Papers of John Adams, volume 18
Colo. Franks will have the honor of delivering you the treaty with the emperor of Marocco, & all it’s appendages.2 you will perceive by mr̃ Barclay’s letters that it is not necessary that any body should go back to Marocco to exchange ratifications. he sais however that it will be necessary that Fennish receive some testimony that we approve the treaty: and as, by the acts of Congress, our signature is necessary to give validity to it, I have had duplicates of ratification prepared, which I have signed, & now send you. if you approve & sign them send one back to me to be forwarded to Fennish thro’ mr̃ Carmichael. perhaps a joint letter should be written to Fennish; if you think so, be so good as to write & sign one & send it with the ratification & I will sign & forward it. the other ratification is to go to Congress.3 Colo. Franks wishes to proceed with the papers to that body. he should do it I think immediately, as mr̃ Jay in a letter to me of Oct. 26.4 says that Congress have heard thro’ the French Chargé des affaires that the treaty was signed, & they wonder they have not heard it from us.
I inclose you a copy of a letter from mr̃ Lamb: by which you will perceive he does not propose to quit Alicant.5 I will forward the resolution of Congress to mr̃ Carmichael which was inclosed of yours of Nov. 30. to see if that will move him.6 as the turn of this resolution admits a construction that Congress may think our original appointment of him censurable, I have, as in justice I ought, in a letter to mr̃ Jay, taken on myself the blame of having proposed him to you, if any blame were due. I have inclosed him a copy of my letter to you of Sep. 24. 1785.7 mr̃ Barclay has proposed to go to Alicant to settle Lamb’s accounts, & has asked to be strengthened with our authority. if Lamb will obey the resolve of Congress it will be better 528 to let him go & settle his account there. but if he will not go back, perhaps it might not be amiss for mr̃ Barclay to have instructions from us to require a settlement, those instructions to be used in that case only. if you think so, be so good as to write a joint letter & send it to me. but this, if done at all, should be done immediately. how much money has Lamb drawn?— I have suggested to mr̃ Jay the expediency of putting the Barbary business into Carmichael’s hands, or sending some body from America, in consideration of our separate residence & our distance from the scene of negociation.
I had seen, without alarm, accounts of the disturbances in the East. but mr̃ Jay’s letter on the subject had really affected me. however yours sets me to rights.8 I can never fear that things will go far wrong where common sense has fair play. I but just begin to use my pen a little with my right hand, but with pain. recommending myself therefore to the friendship of mr̃s Adams. I must conclude here with assurances of the sincere esteem of Dr. Sir your friend and servant
Should a mr̃ Maury of Virginia, but now a merchant of Liverpool, present himself to you, I recommend him to your notice as my old schoolfellow, and a man of the most solid integrity.9
RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “H. E. / Mr. Adams.”; endorsed: “Mr Jefferson Dec. 20. 1786 / ansd. Jan. 25. 1787.”
On the 21st Jefferson wrote to AA to alert her that his eight-year-old daughter, Mary (Polly) Jefferson, would be sailing for England in May 1787, and to ask AA if she would look after her until he could bring her to Paris. Polly arrived on 16 June, entrusted to the care of Jefferson’s fourteen-year-old slave Sally Hemings (
AFC
, 7:409–410; 8:92–93).
Lt. Col. David S. Franks reached London on 24 January. For the documents he brought with him, including the Moroccan-American treaty, see Thomas Barclay’s 2 Oct. 1786 letter to the commissioners, above. JA returned the documents to Jefferson with his 25 Jan. 1787 letter, which Franks carried on his return to Paris, and all were sent to John Jay under cover of the commissioners’ 27 Jan. letter, both below.
The instrument of ratification signed by Jefferson and JA is at [25 Jan.], below. The letter drafted by JA from the commissioners to Sidi Haj Tahar Ben Abdulhaq Fennish is at [27 Jan.], below. Jefferson received both upon Franks’ return to Paris and enclosed copies of the two documents with his 18 Feb. letter to William Carmichael; but see also Jefferson’s 18 Feb. letter to Barclay (Jefferson, Papers
, 11:163–165).
