_The Difficulties of Diplomacy._
Courteous Reception in Paris.—Compliment of the King.—Principles of
Prize Division.—Embarrassing Questions.—Interesting
Correspondence.—The Final Settlement.—Modest Claims of Commodore
Jones.—Plan for a Commercial Speculation.—Its Failure.—The Mission
to Denmark.—Return to America.
Commodore Jones, upon his arrival in Paris, was invited to dine with
Marshal Castries, Minister of Marine. After dinner the marshal took the
commodore aside, and said to him:
“I am requested by his majesty the king to say to you that it will
afford him much satisfaction to be able, in any way, to promote your
future fortune.”
The commodore immediately entered, with all his energies, upon the
arduous duties of his mission. There is no diplomacy equal that of a
straight-forward, honest purpose. There was never a shrewd manœuvrer
who did not eventually manœuvre himself out of all influence. The
reader would be weary of the detail of all the embarrassments which,
through the labors of two years, Commodore Jones encountered, and over
which, one by one, he triumphed. And his success was never owing to
cunning or intrigue, but to the frank and manly pursuit of that which
was just.
A careful examination of the diplomatic correspondence, which was
long-continued and with great ability on both sides, shows that he was
ever courteous, and that he held his own spirit under such control, that
rarely could any annoyance provoke him to utter an irritable or a hasty
word.
On the 20th of December Paul Jones was introduced to the king. He
presented his credentials, and was received with the cordiality of
established friendship. The following letter to the Minister of Marine
will show the style and literary ability with which he conducted the
correspondence. It was addressed to “My Lord Maréchal,” under date of
February 1st, 1784.
“As I wish to give your excellency as little trouble as may be,
respecting the money arising from prizes taken by the squadron I had
the honor to command in Europe, I have waited, since the day you did
me the honor to present me to his majesty, until this moment, in order
to give you sufficient time for any arrangement you might find
essential, before the division should take place between the ships and
vessels that composed the force under my command when the prizes were
taken.
“I now do myself the honor to transmit you the enclosed official
letter on that subject, from Mr. Franklin, Minister Plenipotentiary of
the United States, containing a copy of my credentials as agent from
Congress, of which I had occasion to offer an account upon my arrival.
I also enclose a statement of the force, in guns and men, of each ship
and vessel that composed the squadron I commanded, which is the only
paper essential to the first division of the prize-money.
“It is the custom, in cases like the present, to multiply the number
of the crew by the sum of the calibre of the cannon mounted on board
each ship. The product gives the intrinsic force in proportion to
which the share of the prize-money arising to each ship is determined.
On that ground it is my duty to claim the proportion arising to the
Bon Homme Richard and the Alliance. Their proportions will afterward
be divided by the American Superintendent of Finance, agreeably to the
rules of the American navy, between the officers and the crews of the
two ships.
“The subdivision of the shares of the other ships and vessels, in
proportion to their force in men and metal, of the prizes in which
they are concerned, will remain with your excellency to determine, as
may be most agreeable to the respective officers and men. As those
ships and vessels were entirely his majesty’s property, and their
officers and men composed of French subjects, I do not presume to
interfere in their respect any further than to pray your excellency,
in the most earnest manner, to render them, and all concerned, that
immediate justice to which all Europe knows their distinguished
services so highly entitle them. As nearly four years and a half have
already elapsed since those captures were made, I rely on the kind
promise you gave me, that the prize-money shall now be immediately
settled.
“I am, with profound respect, my lord maréchal, your most obedient and
most humble servant,
”JOHN PAUL JONES.”
The prize ships had been sold in France, and the money had been placed
in the hand of Monsieur de Chaumont, one of the crown officers of
finance. But the treasury was in debt to him. He therefore took the
liberty of keeping the money in payment of that debt, leaving it for the
claimants to draw upon the empty treasury for whatever sum might be due
them. In reference to this aspect of affairs, Commodore Jones wrote to
the minister.
“Whether Monsieur de Chaumont is indebted to the government, or the
government is, as he says, indebted to him, is a matter which does not
concern the captors of the prizes. But they have a right to claim the
protection of government to force Monsieur de Chaumont to render the
money, with interest, which he has unjustly detained from them, for four
years and a half, while many of them are perishing with cold and
hunger.”
