Chapter M: Gerard to Arthur Lee (9)

I have requested to be informed of your reasons for withholding from me all communications respecting the treaty of commerce during the negotiation, contrary to an express instruction of Congress. You have constantly, in spite of every endeavor on my part to get your reasons in writing, wrapped yourself up with caution, and notwithstanding the repeated breach of your engagement with me, have not been ashamed to make promises of the same kind and break them again, to amuse me till Mr Deane had an opportunity of going privately away. I shall not examine your inducements for so carefully avoiding to commit yourself to paper on this subject, but only observe that this determination compels me to mention the reasons given by Dr Bancroft and your grandson, which it would have been more agreeable to me to have had under your own hand. Those gentlemen have informed me, that some proposals which Mr Lee had made to you and Mr Deane, respecting his brother and me, made you apprehensive, that it was intended to have us admitted into all consultations, and that every question should be carried by a plurality of voices; that this had determined your conduct with respect to communications to me; but that if you had been ever so well inclined to communicate anything relative to the treaty, you lay under such strong injunctions of secrecy from the French Ministry, that it was out of your power to do it.

With respect to the first of these reasons I shall observe, that if Mr Lee ever made any such proposal, it was entirely unknown to me. I have spoken to him on the subject, and he declares that he never said anything that could in the least justify such an apprehension. There does not indeed seem the least probability that such a proposal could have been made. The unfortunate dispute in which he was engaged with you and Mr Deane, and the decided majority of which you were possessed, would have made such an attempt on his part too weak for a man of common understanding. With regard to the injunctions of secrecy, which the French Ministry are said to have laid you under, I answer, that you had no right to lay yourself under any such injunctions. Before you can avail yourself of that excuse, you should show that you had reminded the French Ministry of there being at that time in Paris two other Commissioners of Congress, to whom your duty required you to communicate not only a copy of the treaty originally proposed by Congress, but also whatever subsequent alterations might be proposed on either side. Had this been done, and had they expressed a desire that those Commissioners also should be unacquainted with the transaction, rather than the smallest obstruction should have been thrown in the way of the negotiation, I should have been contented to have had it kept from me as long as you thought proper.

Having examined these reasons, and I hope at least shown the probability of their being only pretended ones, I shall proceed to state what appears to me to be the true cause of your conduct, and as it will be necessary to trouble you with a dull narrative, you will I hope excuse it on account of the importance of it. I received a letter in October last from Mr William Lee, one of the joint commercial agents for conducting the affairs of the Congress in this kingdom, desiring my attendance at your house at Passy, and informing me, that he had something of importance to lay before the Commissioners. I accordingly attended, and heard an account of some very extraordinary abuses and embarrassments in the commercial department, owing to the misconduct of Mr Thomas Morris, late one of the joint commercial agents, and to the claim which certain persons made to the management of the affairs of the Congress at Nantes. Mr Lee complained of great obstructions, which he had met with from these circumstances, that so far from receiving any assistance from the Commissioners, they seemed to have encouraged the persons who opposed him in the discharge of his duty, and that he had repeatedly written to the Commissioners for their support, without ever having been able to obtain the favor of an answer. He expressed his desire of returning to Nantes, and using his endeavors to prevent the repetition of such abuses as had been stated, and did not doubt but with the support of the Commissioners he should be able to render this material service to the public. The support which he required was a letter from the Commissioners, addressed to all such captains of ships as were in the service of the United States, informing them, that he was an agent properly authorised by Congress to manage their commercial concerns in this country, and that it would be proper for them to follow his instructions. This request, which appeared to me extremely reasonable, was to my astonishment rejected both by you and Mr Deane.

This appeared the more extraordinary to me, as you both acknowledged, that you were perfectly convinced of the truth of what Mr Lee had stated to you, and said you had laid these abuses before Congress, and complained in the strongest terms against Mr Thomas Morris, whose misconduct had occasioned some of them; that Congress had given you a tacit reproof, by taking no notice of the complaints you had made, and that Mr Robert Morris, a member of the committee for foreign affairs, had given you _a rap over the knuckles_ for having made them. I begged you to consider that the silence of Congress, which you had construed into a reproof, might have been occasioned by the multiplicity of business they had to transact, or they might have attended to it, and their letter on the subject have miscarried. This you said could not have been the case, as the complaints to Congress against Mr Morris made but part of your letter; there were several other matters contained in it, which were all answered, and as the complaint against Mr Morris was the only part unnoticed, you considered it as a reproof to you for having written to Congress about it. You had attempted once to correct the abuses, which every body knew were practising at Nantes to a very scandalous degree. Mr Robert Morris had misrepresented your good intentions, and had insinuated in his letter to Mr Deane of June 29th, that your complaints against his brother were made from interested motives, and that you wished him removed to make way for your nephew. As your conduct had in one instance, relative to the abuses at Nantes, been thus misrepresented, you were determined it should in no other, by adhering to your resolution of not meddling with them.