That is, Jay’s 27 Oct. 1786 letter to Jefferson (same, 10:488–490).
The enclosure has not been found, but it was a copy of John Lamb’s 10 Oct. letter to Jefferson (same, 10:441, 619).
Jefferson enclosed the 26 Sept. congressional resolution recalling Lamb with his 26 Dec. letter to Carmichael (same, 10:632–635).
Jefferson wrote to Jay on 31 Dec., regarding Lamb. There he speculated that “some misapplication of the public money may enter into the causes of his declining to return” to America and report. He also enclosed with that letter his initial 24 Sept. 1785 letter to JA recommending Lamb for the Algerian mission (vol. 17:466–470; Jefferson, Papers
, 10:649–651). See also
JA’s reply to Jefferson of 25 Jan. 1787, below.
Jefferson refers to JA’s 30 Nov. 1786 letter, above.
Albemarle County, Va., tobacco merchant James Maury (1746–1840) was the son of Rev. James Maury (1719–1769), Jefferson’s early instructor. The younger Maury was appointed U.S. consul at Liverpool in 1790 and interacted with JQA during his tenure as U.S. minister to Great Britain, from 1815 to 1817 (Jefferson, Papers
, 21:347; Madison, Papers, 9:262).
With this letter, Maury also delivered to JA a 20 July 1786 recommendation from Nathaniel Gorham, who had served as president of Congress since 6 June. Gorham described Maury as “a Gentm. of reputation & credit in Virginia” (Adams Papers;
Biog. Dir. Cong.
).
th1787
I Expected to write to You By cll franks, But as His departure Has Been daily differed, I will not delay Any longer My Hearty Wishes of an Happy New year to You, mr̃s Adams, mr̃s Smith, Your Sons, the Adoptive one I will write to By in Bye—1 May this New Year Afford You, and Your Worthy family and friends Every kind of Public and Personal Satisfaction! Had I Been less Acquainted With the forms of a Republican Government, and the temper of the Good Citizens of America, I would Have Been Greatly Alarmed at the late Accounts of disturbances in Some States, Which, However, in Spite of My Reasonings, Gave me Some Momentary Uneasiness— A letter from You to mr̃ jefferson did us Great deal of Good—2 I Hope the fœderal Councils will take No Measures that May Alarm the people Against fœderal ideas—and from the Wisdom, the Great Sense, and the patriotism of the people, I flatter myself, the More so when I Remember old times, that Good will Come from a temporary Evil, and that the very things in Which the Ennemies of America Now Have the Impudence to glory and Confide, will turn out to the Greater fame, and Advantage of the United States
the [Empeor] of Morocco is a lovely Boy— I wish the Algerines Could do the Same— I Confess my old ideas do Still Smile to My fancy— Could we not Agree in a third proposal which Has Been Spoken of to You By an other Opportunity?3
I dare Say You Have Been pleased to Hear of the Meeting of an Assembly at Versaïlles to debate Several Matters of the Utmost Importance to this kingdom— it is not what we Call the Etats Generaux, But an Assembly of Notables Appointed By the king, Who does not take in Any Man Holding a place at Court— it Consists of 140 Members, and perhaps a few More— A Number of Arch Bishops and Bishops for the Clergy—Six and thirty Members for the Noblesse, among whom are two Acquaintances and a friend of Yours, Count d’estaing,
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the duke de la Rochefoucaud and Your Humble Servant— it is Not ascertained if the princes of the Blood will Be at our Head, or in the king’s Suite— there will Be the first president and procureur General from Every parliament, three more from the parliament of paris, and Some Conseïllers d’etat, and Intendants— thirty towns will Send their Mayors— it is on the 29th that the Assembly Meet, for one Month at least, and probably for a longer time— our letters say that the king Wants to Communicate to us His views for the Soulagement des peuples, Arrangement des finances, et Reformation de plusieurs Abuse4 this is Certainly a Noble, patriotic Measure Which does great Honour to the king and May do much Good to this Country.
