Papers of John Adams, volume 15
r.5. 1783
You remember the Contract with Du Coudrai, and his hundred officers, and with many other officers. Coudrai was to take Rank of allmost all our Generals, to have the Command of all our Artillery and military Manufactures, and be Subject to no orders, but those of Congress or the Commander in Chief, and the Marshall M. was wanted to be that Commander in Chief— Let me beg of you that those Papers of Mr Deans may be looked up copied and preserved.— hæc olim meminisse juvabit.—1 You knew the History of our foreign affairs from that Time to this. All has proceeded from the Same Source, and all has been calculated to hold Us at Mercy. The System has appeared in the Same Light to every Minister you have had in Europe, except one.— Izard, Lee, Jay, Dana, Laurens and my self, and even Deane has at last let out the Cat.—2 No wonder then that the one, is flattered and the rest coldly received. No wonder that every Thing is desired to be thrown into the hand of that one. To this End the Ministers and Courts of Sweeden, Denmark and Portugal, have been told that this one has Power to treat with them and he alone. This is false, but Still they have been told so.— I doubt not congress have been told that those Courts & Kings, have desired, to 258treat personally with the Great Philosopher. This I dont believe. because it would be an Impropriety, altogether beneath the Dignity of those Kings to dictate to Congress, to designate Persons, or attempt to influence the Elections of Congress. But if it is true, it ought to allarm and be refused for that very Reason. “Rome, n’a pas accoutumé des Rois a une telle Audace.” Kings ought not to be indulged in Such Impertinence.— Republicks Should be jealous of the Influence of Kings, and cannot be too delicate in the perfect freedom of their own Elections. They Should oblige Kings to more delicacy than to suggest their Predilections.— But it is not credible that in these Cases they have done it. What is it to them, whether the Minister they treat with, is a mere Statesman, or whether he affects a skill in Metalurgy, Mineralogy, or Electricity.
The Truth is, they have been told that one Gentleman alone is impowered by you to treat with them, which is not true. The ancient Resolution that the Commissioners at Versailles, should have Power to treat with the Courts of Europe is in force for Mr Lee Mr Deane & me as much as for Dr F.—but it is fallen and superceeded by the new Commissions with regard to Us all.—3 I rely upon it, therefore that you will insert us all, who are obliged to reside here at least upon other affairs, in the Commission you send to treat with other Powers.
You have told all Europe, that Jay was C. J. of N. York, President of Congress, Minister to Madrid—that I was C. J. of Massachusetts, Delegate in Congress, Commissioner at Versailles, Minister in holland, and at the Peace.—4 when it was known that Franklin was treating with Sweeden So slyly, the Inquiry was why were not Jay and Adams, Men of such Trust under their Country, present in Paris joined in this Business as well as that of Peace.— Comis and Under-strappers gave what Answers they pleased. a few Shruggs of the shoulders were Answer enough to answer their Purposes. This must be prevented.— if you chain Us together treat Us impartially. Support Us, or call Us home.— Such distinctions are but an artfull, wicked Method of Libelling Us, by letting loose Tongues and Pens, which if not paid for abusing Us, will make a Merit of doing it.— Firmness, Steadiness and Impartiallity on your Part is all that is wanting, to support Us effectually. For there is nobody that dares to attack Us openly. they all know We stand upon too strong Ground. But Secret Insinuations, indirect Implications from the Proceedings of Congress which they labour a thousand Ways to influence to their Purposes are the only Means they venture on.— it is not King, 259Court, nor Nation. it is wholly owing to one french and one American Minister and their Tools. I am very happy to find you in Congress, I hope you will Stay there. You will soon see Mr Dana. He will unfold to you Scenes which will convince, if any Thing can.
My dear Friend Adieu
RC (MHi:Hoar Autograph Coll.); internal address: “Mr Gerry.” LbC (Adams Papers); APM Reel 107.
The remembrance of these things will prove a source of future pleasure (Virgil, Aeneid, Book I, line 203). JA had commented on Silas Deane, Philippe Charles Jean Baptiste Tronson du Coudray, “Marshall M.”— probably Yves Marie Desmaretz, Comte de Maillebois—and the appointment of French officers in essentially the same context in a letter to James Warren of 16 April (and notes 2 and 3, vol. 14:419). By the quotation from Virgil, JA probably means that Deane’s papers would provide a history of the whole affair, which could in the future be contemplated with pleasure because the consequences had been fortuitously avoided.