Your reasons did not appear at all satisfactory to me, and I took the liberty of telling you so, which gave you very great offence. I was extremely sorry for it, but did not at that time, nor have I upon the most mature deliberation since been able to conceive how it could have been avoided consistent with my duty. I requested you to consider how unreasonable it was, to allow your resentment against the Committee for a supposed tacit reproof, and against Mr Robert Morris for what you called _a rap over the knuckles_, to operate to the prejudice, perhaps to the destruction of the commercial concerns of your country. Your answer was direct and positive; “If these consequences should happen, Mr Robert Morris and the Committee must be answerable for them, but you were determined not to meddle with the matter.” In this determination Mr Deane co-operated, and we parted without Mr Lee’s having been able to obtain any satisfaction on the subjects of his complaints, except a promise on your part to countermand an order you had given relative to the sale of one of the prizes at Nantes. This promise, however, I understand was not fulfilled. I most solemnly protest, that I believe this interview to have been the cause of your excluding me from all communications.

Perhaps it may be said, that you were not required by Congress to make those communications. This may be considered in the nature of those injuries against which no positive law can be produced, but which are, notwithstanding, known to be injuries by all the world. Had the directions of Congress, however, in these points, been as explicit as words could make them, I doubt not but you would have found the means of evading them, as you have in others, if it suited your purpose, and have drawn arguments for your justification from every source. I shall trouble you with my reasons for thinking so. I requested of you at Chaillot, to let me know why you had disregarded the instructions of Congress respecting the treaty; you expressed your doubts whether Congress intended to have anything communicated to me, except the treaty after it was _concluded_. I referred you to the words of the instruction itself, which I had quoted to you in my letter, and asked you if you thought it possible, that the gentlemen who had written them could have been so ignorant, as not to know the distinction between a _proposition_ and a _conclusion_. Other doubts arose. If I had been at Florence, the department which was assigned me by Congress, it might have been inconvenient to have followed the strict letter of the instructions, by sending every alteration of the treaty, that might have been proposed on either side, on account of the danger of their being intercepted.

In this I agreed with you perfectly, and told you that if I had been at Florence, you would have had an excuse which at that time was of service to you. I am sorry to be obliged to refer to words spoken in conversation; I have wished to avoid it, but you have put it out of my power. Had you written down what I have just related, which you promised me to do, it might have been of service to you in one instance. You would have recollected having already given it as your opinion, that if I had been at Florence, it would have been improper to have sent me the alterations proposed in the treaty, and would probably not have mentioned to Mr Pringle a reason in your justification totally the reverse of this. As you have, however, done it, it will be necessary to remind you that my not having gone to Florence has been entirely owing to reasons given me by the Tuscan Minister at this Court, which I have informed Congress of. These reasons were also communicated to you and the other Commissioners, and you thought they ought to be complied with.

You observed to Mr Pringle, that I had written you an angry letter. When you reflect upon your proceedings towards me, that ought not to surprise you. Having considered myself injured by you, I make a complaint to you in writing; you deny that it is well founded, and promise me an explanation of your conduct. Relying upon your word, I suffer myself to be amused from time to time by promises and excuses, till Mr Deane, who has supported you in all your measures, sails for America. Would it not have been fair and honorable to have given me your reasons in justification of your conduct before that gentleman’s departure, that I might have had an opportunity either of being convinced by them or of refuting them, and that his verbal representations in America might not be made without having anything from me to oppose them.

I am very gravely told, that as a proof of your not having thought it a good opportunity, you had not yourself written by Mr Deane. Is there a man of common sense in the world, who will not see, that as Mr Deane is a party concerned in the contest, which has unhappily subsisted between us, and of course will be interested in your justification, there was no absolute necessity for your writing, but that the very reverse was the case with me? Having thus blown up a flame about me, you are unreasonable enough to be surprised at my being warmed by it. Does not this resemble the conduct of the tyrant Kouli Khan, who, having cut the tendons of a man’s legs with his sword, would afterwards have compelled him to dance? I must be very plain in telling you, that I envy not the feelings of that man, be his reputation ever so highly exalted, who can with coldness either offer or receive an injury.

