Paris, February 2, 1786.
Sir,—I was honored some time ago with a letter from you of December 6th, enclosing two for America, which I forwarded by the first occasion. On the 18th of this month, I received a letter from his Excellency the Count de Vergennes, expressing the interest which he takes in your welfare, and recommending you to Congress. This I had an opportunity of forwarding from hence on the 27th of January, under cover to Mr. Jay. Yesterday I was gratified with the receipt of your favor of January 27th, containing a copy of the resolution of Congress of October 24th, in your favor, and which I wish had been more so. With respect to the payment of the arrearages, two things are necessary: first, an order from the Treasury, and secondly, money to comply with it. Mr. Grand wrote me this morning that he had not now as much left as to pay a bill of Mr. Carmichael's for 4300 livres just presented. I shall forward your letter to Mr. Jay the next week, with a request that the necessary measures may be taken for the payment of your arrearages and interest. In the meantime, I think you would do well to write a line for the same purpose to Mr. Jay, or to the Commissioners of the Treasury. I do not mean that what I have said above should prevent your drawing in due time for the salary of the current quarter. I will honor the draught from a private fund with which I can take that liberty. I thank you for what you say of the notes on Virginia. It is much more than they deserve. Though the various matters they touch on would have been beyond the information of any one person whatever to have treated fully, and infinitely beyond mine, yet had I at the time of writing them, had anything more in view than the satisfying a single individual, they should have been more attended to both in form and matter. Poor as they are, they have been thought worthy of a surreptitious translation here, with the appearance of which very soon I have been threatened. This has induced me to yield to a friendly proposition from the Abbé Morellet, to translate and publish them himself, submitting the sheets previously to my inspection. As a translation by so able a hand will lessen the faults of the original, instead of their being multiplied by a hireling translator. I shall add to it a map and such other advantages as may prevent the mortification of my seeing it appear in the injurious form threatened. I shall with great pleasure send a copy of the original to you by the first opportunity, praying your acceptance of it.
I have the honor to be with great esteem and respect, Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant.
TO JOHN ADAMS.
Paris, February 7, 1786.
Dear Sir,—I am honored with yours of January the 19th. Mine of January the 12th, had not, I suppose, at that time got to your hands, as the receipt of it is unacknowledged. I shall be anxious till I receive your answer to it.
I was perfectly satisfied before I received your letter, that your opinion had been misunderstood or misrepresented in the case of the Chevalier de Mezieres. Your letter, however, will enable me to say so with authority. It is proper it should be known, that you had not given the opinion imputed to you, though, as to the main question, it is become useless; Monsieur de Reyneval having assured me, that what I had written on that subject had perfectly satisfied the Count de Vergennes and himself, that this case could never come under the treaty. To evince, still further, the impropriety of taking up subjects gravely, on such imperfect information as this court had, I have this moment received a copy of an act of the Georgia Assembly, placing the subjects of France, as to real estates, on the footing of natural citizens, and expressly recognizing the treaty. Would you think anything could be added, after this, to put this question still further out of doors? A gentleman of Georgia assured me, General Oglethorpe did not own a foot of land in the State. I do not know whether there has been any American determination on the question, whether American citizens and British subjects, born before the Revolution, can be aliens to one another? I know there is an opinion of Lord Coke's, in Colvin's case, that if England and Scotland should, in the course of descent, pass to separate Kings, those born under the same sovereign during the union, would remain natural subjects and not aliens. Common sense urges some considerations against this. Natural subjects owe allegiance; but we owe none. Aliens are the subjects of a foreign power; we are not subjects of a foreign power. The King, by the treaty, acknowledges our independence; how, then, can we remain natural subjects? The King's power is, by the constitution, competent to the making peace, war and treaties. He had, therefore, authority to relinquish our allegiance by treaty. But if an act of parliament had been necessary, the parliament passed an act to confirm the treaty. So that it appears to me, that in this question, fictions of law alone are opposed to sound sense.
I am in hopes Congress will send a minister to Lisbon. I know no country with which we are likely to cultivate a more useful commerce. I have pressed this in my private letters.
It is difficult to learn anything certain here, about the French and English treaty. Yet, in general, little is expected to be done between them. I am glad to hear that the Delegates of Virginia had made the vote relative to English commerce, though they afterwards repealed it. I hope they will come to it again. When my last letters came away, they were engaged in passing the revisal of their laws, with some small alterations. The bearer of this, Mr. Lyons is a sensible, worthy young physician, son of one of our judges, and on his return to Virginia. Remember me with affection to Mrs. and Miss Adams, Colonels Smith and Humphreys, and be assured of the esteem with which I am, dear Sir, your friend and servant.