The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution Volume XI Part 56

Upon a proper representation of your character, situation, and attachments to your country and its cause, the Congress of the United States of America have thought proper to appoint you their Agent at the port, of Havana and Island of Cuba. I take much pleasure in transmitting your commission, which you will find enclosed herein; because my knowledge of you leads me to expert every exertion, which your situation and the circ.u.mstances attending it will admit of, in favor of your country.

You will not find any salary annexed to your appointment for this plain reason, that we cannot afford any. It is our present business to reduce salaries heretofore given, and not to create new ones. This appointment, however, may be attended with pecuniary advantages, because a public character may, and no doubt will, point you out to American merchants as the proper person to intrust with their commercial affairs. Continental prizes and other objects may occasionally turn up, which will leave a reasonable commission behind; and you will have the pleasure of serving Congress when necessary, and the citizens and commerce of your country, as often as opportunities for so doing may occur.

I shall now put your talents to the proof. You will find enclosed a letter I have written for his Excellency Governor Navarro (or should he be gone, for his successor) which will unfold to you very fully my intentions. You will find enclosed in it for him, as in this letter for you, the plan of a National Bank, which I have proposed to establish for many valuable purposes. You will observe that the sum proposed as a capital is far short of what it ought to be; but I was afraid of attempting too much at first, and must now endeavor to increase it by other means. If any of your acquaintances in the Havana have a mind to speculate in the American funds, I think they cannot place their money on a more secure or profitable establishment. This Bank will, I believe, exist for ages to come; and I am persuaded the annual dividends will not be less than from eight to ten per cent.

They may also have the honor and pleasure of seeing their names enrolled among the first promoters of this useful inst.i.tution, on which the salvation of our country in some measure depends. Should any of them incline to subscribe, they must send hither money at their own risk; consigning it to whomsoever they please, with power to act for them. I hope you will promote this business, and in order that you may be able to show the profits arising from it, I am to observe, that when once, by punctual payment, the notes of the bank have obtained full credit, the sum in specie, which will be deposited, will be such, that the bank will have the interest of a stock two or three times larger than that which it really possesses. Should M. Miralles, or any of the family be so inclined, I will put any part of their money into the bank, which they may think proper.

By captain James Nicholson, commanding the frigate Trumbull, I send a bill of lading and invoice of five hundred barrels of flour, which is all fresh and good, and a considerable part of it superfine. This flour I have caused to be shipped to your address, on account and risk of the United States of North America. Be pleased to receive it as quickly as may be from the ship, make the most advantageous sale of it, which you can, and remit the net proceeds in Mexican dollars, consigned to my order, for account and at the risk of the United States. I expect you will not charge more than five per cent for transacting the business, that is, two and a half per cent on the sales, and the same on the returns.

I have also enclosed a bill of exchange, drawn by myself on Messrs Le Couteulx & Co. bankers in Paris, to the amount of five hundred thousand livres tournois; this bill is at sixty days' sight, and you may depend it will be punctually paid, for I have the authority of the Court of Versailles to draw it, and every a.s.surance I could wish. You will observe, by my letter to the Governor, that he is to have the refusal of this bill; you will therefore offer it to him in the first instance. When I consider the risk, which must attend sending money from Havana to Cadiz, and the remittances, as well private as public, which are to be made from one place to the other, I cannot but persuade myself, that unless the government and the people are alike blind to their interests, good bills must sell at a very considerable advance. Should the Governor decline taking the bill on Paris, as it is not probable that any one private person would purchase it, you may either remit it to the House of Le Couteulx & Co. in Paris, or to the House of Messrs. J. L. & L. Le Couteulx & Co. at Cadiz, as may be most convenient for your operations. You will then draw on the House to whom you remit the bill, and sell your bills to the same amount.

Should you remit to the House in Cadiz, let me know it, that I may write and apprize them of it; but this I shall do provisionally, beforehand, so that they may be prepared for you.

I have also, as you will perceive, written to his Excellency on the subject of certain other bills of exchange, drawn on Mr Jay. You will endeavor to get the money for these, if possible; and in case it is required, you will enter the stipulations there mentioned, as to the shipment of flour. In this last case, get the flour fixed at as high a rate as possible, and let me have due notice, so that I may punctually cause to be fulfilled, whatever contracts you shall, on the part of the public, have entered into.

