Cabarrus and Aguirre, for payment of which I have credited you 46,447
reals vellon. A second, signed by me the 7th of November following,
settled by 135,715-10 reals vellon, carried to your credit. A third
signed also by me, dated the 19th inst, and balanced by 667,170-17
reals vellon, which I have credited you with. In support of these
accounts, I transmit you the original vouchers, and beg you to proceed
to the verification of both, to assure me of their reception and
correctness. I flatter myself that you will take measures for my
speedy reimbursement, and I ask with the more urgency, as I have a
pressing necessity for this sum, on the payment of which I have
relied. I have the honor to be, &c.
CABARRUS."
This letter needs no comments; it breathes the fears and precautions
of a creditor, striving to make the most of a failing debtor, and
therefore I considered this letter as inauspicious. I returned a
verbal answer, that an examination of these accounts must precede a
settlement of them, and that as to a speedy payment of the balance due
to him, he knew my exact situation.
A day or two before the date of this letter, M. Cabarrus had a
conference with the Minister on these subjects, and according to M.
Cabarrus' representations, the Minister then declared, that he would
pay the balance due on the one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and
no more; that the King was dissatisfied at America's having made no
returns to his good offices, either in ships or flour, &c. &c.; that
he had mentioned to me a year ago his desire of having the men-of-war
building in New England, but had not yet received an answer, &c.
It appeared to me very extraordinary, that the Minister should promise
the Ambassador to do his best, and yet tell M. Cabarrus that he would
do nothing, and yet so I believe were the facts.
The next morning, viz. 26th of February, I paid the Ambassador an
early visit, and mentioned these circumstances to him minutely. I
expressed my apprehensions, that the pretended discontents of the King
belonged to the same system of delays and pretexts, with which we had
been so long amused; and which in this instance were probably
dictated by a desire of avoiding inconvenient advances.
I reminded him, that Dr Franklin had given me expectations of his
being able to replace the money I had borrowed of M. Cabarrus, and
that this sum, added to the balance to be paid by the Court, would
reduce the remainder of the money wanted to less than twenty thousand
pounds sterling; and that it would appear a little surprising in the
eyes of Europe as well as America, that our credit should be permitted
either by France or Spain to suffer essential injury for the want of
such a sum. I requested him to advise me what to do. He said that he
knew not what advice to give me; that he saw no resources anywhere;
that he should dismiss a courier on Saturday next, and that he would
again write to the Count de Vergennes on the subject. I observed to
him, that the answer if favorable would probably come too late, as a
great number of the bills would become payable about the 14th of
March. He replied, that if the Court should resolve to supply the
money, he should soon be informed of it.
We had some conversation about the Marquis de Lafayette. The
Ambassador spoke well of him, and as a proof of the confidence of
Congress in the attachment of that nobleman, I mentioned my having
received orders to correspond with him.
I then drew the conversation to our affairs in Holland, and the
prospects of an alliance with the Dutch. He said those prospects were
less fair than ever; for that though Mr Wentworth had been sent there
by England on pretence of settling a cartel, yet that his real
business was to negotiate a separate peace. I observed that in my
opinion England would be the first nation to acknowledge our
independence, (for there are many reasons that induce me to think that
France does not in fact wish to see us treated as independent by other
nations until after a peace, lest we should become less manageable in
proportion as our dependence upon her shall diminish.) I threw out
this opinion to see how it would strike him. He made a short pause,
and then asked me if I had heard that Lord Germain had resigned? I
told him I had, and as he chose to wave the subject I did not resume
it, lest he should from my pressing it suspect that I meant more than
a casual remark. The conversation then turned upon our affairs here. I
remarked, that the friends of Spain in America must greatly diminish,
that the manner we were treated by this Court was far from
conciliatory, and that it would perhaps have been better as things
have turned out, if America had not sent a Minister here. He gave into
this opinion, but added, we must be contented here now during the war;
that Spain was necessary; that she was to be treated like a mistress.
