RC and enclosure (PCC, No. 84, VI, f. 419–426); internal address: “His Excellency John Jay / Secretary of State for / the Department of foreign / affairs.” LbC (Adams Papers); APM Reel 112.

In early Oct. 1786, Thomas Barclay, the U.S. agent in Morocco, dispatched his secretary, Lt. Col. David Salisbury Franks, to deliver a copy of the Moroccan-American Treaty of Peace and Friendship and supporting documents to the commissioners, JA and Thomas Jefferson. Franks reached Paris in late December; Jefferson signed it and drafted a provisional ratification for Congress. Franks traveled on to London, where JA signed the treaty and, under cover of the commissioners’ 27 Jan. 1787 letter to Jay, sent it to Congress (vol. 18:360–367, 469–470, 527–528, 560, 567–568).

Matters were less settled with the proposed Portuguese-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce, which had been delayed by a tardy courier, and then by the Lisbon court’s inattention. Jefferson alone signed it, and it was never submitted to Congress (vol. 18:256–271, 373, 393). When Congress instructed WSS to conduct a goodwill mission to Queen Maria I in February, JA directed him to inquire discreetly about the agreement’s status, for which see WSS’s [11 April] commission and instructions for his mission to Portugal, both below.

In 1786 British prime minister William Pitt the younger, who also served as chancellor of the exchequer, implemented widespread financial reforms to fund the national debt, through the creation of a sinking fund, a new commercial treaty with France, and an increase in domestic taxes. A year into the new economic regime, however, Pitt faced popular resistance to many of these measures. In response, in Feb. 1787 he introduced 2,537 separate resolutions into the House of Commons, all meant to abolish the old system of multiple duties in favor of a new, consolidated treasury fund (vol. 18:115; Hague, Pitt , p. 201).

Merchant Warren Hastings (1732–1818), of Oxfordshire Co., England, was the first governor-general of Bengal, India. He returned to England in mid-June 1785. His triumphant return, however, soon soured when he was indicted on charges of corruption, bribery, and fraud. Brought before Parliament to explain his dealings with the Rohillas, an Afghan tribe, and his excessive imposition of taxes on Indian prince Chait Singh during the First Anglo-Maratha War of 1775–1782, Hastings responded with a lengthy speech in his own defense that won few allies in the House of Commons. Shrewdly, Pitt distanced himself from Hastings and ultimately joined those in Parliament calling for Hastings’ impeachment, which followed on 10 May 1787. Allegations of corruption continued to mount, and Hastings’ prosecutors did not rest until 30 May 1791. By then, popular sentiment had shifted in Hastings’ favor, and he was finally 3 acquitted in 1795 (Hague, Pitt , p. 120, 197–199; DNB ).

The trial became pure political theater, and the Adamses followed it closely. On 12 Feb. 1788 an opportunity to observe the proceedings up close arrived when JA received a formal invitation to view the trial from the “Ambassador’s Box,” along with tickets designated for AA, AA2, and WSS (Adams Papers). AA, who attended several sessions, described the audience as packed daily with “Two thousand persons half of whom are Ladies” ( AFC , 8:xii–xiii, 235).

British admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney (ca. 1718–1792) was created 1st Baron of Stoke-Rodney and received an annual pension of £2,000 following his victory at the 1782 Battle of the Saints. However, since his 1781 capture of the Dutch island of St. Eustatius and confiscation of property there, Rodney had been beset by lawsuits by merchants seeking compensation for their losses. Their success in the British courts resulted in Rodney’s financial ruin, and there is no record of his being indemnified for his losses (vol. 11:221; DNB ).

The first enclosure has not been found, but it was a copy of the Anglo-French Convention signed by William Eden and the Comte de Vergennes at Versailles on 15 Jan. 1787. It was intended to clarify certain points in the Anglo-French Treaty of Amity and Commerce of 26 Sept. 1786 (vol. 18:472). For an English translation, possibly the version sent to JA by the Marquis of Carmarthen, the British foreign minister, see Parliamentary Hist. , 26:268–272. For the second enclosure, a 2 Feb. 1787 letter from John Hales, a victualler soliciting aid for the crew of a metamorphosed ship, see vol. 18:561–562.

JA renewed an attempt to resign his commissions in letters to Jay of 24 and 25 January. JA recommended that WSS act as the American chargé d’affaires in London, but Congress took no action (vol. 18:553–557). Throughout 1787, family speculation swirled around WSS’s potential diplomatic appointments—either replacing JA in London or relocating to Lisbon to serve in a similar capacity. WSS and AA2 returned to New York City in spring 1788, and took up residence at Beaver Hall, Jamaica, Long Island ( AFC , 8:250–251, 462–463).

FC (DNA:RG 59, Microfilm, Reel 1, f. 236–237); internal address: “To the Honorable John Adams Esquire”; notation: “For the Letter and Report mentioned herein— See Book of Reports page 265. Vol: 2d.”

Congress achieved a quorum on 17 Jan., and on 2 Feb. it elected Gen. Arthur St. Clair (1737–1818), of Pennsylvania, a veteran of the Seven Years’ War and the Revolutionary War, as president. On 5 Oct. St. Clair was appointed governor of the newly formed Northwest Territory ( JCC , 32:1, 11; 33:610; ANB ).

Jay’s letter of 17 Jan. acknowledged JA’s letters of 3 and 27 Oct. 1786 (vol. 18:470–472, 490–492). There, Jay indicated that Congress had done nothing since 3 Nov., and that “foreign & indeed domestic Affairs must continue much at a Stand” until it achieved a quorum ( Dipl. Corr., 1783–1789 , 2:680).

In the left margin, marked for insertion at this point, is the notation “By hands of Col. Smith.” These words likely appeared in the RC, which has not been found, and may indicate that the letter to Maria I was either enclosed with Jay’s letter to WSS of this date (same, 3:53–54), or that the letters to JA and WSS were both sent under a cover addressed to WSS.

Jay reported to Congress on 25 Jan. 1787 (PCC, No. 81, III, f. 181–184) regarding JA’s first letter of 27 June 1786 (vol. 18:358–359). JA had suggested that Congress thank Maria I for her orders to the Portuguese Navy to protect American ships against Barbary depredations, which he learned of from Luiz Pinto de Balsamão, the Portuguese minister to Britain. Jay included with his report a draft letter to the queen, adding that “as this Communication was made by the Queen’s Envoy in London to Mr. Adams, your Secretary thinks this letter should be transmitted to him, and that the Compliment would be more delicate if his Secretary was commissioned to carry and deliver it. Perhaps too, so striking a Proof of Respect might among other good Consequences promote the Conclusion of the Treaty.” Congress approved the letter, and the means by which it would reach Maria I, on 3 Feb. 1787 ( JCC , 32:16–17). See also WSS’s [11 April] commission and instructions for his mission to Portugal, both below.

For Jay’s 13 Oct. 1786 report to Congress on the Marquis of Carmarthen’s 28 Feb. reply to JA’s [30 Nov. 1785] memorial on the frontier posts, Congress’ response to that report, and JA’s communication of Congress’ response to the British foreign minister, see vols. 17:624–625; 18:190–192, 501, 503. See also Jay’s letter of 2 April 1787, below.