Pray, what is Become of doctor Gordon? I know He is in England, But Have Not Heard from Him— I wish to know when His History Comes out, and to Enlist myself Among the Subscribers
Adieu, My dear Sir, Most Affectionately and Respectfully / Yours
RC (Adams Papers); endorsed: “M. M. De la Fayette / 5. Jan. 1787. / ansd. 12.”
Lafayette wrote to WSS on 16 Jan., briefly mentioning the meeting of the Assembly of Notables, but in WSS’s 24 Jan. letter to John Jay he quoted virtually verbatim from Lafayette’s account in this letter of the assembly’s membership (Roof, Smith and Lady
, p. 142–143;
Dipl. Corr., 1783–1789
, 3:60).
Of 30 Nov. 1786, above.
While JA and Thomas Jefferson pursued a diplomatic resolution, Lafayette advocated a more aggressive response to the seizure of American ships in the Mediterranean. In [ca. 6 March 1786] letters to Jefferson and Henry Knox, Lafayette recommended sending John Paul Jones to lead a naval blockade of key ports in the Barbary States (Jefferson, Papers
, 9:318–320). See JA’s reasons for dismissing Lafayette’s suggestion in his 6 June letter to Jefferson, above.
Acting at the request of the French finance minister, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, Louis XVI gathered the Assembly of Notables at eleven o’clock in the morning on 22 Feb. 1787 in the Salle des Menus Plaisirs at Versailles. The 144-member convention, composed of noblemen, clergy, magistrates, and municipal officers, had not met formally since 1626, and signaled French interest in experimenting with constitutional monarchy. Delayed by the 13 Feb. death of the Comte de Vergennes and by Calonne’s illness, the notables split into seven bureaus to address the ruinous state of France’s economy. They took a brief hiatus to observe Easter and adjourned on 25 May, reshaping public opinion but effecting no fundamental change in economic policy. Lafayette, one of the younger and more radical noblemen in attendance, reported to the American commissioners, George Washington, and WSS on the proceedings, which spun out of both Calonne’s and the king’s control.
Initially, Calonne planned to use the convention to leverage popular support for his financial reforms, so that he could sidestep the anticipated resistance of local parlements. Calonne sought to impose a general land tax and stamp tax, to lift internal customs barriers, to regulate the corn trade, and to create elective provincial assemblies. But the notables, shocked to learn of the country’s dire financial straits, spent most of the debates indicating their displeasure with Louis XVI and the inadequacy of Calonne and the finance ministers who had preceded him. They countered with an aggressive set of reforms to resolve the crisis, including new forms of fiscal equality and improved accounting of public revenue in the provinces. Far from earning him the “great Honour” that Lafayette predicted, the notables’ well-publicized criticism of Louis XVI caused his waning popularity to
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plummet further in the assembly’s aftermath. The king dismissed Calonne on 8 April and later exiled him from Paris (Schama, Citizens
, p. 237–246; Gottschalk, Lafayette
, 4:279–300;
Cambridge Modern Hist.
, 8:100–106, 144). See also Jefferson’s account of the opening of the assembly, in his letter to JA of 23 Feb. (Jefferson, Papers
, 11:176–177).
At the assembly, Lafayette spoke often as an ardent proponent of toleration toward Protestants, freedom of trade, and the need to reform criminal law. He read JA’s Defence during the “Very Solemn” debates and likely drew on it to make his own arguments for local assemblies. “Some of our friends, who Agree with mr Turgot’s democratic principles, were Surprised that I, a Republican in the Heart, did vote for Such distinctions in the Assembly as would form or Rather prepare a check in future times, and a division in three Branches,” he wrote to JA on 9 April; he enclosed a report of the notables’ actions in a subsequent 30 May letter (both Adams Papers). In his reply to Lafayette of 27 Oct., JA was optimistic about the growth of local sovereignties meant to counterbalance or improve the royal ministry’s policy making. According to JA “the Provincial assemblies, if they act only as Councillors of the King must operate for the benifit of the Nation” (LbC, APM Reel 113).