Should his Excellency be inclined to make those advances of money, which I have so earnestly pressed upon him, you will be able the sooner to despatch the frigate, which I hope will be done without delay. But as there is a risk in placing large sums on board of any one vessel, I am to observe, that if there should be any fast sailing vessels about to leave the Havana at the same time, and if in consideration of convoy, they will take the public money freight free, you will then prudently distribute it among them, and direct Captain Nicholson to give them signals, and to take them under his convoy. But I must caution you, that on no consideration is any private property to be covered as belonging to the public, either to save the duties or for any other purpose. You will, therefore, use all proper vigilance to prevent everything of this sort, should it be attempted. If there are not such vessels as Captain Nicholson and you shall approve of ready to sail, then ship the whole money in the frigate; for the risk of being waylaid by the enemy in consequence of any unnecessary delay, is greater than that of being otherwise intercepted.

It is unnecessary for me to mention to you, that we want money exceedingly. This very measure must convince you of it. Exert yourself therefore to get it, and you will merit much at the hands of your country. Should you not succeed in getting the whole sum I have asked for, get as much as you possibly can; and if the Governor should decline advancing any money on the bills drawn by order of Congress on Mr Jay, perhaps the Intendant may accept your contract for flour, and take these bills in security, or you may possibly borrow on their credit from individuals, to be repaid when I shall send you shipments of flour, which I will cause to be done so soon as I shall hear from you to this effect.

I have forbidden Captain Nicholson to cruise, but should fortune enable him to bring a good prize into Havana, the Continent has one half, and you must send that half to me in dollars. Whatever supplies the frigate is absolutely in need of, you must let her have; but I entreat, that the expenses may be as moderate as possible, and the best way to secure this is to despatch her quickly, for the moment they get clear of the salt water air, and feel, their land tacks on board, every soul of them will try to get his hands into your pockets; but take care.

I have desired Captain Nicholson to consult with and obey you whilst in Havana, and to push off whenever you say the word. I shall send you flour by private vessels, for the sake of getting money back, and write you further, as occasion may require.

I am, Dear Sir, &c.

ROBERT MORRIS.

TO B. FRANKLIN.

Philadelphia, July 19th, 1781.

Sir,

The foregoing are duplicates of my letters of the several dates there mentioned, by Major Franks, who has sailed for Cadiz. I now enclose to you duplicate copies of the letters and resolutions, referred to in mine of the thirteenth.

I do not write to Colonel Laurens, because I know not whether he is still in France, and because I am confident you will make to him all necessary communications. I pray you, if he is still with you, to present my compliments to him, and inform him of the reasons of my silence. Colonel Laurens's letter of the 9th of April last, from Versailles, has been received, and I am induced to hope, that the ten millions of livres mentioned in it, to be borrowed in Holland, will be, as he says he shall request, advanced from the treasury of France.

He mentions also a promise of the Marquis de Castries to make immediate arrangements for the safe transportation, of the pecuniary and other succors destined hither. It would be well that the money, or as much of it as possible, were in heavy half Johannes. Whether this letter may arrive in time I know not, but if it should, you will, I hope, be able to effect my views.

If the fifteen millions of livres I mentioned in my letter of the 13th, can be obtained, it will be best that they should be retained in France, provided the ten millions be sent to America; for in that case, the exchange may, I believe, be put upon such a footing as to answer every valuable purpose. Of consequence the risk will be saved to America, and France will not suffer by the exportation of so much coin. To this it may be added, that a loan will probably be more easily obtained, if the days of payment of the money by the subscribers to it be somewhat distant, which will answer very well for bills of exchange, though not quite so well for the exportation of money.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT MORRIS.

TO B. FRANKLIN.

Philadelphia, July 21st, 1781.

Sir,

I have now to inform you, that the State of Pennsylvania had emitted five hundred thousand pounds in bills of credit, funded in such manner, that there could be no reasonable doubt of their redemption.

But the public confidence had been so impaired, that these bills, soon after they came out, rapidly depreciated, notwithstanding the solidity of the funds by which they had been secured. The executive authority of Government, therefore, declined issuing more of them than were then in circulation (being one hundred and thirty thousand pounds), and called together the Legislature. The a.s.sembly, at their late meeting, took measures for the collection of a very considerable tax, sufficient to absorb all the paper then in circulation, and which was receivable in taxes, as also a considerable balance in specie. It is therefore evident, that if the tax has time to operate before any more of the paper be issued, it must necessarily rise in value.

The a.s.sembly did me the honor to commit this sum of five hundred thousand pounds to my care, for the purpose of paying to Congress a balance due on the resolutions of that honorable body, of the 18th of March, 1780, and of procuring the specific supplies which had been called for, the greater part of which had been unpaid. In this situation, it has been my study to effect both these objects, without making any new issues of the paper money. I cannot easily describe to you the good consequences which would follow from the appreciation of it. You will partly conceive them, when I inform you, that it is now at five for one, and that my expectation of specific supplies, or rather of furnishing rations to the amount of them, is very much founded upon the rise of its value.

