Papers of John Adams, volume 17
r.24. 1785
Mr Preston arrived here, two days ago, but had lost his Letters, I hope he had none of Consequence.1 he dont remember he had any for me. He tells me from you, that the Dr is arrived at Philadelphia which I am glad to hear, and those Oracles of Truth the English Newspapers tell Us, he had an honourable Reception, which I Should not however have doubted, if I had not any Such respectable Authority for it.
The Insurance is made upon Houdons Life for Six Months from the 12 of October. I have paid Thirty two Pounds Eleven Shillings Præmium and Charges, which you will please to give me Credit for. I could not persuade them to look back, as they Say, they never ensure but for the future and from the date of the Policy. I Suppose it will be Safest to keep the Receipt and Policy here, for fear of Accidents.
I begin to be uneasy about our Funds. the Draughts upon Willinks & Co and the Expences of the Negotiations in Barbary, will exhaust the little that remains, and unless We have fresh Supplies, We shall all be obliged to embark, in the first ships We can find before 537next March, for Want of bread. I hope you will press this subject in your Letters to America. Rutledge declines, and you will not wonder at it.— I dont believe Congress will find any other Man, who will venture abroad upon the present Plan. The Dr was lucky to get out of the Scrape, in Season. You and I Shall Soon wish ourselves at home too.—
I have a Letter from Thulemeier, that he has received from the King a Ratification of the Treaty, and is ready to exchange it. I hope you will request of Congress a prompt Ratification on their Part, that one Affair at least may be finished.2 I See no comfortable hopes here.— We hold Conferences upon Conferences, but the Ministers either have no Plan or they button it up, closer than their Waistcoats.— The thirteen States much each pass a Navigation Act, and heavy Duties upon all British Merchandizes, so as to give a clear Advantage to their own and the Manufactures of France & Germany Prussia & Russia, or We shall be a long time weak and poor.
This will be delivered you by Dr Rodgers a Son of Dr Rodgers of New York a young Gentleman of Merit.
I am Sir with the greatest Esteem your / Friend & sert.
RC (DLC:Jefferson Papers); internal address: “Mr Jefferson.” LbC (Adams Papers); APM Reel 111.
The courier was Sir Robert Preston (1740–1834), Scottish-born merchant and M.P. for Dover since 1784 (Namier and Brooke, House of Commons
, 3:326). Preston carried Jefferson’s 11 Oct. 1785 letters to JA
, above, and to AA (
AFC
, 6:422–423), both of which he initially reported as lost but later found and delivered on or about 4 Nov. (to Jefferson, 4 Nov., below;
AFC
, 6:442, 466).
Jefferson wrote to John Jay on 2 Jan. 1786 regarding the ratification of the Prussian-American treaty and enclosed copies of the Baron von Thulemeier’s 11 Oct. 1785 letter to him and his reply of the 16th (Jefferson, Papers
, 8:625, 639; 9:136). But there apparently is no letter from JA to Jay on the subject, perhaps because he thought the commissioners’ 11 Oct. letter, above, was sufficient.
1785]
I have just received the Letter you did me the honour to write me, on the 16 of this Month.
The Editors of News papers find that nothing contributes more to the Sale of their Merchandize than paragraphs respecting Dr Franklin. at one time they put him to death by sickness on his passage; at 538another they Send him captive to Algiers: & then they wreck him on the coast of Madeira: & any Such Anecdotes answer their purpose as well as if they were true.
But I have the pleasure to inform You that the Dr is arrived in Philadelphia, has been received by his Fellow citizens with every possible demonstration of Respect: and his Health has been So much improved by his Voyage that he proposed a journey to New York to pay his respects to Congress. the News has arrived at L’orient by one vessel, and in London by an other, and is undoubtedly authentick1
I am much obliged to you Sir for giving me this opportunity of paying my respects, having been for Several years no stranger to the Name and character of Sir Edward Newenham. with great respect I have the Honour to be Sir your most obedient & Most Humble Servant J
LbC in AA’s hand (Adams Papers); APM Reel 107.
Sir Edward Newenham (1734–1814) was an Irish politician, champion of parliamentary reform, and longtime supporter of the American cause who corresponded with Benjamin Franklin and others (
DNB
). In his 16 Oct. letter (Adams Papers), Newenham expressed alarm over newspaper reports that Franklin perished in a shipwreck off the coast of Madeira en route to Philadelphia. There were also reports, taken from forged letters of Capt. Thomas Truxton of the London Packet, that the vessel had been captured by Algerian corsairs and Franklin had been sent into slavery (
AFC
, 6:386–387, 389; London Daily Universal Register, 13 Sept., 13 and 14 Oct.). As JA noted, this was not the first time that the press aired false rumors of Franklin’s captivity or death. On 23 Feb. 1778, the Boston Gazette reported that Franklin had been fatally stabbed in his bedchamber (vol. 6:248, 249;
AFC
, 2:396, 397). “That Story like many others I Suppose arose from those set of People who pretend to be the best Lovers of their Country when they are all the time a seeking her ruin,” JQA observed to AA in a letter of 11 June 1778 (
AFC
, 3:41). Two years later Franklin was again reported to be a target, this time of a poisoning plot masterminded by Peter Allaire, a New York merchant and British spy who was subsequently imprisoned in the Bastille (vol. 12:28). Franklin wrote to Newenham on 3 Oct. 1785 to notify him of his safe return to America (DLC:Franklin Papers).