the debts.
That when one party breaks any stipulation of a treaty, the other is free
to break it also, either in the whole, or in equivalent parts, at its
pleasure.
That Congress having made no elections,
Four of the States assumed, separately, to modify the recovery of debts--
1. By indulging their citizens with longer and more practicable times of
payment.
2. By liberating their bodies from execution, on their delivering property
to the creditor, to the full amount of his demand, on a fair appraisement,
as practised always under the elegit.
3. By admitting, during the first moments of the non-existence of coin
among us, a discharge of executions by payment in paper money.
The first of these acts of retaliation, was in December, 1783, nine months
after the infractions committed by the other party.
And all of them were so moderate, of so short duration, the result of
such necessities, and so produced, that we might, with confidence, have
referred them, _alterius principis, quo boni viri, arbitrio_.
3. That induced, at length, by assurances from the British court, that
they would concur in a fulfilment of the treaty,
Congress, in 1787, declared to the States its will, that even the
appearance of obstacle, raised by their acts, should no longer continue;
And required a formal repeal of every act of that nature; and to avoid
question, required it as well from those who had not, as from those who
had passed such acts; which was complied with so fully, that no such laws
remained in any State of the Union, except one;
And even that one could not have forborne, if any symptoms of compliance
from the opposite party had rendered a reiterated requisition from
Congress important.
4. That, indeed, the requiring such a repeal, was only to take away
pretext:
For, that it was at all times perfectly understood, that treaties
controlled the laws of the States--
The confederation having made them obligatory on the whole:
Congress having so declared and demonstrated them:
The Legislatures and Executives of most of the States having admitted it:
And the Judiciaries, both of the separate and General Governments, so
deciding.
That the courts are open everywhere upon this principle:
That the British creditors have, for some time, been in the habit and
course of recovering their debts at law:
That the class of separate and unsettled debts contracted before the war,
forms now but a small proportion of the original amount:
That the integrity and independence of the courts of justice in the United
States, are liable to no reproach:
Nor have popular tumults furnished any ground for suggesting, that either
courts or creditors are overawed by them in their proceedings.
III. Proceeding to the article of interest, I have observed:
That the decision, whether it shall or shall not be allowed _during the
war_, rests, by our constitution, with the courts altogether.
That if these have generally decided against the allowance, the reasons
of their decisions appear so weighty, as to clear them from the charge of
that palpable degree of wrong, which may authorize national complaint, or
give a right of refusing execution of the treaty, by way of reprisal.
To vindicate them, I have stated shortly, some of the reasons which
support their opinion.
That interest during the war, was not _expressly_ given by the treaty:
That the revival of debts did not, _ex vi termini_, give interest on them:
That interest is not a part of the debt, but damages for the detention of
the debt:
That it is disallowed habitually in most countries;
Yet has never been deemed a ground of national complaint against them:
That in England also, it was formerly unlawful in all cases:
That at this day it is denied there, in such a variety of instances, as
to protect from it a great part of the transactions of life:
That, in fact, there is not a single _title_ to debt, so formal
and sacred, as to give a right to _interest_, under all possible
circumstances, either there or here:
That of these circumstances, judges and jurors are to decide, _in their
discretion_, and are accordingly in the habit of augmenting, diminishing,
or refusing interest, in every case, according to their discretion:
That the circumstances against the allowance, are unquestionably of the
strongest in our case:
That a _great national calamity_ rendering the lands unproductive, which
were to pay the interest, has been adjudged a sufficient cause of itself,
to suspend interest:
That, were both plaintiff and defendant equally innocent of that cause,
The question, who should avoid loss? would be in favor of the party in
possession:
And, _à fortiori_, in his favor, where the calamity was produced by the
act of the demandant.
That, moreover, the laws of the party creditor had cut off the _personal_
access of his debtor,
And the transportation of his _produce or money_ to the country of the
creditor, or to any other for him:
And where the creditor prevents payment both of principal and interest,
the latter, at least, is justly extinguished.
That the _departure_ of the creditor, leaving no agent in the country of
the debtor, would have stopped interest of itself,
The debtor not being obliged to go out of the country to seek him.
That the British minister was heretofore sensible of the weight of the
objections to the claim of interest:
That the declarations of Congress and our plenipotentiaries, _previous to
the definitive treaty_, and the silence of that instrument, afford proof
that interest was not intended on our part, nor insisted on, on the other:
That, were we to admit interest on money, to equal favor with profits on
land, arrears of profits would not be demandable in the present case, nor
consequently arrears of interest:
And, on the whole, without undertaking to say what the law is, which is
not the province of the Executive,
We say, that the reasons of those judges, who deny interest during the
war, _appear sufficiently cogent_--
To account for their opinion on honest principles:
To exempt it from the charge of palpable and flagrant wrong, _in re minime
dubiâ_:
And to take away all pretence of withholding execution of the treaty, by
way of reprisal for that cause.
Sec. 57. I have now, sir, gone through the several acts and proceedings
enumerated in your appendix, as infractions of the treaty, omitting, I
believe, not a single one, as may be seen by a table hereto subjoined,
wherein every one of them, as marked and numbered in your appendix, is
referred to the section of this letter in which it is brought into view;
and the result has been, as you have seen--
1. That there was no absolute stipulation to restore _antecedent_
confiscations, and that none _subsequent_ took place:
2. That the recovery of the debts was obstructed _validly_ in none of
our States, _invalidly_ only in a few, and that not till long after the
infractions committed on the other side; and
3. That the decisions of courts and juries against the claims of interest
are too probably founded to give cause for questioning their integrity.
These things being evident, I cannot but flatter myself, after the
assurances received from you of his Britannic Majesty's desire to remove
every occasion of misunderstanding from between us, that an end will now
be put to the disquieting situation of the two countries, by as complete
execution of the treaty as circumstances render practicable at this late
day: that it is to be done so late has been the source of heavy losses,
of blood and treasure, to the United States. Still our desire of friendly
accommodation is, and has been, constant. No "_lawful impediment_ has
been opposed to the prosecution of the just rights of your citizens."
And if any instances of _unlawful_ impediment have existed in any of
the inferior tribunals, they would, like other unlawful proceedings,
have been overruled on appeal to the higher courts. If not overruled
there, a complaint to the Government would have been regular, and their
interference probably effectual. If your citizens would not prosecute
their rights, it was impossible they should recover them, or be denied
recovery; and till a denial of right through all the tribunals, there is
no ground for complaint; much less for a refusal to comply with solemn
stipulations, the execution of which is too important to us ever to
be dispensed with. These difficulties being removed from between the
two nations, I am persuaded the interests of both will be found in the
strictest friendship. The considerations which lead to it are too numerous
and forcible to fail of their effect; and that they may be permitted to
have their full effect, no one wishes more sincerely than he, who has the
honor to be, &c.[21]
FOOTNOTES:
[6] "The state in which things are found at the moment of the treaty,
should be considered as lawful; and if it is meant to make any change
init, the treaty must expressly mention it. Consequently, all things,
about which the treaty is silent, must remain in the state in which
they are found at its conclusion." Vattel, 1. 4. s. 21.
[7] "Those things of which nothing is said, remain in the state in
which they are." Wolf, 1222.
[8] Vattel, 1. 4, s. 24.--"The treaty of peace binds the _contracting
parties_ from the moment it is concluded, as soon as it has received
its whole form, and they ought immediately to have it executed. But
this treaty does not bind the _subjects_, but from the moment it is
notified to them." And s. 25.--"The treaty becomes, by its
_publication_, a law for the subjects, and they are obliged,
_thenceforward_, to conform themselvesto the stipulations therein
agreed on."
[9] "The paction of the peace binds the _contractors_ immediately, as
it is _perfect_, since the obligation is derived from the pact; but
the _subjects_ and soldiers, as soon as it is _published_ to them;
since _they cannot have certain evidence of it before its
publication_." Wolf, s. 1229.
