The Minister, we found, was then engaged with the Portuguese Minister, who retired in about ten minutes, when we were introduced and produced the copy of our letters of credence, which the Minister perused and kept. He informed us "that the Directory had required him to make a report relative to the situation of the United States with regard to France, which he was then about, and which would be finished in a few days, when he would let us know what steps were to follow." We asked if cards of hospitality were in the mean time necessary? He said they were, and that they should be delivered to us; and he immediately rung for his secretary and directed him to make them out.
This interview with Talleyrand being over, a game of intrigue, impudence, venality and corruption was immediately commenced upon the American Ministers, by the intimates and agents of Talleyrand, which has but few parallels in history, and of which they give this account:
On Saturday, the 14th, Major Mountflorence (U. S. Consul General in Paris,) informed General Pinckney that he had a conversation with Mr. Osmond, the private and confidential secretary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who told him that the Directory were greatly exasperated at some parts of the President's Speech at the opening of the last session of Congress, and would require an explanation of them from us. The particular parts were not mentioned. In another conversation on the same day, the secretary informed the Major that the Minister had told him it was probable we should not have a public audience of the Directory till such time as our negotiation was finished; that probably persons might be appointed to treat with us, but they would report to him, and he would have the direction of the negotiation. The Major did not conceal from Mr. Osmond his intention to communicate these conversations to us.
In the morning of October the 13th, Mr. W., of the house of ——, called on General Pinckney and informed him that a Mr. X., who was in Paris, and whom the General had seen, * * * * was a gentleman of considerable credit and reputation, * * * * and that we might place great reliance on him.
In the evening of the same day, Mr. X. called on General Pinckney, and after having sat some time, * * * * whispered him that he had a message from M. Talleyrand to communicate when he was at leisure. General Pinckney immediately withdrew with him into another room; and when they were alone, Mr. X. said that he was charged with a business in which he was a novice; that he had been acquainted with M. Talleyrand, * * * * and that he was sure he had a great regard for [America] and its citizens; and was very desirous that a reconciliation should be brought about with France; that, to effect that end, he was ready, if it was thought proper, to suggest a plan, confidentially, that M. Talleyrand expected would answer the purpose. General Pinckney said he should be glad to hear it. Mr. X. replied that the Directory, and particularly two of the members of it, were exceedingly irritated at some passages of the President's Speech, and desired that they should be softened, and that this step would be necessary previous to our reception. That, besides this, a sum of money was required for the pocket of the Directory and Ministers, which would be at the disposal of M. Talleyrand; and that a loan would also be insisted on. M. X. said if we acceded to these measures, M. Talleyrand had no doubt that all our differences with France might be accommodated. On inquiry, M. X. could not point out the particular passages of the speech that had given offence, nor the quantum of the loan, but mentioned that the douceur for the pocket, was twelve hundred thousand livres, about fifty thousand pounds sterling. General Pinckney told him, that his colleagues and himself, from the time of their arrival here, had been treated with great slight and disrespect; that they earnestly wished for peace and reconciliation with France; and had been entrusted by their country with very great powers to obtain these ends on honorable terms; that, with regard to the propositions made, he could not even consider of them before he had communicated them to his colleagues; that, after he had done so, he should hear from him. After a communication and consultation had, it was agreed that General Pinckney should call on M. X. and request him to make his propositions to us all: and, for fear of mistake or misapprehension, that he should be requested to reduce the heads into writing. Accordingly, on the morning of October 19, General Pinckney called on M. X., who consented to see his colleagues in the evening, and to reduce his propositions to writing. He said his communication was not immediately with M. Talleyrand, but through another gentleman in whom M. Talleyrand had great confidence. This proved afterwards to be M. Y.
