Part 15 (1/2)
He has a majority in the States General, and a strong party in the States of Holland. His want of money is supplied by his cousin George.
England and Prussia abet his usurpations, and France the patriotic party. Were England and France in a condition to go to war, there is no question but they would have been at it before now. But their insuperable poverty renders it probable they will compel a suspension of hostilities, and either arrange and force a settlement on the Dutch, or if they cannot agree themselves on this, they will try to protract things by negotiation. Can I be useful to you here in anything in the purchase of books, of wines, of fruits, of modes for Mrs. Randolph, or anything else? As to books, they are cheaper here than in England, excepting those in Latin, Greek, or English. As to wines, I have the best Vignerons of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Frontinan. Genuine wines can never be had but of the Vigneron. The best of Bordeaux cost three livres the bottle, but good may be bought for two. Command me freely, a.s.sured that I shall serve you cheerfully, and that I am with respects to Mrs. Randolph and attachment to yourself, dear Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.
TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA.
PARIS, August 3, 1787.
SIR,--I am to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letters of January 28th, and May 4th, which have come to hand since the date of mine of February 7th. Immediately on the receipt of the former I caused enquiry to be made relative to the bayonets, and found that they had certainly been packed with the muskets. Your Excellency's favor of May 4th renders unnecessary the sending the proofs. There have been s.h.i.+pped in the whole from Bordeaux 3,400 stand of arms, and from Havre 3,406 cartouch boxes, which I hope have come safely to hand. Besides these there has been a s.h.i.+pment from Bordeaux of powder, etc., made by Mr.
Barclay. This was but the half of what was intended, and of what Mr.
Barclay had contracted for. But his bill on Mr. Grand was protested on a misconception of Mr. Grand's, who, by a mixture of your account with that of the United States, had supposed he had but about 12,000 livres of your money in his hands. I was absent on a journey, and happened in the course of that to meet with Mr. Barclay at Bordeaux, and we concluded to send you half the quant.i.ty. Since my return, I have not been able to have your account exactly settled so as to render it now; but am able to say in general and with certainty, that everything sent you has been paid, and that after paying Houdon 3,000 livres for the second bust of the Marquis de La Fayette now nearly ready to be sent off for you, and 10,000 livres the second payment due towards General Was.h.i.+ngton's statue, there will remain enough in Mr. Grand's hands to pay for a quant.i.ty of powder, &c, equal to that sent you by Mr. Barclay from Bordeaux, which shall accordingly be done. This balance on hand includes 5,300 livres paid by Mr. Littlepage, which, though he has sent us a bill for, six or eight months ago, we had refused to receive till the arrival of your Excellency's letter informing me it had not been paid in America; it was therefore applied for and received by Mr. Grand a few days ago. Mr. Barclay drew on me for the balance of his account with the State of Virginia, 2,370 livres, which I paid; besides these he afterwards discovered an omission of 108_l._ 8_s._ in his account, which I pay also, so as to leave your account with him balanced. There is, however, the articles of expenses for young Mercier, which he has neither entered in your account, nor charged to me in my private account. It yet remains due to him, therefore, and I shall pay it to him if he applies to me. I should have called for it, but that he was gone to America before I discovered the omission. Should the State have further occasion for arms, your Excellency will be able to judge, combining quality and price, whether those of Liege or of France are to be preferred. I shall with cheerfulness obey your future orders on this or any other account, and have the honor to be, with sentiments of the most perfect esteem and respect, your Excellency's most obedient, and most humble servant.
P. S.--The original of the report on the inauguration of the bust of the Marquis de La Fayette accompanies this.
TO WILLIAM HAY.
PARIS, August 4, 1787.
SIR,--I am now to acknowledge the receipt of your two favors of April 26, and May 3. I have forwarded, by a vessel lately sailed from Havre to New York, a box marked W. H., containing the livraisons of the Encyclopedie subsequent to those Dr. Currie has delivered you, to the 22d inclusive. They are sent to the care of Mr. Madison at Congress, who will forward the box to you. There is in it, also, the same livraisons to Colonel Monroe. I will continue to forward them once or twice a year, as they come out. I have stated in a letter to Dr. Currie the cost and expenses of the first twenty-two livraisons, to enable yourself and himself to settle. The future shall be charged to you or him, as your agreement shall be. It is really a most valuable work, and almost supplies the place of a library.
I receive from too many quarters the account of the distresses of my countrymen to doubt their truth--distresses brought on themselves by a feebleness of mind which calculates very illy its own happiness. It is a miserable arithmetic which makes any single privation whatever so painful as a total privation of everything which must necessarily follow the living so far beyond our income. What is to extricate us I know not, whether law, or loss of credit. If the sources of the former are corrupted, so as to prevent justice the latter must supply its place, leave us possessed of our infamous gains, but prevent all future ones of the same character.
