The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution Volume XII Part 13

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT MORRIS.

TO MESSRS LE COUTEULX & CO.[6]

Office of Finance, May 18th, 1782.

Gentlemen,

I pray that you will receive my sincere thanks for the accurate and punctual manner in which you have performed the business of the United States, which I have placed in your hands, and be a.s.sured that it shall always command my attention. I should have lodged in your hands very considerable sums on their account, subject to my disposition, but Dr Franklin having recommended to me in a very particular manner Mr Grand, whom he had formerly employed, not only for his punctuality as a banker, but also for his zeal in the American cause, which he had early and warmly espoused, and evidenced his attachment by liberal advances of money on the credit of their commissioners, before the Court had acknowledged them as a nation, I thought it my duty to employ him. But I think it more than probable, I shall have occasion for another banker, on particular occasions and negotiations, and I shall take the liberty in every such instance to employ you, gentlemen, not in the least doubting a continuance of your punctuality and attention.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT MORRIS.

[6] _May 20th._ This evening I met Mr Madison, Governor Rutledge, Mr Clymer, Mr Lovell, and Mr Root, the Committee of Congress appointed to confer with me on the subject of my letter to Congress of the 17th instant, enclosing an intended circular letter to the States. I laid before these gentlemen a true picture of our present situation, but after much conversation, they appeared to be disinclined to sending the circular letter, and I proposed sending suitable persons to the several States, to make proper representations to the Executives and Legislatures, which they seemed to prefer, and on which they are to consult and report tomorrow morning. _Diary._

TO B. FRANKLIN.

Office of Finance, May 23d, 1782.

Sir,

The Minister has been so kind as to delay his express, until I could write this letter. You mention in yours of the 4th of March, that on Friday (then) last, the Minister informed you that we should have six millions, paid quarterly, and that you should now be able to face the loan office and other bills, and your acceptances _in favor of M. de Beaumarchais_.

You are not unacquainted with the disputes which have subsisted with respect to M. de Beaumarchais' demand. Whether or not the moneys were originally advanced to him by the Court, is not at present to be brought into question by me, because it involves many things, which are better adjusted by the Court themselves, than by any communications to or with others. I am only to observe, that if the very considerable sum, which is now payable to that gentleman forms a deduction from the pecuniary aid afforded us, the remainder will be extremely incompetent to the purposes intended by it. There can be no doubt that your acceptances must be paid, but I have always expected that you would have been enabled to do it by a special grant for that purpose, or by an a.s.sumption of the payment on the part of the Court.

I shall not enter into the mode of arranging this business, but I must not refrain from observing, that the great object now is to prosecute the war, that the articles which may have been furnished for the sum payable to M. de Beaumarchais must long since have been applied and expended, that our necessities now are as pressing as they possibly can be, and that everything which adds to their weight is extremely distressful.

You will observe, Sir, that I have already made my dispositions as to the six millions granted for the current year. I shall go on to draw as occasion offers, for all the moneys which may be in Mr Grand's possession, making allowance for the shipments of money, directed in my letters to him. If, therefore, any part of this sum should be otherwise disposed of, it might produce the most dangerous consequences.

With respect and esteem, I am, &c.

ROBERT MORRIS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Office of Finance, May 23d, 1782.

Sir,

I do myself the honor to enclose to your Excellency copies of letters, the former from Dr Franklin to me of the 4th of March, and the latter from the Count de Vergennes to him of the 6th of February. With these, I send the best sketch I have been able to form of the state of the public moneys; from which Congress will perceive that every sou we can command during the year 1782 is already antic.i.p.ated. They will perceive that the pecuniary supplies of 1781 and 1782 amount, after deducting the expenses on the loan, to twentyfive and a half millions of livres, and that there are, (including the two million two hundred thousand livres, appropriated to the interest of Loan Office certificates) ten millions, besides the sum expended in Holland, which have already pa.s.sed and are now pa.s.sing through the hands of Dr Franklin, and of which not a livre has been, or ever will be, applied to the current service.

If to this be added above two millions and a half due on Beaumarchais'

bills, we shall have an amount of about twelve and a half millions, being at least one half of all the moneys obtained abroad for the service of the year 1781 and 1782. And we shall find, that this greater half is totally consumed in paying the princ.i.p.al of some, and the interest of other debts, which have been contracted before that period. I shall make no further comments on these things. They are before Congress, and will speak for themselves. I have only to lament, that the situation to which our affairs have been reduced is such, that the greatest exertion which our ally can make in our favor is barely sufficient to satisfy present engagements, and that the knowledge of such aid only confirms the inattention of our own citizens to those distressing circ.u.mstances which it does not relieve.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT MORRIS.

TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.

Office of Finance, May 27th, 1782.

Sir,

I do myself the honor to enclose certain information, which I have just received in a letter from the Minister of France. I take this occasion to mention, that it is some time since M. de la Luzerne communicated to me the grant of his Court, which was made in the month of December last. I think it my duty to add the persuasion I have, that this grant was made on the Minister's representations, and I cannot omit testifying to Congress my grateful sense of his conduct, and my conviction, that his endeavors have not been wanting still further to promote the interests of the United States.

I should earlier have communicated my intelligence of the loan in question, but I wished to receive the details, which would enable me to judge how much of it was at my disposition. I confess that I did not expect they would have been so unfavorable. I was restrained also by an apprehension, that the exertions of the States would relax, when they should learn that any foreign aid could be obtained; and the situation of our commerce was such, that if I had been enabled to draw for much larger sums, it would have been of no avail, as I could not have got money for the bills.

I have the honor to be, &c.

ROBERT MORRIS.

_Information mentioned in the above Letter._

The King never promised any subsidy to the United States, and all the sums which they have received from him have been lent or freely given. All those, which have been advanced after the 6th of February, 1778, are to be repaid by the United States except the six millions given last year. All the rest, whether furnished in money or in value, is a debt, which they have contracted with his Majesty.

These advances have been made at the following periods, and are payable with interest, conformably to the acknowledgements and obligations of Dr Franklin.

Livres.

In 1778, 3,000,000 In 1779, 1,000,000 In 1780, 4,000,000 In 1781, 10,000,000 ---------- Total, 18,000,000

From this sum must be taken the gratuitous subsidy granted last year of 6,000,000 ---------- Remains 12,000,000

To this must be added, 1st the produce of the loan in Holland, 10,000,000

2dly, The loan made by his Majesty for the service of the current year, 6,000,000 ---------

Total of the capital of the debt contracted by the United States with his Majesty, 28,000,000

I am ordered, Sir, to renew to you the demand, which I had the honor to make before, to the purport that Congress should authorise Dr Franklin to consolidate the princ.i.p.al and interest of that debt, by an obligation in proper form. You are so firmly resolved, Sir, to preserve the order you have introduced into your department, that it would be superfluous to reiterate to you the a.s.surance, that his Majesty will under no pretext exceed the sum of six millions, which he has determined to advance to the United States for the current year.

This exactness, which is in all cases indispensable, has become still more so now, that the enemy seem determined to adopt a system, which obliges us to turn the greatest part of our resources to a marine. I am persuaded, Sir, that you can have no doubt as to the interest of Loan Office certificates, and that you will not consider it as being at our expense, seeing that no engagement of that sort has ever been taken by us. If bills for this interest should continue to be forwarded, those who draw must provide for the payment of them.

LUZERNE.

TO B. FRANKLIN.