At six in the evening, M. X. came and left with us the first set of propositions, which, translated from the French, are as follows: "A person who possesses the confidence of the Directory, on what relates to the affairs of America, convinced of the mutual advantages which would result from the re-establishment of the good understanding between the two nations, proposes to employ all of his influence to obtain this object. He will assist the Commissioners of the United States in all the demands which they may have to make from the Government of France, inasmuch as they may not be contradictory to those which he proposes himself to make, and of which the principal will be communicated confidentially. It is desired that, in the official communications, there should be given a softening turn to a part of the President's Speech to Congress, which has caused much irritation. It is feared, that in not satisfying certain individuals in this respect, they may give way to all their resentment. The nomination of Commissioners will be consented to on the same footing as they have been named in the treaty of America with England, to decide on the reclamations which individuals may make on the Government of France, or on French individuals. The payments which, agreeably to the decisions of the Commissioners, shall fall to the share of the French Government, are to be advanced by the American Government itself. It is desired that the funds which, by this means, shall enter again into the American trade, should be employed in new supplies for the French colonies. Engagements of this nature, on the part of individuals reclaiming, will always hasten, in all probability, the decisions of the French Commissioners; and, perhaps, it may be desired that this clause should make a part of the instructions which the Government of the United States should give to the Commissioners they may choose. The French Government desires, besides, to obtain a loan from the United States; but so that that should not give any jealousy to the English Government nor hurt the neutrality of the United States. This loan shall be masked by stipulating, that the Government of the United States consents to make the advances for the payment of the debts contracted by the agents of the French Government with the citizens of the United States, and which are already acknowledged, and the payment ordered by the Directory, without having been yet effectuated. There should be delivered a note to the amount of these debts. Probably this note may be accompanied by ostensible pieces, which will guarantee to the agents the responsibility of the United States, in case any umbrage should cause an inquiry. There shall also be first taken from this loan certain sums for the purpose of making the customary distributions in diplomatic affairs." The person of note mentioned in the minutes, who had the confidence of the Directory, he said, before us all, was M. Talleyrand. The amount of the loan he could not ascertain precisely, but understood it would be according to our ability to pay. The sum which would be considered as proper, according to diplomatic usage, was about twelve hundred thousand livres. He could not state to us what parts of the President's speech were excepted to, but said he would inquire and inform us. He agreed to breakfast with Mr. Gerry the morning of the 21st, in order to make such explanations as we had then requested, or should think proper to request; but, on the morning of the 20th, M. X. called, and said that M. Y., the confidential friend of M. Talleyrand, instead of communicating with us through M. X., would see us himself and make the necessary explanations. We appointed to meet him the evening of the 20th at seven o'clock, in General Marshall's room. At seven, M. Y. and M. X. entered; and the first mentioned gentleman, being introduced to us as the confidential friend of M. Talleyrand, immediately stated to us the favorable impression of that gentleman towards our country—impressions which were made by the kindness and civilities he had personally received in America. That, impressed by his solicitude to repay these kindnesses, he was willing to aid us in the present negotiation by his good offices with the Directory, who were, he said, extremely irritated against the Government of the United States, on account of some parts of the President's speech, and who had neither acknowledged nor received us, and consequently have not authorized M. Talleyrand to have any communications with us. The minister therefore could not see us himself, but had authorized his friend M. Y. to communicate to us certain propositions, and to receive our answers to them; and to promise, on his part, that if we would engage to consider them as the basis of the proposed negotiation, he would intercede with the Directory to acknowledge us, and to give us a public audience. M. Y. stated to us explicitly and repeatedly, that he was clothed with no authority; that he was not a diplomatic character; that he was not * * * * he was only the friend of M. Talleyrand, and trusted by him: that, with regard to himself, he had * * * and he earnestly wished well to the United States.
On reading the speech (Mr. Adams' to Congress,) M. Y. dilated very much upon the keenness of the resentment it had produced, and expatiated largely on the satisfaction he said was indispensably necessary as a preliminary to negotiation. "But, said he, gentlemen, I will not disguise from you that this satisfaction being made, the essential part of the treaty remains to be adjusted; il faut de l'argent—il faut beaucoup d'argent;" you must pay money, you must pay a great deal of money. He spoke much of the force, the honor, and the jealous republican pride of France; and represented to us strongly the advantage which we should derive from the neutrality thus to be purchased. He said that the receipt of the money might be so disguised as to prevent its being considered as a breach of neutrality by England; and thus save us from being embroiled with that power. Concerning the twelve hundred thousand livres little was said; that being completely understood, on all sides, to be required for the officers of the Government, and, therefore, needing no further explanation. These propositions, he said, being considered as the admitted basis of the proposed treaty, M. Talleyrand trusted that, by his influence with the Directory, he could prevail on the Government to receive us. We asked whether we were to consider it as certain, that, without a previous stipulation to the effect required, we were not to be received. He answered that M. Talleyrand himself was not authorized to speak to us the will of the Directory, and consequently could not authorize him. The conversation continued until half after nine, when they left us; having engaged to breakfast with Mr. Gerry the next morning.