[10] "Since it is a condition of war, that enemies may be deprived
of all their rights, it is reasonable that everything of an enemy's,
found among his enemies, should change its owner, and go to the
treasury. It is, moreover, usually directed, in all declarations
of war, that the goods of enemies, as well _those found among us_,
as those taken in war, shall beconfiscated. If we follow the mere
right of war, even _immovable_ property may be sold, and its price
carried into the treasury, as is the customwith movable property.
But in almost all Europe, it is only notified that their profits,
during the war, shall be received by the treasury; and the war being
ended, the immovable property itself is restored, by agreement,
to the former owner." Bynk. Ques. Jur. Pub. 1. 1, c. 7.
[11] "Lors qu'on n'a point marqué de terme pour l'accomplissement du
traité, et pour l'execution de chacun des articles, le bon sens dit
que chaque point doit être executé _aussitôt qu'il est possible_.
C'est sans doute ainsi qu'on l'a entendu."
[12] Instead of this, Fort Erie was, by error, inserted in my letter
of December 15.
[13] "If the obstacle be real, time must be given, for no one is
bound to an impossibility." Vattel l. 4, s. 51.
[14] "No one is bound beyond what he can do, and whether he can,
may be left to the decision of the other prince, as an honest man."
Bynk. Q. J. P. l. 2, c. 10.
[15] "What I have said of things in action being rightly confiscated
hold thus: If the prince really exacts from his subjects what they
owed to our enemies, if he shall have exacted it, it is rightfully
paid, if he shall not have exacted it, peace being made, the former
right of the creditor revives; accordingly, it is for the most part
agreed among nations, that things in action being confiscated in war,
the peace being made, those which were paid are deemed to have
perished and remain extinct; but those not paid, revive, and are
restored to their true creditors."--Bynk. Q. J. P. l. 1, c. 7.
[16] In a matter susceptible of no doubt.
[17] On account of the detention of the debt.
[18] "If any one is in possession of another's land, so much belongs
to the owner as the use of the land is worth, and so much to the
possessor as his labor and care are worth."
[19] "If things are to be restored by virtue of the peace, the
profits are also to be restored _from the day of the cession_."
[20] "To whomsoever a thing is conceded by the peace, to him
also the profits are conceded, _from the time of the concession_,
BUT NOT BACK."
[21] For documents referred to in this letter, see American
State Papers, Foreign Affairs, vol. ii., p. 216.
CIRCULAR TO THE AMERICAN CONSULS.
Philadelphia, May 31, 1792.
Sir,--Congress having closed their session on the 8th instant, I have
now the honor to forward you a copy of the laws passed thereat. One of
these, chapter twenty-four, will require your particular attention, as it
contains such regulations relative to the consular office, as it has been
thought proper to establish legislatively.
With respect to the security required by the sixth section, I would prefer
persons residing within the United States, where the party can procure
such to be his security. In this case, his own bond duly executed may be
sent to me, and his sureties here may enter into a separate bond. Where
the party cannot conveniently find sureties within the United States,
my distance and want of means of knowing their sufficiency, oblige
me to refer him to the minister or chargé des affaires of the United
States, within the same government, if there be one, and if not, then
to the minister of the United States, resident at Paris. The securities
which they shall approve, will be admitted as good. In like manner, the
account for their disbursements, authorized by this law (and no other
can be allowed), are to be settled at stated periods with the minister
or chargé within their residence, if there be one, if none, then with
the minister of the United States at Paris. The person who settles the
account is authorized to pay it. Our consuls in America are not meant to
be included in these directions as to securityship and the settlement
of their accounts, as their situation gives them a more convenient
communication with me. It is also recommended to the consuls to keep an
ordinary correspondence with the minister or chargé to whom they are thus
referred; but it would be also useful, if they could forward directly to
me, from time to time, the prices current of their place, and any other
circumstance which it might be interesting to make known to our merchants
without delay.
The prices of our funds have undergone some variations within the last
three months. The six per cents were pushed by gambling adventurers up to
twenty-six and a half, or twenty-seven and a half shillings the pound. A
bankruptcy having taken place among these, and considerably affected the
more respectable part of the paper holders, a greater quantity of paper
was thrown suddenly on the market than there was demand or money to take
up. The prices fell to nineteen shillings. This crisis has passed, and
they are getting up towards their value. Though the price of public paper
is considered as the barometer of the public credit, it is truly so only
as to the general average of prices. The real credit of the United States
depends on their ability, and the immutability of their will to pay their
debts. These were as evident when their paper fell to nineteen shillings,
as when it was at twenty-seven shillings. The momentary variation was
like that in the price of corn, or any other commodity, the result of a
momentary disproportion between the demand and supply.
The unsuccessful issue of our expedition against the savages the last
year, is not unknown to you. More adequate preparations are making for
the present year, and in the meantime, some of the tribes have accepted
peace, and others have expressed a readiness to do the same.
Another plentiful year has been added to those which had preceded it, and
the present bids fair to be equally so. A prosperity built on the basis of
agriculture is that which is most desirable to us, because to the efforts
of labor it adds the efforts of a greater proportion of soil. The checks,
however, which the commercial regulations of Europe have given to the
sale of our produce, have produced a very considerable degree of domestic
manufacture, which, so far as it is of the household kind, will doubtless
continue, and so far as it is more public, will depend on the continuance
or discontinuance of the European policy.
I am, with great esteem, Sir, your most obedient humble servant.
TO JOHN PAUL JONES.
Philadelphia, June 1, 1792.
Sir,--The President of the United States having thought proper to appoint
you commissioner for treating with the Dey and government of Algiers,
on the subjects of peace and ransom of our captives, I have the honor
to enclose you the commission, of which Mr. Thomas Pinckney, now on his
way to London as our Minister Plenipotentiary there, will be the bearer.
Supposing that there exists a disposition to thwart our negotiations with
the Algerines, and that this would be very practicable, we have thought
it advisable that the knowledge of this appointment should rest with the
President, Mr. Pinckney and myself; for which reason you will perceive,
that the commissions are all in my own hand writing. For the same reason,
entire secrecy is recommended to you, and that you so cover from the
public your departure and destination, as that they may not be conjectured
or noticed; and at the same time, that you set out after as short delay
as your affairs will possibly permit.
In order to enable you to enter on this business with full information,
it will be necessary to give you a history of what has passed.
On the 25th of July, 1785, the schooner Maria, Captain Stevens, belonging
to a Mr. Foster, of Boston, was taken off Cape St. Vincents, by an
Algerine cruiser; and five days afterwards, the ship Dauphin, Captain
O'Bryan, belonging to Messrs. Irwins, of Philadelphia, was taken by
another, about fifty leagues westward of Lisbon. These vessels, with
their cargoes and crews, twenty-one persons in number, were carried into
Algiers. Mr. John Lambe, appointed agent for treating of peace between
the United States and the government of Algiers, was ready to set out
from France on that business, when Mr. Adams and myself heard of these
two captures. The ransom of prisoners being a case not existing when
our powers were prepared, no provision had been made for it. We thought,
however, we ought to endeavor to ransom our countrymen, without waiting
for orders; but at the same time, that acting without authority, we
should keep within the lowest price which had been given by any other
nation. We therefore gave a supplementary instruction to Mr. Lambe to
ransom our captives, if it could be done for two hundred dollars a man,
as we knew that three hundred French captives had been just ransomed by
the Mathurins, at a price very little above this sum. He proceeded to
Algiers; but his mission proved fruitless. He wrote us word from thence,
that the Dey asked fifty-nine thousand four hundred and ninety-six dollars
for the twenty-one captives, and that it was not probable he would abate
much from that price. But he never intimated an idea of agreeing to
give it. As he has never settled the accounts of his mission, no further
information has been received. It has been said that he entered into a
positive stipulation with the Dey, to pay for the prisoners the price
above mentioned, or something near it; and that he came away with an
assurance to return with the money. We cannot believe the fact true; and
if it were, we disavow it totally, as far beyond his powers. We have never
disavowed it formally, because it has never come to our knowledge with
any degree of certainty.
