I hope the affair of Captain Asgill was settled as it ought to be, by the punishment of Lippincott. Applications have been made here to obtain letters in favor of the young gentleman. Enclosed I send you a copy of the answer I gave to that made to me.
I had before acquainted M. Tousard, that his pension would be paid in America, and there only, it being unreasonable to expect that Congress should open a Pay Office in every part of the world, where pensioners should choose to reside. I shall communicate to him that part of your letter.
You wish to know what allowance I make to my private Secretary. My grandson, William T. Franklin, came over with me, served me as a private Secretary during the time of the Commissioners; and no Secretary to the Commission arriving, though we had been made to expect one, he did business for us all, and this without any allowance for his services, though both Mr Lee and Mr Deane at times mentioned it to me as a thing proper to be done, and in justice due to him. When I became appointed sole Minister here, and the whole business, which the Commissioners had before divided with me, came into my hands, I was obliged to exact more service from him, and he was indeed, by being so long in the business, become capable of doing more. At length, in the beginning of the year 1781 when he became of age, considering his constant close attention to the duties required, and his having thereby missed the opportunity of studying the law, for which he had been intended, I determined to make him some compensation for the time past, and fix some compensation for the time to come, till the pleasure of Congress respecting him should be known. I accordingly settled an account with him, allowing him from the beginning of December 1776 to the end of 1777, the sum of 3,400 livres, and for the year 1778, the sum of 4,000 livres, for 1779, 4,800 livres, and for 1780, 6,000 livres. Since that time I have allowed him at the rate of three hundred louis per annum, being what I saw had been allowed by Congress to the Secretary of Mr William Lee, who could not have had, I imagine, a fourth part of the business to go through; since my Secretary, besides the writing and copying the papers relative to my common ministerial transactions, has had all those occasioned by my acting in the various employments of Judge of Admiralty, Consul, purchaser of goods for the public, &c. &c. besides that of accepting the Congress bills, a business that requires being always at home, bills coming by post, from different ports and countries, and often requiring immediate answers, whether good or not; and to that end, it being necessary to examine by the books, exactly kept of all preceding acceptances, in order to detect double presentations, which happen very frequently. The great number of these bills makes almost sufficient business for one person, and the confinement they occasion is such, that we cannot allow ourselves a day's excursion into the country, and the want of exercise has hurt our healths in several instances.
The Congress pay much larger salaries to some Secretaries, who, I believe, deserve them; but not more than my grandson does the comparatively small one I have allowed to him, his fidelity, exactitude, and address in transacting business, being really what one could wish in such an officer; and the genteel appearance a young gentleman in his station obliges him to make, requiring at least such an income. I do not mention the extraordinary business that has been imposed upon us in this embassy, as a foundation for demanding higher salaries than others. I never solicited for a public office, either for myself, or any relation, yet I never refused one, that I was capable of executing, when public service was in question, and I never bargained for salary, but contented myself with whatever my constituents were pleased to allow me. The Congress will therefore consider every article charged in my account, distinct from the salary originally voted, not as what I presume to insist upon, but as what I propose only for their consideration, and they will allow what they think proper.
You desire an accurate estimate of those contingent expenses. I enclose copies of two letters,[1] which passed between Mr Adams and me on the subject, and show the articles of which they consist. Their amount in different years may be found in my accounts, except the article of house rent, which has never yet been settled; M. de Chaumont, our landlord, having originally proposed to leave it till the end of the war, and then to accept for it a piece of American land from the Congress, such as they might judge equivalent. If the Congress did intend all contingent charges whatever to be included in the salary, and do not think proper to pay on the whole so much, in that case I would humbly suggest, that the saving may be most conveniently made by a diminution of the salary, leaving the contingencies to be charged; because they may necessarily be very different in different years, and at different courts.
I have been more diffuse on this subject, as your letter gave occasion for it, and it is probably the last time I shall mention it. Be pleased to present my dutiful respects to Congress, assure them of my best services, and believe me to be, with sincere esteem, &c.
B. FRANKLIN.
P. S. As you will probably lay this letter before Congress, I take the liberty of joining to it an extract of my letter to the President, of the 12th of March, 1781, and of repeating my request therein contained, relative to my grandson. I enclose, likewise, extracts of letters from Messrs Jay and Laurens, which both show the regard those gentlemen have for him, and their desire of his being noticed by the Congress.[2]
B. F.