if the latter should not be obliged to enter into the present war, if she does enter into it, I apprehend Sweden will ultimately arrange herself with the adverse party. And that she must enter into, in the long run, I think extremely probable. I sincerely wish this may not be, till she shall have arranged her internal affairs. These, in my opinion, are going on in the fairest way possible to produce good to the body of the nation. The progress already made is great, and the cry for further improvement, without being strong enough to induce government to draw the sword and crush the opposition, is strong enough to goad them on towards the establishment of a constitution. I think that among the ministers themselves there are some good patriots who are not entirely displeased at this degree of violence. It is already announced that the States General will be called in 1789, and I have tolerably good information that an Arret will appear the day after to-morrow announcing them for May, 1789; but my letters must go off to-morrow, so that this intelligence cannot be confirmed in them. You will have heard that the Baron de Breteuil is retired, and Monsieur de Villedeuil in his place. M. de Malesherbes has endeavored to retire, but as yet he is overpowered by strong intercession. The Marechal de Richelieu died yesterday. The Marechal de Vaux is at the point of death in Dauphine. The Ambassadors of Tippoo Saib are to be received to-morrow at Versailles in great pomp. I go to see this jeu d'enfants. I wish Madame de Brehan could be there to paint it. By this time, I am afraid she is ready to do justice to my information on the subject of my own country, that the Cultivateur Americaine had been too much disposed to see the fair side; that it had too sides as well as all other countries, &c. I beg her indulgence for our foibles, and a continuance particularly of her partiality to me. Be so good as to present me very affectionately to her, and to be assured of the sincerity of the esteem and attachment with which I have the honor to be, dear Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO JOHN JAY.

PARIS, August 10, 1788.

SIR, I have waited till the last moment of Mrs. Barclay's departure, to write you the occurrences since my letter of the 3d instant. We have received the Swedish account of an engagement between their fleet and the Russian, on the Baltic, wherein they say they took one, and burned another Russian vessel, with the loss of one on their side, and that the victory remained with them. They say, at the same time, that their fleet returned into port, and the Russians kept the sea; we must, therefore, suspend our opinion, till we get the Russian version of this engagement. The Swedish manifesto was handed about to-day at Versailles, by the Swedish ambassador, in manuscript. The King complains that Russia has been ever endeavoring to sow divisions in his kingdom, in order to re-establish the ancient constitution; that he has long borne it, through a love of peace, but finds it no longer bearable; that still, however, he will make peace on these conditions: 1, that the Empress punishes her minister for the note he gave in to the court of Stockholm; 2, that she restore Crimea to the Turks; and 3, that she repay to him all the expenses of his armament. The Russian force in vessels of war, on the Black Sea, are five frigates and three ships of the line; but those of the line are shut up in port, and cannot come out, till Oczakow shall be taken. This fleet is com

The

manded by Paul Jones, with the rank of rear-admiral. Prince of Nassau commands the gallies and gun-boats. It is now ascertained that the States General will assemble the next year, and probably in the month of May. Tippoo Saib's ambassadors had their reception to-day at Versailles, with unusual pomp. The presence was so numeous, that little could be caught of what they said to the King, and he answered to them; from what little I could hear, nothing more passed than mutual assurances of good will. The name of the Marechal de Richelieu is sufficiently remarkable in history, to justify my mentioning

his death, which happened two days ago: he was aged ninetytwo years.

I have the honor to be, with sentiments of the most perfect esteem and respect, Sir, your most obedient and most humble

servant.

TO JOHN JAY.

PARIS, August 11, 1788.

