Papers of John Adams, volume 19

To John Adams from William Stephens Smith, 19 May 1787 Smith, William Stephens Adams, John
From William Stephens Smith
Dr. Sir— Bourdeaux May 19th. 1787.

I am under the disagreable necessity of informing you that Mr: Barclay is in Prison at this place—at the suit of Messrs: V & P. French & Nephew, Merchants established here, for the sum of 75.000t Livers—which arrises from Cash advanced & Goods shiped on his account & by his order—near 4 years past— the Gentlemen seem much attached to the Idea, that Mr. Barclay being in a public capacity—his Country will interpose, pay the debt and sett Mr. B. at liberty— I have done all in my power to convince them, of the impropriety of their expectations—for tho’ I will readily grant, that the holding of a public office, ought in every case to induce a Gentleman to be doubly cautious and guarded in his private conduct—still I think the Idea perfectly novel and rediculous—that in case a public officer should involve himself in difficulties, in consequence of his private negotiations—that his Country should be supposed bound to extricate him—1 81 I have visited him and find him miserably lodged & apprehensive that his difficulties will encrease—upon his situation being made public—for from what I can learn—this is not the only debt— I shall take leave of him this afternoon & pursue my duty in the morning and with affectionate regards for the Ladies & the little Gent. / I have the honor to be Dr. Sir—Your Excellency’s most Obt. / sv

W: S: Smith—

RC (Adams Papers).

1.

For the debt that triggered Thomas Barclay’s arrest in Bordeaux, see his 3 April letter, and note 2, above. Louis XVI’s attorney, Pierre Jules Dudon, replied to Barclay’s petition for release, arguing that, according to the law of nations, Barclay’s status as a foreign minister prohibited incarceration. Barclay was freed on 19 May. In a 20 May letter to AA2, WSS mentioned dining with Barclay a day earlier, but WSS worried about the consequences of an American agent running afoul of the French authorities. “It has made a great talk; both his imprisonment and his release; I am apprehensive it will not end here,” WSS wrote. Eager to avoid further legal trouble, Barclay sailed secretly from Bordeaux on 1 July (Roberts and Roberts, Thomas Barclay , p. 235–250; Jefferson, Papers , 11:493–500, 538; AA2, Jour. and Corr. , 1:152).