In February, 1787, I wrote to Congress to ask leave to employ the
Mathurins of France in ransoming our captives; and on the 19th of
September, I received their orders to do so, and to call for the money
from our bankers at Amsterdam, as soon as it could be furnished. It was
long before they could furnish the money, and as soon as they notified
that they could, the business was put into train by the General of the
Mathurins, not with the appearance of acting for the United States,
or with their knowledge, but merely on the usual ground of charity.
This expedient was rendered abortive by the revolution of France, the
derangement of ecclesiastical orders there and the revocation of church
property, before any proposition, perhaps, had been made in form by the
Mathurins to the Dey of Algiers. I have some reason to believe that Mr.
Eustace, while in Spain, endeavored to engage the court of Spain to employ
their Mathurins in this business; but whether they actually moved in it
or not, I have never learned.
We have also been told, that a Mr. Simpson of Gibraltar, by the direction
of the Messrs. Bulkeleys of Lisbon, contracted for the ransom of our
prisoners (then reduced by death and ransom to fourteen) at thirty-four
thousand seven hundred and ninety-two dollars. By whose orders they did
it, we could never learn. I have suspected it was some association in
London, which, finding the prices far above their conception, did not go
through with their purpose, which probably had been merely a philanthropic
one. Be this as it may, it was without our authority or knowledge.
Again, Mr. Cathalan, our consul at Marseilles, without any instruction
from the government, and actuated merely, as we presume, by willingness
to do something agreeable, set on foot another negotiation for their
redemption; which ended in nothing.
These several volunteer interferences, though undertaken with good
intentions, run directly counter to our plan; which was, to avoid the
appearance of any purpose on our part ever to ransom our captives, and
by that semblance of neglect, to reduce the demands of the Algerines to
such a price, as might make it hereafter less their interest to pursue
our citizens than any others. On the contrary, they have supposed all
these propositions directly or indirectly came from us; they inferred from
thence the greatest anxiety on our part, where we had been endeavoring to
make them suppose there was none; kept up their demands for our captives
at the highest prices ever paid by any nation; and thus these charitable,
though unauthorized interpositions, have had the double effect of
strengthening the chains they were meant to break, and making us at last
set a much higher rate of ransom for our citizens, present and future,
than we probably should have obtained, if we had been left alone to do
our own work in our own way. Thus stands this business then at present.
A formal bargain, as I am informed, being registered in the books of the
former Dey, on the part of the Bulkeleys of Lisbon, which they suppose
to be obligatory on us, but which is to be utterly disavowed, as having
never been authorized by us, nor its source even known to us.
In 1790, this subject was laid before Congress fully, and at the late
session, moneys have been provided, and authority given to proceed to the
ransom of our captive citizens at Algiers, provided it shall not exceed
a given sum, and provided also, a peace shall be previously negotiated
within certain limits of expense. And in consequence of these proceedings,
your mission has been decided on by the President.
Since, then, no _ransom_ is to take place without a _peace_, you will of
course take up first the negotiation of peace; or, if you find it better
that peace and ransom should be treated of together, you will take care
that no agreement for the latter be concluded, unless the former be
established before or in the same instant.
As to the conditions, it is understood that no peace can be made with
that government, but for a larger sum of money to be paid at once for the
whole time of its duration, or for a smaller one to be annually paid.
The former plan we entirely refuse, and adopt the latter. We have also
understood that peace might be bought cheaper with naval stores than with
money; but we will not furnish them with naval stores, because we think
it not right to furnish them means which we know they will employ to do
wrong, and because there might be no economy in it as to ourselves, in the
end, as it would increase the expenses of that coercion which we may in
future be obliged to practise towards them. The only question then, is,
what sum of _money_ will we agree to pay them _annually_, for peace? By a
letter from Captain O'Bryan, a copy of which you will receive herewith,
we have his opinion that a peace could be purchased with _money_, for
sixty thousand pounds sterling, or with _naval stores_, for one hundred
thousand dollars. An annual payment equivalent to the first, would be
three thousand pounds sterling, or thirteen thousand and five hundred
dollars, the interest of the sum in gross. If we could obtain it for as
small a sum as the second, in _money_, the annual payment equivalent to
it would be five thousand dollars. In another part of the same letter,
Captain O'Bryan says, "if maritime stores and two light cruisers be given,
and a tribute paid in maritime stores every two years, amounting to twelve
thousand dollars in America," a peace can be had. The gift of stores
and cruisers here supposed, converted into an annual equivalent, may be
stated at nine thousand dollars, and adding to it half the biennial sum,
would make fifteen thousand dollars, to be annually paid. You will, of
course, use your best endeavors to get it at the lowest sum practicable;
whereupon I shall only say, that we should be pleased with ten thousand
dollars, contented with fifteen thousand, think twenty thousand a very
hard bargain, yet go as far as twenty-five thousand, if it be impossible
to get it for less; but not a copper further, this being fixed by law as
the utmost limit. These are meant as annual sums. If you can put off the
first annual payment to the end of the first year, you may employ any
sum not exceeding that, in presents to be paid down; but if the first
payment is to be made in hand, that and the presents cannot by law exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars.
And here we meet a difficulty, arising from the small degree of
information we have respecting the Barbary States. Tunis is said to
be tributary to Algiers. But whether the effect of this be, that peace
being made with Algiers, is of course with the Tunisians without separate
treaty, or separate price, is what we know not. If it be possible to have
it placed on this footing, so much the better. In any event, it will be
necessary to stipulate with Algiers, that her influence be interposed
as strongly as possible with Tunis, whenever we shall proceed to treat
with the latter; which cannot be till information of the event of your
negotiation, and another session of Congress.
As to the articles and form of the treaty in general, our treaty with
Morocco was so well digested that I enclose you a copy of that, to be the
model with Algiers, as nearly as it can be obtained, only inserting the
clause with respect to Tunis.
The ransom of the captives is next to be considered. They are now thirteen
in number; to wit, Richard O'Bryan and Isaac Stevens, captains, Andrew
Montgomery and Alexander Forsyth, mates, Jacob Tessanier, a French
passenger, William Patterson, Philip Sloan, Peleg Lorin, James Hall,
James Cathcart, George Smith, John Gregory, James Hermit, seamen. It has
been a fixed principle with Congress, to establish the rate of ransom of
American captives with the Barbary States at as low a point as possible,
that it may not be the interest of those States to go in quest of our
citizens in preference to those of other countries. Had it not been for
the danger it would have brought on the residue of our seamen, by exciting
the cupidity of those rovers against them, our citizens now in Algiers
would have been long ago redeemed, without regard to price. The mere money
for this particular redemption neither has been, nor is, an object with
anybody here. It is from the same regard to the safety of our seamen at
large, that they have now restrained us from any ransom unaccompanied
with peace. This being secured, we are led to consent to terms of ransom,
to which, otherwise, our government never would have consented; that is
to say, to the terms stated by Captain O'Bryan in the following passage
of the same letter: "By giving the minister of the marine (the present
Dey's favorite) the sum of one thousand sequins, I would stake my life
that we would be ransomed for thirteen thousand sequins, and all expenses
included." Extravagant as this sum is, we will, under the security of
peace in future, go so far; not doubting, at the same time, that you
will obtain it as much lower as possible, and not indeed without a hope
that a lower ransom will be practicable, from the assurances given us in
other letters from Captain O'Bryan, that prices are likely to be abated
by the present Dey, and particularly with us, towards whom he has been
represented as well disposed. You will consider this sum, therefore, say
twenty-seven thousand dollars, as your ultimate limit, including ransom,
duties, and gratifications of every kind.
As soon as the ransom is completed, you will be pleased to have the
captives well clothed and sent home at the expense of the United States,
with as much economy as will consist with their reasonable comfort. It
is thought best, that Mr. Pinckney, our minister at London, should be the
confidential channel of communication between us. He is enabled to answer
your drafts for money within the limits before expressed; and as this will
be by re-drawing on Amsterdam, you must settle with him the number of days
_after sight_, at which your bills shall be payable in London, so as to
give him time, in the meanwhile, to draw the money from Amsterdam.
