Papers of John Adams, volume 11
1781-03-14
May we begg leave to offer to Yoúr Excellency annexed to this present fifty bonds or obligations with the thereto belonging Coupons to which nothing is wanted butt to be signd by Yoúr Excellency; they are numberd from Númber 21 to 30, and from Number 131 to 170.
It will make ús easy if we may be acquainted they are in Yoúr Excellencys possession, and if we may know there are more wanted 201we shall forward them directly. We as yett want bútt a very few, which we should be glad to receive the sooner the better, and the whole of what we did oúrselfs the honoúr to convey to Yoúr Excellency with the Compleat coupons to two hundred as soon as convenient for we may have every day some demand for them though as we múst judge from Circúmstances Amsterdam wont be at present the greatest markett.
We had the honoúr to answer Yoúr Excellencys last favoúr1 she gave me sufficiently to think, bútt was not clear enough to interprete a Letter written from the Hagúe and mentioning that Yoúr Excellency had been there and presented no memoriall, reflecting on what had passed I did not interprete this as it ware, that the memoriall had not been comunicated to the States; and from the dependence I made on the Confidence Yoúr Excellency honourd me with I should not more have troubled my head about it; if not another intelligence had come to me through the Same Channell today; that the Memoriall had been presented by Mr. Dúmas to Mr. Lohman president of the States for this week, and so certainly comunicated to the Prince of Orange, bútt not so certain wether to the States; the Contents we were also acquainted with and are sorry only that she rúnns the risq not to be Comunicated to their H. M. which intirely depends from the President, we wishd we were misinformed in this Circúmstance, bútt we know something of the measúres taken in this Country; for which reason we are in hopes, as we heard only in generall that the Memoriall had been Comunicated to the Ministers (the Letter was not Circúmstanciall on this matter,) that it was to the Coúrt of France and Rússia, and that those Coúrts will be directly Acquainted therewith. What becomes of oúr selfs we do not Care, oúr cheif anxiety is for the Republicq and the other trúe friends for America in her; this is oúr only reason for extending on this matter.2 I will have some information next week from other Provinces; and as for the present I begg only leave to add that neither any person belonging to the Regency of this City nor my Son had given me any intelligence of what passed at the Hagúe where I have always found the Report of the President to be of great influence; bútt this I doúbt not Yoúr Excellency múst be acquainted with.
We join to this again a pack of letters received for Yoúr Excellency,3 begging leave to assúre her that we have the honoúr to be with the most Respectfúll Regard Honourable Sir Yoúr Excellencys most devoted and most obed. huml. serts.
Probably that of 11 March, above.
This account of the presentation of JA's memorial to the States General of 8 March, above, and of his letters to the French and Russian diplomats is somewhat confusing but conforms generally to Dumas' account in his letter of 10 March, above. The letter indicates that JA informed the Neufvilles of Congress' letter of 1 Jan., above, and the representations he planned to make as a consequence, but the source of their information on what transpired is unknown. Dumas is one possibility, for he sent them information on events at The Hague and in a letter of 7 March mentioned a visit from JA (PCC, Misc. Papers, Reel No.4, f. 323).
Not identified.
1781-03-15
I wrote you a few days ago the Impromptú. I send much the same Papers now as then.2
Beg if the others have not arrived before this reaches you, that you will order Copies of the Resolves3 to be taken for your own and Mr. Danas Information. For really, Sir I cannot attend in Congress and on Committees, and have my Chamber continually full of Petitioners or Idlers, and yet without even a Boy-Clerk or one of the members of the standing Committee of for. Affairs present, embrace the Opportunities which occur of giving you Information, and which Opportunities are not subservient to the lethargic modes of C——ss.
Some Goods by Jones have come to hand damaged as you may well suppose. I hope they are in Quantity according to their Invoices which I have not seen at any Time. I spent Nights in wiping, drying and repacking if they may be said to have been packed, but I verily believe you put them up yourself. The Case was so far from full that I wonder the Articles were not rubbed to Ruin. However, after all these Snarls, the Damage will be much less than you will conjecture. I have forwarded Mrs. A's small Articles chiefly already and will continue my Care of the whole.4 I have acted the Will. Wimble5 for Madam and Co., Mr. Gerry and Mr. Peabody who were in need of it—Mr. G. is by far worst off.
I sent you, and will again send Copies of 2 fr: Letters and an Extract of one English to be contemplated as Snake-Rattles, tho they were not used, I believe, in a generous Way of Warning, which your old Blue-Hill-neighbours were in the Practice of. I do not think you can with Propriety make other Use of them than what I have above named, because I send them not officially; and I think it would be not proper so to send them.6
203I imagine you will think my Sentiment about the Timeliness of the Ratification are just,7 for you know thoroughly the late lying Conduct of the Br: Ministry and ministerial Writers.