SIR,-In my letter of the last night, written in the moment of Mrs. Barclay's departure, I had the honor of mentioning to you, that it was now pretty certain that the States General would be assembled in the next year, and probably in the month of May. This morning an Arret is published, announcing that their meeting is fixed on the first day of May next, of which I enclose you a copy by post, in hopes it will get to Bordeaux in time for Mrs. Barclay. This Arret ought to have a great effect towards tranquillizing the nation. There are still, however, two circumstances which must continue to perplex the administration. The first is, the want of money, occasioned not only by the difficulty of filling up the loan of the next year, but by the withholding the ordinary supplies of taxes, which is said to have taken place in some instances: this gives apprehension of a bankruptcy under some form or other, and has occasioned the stocks to fall in the most alarming manner. The second circumstance is, that justice, both civil and criminal, continues suspended. The parliament will not resume their functions, but with their whole body and the greater part of the baillages declined acting; the present Arret announces a perseverance in this plan. I have information from Algiers, of the 5th of June, that the plague is raging there with great violence; that one of our captives was dead of it, and another ill, so that we have there, in all, now, only fifteen or sixteen; that the captives are more exposed to its ravages than others; that the great redemptions by the Spaniards, Portuguese and Neapolitans, and the havoc made by the plague, had now left not more than four hundred slaves in Algiers; so

that their redemption was become not only exorbitant, but almost inadmissible; that common sailors were held at four hundred pounds sterling, and that our fifteen or sixteen could probably not be redeemed for less than from twenty-five to thirty thousand dollars. An Algerine cruiser, having twenty-eight captives of Genoa aboard, was lately chased ashore by two Neapolitan vessels; the crew and captives got safe ashore, and the latter, of course, recovered their freedom. The Algerine crew was well treated, and would be sent back by the French. But the government of Algiers demands of France sixty thousand sequins, or twenty-seven thousand pounds sterling, for the captives escaped; that is, nearly one thousand pounds each. The greater part of the regency were for an immediate declaration of war against France; but the Dey urged the heavy war the Turks were at present engaged in; that it would be better not to draw another power on them, at present; that they would decline renewing the treaty of one hundred years, which expired two years ago, so as to be free to act hereafter; but for the present, they ought to accept payment for the captives as a satisfaction. They accordingly declared to the French consul that they would put him and all his countrymen there into irons, unless the sixty thousand sequins were paid; the consul told them, his instructions were, positively, that they should not be paid. In this situation stood matters between that pettifogging nest of robbers, and this great kingdom, which will finish, probably, by crouching under them, and paying the sixty thousand sequins. From the personal characters of the present administration, I should have hoped, under any other situation than the present, they might have ventured to quit the beaten track of politics hitherto pursued, in which the honor of their nation has been calculated at nought, and to join in a league for keeping up a perpetual cruise against these pirates, which, though a slow operation, would be a sure one for destroying all their vessels and seamen, and turning the rest of them to agriculture. But a desire of not bringing upon themselves another difficulty, will probably induce the ministers to do as their predecessors have done.

August 12. The enclosed paper of this morning, gives some particulars of the action between the Russians and Swedes, the manifesto of the Empress, and the declaration of the court of Versailles, as to the affair of Trincomcale.

I have the honor to be, with sentiments of perfect esteem and respect, Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.

TO WILLIAM CARMICHAEL.

PARIS, August 12, 1788.

DEAR SIR,-Since my last to you, I have been honored with yours of the 18th and 29th of May, and 8th of June. My latest American intelligence is of the 24th of June, when nine certainly, and probably ten States, had accepted the new Constitution, and there was no doubt of the eleventh (North Carolina), because there was no opposition there. In New York, In New York, two-thirds of the State were against it, and certainly, if they had been called to the decision in any other stage of the business, they would have rejected it; but before they put it to the vote, they would certainly have heard that eleven States had joined in it, and they would find it safer to go with those eleven, than put themselves into opposition, with Rhode Island only. Though I am much pleased with this successful issue of the new Constitution, yet I am more so, to find that one of its principal defects (the want of a declaration of rights) will pretty certainly be remedied. I suppose this, because I see that both people and conventions, in almost every State, have concurred in demanding it. Another defect, the perpetual re-eligibility of the same President, will probably not be cured during the life of General Washington. His merit has blinded our countrymen to the danger of making so important an officer re-eligible. I presume there will not be a vote against him in the United States. It is more doubtful who will be Vice President. The age of Dr. Franklin, and the doubt whether he would accept it, are the only circumstances