We shall be anxious to know as soon and as often as possible, your
prospects in these negotiations. You will receive herewith a cypher, which
will enable you to make them with safety. London and Lisbon (where Colonel
Humphreys will forward my letters) will be the safest and best ports of
communication. I also enclose two separate commissions, for the objects
of peace and ransom. To these is added a commission to you as consul for
the United States, at Algiers, on the possibility that it might be useful
for you to remain there till the ratification of the treaties shall be
returned from hence; though you are not to delay till their return the
sending the captives home, nor the necessary payments of money within the
limits before prescribed. Should you be willing to remain there, even
after the completion of the business, as consul for the United States,
you will be free to do so, giving me notice, that no other nomination
may be made. These commissions, being issued during the recess of the
Senate, are in force, by the Constitution, only till the next session of
the Senate. But their renewal then is so much a matter of course and of
necessity, that you may consider that as certain, and proceed without any
interruption. I have not mentioned this in the commissions, because it is
in all cases surplusage, and because it might be difficult of explanation
to those to whom you are addressed.
The allowance for all your expenses and time (exclusive of the ransom,
price of peace, duties, presents, maintenance and transportation of the
captives) is at the rate of two thousand dollars a year, to commence
from the day on which you shall set out for Algiers, from whatever place
you may take your departure. The particular objects of peace and ransom
once out of the way, the two thousand dollars annually are to go in
satisfaction of time, services, and expenses of every kind, whether you
act as consul or commissioner.
As the duration of this peace cannot be counted on with certainty, and we
look forward to the necessity of coercion by cruises on their coast, to
be kept up during the whole of their cruising season, you will be pleased
to inform yourself, as minutely as possible, of every circumstance which
may influence or guide us in undertaking and conducting such an operation,
making your communications by safe opportunities.
I must recommend to your particular notice, Captain O'Bryan, one of the
captives, from whom we have received a great deal of useful information.
The zeal which he has displayed under the trying circumstances of
his present situation, has been very distinguished. You will find him
intimately acquainted with the manner in which, and characters with whom
business is to be done there, and perhaps he may be an useful instrument
to you, especially in the outset of your undertaking, which will require
the utmost caution and the best information. He will be able to give you
the characters of the European consuls there, though you will, probably,
not think it prudent to repose confidence in any of them.
Should you be able successfully to accomplish the objects of your mission
in time to convey notice of it to us as early as possible during the next
session of Congress, which meets in the beginning of November and rises
the 4th of March, it would have a very pleasant effect.
I am, with great esteem, Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.
TO MR. MADISON.
Philadelphia, June 4, 1792.
Dear Sir,--I wrote you on the 1st inst., which I will call No. 1, and
number my letters in future that you may know when any are missing. Mr.
Hammond has given me an answer in writing, saying, he must send my letter
to his court and wait their instructions. On this I desired a personal
interview, that we might consider the matter together in a familiar way.
He came accordingly, yesterday, and took a solo dinner with me, during
which our conversation was full, unreserved, and of a nature to inspire
mutual confidence. The result was that he acknowledged explicitly that his
country had hitherto heard one side of the question only, and that from
prejudiced persons, that it was now for the first time discussed, that it
was placed on entirely new ground, his court having no idea of a charge of
first infractions on them, and a justification on that ground of what had
been done by our States, that this made it quite a new case to which no
instructions he had could apply. He found, from my expressions, that I had
entertained an idea of his being able to give an order to the Governor of
Canada to deliver up the posts, and smiled at the idea; and it was evident
from his conversation that it had not at all entered into the expectations
of his court that they were to deliver up the posts. He did not say so
expressly, but he said that they considered the retaining of the posts as
a very imperfect compensation for the losses their subjects had sustained;
under the cover of the clause of the treaty which admits them to the
navigation of the Mississippi, and the evident mistake of the negotiators
in supposing that a line due west from the Lake of the Woods would strike
the Mississippi, he suppose an explanatory convention necessary, and
showed a desire that such a slice of our Northwestern Territory might be
cut off for them as would admit them to the navigation and profit of the
Mississippi, &c., &c. He expects he can have his final instructions by
the meeting of Congress. I have not yet had the conversation mentioned in
my last. Do you remember that you were to leave me a list of names? Pray
send them to me. My only view is that, if the P. asks me for a list of
particulars, I may enumerate names to him, without naming my authority,
and show him that I had not been speaking merely at random. If we do not
have our conversation before, I can make a comparative table of the debts
and numbers of all modern nations. I will show him how high we stand
indebted by the poll in that table. I omitted Hammond's admission that the
debt from the Potowmac North might be considered as liquidated, that that
of Virginia was now the only great object, and cause of anxiety, amounting
to two millions sterling. Adieu. Yours, affectionately.
TO THOMAS BARCLAY, ESQUIRE.
Philadelphia, June 11, 1792.
Sir,--Congress having furnished me with means for procuring peace, and
ransoming our captive citizens from the government of Algiers, I have
thought it best, while you are engaged at Morocco, to appoint Admiral
Jones to proceed to Algiers, and therefore have sent him a commission for
establishing peace, another for the ransom of our captives, and a third
to act there as consul for the United States, and full instructions are
given in a letter from the Secretary of State to him, of all which papers,
Mr. Pinckney, now proceeding to London as our Minister Plenipotentiary
there, is the bearer, as he is also of this letter. It is some time,
however, since we have heard of Admiral Jones, and as in the event of any
accident to him, it might occasion an injurious delay, were the business
to await new commissions from hence, I have thought it best in such an
event, that Mr. Pinckney should forward to you all the papers addressed to
Admiral Jones, with this letter, signed by myself, giving you authority on
receipt of those papers, to consider them addressed to you, and to proceed
under them in every respect as if your name stood in each of them in the
place of that of John Paul Jones. You will of course finish the business
of your mission to Morocco with all the dispatch practicable, and then
proceed to Algiers on that hereby confided to you, where this letter,
with the commissions addressed to Admiral Jones, and an explanation of
circumstances, will doubtless procure you credit as acting in the name
and on the behalf of the United States, and more especially when you shall
efficaciously prove your authority by the fact of making on the spot, the
payments you shall stipulate. With full confidence in the prudence and
integrity with which you will fulfill the objects of the present mission,
I give to this letter the effect of a commission and full powers, by
hereunto subscribing my name, this eleventh day of June, one thousand
seven hundred and ninety-two.
TO MR. PINCKNEY.
Philadelphia, June 11, 1792.
Dear Sir,--I have already had the honor of delivering to you your
commission as Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States at the court
of London, and have now that of enclosing your letter of credence to the
King, sealed, and a copy of it open for your own information. Mr. Adams,
your predecessor, seemed to understand, on his being presented to that
court, that a letter was expected for the Queen also. You will be pleased
to inform yourself whether the custom of that court requires this from
us: and to enable you to comply with it, if it should, I enclose a letter
sealed for the Queen, and a copy of it open for your own information.
Should its delivery not be requisite you will be so good as to return
it, as we do not wish to set a precedent which may bind us hereafter
to a single unnecessary ceremony. To you, Sir, it will be unnecessary
to undertake a general delineation of the duties of the office to which
you are appointed. I shall therefore only express a desire that they be
constantly exercised in that spirit of sincere friendship which we bear to
the English nation, and that in all transactions with the minister, his
good dispositions be conciliated by whatever in language or attentions
may tend to that effect. With respect to their government, or policy, as
concerning themselves or other nations, we wish not to intermeddle in word
or deed, and that it be not understood that our government permits itself
to entertain either a will or opinion on the subject.
I particularly recommend to you, as the most important of your charges,
the patronage of our commerce, and its liberation from embarrassments
in all the British dominions; but most especially in the West Indies.
Our consuls in Great Britain and Ireland are under general instructions
to correspond with you, as you will perceive by a copy of a circular
letter lately written to them, and now enclosed. From them you may often
receive interesting information. Mr. Joshua Johnson is consul for us at
London, James Maury, at Liverpool, Elias Vanderhorst, at Bristol, Thomas
Auldjo, vice-consul at Pool (resident at Cowes), and William Knox, consul
at Dublin. The jurisdiction of each is exclusive and independent, and
extends to all places within the same allegiance nearer to him than to
the residence of any other consul or vice-consul of the United States. The
settlement of their accounts from time to time, and the payment of them,
are referred to you, and in this, the act respecting consuls and any other
laws made, or to be made, are to be your guide. Charges which these do
not authorize, you will be pleased not to allow. These accounts are to be
settled up to the first day of July in every year, and to be transmitted
to the Secretary of State.
