Papers of John Adams, volume 16
I received your Favor of the 10th Inst
Mr Jay has recovered his Health in a great Measure by his Excursion to Bath, & has returned to Paris— I have not as yet heard of his Arrival there—
We have recently received but little political News from America— The refractory States seem more favorably inclined towards the Appropreation of such Funds as Congress required for doing Justice to the public Creditors
Massachusets Bay & Virginia have adopted the Measure—1
The restraining Proclamation of this Country has occasioned the Establishment of Committees, composed of the leading Commercial Characters of the different States, who will digest a Plan of Commercial Retaliation, which will be enforced against G Britain, in Case she does not relax in her contracted selfish System— The Politics of this Country are fast verging towards a Crisis, which must decide the Fate of the Constitution
Mr Pitt still holds his Ground, supported by the Voice of the People & the royal Favor & Confidence—
The Coalition Party continue to retain a decided Majority in the House of Commons, & have put an effectual Stop to the Progress of all public Business, so that the Affairs of the Nation will be suspended, untill a new Parliament is chosen or an Union of Parties takes place— The former Step would be adopted, but it is too late to have recourse to it, as the Supplies must immediately be granted, or public Credit would receive a fatal Blow— The Mutiny Bill must likewise pass, or the Army will of course be disbanded—2
The King has made known his Wishes to the Duke of Portland, that an Union of Parties should take place,—but Etiquette prevents the Adjustment of this Business, as the opposition will not treat, except the present Ministry resigns, preparatory to Negotiation—& they absolutely refuse to leave their Places—
In short, this Kingdom is in a very convulsed State, & except 44 some Accommodation speedily takes place, will be afflicted with some very serious internal Troubles—
I am with great Regard / Sir / Your obedt hble servt
mBingham
RC (Adams Papers); addressed: “A Son Excellence / Monsr Jean Adams / Ministre Plenipotentiaire des Etats / Unis de l’Amerique / a la Haye”; docketed: “Mr: W: Bingham / London Feby 19th: 1784.”
That is, Massachusetts and Virginia had agreed to the continental excise, but only if all of the other states approved it also (vol. 15:392; Morris, Papers
, 8:836).
Bingham was not exaggerating the seriousness of the political and constitutional deadlock between William Pitt and the forces allied with the deposed Fox-North coalition. Virtually every debate in the House of Commons between 19 Dec. 1783, when the Pitt ministry replaced the Fox-North coalition, and 25 March 1784, when Parliament was dissolved, centered one way or another on the right of the Pitt ministry to govern in the absence of a majority in the Commons (
Parliamentary Hist.
, 24:226–775).
Nothing highlighted the crisis more dramatically than the need to pass the Mutiny Act. The 1689 English Bill of Rights prohibited the maintenance of a standing army without Parliament’s permission. In practice this meant that Parliament yearly renewed the act, for if it did not, the army would be disbanded.
The Day before Yesterday the Baron de Thuilemeyer the Envoy to their High Mightinesses, from the King of Prussia, did me the Honour of a Visit, but as I had Company, he stayed but a short time. As I accompanied him to the Door, he whis told me, that he had Something to Say to me from the King, and desird me to name an Hour, when he might call upon me again. I told him his Hour should be mine, and that I would return his Visit at any hour he should choose the next day. But he choose to call upon me and mentioned Eleven in the Morning. Accordingly Yesterday he came, and told me “that the King who honoured him with a Personal Correspondence, and who was acquainted with my Character by Reputation, had directed him to make me a Visit, and to observe to me, that as his Subjects had occasion for our Tobacco and perhaps other Things, and as We had occasion for Silesia Linnens, and perhaps other Productions of his Dominions, he thought an Arrangement might be made between his Majesty and the United States, which would be beneficial on both Sides,” and the Baron desired to know my Sentiments of it.
I Answered him “that I was very Sensible of the Honour done me by his Majesty, but that I had Singly no Authority to treat, or enter
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into Conferences officially upon the subject. That Congress had been pleased to confer upon their late Ministers at the Peace, Authority to enter into Conferences. That I could do nothing but in Concurrence with Mr Franklin and Mr Jay who were at Paris: but I thought I could answer for the good Dispositions of those Ministers as well as my own for forming an Arrangement between the two Powers, which might be beneficial to both.— That I would write to you, Gentlemen an account of what had passed between Us. But that it was possible you might have already announced to the Baron de Goltz,1 the. That I should be[”] He desired that I would, and said he would, write by the first Post to the King, and enquire if his Majesty had any Thing in particular to propose, would inform him of my Answer, and wait his further orders, which probably he should receive, as soon as I should have an Answer from Paris.—2
I have at last obtained Some better hopes of Saving Mr Morris’s Bills which become payable in this Month & March but have as yet nothing like Certainty of Saving those in May. and if fresh Bills appear, which I very much fear, We must fail at last.— however, I have agreed to open a new Loan, and must stay here to Sign the Instruments & obligations, having obtained a Promise, of Money to Save the Bills in March, so that I Shall not be able to join you Gentlemen, for sometime.
I Suppose We may make the Treaty with Holland or that with Sweeden, in general the Model of one with Prussia. if you think any alterations necessary, they may be proposed to the King either by the Baron de Goltz or de Thuilemeyer. meantime I think it would be proper for you Gentlemen to write to Congress for a Commission to treat & conclude for I take it for granted that no Power can conclude with Us, without any other full Power than our Instruction.
LbC (Adams Papers); internal address: “Their Excellencies Benjamin Franklin / & John Jay Esqrs.”; APM Reel 107.
The Baron Bernhard Wilhelm von der Goltz had been the Prussian minister to France since 1768 (
Repertorium
, 3:327). There had been no exchanges, however, between Goltz and Franklin regarding a treaty.
The Baron von Thulemeier’s meeting with JA ultimately led the Prussian diplomat to present JA with a draft Prussian-American treaty. But this initial effort came to nothing because, as JA informed Thulemeier, neither he nor his colleagues at Paris had the power to negotiate such a treaty and could only submit the proposal, with their observations thereon, to Congress and await instructions. In slightly altered form, JA included this paragraph and the previous one in his 9 March 1784 letter to the president of Congress informing Congress of his meeting with Thulemeier and Frederick II’s proposal for a treaty, below. For the draft and its fate, see the Proposed Prussian-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce, [9 April – post 5 May], below, and for additional information on Thulemeier, see Descriptive List of Illustrations, No. 1, above.
By the time the proposed treaty reached
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Annapolis the situation had significantly changed, for on 7 May Congress appointed JA, Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson to a new joint commission empowered to negotiate treaties with 23 nations, including Prussia, in Europe and North Africa, for which see the joint commission to negotiate an Anglo-American commercial treaty, [12 May], note 1, below. JA learned of the new commission in early August (from W. T. Franklin, 1 Aug.; from Benjamin Franklin, 6 Aug., both below). But not until 10 Nov. did the commissioners submit their own draft treaty to Thulemeier, below, and it was that draft that served as the basis for the final treaty signed by JA, Franklin, and Jefferson in 1785 (Miller, Treaties
, 2:162–184).