Papers of John Adams, volume 14

From Robert Morris, 12 May 1783 Morris, Robert Adams, John

From Robert Morris

Sir, Office of Finance 12th. May 1783—

The Bills drawn by Congress in their necessities press very heavily upon me; and one of the greatest among many Evils attending them is the Confusion in which they have involved the Affairs of my Department— I have never yet been able to learn how many of these Bills have been paid nor how many remain due neither am I without my fears that some of them have received double Payment.—

To bring at Length some little Degree of order into this Chaos, after waiting till now for fuller Light and Information I write on the Subject to Mr. Barclay who will have the Honor to deliver this Letter and I send him a Copy of the enclosed Account. I have directed him to consult with your Excellency and obtain an Account of the Bills which have been paid and to transmit me an account of those and of such as remain due and to take Measures with you for 477Payment of the latter so as to prevent double Payment which I seriously apprehend. The enclosed Account will inform you that the Bills which are gone forward drawn on Mr. Lawrens and yourself amount to seven hundred and fifty three thousand, three hundred, and sixty four Guilders and two thirds—1

Let me intreat you Sir to forward these Views as much as possible for you will I am sure be sensible how necessary it is for me to know the exact State of our pecuniary Affairs, lest on the one Hand I should risque the public Credit by an excess of Drafts, or on the other leave their Monies unemployed while they experience severe Distress from the want—

I am Sir / with perfect Respect / Your Excellency's / most obedient / & / humble Servant

Robt Morris

RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “His Excellency John Adams Esqr. / Minister Plenipotentiary / of the United States.”

For the enclosed account, which is not with this letter in the Adams Papers, see Morris, Papers , 8:26–27. JA replied on 5 July, saying that he would assist Thomas Barclay as best he could, although he was hampered by his papers being in the Netherlands (same, p. 250–252). Having received his own letter from Morris (same, p. 27–30), Barclay wrote to JA on 8 July to request the required accounts (Adams Papers). JA replied on the 9th, promising his cooperation, but cited again the absence of his papers (LbC, APM Reel 108). Finally on 23 Aug., presumably having accessed his papers while visiting the Netherlands in July and early August, JA sent Barclay an account of the bills he had paid from 1780 to 1783 (M/JA/18, APM Reel 192).

The Marquis de Lafayette to the American Peace Commissioners, 12 May 1783 Lafayette, Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Adams, John Franklin, Benjamin Jay, John

The Marquis de Lafayette to the American Peace Commissioners

Gentlemen, Paris, May 12th. 1783.

Having yesterday conferred with Count de Vergennes upon some Public Concerns, He requested I would tell you what, instead of troubling you with the Demand of a meeting, I think better to mention in this Note.

The several Powers said he, are going to make up their Treaties, and when ready to sign, they will of Course meet to do it alltogether. The Mediation of the Emperor and that of Russia have been required, and under that Mediation the French Treaty will be signed, it now rests with America to know if She will conclude her Treaty under the Mediation, or chooses to let it alone. There is no Necessity for it, But in Case you prefer to have it, Count de Vergennes thinks it is time to join with England in making a combined Application to the Court of Vienna and that of Petersbourg.1

478

So far Gentlemen I have been requested to speak to you, I will add that from my last Conferences on the Subject, I hope we may get the Harbour of L’orient, as we have wished, for the American Trade.2

Be pleased to accept the Assurances of my great and affectionate Respect.

(signed) La Fayette.

LbC-Tr in Jean L’Air de Lamotte's hand (Adams Papers); internal address: “To the American Ministers for negociating / a Peace.”; APM Reel 103.

Henry Laurens replied to Lafayette on 13 May, indicating that the mediation would be taken up whenever JA called the commissioners together to discuss the issue (ScHi: Laurens Papers). JA in particular and his colleagues in general were not enthusiastic about the revived Austro-Russian mediation, and there is no indication that they took any action regarding Lafayette's letter. Not until mid-July did they even draft a letter to the Russian and Austrian ministers at Paris, and ultimately the issue died when the British refused to participate (to Francis Dana, 1 May, above; Wharton, Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev. , 6:551, 674–676).

Lafayette refers to the thus far unfulfilled French promise in Art. 30 of the 1778 Franco-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce to grant to the United States “in Europe one or more free Ports” (Miller, Treaties , 2:26–27). Nothing was done until 1784 when the ports of Lorient, Dunkerque, Marseilles, and Bayonne were opened, but France's reluctance to modify its mercantilist system meant that Franco-American trade would never become a viable alternative to that between Britain and America (Laurens, Papers , 16:198–199).