The peculiar custom in England, of impressing seamen on every appearance
of war, will occasionally expose our seamen to peculiar oppressions and
vexations. These will require your most active exertions and protection,
which we know cannot be effectual without incurring considerable expense;
and as no law has as yet provided for this, we think it fairer to take
the risk of it on the executive than to leave it on your shoulders. You
will, therefore, with all due economy, and on the best vouchers the nature
of the case will admit, meet those expenses, transmitting an account of
them to the Secretary of State, to be communicated to the Legislature.
It will be expedient that you take proper opportunities in the meantime,
of conferring with the minister on this subject, in order to form some
arrangement for the protection of our seamen on those occasions. We
entirely reject the mode which was the subject of a conversation between
Mr. Morris and him, which was, that our seamen should always carry about
them certificates of their citizenship. This is a condition never yet
submitted to by any nation, one with which seamen would never have the
precaution to comply; the casualties of their calling would expose them
to the constant destruction or loss of this paper evidence, and thus,
the British government would be armed with _legal authority_ to impress
the whole of our seamen. The simplest rule will be, that the vessel
being American, shall be evidence that the seamen on board her are such.
If they apprehend that our vessels might thus become asylums for the
fugitives of their own nation from impress-gangs, the number of men to
be protected by a vessel may be limited by her tonnage, and one or two
officers only be permitted to enter the vessel in order to examine the
numbers on board; but no press-gang should be allowed ever to go on board
an American vessel, till after it shall be found that there are more than
their stipulated number on board, nor till after the master shall have
refused to deliver the supernumeraries (to be named by himself) to the
press-officer who has come on board for that purpose; and even then, the
American consul should be called in. In order to urge a settlement of this
point, before a new occasion may arise, it may not be amiss to draw their
attention to the peculiar irritation excited on the last occasion, and
the difficulty of avoiding our making immediate reprisals on their seamen
here. You will be so good as to communicate to me what shall pass on this
subject, and it may be made an article of convention, to be entered into
either there or here.
You will receive herewith a copy of the journals of the ancient Congress,
and of the laws, journals and reports of the present. Those for the
future, with gazettes and other interesting papers, shall be sent you
from time to time; and I shall leave you generally to the gazettes, for
whatever information is in possession of the public, and shall especially
undertake to communicate by letter, such only relative to the business
of your mission as the gazetteers cannot give. From you I ask, once or
twice a month, a communication of interesting occurrences in England,
of the general affairs of Europe, the court gazette, the best paper in
the interest of the ministry and the best of the opposition party, most
particularly, that one of each which shall give the best account of the
debates of parliament, the parliamentary register annually, and such
other political publications as may be important enough to be read by one
who can spare little time to read anything, or which may contain matter
proper to be kept and turned to, on interesting subjects and occasions.
The English packet is the most certain channel for such epistolary
communications as are not very secret, and intermediate occasions by
private vessels may be resorted to for secret communications, and for such
as would come too expensively burthened with postage, by the packets. You
are furnished with a cypher for greater secrecy of communication. To the
papers before mentioned, I must desire you to add the Leyden gazette,
paper by paper as it comes out, by the first vessel sailing after its
receipt.
I enclose you the papers in the case of a Mr. Wilson, ruined by the
capture of his vessel, after the term limited by the armistice. They will
inform you of the circumstances of his case, and where you may find him
personally, and I recommend his case to your particular representations
to the British court. It is possible that other similar cases may be
transmitted to you. You have already received some letters of Mr. Adams'
explanations of the principles of the armistice, and of what had passed
between him and the British minister on the subject.
Mr. Greene, of Rhode Island, will deliver you his papers, and I am to
desire that you may patronize his claims so far as shall be just and
right, leaving to himself and his agent to follow up the minute details of
solicitation, and coming forward yourself only when there shall be proper
occasion for you to do so in the name of your nation.
Mr. Cutting has a claim against the government, vouchers for which he is
to procure from England. As you are acquainted with the circumstances of
it, I have only to desire that you will satisfy yourself as to the facts
relative thereto, the evidence of which cannot be transmitted, and that
you will communicate the same to me, that justice may be done between the
public and the claimant.
We shall have occasion to ask your assistance in procuring a workman or
two for our mint; but this shall be the subject of a separate letter,
after I shall have received more particular explanations from the director
of the mint.
I have the honor to be, with great and sincere esteem, dear Sir, your most
obedient, and most humble servant.
TO THOMAS PINCKNEY.
Philadelphia, June 11, 1792.
Sir,--The letter I have addressed to Admiral Jones, of which you have
had the perusal, has informed you of the mission with which the President
has thought proper to charge him at Algiers, and how far your agency is
desired for conveying to him the several papers, for receiving and paying
his drafts to the amount therein permitted, by re-drawing yourself on
our bankers in Amsterdam who are instructed to honor your bills, and by
acting as a channel of correspondence between us. It has been some time,
however, since we have heard of Admiral Jones. Should any accident have
happened to his life, or should you be unable to learn where he is, or
should distance, refusal to act, or any other circumstance deprive us of
his services on this occasion, or be likely to produce too great a delay,
of which you are to be the judge, you will then be pleased to send all
the papers confided to you for him, to Mr. Thomas Barclay, our consul at
Morocco, with the letter addressed to him, which is delivered you open,
and by which you will perceive that he is, in that event, substituted
to every intent and purpose in the place of Admiral Jones. You will be
pleased not to pass any of the papers confided to you on this business,
through any post office.
I have the honor to be, with great and sincere esteem, Sir, your most
obedient humble servant.
TO MR PINCKNEY.
Philadelphia, June 14, 1792.
Sir,--The United States being now about to establish a mint, it becomes
necessary to ask your assistance in procuring persons to carry on some
parts of it; and to enable you to give it, you must be apprised of some
facts.
Congress, some time ago, authorized the President to take measures for
procuring some artists from any place where they were to be had. It was
known that a Mr. Drost, a Swiss, had made an improvement in the method
of coining, and some specimens of his coinage were exhibited here, which
were superior to anything we had ever seen. Mr. Short was, therefore,
authorized to engage Drost to come over, to erect the proper machinery,
and instruct persons to go on with the coinage; and as he supposed this
would require about a year, we agreed to give him a thousand louis a year
and his expenses. The agreement was made, two coining mills, or screws,
were ordered by him; but in the end, he declined coming. We have reason to
believe he was drawn off by the English East India Company, and that he is
now at work for them in England. Mr. Bolton had also made a proposition
to coin for us in England, which was declined. Since this, the act has
been passed for establishing our mint, which authorizes, among other
things, the employment of an assayer at fifteen hundred dollars a year,
a chief coiner at the same, and an engraver at twelve hundred dollars.
But it admits of the employment of one person, both as engraver and chief
coiner; this we expect may be done, as we presume that any engraver who
has been used to work for a coinage, must be well enough acquainted with
all the operations of coinage to direct them; and it is an economy worth
attention, if we can have the services performed by one officer instead
of two, in which case, it is proposed to give him the salary of the chief
coiner, that is to say, fifteen hundred dollars a year. I have, therefore,
to request that you will endeavor, on your arrival in Europe, to engage
and send us an assayer of approved skill and well-attested integrity,
and a chief coiner and engraver, in one person, if possible, acquainted
with all the improvements in coining, and particularly those of Drost
and Bolton. Their salaries may commence from the day of their sailing
for America. If Drost be in England, I think he will feel himself under
some obligation to aid you in procuring persons. How far Bolton will do
it, seems uncertain. You will, doubtless, make what you can of the good
dispositions of either of these or any other person. Should you find it
impracticable to procure an engraver capable of performing the functions
of chief coiner also, we must be content that you engage separate
characters. Let these persons bring with them all the implements necessary
for carrying on the business, except such as you shall think too bulky
and easily made here. It would be proper, therefore, that they should
consult you as to the necessary implements and their prices, that they may
act under your control. The method of your paying for these implements
and making reasonable advances to the workmen, shall be the subject of
another letter, after the President shall have decided thereon. It should
be a part of the agreement of these people, that they will faithfully
instruct all persons in their art, whom we shall put under them for that
purpose. Your contract with them, may be made for any term not exceeding
four years.