He also said, that if I had been landed in France instead of Spain, I
should not probably have come to Madrid so soon as I did, and was
going to explain himself, when the entry of his servants with
breakfast interrupted us.
Having made it a rule to give Dr Franklin frequent and minute
information of my situation, I wrote him the following letter by the
Ambassador's courier.
"Madrid, March 1st, 1782.
"My dear Sir,
"I have lately received a very friendly letter from the Marquis de
Lafayette, covering some despatches from Mr Livingston. I find that
the objects of his voyage are interesting to us, and that it is the
desire of Congress, that we should correspond with him. My answer to
his letter is herewith enclosed. Peruse and dispose of it.
"I have given him a summary account of my situation here; he will
doubtless be willing and perhaps able to afford you assistance
relative to the difficulties it imposes upon you.
"The Minister has ordered the balance due (about twentysix thousand
dollars,) on the one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to be paid to
M. Cabarrus on my account, and has through him informed me that no
more is to be expected.
"M. Cabarrus is exceedingly anxious about the money we owe him, and
which the twentysix thousand dollars he is to receive will not pay.
"He declines making further advances. The Ambassador of France can
afford me no resources. M. Cabarrus is ready to supply what we may
want, on the promise of either France or Spain to repay him in ten or
twelve months.
"The Ambassador will write (by a courier to France, who sets out
tomorrow) on these subjects to the Court. All that remains in my power
is to endeavor to keep the public creditors quiet until his or your
final answer shall arrive. That this Court should permit our credit to
be ruined for the want of about twentyfive thousand pounds sterling,
does not greatly surprise me; but I should be astonished if the
Minister of France should act the same part, for I have a high opinion
of his wisdom.
"I am, &c.
JOHN JAY."
I forbear inserting my letter to the Marquis, because this and my
former letters render it unnecessary. I solicited his immediate
attention to the state of our bills, &c.
As there could be no doubt, but that the Minister mentioned to M.
Cabarrus the King's discontents, by way of apology for not granting
further supplies, and with design that they should be represented to
me in that light, I thought it prudent to write to the Minister on the
subject, although in other circumstances it might have been more
proper for me to have omitted taking notice of such an indirect
communication. I wrote him as follows.
"Madrid, March 2d, 1782.
"Sir,
"M. Gardoqui informed me yesterday, that he had received an order to
pay to M. Cabarrus on my account twentysix thousand dollars, being
somewhat more than the balance due on the one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, and for which be pleased to accept my thanks and
acknowledgments.
"As the residue of the bills drawn upon me by Congress does not amount
to a great sum, and as M. Cabarrus had generously offered to furnish
it, provided your Excellency would give him assurances of its being
repaid in ten or twelve months, I had flattered myself, that his
Majesty's friendship for my country would have induced him, by this
further proof of his goodness, to save the necessity I shall otherwise
be under to protest them, and thereby ruin the credit of Congress at
so critical a period.
"It is with great pain I hear his Majesty is displeased with the
silence of Congress respecting returns, on their part, to the
friendship of Spain, and particularly in not having offered to comply
with the propositions made by your Excellency, relative to the ships
building in New England, &c. &c.
"Permit me to observe to your Excellency, that the long and constant
expectation of M. Gardoqui's arrival in America, with full powers on
these subjects, naturally induced Congress to postpone coming to any
resolution on them, until they should have the pleasure of seeing him.
They were well apprised of my ignorance respecting such matters, and,
therefore, could not with any propriety refer to my discretion the
entering into engagements on subjects, with which I was wholly
unacquainted. I am authorised to assure your Excellency of the
readiness of Congress to make every return in their power to the
kindness of his Majesty, and there is reason to hope, that by the end
of the next campaign, their abilities may be more proportionate to
their wishes than they have hitherto been.