This point he successfully carried. He had very wisely arranged with
Congress that all the money he might recover should be transmitted by
him to the Congressional treasury, to be paid by the minister to the
individual claimants. According to the concordat or agreement which was
entered upon with the French government when the little squadron sailed,
it was settled:
“That the division of prizes should be made agreeably to the American
laws; but that the proportion of the whole, coming to each vessel in the
squadron, should be regulated by the minister of the Marine Department
of France and the minister plenipotentiary of the United States of
America.”
But here there were conflicting principles. By the laws of France a
certain proportion of all prize-money was set apart for the support of
the Hospital of Invalids, from which institution American sailors could
derive no benefit. The American prize laws gave captors the whole value
of ships of war, and half the value of merchantmen. After long
negotiation the French government yielded this point also, and allowed
the distribution to be made according to American law.
There were, it will be remembered, five hundred British prisoners,
captured by Jones, maintained at very considerable expense for some time
by the French government, at the Texel. The British government refused
to surrender, in exchange for these men, _American_ prisoners. They did,
however, give up _French_ prisoners, in exchange for them. When
Commodore Jones passed over these men to the French authorities, it was
with the distinct understanding that they, in conference with the
British government, should obtain for them an equal number of American
captives, to be delivered to Commodore Jones. But the spirit of the
British cabinet was so implacable toward the Americans, that the French
government could not accomplish this.
Marshal Castries now contended that the expenses attending the
maintenance of these prisoners at the Texel, and their transportation to
England, should be deducted from the prize-money. With justifiable
intensity of purpose, Commodore Jones combated this claim. Dr. Franklin,
then in Paris, was in entire accord with Commodore Jones upon this
question, as upon all the other principles Jones had insisted upon in
the adjustment. On the 25th of March he wrote, in a letter addressed to
“Honorable Paul Jones, Esq.”:
“I certainly should not have agreed to charge the American captors with
any part of the expense of maintaining the five hundred prisoners in
Holland till they could be exchanged, when none of them were exchanged
for the Americans in England, as was your intention, and as we both had
been made to expect.”
The commodore immediately enclosed this letter in another, which he
addressed to Marshal de Castries. He wrote:
“The within copy of a letter which I had the honor to receive yesterday
from Mr. Franklin, will convince you that he never consented, and could
not consent, to the manner proposed by your predecessor and by M. de
Chaumont for settlement of the prize-money due to the American officers
and men who served under my orders in Europe.
“I will not complain that the prisoners which I took and carried to
Holland were not exchanged for the Americans, who had been taken in war
upon the ocean, and were long confined in the English dungeons by civil
magistrates, as _traitors_, _pirates_, and _felons_. I will only say _I
had such a promise from the minister of marine_.
“It was all the reward I asked for the anxious days and sleepless nights
I passed, and the many dangers I encountered in glad hope of giving them
all their liberty. And if I had not been assured that Mr. Franklin had
made an infallible arrangement with the courts of France and England,
for their immediate redemption, nothing but a superior force should have
arrested them out of my hands, till they had been actually exchanged for
the unhappy Americans in England.”
This claim the French government also yielded. But still the weary
months rolled on, and no payment was made. The simple fact was that
there was no money in the treasury. The government was in a condition of
a man, struggling and floundering amidst all the intolerable
embarrassments of approaching bankruptcy. There were claims upon them
vastly more pressing than the payment of a few thousand livres to a few
hundred poor foreign seamen. Commodore Jones was fully aware of all
this. With characteristic courtesy, kindness, and yet firmness, he
addressed a letter, as follows, to the marshal on the 23d of June, 1785.
“By the letter your excellency did me the honor to write me on the 13th
of May last, you were pleased to promise that as soon as M. de Chardon
should have sent you the liquidation of my prizes, _which you expected
without delay_, you would take measures for the payment, and you would
let me know.
“From the great number of affairs more important that engage your
attention, I presume this little matter, which concerns me in a small
degree personally, but chiefly as the agent of the brave men who served
under my orders in Europe, may have escaped your memory. Since the first
of November, 1783, when I received authority to settle this business
with your excellency, I have been waiting here for no other purpose, and
constantly expecting it to be concluded from month to month. To say
nothing of my expenses during so long an interval, the uncertainty of my
situation has been of infinite prejudice to my other concerns. My long
silence is a proof that nothing but necessity could have prevailed on me
to take the liberty of reminding your excellency of your promise. I hope
for the honor of a final determination, and I am with great respect,
etc.”