I have been told by a gentleman, that the French Ministry had desired that Mr Arthur Lee and myself, _expressly mentioned by name_, might have certain matters concealed from us. I cannot take a step in this business without having some insinuation to encounter. My informant was not so explicit as I wished him to be. He did not acquaint me with the points intended to be concealed, whether they related to the treaties or to the departure of Mr Deane. I must beg the favor of you, therefore, to let me know if you were desired by the French Ministry to conceal either or both the matters from me _by name_, or whether, as I believe to be the case, you had no such injunctions at all. There is reason to believe, that the insinuation is injurious both to the French Ministry and to us. I have never, by any part of my proceedings, subjected myself to be refused admittance into their presence. I have never been compelled to have recourse to any person to soothe and deprecate their resentment, excited by transactions, which they thought obliged them to make use of expressions highly reflecting on the honor of my country, at the very time when perhaps the interests and even the safety of America might have been affected by that resentment. Will you undertake to make the same declaration? If you do, it shall appear, that I do not deal in insinuations; and if the Ministry were inclined to show any marks of their dissatisfaction, the world will judge who were the persons most likely to experience them.

If after having been made acquainted with the instructions of Congress relative to the treaty, the Ministry desired to have the proposed alterations concealed from me, and there was any danger of an obstruction to your negotiation if the directions of Congress were insisted on, I shall endeavor to learn what could have induced them to such a conduct. The mischievous tendency of some parts of the treaty might have been pointed out, had they been communicated to me before it was too late, and a troublesome and ineffectual application to the Court of Spain for relief might have been rendered unnecessary.

I am, Sir, &c.

RALPH IZARD.

TO HENRY LAURENS, PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, June 28th, 1778.

Dear Sir,

The treaties are expected to arrive soon in France, as Congress received them by the Sensible, a French frigate, in the month of April. In some of my letters I informed you of my sentiments on one or two of the articles in the treaty of commerce, and of the ineffectual steps, which I took in consequence of them. Whether Congress has been made acquainted with these sentiments, or whether they approve of them, I know not, as I have not received a letter from you, from the Committee, nor from any member of Congress, since my arrival in France. The treaties were not communicated to me till the 30th of March, when they were half the way over to America, and of course too late for any alterations to be made until they had undergone the inspection of Congress.

From the dispositions of the principal parties concerned in the negotiation, and from the manner in which my application respecting the eleventh and twelfth articles of the treaty of commerce was received, there is very little reason to think, that any objections, however justly founded, would have made any impression. I have, however, done every thing in my power, and I shall be very happy if any good effects should be produced by my endeavors. It has been my constant wish to avoid contentions of every kind; it has been particularly my desire to avoid them with Dr Franklin from every consideration. His abilities are great, and his reputation high. Removed as he is at so considerable a distance from the observation of his constituents, if he is not guided by principles of virtue and honor, those abilities and that reputation may produce the most mischievous effects. I send you by this opportunity some papers, which I desire may be communicated to my countrymen from South Carolina, who are members of Congress, and if it is your opinion, that they or any part of them should be laid before Congress, you will be so good as to do it. If, on the contrary, you think the situation of affairs will make it improper to trouble Congress with them, you will withhold them. It is my wish, however, that you may approve of their being communicated to Congress. Whatever may be your determination, I shall think I have acted right in communicating them to you. You will find from them with what caution the treaties were concealed from me, while they were negotiating, and even after they were signed. When Dr Franklin thought Mr Deane had been gone long enough to get to America, before any observations could be written on the contents of them, they were sent to me. The article respecting molasses, in the treaty of commerce, may be productive of considerable mischief.

I can, however, account for that transaction from natural causes. Two of the gentlemen engaged in it were born in New England. That part of America is possessed of very few articles of export, and the great use which is made there of molasses makes it a very desirable object, that it should be perpetually exempted from duty. The articles in the treaty of alliance, which I have complained of, are infinitely more mischievous, and when I attempt to account for the conduct of the gentlemen, who have concluded them, and at the same time set aside the clear and unequivocal article on the same subject, transmitted to them by Congress, I am utterly incapable of doing it without suspecting the most dishonorable practices, which I cannot think they have been guilty of.

It appears the more unaccountable, when the instructions, which were transmitted by the Congress to the Commissioners at the time the original treaty was sent, are examined. Congress judged, that some alterations might be found necessary, and explained their intentions in the following manner. “It is the wish of Congress, that the treaty should be concluded, and you are hereby instructed to use every means in your power for concluding it, _according to the plan you have received_. If you shall find that to be impracticable, you are hereby authorised to relax the demands of the United States, and to enlarge their offers, _according to the following directions_.” In these instructions, such articles as it was thought would admit of alteration are pointed out. But the ninth article is not among the number. It seems indeed essential to the safety of the United States, that the countries and islands therein expressly mentioned, should be in their possession. There is a most uncommon degree of effrontery in Dr Franklin’s declaring, that the fifth article of the treaty of alliance could not possibly admit of such a construction, as I apprehended might be put upon it. I have not the least doubt but it was intended to leave an opening for negotiating Florida into the possession of Spain, if the successes of the House of Bourbon against England should put it in the power of the former to dictate the terms at the conclusion of a general peace. It is more than probable likewise, that what I have hinted at in my letter to Mr Lee, respecting Newfoundland, and the other Islands on our coasts, and the fishery, may in future be productive of a great deal of trouble, if proper explanations are not obtained in time.[67]