"Your Excellency will also be pleased to recollect, that the
propositions of Congress respecting the Mississippi evince a strong
desire to oblige his Majesty, and that reason has been given me to
hope, that their compliance in that instance would be followed by new
proofs of his Majesty's good disposition towards us.
"I must candidly confess to your Excellency, that I now find myself
entirely without resources.
"The Ambassador of France can afford me no assistance, and my only
remaining hope arises from that reliance on his Majesty's friendship
and magnanimity, which your Excellency has so often encouraged me to
entertain and confide in.
"I have the honor to be, &c. &c.
JOHN JAY."
This letter, if I may use the expression, might have been higher
mounted, and the strange conduct of this Court would have justified my
writing in a different style, but I feared that offence might have
been taken, though, perhaps, for no other purpose than to cover a
refusal to aid us with a plausible pretext.
Although I had little confidence in M. Del Campo's late professions of
friendship, yet, as the present occasion afforded an opportunity of
trying their sincerity, and as men ill-disposed towards us are
sometimes pushed into acts of friendship, merely by an opinion of
their being thought friendly, I enclosed the above letter in the
following note to him.
"Madrid, March 2d, 1782.
"Mr Jay presents his compliments to M. Del Campo, and takes the
liberty of enclosing a letter to his Excellency, the Count de Florida
Blanca, which he requests the favor of him to deliver.
"M. Del Campo may not, perhaps, in future have an opportunity of
rendering a more welcome and interesting proof of his friendship for
America than at present; and Mr Jay will esteem his country and
himself greatly obliged by M. Del Campo's friendly attention and
interposition on this occasion."
A week elapsed without my receiving any answer either from the
Minister or M. Del Campo. The time when our bills would be due was
drawing very nigh. My expectations of aid from France were at best
uncertain, and every consideration urged me not to leave anything in
my power undone here, to avoid the catastrophe I had so much reason to
apprehend. I therefore concluded to wait on the Minister, and in a
plain and pointed manner enter into a detail of the reasons given us
to expect supplies from this Court, and the impolicy of withholding
them.
For this purpose I went to the Pardo on the 9th of March.
The Minister received me with great cordiality; he was in uncommon
good spirits. He entered largely into the nature of his indisposition;
the effect of the weather upon his nerves, and how much he found
himself the better for the last three fine days; and after we had
conversed awhile about the conquest of Minorca, and the importance of
it, he said he supposed that I wished also to speak to him on the
subject of our affairs.
I told him that was really the case, for that the bills, which
remained to be paid, and the want of funds for the purpose, gave me
great uneasiness. He interrupted me by remarking, that he had ordered
the balance due on the one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to be
paid. That the public exigencies had even rendered this payment
inconvenient, but that he was an honest man, a man of his word, and,
therefore, as he had promised me that sum, he was determined that I
should not be disappointed. That as to further aids he could promise
nothing _positively_, that he would _do his best_, and shrugging his
shoulders, intimated that he was not Minister of Finance.
I observed, that the sum now wanted was not very considerable, and
that M. Cabarrus' offer rendered the advancing of it very easy. He was
in a very good humor; and after a few hesitations, he told me
cheerfully and smilingly, that when I found myself very hard pressed,
I should desire M. Cabarrus to wait upon him.
This I considered as an implied consent to comply with M. Cabarrus'
offer, in case such a step should become absolutely necessary to save
our bills; and I imagined he chose to delay it as long as possible, in
hopes that the French Ambassador might in the meantime interpose his
credit, as he had before done on a similar occasion. I was content
that the matter should rest there, and would not hazard losing what I
thought I had gained by requiring more at present.
I thanked him for this mark of favor, and then turned the conversation
to Major Franks' arrival, and my anxiety to communicate some certain
intelligence to Congress relative to the proposed treaty, and what
they might expect on that head.
