TO THE HON. MR. JAY.

PARIS, Dec. 21, 1787. SIR, The last letters I had the honor of addressing you were of the 3d and 7th of November. Your several favors, to wit, two of July 27, two of Oct. 24, and one of Nov. 3, have all been delivered within the course of a week past; and I embrace the earliest occasion of returning to Congress my sincere thanks for the new proofs I receive therein of their confidence in me, and of assuring them of my best endeavors to merit it. The several matters on which I receive instruction shall all be duly attended to. The Commissioners of the Treasury inform me they will settle the balance appropriated to the Barbary business, apprise me of it, and place it under my power. The moment this is done, I will take the measures necessary to effect the instructions of Congress. The letter to you from the Governor of Rhode Island desires my attention to the application of the claimants of the brig Apollonia, which shall surely be complied with. I trust that an application will be made by the claimants. It will be the more important, as the letter in this case, as in that of the sloop Sally, formerly recommended to me, is directed to an advocate whom all my endeavors have not enabled me to find. I fear, therefore, that the papers in both cases must remain in my hands till called for by the person whom the parties shall employ for the ordinary solicitation and management of their appeals. I suppose they will engage some person to answer from time to time the pecuniary demands of lawyers, clerks, and other officers of the courts, to wait upon the judges and explain their cases to them, which is the usage here, to instruct their lawyers and confer with them whenever necessary, and in general to give all those attentions which the solicitation of private causes constantly require here. Their management indeed is very much a matter of intrigue and of money.

The public affairs of Europe are quiet at present, except as between the Turks and Russians; and, even these, some people suppose may be quieted. It is thought that Russia would ac

commodate easily. The peace between France and England is very generally considered as insecure. It is said the latter is not honestly disarming; she is certainly augmenting her land forces, and the speech of the King, and debates of the court members, prove their diffidence in the late accommodation. Yet it is believed their premier is a friend to peace, and there can be no doubt of the same dispositions in the chief minister here. The divisions continue between the King and his parliament. A promise has been obtained for convoking the States general, as early as 1791, at farthest. The embarrassments in the department of finance are not yet so cleared up as that the public can see their way through them. The arrival of the Count de La Luzerne, just now announced, will probably put their marine operations into new activity.

I have the honor to enclose you three letters from Mr. Dumas. By one of the 23d of October, he proposed to me that Mr. Adams and myself should authorize him to go to Brussels on the subject he explains to you. I wrote him the answer of Nov. 14th, by which I expected he would see that nothing could be done, and think no more of it. His subsequent letters, however, giving me reason to apprehend that, making too sure of the expediency of the treaty he proposed, he might excite expectations from that government, I wrote him the letter of Dec. 9 to suggest to him that this proposition might not be so certainly eligible as he seemed to expect, and to advise him to avoid doing anything which might commit or embarrass Congress. The uneasiness of his present situation, and the desire of a refuge from it, had probably suggested to him this idea, and occasioned him to view it with partiality.

This will be accompanied with the gazettes of France and Leyden. There being no passenger to go by the packet, within my knowledge, this letter will go through the post-office. I shall, therefore, only add assurances of the esteem and respect with which I have the honor to be, Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO MONSIEUR LIMOZIN.

PARIS, December 22, 1787. SIR, I have the honor now, to acknowledge the receipt of your favors of the 18th and 19th of November, and two of the 18th of the present month. I did not write to you immediately on the receipt of the two first, because the observations they contained were to be acted on here. I was much obliged to you for them, as I have been frequently before for others, and you will find that I have profited by them in the Arret which is to come out for the regulation of our commerce, wherein most of the things are provided for, which you have from time to time recommended. With respect to the article of yellow wax, I think there is a general clause in the Arret, which will take it in; but I am not sure of it. If there be not, it is now too late to get any alteration made. You shall receive the Arret the moment it is communicated to me.