Europe is in a moment of crisis. The innovations by their sovereign in the Austrian Netherlands have produced in the people a determination to resist. The Emperor, by disavowing the concessions made by his governors to quiet the people, seemed to take up the gauntlet which they had thrown. Yet it is rather probable he will recede, and all be hushed up there. The Dutch parties are in a course of hostilities which it will be difficult to suspend. A war would have been begun before this, between this country on one side, and England and Prussia on the other, had the parties been in a condition for war. Perhaps England might have raised supplies, but it would be on a certainty of being crushed under them. This country would find greater difficulty. There is, however, a difference in her favor which might reduce her on a level with England: that is, that it would be a popular war here, and an unpopular one in England. Probably the weakness of the two countries will induce them to join in compelling a suspension of hostilities, and to make an arrangement for them, or if they cannot agree in that, they will spin the matter into length by negotiation. In fact, though both parties are arming, I do not expect any speedy commencement of hostilities. I am, with very great respect and esteem, Sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant.
TO DR. DAVID RAMSAY.
PARIS, August 4, 1787.
DEAR SIR,--I have to acknowledge the receipt of your favors of November 8 and April 7, and the pleasure to inform you that the translation of your book sells well, and is universally approved. Froulle will send you some copies of it, by the first opportunity. I am happy to hear you are occupied on the general history. It is a subject worthy your pen. I observe Stockdale in London has printed your work and advertised it for sale. Since I wrote to you on the subject of rice, I have had an opportunity of examining the rice-fields of Lombardy, and having committed my observations to writing, in a letter to Mr. Drayton, as President of the Agricultural Society, I will take the liberty of referring you to that letter, in which probably there is little new to your countrymen, though all was new to me. However, if there be a little new and useful, it will be my reward. I have been pressing on the merchants here the expediency of enticing the rice-trade to Bordeaux and Honfleur. At length, I have received the enclosed propositions. They are a firm and very solid house. I wish they may produce the effect desired. I have enclosed a copy to Mr. Izard, but forgot to mention to him, on the subject of white plains and hoes (particularly named in his letter to me), that this house will begin by furnis.h.i.+ng them from England, which they think they can do as cheap as you can receive them directly from England. The allowance made to wholesale purchasers will countervail the double voyage. They hope that after a while they can have them imitated here. Will you be so good as to mention this to Mr. Izard? I fear that my zeal will make me expose myself to ridicule in this business, for I am no merchant, and still less knowing in the culture of rice. But this risk becomes a duty by the bare possibility of doing good. You mention in your letter, your instalment law as needing apology. I have never heard the payment by instalment complained of in Europe. On the contrary, in the conferences Mr. Adams and myself had with merchants in London, they admitted the necessity of them. It is only necessary that the terms be faithfully observed, and the payments be in real money. I am sensible that there are defects in our federal government, yet they are so much lighter than those of monarchies, that I view them with much indulgence. I rely, too, on the good sense of the people for remedy, whereas the evils of monarchical government are beyond remedy. If any of our countrymen wish for a King, give them aesop's fable of the frogs who asked a King; if this does not cure them, send them to Europe. They will go back good republicans. Whether we shall have war or not, is still doubtful. I conclude we shall not, from, the inability of both France and England to undertake a war. But our friend George is rather remarkable for doing exactly what he ought not to do. He may, therefore, force on a war in favor of his cousin of Holland. I am, with very great esteem, Sir, your most obedient humble servant.
TO EDWARD CARRINGTON.
PARIS, August 4, 1787.
DEAR SIR,--Since mine of the 16th of January, I have been honored by your favors of April the 24th and June the 9th. I am happy to find that the States have come so generally into the schemes of the federal convention, from which, I am sure, we shall see wise propositions. I confess, I do not go as far in the reforms thought necessary, as some of my correspondents in America; but if the convention should adopt such propositions, I shall suppose them necessary. My general plan would be, to make the States one as to everything connected with foreign nations, and several as to everything purely domestic. But with all the imperfections of our present government, it is without comparison the best existing, or that ever did exist. Its greatest defect is the imperfect manner in which matters of commerce have been provided for. It has been so often said, as to be generally believed, that Congress have no power by the Confederation to enforce anything; for example, contributions of money. It was not necessary to give them that power expressly; they have it by the law of nature. When two parties make a compact, there results to each a power of compelling the other to execute it. Compulsion was never so easy as in our case, where a single frigate would soon levy on the commerce of any State the deficiency of its contributions; nor more safe than in the hands of Congress, which has always shown that it would wait, as it ought to do, to the last extremities, before it would execute any of its powers which are disagreeable. I think it very material, to separate, in the hands of Congress, the executive and legislative powers, as the judiciary already are, in some degree. This, I hope, will be done. The want of it has been the source of more evil than we have experienced from any other cause. Nothing is so embarra.s.sing nor so mischievous, in a great a.s.sembly, as the details of execution. The smallest trifle of that kind occupies as long as the most important act of legislation, and takes place of everything else. Let any man recollect, or look over, the files of Congress; he will observe the most important propositions hanging over, from week to week, and month to month, till the occasions have pa.s.sed them, and the things never done. I have ever viewed the executive details as the greatest cause of evil to us, because they in fact place us as if we had no federal head, by diverting the attention of that head from great to small subjects; and should this division of power not be recommended by the convention, it is my opinion Congress should make itself, by establis.h.i.+ng an executive committee.