The Count went into a detail of excuses for the delays which had
ensued since our leaving St Ildefonso. His indisposition and that of
M. Del Campo, his forgetting to give M. Del Campo the papers, and M.
Del Campo's neglecting to ask for them, were the chief topics from
which these excuses were drawn. He said the Ambassador of France had
talked to him about the matter eight days ago; and he promised me that
the conferences should begin at Aranjues, to which place the Court
would soon remove. He authorised me to communicate this to Congress,
adding, that pressing business obliged him to postpone it till then,
though I might now begin to speak on the subject to M. Del Campo if I
pleased.
I remarked, that I had so often disappointed Congress by giving them
reason soon to expect M. Gardoqui, that I wished to be enabled to give
them accurate information on that point. He replied, that a variety of
particular circumstances had intervened to prevent his departure, but
that he _certainly_ should go unless he made personal objections to
it, and that _I might tell Congress so_.
I rose to take my leave. _He repeated what he had before said
respecting my sending M. Cabarrus to him_, and assured me of his
disposition to do what he could for us. I again thanked him, and we
parted in great good humor.
It is remarkable, that during the course of this conference, which was
free and diffusive, the Minister did not mention a syllable of the
King's discontents, nor hint the least dissatisfaction at the conduct
of Congress towards this Court. I cautiously avoided making any harsh
strictures on the delays I constantly met with, and though the
Minister's excuses for them were frivolous and merely ostensible, yet
it could have answered no good purpose to have declared that opinion
of them, especially at so delicate a period of our affairs.
As many bills to a considerable amount would be payable on the 14th of
March, I thought it high time that the Minister should declare his
intentions at least a day or two before, and therefore I desired M.
Cabarrus to wait upon the Minister, and confer with him on the
subject. M. Cabarrus accordingly went to the Pardo on the evening of
the 11th of March. He saw the Minister, and mentioned the purpose of
his visit. The Minister said, I must have misunderstood him; that it
was not until the last extremity that I was to send him, and he
desired M. Cabarrus to inform him when that should arrive. M. Cabarrus
repeated to me his former offers, and assured me that nothing on his
part should be wanting.
The Madrid Gazette of the 12th of March contained a paragraph, of
which you ought not to be ignorant. I shall therefore copy it
_verbatim_, and add a translation as literal as I can make it.
"By a letter from the Commandant General of the army of operations at
the Havanna, and Governor of Louisiana, his Majesty has advices, that
a detachment of sixtyfive militia men and sixty Indians of the
nations Otaguos, Sotu, and Putuami, under the command of Don Eugenio
Purre, a captain of militia, accompanied by Don Carlos Tayon, a
sub-lieutenant of militia, by Don Luis Chevalier, a man well versed in
the language of the Indians, and by their great chiefs Eleturno and
Naquigen, who marched the 2d of January, 1781, from the town of St
Luis of the Illinois, had possessed themselves of the Post of St
Joseph, which the English occupied at two hundred and twenty leagues
distance from that of the abovementioned St Luis, having suffered in
so extensive a march, and so rigorous a season, the greatest
inconveniences from cold and hunger, exposed to continual risks from
the country being possessed by savage nations, and having to pass over
parts covered with snow, and each one being obliged to carry
provisions for his own subsistence, and various merchandises, which
were necessary to content, in case of need, the barbarous nations
through whom they were obliged to cross. The commander, by seasonable
negotiations and precautions, prevented a considerable body of
Indians, who were at the devotion of the English, from opposing this
expedition; for it would otherwise have been difficult to have
accomplished the taking of the said post. They made prisoners of the
few English they found in it, the others having perhaps retired in
consequence of some prior notice. Don Eugenio Purre took possession in
the name of the King of that place and its dependencies, and of the
river of the Illinois; in consequence whereof the standard of his
Majesty was there displayed during the whole time. He took the English
one, and delivered it on his arrival at St Luis to Don Francisco
Cruyat, the commandant of that post.
