Enclosed you have a copy of a letter from Mr Pollock, who is well acquainted with the country about the Mississippi; it contains some information which may be of use to you. I also enclose you sundry resolutions of Congress, organizing the office of Foreign Affairs, from which you will learn the extent of my powers, and not be misled by supposing them greater than they are.
I am, Dear Sir, with great esteem and affection,
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON.
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON TO JOHN JAY.
Philadelphia, April 27th, 1782.
Dear Sir,
I informed you in my letter of the 16th instant,[1] that yours of the 3d of October had been received and submitted to Congress in my absence, and, as I had then reason to think, that it would be answered by them. This I wished because I was persuaded it would express their approbation of your conduct, and afford you that intimate knowledge of their sentiments, which the delicacy of your situation renders particularly important. They have, however, judged it proper to refer the letter to me. I shall endeavor to preserve the advantages I have mentioned to you, by reporting this answer.
Acquainted with the expectations of Congress, and the grounds on which they formed them, you will easily believe, that they are equally surprised and concerned at the little attention hitherto shown by Spain to their respectful solicitations. They had learned from every quarter that his Catholic Majesty, among the princely virtues he possesses, was particularly distinguished for his candor, and that open dignity of character, which is the result of having no views that he found any reluctance in disclosing; and that the Ministers in whom he confided, breathing the spirit of the Prince, were above those artifices, which form the politics of inferior powers. They knew the insults which Spain had received from Great Britain, and they could conceive no reason why she should conceal or refuse to return them by supporting openly the people, whom Britain unjustly endeavored to oppress. These principles, confirmed by the frequent recommendations of those whom they believed to be acquainted with the sentiment of the Court of Madrid, induced them to send a Minister to solicit the favorable attention of his Catholic Majesty to a people who were struggling with oppression, and whose success or miscarriage could not but be important to a sovereign, who held extensive dominions in their vicinity. Give me leave to add, Sir, that in the choice of the person, they were not inattentive to the dignity of the Court; or to the candor and integrity by which they were supposed to be influenced. I would not have you infer from what I have said, that the favorable sentiments, which the United States have hitherto entertained of the Court of Madrid, have undergone the least alteration. They are satisfied that nothing would be more injurious to both nations, than to permit the seeds of distrust or jealousy to be sown among them.
But though those who are well informed feel no abatement of respect or esteem for the virtue and magnanimity of his Majesty, and do full justice to the integrity and abilities of his Ministers, accepting the apologies you mention, and attributing to their true causes the delays and neglects you have unhappily experienced, yet they are in the utmost pain, lest they should work some change in the sentiments of the people at large, in whom with us the sovereignty resides, and from thence diffuse themselves into the government, and be productive of measures ruinous to that friendly intercourse, that spirit of amity, which it is the wish of those who are acquainted with the true interests of both countries to promote.
After the war was declared by Spain, those among us who had formed the highest ideas of her magnanimity, persuaded themselves that she would act advisedly for us when she found us in distress. They grounded their belief upon the avowed spirit of the nation, and the policy of adopting measures to re-animate us and damp the ardor of the enemy, and to make such impressions upon our hearts, as to give them in future a considerable influence on our councils. Our disappointment in this expectation, though perhaps to be accounted for upon very natural principles, has been greatly aggravated by the sedulous endeavors of the enemies of both countries to create distrust and jealousies. They artfully insinuate, that Spain seeks only to draw advantages from our wants, without so far interfering in our affairs as to involve herself, if we should be unsuccessful. These insinuations are gaining ground, and it becomes daily more necessary for Congress to be furnished with reasons to justify to their constituents the concessions they have proposed to make, or to withdraw those concessions when they are found ineffectual. Yet they find much reluctance in discovering the least want of confidence in the Court of Madrid; and though their present situation might fully justify them in not parting with the important rights you are empowered to concede, without stipulating some very valuable equivalent, yet they cannot be induced to make any alteration in your instructions on this subject, till you shall have reason to conclude, that nothing can be done towards forming the alliance they have so much at heart; not only because of the influence it will immediately have in accelerating the peace, but because of the advantages, which Spain and America may reciprocally promise each other in future, from the lasting connexion which will be erected thereon.