In a series of letters written in the spring of 1781 and published the following fall after allegedly being intercepted by the British, Deane, an intimate of Benjamin Franklin, claimed that France, in rendering assistance to the United States in the war against Britain, deliberately provided aid sufficient to prevent defeat and discourage accommodation but insufficient to permit victory. France, Deane argued, sought to prolong hostilities in order to weaken Britain at the expense of the United States (Paris Papers; or Mr. Silas Deane’s Late Intercepted Letters, N.Y., [1782], p. 27, 31, 40–43, 76–79, 99–100, 115–116, 119–120, 122–123, 124–126, Evans, No. 17509). For the publication of Deane’s “intercepted” letters, see vol. 12:204.
See JA’s second letter to Robert R. Livingston of 13 Aug. 1783, and note 1, above.
Congress enumerated the public offices held by each of the men appointed to negotiate a peace treaty with Britain—JA, Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and Thomas Jefferson—in the joint commission of [15 June 1781] (vol. 11:371–374). The preamble of the definitive treaty of [3 Sept. 1783], above, incorporated the same information for the American commissioners signing it—JA, Franklin, and Jay.
r5 17831
We have received the Letter which you did us the Honour to write yesterday.
Your friendly Congratulations on the signature of the definitive Treaty, meet with cordial Returns on our Part; and we sincerely rejoice with you in that event; by which the Ruler of Nations has been graciously pleased to give Peace to our two Countries.
We are no less ready to join our endeavours than our wishes with yours, to concert such measures for regulating the future intercourse between Great Britain & the United States, as by being consistent with the Honour and Interest of both may tend to increase & perpetuate mutual Confidence & good-will.—2 We ought nevertheless to apprize you that as no construction of our Commission could 260at any Period extend it, unless by Implication, to several of the proposed Stipulations; and as our Instructions respecting commercial Provisions however explicit, suppose their being incorporated in the definitive Treaty, a Recurrence to Congress, previous to the signature of them will be necessary, unless obviated by the Dispatches we may sooner receive from them.
We shall immediately write to them on the Subject, and we are persuaded that the same disposition to Confidence and Friendship, which has induced them already to give unrestrained Course to British Commerce, and unconditionally to liberate all Prisoners, at a time when more caution would not have appeared singular, will also urge their attention to the objects in question, and lead them to every proper measure for promoting a liberal & satisfactory intercourse between the two Countries—
We have communicated to Congress the repeated3 friendly assurances with which you have officially honoured us on those subjects, and we are persuaded that the Period of their being realized, will have an auspicious & conciliating influence on all the Parties in the late unhappy dissensions—
We have the honour to be Sir, / with great Respect & Esteem / Your most obedt & humble Servants
FC (PRO:FO 4, 2:220–221); internal address: “Honble D Hartley Esqr / His Britannic Majesty’s / Minister Plenipotentiary.” LbC-Tr’s (Adams Papers); APM Reel 103.
There are two copies of this letter in the Letterbook that Jean L’Air de Lamotte prepared for the commissioners. The first copy bears the heading “Copy of the Letter to Mr. Hartley, as 1st. sent.” The second copy is headed “Copy of the Letter to Mr. Hartley with the alterations” and except for minor variations matches the British file copy printed above. JA printed both versions in the Boston Patriot of 26 Feb. 1812, there designating the first as “the first draft.” Since there is no evidence that variant copies of this letter actually were sent to Hartley, it seems likely that after the letter was drafted and signed it was reconsidered and altered, perhaps to make it less discouraging regarding the possibility of an Anglo-American commercial agreement, but see the commissioners’ 7 Sept. letter to Hartley, below. Differences in capitalization, spelling, and punctuation between the draft version and the letter as sent have not been indicated, but for substantive differences between the two versions, see notes 2 and 3.
From this point through the next paragraph below, the draft of the letter reads “We must, nevertheless, candidly inform you, that we consider our Commission as terminated; and, therefore, without further Authority from Congress, will not be able to sign and conclude. All we can at present do, is, to confer with you & recommend to Congress such Propositions as may appear to us to merit their Assent: And we shall propose to them to send a Commission to Europe without delay for these important Purposes.
“The unrestrained Course already given by the States to the British Commerce with 261them, & the unconditional Liberation of Prisoners, at a Time when more Caution would not have been singular, are marks of Liberty and Confidence, which, we flatter ourselves, will be equalled by the Magnanimity of his Majesty & the People of Great Britain.”
In the draft version, “repeated” is preceded by “Warm &.”