Papers of John Adams, volume 16
van Staphorst, and De la Lande & Fynje
4]
We have the pleasure to advice your Excellency that the Loan is So far advanced, that all the drafts will be payed, and we hope in course of time to compleat the whole sum of 2 millions.
Mrs. de Neufville & Son have applyed to us for the payment of coupons of the loan opened at their House formerly consisting in
| 7 | coupons of | Septr. 1782 at ƒ25 |
ƒ175 — |
| 7 | dito | March 1783 | 175 — |
| ƒ350: — | |||
| postage of letters | 4:10 | ||
| ƒ354:10 — |
they had payed in that time, we take the liberty to desire your Excellency to inform us, if we have to pay the same to be charged to the acct of the United States of America.1
We have the honour to remain with great esteem / Sir / Your Excellency’s most / Humb & Obedt: Servants
Nich
s.& Jacob van Staphorst
de la Lande & fynje
RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “To his Excellency John Adams / Esqr. Hague.” Some loss of text due to a torn manuscript.
In 1781 JA sought to raise a loan for 1 million florins through the Amsterdam banking firm of Jean de Neufville & Fils. He later remembered it as an “unfortunate Enterprize,” but it was actually an abject failure. Only seven out of the thousand obligations were ever taken up by investors, and three of those were held by Jean Luzac, editor of the Gazette de Leyde (vol. 11:101–102, 159–160, 195; 13:93; 14:291).
Nous avons l’Honneur de Vous accompagner L’ouvrage de Mr. De Mablÿ, d’après La Promesse que nous fimes à Votre Excellence.1 Voÿlà la premiere Exemplaire qui Sorte de nos mains et que nous refusons à toute autre; Une Epreuve de la Confiance particulière que nous avons pour vous, Monsieur, et comme il nous importe de Beaucoup de prevenir la Contrefaction nous reposons dans les 94 assurances, que votre Excellence a bien Voulu donner, que l’exemplaire ne Sortira pas de vos mains jusqu’à ce que nous aurons l’Honneur de vous envoyer les 24 Exemplaires que vous nous avez demandées.
Monsr l’Abbé de Mablÿ nous a écrit de commencer par l’envoÿe de 12 Exemplaire au Libraire Le Sieur Alexandre Jombert jeûne à Paris afin de mettre à l’Epreuve La facon d’agir des Censeurs Il ÿ ajoute, que Si on les retient qu’on prendra des mesures pour les faire passer par une aûtre Voÿe.2
Nous Sommes avec Respect / Monsieur! / Vos très humbles & très obeissants / Serviteurs
We have the honor of delivering to you the work of Mr. Mably, according to the promise we made to your excellency.1 Here is the first copy that is leaving our hands, and which we are giving to no one else, a proof of the special trust that we have in you, sir, and as it is very important to us to prevent any pirating, we rely on the assurances that your excellency was so good as to give us, that this copy will not leave your hands until we have had the honor of sending you the 24 copies that you requested.
Monsignor the Abbé de Mably wrote us to begin by shipping twelve copies to the bookseller Mr. Alexandre Jombert the Younger in Paris in order to test the reaction of the censors. He adds that if they are held back, measures will be taken to send them by another route.2
We are with respect, sir, your very humble and very obedient servants
RC (Adams Papers).
Abbé de Mably’s Observations sur le gouvernement et les loix des États-Unis d’Amérique, Amsterdam, 1784.
Mably’s fear that Observations might be held up at the French border was owing to the fact that the author, and JA, had failed to obtain permission for its publication in France (vol. 15:313–314; from Antoine Marie Cerisier, 21 Feb., note 1, above).