If anything was necessary to make the effrontery, which I have just taken notice of, complete, it was Franklin’s observation, that if my apprehensions were ever so just, it was now too late for any remedy here. His tricks and chicanery put it out of my power to make any objections before the treaties were signed and sent to America, and then he gives that as a reason, why no remedy should be attempted against the evil, which is pointed out. In my conscience, I believe him to be an improper person to be trusted with the management of the affairs of America in this kingdom. If he were sent to the Court of Vienna he could not have an opportunity of doing any harm. No affront could be taken at this exchange, as that Court is in general looked upon to be the first in Europe, and it is improper for the same person to have a commission both for Vienna and Berlin.

The English newspapers have given us the proceedings of Congress on the 22d of April, respecting the conciliatory bills. I am very anxious to know what reception the Commissioners have met with, and the extent of their powers. It is much to be lamented, that they have not been enabled by Parliamentary authority to acknowledge the independence. The Ministry are fully convinced themselves, that nothing else will do, and yet they continue to act under the same dreadful infatuation, which has already produced so many calamities to their country, and refuse to adopt any measures, however salutary, till it is too late. I most ardently wish for peace, provided it can be obtained upon terms, which Congress may think proper to be accepted.

Mr William Lee has been some weeks at Vienna. He writes me, that the French Ambassador advises him “to wait there with patience, till the prospect of things open a little more than they do at present.” I have informed you in several of my letters, that my reception in Tuscany depends entirely upon the proceedings of the Court of Vienna. The Emperor and the King of Prussia are each at the head of a powerful army in Silesia, and within a few miles of one another. A negotiation has been for several weeks constantly carrying on with respect to the succession of Bavaria, and it is astonishing, that nothing is yet concluded. Each of those princes has two hundred and fifty thousand regular troops, and more are continually raising. The Emperor has, besides, the Hungarian nobility and their dependants, who may upon occasion be called upon to serve. They are supposed to form a body of about three hundred thousand men, and may be looked upon as militia.

The King of Prussia, although negotiating with the Emperor, is not idle in other matters. He is using his utmost endeavors to excite the northern powers to join him against the House of Austria, and if he succeeds in bringing about an accommodation between the Russians and the Turks, the Czarina will certainly afford him very powerful assistance. Whether either the Emperor or the King of Prussia will be connected with England does not yet appear. Neither of them seems inclined to offend her at present. The troubles in Germany have certainly produced this effect on the King of Prussia, for he made the clearest declaration before the death of the Elector of Bavaria, that he would be the second power in Europe to acknowledge the independence of America.

I am, dear Sir, &c.

RALPH IZARD.

[67] Succeeding events proved all these suspicions and speculations to have been erroneous.

TO HENRY LAURENS, PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, July 25th, 1778.

Dear Sir,

The treaties were received by the Spy on the 9th instant, I am glad to find that the 11th and 12th articles of the treaty of commerce appeared to Congress in the same light that they did to me. The Committee of Foreign Affairs, in their letters to the Commissioners here, of May 14th and 15th, made nearly the same observations that I did to Dr Franklin, in my letter to him on that subject.

I have not however the satisfaction of knowing whether the part I have acted has been approved of, or even whether any of my letters got to your hands, as I have not been favored with a line from you since your arrival in Congress. I shall not complain, but follow Dr Franklin’s maxim in his letter of January 29th, which is, “to suppose our friends right, till one finds them wrong, rather than to suppose them wrong, till one finds them right.” It is possible that my letters to you, and yours to me, may have been lost or stolen. The tricks that were played with Mr Lee’s letters, and the public despatches, that were sent by Folger, will justify any suspicion. I shall take it for granted, that if you have written, your letters have miscarried, or if you have not written, that you were prevented by business of greater importance. It is however very unfortunate, and you cannot but be sensible how mortifying it must be to me, who have been engaged in distress and trouble, in consequence of my doing my duty to the public, not to find attention and support from a quarter, where I had every reason to expect it.

I had just written thus far when Mr Adams sent me your letter of May 19th, which was enclosed to him; and I thank you heartily for the very friendly expressions contained in it. You mention, that you intended to write me more fully by the same opportunity; but as that letter is not come to hand, I suppose it was too late for the conveyance. I am very anxious to see it, and hope to find by it that my proceedings have met with your approbation. The ratification of the treaties by Congress has put the ministry and the whole nation into as good spirits, as our countrymen were put by them. Except the parts which I have mentioned to you, they seem to be very fair and equitable, and I really believe that if a certain gentleman had thought less of his infallibility, they might have been made unexceptionable. The ministry made no objection to the alteration respecting the molasses, and I most sincerely wish, that Congress in their hurry had not passed over the other articles, which I am convinced will occur to them, when perhaps it may not be so easy to get them altered as at present.

