Do not neglect any mark of your approbation which you think 639. 1543. or proper. It will honor you

here.

TO MRS. SPROWLE.

J. MSS.

PARIS, July 5, 1785.

MADAM,-Your letter of the 21st of June has come safely to hand. That which you had done me the honour of writing before has not yet been received. Having gone by Dr. Witherspoon to America, which I had left before his return to it, the delay is easily accounted for.

I wish you may be rightly informed that the property of Mr. Sprowle is yet unsold. It was advertised for sale so long ago as to found a presumption that the sale has taken place. In any event, you may go safely to Virginia. It is in the London newspapers only that exist those mobs and riots which are fabricated to deter strangers from going to America. Your person will be sacredly safe, & free from insult. You can best judge from the character and qualities of your son whether he may be an useful coadjutor to you there. I suppose him to have taken side with the British before our declaration of independence; and if this was the case, I respect the candour of the measure, tho I do not it's wisdom. A right to take the side which every man's conscience approves in a civil contest is too precious a right and too favourable to the preservation of liberty not to be protected by all it's well informed friends. The Assembly of Virginia have given sanction to this right in several

of their laws, discriminating honourably those who took side against us before the declaration of independence, from those who remained among us and strove to injure us by their treacheries. I sincerely wish that you & every other to whom this distinction applies favourably, may find in the Assembly of Virginia the good effects of that justice & generosity which have dictated to them this discrimination. It is a sentiment which will gain strength in their breasts in proportion as they can forget the savage cruelties committed on them, and will I hope in the end induce them to restore the property itself wherever it is unsold, and the price received for it where it has been actually sold. I am Madam Your very humble servt,

TO MRS. JOHN (ABIGAIL) ADAMS.

J. MSS.

PARIS, July 7, 1785.

DEAR MADAM,-I had the honor of writing you on the 21st of June, but the letter being full of treason, has waited a private conveiance. Since that date there has been received for you at Auteuil a cask of about 60 gallons of wine. I would have examined its quality, & have ventured to decide on it's disposal, but it is in a cask within a cask, and therefore cannot be got at but by operations which would muddy it and disguise its quality. As you probably know what it is, what it cost, &c., be so good as to give me your orders on the subject & they shall be complied with.

Since my last I can add another chapter to the history of the redacteur of the Journal de Paris. After the paper had been discontinued about three weeks it appeared again, but announcing in the first sentence a changement de domicile of the redacteur, the English of which, is that the redaction of the paper had been taken from the imprisoned culprit, and given to another. Whether the imprisonment of the former has been made to cease, or what will be the last chapter of his history I cannot tell. I love I love energy in Government dearly,—it is evident it was become necessary on this occasion, & that a very daring spirit has lately appeared in this country, for notwithstanding the several examples lately made of suppressing the London papers, suppressing the Leyden Gazette, imprisoning Beaumarchais, & imprisoning the redacteur of the Journal, the Author of the Mercure of the last week has had the presumption, speaking of the German newspapers, to say 'car les journaux de ce pays-la ne sont pas forcés de s'en tenir à juger des hemistiches ou à annoncer des programes academiques.'-Probably he is now suffering in a jail the just punishments of his insolent sneer on this mild Government tho' as yet we do not know the fact.

The settlement of the affairs of the Abbie Mably is likely to detain his friends Arnoud & Chault in Paris the greatest part of the summer. It is a fortunate circumstance for me, as I have much society, with them. What mischief is this which is brewing anew between Faneuil hall and the nation of God-dem

mees? Will that focus of sedition be never extinguished? I apprehend the fire will take thro' all the states and involve us again in the displeasure of our Mother Country.

TO RICHARD HENRY LEE.

J.MSS.

PARIS, July 12, 1785.

SIR,-I was honoured two days ago with yours of May 16. and thank you for the intelligence it contained, much of which was new to me. It was the only letter I received by this packet except one from Mr. Hopkinson on philosophical subjects. I generally write about a dozen by every packet, & receive sometimes one, sometimes two, & sometimes n'er a one. You are right in supposing all letters opened which come either thro' the French or English channel, unless trusted to a passenger. Yours had been evidently opened, and I think I never received one through the post office which had not been. It is generally discoverable by the smoakiness of the wax & faintness of the reimpression. Once they sent me a letter open, having forgotten to reseal it. I should be happy to hear that Congress thought of establishing packets of their own between N. York and Havre. To send a packet from each port once in two months, the business might possibly be done by two packets, as will be seen by the following scheme, wherein we will call the two packets A. and B.

Jan. A sails from New York, B. from Havre.
Feb.

Mar. B. New York. A. Havre.
Apr.

May A. New York. B. Havre.
June.

July B. New York. A. Havre.
Aug.

Sep. A. New York. B. Havre.
Oct.

Nov. B. New York. A. Havre.
Dec.

I am persuaded this government would gladly ar

range this matter with us, and send their packets in the intermediate months, as they are tired of the ex pence. We should then have a safe

conveiance every two months, & one for common matters every month. A courier would pass between this & Havre in twenty-four hours. Could not the surplus of the Post office revenue be applied to this? This establishment would look like the commencement of a little Navy, the only kind of force we ought to possess. You mention that Congress is on the subject of requisition. No subject is more interesting to the honour of the states. It is an opinion which prevails much in Europe that our government wants authority to draw money from the states, & that the states want faith to pay their debts. I shall wish much to hear how far the requisitions on the states are productive of actual cash. Mr. Grand informed me the other day that the Commissioners were dissatisfied with his having paid to this country but 200,000 livres of the 400,000 for which Mr. Adams drew on Holland, reserving the residue to replace his advances & furnish current expenses.