Still there were delays of the most annoying character too numerous and
too tedious to be narrated. Through all these, Commodore Jones retained
his equanimity, and commanded the respect of those with whom he was
contending. The expenses of Commodore Jones, as agent of the United
States at the court of Versailles, were necessarily considerable. One
could not fill the post of an ambassador there upon the wages of a
day-laborer. It was essential to his influence, as he was daily brought
in contact with the ancient nobility of France, that he should maintain
the style of a gentleman.
At length, on the 15th of July, 1785, Marshal Castries issued an order
to pay to Commodore Jones, at L’Orient the sum of one hundred eighty-one
thousand and thirty-nine livres, one sous, and ten derniers. Thomas
Jefferson was then our minister at Paris. In a letter addressed to him
about this time, Jones wrote:
“I cannot bring myself to lessen the dividend of the American captors by
making any charge either for my time or trouble. I lament that it has
not been in my power to procure for them advantages as solid and
extensive as the merit of their services. I would not have undertaken
this business from any views of private emolument that could possibly
have resulted from it to myself, even supposing I had recovered a sum
more considerable than the penalty of my bond. The war being over I made
it my first care to show the brave instruments of my success that their
rights are as dear to me as my own. It will, I believe, be proper for me
to make oath before you, to the amount charged for my ordinary
expenses.”
Our minister received a salary of ten thousand dollars a year. It
required the most rigid economy, with that sum, to meet expenses. Mrs.
Adams, the wife of our distinguished ambassador John Adams, in her
letters, gives a graphic account of their residence at the little
village of Auteuil, about four miles from Paris. The house was large,
and coldly elegant. There were massive mirrors and waxed floors, but no
air of comfort. A servant polished the floors each morning with a brush
buckled to one of his feet. The expenses of housekeeping were enormous.
A heavy tax was imposed upon everything. All articles of domestic use
about thirty per cent. higher than in Boston. It was absolutely
necessary to keep a coach. The coachman and horses cost fifteen guineas
a month. The social customs of the country required seven servants. The
inevitable expenses of the family were so heavy that it required all
Mrs. Adams’s remarkable financial skill to save them from pecuniary
ruin. The humble style in which they lived, compared with the splendor
with which the other foreign ministers were surrounded, often caused
mortification. Mr. Jay was compelled to resign, since he could not
support himself upon his salary.
Such were the surroundings of Commodore Jones in his arduous mission.
And yet he practised such rigid economy, that he charged but five
thousand dollars a year for all his services and expenses. Franklin and
Jefferson both carefully examined his accounts and gave them their
approval. They were then sent to Congress, where they were again
subjected to a rigid scrutiny, and were again approved. Not long after,
on the 16th of October, 1787, Congress passed the following vote:
“Resolved unanimously, that a medal of gold be struck and presented to
the Chevalier John Paul Jones, in commemoration of the valor and
brilliant services of that officer, in the command of the squadron of
American and French ships, under the flag and commission of the United
States, off the coast of Great Britain, in the late war; and that the
Honorable Mr. Jefferson, minister plenipotentiary of the United States
at the court of Versailles, have the same executed with the proper
devices.”
At the same time, Congress commended Commodore Jones to the special
regard of the king of France, and solicited permission for him to embark
in the French fleets of evolution, convinced that he can nowhere else so
well acquire that knowledge which may hereafter render him more
extensively useful.
The commodore, with his intense views of life’s duties, never found time
for conviviality or any dissipating pleasures. He employed his otherwise
unoccupied hours in writing a very carefully prepared narrative of his
past services. This was not printed, but was read in manuscript by many
distinguished personages. The illustrious Malesherbes, after reading the
journal, wrote as follows to Mr. Jones:
“I have received with much gratitude the mark of confidence which you
have given me; and I have read, with great eagerness and pleasure, the
interesting relation. My first impression was to desire you to have it
published. But after having read it, I perceive that you had not written
it with a view to publication, because there are things in it which are
written to the king, for whom alone that work was intended. However
actions, memorable as yours are, ought to be made known to the world, by
an authentic journal published in your own name. I earnestly entreat you
to work at it as soon as your affairs will allow. In the meantime, I
hope that the king will read this work with that attention which he owes
to the relation of the services which had been rendered to him by a
person so celebrated.”
While these scenes were transpiring, the renowned American traveller,
John Ledyard, was in Paris. He proposed to Commodore Jones a commercial
speculation, upon a scale of grandeur likely to interest his mind, and
which would call into requisition all his administrative energies and
acquired information and skill.
