I thank you for your favour by Mr West.1 I am of your opinion that the present Commission will never go to London, & am Still more convinced than you seem to be, that we should do nothing if we were to go, it would be too noisy and Showy an event and would excite an obstinate and marked opposition that would terrify administration.

let us not however be deceived by appearances nor discouraged by little difficulties, there is nothing more deceitfull than what you 567 call the Blindness and Perversion of all Ranks of People, nay than the sentiments given out, for those of Persons high up in the Cabinet whether imputed to them by others or given out by themselvs, every Thing in all the Countries of Europe is Regis ad Exemplum.2 The Court gives the Tone to Conversation, propagates Principles and directs the Publick opinion as it will.

It is a Maxim with many Politicians, that Men are like black Ducks, and to take them you must look one way and row another after having well trimmed your Canoe.— I was told an hundred times, that I must wait to be invited by the Dutch, that if I made the first advances, I might be certain I should fail. I ventured however to judge for myself, and the event justified me whereas if I had followed the advice that was given me, I might have waited till the Day of Doom.3 the People of America have imbibed an opinion, at what fountain you may guess, that the Way to succed with the English is to seen indifferent. the English on the contrary think that if they seem indifferent, nay even if they Slight us, we Shall Court them.— While this Principle Prevails on both sides, it is Plain that instead of ever coming together We Shall be constantly running further off the Very Event, that invisible Agents both in England and America are probably, Labouring to Promote. I think on the Contrary We Should act an open and a Manly Part: send a Minister regularly to the Court of St James’s and try the experiment. if he succeeds, very Well, if not we cannot be Worse we shall be much better. we Shall be sure that the fault is not on our side, we Shall have done our Duty to ourselvs and to them. and then the People of America will be better prepared to enter unanimously into Measures of Retaliation Renunciation, Prohibition, or Discouragement. But if I have any Knowledge or Judgment in Publick affairs we are wrong to neglect or delay the Exchange of Ambassadors, of some denomination or other with that Court. and if the loss of very considerable advantages in Commerce were to be the only Consequences of this Mistake, I should be less anxious about it, but the tendency of it, is to something Worse. the Mutual Exchange of Ambassadors with England, is an event of great importance to us, with regard to the rest of Europe, one half of which will be forever buttoned up from us, while we preserve this appearance of Coldness to England, and Devotion to France

The formal Invitation to Congress to send a Minister to London, and the Appointment of Mr Temple as Consull General, are 568 unequivocal Proofs, that the Cabinet are not so indifferent in reallity as the People are in appearance

Whoever goes to England will neither have a lucrative Employment nor a pleasant occupation as you know very well, but Worse things have been undertaken and done, and therefore I suppose Gentlemen may be found to venture upon this, Whoever he is I promise him I will not envy him.

My affectionate respects to Mr Tracy, and believe me Dear Sir your friend and Humble sert4

We received by the last Packet the favor of your letter of Janry. 14. in which we have the agreeable information of your having accepted the appointment of Secretary for foreign Affairs. Besides the general interest we feel in this event as members of the Union which is to availed of your services, we are particularly happy that a channel of communication is opened for us with Congress in whose justice & abilities we so perfectly confide.

In our letter by the Febry. Packet which we addressed to His Excellency the President of Congress, we had the honor of transmitting a state of our transactions intervening between the date of that and of our preceding letter.1 We now beg leave through you to inform them of our progress since the last period—

No. 1. is a letter from the Popes Nuncio at this court, which tho’ dated at this place as the 15th of December 1784 was not delivered to us till late in February. We consider it as definitive of our commission to the Holy See unless new instructions or circumstances should render a further proceeding under it proper.

No. 2. from the Chargé des Affaires of Tuscany here came also to hand after the closing of our letter by the last Packet.2

From Baron de Thulemeier Prussian Minister at the Hague we have received the enclosed letter No. 3., covering a French translation of the Draught of a treaty which we had proposed through him to the court of Berlin as formerly reported to Congress, with observations on the several parts of it. This paper is numbered 4. and has been answered by our letter of which No 5. is a copy.3

We have also received from the Baron de Thulemeier the letters No 6. & 7. in answer to ours (formerly communicated to Congress) on the subjects of free ports within the territories of his Sovereign.—4

In consequence of a letter written by Mr Adams to Mr Dumas praying his enquiries & information as to the presents, whether periodical or occasional, made by the United Netherlands to the several pyratical States, he has favored us with the enclosed authentic information marked No. 8.—5 We learn from public papers that the Republic of Venice pays annually to Tripoli a tribute of 3500 Sequins. From a comparison of the strength of this with that of the other pyratical States some grounds are furnished for conjecturing what is paid by them to the others when in Peace with them. We have promises of some further information on the subject of these tributes, which the envy or pride of nations endeavours to cover under mystery, the sum of them will serve to form a judgment of the contributions which will be required from us.6

With great respect / We have the honor to be / Sir / Your most obedient & / Most humble Servants