The war in Germany is already begun. The King of Prussia, finding that his negotiations proved fruitless, has marched his forces into Bohemia, and that unhappy country, the constant seat of misery, will in all probability experience more calamities than ever. The wisdom of the Congress, and the valor of our countrymen, will I hope soon remove the war from our continent, and I pray to God that the blessings of peace may be at no great distance.

I cannot help expressing to you my astonishment, upon reading the account given of the interview between the Commissioners here and M. Gerard, on the 16th of December, printed in the Yorktown Gazette of May 4th. The part I allude to is the following. The French Plenipotentiary, speaking of the King, says, “he should moreover not so much as insist, that, if he engaged in the war with England on our account, we should not make a separate peace for ourselves, whenever good and advantageous terms were offered to us.” This account I understand was given to Congress by the Commissioners, and therefore it must be presumed to be true. How then can it be reconciled with the 8th article of the treaty of alliance? Suppose England should offer to acknowledge the liberty, sovereignty, and independence of America, upon condition that she should make a separate peace. The question is, can we in honor do it? Monsieur Gerard, Royal Syndic of Strasbourg, and Secretary of his Majesty’s Council of State, informed the Commissioners on the 16th of December, _by order of the King_, that the only condition his Majesty should require and rely on would be this, “that we, in no peace to be made with England, should give up our independence, and return to the obedience of that government.” The 8th article of the treaty of alliance declares directly the contrary, although the second says expressly, _Le but essentiel et direct de la présente alliance défensive, est de maintenir efficacement la liberté, la souveraineté, et l’indépendance des Etats Unis_. I most ardently wish for peace; at the same time the preservation of our national honor must be attended to. The virtue and wisdom of the representatives of our country in Congress will be shown, if this question should ever be agitated.

You will find by my letter to the Committee of this day’s date, that the situation of affairs has not allowed me yet to go into Italy. My own inclinations, if they alone had been consulted, would have carried me there long ago. Mr William Lee was right in going to Vienna. That Court acts from its own opinion without control, and might possibly have been prevailed on to receive him publicly. The event has not proved answerable to our wishes. The conduct of the Empress Queen has certainly been occasioned by a resentment against the Court of France, for not contributing, contrary to their own interest, to the aggrandisement of the House of Austria. A resentment so ill founded and unreasonable may perhaps not continue long; in the mean time, however, it is exceedingly provoking to me, as I am living at the public expense, without having it in my power to fulfil the objects of my commission. Perhaps, indeed, my having been in Paris may not prove altogether useless; and I hope the papers I have transmitted to you may not be thought unworthy the attention of Congress. After having had the facts stated to them relative to the situation of affairs in Europe, they will judge what instructions are proper to be sent to me. If they are positive, at all events they shall be followed; if discretionary, I shall act to the best of my judgment.

You are so good as to assure me in your letter of the 19th of May, that you will upon all occasions have at heart my honor and interest, and that you will by every opportunity keep me acquainted with the state of affairs. I feel very sensibly these friendly assurances, and promise you that amidst the troubles and vexations in which I have been engaged, I derive considerable comfort and satisfaction from them. You say nothing of your son. I heartily rejoice at his promotion. He must have informed you, that he was very desirous of going into the Prussian army. I dissuaded him from it, and advised him, if he was determined upon becoming a soldier, to take Marshal Saxe and the Chevalier Foland’s Commentaries upon Polybius into his hands, and go to America, where an ample field would be open to him. I am happy to find, that he has had no cause to repent of having followed my advice.

My wife offers you her compliments, and joins me in desiring that they may be presented to him. We have heard nothing very lately from his family in England; by the last accounts Mrs Laurens was well, and the child very much improved.

I am, dear Sir, &c.

RALPH IZARD.

FROM THE ABBÉ NICCOLI TO RALPH IZARD.

Translation.

Florence, July 28th, 1778.

Sir,

Although M. Favi, who knows my attachment for you, regularly informs me concerning you, yet I was very much pleased with receiving a letter directly from yourself, dated the 11th instant, and to find thereby that the gout had left you at last, and that your little family were well. I beg you to embrace them for me.

