"Mr Jay had the honor of calling at his Excellency's on Tuesday evening last, but had the misfortune of not finding him at home. As Mr Jay wishes to regulate his visits by his Excellency's convenience, he begs the favor of his Excellency to inform him when it would be agreeable that Mr Jay should wait on his Excellency, and have an opportunity of conversing with him on the object of Mr Jay's mission."
The answer I received to the letter, which accompanied this memorial, is as follows.
Translation.
"The Count de Florida Blanca will receive Mr John Jay whenever he may please to come, in the evening at half past seven or later, in his Secretary's office in the palace, except on Saturday evening next, when he will be engaged."
This note was not dated, but I received it the 7th of December. On the same day I received a letter from General Washington, dated the 22d of October, and enclosing copies of the articles of capitulation of Yorktown, and returns of prisoners, &c.
This letter was brought to France by the frigate, which carried there the first intelligence of that important event, and yet it is remarkable that it did not reach me until after these articles had been published in the Paris and Madrid gazettes. I nevertheless immediately sent copies to the Minister.
As to Mr Harrison's Memorial, no answer has been given it to this day. Nor indeed have any of the representations I have hitherto made to the Ministers relative to commercial grievances procured the least redress. Even the hard case of the Dover cutter still remains unfinished, notwithstanding my repeated and pressing applications on behalf of the poor captors. It is now more than a year since the Minister promised me that the cutter should be immediately appraised, and the value paid to the captors, one of whom afterwards came here, and after waiting two or three months returned to Cadiz, without having received any other money than what I gave him to purchase his daily bread.
As the Minister could not see me on Saturday evening, it was not till Monday evening the 10th of December that I had an opportunity to converse with him.
He began the conversation by observing, that I had been very unfortunate, and had much reason to complain of delays, but that they had been unavoidable. That M. Del Campo had been appointed near three months ago to treat and confer with me; that shortly after the Court removed from St Ildefonso that gentleman's health began to decline; and that his indisposition had hitherto prevented his attending to that or any other business, but that he hoped by the time the Court should return from Aranjues (to which the King was then about to make a little excursion) he would be able to proceed on it, and that he should have the necessary instructions for the purpose.
I told the Count, that these delays had given me great concern, and that I was very solicitous to be enabled to give Congress some positive and explicit information, on the business alluded to. He replied, that I must now confer on those subjects with M. Del Campo, for that for his part his time and attention were so constantly engaged by other matters, that he could not possibly attend to this, especially while at Madrid, when he always enjoyed much less leisure than at the Sitios. He then proceeded to congratulate me on our late successes in Virginia; he assured me, that the King rejoiced sincerely in those events, and that he himself was happy to see our affairs assume so promising an aspect. I was about to descend to particulars, and to remind the Count of the various memorials, &c. which still remained to be considered and despatched, when he mentioned he was engaged for the rest of the evening in pressing affairs. This intimation put an end to the conference.