I have the honor to be, with great and much esteem, dear Sir, your most
obedient, and most humble servant.
P. S. Should you not be able to procure persons of eminent qualifications
for their business, in England, it will be proper to open a correspondence
with Mr. Morris on the subject, and see whether he cannot get such
from France. Next to the obtaining the ablest artists, a very important
circumstance is to send them to us as soon as possible.
TO GOUVERNEUR MORRIS.
Philadelphia, June 16, 1792.
Dear Sir,--My last to you was of March the 28th. Yours of April the 6th
and 10th came to hand three days ago.
With respect to the particular objects of commerce susceptible of being
placed on a better footing, on which you ask my ideas, they will show
themselves by the enclosed table of the situation of our commerce with
France and England. That with France is stated as it stood at the time
I left that country, when the only objects whereon change was still
desirable, were those of salted provisions, tobacco and tar, pitch and
turpentine. The first was in negotiation when I came away, and was pursued
by Mr. Short with prospects of success, till their general tariff so
unexpectedly deranged our commerce with them as to other articles. Our
commerce with their West Indies had never admitted amelioration during
my stay in France. The temper of that period did not allow even the
essay, and it was as much as we could do to hold the ground given us by
the Marshal de Castries' _Arret_, admitting us to their colonies with
salted provisions, &c. As to both these branches of commerce, to wit,
with France and her colonies, we have hoped they would pursue their own
proposition of arranging them by treaty, and that we could draw that
treaty to this place. There is no other where the dependence of their
colonies on our States for their prosperity is so obvious as here, nor
where their negotiator would feel it so much. But it would be imprudent
to leave to the uncertain issue of such a treaty, the re-establishment
of our commerce with _France_ on the footing on which it was in the
beginning of their revolution. That treaty may be long on the anvil; in
the meantime, we cannot consent to the late innovations, without taking
measures to do justice to our own navigation. This object, therefore, is
particularly recommended to you, while you will also be availing yourself
of every opportunity which may arise, of benefiting our commerce in any
other part. I am in hopes you will have found the moment favorable on your
arrival in France, when Monsieur Claviere was in the ministry, and the
dispositions of the National Assembly favorable to the ministers. Your
cypher has not been sent hitherto, because it required a most confidential
channel of conveyance. It is now committed to Mr. Pinckney, who also
carries the gazettes, laws, and other public papers for you. We have been
long without any vessel going to Havre. Some of the Indian tribes have
acceded to terms of peace. The greater part, however, still hold off,
and oblige us to pursue more vigorous measures for war. I enclose you an
extract from a circular letter to our consuls, by which you will perceive
that those in countries where we have no diplomatic representative, are
desired to settle their accounts annually with the minister of the United
States at Paris. This business, I must desire you to undertake. The act
concerning consuls will be your guide, and I shall be glad that the first
of July be the day to which their accounts shall be annually settled and
paid, and that they may be forwarded as soon after that as possible to
the office of the Secretary of State, to enter into the general account
of his department, which it is necessary he should make up always before
the meeting of Congress.
I am, with great and sincere esteem, dear Sir, your most obedient, and
most humble servant.
P. S. I have said nothing of our whale oil, because I believe it is on a
better footing since the tariff than before.
TO M. DE LA FAYETTE.
Philadelphia, June 16, 1792.
Behold you, then, my dear friend, at the head of a great army establishing
the liberties of your country against a foreign enemy. May heaven favor
your cause, and make you the channel through which it may pour its
favors. While you are estimating the monster Aristocracy, and pulling out
the teeth and fangs of its associate, Monarchy, a contrary tendency is
discovered in some here. A sect has shown itself among us, who declare
they espoused our new Constitution not as a good and sufficient thing in
itself, but only as a step to an English constitution, the only thing
good and sufficient in itself, in their eye. It is happy for us that
these are preachers without followers, and that our people are firm and
constant in their republican purity. You will wonder to be told that it
is from the eastward chiefly that these champions for a king, lords, and
commons, come. They get some important associates from New York, and are
puffed up by a tribe of Agioteurs which have been hatched in a bed of
corruption made up after the model of their beloved England. Too many
of these stock-jobbers and king-jobbers have come into our Legislature,
or rather too many of our Legislature have become stock-jobbers and
king-jobbers. However, the voice of the people is beginning to make itself
heard, and will probably cleanse their seats at the ensuing election.
The machinations of our old enemies are such as to keep us still at
bay with our Indian neighbors. What are you doing for your colonies?
They will be lost, if not more effectually succored. Indeed, no future
efforts you can make will ever be able to reduce the blacks. All that
can be done, in my opinion, will be to compound with them, as has been
done formerly in Jamaica. We have been less zealous in aiding them, lest
your government should feel any jealousy on our account. But, in truth,
we as sincerely wish their restoration and their connection with you, as
you do yourselves. We are satisfied that neither your justice nor their
distresses will ever again permit their being forced to seek at dear and
distant markets those first necessaries of life which they may have at
cheaper markets, placed by nature at their door, and formed by her for
their support. What is become of Madame de Tessy and Madame de Tott? I
have not heard of them since they went to Switzerland. I think they would
have done better to have come and reposed under the poplars of Virginia.
Pour into their bosoms the warmest effusions of my friendship, and tell
them they will be warm and constant unto death. Accept of them also for
Madame de La Fayette, and your dear children; but I am forgetting that
you are in the field of war, and they I hope in those of peace. Adieu, my
dear friend. God bless you all. Yours affectionately.
TO MR. BARLOW.
Philadelphia, June 20, 1792.
Dear Sir,--Though I am in hopes you are now on the ocean home-bound, yet
I cannot omit the chance of my thanks reaching you, for your "Conspiracy
of Kings" and advice to the privileged orders, the second part of which I
am in hopes is out by this time. Be assured that your endeavors to bring
the trans-Atlantic world into the road of reason, are not without their
effect here. Some here are disposed to move retrograde, and to take their
stand in the rear of Europe, now advancing to the high ground of natural
right; but of all this your friend Mr. Baldwin gives you information, and
doubtless paints to you the indignation with which the heresies of some
people here fill us.
This will be conveyed by Mr. Pinckney, an honest, sensible man, and good
republican. He goes our Minister Plenipotentiary to London. He will arrive
at an interesting moment in Europe. God send that all the nations who join
in attacking the liberties of France may end in the attainment of their
own. I still hope this will not find you in Europe, and therefore add
nothing more than assurances of affectionate esteem from, dear Sir, your
sincere friend and servant.
TO PETER CARR.
Philadelphia, June 22, 1792.
Dear Sir,--I received in due time your favor of May 28, with the notes
it contained on the subject of Waste. Your view of the subject, as far
as it goes, is perfectly proper. Perhaps, on such a question in this
country, where the husbandry is so different, it might be necessary to go
further, and inquire whether any difference of this kind should produce
a difference in the law. The main objects of the law of waste in England
are, 1st, to prevent any disguise of the lands which might lessen the
revisioner's evidence of title, such as the change of pasture into arable;
2d, to prevent any deterioration of it, as the cutting down forest, which
in England is an injury. So careful is the law there against permitting
a deterioration of the land, that though it will permit such improvements
_in the same line_, as manuring arable lands, leading water into pasture
lands, &c., yet it will not permit improvements _in a different line_,
such as erecting buildings, converting pasture into arable, &c., lest
this should lead to a deterioration. Hence we might argue in Virginia,
that though the cutting down of forest in Virginia is, in our husbandry,
rather an improvement generally, yet it is not so always, and therefore it
is safer never to admit it. Consequently, there is no reason for adopting
different rules of waste here from those established in England.