October the 21st, M. X. came before nine o'clock; M. Y. did not come until ten: he had passed the morning with M. Talleyrand. After breakfast the subject was immediately resumed. He represented to us, that we were not yet acknowledged or received; that the Directory were so exasperated against the United States, as to have come to a determination to demand from us, previous to our reception, those disavowals, reparations, and explanations, which were stated at large last evening. He said that M. Talleyrand and himself were extremely sensible of the pain we must feel in complying with this demand; but that the Directory would not dispense with it; that, therefore, we must consider it as the indispensable preliminary to obtain our reception, unless we could find the means to change their determination in this particular; that if we satisfied the Directory in these particulars, a letter would be written to us to demand the extent of our powers, and to know whether we were authorized to place them precisely on the same footing with England. We required an explanation of that part of the conversation, in which M. Y. had hinted at our finding means to avert the demand concerning the President's speech. He answered, that he was not authorized to state those means, but that we must search for them and propose them ourselves. If, however, we asked his opinion as a private individual, and would receive it as coming from him, he would suggest to us the means which, in his opinion, would succeed. On being asked to suggest the means, he answered, money; that the Directory were jealous of its own honor and of the honor of the nation; that it insisted on receiving from us the same respect with which we had treated the King; that this honor must be maintained in the manner before required, unless we substituted, in the place of these reparations, something, perhaps more valuable, that was money. He said, further, that if we desired him to point out the sum, which he believed would be satisfactory, he would do so. We requested him to proceed; and he said that there were thirty-two millions of florins, of Dutch inscriptions, worth ten shillings in the pound, which might be assigned to us at twenty shillings in the pound; and he proceeded to state to us the certainty that, after a peace, the Dutch Government would repay us the money; so that we should ultimately lose nothing, and the only operation of the measure would be, an advance from us to France of thirty-two millions, on the credit of the Government of Holland. We asked him whether the fifty thousand pounds sterling as a douceur to the Directory, must be in addition to this sum. He answered in the affirmative. We told him that, on the subject of the treaty, we had no hesitation in saying that our powers were ample; that, on the other points proposed to us, we would retire into another room, and return in a few minutes with our answer.
We committed immediately to writing the answer we proposed, in the following words: "Our powers respecting a treaty are ample; but the proposition of a loan, in the form of Dutch inscriptions, or in any other form, is not within the limits of our instructions; upon this point, therefore, the Government must be consulted; one of the American Ministers will, for the purpose, forthwith embark for America; provided the Directory will suspend all further captures on American vessels; and will suspend proceedings on those already captured, as well where they have been already condemned, as where the decisions have not yet been rendered; and that where sales have been made, but the money not yet received by the captors, it shall not be paid until the preliminary questions, proposed to the Ministers of the United States, be discussed and decided;" which was read as a verbal answer, and we told them they might copy it if they pleased. M. Y. refused to do so; his disappointment was apparent; he said we treated the money part of the proposition as if it had proceeded from the Directory; whereas, in fact, it did not proceed even from the Minister, but was only a suggestion from himself, as a substitute to be proposed by us, in order to avoid the painful acknowledgment that the Directory had determined to demand of us. It was told him that we understood that matter perfectly; that we knew the proposition was in form to be ours; but that it came substantially from the Minister. We asked what had led to our present conversation? And General Pinckney then repeated the first communication from M. X., (to the whole of which that gentleman assented,) and we observed that those gentlemen had brought no testimonials of their speaking any thing from authority; but that, relying on the fair characters they bore, we had believed them when they said they were from the Minister, and had conversed with them, in like manner, as if we were conversing with M. Talleyrand himself; and that we could not consider any suggestion M. Y. had made as not having been previously approved of; but yet, if he did not choose to take a memorandum in writing of our answer, we had no wish that he should do so; and further, if he chose to give the answer to his proposition the form of a proposition from ourselves, we could only tell him that we had no other proposition to make, relative to any advance of money on our part; that America had sustained deep and heavy losses by the French depredations on our commerce, and that France had alleged so [many] complaints against the United States, that on those subjects we came fully prepared, and were not a little surprised to find France unwilling to hear us; and making demands upon us which could never have been suspected by our Government, and which had the appearance of our being the aggressing party. M. Y. expressed himself vehemently on the resentment of France; and complained that, instead of our proposing some substitute for the reparations demanded of us, we were stipulating certain conditions to be performed by the Directory itself; that he could not take charge of such propositions; and that the Directory would persist in its demand of those reparations which he at first stated. We answered that we could not help it; it was for the Directory to determine what course its own honor and the interests of France required it to pursue; it was for us to guard the interest and honor of our country. M. Y. observed that we had taken no notice of the first proposition, which was to know whether we were ready to make the disavowal, reparations, and explanations, concerning the President's speech. We told him that we supposed it to be impossible that either he, or the Minister, could imagine that such a proposition could require an answer; that we did not understand it as being seriously expected; but merely as introductory to the subjects of real consideration.