The plan was to fit out a vessel of two hundred and fifty tons, to be
thoroughly armed and equipped, with forty-five officers and men, to be
selected in France. She was to sail, on the first day of October, for
Cape Horn, and thence to the Sandwich Islands. There she was to take in
new stores of provisions, and continue her route to the northwest coast
of North America. She was to remain from April to October, running up
and down the coast, purchasing furs of the Indians.
Having filled the vessel, they were to make sail across the Pacific, for
China or Japan. The rich furs would there bring a great price. They were
to be sold for gold or other commodities. With this gold and merchandise
the ship was to return to France, by way of the Cape of Good Hope. It
was thought that the whole voyage would occupy about eighteen months.
After a very close calculation it was estimated that the profits of the
enterprise would amount to a little over one hundred and eighty thousand
dollars.
Such was the plan in general, subject to various modifications, such as
whether one vessel should go alone, or whether two should go in company.
It was by a somewhat similar commercial enterprise that John Jacob Astor
subsequently laid the foundation of his colossal fortune.
There was much to recommend this plan to enthusiastic and enterprising
men. Its novelty lent a great charm. It was considered that the risks
were small, decidedly less than those which usually attended voyages to
the East or West Indies. The expense of the armament, and the cargo of
trinkets, small ware, and cutlery, for traffic with the Indians, was
very inconsiderable. It was well known that the northwest coast of
America abounded in the richest furs, above all other regions in the
world. These furs could be purchased for a mere trifle from the Indians.
In China and Japan they would command extravagant prices.
Jefferson was deeply interested in this plan. In his mind, as in that of
Paul Jones, it assumed a dignity far above that of a mere money-making
enterprise. It would extend our knowledge of those vast regions, with
their wild inhabitants, which both of these sagacious men foresaw would
eventually be included within the limits of the American Union. Paul
Jones was to have the supreme command, and by his powerful influence was
to obtain the vessel and the outfit. Ledyard was to be supercargo.
As they pondered the plan, aided by the cool judgment of Mr. Jefferson,
it assumed ever-increasing proportions. A trading post was to be
established, strongly stockaded and well garrisoned. The Indians were to
be treated with the greatest justice and humanity, so as to secure their
good-will. There were to be two vessels employed, one of which should
always be on the coast. Silks and teas were to be purchased, upon which
there would be an additional profit in Europe.
The plan was manifestly so feasible and so full of promise, that it was
necessary to keep it as secret as possible, lest many others should
embark in the same enterprise, and the rivalry should become great.
Indeed, there were rumors, which reached Mr. Jones’s ears, that there
were other parties contemplating a similar movement. He wrote to Dr.
Bancroft upon the subject. He replied, under date of September 9th,
1785:
“I endeavored, as early as possible, to gain information respecting the
object of your inquiry. But it was a difficult matter, none of my
acquaintance knowing anything more of it than what had appeared in the
public papers. Yesterday, however, I was informed, by a gentleman who I
believe has some more knowledge of the fact, that the two vessels, King
George and Queen Charlotte, have actually sailed on the expedition which
was thought of by Mr. Ledyard, for furs, which I should suppose must
interfere with, and very much lessen the profits of any simular
undertaking by others.”
Mr. Jones wrote to Madrid, and was informed that the court of Spain
would not allow any commercial speculation in the neighborhood of
California, by the subjects of any other nation than her own. It is
supposed that this fact mainly led to the abandonment of the scheme.
There may have been, and probably were, other considerations. But we
hear of the enterprise no more.
The reader will remember that there were three prizes sent by Landais to
Norway, and that the Danish government restored them to the British
ambassador upon the ground that the vessels had been captured by a
people not recognized by them as an independent government. This was
sustaining the British claim, that Jones was not a legitimate naval
officer, but a mere pirate, whom they would be justified in hanging
could they catch him. Every officer in the colonial army and navy, in
the view of the British government, stood upon the same platform.
The prizes thus lost to us at Copenhagen were valued at two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. This was five-fold the amount recovered from the
prizes sent into France. Upon the threatened surrender of these prizes,
Dr. Franklin immediately sent a memorial to Count Bernstorf, the Danish
prime minister. This admirable state paper contained the following very
characteristic sentences. After recapitulating the circumstances of the
case, he adds:
“Permit me, sir, to observe on this occasion, that the United States of
America have no war but with the English. They have never done any
injury to other nations, particularly none to the Danish nation. On the
contrary, they are in some degree its benefactors, as they have opened a
trade of which the English made a monopoly, and of which the Danes may
now have their share; and by dividing the British empire have made it
less dangerous to its neighbors. They conceived that every nation whom
they had not offended was, by the rights of humanity, their friend. They
confided in the hospitality of Denmark, and thought themselves and their
property safe when under the roof of his Danish majesty.