Your objection to Lord Kaims, that he is too metaphysical, is just, and
it is the chief objection to which his writings are liable. It is to
be observed also, that though he has given us what should be the system
of equity, yet it is not the one actually established, at least not in
all its parts. The English Chancellors have gone on from one thing to
another without any comprehensive or systematic view of the whole field
of equity, and therefore they have sometimes run into inconsistencies and
contradictions.
Never fear the want of business. A man who qualifies himself well for
his calling, never fails of employment in it. The foundation you will
have laid in legal reading, will enable you to take a higher ground than
most of your competitors, and even ignorant men can see who it is that
is not one of themselves. Go on then with courage, and you will be sure
of success; for which be assured no one wishes more ardently, nor has
more sincere sentiments of friendship towards you, than, dear Sir, your
affectionate friend.
TO MR. VAN BERCKEL.
Philadelphia, July 2, 1792.
Sir,--It was with extreme concern that I learned from your letter of
June the 25th, that a violation of the protection due to you as the
representative of your nation had been committed, by an officer of this
State entering your house and serving therein a process on one of your
servants. There could be no question but that this was a breach of
privilege; the only one was, how it was to be punished. To ascertain
this, I referred your letter to the Attorney General, whose answer I
have the honor to enclose you. By this you will perceive, that from the
circumstance of your servant's not being registered in the Secretary
of State's office, we cannot avail ourselves of the more certain and
effectual proceeding which had been provided by an act of Congress for
punishing infractions of the law of nations, that act having thought
proper to confine the benefit of its provisions to such domestics only, as
should have been registered. We are to proceed, therefore, as if that act
had never been made, and the Attorney General's letter indicates two modes
of proceeding. 1. By a warrant before a single magistrate, to recover the
money paid by the servant under a process declared void by law. Herein
the servant must be the actor, and the government not intermeddle at all.
The smallness of the sum to be re-demanded will place this cause in the
class of those in which no appeal to the higher tribunal is permitted,
even in the case of manifest error, so that if the magistrate should err,
the government has no means of correcting the error. 2. The second mode
of proceeding would be, to indict the officer in the Supreme Court of the
United States; with whom it would rest to punish him at their discretion,
in proportion to the injury done and the malice from which it proceeded;
and it would end in punishment alone, and not in a restitution of the
money. In this mode of proceeding, the government of the United States is
actor, taking the management of the cause into its own hands, and giving
you no other trouble than that of bearing witness to such material facts
as may not be otherwise supported. You will be so good as to decide in
which of these two ways you would choose the proceeding should be; if
the latter, I will immediately take measures for having the offender
prosecuted according to law.
I have the honor to be, with sentiments of respect, Sir, your most
obedient, and most humble servant.
TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA.
Philadelphia, July 3, 1792.
Sir,--I have the honor to enclose to your Excellency, the copy of a
letter I have received from his Catholic Majesty's representatives
here, in consequence of a complaint from the Governor of Florida, that
three inhabitants of the State of Georgia, to wit, Thomas Harrison,
David Rees, and William Ewin, had entered the Spanish territory and
brought from thence five negro slaves, the property of John Blackwood, a
Spanish subject, without his consent, in violation of the rights of that
State and the peace of the two countries. I had formerly had the honor
of sending you a copy of the convention entered into between the said
Governor and Mr. Leagrove, on the part of the United States for the mutual
restitution of fugitive slaves. I now take the liberty of requesting your
Excellency to inform me what is done, or likely to be done with you for
the satisfaction of the Spanish government in this instance. Nobody knows
better than your Excellency the importance of restraining individuals from
committing the peace and honor of the two nations, and I am persuaded that
nothing will be wanting on your part to satisfy the just expectations of
the government of Florida on the present occasion. I have the honor to
be, with great respect, your Excellency's most obedient, and most humble
servant.
TO MESSRS. DE VIAR AND JAUDENES.
Philadelphia, July 9, 1792.
Gentlemen,--Information has been received that the government of West
Florida has established an agent within the territory of the United
States, belonging to the Creek Indians, and it is even pretended that
that agent has excited those Indians to oppose the making a boundary
between their district and that of the citizens of the United States.
The latter is so inconsistent with the dispositions to friendship and
good neighborhood which Spain has always expressed towards us, with that
concert of interest which would be so advantageous to the two nations, and
which we are disposed sincerely to promote, that we find no difficulty in
supposing it erroneous. The sending an agent within our limits we presume
has been done without the authority or knowledge of your Government.
It has certainly been the usage, where one nation has wished to employ
agents of any kind within the limits of another, to obtain the permission
of that other, and even to regulate by convention and on principles of
reciprocity, the functions to be exercised by such agents. It is not
to a nation whose dominions are circumstanced as those of Spain in our
neighborhood, that we need develop the inconveniences of permitting
reciprocally the unlicensed mission of agents into the territories of each
other. I am persuaded nothing more is necessary than to bring the fact
under the notice of your Government in order to its being rectified, which
is the object of my addressing you on this occasion; with every assurance
that you will make the proper communications on the subject to your court.
I have the honor to be, with sentiments of perfect esteem and respect,
Gentlemen, your most obedient, and most humble servant.
TO COLONEL HUMPHREYS.
Philadelphia, July 12, 1792.
Dear Sir,--We have been very long indeed without any vessel going from
this port to Lisbon. This is the reason why I have been so long without
acknowledging the receipt of your letters. Your Nos. from 45 to 53
inclusive are received, except No. 52, not yet come to hand. The President
set out yesterday for Virginia, and I shall follow him to-morrow. During
my absence the public papers will be forwarded to you by every opportunity
by Mr. Taylor, with whom this letter is left, as we know of no present
opportunity of forwarding it. The State of Vermont has lately taken some
decisive step to extend its jurisdiction nearer to the British ports than
has hitherto been done. This has produced a complaint from Mr. Hammond. We
shall endeavor to keep things quiet, in hopes of voluntary justice from
them. We shall probably have no campaign this year against the Indians.
There are some hopes they will accept of peace and the rather as we have
never asked anything in return for it. We really wish not to hurt them. I
need not repeat occurrences which you will see in the gazettes. I am, with
great and sincere esteem, dear Sir, your most obedient, and most humble
servant.
TO HIS EXCELLENCY GOVERNOR LEE.
Monticello, August 13, 1792.
Sir,--It was not till yesterday that I was honored with the receipt
of yours of July 23d, or it should have been sooner answered. I am of
opinion that all communications between nations should pass through the
channels of their Executives. However, in the instance of condolence on
the death of Dr. Franklin, the letter from our general government was
addressed to the President of the National Assembly; so was a letter
from the Legislature of Pennsylvania, containing congratulations on the
achievement of liberty to the French nation. I have not heard that, in
either instance, their Executive took it amiss that they were not made
the channel of communication. Perhaps, therefore, this method may at
present be the safest, as it is not quite certain that the sentiments of
their executive and legislative are exactly the same on the subject on
which you have to address them. I cannot better justify the honor of your
consultation than by thus giving you my ideas without reserve, and beg you
to be assured of the sentiments of respect and esteem, with which I have
the honor to be, your Excellency's most obedient, and most humble servant.
TO MR. PALESKE.
Monticello, August 19, 1792.
Sir,--I have received at this place your favor of the 9th instant, wherein
you request, that agreeably to the treaty of commerce between the United
States and his Prussian Majesty, his consul general be acknowledged as
belonging to a most favored nation; that the privileges and immunities
due to a consul general of the most favored nation be granted to his
consul general, and that commissioners be appointed to regulate, by
particular convention, the functions of the consuls and vice-consuls of
the respective nations.