Finding, however, that the balance of money due to the United States has been already drawn for by them, and that the holders of those drafts are very clamorous for payment, I must put money into the hands of the proper officer immediately. To accomplish this, I have fallen upon an expedient, which, while it answers that purpose, will be productive of another very considerable advantage. To explain which, I must previously inform you, that I have lately refused to draw bills on Messrs Le Couteulx & Co. for any other than specie; so that the paper will no longer answer the purpose of procuring a remittance to Europe. I shall, at the same time, borrow such of it as I can discover to have been h.o.a.rded, and by paying it to the holders of the drafts drawn by Congress, throw it again into circulation. I shall then draw bills on you for four hundred thousand livres, payable at six months'

sight or more, for which I expect to get four hundred thousand paper dollars; a sum sufficient to satisfy the demand. I shall draw on Messrs Le Couteulx & Co. in your favor, to this amount, payable at sixty days' sight, which will probably leave four months for my operations; but at any rate, it will leave three months, which will be amply sufficient; and, therefore, in three months after I shall have drawn on you, I shall remit you my drafts on Messrs Le Couteulx & Co.

If in that period this money can be appreciated, it will be a gain to the United States of the difference, which you will clearly see to be very considerable. By this means, also, I shall so economise the funds placed in my hands, that I can make them productive of the supplies from this State.

In mentioning these supplies, it occurs to me, also, to make mention of what has pa.s.sed, relative to the contract you entered into for a part of them, to the amount of four hundred thousand dollars. Colonel Mennonville spoke to me on this subject, from the Count de Rochambeare, shortly after my appointment. Upon considering the very slender situation of our revenue, or rather the total want of it, and that the several States had omitted furnishing the specific supplies demanded of them, I told Colonel Mennonville, and told him truly, that I had but little prospect of complying with your promise. It is not easy to convey to your mind an idea of the pain I suffered from being obliged to make this declaration. I felt for you, for Congress, for America. There is no man in the world more deeply impressed than myself with the importance of fulfilling every compact made by a proper authority. All my reasonings, my feelings, and my experience, have concurred in producing a thorough conviction, that it is essential according to the principles of justice, from a regard to our national honor, and for the sake of our general interests. I shall, therefore, notwithstanding what has pa.s.sed between Colonel Mennonville and myself, a.s.siduously endeavor to perform your promise, and I am happy to add, that I am not without hopes of success.

With respect to the bills I intend to draw on you, I must apologize for the trouble they will give you, which I hope will be but little.

It will be only necessary to accept them, and direct the holders what banker to apply to for payment. That banker will be enabled to make payment, by the bill I shall draw on Messrs Le Couteulx, & Co. in your favor. Perhaps it may be most convenient to send the bill holders to them, but this you will be the best judge of. It is unnecessary to state any reasons to you for accepting these bills, as I cannot suppose you will have the least hesitation on that subject. I take this opportunity, however, of pledging myself to you, that you shall suffer no inconvenience from honoring them with your acceptance, as I shall most certainly remit in time the bills sufficient to discharge all I draw on you. My reason for drawing them on you at all arises from this circ.u.mstance, that I am desirous of keeping the transaction entirely distinct, and that many inconveniences would follow from drawing bills on Messrs Le Couteulx, & Co. at six months' sight for paper, while I draw others at sixty days' sight for specie, especially after my refusal to draw on them except for specie, which refusal was, as you will perceive, a necessary part of my plan. Add to this, also, that the arrangements I had made with the Minister of his Most Christian Majesty would not permit it. When this transaction shall be finished, that is, when my remittances to you and my drafts on you are all paid, be pleased to send me copies of the bankers' accounts.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT MORRIS.

CIRCULAR TO THE GOVERNORS OF THE STATES.

Philadelphia, July 25th, 1781.

Sir,

I had the honor to write to you on the ---- instant, enclosing a certified copy of the account of your State, as it stands in the treasury books of the United States. I now pray leave to recall your attention to it.

It gives me great pain to learn, that there is a pernicious idea prevalent among some of the States that their accounts are not to be adjusted with the continent. Such an idea cannot fail to spread listless languor over all our operations. To suppose this expensive war can be carried on without joint and strenuous efforts, is beneath the wisdom of those who are called to the high offices of legislation.

