Since January last Bills drawn Quarterly for the amount of your Salary have been transmitted to Doctor Franklin by every Conveyance— I have now the honor of sending one drawn for the amount of the sum due you—from the United States from the first of July 1782. to the 30th: Septr: following, the amount of which draft is sixteen thousand, six hundred and sixty six Livres thirteen sols Tournois; this Bill has been purchased at the same price as those sent Doctor Franklin Vizt six shillings and three pence currency for five Livres—1

Duplicate Copies of the Letters I had the honor to address you on the subject of the Bills drawn for your Salary in favor of the Honorable Robt: R Livingston and endorsed over by him to Doctor Franklin you will find enclosed—the Bills being drawn in his name makes him accountable to the United States for their amount, and renders your receipt indispensably necessary for his security—2 you will be so obliging as to send an account of the Salary you allow your private Secretary and the contingent Expences of your Office3

I have the honor to be / with great Respect / your most obedt. humble servt.

Yesterday Mr Le Couteulx, called upon me in order to communicate to me, the Contents of his Letters from you, concerning the Remittance of the Money from Holland. I told him he must write to Messrs Willinks &c the Directors of the Loan upon the Subject, and that the whole matter being under your Direction; you and the Bankers must negotiate it. He Said your Desires could easily be complied with and very advantageously for the United States.— He had written to the Dr and recd an Answer that he could not yet Say whether he could comply or not. Soon after Mr Grand came in to Shew me your Letter of Credit, upon Messrs Willinks &c and Shewed me a State of his Accounts by which he would be a Million of Livres in Advance, after paying the Interest of the Ten Millions of Livres borrowed by the King in Holland.1

This Morning I went out to Passy to consult with the Dr, about your Letters. He told me, he was preparing a Memorial to the King as Strong as he could pen, but could not foresee what would be his Success. There are great Complaints of Scarcity of Money here, and what there is, is Shut up.— The Kings Loans dont fill.— The War has lasted so long and Money has been Scattered with so much Profusion, that it is now very Scarce in France, Spain and England as well as Holland. If I could quit the Negotiations for Peace and return to the Hague, I have great doubts of Success with the States General.— And an Application to them which must be taken ad referendum, became the Subject of deliberations and drawn out into an unknown Length, and perhaps never obtain a Unanimity which is indispensible, would immediately cast a damp upon my Loan already opened, or any other that I might open in the Same Way, 39perhaps put an entire stop to it. So that after reflecting upon the Subject as maturely as I can, it Seems to me Safest, to trust to the Loan already opened. The Influence of Such an Application to the States in a political View, upon England, and the Neutral Powers, would not be favourable.

The Measure you have taken, in drawing the Money out of Holland will have an unfavourable Effect.— a Principal Motive to lend Us, has been to incourage a Trade between Us and them, but when they find that none of the Money is to be laid out there in Goods, I fear We shall get little more.

If I were to lay a Memorial before their High Mightinesses, and had Authority to propose a Treaty to borrow a sum of Money and pay the Interest Annually in Tobacco Rice or other Produce of America deliverd at Amsterdam, and to pay the Capital off in the same manner I am not very clear in my Expectations of success. But I have no Instructions for this, nor do I know that Congress would approve it.

In Short Sir I can give you no hopes, nor make any Promises but to do as well as I can.

With the greatest Respect, &c