I have often wished for you all at Florence, during my stay here, and to partake with you the delights that are to be enjoyed beneath a fine sky, and under the protection of good laws. I have tortured myself to find some means to induce you to come here; my conscience and honor have always dictated the counsels I have given you, so contrary to my inclinations, but most conformable to your situation and the circumstances you are placed in. I wish very much that the order you have received to effect a loan in Italy might furnish you with a plausible reason to make me a visit, but I see so many difficulties in this design, that I dare not flatter myself with hopes. You will permit me to mention those, which present themselves on the part of Tuscany. Tuscany, which has been deprived for upwards of two centuries of an active commerce, is but just emerging out of the languishing and exhausted state into which she was plunged. There has indeed been for some years a large quantity of cash in circulation, but although my countrymen are convinced of the solvency of the United States, of their honesty in keeping their word, and that they consider their independence as established, they will not however lend their money, because they can employ it in a much more lucrative manner under their own eyes. To give you an evident proof of it, I send you the extract of an edict of his Royal Highness. You will find the inducements to be infinitely superior to anything the United States can offer.

I propose also to send you shortly an abridgment of the immunities, privileges, and liberties granted for fourteen years past by the Grand Duke to his subjects. You will see in it his system of administration, and you will judge whether, in a State favored as ours is, it can be reasonably expected to amass money to put it out to interest. I will moreover give you a proof of what has happened under his administration, and of which I am an eye witness. Cultivation of land has increased double, and landed property, if there is any for sale, is purchased at double the price it sold for before. The Grand Duke, who has reimbursed almost the half of the State debts, which he found at his accession, has the consolation to see the manner in which this money has been employed.

I confine myself, Sir, to one single point, to show you the little probability there is of accomplishing your object in Tuscany, leaving it to you to judge whether in the present circumstances government would not be blamed, should it permit a loan to be opened here for the United States. I know not whether they would permit such a thing for the Emperor.

This is enough respecting Tuscany. As to the other States of Italy, I see none in a condition to comply with your views excepting the Republic of Genoa. In this State, being strictly connected with France, you may not meet with the same difficulties on the part of the government, and as the Genoese have almost all their property in ready money, and are accustomed to lend to every body, I am persuaded you may find it with them, especially if the Ministry of France interposes favorably. I imagine that they will demand large interest, with security, perhaps, and guarantied by the King of France. You will do well, before you open this negotiation, directly to speak about it to the Count de Vergennes; and he should speak to the Marquis Spinola, the Genoese Envoy. If you have not this recourse, I know not how you can fulfil the commission of Congress, because all Europe being in a convulsed state, money becomes scarce and dear. You know that the Empress Queen has opened a loan in her States of Brabant; perhaps, should the troubles not cease, she will open one likewise in Milan. Thus, my friend, you have my opinion; I am sorry that I cannot furnish you with some better hints, and more conformable to your wishes and mine. I say nothing respecting myself, and I know not yet what the Grand Duke will do with me; whenever he shall determine, you shall not be among the last who are informed of it. Communicate always good news of your country to me, and be assured of the perfect and sincere attachment with which I have the honor to be, Sir, &c.

NICCOLI.

TO THE COMMISSIONERS.

Paris, August 25th, 1778.

Gentlemen,

In a letter, which I have lately received from Florence, and which I have had the honor of laying before you, it is recommended that an endeavor should be made to interest the Ministry in favor of any loan, that may be attempted in Genoa for the United States, as it is probable the Genoese may require the security of the Court of France for the payment of such sums, as they may have it in their power to lend. The Ministry must be convinced of the ability of America, in a few years after the establishment of peace, to discharge any pecuniary engagements she may at present have occasion to enter into, and the connexion, which subsists between the two countries, will, I hope, induce them to afford us every assistance in their power. I shall be glad to know whether you think I ought to apply to Count de Vergennes on the subject, or that the application should be made first by you; in either case, I shall be ready to co-operate with you, or act in any manner that shall appear most likely to produce the desired effect.

Captain Woodford, who has lately arrived in this city from Leghorn, informs me that there are some merchants there inclined to enter into the American trade. He is to command a vessel from that port, and is apprehensive of meeting some of the cruisers belonging to the States of Africa. This danger will probably deter many Americans from entering into the Mediterranean trade, and if possible it should be removed. The King of France, in the 8th article of the Treaty of Commerce, has engaged to employ his good offices and interposition with the Emperor of Morocco, and with the Regencies of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, and every other power on the coast of Barbary, in order to provide as fully as possible for the convenience and safety of the inhabitants of the United States, and their vessels and effects against all violence, insult, attacks, or depredations, on the part of the said Princes and States of Barbary, and their subjects.

You will be so good as to inform me, whether any steps have been taken by the Court of France, for the security of the inhabitants of the United States, in consequence of the above article.

I have the honor to be, &c.

RALPH IZARD.

FROM THE COMMISSIONERS TO RALPH IZARD.

Passy, August 25th, 1778.

Sir,

We have the honor of your letter of this date, and shall give the earliest attention to its contents.