"The destruction of the magazine of provisions and goods, which the
English had there (the greater part of which was divided among our
Indians and those who lived at St Joseph, as had been offered them in
case they did not oppose our troops) was not the only advantage
resulting from the success of this expedition, for thereby it became
impossible for the English to execute their plan of attacking the fort
of St Luis of the Illinois; and it also served to intimidate these
savage nations, and oblige them to promise to remain neuter, which
they do at present."
When you consider the ostensible object of this expedition, the
distance of it, the formalities with which the place, the country, and
the river were taken possession of in the name of his Catholic
Majesty, I am persuaded it will not be necessary for me to swell this
letter with remarks, that would occur to a reader of far less
penetration than yourself.
I will therefore return to our bills.
The 14th of March arrived, the bills then due were presented, and I
prevailed upon the holders of them to wait till the next day at noon
for my answer. As the last extremity in the most literal sense had now
arrived, I presumed that the Minister would not think me too hasty in
requesting his determination. I wrote him the following letter, and
sent it by the post, which passes every evening between Madrid and the
Court.
"Madrid, March 14th, 1782.
"Sir,
"Bills to a considerable amount have been presented to me this
afternoon for payment. The holders of them consent to wait until
tomorrow noon for my positive and final answer.
"Your Excellency is too well apprised of everything that can be said
on this subject, to render it necessary for me to multiply
observations upon it.
"I have no reason to expect aid from France, and I request the favor
of your Excellency to inform me explicitly whether I may flatter
myself with any, and what relief from the friendly interposition of
his Majesty.
"I have the honor to be, &c.
JOHN JAY."
I thought it advisable to send a copy of the above letter to the
Ambassador of France with the following note.
"Mr Jay presents his compliments to his Excellency, the Ambassador of
France, and has the honor of transmitting herewith enclosed a copy of
a letter he has written this evening to the Count de Florida Blanca.
"The Ambassador will perceive from this letter in what a critical
situation Mr Jay finds himself. He requests the favor of the
Ambassador's advice, and will do himself the honor of waiting upon him
in the morning to receive it.
"_Madrid, Thursday Evening, March 14th, 1782._"
On this day, being Thursday, on which day in every week M. Cabarrus
had for some time past kept an open table, M. Del Campo was
unexpectedly one of the guests, having visited M. Cabarrus but once
before on those days. Mr Carmichael was present. Some earnest and
private conversation passed between M. Del Campo and M. Cabarrus. In
the afternoon Mr Carmichael, by my desire, pressed M. Cabarrus to
write to the Minister, that on the morrow our bills must be either
paid or protested. M. Cabarrus replied, that he had already given
that information to M. Del Campo, and that he would not risk that
gentleman's displeasure by repeating it to the Minister, for it would
look as if he doubted M. Del Campo's attention to it. Mr Carmichael
informed me at the same time, that M. Cabarrus' manner appeared
changed and somewhat embarrassed.
On the morning of the 15th of March, I waited on the Ambassador. He
promised to speak to the Minister that morning to obtain his final
answer, and if possible to render it favorable. On his return from the
Pardo, he wrote me the following letter.
Translation.
"March 15th, 1782.
"Sir,
"I have just come from the Pardo. The Count de Florida Blanca had not
received your letter of yesterday, but I supplied the deficiency by
explaining to him your critical and difficult situation. He told me
that you might accept the drafts to the amount of fifty thousand
dollars, provided M. Cabarrus remains in the same disposition he has
displayed hitherto, relative to the time he would wait for the
reimbursement of the sums he has advanced, for this purpose. You can,
therefore, make an arrangement with M. Cabarrus for the acceptance of
the bills to the amount of forty or fifty thousand dollars, and show
him this note as his security.
"I hope that this sum will relieve you from your present
embarrassment, and give you time to adopt measures for meeting the
bills, which shall hereafter become due.
"Although this information is not so fully satisfactory as I could
wish, I take pleasure in communicating it to you, with assurances of
my sincere and inviolable attachment.
THE COUNT DE MONTMORIN."