Treaties of the United States duly made and ratified, as is that with
his Prussian Majesty, constitute a part of the law of the land, and need
only promulgation to oblige all persons to obey them, and to entitle
all to those privileges which such treaties confer. That promulgation
having taken place, no other act is necessary or proper on the part of
our government, according to our rules of proceeding, to give effect to
the treaty. This treaty, however, has not specified the privileges or
functions of consuls; it has only provided that these "shall be regulated
by particular agreement." To the proposition to proceed as speedily as
possible to regulate these functions by a convention, my absence from the
seat of government does not allow me to give a definitive answer. I know,
in general, that it would be agreeable to our government, on account of
the recent changes in its form, to suspend for awhile the contracting
specific engagements with foreign nations, until something more shall be
seen of the direction it will take, and of its mode of operation, in order
that our engagements may be so moulded to that, as to insure the exact
performance of them which we are desirous ever to observe. Should this be
the sentiment of our government on the present occasion, the friendship of
his Prussian Majesty is a sufficient reliance to us for that delay which
our affairs might require for the present; and the rather, as his vessels
are not yet in the habit of seeking our ports, and for the few cases which
may occur for some time, our own laws, copied mostly in this respect
from those of a very commercial nation, have made the most material of
those provisions which could be admitted into a special convention for
the protection of vessels, their crews and cargoes, coming hither. We
shall on this, however, and every other occasion, do everything we can to
manifest our friendship to his Prussian Majesty and our desire to promote
commercial intercourse with his subjects; and of this, we hope, he will
be fully assured.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, Sir, your most obedient, and
most humble servant.
TO THE MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY OF FRANCE.
August 27, 1792.
Sir,--Your letter of the 2d instant, informing me that the Legislative
body, on the proposition of the King of the French, had declared war
against the King of Hungary and Bohemia, has been duly received, and is
laid before the President of the United States; and I am authorized to
convey to you the expression of the sincere concern we feel on learning
that the French nation, to whose friendship and interests we have the
strongest attachment, are now to encounter the evils of war. We offer our
prayers to Heaven that its duration may be short, and its course marked
with as few as may be of those calamities which render the condition of
war so afflicting to humanity, and we add assurances that, during its
course, we shall continue in the same friendly dispositions, and render
all those good offices which shall be consistent with the duties of a
neutral nation.
I have the honor to be, with sentiments of the most perfect esteem and
respect, Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Monticello, September 9, 1792.
Dear Sir,--I received on the 2d instant the letter of August 23d,
which you did me the honor to write me; but the immediate return of our
post, contrary to his custom, prevented my answer by that occasion. The
proceedings of Spain, mentioned in your letter, are really of a complexion
to excite uneasiness, and a suspicion that their friendly overtures
about the Mississippi, have been merely to lull us while they should be
strengthening their holds on that river. Mr. Carmichael's silence has
been long my astonishment; and however it might have justified something
very different from a new appointment, yet the public interest certainly
called for his junction with Mr. Short, as it is impossible but that
his knowledge of the ground of negotiation, of persons and characters,
must be useful and even necessary to the success of the mission. That
Spain and Great Britain may understand one another on our frontiers
is very possible; for however opposite their interests or disposition
may be in the affairs of Europe, yet while these do not call them into
opposite action, they may concur as against us. I consider their keeping
an agent in the Indian country as a circumstance which requires serious
interference on our part; and I submit to your decision whether it does
not furnish a proper occasion to us to send an additional instruction to
Messrs. Carmichael and Short to insist on a mutual and formal stipulation
to forbear employing agents or pensioning any persons within each other's
limits; and if this be refused, to propose the contrary stipulation, to
wit, that each party may freely keep agents within the Indian territories
of the other, in which case we might soon sicken them of the license.
I now take the liberty of proceeding to that part of your letter wherein
you notice the internal dissensions which have taken place within our
government, and their disagreeable effect on its movements. That such
dissensions have taken place is certain, and even among those who are
nearest to you in the administration. To no one have they given deeper
concern than myself; to no one equal mortification at being myself
a part of them. Though I take to myself no more than my share of the
general observations of your letter, yet I am so desirous ever that you
should know the whole truth, and believe no more than the truth, that
I am glad to seize every occasion of developing to you whatever I do or
think relative to the government; and shall, therefore, ask permission
to be more lengthy now than the occasion particularly calls for, or could
otherwise perhaps justify.
When I embarked in the government, it was with a determination to
intermeddle not at all with the Legislature, and as little as possible
with my co-departments. The first and only instance of variance from
the former part of my resolution, I was duped into by the Secretary
of the Treasury, and made a tool for forwarding his schemes, not then
sufficiently understood by me; and of all the errors of my political life,
this has occasioned me the deepest regret. It has ever been my purpose to
explain this to you, when, from being actors on the scene, we shall have
become uninterested spectators only. The second part of my resolution has
been religiously observed with the War Department; and as to that of the
Treasury, has never been further swerved from than by the mere enunciation
of my sentiments in conversation, and chiefly among those who, expressing
the same sentiments, drew mine from me. If it has been supposed that I
have ever intrigued among the members of the Legislature to defeat the
plans of the Secretary of the Treasury, it is contrary to all truth. As
I never had the desire to influence the members, so neither had I any
other means than my friendships, which I valued too highly to risk by
usurpation on their freedom of judgment, and the conscientious pursuit of
their own sense of duty. That I have utterly, in my private conversations,
disapproved of the system of the Secretary of the Treasury, I acknowledge
and avow; and this was not merely a speculative difference. His system
flowed from principles adverse to liberty, and was calculated to undermine
and demolish the Republic, by creating an influence of his department over
the members of the Legislature. I saw this influence actually produced,
and its first fruits to be the establishment of the great outlines of his
project by the votes of the very persons who, having swallowed his bait,
were laying themselves out to profit by his plans; and that had these
persons withdrawn, as those interested in a question ever should, the
vote of the disinterested majority was clearly the reverse of what they
made it. These were no longer the votes then of the representatives of
the people, but of deserters from the rights and interests of the people;
and it was impossible to consider their decisions, which had nothing
in view but to enrich themselves, as the measures of the fair majority,
which ought always to be respected. If, what was actually doing, begat
uneasiness in those who wished for virtuous government, what was further
proposed was not less threatening to the friends of the Constitution.
For, in a report on the subject of manufactures, (still to be acted
on,) it was expressly assumed that the General Government has a right to
exercise all powers which may be for the _general welfare_, that is to
say, all the legitimate powers of government; since no government has a
legitimate right to do what is not for the welfare of the governed. There
was, indeed, a sham limitation of the universality of this power _to cases
where money is to be employed_. But about what is it that money cannot be
employed? Thus the object of these plans, taken together, is to draw all
the powers of government into the hands of the general Legislature, to
establish means for corrupting a sufficient corps in that Legislature to
divide the honest votes, and preponderate, by their own, the scale which
suited, and to have the corps under the command of the Secretary of the
Treasury, for the purpose of subverting, step by step, the principles of
the Constitution which he has so often declared to be a thing of nothing,
which must be changed. Such views might have justified something more than
mere expressions of dissent, beyond which, nevertheless, I never went. Has
abstinence from the department, committed to me, been equally observed by
him? To say nothing of other interferences equally known, in the case of
the two nations, with which we have the most intimate connections, France
and England, my system was to give some satisfactory distinctions to the
former, of little cost to us, in return for the solid advantages yielded
us by them; and to have met the English with some restrictions which might
induce them to abate their severities against our commerce. I have always
supposed this coincided with your sentiments. Yet the Secretary of the
Treasury, by his cabals with members of the Legislature, and by high-toned
declamations on other occasions, has forced down his own system, which was
exactly the reverse. He undertook, of his own authority, the conferences
with the ministers of those two nations, and was, on every consultation,
provided with some report of a conversation with the one or the other
of them, adapted to his views. These views, thus made to prevail, their
execution fell, of course, to me; and I can safely appeal to you, who
have seen all my letters and proceedings, whether I have not carried
them into execution as sincerely as if they had been my own, though I
ever considered them as inconsistent with the honor and interest of our
country. That they have been inconsistent with our interest is but too
fatally proved by the stab to our navigation given by the French. So that
if the question be by whose fault is it that Colonel Hamilton and myself
have not drawn together? the answer will depend on that to two other
questions, whose principles of administration best justify, by their
purity, conscientious adherence? and which of us has, notwithstanding,
stepped farthest into the control of the department of the other?