“But they find themselves stripped of that property, and the same given
up to their enemies, on the principle only that no acknowledgment had
yet been formally made, by Denmark, of the independence of the United
States; which is to say that there is no obligation of justice toward
any nation, with whom a treaty, promising the same, has not been made.
This was indeed the doctrine of ancient barbarians; a doctrine long
since exploded, and which it would not be for the honor of the present
age to revive. And it is hoped that Denmark will not, by supporting and
persisting in this decision, obtained of his majesty apparently by
surprise, be the first modern nation that shall attempt to revive it.
“The United States, oppressed by, and in war with one of the most
powerful nations of Europe, may well be supposed incapable, in their
present infant state, of exacting justice from other nations not
disposed to grant it. But it is in human nature, that injuries as well
as benefits, received in times of weakness and distress, national as
well as personal, make deep and lasting impressions. And those ministers
are wise who look into futurity, and quench the first sparks of
misunderstanding between two nations, which neglected, may in time grow
into a flame, all the consequences whereof no human prudence can
foresee, which may produce much mischief to both, and cannot possibly
produce any good to either.
“I beg, through your excellency, to submit these considerations to the
wisdom and justice of his Danish majesty, whom I infinitely respect, and
who, I hope, will consider and repeal the order above recited; and, if
the prizes which I hereby reclaim, in behalf of the United States of
America, are not actually gone to England, that they may be stopped and
redelivered to M. de Chezaulx, the consul of France, at Bergen, in whose
care they were before, with liberty to depart for America, when the
season shall permit. But if they shall be already gone to England, I
must then reclaim from his majesty’s equity the value of the said three
prizes, which is estimated at fifty thousand pounds sterling, but which
may be regulated by the best information that can, by any means, be
obtained.”
The three prizes thus surrendered, were the Betsey, the Union, and the
Charming Polly. Mr. Jones had been so successful in his negociations
with France, that it was deemed expedient to send him to Copenhagen to
seek redress from the Danish court. He obtained the works of Grotius,
and all other eminent writers upon the Law of Nations, and, aided by
Thomas Jefferson, made himself familiar with all the principles involved
in the questions at issue. Thus thoroughly equipped, he entered upon
this new and difficult enterprise. In every movement of importance, at
this time, Paul Jones conferred with his highly valued friends, Thomas
Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, and acted with their concurrence. A
little before this, the Danish government had so far recognized the
injustice of its acts, and the validity of our claim, as to offer to pay
an indemnity of forty thousand dollars. Dr. Franklin declined this offer
upon the ground that the fair value of the prizes should be first
ascertained. It was thought best that Commodore Jones should repair, at
once, to Copenhagen.
He left Paris, with this purpose, in the spring of 1787. At Brussels he
failed to receive an expected remittance from the sale of some bank
stock he had ordered in America. Thus he found himself out of funds.
This induced him to turn back, and take passage to the United States, to
inquire into the condition of his pecuniary affairs. He speedily
attended to his private concerns and prepared to return to Europe. Fully
aware of the difficulty of his mission, he was anxious to fortify
himself with all those moral forces which could add to his influence. He
wrote to Honorable John Jay, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, soliciting
from him such testimonials as would commend him to the Danish court. His
letter was dated New York, July 18th, 1787. It was easy for his enemies
to represent this as an act of mere vanity. Perhaps it was. But it was
certainly an act of wisdom, thus to endeavor to secure the confidence
and good-will of the court, to which he was commissioned for the
performance of duties so arduous. In the conclusion of his letter to Mr.
Jay, he wrote:
“Since the year 1775, when I displayed the American flag, for the first
time, with my own hands, I have been constantly devoted to the interests
of America. Foreigners have perhaps given me too much credit. This may
have raised my ideas of my services above their real value. But my zeal
can never be overrated.
“I should act inconsistently, if I omitted to mention the dreadful
situation of our citizens in Algiers. Their almost hopeless fate is a
deep reflection on our national character in Europe. I beg leave to
influence the humanity of Congress in their behalf, and to propose that
some expedient may be adopted for their redemption. A fund might be
raised, for that purpose, by a duty of a shilling per month from
seamen’s wages, throughout the continent, and I am persuaded that no
difficulty would be made to that requisition.”