The Chevalier de la Luzerne is a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, of an ancient and noble family, connected by blood with many characters of principal name in the kingdom, a grandson of the celebrated Chancellor de la Moignon, a nephew of Monsieur Malesherbes, perhaps still more famous as first President of the Court of Aids and as a Minister of State, a brother to the Count de la Luzerne, and of the Bishop of Sangres, one of the three Dukes and Peers who had the honor to assist in the consecration of the King, a near relation of the Marcéhal de Broglie and the Count his brother, and of many other important personages in that country. Nor is his personal character less respectable than his connexions, as he is possessed of much useful information of all kinds, and particularly of the political system of Europe, obtained in his late embassy in Bavaria; and of the justest sentiments of the mutual interests of his country and ours, and of the utility to both of that alliance, which so happily unites them, and at the same time divested of all personal and party attachments and aversions. Congress and their constituents, I flatter myself, will have much satisfaction in his negotiations, as well as in those of the Secretary to the embassy, who was recently Secretary to the embassy in Bavaria, and who is a counsellor of the Parliament of Metz, a gentleman whose abilities, application, and disposition cannot fail to make him useful in the momentous office he sustains.
I have the honor to be, with great respect, &c.
JOHN ADAMS.
TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS.
Braintree, August 4th, 1779.
Sir,
At the close of the service on which Congress have done me the honor to send me, it may not be amiss to submit a few remarks to their consideration on the general state of affairs in Europe, as far as they relate to the interests of the United States. As the time approaches, when our relations with the most considerable States in Europe will multiply and assume a greater stability, they deserve the attention of Americans in general, but especially of those composing their supreme council.
France deserves the first place among those powers, with which our connexions will be the most intimate, and it is with pleasure I am able to assure Congress, that from the observations I have made during my residence in that Kingdom, I have the strongest reasons to believe, that their august ally, his Ministers, and nation, are possessed of the fullest persuasion of the justice of our cause, of the great importance of our independence to their interests, and the firmest resolution to preserve the faith of treaties inviolate, and to cultivate our friendship with sincerity and zeal. This is of the more consequence to us, as this power enjoys in Europe at this hour an influence, which it has not before experienced for many years.