Congress did not take a measure, on the Resolutions upon the late Transmission of your Correspondence; But Decency demands of the Committee what I have done to Inform the Parties. As you are not to be answered I presume you show no Forwardness to write. The Information goes better as I send it.
Connecticut has already given us the Power of laying and collecting an Impost of 5 pr. Ct. as a Fund for Payment of Interest and other Debts. I have no Doubt the Rest of the States will as readily come into the Measure, and that it will be followed by other Powers which we shall call for on the same Principles as we did for that; so that Congress will be evidently and substantially in Condition to borrow differently from former Practice which was Faith alone. Money Holders being accustomed to something more solid than that is reconed to be.
I have not lately had a Line from Mrs. A but shall doubtless have in two days. If this Vessel does not sail before I will add.
You have not confidentially said any thing of Monsr. D– “Concordia.”8
This date derives from the arrival at Congress on 15 March of Connecticut's legislation empowering Congress to lay an impost, which is mentioned in the second to last paragraph of this letter (
JCC
, 19:262).
Neither the letter nor its enclosures, which Lovell apparently sent on board the privateer brigantine Impromptu (PCC, No. 196, VIII, f. 34), have been found. The letter, however, was likely dated 9 March, the same day on which Lovell wrote to Benjamin Franklin and John Jay (Smith, ed., Letters of Delegates
, 17:43–44).
Among the resolves that Lovell likely enclosed with this letter were those of 12 Dec. 1780, commending JA for his representations on behalf of Congress' revaluation of the currency; 10 Jan. 1781, cautioning him about communicating his plenipotentiary powers to the British ministry; and 1 March, proclaiming that the ratification of the Articles of Confederation was complete (
JCC
, 18:1147; 19:41–42, 213–214). Lovell mentioned the first two in his letter to Franklin of 9 March and the third in his letter to Jay of the same date.
JA entrusted a trunk to John Paul Jones in Feb. 1780, prior to Jones' displacement as captain of the frigate Alliance. It arrived in Philadelphia aboard Jones' new command, the Ariel. For the trunk's much delayed passage, see JA's letters of 22 Feb. and 6 March 1780 to Jones and James Moylan respectively, and references there (vol. 8:350; 9:22). For its arrival and Lovell's efforts to forward the goods to AA and others, see John Paul Jones' letter of 10 Dec. (Adams Papers), and
Adams Family Correspondence
, 4:81–83, 85–86, 88, 102–103, 107, 114–115.
A character in the Spectator who was revered for the services he rendered to others.
The French letters, for which translations were included, were those of 30 June and 31 July 1780 from the Comte de Vergennes to Benjamin Franklin. The English letter was an extract from Franklin's letter of 9 Aug. 1780 to the president of Congress (Franklin, Papers
, 32:625– 627; 33:160–166; translations of Vergennes' letters are in Wharton, ed., Dipl. Corr. Amer. Rev.
, 3:827; 4:18–19). Vergennes' first letter reflected his concern over JA's spirited support for Congress' revaluation of its currency on 18 March 1780, while the second resulted from his apprehensions over JA's proposals to execute his mission to negotiate Anglo-American peace and commercial treaties. In both letters he asked Franklin to write to Congress in support of the French position. In his letter to Congress, which was probably not sent until sometime in Oct. 1780, Franklin wrote that JA thought that more “Stoutness and a greater Air of Independence and Boldness in our Demands, will procure us more ample Assistance.” For an examination of the events that produced the three letters, see vol. 9:427–430, 516–520; 10:258–260.
Lovell probably commented on the ratification of the Articles of Confederation in his letter to JA of 9 March, not found. Writing to John Jay on that date, Lovell indicated that the ratification “appears now like all the other Circumstances of our Rise and Growth: For the present is really the best of all Times for that particular Event. Our Enemies have been ripening themselves for this capital Mentitis” (Smith, ed., Letters of Delegates
, 17:44).
In his letter of 14 Dec. 1780, Lovell requested information about Dumas, who often used the code name Concordia in correspondence with Congress (Weber, Codes and Ciphers
, p. 24–25; vol. 10:411–413). Lovell also referred to Dumas as Concordia in an undated list of letters received by Congress between 16 Jan. and 22 Feb. that was probably enclosed with this letter (filmed at [1782–1783], Adams Papers, Microfilms, Reel No. 359). JA mentions both the list and Lovell's letter of