Those who inculcate maxims, which tend to relax these efforts, most certainly injure the common cause, whatever may be the motives which inspire their conduct. If once an opinion is admitted, that those States who do the least and charge most will derive the greatest benefit, and endure the smallest evils; your Excellency must perceive that shameless inactivity must take the place of that n.o.ble emulation, which ought to pervade and animate the whole Union. It is my particular duty, while I remind my fellow citizens of the tasks, which it is inc.u.mbent on them to perform, to remove, if I can, every impediment which lies in the way, or which may have been raised by disaffection, self interest, or mistake. I take, therefore, this early opportunity to a.s.sure you, that all the accounts of the several States with the United States, shall be speedily liquidated if I can possibly effect it, and my efforts for that purpose shall be unceasing. I make this a.s.surance in the most solemn manner, and I entreat that the consequences of a contrary a.s.sertion may be most seriously weighed and considered, before it is made or believed.

These accounts naturally divide themselves into two considerable branches, viz. those which are subsequent to the resolutions of Congress of the 18th of March, 1780.[37] The former must be adjusted as soon as proper officers can be found and appointed for the purpose, and proper principles established so as that they may be liquidated in an equitable manner. I say, Sir, in an equitable manner, for I am determined that justice shall be the rule of my conduct, as far as the measure of abilities, which the Almighty has been pleased to bestow, shall enable me to distinguish between right and wrong. I shall never permit a doubt, that the States will do what is right; neither will I ever believe that any one of them can expect to derive advantage from doing what is wrong. It is by being just to individuals, to each other, to the Union, to all; by generous grants of solid revenue, and by adopting energetic methods to collect that revenue; and not by complainings, vauntings, or recriminations, that these States must expect to establish their independence and rise into power, consequence and grandeur. I speak to your Excellency with freedom, because it is my duty so to speak, and because I am convinced that the language of plain sincerity is the only proper language to the first magistrate of a free community.

The accounts I have mentioned as subsequent to the resolutions of the 18th of March, 1780, admit of an immediate settlement. The several States have all the necessary materials. One side of this account consists of demands made by resolutions of Congress, long since forwarded; the other must consist of the compliances with those demands. This latter part I am not in a capacity to state, and for that reason I am to request the earliest information, which the nature of things will permit, of the moneys, supplies, transportation, &c.

which have been paid, advanced, or furnished, by your State, in order that I may know what remains due. The sooner full information can be obtained, the sooner shall we know what to rely on, and how to do equal justice to those who have contributed, and those who have not, to those who have contributed at one period, and those who have contributed at another.

I enclose an account of the specific supplies demanded of your State, as extracted from the journals of Congress, but without any mention of what has been done in consequence of those resolutions. Because as I have already observed, your Excellency will be able to discover the balance much better than I can.

I am further to entreat, Sir, that I may be favored with copies of the several acts pa.s.sed in your State since the 18th of March, 1780, for the collection of taxes and the furnishing supplies, or other aids to the United States; the manner in which such acts have been executed, the times which may have been necessary for them to operate, and the consequences of their operation. I must also pray to be informed of so much of the internal police of your State as relates to the laying, a.s.sessing, levying, and collecting taxes. I beg leave to a.s.sure your Excellency, that I am not prompted either by an idle curiosity, or by any wish to discover what prudence would dictate to conceal. It is necessary that I should be informed of these things, and I take the plain, open, candid method of acquiring information. To palliate or conceal any evils or disorders in our situation, can answer no good purpose; they must be known before they can be cured. We must also know what resources can be brought forth, that we may proportion our efforts to our means, and our demands to both. It is necessary, that we should be in condition to prosecute the war with ease, before we can expect to lay down our arms with security, before we can treat of peace honorably, and before we can conclude it with advantage. I feel myself fettered at every movement, and embarra.s.sed in every operation from my ignorance of our actual state, and of what is reasonably to be asked or expected. Yet when I consider our real wealth and numbers, and when I compare them with those of other countries, I feel a thorough conviction, that we may do much more than we have yet done, and with more ease to ourselves than we have yet felt, provided we adopt the proper modes of revenue and expenditure.

Your Excellency's good sense will antic.i.p.ate my observations on the necessity of being informed what moneys are in your treasury, and what sums you expect to have there, as also the times, by which they must probably be brought in. In addition to this, I must pray you to communicate the several appropriations.

A misfortune peculiar to America, requires that I entreat your Excellency to undertake one more task, which perhaps is far from being the least difficult. It is, Sir, that you will write me very fully as to the amount of the several paper currencies now circulating in your State, the probable increase or decrease of each, and the respective rates of depreciation.

Having now stated the several communications, which are most indispensable, let me entreat of your Excellency's goodness, that they may be made as speedily as possible, to the end, that I may be early prepared with those propositions, which from a view of all circ.u.mstances, may be most likely to extricate us from our present difficulties. I am also to entreat, that you will inform me when your Legislature is to meet. My reason for making this request is, that any proposals to be made to them, may arrive in season for their attentive deliberation.