We apprehend there would be no impropriety at all in your application to his Excellency the Count de Vergennes, concerning the subject of a loan in Genoa, and we wish that you would apply. As we wish however to do everything in our power to procure you success, we shall do ourselves the honor to propose the subject to his Excellency the first time we see him, which will probably be tomorrow, when we shall make an application to him also upon the other subject of your letter, the interposition of His Majesty with the Emperor of Morocco, and with the Regencies of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and every other power on the coast of Barbary.

We have the honor to be, &c.

B. FRANKLIN,
ARTHUR LEE,
JOHN ADAMS.

_P. S. August 27th._ Since writing the foregoing, we have spoken of the Genoese loan to Count de Vergennes, who gave us no encouragement to hope that France would engage for us in that affair. The other matter will be the subject of a proposed written memorial.

TO THE ABBÉ NICCOLI.

Paris, September 1st, 1778.

Dear Sir,

Your favor of the 28th of July affords no very flattering prospects to us from Tuscany. My expectations and hopes from that quarter were high, and I confess that I am disappointed. All Europe appears to me to be interested in the success of our cause, and Italy will certainly receive no inconsiderable share of the benefits resulting from the establishment of the independence of the United States; it is, therefore, not a little to be wondered at, that she should refuse to stir a finger towards the accomplishment of that event. I am well aware, that the revenues of the Grand Duke are not equal to those of the King of France; something, however, is certainly in his power; and we are taught by Scripture to set a proper value on a single mite, when it is proportioned to the ability of the donor.

The Grand Duke, you say, has discharged almost half the debt with which he found the State encumbered at his accession. This is a proof of the wisdom and good government of his Royal Highness, and shows how well founded the opinion is, which the world has entertained of that excellent Prince. It shows also, that his State is in a very flourishing condition. I have been lately informed, that his Royal Highness intends shortly to discharge another part of his debt, to the amount of three millions of French livres. If this payment could be postponed, and the money lent to the United States, it would be of considerable service to them. You will excuse me for pressing this subject with earnestness, as I have the greatest desire to execute the business, which the Congress have done me the honor of putting into my hands.

Captain Woodford has lately arrived here from Leghorn; he informs me that some merchants at that port are determined to enter into the American trade, and that he is to command a vessel from thence bound to Virginia, which he thinks will be ready to sail in the course of a few weeks. He is a man of a very good character, and I hope he will succeed, which will probably induce many others to follow his example. He has charged himself with the delivery of this letter, and I do not doubt but that you will give him any advice or assistance in your power to facilitate the execution of his plan.

My wife and family join in offering you their compliments, and I am, dear Sir, &c.

RALPH IZARD.

TO COUNT DE VERGENNES.

Paris, September 2d, 1778.

Sir,

I am directed by the Congress to endeavor to procure a loan of money in Italy, and have in consequence done everything in my power to obtain proper information on the subject. My correspondent in Tuscany gives me no hopes of procuring any there, as that country is just beginning to emerge from a state of languor, under which it has suffered for two centuries.

No other part of Italy seems to afford a more agreeable prospect except Genoa, and I am told, that even there, the security of the Court of France will probably be expected, for any sum which the inhabitants of that Republic may have it in their power to lend to the United States. The value of the paper currency of America has sunk, on account of the great sums which it has been absolutely necessary to issue in the prosecution of the war against Great Britain. If the loan can be obtained, the Congress will be enabled to reduce the quantity in circulation, and at the same time raise and establish the credit of the remainder. This will be of such important service to our country, that I am induced to hope your Excellency will be so good as to afford us your assistance in it, and speak to the Marquis Spinola, the Envoy from Genoa, on the subject. I shall be extremely happy to have it in my power to inform the Congress, that by your Excellency’s assistance, I have been enabled to execute the trust which they have committed to me.

I have the honor to be, &c.

RALPH IZARD.

TO HENRY LAURENS, PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Paris, September 12th, 1778.

Dear Sir,

My last letter to you was dated the 25th of July, and yours of the 19th of May still continues the only one I have been favored with from you. My letter of the 28th of June was accompanied by several papers, which appeared to me proper that you and every other friend of our country should be acquainted with. Five sets of them were sent to you, and it will be very unlucky if one of them does not get safe to your hands.