I have examined the case of Captain Thomas, with all the dispositions possible to interpose for him. But on mature reflection, I find it is one of those cases wherein my solicitation would be ill received. The government of France, to secure to its subjects the carrying trade between her colonies and the mother country, have made a law, forbidding any foreign vessels to undertake to carry between them. Notwithstanding this, an American vessel has undertaken, and has brought a cargo. For me to ask that this vessel shall be received, would be to ask a repeal of the law, because there is no more reason for receiving her, than there will be for receiving the second, third, &c., which shall act against the same law, nor for receiving an American vessel, more than the vessels of any other nations. Captain Thomas has probably engaged in this business, not knowing the law; but ignorance of the law is no excuse, in any country. If it were, the laws would lose their effect, because it can be always pretended. Were I to make this application to the Comptroller General, he might possibly ask me, whether, in a like case, of a French vessel in America acting through ignorance, against law,

we would suspend the law as to her? I should be obliged honestly to answer, that with us, there is no power which can suspend the law for a moment; and Captain Thomas knows that this answer would be the truth. The Senegal company seems to be as much engaged in it as he is. I should suppose his most probable means of extrication would be with their assistance, and availing himself of their privileges, and the apparent authority he has received from the officers of government there. I am sorry his case is such a one as I cannot present to the minister. A jealousy of our taking away their carrying trade, is the principal reason which obstructs our admission into their West India islands. It would not be right for me to strengthen that jealousy. I have the honor to be, with much esteem, Sir, your most obedient humble servant.

TO THE BOARD OF TREASURY.

PARIS, Dec. 30, 1787.

GENTLEMEN,-In my letter of Aug. 5, I had the honor of enclosing to you a letter written me by Messrs. Fiseaux & Co., reminding us that the principal of the loan of 51,000 florins obtained by them, would become due on the first day of the ensuing year. A few days ago, I received another from them calling for the money. At first I was disposed to answer them that I was in nowise authorized to do anything in it, and that. it rested with you altogether. But, on consulting with some persons better acquainted with the delicacy of credit in Holland, I found there was reason to fear that a failure to pay that money might not only do essential injury to our credit in general, but even hinder the progress of the loan going on in the hands of Willincks and Van Staphorsts; and that it would be for the interest of that loan itself, to pay this demand out of it, if possible. I wrote, therefore, to Mr. Adams, to consult him about it, and to know, if he was of the same opinion, whether he would venture to join me in directing such an application of the money. I

wrote at the same to Willincks and Van Staphorsts, to know whether they could have as much in their hands to spare, and whether they would venture to pay it on our order. Mr. Adams approved of the proposition, and was willing to join in ordering the payment. Willincks and Van Staphorsts answered that they had in their hands money enough to pay the February interest of the former loan, and to answer, for some time yet, Mr. Adams' and my draughts for our subsistence; but that if they should pay the principal of Fiseaux's loan, it would be an advance of their own: they likewise observed, that to pay such a sum without your orders, placed them under an unnecessary responsibility. Upon this, I concluded to ask them only to pay this year's interest, now becoming due, to desire Fiseaux to receive this, and with it to endeavor to quiet the creditors till your orders could be received. I have this day written to Fiseaux, and to Willincks and Van Staphorsts to this purpose, and avail myself of a vessel about to sail from Havre, to communicate the whole transaction to you, and to express my wish that you will be pleased to give an answer to Fiseaux. I enclose to you his letters to me on the subject. From what I can learn, I suspect that if there were a cordial understanding between the Willincks and Van Staphorsts, if the former had been as well disposed as the latter, the matter would have been settled with Fiseaux. I have the honor to be, with much respect, Gentlemen, your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO JOHN JAY.

PARIS, December 31, 1787.

SIR, Since the receipt of the letter of Monsieur de Calonnes, of October the 22d, 1786, I have several times had the honor of mentioning to you, that I was endeavoring to get the substance of that letter reduced into an Arret, which, instead of being revocable by a single letter of a Comptroller General, would require an