The molasses business would certainly have proved the source of continual disputes if it had not been altered, but the mischief, which might have been expected from that, is beyond comparison less than what is pointed out in my letter to Mr Lee of the 18th of May. My apprehensions on this subject were communicated to the Commissioners at this Court, but I am sorry to say that they made no impression upon them. Mr Lee alone seemed to think it possible I might be right; the other two gentlemen were perfectly satisfied. Dr Franklin’s usual consciousness of infallibility was apparent, and Mr Adams insinuated, that the business of the treaties was put entirely into the hands of the Commissioners at this Court, and nobody else had any right to give their opinions about them; that he understood that I had objected to the 11th and 12th articles of the Treaty of Commerce respecting molasses, but he believed I should find myself greatly mistaken in that matter; that he did not doubt but those articles would be extremely popular in Congress, and that they would be very angry when they were informed that I had objected to them. I answered, that I was sensible the conclusion of the treaties was committed solely to the gentlemen he mentioned, but that the principles in which I had been educated militated against the other part of his opinion; that I had thought it my duty to oppose the proceedings of the King and Parliament of Great Britain when they were injurious to my country, that the same motives had occasioned my opposition to the articles in question; that I had submitted my objections to the treaty to the President, and hoped he would make them known to Congress; that if they thought I had acted wrong, I should of course be informed of it by him; that I should in that case look upon myself to be no longer fit to be employed, when my opinion differed so totally from that of my employers, and should request the favor of the President to procure the leave of Congress for me to return into my own country.

I have had the satisfaction, however, of finding that Mr Adams, as well as his countrymen, Dr Franklin and Mr Deane, have been mistaken in their expectation, that Congress would be inattentive to the interests of nine States of America to gratify the eaters and distillers of molasses. I am yet to learn whether the arguments made use of in the abovementioned letter of the 18th of May have had any weight with you, and the other gentlemen to whom I desired you to submit them, but I am very sorry to inform you that my apprehensions were too well founded. The letters, which Mr Lee has lately received from Spain, leave not the least room to doubt what the expectations of that Court are respecting the Floridas. For my own part, no such additional proof was necessary after having compared the 5th article of the Treaty of Alliance with the 9th article of the original treaty, transmitted by Congress.

The conduct of Spain has been full of ambiguity; she has been arming with all possible diligence, and at the same time sent an Ambassador to London, who has hitherto made use of no other language but that of peace and mediation. England, who seems to have lost her common sense at the same time that she parted with her humanity, does not appear to suspect that the delays of Spain may possibly be intended only to make her blow more certain and effectual. Some politicians believe, that the delays of Spain have been occasioned by her being averse to the independence of America. Nothing can be more absurd than such an opinion. Spain can have nothing to apprehend from us alone, equal to what she had reason to fear from the united strength of Great Britain and America. When the present war is ended, I hope the blessings of peace will be long enjoyed. Should Spain be suffered to get possession of the Floridas, perpetual causes of quarrel may be expected, and therefore I hope the wisdom of Congress will guard against this evil.

When my apprehensions on this subject were communicated to the Commissioners at this Court, a proper explanation I believe might have been obtained from the Ministry under their hands, as the ratification of the treaties was not arrived, and it is certain they were very much alarmed about them, and expected they would have undergone a much severer scrutiny than they did. The limits, which Congress have prescribed in the 9th article of their original treaty, are such as I am convinced we ought to have, and I hope that nothing will happen to make it necessary that they should be altered. Mr Lee will, I suppose, inform Congress of the contents of his letters from Spain on this subject. It appears of so much consequence to the Southern States, that I think they should be consulted separately on the subject of ceding the Floridas to Spain, before the question is brought before Congress.

In my letter to the Committee of Foreign Affairs, of the 25th of July, I enclosed them two letters, which I had written to the Abbé Niccoli at Florence, on the subject of money. I now send you his answer, by which you will find that there is no very flattering prospect of obtaining any there. I send you likewise enclosed several other papers, which will show you that I have done everything in my power to fulfil the wishes of Congress; nothing has been left unattempted to promote the success of what I have had constantly at heart. I have had an interview with Count de Vergennes, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and endeavored to prevail upon him to offer the security of the Court of France for any money, which might be borrowed in Italy for the use of the United States. He refused affording any assistance in the matter. I then wrote him the enclosed letter of the 2d of September, without promising myself much hopes of success from it. The King of Prussia during the last war received a subsidy from Great Britain, of between seven and eight hundred thousand pounds sterling. The object to be obtained was certainly much less considerable, than what France has already got by the dismemberment of so great a part of the dominions of her natural enemy, and yet the States of America, her allies, whose exertions have procured so desirable an event for her, have no subsidy, and even her assistance in effecting a loan is refused. France has certainly great demands for money herself; she might, however, have been more liberal than she has been, and I am of opinion she would have been so, had things been properly conducted by those who ought to have thought less of themselves and more of the public.

I have in this, and some of my former letters, given you my opinion on such parts of the treaties as appeared likely to prove injurious to us. The Southern States are most affected by the articles, which have been already taken notice of. The 9th and 10th articles of the Treaty of Commerce contain matter which will, if I am not much mistaken, prove the subject of great uneasiness to the States of New England. The gentleman, whose presumption and self sufficiency I have already complained of, may in this instance, I believe, be acquitted of having any design. Whatever there may be improper in these articles can be only attributed to the want of information, and to their not being acquainted with the subject.